Mom/Son Very Special Birthday Trip 3/9-3/12
Day 3
Its Thursday and that can only mean one thing: Magic Kingdom! We get the wakeup call from Mickey at 6:00 am and arrive at the bus stop at 7:20. Our bus comes quickly. At the Kingdom we line up along with what looks to be the rest of the civilized world. I have to ask myself if this Extra Magic Hour is really a good deal for WDW guests or not. I begin to plot our strategy for the morning, but am frantic to realize I dont have my list of attractions that will be open for this first hour, and much to my dismay, I have not committed it to memory. I see that the woman behind me is studying her materials so I take a chance and plead for the coveted information. I think if it were me, I might have offered some misleading information .Oh yeah, Adventureland and Frontierland are definitely open. Im not really mean in general, but hey, thats one less opponent in the race to Space Mountain. Lucky for me, she is not the competitor that I am. She tells me exactly what is open. Okay, now my strategy is taking shape: A sprint to Space Mountain, grab fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear then another sprint to Fantasyland for Peter Pan over to Haunted Mansion..etc.
The sprint to Space Mountain goes well, I must say. I cant believe how many people are leisurely strolling down Main Street actually taking the time to enjoy the scenery! FOOLS! By now, DS has increased his endurance and can go for at least 3 blocks without a cramp! We walk right onto Space Mountain. We love it, however, RnR has us a bit spoiled. This coaster is definitely showing its age I feel like Im being thrown around like a kernel of popcorn in a kettleful of hot grease. I think I may even have a touch of whiplash. Oh well, all in the name of fun . Afterward, DS says he wants to do Buzz Lightyear right now. Hes making me nervous this wasnt my plan. Alright, alright. We get in line. DS says, Hey Mom, its them! Im thinking Ill turn around to see Fred and his hussy behind us. But no, it is the family we met on the bus the other day. The mom and her 2 sons are now with dad as well. What a coincidence. I really didnt think it was possible to see the same people more than once in this place. I refrain from saying, Gee it really is a small world after all for fear that this may sound trite. The boys are all giving each other high fives and SO excited to see each other. They decide they will ride together. I guess that means Im on my own. Sadly, it isnt until halfway through the ride that I realize that you can spin your vehicle, thereby hugely increasing your chances of successful shooting. I think I get the worst score ever recorded on this ride. But it is worth it to see how happy DS is with his new friends. Could it be that this is more fun than the non-stop sprint-a-thon Ive been treating him to? I vow, then and there to CALM down. I must calm down. They beg to ride it again. This really tests my newfound commitment to calmness. Once more, okay. I chat with the parents while the kids go again. They are really the nicest people ever. I wonder how fast they can run. They look more like leisurely strollers to me. Turns out they live about 20 miles from our hometown. Crazy. The boys run off the ride begging to stay together for the rest of the day. As much as I like the parents and Im sure they would have loved to have us tag along (yeah, right) I have to be the bad guy and suggest we split. DS makes me write down the parents cell phone number. This is a bit awkward because they may not have wanted to give a complete stranger their private information. Go figure. But, they seem fine with it. They suggest we call them when we are at Fantasmic tonight. Maybe we can sit together. We say our goodbyes and we are off to Fantasyland.
First we go to Philharmagic. This is WONDERFUL! I especially love it because Donald Duck is my all-time favorite character. The 3-D effects are so amazing. Next we do Peter Pan. I really want to do the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, but DS refuses. Im not a BABY, Mom. Ingrate. I briefly consider going on Its a Small World, but I have to be honest with myself and admit that I hate it. We skip on over to Haunted Mansion. I love this ride. DS is really surprised when the ghost sits next to him. Splash Mountain is next. I guess Ive never done this ride because I have no memory of it at all. It is so cute and we LOVE the big drop. Next we do the Speedway. DS is the driver. All I can say is this child will NEVER be allowed to get his drivers license. Even on a rail hes completely out of control. We ram into the car in front of us at least six times. The dad in the car does not have warm fuzzy feelings about this and keeps turning around to glare at us. Give me a break, the driver is 8 years old! I stick my tongue out when hes not looking.
