NOTE: This is long, so grab a cup of hot cocoa and enjoy.
OK, OK, I know it's late, but I got so wrapped up in Christmas and getting stuff at work straight that I didn't get a chance to finish my trip report.
For those of you that read my first two reports (My brother, the angel and Ariel tripped me...and the trip goes south), I appreciate the feedback and the concern. Somehow, our day two report (Wake up Mammy, Lincoln's talking) got lost in cyber space. We were having some problems with our internet connection at FW Cabins, and that's why I couldn't finish our trip reports.
Once again, our cast of characters include:
Me (Bunch24)
DW
DS (age 2)
Mammy (my mom and DS's grandmother -- her first trip)
Ran (my brother and DS's godfather -- his first trip)
So, to recap the first three days:
The first day, we arrived after a 13-hour drive from Louisiana. We drove through the night, so it wasn't that bad. We got our park passes and our cabin (woohoo) and headed to Animal Kingdom. We luckily got in on the last seating of Breakfast-asaurus and enjoyed that. We headed over to FOTLK to kick off our trip and it was great. The park was empty. We walked right on Kali River Rapids (actually rode it twice without getting out of our seats) and walked right on Kilamanjaro. We cut AK short so we could go back to the cabin and rest up for Hoop Dee Doo. HDD was great, we had prime seating, right in the front next to the stage and the Christmas tree. Good spot if you want to get picked on and boy we did. My little brother ended up landing the "star" role in the finale, dressed up in a pink tutu with angel wings and a halo. He was a good sport, blew some kisses to the crowd and did a little heinie shake for good measure. All in all, it was a great first day.
Second day, we got an early start, arriving at MK at 7:45 for priority seating at Crystal Palace. Breakfast was FANTASTIC. I felt really bad for having an entire plate of bacon when Piglet came to visit. But what can I say, the bacon was DELICIOUS!!! That day was an EMH day, and we had planned it perfectly.
We were walking out of Crystal Palace when they dropped the rope to Adventureland. We headed straight to Aladdin's Magic Carpets for DS. We rode it, what, four times? before finally saying let's go somewhere else. We went to POTC and got on with no wait. In fact, we had the whole boat to ourselves. Mammy was a great sport, she hates rides, but she rode this one and really had fun. The drop caught her offguard, but she couldn't stop laughing afterwards, so I think she liked it. We went from POTC to Haunted Mansion and got right on with very short wait. Again, another ride Mammy rode reluctantly, but she did so for DS, who is a daredevil. I laughed because I could see her squirming when the hitchhiking ghost appeared. LOL
I was very pleasantly surprised to see how thin the crowds were that day. We got to do everything, and I mean everything, with very little wait. I rode Space Mountain for the first time ever and absolutely loved it. My little brother, who is not a big coaster guy, rode BTTM and Space Mountain with me. We skipped Splash, because it was like 42 degrees. BRRRRR. Funniest moment of the day came after lunch at Pinnochio's Village Haus (excellent counter service, BTW). We decided to do Hall of Presidents, because, well we wanted to let our food go down and that was the one attraction Mammy was most looking forward to at MK. So, about five minutes into the show, I hear snoring....I look over and MAMMY IS SLEEPING!!!!!!!! I started laughing to myself, then DW looks and sees her and starts laughing, then Ran sees her and starts laughing. Now, we were all laughing to ourselves, so nobody could hear us, but it was a chain reaction that we couldn't stop. To make matters worst, the little girl that was sitting a couple of seats to my left started snoring. It was all we could do to keep from bursting out uncontrollably. When the show ended and Mammy woke up, she couldn't stop laughing at the fact that her most anticipated attraction put her to sleep in five minutes.
Overall, our day at MK was great. We rode everything we wanted, DS got to meet everyone but Mickey and he even rode Barnstormer TWICE. That ride's faster than I expected it would be. We left MK at 5 p.m. (it was a MVMCP night) and headed to Downtown Disney for some shopping. We ate at Earl of Sandwich (EXCELLENT) and did some shopping until around 9 p.m.
Day three started off on the wrong foot. DS didn't want to wake up, and when he did, all he kept saying was "I go home." We finally get dressed, and open the door and what is this? RAIN!!! We head to the bus stop and waste 45 minutes because we go to outpost instead of settlement to wait for the MGM bus. Well, after Epcot passed three times, the driver comes out and says "Where you folks headed?" "MGM" we say. And he proceeds to tell us that the MGM bus picks up near Pioneer Hall. Blah. The day gets better.
We get to MGM around 10:30 a.m. and head straight to the Great Movie Ride. It's raining pretty hard and we figure waiting inside is better than getting wet. GMR was great, I think Mammy loved it. Ran seemed to like parts of it. DS didn't really grasp what was going on.
