NMAmy
Can speak food in German
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2000
- Messages
- 15,229
Day 8 3/5
Cast:
Alex, DH and stepfather to:
Caitlin, 13,
and me, Amy, official trip planner
Our last full day. We've decided to pack a whole lot of excitement into today, especially since Cait will be heading back to New Mexico with her dad tomorrow. It breaks my heart just thinking about it.
We caught the bus to MK and then switched to the monorail to the Contemporary. We're having breakfast with Mickey and the gang today. I'm antsy the whole way there because the bus didn't start running till 8 and for some bizarro reason I made our PS for 8:45. What was I thinking? First we stopped at the Yacht/Beach Club, then the Boardwalk. How come when you're in a hurry things always seem to take so much longer. We hit MK at 8:30 and rush to wait for the monorail. It finally arrived and we made it to the Toaster at 8:45 exactly. When we arrived at Chef Mickey's, they seated us right away, we didn't even get our pictures taken. Oh, well, I'll make up for that later. A woman came by offering orange juice. Cait and I both indicated that we did not want any but she paid us no never mind and filled our glasses anyway. Ick, thank you. Neither one of us drank it but she kept coming by to refill the glasses. I think she has a quota.
First Dale showed up, then Pluto, Minnie, and Chip arrived. Cait and I enjoyed watching a little girl who was about 2 a few tables over from us. She was terrified of every character except Minnie who she took a real shine to. Cait asked if she had been that way when she was little. I told her heck, no, you¡¦d have gone home with them if they'd let you! Later, we saw a little girl about 3 who DID remind me of Cait at that age. She walked right up to Goofy, handed him her autograph book and pen, gave him a kiss, posed for her picture, very matter of fact and businesslike. It was the cutest thing.
Even at 13, Cait was too nervous that a character would show up to eat her breakfast. I looked at her plate and she had selected one mini-muffin and 3 pieces of bacon. Excuse me, kiddo, you¡¦re considered an adult now, you¡¦d better take more than that. We found her a bagel but that¡¦s all she would eat. Pretty expensive bagel.
When the Big Cheese showed up, he sat right at our table with us. I offered some OJ (we had lots), but apparently mice don't like OJ either. He signed Cait's book, then posed for pictures with Caitlin and with Alex. Hey, he picked the outside seat at the table. He said he never imagined he would ever have his picture taken with Mickey. I'm thinking of getting the picture enlarged and hanging it in the living room. He'd never be able to live that one down. In fact, he looks more shaken in that pic than in any of them from the rides!
Back on the monorail, Caitlin and I lamented the fact that unlike DL, the monorail at WDW doesn't shoot through Tomorrowland. A tragic error in our opinion but along with the boat, one of Cait's favorite "rides.¨
I insisted that we have our picture taken by the photographer as we entered the park so I could have one of the 3 of us together. It turned out good except Alex looks very suspicious, I'm not sure why. Since we'd arrived rather later than usual, the line for Space Mtn was long so we got a Fast Pass and headed over to Buzz. I hit a really big target this time and got like a zillion points (well, maybe not that many but I can¡¦t recall my exact score.) Irritated the heck outta Cait. Alex reminded Caitlin about how much she and Stitch enjoy the Tomorrowland Transit Authority so we had to ride it again. "Look, there's my church.¨
Cait surprised me after this by REQUESTING the Carousel of Progress. Don¡¦t you remember¡Krat race, rumpus room, etc? I think she was feeling nostalgic about leaving so we went for another round. It's a good thing I've been memorizing it because who knows how long it will be around? I'll miss it when it goes.
Used the Fast Pass on Space Mountain and then did Philharmagic one more time. We¡¦re doing all the favorites today, can you tell? We stopped by the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room and stopped by Pirates but the line was too long. Lunch at Cosmic Ray's again¡Kthey have so many choices there that it's getting to be one of our favorite stops. It¡¦s one of the few places we can all find something we like.
