KathyRN137
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Apr 14, 2006
- Messages
- 7,882
DAY 2: TUESDAY, 11/07/06 The MAGIC KINGDOM
The alarm was set for 6:30, but Billy woke us up at 6:00! He came into our room and climbed into our bed, chuckling loudly and repeating, “First, we go to Magic Kingdom! Then we go to Old Key West! Then we go to EPCOT, pleeeese!!” After hearing this ten or twelve times, it was impossible to fall back to sleep. Sometimes I wish our kids came with a snooze button.
We snuggled for a few minutes enjoying the delicious feeling of knowing that this was the first morning of our first day…our whole vacation lay in front of us! Its the same giddy feeling I had when I was in grammar school and it was the first day of summer vacation. No wonder I felt like a kid!
The Weather Channel was calling for a cloudy day, high of 71*. Eh, could be worse, right? I set the table for breakfast and put on the water for tea, then stepped out onto the balcony for the first real look at our quiet “golf course” view.
Well, we could see a bit of the green, but dense pine blocked most of it! That’s okay, there were palm trees right outside the balcony and the beginnings of a tiny stream if you looked to the right. The “road noise” that I had worried about never turned out to be an issue. Trees, golf course, then more trees stood between our villa and the road, so there was a decent buffer. I turned back inside to consult the Operational Plan.
Billy was only partially right about today’s plan. We were going to the MK in the morning and then back to the resort for a break, but the plan was to return to the MK for the evening as well! The rest of the family was well aware of the Operational Plan, having heard it repeatedly during its formation, but just for good measure, I stuck my chart up on the refrigerator with
and 
magnets for all to see!
Despite the fact that we were now on vacation, Ed still got up to take his daily run. He was training for his first half-marathon (at WDW!) and wanted to take at least a short run every day. While he was out, I woke Tricia and she took a shower in “her” bathroom while I helped Billy get showered in “ours.” Boy, it was nice having two bathrooms in the morning!
Ed returned and I received the report on his run. “Flat course, really nice surroundings, especially around the golf course” he said. “The fumes from the buses were a bit annoying. It’s about 1-1/2 miles using all the streets and paths, so I had to go around twice.”
He prefers the circuit-like paths at CBR and POFQ/RS. “Running around the DVC resorts is like running around the neighborhood”, he observed. Well, that figures!
Everyone ate a breakfast of cold cereal and fruit. We dressed in our red "Jersey Shirts" and before you know it, it was 8:30 already and we all scrambled to pack our little bags and don our lanyards. Well, two of us were wearing lanyards, anyway.
Aunt Rae had only one pin that a great-nephew had sent her in honor of her trip, and she was anxious to buy a lanyard and start a collection. The boys find them too annoying to wear, but they still have a small number of pins at home. Tricia and I, on the other hand, have so many pins that we have to rotate them on our lanyards throughout the week so we get a chance to wear them all!
I had not one, but two LGMH TAGS on my backpack,
so I was sure that I would meet lots of DISers this week!
I had read that so many of us would be down here this week!
It was a very short walk to the old-fashioned bus stop and the MK bus seemed to come right away.
We struck up a conversation with a friendly older couple that commented on our matching shirts and admired our pins. It was 8:40 when we left the stop and, even with several internal stops, we made it to the MK exactly at 9:00.
We could hear the Welcome song as we made our way through bag check, and we were soon through the turnstiles! The one-finger scan is so much faster. The opening ceremony concluded and then came my absolute favorite part of a WDW trip….entering the Magic Kingdom for the first time!
As you pass under the RR trestle, there is a plaque overhead that reads, "Here you leave Today and enter the World of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy."
Nothing could be truer!
I’m sitting here sighing a great, big, happy sigh as I remember it!
It was so wonderful to pass through that darkened tunnel and then emerge onto bright, beautiful Main Street, USA! The snappy ragtime music was playing and the smell of popcorn was in the air! Balloons, Mickey ears and smiling faces were everywhere! Mickey and Minnie were greeting guests by the flagpole and the trolley was setting out for its first run of the morning. I wanted to stand there for a few more minutes just to take it all in, but Dumbo was calling and we still had to stop at City Hall to pick up the GAC (Guest Assistance Card) for Billy.