From GMR, we headed to Muppets. On the way there, DS fell asleep, so we ended up watching Muppets with a sleeping little one. Unfortunate, because he loved Philharmagic so much that I know he would have liked Muppets. We ducked into the Muppet store and bought DS a blanket because with the rain came colder weather. He slept for another hour as we just kind of walked around the park. There was so much we wanted to do, but we had PS in an hour and were worried about missing it. We ended up showing up at 50s Prime Time about 20 minutes before our PS and got a table about 15 minutes early. Prime Time was great, it certainly helped make our day better. My DW got into an argument with our "brother Bob" because Mammy didn't finish the green beans that Ran dumped on her plate. "Brother Bob" threatened to make DW sing the teapot song, but that's as far as it got. Mammy loved the good-natured ribbing, and the tables next to us seemed to really get the brunt of that. One table, the guy actually put on the waitresses' pink sweater and name tag and waited on tables. He played along so well. It was funny.
Unfortunately, that's where the fun ended, because we walked outside to more rain. We wandered aimlessly for the next 30 minutes or so, not really knowing what we wanted to do. Playhouse Disney, Voyage of the Little Mermaid were two things on DW's list, Star Tours, RNR, and the stunt show were things on my list. Instead, we went to Honey! I Shrunk the Kids Playset. DW and DS played in there while Mammy took a break on a bench. Me and Ran rode the Backlot Tour (it was so disappointing).
We left about an hour later from that area and walked toward Playhouse Disney and Voyage. DS was being quite cranky today. We decided to do Voyage and then hit Playhouse and then leave. He didn't want to be in his stroller, didn't want to walk, just wanted to be held. So, we walk to Voyage and see that the next show is 5 minutes away. We wait for Ran to park the stroller and we walk up to the front door only to be told "Sorry folks, it's full."
So, I'm like, "No problem, when's the next show?" And the lady says "OK, we'll let you in, but hurry up, the show's starting."
Well, the lights are already out and the theater looks packed. I tell my wife "Find a spot for you and DS and I'll head to the back and just stand." And that's when the trip went south. My wife and DS go to the front to two empty seats, I head to the back and then it gets pitch black. I'm trying to feel my way to a wall, and then, BAM!!! I don't know what happened, if I missed a step or stepped on someone's foot, but my knee buckled and I went tumbling to the ground. At first, I didn't know what had happened. I thought for a second I had dislocated my knee, because of the loud popping sound. I laid there, just trying to gather my composure and not take away from the show. I had made it to the back apparently, and the people in the back row were waving for a CM to come help. I pulled myself up to a sittinng position with my back resting on the wall. A CM came and said they'd get a medic ASAP, I asked her to please wait untill after the show was over.
As much pain as I was in, I didn't want to ruin the show and I really, really felt bad for the people around me. I know they couldn't have concentrated and fully enjoyed the experience with me laying there on the ground writhing in pain. I fought back tears and just tried to focus on the singing, the lights, something.
Halfway through the show, this security guard comes and STEPS ON MY ANKLE, TRIPPING OVER ME!!!! He flashes his flashlight in my face and gives me a look like "What are you doing down there?" My brother, who was standing back there with me and trying to keep me calm, almost got into it with the security guard. I asked my brother to just walk away, I'd be OK. I love my brother, but I didn't wany anything else to take away from the show.
After the show was over, I apologized to the people around me and shortly after, the medics arrived. They got me into a wheelchair and rolled me over to First Aid. From First Aid, I was taken to CentraCare. It took maybe 20 minutes to be seen. The doctor on duty said there was no bone damage, but said I probably had cartilage damage. He gave me some crutches, strict orders to stay off my leg for at least a week and some painkillers.
Naturally, that was the end of our MGM day, there was so much we didn't see, and for that I felt bad. The tears I shed in the van back to the cabin were not tears of pain, I really felt like I had ruined the rest of the trip. I wasn't feeling very good at that point.
Day four, we had PS at Chef Mickey's for an absurdly early time. We thought about canceling and just forgetting about it, but it's Chef Mickey's and we'd never been. We had to actually drive there, because the internal buses don't start running until 6 a.m. and our PS was for 7:15 a.m. So, between catching the bus, then waiting for the boat, we thought we'd be pushing it. We drove to Contemporary, I hobbled up to Chef Mickey's and we sat down for breakfast. We were really disappointed in our experience. We weren't seated in the main dining area, instead, we were seated near the lobby, close to the kitchen. We got no feel of the atmosphere at all. Our waittress tried her hardest to get us into it, but we couldn't hear the music or see the characters. And sadly, our DS was in the restroom getting changed when Mickey came to our table. He did get to see Chip and Dale, so he was somewhat OK. But to go to Chef Mickey's and not even see Mickey was sad. We even waited around for the second "party" and Mickey never showed at our section.
We left Contemporary and went back to FW. I popped a painkiller and fell into a deep slumber on the Murphy Bed. DS and Mammy also went take a nap while DW went wash some clothes. I think we slept until 11 a.m. We got up and decided that we should have lunch, a counter service lunch, since we were behind on those. We chose to go to All-Star resorts and have lunch there. Don't ask, it was just one of those spur of the moment things.
The food court was surprisingly empty. My guess was that it was Sunday and everybody was in a park...hehe. We had burgers and they were pretty good. Afterwards, DS played at one of the playgrounds for a while. We then headed back to FW. Sunday night was MVMCP, so we intentionally didn't schedule a park visit that day. We had an optional return visit to MGM, but I think my injured knee forced us into other plans. That and those painkillers put me to sleep almost instantly.