We were feeling a little puny after our big day yesterday, so we headed back to the hotel for a rest. After a few Disney Channel shows, Alex was loudly snoring away. Cait really wanted to go back to MK and Alex wanted to give the two of us some time to spend alone together so he stayed at the hotel and I dragged my weary body out again.
By now the park was packed! We decided to head over to Frontierland for a change and headed to Big Thunder. The line was 30 minutes. We've been so spoiled this trip. Cait really wanted to do it so of course, we waited. This was the first time we'd been at MK so late in the afternoon and I was just appalled by the amount of trash everywhere and the bathrooms were just horribly messy. On BTMRR, the trash can was not only full but water bottles, pop bottles, and trash were STACKED all around it. This is not the WDW I remember from my childhood. One of the trains broke down so the line moved excruciatingly slowly but we finally made it.
Cait wanted to do Philharmagic one more time and since it's my new favorite "attraction¨ I was fine with that. The kid's had a cold all week. The last time we¡¦re on this she turns to me during the apple pie part and says, ¡§Hey, Mom, it smells like apple pie!Umm...yep, it does. It always has, kiddo. Every time. She was amazed!
You may have noticed that on our last day, I let Cait pretty much go anywhere she wants. I'm an adult, I'm supposed to have better impulse control. So we went to dinner at¡K.Cosmic Ray¡¦s. Yes, twice in one day. We are quite the testimonial for this place. Cait wanted a hot dog and I wanted chicken and this means two different lines which leaves us in a bit of a quandary without Alex around. We got the hot dog lickety split, then I had Cait find us a table down by Sonny and told her I'd be right there. One person in this line, ok, I'll pick this one. Now I know why this guy was the only one in this line. Sheesh, he must've taken 10 minutes to place an order. It's not that difficult, you know. Cait thought I'd abandoned her at WDW. And, bless her heart, she hadn't started eating yet because she was waiting for me so her fries were kind of cold. She has excellent manners, though. Perfect little angel girl.
We took another spin on Buzz after dinner. I wasn't trying to win, really, but I did again. We were racing the clock now because the park closed at 7:00 with Wishes and I didn¡¦t want to get stuck in Tomorrowland. My plan had been to be at the front of the park during this and be one of the first ones out. Well, my perfect little angel girl wanted to go on Tomorrowland Transit Authority one last time. Which actually turned into two last times. It was really cool in the dark. There was a full moon hanging low over Space Mtn¡XI got a picture of that one. I also took pictures all the way through the ride so Caitlin could relive it at home. There was no one else on this with us so I didn¡¦t have to worry about bothering anyone. We finished up a few minutes before 7 and raced for the front of the park. Even though the crowd was heavy, we managed to make it through. We decided to watch from out front and found a bench by a security guard who told us we had one of the best seats in the house¡Xhe liked to watch from there while he was working. Eventually, the mosquitos drove us away from the bench and we headed toward the bus stop. We were first in line and could see the fireworks from there. It was really beautiful until the monorails kept stopping directly in front of us and you couldn¡¦t see it. We enjoyed it, though.
The bus arrived not long after the fireworks and we got seats on the packed bus. As we were heading back, Cait said that she would like to see all of Illuminations. We stopped and got Alex at the hotel and headed for the boat. We were the only people on the boat heading over to Epcot. We sat in the back and they kept coming back to check to make sure we REALLY wanted to go there. As we approached the International Gateway, I began to think we weren¡¦t going to make it. It was 8:30 and there was a boat jam. The boats were lined up to take people home¡Kwe were stuck by the bridge. Cait started to panic until I pointed out that if worse came to worse, we could jump to shore. It was only about 2 feet away. The captain radioed in and the boats cleared out so we could make it to the landing. It was 8:45. We went down toward France and found a partially obstructed view on the bridge. Cait freaked out because there were tons of spiders on the railing and we moved down a bit. It was just so beautiful. Caitlin and I got to hugging during the finale and both started to cry, knowing it was our last night together for awhile.
After it was over, we left by the International Gateway and walked back to the Dolphin. My last night sleeping as the princess and the pea. I will be glad to get home to my own bed.
