How do I go back to a world that doesn't have fireworks every night?

[qder123]

Looks wonderful!

 

[jecskc]

I wanted to tell you something that might be interesting to you and other readers. When you are on the dining plan, all CS credits are the same. So you don't HAVE to get the children's meals if you don't want to. Now for table service, you have to order a kid's meal. I learned this here on the Dis and a CM confirmed it on our trip in June. Just an interesting little factoid. Looking forward to reading more.

 

[Moodyzblu]

I wanted to tell you something that might be interesting to you and other readers. When you are on the dining plan, all CS credits are the same. So you don't HAVE to get the children's meals if you don't want to. Now for table service, you have to order a kid's meal. I learned this here on the Dis and a CM confirmed it on our trip in June. Just an interesting little factoid. Looking forward to reading more.

That's good to know !

 

[IheartDDuck]

I wanted to tell you something that might be interesting to you and other readers. When you are on the dining plan, all CS credits are the same. So you don't HAVE to get the children's meals if you don't want to. Now for table service, you have to order a kid's meal. I learned this here on the Dis and a CM confirmed it on our trip in June. Just an interesting little factoid. Looking forward to reading more.

I was going to comment the same thing. They don't differentiate between the credits for CS. A CM actually told us that when we visited in July, because we were commenting that the kids menu was all the same thing, and they told us we could order an adult meal for my nephew.

Love the photopass pictures! Looks like you had a great day at AK so far. The Chester and Hester area of the park is definitely my least favorite. There is an interesting background story to that side of the park that gives more clarity, but it's still a little lame.

 

[solana131]

The Chester and Hester area of the park is definitely my least favorite. There is an interesting background story to that side of the park that gives more clarity, but it's still a little lame.

I read a blog on AllEars about that. It definitely made it more interresting, there just wasn't alot for a 5 year old to do there. I wanted to ride Primeval Whirl, but couldn't get anyone else to go with me. I hate riding rides by myself, with the exception of Space Mountain as you will soon see

 

[solana131]

Oh, I forgot to mention that after dinner Mom, Bradey and I went over to MK really quick to just introduce him to that park. The next day we were going to spend at MK, so we wanted him to see it at night first.

We basically did the walk up Main Street to the castle and back. We rode the train around one full loop, but you can't see much in the dark. That was it. We hopped back on the monorail and went to bed.

 

[KatMark]

Sorry I missed the last two updates, Suzi (we've had some excitement going on at home that has had me preoccupied the last two days...the news is posted in my TR).

I love the updates. Sorry you didn't like Dinosaur -- it is one of my favoritets. We let the girls plan in the Boneyard and it was hard getting them out of there...it is the best playground at Disney as far as I am concerned.

Love the photopass pictures of your DS with the characters; I can see him wondering what the heck that photographer was talking about.

 

[solana131]

Monday Feb 6th was our Magic Kingdom day! I was so looking forward to this. I just couldn't wait to share this with my son. And it didn't disappoint

We got up early and ran to Capt Cooks for breakfast. We didn't want to take too much time because I wanted to get there for rope drop and the Welcome ceremony. It was great. We were about 20 mins early and there was already quite a crowd. So I had the brilliant idea to watch it from just outside the gates. We went through bag check then grabbed a spot at the front on the round flower display/bench thingy. It worked great. We were right in the middle and had a great view without being pushed and shoved with the crowd.

Thats us in the background and to the right. It was a great spot. This inlaid castle in the brick was really cool, I bet lots of people walk right by it on their way in the gates. Its between the bag check and the ticket gates.

So we watched the show. See how much Bradey liked it...

Okay, so maybe that's not an excited looking face, but he really did enjoy that show. He was so excited when the train pulled up and all the characters got off.

So after the show everyone crowded under the "tunnel" to get in. By the time we were through the turnstyles, they had already cleared for the most part. It was good planning on my part *pats herself on back*

We walked slowly down Main Street and commented on how different it looked during the day.

See, not too busy by the time we got there.

We stopped a few times for some photopass pics along the way. Bill and Dad were grumbling every time we stopped. They don't like pictures. Oh well...

Loved this one!

He is showing you his muscles....in case you couldn't figure that out

I love this little man!

We played around a little in the hub.

Love me some Goofy!

Sun was a little bright

We figured it was time to head over to Fantasyland...

Thru the castle, of course. I had heard on here to do that early because they close it off mid-day while the show is going on.

 

[eeyoremagic]

My dh and I were there at the poly the same time as you (5-11). I am so enjoying your trip report. This was our fist stay at the poly and it is my new favorite! But we have never stayed anywhere we didn't love! Your family is beautiful. This was a oop trip for us without our dd16 and dd11 to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We are returning with the girls for a dvc stay at AKL - Kidani in April. What a great opportunity to be there with your parents. We are having my parents join us for 3 nights in April ( the end of their month long trip to FLA). Looking forward to reading the rest. Thanks or sharing your trip!

