Monday, March 22, 2010
Alex and I were up early (big surprise!) and decided to head to the Animal Kingdom for EMH’s which started at 8:00. As I was puttering around the kitchen, Brittany sleepily told me that she might come along. I found this a little difficult to believe since they’d been out so late. Apparently, they had good intentions because I heard Caitlin’s alarm going off, as well. Of course, we ended up going on our own.
Our bus arrived quickly but we weren’t able to board right away due to a man who decided to berate the bus driver for not driving an MK bus. Since he was pretty loud, I can tell you that this was the third bus going to the AK but no buses had come along for the MK. Since AK had early entry, I didn’t find this particularly surprising but his princesses were anxious to get to breakfast at the castle so I can understand his issue. After our driver radioed the request in, we were actually able to board the bus and head off for our morning adventure.
We accidentally timed it perfectly—we entered just after rope drop so we didn’t have to wait for the opening show. We headed back to Expedition Everest and climbed aboard with no wait at all. We could have ridden again immediately but what was left of my month long sinus infection did not enjoy those sudden changes in altitude. We got fast passes for later and headed over to the safari.
Some views from the long trek from Asia to Africa:
Mountain Rescue is here (and looking a bit surprised that I'd swung the camera toward him):
It was a chilly morning which worked out great because all the animals were up and about—I think I saw more animals on this trip than any other. Lions, elephants, hippos, ostriches—everybody was up and ready for breakfast. We were in the back row and seated in front of us was a lady with an enormous camera. About halfway through, she decided to sort of stand in the car (I’m still not sure how she did it) so she could take better photos while her husband propped her up. My notes say, “Very annoying.” I'm just the master of understatement in my notes.
Walking toward Dinoland:
Every trip, I end up with a photo of this building. I really like the color:
We then headed over to Primeval Whirl and again had no wait. We went for a spin with a nice lady and her young son. Then we hit Dinosaur. I took a few pictures to show Caitie how empty the park is at that time of day. Since she’s never going to see it.
Adding in a little story here—I talked to Cait yesterday and we were discussing her room. It’s time to repaint it. When she was about 14, she chose a Nickelodeon color—Sponge Bob’s Bikini Bottom Blue. It’s really blue. REALLY blue. We’re going to have to use a couple of coats of primer blue. So, I asked her what color she wanted to paint it this time.
Caitlin: I want my room to be yellow because it reminds me of sunshine.
Me: Why? So in the middle of the night when you’re awake, you can look around and think, “Hey, this must be what daytime looks like.”?
By then, it was time for our fast pass so we headed back to Expedition Everest and went for another spin. That’s it. By 9:30 a.m., we had done everything we wanted to do at the Animal Kingdom. It was starting to get busy but we were feeling like we’d made very productive use of our 1.5 hours. Expedition Everest twice, safari, Primeval Whirl, Dinosaur and done! We took the bus back to the Boardwalk to take a little rest.
We were back so early that the Boardwalk was still deserted. Hard to tell we were there at such a busy time, isn't it?
We were supposed to have lunch at Raglan Road but, as expected, the girls didn’t want to get up for that. I made some grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch along with chips and salsa. We spent a quiet afternoon reading and watching tv. The girls finally were up and ready to go around 4:00. They wanted to eat on the Boardwalk and Alex and I wanted to eat in Morocco.
Cait seemed to want to hang out with us so we walked down to the Boardwalk with them to sit with them while they ate. Caitlin wanted something from one kiosk and Brittany wanted pizza from the pizza window so I asked which one of them Alex and I should accompany.
Cait: I call Mommy!
Me: Are you sure? Because Alex is much more generous with his pocket money than Mommy is.
Cait: I call Alex!
Alex: Too late, you’ve already crushed my feelings.
Cait got a chili dog and chili fries and Brit got her pizza and we hung out with them while they ate. Some of Caitlin’s duck friends happened by. Caitlin immediately named them Harry and Bill and we saw them many times during our trip. Or it could have been other ducks that just looked like Harry and Bill but for us, all ducks are now Harry and Bill.
The girls headed to MGM and Alex and I went to Epcot for lamb schwarma, hummus, and tabbouleh in Morocco. It was delicious.
Here's the Princess and the Frog garden at Epcot:
We then took the boat over to MGM to meet them for late night EMH’s.
Again—no plan, a nap, and three parks in one day. I know you're in awe.
By the time we got there, the girls were in the American Idol show. We went on ToT (which they both hate) and only had about a 20 minute wait. Twenty minute wait with a bunch of teenage boys. Sigh. It seemed much longer to me.
There were way too many annoying teenagers at MGM and the lines for everything else were 60 minutes. The girls decided to see the 7:00 finale so we just decided to head on back to the hotel since we’d already hit all the smaller rides there. We had an early night again.
Because the girls spent the day sleeping, we’d driven housekeeping insane. They kept knocking on the door on and off all day. I called to let them know when we’d left and when Alex and I arrived back at 8:00, they were still cleaning our rooms! I wasn’t aware that there was an evening cleaning crew at the Boardwalk but we kept running into them.
We waited for awhile on the porch and I took some pictures to amuse myself.
There was this adorable little girl who was playing tag with her older siblings. The sidewalk must have been "free" because she would run from one edge of the green to the other--on her tippy toes in a little dress--and that child was FAST. It was like watching a little fairy flit from one side to the other.
She kept me amused for quite awhile.
We went back and she was still cleaning. Really? I mean, the girls are slobs but I had nagged them into picking up after themselves. We sat in some chairs by the elevators and Alex told me that it was creepy—the music and the décor reminded him of the Tower of Terror. We finally managed to get back into our room around 8:30.
Next up--How many parks will we hit on Tuesday?
You're much closer to the correct age group than I am, Hedy. The caramel alone would yank my teeth right out. 
LOVE the refurbed POP rooms! Caitlin looks beautiful and so grown up! Brittany is adorable too! Yay for Cait not worrying about Stormtroopers this trip!
Man oh man, do I need someone to tell me just this on a regular basis!
I don't bother taking DS to that area for fear he will ask to ride it.
early entry.
