Cast of Characters: (just to remind you)
AB--30 something, clumsy, loves Disney and vacations in general
married to...
UJ--30 something, absent minded, loves Disney but loves U2 more
Mom -- Sis to AB, 30-something; married; been doing mostly
single-parenting since hubby joined the Army three
years ago; likes things she can't afford; loves Disney
and really needed a vacation.
ML -- Master Liam; age 6; active, intelligent boy;
loves the Red Sox and Patriots; has enough energy to
power a small country...Mom's been trying to figure
out how to bottle it and make millions for years;
sometimes morphs into an alter-ego, MT -- Major
Terror.
DMC -- Divine Miss Caili; age 4; always wears pink;
loves Princesses and Mickey Mouse; claimed that the
first rides she wanted to go on were Splash Mountain
and Thunder Mountain; the poem "There was a little
girl who had a little curl, right in the middle of her
forehead, and when she was good she was very, very
good, but when she was bad she was awful" describes
her perfectly.
Day One -- Arrival 11/30
Have you ever noticed that the earlier your flight,
the earlier the limo service arrives to pick you up?
We were supposed to be picked up at 6:50. The
doorbell rang at 6:30. Mom raced upstairs to wake DMC
who was not even out of bed yet. "Come on, honey,
it's time to go to Disney World!" DMC jumped out of
bed, ran downstairs and was ready to be out the door
in under ten minutes. Good thing Mom put the kids to
bed in their clothes. Meanwhile, ML had been up since
5 AM...Mom foresaw whining in the future, and it
didn't take long. No sooner did we arrive at the
airport then the food complaining began. "AB, I'm
STARVING!" said ML, showing the first glimpses of MT
to emerge later. Well, we had to get through security
first, where they looked skeptically through all our
tickets and licenses and then made AB take an air bath
to make sure she wasn't bringing a bomb on the plane.
The vacation hadn't even started...she wasn't ready to
kill us yet! That would come later.
Once we were deemed safe to fly, we got the first of
what would be a long string of bagels. If I never
have another bagel again, I think I would be okay with
that. We had an uneventful flight on Song...AB, UJ
and I took turns winning at trivia. Nothing like a
little friendly competition to get the vacation
started. Though smooth, the flight seemed endless...I
don't know if I was just missing the in-flight
pretzels that can occupy up to 20 minutes if I drag
them out, or the fact that DMC kept the shade on her
window seat drawn the entire flight leaving me with
nothing to look at but the screen in front of me. And
the screen was playing the Cartoon Network...silently.
Why? Because DMC had the one seat on the plane where
the sound didn't work properly, so she had to use my
headsets to hear what was going on in the show she was
watching.
Upon arrival, we somehow managed to maneuver four
suitcases, two carseats, five carry-on bags, a
stroller with DMC, and ML from baggage claim to the
car rental garage. We picked up our vehicle from
Budget's Fastbreak window. If you don't have this,
get it. We were in and out of the car rental garage
in less than 15 minutes...complete with a free upgrade
to the largest SUV ever (hereafter known as Behemoth).
We didn't have to worry about wandering around
parking lots. The thing was so big it towered over
everything but tanks and trucks. I guess we don't
travel light though...we just fit.
We checked into Shades of Green early, but thankfully,
one room was ready. They couldn't tell us if the
second room was adjoining, so we had to hope for the
best for a couple hours or else I was going to be
drinking beer in the bathroom. It's happened. Then
we walked to the room...and walked...and walked...and
walked. Oh dear, I was tired just thinking of those
late nights after the fireworks and dragging ML down
those halls. We finally got to our destination, and
surprise! The room was actually really nice. It was
big, it had a little deck (which was never used but it
was nice to have just in case), and most of all, it
was quiet. The bathroom was a decent size with a
large, separate, two-sink vanity outside. Most
importantly, it was spotless. I hate it when I find
old hair in hotel bathrooms. The only problem? As
soon as we walked in, DMC claimed one queen bed, ML
claimed the other. What did that leave me, the
biggest person in the room? The fold out couch with
its twin-sized mattress. Okay, it wasn't completely
uncomfortable, but it did transport me back to my
college dorm days. The room also had a round table
with four chairs, a bureau and an armoir for the TV
that had additional drawers. I have to admit I
breathed a sigh of relief. I just know AB and UJ were
really worried about a hotel room on Disney property
that only cost $97/night.
