My PC, GF, VWL, BCV, VWL, and SSR vacation

[kathymc]

I have spent my last two lunch breaks reading and enjoying your reports and I can not wait to hear about the tour and the party. When were you stuck in Chicago? we got stuck there from Tstorms on June9th and had to get a hotel room - that one night cost us more than our mini vacation for 3 nights in Phoenix!

 

[roberrl187]

I hope my trip at the end of the month is half as magical as your has been, and it's only your 2nd day there. I can't wait until you post the rest.

I have cried and laughed so much reading your report.

Thanks

 

[Janet2k]

To paraphrase a line from the movie, As Good As It Gets, "You folks here on the Dis make me want to be a better man." Okay, maybe not a man, but I think you catch my drift.

Everyone on this website has given me so much over the years that I want to be able to give a little something back. The only things I have to offer are my family’s experiences at Walt Disney World. Most of those experiences aren’t much to write about, but that doesn’t lessen their value. On the contrary, those experiences were just as special as the ones that I have been able to share. And that’s the good thing about Walt Disney World. Everyone has the same opportunity at having a memorable vacation as everyone else. It doesn’t matter what resort you stay in or what time of year you go, the magic is all around you if you just open yourself up to it.

Well, at least that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. But what do I know? I’m just a simple girl with one heck of a crush on the most magical place on Earth.

 

[tammydel]

Janet -
I'm loving your report! Not only do I enjoy the details of the special party planning (and BOY do I enjoy hearing about the special party) but I also love hearing about the little moments of magic. The story about the man and your husband's shirt, as they say "priceless".

I can't wait to here about your experience with the Family Magic Tour. My family did this tour last summer and I know it can indeed be Magic.

Tammy

 

[Miffy2003]

Janet, you report is absolutely brilliant!

Thank you.

Karen

 

[Janet2k]

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NOTE: This post is quite lengthy. I apologize in advance if any of my photo links are not working (I’ll try to fix whatever broken links I find). Also, Yahoo has a nasty habit of stating that my photo albums are not available if too many photos have been viewed. I pay a fee for their photo service so I don’t understand why the use of that service is so painful (I’ve long since given up complaining to them as it never did me any good). I’m presently considering moving my photos to another provider, but until I do, I’m stuck with Yahoo. So, if you get any photo error messages, please try to access them at a later point in time. By the way, the link for my Family Magic Tour photo album is as follows: Family Magic Tour.
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mag·ic
(Merriam-Webster OnLine Dictionary)
Pronunciation: 'ma-jik
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle English magique, from Middle French, from Latin magice, from Greek magikE, feminine of magikos Magian, magical, from magos magus, sorcerer, of Iranian origin; akin to Old Persian magus sorcerer
1 a : the use of means (as charms or spells) believed to have supernatural power over natural forces b : magic rites or incantations
2 a : an extraordinary power or influence seemingly from a supernatural source b : something that seems to cast a spell : ENCHANTMENT
3 : the art of producing illusions by sleight of hand

It’s such a simple word, only five letters long, and yet it’s packed with powers that are completely unimaginable to mere mortals. There are times when mortals understand where the magic comes from, and there are other times when the magic seems to descend from the ethers.

Today was one of those days. Sure, I knew the Family Magic Tour was going to be a lot of fun. That was a given. However, how the tour would play out and how it would touch me, well, that would be another story.

As I have learned from the Dis website over the years, the Walt Disney World theme parks have many tours (click here). The Magic Kingdom itself has quite a few tours (click here). And my family had experienced none of them. Not one. Zero. Zilch. Nada. But thanks to my wonderful new friend, Floridafam, that was about to change.

Initially, Floridafam had invited my family to join her family for a VIP Tour of the Magic Kingdom Theme Park. Over time, that tour had morphed into the Family Magic Tour (click here).

When Floridafam first looked into that tour, she sent me the following e-mail message:

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I called WDW this morning and there are openings for the Family Magic Tour. I would need to book and pay today. What do you think? Should we switch to this tour? Here is some info taken from allears.net:

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
FAMILY MAGIC TOUR
Magic Kingdom

A tour the whole family can enjoy is offered at the Magic Kingdom. Family Magic Tour takes you on a one-of-a-kind interactive tour through Main St, Liberty Square, Tomorrowland and Fantasyland. During the 2 hours, you are taken through the park's themed lands in search of clues (like a treasure hunt).

Offered daily at 10:00am

Disney Family Magic Tour is open to everyone.

