Let's turn around. Magic Kingdom is open till 1AM! 3/23 Some Final Thoughts

[amandaw]

Yay! for more rides on TSM! In my opinion, you can never get enough rides on TSM.

Poor baby falling & hurting himself! Glad y'all were able to get it cleaned up though.

Can't wait to hear where y'all were going for the ADR!

 

[GoofyIsAsGoofyDoes]

First: sorry about missing your last update. Life has been getting in the way of my having a good time for a couple of weeks now. Here’s to hoping that trend will lighten up a bit.

Now then….

I was carrying some things out to the truck at around 6 am and I could hear a marching band playing “Here Comes Santa Claus” over at the Magic Kingdom. Those parade taping people are nuts.

All holiday parade’s are nuts.
But as pleasant as Disney’s well planned, prerecorded and systematically executed versions of a televised parade can be…

The haphazard, unpredictable, one take live event versions are more fun.



Oh my… did I just criticize Disney?

I returned to the room to see this sad sight:

Nooooooooooooooo!

Unfortunately, this update is going to be light on pictures.

Didn’t forget the camera did ya’

We apparently didn’t take the camera out of the bag while we were in DHS.

Nope… but that’s just as bad
(and inexplicably, I’ve done it myself)

We made our way into the park and were in the middle of the herd ready to stampede the elderly, women and children en route to Toy Story Midway Mania.

And to think, when the place first opened…
it was the Great Movie Ride that elicited that kind of fervor and ciaos.

I’m really glad we were able to get a couple of more rides in, because DS absolutely loved this ride. He liked helping pull the rope, but I think he enjoyed the way the car whips around from scene to scene as much as anything.

OK confession time…
me too.

It’s probably an age thing, but I can take or leave video games (regardless of their location), but being whipped around in a ride vehicle…

That never gets old.

If you only got one picture, at least it was a good one.

We hadn’t seen Muppet Vision 3D yet, and this is an absolute must do…

Irrefutable fact there.

The result was a hard tumble, a scraped knee, and our first visit to a Disney World First Aid station!

Ouch… poor fell’a

We had one more park to visit before we headed home

One should always make time for just “one more park”.

 

[khertz]

How cute is Landon's smile in this picture?!

Boo for it being the last day already! Seems like y'all just got there!! But I guess that is really how every Disney vacation goes...too quickly. Hopefully we never have to visit Disney First Aid, but at least if we do need to, I know they will shove Neosporin in my general direction if I ask for it. I always tell everyone at work I need to go be a nurse at Disney. I can hand out Band-Aids & Tylenol all day, no problem! But I'm glad it was nothing serious and Landon was not scarred for life from his Disney fall.

I have to say, I'm impressed at you planning 2 parks on departure day with a toddler!

 

[PirateKate]

I'm glad I caught up before the trip report was completely over!

It's so cute how Landon kept saying Mickey after Fantasmic. I've always been worried my guys would be scared during Fantasmic, but maybe we'll try it sometime.

The Christmas parade filming stuff sounds so cool! It sounds like a filming day is a great day to go on rides at the MK.

 

[afwdwfan]

Have you fitted a cattle catcher onto the front of your stroller yet? Those really work wonders in these types of crowds. And when the new baby comes, you can get the double wide stroller a clear an even wider path!

Well, we do have a new double stroller... and we've been purchasing some after market add ons for it. Maybe this should be the next purchase.

(Me too!)

Maybe if you could get better scores.

My vacation is ruined! I demand a refund!

How dare they make a walkway out of bricks!

I was surprised at how easily the First Aid Station in Epcot handed out Children's Tylenol. Sounds like the person staffing the one in DHS needs a little more training.

At least she was generous with the supplies after we asked for specific items though. We had enough antibiotic to re-bandage it that evening after his bath.

You can get an ADR at Cosmic Rays?

Yeah, but you have to make sure you call 180 days out if you want a front row seat to see Sonny Eclipse.

Yay! for more rides on TSM! In my opinion, you can never get enough rides on TSM.

I agree with your opinion, however, my dislike for waiting in a 2 hour line is usually our limiting factor.

