Kanga1
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 16, 2004
- Messages
- 1,470
Cast of Characters:
Jana (moi, 40, obsessive planner of this and all trips..think Chevy Chase in the Vacation movies.)
Eric (DH, 41, a big kid at heart, pretty much goes with the flow and can have a good time anywhere as long as theres good food.)
Anna Marie (4 year-old DD and true princess any princess...pick one.)
I do not set the alarm this morning for we have no place to be until 10:00 a.m. Besides, DDs internal clock will have us up before 7:00 anyway. Amazingly enough, she sleeps until 8:10 wow! This place really IS magical! Today we are going to Blizzard Beach and our plan is to arrive at the 10:00 opening. The bus drops us off at 10:00, but its not the opening. The hours today are 9:00-6:00. 9:00?????!!!!!!????? But the schedule said 10!!! Dummy me I should have re-checked the hours this morning. Now weve lost a whole precious hour of no crowds, cool weather, and short lines. DH tells me not to worry about it were still going to have lots of fun. He buys his ticket (his AP will not let him into this park) and we go stake out a spot at Tikes Peak. Donned in Disney swimsuits with matching beach towels (ok I went a little crazy on the Disneydirect.com site before our trip but hey they were running some really good sales) we looked like a walking ad for the Disney catalog. DH and I had on Mickey swimsuits and DD had on a cute Tinkerbell suit and with her hair pulled up in a ponytail, she kinda looked like Tink. We lathered up with sunscreen and went forth into water toddlerdom. We werent really sure what wed think about Blizzard Beach - or how much DD would like it so I only scheduled half a day here. This place was great the snowstorm theme was amazing and one look of DDs face on the tiny slide told us I should have allocated at LEAST one full day. It was great. DD was leery at first only going down the slides on my lap but she soon gained her confidence and was trying all the slides of Tikes Peak. She particularly enjoyed the tiny raft ride and the big twisty slide and was really good about standing in line by herself and waiting her turn. I was usually on the sidelines snapping pictures, and DH was at the bottom of the slide to catch her. The lifeguard must have thought she was cute too, because when it was her turn down the slide, instead of saying Go like he said with all the other kids, hed look at her, smile, and say, Ok, go Tinkerbell. By 11:00 the crowd level was picking up (darn wish we would have been here at 9:00!) so we decided to eat lunch before the lines got too long. DH got us food at the Lodge and we enjoyed our hot dogs while glimpsing Goofy off to do a character greeting somewhere. Following lunch we headed for Teamboat Springs, the worlds longest family raft ride. Taking the ski lift up to the top of the mountain (LOVED this!) the 3 of us got on our raft. I was hoping it wouldnt be too fast for DD. Too late to worry about that now down we goooooooo! DD got a little scared, but in the end we all agreed it was awesome and would have done again if time allowed. I also wanted to do the Lazy River Ride with DD, but no time for that either. Trekking back to Tikes Peak, we lost our way, but soon were back on course for a few more turns down the slides before heading back to CR.
No time for a swim today were all a little water logged anyway- and no time for a nap. We stayed longer than expected at Blizzard Beach and we needed to get showered and ready for our 4:00 PS at MGM. Tonight we were seeing Fantasmic! and I booked the dinner package at The Hollywood Brown Derby. When I booked it 90 days ago, 4:00 was the latest seating they had. Thats fine with me. That will give us time to have a nice dinner and then get a good spot for the Stars and Motor Cars parade. I was hesitant about picking the Brown Derby because its very expensive and very upscale; I wasnt 100% sure they had a childrens menu; and, after studying the adult menu on the Internet, wasnt entirely sure I would enjoy any of strange-sounding entrees. However, we went; we ate; we had the BEST MEAL OF OUR ENTIRE 10-DAY STAY!! Our appetizer consisted of crab cakes and they were divine. For the main course, DH had the Thai Noodle Bowl (which he LOVED) and, upon recommendation of the waitress, I had some sort of bacon thingy I cant remember the real name of it but it was to die for, and Im so glad I took her advice. Yes, there WAS a childs menu and DD got what else mac-n-cheese. We finished off with the famous grapefruit cake and coffee. The meal was mouth-watering, delectable, scrumptious what more can I say SUPERB. Expensive? Very. Worth it? Youd better believe it.
