Whos who:
Me: (Steve), 37
DW: (Louise), 37
DS: (Jeremy), 5
DS: (Simon), 3
DD: (Ellie), 5 months
Pup-pup and Doggie: Simons 2 stuffed dogs, each of which spent the entire trip clutched under one of Simons arms.
Things went much more smoothly in the morning today, having learned a bit from yesterday. We woke up earlier and were more organized as we prepared to hit the Magic Kingdom at park open. Another beautiful, sunny day, with temperatures expected to be in the low to mid 80s. We got to the parking lot at about 8:35am and went to board the monorail at the TTC. This would be the boys first monorail ride, and I had read on this site about riding up front with the driver/pilot, so when we got to the platform and it was basically empty, I asked the cast member and she said sure. There wasnt room for all of us and Ellies stroller, so it was just me and the boys up front. I thought it was really cool, but I think they didnt realize that they were getting a special ride. I hadnt mentioned it before to them, in case we couldnt do it. They got their special pilots license, although it didnt seem to impress them. But the ride itself did.
After we got a double stroller for Jeremy and Simon, we began to follow the Allears.net Touring Plan for Small Children. If you take small children to the MK, FOLLOW THIS PLAN! It was awesome. We followed it very closely all morning, but never felt constrained by it. Rather, it let us do so much more than we otherwise would have been able to do. We first hightailed it over to the Indy Speedway. We were about the 4th family on the ride, so there was no line. They were still starting up the cars for the day. We did the baby swap here, so I rode with both boys (all 3 of us fit in one car) while Louise held Ellie, then when I returned, Louise took my place with the boys and I took Ellie. The cast members on this ride were extremely helpful and attentive to make sure that the baby swap worked, and it did.
Next, we pulled a FastPass for Winnie the Pooh, and got in line for Dumbo. This was the longest line we waited in all day, and it was only 10 minutes! Again the boys loved it as I rode with both of them in one elephant. Louise was feeding Ellie on a shady bench. Everyone around us was in a good mood, which was nice people were chatting and smiling at eachothers kids and having a good time. (Except for the one guy who was conducting business on his cellphone while in line with his young daughter he should have just stayed in the office ) In particular, all day we noticed lots of people smiling and commenting about Simon with his 2 stuffed dogs (Pup-pup and Doggie) as they walked by. He was a sight ambling about, all sweaty and greasy from the sunblock, stubbornly wearing his Toy Story sunglasses (all smudged with fingerprints), and clutching a big stuffed dog under each arm.
After Dumbo, I pulled FP for Peter Pan, and then rode Winnie the Pooh, which the kids loved. While we waited for our time on Peter Pan, we walked right on to Its a Small World. This was always Louises favorite, so Jeremy announced that it was now his favorite too. Actually, it was better than I remembered it as a child. Then we rode Peter Pan. We split up, with me and Simon together in one car and Louise with Jeremy and Ellie. I could hear Jeremy screaming Were really flying!!! Simon loved it too. At this point it was only 11:00AM, we had done so much, and it was not too crowded yet at all!
We had an 11:45 priority seating for lunch at the Crystal Palace with the Winnie the Pooh gang. So we split up Louise and Ellie went to check in and wait at the restaurant while I took the boys to the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin to pull FPs. Well, when we got there, the FP kiosks were covered up, and there was no sign or explanation. Could they have been out of FPs already, at 11AM? Well, Jeremy didnt really want to ride it anyway because, though he LOVES Toy Story, he is afraid of the evil emperor Zurg, and he knew that Zurg was inside that ride .. Well, as Im standing there looking at the FP area, I didnt realize that I had the kids stroller facing the front entrance to the ride. Suddenly I heard Jeremy crying! He didnt even want to LOOK at the ride entrance! Oh boy. All this time, Simon was just rolling with it. We headed off to meet the others for lunch.
I cant say enough about the character lunch at Crystal Palace. I highly, highly, highly recommend it! First of all, it was really getting hot outside, so the A/C was quite welcome. The food was terrific much better than we expected. They obviously had all of the standard kids fare (mac&cheese, pizza, chicken fingers) but it was the other food that surprised us. We had salmon, delicious salads, chicken dishes, and more, plus terrific desserts. The Winnie the Pooh characters were wonderful with the children, making their way around the restaurant until every kid got a chance for a hug, a picture and an autograph. Louise and I got lots of smiles and hugs from Jeremy all through lunch; he was having the time of his life. The cast members guiding the characters around (I called them character wranglers) were so helpful. For example, when Eeyore came around to our table, Jeremy was in the bathroom. Eddie, the wrangler, made sure that Jeremy got to see Eeyore before we left, corralling Eeyore and bringing him over to Jeremy as we were getting ready to leave!
