Lauralee131
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No pressure or anything, but I'm starting to bloat...and I'm running out of popcorn...
Its Not Christmas Till We Visit The Mouse! Dec. 2006
- Thread starter PrincessV
- Start date
No pressure or anything, but I'm starting to bloat...and I'm running out of popcorn...
Lauralee131
DIS Veteran
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Hi... it's just me...bumping you up! 
it's just me...bumping you up!
Lauralee131
DIS Veteran
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PrincessV said:LOL, thanks Lauralee! This past weekend was so busy, I never even touched the computer, let alone wrote another chapter. I'm hopeful about this week, but, if not, this weekend for sure!
Well of course I'll be waiting sweetie, but it'll be in a sweatsuit as now none of my pants fit anymore...I've been
and I've been 
a lilttle more than I should while I waited!! 
Disneyland_Mama
<marquee><font color=peach>His head instantly infl
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PrincessV said:LOL, thanks Lauralee! This past weekend was so busy, I never even touched the computer, let alone wrote another chapter. I'm hopeful about this week, but, if not, this weekend for sure!
Excuse me.... did you say weekend????
You do realize today is Monday.... the weekend is like 5 days away????
I'm going to burst from the popcorn bloat. Look away, peeps, this won't be pretty!
Lauralee131
DIS Veteran
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Disneyland_Mama said:Excuse me.... did you say weekend????
You do realize today is Monday.... the weekend is like 5 days away????
I'm going to burst from the popcorn bloat. Look away, peeps, this won't be pretty!
Me too, me too...sadly though, I forgot to go to the store and I'm out of popcorn. And I have PMS. My thoughts have turned to other "snacks"...
I did, fortunately for me, receive a large box of Godiva chocolates from someone at work today...
Yes, Virginia, there is a santa claus!!
PrincessV
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Day 2: Friday December 1st
We began our first "real” WDW day with a healthy breakfast in our POR room. To be fair, I wasn’t at all concerned with the healthiness of an in-room breakfast. I was concerned with us getting out the door on time. Not one of our group can start the day without breakfast, and past experience told me that going to the food court took waaay too long. We had a bus to catch!
So cereal was eaten, showers were taken, clothing was donned and we headed to the nearest bus stop for Leo and Gramma’s first taste of public transportation, Disney-style. My plan was to get to the bus stop at 8am. We were pretty close: 8:10. Almost as soon as we arrived, a bus rounded the corner. Could it be? Couldn’t possibly… wait… it IS! Our chariot to the Magic Kingdom had arrived with a wait time of 0 minutes. Have a Magical Day!
This may as well have been a ride, as far as Leo was concerned:
He really enjoyed the bus!
As we approached the entrance, I felt just the slightest bit of trepidation. If you’ll recall, the original plan had us visiting the MK the following day, the second day of parade taping and a Sat. I added an extra night just so we could hit the MK on this Friday instead, which was deemed to be the best day to visit by the experts. But it was still a parade taping day, and I just wasn’t sure what those crowds would look like as we entered.
I needn’t have worried at all! They had the parade folks waiting behind the turnstiles, all the way to the right, while the rest of us were allowed to enter on the left and await the grand opening ceremony. More pixie dust for us!
Everyone waited with baited breath as the train pulled in…
And drove right through with no characters anywhere in sight. What happened??
No time to ponder, though, because the ropes had dropped and we were moving as one giant mass through the archways. Time to put our master plan in motion.
The wait times for Buzz Lightyear are totally unpredictable. It can be 10 minutes on a busy day and 30 on a slow day. So I know to get Fast Passes right away and return later. But. We also need to make a beeline to Dumbo or risk waiting for all eternity to get on this prettied-up fair ride that makes Leo smile like few things do. So while I boogied over to Buzz for FP’s, Gramma and Leo beat feet to the back of the park.
I need to take a moment here to say how very proud I was of Gramma that day. She loses all sense of direction at WDW and relies on me to know where we’re going. I could tell she was really nervous about splitting up, but she did it and she and Leo had a blast getting their ride on sans MommyV!