Finally, its time for our 1:00 PS at the castle! People are being turned away by the thousands okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but still. DS asks the CM at the podium if he can trade pins with him. Now I should tell you that this has been his ultimate goal and the source of much consternation up until this point .Mom, I want to trade with THAT guy hell say. For which pin? I ask naievely. I dont care.he says You see the point is he just wants to trade, he could care less what he gets or gives up. Thankfully, the CM doesnt seem to care either and offers DS any pin he wants. Bless this man. DS chooses Mickey playing basketball. I think he gives the CM a pretty lame pin, but CM thanks him anyway. We are told to wait in the lobby until our name is called I whisper to the CM that its his birthday and he writes down DSs name.
Inside the castle! This is just too cool. I have always wondered what it looks like in here. There are knights in armor and even a big throne. There is another family in here with about thirty children (okay four) and they are simply hogging the throne. First little Billy and little Sarah get their picture taken together on it , then Billy and Bobby, then Sarah and Bobby, then Sarah, Bobby AND Billy .you get the idea. L Finally their name is called : Thronehoggers, party of 6 so they are forced to abandon the royal seat. DS and I make a beeline for it and are just as obnoxious, Im afraid. I only wish I had a crown to wear. Eventually our name is called and up the winding stairs we go! Im in a castle, Im in a castle! Guess where we are seated? Yep! Right at the stained glass window overlooking Fantasyland. Someone up there loves us! Even better, our table is decorated for DSs birthday .little mickey shaped glitter is strewn all over the table along with curly colorful ribbons. Soon, our server, Lady Gaila, arrives. She says, Happy Birthday Charlie. Which is funny because that isnt my sons name. I wonder if maybe this is what they say to everybody, sort of like, Sorry Charlie. I decide not. I correct her. She is quite embarrassed. No big deal. This is probably the work of the CM downstairs that DS made the bad pin trade with! She takes our drink orders (a vanilla milkshake for DS and a diet coke for me ) and says, Ill be right back with that Princess. Now were talkin. It feels strangely appropriate to be referred to thusly.
She returns with our drinks and bread. With the bread, she sets down a mickey-shaped pat of butter about the size of a cookie. DS immediately picks it up and takes a huge bite out of it. I am flabbergasted. He gets a horrible look on his face. Apparently it was so pretty, he thought it was a fancy candy. I tell him he can spit it out in his napkin. He is mortified, poor guy. The server is very sweet about it. When she leaves I try to tease him about it he gets very angry with me. Geez louise, guess Ill have to drop it.
I order The Coachman which is billed as turkey and muenster on focaccia bread. DS orders a cheeseburger and a side of castle fries: waffle-cut fries served with ketchup and a mayonnaise-type sauce. My sandwich is just YUCKY. There is maybe 1 total ounce of turkey on it (were talking lunchmeat) and a teensy-tinsy little slice of cheese some very mushy tomatoes, a leaf of lettuce and 32 oz of bread that is being billed as focaccia. The focaccia-wanna-be bread is stale. Luckily, there is a little mixed green salad with a raspberry vinaigrette to accompany this disappointment. Its tasty at least. As seems to be the current trend, I wait until DS is full and scarf down his leftover fries. They are pretty good, though I imagine anything would be at this point. DS only eats about 1/2 of his burger. His milkshake filled him up. I refrain from commenting on this, but am thinking Enjoy this now, mister, cause when we get home, no more milkshake nonsense. After our meal, Lady Gaila returns with a cute dessert complete with a candle for DS. She sings happy birthday to him. He is quite pleased and despite being too full for his burger, he manages to gulp this dessert down no problem. Our total is $36.21 + a tip. Despite the quality (or lack thereof) of the food, the atmosphere more than makes up for it and besides, where else in the world can you get someone to refer to you as Princess? As we exit we are given a clean mug for the birthday boy with Cinderellas Royal Table etched on the front.
After lunch I trick DS into going into Tinkerbells Treasures a gift shop in Fantasyland that is all girl. He is really mad about having to be in here. I love looking at all of the princess costumes and the girlie paraphanalia. DS is being a stinker now and making a scene about being here so we leave. We head over to the Snow White ride. Another ride where clearly many parents just arent thinking. The little ones are SCARED of this ride, and frankly, I dont blame them. The witch is creepy. I decide that for the most part, we are beyond Fantasyland. Ill give it another try when I bring my youngest. After this we cross the bridge into Liberty Square. We stop and have the silhouette thing done of my DS. I simply cannot fathom how someone can be so talented as to glance briefly at someones profile and within mere moments duplicate it with black paper and a pair of scissors. It looks exactly like him. I wish I had all three of my boys here to do this. I briefly consider having one done of me but figure that would be narcissistic.
