L
lisa70
Guest
100 Years of Magic Trip Diary: May 3 May 10, 2002
Cast:
Lisa 30 something, Disney World Obsessed Mom and Wife; trip planning junkie whos afraid of heights
Chuck 30 something, Disney World Lover; Spouse and Dad
Kayla 2 wks shy of being 5 yr old; adorable princess daughter who loves Disney World
Day 5 Cinderellas Breakfast, AKL, Epcot
Rise and shine. After we woke up Kayla, I told her that today was going to be another special day of our vacation. We were going to have breakfast with Cinderella and the other princesses at the castle. When I showed Kayla her Cinderella dress, she told me that there was a little bit of a problem. She didnt want to wear it. I told her that it would really be neat if dressed up like Cinderella for the breakfast. Nope not going to happen. Oh well. I have great photos of her in the dress last Halloween. And, she did agree to wear the Cinderella crown we had bought.
Before we left, I took some quick photos of the resort and of Kayla with her balloon. Took one with her holding the Mickey side and the other with her holding the Minnie side. That balloon was her pal! Then we jumped in our car and drove to MK. We had decided it would be easier to drive the rental car to MK since we knew wed be switching resorts. It took a little while to actually get into the park because first you take a tram from the parking lot of MK to the TTC (transportation ticket center). There, you take the monorail to MK. Then. we waited for the bag check and the stroller. We raced to the castle because we were cutting it a little close for our PS (priority seating). It must have been those Kodak moments that put us behind schedule. We made it on time, a little out of breath but on time. Once inside the beautiful waiting area, our little princess was being a little bashful. She was not up for a visit to the fairy godmother this morning. We had a little bit of a wait and I was glad I had a pen and paper handy. Perfect for the little princess to doodle. We chatted with a very nice lady from Michigan and shared our tips on where to sit for the Share A Dream Come True Parade. While waiting to be called in for our PS, we overheard another lady trying to get a seating at this breakfast. The CM kindly told her that because of the popularity of the breakfast, people call 60 days in advance to reserve it. The lady could not believe that the large crowd around her had called that far in advance. Little did this lady know that some of us had probably even tried calling several days consecutively, hoping to get the PS. To me, it was definitely worth it.
We love this character meal!! The food is really good and the service is excellent. Its nice that the CMs bring the plate of food to you instead of having to stand in line for buffet service. The characters are fabulous! Kayla does not really like to stand in line to greet the characters. She gets a little shy with them, like with the fairy godmother. But, when the characters come to her and talk to her personally, she absolutely loves it. Kayla had nice visits from Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine, Aladdin and Belle. Belle was really, wonderful. She gave Kayla a kiss on the cheek. I even took a photo of Belles lipstick on Kaylas cheek. Kayla did notice that Princess Aurora was not around. We asked a CM and were told she wasnt here. Kayla was a little confused because on our last trip, Aurora was at breakfast. So with some quick thinking, I explained to her that Aurora was showing the fairies how to twirl the children in the parade, like they had twirled her the day before. She really liked my answer and told her Daddy why Aurora wasnt at breakfast. Shes teaching the fairies to twirl. After we left the castle, we had a fairly brief stop at the Cinderella fountain (what a surprise from the kid who loves fountains!) Then, we headed to Tomorrowland. We didnt get very far because we heard the Cinderellas Surprise Celebration Show. Kayla really enjoyed this show the first time, so we decided to stop and see it again. This time, we saw the show at an angle since we were near the bridge to Tomorrowland. While there, we saw some more Disney magic, a cute, baby bunny in the grassy area.
After the show, we were off to get our fastpasses for Buzz. Kayla and I rode the TTA again while Chuck rode Space Mountain. Kaylas not quite tall enough for it. We all met up and hopped into the fastpass return line for Buzz. We all had fun spinning the car around. Then, we were off to the Speedway. We waited about 30 min for this ride. It was fine though because we were prepared for the wait. Then, we headed to the teacups and had a 15 minute wait. Chuck was glad that some time had passed since breakfast since wed be spinning around like crazy. When Kayla got off the ride, she said the cutest thing My eyeballs are still spinning.