I, meanwhile, noticed something alarming and exciting in Tomorrowland:
Do you see it?
NO CROWDS!!! And,
A 5 minute wait for Space Mountain. I got in line and called Gramma’s cell to let her know what I was doing…. no answer. Shoot. We talked about this the previous night. “Make sure you have your cell phone in case we need to call when we’re split up.” Apparently I forgot to specify that it should be turned on and able to ring.
Oh well. I know she won’t go anywhere else without me, so she’ll just wait a couple more minutes outside Dumbo.
I love Space Mountain. Love it, love it, love it. It’s really not that great, as far as coasters go. Kind of reminds me of the Wild Mouse I rode as a kid up north. But Space Mountain was the very first coaster I rode, so it has a special place in my heart. It was on one of my first visits to WDW, with my Dad, and we waited 2 and a half hours in line to ride. And it was worth every minute! I grew up 1500 miles away from my Dad, and we were never close, but each time I ride Space Mtn., I think of him and the fun we had on that trip. That one was for you Dad.
I tried calling Gramma again when I got out, but still no answer. I found her and Leo waiting outside Dumbo, looking around for me, and I quickly herded us over to Winnie the Pooh for the first of many trips we took through the Hundred Acre Wood. Next, we flew off to Neverland with Peter and Tink.
According to the itinerary, it should have been about 9:30 and we should have been heading to see It’s a Small World and Aladdin’s Carpets.
But it wasn’t 9:30. It was 10:10.
Where did all that time go? I mean, we only did 3 rides (I’ll count Dumbo and SM as one, since we were all riding at the same time.) As I usher Leo and Gramma over toward Toontown, the problem with our space-time continuum becomes clear: Gramma walks s l o w. Really slow. Insanely slow. As I tried to hurry her along a bit, I mentally reviewed the rest of the itinerary and realized we’d have to dump a good many of the planned attractions for that day. Good thing we’d be back to the MK at least once more on this trip.
Only a 5 minute wait and Leo was happily diving through Goofy’s barn on the Barnstormer. It was our mini-trip in Sept. that turned Leo into the coaster enthusiast I’d hoped he’d be, and he was just as excited this trip.
We headed over to Big Thunder Mountain next, and I got the picture I missed in Sept.:
And, like in Sept., Leo was done with BTMRR after one spin through the willerness. He said it was “cool”, but wasn’t interested in riding again that trip. He also still couldn’t be convinced to ride Splash Mountain. Oh well, gives us one more new thing to try someday down the road.
We still had a little time before lunch, so we jumped into a non-existent line for Pirates of the Caribbean and Leo belted out his new favorite song: “Yo ho, Yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!” We tried to look like menacing pirates…
But we’re not very good at it.
It was time for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. Not a lot to say about this one. Food wasn’t great, though service was fine. Leo didn’t want anything on the kid’s menu. I can’t say as I blame him – it looked to be the same menu he’d seen the previous night at Boatwright’s. I ordered the fried cheese appetizer for his lunch, but he just got crankier and crankier and refused to eat. So I was forced to eat his meal AND mine. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.
Post lunch, we needed a little down time to digest so we set off for the misadventures of the Jungle Cruise. A very nice CM was cleaning up the stroller area while I was parking ours and he joked with us a bit. 15 minutes later, guess who was driving our boat?! Mad props to Matt, our stellar JC Guide – he rocked the spiel!
Then came one of the funniest moments of the day: Matt had just made a comment about the mist as he successfully navigated us past the back-side of water and Leo says (loudly) “Where’s the mist? He MISSED!!” Looks like my boy’s got a future in Disney entertainment, folks.
After fortifying ourselves with ice cream at Sunshine Tree Terrace, (I KNOW what you're thinking... "Where's the DOLE WHIPS??" Alas, PrincessV and son are allergic to pineapple,) we made our way over to our date with Buzz, Leo’s absolute, favorite ride. And, my score improved: 233,000. Still a long way to go. Leo wanted to ride again and there was a 10 minute wait, so we did. Take that Zurg!