Next we head to the Frontierland Shooting Gallery which is really dumb in my opinion. I am just morally opposed to having to pay more money to do something inside the parks which already cost an arm and a leg to get into. But DS really, really, REALLY wants to. I dig out a crumpled up dollar bill and begin the dance with the token machine. It takes 3 tries and lots of rearranging and ironing out of my bill, but we finally get the tokens. He shoots. He is happy.
There are a million things we havent done yet but the itinerary says its time to go. We head over for one more look at the castle. Donald and Daisy and Mickey are out front signing autographs and the lines looks longer than the one for Thunder Mt. Railroad. I jump in front of DS in the hopes that he wont see them. I try, in vain, to distract with ridiculous pointing and gibberish. Too late. He sees them. He stands in line for Donald and I get in line for Mickey. The strategy being that maybe he will see Donald and then be able to hop over with me and see Mickey. We wait. And wait. And wait some more. What the heck is that Mouse doing anyway? Donald seems to be much more efficient his line is moving along at a nice speed. Mickeys handler (the human being in charge of him) says, As soon as the song finishes we have to go . There are 3 kids in front of me In my minds eye I see a huge hourglass and the sand is draining out at an unnatural speed. I look at DSs line hes almost there ..1 more kid my line: 2 more. SPEED IT UP YOU DUMB RODENT!!!!!! DS is finally there he gets a big hug from Donald! Hooray. Unfortunately Donald doesnt understand that my son wants him to sign his shirt. Who said ducks were smart? DS runs over to my line, hes MUCH more interested in Mickey anyway. One more kid in front of us Mickey greets the kid, signs his autograph book apparently lingering over previous entries ..gives the kid a high five hugs kid again, kid turns to leave MUSIC STOPS ..mean and nasty handler says Sorry, kids, hes got to go. But you can see him in the parade. Reflecting on this moment in the days to come I know I will see this as a trivial thing but at THIS moment , here in Disney World in front of the castle with Mickey turning his back on us after we waited 40 freakin minutes and spent thousands of dollars to be here .I actually consider chasing after him and tackling him. Well, obviously that wouldnt be mature, so I stick my tongue out at his handler instead and tell her shes a meanie. Thatll teach her.
We lick our wounds as we head down Main Street. DS by getting an ice cream and me by purchasing my first and only pin. I completely ignore all of the ones with Mickey on them, even commenting out loud about how stupid he is. Strange looks from the adults standing nearby. I go all out and get a Tinkerbell pin with my birthstone on it. Ha! Thatll show you, Mr. Mouse. I dig out my pathetically empty landyard and triumphantly pin on Tinkie . I can finally hang it around my neck with pride. We catch the next monorail to Epcot and guess what? We sit in front again J
At Epcot, our first stop is Test Track. The line is again ridiculously long. The single rider line is posted as 20 minutes. We decide to do it. I figure Ill go first so I can be waiting at the entrance when DS comes off the ride. I dont really understand how or why, but we walk right on (not even 2 minutes). Im in one car and DS is in the one behind me. I will definitely use this strategy in the future! This is fun but really and truly not worth all of the hype. Now the gift shop, thats a horse of a different color. DS purchases a hummer toy for himself, a t-shirt for his older brother and a few trinkets for his little brother. Unfortunately, we have to carry it with us since we wont be staying at the park for 3 more hours. So begins an afternoon of me acting as pack mule.
