Our first trip with the kids -- DS (5) and DD(2) - UPDATED -the THRILLING conclusion!
- Thread starter Geistmeister
- Start date
distherapy
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Great report! Can't wait to read more!
Geistmeister
Planning for December '08
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
- Messages
- 63
Hey guys -- thanks for posting, I'm glad that you're enjoying my report!
vs1023 -- I hope that I make some progress on my report before you leave for your trip!
Moving forward....
We decided to head over to Tomorrowland and check out the line for the Space Ranger Spin. We picked up the stroller from our Dumbo parking space from the beginning of the day. On the way to Buzz we saw Push the talking trash can. I gave DS a tissue to throw away and he caught up to Push and dropped it in. Push thanked him and called him Buzz Lightyear -- he was wearing a Buzz Lightyear hat. As we were leaving the area Push was asking for a Fastpass from a woman in order to enter the restroom. We got over to Buzz and it was a 15 minute wait, but the Fastpass return time wasn't too far away (11:45) so we opted to pick up FPs and head over to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Did you know that you can fit four adults and two small children in a single car on the TTA? Neither did I but we did!
The TTA is one of DW and my favorites and we enjoyed riding it with the kids on their first ride. The kids seemed to enjoy it as well. When we got off of the TTA it was around 11:30 so we had another 15 minutes until our Buzz FP window. I suggested that we go and grab some lunch and there was some general agreement. So we headed over to Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe DW and I had enjoyed eating here a couple of times on our last trip and wanted to make sure we ate here this visit. I got the pulled pork sandwich, DW got the veggie wrap, and we got a PB&J kids meal and a yogurt for the kids to share (along with some of our stuff). I believe that Paco & Gram both got chicken sandwiches and at least one of them got fries because I remember DS eating a bunch of fries.
I hit the toppings bar and loaded up on pickles which I shared with everyone. The pulled pork sandwich was quite good. It was good that we got there early for lunch because by the time we left it was very busy and the lines to order were probably 8 people deep.
After lunch we headed over to the Tomorrowland Speedway the posted wait time was 20 minutes, but we were in our cars in more like 12 minutes. I rode with DS and he drove while I did the gas pedal. DW rode with DD and Gram and Paco had their own car. DS and I were in the lane next to Gram and Paco and I slowed down a bunch so they could catch up (the car behind us was nowhere to be seen, so I felt fine about waiting for them to catch up). Then we raced with Gram and Paco the rest of the way around the track. DS really got into it and kept saying, Go faster, Daddy! I kept telling him that I had the pedal all the way to the floor! We won the race in the end. DS really enjoyed it.
When we got out of our cars we headed back to Buzz to use our FPs. We were very quickly on Buzz and shooting up Zurg and his minions. Once again, I rode with DS, DW rode with DD, and Gram and Paco rode together. DS enjoyed shooting at the targets even if he didn't hit very many of them. I forget what his score was, but I feel like I had an all-time best of somewhere in the neighborhood of 160,000-180,000.
After the ride I had to pull DS away from all the cool Buzz Lightyear merchandise at the exit. When we left the ride we saw Buzz Lightyear himself over by the Carousel of Progress so we headed over to get in line. The line was probably 20 people deep and it took a little while for our turn (maybe 10 minutes). DS has a Buzz Lightyear toy at home and if you push the buttons on his chest he says different things. So when our turn to see Buzz came up the first thing that DD did when Buzz bent down was try to push those buttons! Buzz turned the tables on her and reached down to poke her a couple of times. It was a cute interaction. We got a couple of quick pictures and then when we were leaving Buzz noticed DS's hat which has Buzz Lightyear on it and gave him a thumbs up.
After visiting with Buzz DS and I got to retrieve the stroller while the rest of the crew heads to the restroom. On our way to meet up with them we find a penny press machine close to the TTA entrance. DS had been getting into the penny press machines at various non-WDW locations, so when I packed for WDW I put together a baggie of change for both DS and DD. Enough for about six pressed pennies. I didn't tell them about it, but when we found this machine I asked DS if he wanted to press a penny and he was all for it. We pressed a Buzz penny and then headed over to the restrooms to meet up with the rest of the gang. It was getting to be about time for our mid-day break so we decided to head for the exit. We made our way through the castle on the way to the exit which is something that the kids had wanted to do.
I took this picture of my parents on the way:
When we got towards the end of Main Street we saw the Dapper Dans out and singing holiday tunes. Everyone stopped and watched while I quickly ran over to guest relations to pick up a couple of first visit buttons for the kids. There was no line and I quickly returned with the buttons. We watched the rest of the Dapper Dans performance and I gave DS his button. He seemed to think it was cool. DD must have been in a bit of a mood because I know that she didn't get hers until later. As it turns out the buttons were less popular with the kids than I thought. I thought that they would want to wear them all day, every day, but they were kind of indifferent towards them.
As we were heading towards the exit we began to discuss our mid-day break. DS is old enough that he doesn't really need an afternoon nap any longer, but DD is a different story. If she misses her afternoon nap she gets quite cranky in the afternoons. From recent experiences we figured that it would be difficult to actually get her to nap in the room. DW and I had discussed the possibility of her dozing off on the monorail or in her stroller or something along those lines. So instead of heading back to the hotel we decided to head for the monorail and ride around a bit. We also knew that DS would be interested in riding the monorail, so that was our plan. At this point Gram and Paco split with us and went off to do their own thing for a while they ended up heading for Epcot. This would be the way things worked for the rest of the trip. When we did our mid-day break, Gram and Paco would go off on their own and do some park stuff that they were interested in. So we hop on the monorail and start our trip around the loop. DD is showing no signs of napping and is acting up a bit. So when we get over to the Polynesian and decide to hop off and explore the resort. We'd never really explored the Polynesian, but we were anxious to check it out. It's really a beautiful resort. We set out searching for a place to grab a drink and ended up making our way over to Captain Cooks. We quickly noticed the Dole Whip dispenser and soon had some drinks and a couple of Dole Whips to share. We sat at a table outside and enjoyed our Dole Whips.
We took a quick peek at the pool before heading back up to the monorail. This is where DD had a major breakdown while we were waiting for the monorail to show. The monorail arrived and we made our way back to the Magic Kingdom where we transferred to a bus back to the Beach Club. Somewhere along the way DD fell asleep in DW's arms. It was before we got on our bus because I remember the bus driver loading an ECV and the LOUD beeping when the ramp was lowered and raised did not disturb DD from her slumber.
We got back to the resort around 3:00.
That's all for now. Next time I'll try to finish our marathon first full day. We end the day at Hollywood Studios!
vs1023 -- I hope that I make some progress on my report before you leave for your trip!
Moving forward....
We decided to head over to Tomorrowland and check out the line for the Space Ranger Spin. We picked up the stroller from our Dumbo parking space from the beginning of the day. On the way to Buzz we saw Push the talking trash can. I gave DS a tissue to throw away and he caught up to Push and dropped it in. Push thanked him and called him Buzz Lightyear -- he was wearing a Buzz Lightyear hat. As we were leaving the area Push was asking for a Fastpass from a woman in order to enter the restroom. We got over to Buzz and it was a 15 minute wait, but the Fastpass return time wasn't too far away (11:45) so we opted to pick up FPs and head over to the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Did you know that you can fit four adults and two small children in a single car on the TTA? Neither did I but we did!
The TTA is one of DW and my favorites and we enjoyed riding it with the kids on their first ride. The kids seemed to enjoy it as well. When we got off of the TTA it was around 11:30 so we had another 15 minutes until our Buzz FP window. I suggested that we go and grab some lunch and there was some general agreement. So we headed over to Cosmic Ray's Starlight Cafe DW and I had enjoyed eating here a couple of times on our last trip and wanted to make sure we ate here this visit. I got the pulled pork sandwich, DW got the veggie wrap, and we got a PB&J kids meal and a yogurt for the kids to share (along with some of our stuff). I believe that Paco & Gram both got chicken sandwiches and at least one of them got fries because I remember DS eating a bunch of fries.
I hit the toppings bar and loaded up on pickles which I shared with everyone. The pulled pork sandwich was quite good. It was good that we got there early for lunch because by the time we left it was very busy and the lines to order were probably 8 people deep.After lunch we headed over to the Tomorrowland Speedway the posted wait time was 20 minutes, but we were in our cars in more like 12 minutes. I rode with DS and he drove while I did the gas pedal. DW rode with DD and Gram and Paco had their own car. DS and I were in the lane next to Gram and Paco and I slowed down a bunch so they could catch up (the car behind us was nowhere to be seen, so I felt fine about waiting for them to catch up). Then we raced with Gram and Paco the rest of the way around the track. DS really got into it and kept saying, Go faster, Daddy! I kept telling him that I had the pedal all the way to the floor! We won the race in the end. DS really enjoyed it.
When we got out of our cars we headed back to Buzz to use our FPs. We were very quickly on Buzz and shooting up Zurg and his minions. Once again, I rode with DS, DW rode with DD, and Gram and Paco rode together. DS enjoyed shooting at the targets even if he didn't hit very many of them. I forget what his score was, but I feel like I had an all-time best of somewhere in the neighborhood of 160,000-180,000.
After the ride I had to pull DS away from all the cool Buzz Lightyear merchandise at the exit. When we left the ride we saw Buzz Lightyear himself over by the Carousel of Progress so we headed over to get in line. The line was probably 20 people deep and it took a little while for our turn (maybe 10 minutes). DS has a Buzz Lightyear toy at home and if you push the buttons on his chest he says different things. So when our turn to see Buzz came up the first thing that DD did when Buzz bent down was try to push those buttons! Buzz turned the tables on her and reached down to poke her a couple of times. It was a cute interaction. We got a couple of quick pictures and then when we were leaving Buzz noticed DS's hat which has Buzz Lightyear on it and gave him a thumbs up.
After visiting with Buzz DS and I got to retrieve the stroller while the rest of the crew heads to the restroom. On our way to meet up with them we find a penny press machine close to the TTA entrance. DS had been getting into the penny press machines at various non-WDW locations, so when I packed for WDW I put together a baggie of change for both DS and DD. Enough for about six pressed pennies. I didn't tell them about it, but when we found this machine I asked DS if he wanted to press a penny and he was all for it. We pressed a Buzz penny and then headed over to the restrooms to meet up with the rest of the gang. It was getting to be about time for our mid-day break so we decided to head for the exit. We made our way through the castle on the way to the exit which is something that the kids had wanted to do.
I took this picture of my parents on the way:
When we got towards the end of Main Street we saw the Dapper Dans out and singing holiday tunes. Everyone stopped and watched while I quickly ran over to guest relations to pick up a couple of first visit buttons for the kids. There was no line and I quickly returned with the buttons. We watched the rest of the Dapper Dans performance and I gave DS his button. He seemed to think it was cool. DD must have been in a bit of a mood because I know that she didn't get hers until later. As it turns out the buttons were less popular with the kids than I thought. I thought that they would want to wear them all day, every day, but they were kind of indifferent towards them.
As we were heading towards the exit we began to discuss our mid-day break. DS is old enough that he doesn't really need an afternoon nap any longer, but DD is a different story. If she misses her afternoon nap she gets quite cranky in the afternoons. From recent experiences we figured that it would be difficult to actually get her to nap in the room. DW and I had discussed the possibility of her dozing off on the monorail or in her stroller or something along those lines. So instead of heading back to the hotel we decided to head for the monorail and ride around a bit. We also knew that DS would be interested in riding the monorail, so that was our plan. At this point Gram and Paco split with us and went off to do their own thing for a while they ended up heading for Epcot. This would be the way things worked for the rest of the trip. When we did our mid-day break, Gram and Paco would go off on their own and do some park stuff that they were interested in. So we hop on the monorail and start our trip around the loop. DD is showing no signs of napping and is acting up a bit. So when we get over to the Polynesian and decide to hop off and explore the resort. We'd never really explored the Polynesian, but we were anxious to check it out. It's really a beautiful resort. We set out searching for a place to grab a drink and ended up making our way over to Captain Cooks. We quickly noticed the Dole Whip dispenser and soon had some drinks and a couple of Dole Whips to share. We sat at a table outside and enjoyed our Dole Whips.
