snickerboo
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Mar 17, 2006
- Messages
- 1,290
For months I had been eyeing up the accumulation of priority club points as my dh traveled accross the continent on business. Would there be enough??? In January he announced, he had enough for a week somewhere. Naturally, the kids and I said, "Disney, here we come!" Since we'd be doing this on the cheap, we'd only be able to manage one or two Disney days. I couldn't help remembering all the fun we had at Magic Kingdom during our weeklong Disney stay last year and knew no trip would be complete without a visit to Mickey at the premiere park.
A soon as the trip was in the works, onto Disboards I logged. Last year, I found Disboards after the trip had been booked. This year, I planned to take advantage of all the great money saving tips. I have to add here: props to those who shared Ding and Budget Board info as we saved a bundle thanks to tips from other disers. Reading the boards, I have to admit, I was a little jealous of all the posters with ADRs, staying onsite, doing the full Mickey week but, hey, at least I'd be getting my Mickey fix!
We flew out on a blustery April morning from Detroit, grateful for the Ding flight that had us flying rather than driving as we had originally planned. Driving wouldn't have been too much fun into that Nor'easter coming up the coast!!! As we approached Orlando, the pilot announced it was 75 and sunny and my dd and I burst into, "Zip-a-dee-do-dah!" Adios snow, windchills and winter coats-hello bathing suits, Princesses, Splash Mountain and Mickey!
We spent a lazy day at Cocoa Beach resting for our day o' Mickey, and popped into the Winn-Dixie for park snacks. I could hardly sleep that night in anticipation. I had the wake-up call booked, the cooler bag ready to go, my backpack all set, tickets bought.
We woke up bright and early, had a quick bite at the complimentary hotel breakfast then headed off to the Magic Kingdom. As we got on the monorail we were all smiles, "we're home!" I thought. Even though I've only been once to WDW as an adult (went many times as a kid), isn't there just something about it that makes it feel like home? I felt absolutely giddy as we passed through security and the gates. Dh, being the super-chatty type, was asked by a CM to fill out a survey and, in exchange, we could come into the park early. He jumped at the chance but I was a little disppointed because I was so looking forward to my welcome fromt he Mayor of Main Street USA and had already been humming, "Good Morning, Good Morning..." that morning. In the back of my mind, though, a thought erupted, "Tinkerbell".....getting up at the rope before rope drop just might mean my kids getting that special treat.
Noticing the shops were empty but open on Main Street USA, my dd and I began our quest for the ellusive Aurora jibbit that my Junior Aurora just had to have. No such, luck, though. Lots of Belle, Ariel, Stitch and Mickey...no pink princess. So we headed up to the castle and got pics in front of the Walt-Mickey statue then proceeded through the castle to the rope. At this point, I told my dd of my plan, "when they drop the rope, run straight through that door and ask the first lady you see if you can wake up Tinkerbell!" She did just that and the reply, "well, of course you can!". Right behind us was a dad and his little princess (about 5) in Snow White regalia so we agreed she could do it with my dd. What a treat for dd. She kept going back to Tink's Treasures all day to look though the keyhole. I hope it's something she'll always remember.
Straight after Tink's Treasures, it was Dumbo ahoy. We knew from experience-ride it first thing or don't bother. We could see that the park wasn't too, too busy so we might be in luck for a day of riding rather than waiting. Of course, there's a crocs stand adjacent Dumbo yet....no Briar Rose. After a little 3-D Donald it was time to secure our space at the Toontown rope and dh waited with ds while dd and I rode the teacups and said hi to Alice and the Mad Hatter. As always, at Toontown, we managed to be second in line behind a dad who had sprinted like crazy then let a gang of kids in. Does this happen to everyone or are we just unlucky at Toontown? Now, I have to say at this point, dd loves Princesses but if you haven't guessed by the jibbit quest, for her there is "Briar Rose" (as she has always called her) and "the others". I had researched on Disboards and knew odds were good she wasn't at the judge's tent and though I had warned dd, she was still a little disappointed that it was Belle, Snow and Cindy (you can almost see int he pics her thinking, "this is all well and good but I'd better get to meet Briar Rose"). Last year, Aurora had been there each of the three days we went so I think dd thought I was most definitely wrong. So, straight from Toontown, we ran through Fantasyland to the castle and there she was. My starstruck dd was not pleased when I didn't jump into the hour-long line-up but rather asked the CM when Aurora and Phillip would return. I had to promise dd we would meet Aurora next meet time, no matter how long the wait.
In the interim, dh and ds, my extreme "Cars" fan were free-wheeling on the Tomorrowland Speedway and we went to meet them and then popped over for back-to-back turns defending the universe against the evil Emperor Zurg (have to note: we were a little disapointed that there was no Buzz at Tomorrowland that day, only Stitch).
The park seemed pretty quiet but I wasn't willing to chance missing out on Splash Mountain, our absolute family favourite. After all, it was grad nights week and by this time teens were starting to appear. Dh agreed so we trekked accross the park to the awesome sight, sounds and smell (yep, smell, mmmmmmmm....Orlando water) to the hallowed Splash Mountain. The standby line announced a 20 minute wait. We arranged for rider switch for me and off went dh and dd, getting FPs so we couldride it twice. During this time, I did a little shopping and you'll never believe it, a lady right in front of me won the castle suite stay. Woohoo for her but D'oh for me! Soooooo close! That was the least of our bad luck at Splash, though.................
Stay tuned for the Splash debacle. Contains unconfirmed gross info shared by a CM..........
A soon as the trip was in the works, onto Disboards I logged. Last year, I found Disboards after the trip had been booked. This year, I planned to take advantage of all the great money saving tips. I have to add here: props to those who shared Ding and Budget Board info as we saved a bundle thanks to tips from other disers. Reading the boards, I have to admit, I was a little jealous of all the posters with ADRs, staying onsite, doing the full Mickey week but, hey, at least I'd be getting my Mickey fix!