Finally, we get to do the one thing I really and truly have been looking forward to getting a famous margarita in Mexico and leisurely touring the world showcase. (The last time we came to Disney I was very ill and didnt get to see the World Showcase) Yippee! We start in Mexico. DS is hungry again so we order nachos from San Angel Cantina for him. I stop at the kiosk around the corner and get a Fiesta Margarita which is almost too pretty to drink with 3 or 4 different colored layers. We sit in Norway and have our Mexican snacks. That is weird. After eating perhaps three entire nachos, out of the $10+- order, DS gets up to throw them away. WHOA there big boy. What on earth are you doing? I ask. Im full. Pen, pen, where is my pen? Now I am forced to eat them. At least they are good. Afterwards we ride Maelstrom. I embarrass myself in line by continuously telling the man in front of me how cute his little girl is. Turns out its a boy. Im going to stop talking out loud altogether. I want to see the post-ride movie but DS has no interest in anything remotely educational at this moment. I want to go to the beach in China he tells me. What on earth is he talking about? Dad said he fell asleep at the beach in China. I want to go. Im starting to lose my patience now. Listen, I am not walking 1/2 way around the world to look for a nonexistent beach your father dreamed up. I say through clenched teeth. Just then my cell phone rings it is our new friends the family we keep seeing they want to see if we are still planning on going to Fantasmic. This reminds DS of it and he insists we leave now for MGM. NoooooO! I really, really want to see the world showcase. I had been secretly hoping hed forget all about Fantasmic and we could have a nice dinner in Japan and watch Illuminations. He is in a full panic though, convinced we wont get there in time to see his friends. FINE! And just when I was resigned to slowing down. We make our way to the exit and the CM stops us. Maam, you are not allowed to take drinks out of the park. So my choices are 1. Throw away my $8.00 drink of which I have been dreaming of for so long or 2. Gulp it down as fast as possible and get the worlds biggest brain freeze. No, I decide, these are HER two choices ..mine is to walk around pretending to look at the Leave A Legacy tiles for a few moments while I hide my drink in my bag. Haha! We get to the bus and I enjoy a few sips of my contraband margarita. De-lish. Goodbye Epcot and World Showcase! Maybe Ill come back and try again when Im 80 years old!
At MGM we make tracks for the stadium. Once inside we give our friends a call. They wave us down and we take our seats with them front and center the best seats in the house. We grab a hot dog and some popcorn and wait for the show. I was a little suspect about whether Fantasmic would be worth the hour wait. Boy was I wrong. It is awesome! You have to see it to believe it. Even better is watching DS with his two new best friends. I really enjoy talking with the parents as well. By the end of the evening we all feel like weve known each other forever. The dad helps me carry some of our packages back to the bus turns out we are all staying at the same resort and in fact we have the same bus stop! The boys make promises to call each other once we get back to NC to get together and DS and I head to bed. Another magical day. Tomorrow its Universal and Islands of Adventure!
Day 3
Its Thursday and that can only mean one thing: Magic Kingdom! We get the wakeup call from Mickey at 6:00 am and arrive at the bus stop at 7:20. Our bus comes quickly. At the Kingdom we line up along with what looks to be the rest of the civilized world. I have to ask myself if this Extra Magic Hour is really a good deal for WDW guests or not. I begin to plot our strategy for the morning, but am frantic to realize I dont have my list of attractions that will be open for this first hour, and much to my dismay, I have not committed it to memory. I see that the woman behind me is studying her materials so I take a chance and plead for the coveted information. I think if it were me, I might have offered some misleading information .Oh yeah, Adventureland and Frontierland are definitely open. Im not really mean in general, but hey, thats one less opponent in the race to Space Mountain. Lucky for me, she is not the competitor that I am. She tells me exactly what is open. Okay, now my strategy is taking shape: A sprint to Space Mountain, grab fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear then another sprint to Fantasyland for Peter Pan over to Haunted Mansion..etc.
The sprint to Space Mountain goes well, I must say. I cant believe how many people are leisurely strolling down Main Street actually taking the time to enjoy the scenery! FOOLS! By now, DS has increased his endurance and can go for at least 3 blocks without a cramp! We walk right onto Space Mountain. We love it, however, RnR has us a bit spoiled. This coaster is definitely showing its age I feel like Im being thrown around like a kernel of popcorn in a kettleful of hot grease. I think I may even have a touch of whiplash. Oh well, all in the name of fun . Afterward, DS says he wants to do Buzz Lightyear right now. Hes making me nervous this wasnt my plan. Alright, alright. We get in line. DS says, Hey Mom, its them! Im thinking Ill turn around to see Fred and his hussy behind us. But no, it is the family we met on the bus the other day. The mom and her 2 sons are now with dad as well. What a coincidence. I really didnt think it was possible to see the same people more than once in this place. I refrain from saying, Gee it really is a small world after all for fear that this may sound trite. The boys are all giving each other high fives and SO excited to see each other. They decide they will ride together. I guess that means Im on my own. Sadly, it isnt until halfway through the ride that I realize that you can spin your vehicle, thereby hugely increasing your chances of successful shooting. I think I get the worst score ever recorded on this ride. But it is worth it to see how happy DS is with his new friends. Could it be that this is more fun than the non-stop sprint-a-thon Ive been treating him to? I vow, then and there to CALM down. I must calm down. They beg to ride it again. This really tests my newfound commitment to calmness. Once more, okay. I chat with the parents while the kids go again. They are really the nicest people ever. I wonder how fast they can run. They look more like leisurely strollers to me. Turns out they live about 20 miles from our hometown. Crazy. The boys run off the ride begging to stay together for the rest of the day. As much as I like the parents and Im sure they would have loved to have us tag along (yeah, right) I have to be the bad guy and suggest we split. DS makes me write down the parents cell phone number. This is a bit awkward because they may not have wanted to give a complete stranger their private information. Go figure. But, they seem fine with it. They suggest we call them when we are at Fantasmic tonight. Maybe we can sit together. We say our goodbyes and we are off to Fantasyland.