We walked right up to the desk and showed the CM from Guest Relations our GAC from last year and requested one for this trip. We had a doctor’s letter with us, but they didn’t ask for one. (Probably b/c Billy was stimming loudly, drooling, and flapping his arms a bit, too.)
If you recall, he “stims”, or orally self-stimulates, by either chewing on things or making lots of noise! He hums, laughs inappropriately, and “scripts”—repeats bits of dialogue from his favorite TV shows. We were quickly issued our card and made the magical walk down Main St. toward the Castle!
A large crane was set up near the castle and the remaining gold ornamentation from “The Happiest Celebration on Earth” was in the process of being removed. It was a beautiful sight, nevertheless. The Christmas tree stood nearby, sparkling and festive. I don’t know why I was surprised that the park was already getting decorated for the Christmas; after all, the local mall began putting its decorations up before Halloween!
We didn’t stop for a photo in front of the Castle b/c we were already late for Dumbo.
We waved to the statue of Walt and Mickey and hurried to Fantasyland. An elaborate stage is set up in the forecourt now, so we had to walk around the Castle instead of going straight through as we had been accustomed to doing in the past.
It was 9:30 when we entered the queue for Dumbo and 9:45 by the time our turn came. I hoped that this wouldn’t be a pattern, but I shouldn’t have been worried. This turned out to be the longest wait of the morning.
Flying high above all of Fantasyland, I felt all the cares and worries of the previous year melting away. “WE’RE ACTUALLY HERE!” I thought gleefully. The skies appeared threatening, but we had our ponchos and at this point it could have rained
and 
and it wouldn’t have fazed me one bit!! We had an entire week in front of us and I was looking forward to every bit of it!
It turned out to be a near-perfect Fantasyland morning! Next we did Pooh(my favorite!) and then Snow White with barely any wait. Our hunnypot bounced merrily with Tigger and, with the help of the seven dwarfs, our mining car easily escaped from the treacherous Wicked Queen!
Peter Pan was down, (the CMs told all the kids that Capt. Hook was causing a little trouble), so we rode the ever-cheery IASWA. The refurbishment has really made a difference in this attraction, especially the restoration of the original theme song and the updated sound system. The restored version sounded somewhat less repetitious and was therefore much more enjoyable.
Billy prefers to ride all the FantasyLand attractions in a definite order: Dumbo/Pooh/Snow White/ Peter Pan/IASWA/ and finally, his favorite, Mickey’s Philharmagic. Going out of order threw him off a little. Even though he enjoyed IASWA, he kept insisting we go back to Peter Pan! (Some autistic kids can be a bit rigid in this way.) We soothed him as best as we could and gave him a chewy tube so he could burn off some of his anxiety with some oral stimulation.
PP was still closed, so we went to Mickey's Philharmagic. It wasn’t too hard to get Billy over there b/c this is one of his absolute favorites! After a 10 min wait, we found our seats and I had us hang back a little so we didn’t have to “move all the way over”. We weren’t exactly in the middle, but we weren’t all the way on one side, either. I really wanted Aunt Rae to get the full effect since this was her first time.
Once again, this 3D experience did not disappoint! The audience couldn’t resist reaching out to grab the jewels from Ariel’s treasure chest and shrieked when the enchanted broom from Sorcerer’s Apprentice splashed us with water. And I wasn’t the only one who was singing along to all the classic Disney songs! We were delighted to follow Donald Duck through a series of scenes from well-loved movies, both old and new.
Billy sat between Aunt Rae and me and he laughed and bounced up and down in his seat the whole time! I don’t know which AR enjoyed more, the movie or watching Billy enjoying the movie! The best part is at the very end. Billy whipped off his glasses and turned all the way around to look at Donald in the back. He pointed and shouted, “He’s there! He’s there!”, and was laughing so hard that his face was beet-red and tears were running down his face! Nothing like a duck shaking his tail feathers to tickle a child’s funny bone!