A special character appears at the end of the tour. The special character at the end of the tour does vary.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -​

It does sound like a lot of fun and it does begin an hour later than the VIP Tour. It also lasts for 2 hours and then we could still enjoy a lunch afterward.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The tour sounded perfect to me and I told her so. It was at that point that she graciously booked it for both of our families.

It took two months, but finally the tour date arrived. As my family entered the Magic Kingdom’s Tour Garden that morning, we were looking forward to what the day held in store for us.

Since we arrived early, we took a look around the small garden to see if Floridafam and her children were there. Our two families had never met before, but we had seen a few photos of each other’s families. We pretty much knew what the other looked like, which is always a good thing when you’re meeting someone for the very first time.

Within a few minutes, Floridafam and I spotted each other. I don’t know who recognized who first. She looked exactly like her picture, except that she was wearing a baseball cap and sunglasses. I, on the other hand, am sure that I didn’t look anything like my picture. Why? Because I had borrowed someone else’s head and someone else’s body and used them in the photo that I had shared. Just kidding. I hadn’t been clever enough to think of doing something like that, drats. [Note to self: In the future, remember to share a photo of Venus de Milo and try to pass her off as you. On second thought, no one wants to see anyone naked, so share a photo of the Mona Lisa instead. At least she’s wearing more than a fetching smile.]

With Mata Hari recognizing Jane Bond in the Magic Kingdom’s Tour Garden that morning, I must admit that it was nice finally getting the opportunity to say hello after having been Internet pen pals for so long. Floridafam was just as nice in person as she was in her e-mails. And her children were as adorable as I had imagined they would be. What a lovely family she had. (Note: We didn’t get to meet her husband that day because he was preparing for the Florida Half-Ironman Triathlon; what a dedicated man he is.)

As our two families began to get acquainted, it wasn’t long before the rest of the tour guests arrived. Once everyone had affixed their name tags to their clothing, we were each given a bottle of water to take along on the tour since it was going to be in the low- to mid-90’s that day. Everyone appreciated Disney’s thoughtful gesture.

Our tour guide appeared and introduced herself to our group. She was very personable and quite animated, a true Disney spirit. This photo may not be the most flattering photo of her, but it does show the first of many animated expressions that she gave us that day (click here). She was a wonderful tour guide with the knack for making everyone feel like part of the team.

There were six children and six adults on our tour. Our tour guide asked us to introduce ourselves. We had to state where we were from and what Disney character we liked the most. My ears perked up at this and I automatically went into Jane Bond mode. I already knew where Floridafam’s family was from, but I had no idea what characters they liked the best.

Floridafam’s daughter stated that her favorite character was Minnie Mouse (click here). Mine, too. Both Floridafam and her son stated that Mickey Mouse was their favorite character. As you can imagine, I was happy to hear that, and happy that I had kept the news of Mickey Mouse’s appearance at the Summerhouse dinner party a secret from them. Touché!

Once all the introductions had been made, our guide explained that initially she had been prepared to take us on a tour that showcased the trash cans and park benches of the Magic Kingdom Theme Park. But then she had received an important telephone call from Mickey Mouse. Mickey had told her that Captain Hook was very upset because Peter Pan had stolen his favorite golden hook (click here) and had hidden it somewhere inside the Magic Kingdom. If Captain Hook didn’t get his golden hook back by noon, he was going to turn all the lands of the theme park into huge piles of trash. Yikes! There was no way our tour guide was going to let that happen so she asked us if we could help her find the hook. Everyone agreed.

Our tour guide stated that Peter Pan had created a map that contained nine clues and that if we followed them, we would find Captain Hook’s golden hook. She pulled out the map and I saw that it was actually a large scroll. She unrolled the scroll (click here) and asked my daughter to help her read Clue # 1 (click here):

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Are you looking for this? (…there was a drawing of a hook here…) To meet the challenge, you’ll need faith and trust and a little bit of pixie dust.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At that point our tour guide rolled up the scroll and put it away. She said that we needed some pixie dust and that she didn’t have any from Tinker Bell but she did have some from Mickey Mouse. Since Mickey is the Sorcerer’s apprentice, she explained, he doesn’t quite have all the magic down pat yet. Our pixie dust was really only “Mickey” dust in the shape of Mickey heads, and even though it contained no flying power, it was magical nonetheless. With that, she opened up her purple pouch and gave everyone a handful of Mickey dust (click here). She then said that we would have to say the following sentence together as we threw our Mickey dust up into the air: “Together everybody achieves magic!” We did as we were told and the Mickey dust rained down upon us. Our guide told us that we were now magical.