Believe it or not, I caught another nap after we got back from lunch. I slept from around 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. this time. WE got up, got dressed and headed to MK for our party. We had PS at Liberty Tree Tavern for 6 p.m. It was great, the food was sooooo yummy. This was the first time all week that DS actually ate, instead of playing with his food/throwing his spoons/throwing a temper tantrum. He loved the macaroni so much that we had to get a second helping of it. The meats were all very good and the green beans, OMG, they were awesome. If you'd know me, you'd do a double take, because me + green do not mix. But I tried these and they were great.
We left LTT right as they were opening for the MVMCP. We headed to Adventureland and did the carpet ride again (that was DS's favorite). We also did POTC again. As we were leaving POTC, we noticed the parade was about to start. So, we found a spot near the bridge from ADventureland to Frontierland and staked out. The parade was AWESOME. I wish I would have been filming when Santa Claus appeared. DS went crazy. He kept screaming his name until Santa waved. It was so magical. Leaving our parade spot was somewhat of a task. With a stroller and thanks to my fall, an ECV, we slowly weaved our way into Frontierland, then Liberty Square. We wanted to do HM again, but the wait was long. So, we headed back to the castle and we realized, the fireworks were about to start. We thought we had a perfect view of the castle, only to realize the fireworks were actually to the left of the castle, and to the left of the castle was a big tree blocking our view. We saw glimpses of it through the leaves and smoke, but didn't feel bad, because we'd catch the second fireworks show.
So, as we're leaving the spot where we watched the fireworks, there seemed to be some sort of confusion. Mammy and Ran went one way and we went the other. We crossed the bridge back into Liberty Square and were going to take the bridge on the side of the castle into Fantasyland. But as we waited for Mammy and Ran, we started to realize, they weren't coming. And what's the first cardinal rule of Disney? Don't get separated from someone that doesn't have a cellphone. So, DW says, wait here and I'll go try to find them, they probably didn't go far. DW goes off and I wait, and wait, and wait. OK, I don't have much patience, so I grab my cell and call my wife. Well, Ran answers, then I remember, the cell was in the stroller. DOH! So, I ask Ran where they went and he says "We're in the front playing checkers near the confectionary." So I say "Stay put, I'll be there in a little while." So, now DW is out by herself with no cell, but I know where Ran and Mammy are, along with DS.
I set out to find DW. I go to where I was waiting, she's not there. I go all around the hub by Cindy's castle, she's not there. I go to Tomorrowland, she's not there. The good thing about the ECV is I can cover lots of ground in little time. FINALLY, I cross paths with her in Fantasyland. This is like an hour after fireworks, BTW. So we head back to the front, locate Mammy and Ran and a sleeping DS. We look at our watches and realize that the second parade is about to start. So, we head towards the Ice Cream Parlor. Ice Cream Parlor is closed, but there's some nice seating there where we can kind of catch the parade and then afterwards the fireworks.
We decide this is a perfect time to take advantage of the free hot chocolate and cookies. YUMMY!!!! We sat and drank our hot chocolate as the parade rolled down Main Street. We didn't have a great view of the parade, but it didn't matter, we had seen it already.
I decide now would probably be a good time to try to ride Buzz Lightyear one last time and try to beat my brother again. We walked to Tomorrowland and wouldn't you know it, everyone else had the same idea. Buzz had a 50 minute wait. I didn't know if we could risk waiting and missing the fireworks.
We headed back to Mammy and DW, but on the way found an even better spot to watch the fireworks. We went get Mammy and DW and headed to our new spot. We sat there, with an unobstructed, perfect view of the castle, waiting. Then we see a firework go up, detonate and hear an announcement "Due to technical difficulties, the second showing of Wishes will not take place tonight." BUMMER!!!! OK, well, let's see if Buzz Lightyear has slacked off any. OMG, 70 minutes? Does everybody ride Buzz before leaving?
We decided that was a sign and we started to make our way back to the front of the park. We did so slowly to allow the crowds to subside. We turned in my ECV and son's stroller and headed (well, I limped on my crutches) down to the boat. I looked back and waved goodbye to the MK.
Day 5 was another rotten day start. Apparently, everyone was starting to wear down and nobody had the energy to get up that morning. We finally got up around 8 a.m. and got dressed pretty quickly and were able to make it to Epcot shortly after 9:30 a.m. Another day, another ECV experience.
Today was the first day of the Christmas break for a lot of schools, and boy it showed. Spaceship Earth already had a 40 minute wait, so we headed to The Living Seas. The line for Turtle Talk with Crush was LONG. I'm talking outside the door long. We went upstairs and looked at Nemo and Friends, and checked out the manatees. DS was in another rotten mood, all he kept saying was RIDE!! So, I said, let's head to The Land and do the Living with the Land ride. On the way there, we were going to grab a fastpass for Soarin' for later in the day. Well, we get to the Land to see "All fastpasses for Soarin' have been distributed for today. Wait time for Soarin': 170" Wait, is that minutes? 170 minutes? OMG. OK, Ran, looks like we're not riding Soarin', I can't stand in line for three hours on a bum knee. We head into The Land and lo and behold, Living with the Land has a 60 minute wait. So far, DS has been unbearable in lines, so we decided to come back later.