Stuffed to the gills, we select our parade spot right beside a CM with one of those portable hopscotch toys. DD has a lot of fun with this and it easily occupies the time until the start of the parade. Hooray for Hollywood the cars begin making their way past us and we see many characters we would not see anywhere else Rolie Polie Olie, Jo Jo and Goliath, Mike and Sulley, Cruella de Ville, Buzz and Woody the list goes on and I take several pictures for the scrapbook. With plenty of time to spare before claiming our seats for Fantasmic!, we head on over to Playhouse Disney. DD watches this on T.V. and knows all the characters, and I doubt well be doing this on our next trip with a 6 year-old, so we pop on over there and have a short wait for the next show. We were prepared for the floor seating and it offered a different and refreshing view for DD. Bear in the Big Blue House, Rolie Polie Olie, Jo Jo and Goliath, Stanley, and Pooh and Friends all made an appearance. It was quite a treat and DD especially liked the bubbles. The 3-D Muppet Show was next on our list. We arrived in time for the pre-show, and I kept looking for the infamous key under the mat be could never find it. The Muppets were funny and entertaining and we all enjoyed the 3-D effects. This and Mickeys Philharmagic were the only two 3-D shows we had scheduled for this trip. DD is terrified of bugs especially bees so Honey, I Shrunk the Audience and Its Tough to Be a Bug were definitely no gos this time around.
Our watches reveal that is 8:00 time to get our seats for Fantasmic!. Even though I knew we had guaranteed seating because I had purchased the dinner package, I still wanted a good seat in our section. Getting near the entrance we were instructed to gather all our belongings from the stroller so that at the end of the show, we could just grab one and not waste time looking for ours. We had been marking our stroller all week with a you cant miss me fire bandana however, I appreciated this effort on Disneys part to get the thousands of people out of the show in a quick and orderly manner. I could only imagine the throngs of people searching for their rented stroller. We selected our prime seats and got ready to enjoy the show. The air was warm, but not as humid and they were playing lively music and everyone was doing the wave. DH, of course, went off in search of a snack. We ate and sang and waved until we could wave no more. DD was quite relaxed and content and was fixated on the family behind us. I guess she must have been eyeing their cotton candy, because the dad said, Your daughter looks like she really wants some cotton candy. Can I give her some of ours? Aaauuuggghhh now, dont get me wrong this was an extremely nice gesture and I appreciate that but I did NOT want her to have cotton candy at this particular place and time. Its too close to bedtime, she really didnt NEED it, and the show was about to start and I didnt want to be cleaning up a sticky mess and missing some of it. Besides, even though Im sure he was just a kind, normal father, I did not know this man and I didnt want to use that moment to teach my child about NOT accepting food from strangers we havent had that talk yet. I gratefully thank him, but of course, DD has heard his offer and cant understand WHY I wont let her have any. Not tonight sweetheart end of discussion. With 15 minutes before show time, I take this opportunity to distract my DD by calling my mom. Hey lets call Grandmother! This is a great idea and we have a nice chat. My mom, who watches The Weather Channel almost as much as Fox News says, Is it raining yet? No, I tell her, and its the weirdest thing I was expecting a rain shower at least every afternoon, but we havent seen ONE raindrop since we got here 5 days ago! Why do you ask is there rain on the Doppler? In great meteorological fashion, she gives me the entire forecast - complete with the current radar situation. Apparently, theres some pretty bad storms headed our way. Great. As we say our goodbyes, I decide to use my own meteorological devices and look up at the sky. Clear skies in front of me but turning around I see dark no BLACK storm clouds. Looks like moms radar was right and I send up a silent prayer that it will hold off long enough to see the show. I dont think my entire prayer reached God in time, because at that moment the skies opened up in full force. Grabbing our ponchos, spilling the popcorn, and thanking myself for not taking the cotton candy man up on his offer (what a mess) we sit in the pouring rain. Hundreds of people are beginning to leave, but I have hopes this is just one of Floridas short showers and will soon pass. Its pouring buckets by now with thunder in the distance and I realize that this rain is nothing like the rain at home. Even in very high temperatures, rain in the mountains is cool to the skin. This rain is warm and its actually quite soothing sitting in it once you get used to it. DD thought this was a blast especially since I wasnt telling her to get out of the rain. The pre-programmed announcement keeps saying that the performance has been delayed. Good. Delayed is fine delay away