Annie'sMom
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Aug 18, 1999
Day 8 - Monday, November 13, 2000
Me â 42, Single mom and Disney fanatic. The first question my co-workers ask when I return from vacation is, âÂÂSo, when are you going back?â I live in Central Missouri and typically depart from St. Louis Lambert Airport, which is about a 1.5 hour drive from home.
DD â 4-year-old diva. IâÂÂm serious; this girl has a future on the stage or screen. She loves to sing and dance and loves all things Disney, too.
We were up early for our last EE day at WDW. Leslea left us to go home and get ready for work, but we had decided that she might as well spend the next two nights with us. We would see her later. We walked over to the Magic Kingdom and headed once again to Fantasyland. We rode Dumbo, Pooh, and then headed to Peter Pan when disaster struck! Peter Pan was closed. DD burst into tears when we saw it was closed. Part of the tears was the closing, but part was simply exhaustion, I think. There was a CM standing there and I asked him if he thought the ride would be open later today. He said it was closed for installation of Fastpass and they hoped to have it back up by Friday. We were both disappointed, as Peter Pan is a favorite of both of us. We went on IASW, but DDâÂÂs heart just wasnâÂÂt in it! I asked her if she wanted to ride the CarrouselâÂÂno. Snow WhiteâÂÂno. We finally wound up going on the Carrousel and she was happy again. We went back to Pooh and rode once more before the park was open again. The crowds were heavier again today than they were on Saturday. We headed to Buzz and got some Fastpasses and then headed to Adventureland to catch the train. We rode the train around the park and enjoyed that ride. When we got off the train, people were literally walking on to Splash Mountain and this was like 10:00! I was really surprised.
By this time, it was time for our Fastpass, so we went and rode Buzz. DD was controlling the spinner this time and by my helping her, she scored 500 points. She would turn the car about 1/8 of a turn at a time, and just about the time I was ready to shoot at a target, sheâÂÂd move the car! I doubled my previous score (almost) and scored around 15, 5000. I just need to practice. Really, thatâÂÂs all I need to doâ¦honest. We walked back towards Fantasyland, and DD decided she wanted to eat at âÂÂPinocchioâÂÂs houseâÂÂ, so we went and had lunch. DD had a hotdog and I had a cheeseburger. Again, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food.
We headed out of the park after lunch and went back to the room to rest. We then headed to the Animal Kingdom at around 2:30. We waited quite a while for a busâ¦probably close to 25 minutes. Several Studios buses came and went during this time, but finally an AK bus came. We went first to Ft. Wilderness and then went to AK. People were literally streaming out of the park. We got inside the turnstiles and saw several characters. DD got her picture taken with King Louie, Donald and Goofy. We headed immediately to the Tarzan show and got in line. It was the last show of the day, and I thought it might be less crowdedâÂÂNOT. WeâÂÂve now done this show two years in a row, but I donâÂÂt feel the need to do it again. ItâÂÂs an OK show, but itâÂÂs very loud. Probably, this is one weâÂÂd do if we found time, but we wouldnâÂÂt make time to do it.
After Tarzan, we headed to KS. It was such a lovely stroll through the Animal Kingdom. I do enjoy just spending time looking at this park. The Fastpasses for KS were done by this time (It was around 4:15 and the park closed at 5:00). We did walk right on and had a terrific safari. We saw lots of animals, but no zebrasâ¦did we just miss them? I canâÂÂt remember if there are zebras at AK or not. We did see Mr. And Mrs. Lion as well as several rhinos and hippos. The rickety bridge did not work but we went really fast at the end. We really enjoyed this. We really spent very little time at the AK this trip. IMHO, this park doesnâÂÂt handle crowds well at all. We stood in line for the shows and would have to have done it for character greetings for most characters, too. I like the park, but it is just too crowded for us most of the time. DD is too small for Dinosaur and Kali, so besides the shows and the safari, there is little for us to do. However, it is a nice park to just stroll in, so we will always spend at least half a day here.
The park was closing, so it was time to grab a bus back to the hotel. Again, we waited a long time. I did not envy the people who were waiting for buses back to All Stars. The line was huge! We arrived back to the room around 6:00. Leslea arrived a short time later and we decided to just stay in for the evening. DD needed to play and I was getting pretty pooped! We had no specific plans for tomorrow (our last full day!), so I determined by DDâÂÂs behavior that we wouldnâÂÂt do any more parks, unless we went back to MK for the Remember the Magic Parade. DD was simply worn out. ItâÂÂs possible that 10 days is too long for her to be out of her routine. I have noticed since weâÂÂve been home that she has exhibited some behavior problems that she doesnâÂÂt normally do. She is very much a child of routine (as a single parent, that is a necessity for my own sanity) and when her routine is disrupted, she has trouble adjusting. I donâÂÂt really feel like I pushed too hard. We usually took breaks or made our days end by 5:00 or 6:00. I think itâÂÂs just the change in the routine and the sensory overload. We made it an early evening and planned a calm last day for tomorrow.
