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.)
DD awakes to find a small stuffed Stitch in her magical bag. (Daddy did good, didnt he?) I guess my gut instinct to cancel my spa appointment for this morning was right on DD still has a slight fever. And here folks is where Im either a really good mother or one that should have my child taken away from me, because we decide to press on and go to EMH at MK this morning. I KNOW we should probably take it easy this morning, but you see, its our last full day, and as long as DD is up to it, we want to make use of every possible moment especially that golden early hour of no lines at MK. Shes not complaining about hurting or feeling sick to her stomach or anything, she wants to go and says she feels up to it. Ok. I give her more Tylenol and we depart besides, its just a short walk home if we need to return in a hurry. (Have I mentioned yet how CONVENIENT it is to stay here?)
The Welcome song is playing by the time we get to the gate hence the goosebumps on my arms and we go right on through. DD wants to first have a look in Tinkerbells Treasures she has had her eye on a stuffed Tinkerbell doll for several days. Its not like she NEEDS anymore stuffed animals, but she does play with them a lot so what the heck the girl doesnt feel well we buy it. Our first ride is of course, Peter Pan followed by the Carousel. At this point DD asks if she could ride the little cars (Indy Speedway.) Remembering the incident the other evening we ask her, Are you going to stay off the railing? Yes, I promise. We get in line, she keeps her word and we have a great time in the cars she drives Daddy while I drive the car in front of them, turning around every so often to take pictures and video even though shes so short you cant even see the top of her head! Getting off the ride we see characters over by the tea cups. Look! Theres Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts!! We jump at the chance to see them and theres almost NO line! Seeing these characters get us in the mood to find more, so we take the train to Mickeys Toontown which will soon be opening. It is here we hit the jackpot. Exiting the train we find Rabbit from Pooh and Friends, Rafiki, Gidgon, the Bear from the Country Bear Jamboree and 2 characters from Robin Hood. And best of all, DD is the ONLY CHILD THERE! We get hugs, pictures, and autographs then make our way on into Toontown. Mickey and Minnie come out for the rope drop, but DD is more interested in the little playground. Toontown opens, and while the small crowd of people head for the Hall of Fame and other areas, we park ourselves on a bench and watch DD have fun in the playground. She makes several little friends and her Tinkerbell even enjoys a few trips down the slide. Next, we tour Mickey and Minnies houses. These are adorable DD has them almost all to herself and particularly likes Minnies fridge full of cheese, the cookie jar full of cookies, and the cake that actually bakes in the oven. Pluto is in Mickeys backyard and gives DD a kiss (lick).
Poor DD is still talking about her lost parrot, and its at this time, that I get the bright idea that hey there are lots of parrots in Pirates of the Caribbean arent there? Ill bet they sell some in the gift shop. We walk on over to Adventureland and DH distracts DD while I go in search for one. Sure enough, there it is the EXACT parrot she lost at Epcot yesterday. Hiding him behind my back I say, Guess who I found flying around looking for you? I pull out Parrot and sheer delight washes all over DDs face. Parrot! You found me! I thought you were LOST!! Hugging him tightly, all is right with the world. She has slept with him every night since. Time for lunch and DH has had his heart set on a Turkey Leg ever since he saw them on The Food Channel several months ago. Look honey there a turkey leg stand heres your chance its now or never. He gets his meat, DD and I get hot dogs and we sit in on a porch and eat lunch in our ponchos its raining again.
Noon is approaching and we want to make sure DD gets a nap in today. The rain cancels any chance of a swim this afternoon, and thats probably a good thing. DD could use the extra rest and DH and I have the dreaded chore of packing and mailing some packages home. Yuck, the very thought of packing and going home makes me feel ill. I have yet get any of my usual souvenirs t-shirt, magnet, photo frames, etc., so DH tells me to go shopping on Main Street. Hell take DD back home and put her down for a nap and Im to take my time and enjoy myself. I like this idea, so I say goodbye and head into the Emporium. Aaaahhhh this is nice. Im alone and can look until my hearts content. Im just deciding which magnet to buy when I notice that gee, the store got REALLY crowded! Of course its crowded its now POURING outside and everyone has come in here to get out of the rain. Shoot. So much for leisurely looking Im elbow to elbow with wet people and I cant see a thing. I ended up grabbing a couple of t-shirts (one of which I hate and will probably never wear) a photo album and a magnet. Not the way I wanted to shop for lifelong souvenirs of our first trip, but oh well. I pull up the hood of my poncho and walk back to the CR in the downpour. DD is asleep and DH goes in search of boxes while I begin to pack. The day seems to be shedding the tears inside me.