Our tour guide gave her pouch to one child and her scroll to another. She then said that everyone had to grab a partner and walk hand-in-hand. I asked her if she was sure that we all needed to hold hands. She nodded yes and said that my husband looked like the type who could get lost and wander off. Boy, did she have him pegged.

My daughter and Floridafam’s son paired up, Floridafam and her daughter paired up, and that left my husband [eew!] and me to pair up. [Note to self: Write letter to Disney. Suggest that a special rule be made that allows old, married couples to not hold hands if they don’t want to. Explain reasoning and hope they accept it: dog germs, cooties, heebie-jeebies, etc.]

Not all of us minded holding hands with members of the opposite sex that day. Take Floridafam’s son and my daughter, for example. They had no problem holding hands and this photo shows it (click here). That photo has become one of my favorite tour photos. I recently sent it to Floridafam with the following message:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Is this a precursor of what's to come? Do I hear wedding bells? Since they are heading towards the castle, will a "Happily Ever After" be close behind?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My daughter would kill me if she knew I had sent that, but, hey, what’s the point of being a parent if you can’t have a little fun teasing your child? [In my best Snidely Whiplash voice:] “Hee, hee, hee!”

And so our little tour group set out in search of Clue # 1. About halfway down Main Street, our tour guide made sure that everyone was still with their partner. At that time she pointed out that my husband was already beginning to wander away from me. I told her that he was refusing to hold my hand. She told me that was a “boy thing.” I got a kick out of that.

We soon reached the Partner’s statue (click here) of Walt and Mickey Mouse that sits in front of the castle forecourt. It was beginning to get very hot outside in the bright, Florida sunshine. Everyone stopped and took a sip from their water bottles (click here).

It was at this point that our tour guide unrolled the scroll and asked Floridafam to help her read Clue # 2:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
In Tomorrowland, look for our very good friend the keeper of time… When gazing, you’ll see something amazing. I’m making you look for a clue that’s tricky, try and spot the hidden Mickey.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The clue would lead us to Tomorrowland’s Timekeeper ride. Once there, we were to search for a hidden Mickey. The scroll was handed to Floridafam’s daughter for safekeeping (click here) and away we went.

Along the way, our tour guide dispensed some Disney trivia (click here). I actually learned something that I didn’t know before (or had forgotten over the years) – the crocodile from “Peter Pan” is named Tick-Tock. And he wants to catch Captain Hook because he is so tasty (Tick-Tock was the one who had bitten off Captain Hook’s hand and he remembered how good the Captain had tasted).

We made our way to the Timekeeper ride (click here). On the exterior wall of the attraction was a poster, and in that poster was the Mickey head that we were seeking. Another clue was now read. This one told us to go to the granite ball. With our partners in hand, we set out in search of the ball.

Once at the granite ball (click here), everyone looked for the clue, and I do mean everyone. This photo shows my husband looking as earnestly for the clue as our daughter was (click here). We were trying to find two circles on the ball. In the middle of those two circles was supposed to be our next clue. But as we looked for the circles, our tour guide discovered that there was more to the clue than she had first thought. She unrolled the scroll and asked one of the adults to read the second part of the clue:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
So you won’t get lost, I’ve provided these directions: go 50 paces north – a hop, skip, and a jump to the race cars; 30 giant steps straight to the café; sneak through and say “Hi!” to Sunny Eclipse; and on the other side you’ll see your destination.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our tour guide pointed us in the right direction: North. She then asked one of the parents to keep track of the counts for our paces. We began with 10 hops, followed by 10 skips (click here) and then 10 jumps. We still had 20 more paces to go, so our tour guide made us do 10 sideways steps. That put us at 40 paces. For our last 10 paces, one of the children suggested that we do summersaults. That didn’t go over too well with the adults, so a giant step (click here) was chosen instead. Once our 50 paces had been completed, our guide asked us to “scootch” the rest of the way to the race cars. The final steps of our mission took us all the way to the Starlight Café (click here).

As we stood outside the café’s doors, our tour guide asked us if we knew who Sunny Eclipse was. No one seemed to know so she explained that he was a Lounge Lizard from Mars (click here) who played inside the café. She said our clue from Peter Pan had stated that we had to sneak up on Sunny and say hello. She gave us the following directions: go inside the café, sneak up to the stage, and then hide down low where Sunny couldn’t see us. When she held up her fingers and counted to three, that was our signal to pop up and scream, “Hi, Sunny!” Once we had done that, we were to run out of the café.

Everyone did as they were told: we snuck into the Starlight Café (click here); we approached the stage (click here); we crouched down low (click here); we waited for our signal; we popped up and screamed, “Hi, Sunny;” and then we quickly exited the café.

