MermaidMom
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2001
- Messages
- 137
Cast of Characters
Me, 31, Mom, trip imagineer
Nana, 58, worlds best grandmother, corporate sponsor
Julia, 2 ¾ , little princess, worlds youngest expert on Disney characters
Day Three- Monday
Animal Kingdom and MGM
Since the opening time of Animal Kingdom was changed to 9:00, we decided not to go for our 8:00 PS at the Rainforest Café. As we went through the lobby this morning we noticed that Minnie Mouse, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee were there! Julia was happy to meet Minnie but wanted nothing to do with the pirates. I was more than happy to have my picture taken with them! We also saw them several other mornings in the lobby. We showed up at the Rainforest Café about 8:30 and didnt have any trouble getting a table. We all had the Tonga Toast and it was yummy. We had never been to a RFC and the décor is very fun. Total cost was about $37 with tip.
We entered the park and headed for Camp Mickey Minnie. First we met some characters in their greeting areas Goofy, Mickey and Daisy Duck. Then we went to see Festival of the Lion King. What a show! This has to be the best show at Disney World. We all enjoyed it. Unfortunately this was not a day when the Pocahontas show was scheduled so we decided to come back another morning for that. We headed up to Africa where Nana got a Fastpass for the Safari. We went through the Pangani trail together then Julia and I headed to Rafikis Planet Watch. My only real goal in going there was to see Pocahontas and luckily she was there. The narrow path from the train station to the building is maddening because of very slow moving people. We spent some time inside cooling off and meeting Pocahontas. Then we headed out to the petting area where Julia groomed a few goats. We headed back on the train to meet Nana at Tusker House for lunch. Julia fell asleep in her stroller so we had lunch while she slept. The peanut crusted chicken was very good (although a bit spicy for me). Meal cost was about $22.
We left the Tusker House hoping Julia would sleep to the car and on the way back to the hotel. No such luck. She woke up and we decided it would be easier to get her lunch at the park so we stopped at Pizzafari for the kids pretzel grilled cheese meal. Julia wasnt very hungry but I tried it and I think it was delicious! We headed back to the hotel to rest a little, freshen up and then headed back out to MGM on the Friendship boat launch.
Heading down Hollywood Boulevard I was able to get a Guest of Honor pin for Julia (which she pretty much refused to wear anyway!) but they didnt have my name. We decided we would line up to see the new parade Stars & Motorcars. Normally we never line up for parades when we visit Disney, just not parade people I guess. But this one was definitely worth it. We found a good spot just 30 minutes before start time near the Emmy statue just behind the rope. We werent on the street but since a cast member kept the roped entry clear, we could see the street perfectly. The parade is wonderful and full of many of our favorite characters. We then hoped to get a Fastpass for the last Voyage of the Little Mermaid but they were gone for the day. We got in the very long line at Playhouse Disney and just made it in. This show is a lot of fun for toddlers familiar with the shows. They did a nice job of expanding it from just Bear in the Big Blue House to several other Playhouse Disney shows. I was sorry that they hadnt included PB&J Otter.
Tip for the day: Make an effort to see at least one parade during your stay. We had never made this a priority on previous visits but I was very glad we did this time. It can be frustrating to have to find a spot and just wait but once during a vacation, its probably worth it.
When we came out it was raining again so we headed to see Walt Disney: One Mans Dream. The 15 minute movie was very interesting to us adults but barely held Julias attention, especially just after the fun Playhouse Disney show. When we came out it was pouring rain and our stroller was soaked. We put on ponchos and realized we had almost an hour to kill before our PS time at the 50s Prime Time Café. We headed over to the Muppets 3D movie. I love the Muppets but I dont think this movie that great. Julia wouldnt wear the glasses. She did enjoy getting a Miss Piggy doll in the gift shop afterward.
