Never Say Never .Atleast I Thought I’d Never!

[Pikester]

Magic Kingdom Day II, Part I

December 2, 2009

So it’s Magic Kingdom Day II and the weather is spectacular! We are talking another 80 degree day with high humidity, sun but a few clouds. We do our usual getting ready, breakfast and then head out to the van for the drive to MK.

Once we’ve parked we rode the Monorail from TTC to MK

and now it's through bag check and through the turnstiles to wait patiently for the train to arrive with Mickey so we can start the day.

Oh look, here he comes!

Now into the park we go!

While we were sitting around awaiting Mickey’s arrival we had been discussing our “Park Plan of Attack“. It was decided that Tyler, Nathan and I would head over to Big Thunder Mtn while Brian headed over to Space Mtn to get FP.

This is similar to what we did our first day at MK but this time the three of us were going to ride BTMR instead of just waiting around out in front for Brian to get there. Tyler got front row of the train and Nathan and I sat right behind him. Once the ride was done Tyler was able to just stay on and ride again while Nathan and I got off to wait out front for Brian and now Tyler. By the time Tyler was done with his second ride Brian had caught up with us and the boys went back for another ride!

While Brian was making his way back to BTMR to meet up with us he took a few interesting pictures along the way.

 

[mickeystoontown]

The Christmas decorations are absolutely beautiful! I'd love to go back when the parks are all fancied up for Christmas.

I can't believe the wait time for Big Thunder Mountain.....5 minutes! I've never seen that short of a wait time. Very cool that you were able to ride it multiple times.

Tell Brian that he did good on taking pictures during his walk from Tomorrowland to Frontierland. My husband usually takes pictures of stupid stuff.....if he takes any pictures at all.

 

[DL55]

I was feeling the anticipation of rope drop through your pictures. Glad the weather cooperated. Loved the horse yawning. I think I'll try to ride the horse drawn trolley next time. It's been so long since I've rode them.

 

[ladybugmom]

WOW!! Only 5 minutes for BTM!!! That's amazing!! Were the lines like this all week long?! LOVE the Christmas decorations!!!

 

[Pikester]

Magic Kingdom Day II, Part II

Done with BTMR we felt that it was plenty warm enough for a ride on Splash Mtn. It looked to me like the water was “splashing” more then it had the first day we were here so I decided to pass. The wait wasn’t long so the boys got in line for that while I found a place to stand to see if I could take a picture of them going down the rather large drop. Thank goodness for digital cameras because I took pic after pic to see how I need to hold the camera to get the best pic. I practiced so much that I froze when I actually realized it was their log coming down the drop that I didn’t get the best pic. It’ll do though.

Finished with Splash, and just a little damp, we headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean. We were doing the back and fourth “Do we really want to go on this because it’s a 20 minute wait and they only have one side open” thing when we noticed a rather large group of kids coming to do the ride. It was now or never so we decided to be like Nike and Just do it!

We ended up in a nice quiet boat with about 4 other people due to the fact that the large group was sticking together in a boat behind us. They weren’t too noisy until the boats got backed up and we had to listen to “A Pirates Life for Me “over and over again along with the loud giggles coming from the girls behind us. They weren’t really all that bad. We exited the ride into the gift shop of course and the kids really wanted to spend some of their money.

With our purchases taken care of we set off for the Tikki Room but were distracted by the fact that Captain Jack Sparrow had come out to recruit new members for his crew. The guy was good and had us cracking up laughing!

With Captain Jack sailing off into the sunset and leaving his First Mate behind to clean up, we set off to our original destination, The Tikki Room. This was one of our must dos as we had not done this before. I learned one thing, I could have been quite happy never having tried it but now I don’t have to wonder what I might be missing.

Now I start to get fuzzy with how the day progressed. I think after the Tikki Room we decided to get an early lunch. We ended up at Cosmic Rays and I though the food was very good. Brian, Tyler and Nathan thought so too. I did learn, while at CR, that if you are wearing a Birthday Button everyone behind the counter sings a birthday song to you. I must have heard them sing it 5 times while we were there! Once we filled our bellies, we went to Space Mtn where the boys used their FP that Brian had gotten earlier while I shopped around at the pin cart that was nearby.

When their ride was finished Brian grabbed more FP to use later and then we went on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority an enjoyed a relaxing ride. It was great to take a break!

 

[longing2Batdisney]

Great update!

