wilma-bride
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Fred, Wilma and Family do Disney Day 13 – What a way to end a holiday
Wednesday 23rd April
My trip reports are like buses – you wait months for one to come along and then you get two in one day
Despite five trips to Disney World, there were two major things we had still not achieved.
Firstly, we had never seen the opening ceremony at Magic Kingdom. Funnily enough, this was the one thing which had made me so badly want to visit Disney World in the first place – I had read about a family who got picked to open the park and sprinkle pixie dust and I thought it all sounded so magical and so wonderful, I wanted to see it for myself. Heck, who am I kidding – I wanted my family to be that family!
Secondly, we had never seen Fantasmic – yes, I know I should be ashamed – and, believe me I was. Again, it sounded so fabulous but, in previous visits, there just hadn’t been time or fate had conspired against us and so we just hadn’t managed it.
However, today was our last day and I was a woman on a mission – a mission to get to Magic Kingdom before opening and a mission to see Fantasmic. And, blow me, I was damned if any pensioners were going to get in the way of that. Hold on to your bus passes, folks, you’re in for a bumpy ride.
Before stomping off to bed the previous night, I had very nicely requested that everybody be ready to leave by 8am. I didn’t expect that it would happen and I was fully prepared to use whatever means necessary - hiding the cereal or dragging people out in their underwear. I was slightly disappointed, therefore, that I didn’t have to resort to any of those things and everyone was dressed and ready to go by 8 o’clock as requested. My morning improved drastically when the in-laws stated that they would come with us for the opening ceremony and stay with us to ride Pirates of the Caribbean but then they wanted to go off on their own to explore Magic Kingdom at a more leisurely pace – result!!!
Even the buses were with me this morning and the Magic Kingdom bus was the first to pull up to our stop, getting us there shortly before 8:30. Of course, now we were far too early and the muttering about how they could have had a full breakfast started straight away but I ignored it and consoled myself with the thought of a day of freedom.
We weren’t chosen to be the ‘pixie dust’ family, of course – I mean, who in their right mind would choose a family with a miserable-looking pair of OAPs and an unruly child – but that was OK. The ceremony was great – I was so excited to see Mickey and the gang and it was almost as if we were visiting Magic Kingdom for the first time. Daniel was waving like mad to Mickey and, when he waved back, was convinced that it was just for him.
Inside the park, we stuck to the plan and headed straight to Pirates of the Caribbean. I warned Chuck and Reeny that there was a drop on the ride but it wasn’t major – Rhiannon kept saying that I was lying and there wasn’t a drop at all – you just wait missy! Of course, there was a drop – don’t question my knowledge on Disney parks and their associated rides
– but everyone enjoyed it nonetheless.
After the ride, Daniel spent some time trying on the pirate gear in the shop.
And then Chuck and Reeny excused themselves and headed off on their own. I had explained to them how to get back to the villa and they had said they wanted to ride the monorail so I told them to get on the resort monorail and go round the loop but I didn’t think they were listening.
We were going to head to Fantasyland so Daniel could go on some of the kids’ rides but, just as we were approaching Haunted Mansion, I saw a glimpse of some Cast Members in light blue shirts go into the exit and so quickly announced a change of plan – ‘Come on guys, let’s have one last go on Haunted Mansion’. Lo and behold, as we came off the ride, Sian and Rea were approached by two members of the Dream Team who presented them with YOAMD ears. They were absolutely thrilled. One of the Dream Team spoke to Daniel but we didn’t get given anything – I didn’t mind, though, I was just chuffed for the girls.
Next, it was off to Daniel’s favourite ride, It’s a Small World – c’mon you know you want to sing the song! Daniel sang his way round while the rest of us looked out for Hidden Mickeys – and didn’t spot a single one!
There was a 5-minute wait for Mickey’s Philharmagic so it would have been rude not to see that for one last time also. It was fantastic, as usual. When we came out, Daniel spoke the words that every Mother dreads – ‘Mum, I need the toilet, I’m bursting’. I thought I knew where the nearest toilet was so, dragging him by the hand, off we went. Except I didn’t know – while my knowledge of rides is second to none, I obviously had made the rookie mistake of not noting where the nearest restroom was. And then it happened – ‘Mum, I need to go NOW – it’s starting to come out’. I picked him up and just ran when a kindly CM, who obviously recognized the look of panic on my face, said ‘Do you need a restroom?’. I nodded and she pointed in the direction of Ariel’s Grotto. I ran all the way, whilst trying not to jiggle Daniel and his poor bladder too much, making it in the nick of time, only to be met with a massive line of people all waiting to go. I headed to the front of the line, muttering my plight and praying some generous soul would take pity on us and was ushered in to a vacant stall – relief!!! And all without spilling a single drop! I was so grateful to both the CM and the lovely lady who let us go first – oh, and to Daniel for managing to learn an important lesson in bladder control!
