Day 2Sunday January 21st
Well, after a late night/early morning combo on the night before, I worried about oversleeping on our first MK day, so I set a wake up call for 6:40 am. It was completely unnecessary because I woke up at 4 and could not get back to sleep. I was bunking with DS and I could hear him tossing and turning around, so I didnt want to get up because he would be up for the day. By 5, I knew we were too excited, so I asked if he wanted to get dressed and go for a walk around POFQ with me. We quietly got dressed and went off to explore. It was a cool morning and as we walked toward the pool, we noticed the steam coming off. It was a really cool effect with the dragon, King Triton and all.
DS also stopped to check out the gator band and even posed for a few 5 am pics.
Heres a cute one of DS with the umbrella gator.
I noticed his little button and thought, hey this is Disney World, I bet he sings or talks or something. For those who do not already know, this particular button causes water to squirt out of said umbrella. If I wasnt already fully awake, this cool shower would have done it.
We went back to the room to check on DH & DD, but there were still no lights on, so a friendly neighbor who happened to be out on the balcony suggested we try out the arcade. DS didnt have to be told twice. I grabbed some cash and we were off. They arent kidding when they call those little blue cards your Key to the World. I didnt need my cash since I was able to get a game card with my key.
Its been a while since I was at an arcade, DH usually does that sort of thing, but I was impressed with the types of games they have there. This Mario racing game took DS picture and displayed it on the screen.
By the way, if youre looking for an good time to visit the arcade with the kiddies, its totally empty Sundays at 6 am. After about 20 minutes or so, the noise level was getting to me and I remembered why I dont usually do arcades, so we headed back to the room to get ready for MK with DH & DD.
The kids had little boxes of vacation aka sugar cereal for breakfast and we headed down to the bus stop around 8. We were heading through the turnstiles by 8:20 and I realized we had quite a bit of time to kill. I had read somewhere that the characters come out 30 minutes ahead to entertain the kids, but they were not out before rope drop on either day we went, so this may have changed. The kids played with Pal Mickey for a little while, but then started to get a little antsy. We didnt bring a stroller for DD this day because we were planning on a short morning and I thought she could walk. I was starting to regret it, however because it would have given her a place to sit and wait. Finally, the opening show started and though we didnt have a great view, the kids could see enough to keep them entertained.
They loved the countdown! Our plan was for DH to grab FPs for Space Mountain while I took the kids to Fantasyland to ride Dumbo. As soon as we started walking down Main Street, I really regretted not bringing a stroller for DD. She wasnt tired yet, but her little legs could not keep up with ours and I had heard about how long the lines could be sometimes, so I wanted to hurry. I ended up carrying DD who weighs 45 lbs the rest of the way to Dumbo. (Wish I had an overexerted smiley to insert here.)
I have to say, in all my planning, I somehow missed that there is a second rope drop up near and around the castle, so when I saw the ropes on the walkways up to the castle, I thought it was closed off and I had to go around, but when I went right, I hit another rope and I realized that I had just added some extra carrying time, oops.
The effort was worth it! We would have been on the first ride, but since there was only 1 Dumbo left and I knew my two children would each want their own controller, we waited and went on the 2nd ride of the day! It worked out even better because DH got to Dumbo just as we were boarding, so I was able to pass him the camera for a couple of pics.
Next we went to bounce with Tigger and Fly with Peter. The kids enjoyed both rides. My husband who hasnt gone since he went with his folks in the 80s bemoaned the loss of Mr. Toads but managed to enjoy himself anyway. It was about 9:30 or so at this point, so I sent DH & DS over to ride Space Mountain standby while we went for a spin on the carousel. As we were getting off, there was a little girl who received some sort of Dream getting on, but Ariel was opening soon and shes DDs favorite, so we didnt stop to see what it was. On the way to Ariel the sun was bothering DD, so we stopped and she picked out a cute Minnie hat.