It was really time to head out, but first a spin on the TTA.
Leo had been scowling in every picture, so we thought it would be funny if I scowled too. See what happens when you try to out-smart a 4 year old?
There’s our Pal!! We brought him to the MK with us, despite Leo’s objections. Every time Pal giggled, Leo hid his face and told me to “turn it off.” Gramma and I kept listening in each time Pal vibrated, waiting for him to provide some inside information we could use to our touring advantage. All he did was tell dumb jokes and provide details anyone who’s read the Birnbaum’s WDW guide should know. By the end of the day, Gramma, too, hated Pal. See how she’s smiling with glee in that picture? That’s because she was threatening to throw him overboard. TFI.
As we headed out the gates, I tried to gather the troops for a group shot by the Christmas tree. No way Jose. No one was cooperating. So I leave you with this lovely shot of the tree, and none of us in it.
Next: Cruisin’, on a Friday afternoon….
We began our first "real” WDW day with a healthy breakfast in our POR room. To be fair, I wasn’t at all concerned with the healthiness of an in-room breakfast. I was concerned with us getting out the door on time. Not one of our group can start the day without breakfast, and past experience told me that going to the food court took waaay too long. We had a bus to catch!
So cereal was eaten, showers were taken, clothing was donned and we headed to the nearest bus stop for Leo and Gramma’s first taste of public transportation, Disney-style. My plan was to get to the bus stop at 8am. We were pretty close: 8:10. Almost as soon as we arrived, a bus rounded the corner. Could it be? Couldn’t possibly… wait… it IS! Our chariot to the Magic Kingdom had arrived with a wait time of 0 minutes. Have a Magical Day!
This may as well have been a ride, as far as Leo was concerned:
He really enjoyed the bus!
As we approached the entrance, I felt just the slightest bit of trepidation. If you’ll recall, the original plan had us visiting the MK the following day, the second day of parade taping and a Sat. I added an extra night just so we could hit the MK on this Friday instead, which was deemed to be the best day to visit by the experts. But it was still a parade taping day, and I just wasn’t sure what those crowds would look like as we entered.
I needn’t have worried at all! They had the parade folks waiting behind the turnstiles, all the way to the right, while the rest of us were allowed to enter on the left and await the grand opening ceremony. More pixie dust for us!
Everyone waited with baited breath as the train pulled in…
And drove right through with no characters anywhere in sight. What happened??
No time to ponder, though, because the ropes had dropped and we were moving as one giant mass through the archways. Time to put our master plan in motion.The wait times for Buzz Lightyear are totally unpredictable. It can be 10 minutes on a busy day and 30 on a slow day. So I know to get Fast Passes right away and return later. But. We also need to make a beeline to Dumbo or risk waiting for all eternity to get on this prettied-up fair ride that makes Leo smile like few things do. So while I boogied over to Buzz for FP’s, Gramma and Leo beat feet to the back of the park.
I need to take a moment here to say how very proud I was of Gramma that day. She loses all sense of direction at WDW and relies on me to know where we’re going. I could tell she was really nervous about splitting up, but she did it and she and Leo had a blast getting their ride on sans MommyV!
I, meanwhile, noticed something alarming and exciting in Tomorrowland:
Do you see it?
NO CROWDS!!! And,
A 5 minute wait for Space Mountain. I got in line and called Gramma’s cell to let her know what I was doing…. no answer. Shoot. We talked about this the previous night. “Make sure you have your cell phone in case we need to call when we’re split up.” Apparently I forgot to specify that it should be turned on and able to ring.
Oh well. I know she won’t go anywhere else without me, so she’ll just wait a couple more minutes outside Dumbo.
I love Space Mountain. Love it, love it, love it. It’s really not that great, as far as coasters go. Kind of reminds me of the Wild Mouse I rode as a kid up north. But Space Mountain was the very first coaster I rode, so it has a special place in my heart. It was on one of my first visits to WDW, with my Dad, and we waited 2 and a half hours in line to ride. And it was worth every minute! I grew up 1500 miles away from my Dad, and we were never close, but each time I ride Space Mtn., I think of him and the fun we had on that trip. That one was for you Dad.