Thankfully, Peter Pan was finally up and running. But by now, the line was posted at 30 min. Billy was literally chomping at the bit, so we used his GAC for the first time and waited about 5 min in the FP queue. This is one of everyone’s favorites; it’s just so beautifully done. But, oh no! I forgot to warn Aunt Rae about the moving walkway! Thank goodness Ed had her by the elbow; she almost wound up on her backside! We flew high above London and then off to Neverland, cheering for Peter and boo-ing Capt. Hook!
We had just enough time for the Haunted Mansion before lunch. We walked from Fantasyland under the segment of the Columbia Harbor House that serves as a “link” to Liberty Square, and I marveled once more at how subtle changes in architecture, foliage, and music eased us from one Land into the next.
Ed and I had the good fortune to be able to take the Keys to the Kingdom tour last year. I thought it was amazing! We discovered how Walt Disney designed the park through the eyes of a filmmaker, and it gave me an even greater appreciation of his vision and creativity. I really learned a lot and highly recommend it.
The HM posted a short wait, and we passed the time reading the funny inscriptions on the “tombstones” and relating the attraction’s back-story to Aunt Rae.
Tricia was very excited b/c this was another “first” for AR. She was also feeling proud that she was no longer even the least bit frightened “like when I was little”. We all moved into the “stretching room” and Billy sort of broke the mood b/c he was laughing and jumping up and down with anticipation!
Tricia nudged me hard as I began mouthing the eerie greeting, “Welcome, foolish mortals….”
This time, I remembered the moving walkway and Aunt Rae did a lot better! She, Tricia, and I climbed into one doom buggy and Ed and Billy got into the next. Once again I tried to find the hidden Mickeys, but the only one I could detect was the obvious one in the haunted banquet scene. Darn! I wished that doombuggy didn’t move so fast!
As the ghostly busts began singing Grim Grinning Ghosts, I could hear Billy cracking up and trying to sing along at the top of his lungs in the next buggy! (He knows this song from Disney Sing Along Songs). Then we really got a laugh when he added, “Sing with me, everybody!”
Tricia was practically bursting b/c she was waiting for AR’s reaction to the holographic, hitchhiking ghost at the end and was trying not to spoil it. She was rewarded by a very satisfying look of surprise on AR’s face!
It was 11:30 and we decided to try Columbia Harbour House for lunch b/c: (1) It was right there, and (2) they were sure to have FRIES for Billy and a gluten-free salad for Aunt Rae. I was determined to eat an early lunch each day so that we could get our CS food before the restaurants became too crowded. It was a strategy that worked well all week. We quickly got our food and took our trays upstairs where it was quiet and less crowded.
Now this is when I noted the only negative aspect of the Disney Dining Plan, at least for our group. In the past, our family would stop for a quick CS lunch, eat quickly, and then move onto the next attraction. It became evident that this would not be the case during this trip.
I’ve already mentioned that Aunt Rae is on a gluten-free diet b/c of recently diagnosed celiac disease. She is not allergic to gluten, it’s more a matter of her body not being able to digest the gluten properly and thus she gets no nutritional value from these foods. What I have not mentioned previously is that she eats v-e-r-y - s-l-o-w-l-y.
And if she paid for her dining plan, and that plan includes a dessert, well then, by golly, she is not going to get up from the table before she has eaten that dessert!
It took an entire hour to finish lunch. Heavy sigh. Oh well, I have to say that for a woman of 75, she has been keeping up with the pace very well and was enjoying herself thoroughly. I made a mental note to budget extra time for our now leisurely meals. At least none of us would be in danger of getting indigestion!
We all hit the restrooms and yet another variable in our time management equation became noticeable: Aunt Rae took about twice as long in the restroom as the rest of us. “What’s taking so long?” Tricia asked, itching to get back out to the park. “Never you mind”, Ed and I chided her. “Older people need more time to do things…” I offered, not wanting to get into the particulars of THAT with my impatient 10 yr old. “When I’m 75 and you take ME to WDW, I plan to take as long as I want in the bathroom!” I said.