Danny is enjoying your TR along with me...he does not follow the dis with me... he knows all the people I have made friends with by name, when they are going, and so on...but never ask to see or hear about the next update.

Tonight he asked if I had read lately on the report of the family that went the week after Thanksgiving. So, needless to say your wonderful pictures got him talking Disney tonight (I love it! I'm usually the only one talking Disney in the house)...

Thanks! for the wonderful update and reporting of the standby times

Connie

 

[Pikester]

Magic Kingdom Day II, Part III

Finished with Tomorrowland we decided to head to Main St so that I could do some shopping. Here's some pictures we took on our way.

Brian decided to take the kids to the Main St Station to catch the train for a ride around the park. Nathan got to ride in the back.

I was very happy to be able to browse the stores without the guys being there getting impatient with me. Not sure how long I was there but it was however long it took the guys to ride around the whole park. I did purchase an item or two and then met the guys, who were finished with their ride, out in front of the store. While I had been shopping this parade went by.

We then decided to check out Exposition Hall as it’s a place we had never been in before. What an interesting building. There is a photo studio that you can have portraits taken of the family, a display about the history of cameras, a small cinema showing historic cartoons (we saw Steamboat Willie), photo cutouts to get your picture taken with and character greetings.

At this point we had enough of Magic Kingdom and we decided to head back to the hotel. Not wanting to give up our primo parking spot and since we planned on coming back for the fireworks, we decided to hop a bus back to Pop so the kids could swim and the parents could take a break. While Brian took the kids to the pool I walked around the resort and took a few pictures that I hadn’t taken the last two times we had stayed there.

Brian enjoying a beverage.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Good for you getting some shopping time all by yourself. We've been to the Magic Kingdom more times that I can count and we have never been to the Exposition Hall. I always say I am going to go in but we never do.

Cool pictures of the resort!

 

[DL55]

Loved the pool picture..looks like a typical vacation (relaxing) not a WDW vacation.
The picture with the 101 Dalmatians brought back memories of the 101 Dalmatians Colorforms set I had. The plastic pieces were exactly the same as in the picture.

 

[ladybugmom]

Oh cool!! I didn't know that those photo-ops were in the Exposition Hall!! Wow! That pic of those 80s toys really brings me back to my childhood!!

 

[Pikester]

Magic Kingdom Day II, Part IV

We had dinner at Pop and then caught a bus back to MK for the evening. We took our time walking down Main St to check out the stores that we had not been in before we headed over to Space Mtn to use our FP. It’s amazing what you see once you slow down and take a look. Nathan listened in on a phone conversation on an old fashioned phone in one store and we found a man who was working with glass in another.

At this point I just needed to get myself a snack and since I had heard great things about the ice cream at the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor I went in to see what I could get using my Snack Credit. There were 2 items that I could choose from; 1 scoop or 2 scoops of ice cream. Since I had just had dinner I went with the 1 scoop even though I was thinking that the 2 scoops would have given me more bang for my credit. Thank goodness I went with my first choice, it was huge!

You should have seen me by the time I finished that monster. I looked like a little kid who doesn’t eat their cone fast enough. Ice cream was dripping down my arm and I was all sticky. Good thing we were close to the bathrooms so I could do a quick wash up before we head over to Tomorrowland.

So the guys hit Space Mtn while I, wait for it, shopped the pin carts and nearby stores. I found myself a place to sit and people watch when they still hadn’t come out yet. When they came off of SM we took one last ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority

and then we headed over towards the Castle to see how magical it looked lit up.

Beautiful!

We kept making our way to The Haunted Mansion for a last ride on that

and then on to Thunder Mtn. I have never ridden this ride at night before and it just gave me this weird feeling. It was cool being able to see the Castle lit up when we hit the high parts of the ride. I swear I saw some guy slap one of the possums that hangs down from a tree limb on the ride. I tried to tell my DH about it but he didn’t even remember there being possums hanging from the tree. OK.

Now done with Thunder Mtn the guys went on Splash Mtn while I got myself some popcorn and found a nice bench to sit on near the exit of the ride. I waited, and waited and waited. I guess there was an issue or something. I was starting to get a little worried as while I was waiting I had felt a few rain drops and the wind had picked up. My fingers were crossed that it wouldn’t rain until after we went back to the hotel for the night.