 

[solana131]

My dh and I were there at the poly the same time as you (5-11). I am so enjoying your trip report. This was our fist stay at the poly and it is my new favorite! But we have never stayed anywhere we didn't love! Your family is beautiful. This was a oop trip for us without our dd16 and dd11 to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We are returning with the girls for a dvc stay at AKL - Kidani in April. What a great opportunity to be there with your parents. We are having my parents join us for 3 nights in April ( the end of their month long trip to FLA). Looking forward to reading the rest. Thanks or sharing your trip!

Thanks for joining in! Maybe you will be in one of the pics

It was so great having my parents come experience that with us. Not to mention having them pay

 

[solana131]

19 days til I head back to FL!

Just booked our flights! Not Disney this time. My parents decided they didn't want to wait until the end of April to see my little guy. And of course, he is too young to fly by himself....so I guess I just have to go with him.

I love visiting my parents. Cape Coral is such a great part of FL. Lots to do, but not touristy at all. Can't wait. This will be the first time I have ever been down there by myself...well, with Bradey. Before I had him, I went with friends every year. And then went with hubby, then took my grandparents one year. This will be nice to be just me & Bradey with my parents.

First time flying into Ft Lauderdale too. Anyone had that pleasure before? How is it?

 

[Moodyzblu]

Great pics ! Your right, I've never noticed the Castle on the ground ! Now I have to be sure to look for it !

 

[solana131]

The first order of business was to get a few Fantasyland things done. We went straight for Peter Pan first and grabbed some FPs for later. It spit out the Philharmagic ones too, but we didn't need them since it wasn't very busy. So we rode Pan. Bradey's first what I call "typical Disney" ride and he loved it. I think Daddy did too. I kept forgetting that this was his first time too. He grumbled about the amount of pics I took, but overall, he was awesome all week.

After Pan we went across the street to Small World. As you can see by this pic, it was EMPTY!

That was a fun ride too. One I remember well from my early visits. Hasn't changed much

We hopped into Philharmagic while we were right in Fantasyland. I think this show was one of my favorite things we did all week. They didn't have it, or I don't remember it from past trips. It was just so neat how they incorporate so many different movies and songs into it. We all loved it. This wouldn't be our only time seeing it

So I tried to get him to ride Snow White, but he had no interest in it at all. And Pooh already had a big line, so we headed over to Frontierland to ride Splash. Again, no wait at all. We walked right on at around 10 am.

Bradey sat in between Bill and I. I think he liked it. We did get soaked, but I leaned over DS so I got the worst of it. But it was warm enough and it didn't really bother me. If I had known what my butt looked like all wet, I would've worried more....

Yikes! But I didn't know I looked like that until I got home and saw the pics, so all was good.

After Splash (since Thunder Mtn was down) we went to Pirates. I had my doubts whether or not to bring Bradey on this. He hasn't seen the movies and I didn't know if it would be too loud and dark for him. But he liked it. It was much less impressive than I remember it. Not sure if they changed it, but it just didn't have that "wow factor" I remembered. And at the beginning, don't they usually have a mist like waterfall with a pirate projected on it? I thought that would scare Bradey, but they didn't have it. Did they change that, or was it just not working that day?

On to AdventureLand for the Treehouse and Jungle Cruise.

We had a great cruise guide. He made us laugh and roll our eyes and all the stuff he was supposed to do.

Then it was on to the Treehouse. Bradey didn't want to do the mini jungle boats, and it was crowded there, so I didn't push him. He loved teh treehouse though. We took our time going up and looking at every little thing.

Chilling out over by pirates waiting for everyone to use the bathroom.

After the Treehouse we were all ready for lunch, but didn't really want to take the time. So we stopped at Aloha Isle to have some Dole Whips. Gotta say....don't see the big deal here. We can get pineapple soft serve here anytime. But it was okay. I didn't rush into Capt Cooks when we got back for another one or anything, but I'm glad we tried them.

It was around noon now and we wanted to watch the Dream along with Mickey show in front of the castle at 1, so we headed over there to eat our Dole Whips. As we approached the hub, we saw that the Block Party was going on. So we watched the end of that. It was really really loud. Seriously, does Disney think all its guests are hard of hearing? It was bad. So we watched it from a distance

After that got over with we went over in the hub to the benches right in front of the castle to wait for the show and take a break. We sent Dad to grab some FPs for Pooh so we could do that after the show. He came back and said he only had 4 tickets. Ummm...there are 5 of us. Who's ticket was missing?????? And will we find it again??

 

[solana131]

So.....I'm feeling a little alone here, but gotta keep on moving. I keep forgetting things everyday, so I want to get this TR over with before I forget more

So we were waiting for the show to start and found out we were missing a ticket. It turned out to be my moms. They had bought these tickets 4 years ago when they took my nephews and got the no expiration option. So they were not the current design, so that would make it easier to spot. Of course she never signed it, so we didn't have that going for us, and she never recorded the number on the back (even though I told her to way back then). We figured out that Dad had left it in the FP machine over at Peter Pan from earlier that morning. We knew it wasn't still in the machine, and if the CMs had found it they would still have it, so we decided to just stay and watch the show then go over to see if it was still there or not.