We took a quick peek at the pool before heading back up to the monorail. This is where DD had a major breakdown while we were waiting for the monorail to show. The monorail arrived and we made our way back to the Magic Kingdom where we transferred to a bus back to the Beach Club. Somewhere along the way DD fell asleep in DW's arms. It was before we got on our bus because I remember the bus driver loading an ECV and the LOUD beeping when the ramp was lowered and raised did not disturb DD from her slumber.
We got back to the resort around 3:00.
That's all for now. Next time I'll try to finish our marathon first full day. We end the day at Hollywood Studios!
Geistmeister
Planning for December '08
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
- Messages
- 63
And now the thrilling conclusion to Day 2!!! 
Our plan was to take it easy in the room for a little while and then head over to Hollywood Studios and catch the 6:30 showing of Fantasmic. Since we would be getting back to the room late, we went ahead and gave the kids their baths before leaving the room a little after 4:00. We caught the boat to Hollywood Studios, got our stroller, and headed straight for The Voyage of the Little Mermaid to check FP times. The FP times didn't work with the 6:30 Fantasmic, but Playhouse Disney was starting in five minutes so we ducked in there. DS was starting to revolt a bit now it had been a long day for him. The kids are big Playhouse Disney watchers at home and they really seemed to enjoy seeing all the familiar stuff on stage. Personally, I was really impressed with Handy Manny's tool puppets. They looked exactly like the TV show versions.
We left Playhouse Disney around 5:25 and decided that we didn't have enough time to stop and grab a counter service dinner and still make it to Fantasmic early enough for a decent (or any) seat. So we headed towards the Fantasmic theater and were checking out the food options on the way. We decided that we could pick something up and eat it while we waited for the show. Nothing was too enticing on the way and everything seemed to have a long line, so we decided to go and sit and get some snacks to share from the food concessions at the theater. When we arrived they were filling up the section of seats just left of center. Nice!!! We made our way down to about the 5th row up and took our seats. Paco and I then headed up and picked up some hot dogs, soft pretzels, cheese sauce, and drinks for our dinner. We ate while we waited and the time went pretty quickly. Gram had brought some glow bracelets and she got two of them out and gave them to the kids to wear. The kids seemed to enjoy the bracelets and it kept us from having to shout down requests for the really expensive light up stuff that they were selling there. It was starting to get cold out, but we had dressed for it. Some group of people at the one end of the theater managed to get everyone doing the wave. That helped to pass the time too. When the show started we quickly realized that being so far down in front that we were hit by a light mist of water whenever they used the water screens. It wasn't too bad, but wasn't ideal given that it was getting colder. DS was really enjoying the show, but would cover his ears for the fireworks. DD seemed to enjoy some parts of the show, but was scared by much of it and was snuggled up in mommy's lap the whole time. After the show DS proclaimed it too exciting. But indicated that that was a good thing!
DW and I had seen Fantasmic once before, but we saw it from the standing room only area way in the back of the theater. It was much better seeing the show from way down in front! (And sitting!) A quick note on how they work the rental strollers for Fantasmic. When you arrive and park your stroller in the designated parking area they have you remove all of your personal items from the stroller including your name tag. Then they tell you after the show just to grab the nearest rental stroller on the way out. That worked very well and it kept us from having to hunt for our stroller in a sea of hundreds.
After we grabbed our stroller we decided that we didn't want to head straight for the boat launch as we expected there to be a long wait to get on a boat. So instead we headed over to check out the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights (we picked this over the Great Movie Ride which had a posted 15 minute wait). It was VERY crowded at the lights and difficult to maneuver with the stroller so we ended up hanging out way in the back. The lights were very impressive, but we arrived just as a song was ending and didn't really see the lights dance.
I was taking some pictures when DW grabs my attention DD had been bending her glow bracelet and she broke it open. Then she apparently had taken a taste of the radioactive (okay, I'm making assumptions here) liquid inside. She was crying a bit and clearly had a bad taste in her mouth. We had some juice that we gave her to help get the taste out of her mouth and to water down the radioactive sludge that she had just ingested. We were a little bit concerned but it seemed like she hadn't gotten anything more than a little taste of the glowing stuff. Gram felt a bit guilty about the whole incident, but DD was fine. No harm, no foul. At this point we decided that it was time to head for the hotel. DD didn't want to get in the stroller, so DS got a chance. We got out to the boat launch and there was still a long line to hop the boats back to the Boardwalk resorts. We decided that it would be better to wait than to hoof it all the way back. We probably waited for about 25 minutes before we were finally on a boat. We're pretty sure that they were only running two boats that night which really wasn't a very good idea. We made it back to the hotel by around 8:30 and the kids were in bed and snoozing by 9:15.
Our first full day at WDW was over and it was rapidly becoming apparent to us that we were going to have plenty of rough spots with the kids and that we probably wouldn't get a nap out of DD without her hitting the wall first. But we had lots of fun seeing DS and DD experience the Magic Kingdom for the first time!
Coming up on Day 3...Chef Mickey's for breakfast, DS takes the wheel, and a mad dash for Spectromagic!
Our plan was to take it easy in the room for a little while and then head over to Hollywood Studios and catch the 6:30 showing of Fantasmic. Since we would be getting back to the room late, we went ahead and gave the kids their baths before leaving the room a little after 4:00. We caught the boat to Hollywood Studios, got our stroller, and headed straight for The Voyage of the Little Mermaid to check FP times. The FP times didn't work with the 6:30 Fantasmic, but Playhouse Disney was starting in five minutes so we ducked in there. DS was starting to revolt a bit now it had been a long day for him. The kids are big Playhouse Disney watchers at home and they really seemed to enjoy seeing all the familiar stuff on stage. Personally, I was really impressed with Handy Manny's tool puppets. They looked exactly like the TV show versions.
We left Playhouse Disney around 5:25 and decided that we didn't have enough time to stop and grab a counter service dinner and still make it to Fantasmic early enough for a decent (or any) seat. So we headed towards the Fantasmic theater and were checking out the food options on the way. We decided that we could pick something up and eat it while we waited for the show. Nothing was too enticing on the way and everything seemed to have a long line, so we decided to go and sit and get some snacks to share from the food concessions at the theater. When we arrived they were filling up the section of seats just left of center. Nice!!! We made our way down to about the 5th row up and took our seats. Paco and I then headed up and picked up some hot dogs, soft pretzels, cheese sauce, and drinks for our dinner. We ate while we waited and the time went pretty quickly. Gram had brought some glow bracelets and she got two of them out and gave them to the kids to wear. The kids seemed to enjoy the bracelets and it kept us from having to shout down requests for the really expensive light up stuff that they were selling there. It was starting to get cold out, but we had dressed for it. Some group of people at the one end of the theater managed to get everyone doing the wave. That helped to pass the time too. When the show started we quickly realized that being so far down in front that we were hit by a light mist of water whenever they used the water screens. It wasn't too bad, but wasn't ideal given that it was getting colder. DS was really enjoying the show, but would cover his ears for the fireworks. DD seemed to enjoy some parts of the show, but was scared by much of it and was snuggled up in mommy's lap the whole time. After the show DS proclaimed it too exciting. But indicated that that was a good thing!
DW and I had seen Fantasmic once before, but we saw it from the standing room only area way in the back of the theater. It was much better seeing the show from way down in front! (And sitting!) A quick note on how they work the rental strollers for Fantasmic. When you arrive and park your stroller in the designated parking area they have you remove all of your personal items from the stroller including your name tag. Then they tell you after the show just to grab the nearest rental stroller on the way out. That worked very well and it kept us from having to hunt for our stroller in a sea of hundreds.
After we grabbed our stroller we decided that we didn't want to head straight for the boat launch as we expected there to be a long wait to get on a boat. So instead we headed over to check out the Osbourne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights (we picked this over the Great Movie Ride which had a posted 15 minute wait). It was VERY crowded at the lights and difficult to maneuver with the stroller so we ended up hanging out way in the back. The lights were very impressive, but we arrived just as a song was ending and didn't really see the lights dance.
I was taking some pictures when DW grabs my attention DD had been bending her glow bracelet and she broke it open. Then she apparently had taken a taste of the radioactive (okay, I'm making assumptions here) liquid inside. She was crying a bit and clearly had a bad taste in her mouth. We had some juice that we gave her to help get the taste out of her mouth and to water down the radioactive sludge that she had just ingested. We were a little bit concerned but it seemed like she hadn't gotten anything more than a little taste of the glowing stuff. Gram felt a bit guilty about the whole incident, but DD was fine. No harm, no foul. At this point we decided that it was time to head for the hotel. DD didn't want to get in the stroller, so DS got a chance. We got out to the boat launch and there was still a long line to hop the boats back to the Boardwalk resorts. We decided that it would be better to wait than to hoof it all the way back. We probably waited for about 25 minutes before we were finally on a boat. We're pretty sure that they were only running two boats that night which really wasn't a very good idea. We made it back to the hotel by around 8:30 and the kids were in bed and snoozing by 9:15.
Our first full day at WDW was over and it was rapidly becoming apparent to us that we were going to have plenty of rough spots with the kids and that we probably wouldn't get a nap out of DD without her hitting the wall first. But we had lots of fun seeing DS and DD experience the Magic Kingdom for the first time!
Coming up on Day 3...Chef Mickey's for breakfast, DS takes the wheel, and a mad dash for Spectromagic!
DWFan4Life
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2009
- Messages
- 3,467
Great review. I miss our trips with kids, it's really wonderful, you can see to their face that they are really happy and excited knowing about WDW, but still I'm more excited every time we make plans for our trip. 
Have a nice day everyone.
Have a nice day everyone.
MyKidsMom1820
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2007
- Messages
- 234
I am enjoying your report!
Geistmeister
Planning for December '08
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
- Messages
- 63
Yes! I think they'll really enjoy it! (And you will too!)Thanks for more of your report. You have really been able to do a lot while you were there. We will be there next month for kids 6th, and haven't done Fantasmic yet...but after seeing your report, that will have to go on the list! Thanks-
Thanks DWFan4Life! It was definitely cool seeing WDW through my kids eyes for the first time.DWFan4Life said:
And thanks for checking in, MyKidsMom1820! I'm glad you're enjoying the report -- I'm trying to continue to make progress on it. It's been slow going and I've got a long weekend coming up, so when I get back I've got to get some momentum going!
Day 3 in the next post!
Geistmeister
Planning for December '08
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
- Messages
- 63
Day 3 - Monday, Dec. 8th
For this day we had made reservations at Chef Mickey's for 8:45 AM just DW, DS, DD, and myself. Gram and Paco declined the character breakfast when I made the reservation so we planned to give them a call when we finished up with breakfast. They were going to head over to the Magic Kingdom and we were going to meet them there. We were up and off to the bus stop around 8:05 AM. The plan was to take the Magic Kingdom bus and then hop on the resort monorail or just walk over to the Contemporary. There was a bit of a crowd waiting for the MK bus.
All week the buses were considerably more crowded than DW and I remembered from our last trip. Possibly due to the Pop Warner folks filling up the resorts. The bus came we all hopped on. DD ended up sitting on DW's lap and DS and I stood and held on. DS enjoyed standing on the bus. He thought it was cool. We made it to the MK by 8:35 or so and decided to hop the resort monorail. We didn't have long to wait which was good because we were starting to get worried about showing up late. We ended up in line by 8:50 (only 5 minutes late). We waited for a little while to be checked in and then maybe five minutes after that to be seated. We were at our table by around 9:05. The little celebration started as soon as we were seated and the kids were enjoying seeing the characters. Shortly after the celebration Goofy stopped by our table and the kids did great with him. We hit the buffet and loaded up on food. The food was very good and plenty of variety. My favorite was the hash brown casserole cheesy AND bacon-y YUM! The rest of the characters made their visits to our table pretty quickly after we started eating. The kids were giving hugs and DD was kissing them all on the nose. We managed to stuff ourselves in between visits.