well wait. Unfortunately, at about 9:10, with the rain still pouring down upon us, the announcement says that tonights performance has been cancelled. Oh, man Im bummed. I had read so many great reviews on this show Im quickly going over the weeks itinerary in my head trying to fit in another trip back here. We begin to gather our stuff to leave when they play about 5 minutes of the show. Of course there are no characters, but they do the dancing waters and the lights and some fireworks to the song, Little April Showers. Wow this small taste of the show is awesome we will definitely be coming back. By the way, I had never heard the April Showers song before. I now have it on CD and it brings back wonderful recollections of us sitting and laughing in the rain. For, even though we lost an hour sitting in the downpour, we gained some irreplaceable memories. Drip, drip, drop little April showers Little did I know it would rain on us for the next 5 days.
We board the bus with a whole lot of other wet people. Amazingly when we get back to the Contemporary it hadnt rained at all.
"Planning or Obsession...What's the Difference?"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=857133
"Our Vacation Begins"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...370#post9138370
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 1)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...210#post9143210
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 2)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...244#post9143244
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 3)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=857458
Day 2 "Magical Meltdowns"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=859866
Day 3 "Running Around the World"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=860524
Day 4 "Cinderella Breaks Peter Pan"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=862512
Jana (moi, 40, obsessive planner of this and all trips..think Chevy Chase in the Vacation movies.)
Eric (DH, 41, a big kid at heart, pretty much goes with the flow and can have a good time anywhere as long as theres good food.)
Anna Marie (4 year-old DD and true princess any princess...pick one.)
I do not set the alarm this morning for we have no place to be until 10:00 a.m. Besides, DDs internal clock will have us up before 7:00 anyway. Amazingly enough, she sleeps until 8:10 wow! This place really IS magical! Today we are going to Blizzard Beach and our plan is to arrive at the 10:00 opening. The bus drops us off at 10:00, but its not the opening. The hours today are 9:00-6:00. 9:00?????!!!!!!????? But the schedule said 10!!! Dummy me I should have re-checked the hours this morning. Now weve lost a whole precious hour of no crowds, cool weather, and short lines. DH tells me not to worry about it were still going to have lots of fun. He buys his ticket (his AP will not let him into this park) and we go stake out a spot at Tikes Peak. Donned in Disney swimsuits with matching beach towels (ok I went a little crazy on the Disneydirect.com site before our trip but hey they were running some really good sales) we looked like a walking ad for the Disney catalog. DH and I had on Mickey swimsuits and DD had on a cute Tinkerbell suit and with her hair pulled up in a ponytail, she kinda looked like Tink. We lathered up with sunscreen and went forth into water toddlerdom. We werent really sure what wed think about Blizzard Beach - or how much DD would like it so I only scheduled half a day here. This place was great the snowstorm theme was amazing and one look of DDs face on the tiny slide told us I should have allocated at LEAST one full day. It was great. DD was leery at first only going down the slides on my lap but she soon gained her confidence and was trying all the slides of Tikes Peak. She particularly enjoyed the tiny raft ride and the big twisty slide and was really good about standing in line by herself and waiting her turn. I was usually on the sidelines snapping pictures, and DH was at the bottom of the slide to catch her. The lifeguard must have thought she was cute too, because when it was her turn down the slide, instead of saying Go like he said with all the other kids, hed look at her, smile, and say, Ok, go Tinkerbell. By 11:00 the crowd level was picking up (darn wish we would have been here at 9:00!) so we decided to eat lunch before the lines got too long. DH got us food at the Lodge and we enjoyed our hot dogs while glimpsing Goofy off to do a character greeting somewhere. Following lunch we headed for Teamboat Springs, the worlds longest family raft ride. Taking the ski lift up to the top of the mountain (LOVED this!) the 3 of us got on our raft. I was hoping it wouldnt be too fast for DD. Too late to worry about that now down we goooooooo! DD got a little scared, but in the end we all agreed it was awesome and would have done again if time allowed. I also wanted to do the Lazy River Ride with DD, but no time for that either. Trekking back to Tikes Peak, we lost our way, but soon were back on course for a few more turns down the slides before heading back to CR.