Refreshed, we headed to Adventureland (we were now officially off the Touring Plan, but it had served us well all morning). I sat with Ellie while the rest climbed the Swiss Family Treehouse. The boys loved it so much, they wanted me to come, so I did. Then it was on to the Country Bear Jamboree. A very funny show, and we all loved it. Pure silliness. Next, we pulled FPs for the Jungle Cruise and decided to take the Railroad over to Toontown. We saw Mickeys house and Minnies house (Jeremy particularly loved the cake in Minnies oven, which rises and falls when you turn the knob). The heat was getting to Louise about now, as she was melting down and not in such a great mood. We persevered, and waited in line to see Mickey himself. The line moved quickly, and Mickey took a shine to Simon and his dogs. As Mickey reached over to touch and then take the dogs from Simons arms, we almost audibly gasped it was practically the only time the whole trip that those dogs left his arms. Mickey looked at them, and placed them on the floor at his feet, then put one arm around Simon and one arm around Jeremy for a photograph. 2 boys, 2 dogs and 1 mouse. How cool. HUGE smiles from Jeremy and Simon. We shopped for just a few minutes and picked up a great selection of Mr. Potato Head pieces (all you can fit in the box for about 16 or 17 bucks). After we checked out Donalds boat (not much to see), we took the Railroad back over to Frontierland.
It was intended to be a relaxing ride, but poor Ellie was really getting hungry, and we accidentally left her bottles in our stroller back in Frontierland so she wasnt too happy. When we made it back, Louise fed Ellie while I took the boys to get ice cream (a Mickey bar and a Mickey ice cream sandwich). We met up with Louise and Ellie and shared. Jeremy found a little playground under the underpass near Splash Mountain and the Railroad Station, and he had a great time there. When Ellie was finished eating, we used our FPs on the Jungle Cruise. FastPass is AWESOME. We felt like we were cheating. There were LOTS of people in line, and we just walked on by. Why arent more people using it?????? Anyway, the Cruise was good, although the jokes are really corny. Our captain was a college-age girl who was enthusiastic and really pretty funny, considering her material. Simon was enthralled by the experience. Jeremy, too, but a little less certain. On some level, he knew that everything was pretend, but when we passed the natives and pygmies, and the Captain yelled GET DOWN!!, Jeremy hit the floor! It was actually pretty funny.
After Jungle Cruise, it was close to 5:00pm. We decided to call it a day so that we could all be well rested for another day tomorrow. After the monorail, the tram, and the drive home, the boys got a second wind and had a great time coloring, laughing and playing together. After baths and dinner, they were in bed by 8:00pm. Tomorrow well go to Animal Kingdom.
More to come .
Me: (Steve), 37
DW: (Louise), 37
DS: (Jeremy), 5
DS: (Simon), 3
DD: (Ellie), 5 months
Pup-pup and Doggie: Simons 2 stuffed dogs, each of which spent the entire trip clutched under one of Simons arms.
Things went much more smoothly in the morning today, having learned a bit from yesterday. We woke up earlier and were more organized as we prepared to hit the Magic Kingdom at park open. Another beautiful, sunny day, with temperatures expected to be in the low to mid 80s. We got to the parking lot at about 8:35am and went to board the monorail at the TTC. This would be the boys first monorail ride, and I had read on this site about riding up front with the driver/pilot, so when we got to the platform and it was basically empty, I asked the cast member and she said sure. There wasnt room for all of us and Ellies stroller, so it was just me and the boys up front. I thought it was really cool, but I think they didnt realize that they were getting a special ride. I hadnt mentioned it before to them, in case we couldnt do it. They got their special pilots license, although it didnt seem to impress them. But the ride itself did.
After we got a double stroller for Jeremy and Simon, we began to follow the Allears.net Touring Plan for Small Children. If you take small children to the MK, FOLLOW THIS PLAN! It was awesome. We followed it very closely all morning, but never felt constrained by it. Rather, it let us do so much more than we otherwise would have been able to do. We first hightailed it over to the Indy Speedway. We were about the 4th family on the ride, so there was no line. They were still starting up the cars for the day. We did the baby swap here, so I rode with both boys (all 3 of us fit in one car) while Louise held Ellie, then when I returned, Louise took my place with the boys and I took Ellie. The cast members on this ride were extremely helpful and attentive to make sure that the baby swap worked, and it did.
Next, we pulled a FastPass for Winnie the Pooh, and got in line for Dumbo. This was the longest line we waited in all day, and it was only 10 minutes! Again the boys loved it as I rode with both of them in one elephant. Louise was feeding Ellie on a shady bench. Everyone around us was in a good mood, which was nice people were chatting and smiling at eachothers kids and having a good time. (Except for the one guy who was conducting business on his cellphone while in line with his young daughter he should have just stayed in the office ) In particular, all day we noticed lots of people smiling and commenting about Simon with his 2 stuffed dogs (Pup-pup and Doggie) as they walked by. He was a sight ambling about, all sweaty and greasy from the sunblock, stubbornly wearing his Toy Story sunglasses (all smudged with fingerprints), and clutching a big stuffed dog under each arm.
