cissy
Kindness is Strength
- Joined
- Jul 29, 2007
- Messages
- 759
We went to the World from 12/10 to 12/16 and we had a BLAST! I will do my best to make a day by day report that will be fun and informative. It may take me a while to post the whole thing, but bare with me and no one will get hurt!
Travelers: DH, DD6, DD5, Me
Trip date: 12/10-12/16
Resort : Polynesian
Used the DDP and ME
Monday, December 10, 2007:
We took a direst Southwest flight which was quick and painless. Kids did great. I bought a "lot" of pins on Ebay (from reputable seller) and we used the flight time to divvy them up. Each girl got a turn to pull a pin from the barf bag...no peeking. YEAH! The time passed zippity quick.
Got off the plane and followed the signs to the ME area. No waiting. Got right on the bus and we left the station withing 10 minutes. In bus movie popped on and the girls were hooked. I, too, was hooked but not on the film. I sat behind a mom and her out-of-control child and that was WAY more entertaining than the movie. Yikes, was this kid wired to the max! He was a mess and I felt bad for the Mom, but simply could not look away. It was like a slow motion car wreck happening just before your eyes. You want to help but know that you can't do a thing.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, the infamous line came pouring out of the frazzled Mothers lips, "You better behave! Do you know how much this is costing us???!!! I would hate for you to have to sit in the hotel for the whole trip!!!" Oh no! Didn't she read the guide books? Didn't she know not to utter those words??? I slumped down in my seat hoping to avoid the gentle fairy godmother who was sure to show up any second and zippity zap this woman into Neverland!!! Oooh, I was sure glad when they got off at the Contemporary.
Anyhow, we arrived safe and sound at the Polynesian. With leis about our necks, we handed off our carry ons to the bellman and headed for the monorail to whisk us away to the Most Magical Kingdom on Earth!!! We were so excited. And then, up ahead, there it was! The castle. The look on my children's faces was priceless.
The lines were moving quickly and we were stroller ready in less than 10 minutes. Then we were off and moving with the crowds. Down a gorgeous Main Street we went to take a good look at the castle. We veered off to Frontierland to get some lunch before we hit the attractions.
We ate at Peco's Bills and it was crowded! Monday is not the optimum day to go to the MK but I knew my girls would want to do this park first so we DID! The food was okay, but we were fairly overwhelmed and over-hungry so I can't really give it a proper review. I know the DDP threw me a bit even though I had read up on it extensively. I tried to use the automatic ordering computer but ended up simply asking a CM to help. She was great and we got through it just fine. I decided right then to simply order what I wanted and then let the CM's just tell me what I still needed. EASY!!
After lunch we headed to our first ride...the Jungle Cruise. Start the kids out slow and work up. We have been to King's Island and King's Dominion a couple of times so my girls aren't complete novices. But hey, this is a really big park and it is so much cooler than the others. DH got the FP and we went to see the Tiki Room show. The girls really like this and were most impressed with the insults hurled by Iago after the show!!
The Jungle Cruise was a big hit. My older DD got to " drive" the boat into the dark cave. She was thrilled. Her DD kept shouting, "That's my big sister!" which got a lot of laughs. She even got a little card acknowledging her excellent driving skills. I plan on showing that to our insurance agent when she turns 16. Maybe get a little shaved off the top, eh? Anyway, just sit up close to the driver to get this privilege.
We went on to the POC, which wasn't nearly as cool as I remember from childhood and then did a bunch of character signings around Adventureland. Saw Peter and Wendy, Hook and Smee and Jasmine and Aladdin. I did custom made autograph pages for each character and the girls got a lot of comments about them. Almost every character spent extra time with them.
Okay, a bit about the characters. First of all, have your camera ready as very few had Photopass photographers with them. I thought that was poor planning on Disney's part. Yes, I have a camera, but I think this should be a given. Next, some of them have some sass! I mean, really. Peter Pan should be a bit of a child in temperament, but Wendy should be really sweet! Our Wendy had some fire on her and maybe had spent a little too much time in Neverland! Hook and Smee were by far the most fun! They were so funny and really made my girls laugh. Jasmine was gorgeous and I am thankful I had the camera and not my DH. Who knows what sort of pictures I would have gotten from that meet and greet!!!