We headed over to the 50s Prime Time Café hoping to get in a little early. While I was in the restroom, the hostess came up to Julia and asked about her new doll is Miss Piggy your favorite character? And Julia says, as if to an idiot, shes not a character shes a muppet. And then we got our table. Our first visit to this restaurant was about 10 years ago on our first visit to MGM. It was the first time I ever liked onion rings. Im happy to report their onion rings and milkshakes are as delicious as always. I had the meatloaf and Nana had the shrimp pasta. Julia had chicken nuggets (again). We all enjoyed the meal and even though I buried my green beans under my leftover mashed potatoes, Aunt Elaine didnt yell at me. I got away with that old trick. Total cost was $55 with tip and we considered it a good value.
Day Four- Tuesday
Magic Kingdom
This was a BIG morning for us up early to have breakfast with the princesses at the castle! We drove to the park because we didnt want to be late. But they were slow in getting ready for showtime this morning and wouldnt let anyone in the park until about 8:15. We were assured that we wouldnt miss our PS times but it was still frustrating. We arrived at the castle, were promptly seated and a flurry of princesses came our way! The first to visit us was Mary Poppins one of our very favorites! I was nearly in tears I was so happy. She signed the autograph book and told Julia that she must eat a proper breakfast so she could be a strong princess. We were then visited by Cinderella (who was impressed with Julias little Cinderella dress), Prince Charming, Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Snow White. We didnt have much time to eat at first because it seemed to be one visit after another. It was such fun! When we finally did eat breakfast we thought it was very good. I loved the stuffed French toast and the potatoes. Julia ate her pancake and a croissant. The chocolate muffins were more like dessert than breakfast and very yummy. Before leaving one of the hostesses gave Julia some pixie dust. She was very impressed and remembered later that day that she should put some under her pillow. I saved some in my pockets all day for her and even brought it home to include in our scrapbook.
We finished breakfast with enough time to enjoy the quiet first hour of the park. Our first stop was Its a Small World. Julia actually liked this ride! Yay! Then we headed to Tomorrowland to try Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin. Since Julia had not done too well on the inside rides before, we decided to start off with the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, or better known in our family by the old name of Wedway People Mover. This is one of Nanas favorites its just her speed. I make fun of her for liking it so much but I like it too. Julia enjoyed it and said she wanted to visit Buzz. The line wasnt more than 5 minutes and we were off to fight Zurg. Julia was the pilot so it was a bumpy ride and we didnt score many points but we had a lot of fun.
We took a quick trip to Toontown and visited Minnies house and the Fair where we saw Cinderella (again) and two of her mice friends, Suzy and Perla. After looking at the Barnstormer, we decided Julia probably wouldnt like it. So we hopped on the MK Railroad to the train station at the front of the park and headed back to our hotel.
Tip for the day: The Magic Kingdom Railroad is a life saver when you are tired and cant stand the idea of a long walk down Main Street to exit the park.
We took a short nap and then a quick swim. Our dinner was scheduled for 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian so we decided to enjoy the last couple hours at the Magic Kingdom before that. We went to the Country Bear Jamboree. I think this was the original show which I hadnt seen in many years. It seems they ran a vacation-themed show for a lot of years but it seems to be back to the original. We all enjoyed this old favorite.
While Julia and Nana waited, I took a ride on the new Magic Carpets of Aladdin which was fun. Then we all waited in line for the Jungle Cruise. This was probably our longest line of the week, about 25 minutes (not bad!). It was fun and Julia had a good time. It was nice to see her warming up to all the rides. After the Jungle Cruise, Nana went on Pirates of the Caribbean while Julia and I waited for her in the gift shop.
We took the monorail to the Grand Floridian. While this hotel is very beautiful I saw so many people all dressed up I knew I'd probably not be comfortable staying there. It was amazing how many little girls were beautifully dressed for a buffet dinner with Pooh & friends. We really felt like the bums who came to dinner! While we waited for our table, we spent some time coloring with Piglet. Once seated it seemed to take forever for the characters to get to us. We did manage to get some dinner first. I wasnt too thrilled with this buffet and probably wouldnt visit again. The bread pudding and vanilla sauce was excellent, as I had read. Finally the characters started showing up at our table. While the food was very mediocre, the character interaction was excellent. We had a great time visiting with Tigger, Pooh and Eeyore. I was proud to show Eeyore my new t-shirt with his picture on it and our special purple pen as Julia called it with a little Eeyore on the top.