DD was so excited about her new hat that she told the cast member at the front entrance to Ariels Grotto about it. He was so sweet. He leaned down and said, Oh, thats a Minnie hat. Then he pulled a Minnie Mouse pin off his square pin holder thing (Im not sure if this is considered a lanyard) and said, I was just talking with Minnie this morning and she told me to give this pin to the next little girl I saw wearing her hat. DD was thrilled and had me pin it on her hat right away. This was the start of a new Minnie hat pin collection. She ended up with quite a few.
As we entered the line for Ariel, I was surprised at how long it was already and that it still was not moving at 10 am. Apparently she had been open earlier and was now on a break. The times guide must have been off. We had a nice visit with Kim from the TGM board and her DD who is around the same age while waiting. The girls had fun playing around and talking while we chatted about what we had done already and what we planned to do. At risk of imbedding the song in my head and all of yours too, I have to say, it really is a small world. Kim is from the next town over in Virginia which I knew before we left for Disney. After seeing her adorable children again, however, I realized that we had met before TGM, in line for mini golf at one of the local parks here in VA.
Back to Arielit was getting really warm waiting in the outdoor line and DD was starting to wander off toward the water playground, so I was considering bagging the idea, but the line finally started to move a little after ten. Ariel was very sweet, talking to DD and even asked her if she was going to see Peter Pan and if she could deliver a message. DD felt very important and ran over to ask me if we were going to see Peter.
I have to say, it was worth the wait for DD, but if Ariel was not her favorite, I dont think I would do it again or I might have waited until our second day when I felt less pressure to get the rides in.
After Ariel, I called DH to see what their status was. They had met up with my Mom, Moms DBF and my sister and were getting ready to board at Space Mountain for their second ride. I was ready for a little break after my dash to Dumbo and standing in line for Ariel, so DD & I walked over to Toon Town and told them to meet us in front of the railroad. While waiting, I took a pic of DD in her new hat.
We all took the train over to Frontierland. With Space Mountain under his belt, DS was ready to move on to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. We sat in the back of the train, but these conductors were all business and didnt ask the kids to help them. I sort of wished I hadnt said anything to DS because he looked right at the gentleman and said, Im sitting in the very last seat.
The ride was a nice break, especially for Moms DBF who has problems doing too much walking. We rode BTMR. It was fun and the kids loved it. The troops were starting to get hungry, so we decided to get something to eat. We wanted to do Mickeys Philharmagic after lunch before we headed out for the day, so we decided to grab fastpasses and eat at Pinnochios Village Haus. I had the Turkey Panini with grapes for dessert, which was good and could easily be shared by two people, I ended up giving half to DH. The kids had the pizza which they didnt like, so they ended up sharing my Moms chicken strips. She tried their pizza and said she agreed that it was yucky. The pizza also held up my order, so if I were to do it again, I would probably get the pb & js or have them share an adult chicken strip. Even without the kids pizza, there was plenty of food to go around. It was fairly quiet when we got in line, but was much busier by the time we sat down. BTW, if youre looking for cheap souvenirs, order a shake here for your drink or dessert. The cups are a nice plastic with a print of the castle, Mickey balloons, etc on them. I took DHs to the bathroom to rinse out and save for the kids to use at home.
Next we headed over to Mickeys Philharmagic. It was terrific! We all loved it, even Moms DBF who wasnt too into the rides. It was a great way to end the day, so we decided to head for the exit. Mom and her DBF went ahead because they had to go to the Dolphin to pick up their rental car. DH, the kids, my sister and I stopped in front of the castle to have a few pics taken because we had coordinating Mickey polos on in hopes of a good shot.
We didnt really get a good picture, but we did get selected for the Family Fun Day parade. If you saw the 1 oclockish FFD parade on Sunday the 21st, we were in blue and red Mickey polos in the tambourine section. Im afraid I have no pics because we were all in it. I was amazed at the number of people who stopped to watch.