We started to walk towards WS, hoping maybe something there would grab us. On the way, we noticed that Figment was no wait, so we got on that. It was our first time riding, when we came in 2002, it was being serviced. It was a nice little ride, nothing spectacular. Could have done without the skunk smell, even DS said "Poo woo, stinky."
We left Figment and headed to WS. My brother, who had been under the weather prior to the trip, got sick and had to make a stop at the restroom. Luckily, it was close to Canada and my DW and DS went listen to the Canadian storyteller talk about their Christmas. My knee was hurting pretty bad at this point and I was getting tired of people bumping into me, so I went to the opposite side near the lagoon and just parked there.
From Canada we went to Impressions at France. We were hoping DS would fall asleep because he was extra cranky, but he didn't. He actuallly watched the show, occassionally blurting out "BOAT!" "BIRD" "PLANE".
We toured a couple of other countries, like Morocco and Japan, but really did nothing at WS. I could sense that Mammy was really starting to wear down and Ran was just not feeling good, so I started making my way back to the front of the park. We had PS at Whispering Canyon later and my plan was to ride Spaceship Earth, then leave and go back to the cabin and rest up for that.
Well, I didn't share my plan and I have to admit I forgot how fast the ECV went and I ended up leaving Mammy and Ran in my wake. DW kept up, but she's a pretty fast walker. When I realized I had left them behind, I stopped and waited for them. To make a long story short and to spare some feelings, Mammy and Ran left and headed back to the cabins, while me, DW and DS finished up our day. Spaceship Earth had no wait at all. We got right on, after a pretty brutal walk up those ramps (OUCH).
After Spaceship Earth, we brought the ECV and scooter back and headed to the monorail. We promised DS that we'd ride the "train" so we kept our promise. Even though it was out of the way, we rode the monorail to the TTC and then on to MK. From there we took the boat to Wilderness Lodge for our 5:45 at Whispering Canyon.
It was just me, DW and DS for this one. Mammy and Ran were back in the room, resting comfortably (at least I presume). It was a pleasant experience, to see what it would have been like if we had just gone by ourselves.
I love my mom and my brother, but we're commando and they're leisurely. I'm sure we wore them out, and my mom is one of those people that likes to know what's next and I'm one of those "I don't know what's next" kind of people.
Anyway, I'm glad they came with us, but by the end of our trip, it was probably best we did our own thing for a few hours. And I have to say, DS was the best he had been all week. He knows he gets what he wants when he's around Mammy, so he can act up. At WCC, he was on his best behavior. He ate a big bowl of mac and cheese, a big piece of cornbread, and a couple of bites of my mashed taters.
Next to HDD, WCC was our best dining experience. I loved, I mean absolutely loved the interaction with the CMs and other tables. Our server, Candy Cane, was excellent. She even fed our DS his last two or three spoonfuls. We enjoyed the ketchup bit and I even got a super large coke because I finished my first coke "way too fast." For the horse races, I was appointed official prize giver-outer, so I had to give wooden nickels to like 30 kids. It was fun though. The food was decent, my steak was a bit undercooked, but I don't know that you really go to WCC for the meal. I will say though, the cornbread is as good as I've eaten and the Yukon potatoes were excellent.
We walked around the WL after dinner, just absorbing the sights. We've decided our next trip, we're staying there. It's just beautiful, by far the best resort we've visited (and that's including Grand Floridian). We're more rustic people than high-class, I guess.
We thought about heading back to MK for a nitecap, and DS seemed to have the energy for it, but we decided that maybe we should call it a night and call it a vacation. We ended on a great dinner by ourselves and a wonderful (and even romantic) boat ride back to FW. It was so fun, because the temperature dropped to around 40 for the boat ride and with the wind, it seemed colder, so we all snuggled together for the entire trip. And it was so sweet because DS would take turns kissing me, then mommy, and then making me and mommy kiss. Talk about magical.
We got back to our cabin at around 8 p.m., talked a little bit, downloaded the rest of our pictures and then went to bed.
We woke up around 8 a.m. refreshed and ready (well not entirely ready) to head back home. It was a great vacation, one I'll never forget. I'm glad that Mammy and Ran were there for the ride. I'm glad my wife and DS have blessed my life with nothing but great memories.
All in all, it was a magical trip. The hurt knee and subsequent gloomy days tried to put a damper on the trip, but we all agreed on Christmas day (when we got together again and looked at the pictures and watched the videos) that it was a truly special vacation.
We're already planning our next trip, this time, just me, DW and DS. Eventually we'd like to take the big family (her side and my side) trip, but that'll wait until the kids are older and things will be easier to manage.
Until our next trip, here's wishing you all Happy Holidays and lots of pixie dust.
OK, OK, I know it's late, but I got so wrapped up in Christmas and getting stuff at work straight that I didn't get a chance to finish my trip report.
