Lightsabers, Mouse Kisses and a Man in a Lucky Shirt! A January 2010 TR

[Northern Disney Girl]

port orleans fq seems like such a nice place to stay. we stayed at riverside but fq seems nicer! it was a little confusing and we got lost a couple of times cant wait to here about your first night, to me its the best night!

POFQ is A LOT smaller than Riverside! We walked over to Riverside a couple of times (we had friends staying there) and it is just SO BIG!!! I much prefer the quaintness of FQ!!!

I shall try to do the next chapter tonite! Em has piano lessons tonite so if I have enough energy once I get them to bed I shall try to get to it!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

I'm here

Sorry I'm late to the party! Not sure how I missed that you started your TR.

Great start. What an adventure you had getting to Disney. So great to see that you made it to POFQ and are heading to MK!


Can't wait for more!

HEY Shelly! Welcome! Thanks for coming! Better late than never! I am so glad you are here!

 

[LoveMyTwoPrincesses]

I'm excited to see that you have started your TR! I can't wait to read more!

 

[martinolichfamily]

I'm in!

Great TR...waiting to read more.

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

I'm excited to see that you have started your TR! I can't wait to read more!

I'm in!

Great TR...waiting to read more.

Welcome to both of you! Thanks for joining in!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Hey Peeps!

Sorry but I won't be able to get to another update until MAYBE tomorrow afternoon! Too much laundry to fold!

I will have some time tomorrow afternoon to do chapter 3! See you all later!

 

[Firestarter]

Laundry's folded.

Sorry folks, doin' what I can to get her posting. Apparently she's too busy studying. We'll all wait for tomorrow.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Laundry's folded.

Sorry folks, doin' what I can to get her posting. Apparently she's too busy studying. We'll all wait for tomorrow.

What a helper! I've got some laundry going too if you are bored!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Chapter 3: Let the Magic Begin!

We walked to the bus stop (I timed it later in the trip and it took exactly 1 minute to walk there from our room!) and boarded our bus to the Magic Kingdom at exactly 2:24pm!

From all the books and other Materials I had read, I had expected the bus ride from POFQ to MK to last anywhere from 15-20 mins! Boy was I surprised when we pulled up to the MK in less than 10 mins! WOOHOO!!!!!

We jumped off the bus and practically sprinted over to the bag check! We were so excited to be back at our Happy Place! Ken and Emily went through the Bag check line and Nat and I went towards the turnstiles with our tickets ready to be used for the first time!

Once we were all inside we decided to head to Tomorrowland! We had not been able to do a lot in that part of the park last year so we figured that was a great place to start our vacation!

The “secret” passage way around by way of the Plaza was blocked off so we had to go ALL THE WAY AROUND and over the main bridge into Tomorrowland! We first went and got fastpasses for Space Mountain that were good for 3:50-4:50pm.

Em was super excited because she knew she would be having 2 rides cause there was no way Nat was even thinking about doing Space! We decided to start things off slowly and headed towards The Carousel of Progress. It was a walk on, of course! SWEET!!! I had not been on this ride since they redid the last scene! It is so fun! I love the whole Microwave thing – it is hilarious!

Next we thought we should take a spin on the TTA! It was also a walk on! A very nice relaxing ride through Tomorrowland. We enjoyed it very much. We had informed Natalie that it would be going “through” Space Mountain but not “ON” the actual ride part. She was okay with that and led us up the line to the loading area!

I honestly don't remember if I have ever actually ridden the TTA before! Most rides I know that I have been on, I have a very distinct memory of being on before. This one not so much! I am fairly certain that I have ridden because I think I remember seeing pictures of me on it when I was 12 but I don't remember it!

We all enjoyed a relaxing ride around Tomorrowland and next decided to help Buzz Lightyear and Star Command fight the Evil Zurg! The kids and Ken really like this one but me not so much! I always have a hard time finding the infrared dot for my shooter! My scores prove that I am terrible at this game! My best score was 55000! I must have got lucky that time though because all my other scores were less than 10000! Oh well, at least I can be the spinner! That part I like! We did the obligatory picture with Zurg behind bars and then looked at what our options were for our next conquest!