I tried calling Gramma again when I got out, but still no answer. I found her and Leo waiting outside Dumbo, looking around for me, and I quickly herded us over to Winnie the Pooh for the first of many trips we took through the Hundred Acre Wood. Next, we flew off to Neverland with Peter and Tink.
According to the itinerary, it should have been about 9:30 and we should have been heading to see It’s a Small World and Aladdin’s Carpets.
But it wasn’t 9:30. It was 10:10.
Where did all that time go? I mean, we only did 3 rides (I’ll count Dumbo and SM as one, since we were all riding at the same time.) As I usher Leo and Gramma over toward Toontown, the problem with our space-time continuum becomes clear: Gramma walks s l o w. Really slow. Insanely slow. As I tried to hurry her along a bit, I mentally reviewed the rest of the itinerary and realized we’d have to dump a good many of the planned attractions for that day. Good thing we’d be back to the MK at least once more on this trip.
Only a 5 minute wait and Leo was happily diving through Goofy’s barn on the Barnstormer. It was our mini-trip in Sept. that turned Leo into the coaster enthusiast I’d hoped he’d be, and he was just as excited this trip.
We headed over to Big Thunder Mountain next, and I got the picture I missed in Sept.:
And, like in Sept., Leo was done with BTMRR after one spin through the willerness. He said it was “cool”, but wasn’t interested in riding again that trip. He also still couldn’t be convinced to ride Splash Mountain. Oh well, gives us one more new thing to try someday down the road.
We still had a little time before lunch, so we jumped into a non-existent line for Pirates of the Caribbean and Leo belted out his new favorite song: “Yo ho, Yo ho, a pirate’s life for me!” We tried to look like menacing pirates…
But we’re not very good at it.
It was time for lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. Not a lot to say about this one. Food wasn’t great, though service was fine. Leo didn’t want anything on the kid’s menu. I can’t say as I blame him – it looked to be the same menu he’d seen the previous night at Boatwright’s. I ordered the fried cheese appetizer for his lunch, but he just got crankier and crankier and refused to eat. So I was forced to eat his meal AND mine. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it.
Post lunch, we needed a little down time to digest so we set off for the misadventures of the Jungle Cruise. A very nice CM was cleaning up the stroller area while I was parking ours and he joked with us a bit. 15 minutes later, guess who was driving our boat?! Mad props to Matt, our stellar JC Guide – he rocked the spiel!
Then came one of the funniest moments of the day: Matt had just made a comment about the mist as he successfully navigated us past the back-side of water and Leo says (loudly) “Where’s the mist? He MISSED!!” Looks like my boy’s got a future in Disney entertainment, folks.
After fortifying ourselves with ice cream at Sunshine Tree Terrace, (I KNOW what you're thinking... "Where's the DOLE WHIPS??" Alas, PrincessV and son are allergic to pineapple,) we made our way over to our date with Buzz, Leo’s absolute, favorite ride. And, my score improved: 233,000. Still a long way to go. Leo wanted to ride again and there was a 10 minute wait, so we did. Take that Zurg!
It was really time to head out, but first a spin on the TTA.
Leo had been scowling in every picture, so we thought it would be funny if I scowled too. See what happens when you try to out-smart a 4 year old?
There’s our Pal!! We brought him to the MK with us, despite Leo’s objections. Every time Pal giggled, Leo hid his face and told me to “turn it off.” Gramma and I kept listening in each time Pal vibrated, waiting for him to provide some inside information we could use to our touring advantage. All he did was tell dumb jokes and provide details anyone who’s read the Birnbaum’s WDW guide should know. By the end of the day, Gramma, too, hated Pal. See how she’s smiling with glee in that picture? That’s because she was threatening to throw him overboard. TFI.