The guys finally came out and we dodged our way around the crowds that were watching the Spectro parade to get to the Castle and then on to the front of the park. Brian took Tyler to AdventureLand to get an item that Tyler wanted as his souvenir and I took Nathan with me to pick up a couple of more items in one of the Main St stores.

We all met back up and headed out of the park to watch wishes near the entrance.

We watched a little but all we wanted to do was take our tired feet and bodies back to the hotel so on the Monorail back to the TTC we went. We got back to Pop and our room in no time at all and talked about our plans for the next day.

Next up:

Animal Kingdom Day!​

 

[DL55]

That was a huge scoop! I didn't know you could listen to the phones, just thought they were decorations.
I liked the picture of the glass castle. Just as I was wondering if the price was 1500 or 2500, you took a picture of the price. I don't think I'll be buying that castle.

 

[Pikester]

Phew, Magic Kingdom is done! I wanted to get that done before I responded anyone's posts.

I was feeling the anticipation of rope drop through your pictures. Glad the weather cooperated. Loved the horse yawning. I think I'll try to ride the horse drawn trolley next time. It's been so long since I've rode them.

I have never ridden the horse drawn trolley. I've always been so focused on getting to the rides.

Just seeing the pictures again gets me all excited for rope drop.

WOW!! Only 5 minutes for BTM!!! That's amazing!! Were the lines like this all week long?! LOVE the Christmas decorations!!!

The lines for us were pretty good as long as we followed the Best Park Day according to Touring Plans and we made sure that we were there for rope drop. I can't stress enough the getting to the parks for opening if you want to pack alot into one day.

Great update!

Danny is enjoying your TR along with me...he does not follow the dis with me... he knows all the people I have made friends with by name, when they are going, and so on...but never ask to see or hear about the next update.

Tonight he asked if I had read lately on the report of the family that went the week after Thanksgiving. So, needless to say your wonderful pictures got him talking Disney tonight (I love it! I'm usually the only one talking Disney in the house)...

Thanks! for the wonderful update and reporting of the standby times

Connie

My DH does not talk about Disney until we are a month or so away from going. When he does say something I always get so excited that he ends up thinking I'm nuts!

Good for you getting some shopping time all by yourself. We've been to the Magic Kingdom more times that I can count and we have never been to the Exposition Hall. I always say I am going to go in but we never do.

Cool pictures of the resort!

I didn't even think about going into Exposition Hall. DH made a list before we got to Disney of things that we had never done and wanted to check them out. I'm glad we went in. It looks like a nice place to check out an take a breather ecspecially if you go during the hot weather.

Loved the pool picture..looks like a typical vacation (relaxing) not a WDW vacation.
The picture with the 101 Dalmatians brought back memories of the 101 Dalmatians Colorforms set I had. The plastic pieces were exactly the same as in the picture.

We tried to go back to Pop most afternoons so that we could relax and it was wonderful. Colorforms, do they still make those? I loved the ones I had!

Oh cool!! I didn't know that those photo-ops were in the Exposition Hall!! Wow! That pic of those 80s toys really brings me back to my childhood!!

I love how Pop is decorated! Make sure you carve out some time to walk around Pop. There are alot of photo ops there. Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, the signs along Hourglass Lake, the other big icons.

 

[Pikester]

That was a huge scoop! I didn't know you could listen to the phones, just thought they were decorations.
I liked the picture of the glass castle. Just as I was wondering if the price was 1500 or 2500, you took a picture of the price. I don't think I'll be buying that castle.

The first glass castle was $2500. I had to look twice at the second castle's price. I couldn't figure out why they were both $2500 when one was bigger then the other. I stood there stunned for about 5 minutes before I could move once I finally realized it was $25,000!

 

[DL55]

The first glass castle was $2500. I had to look twice at the second castle's price. I couldn't figure out why they were both $2500 when one was bigger then the other. I stood there stunned for about 5 minutes before I could move once I finally realized it was $25,000!

I misread it too..had to back to the picture. With the housing bubble bust you could by a home for that amount of $$$!

 

[ladybugmom]

YIKES!!! $25,000 for that castle!! I wonder if they ever sell any!! Your castle pics are just GORGEOUS!! It is so beautiful lit up it lights!!

 

[mickeystoontown]

I took a picture of the glass castle too and posted it over on the picture boards. I couldn't believe how expensive that thing was!

Nice wrap up to the Magic Kingdom day!