Poor baby falling & hurting himself! Glad y'all were able to get it cleaned up though.

We've had our shares of bumps and bruises over the past couple of years, but that was his first scrped knee. I couldn't think of a better place to have it happen.

Can't wait to hear where y'all were going for the ADR!

That will be a hard update to write. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

 

[afwdwfan]

First: sorry about missing your last update. Life has been getting in the way of my having a good time for a couple of weeks now. Here’s to hoping that trend will lighten up a bit.

No problem. I understand. I haven't exactly had a ton of free time the last couple of weeks either.

All holiday parade’s are nuts.
But as pleasant as Disney’s well planned, prerecorded and systematically executed versions of a televised parade can be…

The haphazard, unpredictable, one take live event versions are more fun.

My thought process was more along the lines of the fact that there's no way I'd be standing around before 6 am to watch a parade float or band go by 5 or 6 times until they get the perfect shot.

Oh my… did I just criticize Disney?

Nooooooooooooooo!

On the other side of the envelope it said something about not letting the door hit you in the... Or maybe that was just my interpretation of it.

Didn’t forget the camera did ya’

Nope… but that’s just as bad
(and inexplicably, I’ve done it myself)

Pictures really aren't a big focus for us... if you couldn't tell by the lack of quality photos. You're really seeing about half of the pictures that were taken in this TR. Forgetting to take any in a morning isn't really a big surprise.

And to think, when the place first opened…
it was the Great Movie Ride that elicited that kind of fervor and ciaos.

When it first opened, The Great Movie Ride gave me nightmares. Literally. We went back to the hotel the night after my first ever visit to MGM and I thought an alien was going to get me.

OK confession time…
me too.

It’s probably an age thing, but I can take or leave video games (regardless of their location), but being whipped around in a ride vehicle…

That never gets old.

It's the combination for me. The movement is fun, but there's someone sitting next to me playing the game too, and I have every intent of winning.

If you only got one picture, at least it was a good one.

Well, it wasn't bad. Hard to get a good picture in DHS anymore. Can't get one in front of the theater because of the hat. Can't get one in front of the hat, because of the hideous stage in front of it.

Irrefutable fact there.

I still haven't seen the new movie. I saw that it will be out on DVD and Blu Ray next week though. I'll see it soon...

Ouch… poor fell’a

It could have been worse. He did scrape his hand just a little bit and he hit his head, but fortunately he didn't get hurt very bad aside from the knee.

One should always make time for just “one more park”.

True, but I always want 3 more parks.

How cute is Landon's smile in this picture?!

He was starting to figure out the concept of smiling for the camera by the end of the trip.

Boo for it being the last day already! Seems like y'all just got there!! But I guess that is really how every Disney vacation goes...too quickly. Hopefully we never have to visit Disney First Aid, but at least if we do need to, I know they will shove Neosporin in my general direction if I ask for it. I always tell everyone at work I need to go be a nurse at Disney. I can hand out Band-Aids & Tylenol all day, no problem! But I'm glad it was nothing serious and Landon was not scarred for life from his Disney fall.

It always goes too quickly.

It might not be in the cards for you in the near future, but that looks like a great goal for retirement. Move to the Orlando area, become a CM handing out band aids and tylenol...

I have to say, I'm impressed at you planning 2 parks on departure day with a toddler!

We like to park hop... We'd done 3 parks the day before, in addition to a mid day break so this was really no big deal. This was kind of a day to just hit a few highlights. It's just that they weren't exactly in the same location.

I'm glad I caught up before the trip report was completely over!

I've been trying to speed it along. If I don't get it done in the next few weeks, it might not be finished anytime soon.

It's so cute how Landon kept saying Mickey after Fantasmic. I've always been worried my guys would be scared during Fantasmic, but maybe we'll try it sometime.

It really was great to see how much he enjoyed it. I guess from the toddler standpoint, it really is visually exciting to watch all the lights and colors. I still don't think he'd have done well if we had to wait with the crowd to see it, but slipping in at the last second and having his earmuffs really made it work for us.

The Christmas parade filming stuff sounds so cool! It sounds like a filming day is a great day to go on rides at the MK.

It really was interesting to observe... from a distance.