Minnie Video
Our Christmas card this year:
We all very much enjoyed our Chef Mickey's breakfast and after the trip DW declared it one of her favorite parts of the trip! We made a quick stop at the pressed penny machines on the way to the monorail. DS and DD both pressed a penny. We called Gram & Paco and they were already in the MK we set up a meeting spot at the exit to the stroller rental. We hopped on the monorail and made our way around the rest of the loop and back to the MK. We had decided that we wanted to check out Mickey's Toontown Fair this morning. So instead of getting our stroller right away, we met up with Gram & Paco and hopped the train to the Fair. I didn't remember that the train goes through Splash Mountain and that you can see part of the ride from it. I guess it's been a while. We wanted to check out Goofy's Barnstormer but were a little worried about how long the lines would be this time of day. But when we get off of the train, the kids saw the little play area and rather than fight them over it, we let them play there and on Donald's Boat for a little while. Then we made our way over to the Barnstormer and luckily it only had a 10 minute posted wait nice! DW, DS, DD, and I got in line (Gram & Paco passed on this one) and were soon disturbing the chickens! DS and I ended up with a front row seat! DS really enjoyed this one, but it was a bit too intense for DD.
Barnstormer Video
Next we slowed things down a bit and toured Minnie and Mickey's houses. We also took our first Photopass picture in the gazebo at Minnie's house. I had prepurchased the Photopass and we had yet to take one Photopass picture! We vowed to do a better job with this. We stopped in and checked the wait time to meet the princesses it was 30 minutes (the fairy line was 60), so we passed on it and hopped the train back to the front of the park where we picked up a stroller. We headed for the Pirates of the Caribbean but stopped and grabbed a FP at the Jungle Cruise on the way there 1:05 return time. When we got to Pirates we had a bit of a meltdown. DS insisted that he did NOT want to go on Pirates. We knew that he would really enjoy it, but he had somehow got it in his head that it was very scary inside. DW wants the rest of us to ride so she heads off with DS and the rest of us get in line. This lasts for about five minutes when DD realizes that mommy isn't with us and throws a fit. So we make our way out of the line and find DW and DS nearby. DW was very upset by all of this and has to take a few minutes by herself. The rest of us hang out on a bench and rest for a little while.
When DW returned (just a couple of minutes) our Jungle Cruise FP window had yet to open so we decided to hop on Aladdin's Magic Carpets. It was about a 20 minute wait for the carpets. We end up riding with myself, DD, and DW in one carpet and DS, Gram and Paco in another one. It was a fun ride the camels weren't spitting that day maybe because it was a little cool out yet. After our carpet ride we hit the restrooms and DS pressed another penny while we were waiting for the girls. Then we grabbed a quick drink and a little snack from our backpack which brought us up to our FP window for the Jungle Cruise. We were on the ride in a few minutes. Our skipper was young, but he was pretty good. Unfortunately, he wasn't getting much of a reaction from the boat. I think he got a bit frustrated and shortly after we entered the cave he asked, Who wants to drive the boat? DS's hand shot up. So the next thing I know, DS is captaining our boat!
DS was not doing much in the way of steering, but the boat was doing a pretty good job of staying on course anyway. I prompted him to steer and then he did steer a bit. He was at the helm for maybe a minute or so before he was sent back to his seat. He loved it! When we got off of the Jungle Cruise, DW, DS, DD, and I headed back to the hotel for some rest and Gram and Paco went to grab some lunch.
Next up -- the rest of Day 3 -- two parks, more meltdowns, and more magic!
For this day we had made reservations at Chef Mickey's for 8:45 AM just DW, DS, DD, and myself. Gram and Paco declined the character breakfast when I made the reservation so we planned to give them a call when we finished up with breakfast. They were going to head over to the Magic Kingdom and we were going to meet them there. We were up and off to the bus stop around 8:05 AM. The plan was to take the Magic Kingdom bus and then hop on the resort monorail or just walk over to the Contemporary. There was a bit of a crowd waiting for the MK bus.
All week the buses were considerably more crowded than DW and I remembered from our last trip. Possibly due to the Pop Warner folks filling up the resorts. The bus came we all hopped on. DD ended up sitting on DW's lap and DS and I stood and held on. DS enjoyed standing on the bus. He thought it was cool. We made it to the MK by 8:35 or so and decided to hop the resort monorail. We didn't have long to wait which was good because we were starting to get worried about showing up late. We ended up in line by 8:50 (only 5 minutes late). We waited for a little while to be checked in and then maybe five minutes after that to be seated. We were at our table by around 9:05. The little celebration started as soon as we were seated and the kids were enjoying seeing the characters. Shortly after the celebration Goofy stopped by our table and the kids did great with him. We hit the buffet and loaded up on food. The food was very good and plenty of variety. My favorite was the hash brown casserole cheesy AND bacon-y YUM! The rest of the characters made their visits to our table pretty quickly after we started eating. The kids were giving hugs and DD was kissing them all on the nose. We managed to stuff ourselves in between visits.
Minnie Video
Our Christmas card this year:
We all very much enjoyed our Chef Mickey's breakfast and after the trip DW declared it one of her favorite parts of the trip! We made a quick stop at the pressed penny machines on the way to the monorail. DS and DD both pressed a penny. We called Gram & Paco and they were already in the MK we set up a meeting spot at the exit to the stroller rental. We hopped on the monorail and made our way around the rest of the loop and back to the MK. We had decided that we wanted to check out Mickey's Toontown Fair this morning. So instead of getting our stroller right away, we met up with Gram & Paco and hopped the train to the Fair. I didn't remember that the train goes through Splash Mountain and that you can see part of the ride from it. I guess it's been a while. We wanted to check out Goofy's Barnstormer but were a little worried about how long the lines would be this time of day. But when we get off of the train, the kids saw the little play area and rather than fight them over it, we let them play there and on Donald's Boat for a little while. Then we made our way over to the Barnstormer and luckily it only had a 10 minute posted wait nice! DW, DS, DD, and I got in line (Gram & Paco passed on this one) and were soon disturbing the chickens! DS and I ended up with a front row seat! DS really enjoyed this one, but it was a bit too intense for DD.
Barnstormer Video
Next we slowed things down a bit and toured Minnie and Mickey's houses. We also took our first Photopass picture in the gazebo at Minnie's house. I had prepurchased the Photopass and we had yet to take one Photopass picture! We vowed to do a better job with this. We stopped in and checked the wait time to meet the princesses it was 30 minutes (the fairy line was 60), so we passed on it and hopped the train back to the front of the park where we picked up a stroller. We headed for the Pirates of the Caribbean but stopped and grabbed a FP at the Jungle Cruise on the way there 1:05 return time. When we got to Pirates we had a bit of a meltdown. DS insisted that he did NOT want to go on Pirates. We knew that he would really enjoy it, but he had somehow got it in his head that it was very scary inside. DW wants the rest of us to ride so she heads off with DS and the rest of us get in line. This lasts for about five minutes when DD realizes that mommy isn't with us and throws a fit. So we make our way out of the line and find DW and DS nearby. DW was very upset by all of this and has to take a few minutes by herself. The rest of us hang out on a bench and rest for a little while.
When DW returned (just a couple of minutes) our Jungle Cruise FP window had yet to open so we decided to hop on Aladdin's Magic Carpets. It was about a 20 minute wait for the carpets. We end up riding with myself, DD, and DW in one carpet and DS, Gram and Paco in another one. It was a fun ride the camels weren't spitting that day maybe because it was a little cool out yet. After our carpet ride we hit the restrooms and DS pressed another penny while we were waiting for the girls. Then we grabbed a quick drink and a little snack from our backpack which brought us up to our FP window for the Jungle Cruise. We were on the ride in a few minutes. Our skipper was young, but he was pretty good. Unfortunately, he wasn't getting much of a reaction from the boat. I think he got a bit frustrated and shortly after we entered the cave he asked, Who wants to drive the boat? DS's hand shot up. So the next thing I know, DS is captaining our boat!
DS was not doing much in the way of steering, but the boat was doing a pretty good job of staying on course anyway. I prompted him to steer and then he did steer a bit. He was at the helm for maybe a minute or so before he was sent back to his seat. He loved it! When we got off of the Jungle Cruise, DW, DS, DD, and I headed back to the hotel for some rest and Gram and Paco went to grab some lunch.
Next up -- the rest of Day 3 -- two parks, more meltdowns, and more magic!
Geistmeister
Planning for December '08
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
- Messages
- 63
Day 3 - continued...
DD had been talking about wanting to take a nap which is unheard of so we get back to the room and of course she doesn't take a nap. Did I mention that we are in the later stages of potty training DD? Well during this non-nap she ended up having an accident on the floor. These mid-day breaks are not exactly going as planned thus far. We cleaned up and after some non-napping rest we left the room around 4:00 to head for Epcot. We called up Gram and Paco who had made their way over to Epcot and set up a meeting spot just inside the International Gateway entrance. We walked over to the International Gateway, picked up our stroller, and found Gram and Paco waiting for us on a bench nearby.
We headed for Nemo. When we arrived, we got a couple of quick no-so-great photos in front of the Nemo gang (DD still cranky) and checked out the seagulls (Mine! Mine!) before heading in to the ride. The boys went in one clam and the girls in another. Everyone seemed to enjoy this one and when we got off the ride we headed for Turtle Talk with Crush. We had a short wait and then we moved into the theater. DD was being extra cranky now. She didn't want to sit in one spot, so DW moved with her and then she didn't want to sit there. DW finally had to leave the theater with DD before the show started. DS ended up sitting down in the front with just a few other kids. There were maybe 20 people there for this show. Definitely a small crowd. I had tried to get DS to think of some questions for Crush before we went in, but he couldn't think of anything he wanted to ask Crush. So there were very few questions from down in front. Crush quickly went into his more scripted interactions and it was a short show. It was enjoyable, but not as good as when there's more interaction.
We left Turtle Talk and found DW and DD. I don't remember why exactly, but we bought some gummies in the gift shop I think as a bribe for DD. Then we got a quick picture of the kids in Bruce the shark's mouth and headed out.
We discussed dinner options and ended up heading for Mexico for counter service. I got the tacos al carbon, DW got the combo plate, and we got the chicken and cheese quesadilla for DS and DD to split. DW, DD, DS and Gram went to find a table while Paco and I got the food. While we were getting the food, DD fell asleep in DW's arms. Night was falling as we enjoyed our dinner sitting right next to the water. DW and I had discussed this before and this was going to be our only night that we could see Spectromagic and Wishes. There was only one other day during the week that they were showing and we had a night out alone scheduled for that evening. It was around 6:05 PM and we were sitting in Mexico in Epcot. Spectromagic was scheduled to start at 7:00. We start walking....FAST. We zipped our way through Epcot to the monorail station. The monorail was just arriving so we hurried it up the ramp and managed to get on it. We made it to the TTC and switched over to the express line. It was looking pretty good for us, and sure enough we made it into the park with around 5-10 minutes to spare! We ended up standing about 3 people deep right where the parade comes around the first bend. DW held DD and I held DS for the parade. This was a first time viewing of the parade for all of us and we all really enjoyed it! We were glad that we had rushed over from Epcot.