I guess the thought of an elderly mommy made her laugh. “Mom, you’ll want to come to WDW even when you’re 100!” Ha! You’re not kidding, sweetie-pie! WDW is definitely where I want to celebrate my 100th birthday!
And you are my witnesses…Tricia promised to take me here!!
Downstairs, the lines at the counter were wrapped all around the downstairs and into the entranceway. It was very noisy. I was glad that we had decided to eat early. We stepped outside and discovered that it had showered while we were having lunch and the sun was now peeking out a little. How convenient!
We decided to take in one more attraction before heading back to OKW for our break. The Hall of Presidents was the obvious choice as it was nearby and also one of Ed’s favorites. We spent a few minutes waiting for the 1:00 show by viewing all the presidential portraits that were on display. The theater was rather empty, so we took seats in the center, about 5 rows back, so we could get a close look at the audio-animatronic presidents. It’s really a rather nice show, although some may feel that it’s a snoozer. I especially like watching all the presidents move and fidget during the roll call. Tricia was pleased that she recognized many of their names. Billy was especially taken with the show this year, as you will soon discover! (Cue the darkly foreboding music…)
Next, we found the spot where a woman in period costume was cutting out silhouettes as guests posed in profile. We had silhouettes of the children done, and once more were totally impressed with the artist’s ability to snip-snip-snip their likenesses out of black paper! Now we would be able to hang these next to the ones from our previous trips.
They are great keepsakes for a sentimental marshmallow like me! When grouped together, they seem to capture the inevitable passing of time as reflected in our children’s changing features more poignantly than color photographs ever could.
We strolled out of Liberty Square, through the Hub, and back down Main Street. Ed was a bit annoyed that Tricia, AR, and I wanted to stop and look at the pins at the pin kiosk, he wanted to get back “home” to rest. But he was a good sport, and took Billy over to the Firehouse to look at the patches from all the various fire dept’s around the country and around the world. (His father was a fire-fighter.) He later said he was glad that he had the chance to do it; it’s not one of those things that you would normally plan to see.
We left for our break around 1:30 and the OKW bus was right there at the bus stop, just waiting for us!
Soon, we were all kicking our shoes off and flopping down on our beds. I set the alarm for 3:30 and soon drifted off to sleep, feeling pleased that we had all had a really fun morning, and secretly reveling in Aunt Rae’s comment that she had “seen and done more in one morning” than she had done in her entire last visit.
And they all scoffed at my obsessive planning!
Kathy
Next Chapter: A surprise for Aunt Rae, the kids get their licenses, and we come face-to-face with the mysterious Davy Jones!
The alarm was set for 6:30, but Billy woke us up at 6:00! He came into our room and climbed into our bed, chuckling loudly and repeating, “First, we go to Magic Kingdom! Then we go to Old Key West! Then we go to EPCOT, pleeeese!!” After hearing this ten or twelve times, it was impossible to fall back to sleep. Sometimes I wish our kids came with a snooze button.
We snuggled for a few minutes enjoying the delicious feeling of knowing that this was the first morning of our first day…our whole vacation lay in front of us! Its the same giddy feeling I had when I was in grammar school and it was the first day of summer vacation. No wonder I felt like a kid!
The Weather Channel was calling for a cloudy day, high of 71*. Eh, could be worse, right? I set the table for breakfast and put on the water for tea, then stepped out onto the balcony for the first real look at our quiet “golf course” view.
Well, we could see a bit of the green, but dense pine blocked most of it! That’s okay, there were palm trees right outside the balcony and the beginnings of a tiny stream if you looked to the right. The “road noise” that I had worried about never turned out to be an issue. Trees, golf course, then more trees stood between our villa and the road, so there was a decent buffer. I turned back inside to consult the Operational Plan.
Billy was only partially right about today’s plan. We were going to the MK in the morning and then back to the resort for a break, but the plan was to return to the MK for the evening as well! The rest of the family was well aware of the Operational Plan, having heard it repeatedly during its formation, but just for good measure, I stuck my chart up on the refrigerator with
and magnets for all to see!Despite the fact that we were now on vacation, Ed still got up to take his daily run. He was training for his first half-marathon (at WDW!) and wanted to take at least a short run every day. While he was out, I woke Tricia and she took a shower in “her” bathroom while I helped Billy get showered in “ours.” Boy, it was nice having two bathrooms in the morning!