First we go to Philharmagic. This is WONDERFUL! I especially love it because Donald Duck is my all-time favorite character. The 3-D effects are so amazing. Next we do Peter Pan. I really want to do the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, but DS refuses. Im not a BABY, Mom. Ingrate. I briefly consider going on Its a Small World, but I have to be honest with myself and admit that I hate it. We skip on over to Haunted Mansion. I love this ride. DS is really surprised when the ghost sits next to him. Splash Mountain is next. I guess Ive never done this ride because I have no memory of it at all. It is so cute and we LOVE the big drop. Next we do the Speedway. DS is the driver. All I can say is this child will NEVER be allowed to get his drivers license. Even on a rail hes completely out of control. We ram into the car in front of us at least six times. The dad in the car does not have warm fuzzy feelings about this and keeps turning around to glare at us. Give me a break, the driver is 8 years old! I stick my tongue out when hes not looking.
Finally, its time for our 1:00 PS at the castle! People are being turned away by the thousands okay, maybe a slight exaggeration, but still. DS asks the CM at the podium if he can trade pins with him. Now I should tell you that this has been his ultimate goal and the source of much consternation up until this point .Mom, I want to trade with THAT guy hell say. For which pin? I ask naievely. I dont care.he says You see the point is he just wants to trade, he could care less what he gets or gives up. Thankfully, the CM doesnt seem to care either and offers DS any pin he wants. Bless this man. DS chooses Mickey playing basketball. I think he gives the CM a pretty lame pin, but CM thanks him anyway. We are told to wait in the lobby until our name is called I whisper to the CM that its his birthday and he writes down DSs name.
Inside the castle! This is just too cool. I have always wondered what it looks like in here. There are knights in armor and even a big throne. There is another family in here with about thirty children (okay four) and they are simply hogging the throne. First little Billy and little Sarah get their picture taken together on it , then Billy and Bobby, then Sarah and Bobby, then Sarah, Bobby AND Billy .you get the idea. L Finally their name is called : Thronehoggers, party of 6 so they are forced to abandon the royal seat. DS and I make a beeline for it and are just as obnoxious, Im afraid. I only wish I had a crown to wear. Eventually our name is called and up the winding stairs we go! Im in a castle, Im in a castle! Guess where we are seated? Yep! Right at the stained glass window overlooking Fantasyland. Someone up there loves us! Even better, our table is decorated for DSs birthday .little mickey shaped glitter is strewn all over the table along with curly colorful ribbons. Soon, our server, Lady Gaila, arrives. She says, Happy Birthday Charlie. Which is funny because that isnt my sons name. I wonder if maybe this is what they say to everybody, sort of like, Sorry Charlie. I decide not. I correct her. She is quite embarrassed. No big deal. This is probably the work of the CM downstairs that DS made the bad pin trade with! She takes our drink orders (a vanilla milkshake for DS and a diet coke for me ) and says, Ill be right back with that Princess. Now were talkin. It feels strangely appropriate to be referred to thusly.
She returns with our drinks and bread. With the bread, she sets down a mickey-shaped pat of butter about the size of a cookie. DS immediately picks it up and takes a huge bite out of it. I am flabbergasted. He gets a horrible look on his face. Apparently it was so pretty, he thought it was a fancy candy. I tell him he can spit it out in his napkin. He is mortified, poor guy. The server is very sweet about it. When she leaves I try to tease him about it he gets very angry with me. Geez louise, guess Ill have to drop it.