Cast:
Alex, DH and stepfather to:
Caitlin, 13,
and me, Amy, official trip planner
Our last full day. We've decided to pack a whole lot of excitement into today, especially since Cait will be heading back to New Mexico with her dad tomorrow. It breaks my heart just thinking about it.
We caught the bus to MK and then switched to the monorail to the Contemporary. We're having breakfast with Mickey and the gang today. I'm antsy the whole way there because the bus didn't start running till 8 and for some bizarro reason I made our PS for 8:45. What was I thinking? First we stopped at the Yacht/Beach Club, then the Boardwalk. How come when you're in a hurry things always seem to take so much longer. We hit MK at 8:30 and rush to wait for the monorail. It finally arrived and we made it to the Toaster at 8:45 exactly. When we arrived at Chef Mickey's, they seated us right away, we didn't even get our pictures taken. Oh, well, I'll make up for that later. A woman came by offering orange juice. Cait and I both indicated that we did not want any but she paid us no never mind and filled our glasses anyway. Ick, thank you. Neither one of us drank it but she kept coming by to refill the glasses. I think she has a quota.
First Dale showed up, then Pluto, Minnie, and Chip arrived. Cait and I enjoyed watching a little girl who was about 2 a few tables over from us. She was terrified of every character except Minnie who she took a real shine to. Cait asked if she had been that way when she was little. I told her heck, no, you¡¦d have gone home with them if they'd let you! Later, we saw a little girl about 3 who DID remind me of Cait at that age. She walked right up to Goofy, handed him her autograph book and pen, gave him a kiss, posed for her picture, very matter of fact and businesslike. It was the cutest thing.
Even at 13, Cait was too nervous that a character would show up to eat her breakfast. I looked at her plate and she had selected one mini-muffin and 3 pieces of bacon. Excuse me, kiddo, you¡¦re considered an adult now, you¡¦d better take more than that. We found her a bagel but that¡¦s all she would eat. Pretty expensive bagel.
When the Big Cheese showed up, he sat right at our table with us. I offered some OJ (we had lots), but apparently mice don't like OJ either. He signed Cait's book, then posed for pictures with Caitlin and with Alex. Hey, he picked the outside seat at the table. He said he never imagined he would ever have his picture taken with Mickey. I'm thinking of getting the picture enlarged and hanging it in the living room. He'd never be able to live that one down. In fact, he looks more shaken in that pic than in any of them from the rides!
Back on the monorail, Caitlin and I lamented the fact that unlike DL, the monorail at WDW doesn't shoot through Tomorrowland. A tragic error in our opinion but along with the boat, one of Cait's favorite "rides.¨
I insisted that we have our picture taken by the photographer as we entered the park so I could have one of the 3 of us together. It turned out good except Alex looks very suspicious, I'm not sure why. Since we'd arrived rather later than usual, the line for Space Mtn was long so we got a Fast Pass and headed over to Buzz. I hit a really big target this time and got like a zillion points (well, maybe not that many but I can¡¦t recall my exact score.) Irritated the heck outta Cait. Alex reminded Caitlin about how much she and Stitch enjoy the Tomorrowland Transit Authority so we had to ride it again. "Look, there's my church.¨
Cait surprised me after this by REQUESTING the Carousel of Progress. Don¡¦t you remember¡Krat race, rumpus room, etc? I think she was feeling nostalgic about leaving so we went for another round. It's a good thing I've been memorizing it because who knows how long it will be around? I'll miss it when it goes.
Used the Fast Pass on Space Mountain and then did Philharmagic one more time. We¡¦re doing all the favorites today, can you tell? We stopped by the Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room and stopped by Pirates but the line was too long. Lunch at Cosmic Ray's again¡Kthey have so many choices there that it's getting to be one of our favorite stops. It¡¦s one of the few places we can all find something we like.