Ed returned and I received the report on his run. “Flat course, really nice surroundings, especially around the golf course” he said. “The fumes from the buses were a bit annoying. It’s about 1-1/2 miles using all the streets and paths, so I had to go around twice.”
He prefers the circuit-like paths at CBR and POFQ/RS. “Running around the DVC resorts is like running around the neighborhood”, he observed. Well, that figures!
Everyone ate a breakfast of cold cereal and fruit. We dressed in our red "Jersey Shirts" and before you know it, it was 8:30 already and we all scrambled to pack our little bags and don our lanyards. Well, two of us were wearing lanyards, anyway.
Aunt Rae had only one pin that a great-nephew had sent her in honor of her trip, and she was anxious to buy a lanyard and start a collection. The boys find them too annoying to wear, but they still have a small number of pins at home. Tricia and I, on the other hand, have so many pins that we have to rotate them on our lanyards throughout the week so we get a chance to wear them all!
I had not one, but two LGMH TAGS on my backpack,
so I was sure that I would meet lots of DISers this week!
I had read that so many of us would be down here this week!It was a very short walk to the old-fashioned bus stop and the MK bus seemed to come right away.
We struck up a conversation with a friendly older couple that commented on our matching shirts and admired our pins. It was 8:40 when we left the stop and, even with several internal stops, we made it to the MK exactly at 9:00.
We could hear the Welcome song as we made our way through bag check, and we were soon through the turnstiles! The one-finger scan is so much faster. The opening ceremony concluded and then came my absolute favorite part of a WDW trip….entering the Magic Kingdom for the first time!
As you pass under the RR trestle, there is a plaque overhead that reads, "Here you leave Today and enter the World of Yesterday, Tomorrow, and Fantasy."
Nothing could be truer!
I’m sitting here sighing a great, big, happy sigh as I remember it! It was so wonderful to pass through that darkened tunnel and then emerge onto bright, beautiful Main Street, USA! The snappy ragtime music was playing and the smell of popcorn was in the air! Balloons, Mickey ears and smiling faces were everywhere! Mickey and Minnie were greeting guests by the flagpole and the trolley was setting out for its first run of the morning. I wanted to stand there for a few more minutes just to take it all in, but Dumbo was calling and we still had to stop at City Hall to pick up the GAC (Guest Assistance Card) for Billy.
We walked right up to the desk and showed the CM from Guest Relations our GAC from last year and requested one for this trip. We had a doctor’s letter with us, but they didn’t ask for one. (Probably b/c Billy was stimming loudly, drooling, and flapping his arms a bit, too.)
If you recall, he “stims”, or orally self-stimulates, by either chewing on things or making lots of noise! He hums, laughs inappropriately, and “scripts”—repeats bits of dialogue from his favorite TV shows. We were quickly issued our card and made the magical walk down Main St. toward the Castle!
A large crane was set up near the castle and the remaining gold ornamentation from “The Happiest Celebration on Earth” was in the process of being removed. It was a beautiful sight, nevertheless. The Christmas tree stood nearby, sparkling and festive. I don’t know why I was surprised that the park was already getting decorated for the Christmas; after all, the local mall began putting its decorations up before Halloween!
We didn’t stop for a photo in front of the Castle b/c we were already late for Dumbo.
We waved to the statue of Walt and Mickey and hurried to Fantasyland. An elaborate stage is set up in the forecourt now, so we had to walk around the Castle instead of going straight through as we had been accustomed to doing in the past.It was 9:30 when we entered the queue for Dumbo and 9:45 by the time our turn came. I hoped that this wouldn’t be a pattern, but I shouldn’t have been worried. This turned out to be the longest wait of the morning.