I tell you, I love sneaking up on people, especially Lounge Lizards from Mars. I found this portion of our tour to be one of the highlights. (I guess being sneaky stems from the Jane Bond in me.) Once we were outside the café, I told our tour guide that I thought I had really scared Sunny. She agreed and said that he had indeed been startled. She then said that she was impressed that we didn’t lose my husband inside the café. I told her that I had tried. Everyone got a good laugh out of that.

At this point, it was time for a ten-minute break. Everyone used the restrooms, drank some water, and then sat down in the shade to rest for a few minutes. It was very hot outside, somewhere in the low-90’s.

Once our break had been completed, it was time for Clue # 4 (click here):

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On your way, you’ll have to pass a place where dreams come true. Relax. Share your happy thoughts and make a wish. If not, I’ll wake up the old codfish.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We headed off in search of our newest clue. We passed the place where Belle from “Beauty and the Beast” shares her stories. Our guide told us that Belle picks out people from the audience to help her tell her story. An audience member could become the mayor, the teacup, heck, even the beast. It sounded like fun.

We continued walking and eventually found ourselves at the wishing well that sits next to Cinderella Castle (click here). We were told that the wonderful thing about this wishing well is that when people make wishes and drop their coins into the well, the coins are collected and given to the Make A Wish Foundation . Those coins help make the wishes of other children come true, and that’s what makes this well so magical.

Our tour guide then opened up her purple pouch and took some coins from it. She handed a coin to each person in our group. Everyone was told to make a wish and drop their coin into the wishing well (click here). The guide told my husband that she was going to make a special wish that he didn’t get lost today. I told her that she had stolen my wish, to which she replied, “Were you going to make a wish that he does or doesn’t get lost?” I chuckled over that one. Not only was our tour guide funny, she was clairvoyant.

My daughter was asked to read Clue # 5 (click here):

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Take your grownups hand-in-hand and follow the path to Fantasyland. The mice are nice, the birds are chipper, you seek the girl that fits the slipper. The girl you see in rags or a dress, to a child’s eye it’s a real princess.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Our tour guide asked who the girl was who fit the slipper? The children answered: “Cinderella.” The children were next told to take a grownup by the hand. My daughter decided to tag along with Floridafam and her children instead of my husband and myself.

The tour guide again took a moment to tease my husband. She told the group that someone needed to hang onto him. One of the adults said to my husband, “Boy, she sure has you pegged. You’re going to be stuck with that all day!” My husband laughed and I replied that he was going to be stuck with it all vacation long.

We walked along the path that led to the castle. As we passed the backside of it, we saw Captain Hook coming down the castle steps (click here). He was being chased by Peter Pan. They both ran into the castle breezeway.

We found our way to Cinderella’s water fountain. Our tour guide showed us that if you bowed down to a child’s level before the fountain (click here), the crown that is painted on the wall behind the fountain (click here) appears to be sitting upon Cinderella’s head, thus making her a princess. Everyone got down low so that they could see Cinderella be crowned.

It was time for Clue # 6 (click here) and one of the children read it aloud. As we went off in search of the new clue, we played Follow The Leader. The first animal chosen to emulate was an elephant. Everyone in our little group had to act like an elephant (click here). That animal was followed by a puppy dog - arf! arf!

Floridafam’s daughter chose our next animal, a horse (click here). We all galloped like horses. Then came a bunny rabbit, and everyone made bunny ears with their hands and wiggled their noses.

Right around this time our tour guide thought we had lost my husband. Nope, he wasn’t lost, just at the back of the crowd (click here) as our group made its way down the path leading to Frontierland.

Floridafam’s son chose our next animal, a crab (click here). Everyone made crab claws with their hands. My daughter chose a mouse (click here) when it was her turn, and we all put up our hands and made mouse ears with them.

More animals ensued as we made our way to Adventureland: a deer, a pig, a sheep, and a crocodile (click here).

Finally, we arrived at the entrance to Adventureland. Clue # 7 was read here (click here):

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There are six wooden friends I want you to meet. Each pick a pole and hop to the beat.
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Our tour guide told us to watch out for pirates and cannonballs as we entered Adventureland. After a short walk, we found the six wooden friends (click here). We danced to the beat before them. The mist and water that was being sprayed here felt wonderfully cooling. It sure was hot today.