I think it might have helped partially that they changed the park opening for that day from 9 to 8 about a month out. I don't know if people weren't aware, or what, but the park was pretty much empty for the first hour and a half or so.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

I was carrying some things out to the truck at around 6 am and I could hear a marching band playing “Here Comes Santa Claus” over at the Magic Kingdom. Those parade taping people are nuts.

They had enough light for taping that early? That sounds like a tougher problem to solve than the clock faces.

I returned to the room to see this sad sight:

I’m really glad we were able to get a couple of more rides in, because DS absolutely loved this ride. He liked helping pull the rope, but I think he enjoyed the way the car whips around from scene to scene as much as anything.

(Me too!)

OK confession time…
me too.

Nice picture!

We hadn’t seen Muppet Vision 3D yet, and this is an absolute must do for DW and I, so off we went.

Good call. Who can't resist a 3-hour tribute to all nations, but mostly America?

We took DS out of the stroller and went in the door to find a small room with a window that didn’t have anyone behind it. So we waited. And waited.

Were you in the FP line or the stand-by line?

 

[petals]

Boo to last day

We didn't get one of those envelopes. They forgot to leave it for us

 

[glennbo123]

I was kind of hoping that your visit to First Aid was even more magical...I've read some stories where people were treated really well there. Oh well.

I agree with others who've commented on your nice picture in front of ToT. Landon was really smiling away!

 

[Shannon84]

I hate the sight of that envelope on the door!!

The picture at DHS is awesome, Landon looks incredibly happy

I'm glad he was ok after his tumble!!

 

[afwdwfan]

They had enough light for taping that early? That sounds like a tougher problem to solve than the clock faces.

I don't remember how light it was. It was probably actually about a quarter after or 20 after by the time I hauled everything down the elevator and loaded it up, but still very early. It was light out, maybe light enough to film as long as they did so at angles that wouldn't catch the sky in the frame, but I assume it was probably a rehearsal. I think what I heard was the band that played as Santa Claus rode down Main Street.

Nice picture!

Thanks

Good call. Who can't resist a 3-hour tribute to all nations, but mostly America?

Love it!

Were you in the FP line or the stand-by line?

It's like Dumbo. It never moves, but there's no Fast Pass.

Boo to last day

The worst part of the trip.

We didn't get one of those envelopes. They forgot to leave it for us

So why did you go home?

I was kind of hoping that your visit to First Aid was even more magical...I've read some stories where people were treated really well there. Oh well.

We left with pockets full of antibiotic packets. Isn't that magical?

I agree with others who've commented on your nice picture in front of ToT. Landon was really smiling away!

Thanks! He was in a good mood that morning. It seemed like he finally got to the point where he wasn't overwhelmed by all the sights and sounds and was really having a good time... just in time to head home.

I hate the sight of that envelope on the door!!

It's the worst isn't it. I always feel sorry for people when I see them on doors while I'm there. One of these days I might just end up putting mine on somebody else's door and then play dumb about it.

The picture at DHS is awesome, Landon looks incredibly happy

Thanks!

I'm glad he was ok after his tumble!!

Me too. Definitely could have been worse. I certainly wasn't bad enough to ruin our day.

 

[petals]

So why did you go home?

I've been asking myself the same question ever since I got home

 

[KatMark]

I returned to the room to see this sad sight:

I hate this picture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great family shot...and glad you got it BEFORE the boo-boo!


We took DS out of the stroller and went in the door to find a small room with a window that didn’t have anyone behind it. So we waited. And waited. After about 5 minutes a lady came to the window and asked what we needed. We told her what happened and she handed us a band aid. We told her we already had a band aid, but wanted something to clean the scrape and some antibiotic. She handed us a sterile wipe to clean it up and a couple of antibiotic packets. We quickly had DS cleaned up, and ready to go.

Not overly friendly here, huh?

We made our way back over to Muppet Theater and enjoyed seeing the show. By the time we got out of the theater, it was time to use our Toy Story FP’s. We took one last ride through the midway and decided it was about time to head out. We stopped in Mickey’s of Hollywood on the way out to buy some souvenirs we had our eyes on all week while we could still use the discounted voucher that was on our breakfast receipt. We were able to find most of the items we wanted, but we’d still have to make another shopping detour before we left property.