Several hours later we are packed up, boxed up, and ready (physically if not emotionally) to leave this happy place. DD awakes refreshed and with NO FEVER! Great, except that now she is complaining that her throat hurts. Uh-oh, I hope this is nothing serious. Otherwise, she feels just fine, so we give her some throat lozenges and head over to the Grand Floridian for our 6:10 dinner with Cinderella and Prince Charming. The Fairy Godmother greets us in the foyer and DD goes into great detail about tearing her first Cinderella dress. Were seated quickly and DH and I take turns scanning the buffet. This one excites us, for it is here they have the infamous Strawberry Soup. Yum cant wait to try it. The characters are excellent here and either they dont seem very rushed, or were finally used to this and have relaxed about juggling food, autograph books and cameras. Suzy and Perla (the mice) and Prince Charming all stop by, but when Cinderella comes over DD says, My throat hurts. This about breaks my heart and it must have affected Cindy too, for she kneels down, takes DDs little hands in hers and says, Oh sweetheart, Im so sorry. Maybe some ice cream will help it. To which DD replies, Oh I cant eat ice cream its not good for you. This just floors me because its a RARE moment that I would DENY my child ice cream for crying out loud, she had a Mickey Bar right before dinner the other day, remember? Now Im getting funny looks from Cindy. Well, maybe your mommy will let you have ice cream tonight. OF COURSE she can have ice cream tonight this is the first Ive heard of all this DONT JUDGE ME! The meal was superb (the Strawberry Soup is divine) the best character meal all week and even though DDs throat hurt, she ate quite well and didnt even WANT ice cream when I offered it to her go figure.
After dinner we hop the monorail over to the MK for our final visit to the the Castle and all the magic that it holds. We are leaving tomorrow, and although our flight is late enough for us to visit a park, it will probably not be MK. We head back toward Adventureland where we are treated to another visit with the Genie and also Jafar! DD is the next in line to meet them when the CM tells her to wait for just a minute. Were confused because there are no kids in front of her and the Genie is motioning her to come see him. Again, the CM says, Just wait right there for just a minute. Ok whatever you say. Seconds later we see the reason he had us to wait because out pops both Aladdin and Jasmine! This is wonderful and we get some great pics and video of all three of them together playing with DDs Tinkerbell doll. What a fantastic magic moment! I must make mention here that the person in charge of the video camera (that would be DH) has had a little trouble with his filming this week. Half the time hes looking at the characters and NOT the camera, so his aim is somewhat off. Other times, he forgets and leaves it running recording everything from the bread basket on the restaurant table to the tops of his shoes. Be forewarned: if you sit down to watch the 2 and a half hours of our video, take some Dramamine youll need it. Prior to this character meeting, DH realized that he had left the camera running (with lens cap ON) since we left the Grand Floridian. We have an entire 20 or so minutes of our ride on the monorail, through security, into Adventureland .audio only mind you.
We have yet to meet Peter Pan or Captain Hook and I know they spend a great deal of time in Adventureland. The CM tells us that Peter Pan and Wendy are indeed greeting right now and they tell us where to find them. But, its getting late, and when we arrive they are gone. Getting in line for Pirates of the Caribbean, a CM notices DDs Tinkerbell doll and asks us if wed seen Peter Pan. No, I think we just missed him. She quickly answers, No you didnt theyre just finishing up. Quick, follow me. And she TAKES us to them! They are in a little alcove that would be impossible to find and there is absolutely NO ONE THERE! Peter is climbing on some staircase and when Wendy sees DD she shouts, Look, Peter! She has Tinkerbell! This stuffed little doll is quite a hit and Peter races down to see her. DD is wearing those kinds of sneakers that light up when you walk. Peter sees these and says, And look, Wendy she has pixie dust in her shoes! The shoes are Velcro, and Peter kneels down to cross the Velcro strips. DD thinks this is just the neatest thing and insists on wearing them Peter Pan style from then on. This was quite a treat for all of us and we head on back to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. The ride is great and DD likes the little hills. I like these hills, but NOT Splash Mountain! Yes, we know. You hated Splash Mountain and I didnt even get the picture. After the ride DH and DD play pirates in the gift shop while I buy a pirate Pluto for tomorrows magical bag.