For those of you that read my first two reports (My brother, the angel and Ariel tripped me...and the trip goes south), I appreciate the feedback and the concern. Somehow, our day two report (Wake up Mammy, Lincoln's talking) got lost in cyber space. We were having some problems with our internet connection at FW Cabins, and that's why I couldn't finish our trip reports.
Once again, our cast of characters include:
Me (Bunch24)
DW
DS (age 2)
Mammy (my mom and DS's grandmother -- her first trip)
Ran (my brother and DS's godfather -- his first trip)
So, to recap the first three days:
The first day, we arrived after a 13-hour drive from Louisiana. We drove through the night, so it wasn't that bad. We got our park passes and our cabin (woohoo) and headed to Animal Kingdom. We luckily got in on the last seating of Breakfast-asaurus and enjoyed that. We headed over to FOTLK to kick off our trip and it was great. The park was empty. We walked right on Kali River Rapids (actually rode it twice without getting out of our seats) and walked right on Kilamanjaro. We cut AK short so we could go back to the cabin and rest up for Hoop Dee Doo. HDD was great, we had prime seating, right in the front next to the stage and the Christmas tree. Good spot if you want to get picked on and boy we did. My little brother ended up landing the "star" role in the finale, dressed up in a pink tutu with angel wings and a halo. He was a good sport, blew some kisses to the crowd and did a little heinie shake for good measure. All in all, it was a great first day.
Second day, we got an early start, arriving at MK at 7:45 for priority seating at Crystal Palace. Breakfast was FANTASTIC. I felt really bad for having an entire plate of bacon when Piglet came to visit. But what can I say, the bacon was DELICIOUS!!! That day was an EMH day, and we had planned it perfectly.
We were walking out of Crystal Palace when they dropped the rope to Adventureland. We headed straight to Aladdin's Magic Carpets for DS. We rode it, what, four times? before finally saying let's go somewhere else. We went to POTC and got on with no wait. In fact, we had the whole boat to ourselves. Mammy was a great sport, she hates rides, but she rode this one and really had fun. The drop caught her offguard, but she couldn't stop laughing afterwards, so I think she liked it. We went from POTC to Haunted Mansion and got right on with very short wait. Again, another ride Mammy rode reluctantly, but she did so for DS, who is a daredevil. I laughed because I could see her squirming when the hitchhiking ghost appeared. LOL
I was very pleasantly surprised to see how thin the crowds were that day. We got to do everything, and I mean everything, with very little wait. I rode Space Mountain for the first time ever and absolutely loved it. My little brother, who is not a big coaster guy, rode BTTM and Space Mountain with me. We skipped Splash, because it was like 42 degrees. BRRRRR. Funniest moment of the day came after lunch at Pinnochio's Village Haus (excellent counter service, BTW). We decided to do Hall of Presidents, because, well we wanted to let our food go down and that was the one attraction Mammy was most looking forward to at MK. So, about five minutes into the show, I hear snoring....I look over and MAMMY IS SLEEPING!!!!!!!! I started laughing to myself, then DW looks and sees her and starts laughing, then Ran sees her and starts laughing. Now, we were all laughing to ourselves, so nobody could hear us, but it was a chain reaction that we couldn't stop. To make matters worst, the little girl that was sitting a couple of seats to my left started snoring. It was all we could do to keep from bursting out uncontrollably. When the show ended and Mammy woke up, she couldn't stop laughing at the fact that her most anticipated attraction put her to sleep in five minutes.
Overall, our day at MK was great. We rode everything we wanted, DS got to meet everyone but Mickey and he even rode Barnstormer TWICE. That ride's faster than I expected it would be. We left MK at 5 p.m. (it was a MVMCP night) and headed to Downtown Disney for some shopping. We ate at Earl of Sandwich (EXCELLENT) and did some shopping until around 9 p.m.
Day three started off on the wrong foot. DS didn't want to wake up, and when he did, all he kept saying was "I go home." We finally get dressed, and open the door and what is this? RAIN!!! We head to the bus stop and waste 45 minutes because we go to outpost instead of settlement to wait for the MGM bus. Well, after Epcot passed three times, the driver comes out and says "Where you folks headed?" "MGM" we say. And he proceeds to tell us that the MGM bus picks up near Pioneer Hall. Blah. The day gets better.
We get to MGM around 10:30 a.m. and head straight to the Great Movie Ride. It's raining pretty hard and we figure waiting inside is better than getting wet. GMR was great, I think Mammy loved it. Ran seemed to like parts of it. DS didn't really grasp what was going on.
From GMR, we headed to Muppets. On the way there, DS fell asleep, so we ended up watching Muppets with a sleeping little one. Unfortunate, because he loved Philharmagic so much that I know he would have liked Muppets. We ducked into the Muppet store and bought DS a blanket because with the rain came colder weather. He slept for another hour as we just kind of walked around the park. There was so much we wanted to do, but we had PS in an hour and were worried about missing it. We ended up showing up at 50s Prime Time about 20 minutes before our PS and got a table about 15 minutes early. Prime Time was great, it certainly helped make our day better. My DW got into an argument with our "brother Bob" because Mammy didn't finish the green beans that Ran dumped on her plate. "Brother Bob" threatened to make DW sing the teapot song, but that's as far as it got. Mammy loved the good-natured ribbing, and the tables next to us seemed to really get the brunt of that. One table, the guy actually put on the waitresses' pink sweater and name tag and waited on tables. He played along so well. It was funny.