I guess Gram was feeling a little guilty about the glow bracelet incident from the previous evening, so after the parade she bought the kids a couple of light up necklaces. They were pretty cool different colored Mickey heads all the way around and every 3rd one or so lit up. You could make them blink in a couple of different ways or just leave them on. DD was happy with hers, but DS said that he really wanted something else and started to pout. I think that he really wanted one of the light up thingies (technical term) that they sell that spin around really fast or maybe a lightsaber. So he wasn't too impressed with the necklace. As we were sitting there and he was pouting a woman came over and asked where we got the necklaces. I was very helpful and told her that we got them from the Emporium right over there. She didn't really want to know, though. She then started to ask DS about how it worked. He then proceeded to show her all the different ways the necklace lit up and was instantly out of his funk. He went on for probably a couple of minutes making sure that he showed her everything that it did. This woman knew what she was doing BIG thanks to her, wherever she is! DS was basically in love with that necklace from that point on.
Forgive the blur, I was messing with some settings on the camera. But I wanted to include a picture of the infamous necklace.
We continued to hang out for a bit and made some trips to the restroom as we waited for it to be time for Wishes. As it got closer we made our way down Main Street a bit and staked out a spot maybe a third of the way up Main Street.
I took these between Spectromagic and Wishes:
We waited about 20-25 minutes for Wishes to start and just a few minutes before it was scheduled to start, a few rain drops started to fall. Oh no! We debated ducking under a nearby awning, but stuck it out. A few minutes of drops is all we ever got. The show went on as scheduled and we stayed dry! DW was holding DD again and had been holding her quite a bit her back was starting to hurt. DD didn't like the loud fireworks and ended up burying her head in DW's shirt for the duration. DS really enjoyed the show! In fact, everyone except for DD enjoyed it very much! When the show ended we made our way very quickly to the exit. It actually wasn't too big of a deal because the park was open that night until midnight for EMH and much of the crowd was sticking around. We got on the first bus to the Beach Club and were even able to sit down.
The kids were quickly put to bed. Gram and Paco were nice enough to hang out in the room while we hit the boardwalk. We ended up over at the ESPN Club and saw a bit of Illuminations on our way over. DW got some kind of Oreo milkshake and I got some Dingers (boneless buffalo wings). The Monday night football game was on and we watched a bit as we enjoyed our snack. We checked out some of the Boardwalk shops and then made the full loop back to the hotel. We got back in around 10:45.
We decided that for the next day we would head to Hollywood Studios if we were up in time to make rope drop or Animal Kingdom if we slept in a bit later.
DD had been talking about wanting to take a nap which is unheard of so we get back to the room and of course she doesn't take a nap. Did I mention that we are in the later stages of potty training DD? Well during this non-nap she ended up having an accident on the floor. These mid-day breaks are not exactly going as planned thus far. We cleaned up and after some non-napping rest we left the room around 4:00 to head for Epcot. We called up Gram and Paco who had made their way over to Epcot and set up a meeting spot just inside the International Gateway entrance. We walked over to the International Gateway, picked up our stroller, and found Gram and Paco waiting for us on a bench nearby.
We headed for Nemo. When we arrived, we got a couple of quick no-so-great photos in front of the Nemo gang (DD still cranky) and checked out the seagulls (Mine! Mine!) before heading in to the ride. The boys went in one clam and the girls in another. Everyone seemed to enjoy this one and when we got off the ride we headed for Turtle Talk with Crush. We had a short wait and then we moved into the theater. DD was being extra cranky now. She didn't want to sit in one spot, so DW moved with her and then she didn't want to sit there. DW finally had to leave the theater with DD before the show started. DS ended up sitting down in the front with just a few other kids. There were maybe 20 people there for this show. Definitely a small crowd. I had tried to get DS to think of some questions for Crush before we went in, but he couldn't think of anything he wanted to ask Crush. So there were very few questions from down in front. Crush quickly went into his more scripted interactions and it was a short show. It was enjoyable, but not as good as when there's more interaction.
We left Turtle Talk and found DW and DD. I don't remember why exactly, but we bought some gummies in the gift shop I think as a bribe for DD. Then we got a quick picture of the kids in Bruce the shark's mouth and headed out.
We discussed dinner options and ended up heading for Mexico for counter service. I got the tacos al carbon, DW got the combo plate, and we got the chicken and cheese quesadilla for DS and DD to split. DW, DD, DS and Gram went to find a table while Paco and I got the food. While we were getting the food, DD fell asleep in DW's arms. Night was falling as we enjoyed our dinner sitting right next to the water. DW and I had discussed this before and this was going to be our only night that we could see Spectromagic and Wishes. There was only one other day during the week that they were showing and we had a night out alone scheduled for that evening. It was around 6:05 PM and we were sitting in Mexico in Epcot. Spectromagic was scheduled to start at 7:00. We start walking....FAST. We zipped our way through Epcot to the monorail station. The monorail was just arriving so we hurried it up the ramp and managed to get on it. We made it to the TTC and switched over to the express line. It was looking pretty good for us, and sure enough we made it into the park with around 5-10 minutes to spare! We ended up standing about 3 people deep right where the parade comes around the first bend. DW held DD and I held DS for the parade. This was a first time viewing of the parade for all of us and we all really enjoyed it! We were glad that we had rushed over from Epcot.
I guess Gram was feeling a little guilty about the glow bracelet incident from the previous evening, so after the parade she bought the kids a couple of light up necklaces. They were pretty cool different colored Mickey heads all the way around and every 3rd one or so lit up. You could make them blink in a couple of different ways or just leave them on. DD was happy with hers, but DS said that he really wanted something else and started to pout. I think that he really wanted one of the light up thingies (technical term) that they sell that spin around really fast or maybe a lightsaber. So he wasn't too impressed with the necklace. As we were sitting there and he was pouting a woman came over and asked where we got the necklaces. I was very helpful and told her that we got them from the Emporium right over there. She didn't really want to know, though. She then started to ask DS about how it worked. He then proceeded to show her all the different ways the necklace lit up and was instantly out of his funk. He went on for probably a couple of minutes making sure that he showed her everything that it did. This woman knew what she was doing BIG thanks to her, wherever she is! DS was basically in love with that necklace from that point on.
Forgive the blur, I was messing with some settings on the camera. But I wanted to include a picture of the infamous necklace.
We continued to hang out for a bit and made some trips to the restroom as we waited for it to be time for Wishes. As it got closer we made our way down Main Street a bit and staked out a spot maybe a third of the way up Main Street.
I took these between Spectromagic and Wishes:
We waited about 20-25 minutes for Wishes to start and just a few minutes before it was scheduled to start, a few rain drops started to fall. Oh no! We debated ducking under a nearby awning, but stuck it out. A few minutes of drops is all we ever got. The show went on as scheduled and we stayed dry! DW was holding DD again and had been holding her quite a bit her back was starting to hurt. DD didn't like the loud fireworks and ended up burying her head in DW's shirt for the duration. DS really enjoyed the show! In fact, everyone except for DD enjoyed it very much! When the show ended we made our way very quickly to the exit. It actually wasn't too big of a deal because the park was open that night until midnight for EMH and much of the crowd was sticking around. We got on the first bus to the Beach Club and were even able to sit down.
The kids were quickly put to bed. Gram and Paco were nice enough to hang out in the room while we hit the boardwalk. We ended up over at the ESPN Club and saw a bit of Illuminations on our way over. DW got some kind of Oreo milkshake and I got some Dingers (boneless buffalo wings). The Monday night football game was on and we watched a bit as we enjoyed our snack. We checked out some of the Boardwalk shops and then made the full loop back to the hotel. We got back in around 10:45.
We decided that for the next day we would head to Hollywood Studios if we were up in time to make rope drop or Animal Kingdom if we slept in a bit later.
OhMari
WDW PreTrip and Trip Moderator
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2000
- Messages
- 15,183
When you got to the MK from the Beach Club for Chef Mickey's, you could of walked across the street to the Contemporary. Some people think it is further away, but it really isn't.
I hope you come back and finish. I was at the Beach Club Nov. 8-15 and we really enjoyed it too.
I was on the other side of this area at the Beach Club.
I tried posting the picture but my computer must have to much in its clipboard.
I hope you come back and finish. I was at the Beach Club Nov. 8-15 and we really enjoyed it too.
I was on the other side of this area at the Beach Club.
I tried posting the picture but my computer must have to much in its clipboard.
Geistmeister
Planning for December '08
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
- Messages
- 63
Hey OhMari -- thanks for the prodding to finish my report. I'm about to post another installment and I'm keen on finishing this thing! As for walking over to the Contemporary from the MK, I was aware that you could do that and we actually discussed it before we decided to head for the monorail. You have to do some backtracking to catch the monorail, but it does drop you right at Chef Mickeys and with the smaller kids in tow we opted to hop the monorail. I've never made the walk to the Contemporary from the MK before, but will have to try it out some day.
Geistmeister
Planning for December '08
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
- Messages
- 63
Day 4
We were up and ready early enough to make park opening at Hollywood Studios, so that was our destination! I wanted to make sure that we got there at opening so we could ride Toy Story Mania with a reasonable wait. We made our way to the boat launch and ended up running down the dock to catch the boat. We hopped on and ended up at the entrance to HS around 8:45. The lines were pretty long and they hadn't started to let people through the gates yet. It was only a few minutes before they did, though. We picked up our stroller and then decided that since we had a little bit of time before the rope dropped we would go ahead and get some Photopass pictures taken in front of the hat. After the pictures we watched the little rope drop show and were soon on our way to Toy Story Mania with most of the rest of the crowd. When we arrived there we parked the stroller and immediately got in the standby line. The lines for the Fastpass machines were probably 15 people deep each and they were getting in the way of the standby line. We found our way into the standby line with a posted wait time of 25 minutes. The CMs at the entrance were telling everyone that their entire party needed to be together when they got in line. I guess there's quite a bit of one person waiting in the FP line and then doing the whole excuse me thing halfway through the queue to catch up with their group. This was an attempt to curtail that, but I still saw some of it going on. I think the wait was probably close to the posted 25 minutes, but it was hard to tell because the queue area itself was very entertaining and the time passed quickly. We decided that DS was going to ride with me, DD with DW and Gram and Paco with each other. Once on the ride I tried to show DS how to use his little shooter/catapult/pull thingy/whatever in the practice area, but after that I was all business. I probably should have been helping DS a little more, but I was having way too much fun playing the game! I loved this ride and was very impressed with the technology behind it. The integration of the 3D was seamless. DS seemed to enjoy it even though his score was pretty low. DD was a little scared by it she actually rode on DW's lap which they allow you to do with small children, but apparently she slipped down and sat right next to DW during the ride. It does whip you around pretty fast and I'm sure that it was a little bit of sensory overload for her. Gram proclaimed it to be her new favorite ride at WDW! I scored somewhere in the neighborhood of 130,000 points which was the top score for our crew. When we got off the ride I immediately jumped into the FP line (only about 5-6 people deep now) and picked up FPs some for 12:20 and some for 12:25. We will definitely ride again!
We grabbed our stroller and headed the few steps back towards the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The CM at the entrance informed us that a show was just about to start and that we could still catch it. She offered to park our stroller for us which was very nice! We were soon seated in the theater and enjoying the show. DS loved it! Once again DD was scared by some parts of it mostly the storm when you get a little bit wet. When we left the show we headed over to the character area at the end of the animation tour by slipping in the back through the gift shop. Sorcerer Mickey was there and we got a bunch of Photopass pictures with him. Unfortunately neither the crew from Bolt nor any of The Incredibles were out just yet so we decided that we might try to swing back later on to see if we can catch them. We took a minute to plan our next move and opted for the Beauty and the Beast show which was scheduled for 10:45 and would be starting soon. We found our stroller and got a few more Photopass pictures on the way to the theater. We got to the theater about 10 minutes early. DS, DD, and DW all really enjoyed this show!