 

[Pikester]

December 3, 2009

Animal Kingdom Day, Part I

Today is Animal Kingdom day, the only day that we plan on spending there. Before we went to AK we had an ADR for breakfast at Boma located at the Animal Kingdom Lodge. This was a last minute option due to the fact that when I made my original ressies (90 days before) for breakfast it was suppose to be a character breakfast at Tusker House in Animal Kingdom. We were excited to get an early morning ressie so that we could experience a little bit of the park before it became opened for the day. I don’t know what happened but when I went down to the front desk to get my tickets for Hoop-Dee-Doo a few nights ago I also asked them to check on my other ADR for Tusker which was going to be on my AK park day (Decmember 3rd as noted above) and it was showing up on December 1st at 8:10AM which was also our Hoop-Dee-Doo day. I was livid! I was so angry that I had to have Brian take care of it or I was going to cry in front of the CM. I have never had any of my ADRs messed up before and I just couldn’t deal with it. There were no times available for breakfast at Tusker House on our AK day so we ended up going with Boma.

Boma was great! There was the regular breakfast fare; bacon, scrambled eggs, ham, pastries, cereal and then there were a few African dishes. Everything was very yummy. I just want everyone to know though that Boma is in the first Lodge that you come to. Not the second, the first. We ended up at the second and had to go inside to find out that would should have been back at the first. Luckily that did not interfere with our ADR time.

With our bellies full we were ready to head to AK.

We arrived at the park just after rope drop so we avoided having to wait a long time to enter the park. Me, Tyler and Nathan headed to Dinoland while Brian went to get FP for Expedition Everest. The boys went on Primevil Whirl by themselves because I can’t stand that ride. It jerks my neck around too much. Before they even had the chance to get into a car, Brian had returned (Dang he’s fast!) and we waited for the boys to complete their ride.

With Primevil Whirl out of the way, we then walked over to Dinosaur. We tried to talk Nathan into this ride but he wanted nothing to do with it. So Brian and Tyler went on it while Nathan and I hung around outside the exit of the ride. Once the guys were done, we headed down the path that took us out through the gift shop and , here is the best part, I ran into a DISer! I had been keeping an eye out for lime green Mickey heads but had no luck until today. It was Pikaboo27! I said Hello and we exchanged DIS names. I actually saw her, said a quick hello, walked away to use the restroom and then when I came out I saw that she was still standing there so I got her name. I wanted to make sure I mentioned her in my TR. I told her I was going to do a TR and she said that she would keep an eye out for it. Not sure if she’s been looking for it or not. Maybe I’ll do a search for her and send her a PM with the link. I’ll have to think about that.

After meeting Pikaboo27, we decided that we were done in Dinoland and we started the walk over to Expedition Everest to use the FP that Brian had gotten earlier. We tried to talk Nathan into this ride too but “No way!” was his answer. Nathan and I waited outside where we would have a good view of the “drop” and we were able to see Brian and Tyler. They looked like they were having a great time!

About this time is where I loose track of what we did in what order. I think we went to the Kilimanjaro Safaris. Lots of beautiful animals on that ride!

After the Safari, Nathan noticed a Chip & Dale stuffy that he just HAD to have. Brian and Tyler found a seat while Nathan made his purchase and as we were heading back to show the guys Chip & Dale noticed a little boy screaming as he was being rolled away in a stroller. I asked Brian what was going on and told me that I missed a good show. Before I share, I just want to say that going on a Disney World vacation can be very tiring for not only the children but for adults also. A family of four was walking by with one child in a stroller and the other child walking beside it. Brain told me that the child in the stroller was as a happy as can be but the other child was whining about being tired and that “He wanted to ride in the stroller”. Dad had enough of the whining and took stroller boy out of the stroller to roughly put whiny child in. Guess what happened? Yup, now we have two crying kids. Stroller boy is screaming because he was removed from the stroller and whiny kids is screaming because Dad manhandled him into the stroller and was yelling at him. Now Dad is totally ticked off and smacks both kids on the rear and yells “There, now you have something to cry about!”. That’s Disney for you; a show around every corner!

 

[DL55]

Gee, I remember hearing that when I was a child.
Sorry your ADRs were messed up. At least you got to eat at Boma. Still an African theme. Enjoying the pictures.

 

[ladybugmom]

I'm so sorry to hear that they messed up your ADR!! But glad to hear that you enjoyed Boma!! It looks like you got a lot accomplished at AK!!!