While we waited for the show to start...

In the hot hot sun....we spotted a Photopass guy and hopped on board.

He is showing you his muscles in case you can't tell

Soon they started the Dream Along with Mickey show. That was really neat. I have heard some people on here complain about it, but we loved it. Bradey loved seeing the characters talk.

When the show was over we hurried over to Fantasyland to speak with the CMs by the Pan FP machines. It took some time and they seemed doubtful, but they must have switched hands since then because she came out with the old style Goofy pass and I remembered the last few numbers of it. Luck was with us that day

So we skipped over to Pooh to use the 4 FPs we did have (Dad sat this one out since it was his fault we lost mom's).

Gotta say, I'm not in love with the Pooh ride. I don't get motion sickness, but this was bad. Is it always that jerky and uncomfortable? I was almost sick by the time it was over. Thank goodness it is a short ride We strolled around the little shop at the end of Pooh for a bit. My mom and I had seen some bracelets on a lady the other day and we loved them. They had them in the Pooh shop, but she didn't have her money on her, so I slipped 2 to the register and told the lady to hide it from her so I could surprise her with it later. But my mom being my mom, she ran out and got my dad. Luckily I saw him before he was rung up. But it kinda ruined the surprise But anyway...these are the sparkly matching bracelets mom and I have.

So after Pooh Bradey started in with the "Can we go back to the hotel now" and the "I'm tired." So we decided it was a good time to take a break. My mom really wanted us to see the parade, but it was too long to wait and we promised her we could see it on our second MK day that week.

So we headed out to the monorail.

We decided to try the express monorail instead of the resort monorail to see how much time it saved us. Getting off at the TTC and walking over was a nice change and we did that quiet often. If it isn't right at park opening/closing it is usually less busy to do this. And they have some fun decorations at the TTC.

We had some fun playing around on the beach while the guys took a break.

He could've spent the whole vacation just digging in the sand. Mom and Dad brought a cheap pail/shovel and plastic boat up for him to play with and we just threw it away when we left. She has informed me that she bought a new set for the house down there since we will be there in 16 days! She found a good set at a yardsale for $2. Gotta love those Florida yard sales.

This certainly beats just going back to the Super8 after the parks Hard to tell in these pics, but the Contemporary is to the right of my feet. Space Mtn is in the middle, and the castle to the left. Loved this view!

We loved just watching the monorail and ferry come and go from TTC next door. The ferry blew its whistle quite often, but it never bothered us in our room, so it was no big deal. You could hear the whistle from the train at the main street station too every once in a while. And if the wind was blowing right, you could hear spooky sounds from the Haunted Mansion.

 

[dara00]

my kids kept asking why the characters could talk in the show but not when we met them!

 

[jennyjinx3]

Love that pic of your parents!! Too cute. Great updates!!

 

[solana131]

my kids kept asking why the characters could talk in the show but not when we met them!

Yeah, that one was hard to explain. And why Eeyore and Pluto were walking upright

Love that pic of your parents!! Too cute. Great updates!!

Thanks They had such a good time. I'm so glad we are a close family and can do things like this together without being at eachother's throats. My mom knew how much planning I had put into this trip, so even though they have been much more than me, they just followed my lead the whole trip and we had a nice and relaxing time.

 

[jecskc]

I have never noticed that castle mural in the walkway at MK either. I will have to take the time to check. We have never made MK rope drop, so that is one of our must does next trip. Yay that you got your mom's ticket back !!

 

[DMGeurts]

I just wanted to stop by and say hi... Thanks for all the pics - I just love seeing them, despite the sadness in our house right now, your pictures make me smile and think that it won't be that long until we are there. I kind of needed that today - so thank you.

I loved the picture with your parents, and it looked like your ds was having a great time every where he went - even at the opening ceremony.

D~

 

[solana131]

I just wanted to stop by and say hi... Thanks for all the pics - I just love seeing them, despite the sadness in our house right now, your pictures make me smile and think that it won't be that long until we are there. I kind of needed that today - so thank you.

I loved the picture with your parents, and it looked like your ds was having a great time every where he went - even at the opening ceremony.

You only have 6 days! I wanted to make it to the DTD day because we got to check out French Quarter and Riverside and it was awesome. I can't wait to stay there next time. It is so beautiful. The food court looked like it could get pretty hectic, so get there early It was a nice quick walk up to Riverside and they had lots to do there. Plus, the boats go there first to pick up for DTD, so if its busy, you might get a better seat if you walk up there first. Listen to me, I sound like I stayed there. We were only there for a couple hours, but it just felt very homey and fun. So excited for your trip

I'm not a religious person by any stretch of the imagination, so I am not praying for Ruf. But I am sending you and him virtual hugs every few minutes, so I hope that helps