The next step in our plan was for me, DS, Paco and Gram to hustle on over to the Indiana Jones stunt show which was scheduled for 11:30. Since we didn't expect DD to have much interest in that show she and DW headed off to maybe find characters and maybe go ahead and grab some lunch. DS, Gram, Paco, and I didn't have much time to make it to the Indiana Jones show so we sped over to the show and made it there about 5 minutes before the show. The theater was very full and we ended up going all the way over to the left and all the way down. We ended up splitting up with DS and Paco in the front row and Gram and I in the 2nd row and down a little from them. I had seen this show once before about 9 years ago and knew that they took volunteers from the audience to be in the show. When they started taking volunteers Gram tells me, You should volunteer, that would be really neat for DS! Well, I was already considering this so when they were looking for the next volunteer and the show host looked down in our direction I stood up and yelled WOOOOO!!! and waved my arms in the air. Sure enough she said, The tall guy in the red shirt in the 2nd row. Hey, that's me! I made the long trek across the stage to the host in the center. I was the 3rd of the three laughing volunteers. The host was getting a name from each volunteer and then asking them to demonstrate a particular laugh for her. The first volunteer had to do a Goofy laugh. The second volunteer I believe was asked to do a high pitched giggle. And lastly I was asked to demonstrate an evil laugh. I mustered up my best evil genius laugh, MMMMWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I'm pretty sure that they added some echo effect to it or something because it sounded really cool! After that the host sent us up the one staircase to the back of the theater where she said they'd prepare us for our role as extras. We got up to the top of the staircase and realized that nobody was there to meet us. We didn't know where to go. Hmmm... I found a nearby CM and told him that we were the volunteers, but nobody collected us and we didn't know where to go. He pointed us down to the far right upper corner of the theater and when we got down there they were waiting for us. Phew, crisis averted!
They got us all dressed up with middle eastern garb consisting of robes and turbans or sheik headdresses. They also had us sign the waiver. The host had joked about the waiver on stage, but there actually is one. I scanned it quickly and saw words like pyrotechnics and The Walt Disney Company is not liable for death/dismemberment/etc, etc. I had to provide my name, address, and John Hancock for them. Then they sat us down in a couple of reserved rows of seats to watch the first part of the show. After the first part of the show our handler grabbed us all and gathered us in the back of the theater to give us an idea of what would happen next. She told us that they're going to line us up and get us warmed up as extras by asking us to act afraid or excited and other stuff like that. She also told us that one of us would get to have our very own role in the show and get to act out a death scene. And that our warm ups were effectively the audition for the death scene. So now I'm thinking, okay I can just go halfway at the warm ups and ensure that I'm NOT picked for the death scene, or I could ham it up and try to get picked. I decide that I'm going to try to get picked. We're led down the stairs again and are lined up on stage and presented to the audience as the extras. Then we start the warms ups and I'm doing my best with each one of them. And sure enough, I get pulled out of the line by the host. He asks me for my name and what state I'm from. Then he asks me if I'd like to help out and have my very own part in a scene. I tell him yes and then he turns back to the audience and tells them that the name of the scene is, Steve from Virginia's Death Scene! I put on a suitably apprehensive look given that I already knew this was coming. He then tells me to make it dramatic and that I could move around as much as I want, but that I should make sure that I come back and die in the middle of the stage. He also warns me to be careful because the flooring isn't a little piece of Disney magic, it's actual concrete down there. It's about this time that I realize that underneath my robe I have my digital camera in my pocket. This is bad for two reasons. One I don't want to fall down and die and break my camera. Two Gram decided to leave her camera in the hotel room this morning because she didn't want to lug it around with her all day. So I have no photographic evidence of having been on stage! The other thing that I was thinking about somewhere along here is that my five year old son is in the audience and he's about to see his dad die on stage. Hmm....maybe I shouldn't have tried so hard with the warm ups. Oh well, I'm now wielding an invisible knife in my hand and am advancing on the host and BLAM! I've been shot! I did a lot of flailing and stumbling around and I believe I covered quite a bit of ground in my death throes. The rest of the extras were asked to react to my dying so they're all crowding around me with concern and then I fall to the concrete, seemingly dead. The host tells the extras to react to my death so they're all sobbing and crowded around my lifeless body. Then it's over and I'm back up and asked to rejoin the line. My camera is still in tact.
Now they bring out the stunt show stars of Indy and Marion and they work their way down the line of extras shaking each of our hands. My brush with theme park stunt show fame! Shortly thereafter we were back in a group with our handler and put into place for our scene. When the scene started, our handler stuck around with us and directed us where to go as the scene progressed. It was very cool to be down on stage and so close to the action. I think you get a better sense of how athletic these stunt guys are when you're that close to them. The extras started the scene shopping for rugs and pots and other wares and then got to run back and forth on stage a couple of times. At the end of the scene our handler tells us, Everybody get down! So we do and then the truck on the other side of the stage blows up and flips over. And the scene is over. We were on stage for a little while longer and at one point in time the host (someone else was talking to the crowd at the time) came over and chatted with me for a bit. He had lived in Virginia for a little while and we found out that we both had attended the University of Virginia. Soon we were off stage and after depositing our wardrobe in large plastic bags (to be laundered, sanitized, burned?) we were sent back to our original seats for the last scene of the show. After the show I found out that DS was much more interested in the explosions and stunts on stage than he was in the fact that his daddy was up there. I've asked him about it a number of times since and I still don't have a good feel for whether he would have preferred me to have been up there or not. Well, at least I enjoyed it! I did get a few Hey, nice job up there, comments from people in the theater as we filed out. We made our way out of the theater and towards the big American Idol (not yet open) sign where we had agreed to meet DW and DD.
I'm having some issues with Flickr right now, so apologies for the lack of pictures in this update. I'll try to get some added in later...
We were up and ready early enough to make park opening at Hollywood Studios, so that was our destination! I wanted to make sure that we got there at opening so we could ride Toy Story Mania with a reasonable wait. We made our way to the boat launch and ended up running down the dock to catch the boat. We hopped on and ended up at the entrance to HS around 8:45. The lines were pretty long and they hadn't started to let people through the gates yet. It was only a few minutes before they did, though. We picked up our stroller and then decided that since we had a little bit of time before the rope dropped we would go ahead and get some Photopass pictures taken in front of the hat. After the pictures we watched the little rope drop show and were soon on our way to Toy Story Mania with most of the rest of the crowd. When we arrived there we parked the stroller and immediately got in the standby line. The lines for the Fastpass machines were probably 15 people deep each and they were getting in the way of the standby line. We found our way into the standby line with a posted wait time of 25 minutes. The CMs at the entrance were telling everyone that their entire party needed to be together when they got in line. I guess there's quite a bit of one person waiting in the FP line and then doing the whole excuse me thing halfway through the queue to catch up with their group. This was an attempt to curtail that, but I still saw some of it going on. I think the wait was probably close to the posted 25 minutes, but it was hard to tell because the queue area itself was very entertaining and the time passed quickly. We decided that DS was going to ride with me, DD with DW and Gram and Paco with each other. Once on the ride I tried to show DS how to use his little shooter/catapult/pull thingy/whatever in the practice area, but after that I was all business. I probably should have been helping DS a little more, but I was having way too much fun playing the game! I loved this ride and was very impressed with the technology behind it. The integration of the 3D was seamless. DS seemed to enjoy it even though his score was pretty low. DD was a little scared by it she actually rode on DW's lap which they allow you to do with small children, but apparently she slipped down and sat right next to DW during the ride. It does whip you around pretty fast and I'm sure that it was a little bit of sensory overload for her. Gram proclaimed it to be her new favorite ride at WDW! I scored somewhere in the neighborhood of 130,000 points which was the top score for our crew. When we got off the ride I immediately jumped into the FP line (only about 5-6 people deep now) and picked up FPs some for 12:20 and some for 12:25. We will definitely ride again!
We grabbed our stroller and headed the few steps back towards the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. The CM at the entrance informed us that a show was just about to start and that we could still catch it. She offered to park our stroller for us which was very nice! We were soon seated in the theater and enjoying the show. DS loved it! Once again DD was scared by some parts of it mostly the storm when you get a little bit wet. When we left the show we headed over to the character area at the end of the animation tour by slipping in the back through the gift shop. Sorcerer Mickey was there and we got a bunch of Photopass pictures with him. Unfortunately neither the crew from Bolt nor any of The Incredibles were out just yet so we decided that we might try to swing back later on to see if we can catch them. We took a minute to plan our next move and opted for the Beauty and the Beast show which was scheduled for 10:45 and would be starting soon. We found our stroller and got a few more Photopass pictures on the way to the theater. We got to the theater about 10 minutes early. DS, DD, and DW all really enjoyed this show!
The next step in our plan was for me, DS, Paco and Gram to hustle on over to the Indiana Jones stunt show which was scheduled for 11:30. Since we didn't expect DD to have much interest in that show she and DW headed off to maybe find characters and maybe go ahead and grab some lunch. DS, Gram, Paco, and I didn't have much time to make it to the Indiana Jones show so we sped over to the show and made it there about 5 minutes before the show. The theater was very full and we ended up going all the way over to the left and all the way down. We ended up splitting up with DS and Paco in the front row and Gram and I in the 2nd row and down a little from them. I had seen this show once before about 9 years ago and knew that they took volunteers from the audience to be in the show. When they started taking volunteers Gram tells me, You should volunteer, that would be really neat for DS! Well, I was already considering this so when they were looking for the next volunteer and the show host looked down in our direction I stood up and yelled WOOOOO!!! and waved my arms in the air. Sure enough she said, The tall guy in the red shirt in the 2nd row. Hey, that's me! I made the long trek across the stage to the host in the center. I was the 3rd of the three laughing volunteers. The host was getting a name from each volunteer and then asking them to demonstrate a particular laugh for her. The first volunteer had to do a Goofy laugh. The second volunteer I believe was asked to do a high pitched giggle. And lastly I was asked to demonstrate an evil laugh. I mustered up my best evil genius laugh, MMMMWAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I'm pretty sure that they added some echo effect to it or something because it sounded really cool! After that the host sent us up the one staircase to the back of the theater where she said they'd prepare us for our role as extras. We got up to the top of the staircase and realized that nobody was there to meet us. We didn't know where to go. Hmmm... I found a nearby CM and told him that we were the volunteers, but nobody collected us and we didn't know where to go. He pointed us down to the far right upper corner of the theater and when we got down there they were waiting for us. Phew, crisis averted!
They got us all dressed up with middle eastern garb consisting of robes and turbans or sheik headdresses. They also had us sign the waiver. The host had joked about the waiver on stage, but there actually is one. I scanned it quickly and saw words like pyrotechnics and The Walt Disney Company is not liable for death/dismemberment/etc, etc. I had to provide my name, address, and John Hancock for them. Then they sat us down in a couple of reserved rows of seats to watch the first part of the show. After the first part of the show our handler grabbed us all and gathered us in the back of the theater to give us an idea of what would happen next. She told us that they're going to line us up and get us warmed up as extras by asking us to act afraid or excited and other stuff like that. She also told us that one of us would get to have our very own role in the show and get to act out a death scene. And that our warm ups were effectively the audition for the death scene. So now I'm thinking, okay I can just go halfway at the warm ups and ensure that I'm NOT picked for the death scene, or I could ham it up and try to get picked. I decide that I'm going to try to get picked. We're led down the stairs again and are lined up on stage and presented to the audience as the extras. Then we start the warms ups and I'm doing my best with each one of them. And sure enough, I get pulled out of the line by the host. He asks me for my name and what state I'm from. Then he asks me if I'd like to help out and have my very own part in a scene. I tell him yes and then he turns back to the audience and tells them that the name of the scene is, Steve from Virginia's Death Scene! I put on a suitably apprehensive look given that I already knew this was coming. He then tells me to make it dramatic and that I could move around as much as I want, but that I should make sure that I come back and die in the middle of the stage. He also warns me to be careful because the flooring isn't a little piece of Disney magic, it's actual concrete down there. It's about this time that I realize that underneath my robe I have my digital camera in my pocket. This is bad for two reasons. One I don't want to fall down and die and break my camera. Two Gram decided to leave her camera in the hotel room this morning because she didn't want to lug it around with her all day. So I have no photographic evidence of having been on stage! The other thing that I was thinking about somewhere along here is that my five year old son is in the audience and he's about to see his dad die on stage. Hmm....maybe I shouldn't have tried so hard with the warm ups. Oh well, I'm now wielding an invisible knife in my hand and am advancing on the host and BLAM! I've been shot! I did a lot of flailing and stumbling around and I believe I covered quite a bit of ground in my death throes. The rest of the extras were asked to react to my dying so they're all crowding around me with concern and then I fall to the concrete, seemingly dead. The host tells the extras to react to my death so they're all sobbing and crowded around my lifeless body. Then it's over and I'm back up and asked to rejoin the line. My camera is still in tact.