After Dumbo, I pulled FP for Peter Pan, and then rode Winnie the Pooh, which the kids loved. While we waited for our time on Peter Pan, we walked right on to Its a Small World. This was always Louises favorite, so Jeremy announced that it was now his favorite too. Actually, it was better than I remembered it as a child. Then we rode Peter Pan. We split up, with me and Simon together in one car and Louise with Jeremy and Ellie. I could hear Jeremy screaming Were really flying!!! Simon loved it too. At this point it was only 11:00AM, we had done so much, and it was not too crowded yet at all!
We had an 11:45 priority seating for lunch at the Crystal Palace with the Winnie the Pooh gang. So we split up Louise and Ellie went to check in and wait at the restaurant while I took the boys to the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin to pull FPs. Well, when we got there, the FP kiosks were covered up, and there was no sign or explanation. Could they have been out of FPs already, at 11AM? Well, Jeremy didnt really want to ride it anyway because, though he LOVES Toy Story, he is afraid of the evil emperor Zurg, and he knew that Zurg was inside that ride .. Well, as Im standing there looking at the FP area, I didnt realize that I had the kids stroller facing the front entrance to the ride. Suddenly I heard Jeremy crying! He didnt even want to LOOK at the ride entrance! Oh boy. All this time, Simon was just rolling with it. We headed off to meet the others for lunch.
I cant say enough about the character lunch at Crystal Palace. I highly, highly, highly recommend it! First of all, it was really getting hot outside, so the A/C was quite welcome. The food was terrific much better than we expected. They obviously had all of the standard kids fare (mac&cheese, pizza, chicken fingers) but it was the other food that surprised us. We had salmon, delicious salads, chicken dishes, and more, plus terrific desserts. The Winnie the Pooh characters were wonderful with the children, making their way around the restaurant until every kid got a chance for a hug, a picture and an autograph. Louise and I got lots of smiles and hugs from Jeremy all through lunch; he was having the time of his life. The cast members guiding the characters around (I called them character wranglers) were so helpful. For example, when Eeyore came around to our table, Jeremy was in the bathroom. Eddie, the wrangler, made sure that Jeremy got to see Eeyore before we left, corralling Eeyore and bringing him over to Jeremy as we were getting ready to leave!
Refreshed, we headed to Adventureland (we were now officially off the Touring Plan, but it had served us well all morning). I sat with Ellie while the rest climbed the Swiss Family Treehouse. The boys loved it so much, they wanted me to come, so I did. Then it was on to the Country Bear Jamboree. A very funny show, and we all loved it. Pure silliness. Next, we pulled FPs for the Jungle Cruise and decided to take the Railroad over to Toontown. We saw Mickeys house and Minnies house (Jeremy particularly loved the cake in Minnies oven, which rises and falls when you turn the knob). The heat was getting to Louise about now, as she was melting down and not in such a great mood. We persevered, and waited in line to see Mickey himself. The line moved quickly, and Mickey took a shine to Simon and his dogs. As Mickey reached over to touch and then take the dogs from Simons arms, we almost audibly gasped it was practically the only time the whole trip that those dogs left his arms. Mickey looked at them, and placed them on the floor at his feet, then put one arm around Simon and one arm around Jeremy for a photograph. 2 boys, 2 dogs and 1 mouse. How cool. HUGE smiles from Jeremy and Simon. We shopped for just a few minutes and picked up a great selection of Mr. Potato Head pieces (all you can fit in the box for about 16 or 17 bucks). After we checked out Donalds boat (not much to see), we took the Railroad back over to Frontierland.
It was intended to be a relaxing ride, but poor Ellie was really getting hungry, and we accidentally left her bottles in our stroller back in Frontierland so she wasnt too happy. When we made it back, Louise fed Ellie while I took the boys to get ice cream (a Mickey bar and a Mickey ice cream sandwich). We met up with Louise and Ellie and shared. Jeremy found a little playground under the underpass near Splash Mountain and the Railroad Station, and he had a great time there. When Ellie was finished eating, we used our FPs on the Jungle Cruise. FastPass is AWESOME. We felt like we were cheating. There were LOTS of people in line, and we just walked on by. Why arent more people using it?????? Anyway, the Cruise was good, although the jokes are really corny. Our captain was a college-age girl who was enthusiastic and really pretty funny, considering her material. Simon was enthralled by the experience. Jeremy, too, but a little less certain. On some level, he knew that everything was pretend, but when we passed the natives and pygmies, and the Captain yelled GET DOWN!!, Jeremy hit the floor! It was actually pretty funny.
After Jungle Cruise, it was close to 5:00pm. We decided to call it a day so that we could all be well rested for another day tomorrow. After the monorail, the tram, and the drive home, the boys got a second wind and had a great time coloring, laughing and playing together. After baths and dinner, they were in bed by 8:00pm. Tomorrow well go to Animal Kingdom.
More to come .