We said goodbye to the Studios and headed out to the parking lot. We had one more park to visit before we headed home and we needed to hurry. We had an ADR and I definitely didn’t want to miss this one.[/COLOR]

Can't wait to hear where you go to eat.

Sorry it took me a while to get over here...ever since the impending engagement and actual proposal, things have been crazy!

 

[CandleontheWater]

Boo to check out day!

At least you managed to fit in some fun last minute park time. I'm sorry that you had to visit first aid, and then had a less than magical experience. Glad everything got cleaned up and Landon was OK. How does he do with the 3D glasses? I still can't get Everett to wear them, even after I promise him ice cream

 

[afwdwfan]

I've been asking myself the same question ever since I got home

Can't wait to hear where you go to eat.

My credit card would probably rather not relive that experience though...

I hate this picture!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is a beautiful picture, if not for the envelope hanging there. Maybe this is a job for Barry.

Great family shot...and glad you got it BEFORE the boo-boo!

Thanks... we did manage to get a few more good ones that day after the boo-boo. I think one of them was even on our Christmas card.

Not overly friendly here, huh?

She wasn't unfriendly. More like "not present."

Sorry it took me a while to get over here...ever since the impending engagement and actual proposal, things have been crazy!

I'm sure they have. Congratulations again to Markie and his proud parents.

By the way Kathy, my mom is working on planning a family trip for this December. I don't have a ticker yet, because nothing is booked and I don't want to jinx it, but based on a name that kept popping up when I did some research on the resort she is considering, I might have some questions for you at some point.

Boo to check out day!

At least you managed to fit in some fun last minute park time. I'm sorry that you had to visit first aid, and then had a less than magical experience. Glad everything got cleaned up and Landon was OK. How does he do with the 3D glasses? I still can't get Everett to wear them, even after I promise him ice cream

We did have a good morning, despite it being our last day and the scraped knee. He actually got over it quick and didn't let it ruin his mood. He kept trying to pick the band aid off though...

As far as 3D glasses go, he wouldn't wear them. He'd put them on for a little bit, but they wouldn't stay and he'd get mad and that would be the end of it. Basically for the 3D shows, he'd at least sit still and watch the blurry images quietly enough that he wasn't a distraction.

 

[KatMark]

I'm sure they have. Congratulations again to Markie and his proud parents.

By the way Kathy, my mom is working on planning a family trip for this December. I don't have a ticker yet, because nothing is booked and I don't want to jinx it, but based on a name that kept popping up when I did some research on the resort she is considering, I might have some questions for you at some point.

Thanks; we're going to spend the day with them in Dubuque tomorrow and go see the Church and look at some halls.

Anytime on questions, just holler. You can PM me or send an email or whatever.

Have a great weekend.

 

[that's nice]

Smart move getting the FP then riding stand-by. We have never rode stand-by.LOL

Poor guy taking a fall... glad it wasn't more than a few scrapes.

Hummm.... I wonder where your ADR is....

 

[afwdwfan]

Thanks; we're going to spend the day with them in Dubuque tomorrow and go see the Church and look at some halls.

Anytime on questions, just holler. You can PM me or send an email or whatever.

Have a great weekend.

It's booked now! We're staying at Coronado Springs, and none of us have ever been there. She has done some research and requested Cabanas, building 9. Do we have a solid plan in place?

Smart move getting the FP then riding stand-by. We have never rode stand-by.LOL

I have a few times. But never for one of the epic 2 hour waits.

Poor guy taking a fall... glad it wasn't more than a few scrapes.

Yeah, could have been much worse.

Hummm.... I wonder where your ADR is....

 

[afwdwfan]

Lunch in the 51st state.

We left DHS and headed over to EPCOT for our lunch ADR. We had a little bit of time to kill so we stopped on the way in for a few more Photopass pictures.

We made our way back to our destination and took some pictures of the scenery on our way to check in for our ADR.

