I had decided the night before that I wasn't going to torture my family by making them get up at the crack of dawn to go to the AK after finally lying down to sleep about 1:00 AM...and AK is not our favorite park...soooo we slept until we woke up. At about 8:00 AM everyone begins to stir...Chief claims he didn't sleep at all, but I know that I only slept a bit in my excitement to finally be at WDW (I kept waking up and looking around to make sure I wasn't dreaming) and everytime I woke up, he was snoring to beat the band. Boo and Lou inherited their father's early morning genes, so they didn't sleep too late, either. We got up and were working on showers and getting dressed when I heard Boo from the balcony saying that she sees the Flag Family on the roof, raising the flags. I proudly say "No, honey, they aren't doing that anymore...I read on the DIS that they aren't" Here's the resulting conversation:
Boo: But, Mom, there
are people up there and they
are doing something with the flags.
Me (as I am towel drying my hair): Honey, I don't know what you are seeing, but I'm telling you...I heard they aren't doing that anymore.
Lou: I'm going to go see.
Chief joins them on the balcony.
Lou and Chief: There
are people on the roof with flags!
Me (running across room to take a look for myself): Oh, my gosh! It
is a Flag Family!!
Chief: Some good that DIS board is!
Me: (nothing...I just scowl)
We finished getting dressed and I made it my mission to investigate further...how could this be true? I
know that someone on the DIS said they don't do this anymore...or did I read it on AllEars? YIKES! We made our way down to the CL food offerings, but I refused to sit down and eat until I had an answer. I asked at the CL desk if they still do the Flag Family. "Yep, we sure do!" I asked if we could do it at some time during our stay and was told that they could go downstairs and ask at the lobby concierge desk because the book was there. I said that I didn't mind going down myself...I just was in such shock! So Boo and I race downstairs and ask at the desk...a nice gentleman got the book....took a look...and it turned out that both Saturday the 7th and Sunday the 8th were available!!! I quickly said Saturday since we were leaving at 4 AM on Sunday and then he told me that only 6 people could go up. I told him mark us down for 6 and I'll settle it with the family before Saturday. Boo and I skipped back upstairs and on the way decided we would try to trick Chief and Lou...we walked up to them with disappointed looks and sighed big sighs. I said, "I have bad news...only 6 of us can be in the Flag Family!!"
Boo was on cloud nine
because if she hadn't known what she was looking at, we never would have asked...I'm going to hunt down that thread or that piece of information that told me that there was no more Flag Family and let everyone know that YES!!! They still do this at the WL!!!
We found muffins, bagels, some kind of fruit turnover pastry, croissants, cereals, fresh fruit, juices and coffee (coffee which I don't drink but Chief said was TERRIBLE!!) and got what we wanted to eat before sitting down at a table to enjoy our first meal. We finished up and headed for the elevator when I remembered that I forgot to add the rest of the crew to our Wishes Cruise reservation and I knew from experience that they need to know the number of people and kids to have life jackets available. I stopped at the CL desk again and was told that I would have to call the resort recreation number and hands me a piece of paper with the number on it. I called right from there on my cell phone and get a voice mailbox...I leave a long-winded and probably very confusing message and before we got off the elevator, was speaking to the resort recreation manager who assured me he changed the reservation right then and there.
Off we went to the AK bus stop, enjoying the BEEEUUUUTIFUL warmth and sunshine and made it to the AK about 10 AM. On the bus ride over, I issued the plan of attack: We would enter AK, walk to EE to get FPs, check to see what time the new Nemo show starts, and then make sure we get to Rafiki's Planet Watch at some point. Before we even made it into the park, we stopped at the gift shop right outside the gates and bought sunglasses for Boo and a visor for Boo, Lou, and Chief. Boo chose a light blue one that says "So not a Princess!", Lou chose a really cute Minnie Mouse visor and Chief got a nice AK one that didn't thrill me as much as a baseball cap (something about my DH in a baseball cap just...well...does it for me!!), but is what he wanted to wear to keep the sun out of his eyes and his head from sweating. While we are there, a CM asked Boo about where she's from and how she's enjoying her vacation so far. Pleasantries exchanged, she then asked Boo if she would like to send a postcard to anyone. Without her best friend's address memorized, she chose to send one home to Nana and Papa...that was a nice touch and we were pleased to see it hanging on their fridge when we went over for dinner last night!