After all the excitement, Daniel decided he didn’t really want to go on any more rides but desperately wanted to see Captain Hook so, after consulting the times guide, back to Adventureland we went. We spotted Peter Pan and Wendy first and the kids got a picture. Peter asked if they had seen Captain Hook yet and, when they said ‘No’, he insisted Daniel should give him a message when he saw him – ‘Tell that nasty old Hook that I called him a Codfish’ he laughed.
So, off we went, in search of Hook and found both him and Mr Smee. Daniel duly passed on the message, at which point Hook hid behind Mr Smee – it was hilarious. Again, they had a picture – for some reason, Daniel wouldn’t stand near Captain Hook though
We strolled back towards the castle and took some pictures along the way.
We were having such a lovely morning and it was so nice to spend some time together, just the 5 of us.
After pictures, we decided to have a look in the shops along Main Street – and bumped into Chuck and Reeny, who were watching the band play. We had decided to leave Magic Kingdom and go for some lunch so we said our goodbyes – again – and headed out of Magic Kingdom, a slight air of sadness surrounding us, knowing we wouldn’t be back for quite some time.
Back at Old Key West, we decided to pay a visit to Port Orleans French Quarter for lunch, having really enjoyed the offerings at their food court previously.
I had a chicken nugget meal, Sian had a chicken sandwich and Rea chose the kids’ grilled cheese.
Gary got the cheeseburger and Daniel had a hot dog.
We then decided to go off and play mini golf, at Fantasia Gardens. Daniel took a nasty tumble while we were waiting for our ‘tee-off’ time and got a big fuss made of him by some staff members – plus a couple of free lollipops so he was happy. With hindsight, this really wasn’t the best idea as Daniel wasn’t very good at it, was very slow and ended up cheating on most of the holes. I found it to be a lot more difficult than the Winter Summerland courses and we had all had enough long before the end. We drove back to Old Key West and waited for Chuck and Reeny to get back. They finally arrived, having had a grand adventure. They had decided they would like to look around Saratoga Springs so got on the monorail!?!?! When they realized (finally) that they couldn’t get there by monorail (when they ended up at Epcot), they caught a bus. And then, rather than catching the boat from Saratoga to Old Key West, they decided to walk back to the villa. Not surprisingly, they were worn out.
Still, no time to rest on our laurels as we had a reservation at Olivia’s for dinner at 6pm. A quick shower and change and we were all ready to go.
We were seated straight away at a table outside. Although it was a nice evening, I wished we had sat inside as there were lots of little flies buzzing around and loads of people sat near us smoking, while they waited for the boat. Most of the people sitting outside were complaining about the smokers and the staff did try to persuade people to move away from the area but it didn’t really have an effect and put a dampener on the meal.
The meal was very nice, though, and we all enjoyed the food. The waitress was somewhat confused when Daniel asked for a pizza with no tomato on it – and then promptly asked for ketchup with it
We started with some bread, which was nice except it had coconut and pineapple in it, neither of which I like.
Sian had a chocolate milkshake, which looked absolutely delicious.
The menu was quite limited, we found, but everybody managed to find something they would like. Sian and I had the pork chop, which was gorgeous.
Rea had steak.
Gary and Chuck both had salads, which I didn’t take pictures of, and Reeny had salmon, I think – no picture of that either.
No desserts here, as time was ticking on and we needed to get to Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic.
We caught the bus from outside Hospitality House and arrived at Hollywood Studios just after 7:30.
We had plenty of time so decided to view our Photopass pictures, even though we planned to order the CD when we got home. There were some fantastic pictures and, I hate to admit now, I am gutted that we just didn’t get round to ordering the CD, for whatever reason.
Next, it was off to join the massive line of people waiting to go in to see Fantasmic. We queued for absolutely ages but, eventually, we were in and got good seats in the middle about 10 rows back.
The show was absolutely brilliant – I still can’t believe it took us so long to see it. The kids were enthralled from the first moment.
We were absolutely whacked after it finished and it seemed to take an age to get to the exit but, finally, we were on a bus taking us back to Old Key West. Daniel feel asleep within 2 minutes – one second, he was chattering away about how good the show was, the next he was fast asleep on my knee.
Back at the villa, we all went straight to bed. A long day but such a lovely way to end the holiday.