We knew we had to do the Country Bear Jamboree so we headed that way. We stopped at the Christmas store on the way and picked out a cute wooden Mickey and Minnie ornament for our tree. The CMs in this store were also very nice. They gave all kinds of cute stickers to Kayla and she proudly displayed them on her chest. The CM at the register offered to deliver the ornament to our hotel. Great idea! I must have looked hot because she told me that they were having a heat wave in Orlando. Apparently, it was a few degrees above normal. I told her that Im usually used to heat and humidity since we live in South Texas and that yes, it was really hot, but we were at the happiest place on earth so, it really didnt matter. We stopped at a cart for some popcorn and got a cute bucket. It was good popcorn, fresh and hot. We were the first people in the waiting area for CBJ because a show had just started. The CM told us to keep a lid on the bucket. Yeah, right. Try keeping a hungry almost 5 yr old from eating delicious popcorn. It was going to be about a 20 minute wait before the start of the next show. We sat on a bench and waited a little bit. Once people started coming in, we started eating the popcorn. We were very discreet. I made sure we didnt drop any. We also made an interesting observation while waiting for this show. The waiting room filled up with people. Some of them were camped out on the floor. About 10 minutes before the show started, the crowd heard a noise. It sounded like a door opening. So, they all got up from the floor and promptly crowded themselves into lines in front of the doors. We just stayed on our benches, discreetly eating our popcorn, for the remaining 10 minutes. All the benches were empty except for ours. Everyone had gotten in line. We even motioned to some of the crowd to sit down on the empty benches. No one budged. Maybe, they all wanted to be the first people into the theater,so that they could sit at the very end of a row and be the first to get out when the show ends. Who knows? Its a very big theater and the CMs count people as they come into the waiting area so everyone is guaranteed a seat. When it was time for the show to start, we followed the crowd into the theater and enjoyed the show in our great seats. We ended up smack dab in the middle.
After the show, we made our way out of the Magic Kingdom. I tried really hard not to think about the fact that we might not make it back to MK the rest of our trip. We rode the boat back to TTC instead of the monorail. It was a lot of fun. There were just a handful of people on the boat. We left MK about 2:30, right before the Share a Dream Come True parade was going to start, so there was no mass exodus of people leaving the park. That explains why I was able to get such good photos of the big Mickey Face in front of the train station. There was hardly anybody around. We took some fun photos on the boat. I was feeling better about leaving MK because AKL was waiting for us.
We rode the tram to our car. Somehow, with all the excitement, we remembered our parking lot..Pluto 13. Actually, when you ride the tram after you park in the morning, the CMs repeat it over and over so it just gets embedded in your brain. After we got off the tram, Chuck walked ahead of us to start cooling the car down. Kayla was pooped. I was relieved that the balloon hadnt popped in the heat. I had a feeling that balloon would not be coming back home with us on the plane. Wouldnt it pop on the plane? That is, if the airlines even allowed us to bring it. I just figured Id cross that bridge later.
We drove to AKL. WOW! I felt all out of sorts, just amazed by this resort. We stopped under the portico and a CM, Drew, greeted us. He told us hed help us unload our bags and that after we got checked in, we could ring the bell desk and theyd bring our luggage to us. Drew said Hi to Kayla and saw the balloon. He told me that the balloon was going to need to go sleep with the other balloons so the giraffes wouldnt accidentally eat it. Drew said he was going to take Kayla to the balloon sleeping room so she could put her balloon with the others. I just smiled at Drew and told him that she would not be giving up her balloon. So, Drew kindly explained again that Kayla was going to take her balloon to the room where all the balloons sleep. This is so the giraffes wont accidently eat the balloon and get sick. OHHHHHH!!!! It hit me like a ton of bricks. Im kind of slow, I guess. I realized that what he was trying to tell me was that Kayla was not going to be able to take the balloon into the resort. Its a rule that AKL has, to protect the animals. So, my heart started to beat pretty fast at this point. I had no choice really. I put all my faith in Drew. He took her by the hand and walked with her, telling her the same story again. He showed her the room with the balloons and she left her balloon there. She came back and told me all about it. No tears. She was fine. In fact, she was still very happy. WOW! Drew, you the man, buddy! I sure was glad I took those photos earlier.