We were feeling a little puny after our big day yesterday, so we headed back to the hotel for a rest. After a few Disney Channel shows, Alex was loudly snoring away. Cait really wanted to go back to MK and Alex wanted to give the two of us some time to spend alone together so he stayed at the hotel and I dragged my weary body out again.
By now the park was packed! We decided to head over to Frontierland for a change and headed to Big Thunder. The line was 30 minutes. We've been so spoiled this trip. Cait really wanted to do it so of course, we waited. This was the first time we'd been at MK so late in the afternoon and I was just appalled by the amount of trash everywhere and the bathrooms were just horribly messy. On BTMRR, the trash can was not only full but water bottles, pop bottles, and trash were STACKED all around it. This is not the WDW I remember from my childhood. One of the trains broke down so the line moved excruciatingly slowly but we finally made it.
Cait wanted to do Philharmagic one more time and since it's my new favorite "attraction¨ I was fine with that. The kid's had a cold all week. The last time we¡¦re on this she turns to me during the apple pie part and says, ¡§Hey, Mom, it smells like apple pie!Umm...yep, it does. It always has, kiddo. Every time. She was amazed!
You may have noticed that on our last day, I let Cait pretty much go anywhere she wants. I'm an adult, I'm supposed to have better impulse control. So we went to dinner at¡K.Cosmic Ray¡¦s. Yes, twice in one day. We are quite the testimonial for this place. Cait wanted a hot dog and I wanted chicken and this means two different lines which leaves us in a bit of a quandary without Alex around. We got the hot dog lickety split, then I had Cait find us a table down by Sonny and told her I'd be right there. One person in this line, ok, I'll pick this one. Now I know why this guy was the only one in this line. Sheesh, he must've taken 10 minutes to place an order. It's not that difficult, you know. Cait thought I'd abandoned her at WDW. And, bless her heart, she hadn't started eating yet because she was waiting for me so her fries were kind of cold. She has excellent manners, though. Perfect little angel girl.
We took another spin on Buzz after dinner. I wasn't trying to win, really, but I did again. We were racing the clock now because the park closed at 7:00 with Wishes and I didn¡¦t want to get stuck in Tomorrowland. My plan had been to be at the front of the park during this and be one of the first ones out. Well, my perfect little angel girl wanted to go on Tomorrowland Transit Authority one last time. Which actually turned into two last times. It was really cool in the dark. There was a full moon hanging low over Space Mtn¡XI got a picture of that one. I also took pictures all the way through the ride so Caitlin could relive it at home. There was no one else on this with us so I didn¡¦t have to worry about bothering anyone. We finished up a few minutes before 7 and raced for the front of the park. Even though the crowd was heavy, we managed to make it through. We decided to watch from out front and found a bench by a security guard who told us we had one of the best seats in the house¡Xhe liked to watch from there while he was working. Eventually, the mosquitos drove us away from the bench and we headed toward the bus stop. We were first in line and could see the fireworks from there. It was really beautiful until the monorails kept stopping directly in front of us and you couldn¡¦t see it. We enjoyed it, though.
The bus arrived not long after the fireworks and we got seats on the packed bus. As we were heading back, Cait said that she would like to see all of Illuminations. We stopped and got Alex at the hotel and headed for the boat. We were the only people on the boat heading over to Epcot. We sat in the back and they kept coming back to check to make sure we REALLY wanted to go there. As we approached the International Gateway, I began to think we weren¡¦t going to make it. It was 8:30 and there was a boat jam. The boats were lined up to take people home¡Kwe were stuck by the bridge. Cait started to panic until I pointed out that if worse came to worse, we could jump to shore. It was only about 2 feet away. The captain radioed in and the boats cleared out so we could make it to the landing. It was 8:45. We went down toward France and found a partially obstructed view on the bridge. Cait freaked out because there were tons of spiders on the railing and we moved down a bit. It was just so beautiful. Caitlin and I got to hugging during the finale and both started to cry, knowing it was our last night together for awhile.
After it was over, we left by the International Gateway and walked back to the Dolphin. My last night sleeping as the princess and the pea. I will be glad to get home to my own bed.