Unfortunately, that's where the fun ended, because we walked outside to more rain. We wandered aimlessly for the next 30 minutes or so, not really knowing what we wanted to do. Playhouse Disney, Voyage of the Little Mermaid were two things on DW's list, Star Tours, RNR, and the stunt show were things on my list. Instead, we went to Honey! I Shrunk the Kids Playset. DW and DS played in there while Mammy took a break on a bench. Me and Ran rode the Backlot Tour (it was so disappointing).
We left about an hour later from that area and walked toward Playhouse Disney and Voyage. DS was being quite cranky today. We decided to do Voyage and then hit Playhouse and then leave. He didn't want to be in his stroller, didn't want to walk, just wanted to be held. So, we walk to Voyage and see that the next show is 5 minutes away. We wait for Ran to park the stroller and we walk up to the front door only to be told "Sorry folks, it's full."
So, I'm like, "No problem, when's the next show?" And the lady says "OK, we'll let you in, but hurry up, the show's starting."
Well, the lights are already out and the theater looks packed. I tell my wife "Find a spot for you and DS and I'll head to the back and just stand." And that's when the trip went south. My wife and DS go to the front to two empty seats, I head to the back and then it gets pitch black. I'm trying to feel my way to a wall, and then, BAM!!! I don't know what happened, if I missed a step or stepped on someone's foot, but my knee buckled and I went tumbling to the ground. At first, I didn't know what had happened. I thought for a second I had dislocated my knee, because of the loud popping sound. I laid there, just trying to gather my composure and not take away from the show. I had made it to the back apparently, and the people in the back row were waving for a CM to come help. I pulled myself up to a sittinng position with my back resting on the wall. A CM came and said they'd get a medic ASAP, I asked her to please wait untill after the show was over.
As much pain as I was in, I didn't want to ruin the show and I really, really felt bad for the people around me. I know they couldn't have concentrated and fully enjoyed the experience with me laying there on the ground writhing in pain. I fought back tears and just tried to focus on the singing, the lights, something.
Halfway through the show, this security guard comes and STEPS ON MY ANKLE, TRIPPING OVER ME!!!! He flashes his flashlight in my face and gives me a look like "What are you doing down there?" My brother, who was standing back there with me and trying to keep me calm, almost got into it with the security guard. I asked my brother to just walk away, I'd be OK. I love my brother, but I didn't wany anything else to take away from the show.
After the show was over, I apologized to the people around me and shortly after, the medics arrived. They got me into a wheelchair and rolled me over to First Aid. From First Aid, I was taken to CentraCare. It took maybe 20 minutes to be seen. The doctor on duty said there was no bone damage, but said I probably had cartilage damage. He gave me some crutches, strict orders to stay off my leg for at least a week and some painkillers.
Naturally, that was the end of our MGM day, there was so much we didn't see, and for that I felt bad. The tears I shed in the van back to the cabin were not tears of pain, I really felt like I had ruined the rest of the trip. I wasn't feeling very good at that point.
Day four, we had PS at Chef Mickey's for an absurdly early time. We thought about canceling and just forgetting about it, but it's Chef Mickey's and we'd never been. We had to actually drive there, because the internal buses don't start running until 6 a.m. and our PS was for 7:15 a.m. So, between catching the bus, then waiting for the boat, we thought we'd be pushing it. We drove to Contemporary, I hobbled up to Chef Mickey's and we sat down for breakfast. We were really disappointed in our experience. We weren't seated in the main dining area, instead, we were seated near the lobby, close to the kitchen. We got no feel of the atmosphere at all. Our waittress tried her hardest to get us into it, but we couldn't hear the music or see the characters. And sadly, our DS was in the restroom getting changed when Mickey came to our table. He did get to see Chip and Dale, so he was somewhat OK. But to go to Chef Mickey's and not even see Mickey was sad. We even waited around for the second "party" and Mickey never showed at our section.
We left Contemporary and went back to FW. I popped a painkiller and fell into a deep slumber on the Murphy Bed. DS and Mammy also went take a nap while DW went wash some clothes. I think we slept until 11 a.m. We got up and decided that we should have lunch, a counter service lunch, since we were behind on those. We chose to go to All-Star resorts and have lunch there. Don't ask, it was just one of those spur of the moment things.
The food court was surprisingly empty. My guess was that it was Sunday and everybody was in a park...hehe. We had burgers and they were pretty good. Afterwards, DS played at one of the playgrounds for a while. We then headed back to FW. Sunday night was MVMCP, so we intentionally didn't schedule a park visit that day. We had an optional return visit to MGM, but I think my injured knee forced us into other plans. That and those painkillers put me to sleep almost instantly.