Flying high above all of Fantasyland, I felt all the cares and worries of the previous year melting away. “WE’RE ACTUALLY HERE!” I thought gleefully. The skies appeared threatening, but we had our ponchos and at this point it could have rained
and and it wouldn’t have fazed me one bit!! We had an entire week in front of us and I was looking forward to every bit of it!It turned out to be a near-perfect Fantasyland morning! Next we did Pooh(my favorite!) and then Snow White with barely any wait. Our hunnypot bounced merrily with Tigger and, with the help of the seven dwarfs, our mining car easily escaped from the treacherous Wicked Queen!
Peter Pan was down, (the CMs told all the kids that Capt. Hook was causing a little trouble), so we rode the ever-cheery IASWA. The refurbishment has really made a difference in this attraction, especially the restoration of the original theme song and the updated sound system. The restored version sounded somewhat less repetitious and was therefore much more enjoyable.
Billy prefers to ride all the FantasyLand attractions in a definite order: Dumbo/Pooh/Snow White/ Peter Pan/IASWA/ and finally, his favorite, Mickey’s Philharmagic. Going out of order threw him off a little. Even though he enjoyed IASWA, he kept insisting we go back to Peter Pan! (Some autistic kids can be a bit rigid in this way.) We soothed him as best as we could and gave him a chewy tube so he could burn off some of his anxiety with some oral stimulation.
PP was still closed, so we went to Mickey's Philharmagic. It wasn’t too hard to get Billy over there b/c this is one of his absolute favorites! After a 10 min wait, we found our seats and I had us hang back a little so we didn’t have to “move all the way over”. We weren’t exactly in the middle, but we weren’t all the way on one side, either. I really wanted Aunt Rae to get the full effect since this was her first time.
Once again, this 3D experience did not disappoint! The audience couldn’t resist reaching out to grab the jewels from Ariel’s treasure chest and shrieked when the enchanted broom from Sorcerer’s Apprentice splashed us with water. And I wasn’t the only one who was singing along to all the classic Disney songs! We were delighted to follow Donald Duck through a series of scenes from well-loved movies, both old and new.
Billy sat between Aunt Rae and me and he laughed and bounced up and down in his seat the whole time! I don’t know which AR enjoyed more, the movie or watching Billy enjoying the movie! The best part is at the very end. Billy whipped off his glasses and turned all the way around to look at Donald in the back. He pointed and shouted, “He’s there! He’s there!”, and was laughing so hard that his face was beet-red and tears were running down his face! Nothing like a duck shaking his tail feathers to tickle a child’s funny bone!
Thankfully, Peter Pan was finally up and running. But by now, the line was posted at 30 min. Billy was literally chomping at the bit, so we used his GAC for the first time and waited about 5 min in the FP queue. This is one of everyone’s favorites; it’s just so beautifully done. But, oh no! I forgot to warn Aunt Rae about the moving walkway! Thank goodness Ed had her by the elbow; she almost wound up on her backside! We flew high above London and then off to Neverland, cheering for Peter and boo-ing Capt. Hook!
We had just enough time for the Haunted Mansion before lunch. We walked from Fantasyland under the segment of the Columbia Harbor House that serves as a “link” to Liberty Square, and I marveled once more at how subtle changes in architecture, foliage, and music eased us from one Land into the next.
Ed and I had the good fortune to be able to take the Keys to the Kingdom tour last year. I thought it was amazing! We discovered how Walt Disney designed the park through the eyes of a filmmaker, and it gave me an even greater appreciation of his vision and creativity. I really learned a lot and highly recommend it.
The HM posted a short wait, and we passed the time reading the funny inscriptions on the “tombstones” and relating the attraction’s back-story to Aunt Rae.
Tricia was very excited b/c this was another “first” for AR. She was also feeling proud that she was no longer even the least bit frightened “like when I was little”. We all moved into the “stretching room” and Billy sort of broke the mood b/c he was laughing and jumping up and down with anticipation!
Tricia nudged me hard as I began mouthing the eerie greeting, “Welcome, foolish mortals….” This time, I remembered the moving walkway and Aunt Rae did a lot better! She, Tricia, and I climbed into one doom buggy and Ed and Billy got into the next. Once again I tried to find the hidden Mickeys, but the only one I could detect was the obvious one in the haunted banquet scene. Darn! I wished that doombuggy didn’t move so fast!