Now they bring out the stunt show stars of Indy and Marion and they work their way down the line of extras shaking each of our hands. My brush with theme park stunt show fame! Shortly thereafter we were back in a group with our handler and put into place for our scene. When the scene started, our handler stuck around with us and directed us where to go as the scene progressed. It was very cool to be down on stage and so close to the action. I think you get a better sense of how athletic these stunt guys are when you're that close to them. The extras started the scene shopping for rugs and pots and other wares and then got to run back and forth on stage a couple of times. At the end of the scene our handler tells us, Everybody get down! So we do and then the truck on the other side of the stage blows up and flips over. And the scene is over. We were on stage for a little while longer and at one point in time the host (someone else was talking to the crowd at the time) came over and chatted with me for a bit. He had lived in Virginia for a little while and we found out that we both had attended the University of Virginia. Soon we were off stage and after depositing our wardrobe in large plastic bags (to be laundered, sanitized, burned?) we were sent back to our original seats for the last scene of the show. After the show I found out that DS was much more interested in the explosions and stunts on stage than he was in the fact that his daddy was up there. I've asked him about it a number of times since and I still don't have a good feel for whether he would have preferred me to have been up there or not. Well, at least I enjoyed it!
I did get a few Hey, nice job up there, comments from people in the theater as we filed out. We made our way out of the theater and towards the big American Idol (not yet open) sign where we had agreed to meet DW and DD.I'm having some issues with Flickr right now, so apologies for the lack of pictures in this update. I'll try to get some added in later...
Great job so far - I'm enjoying your TR! Sounds like a fun trip!Looking at the MK Pix on your first day - doesn't look TOOOO crowded! We're going early Dec this year so I was happy to see the wait times don't seem too long!
Geistmeister
Planning for December '08
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Looking at the MK Pix on your first day - doesn't look TOOOO crowded! We're going early Dec this year so I was happy to see the wait times don't seem too long!
Thanks for checking in, Picabo! I'm glad you're enjoying the report! Yes, the crowds were really managable during our trip. The on property resorts were pretty much full with the Pop Warner kids there and that definitely had an effect on Magical Express, but other than that things weren't crazy or anything. Definitely a good time to go!
Geistmeister
Planning for December '08
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- Jun 6, 2008
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- 63
Some pictures from the last part of my report:
Waiting for Beauty & The Beast to start:
Waiting for Beauty & The Beast to start:
Geistmeister
Planning for December '08
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
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- 63
Day 4 continued...
We meet up with DW and DD near the American Idol sign and let them know that I got to be in the show. In the meantime, they were visiting with Lightning McQueen and Mater and eating some lunch at the ABC Commissary. Chip and Dale are out near the big hat greeting people and DD shows some interest, so they get in line while the rest of us head over to grab our lunch at the ABC Commissary. I got the chicken curry which was pretty good. DW and DD met up with us as we were eating and when we finish we head back towards Toy Story Mania to use our FPs. We get a couple of pictures with one of the army men before we head in. When we get to the spot where the CM takes the FPs he takes them and tells us, Sorry, but these are for Tuesday. I started to explain how there must be a mistake because I just got them this morning when we all begin to realize....it IS Tuesday! We explain that and the CM is very apologetic and seemed a bit embarrassed at the mistake. No harm done. DD had decided that she wanted to ride again and ended up riding not on DW's lap this time, but actually in the proper seat next to her. I once again scored close to 130,000 and this ride is quickly becoming one of my favorites! In fact, everyone really enjoyed our second ride.
We head back over to the character meet at the end of the animation tour and the Bolt characters are there now, but when we go to get in line they tell us that they're going to be going away soon. So we got to see them, but we didn't get to get up close and personal with them. DS is a little bit disappointed and I really have to twist his arm to get him to agree to visit with Frozone from The Incredibles instead. We get a couple of quick pictures with Frozone and then head for the exit. There was a long line to get on the boat back to the hotel and we ended up on a very crowded boat. We rested for a bit back in the room and planned on a 3:15 departure to start making our way over to Pioneer Hall for our 5:00 reservation at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue.
At 3:15 we make our way down to the bus stop and hop a bus to the MK. Then we head over to the boat dock and wait for a boat to Fort Wilderness. We have to wait for a while, but not as long as some folks heading back to the Wilderness Lodge. They were starting to get a bit miffed about it and the CM was pressed to explain why so many Fort Wilderness boats were arriving before another Wilderness Lodge one. We got one of the smaller boats and ended up sitting outside in the front of the boat. It was a nice little boat ride over to Fort Wilderness. We get there around 4:10 and can't check in until 4:30, so we hit the nearby playground. When 4:30 rolls around I head over and check our party in and let them know that we'll be passing on the group photo. I'm told to come back at 5:00 to get in. I go back and let everyone know that they have another 30 minutes to play. The kids were having a ball playing on the playground and they were making friends with some of the other kids there.
When 5:00 rolled around we headed over and got in line. We were seated at our table upstairs which was just off center to the right and right up on the rail. They were good seats and we could see everything that was going on down on the floor. Our server was Charles who told us that he'd been a server there for 33 years! The food was great and the show was very entertaining. DS really enjoyed the show and liked playing the washboard in the finale! DD was a little young and maybe a bit too tired to really enjoy the show. Her lack of afternoon naps has been wearing on her daily. On our way out we made a visit to a very busy bathroom and then headed back over to the dock to catch the boat. The kids each pressed a penny at the dock before we got in a very long line to get back on the boat to the MK. It took a couple of boats, but we finally made it back to the MK and then hopped a bus back to the Beach Club.
Day 5
The kids actually slept in a bit today they didn't get up until around 7:15. Today was Animal Kingdom day, so we made our way down to the bus stop and hopped a bus over there. On our way in, we stopped and got some Photopass pictures by the big Christmas tree.
We make our way inside and get our stroller. The times guide suggests getting to the Finding Nemo and Festival of the Lion King shows about 45 minutes early. The Nemo show starts at 10:00, so we head that way and end up there about 35 minutes early. We did not need to get there that early as the show ended up only about half full. We ended up sitting in the 3rd row back and up against the walkway that splits the lower section of the seating in half. We broke out the digital camera and looked at the pictures that we had taken so far on our trip which helped to pass the time. The show was GREAT! We were really impressed. After the curtain call, Dory was out on the walkway and came right over to us and talked to DD for a bit. She said, Hi, my name's Dory, what's your name? But DD was too overwhelmed to respond. Still, it was cool to have that kind of interaction. After the show we made a stop at the restroom. As I mentioned before we're in the late stages of potty training DD, so we try to make enough stops at bathrooms to keep from having accidents. However, sometimes DD does not want to use the potty and that's when things can get a bit difficult. Well, this was by far the worst restroom visit of the trip. Long story short, after about 30 minutes (including an attempt to get her to use the potty by me) DW takes my cell and DD and sends the rest of us away. We head over to Triceratops Spin and DS and Paco hop on for a ride. As their ride was finishing up, DW called to see where we were as she finally got DD to use the potty. (PHEW!) They catch up to us at Triceratops Spin and we decide to head over towards the safari.
The FP return time on the safari ride was about as far away as the wait time for the standby line, so we pick up FPs and head over to Pizzafari for lunch. The FP return time was 12:21-1:21. DW and the kids and I split a whole bunch of stuff including a cheese pizza, a pepperoni pizza, a chicken parmesan sandwich and some bread sticks. It was all pretty tasty. After lunch we wander a little and DD sees Lilo and Stitch and gets in line with DW to see them. DS passes on this. I end up ducking into a nearby store and end up buying a pressed penny wallet for all the pennies we've been pressing. DS also presses a penny in this store. DD gets to the front of the line and enjoys her visit with Lilo and Stitch.
Lilo & Stitch greeting video
Then we head back towards the safari. I go to park the stroller and a CM asks me where I'm going, when I tell him the safari, he instructs me to take the stroller right into the FP line. Okay, will do. They actually have a nice little stroller system set up for the safari ride where you drop if off halfway through the queue and then pick it up on your way out of the ride. We're quickly onto the ride and end up sitting in the very front of one of the vehicles. We saw a lot of animals and DW told me later that the driver was interacting a bunch with DD (not over the microphone). She responded to DD calling one of the big animals a goat and referring to the cheetahs as Cheetos.
Our driver smiling for the picture (in the rear view mirror).
We enjoyed our safari and decided to stop for some ice cream on the way out of the park.
DW and DD shared a Mickey Premium bar, DS had a strawberry bar, Gram had a crunch bar, and I had the Mickey cookies and cream ice cream sandwich. After our ice cream we headed for the exit. The Beach Club buses here share duties with the Swan, Dolphin, Yacht and Boardwalk. Plus we made a stop at Blizzard Beach on our way back, so it took a little while to get back to the resort.
DW and I were both very impressed with the Animal Kingdom park. We hadn't spent any time here during the daylight hours since our honeymoon back in 1999. Well, the park has certainly grown up a bit since then. We both really enjoyed the ambiance of the park and would have liked to have spent a bit more time there.
When we get back to the hotel room we rest for a little while and then Gram, Paco, DS, DD, and I all make our way down to the pool. The forecast high for the day was 86, but the sun was hiding behind the clouds and there was a pretty good breeze blowing. That made it very chilly when you got out of the pool. All was fine and dandy so long as you stayed in the water. The kids enjoyed the pool and I took DS up to the ship where the big water slide starts. He's not tall enough for that slide yet, but they also have a little slide up there for the younger kids. He ended up doing that slide once and said that he enjoyed it, but he didn't want to do it again afterwards. We swam around a bit more before heading back to the room. Much (all?) of the Yacht & Beach Club pool complex has a sand bottom. After spending so much time in the very shallow end trying to keep most of my body under water to stay warm, I brought a small beach worth of sand back to the room in my swim trunks. Consider yourself warned...
Tonight was the night that DW and I planned on celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary. Paco & Gram took care of the kids and we went off on our own for the night. We had originally made a dinner reservation for the Flying Fish Cafe, but shortly before our trip we decided to cancel that reservation and plan on something a bit less fancy. What we ended up doing was going into commando mode for a few hours and hitting some of the headliners that the kids aren't tall enough yet to ride.
We start our mission by hopping the boat to Hollywood Studios. Upon arrival we immediately head back towards the Tower of Terror and the Rock N' Roller Coaster. There's a 20 minute wait posted for ToT and a 50 minute wait posted for RnRC. We jump in the ToT line and end up walking right into the library. Nice! ToT is one of my favorite rides at WDW (possibly my favorite) and it didn't disappoint. After the ride we take a quick peek again at RnRC and the wait has dropped to 40 minutes. Still too long...this is the point where DW and I start discussing hitting rides at three different parks. We decide that we're going to do it and that MK is next on our list. On the way out of the park we make a quick stop at the tip board and it's showing RnRC as a 20 minute wait. Hmmm....well, that's short enough for us. We head back over there and see it posted at 30 minutes at the ride it ends up taking only about 15-20 minutes to get on. And...we end up in the front row! This is a first for us. Once again, one of my favorite rides and it doesn't disappoint. Now we high tail it out of the park on our way to MK. We run into a lot of foot traffic on our way out which we assumed was due to some kind of Pop Warner meet up. As it turns out, Fantasmic had been bumped up to an early time than usual and we were fighting that traffic. DW was leading the way and was weaving in and out of people so fast that when she went by one lady she let out a, Whoa! Yes, we were in full commando mode. (My apologies if we cut you off.) We got on a bus for the Ticket and Transportation Center (we didn't realize that they didn't have a direct bus to MK) with the big crowds it took a little while, but we made it out of there.