Now we were ready for some real riding!! DH had gone ahead to get FP for Splash and we watched the 3: 00 parade. A bit of advice!!!! Do not watch it from the Adventureland side by Splash Mountain. The road slopes down here so unless you are in the very first row, your child will not see the parade at all. Holding my 50 pound child on my shoulders was not really enjoyable for me. Before our trip I was 5'2". I am now 5 feet even!!!
On to Splash Mountain! This was an easy walk on with our FP. We literally had no wait at all. A great time was had by all! We got a little wet but only on our faces. As Florida was having a nice little heat wave last week, the water actually felt great. Just before getting on Splash, my DH got our BTMRR FP's and our return time was within 45 minutes so we took a potty break (bet that was too much information for you!), got a drink and we were ready to go. Again, walked right onto the ride with no wait.
WOW! This was a blast, too. The girls loved it. We would have done them both again but swimming at the hotel pool was tops on their list, so we got a Dolewhip as we headed out of the park. IT WAS AWESOME! Everyone is so right about this fruity concoction. Just lovely!! YUM!
Back to the hotel for a cold dip in the Volcano pool. Yes, it was 85 degrees out but the water was COLD. But the kids loved it and we stayed about an hour. DH got us food from Captain Cooks (which was really good) and we ate in the room. Kids were asleep by 8:30 and we felt it was a successful day.
Oh, yeah, one more thing. We saw a lot of falling down at the park. Seriously,folks, watch out! Within our first five minutes of being in the park, we saw our first falling accident. A lady fell off the curb by the Main Street Christmas tree. She pulled her husband down with her and he dislocated his finger. YUCK! It was gross. Then in Adventureland, we saw a little snow white sit down on the "line rope" and she flipped over backward and slammed her head on the ground. Double Yuck! We heard her poor little head make a pretty nasty sound. And later that same day we saw a little boy slip and fall face first coming off Splash Mountain.
My DD5 went sliding across the bathroom floor at the Hoop de Doo bathroom and hurt her arm. Our friends DD4 fell over in the cafe chairs by Noodle Terrace. Same child slipped on the Maharaja Trail after a sun shower and cut her knee. And we saw numerous falls on the monorails by kids not holding on when it took off. BE CAREFUL!! Especially after a rain. Those tiles in the parks can get slippery.
Well, that is our first day....stay tuned as we go to the Crystal Palace, the BBB and to CRT, followed by MVMCP. All in one day....will our kids make it or will we be the parents with the crazy bus kid???!!!???
Travelers: DH, DD6, DD5, Me
Trip date: 12/10-12/16
Resort : Polynesian
Used the DDP and ME
Monday, December 10, 2007:
We took a direst Southwest flight which was quick and painless. Kids did great. I bought a "lot" of pins on Ebay (from reputable seller) and we used the flight time to divvy them up. Each girl got a turn to pull a pin from the barf bag...no peeking. YEAH! The time passed zippity quick.
Got off the plane and followed the signs to the ME area. No waiting. Got right on the bus and we left the station withing 10 minutes. In bus movie popped on and the girls were hooked. I, too, was hooked but not on the film. I sat behind a mom and her out-of-control child and that was WAY more entertaining than the movie. Yikes, was this kid wired to the max! He was a mess and I felt bad for the Mom, but simply could not look away. It was like a slow motion car wreck happening just before your eyes. You want to help but know that you can't do a thing.
Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse, the infamous line came pouring out of the frazzled Mothers lips, "You better behave! Do you know how much this is costing us???!!! I would hate for you to have to sit in the hotel for the whole trip!!!" Oh no! Didn't she read the guide books? Didn't she know not to utter those words??? I slumped down in my seat hoping to avoid the gentle fairy godmother who was sure to show up any second and zippity zap this woman into Neverland!!! Oooh, I was sure glad when they got off at the Contemporary.
Anyhow, we arrived safe and sound at the Polynesian. With leis about our necks, we handed off our carry ons to the bellman and headed for the monorail to whisk us away to the Most Magical Kingdom on Earth!!! We were so excited. And then, up ahead, there it was! The castle. The look on my children's faces was priceless.
The lines were moving quickly and we were stroller ready in less than 10 minutes. Then we were off and moving with the crowds. Down a gorgeous Main Street we went to take a good look at the castle. We veered off to Frontierland to get some lunch before we hit the attractions.
We ate at Peco's Bills and it was crowded! Monday is not the optimum day to go to the MK but I knew my girls would want to do this park first so we DID! The food was okay, but we were fairly overwhelmed and over-hungry so I can't really give it a proper review. I know the DDP threw me a bit even though I had read up on it extensively. I tried to use the automatic ordering computer but ended up simply asking a CM to help. She was great and we got through it just fine. I decided right then to simply order what I wanted and then let the CM's just tell me what I still needed. EASY!!