As the ghostly busts began singing Grim Grinning Ghosts, I could hear Billy cracking up and trying to sing along at the top of his lungs in the next buggy! (He knows this song from Disney Sing Along Songs). Then we really got a laugh when he added, “Sing with me, everybody!”
Tricia was practically bursting b/c she was waiting for AR’s reaction to the holographic, hitchhiking ghost at the end and was trying not to spoil it. She was rewarded by a very satisfying look of surprise on AR’s face!
It was 11:30 and we decided to try Columbia Harbour House for lunch b/c: (1) It was right there, and (2) they were sure to have FRIES for Billy and a gluten-free salad for Aunt Rae. I was determined to eat an early lunch each day so that we could get our CS food before the restaurants became too crowded. It was a strategy that worked well all week. We quickly got our food and took our trays upstairs where it was quiet and less crowded.
Now this is when I noted the only negative aspect of the Disney Dining Plan, at least for our group. In the past, our family would stop for a quick CS lunch, eat quickly, and then move onto the next attraction. It became evident that this would not be the case during this trip.
I’ve already mentioned that Aunt Rae is on a gluten-free diet b/c of recently diagnosed celiac disease. She is not allergic to gluten, it’s more a matter of her body not being able to digest the gluten properly and thus she gets no nutritional value from these foods. What I have not mentioned previously is that she eats v-e-r-y - s-l-o-w-l-y.
And if she paid for her dining plan, and that plan includes a dessert, well then, by golly, she is not going to get up from the table before she has eaten that dessert!It took an entire hour to finish lunch. Heavy sigh. Oh well, I have to say that for a woman of 75, she has been keeping up with the pace very well and was enjoying herself thoroughly. I made a mental note to budget extra time for our now leisurely meals. At least none of us would be in danger of getting indigestion!
We all hit the restrooms and yet another variable in our time management equation became noticeable: Aunt Rae took about twice as long in the restroom as the rest of us. “What’s taking so long?” Tricia asked, itching to get back out to the park. “Never you mind”, Ed and I chided her. “Older people need more time to do things…” I offered, not wanting to get into the particulars of THAT with my impatient 10 yr old. “When I’m 75 and you take ME to WDW, I plan to take as long as I want in the bathroom!” I said.
I guess the thought of an elderly mommy made her laugh. “Mom, you’ll want to come to WDW even when you’re 100!” Ha! You’re not kidding, sweetie-pie! WDW is definitely where I want to celebrate my 100th birthday!
And you are my witnesses…Tricia promised to take me here!!Downstairs, the lines at the counter were wrapped all around the downstairs and into the entranceway. It was very noisy. I was glad that we had decided to eat early. We stepped outside and discovered that it had showered while we were having lunch and the sun was now peeking out a little. How convenient!
We decided to take in one more attraction before heading back to OKW for our break. The Hall of Presidents was the obvious choice as it was nearby and also one of Ed’s favorites. We spent a few minutes waiting for the 1:00 show by viewing all the presidential portraits that were on display. The theater was rather empty, so we took seats in the center, about 5 rows back, so we could get a close look at the audio-animatronic presidents. It’s really a rather nice show, although some may feel that it’s a snoozer. I especially like watching all the presidents move and fidget during the roll call. Tricia was pleased that she recognized many of their names. Billy was especially taken with the show this year, as you will soon discover! (Cue the darkly foreboding music…)
Next, we found the spot where a woman in period costume was cutting out silhouettes as guests posed in profile. We had silhouettes of the children done, and once more were totally impressed with the artist’s ability to snip-snip-snip their likenesses out of black paper! Now we would be able to hang these next to the ones from our previous trips.
They are great keepsakes for a sentimental marshmallow like me! When grouped together, they seem to capture the inevitable passing of time as reflected in our children’s changing features more poignantly than color photographs ever could.
We strolled out of Liberty Square, through the Hub, and back down Main Street. Ed was a bit annoyed that Tricia, AR, and I wanted to stop and look at the pins at the pin kiosk, he wanted to get back “home” to rest. But he was a good sport, and took Billy over to the Firehouse to look at the patches from all the various fire dept’s around the country and around the world. (His father was a fire-fighter.) He later said he was glad that he had the chance to do it; it’s not one of those things that you would normally plan to see.