Its getting rather dark now and we decide to use the parade time to enjoy one last hurrah in Fantasyland. Theres one slight problem however. Just like I was stuck in Fantasyland 8 days ago and couldnt get to DH, we were now stuck in Frontierland and couldnt get out. That was ok; we took our time and snaked our way over to the land of magic where we took it by storm. We rode Snow White, Cinderellas Golden Carousel, Winnie-the-Pooh, and of course, Peter Pan. Wishes would be starting soon, and as much as I wanted to see it a second time, we decided to take advantage of an empty Toontown. DD rode Goofys Barnstormer (with DH this time) and poured over every nook and cranny of Minnies house she had it all to herself; and she talked to Grandmother on the phone in Mickeys house, Guess where I am, Grandmother! Im in Mickeys house! We go over to the Hall of Fame, but we are not so lucky tonight there are no characters about. The night is waning and our time here is dwindling. DH and DD take one more spin on the tea cups and we all ride Cinderellas Golden Carousel. This is it. Its time to go. DD can ride one more ride. Were going to have to go Sweetheart. You can ride ONE more ride. Without a moments hesitation she picks Peter Pan and we take one final flight to Neverland. Walking out on the other side of the castle, we see that there are few people left for the second SpectroMagic parade. DH asks, Do you want to stay? I give a sigh and say, Oh, its really late, weve got a hard day tomorrow, and weve seen it twice already no, wed better go. But as we make our way down Main Street I hear the music and see the lights and I just CANT leave. Its magic pure magic all of it the music, the lights, my wonderful husband and darling daughter. We stay and we take it in one last time.
"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
Day 5 "Losing Time"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=866373
Day 6 "Shh! It's a Secret"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=870446
Day 7 "Tea Cakes and Gummy Worms"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=872121
Day 8 "Fantasmic Fever"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=872158
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.)
DD awakes to find a small stuffed Stitch in her magical bag. (Daddy did good, didnt he?) I guess my gut instinct to cancel my spa appointment for this morning was right on DD still has a slight fever. And here folks is where Im either a really good mother or one that should have my child taken away from me, because we decide to press on and go to EMH at MK this morning. I KNOW we should probably take it easy this morning, but you see, its our last full day, and as long as DD is up to it, we want to make use of every possible moment especially that golden early hour of no lines at MK. Shes not complaining about hurting or feeling sick to her stomach or anything, she wants to go and says she feels up to it. Ok. I give her more Tylenol and we depart besides, its just a short walk home if we need to return in a hurry. (Have I mentioned yet how CONVENIENT it is to stay here?)
The Welcome song is playing by the time we get to the gate hence the goosebumps on my arms and we go right on through. DD wants to first have a look in Tinkerbells Treasures she has had her eye on a stuffed Tinkerbell doll for several days. Its not like she NEEDS anymore stuffed animals, but she does play with them a lot so what the heck the girl doesnt feel well we buy it. Our first ride is of course, Peter Pan followed by the Carousel. At this point DD asks if she could ride the little cars (Indy Speedway.) Remembering the incident the other evening we ask her, Are you going to stay off the railing? Yes, I promise. We get in line, she keeps her word and we have a great time in the cars she drives Daddy while I drive the car in front of them, turning around every so often to take pictures and video even though shes so short you cant even see the top of her head! Getting off the ride we see characters over by the tea cups. Look! Theres Alice in Wonderland, the White Rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts!! We jump at the chance to see them and theres almost NO line! Seeing these characters get us in the mood to find more, so we take the train to Mickeys Toontown which will soon be opening. It is here we hit the jackpot. Exiting the train we find Rabbit from Pooh and Friends, Rafiki, Gidgon, the Bear from the Country Bear Jamboree and 2 characters from Robin Hood. And best of all, DD is the ONLY CHILD THERE! We get hugs, pictures, and autographs then make our way on into Toontown. Mickey and Minnie come out for the rope drop, but DD is more interested in the little playground. Toontown opens, and while the small crowd of people head for the Hall of Fame and other areas, we park ourselves on a bench and watch DD have fun in the playground. She makes several little friends and her Tinkerbell even enjoys a few trips down the slide. Next, we tour Mickey and Minnies houses. These are adorable DD has them almost all to herself and particularly likes Minnies fridge full of cheese, the cookie jar full of cookies, and the cake that actually bakes in the oven. Pluto is in Mickeys backyard and gives DD a kiss (lick).