From the T&TC we hop the express monorail to the MK. The Spectromagic parade is just clearing the train station area as we enter the park. We realize that we're going to have to fight our way through the crowds to get to our destination of Space Mountain. We entered the park on the right side, so we end up making our way through from there. It's slow going at first, but we eventually make our way into the shops that line Main Street and are able to make some progress through the shops ducking out onto the sidewalk on Main Street when necessary. We make it up to the corner and head over towards Tomorrowland, free from the throngs of parade watchers. We are met with a 20 minute posted wait time at Space Mountain. We end up on and off in about 20 minutes. Nice! Good ride too! Where to next? On our visit to WDW in April of 2007 we went on the Haunted Mansion and were not at all impressed with the sound quality. We thought we were in a broken Doom Buggy or something. Then we rode again and had the same problem. Well, we were aware of the refurbishment and figured that we would give the mansion a chance to redeem itself. We made our way over and found a 10 minute posted wait time. We were in the stretching room in a matter of 3-4 minutes. Soon we were riding through a revamped and MUCH better sounding ride. We really liked the updates as well. As we left the ride we were met with the sights and sounds of the Wishes fireworks. Well, we still had plans for more rides so we high tailed it towards the exit hoping to beat the crowds to the monorail. We cut over into Adventureland and then made our way through the shops that line the left hand side of Main Street (as you're facing the castle) to the exit. On our way through the shops we stopped to press a penny with the castle on it to replace one that DS had somehow lost. It wasn't exactly the same, but it had the castle on it, so we figured it would do.
We then hopped the monorail to the T&TC and transferred to the Epcot monorail. When we arrive we check the tip board and it shows a 30 minute wait for Test Track and a 45 minute wait for Soarin'. We head for the Test Track single rider line which had a 10 minute posted wait time. We were quickly on the ride another great one! We meet up and scan our Photopass card for both of our cars. A couple of nice pictures of us and the strangers we rode with! We head for Soarin'. The tip board is still saying 45 minutes for this one, but when we get to the ride it's showing a 20 minute wait! Wow. Great news! We saw a group of guys at the entrance to Soarin' who were planning out their rides. They thought that maybe they should get a Fastpass for Soarin' and head somewhere else. It was 10 minutes until closing!!!
We get to play the little game for the first time as we wait in line for the ride. This is actually the first time we've ridden without a FP. The game is pretty cool and is a nice way to pass the time while we wait for the ride. We were hoping for and ended up in the top row! This was our first ride in the top row. Overall the ride was better than I'd remembered I'm not sure how much of this is due to riding in the top row this time. As we leave the building we see that Illuminations is starting up. Once again, we're not interested in getting caught up in a huge crowd on our way out, so we high tail it past all the fireworks viewers to the International Gateway and exit the park. We half watch the rest of the fireworks as we make our way around the lake to the Big River Brewing Co. restaurant. We sit outside and rest our tired legs and feet while we eat our late dinner. I wanted to try the cheese soup, but they're out of it so I settle for the cheddar jalapeno spinach dip instead. DW got the hummus and sampled their winter brew which she enjoyed. I got a burger with chips. After dinner we made a stop at the candy store on the boardwalk and bought a peanut butter and dark chocolate pretzel. We didn't eat any of it that night, but saved it for later. On the way back to the room we stopped in the marketplace and got a decaf coffee for DW. We got back to the room around 10:55. Definitely an enjoyable anniversary evening!
Paco and Gram reported back on their night with the kids. They took them to the Captain's Grille for dinner. DD fell asleep there and slept all the way to Epcot (she was carried the whole way!) Then Gram and Paco let them pick out something for themselves at a store in Epcot. DD picked a stuffed Eeyore and DS picked an Incredibles matchbox car and WDW matchbox bus set. They had fun and apparently went to bed easily for Gram and Paco.
One more day to go and then departure day...
We meet up with DW and DD near the American Idol sign and let them know that I got to be in the show. In the meantime, they were visiting with Lightning McQueen and Mater and eating some lunch at the ABC Commissary. Chip and Dale are out near the big hat greeting people and DD shows some interest, so they get in line while the rest of us head over to grab our lunch at the ABC Commissary. I got the chicken curry which was pretty good. DW and DD met up with us as we were eating and when we finish we head back towards Toy Story Mania to use our FPs. We get a couple of pictures with one of the army men before we head in. When we get to the spot where the CM takes the FPs he takes them and tells us, Sorry, but these are for Tuesday. I started to explain how there must be a mistake because I just got them this morning when we all begin to realize....it IS Tuesday! We explain that and the CM is very apologetic and seemed a bit embarrassed at the mistake. No harm done. DD had decided that she wanted to ride again and ended up riding not on DW's lap this time, but actually in the proper seat next to her. I once again scored close to 130,000 and this ride is quickly becoming one of my favorites! In fact, everyone really enjoyed our second ride.
We head back over to the character meet at the end of the animation tour and the Bolt characters are there now, but when we go to get in line they tell us that they're going to be going away soon. So we got to see them, but we didn't get to get up close and personal with them. DS is a little bit disappointed and I really have to twist his arm to get him to agree to visit with Frozone from The Incredibles instead. We get a couple of quick pictures with Frozone and then head for the exit. There was a long line to get on the boat back to the hotel and we ended up on a very crowded boat. We rested for a bit back in the room and planned on a 3:15 departure to start making our way over to Pioneer Hall for our 5:00 reservation at the Hoop Dee Doo Revue.
At 3:15 we make our way down to the bus stop and hop a bus to the MK. Then we head over to the boat dock and wait for a boat to Fort Wilderness. We have to wait for a while, but not as long as some folks heading back to the Wilderness Lodge. They were starting to get a bit miffed about it and the CM was pressed to explain why so many Fort Wilderness boats were arriving before another Wilderness Lodge one. We got one of the smaller boats and ended up sitting outside in the front of the boat. It was a nice little boat ride over to Fort Wilderness. We get there around 4:10 and can't check in until 4:30, so we hit the nearby playground. When 4:30 rolls around I head over and check our party in and let them know that we'll be passing on the group photo. I'm told to come back at 5:00 to get in. I go back and let everyone know that they have another 30 minutes to play. The kids were having a ball playing on the playground and they were making friends with some of the other kids there.
When 5:00 rolled around we headed over and got in line. We were seated at our table upstairs which was just off center to the right and right up on the rail. They were good seats and we could see everything that was going on down on the floor. Our server was Charles who told us that he'd been a server there for 33 years! The food was great and the show was very entertaining. DS really enjoyed the show and liked playing the washboard in the finale! DD was a little young and maybe a bit too tired to really enjoy the show. Her lack of afternoon naps has been wearing on her daily. On our way out we made a visit to a very busy bathroom and then headed back over to the dock to catch the boat. The kids each pressed a penny at the dock before we got in a very long line to get back on the boat to the MK. It took a couple of boats, but we finally made it back to the MK and then hopped a bus back to the Beach Club.
Day 5
The kids actually slept in a bit today they didn't get up until around 7:15. Today was Animal Kingdom day, so we made our way down to the bus stop and hopped a bus over there. On our way in, we stopped and got some Photopass pictures by the big Christmas tree.
We make our way inside and get our stroller. The times guide suggests getting to the Finding Nemo and Festival of the Lion King shows about 45 minutes early. The Nemo show starts at 10:00, so we head that way and end up there about 35 minutes early. We did not need to get there that early as the show ended up only about half full. We ended up sitting in the 3rd row back and up against the walkway that splits the lower section of the seating in half. We broke out the digital camera and looked at the pictures that we had taken so far on our trip which helped to pass the time. The show was GREAT! We were really impressed. After the curtain call, Dory was out on the walkway and came right over to us and talked to DD for a bit. She said, Hi, my name's Dory, what's your name? But DD was too overwhelmed to respond. Still, it was cool to have that kind of interaction. After the show we made a stop at the restroom. As I mentioned before we're in the late stages of potty training DD, so we try to make enough stops at bathrooms to keep from having accidents. However, sometimes DD does not want to use the potty and that's when things can get a bit difficult. Well, this was by far the worst restroom visit of the trip. Long story short, after about 30 minutes (including an attempt to get her to use the potty by me) DW takes my cell and DD and sends the rest of us away. We head over to Triceratops Spin and DS and Paco hop on for a ride. As their ride was finishing up, DW called to see where we were as she finally got DD to use the potty. (PHEW!) They catch up to us at Triceratops Spin and we decide to head over towards the safari.
The FP return time on the safari ride was about as far away as the wait time for the standby line, so we pick up FPs and head over to Pizzafari for lunch. The FP return time was 12:21-1:21. DW and the kids and I split a whole bunch of stuff including a cheese pizza, a pepperoni pizza, a chicken parmesan sandwich and some bread sticks. It was all pretty tasty. After lunch we wander a little and DD sees Lilo and Stitch and gets in line with DW to see them. DS passes on this. I end up ducking into a nearby store and end up buying a pressed penny wallet for all the pennies we've been pressing. DS also presses a penny in this store. DD gets to the front of the line and enjoys her visit with Lilo and Stitch.
Lilo & Stitch greeting video
Then we head back towards the safari. I go to park the stroller and a CM asks me where I'm going, when I tell him the safari, he instructs me to take the stroller right into the FP line. Okay, will do. They actually have a nice little stroller system set up for the safari ride where you drop if off halfway through the queue and then pick it up on your way out of the ride. We're quickly onto the ride and end up sitting in the very front of one of the vehicles. We saw a lot of animals and DW told me later that the driver was interacting a bunch with DD (not over the microphone). She responded to DD calling one of the big animals a goat and referring to the cheetahs as Cheetos.
Our driver smiling for the picture (in the rear view mirror).
We enjoyed our safari and decided to stop for some ice cream on the way out of the park.
DW and DD shared a Mickey Premium bar, DS had a strawberry bar, Gram had a crunch bar, and I had the Mickey cookies and cream ice cream sandwich. After our ice cream we headed for the exit. The Beach Club buses here share duties with the Swan, Dolphin, Yacht and Boardwalk. Plus we made a stop at Blizzard Beach on our way back, so it took a little while to get back to the resort.DW and I were both very impressed with the Animal Kingdom park. We hadn't spent any time here during the daylight hours since our honeymoon back in 1999. Well, the park has certainly grown up a bit since then. We both really enjoyed the ambiance of the park and would have liked to have spent a bit more time there.
When we get back to the hotel room we rest for a little while and then Gram, Paco, DS, DD, and I all make our way down to the pool. The forecast high for the day was 86, but the sun was hiding behind the clouds and there was a pretty good breeze blowing. That made it very chilly when you got out of the pool. All was fine and dandy so long as you stayed in the water. The kids enjoyed the pool and I took DS up to the ship where the big water slide starts. He's not tall enough for that slide yet, but they also have a little slide up there for the younger kids. He ended up doing that slide once and said that he enjoyed it, but he didn't want to do it again afterwards. We swam around a bit more before heading back to the room. Much (all?) of the Yacht & Beach Club pool complex has a sand bottom. After spending so much time in the very shallow end trying to keep most of my body under water to stay warm, I brought a small beach worth of sand back to the room in my swim trunks. Consider yourself warned...