It was 3:52 at that point according to my notes so that meant that our Fps for Space Mountain were valid! Nat still was not going near SM so Em decided she wanted to ride with Daddy first and that Nat could go ride the Carrousel! Alrighty then! We agreed to meet up at Pecos Bills for supper when we were both finished our rides!

Emily happily skipped off with Fastpasses in hand and Daddy following along behind. Nat and I made our way through Tomorrowland into Fantasyland and braved the aftenoon crowds towards the Carrousel. Man that place gets crowded in the afternoon!
Note to self: AVOID FANTASYLAND IN THE AFTERNOON ON ALL FUTURE TRIPS!!!!!

Fortunately though, I knew from my trusted sources <cough> UG<cough> that the Carrousel was a good bet at that time in the afternoon! Sure enough we walked right on and Nat took her sweet precious time in finding just the right horse to perch herself upon! Unfortunately, Cindy's horse was already taken for that ride! Oh well, maybe next time!

We enjoyed our little spin on the carrousel and then fought the crowds again in order to make our way towards Frontierland and Pecos Bill's! This was the girls choice to have their first meal! If it had been MY choice, we would have eaten at Columbia Harbour House!

I was pretty sure that Ken and Emily would be a while so Nat and I had a seat on one of the fabulous benches outside Pecos Bills and just waited! We didn't have to wait long though, maybe 5 minutes, before Ken and Emily showed up! They had conquered Space Mountain and Em declared it “WAY WAY BETTER” than last year!

We tromped inside and being only about 4:30 it wasn't very busy yet! We found our way over to the self serve kiosk and placed our orders! I had dreaded this moment but it ended up being SUPER easy! We made our selections and then moved up with our ticket to the window to wait for our food! It took less than 5 minutes for our food to be ready! So far, we had EXCELLENT wait times for everything!

We took our trays and went to find a table. Since it wasn't very full in there we found one in a little room just around the corner from the ordering room and sat down to eat! We were hungry! Ken and I both had the BBQ pork sandwiches, I had fries and he had apples. We both chose carrot cake for our dessert. The girls both had burgers. Nat had cheese, Em did not have cheese. Both had cookies. Em had grapes and Nat had applesauce.

The food was good although the chili fries were a bit much. I think if we eat there again I will try the fried chicken. We all ate rather quickly as were quite hungry. Nat was a bit slow in finishing so Em and I took a walk over to Thunder to grab some fastpasses for later. Return time was 6:10. When we got back Ken and Natalie were just walking out of the restaurant so we headed in the direction of Adventureland.

We were all wanting to ride POTC but unfortunately it was experiencing some technical difficulties so we decided to go check out The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse! I have been reading this book to the girls for the last several weeks and they were anxious to see it! I know that the attraction is based more on the Disney Movie rather than the origianl book but they didn't know that! It was fun to hear them making comparisons of what they had heard in the story to what they were seeing in the Treehouse!

When we were finished the next Tiki Birds show was getting ready to start so we headed in that direction! In all my previous trips to Disney, I had never seen this little show! Now was the time! I LOVED it! It is so fun! I can't really speak for the rest of my family, but I would definitely watch this show again! Very fun! Although I can see why it would be a bit scary for the smaller set! The thunder and lightening was a bit startling!

After the show was over, we saw that POTC was up and running again so we got our Pirate's on and went to pay a visit to Captain Jack and his motley crew!! It was pretty much a walk on and we were YO HO hoing within 5 minutes! I will NEVER get tired of this ride! It is such a classic! There is always something new to see and hear! I could totally ride it over and over again and find something I hadn't noticed before!

After saying farewell to Jack, it was just about time to redeem our Fps for Thunder Mountain! Nat was still being a bit of a scardy cat so I took Em on while Ken and Nat waited on the bridge! This is another ride that I will never get tired of! Again there is always something new for me each time I ride it! When we were done, we did the swap so Ken could have a turn to ride and Nat and I went to stake out a spot for Spectro!