Believe it or not, I caught another nap after we got back from lunch. I slept from around 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. this time. WE got up, got dressed and headed to MK for our party. We had PS at Liberty Tree Tavern for 6 p.m. It was great, the food was sooooo yummy. This was the first time all week that DS actually ate, instead of playing with his food/throwing his spoons/throwing a temper tantrum. He loved the macaroni so much that we had to get a second helping of it. The meats were all very good and the green beans, OMG, they were awesome. If you'd know me, you'd do a double take, because me + green do not mix. But I tried these and they were great.
We left LTT right as they were opening for the MVMCP. We headed to Adventureland and did the carpet ride again (that was DS's favorite). We also did POTC again. As we were leaving POTC, we noticed the parade was about to start. So, we found a spot near the bridge from ADventureland to Frontierland and staked out. The parade was AWESOME. I wish I would have been filming when Santa Claus appeared. DS went crazy. He kept screaming his name until Santa waved. It was so magical. Leaving our parade spot was somewhat of a task. With a stroller and thanks to my fall, an ECV, we slowly weaved our way into Frontierland, then Liberty Square. We wanted to do HM again, but the wait was long. So, we headed back to the castle and we realized, the fireworks were about to start. We thought we had a perfect view of the castle, only to realize the fireworks were actually to the left of the castle, and to the left of the castle was a big tree blocking our view. We saw glimpses of it through the leaves and smoke, but didn't feel bad, because we'd catch the second fireworks show.
So, as we're leaving the spot where we watched the fireworks, there seemed to be some sort of confusion. Mammy and Ran went one way and we went the other. We crossed the bridge back into Liberty Square and were going to take the bridge on the side of the castle into Fantasyland. But as we waited for Mammy and Ran, we started to realize, they weren't coming. And what's the first cardinal rule of Disney? Don't get separated from someone that doesn't have a cellphone. So, DW says, wait here and I'll go try to find them, they probably didn't go far. DW goes off and I wait, and wait, and wait. OK, I don't have much patience, so I grab my cell and call my wife. Well, Ran answers, then I remember, the cell was in the stroller. DOH! So, I ask Ran where they went and he says "We're in the front playing checkers near the confectionary." So I say "Stay put, I'll be there in a little while." So, now DW is out by herself with no cell, but I know where Ran and Mammy are, along with DS.
I set out to find DW. I go to where I was waiting, she's not there. I go all around the hub by Cindy's castle, she's not there. I go to Tomorrowland, she's not there. The good thing about the ECV is I can cover lots of ground in little time. FINALLY, I cross paths with her in Fantasyland. This is like an hour after fireworks, BTW. So we head back to the front, locate Mammy and Ran and a sleeping DS. We look at our watches and realize that the second parade is about to start. So, we head towards the Ice Cream Parlor. Ice Cream Parlor is closed, but there's some nice seating there where we can kind of catch the parade and then afterwards the fireworks.
We decide this is a perfect time to take advantage of the free hot chocolate and cookies. YUMMY!!!! We sat and drank our hot chocolate as the parade rolled down Main Street. We didn't have a great view of the parade, but it didn't matter, we had seen it already.
I decide now would probably be a good time to try to ride Buzz Lightyear one last time and try to beat my brother again. We walked to Tomorrowland and wouldn't you know it, everyone else had the same idea. Buzz had a 50 minute wait. I didn't know if we could risk waiting and missing the fireworks.
We headed back to Mammy and DW, but on the way found an even better spot to watch the fireworks. We went get Mammy and DW and headed to our new spot. We sat there, with an unobstructed, perfect view of the castle, waiting. Then we see a firework go up, detonate and hear an announcement "Due to technical difficulties, the second showing of Wishes will not take place tonight." BUMMER!!!! OK, well, let's see if Buzz Lightyear has slacked off any. OMG, 70 minutes? Does everybody ride Buzz before leaving?
We decided that was a sign and we started to make our way back to the front of the park. We did so slowly to allow the crowds to subside. We turned in my ECV and son's stroller and headed (well, I limped on my crutches) down to the boat. I looked back and waved goodbye to the MK.
Day 5 was another rotten day start. Apparently, everyone was starting to wear down and nobody had the energy to get up that morning. We finally got up around 8 a.m. and got dressed pretty quickly and were able to make it to Epcot shortly after 9:30 a.m. Another day, another ECV experience.
Today was the first day of the Christmas break for a lot of schools, and boy it showed. Spaceship Earth already had a 40 minute wait, so we headed to The Living Seas. The line for Turtle Talk with Crush was LONG. I'm talking outside the door long. We went upstairs and looked at Nemo and Friends, and checked out the manatees. DS was in another rotten mood, all he kept saying was RIDE!! So, I said, let's head to The Land and do the Living with the Land ride. On the way there, we were going to grab a fastpass for Soarin' for later in the day. Well, we get to the Land to see "All fastpasses for Soarin' have been distributed for today. Wait time for Soarin': 170" Wait, is that minutes? 170 minutes? OMG. OK, Ran, looks like we're not riding Soarin', I can't stand in line for three hours on a bum knee. We head into The Land and lo and behold, Living with the Land has a 60 minute wait. So far, DS has been unbearable in lines, so we decided to come back later.