We were probably 20 minutes early, but we were actually seated rather promptly. I was a little bit nervous about taking DS to eat in a nice establishment, but I figured he probably couldn’t do too much damage in a cellar. As I looked around though, it became apparent that the tables with high chairs all seemed to be concentrated in the same area of the restaurant. I don’t know if this was intentionally planned or just a coincidence, but it was a good idea regardless. It made me feel better when DS wanted to play the drums on the table with his fork. That other kid at the next table was way louder. Drum away!

We loved the cheese soup and the pretzel bread. It most definitely lived up to the high standards that Captain_Oblivious and many others around here have set. I had the filet with the mushroom risotto. I had considered substituting mashed potatoes for the mushroom risotto, but I decided to give it a try. I think I liked it just about as much as the steak, cheese soup and pretzel bread. It was all delicious. As you can see in the picture below, if you want to try the cheese soup pretzel bread, but don’t want to pay for the steak, the children’s meals are probably big enough for most adults. In fact, I’m pretty sure there was more food on DS’s plate than mine.

Since we were paying out of pocket, we declined desserts at the table. We still had some snack credits and a World Showcase full of places to use them anyway. We thought we’d stop by the bakery in France to try some pastries, but it was still lunch time and it was extremely crowded. Instead we watched these guys show us their mad chair stacking skills.

We headed on around to grab some kakigori in Japan. I had cherry and DW had tangerine. Both were delicious. We parked the stroller and sat on a bench along the lagoon while we snacked and watched the drummers perform for a while. DS really seemed to enjoy the show.

We headed on around to Germany, where DS and I stopped to check out the miniature village (or more importantly the trains) while DW grabbed a pretzel for us to share.

We continued around the World Showcase for one last ride on It’s a Small Mexico. DS was thrilled that we were thoughtful enough to include his favorite ride.

We decided we’d go to the Visa picture spot and get another free picture, but by the time we got there DS was asleep and the line was long. Instead we headed into Mouse Gears to get the last few things we wanted to buy, but couldn’t find that morning. We went back outside, grabbed a couple of frozen Cokes and just sat down on a bench for a while. We were in that surreal state of mind. We knew that we had done just about everything we wanted to do, but had to get on the road eventually. We were essentially just trying to delay the inevitable at that point.

DS had been napping for a while so we thought we’d go get in the Visa character line. He could sleep a little while longer, then we’d just wake him up when we get closer to the front of the line. Great idea! As you can see, he was thrilled to see Mickey.

We went outside and saw Chip and Dale. We met them, and DS was in a much more receptive character mood at that point, but there wasn’t a Photopass person there, and for some reason we didn’t take pictures of it.

We made our way over to the Electric Umbrella and shared an order of chicken strips and fries to use the last of our Quick Service meal credits. We lingered at our table for a bit longer than normal after we finished eating. Nobody was in a big hurry to get up and leave. We finally made our way outside, and after a few last pictures, we said goodbye to Disney World.

We loaded back up into the truck in the EPCOT parking lot and headed out. We had just driven the wrong way under that sign that welcomes everyone to Disney World when you arrive and taunts you when you leave. I was watching it get smaller in the mirror when DW said she wished we didn’t have to leave.

Let’s turn around then. The Magic Kingdom is open till 1 am tonight!

I looked at her hoping she’d say yes. I was ready to pull a U turn right across the median. I think she actually considered it, but we both knew we had to start heading north to get rested up and make it home at a reasonable time tomorrow.



Thank you all for reading along. I’ll come back with some final thoughts about our time and experience in the world with our almost 2 year old. I’m also excited to say that I finally have a new ticker in my sig. We’ll be taking a larger family trip with my parents, sisters and bil this December to celebrate my parents’ anniversary. That means we’ll have an almost 3 year old and a 7-8 month old with us.

Pray for us.

 

[KatMark]

Andy, say it's not so. I can't believe the TR is over (well, except the recap). I have so enjoyed your TR, and seeing your little guy. I love the photo of him by the train station in Germany...very cute. And so glad you enjoyed your meal at LeCellier. We LOVE lunch there (we weren't happy with dinner in September because I couldn't substitute for the mashed potatos or the dessert I wanted ) and we will go back for lunch in a couple of years.

Are you going to do a Pretrip report?