We made our way through Frontierland, and Adventureland and found a great spot right near Casey's Corner! There was a family there that got the curb already but there was lots of room still so we claimed our space and sat down to wait! It wasn't too long before Ken and Emily joined us! Waiting for the show to begin we chatted with the people around us and enjoyed the warm evening air.

Spectro began after not too long of a wit and Man, it SO WORTH IT!!!!! I LOVE SPECTRO!!! We really just wanted to enjoy the show so didn't take too many pictures but here are a few just for you my dear readers!

When the show had passes us by we had a little more than 30 minutes to wait before Wishes started so Em and I decided to make the das to Space Mountain! The “secret” pathway near the Plaza was still blocked off so we had to go ALL THE WAY around again! We battled our way through the huge groups of Brazilian tourists and evebtually made our way to the Mountain! Even with Fps we still ended up waiting a good almost 15 minutes before we got on the ride!

I am only slightly disappointed to say that I may not ride Space Mountain too frequently in the future. I did not enjoy my ride so much this year! It has changed quite a bit! I found it to be a lot more bouncy and shaky. My neck was even a bit sore after the ride! Em loved again and says it is her 2nd favourite roller coaster after Thunder! When we were exiting the ride we hear the announcement that Wishes would be starting in 5 minutes! YIKES!!! We practically ran all the way back to our spot and made it with just 30 seconds to spare!

Wishes did not disappoint our expectations! It was fantastic as always and even after seeing Illuminations, remains my favourite nightime experience! It brings me to tears each and every time I see it! Absolutely breathtaking!

When it ended we decided that we weren't quite ready to leave just yet so we battled the crowds once again in an attempt to reach the castle. We waited patiently for the crowds to thin out a bit and them made our way up to the Statue of Mickey and Mr. Walt Disney! We enjoyed the Castle colours, took a few pictures, had a couple Photopass pics taken (which I will add once my CD arrives) and just enjoyed being at the Magic Kingdom. Together. A family.

We slowly made our way back down Main St. We popped into the Emporium and I bought a watch. We then went ever so slowly over to the camera shop and Ken bought a special lens cloth for our camera. We reluntantly headed out of the park and as we passed through the gates I heard a CM say that it was 9:05pm!

We found our bus stop and waited no more than 10 minutes for abus. We were back at POFQ at exactly 9:25pm! We went to our room to find that our luggage had arrived but our groceries had not been deleivered! I stayed to get the girls ready for bed and Ken went in search of our groceries! He returned not more than 10 minuteslater his arms laden with bags and a case of water!

We gave the girls a snack and got them to bed quickly! Ken went to the Main building again to buy him self a mug and fill it with hot Chocolate. I unpacked a bit and called my Mom. We were all asleep before 10:30. What an amazing first day at Disney!




up next: Hollywood or Bust!

 

[Mndisneygirl]

What an awesome first day!!
That picture of you and the girls in front of the castle is FABULOUS! Kudos to Ken for catching the lights like that!
Awww, I'm really missing Disney today. It's so cold and the snow has piled so high...I'm glad I got to read your TR. Makes me happy to see you enjoying MK together. A family. LOVE THAT!!

Although - not to point out your errors, but...
you didn't really "poop" into the emporium did you?
No, I didn't quote it. I'm too lazy today!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

What an awesome first day!!
That picture of you and the girls in front of the castle is FABULOUS! Kudos to Ken for catching the lights like that!
Awww, I'm really missing Disney today. It's so cold and the snow has piled so high...I'm glad I got to read your TR. Makes me happy to see you enjoying MK together. A family. LOVE THAT!!

Although - not to point out your errors, but...
you didn't really "poop" into the emporium did you?
No, I didn't quote it. I'm too lazy today!

Hey Sheree! Just put your mitts into the mail! They should arrive in a few days! No I didn't poop in the emporium! Fixed that to read popped!

HAHA

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Hey Sheree! Just put your mitts into the mail! They should arrive in a few days! No I didn't poop in the emporium! Fixed that to read popped!

HAHA

I figured...