Poor DD is still talking about her lost parrot, and its at this time, that I get the bright idea that hey there are lots of parrots in Pirates of the Caribbean arent there? Ill bet they sell some in the gift shop. We walk on over to Adventureland and DH distracts DD while I go in search for one. Sure enough, there it is the EXACT parrot she lost at Epcot yesterday. Hiding him behind my back I say, Guess who I found flying around looking for you? I pull out Parrot and sheer delight washes all over DDs face. Parrot! You found me! I thought you were LOST!! Hugging him tightly, all is right with the world. She has slept with him every night since. Time for lunch and DH has had his heart set on a Turkey Leg ever since he saw them on The Food Channel several months ago. Look honey there a turkey leg stand heres your chance its now or never. He gets his meat, DD and I get hot dogs and we sit in on a porch and eat lunch in our ponchos its raining again.
Noon is approaching and we want to make sure DD gets a nap in today. The rain cancels any chance of a swim this afternoon, and thats probably a good thing. DD could use the extra rest and DH and I have the dreaded chore of packing and mailing some packages home. Yuck, the very thought of packing and going home makes me feel ill. I have yet get any of my usual souvenirs t-shirt, magnet, photo frames, etc., so DH tells me to go shopping on Main Street. Hell take DD back home and put her down for a nap and Im to take my time and enjoy myself. I like this idea, so I say goodbye and head into the Emporium. Aaaahhhh this is nice. Im alone and can look until my hearts content. Im just deciding which magnet to buy when I notice that gee, the store got REALLY crowded! Of course its crowded its now POURING outside and everyone has come in here to get out of the rain. Shoot. So much for leisurely looking Im elbow to elbow with wet people and I cant see a thing. I ended up grabbing a couple of t-shirts (one of which I hate and will probably never wear) a photo album and a magnet. Not the way I wanted to shop for lifelong souvenirs of our first trip, but oh well. I pull up the hood of my poncho and walk back to the CR in the downpour. DD is asleep and DH goes in search of boxes while I begin to pack. The day seems to be shedding the tears inside me.
Several hours later we are packed up, boxed up, and ready (physically if not emotionally) to leave this happy place. DD awakes refreshed and with NO FEVER! Great, except that now she is complaining that her throat hurts. Uh-oh, I hope this is nothing serious. Otherwise, she feels just fine, so we give her some throat lozenges and head over to the Grand Floridian for our 6:10 dinner with Cinderella and Prince Charming. The Fairy Godmother greets us in the foyer and DD goes into great detail about tearing her first Cinderella dress. Were seated quickly and DH and I take turns scanning the buffet. This one excites us, for it is here they have the infamous Strawberry Soup. Yum cant wait to try it. The characters are excellent here and either they dont seem very rushed, or were finally used to this and have relaxed about juggling food, autograph books and cameras. Suzy and Perla (the mice) and Prince Charming all stop by, but when Cinderella comes over DD says, My throat hurts. This about breaks my heart and it must have affected Cindy too, for she kneels down, takes DDs little hands in hers and says, Oh sweetheart, Im so sorry. Maybe some ice cream will help it. To which DD replies, Oh I cant eat ice cream its not good for you. This just floors me because its a RARE moment that I would DENY my child ice cream for crying out loud, she had a Mickey Bar right before dinner the other day, remember? Now Im getting funny looks from Cindy. Well, maybe your mommy will let you have ice cream tonight. OF COURSE she can have ice cream tonight this is the first Ive heard of all this DONT JUDGE ME! The meal was superb (the Strawberry Soup is divine) the best character meal all week and even though DDs throat hurt, she ate quite well and didnt even WANT ice cream when I offered it to her go figure.