I order The Coachman which is billed as turkey and muenster on focaccia bread. DS orders a cheeseburger and a side of castle fries: waffle-cut fries served with ketchup and a mayonnaise-type sauce. My sandwich is just YUCKY. There is maybe 1 total ounce of turkey on it (were talking lunchmeat) and a teensy-tinsy little slice of cheese some very mushy tomatoes, a leaf of lettuce and 32 oz of bread that is being billed as focaccia. The focaccia-wanna-be bread is stale. Luckily, there is a little mixed green salad with a raspberry vinaigrette to accompany this disappointment. Its tasty at least. As seems to be the current trend, I wait until DS is full and scarf down his leftover fries. They are pretty good, though I imagine anything would be at this point. DS only eats about 1/2 of his burger. His milkshake filled him up. I refrain from commenting on this, but am thinking Enjoy this now, mister, cause when we get home, no more milkshake nonsense. After our meal, Lady Gaila returns with a cute dessert complete with a candle for DS. She sings happy birthday to him. He is quite pleased and despite being too full for his burger, he manages to gulp this dessert down no problem. Our total is $36.21 + a tip. Despite the quality (or lack thereof) of the food, the atmosphere more than makes up for it and besides, where else in the world can you get someone to refer to you as Princess? As we exit we are given a clean mug for the birthday boy with Cinderellas Royal Table etched on the front.
After lunch I trick DS into going into Tinkerbells Treasures a gift shop in Fantasyland that is all girl. He is really mad about having to be in here. I love looking at all of the princess costumes and the girlie paraphanalia. DS is being a stinker now and making a scene about being here so we leave. We head over to the Snow White ride. Another ride where clearly many parents just arent thinking. The little ones are SCARED of this ride, and frankly, I dont blame them. The witch is creepy. I decide that for the most part, we are beyond Fantasyland. Ill give it another try when I bring my youngest. After this we cross the bridge into Liberty Square. We stop and have the silhouette thing done of my DS. I simply cannot fathom how someone can be so talented as to glance briefly at someones profile and within mere moments duplicate it with black paper and a pair of scissors. It looks exactly like him. I wish I had all three of my boys here to do this. I briefly consider having one done of me but figure that would be narcissistic.
Next we head to the Frontierland Shooting Gallery which is really dumb in my opinion. I am just morally opposed to having to pay more money to do something inside the parks which already cost an arm and a leg to get into. But DS really, really, REALLY wants to. I dig out a crumpled up dollar bill and begin the dance with the token machine. It takes 3 tries and lots of rearranging and ironing out of my bill, but we finally get the tokens. He shoots. He is happy.
There are a million things we havent done yet but the itinerary says its time to go. We head over for one more look at the castle. Donald and Daisy and Mickey are out front signing autographs and the lines looks longer than the one for Thunder Mt. Railroad. I jump in front of DS in the hopes that he wont see them. I try, in vain, to distract with ridiculous pointing and gibberish. Too late. He sees them. He stands in line for Donald and I get in line for Mickey. The strategy being that maybe he will see Donald and then be able to hop over with me and see Mickey. We wait. And wait. And wait some more. What the heck is that Mouse doing anyway? Donald seems to be much more efficient his line is moving along at a nice speed. Mickeys handler (the human being in charge of him) says, As soon as the song finishes we have to go . There are 3 kids in front of me In my minds eye I see a huge hourglass and the sand is draining out at an unnatural speed. I look at DSs line hes almost there ..1 more kid my line: 2 more. SPEED IT UP YOU DUMB RODENT!!!!!! DS is finally there he gets a big hug from Donald! Hooray. Unfortunately Donald doesnt understand that my son wants him to sign his shirt. Who said ducks were smart? DS runs over to my line, hes MUCH more interested in Mickey anyway. One more kid in front of us Mickey greets the kid, signs his autograph book apparently lingering over previous entries ..gives the kid a high five hugs kid again, kid turns to leave MUSIC STOPS ..mean and nasty handler says Sorry, kids, hes got to go. But you can see him in the parade. Reflecting on this moment in the days to come I know I will see this as a trivial thing but at THIS moment , here in Disney World in front of the castle with Mickey turning his back on us after we waited 40 freakin minutes and spent thousands of dollars to be here .I actually consider chasing after him and tackling him. Well, obviously that wouldnt be mature, so I stick my tongue out at his handler instead and tell her shes a meanie. Thatll teach her.