We walk into the lobby and Im just stunned by the beauty. Im greeted by the CM and start the checkin procedure. The CM tells me calmly that weve been selected for an upgrade to a savannah room. Let me backtrack a little, we got a great package on this resort but had decided to get a standard view(aka parking lot) to save some money. OK so, Im looking at the CM and again Im kind of slow, but the realization of what she has just said comes over me and I am completely numb. Thank goodness, I had enough wits to tell her thank you. She hands me a map and an animal guide and tells me where our room is. I tell her thank you again and walk away. Chuck and Kayla are still parking the car so I just sit down in the middle of the lobby and look around. I was so excited and awestruck. Where is my family? I need to share this incredible bit of fortune that been given to us. I saw them and started walking to them. Chuck asks me where our room is and I tell him the general direction, so we all head that way. We hear drums and Kayla stops. She follows the beat and finds the drummer. He invites her over and she gladly goes to him. He teaches her a drum pattern. Then, he tells her to play what she wants. She does she beats the drum and sings Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. (so much for being shy) Ok, so how many magical moments can a family have in one day? I snapped some cute photos. The drummer is a savannah guide from South Africa. He told Kayla to stop back by whenever she heard the drums. We headed to our rooms, still amazed by our surroundings. As we were walking, I slowly told Chuck the incredible truth. Savannah room Standard price.
The rooms are just beautiful! We opened the curtains and saw the savannah and the animals. It was a breathtaking sight. I grabbed my camera and started snapping photos like a madwoman. Since we hadnt called for our luggage, the room was pristine. We camped on our balcony and took it all in. We spotted a lot of the animals on our guide. Giraffes, Thompson gazelles, ostriches, they were all amazing. We finally headed out to Epcot. We brought the mask Kayla had started the night before. First thing we did was ride Spaceship Earth. Then, we headed to France for some delicious desserts. Kayla added more decorations to her mask and I chatted with the CM. He showed me all kinds of nice books and I told him my Mom was born in Paris and came to the States when she was 28. He told me that it was his 1month anniversary in the States. After the nice little chat, we headed out to find our spots for the Tapestry of Dreams parade. I told Kayla to put the small punchout circle that was attached to her mask, into the dream catchers basket and make a wish. She did and I caught it all on film. This was a neat parade! The music is really wonderful. While waiting for Illuminations to begin, a funny thing happened. The Canadian family we had met while dining at Hollywood and Vine earlier in the week, bumped into us. First thing they said was, Was that you carrying the banner at the MGM parade? Illuminations is a great way to end any evening at Disney World. Its the best fireworks show, hands down.
Cast:
Lisa 30 something, Disney World Obsessed Mom and Wife; trip planning junkie whos afraid of heights
Chuck 30 something, Disney World Lover; Spouse and Dad
Kayla 2 wks shy of being 5 yr old; adorable princess daughter who loves Disney World
Day 5 Cinderellas Breakfast, AKL, Epcot
Rise and shine. After we woke up Kayla, I told her that today was going to be another special day of our vacation. We were going to have breakfast with Cinderella and the other princesses at the castle. When I showed Kayla her Cinderella dress, she told me that there was a little bit of a problem. She didnt want to wear it. I told her that it would really be neat if dressed up like Cinderella for the breakfast. Nope not going to happen. Oh well. I have great photos of her in the dress last Halloween. And, she did agree to wear the Cinderella crown we had bought.
Before we left, I took some quick photos of the resort and of Kayla with her balloon. Took one with her holding the Mickey side and the other with her holding the Minnie side. That balloon was her pal! Then we jumped in our car and drove to MK. We had decided it would be easier to drive the rental car to MK since we knew wed be switching resorts. It took a little while to actually get into the park because first you take a tram from the parking lot of MK to the TTC (transportation ticket center). There, you take the monorail to MK. Then. we waited for the bag check and the stroller. We raced to the castle because we were cutting it a little close for our PS (priority seating). It must have been those Kodak moments that put us behind schedule. We made it on time, a little out of breath but on time. Once inside the beautiful waiting area, our little princess was being a little bashful. She was not up for a visit to the fairy godmother this morning. We had a little bit of a wait and I was glad I had a pen and paper handy. Perfect for the little princess to doodle. We chatted with a very nice lady from Michigan and shared our tips on where to sit for the Share A Dream Come True Parade. While waiting to be called in for our PS, we overheard another lady trying to get a seating at this breakfast. The CM kindly told her that because of the popularity of the breakfast, people call 60 days in advance to reserve it. The lady could not believe that the large crowd around her had called that far in advance. Little did this lady know that some of us had probably even tried calling several days consecutively, hoping to get the PS. To me, it was definitely worth it.
