Chapter 6-
Wednesday at MK afternoon/evening
This Disney day was probably the best day of our entire vacation, but as you will see.....no photos. 
We took some fantastic video, but alas we (Dad) left the battery for the camera at the house. I (Mom) take over video/camera duty for the remainder of the vacation. Two strikes and you are out in my book. 
Today was going to be an all-dayer. At least my plan said so. We were discussing my plan for the next day while swimming in our house pool. No one wanted to rush to rope drop in the morning. I wasn't too excited about a dawn to midnight day either. Plus the weather man was saying Wednesday had the biggest thread of severe weather of the week.
We decided to sleep in, go out for a hearty lunch, and get to MK in the afternoon. We would stay until close. There went another precious ADR for Crystal Palace. No one seemed to care, but me so I sucked it up and grabbed my unofficial book. The kids went for a morning swim and I poured over our out-of-the-world options. I decided that we could go to
Bahama Breezes and check out the International Drive area. Everyone got changed and we headed out. We were immediately thankful that we were on the quiet side of 192. International Drive was a zoo that afternoon and had tons of construction. We found the restaurant and was seated immediately. William wasn't happy. He wanted spaghetti (he could eat it at every meal). He was tired of the kids fare (who can blame him?). We told him he could order anything off the menu, but he still wasn't happy. The waiter came over and Willliam keep interrupting. He is such a smartie pants. He knew exactly what to say to get a reaction from the entire room. He commented on how lousy the music was. He told the waiter to go away. He said that the food had mites it in (where in the heck did he think up mites??) He refused to order. Of course I know this is all going to blow over, so we all as a family go into "ignore him zone". The kids color and I sip my Goombay Smash (yummy). He is quite stubborn and sticks to his guns during the appetizers, but he is full of apologies by the time the entrees arrive. Mom, of course, has ordered for him and he happily eats his chicken fingers.
We make it back home before the rain. We decide to let everyone take a nap in preparation for our first big night. My kids are larks, rarely up past 9, so I was uncertain if we would make it through the fireworks.
We were up and on the ferry to MK around 4. In the pouring rain. Buckets full. No ponchos.
The rain had turned into a muggy mist by the time we were through the gates. My plan was to hit
Frontierland and
Adventureland first. We took the train to Frontierland. The fast passes for Splash were for 9pm and it wasn't our plan to come back there in the evening.
Mountain Railroad's standby line was 10 minutes so we hopped on while Holly and Dad played in the toddler area. They kept making an announcement as we waited. The CM said that a storm was approaching MK and they might have to close the ride at any moment. The rain was increasing a bit, but no thunder or lightning yet. We made it on and took a very wet ride! I think it actually added to the fun! Everyone loved it and we joined Dad.
Splash had a 20 minute wait and I volunteered to wait with Holly this time around. Secretly I wanted some of that great smelling popcorn nearby. Holly and I grab a bucket and a soda and headed to the "big drop" in hopes of catching them on the ride. We found them as they first entered, but the crowd had grown so much around us that we missed them during the "splash".
We hopped on
BTMR again before we left the area. The "big storm" must have blown over. The rain was more like a drizzle now.
Sidebar.....
We started for Adventureland, but was swept up with the crowd towards Liberty Square. I soon realized what was happening and made a u-turn quickly. I wanted to avoid LS at all costs. You see, I'm the Halloweenqueen. I've had that little nickname since a teenager. Every year my house is decked out with every decoration imaginable. I had Haunted mansion books as a kid. I took inspiration from a lot of the props used in HM for my own display. I wore out my HM record. I have wanted to see HM for 30 years now! I finally get around to going to WDW and the ride is closed. I found this out months before the trip, thanks to DIS. That is why a second trip was immediately planned. At least I can look forward to HM in October. Until then I didn't even want to walk past it. There would be no boat ride or walk through LS. No Tom Sawyer Island or Hall of Presidents. That area was dead to me.
We finally made our way to Adventureland. We missed the taco place, so we decided to find Pecos Bill's. We find
Pirates first and decided to hop on with the 10 minute standby line. 45 minutes later we were through. We adore POC. I think it wins as the family favorite for MK.
It is turning dusky so I bring out the glow stick necklaces and bracelets. I look at a nearby clock and it says a quarter to 8. We have completely forgotten about dinner at this point and start to head to
Jungle Cruise to check-out the standby line. It says 60 minutes, so we hop across the street to the
Tiki Room. TR is very cute, but very loud. And this is coming from a woman who has been to every hair band concert that comes into town. We exit and the kids are determined to get on the
Magic Carpets. Dad volunteers to bring Holly on, so I stay with the stroller, hoping for some good photos. There really isn't a great place for pictures, so I stand there and strike up a converation with a CM. I ask her where a good place is to watch the Spectro parade and then stay for Wishes. She answers "Main Street". I say "I wonder if we can make it there to get a good spot in time". She laughs and says the parade has probably already been through that area.
"What's the time?", I ask her. About 9:20. She goes on to explain that the Tiki Room's last show was at 9. That must have been our show. Which means we (I) misread the clock around POC by an hour. The wonderful CM tells me that we can probably catch the parade behind the Flying Carpets if we hurry. The Fam gets off the ride and start to beg for a second ride. I tell them to rush and follow me. We go behind through the cut through to Frontierland and see the parade coming in the distance. We hadn't missed it! My husband just rolls his eyes and the kids get seats right by the rope. Spectro was wonderful! I have some of the best video of our trip from this night! The kids got to shake hands with many of the characters. The floats were amazing!
We cross back into Adventureland when it is over and head towards the Castle. The weather has completely cleared now and it looks like we are going to have a terrific show. We are able to get our towels down in the hub where the trolley turns down Main Street. Tinkerbell flew directly over our heads and the fireworks were pure magic.
I tell my crew that we will head to Cosmic Rays afterward for some dinner. I was amazed that everyone tells me no....they don't want to waste any time with eating and want to head straight for the rides in
Tomorrowland. We braces ourselves as we cross all the traffic leaving the park (really wasn't too bad) and head into our favorite area of MK. The baby is now asleep in her stroller, so Dad and I take turns with the older kids. We ride
Buzz, Stitch, TTA, Orbiter, etc, with little wait. It is eleven before we know it and they are blocking the queue lines. We had hoped they would keep them open during the last parade. We are worried that getting out is going to be a problem with the parade going down Mainstreet, but make it out easily. We make it to the ferry and strain to catch a glimpse or two of the Castle.
Even with the rain, it turned out to be a perfect MK day. Of course I need to take a remedial course in telling time, but we did okay. It is now past midnight and no one has eaten since 12! We jump into the trusty Mickey D's drive through for some quick eats. We are in bed around 1am.
Everyone wishes we had another MK day on our plan. I'm starting to think we might change an approaching MGM day. We will see how our first MGM day goes before making a decision. Tomorrow is our "
Beach Day".
You have to stick around for my Thursday Installment. It is a hoot! You have to see how the A-team goes tropical!
Next Installment-
Chapter 7- Sunburned noses, crab-bitten toes, and cheeseburgers in paradise!
So, I was there when they opened this morning and I bought 9 kids shirts @1.50 each, then 6 adult shirts @ 2.50 each. I finished our name shirts, but I have to do the WDW ones later b/c I ran out of iron-on paper for darks. boohoo! Thanks for the tip!
Ahh, another adventurer in Autism.....
night at the Magic Kingdom!! I love, love, love SpectroMagic and we always view it from FrontierLand or Liberty Square, so you guys wound up in the perfect spot!
You got loads done even with a late start 
The title of your next chapter has me a bit worried.....
