Firsts, Fourths, and Farewells (4/28 Back to the Future!)

[thecapells]

We came back to Toon Park, grabbed the boys and headed over to check out Donald’s Boat.
Let’s see what a day in the life of Donald is aboard the Miss Daisy…

While we were on board, J took off down the Toontown path to snag fastpasses for Space Mountain for himself.
The rest of us went over to Pete’s Garage to check it out one last time (and use the restrooms).

Then it was time to say Farewell to Mickey’s Toontown Fair.
It was a fun temporary land but we are much more excited for the New Fantasyland!

Next up – the gang splits up to try some more firsts.
First, let’s take a quick look at J’s adventures to Tomorrowland and then follow him and our princess into Frontierland…

 

[MEK]

I think we went a bit overboard knowing that this was the last time we'd ever see this stuff.
Someone had to preserve it for the archives, right?

That's exactly what I was thinking. You did a great job with preservation and your most recent update showed me more details I never noticed!

 

[thecapells]

That's exactly what I was thinking. You did a great job with preservation and your most recent update showed me more details I never noticed!

Great minds...

 

[SimplyGoofy]

You took such great pictures in Toontown! I never spent much time there (as I was older once it was built), but I did really enjoy walking through Mickey and Minnie's houses.

It was fun to experience them again!

 

[thecapells]

You took such great pictures in Toontown! I never spent much time there (as I was older once it was built), but I did really enjoy walking through Mickey and Minnie's houses.

It was fun to experience them again!

Thanks!
We also haven't spent much time there.
But we felt it deserved a nice long morning before it disappeared back into the Disney Vaults...

 

[boxmaster]

Then it was time to say Farewell to Mickey’s Toontown Fair.
It was a fun temporary land but we are much more excited for the New Fantasyland!

Still funny to me that I was the one in the troupe who wound up seeing New Fantasyland first! HA! (Mike had his chance, but no... it was
too soon to come back to Disney World earlier this month after having just gone to Disney Land in November. But that's a story for another
TR or two. Back to where Mike left us off in 2011...)

Next up – the gang splits up to try some more firsts.
First, let’s take a quick look at J’s adventures to Tomorrowland and then follow him and our princess into Frontierland…

It's always interesting seeing what happened when I was elsewhere. Or should I say elsewhen, since I was off to Tomorrowland.

And on Mike's “secret” path. Methinks these signs no longer exist. :-(

As much as some of the slower/dark rides are fun, and as much as I admire the detail that is put all over the place...

I'm the thrill ride person of the gang. Sure, Toy Story Mania is one of my favorite rides , but nothing will really be able to hold up to Space
Mountain and Tower of Terror. Well, I could satisfy one of those cravings in Tomorrowland.

If only I could have some company on these rides. Well, that may yet happen.

Having picked up my Fast Pass for Space Mountain, it was back on the secret path to Toon Town to pick up DD and head on over to the next-sized coaster
in MK (IMO) from Barnstormer.

 

[thecapells]

While we waited for J to finish his trek through Tomorrowland, we decided to get some snacks.
Mom went for her favorite – the Mickey Ice Cream Sandwich.

Yes, we know it’s before lunch but some things take precedence.
Take, for example, the fact that we realized we’d been here 8 days and I haven’t had a Mickey Bar yet.
Blasphemy!
So I had to cure that ailment tout de suite!
(And the kids were more than happy to join me!)

X opted for popcorn – doesn’t the Magic Kingdom have the best popcorn ever?
He seemed pretty happy.

About then, J returned.
He wasn’t in the mood for a snack.
Instead he headed off to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
The princess, however, begged to join him.
After the Barnstormer she had caught the rollercoaster “bug.”
But J only had one fastpass – what to do, what to do?
I’ll let J finish the story…

 

[boxmaster]

About then, J returned.
He wasn’t in the mood for a snack.

Great as some of that stuff is, it was close enough to lunch, I didn't want to have ice cream. (Heck, I'm gonna have dessert at lunch anyway.)

Instead he headed off to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
The princess, however, begged to join him.
After the Barnstormer she had caught the rollercoaster “bug.”
But J only had one fastpass – what to do, what to do?
I’ll let J finish the story…

Well, well, well... someone actually caught the 'coaster bug. How could I *possibly* say no to bringing DD? But, as Mike mentioned, I only had the one
FP for me, since no one else in the family - at the time I got it - liked roller coasters, and these are mandatory must-do attractions for me at Disney.

Mike's the fast talker/schmoozer, not me, so I wasn't sure how well I'd manage to get BOTH myself and DD onto the ride. The gears churn away as
we walk to BTMRR.

On the way over, I'm floored by a totally unexpected sight. And, having been trained very well by Mike and Stacey by now, seeing pretty much no
line, DD and I paused briefly. For we were in Frontierland. And who else was there... but Frontier Donald!

Random sighting out of the way, we trekked on and reached our destination: Big Thunder Mountain.

Yeah, it was a little bright out.

Before we reached the CM, I apologized to DD in advance for the lie that I was about to tell. For, you see, my thinking was that my best chance of
getting BOTH of us on with just one FP was to tell the CM that DD had lost her ticket, and that we were hoping that we could still both get on together. (Who
can say no to a cute little girl trying to get onto a ride with her unca?)

Some CMs are pains in the rear about such things (and even moreso, nowadays, about the time window for the Fast Passes), but this one was on
the forgiving side. Whether he truly believed my story or merely took pity on the two of us is irrelevant... we got in! And out of the overly bright sunshine.