No time for a swim today were all a little water logged anyway- and no time for a nap. We stayed longer than expected at Blizzard Beach and we needed to get showered and ready for our 4:00 PS at MGM. Tonight we were seeing Fantasmic! and I booked the dinner package at The Hollywood Brown Derby. When I booked it 90 days ago, 4:00 was the latest seating they had. Thats fine with me. That will give us time to have a nice dinner and then get a good spot for the Stars and Motor Cars parade. I was hesitant about picking the Brown Derby because its very expensive and very upscale; I wasnt 100% sure they had a childrens menu; and, after studying the adult menu on the Internet, wasnt entirely sure I would enjoy any of strange-sounding entrees. However, we went; we ate; we had the BEST MEAL OF OUR ENTIRE 10-DAY STAY!! Our appetizer consisted of crab cakes and they were divine. For the main course, DH had the Thai Noodle Bowl (which he LOVED) and, upon recommendation of the waitress, I had some sort of bacon thingy I cant remember the real name of it but it was to die for, and Im so glad I took her advice. Yes, there WAS a childs menu and DD got what else mac-n-cheese. We finished off with the famous grapefruit cake and coffee. The meal was mouth-watering, delectable, scrumptious what more can I say SUPERB. Expensive? Very. Worth it? Youd better believe it.
Stuffed to the gills, we select our parade spot right beside a CM with one of those portable hopscotch toys. DD has a lot of fun with this and it easily occupies the time until the start of the parade. Hooray for Hollywood the cars begin making their way past us and we see many characters we would not see anywhere else Rolie Polie Olie, Jo Jo and Goliath, Mike and Sulley, Cruella de Ville, Buzz and Woody the list goes on and I take several pictures for the scrapbook. With plenty of time to spare before claiming our seats for Fantasmic!, we head on over to Playhouse Disney. DD watches this on T.V. and knows all the characters, and I doubt well be doing this on our next trip with a 6 year-old, so we pop on over there and have a short wait for the next show. We were prepared for the floor seating and it offered a different and refreshing view for DD. Bear in the Big Blue House, Rolie Polie Olie, Jo Jo and Goliath, Stanley, and Pooh and Friends all made an appearance. It was quite a treat and DD especially liked the bubbles. The 3-D Muppet Show was next on our list. We arrived in time for the pre-show, and I kept looking for the infamous key under the mat be could never find it. The Muppets were funny and entertaining and we all enjoyed the 3-D effects. This and Mickeys Philharmagic were the only two 3-D shows we had scheduled for this trip. DD is terrified of bugs especially bees so Honey, I Shrunk the Audience and Its Tough to Be a Bug were definitely no gos this time around.