We lick our wounds as we head down Main Street. DS by getting an ice cream and me by purchasing my first and only pin. I completely ignore all of the ones with Mickey on them, even commenting out loud about how stupid he is. Strange looks from the adults standing nearby. I go all out and get a Tinkerbell pin with my birthstone on it. Ha! Thatll show you, Mr. Mouse. I dig out my pathetically empty landyard and triumphantly pin on Tinkie . I can finally hang it around my neck with pride. We catch the next monorail to Epcot and guess what? We sit in front again J
At Epcot, our first stop is Test Track. The line is again ridiculously long. The single rider line is posted as 20 minutes. We decide to do it. I figure Ill go first so I can be waiting at the entrance when DS comes off the ride. I dont really understand how or why, but we walk right on (not even 2 minutes). Im in one car and DS is in the one behind me. I will definitely use this strategy in the future! This is fun but really and truly not worth all of the hype. Now the gift shop, thats a horse of a different color. DS purchases a hummer toy for himself, a t-shirt for his older brother and a few trinkets for his little brother. Unfortunately, we have to carry it with us since we wont be staying at the park for 3 more hours. So begins an afternoon of me acting as pack mule.
Finally, we get to do the one thing I really and truly have been looking forward to getting a famous margarita in Mexico and leisurely touring the world showcase. (The last time we came to Disney I was very ill and didnt get to see the World Showcase) Yippee! We start in Mexico. DS is hungry again so we order nachos from San Angel Cantina for him. I stop at the kiosk around the corner and get a Fiesta Margarita which is almost too pretty to drink with 3 or 4 different colored layers. We sit in Norway and have our Mexican snacks. That is weird. After eating perhaps three entire nachos, out of the $10+- order, DS gets up to throw them away. WHOA there big boy. What on earth are you doing? I ask. Im full. Pen, pen, where is my pen? Now I am forced to eat them. At least they are good. Afterwards we ride Maelstrom. I embarrass myself in line by continuously telling the man in front of me how cute his little girl is. Turns out its a boy. Im going to stop talking out loud altogether. I want to see the post-ride movie but DS has no interest in anything remotely educational at this moment. I want to go to the beach in China he tells me. What on earth is he talking about? Dad said he fell asleep at the beach in China. I want to go. Im starting to lose my patience now. Listen, I am not walking 1/2 way around the world to look for a nonexistent beach your father dreamed up. I say through clenched teeth. Just then my cell phone rings it is our new friends the family we keep seeing they want to see if we are still planning on going to Fantasmic. This reminds DS of it and he insists we leave now for MGM. NoooooO! I really, really want to see the world showcase. I had been secretly hoping hed forget all about Fantasmic and we could have a nice dinner in Japan and watch Illuminations. He is in a full panic though, convinced we wont get there in time to see his friends. FINE! And just when I was resigned to slowing down. We make our way to the exit and the CM stops us. Maam, you are not allowed to take drinks out of the park. So my choices are 1. Throw away my $8.00 drink of which I have been dreaming of for so long or 2. Gulp it down as fast as possible and get the worlds biggest brain freeze. No, I decide, these are HER two choices ..mine is to walk around pretending to look at the Leave A Legacy tiles for a few moments while I hide my drink in my bag. Haha! We get to the bus and I enjoy a few sips of my contraband margarita. De-lish. Goodbye Epcot and World Showcase! Maybe Ill come back and try again when Im 80 years old!
At MGM we make tracks for the stadium. Once inside we give our friends a call. They wave us down and we take our seats with them front and center the best seats in the house. We grab a hot dog and some popcorn and wait for the show. I was a little suspect about whether Fantasmic would be worth the hour wait. Boy was I wrong. It is awesome! You have to see it to believe it. Even better is watching DS with his two new best friends. I really enjoy talking with the parents as well. By the end of the evening we all feel like weve known each other forever. The dad helps me carry some of our packages back to the bus turns out we are all staying at the same resort and in fact we have the same bus stop! The boys make promises to call each other once we get back to NC to get together and DS and I head to bed. Another magical day. Tomorrow its Universal and Islands of Adventure!
(sorry, couldn't resist)
Sure know what you mean about those margaritas. That is always our 1st stop in the showcase and guess what - my ds gets the nachos, eats about 3 and does the same thing!!!!! Are you sure we aren't related