YAY My girls were watching the Today show this a.m. and they are in Vancouver (it's NBC who is broadcasting in the US) and saw the mittens and accessories and said "Hey, we have those!" It's so cute! We're very excited about the Olympics. I always watch a ton of the winter games!

 

[mickey'sbff]

I am totally in with you on POTC! its one of favorite rides! I could ride it for hours!

 

[disneyshakeygirl]

The fireworks and parade photos are gorgeous! And I totally agree about Pirates, totally one of my favourites!

 

[drakes]

I'm here late, but here
Now to go back and read!

Thank you for the chapter links for quick catch up !

 

[cinderella crazy]

I too have a soft spot for POTC. I just love hearing the "Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for me." The picture of y'all in front of the castle is wonderful.

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

I am totally in with you on POTC! its one of favorite rides! I could ride it for hours!

The fireworks and parade photos are gorgeous! And I totally agree about Pirates, totally one of my favourites!

I knew there would some other POTC lovers out there!

I'm here late, but here
Now to go back and read!

Thank you for the chapter links for quick catch up !

YAY!!! So glad you are here! I am glad that I finally figured out how to do chapter links! It does make catching up so much easier!

I too have a soft spot for POTC. I just love hearing the "Yo ho, yo ho a pirate's life for me." The picture of y'all in front of the castle is wonderful.

I don't think its possible to have too many castle pics, do you?

 

[Monny2AE]

pooped in the Emporium... sorry I know it's juvenile. It's been a long day here and I really needed a laugh today so thanks for that!
If it makes you feel any better I emailed my mom today, who by the way has never been known to use a bad word, and instead of typing the word "add," my fingers slipped and hit the letter to the left of the d on my keyboard. Yup, two of these "ss" in place of tow of these "dd" She was NOT amused!

Sorry to hear you ran into the tour groups. They seemed much more prevalent this year.

POTC must have been having lots of trouble that week. We had trouble on it too and sat for almost 10 minutes before they could get us off. Wonder if it was the same day?

Your nighttime pics are gorgeous!!! Puts my point and shoot to shame.

 

[Firestarter]

Chapter 3: Let the Magic Begin!

We walked to the bus stop (I timed it later in the trip and it took exactly 1 minute to walk there from our room!) and boarded our bus to the Magic Kingdom at exactly 2:24pm!

From all the books and other Materials I had read, I had expected the bus ride from POFQ to MK to last anywhere from 15-20 mins! Boy was I surprised when we pulled up to the MK in less than 10 mins! WOOHOO!!!!!


I on the other hand was not as thrilled with the bus ride.

1.I had been promised 20 minutes. I expected to nap, as I have practiced that skill on the bus to and from work for the past 10 years.
2.There was no Sam Champion ad. That hair is...probably a wig, but unbelievable. Last year I started out disconcerted from him staring at me on the bus. By the time we left his piercing gaze and radiating smile were one of the things I missed.
But they still had the freaky looking contortionist clown ad from Cirque du Solier.


We jumped off the bus and practically sprinted over to the bag check!


The bus stopped and let us out. This was not a stunt routine.


We were so excited to be back at our Happy Place! Ken and Emily went through the Bag check line and Nat and I went towards the turnstiles with our tickets ready to be used for the first time!


Sorry, my kid is partially blocking the picture of the monorail there.

Once we were all inside we decided to head to Tomorrowland! We had not been able to do a lot in that part of the park last year so we figured that was a great place to start our vacation!

The “secret” passage way around by way of the Plaza was blocked off so we had to go ALL THE WAY AROUND and over the main bridge into Tomorrowland! We first went and got fastpasses for Space Mountain that were good for 3:50-4:50pm
.

My younger child there does not have a crippling twist of the spine. She is skipping.

Em was super excited because she knew she would be having 2 rides cause there was no way Nat was even thinking about doing Space! We decided to start things off slowly and headed towards The Carousel of Progress. It was a walk on, of course! SWEET!!! I had not been on this ride since they redid the last scene! It is so fun! I love the whole Microwave thing – it is hilarious!

You forgot to mention the special repeat performances. During the second phase of the carosel a young child got up and left with his mom. A few kids were fussing (it was mid afternoon, no surprise there).