After lunch we headed to our first ride...the Jungle Cruise. Start the kids out slow and work up. We have been to King's Island and King's Dominion a couple of times so my girls aren't complete novices. But hey, this is a really big park and it is so much cooler than the others. DH got the FP and we went to see the Tiki Room show. The girls really like this and were most impressed with the insults hurled by Iago after the show!!
The Jungle Cruise was a big hit. My older DD got to " drive" the boat into the dark cave. She was thrilled. Her DD kept shouting, "That's my big sister!" which got a lot of laughs. She even got a little card acknowledging her excellent driving skills. I plan on showing that to our insurance agent when she turns 16. Maybe get a little shaved off the top, eh? Anyway, just sit up close to the driver to get this privilege.
We went on to the POC, which wasn't nearly as cool as I remember from childhood and then did a bunch of character signings around Adventureland. Saw Peter and Wendy, Hook and Smee and Jasmine and Aladdin. I did custom made autograph pages for each character and the girls got a lot of comments about them. Almost every character spent extra time with them.
Okay, a bit about the characters. First of all, have your camera ready as very few had Photopass photographers with them. I thought that was poor planning on Disney's part. Yes, I have a camera, but I think this should be a given. Next, some of them have some sass! I mean, really. Peter Pan should be a bit of a child in temperament, but Wendy should be really sweet! Our Wendy had some fire on her and maybe had spent a little too much time in Neverland! Hook and Smee were by far the most fun! They were so funny and really made my girls laugh. Jasmine was gorgeous and I am thankful I had the camera and not my DH. Who knows what sort of pictures I would have gotten from that meet and greet!!!
Now we were ready for some real riding!! DH had gone ahead to get FP for Splash and we watched the 3: 00 parade. A bit of advice!!!! Do not watch it from the Adventureland side by Splash Mountain. The road slopes down here so unless you are in the very first row, your child will not see the parade at all. Holding my 50 pound child on my shoulders was not really enjoyable for me. Before our trip I was 5'2". I am now 5 feet even!!!
On to Splash Mountain! This was an easy walk on with our FP. We literally had no wait at all. A great time was had by all! We got a little wet but only on our faces. As Florida was having a nice little heat wave last week, the water actually felt great. Just before getting on Splash, my DH got our BTMRR FP's and our return time was within 45 minutes so we took a potty break (bet that was too much information for you!), got a drink and we were ready to go. Again, walked right onto the ride with no wait.
WOW! This was a blast, too. The girls loved it. We would have done them both again but swimming at the hotel pool was tops on their list, so we got a Dolewhip as we headed out of the park. IT WAS AWESOME! Everyone is so right about this fruity concoction. Just lovely!! YUM!
Back to the hotel for a cold dip in the Volcano pool. Yes, it was 85 degrees out but the water was COLD. But the kids loved it and we stayed about an hour. DH got us food from Captain Cooks (which was really good) and we ate in the room. Kids were asleep by 8:30 and we felt it was a successful day.
Oh, yeah, one more thing. We saw a lot of falling down at the park. Seriously,folks, watch out! Within our first five minutes of being in the park, we saw our first falling accident. A lady fell off the curb by the Main Street Christmas tree. She pulled her husband down with her and he dislocated his finger. YUCK! It was gross. Then in Adventureland, we saw a little snow white sit down on the "line rope" and she flipped over backward and slammed her head on the ground. Double Yuck! We heard her poor little head make a pretty nasty sound. And later that same day we saw a little boy slip and fall face first coming off Splash Mountain.
My DD5 went sliding across the bathroom floor at the Hoop de Doo bathroom and hurt her arm. Our friends DD4 fell over in the cafe chairs by Noodle Terrace. Same child slipped on the Maharaja Trail after a sun shower and cut her knee. And we saw numerous falls on the monorails by kids not holding on when it took off. BE CAREFUL!! Especially after a rain. Those tiles in the parks can get slippery.
Well, that is our first day....stay tuned as we go to the Crystal Palace, the BBB and to CRT, followed by MVMCP. All in one day....will our kids make it or will we be the parents with the crazy bus kid???!!!???
So do this breakfast even if your kids are a bit old. And expect to spend at least an hour here if you want to meet all the characters. 