We love this character meal!! The food is really good and the service is excellent. Its nice that the CMs bring the plate of food to you instead of having to stand in line for buffet service. The characters are fabulous! Kayla does not really like to stand in line to greet the characters. She gets a little shy with them, like with the fairy godmother. But, when the characters come to her and talk to her personally, she absolutely loves it. Kayla had nice visits from Cinderella, Snow White, Jasmine, Aladdin and Belle. Belle was really, wonderful. She gave Kayla a kiss on the cheek. I even took a photo of Belles lipstick on Kaylas cheek. Kayla did notice that Princess Aurora was not around. We asked a CM and were told she wasnt here. Kayla was a little confused because on our last trip, Aurora was at breakfast. So with some quick thinking, I explained to her that Aurora was showing the fairies how to twirl the children in the parade, like they had twirled her the day before. She really liked my answer and told her Daddy why Aurora wasnt at breakfast. Shes teaching the fairies to twirl. After we left the castle, we had a fairly brief stop at the Cinderella fountain (what a surprise from the kid who loves fountains!) Then, we headed to Tomorrowland. We didnt get very far because we heard the Cinderellas Surprise Celebration Show. Kayla really enjoyed this show the first time, so we decided to stop and see it again. This time, we saw the show at an angle since we were near the bridge to Tomorrowland. While there, we saw some more Disney magic, a cute, baby bunny in the grassy area.
After the show, we were off to get our fastpasses for Buzz. Kayla and I rode the TTA again while Chuck rode Space Mountain. Kaylas not quite tall enough for it. We all met up and hopped into the fastpass return line for Buzz. We all had fun spinning the car around. Then, we were off to the Speedway. We waited about 30 min for this ride. It was fine though because we were prepared for the wait. Then, we headed to the teacups and had a 15 minute wait. Chuck was glad that some time had passed since breakfast since wed be spinning around like crazy. When Kayla got off the ride, she said the cutest thing My eyeballs are still spinning.
We knew we had to do the Country Bear Jamboree so we headed that way. We stopped at the Christmas store on the way and picked out a cute wooden Mickey and Minnie ornament for our tree. The CMs in this store were also very nice. They gave all kinds of cute stickers to Kayla and she proudly displayed them on her chest. The CM at the register offered to deliver the ornament to our hotel. Great idea! I must have looked hot because she told me that they were having a heat wave in Orlando. Apparently, it was a few degrees above normal. I told her that Im usually used to heat and humidity since we live in South Texas and that yes, it was really hot, but we were at the happiest place on earth so, it really didnt matter. We stopped at a cart for some popcorn and got a cute bucket. It was good popcorn, fresh and hot. We were the first people in the waiting area for CBJ because a show had just started. The CM told us to keep a lid on the bucket. Yeah, right. Try keeping a hungry almost 5 yr old from eating delicious popcorn. It was going to be about a 20 minute wait before the start of the next show. We sat on a bench and waited a little bit. Once people started coming in, we started eating the popcorn. We were very discreet. I made sure we didnt drop any. We also made an interesting observation while waiting for this show. The waiting room filled up with people. Some of them were camped out on the floor. About 10 minutes before the show started, the crowd heard a noise. It sounded like a door opening. So, they all got up from the floor and promptly crowded themselves into lines in front of the doors. We just stayed on our benches, discreetly eating our popcorn, for the remaining 10 minutes. All the benches were empty except for ours. Everyone had gotten in line. We even motioned to some of the crowd to sit down on the empty benches. No one budged. Maybe, they all wanted to be the first people into the theater,so that they could sit at the very end of a row and be the first to get out when the show ends. Who knows? Its a very big theater and the CMs count people as they come into the waiting area so everyone is guaranteed a seat. When it was time for the show to start, we followed the crowd into the theater and enjoyed the show in our great seats. We ended up smack dab in the middle.
After the show, we made our way out of the Magic Kingdom. I tried really hard not to think about the fact that we might not make it back to MK the rest of our trip. We rode the boat back to TTC instead of the monorail. It was a lot of fun. There were just a handful of people on the boat. We left MK about 2:30, right before the Share a Dream Come True parade was going to start, so there was no mass exodus of people leaving the park. That explains why I was able to get such good photos of the big Mickey Face in front of the train station. There was hardly anybody around. We took some fun photos on the boat. I was feeling better about leaving MK because AKL was waiting for us.