I showered...ah, the glorious feeling of rinsing off
airport grime...and then we headed out in the Behemoth
to Pleasure Island for our 3 PM ADR at Raglan Road.
We were a little early, so we took the children to see
the
Lego sculptures. They were impressed, although I
know ML was just dying to try to take some of them
apart or knock them down. That is what he does at
home...creations are built and then completely
destroyed. He didn't get the chance though, because
we kept him moving and before long, it was time to go
back to the restaurant. Oddly enough, the cast member
left the gate to Pleasure Island shortly before three,
and fellow travelers unhooked the chain...at precisely
three...and went into the park. We looked around, a
little confused, but then followed. We didn't get
arrested.
Raglan Road is anything but what I expected. It is
large. It is leather. It was empty. I guess I was
expecting a small, crowded, everyone knows everyone
type of place with Irish servers, good pub food and
lots of traditional music (with perhaps some U2 or
Sinead O'Connor thrown in). That's how the Irish bars
in Boston feel...I guess I was expecting the same. So
I was kind of thrown off by the big, empty space, the
fact that our server was certainly not from Ireland,
and the quiet. Of course, we were there at
opening...and we immediately felt silly for even
having bothered making a reservation. Our table was
nice. If there had been a live show happening, it
would have been a good viewing spot. And if the
children misbehaved, we were at least 100 feet from
any other people in the restaurant. DMC and ML were
enthusiastic because they could have the fish and
chips, which they both enjoy. AB was less than
enthusiastic though when she asked for a wine list and
the server just mentioned the types of wine they had
available, rather than the specific brands. I decided
to get a beer instead and asked what was available on
tap. The server rolled her eyes and said, "What
isn't?" So she asked me what type of beer I
preferred, then mentioned a couple lagers...Harp,
Smithwicks, Bass and Boddington's. I chose Bass.
Normally, in an Irish bar, the selection of an English
beer would elicit groans or mild chiding, but not
here. UJ also opted for beer and finally got a
complete list...one that I would hardly label as
unmanageable. I may not remember everything available
but those I do are Guinness, Harp, Smithwicks,
Boddington's, Bass, Murphy's Red...and perhaps a
couple others. Obviously, our server has never been
to Sunset Grill in Allston (boasts the largest beer
selection in Boston with 100s of beers) or Cornwall's
in Kenmore Square, who used to have a frequent beer
buyer club card labeled "80 Beers Around the World."
I haven't been there since my single and childless
days, so I can't say if they have it anymore. And no,
AB and I never completed our cards.
The menu sounded tempting, but after a day of travel
and as a beer supplement, I ordered the fada
burger...a sirloin burger topped with cheese and a
tomato relish. I asked for it to be cooked medium.
UJ also ordered the burger...medium rare...AB had the
fish and chips and so did the children. The burger
was cooked perfectly. However, the roll it was served
on was dense and chewy...so much so that I could
hardly taste anything but the bread. It was hard to
bite, making it impossible to get all the flavors of
the topping together at once. I can not tell you how
the tomato relish was because I could not taste it. I
did like the cheese. The roll also had a decorative
roasted onion on it that was rather annoying because
it kept sticking to my hand but it was impossible to
remove from the bun. It seemed to me that the
restaurant was more concerned with appearances...the
presentation of all the food was pleasing...than with
how it tasted. Even the children's fish and chips
were presented in odd-shaped bowls that each quickly
discarded in favor of the regular plates underneath.
AB's fish and chips were arranged in a triangle
sculpture that was quickly dumped out on to a plate
for ease of access.
