mackeysmom
Let's Go Mets!
- Joined
- Sep 16, 2003
- Messages
- 1,030
Cast of Characters:
Laura (me) - age 34
Joseph - age 7 - my nephew/Godson
The original day's plan - MGM in the morning, maybe lunch in MGM, swimming in the afternoon, dinner and Fantasmic in the evening.
How it really went ...
I had set the alarm for 7:00, in an attempt to be at MGM when it opened. Joseph was sound asleep when I got up, and I didn't have the heart to wake him. He eventually got up about 8-ish, and we made our way to the food court. After a quick breakfast (pancakes and bacon for Joseph and french toast for myself), we headed out to catch a bus to MGM.
Within minutes the bus came, and we were on our way. We arrived at MGM and made our way through security and the entrance. I was SHOCKED to see how empty the park was. I had heard some stories about the crowds in March and came in expecting the worst. I was pleasantly surprised. We stopped to have our picture taken and made our way to Rock 'N Roller Coaster. There was absolutely NO LINE - we walked right in. After riding, we decided to purchase our ride picture. We started talking to the cast member at the counter, and I explained that Joseph was making his First Communion this year and that we were taking this trip as a sort-of "early birthday, First Communion" trip. When she returned with our photograph, she also presented Joseph with a Magical Memories Certificate in honor of his First Communion. Joseph was ecstatic!!
After RNRC, our plan was to ride Tower of Terror. TOT is my favorite ride, and Joseph had never ridden it before. He had agreed to try it once - if he liked it, he would ride repeatedly. If not - I would have to respect his wishes. It was a good plan.....Until we got there.....And he heard the screaming....And he saw the hotel looming in the distance. The grip he had on my hand as we approached was unbelievable. He looked like he was about to cry and stated that he didn't want to try. I attempted to lure him with the promise of a pressed penny machine in the giftshop, but it didn't work. I didn't want him to be scared, so I didn't make an issue out of it.
Instead, we went on the Great Movie Ride. Again, no wait at all - we walked right in and bypassed the pre-show movie. We got the gangster scene - Joseph loved it. We rode Star Tours after that - you guessed, no line.
After Star Tours, Joseph announced that he wanted to go leave and go swimming. We had been there less than an hour
I told him that I wanted to see Sounds Dangerous and Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Play It. He agreed to see one. I picked WWTBAM-PI, but we still had some time until the first show. I bought Joseph some popcorn and a soda and he had fun sharing the popcorn with the birds.
We made our way to WWTBEA-PI. On the way, we briefly stopped at One Man's Dream (didn't have time for the movie) and I tried to educate Joseph on Walt Disney. He made me proud when he stated "Wow, we are really lucky that Walter Disney thought up all of this great stuff - he is a good man." (Mental note to myself - find a biography on Walt Disney that is suitable for a second grade reading level).
Joseph loved the fact that WWTBAM-PI was interactive. He had a blast playing along. I made the top -ten on both fastest finger questions, as well as the general audience questions. (On my previous trip, I had gotten as high as #5 in the fastest finger question).
It was starting to get really hot, so we left MGM and made our way back to the hotel. We got changed and headed off to the pool. Joseph chose the Fantasia pool over the Mighty Ducks pool (I think it was the Sorcerer Mickey fountain that he liked). We stayed in the pool for a few hours and got lunch from the food court (pizza and french fries for Joseph, and a chicken sandwich for myself).
I had thought that we'd go back to MGM that evening for Fantasmic. Joseph had other plans. He wanted to go back to the Magic Kingdom. We changed out of our swim clothes and made our way to the bus stop. We had been waiting about 20 minutes when Joseph ripped his shorts (he had been swinging on the chain link line divider.) They were ripped pretty badly, so we had to go to the room to change. As we started to the room, we saw the MK bus arriving. Oh well, no big deal. We changed his shorts and then waited about 10 minutes for the next bus.
Our afternoon/evening at MK completely mimicked the day before. We arrived as the parade was going on, took the train to Frontier Land, rode Splash Mountain (twice), Big Thunder Mountain (twice), Haunted Mansion and saw Mickey's Philharmagic. After Mickey's Philharmagic, we backtracked and rode Splash Mountain and Big Thunder again.
Wishes was getting ready to begin, but Joseph was antsy to buy some souvenirs. We walked through the Main Street gifts shops and picked up a few things. After that, we caught the bus back to the hotel. Dinner was in the food court (hot dog and fries for Joseph and a chicken quesadilla for myself). Joseph spotted the arcade, so we spent some time there before we made our way back to the room. On the way to the room, we spotted a bunny
As we got ready for bed, I told Joseph some facts about Walt Disney. Once again, we were both in bed and asleep by about 10:30.
The plan - I thought we'd spend a lot more time at MGM, hoped to have eaten at The '50 Prime Time and would have liked to have seen Fantasmic. I wasn't expecting Joseph to want to go back to The Magic Kingdom - but I'm not complaining - I could happily ride Splash Mountain a dozen time in a row.