Clue # 8 (click here) was read and it stated the following:

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Look straight ahead from where you have gotten. You’re getting so close now there is no stopping. You’re off to a land of liberty. Look for Tink’s prison up in a tree.
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On our way to finding Clue Number 8, our tour guide spied Captain Hook (click here). She said that we should sneak up on him and call him a “codfish” since that drives him crazy. And so we did (click here): "Captain Hook's a codfish!" and then we quickly ran away. That was fun, and we were awfully lucky that he didn’t chase after us. Boy, were we lucky.

As we went off in search of Clue Number 8, I noticed how crowded the Magic Kingdom had become (click here). Even though the theme park was extremely crowded, for some reason it didn’t bother us at all. I guess our families were just too busy having fun on our tour. I think that’s called the magic of Disney.

At the Liberty Tree we tried to find Tinker Bell (click here). She was supposedly imprisoned in a lantern hidden in the tree. It was here that we read Clue # 9 (click here):

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If Tinker Bell is gone – care she has made – do about face and march into the glade… You’ve done very well in your search I can see…so I’ve kept the Captain’s Hook safely with ME!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We had finally made it to Clue Number 9. We went off in search of the glade (click here) and sang the following song: ”I don’t know but I’ve been told, Captain’s hook is made of gold. Peter took that hook away. Now we’re here to save the day! Sound off: One, two! Sound off: Three, four! Sound off: Five, six!”

We made our way into the glade (click here), now what? We didn’t see any golden hook located here, and this was the place where Peter Pan said it would be found if we followed all the clues correctly, which we had done.

As we continued to look around for the hook, Peter Pan and Wendy suddenly appeared (click here). We were in awe (click here). It was unbelievable that Peter Pan and Wendy were amongst us.

Peter Pan was immediately questioned about the location of the missing hook (click here) and why it wasn’t in the glade as he had promised that it would be. He said the clue had stated that the hook was hidden here somewhere with him not necessarily hidden somewhere within the glade.

It was at that point that the children spotted the hook dangling on the back of Peter Pan’s garment (click here). Peter claimed that he didn’t know it was there. But as he thought about it, he suddenly remembered why it was hanging on the back of his garment. He said that he was going to hide the hook in the glade, but Captain Hook had snuck up on him and asked him where his hook was. Peter only had enough time to hide the hook on the back of his garment so that Captain Hook wouldn’t find it in his hands. After he had hidden it, Peter Pan threw his hands up into the air and exclaimed: “I don’t know where your hook is!” Since the hook wasn’t visible, Captain Hook had no choice but to believe him. That gave Peter Pan and Wendy the opportunity to quickly run away and escape Captain Hook. Everyone was satisfied with Peter’s explanation regarding the missing hook.

With Captain Hook’s golden hook found, the Magic Kingdom Theme Park was safe once again. No one needed to worry about its lands being turned into piles of trash. Hooray!

Our tour guide asked Peter Pan and Wendy if they would pose for pictures with the children. They happily agreed. The two of them spent a few minutes with each child as their parents snapped photographs.

When it was my daughter’s turn to spend a little time with Peter Pan and Wendy (click here), they asked her what her favorite part of the day was. My daughter didn’t have an answer so Wendy said, “It was all so wonderful that she can’t pick one!” How true, how true. Then Peter Pan asked my daughter if there were any hard clues that she didn’t think she could figure out but that she did. She replied, “The hidden Mickey.” Peter asked her where the hidden Mickey was and she stated on the poster. Both Peter and Wendy said that she was very smart. My daughter blushed.

Our tour guide asked Peter Pan if he could pronounce my daughter’s name. Peter said, “I don’t read too well.” I thought that was very funny and very much in character for him. But leave it to Wendy not to be put off by Peter’s response. She made an attempt at my daughter’s name and almost pronounced it perfectly. My daughter gave her the correct enunciation and both Peter and Wendy had fun comparing my daughter’s name to similar names, and one in particular, a princess’ name (click here). At the end of their conversation, they posed for photographs with my daughter (click here). She even got to take a picture with Captain Hook’s golden hook (click here). The time spent with Peter Pan and Wendy in the glade was truly priceless. I was so thankful that Floridafam had invited my family on this wonderful, wonderful tour.

Floridafam’s family got to spend some time with Peter Pan and Wendy next (click here). I love the look on her son’s face (click here). Another priceless photograph containing a memory that will be cherished forever.

Peter Pan and Wendy asked our tour group if we would like to go on a ride with them. Peter stated that it was a brand-new ride and it was very, very good. He said he really liked it because he was the star of the ride. Well, kinda the star of the ride. Okay, he was only in the ride, but it was a great ride anyway. The ride was called Mickey’s PhilharMagic. And with that, they led our group through the theme park and over to the ride (click here).