Wednesday 23rd April
My trip reports are like buses – you wait months for one to come along and then you get two in one day
Despite five trips to Disney World, there were two major things we had still not achieved.
Firstly, we had never seen the opening ceremony at Magic Kingdom. Funnily enough, this was the one thing which had made me so badly want to visit Disney World in the first place – I had read about a family who got picked to open the park and sprinkle pixie dust and I thought it all sounded so magical and so wonderful, I wanted to see it for myself. Heck, who am I kidding – I wanted my family to be that family!
Secondly, we had never seen Fantasmic – yes, I know I should be ashamed – and, believe me I was. Again, it sounded so fabulous but, in previous visits, there just hadn’t been time or fate had conspired against us and so we just hadn’t managed it.
However, today was our last day and I was a woman on a mission – a mission to get to Magic Kingdom before opening and a mission to see Fantasmic. And, blow me, I was damned if any pensioners were going to get in the way of that. Hold on to your bus passes, folks, you’re in for a bumpy ride.
Before stomping off to bed the previous night, I had very nicely requested that everybody be ready to leave by 8am. I didn’t expect that it would happen and I was fully prepared to use whatever means necessary - hiding the cereal or dragging people out in their underwear. I was slightly disappointed, therefore, that I didn’t have to resort to any of those things and everyone was dressed and ready to go by 8 o’clock as requested. My morning improved drastically when the in-laws stated that they would come with us for the opening ceremony and stay with us to ride Pirates of the Caribbean but then they wanted to go off on their own to explore Magic Kingdom at a more leisurely pace – result!!!
Even the buses were with me this morning and the Magic Kingdom bus was the first to pull up to our stop, getting us there shortly before 8:30. Of course, now we were far too early and the muttering about how they could have had a full breakfast started straight away but I ignored it and consoled myself with the thought of a day of freedom.
We weren’t chosen to be the ‘pixie dust’ family, of course – I mean, who in their right mind would choose a family with a miserable-looking pair of OAPs and an unruly child – but that was OK. The ceremony was great – I was so excited to see Mickey and the gang and it was almost as if we were visiting Magic Kingdom for the first time. Daniel was waving like mad to Mickey and, when he waved back, was convinced that it was just for him.
Inside the park, we stuck to the plan and headed straight to Pirates of the Caribbean. I warned Chuck and Reeny that there was a drop on the ride but it wasn’t major – Rhiannon kept saying that I was lying and there wasn’t a drop at all – you just wait missy! Of course, there was a drop – don’t question my knowledge on Disney parks and their associated rides
– but everyone enjoyed it nonetheless.After the ride, Daniel spent some time trying on the pirate gear in the shop.
And then Chuck and Reeny excused themselves and headed off on their own. I had explained to them how to get back to the villa and they had said they wanted to ride the monorail so I told them to get on the resort monorail and go round the loop but I didn’t think they were listening.
We were going to head to Fantasyland so Daniel could go on some of the kids’ rides but, just as we were approaching Haunted Mansion, I saw a glimpse of some Cast Members in light blue shirts go into the exit and so quickly announced a change of plan – ‘Come on guys, let’s have one last go on Haunted Mansion’. Lo and behold, as we came off the ride, Sian and Rea were approached by two members of the Dream Team who presented them with YOAMD ears. They were absolutely thrilled. One of the Dream Team spoke to Daniel but we didn’t get given anything – I didn’t mind, though, I was just chuffed for the girls.
Next, it was off to Daniel’s favourite ride, It’s a Small World – c’mon you know you want to sing the song! Daniel sang his way round while the rest of us looked out for Hidden Mickeys – and didn’t spot a single one!
There was a 5-minute wait for Mickey’s Philharmagic so it would have been rude not to see that for one last time also. It was fantastic, as usual. When we came out, Daniel spoke the words that every Mother dreads – ‘Mum, I need the toilet, I’m bursting’. I thought I knew where the nearest toilet was so, dragging him by the hand, off we went. Except I didn’t know – while my knowledge of rides is second to none, I obviously had made the rookie mistake of not noting where the nearest restroom was. And then it happened – ‘Mum, I need to go NOW – it’s starting to come out’. I picked him up and just ran when a kindly CM, who obviously recognized the look of panic on my face, said ‘Do you need a restroom?’. I nodded and she pointed in the direction of Ariel’s Grotto. I ran all the way, whilst trying not to jiggle Daniel and his poor bladder too much, making it in the nick of time, only to be met with a massive line of people all waiting to go. I headed to the front of the line, muttering my plight and praying some generous soul would take pity on us and was ushered in to a vacant stall – relief!!! And all without spilling a single drop! I was so grateful to both the CM and the lovely lady who let us go first – oh, and to Daniel for managing to learn an important lesson in bladder control!