We get into the park, finally, got a show times guide and got our FPs for EE and discovered that the Nemo show won't be starting too soon. We decided to walk over to Dinoland and rode Primeval Whirl with a 10 minute wait (and laughed all the way through the ride). We found ourselves with a little more time to kill, so we decide to check out the wait time for Dinosaur. I tried to talk Boo into going on it for a try and she flat out refused. She and I waited by the exit in the gift shop while Lou and Chief ride with about a 20 minute wait. When they come off, it was almost exactly 30 minutes before the new Nemo show starts, so we found our place in line to wait and were glad the waiting area is shaded. Chief and I exchanged knowing glances complete with little grins as we listen to some ladies in front of us talking about WDW...they really didn't have a clue. I whisper/ask Chief..."Should I give them some advice?" He whispered back "NO!" so I was not very magical and kept my mouth shut. I might have been more forthcoming if they had been paying more attention to their children running around and acting all crazy...I'm a parenting snob sometimes at WDW...can't help it!
We got in the theatre and had just sat down when the cell phone rang...it was Tumor and they were arriving at the WL as we spoke. They had decided to stay at the resort that day to unpack and get settled (I was a little disappointed and thought that it was a waste of the day, but it wasn't a waste of
my day!). We made plans to meet up right before our WCC reservation for dinner and then waited for the show to start.
Pics of us waiting:
Lou and Chief:
Me and Boo:
I really liked the show...mesmerized by the puppets and actors...and loved the songs. I liked it a lot better than the Tarzan show (although I have to say that Tarzan was a family favorite...both movie and soundtrack...for a couple of years when the girls were smaller).
We left the Nemo show and headed over to EE to use our FP. Chief patted me on the back as we saw that the stand-by line was now 70 minutes long and that the FP return time was now for 4:50 that night. I just have to say
I LOVE FPS!!! It always feels so good to whiz past a long, hot, tired line of people who look at you with the questioning glances...every time I think "You didn't have to wait in that line, you fools." I never say anything about that fact, though, because secretly I hope there will always be such foolish people...more FPs for us!!
After EE we decided it was time for lunch and Chief had looked at the choices while we were waiting for the Nemo show to begin and wanted to try Tusker House. When we walked in, there are many, many people waiting in line, but I spied a line 3 people deep aaaallll the way away from the door instead of 15 people deep right near the door. I think some people forget to pack their brains and just follow any crowd they see (they assume the lemming mentality). My philosophy (which I repeated way too many times for the comfort of my traveling companions) is that "The Path Less Traveled will Get You Far!" and "Don't be a lemming!" I left Chief in line to order with Boo and took Lou with me to hunt down a table. We found one in an almost secluded little room at the end of the restaurant and snatched it up. We Nextelled our location to Chief and before we knew it we were snarfing down what was probably the best CS meal I have ever had at WDW. I had the chicken sandwich, Chief the salmon, and the girls had chicken nuggets. We all shared a hearty laugh at the "gel-type" dessert the girls got with their kids meal. WDW didn't even take the time to give it a souped up name or make the packaging appealing...we made jokes like "Would you want to eat a chicken-like sandwich?" I know they can't use the name "Jello" for obvious reasons...but couldn't they come up with something better than "gel-type"?
Full and happy, we caught the next train over to Rafiki's Planet Watch to see what it was all about. It was a let-down to us...we're used to the Bronx Zoo and can see if you don't have a world-class zoo nearby how this would seem like, soooo awesome. We petted the goats, watched a trained sheep, had a CM explain about different types of animal poops, and then head back to the train.
Pics from our trek to Rafiki's Planet Watch:
Boo and Lou with a cutout Rafiki (never saw any characters over there, although it said that they would be there??):
Lou and Boo enjoying some goats:
We had accomplished everything on our list for AK (things that we had never done before .... other than EE), so we headed back to the resort for a quick rest before we had to get ready for dinner. When we got back to the room, we were happy that our luggage had "magically" arrived and that we had a handful of pretzels, gummy bears, and cookies and a cold soda to grab in the CL lounge. The girls and Chief took a snooze while I unpacked and got our stuff all organized.
We finally laid eyes on the rest of our traveling crew when we made our way downstairs to WCC. We checked in and were seated almost immediately in the corner by the hallway to the bathroom and I was, at first, a little disappointed. The last time we ate here, we were in a corner on the other side of the room and felt as if we were out of the fun...plus we had a dud of a waiter. I shouldn't have worried, though, because as soon as I heard our waitress introduce herself as Head of Lettuce, I knew we were in for some fun. She was sassy and I knew Yes, Officer would not disappoint by being his usual self. Yep, he was nick-named "Trouble" by Head of Lettuce and got picked on all throughout dinner. Once, his cell phone rang and she reached for it, but missed the call. She checked his messages for him and everything! She threw straws at us and made Tumor sit on a napkin when she asked for a second glass of iced tea but refused to go to the bathroom. When the pony race was over, she made Yes, Officer give out the prizes.