Now usually I am an unmaliable parent, inso, the kids can sit there and not like it, they will NOT ruin a show for the rest of us or anyone else. But that day I saw the parents accomodating the little guy and thought “That doesn't look too bad. Maybe I am unreasonable.”

The ride didn't move after the next scene. Instead, part way through, a highly distorted and stern voice of a cast member projected from the loudspeakers admonishing us “NOT TO LEAVE YAHR SEATS WHILE THE RHAIDE AIS IN PROGRESS.”

This repeated for the last scene as well. When all was said and done I had come to two conclusions:
1.I now disliked that family.
2.I was right all along in being a jerk.

Next we thought we should take a spin on the TTA! It was also a walk on! A very nice relaxing ride through Tomorrowland. We enjoyed it very much. We had informed Natalie that it would be going “through” Space Mountain but not “ON” the actual ride part. She was okay with that and led us up the line to the loading area!

I honestly don't remember if I have ever actually ridden the TTA before! Most rides I know that I have been on, I have a very distinct memory of being on before. This one not so much! I am fairly certain that I have ridden because I think I remember seeing pictures of me on it when I was 12 but I don't remember it!


To be fully honest this was the most mellow and least distinctive of all the rides. I wouldn't be surprised if it is phased out in the near future. It's neat to be in an open air skytrain, and to claim that is a cool sentence. Aside from that there isn't much new in it that you don't see from other rides.


We all enjoyed a relaxing ride around Tomorrowland and next decided to help Buzz Lightyear and Star Command fight the Evil Zurg! The kids and Ken really like this one but me not so much! I always have a hard time finding the infrared dot for my shooter! My scores prove that I am terrible at this game!

At THAT game. The woman plays a wicked game of WII bowling.

My best score was 55000! I must have got lucky that time though because all my other scores were less than 10000! Oh well, at least I can be the spinner! That part I like!


I just wish those toy guns had a scope. Shooting a bulky blaster from the hip...makes me sound like Han Solo.


We did the obligatory picture with Zurg behind bars and then looked at what our options were for our next conquest!

Number of people who walked in front of us before successfully making this picture: 7

It was 3:52 at that point according to my notes so that meant that our Fps for Space Mountain were valid! Nat still was not going near SM so Em decided she wanted to ride with Daddy first and that Nat could go ride the Carrousel! Alrighty then! We agreed to meet up at Pecos Bills for supper when we were both finished our rides!

Space mountain is FREAKY. I don't mind Expidition Everest. Not scary. Neither was the Tower of Terror or the Rockin Roller Coaster.

Space mountain is one of the rides at Disney that convinces me I will come to an untimely death. It's the girders. I can see quite well, I was a lookout on a Destroyer, my eyesight was beyond my classmates in flight school. So I tried to enjoy the projected starfield but whenever a support passed between me and the “sky” I crouched lower in the car. Without a good frame of reference I just assume those metal bars are 3 inches above my head. Every drop and turn was another second where I expected to be decapitated. I ended the ride sitting lower in my seat than my 8 year old daughter.

The other ride that mortifys me is Splash mountain. That high of a drop without shoulder restraint? Are you NUTS!?!


Emily happily skipped off with Fastpasses in hand and Daddy following along behind. Nat and I made our way through Tomorrowland into Fantasyland and braved the aftenoon crowds towards the Carrousel. Man that place gets crowded in the afternoon!
Note to self: AVOID FANTASYLAND IN THE AFTERNOON ON ALL FUTURE TRIPS!!!!!

Fortunately though, I knew from my trusted sources <cough> UG<cough> that the Carrousel was a good bet at that time in the afternoon! Sure enough we walked right on and Nat took her sweet precious time in finding just the right horse to perch herself upon! Unfortunately, Cindy's horse was already taken for that ride! Oh well, maybe next time!

We enjoyed our little spin on the carrousel and then fought the crowds again in order to make our way towards Frontierland and Pecos Bill's! This was the girls choice to have their first meal! If it had been MY choice, we would have eaten at Columbia Harbour House!