DD was a little anxious to go on. After all, it was her first time on a fast coaster, and all she has heard from her parents about
coasters (prior to Mike going on Barnstormer) is anxiety and fear. (Yeah, yeah, it's all about that feeling in your stomach. Bah!)

So, what do you think the reaction was after we got off the ride?



She absolutely LOVED it! “That was awesome!”

I took a quick gander at what the standby wait time was, because if it were short enough, we'd go back on and deal with being late to meet back up with
everyone. Heck, no one else was going to be taking DD on the coasters, so give her as much of them as I can while I'm on a Disney trip
with the troupe. Hmm... that gives me an idea... (Yep, pretty obvious.) DD, would you like to go on Space Mountain with me, if your parents say you can?

Alas, the BTMRR line was too long to make any sense to get back on right then, so we made our way back. But DD was totally excited about the possibility of going on Space Mountain. And, much as I didn't want to be a party-pooper, I had to temper her expectations, because I was not at all sure that her parents (mostly her mom -- sorry Stacey) would let her ride it with me.

On the way, DD saw one of the shops on the side and absolutely had to stop and do a little modeling.

Detour out of the way, we continued back to meet everyone on Main Street for lunch.

 

[dawnbu40]

Great updates guys!

Those snacks all look so yummy but I would have to go with X and the popcorn. Disney popcorn is the best!

for the princess braving the coasters! Sounds like fun unca/niece bonding time

 

[thecapells]

Great updates guys!

Those snacks all look so yummy but I would have to go with X and the popcorn. Disney popcorn is the best!

for the princess braving the coasters! Sounds like fun unca/niece bonding time

The problem is what to do with her when Unca is not around and she starts begging for coasters.
But that's another story...

 

[Curoly06]

I did the same thing with my niece back in September. Her mom doesn't like coasters at all, but allowed me to take her on Barnstormer. Of course she loved it and wanted to ride BTMRR with me. Sadly, her mom said no to that one so we had to stop our coaster training there.

 

[thecapells]

I did the same thing with my niece back in September. Her mom doesn't like coasters at all, but allowed me to take her on Barnstormer. Of course she loved it and wanted to ride BTMRR with me. Sadly, her mom said no to that one so we had to stop our coaster training there.

Well, with Unca around, Mom was okay with allowing our princess to experiment.
Like I said, the issue is now what to do when J is not with us...

 

[SimplyGoofy]

I'm so excited that DD loved BTMRR! (Hooray for Unca for bringing her along!)

The "who can she ride with" problem will only last a few years... maybe when she and X are older BOTH of them will like coasters and they can ride together!

 

[MEK]

MG]

Love this picture! Very cute!

Glad that DD loved BTMMR. It really is one of my favs. I'm with Boxmaster on the thrill rides - I'd pick Space and ToT over TSM any day, given the choice of one or the other.

 

[thecapells]

I'm so excited that DD loved BTMRR! (Hooray for Unca for bringing her along!)

The "who can she ride with" problem will only last a few years... maybe when she and X are older BOTH of them will like coasters and they can ride together!

Well, X does seem to be following in her footsteps but that story is for later.
My TR's are waaaaaay behind...

 

[thecapells]

Love this picture! Very cute!

Glad that DD loved BTMMR. It really is one of my favs. I'm with Boxmaster on the thrill rides - I'd pick Space and ToT over TSM any day, given the choice of one or the other.

I'm totally the opposite.
Anyone can build a thrill ride - it's Disney's theming that always sells me.
And, yes, most of Disney's thrill rides are greatly themed with animatronics or little details.
However, Space Mountain is just a rollercoaster in the dark.
Nothing to see there so I doubt I'll ever have a desire to try it.

 

[boxmaster]

However, Space Mountain is just a rollercoaster in the dark.
Nothing to see there so I doubt I'll ever have a desire to try it.

Inside the Magic Kingdom, and under normal circumstances at Disneyland, you're correct that it's "just" a rollercoaster in the dark.
(There's a little bit of theming in the lead-up to the initial drop, and at one or two slower spots, but nothing huge.)

However, WHEN you get back to Disneyland (it's a matter of time, I'm sure), hopefully you'll have the opportunity to go on Ghost Galaxy.
I'll leave my review for that until later, once we get caught up a bit.

 

[thecapells]

While J took the princess to into the Old West, Mom and I took the boys into the Future.
And what better way to start a visit to Tomorrow than with the Peoplemover!
This is still one of my favorite rides in the Magic Kingdom.
Relaxing, great views, and fun for the whole family.
We even let DS take try to take of picture of Mom and Dad having fun!
He’s becoming quite the photographer…

After our trip around the Land of Tomorrow, it was time to explore within.
And right down the exit ramp a little blue alien was stirring up some trouble.
What a perfect place for us to be!

We then headed over to Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin.
The line was too long so we grabbed fastpasses for after lunch.
Then we wandered Tomorrowland for a bit and headed back to the hub.
And what do you know?
There was our friendly, neighborhood, Photopass photographer!

From there we rounded the corner and headed to the Plaza to check-in and wait for the return of J with our princess.
While we waited, we continued to snap away of course.

We even checked out some of the infamous windows on Main Street.

As you can see, Mom was having fun with the camera.
Anyway, not long after, J arrived and the princess was still in one piece.
And we were all very hungry.
Come along for a nice meal at the Plaza…

 

[MEK]

I like that the boys are getting their own photopass session in this update. Love the picture of the three of you!

And I agree - although I like thrill rides - its the theming that really makes Disney all it is!

 

[dawnbu40]

Looks like the 4 of you were having a great time while the other 2 were off being daredevils.

All the pictures are great but the one in front of the castle is my favorite. The look on X's face is adorable!