We rode the tram to our car. Somehow, with all the excitement, we remembered our parking lot..Pluto 13. Actually, when you ride the tram after you park in the morning, the CMs repeat it over and over so it just gets embedded in your brain. After we got off the tram, Chuck walked ahead of us to start cooling the car down. Kayla was pooped. I was relieved that the balloon hadnt popped in the heat. I had a feeling that balloon would not be coming back home with us on the plane. Wouldnt it pop on the plane? That is, if the airlines even allowed us to bring it. I just figured Id cross that bridge later.
We drove to AKL. WOW! I felt all out of sorts, just amazed by this resort. We stopped under the portico and a CM, Drew, greeted us. He told us hed help us unload our bags and that after we got checked in, we could ring the bell desk and theyd bring our luggage to us. Drew said Hi to Kayla and saw the balloon. He told me that the balloon was going to need to go sleep with the other balloons so the giraffes wouldnt accidentally eat it. Drew said he was going to take Kayla to the balloon sleeping room so she could put her balloon with the others. I just smiled at Drew and told him that she would not be giving up her balloon. So, Drew kindly explained again that Kayla was going to take her balloon to the room where all the balloons sleep. This is so the giraffes wont accidently eat the balloon and get sick. OHHHHHH!!!! It hit me like a ton of bricks. Im kind of slow, I guess. I realized that what he was trying to tell me was that Kayla was not going to be able to take the balloon into the resort. Its a rule that AKL has, to protect the animals. So, my heart started to beat pretty fast at this point. I had no choice really. I put all my faith in Drew. He took her by the hand and walked with her, telling her the same story again. He showed her the room with the balloons and she left her balloon there. She came back and told me all about it. No tears. She was fine. In fact, she was still very happy. WOW! Drew, you the man, buddy! I sure was glad I took those photos earlier.
We walk into the lobby and Im just stunned by the beauty. Im greeted by the CM and start the checkin procedure. The CM tells me calmly that weve been selected for an upgrade to a savannah room. Let me backtrack a little, we got a great package on this resort but had decided to get a standard view(aka parking lot) to save some money. OK so, Im looking at the CM and again Im kind of slow, but the realization of what she has just said comes over me and I am completely numb. Thank goodness, I had enough wits to tell her thank you. She hands me a map and an animal guide and tells me where our room is. I tell her thank you again and walk away. Chuck and Kayla are still parking the car so I just sit down in the middle of the lobby and look around. I was so excited and awestruck. Where is my family? I need to share this incredible bit of fortune that been given to us. I saw them and started walking to them. Chuck asks me where our room is and I tell him the general direction, so we all head that way. We hear drums and Kayla stops. She follows the beat and finds the drummer. He invites her over and she gladly goes to him. He teaches her a drum pattern. Then, he tells her to play what she wants. She does she beats the drum and sings Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. (so much for being shy) Ok, so how many magical moments can a family have in one day? I snapped some cute photos. The drummer is a savannah guide from South Africa. He told Kayla to stop back by whenever she heard the drums. We headed to our rooms, still amazed by our surroundings. As we were walking, I slowly told Chuck the incredible truth. Savannah room Standard price.
The rooms are just beautiful! We opened the curtains and saw the savannah and the animals. It was a breathtaking sight. I grabbed my camera and started snapping photos like a madwoman. Since we hadnt called for our luggage, the room was pristine. We camped on our balcony and took it all in. We spotted a lot of the animals on our guide. Giraffes, Thompson gazelles, ostriches, they were all amazing. We finally headed out to Epcot. We brought the mask Kayla had started the night before. First thing we did was ride Spaceship Earth. Then, we headed to France for some delicious desserts. Kayla added more decorations to her mask and I chatted with the CM. He showed me all kinds of nice books and I told him my Mom was born in Paris and came to the States when she was 28. He told me that it was his 1month anniversary in the States. After the nice little chat, we headed out to find our spots for the Tapestry of Dreams parade. I told Kayla to put the small punchout circle that was attached to her mask, into the dream catchers basket and make a wish. She did and I caught it all on film. This was a neat parade! The music is really wonderful. While waiting for Illuminations to begin, a funny thing happened. The Canadian family we had met while dining at Hollywood and Vine earlier in the week, bumped into us. First thing they said was, Was that you carrying the banner at the MGM parade? Illuminations is a great way to end any evening at Disney World. Its the best fireworks show, hands down.