We flew out on a blustery April morning from Detroit, grateful for the Ding flight that had us flying rather than driving as we had originally planned. Driving wouldn't have been too much fun into that Nor'easter coming up the coast!!! As we approached Orlando, the pilot announced it was 75 and sunny and my dd and I burst into, "Zip-a-dee-do-dah!" Adios snow, windchills and winter coats-hello bathing suits, Princesses, Splash Mountain and Mickey!
We spent a lazy day at Cocoa Beach resting for our day o' Mickey, and popped into the Winn-Dixie for park snacks. I could hardly sleep that night in anticipation. I had the wake-up call booked, the cooler bag ready to go, my backpack all set, tickets bought.
We woke up bright and early, had a quick bite at the complimentary hotel breakfast then headed off to the Magic Kingdom. As we got on the monorail we were all smiles, "we're home!" I thought. Even though I've only been once to WDW as an adult (went many times as a kid), isn't there just something about it that makes it feel like home? I felt absolutely giddy as we passed through security and the gates. Dh, being the super-chatty type, was asked by a CM to fill out a survey and, in exchange, we could come into the park early. He jumped at the chance but I was a little disppointed because I was so looking forward to my welcome fromt he Mayor of Main Street USA and had already been humming, "Good Morning, Good Morning..." that morning. In the back of my mind, though, a thought erupted, "Tinkerbell".....getting up at the rope before rope drop just might mean my kids getting that special treat.
Noticing the shops were empty but open on Main Street USA, my dd and I began our quest for the ellusive Aurora jibbit that my Junior Aurora just had to have. No such, luck, though. Lots of Belle, Ariel, Stitch and Mickey...no pink princess. So we headed up to the castle and got pics in front of the Walt-Mickey statue then proceeded through the castle to the rope. At this point, I told my dd of my plan, "when they drop the rope, run straight through that door and ask the first lady you see if you can wake up Tinkerbell!" She did just that and the reply, "well, of course you can!". Right behind us was a dad and his little princess (about 5) in Snow White regalia so we agreed she could do it with my dd. What a treat for dd. She kept going back to Tink's Treasures all day to look though the keyhole. I hope it's something she'll always remember.
Straight after Tink's Treasures, it was Dumbo ahoy. We knew from experience-ride it first thing or don't bother. We could see that the park wasn't too, too busy so we might be in luck for a day of riding rather than waiting. Of course, there's a crocs stand adjacent Dumbo yet....no Briar Rose. After a little 3-D Donald it was time to secure our space at the Toontown rope and dh waited with ds while dd and I rode the teacups and said hi to Alice and the Mad Hatter. As always, at Toontown, we managed to be second in line behind a dad who had sprinted like crazy then let a gang of kids in. Does this happen to everyone or are we just unlucky at Toontown? Now, I have to say at this point, dd loves Princesses but if you haven't guessed by the jibbit quest, for her there is "Briar Rose" (as she has always called her) and "the others". I had researched on Disboards and knew odds were good she wasn't at the judge's tent and though I had warned dd, she was still a little disappointed that it was Belle, Snow and Cindy (you can almost see int he pics her thinking, "this is all well and good but I'd better get to meet Briar Rose"). Last year, Aurora had been there each of the three days we went so I think dd thought I was most definitely wrong. So, straight from Toontown, we ran through Fantasyland to the castle and there she was. My starstruck dd was not pleased when I didn't jump into the hour-long line-up but rather asked the CM when Aurora and Phillip would return. I had to promise dd we would meet Aurora next meet time, no matter how long the wait.
In the interim, dh and ds, my extreme "Cars" fan were free-wheeling on the Tomorrowland Speedway and we went to meet them and then popped over for back-to-back turns defending the universe against the evil Emperor Zurg (have to note: we were a little disapointed that there was no Buzz at Tomorrowland that day, only Stitch).
The park seemed pretty quiet but I wasn't willing to chance missing out on Splash Mountain, our absolute family favourite. After all, it was grad nights week and by this time teens were starting to appear. Dh agreed so we trekked accross the park to the awesome sight, sounds and smell (yep, smell, mmmmmmmm....Orlando water) to the hallowed Splash Mountain. The standby line announced a 20 minute wait.
We arranged for rider switch for me and off went dh and dd, getting FPs so we couldride it twice. During this time, I did a little shopping and you'll never believe it, a lady right in front of me won the castle suite stay. Woohoo for her but D'oh for me! Soooooo close! That was the least of our bad luck at Splash, though.................Stay tuned for the Splash debacle. Contains unconfirmed gross info shared by a CM..........
Of course then the CMs immediately stopped the ride and everyone already on was stuck. It took about 14 minutes for the CMs to get to the boy who tried to cross through the water but the people in the logs yelled at him not to do that. When the CMs finally showed up, apparently the ride operator said, "are you Tommy? Boy, you are in a heap of trouble!" So, Splash was closed and we had wasted our window of quiet park time hanging around Splash without even riding it. can you say disappointing. So, we trekked on to other parts of our day, vowing to check back at Splash at about one. Here's the gross story: this comes direct form a CM. Note: We have tried to google this with no confirmation. The CM told us thta about 6 months ago, a man dropped his camera shortly before the big drop and reached out to get it. The medical result was that he had to ha his legs amputated. Now, I still do not get why Disney doesn't have lockdown bars on Splash after several incidents. We went to SeaWorld during aour vacay and Atlantis had them. Splash would reopen later but in the interim we waited in a long line for Pirates which was good but we were still trying to regroup so we didn't enjoy it was much as we might have.