I love Irish pubs and I really wanted to love Raglan
Road. I didn't though. If I was going to choose a
pub to go to on Disney property, I would definitely
choose Rose and Crown over Raglan Road. To me, Raglan
Road is a C+...okay food, okay atmosphere, good
service. Aside from the wine and beer list, our
server was very attentive and made sure the children
received their food very quickly. But that was
another odd thing...the restaurant didn't offer the
children crayons or coloring pages to keep them
occupied while waiting to eat.
After dinner, it was off to Magic Kingdom for a few
rides then Spectromagic and Wishes. Our first ride?
It's a Small World, of course...the first of five,
yes, five, happiest rides on earth. On our last ride
of the five, a little girl behind us asked her father
if the ride was scary. He replied, "Only for Daddy."
The first time, it was cute. The second time, okay.
After that, it was more like "Is this ever going to
end??" But DMC was happy.
One thing I never tire of in the Magic Kingdom is
Mickey's Philharmagic. That was next. It's
wonderful. And the last time we saw it, we discovered
that it isn't true that all seats are equally great.
Sitting in the middle in the middle of the theater is
definitely the best experience. But please, do as
Goofy asks and move all the way down to the end of
your row. Our last trip, we had a group in our row
who refused to move and wanted us to step over them to
move down...ML was so confused as to why they weren't
following the rules, and kept talking about it so much
that I heard one of the women say something mean about
him. They were the ones being rude, not him, but
apparently some people think they're entitled to do
whatever they want and that rules don't apply to them.
It's still good no matter where you sit. But if you
happen to luck out and find yourself in the middle in
the middle, enjoy!
Spectromagic was great as always. Before the parade,
AB noticed the large cart of glow toys making its way
toward us. She leaned over and whispered, "I'm
doomed." Sure enough, the cart stopped right in front
of us so another child could get a glow necklace.
Within seconds, ML had a glowing lightsaber type thing
and DMC had a spinning, glowing Cinderella thanks to
AB. It should be noted that neither of these toys
ever made an appearance again after the parade. My
favorite sequence in the parade is the Sleeping Beauty
one with the fairies, the dancing butterflies and the
spectacular peacock. DMC squeezed her eyes shut
during the Bald Mountain part, but enjoyed waving to
Mickey and Dopey. She indicated her pleasure at the
parade by lighting up her spinning Cinderella. ML
also enjoyed the parade, but not as enthusiastically.
Afterall, he had to sit still for a while.
The night ended with Wishes. We chose a poor location
as there were several trees in the way...I can never
figure out what direction the fireworks are going to
come from. Our last trip, we were on the left side of
the castle and there were trees in the way. This time
we were on the right and there were trees in the way.
It was a great place to see the white glowing wishes
fireworks and Tinkerbell's flight though.
Afterwards, it was time for our long trek back to the
hotel. I know a lot of people complain about getting
hit in the back of the ankles by strollers in the
parks and AB did have a maniac stroller pusher behind
her as we made our way down Main Street. However, I
can not tell you how many times someone cut right in
front of the stroller I was pushing trying to get to
the exit faster. Also, many people seemed to think
that because there wasn't a person in the stroller
space, then it was empty and walked right into the
stroller. Relax, people!
We did manage to find our way back to Shades of Green
after riding the monorail to the Polynesian, but it
wasn't easy. The path isn't exactly marked, and since
we had only traveled that way once previously, we made
several wrong turns. I would estimate the walk to be
about 15 minutes with the stroller from the monorail
to the front door at Shades of Green. Along the walk
we were amused by signs reading "Florida is a natural
habitat. Please do not feed or go near the
alligators." Okay, you don't have to tell us twice. ML dubbed the pond "Alligator Creek."
Back at the hotel, I packed the children off to bed
then headed into the next (thankfully adjoining! No
beer in the bathroom this time...woo-hoo!) room for
our first covening of the Round Table. Each evening
the adults, AB, UJ and Mom, enjoyed fine beverages and
conversations around the table. There wasn't much to
complain about the first night, so we enjoyed some
wine, and then some beer and prepared ourselves for
the day ahead. It would be a challenging one indeed.