After all the excitement, Daniel decided he didn’t really want to go on any more rides but desperately wanted to see Captain Hook so, after consulting the times guide, back to Adventureland we went. We spotted Peter Pan and Wendy first and the kids got a picture. Peter asked if they had seen Captain Hook yet and, when they said ‘No’, he insisted Daniel should give him a message when he saw him – ‘Tell that nasty old Hook that I called him a Codfish’ he laughed.
So, off we went, in search of Hook and found both him and Mr Smee. Daniel duly passed on the message, at which point Hook hid behind Mr Smee – it was hilarious. Again, they had a picture – for some reason, Daniel wouldn’t stand near Captain Hook though
We strolled back towards the castle and took some pictures along the way.
We were having such a lovely morning and it was so nice to spend some time together, just the 5 of us.
After pictures, we decided to have a look in the shops along Main Street – and bumped into Chuck and Reeny, who were watching the band play. We had decided to leave Magic Kingdom and go for some lunch so we said our goodbyes – again – and headed out of Magic Kingdom, a slight air of sadness surrounding us, knowing we wouldn’t be back for quite some time.
Back at Old Key West, we decided to pay a visit to Port Orleans French Quarter for lunch, having really enjoyed the offerings at their food court previously.
I had a chicken nugget meal, Sian had a chicken sandwich and Rea chose the kids’ grilled cheese.
Gary got the cheeseburger and Daniel had a hot dog.
We then decided to go off and play mini golf, at Fantasia Gardens. Daniel took a nasty tumble while we were waiting for our ‘tee-off’ time and got a big fuss made of him by some staff members – plus a couple of free lollipops so he was happy. With hindsight, this really wasn’t the best idea as Daniel wasn’t very good at it, was very slow and ended up cheating on most of the holes. I found it to be a lot more difficult than the Winter Summerland courses and we had all had enough long before the end. We drove back to Old Key West and waited for Chuck and Reeny to get back. They finally arrived, having had a grand adventure. They had decided they would like to look around Saratoga Springs so got on the monorail!?!?! When they realized (finally) that they couldn’t get there by monorail (when they ended up at Epcot), they caught a bus. And then, rather than catching the boat from Saratoga to Old Key West, they decided to walk back to the villa. Not surprisingly, they were worn out.
Still, no time to rest on our laurels as we had a reservation at Olivia’s for dinner at 6pm. A quick shower and change and we were all ready to go.
We were seated straight away at a table outside. Although it was a nice evening, I wished we had sat inside as there were lots of little flies buzzing around and loads of people sat near us smoking, while they waited for the boat. Most of the people sitting outside were complaining about the smokers and the staff did try to persuade people to move away from the area but it didn’t really have an effect and put a dampener on the meal.
The meal was very nice, though, and we all enjoyed the food. The waitress was somewhat confused when Daniel asked for a pizza with no tomato on it – and then promptly asked for ketchup with it
We started with some bread, which was nice except it had coconut and pineapple in it, neither of which I like.
Sian had a chocolate milkshake, which looked absolutely delicious.
The menu was quite limited, we found, but everybody managed to find something they would like. Sian and I had the pork chop, which was gorgeous.
Rea had steak.
Gary and Chuck both had salads, which I didn’t take pictures of, and Reeny had salmon, I think – no picture of that either.
No desserts here, as time was ticking on and we needed to get to Hollywood Studios for Fantasmic.
We caught the bus from outside Hospitality House and arrived at Hollywood Studios just after 7:30.
We had plenty of time so decided to view our Photopass pictures, even though we planned to order the CD when we got home. There were some fantastic pictures and, I hate to admit now, I am gutted that we just didn’t get round to ordering the CD, for whatever reason.
Next, it was off to join the massive line of people waiting to go in to see Fantasmic. We queued for absolutely ages but, eventually, we were in and got good seats in the middle about 10 rows back.
The show was absolutely brilliant – I still can’t believe it took us so long to see it. The kids were enthralled from the first moment.
We were absolutely whacked after it finished and it seemed to take an age to get to the exit but, finally, we were on a bus taking us back to Old Key West. Daniel feel asleep within 2 minutes – one second, he was chattering away about how good the show was, the next he was fast asleep on my knee.
Back at the villa, we all went straight to bed. A long day but such a lovely way to end the holiday.
.
.x.