I was pretty sure that Ken and Emily would be a while so Nat and I had a seat on one of the fabulous benches outside Pecos Bills and just waited! We didn't have to wait long though, maybe 5 minutes, before Ken and Emily showed up! They had conquered Space Mountain and Em declared it “WAY WAY BETTER” than last year!

I was simply happy to have the top 8 inches of me still intact.


We tromped inside and being only about 4:30 it wasn't very busy yet! We found our way over to the self serve kiosk and placed our orders! I had dreaded this moment but it ended up being SUPER easy! We made our selections and then moved up with our ticket to the window to wait for our food! It took less than 5 minutes for our food to be ready! So far, we had EXCELLENT wait times for everything!

We took our trays and went to find a table. Since it wasn't very full in there we found one in a little room just around the corner from the ordering room and sat down to eat! We were hungry! Ken and I both had the BBQ pork sandwiches, I had fries and he had apples. We both chose carrot cake for our dessert. The girls both had burgers. Nat had cheese, Em did not have cheese. Both had cookies. Em had grapes and Nat had applesauce.


Serious grits with that BBQ pork sandwich. I could have those every day. Pecos Bills is worthwhile for that alone. Pig, BBQ sauce and bread. MMMMMMM.

The food was good although the chili fries were a bit much. I think if we eat there again I will try the fried chicken.
And I will order 2 BBQ pork sandwiches
We all ate rather quickly as were quite hungry. Nat was a bit slow in finishing so Em and I took a walk over to Thunder to grab some fastpasses for later. Return time was 6:10. When we got back Ken and Natalie were just walking out
(Following 10 minutes of nagging and pestering and “sit nice, put food in your mouth” conversation)
of the restaurant so we headed in the direction of Adventureland.

We were all wanting to ride POTC but unfortunately it was experiencing some technical difficulties so we decided to go check out The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse! I have been reading this book to the girls for the last several weeks and they were anxious to see it! I know that the attraction is based more on the Disney Movie rather than the origianl book but they didn't know that! It was fun to hear them making comparisons of what they had heard in the story to what they were seeing in the Treehouse!


I never had a fear of heights before I had kids. Now I am crippled in vertigo in anxiety of their sudden plunge.

I thought the only issues kids gave you were grey hair and dementia.

BTW, that treehouse is so detailed and awesome. Unfortunately there are too many people with not enough space on the walkways so it becomes a forced march tour. I'd consider doing that one during early magic hours to really appreciate it.


When we were finished the next Tiki Birds show was getting ready to start so we headed in that direction! In all my previous trips to Disney, I had never seen this little show! Now was the time! I LOVED it! It is so fun! I can't really speak for the rest of my family, but I would definitely watch this show again! Very fun! Although I can see why it would be a bit scary for the smaller set! The thunder and lightening was a bit startling!

Kim forgets that I do a decent Gilbert Gottfreid impression. It was part of a Fringe festival act I did (gulp) 10 years ago. I tried it during the queue and got a lot of inquisitive stares.

Not that THAT is ever a surprise.


After the show was over, we saw that POTC was up and running again so we got our Pirate's on and went to pay a visit to Captain Jack and his motley crew!! It was pretty much a walk on and we were YO HO hoing within 5 minutes! I will NEVER get tired of this ride! It is such a classic! There is always something new to see and hear! I could totally ride it over and over again and find something I hadn't noticed before!


Last year the younger one was petrified of this ride. It was quite unfortunate. Finally she rode it and loved it. This year we watched the movie before coming to WDW, and she loved seeing Jack Sparrow all over the place.

I agree with Kim. We could get stuck on that ride mid way and have things to look at for hours.


After saying farewell to Jack, it was just about time to redeem our Fps for Thunder Mountain! Nat was still being a bit of a scardy cat so I took Em on while Ken and Nat waited on the bridge! This is another ride that I will never get tired of! Again there is always something new for me each time I ride it! When we were done, we did the swap so Ken could have a turn to ride and Nat and I went to stake out a spot for Spectro!