As we entered (click here) the queue for Mickey’s PhilharMagic, everyone grabbed a pair of 3-D glasses, including Peter Pan and Wendy (click here). As we stood in the queue together, Peter Pan and Wendy told stories nonstop. It was precious.

Soon, it was time to enter the theater. Everyone sat together in a row located towards the very back of the theater, and Peter Pan and Wendy sat amongst the children. If I would have sat with them, I would have been too excited to watch the movie. I was very glad that they had sat with the children instead of with me. Children don’t get as starstruck as we adults do.

Mickey’s PhilharMagic is a wonderful show that stars Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and many of the Disney characters. The animation is captivating and the music is lovely. Everyone in the theater always enjoys the show and today was no exception.

Once the show was over, Peter Pan and Wendy led us outside to an area where they began handing out certificates (click here) to our tour group. The certificates stated the following (click here):

”Where magic lives. This moment was certifiably magical. Across the miles and over the years, you’ll always remember this magical moment from the Walt Disney World Resort. To our guests for showing uncommon valor against pirates and helping to find Captain Hook’s hook!”

The certificates were lovely and completely unexpected, as was the fact that Peter Pan and Wendy had attended the PhilharMagic show with all of us.

As soon as the last certificate had been passed out (click here), Peter Pan and Wendy bade us farewell. Following closely behind them was our tour guide. She, too, bade us all a fond farewell (click here). With the tour ended, we walked off into the sunlight (click here).

The entire Family Magic Tour had been wonderful, from its humble beginning with our wonderful tour guide, all the way to its magical ending with Peter Pan and Wendy. There isn’t one thing that I would have changed about that tour. Not one thing. Life just did not get any better than that. Or did it? Our day was only half over.

 

[KayleeUK]

Wow what a great tour and a wonderful review from you

 

[Masonpips]

WOW! What a fabulous tour!

More More MORE! (Please)

 

[llij]

More, please! More, please! I love reading your trip planning and report! Your writing is wonderful and it makes us feel as if we are all there experiencing the magic with you!

I can't wait to hear the rest!

 

[Nicoal13]

The tour sounds great! I felt like I was on the tour with you

 

[pilgrimage]

You bring us all joy in sharing your experiences.

Are you sure you're not a professional writer , or at least story teller?
We can't wait to hear about Mickey's arrival.

 

[lucky978]

Janet? Where are you? We are all waiting for more of your trip reports! Please, hurry!!!

 

[Janet2k]

The Family Magic Tour had indeed been ~magical.~ But what really made it magical was that it had been shared with wonderful new friends – Floridafam and her two children. Looking back on the tour now, I think what I liked about it the most was that Floridafam had really gotten into the spirit of things – she was hop, skip, and jumping with the best of them (click here). I must admit that I was a little jealous that I couldn’t do any of those fun movements (I was too chicken due to my leg). But it sure was fun watching Floridafam and the other adults, my husband included, gettin’ jiggy wit it.

And that reminds me – it’s time for another word. This time I’m going to mix it up a little bit:

Jiggy
(UrbanDictionary.com)
It means "cool" basically
Man, that is just plain jiggy!
1) down with
2) having sex or messing around with
3) exclamation that means "Sweet!" or "Tiiiiiight!"
4) all right
and
1) "Gettin' jiggy wit it...na na na na na na na!"
or "Yeah, I'm jiggy wit that."
2) "I got jiggy wit your mom last night."
3) "Gator boots with the pimped-out Gucci suit." "JIGGY!"
4) "You aiight? Everything jiggy over here?"

Yeah, gettin’ jiggy wit it helped make the Family Magic Tour what it was supposed to be – a fun time for kids of all ages.

When our tour had ended, our time with Floridafam’s family had not. She had made Priority Seating reservations for our two families to dine together at the Plaza Restaurant. So as we walked off into the sunlight (click here), we actually were walking over to the restaurant.

Initially, we were afraid that we were going to miss our Priority Seating reservation since the tour had gone a little longer than expected due to attending Mickey’s PhilharMagic with Peter Pan and Wendy. But we actually arrived at the Plaza Restaurant in the nick of time. After we had checked in at the podium, it wasn’t long before we were seated.

My family hadn’t dined at the Plaza Restaurant for a few years. It was nice getting the opportunity to do so again. Plus, it sure felt good to be inside with the air-conditioning. After having spent the last several hours canvassing the Magic Kingdom in search of Captain Hook’s golden hook, it felt very good to be inside a cool restaurant.