After dinner we hop the monorail over to the MK for our final visit to the the Castle and all the magic that it holds. We are leaving tomorrow, and although our flight is late enough for us to visit a park, it will probably not be MK. We head back toward Adventureland where we are treated to another visit with the Genie and also Jafar! DD is the next in line to meet them when the CM tells her to wait for just a minute. Were confused because there are no kids in front of her and the Genie is motioning her to come see him. Again, the CM says, Just wait right there for just a minute. Ok whatever you say. Seconds later we see the reason he had us to wait because out pops both Aladdin and Jasmine! This is wonderful and we get some great pics and video of all three of them together playing with DDs Tinkerbell doll. What a fantastic magic moment! I must make mention here that the person in charge of the video camera (that would be DH) has had a little trouble with his filming this week. Half the time hes looking at the characters and NOT the camera, so his aim is somewhat off. Other times, he forgets and leaves it running recording everything from the bread basket on the restaurant table to the tops of his shoes. Be forewarned: if you sit down to watch the 2 and a half hours of our video, take some Dramamine youll need it. Prior to this character meeting, DH realized that he had left the camera running (with lens cap ON) since we left the Grand Floridian. We have an entire 20 or so minutes of our ride on the monorail, through security, into Adventureland .audio only mind you.
We have yet to meet Peter Pan or Captain Hook and I know they spend a great deal of time in Adventureland. The CM tells us that Peter Pan and Wendy are indeed greeting right now and they tell us where to find them. But, its getting late, and when we arrive they are gone. Getting in line for Pirates of the Caribbean, a CM notices DDs Tinkerbell doll and asks us if wed seen Peter Pan. No, I think we just missed him. She quickly answers, No you didnt theyre just finishing up. Quick, follow me. And she TAKES us to them! They are in a little alcove that would be impossible to find and there is absolutely NO ONE THERE! Peter is climbing on some staircase and when Wendy sees DD she shouts, Look, Peter! She has Tinkerbell! This stuffed little doll is quite a hit and Peter races down to see her. DD is wearing those kinds of sneakers that light up when you walk. Peter sees these and says, And look, Wendy she has pixie dust in her shoes! The shoes are Velcro, and Peter kneels down to cross the Velcro strips. DD thinks this is just the neatest thing and insists on wearing them Peter Pan style from then on. This was quite a treat for all of us and we head on back to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. The ride is great and DD likes the little hills. I like these hills, but NOT Splash Mountain! Yes, we know. You hated Splash Mountain and I didnt even get the picture. After the ride DH and DD play pirates in the gift shop while I buy a pirate Pluto for tomorrows magical bag.
Its getting rather dark now and we decide to use the parade time to enjoy one last hurrah in Fantasyland. Theres one slight problem however. Just like I was stuck in Fantasyland 8 days ago and couldnt get to DH, we were now stuck in Frontierland and couldnt get out. That was ok; we took our time and snaked our way over to the land of magic where we took it by storm. We rode Snow White, Cinderellas Golden Carousel, Winnie-the-Pooh, and of course, Peter Pan. Wishes would be starting soon, and as much as I wanted to see it a second time, we decided to take advantage of an empty Toontown. DD rode Goofys Barnstormer (with DH this time) and poured over every nook and cranny of Minnies house she had it all to herself; and she talked to Grandmother on the phone in Mickeys house, Guess where I am, Grandmother! Im in Mickeys house! We go over to the Hall of Fame, but we are not so lucky tonight there are no characters about. The night is waning and our time here is dwindling. DH and DD take one more spin on the tea cups and we all ride Cinderellas Golden Carousel. This is it. Its time to go. DD can ride one more ride. Were going to have to go Sweetheart. You can ride ONE more ride. Without a moments hesitation she picks Peter Pan and we take one final flight to Neverland. Walking out on the other side of the castle, we see that there are few people left for the second SpectroMagic parade. DH asks, Do you want to stay? I give a sigh and say, Oh, its really late, weve got a hard day tomorrow, and weve seen it twice already no, wed better go. But as we make our way down Main Street I hear the music and see the lights and I just CANT leave. Its magic pure magic all of it the music, the lights, my wonderful husband and darling daughter. We stay and we take it in one last time.
"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
Day 5 "Losing Time"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=866373
Day 6 "Shh! It's a Secret"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=870446
Day 7 "Tea Cakes and Gummy Worms"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=872121
Day 8 "Fantasmic Fever"
http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=872158
It sounds like you had a truly magical day!!! 