We were definitely tired after our parade debut so we headed back to POFQ for a break and some pool time since it would be one of the few days that it would be warm enough for our slightly-thinned-since-we-moved-to-Virginia blood.
While getting changed, DS mentioned that while waiting for my Mom near Space Mountain, he and DH got to play a free game in the arcade. I realized that DS had received his first dream when DH produced this:
A free gamedefinitely a dream come true for DS. Now the certificate was a dream come true for me. Did I mention that I LOVE scrapbooking and free souvenirs?
The pool at POFQ did not disappoint. The kids had a great time sliding down the dragons tongue.
I even left the kids with DH for a while so I could test out the spa. It felt great after a busy morning. After a nice hot shower, I was more than ready for dinner at OHana.
Yum! Dinner at OHana was both delicious and fun. The kids had a great time doing the coconut races
and the maraca parade
and we all loved the food. I think DD ate her weight in shrimp that night, DH loved the pork, DSis and I loved the turkey & the potatoes, DAunt loved the sausage and Im sure there was someone who liked the steak, too. And just when we thought it couldnt get any better, they brought out dessert. The pineapple bread pudding with the caramel banana sauce was to die for. It was a great end to our second day and was by far the best food we ate all week!
With such an early morning, everyone was ready for bed shortly after we got back to POFQ. I tucked everyone in, including DH and just took a few moments to unwind and write down some notes for my next visit and my TR . . .
DO: --get to MK early, but bring some things for the kids to do while you
are in line
--go to MK on a morning when you dont have to rush to see the
opening show from a better vantage point
--spend some time wandering around your resort even if it is at 5 am.
This was a special time for DS & I
--bring a stroller if you have a 4/5 year old who tires easily or if you do
not want to move at a 4/5 year old pace
--bring quick breakfast foods if you want to get to rope drops. The
food court did not start serving anything other than muffins until 7 am
which would have made for a tighter time schedule.
--check what time Ariels Grotto opens and get there early if its
important to you. We lined up at 9:45 on a Sunday and waited a
while. I can only imagine what the line is like during peak times.
--get important photopass pictures taken at several different times.
The kids were not into being still by the time we got our picture taken in
front of the castle and the sun was very bright, so they did not come
out great. I wish we had looked at them and had them taken again.
--Mickeys Philharmagic! DH & DD ended up doing it again with my
in-laws and found it great both times!
--make an dinner ADR at OHana!
DONT: --expect to sleep in on your first day at Disney
--do Ariels Grotto unless its a must see for someone in your family,
its very time consuming for only one characters signature
--get your picture taken when the sun is in your eyes if you can helpit
--get the pizza at PVH
Up next: Epcot, Garden Grill, another dream, and Le Cellier--just me & DH
I am just worried that the anticipation has been killing me for so long that when I'm there, it's all going to feel surreal.
Yep, it's 3 days to go!!! 
to change into after lunch:
(We really need a smiley with a camera).
I hope you all have a WONDERFUL time in WDW!
It was beyond fantastic and everything we hoped for! I can't wait to tell you all about it with pictures, but first I need to tame the explosion that is my house! 
that I noticed Kim from the TGM board standing behind me. I thought we might be on the same ME bus, but I must have missed her during boarding. We hop back in line together and while waiting receive our Welcome packets.
The weather was perfect for an Epcot afternoonsunny with highs in the 70s, lows in the 60s. We got to Epcot around 2. After we broke in our keys to the world, we started walking toward Spaceship Earth and I heard the music. I had read about it, but nothing would prepare me for the effect the Epcot entry music had on me. It was so motivational. I felt like anything was possible that dayI could learn to fly, invent something, run a 10K or at the very least walk briskly over to get FPs for Soarin. As we walked by the entrance to SE, my aunt noticed that there was virtually no line and sent us on in while she did the brisk walk to Soarin. SE will always have a special place in our hearts for being our first ride and we loved the night sky, but I dont know if I would add it to my must see list for next time.