As we headed out the gates, I tried to gather the troops for a group shot by the Christmas tree. No way Jose. No one was cooperating. So I leave you with this lovely shot of the tree, and none of us in it.
Next: Cruisin’, on a Friday afternoon….
sharkB8HooHaHa
DIS Veteran
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V,
We are keeping each other entertained today! Little Bite 1 just looked over at that photo of Tomorrowland and said "We've GOT to go next December! There is NO ONE there!" Great photos. And I am truly sorry about your pineapple allergy. I am a Dole Whip convert. Never thought I would be, but I am.
Thanks for writing!
We are keeping each other entertained today! Little Bite 1 just looked over at that photo of Tomorrowland and said "We've GOT to go next December! There is NO ONE there!" Great photos. And I am truly sorry about your pineapple allergy. I am a Dole Whip convert. Never thought I would be, but I am.
Thanks for writing!
monymony3471
DIS Veteran
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- May 17, 2005
- Messages
- 7,027
The no waits have me going back between Thanksgiving and X-mas the rest of my life! It was so nice to have my own walking space.
Leo is a cutie!
Leo is a cutie!
Disney owl
DIS Veteran
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Thanks for sharing
Disneyland_Mama
<marquee><font color=peach>His head instantly infl
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PrincessV said:
Do you see what I see? Besides cutie pie, little Leo?
That man in the background.... doesn't he have a lime green tag hanging from his backpack? Could that be a DIS-ER?
Great start... I love how empty eveything is. I don't understand the whole "Let's watch the taping of the parade!" thing. I mean, why waste precious park time when you can see it on TV just like the rest of us??
Anyhoo... I love the photos, especially of you scowling!!
Thanks for posting!!!
Lauralee131
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Disneyland_Mama said:
OMG - are you checking out his butt???
Lauralee131
DIS Veteran
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PrincessV said:Day 2: Friday December 1st
I, meanwhile, noticed something alarming and exciting in Tomorrowland:
Do you see it?
NO CROWDS!!!
OMG!! Did you feel like Tammy Spengler or WHAT?!?!? You should have called me!! I was wasting time at Epcot or something!! How cool is that?!?!?
PrincessV said:
WHAT?!?!?!? Allergic to pineapple?!?! How can that be?!?!?!
PrincessV said:It was really time to head out, but first a spin on the TTA.
Leo had been scowling in every picture, so we thought it would be funny if I scowled too. See what happens when you try to out-smart a 4 year old? .
Too funny...been there, done that!!! Can't out-smart a 5 year old either...in fact it gets harder to even TRY to out-smart him!Hey - noticed the crocs...how were your feet at the end of the day? I thought about buying them because most people I've talked to swear by them, but...I can't just push myself off into the deep end yet...
Not very brave....
Thank you for making my evening with another installment...although I almost wrecked my car trying to read it on the drive home from work...Long story...
This
plus this 
plus this 
equals this ::cop: How come certain "people" in authority don't appreciate multi-tasking???Disneyland_Mama
<marquee><font color=peach>His head instantly infl
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Lauralee131 said:OMG - are you checking out his butt???
Yes, AND I couldn't help but notice how hungry it must have been, since it's eating up his shorts!
aldisneygrl
<font color=green>I'm putting on my shades<br><fon
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PrincessV said:
Did you remember to put Leo on the "Non Squish" side this time, or did you squash that cute little boy like a bug again?
Gramma looked like she had the "Mean Lady" (borrowed from UM and GlendaMax's TR about their CM at the Tea Party) smile.
Isn't it funny how kids will always do the opposite of what you expect them to do?
Looks like Gramma was sporting a Lime Green bag! Would expect nothing less from PrincessV's mama!
BONITATIME
<font color=blue>I like to drink all year out of o
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I love your photos and can't wait for the rest of your trip.
Lauralee131
DIS Veteran
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- 2,344
Disneyland_Mama said:
Yes, AND I couldn't help but notice how hungry it must have been, since it's eating up his shorts!
OMG - you are TOO funny!!
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