We left for our break around 1:30 and the OKW bus was right there at the bus stop, just waiting for us!
Soon, we were all kicking our shoes off and flopping down on our beds. I set the alarm for 3:30 and soon drifted off to sleep, feeling pleased that we had all had a really fun morning, and secretly reveling in Aunt Rae’s comment that she had “seen and done more in one morning” than she had done in her entire last visit.
And they all scoffed at my obsessive planning!
Kathy
Next Chapter: A surprise for Aunt Rae, the kids get their licenses, and we come face-to-face with the mysterious Davy Jones!
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You and I sound so much alike and so do our sons. I am really enjoying your report.
...
Once again, it felt as though we had been sprinkled with pixie dust. Not only did the MK bus pull up to the stop in less than 5 min, we could see that it had showered while we were napping. Once again, we had missed getting rained on! The bus was not crowded and we soon pulled into the MK lot.
and her wedding party were gathering together, happily chattering and hugging all around. A photographer was trying in vain to position them for a few poses and no one was paying him any heed! We admired her dress and then made our way to the old-fashioned caged elevator. The kids were thrilled to discover that we “had” to take it to 1900 Park Fare! 
Then he took our picture. We then made our way out to the monorail platform, destined for the MK. 
These are two features of his autism that are really difficult to manage: the rigidity and the compulsiveness. Fortunately, his stubbornness is no match for his Daddy’s! Ed took over holding Billy’s hand and firmly led him along. Autism may be a part of our lives, but we can’t let a child’s behavior control our family. It wouldn’t be good for him or for the rest of us. 
We climbed into the boat and were soon drifting into the dark, dank, and watery caves that comprised the pirates’ lair. 
A curtain of mist appeared with the apparition of the mysterious Davy Jones seemingly floating in it’s midst. “Put your hood up, Aunt Rae, we’re going to get wet!” Tricia chortled. Poor AR became flustered as we passed “through” the mist and emerged dry on the other side. She gave Tricia a playful spank, and she deserved it! 
“the hairy leg”.
Ed helped her out and she was a bit shaken. 
She began to cry, admitting that she had removed it from her neck b/c it was feeling heavy and had placed it next to her on the seat before the ride began. 
but the bad weather must have been too much for Miss Belle, b/c she did not appear. Disappointingly, only the lower fireworks could be seen. The higher ones just disappeared behind the thick clouds. But, the castle was beautiful and the music was very uplifting. I smiled as I heard Billy singing along softly to “When You Wish Upon a Star”, and I knew he was okay. 
It’s b/c Billy has a habit of crushing them into the carpet with his foot the way one might crush out a cigarette butt on the sidewalk. (I think he is trying to make his mess go away and doesn’t quite understand that he is really making it worse!) Fortunately, the villa comes equipped with a dustpan and broom for the ones that he got to first!
had the highest score. And, as usual, he rubbed it in our faces! Aunt Rae thought it was great fun. Then we cruised over to Space Mountain.
(yuck!), I took Aunt Rae and Tricia over to the Carousel of Progress.
This I had not anticipated. 
unexpectedly crossed our path. Before I could stop him, Billy ran to him and hugged and kissed him. The “handler” began his talk about waiting for the characters to come to the table and I apologized and explained that Billy was autistic. The handler smiled and said, “Pooh, let’s walk this young man over to his table!” Pooh and Billy walked hand in hand down the length of the restaurant to our table, and Billy sang, “Winnie the Pooh! Winnie the Pooh! Willy-Nilly Silly Old Bear!"
has a special place in my heart because of an incident that occurred on our second trip to WDW when Billy was six….
Ed shook his head at me. He needed a nap more than the children did! Mercifully, the bus came in 5 minutes and we were soon speeding our way back to OKW in air-conditioned comfort.
How dumb was that! Anyway, they stuck him on the TTA and the Railroad where he spent most of the day going around and around and around...