Me, 31, Mom, trip imagineer
Nana, 58, worlds best grandmother, corporate sponsor
Julia, 2 ¾ , little princess, worlds youngest expert on Disney characters
Day Three- Monday
Animal Kingdom and MGM
Since the opening time of Animal Kingdom was changed to 9:00, we decided not to go for our 8:00 PS at the Rainforest Café. As we went through the lobby this morning we noticed that Minnie Mouse, Captain Hook and Mr. Smee were there! Julia was happy to meet Minnie but wanted nothing to do with the pirates. I was more than happy to have my picture taken with them! We also saw them several other mornings in the lobby. We showed up at the Rainforest Café about 8:30 and didnt have any trouble getting a table. We all had the Tonga Toast and it was yummy. We had never been to a RFC and the décor is very fun. Total cost was about $37 with tip.
We entered the park and headed for Camp Mickey Minnie. First we met some characters in their greeting areas Goofy, Mickey and Daisy Duck. Then we went to see Festival of the Lion King. What a show! This has to be the best show at Disney World. We all enjoyed it. Unfortunately this was not a day when the Pocahontas show was scheduled so we decided to come back another morning for that. We headed up to Africa where Nana got a Fastpass for the Safari. We went through the Pangani trail together then Julia and I headed to Rafikis Planet Watch. My only real goal in going there was to see Pocahontas and luckily she was there. The narrow path from the train station to the building is maddening because of very slow moving people. We spent some time inside cooling off and meeting Pocahontas. Then we headed out to the petting area where Julia groomed a few goats. We headed back on the train to meet Nana at Tusker House for lunch. Julia fell asleep in her stroller so we had lunch while she slept. The peanut crusted chicken was very good (although a bit spicy for me). Meal cost was about $22.
We left the Tusker House hoping Julia would sleep to the car and on the way back to the hotel. No such luck. She woke up and we decided it would be easier to get her lunch at the park so we stopped at Pizzafari for the kids pretzel grilled cheese meal. Julia wasnt very hungry but I tried it and I think it was delicious! We headed back to the hotel to rest a little, freshen up and then headed back out to MGM on the Friendship boat launch.
Heading down Hollywood Boulevard I was able to get a Guest of Honor pin for Julia (which she pretty much refused to wear anyway!) but they didnt have my name. We decided we would line up to see the new parade Stars & Motorcars. Normally we never line up for parades when we visit Disney, just not parade people I guess. But this one was definitely worth it. We found a good spot just 30 minutes before start time near the Emmy statue just behind the rope. We werent on the street but since a cast member kept the roped entry clear, we could see the street perfectly. The parade is wonderful and full of many of our favorite characters. We then hoped to get a Fastpass for the last Voyage of the Little Mermaid but they were gone for the day. We got in the very long line at Playhouse Disney and just made it in. This show is a lot of fun for toddlers familiar with the shows. They did a nice job of expanding it from just Bear in the Big Blue House to several other Playhouse Disney shows. I was sorry that they hadnt included PB&J Otter.
Tip for the day: Make an effort to see at least one parade during your stay. We had never made this a priority on previous visits but I was very glad we did this time. It can be frustrating to have to find a spot and just wait but once during a vacation, its probably worth it.
When we came out it was raining again so we headed to see Walt Disney: One Mans Dream. The 15 minute movie was very interesting to us adults but barely held Julias attention, especially just after the fun Playhouse Disney show. When we came out it was pouring rain and our stroller was soaked. We put on ponchos and realized we had almost an hour to kill before our PS time at the 50s Prime Time Café. We headed over to the Muppets 3D movie. I love the Muppets but I dont think this movie that great. Julia wouldnt wear the glasses. She did enjoy getting a Miss Piggy doll in the gift shop afterward.
We headed over to the 50s Prime Time Café hoping to get in a little early. While I was in the restroom, the hostess came up to Julia and asked about her new doll is Miss Piggy your favorite character? And Julia says, as if to an idiot, shes not a character shes a muppet. And then we got our table. Our first visit to this restaurant was about 10 years ago on our first visit to MGM. It was the first time I ever liked onion rings. Im happy to report their onion rings and milkshakes are as delicious as always. I had the meatloaf and Nana had the shrimp pasta. Julia had chicken nuggets (again). We all enjoyed the meal and even though I buried my green beans under my leftover mashed potatoes, Aunt Elaine didnt yell at me. I got away with that old trick. Total cost was $55 with tip and we considered it a good value.