Yes, Officer handing out prizes:
It was a hoot and we left with full tummies and smiles on our faces. We decided not to have dessert thta night ~gasp!~ because it was getting close to time to go to the marina for our Wishes cruise. Yes, Officer left to go get a bottle for Prince and Chief made a visit to the bathroom in our room...let's just say that a tummy ailment runs in his family that strikes at the worst possible moments and he didn't want to get "caught" on the boat....it was a preemptive strike!
We walked down to the marina dock and found no one there other than a family enjoying the beach. The father came up and tried to give us some helpful advice: "You need to head to that other dock there to catch a boat" We explained that we were waiting for a fireworks cruise, thank you, and he proceeded to ask a ton of questions which led us to believe that he was wanting to come along...Nope, sorry...no room on the boat.
Tumor and I decided to take these few minutes to head to the bathroom ourselves (she needed to especially after all those teas...shoulda listened to Heada, Tumor!) and when we come back, we find Prince half naked...he had soiled his pants through his diaper and there was no change of clothes in the diaper bag...I'll be happy to go on an off-topic rant about how I don't understand how you can have two children under the age of 5 and not pack changes of clothes for them at all times...but it wouldn't serve any purpose.
Sooo...we all hung around and waited for Eeyore and Yes, Officer to get their act together and soon we were out on the lake and getting a great view. Princess loved the boat ride and was a lot of fun to watch. We snacked on chips and had our sodas and got to see the EWP before our boat was parked in front of the MK for Wishes. It did not disapppoint!! I made some sappy statement about being able to share this with the people I love the most and thanked everyone for coming to WDW with us.
Here's some pics I snapped on the cruise:
Boo on a boat:
Chief, Lou and Tumor:
Chief (is he sniffing his pit?) and Tumor:
We asked the driver if he could drop us off at the MK. He said he couldn't, but he could drop us off at the GF and we could catch the monorail over. Eeyore and her crew decided to head back to the resort and Tumor joined us for some more adventures.
We made our way to the nearly empty monorail station at the GF and Boo asked if we could ride in the front. The CM said he'd check but that even if it was available, only 4 of us could ride up there. Chief told us that if it was available, he'd ride in the back (that's why he's
my Prince). The train came in and we got the okay...off we went with our new co-pilot licenses! Pixie Dust! When we got to the MK, Shelby starts to panic because she left her card in the hotel room. Doh! We decided to pretend to notice she doesn't have hers at the turnstile and hoped that the CM would be kind. He was ever so kind and told us that it was no problem...we thanked him profusely and collectively sighed that our journey was into the MK and not to the hotel.
As we made our way onto Main Street, I mentioned my idea about finding a spot to see the second Specto. Chief almost lost it and said that if that was all we were here to do, he's going back to the hotel right then. See, we've seen Spectro three times before and only truly enjoyed it once due to crowds and other craziness...so I gave up on the idea of Tumor seeing it that night. Tumor said she didn't care and that we should go try to ride a ride at night. We wandered into Frontierland on our way to BTMRR when Boo saw some CMs challenging some teenagers to a hoolahooping contest...so she walked right up and told them that she can beat any of them....and did!
Go, Boo, Go!! Boo holahooping it up!:
One of the CMs gave us all FPs good for any ride and we all cheered Boo when we got to BTMRR and saw that it was a 50 minute stand-by wait and no more FPs!! We rode the ride and loved it at night, but decided that we were pretty pooped, after all. By that time, Spectro had reached Frontierland and the crowd watching it kept us from being able to walk anywhere easily. So, we sat on a wall and watched the parade after all. I think Chief was growling at me the whole time though and I tried really hard not to smile, laugh, and enjoy the parade so he wouldn't think that I had planned this all along. We made our way out of the park when the parade was over and got to the resort boat launch just as a boat driver is pulling up the rope...he looked at us rushing all the way there and then just took off...honk, honk, honk! We sat down and tried not to fall asleep on a bench. Finally another boat came and we made it on that one...I silently said a prayer of thanks for a wonderful day, the company of my beautiful family, and the announcement that the WL would be the first stop. We said our good nights to Tumor and plan to meet in the morning to get to the MGM opening.
I don't know why. But we did. Suppose we were lucky we remembered the kids half the time! 
Looking forward to the next installment. Hmmm.. I read the whole thing while at work today...I'll call it trip research for our December trip, that way it doesn't seem like I was goofing off all day 
I just started to read your trip report and i ABSOLUTLY LOVE IT