Our watches reveal that is 8:00 time to get our seats for Fantasmic!. Even though I knew we had guaranteed seating because I had purchased the dinner package, I still wanted a good seat in our section. Getting near the entrance we were instructed to gather all our belongings from the stroller so that at the end of the show, we could just grab one and not waste time looking for ours. We had been marking our stroller all week with a you cant miss me fire bandana however, I appreciated this effort on Disneys part to get the thousands of people out of the show in a quick and orderly manner. I could only imagine the throngs of people searching for their rented stroller. We selected our prime seats and got ready to enjoy the show. The air was warm, but not as humid and they were playing lively music and everyone was doing the wave. DH, of course, went off in search of a snack. We ate and sang and waved until we could wave no more. DD was quite relaxed and content and was fixated on the family behind us. I guess she must have been eyeing their cotton candy, because the dad said, Your daughter looks like she really wants some cotton candy. Can I give her some of ours? Aaauuuggghhh now, dont get me wrong this was an extremely nice gesture and I appreciate that but I did NOT want her to have cotton candy at this particular place and time. Its too close to bedtime, she really didnt NEED it, and the show was about to start and I didnt want to be cleaning up a sticky mess and missing some of it. Besides, even though Im sure he was just a kind, normal father, I did not know this man and I didnt want to use that moment to teach my child about NOT accepting food from strangers we havent had that talk yet. I gratefully thank him, but of course, DD has heard his offer and cant understand WHY I wont let her have any. Not tonight sweetheart end of discussion. With 15 minutes before show time, I take this opportunity to distract my DD by calling my mom. Hey lets call Grandmother! This is a great idea and we have a nice chat. My mom, who watches The Weather Channel almost as much as Fox News says, Is it raining yet? No, I tell her, and its the weirdest thing I was expecting a rain shower at least every afternoon, but we havent seen ONE raindrop since we got here 5 days ago! Why do you ask is there rain on the Doppler? In great meteorological fashion, she gives me the entire forecast - complete with the current radar situation. Apparently, theres some pretty bad storms headed our way. Great. As we say our goodbyes, I decide to use my own meteorological devices and look up at the sky. Clear skies in front of me but turning around I see dark no BLACK storm clouds. Looks like moms radar was right and I send up a silent prayer that it will hold off long enough to see the show. I dont think my entire prayer reached God in time, because at that moment the skies opened up in full force. Grabbing our ponchos, spilling the popcorn, and thanking myself for not taking the cotton candy man up on his offer (what a mess) we sit in the pouring rain. Hundreds of people are beginning to leave, but I have hopes this is just one of Floridas short showers and will soon pass. Its pouring buckets by now with thunder in the distance and I realize that this rain is nothing like the rain at home. Even in very high temperatures, rain in the mountains is cool to the skin. This rain is warm and its actually quite soothing sitting in it once you get used to it. DD thought this was a blast especially since I wasnt telling her to get out of the rain. The pre-programmed announcement keeps saying that the performance has been delayed. Good. Delayed is fine delay away well wait. Unfortunately, at about 9:10, with the rain still pouring down upon us, the announcement says that tonights performance has been cancelled. Oh, man Im bummed. I had read so many great reviews on this show Im quickly going over the weeks itinerary in my head trying to fit in another trip back here. We begin to gather our stuff to leave when they play about 5 minutes of the show. Of course there are no characters, but they do the dancing waters and the lights and some fireworks to the song, Little April Showers. Wow this small taste of the show is awesome we will definitely be coming back. By the way, I had never heard the April Showers song before. I now have it on CD and it brings back wonderful recollections of us sitting and laughing in the rain. For, even though we lost an hour sitting in the downpour, we gained some irreplaceable memories. Drip, drip, drop little April showers Little did I know it would rain on us for the next 5 days.
We board the bus with a whole lot of other wet people. Amazingly when we get back to the Contemporary it hadnt rained at all.
"Planning or Obsession...What's the Difference?"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=857133
"Our Vacation Begins"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...370#post9138370
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 1)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...210#post9143210
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 2)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread...244#post9143244
Day 1 "Pixie Dust and Panic Attacks" (Part 3)
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=857458
Day 2 "Magical Meltdowns"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=859866
Day 3 "Running Around the World"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=860524
Day 4 "Cinderella Breaks Peter Pan"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=862512
thanks 