We made our way through Frontierland, and Adventureland and found a great spot right near Casey's Corner! There was a family there that got the curb already but there was lots of room still so we claimed our space and sat down to wait! It wasn't too long before Ken and Emily joined us! Waiting for the show to begin we chatted with the people around us and enjoyed the warm evening air.


Kim chatted, I ignored everyone and pre-set the camera settings. Harder than it looked.


Spectro began after not too long of a wit and Man, it SO WORTH IT!!!!! I LOVE SPECTRO!!! We really just wanted to enjoy the show so didn't take too many pictures but here are a few just for you my dear readers!


By “we” she means me. Kim kept asking “take a picture of that one”. Night shooting is remarkably hard to do, but I was happy with a few of the shots.

When the show had passes us by we had a little more than 30 minutes to wait before Wishes started so Em and I decided to make the das to Space Mountain! The “secret” pathway near the Plaza was still blocked off so we had to go ALL THE WAY around again! We battled our way through the huge groups of Brazilian tourists and evebtually made our way to the Mountain! Even with Fps we still ended up waiting a good almost 15 minutes before we got on the ride!


There were several Brazillian tour groups roaming the parks that week. They seemed to cunningly precede us to many a ride....


I am only slightly disappointed to say that I may not ride Space Mountain too frequently in the future. I did not enjoy my ride so much this year! It has changed quite a bit! I found it to be a lot more bouncy and shaky. My neck was even a bit sore after the ride! Em loved again and says it is her 2nd favourite roller coaster after Thunder!


I have two words for my wife's reaction:

Wuss.

And: sorry.


When we were exiting the ride we hear the announcement that Wishes would be starting in 5 minutes! YIKES!!! We practically ran all the way back to our spot and made it with just 30 seconds to spare!


Anxious: Waiting at night on Main Street USA for your wife and older daughter to return when the crowd is growing.


Wishes did not disappoint our expectations! It was fantastic as always and even after seeing Illuminations, remains my favourite nightime experience! It brings me to tears each and every time I see it! Absolutely breathtaking!


This was my FIRST full viewing. Last year Nat got the scardy-bladder where she went to the washroom and neer returned. Of course I took her and missed a good segment of the show. The other day at Magic Kingdom Kim really wanted to exit the park ahead of the crowd and so I missed it again.

Amazing. I could watch it every night. If ONLY there were a resort that had a beachfront view of the show, with access to Magic Kingdom on the Monorail...

I'm happy with that shot.


When it ended we decided that we weren't quite ready to leave just yet so we battled the crowds once again in an attempt to reach the castle. We waited patiently for the crowds to thin out a bit and them made our way up to the Statue of Mickey and Mr. Walt Disney! We enjoyed the Castle colours, took a few pictures, had a couple Photopass pics taken (which I will add once my CD arrives) and just enjoyed being at the Magic Kingdom. Together. A family.

We slowly made our way back down Main St. We popped
I prefer your original statement. Dealing a deuce in the Emporium would have been very unmagical.
into the Emporium and I bought a watch. [We then went ever so slowly over to the camera shop and Ken bought a special lens cloth for our camera.
4th store I'd looked in for one.
We reluntantly headed out of the park and as we passed through the gates I heard a CM say that it was 9:05pm!

We found our bus stop and waited no more than 10 minutes for abus. We were back at POFQ at exactly 9:25pm! We went to our room to find that our luggage had arrived but our groceries had not been deleivered! I stayed to get the girls ready for bed and Ken went in search of our groceries! He returned not more than 10 minuteslater his arms laden with bags and a case of water!

Two full paper bags and a 24 pack of water. Balance was precarious, but I'm good for more than being a camera tripod and fun spoiler for small children.


We gave the girls a snack and got them to bed quickly! Ken went to the Main building again to buy him self a mug and fill it with hot Chocolate.
MMMMMM. Hot chocolate.
I unpacked a bit and called my Mom. We were all asleep before 10:30. What an amazing first day at Disney!




up next: Hollywood or Bust!

Bust what?

 

[martinolichfamily]

Gotta love POTC!! That's my #1 ride.

Sounds like a great first day!