Stay tuned for day 3 ....
Laura (me) - age 34
Joseph - age 7 - my nephew/Godson
The original day's plan - MGM in the morning, maybe lunch in MGM, swimming in the afternoon, dinner and Fantasmic in the evening.
How it really went ...
I had set the alarm for 7:00, in an attempt to be at MGM when it opened. Joseph was sound asleep when I got up, and I didn't have the heart to wake him. He eventually got up about 8-ish, and we made our way to the food court. After a quick breakfast (pancakes and bacon for Joseph and french toast for myself), we headed out to catch a bus to MGM.
Within minutes the bus came, and we were on our way. We arrived at MGM and made our way through security and the entrance. I was SHOCKED to see how empty the park was. I had heard some stories about the crowds in March and came in expecting the worst. I was pleasantly surprised. We stopped to have our picture taken and made our way to Rock 'N Roller Coaster. There was absolutely NO LINE - we walked right in. After riding, we decided to purchase our ride picture. We started talking to the cast member at the counter, and I explained that Joseph was making his First Communion this year and that we were taking this trip as a sort-of "early birthday, First Communion" trip. When she returned with our photograph, she also presented Joseph with a Magical Memories Certificate in honor of his First Communion. Joseph was ecstatic!!
After RNRC, our plan was to ride Tower of Terror. TOT is my favorite ride, and Joseph had never ridden it before. He had agreed to try it once - if he liked it, he would ride repeatedly. If not - I would have to respect his wishes. It was a good plan.....Until we got there.....And he heard the screaming....And he saw the hotel looming in the distance. The grip he had on my hand as we approached was unbelievable. He looked like he was about to cry and stated that he didn't want to try. I attempted to lure him with the promise of a pressed penny machine in the giftshop, but it didn't work. I didn't want him to be scared, so I didn't make an issue out of it.
Instead, we went on the Great Movie Ride. Again, no wait at all - we walked right in and bypassed the pre-show movie. We got the gangster scene - Joseph loved it. We rode Star Tours after that - you guessed, no line.
After Star Tours, Joseph announced that he wanted to go leave and go swimming. We had been there less than an hour
I told him that I wanted to see Sounds Dangerous and Who Wants to be a Millionaire - Play It. He agreed to see one. I picked WWTBAM-PI, but we still had some time until the first show. I bought Joseph some popcorn and a soda and he had fun sharing the popcorn with the birds.We made our way to WWTBEA-PI. On the way, we briefly stopped at One Man's Dream (didn't have time for the movie) and I tried to educate Joseph on Walt Disney. He made me proud when he stated "Wow, we are really lucky that Walter Disney thought up all of this great stuff - he is a good man." (Mental note to myself - find a biography on Walt Disney that is suitable for a second grade reading level).
Joseph loved the fact that WWTBAM-PI was interactive. He had a blast playing along. I made the top -ten on both fastest finger questions, as well as the general audience questions. (On my previous trip, I had gotten as high as #5 in the fastest finger question).
It was starting to get really hot, so we left MGM and made our way back to the hotel. We got changed and headed off to the pool. Joseph chose the Fantasia pool over the Mighty Ducks pool (I think it was the Sorcerer Mickey fountain that he liked). We stayed in the pool for a few hours and got lunch from the food court (pizza and french fries for Joseph, and a chicken sandwich for myself).
I had thought that we'd go back to MGM that evening for Fantasmic. Joseph had other plans. He wanted to go back to the Magic Kingdom. We changed out of our swim clothes and made our way to the bus stop. We had been waiting about 20 minutes when Joseph ripped his shorts (he had been swinging on the chain link line divider.) They were ripped pretty badly, so we had to go to the room to change. As we started to the room, we saw the MK bus arriving. Oh well, no big deal. We changed his shorts and then waited about 10 minutes for the next bus.
Our afternoon/evening at MK completely mimicked the day before. We arrived as the parade was going on, took the train to Frontier Land, rode Splash Mountain (twice), Big Thunder Mountain (twice), Haunted Mansion and saw Mickey's Philharmagic. After Mickey's Philharmagic, we backtracked and rode Splash Mountain and Big Thunder again.
Wishes was getting ready to begin, but Joseph was antsy to buy some souvenirs. We walked through the Main Street gifts shops and picked up a few things. After that, we caught the bus back to the hotel. Dinner was in the food court (hot dog and fries for Joseph and a chicken quesadilla for myself). Joseph spotted the arcade, so we spent some time there before we made our way back to the room. On the way to the room, we spotted a bunny
As we got ready for bed, I told Joseph some facts about Walt Disney. Once again, we were both in bed and asleep by about 10:30.
The plan - I thought we'd spend a lot more time at MGM, hoped to have eaten at The '50 Prime Time and would have liked to have seen Fantasmic. I wasn't expecting Joseph to want to go back to The Magic Kingdom - but I'm not complaining - I could happily ride Splash Mountain a dozen time in a row.
Stay tuned for day 3 ....