As we sat down at our table, I discretely pointed out my ankle to my husband. Can you say, "Michelin man?" Yes, it was swollen. I was very glad that Floridafam had changed our tour from the 5-hour VIP Tour to the 2-hour Family Magic Tour. I don’t think I could have handled five hours of walking in the high heat and humidity. My family probably would have taken me out of the Magic Kingdom on a stretcher. So as I sat inside the Plaza Restaurant, I realized just how perfect the Family Magic Tour had been for everyone involved.

When our server appeared, we immediately ordered lots of ice water and cold drinks. Within minutes, everyone was quenching their thirst. We then ordered our lunches. My family was hungry since we hadn’t had breakfast, so everything on the menu looked especially tasty to us. We all made a selection and placed our orders.

As we waited for our lunch to arrive, our two families chatted. It was very easy to talk to Floridafam and her children. Her son is a big geography buff, so he was teaching us lots of things about various countries around the world. My daughter had just completed a school report on Norway, so she chimed in with geography facts, too. It was a lot of fun watching the kids’ brains in action. And believe me, their young brains worked far better than my old one did; I had a hard time keeping up, the facts were flying so fast.

My husband and I truly got a kick out of the lunch conversation that day. Life just does not get any better than watching the future leaders of the world having fun with the knowledge they have gained in school. Their teachers would have been proud.

When our meals arrived, the conversation did not end, it continued on. There was more geography trivia and even some Walt Disney World information peppered in here and there (Floridafam filled me in on the suite that she was staying in at the Wilderness Lodge – it sounded lovely).

As we filled our bellies with food, the children filled our minds with geography facts. The time just slipped by without anyone’s knowledge. Our two families had spent over an hour together in the restaurant and it was suddenly time to go.

It wasn’t sad saying goodbye because I knew they would be joining us 24 hours later for the Summerhouse dinner party. We exchanged farewells and our two families parted: Floridafam and her children took a boat to the Wilderness Lodge, while my family took a boat to the Grand Floridian Resort.

The boat ride to the Grand Floridian would allow me to reflect back upon the day that I had just spent with Floridafam's family. It would also allow me a few minutes to unwind before the next portion of my day began. I don’t know about you folks, but there’s definitely something soothing about being out on the water. I think Christopher Cross said it best in his song, ”Sailing.”

"Sailing"
(click here for audio clip)
Words and music by Christopher Cross

It's not far down to paradise
At least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find tranquility
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Believe me

It's not far to never never land
No reason to pretend
And if the wind is right you can find the joy
Of innocence again
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Believe me

Sailing
Takes me away
To where I've always heard it could be
Just a dream and the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free

Fantasy
It gets the best of me
When I'm sailing
All caught up in the reverie
Every word is a symphony
Won't you believe me

It's not far back to sanity
At least it's not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away
And find serenity
The canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Believe me
​

 

[erikthewise]

Hmmmm, Janet's dating herself a little. Sailing was released c. 1980. Hey, maybe you're younger than I thought!

 

[roberrl187]

Great report. I loved the photos. Can't wait for more.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Thanks for posting your Family Magic Tour at the MK. It was like we were taking the tour with you. Keep the posts coming, they are great to read.

 

[gigi1313]

again... i need MORE! MORE! MORE! i feel like i am hanging on tenderhooks! i just cannot wait for the next installment!

janet, your trip reports are wonderful... they make great reading, the details come so alive w/your prose and photos... thank you, your reports are truly a gift!

 

[Joyciemc]

I'm chiming in to echo the thoughts of everyone else. This report is incredible, and I am enjoying it very much! Thank you for sharing it, Janet2K.

Now, if I could see the photots, I would be a very happy camper. Does yahoo photo not work with FireFox?

Looking forward to the rest!!

 

[Janet2k]

The Water Taxi ride to the Grand Floridian had produced its desired effect – I was very relaxed by the time the boat had reached the dock. Then again, maybe I can’t attribute my relaxed state to the boat ride; maybe it had more to do with the fact that I was slipping into sleepwalking-mode. I had been in Walt Disney World for 14 hours and was operating on only 2 hours of sleep.

Let me restate the events of the past 14 hours:

My family flew in from the West Coast. Due to weather-related incidents, we arrived very late in the evening. After a problem with our pre-arranged ground transportation, we took a taxicab to the Pop Century. We checked into the resort shortly before midnight. My husband and daughter went to bed at 2 AM, while it took me until 4 AM to fall asleep. We woke up at 6 AM. We transferred resorts and checked into the Grand Floridian at 8 AM. We arrived at the Magic Kingdom’s Guest Services window at 8:30 AM and picked up our Annual Passes. We watched the Magic Kingdom’s opening ceremony at 8:45 AM. We entered the theme park at 9 AM. We attended the Family Magic Tour at 10 AM. We ate lunch sometime after 12 PM. At 1:45 PM we took a Water Taxi to the Grand Floridian.