Me â 42, Single mom and Disney fanatic. The first question my co-workers ask when I return from vacation is, âÂÂSo, when are you going back?â I live in Central Missouri and typically depart from St. Louis Lambert Airport, which is about a 1.5 hour drive from home.
DD â 4-year-old diva. IâÂÂm serious; this girl has a future on the stage or screen. She loves to sing and dance and loves all things Disney, too.
We were up early for our last EE day at WDW. Leslea left us to go home and get ready for work, but we had decided that she might as well spend the next two nights with us. We would see her later. We walked over to the Magic Kingdom and headed once again to Fantasyland. We rode Dumbo, Pooh, and then headed to Peter Pan when disaster struck! Peter Pan was closed. DD burst into tears when we saw it was closed. Part of the tears was the closing, but part was simply exhaustion, I think. There was a CM standing there and I asked him if he thought the ride would be open later today. He said it was closed for installation of Fastpass and they hoped to have it back up by Friday. We were both disappointed, as Peter Pan is a favorite of both of us. We went on IASW, but DDâÂÂs heart just wasnâÂÂt in it! I asked her if she wanted to ride the CarrouselâÂÂno. Snow WhiteâÂÂno. We finally wound up going on the Carrousel and she was happy again. We went back to Pooh and rode once more before the park was open again. The crowds were heavier again today than they were on Saturday. We headed to Buzz and got some Fastpasses and then headed to Adventureland to catch the train. We rode the train around the park and enjoyed that ride. When we got off the train, people were literally walking on to Splash Mountain and this was like 10:00! I was really surprised.
By this time, it was time for our Fastpass, so we went and rode Buzz. DD was controlling the spinner this time and by my helping her, she scored 500 points. She would turn the car about 1/8 of a turn at a time, and just about the time I was ready to shoot at a target, sheâÂÂd move the car! I doubled my previous score (almost) and scored around 15, 5000. I just need to practice. Really, thatâÂÂs all I need to doâ¦honest. We walked back towards Fantasyland, and DD decided she wanted to eat at âÂÂPinocchioâÂÂs houseâÂÂ, so we went and had lunch. DD had a hotdog and I had a cheeseburger. Again, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food.
We headed out of the park after lunch and went back to the room to rest. We then headed to the Animal Kingdom at around 2:30. We waited quite a while for a busâ¦probably close to 25 minutes. Several Studios buses came and went during this time, but finally an AK bus came. We went first to Ft. Wilderness and then went to AK. People were literally streaming out of the park. We got inside the turnstiles and saw several characters. DD got her picture taken with King Louie, Donald and Goofy. We headed immediately to the Tarzan show and got in line. It was the last show of the day, and I thought it might be less crowdedâÂÂNOT. WeâÂÂve now done this show two years in a row, but I donâÂÂt feel the need to do it again. ItâÂÂs an OK show, but itâÂÂs very loud. Probably, this is one weâÂÂd do if we found time, but we wouldnâÂÂt make time to do it.
After Tarzan, we headed to KS. It was such a lovely stroll through the Animal Kingdom. I do enjoy just spending time looking at this park. The Fastpasses for KS were done by this time (It was around 4:15 and the park closed at 5:00). We did walk right on and had a terrific safari. We saw lots of animals, but no zebrasâ¦did we just miss them? I canâÂÂt remember if there are zebras at AK or not. We did see Mr. And Mrs. Lion as well as several rhinos and hippos. The rickety bridge did not work but we went really fast at the end. We really enjoyed this. We really spent very little time at the AK this trip. IMHO, this park doesnâÂÂt handle crowds well at all. We stood in line for the shows and would have to have done it for character greetings for most characters, too. I like the park, but it is just too crowded for us most of the time. DD is too small for Dinosaur and Kali, so besides the shows and the safari, there is little for us to do. However, it is a nice park to just stroll in, so we will always spend at least half a day here.
The park was closing, so it was time to grab a bus back to the hotel. Again, we waited a long time. I did not envy the people who were waiting for buses back to All Stars. The line was huge! We arrived back to the room around 6:00. Leslea arrived a short time later and we decided to just stay in for the evening. DD needed to play and I was getting pretty pooped! We had no specific plans for tomorrow (our last full day!), so I determined by DDâÂÂs behavior that we wouldnâÂÂt do any more parks, unless we went back to MK for the Remember the Magic Parade. DD was simply worn out. ItâÂÂs possible that 10 days is too long for her to be out of her routine. I have noticed since weâÂÂve been home that she has exhibited some behavior problems that she doesnâÂÂt normally do. She is very much a child of routine (as a single parent, that is a necessity for my own sanity) and when her routine is disrupted, she has trouble adjusting. I donâÂÂt really feel like I pushed too hard. We usually took breaks or made our days end by 5:00 or 6:00. I think itâÂÂs just the change in the routine and the sensory overload. We made it an early evening and planned a calm last day for tomorrow.