We started to walk towards WS, hoping maybe something there would grab us. On the way, we noticed that Figment was no wait, so we got on that. It was our first time riding, when we came in 2002, it was being serviced. It was a nice little ride, nothing spectacular. Could have done without the skunk smell, even DS said "Poo woo, stinky."
We left Figment and headed to WS. My brother, who had been under the weather prior to the trip, got sick and had to make a stop at the restroom. Luckily, it was close to Canada and my DW and DS went listen to the Canadian storyteller talk about their Christmas. My knee was hurting pretty bad at this point and I was getting tired of people bumping into me, so I went to the opposite side near the lagoon and just parked there.
From Canada we went to Impressions at France. We were hoping DS would fall asleep because he was extra cranky, but he didn't. He actuallly watched the show, occassionally blurting out "BOAT!" "BIRD" "PLANE".
We toured a couple of other countries, like Morocco and Japan, but really did nothing at WS. I could sense that Mammy was really starting to wear down and Ran was just not feeling good, so I started making my way back to the front of the park. We had PS at Whispering Canyon later and my plan was to ride Spaceship Earth, then leave and go back to the cabin and rest up for that.
Well, I didn't share my plan and I have to admit I forgot how fast the ECV went and I ended up leaving Mammy and Ran in my wake. DW kept up, but she's a pretty fast walker. When I realized I had left them behind, I stopped and waited for them. To make a long story short and to spare some feelings, Mammy and Ran left and headed back to the cabins, while me, DW and DS finished up our day. Spaceship Earth had no wait at all. We got right on, after a pretty brutal walk up those ramps (OUCH).
After Spaceship Earth, we brought the ECV and scooter back and headed to the monorail. We promised DS that we'd ride the "train" so we kept our promise. Even though it was out of the way, we rode the monorail to the TTC and then on to MK. From there we took the boat to Wilderness Lodge for our 5:45 at Whispering Canyon.
It was just me, DW and DS for this one. Mammy and Ran were back in the room, resting comfortably (at least I presume). It was a pleasant experience, to see what it would have been like if we had just gone by ourselves.
I love my mom and my brother, but we're commando and they're leisurely. I'm sure we wore them out, and my mom is one of those people that likes to know what's next and I'm one of those "I don't know what's next" kind of people.
Anyway, I'm glad they came with us, but by the end of our trip, it was probably best we did our own thing for a few hours. And I have to say, DS was the best he had been all week. He knows he gets what he wants when he's around Mammy, so he can act up. At WCC, he was on his best behavior. He ate a big bowl of mac and cheese, a big piece of cornbread, and a couple of bites of my mashed taters.
Next to HDD, WCC was our best dining experience. I loved, I mean absolutely loved the interaction with the CMs and other tables. Our server, Candy Cane, was excellent. She even fed our DS his last two or three spoonfuls. We enjoyed the ketchup bit and I even got a super large coke because I finished my first coke "way too fast." For the horse races, I was appointed official prize giver-outer, so I had to give wooden nickels to like 30 kids. It was fun though. The food was decent, my steak was a bit undercooked, but I don't know that you really go to WCC for the meal. I will say though, the cornbread is as good as I've eaten and the Yukon potatoes were excellent.
We walked around the WL after dinner, just absorbing the sights. We've decided our next trip, we're staying there. It's just beautiful, by far the best resort we've visited (and that's including Grand Floridian). We're more rustic people than high-class, I guess.
We thought about heading back to MK for a nitecap, and DS seemed to have the energy for it, but we decided that maybe we should call it a night and call it a vacation. We ended on a great dinner by ourselves and a wonderful (and even romantic) boat ride back to FW. It was so fun, because the temperature dropped to around 40 for the boat ride and with the wind, it seemed colder, so we all snuggled together for the entire trip. And it was so sweet because DS would take turns kissing me, then mommy, and then making me and mommy kiss. Talk about magical.
We got back to our cabin at around 8 p.m., talked a little bit, downloaded the rest of our pictures and then went to bed.
We woke up around 8 a.m. refreshed and ready (well not entirely ready) to head back home. It was a great vacation, one I'll never forget. I'm glad that Mammy and Ran were there for the ride. I'm glad my wife and DS have blessed my life with nothing but great memories.
All in all, it was a magical trip. The hurt knee and subsequent gloomy days tried to put a damper on the trip, but we all agreed on Christmas day (when we got together again and looked at the pictures and watched the videos) that it was a truly special vacation.
We're already planning our next trip, this time, just me, DW and DS. Eventually we'd like to take the big family (her side and my side) trip, but that'll wait until the kids are older and things will be easier to manage.
Until our next trip, here's wishing you all Happy Holidays and lots of pixie dust.
) If it IS cartilage damage, you'll be astonished how much better you will feel after a little orthoscopic snip, snip, snip. You need all your natural speed and agility to keep up with a two year old. 
) and glad you had a mostly wonderful time. 