Around 2 PM, we found ourselves in the lobby of the Grand Floridian. After about a two-minute wait in line, I presented my photo ID to the Front Desk Cast Member. In return, I was told that my room was ready and was given the room number. My husband walked over to Bell Services in order to let them know that we wanted our luggage brought up to our room. They loaded it on a Grand Floridian trolley (motorized luggage cart) and we hopped aboard for a ride to our lodge building, Conch Key.

I love Conch Key. It has my favorite Magic Kingdom View rooms. Our Bell Services Cast Member told us that our room was located on the fourth floor of the building and it was a dormer room. He also told us that our room was a corner room with a lovely view of Cinderella Castle. I wondered if our room was located in the same area of the building where my family had experienced two of the Grand Floridian’s suites. Our very first Conch Key stay was in a suite located on the third floor of the building (the Wekiwa Suite – spelling??), and our next suite stay was on the second floor (the Cypress Suite – click here). Would our present room also be located in that same section of the building? It was time to find out.

We took the elevator up to the fourth floor. We walked down a corridor and turned left. Yes, our room was located in the same section of the building that our suites had been located in. I laughed when I realized that my family had now stayed on three out of the four floors in the exact same corner of the building.

In honor of the expression, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” I submit the following: click here. When I look at that picture, I feel like I’m playing Hollywood Squares: "Tom, I’ll take Whoppi Goldberg to block, please.” I think you catch my drift.

I have never requested a specific room when making a room reservation. But I am vowing right here and now that I will break my tradition and do so on a future Grand Floridian vacation. [Tongue planted firmly in cheek...] I will simply explain to the resort that I must complete a certain section of Conch Key before I can leave this world (Disney or otherwise). It is preordained that my family will stay in the corner room on Conch Key’s first floor. Who are they to mess with our destiny? I’m positive the resort will grant me my request. I don’t see how they could refuse. There probably aren’t too many families who have knocked off a corner section of a lodge building. Who knows – my family might be the first. I wonder if they’ll put a plaque in the hallway in our honor?

"This small section of Conch Key is named the 'Janet2k Family Memorial Wing.' They were the first family to have stayed in every corner room on every floor of this wing."

Yes, I think a plaque is definitely in order. And a christening ceremony, too. I will use a bottle of Fairy Tale Cuvée to christen the new memorial wing. I hereby am inviting my fellow Dis’ers to join me for that christening ceremony. I better alert the Grand Floridian so that they may properly plan our little soiree.

Even though I said the above stuff strictly tongue-in-cheek, I think you can understand why I got such a kick out of the room that the Grand Floridian had selected for my family’s vacation. I’m sure it was nothing more than just a coincidence, but please humor me and let me continue to pretend that it was preordained (also known as ~Disney magic~).

We entered the room. My family had never stayed in a dormer room before and it was beautiful. I realized that I had actually seen photos of this room on the Internet, and it was as lovely in real life as it had appeared in the pictures. I immediately walked over to the balcony to check out its view. It was glorious and I was so pleased. I just love falling asleep with the drapes open and Cinderella Castle changing colors in the distance, ~sigh.~ I couldn’t wait to fall asleep that night. But I had to quickly banish that thought from my mind. There was little more than one hour left before I had to be at the Summerhouse beach area for my meeting with my Grand Floridian Convention Services Cast Member. So into the bathroom I went in order to wash my face and make myself presentable. I certainly did not want to scare the man who had planned my dinner party. No sir-ee, no bad first impressions for me. And since my daughter was joining me for the meeting, I made her wash her face too. If it was the last thing I did, the two of us would look presentable when we met our Convention Services Cast Member.

After freshening up, I walked back into the main part of the room. Guess who was sleeping in my bed? You got that right, none other than Sleeping Beauty himself – my husband. I was thankful that our room was not a connecting room because had it been, his snoring surely would have woken the folks next door. So I did what you’re supposed to do – I let sleeping dogs, ~er,~ I mean, Sleeping Beauties, lie. I took my daughter by the hand and we left our resort room. I whispered, “See ya later, alligator,” to my husband as the door closed behind us.

 

[lucky978]

Nice report! My husband would have fallen asleep, too. You're right about sleeping dogs!!!

Can't wait for the next installment!!!