Day Four- Tuesday
Magic Kingdom
This was a BIG morning for us up early to have breakfast with the princesses at the castle! We drove to the park because we didnt want to be late. But they were slow in getting ready for showtime this morning and wouldnt let anyone in the park until about 8:15. We were assured that we wouldnt miss our PS times but it was still frustrating. We arrived at the castle, were promptly seated and a flurry of princesses came our way! The first to visit us was Mary Poppins one of our very favorites! I was nearly in tears I was so happy. She signed the autograph book and told Julia that she must eat a proper breakfast so she could be a strong princess. We were then visited by Cinderella (who was impressed with Julias little Cinderella dress), Prince Charming, Princess Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) and Snow White. We didnt have much time to eat at first because it seemed to be one visit after another. It was such fun! When we finally did eat breakfast we thought it was very good. I loved the stuffed French toast and the potatoes. Julia ate her pancake and a croissant. The chocolate muffins were more like dessert than breakfast and very yummy. Before leaving one of the hostesses gave Julia some pixie dust. She was very impressed and remembered later that day that she should put some under her pillow. I saved some in my pockets all day for her and even brought it home to include in our scrapbook.
We finished breakfast with enough time to enjoy the quiet first hour of the park. Our first stop was Its a Small World. Julia actually liked this ride! Yay! Then we headed to Tomorrowland to try Buzz Lightyears Space Ranger Spin. Since Julia had not done too well on the inside rides before, we decided to start off with the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, or better known in our family by the old name of Wedway People Mover. This is one of Nanas favorites its just her speed. I make fun of her for liking it so much but I like it too. Julia enjoyed it and said she wanted to visit Buzz. The line wasnt more than 5 minutes and we were off to fight Zurg. Julia was the pilot so it was a bumpy ride and we didnt score many points but we had a lot of fun.
We took a quick trip to Toontown and visited Minnies house and the Fair where we saw Cinderella (again) and two of her mice friends, Suzy and Perla. After looking at the Barnstormer, we decided Julia probably wouldnt like it. So we hopped on the MK Railroad to the train station at the front of the park and headed back to our hotel.
Tip for the day: The Magic Kingdom Railroad is a life saver when you are tired and cant stand the idea of a long walk down Main Street to exit the park.
We took a short nap and then a quick swim. Our dinner was scheduled for 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian so we decided to enjoy the last couple hours at the Magic Kingdom before that. We went to the Country Bear Jamboree. I think this was the original show which I hadnt seen in many years. It seems they ran a vacation-themed show for a lot of years but it seems to be back to the original. We all enjoyed this old favorite.
While Julia and Nana waited, I took a ride on the new Magic Carpets of Aladdin which was fun. Then we all waited in line for the Jungle Cruise. This was probably our longest line of the week, about 25 minutes (not bad!). It was fun and Julia had a good time. It was nice to see her warming up to all the rides. After the Jungle Cruise, Nana went on Pirates of the Caribbean while Julia and I waited for her in the gift shop.
We took the monorail to the Grand Floridian. While this hotel is very beautiful I saw so many people all dressed up I knew I'd probably not be comfortable staying there. It was amazing how many little girls were beautifully dressed for a buffet dinner with Pooh & friends. We really felt like the bums who came to dinner! While we waited for our table, we spent some time coloring with Piglet. Once seated it seemed to take forever for the characters to get to us. We did manage to get some dinner first. I wasnt too thrilled with this buffet and probably wouldnt visit again. The bread pudding and vanilla sauce was excellent, as I had read. Finally the characters started showing up at our table. While the food was very mediocre, the character interaction was excellent. We had a great time visiting with Tigger, Pooh and Eeyore. I was proud to show Eeyore my new t-shirt with his picture on it and our special purple pen as Julia called it with a little Eeyore on the top.