Tonight was the night that DW and I planned on celebrating our 9th wedding anniversary. Paco & Gram took care of the kids and we went off on our own for the night. We had originally made a dinner reservation for the Flying Fish Cafe, but shortly before our trip we decided to cancel that reservation and plan on something a bit less fancy. What we ended up doing was going into commando mode for a few hours and hitting some of the headliners that the kids aren't tall enough yet to ride.
We start our mission by hopping the boat to Hollywood Studios. Upon arrival we immediately head back towards the Tower of Terror and the Rock N' Roller Coaster. There's a 20 minute wait posted for ToT and a 50 minute wait posted for RnRC. We jump in the ToT line and end up walking right into the library. Nice! ToT is one of my favorite rides at WDW (possibly my favorite) and it didn't disappoint. After the ride we take a quick peek again at RnRC and the wait has dropped to 40 minutes. Still too long...this is the point where DW and I start discussing hitting rides at three different parks. We decide that we're going to do it and that MK is next on our list. On the way out of the park we make a quick stop at the tip board and it's showing RnRC as a 20 minute wait. Hmmm....well, that's short enough for us. We head back over there and see it posted at 30 minutes at the ride it ends up taking only about 15-20 minutes to get on. And...we end up in the front row! This is a first for us. Once again, one of my favorite rides and it doesn't disappoint. Now we high tail it out of the park on our way to MK. We run into a lot of foot traffic on our way out which we assumed was due to some kind of Pop Warner meet up. As it turns out, Fantasmic had been bumped up to an early time than usual and we were fighting that traffic. DW was leading the way and was weaving in and out of people so fast that when she went by one lady she let out a, Whoa! Yes, we were in full commando mode. (My apologies if we cut you off.) We got on a bus for the Ticket and Transportation Center (we didn't realize that they didn't have a direct bus to MK) with the big crowds it took a little while, but we made it out of there.
From the T&TC we hop the express monorail to the MK. The Spectromagic parade is just clearing the train station area as we enter the park. We realize that we're going to have to fight our way through the crowds to get to our destination of Space Mountain. We entered the park on the right side, so we end up making our way through from there. It's slow going at first, but we eventually make our way into the shops that line Main Street and are able to make some progress through the shops ducking out onto the sidewalk on Main Street when necessary. We make it up to the corner and head over towards Tomorrowland, free from the throngs of parade watchers. We are met with a 20 minute posted wait time at Space Mountain. We end up on and off in about 20 minutes. Nice! Good ride too! Where to next? On our visit to WDW in April of 2007 we went on the Haunted Mansion and were not at all impressed with the sound quality. We thought we were in a broken Doom Buggy or something. Then we rode again and had the same problem. Well, we were aware of the refurbishment and figured that we would give the mansion a chance to redeem itself. We made our way over and found a 10 minute posted wait time. We were in the stretching room in a matter of 3-4 minutes. Soon we were riding through a revamped and MUCH better sounding ride. We really liked the updates as well. As we left the ride we were met with the sights and sounds of the Wishes fireworks. Well, we still had plans for more rides so we high tailed it towards the exit hoping to beat the crowds to the monorail. We cut over into Adventureland and then made our way through the shops that line the left hand side of Main Street (as you're facing the castle) to the exit. On our way through the shops we stopped to press a penny with the castle on it to replace one that DS had somehow lost. It wasn't exactly the same, but it had the castle on it, so we figured it would do.
We then hopped the monorail to the T&TC and transferred to the Epcot monorail. When we arrive we check the tip board and it shows a 30 minute wait for Test Track and a 45 minute wait for Soarin'. We head for the Test Track single rider line which had a 10 minute posted wait time. We were quickly on the ride another great one! We meet up and scan our Photopass card for both of our cars. A couple of nice pictures of us and the strangers we rode with! We head for Soarin'. The tip board is still saying 45 minutes for this one, but when we get to the ride it's showing a 20 minute wait! Wow. Great news! We saw a group of guys at the entrance to Soarin' who were planning out their rides. They thought that maybe they should get a Fastpass for Soarin' and head somewhere else. It was 10 minutes until closing!!!
We get to play the little game for the first time as we wait in line for the ride. This is actually the first time we've ridden without a FP. The game is pretty cool and is a nice way to pass the time while we wait for the ride. We were hoping for and ended up in the top row! This was our first ride in the top row. Overall the ride was better than I'd remembered I'm not sure how much of this is due to riding in the top row this time. As we leave the building we see that Illuminations is starting up. Once again, we're not interested in getting caught up in a huge crowd on our way out, so we high tail it past all the fireworks viewers to the International Gateway and exit the park. We half watch the rest of the fireworks as we make our way around the lake to the Big River Brewing Co. restaurant. We sit outside and rest our tired legs and feet while we eat our late dinner. I wanted to try the cheese soup, but they're out of it so I settle for the cheddar jalapeno spinach dip instead. DW got the hummus and sampled their winter brew which she enjoyed. I got a burger with chips. After dinner we made a stop at the candy store on the boardwalk and bought a peanut butter and dark chocolate pretzel. We didn't eat any of it that night, but saved it for later. On the way back to the room we stopped in the marketplace and got a decaf coffee for DW. We got back to the room around 10:55. Definitely an enjoyable anniversary evening!Paco and Gram reported back on their night with the kids. They took them to the Captain's Grille for dinner. DD fell asleep there and slept all the way to Epcot (she was carried the whole way!) Then Gram and Paco let them pick out something for themselves at a store in Epcot. DD picked a stuffed Eeyore and DS picked an Incredibles matchbox car and WDW matchbox bus set. They had fun and apparently went to bed easily for Gram and Paco.
One more day to go and then departure day...
It's been a while since you posted but I'm happy to see a continuation! Hoping you put up more pix, too! Your anniversary evening sounds great! How great you made it to all those parks in one evening, too!
Geistmeister
Planning for December '08
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
- Messages
- 63
It's been a while since you posted but I'm happy to see a continuation! Hoping you put up more pix, too! Your anniversary evening sounds great! How great you made it to all those parks in one evening, too!
Hey Picabo -- thanks for hanging in there with me! I did mean to post this picture with that last post. It's of DD enjoying her first Mickey bar!
Geistmeister
Planning for December '08
- Joined
- Jun 6, 2008
- Messages
- 63
Day 6
This was our last full day at WDW and our last day of park time because we had to catch the Magical Express bus at 6:40 AM the next day. Unfortunately, it was also the only day with rain the forecast. The chance of rain was 100% so we stopped at the Marketplace on our way out and bought ponchos for everyone. We were expecting the heavy rain to hit mid-morning. The plan for today was to get DS on some of the rides in Epcot that we had yet to ride, but really wanted him to ride. We decided that we would split up and Gram, DW, and DD would go and visit the characters. By now we've discovered that visiting with the characters is definitely one of her favorite things to do. And Paco, DS and myself were planning on hitting Test Track, Soarin', and Spaceship Earth. As we walked to the International Gateway entrance to Epcot there was just a very little rain not enough to break out the ponchos as of yet. Since Gram and DW weren't planning on going on any of the bigger rides, when we got in the park, I took their tickets and ran ahead of everyone to grab FPs (3) for Test Track return time of 10:25. As I was leaving Test Track I overheard a CM telling someone that if the ride closed due to inclement weather.... Uh oh...I hadn't thought of that. Test Track has that high speed loop out in the elements and apparently it very well might close if it rains enough. That information in hand, I met everyone back at the Land pavilion. I gave DW and Gram their tickets back and we split up. Paco, DS, and I headed downstairs to get FPs for Soarin' with our remaining two tickets (DD didn't have a ticket because she was only 2). The standby wait for Soarin' was only 25 minutes, but I picked up two FPs for 10:27 and 10:30 and then we headed for Spaceship Earth. We enjoyed Spaceship Earth and liked the new addition where they incorporate your photo into a vision of the future.
The rain had picked up a bit on our way to Spaceship Earth, but when we get off the ride it has slowed considerably. We decide to head towards back towards the Land Pavilion and Soarin' before it started raining harder. We get back there but have a little time before our FP time so we hop on Living with the Land. After the ride it was 10:27 so DS and I head over to Soarin' (sorry Paco...). One of the FPs is for 10:27 and the other is for 10:30 the FP return time reads 10:27 and the CM looks at both FPs and lets us through. We wait a short while and then get on the ride. We end up on the left hand side in the top row. DS was a little nervous, but after the ride he said that he loved it! We find Paco sitting on a bench near the FP distribution. He said that he had been watching and lots of people will accidentally leave their FPs or even their admission tickets on top of the FP machines. I assume that he was helping people remember their forgotten things and not pocketing them. Best not to ask...
I check my phone and find that I missed a call from DW and Gram. They were heading into the Circle of Life show. I call them and leave them a message telling them that we're heading for Test Track. On our way out of the Land Pavilion and over to Test Track we notice that the rain has gotten steadier so DS and I break out our ponchos and put them on. Paco decides to wait to put his on. When we get over to Test Track we find that it's closed! I really wanted DS to get the chance to ride this one. The rain is really coming down hard now so we duck into Innoventions. I call DW and Gram back and leave them a message to call us back when they get out of their show. In the meantime, DS takes part in a Kitcot station where he builds a little pyramid (the food pyramid? I completely forget). Then we go over and he makes a velcro frog. Then we go over and he plays some of a Bolt game on a Playstation 3. While he's playing I get a call from Gram letting me know that they're out of the Circle of Life show. We decide that we'll head over to the Land Pavilion and have lunch at the Sunshine Seasons Food Fair.
The rain is still coming down very hard on our way over and when we get there, the pavilion is very crowded with people getting out of the rain. We go down and grab some lunch. It's PB&J for DS and DD. DW and I split a turkey and cheese sandwich and a fruit and cheese plate. I also have some Doritos and DW has a tomato and mozzarella salad. It was hard to find an available table and the food serving area was packed. We found a table and enjoyed our lunch. When we left the rain was still coming down pretty good and we starting making our way towards the front entrance on our way to the Magic Kingdom. We get a little ways along and think better of it. This was quite possibly the best decision of our vacation. Instead we make our way back to the hotel which is good because despite our ponchos (Paco still hasn't put his on yet), we are all partially soaked. DD was the worst she was riding in her stroller with her poncho on, but apparently some water was getting under it and her pants had gotten soaked.
When we get back to the room we change into some dry clothes and watch a little bit of Aladdin on DVD while we rest. We check the radar on the TV and the rain is starting to move out. Great! We still wanted to make our way over to the Magic Kingdom with the goal of seeing Mickey's Philharmagic and DS wanted to ride the Barnstormer again. We head down to the bus stop around 2:30 and the sun is shining on us as we make our way over to the MK. What a difference from the morning! It had turned into a beautiful afternoon. We entered the MK and made our way straight back to Mickey's Philharmagic. We only had a short wait before we entered the theater. DW and I had seen this before, but DS, DD, Gram, and Paco were all new to it -- everyone really enjoyed it! As we exited the show we decided that we would hit It's a Small World one more time. The kids really seemed to enjoy it the first time and there's generally not much of a line, plus Gram really likes this one. It's a short line and we float our way around the world once again. We now head towards Mickey's Toontown and split up once again. DW and DD head for the princess greeting area, DS and I head for the Barnstormer, and Gram and Paco hang out nearby and wait for us. The Barnstormer line is a short one and DS enjoys his second ride. We meet up with Gram and Paco and are soon joined by DW and DD. And DD has lipstick marks all over her cheeks! She was getting some princess kisses apparently she really enjoyed her time with Cinderella, Belle, and Arora. The kids want to play in the play area so we let them do just that for a little while. Then we ditch the stroller and catch the train back to the front of the park. Our next destination is Hollywood Studios since we have a dinner reservation for Mama Melrose.
We hop the monorail to the TTC and then a bus to Hollywood Studios. Another ride that I wanted DS to experience was Star Tours, so we head there first and DS and I head in. There's a five minute posted wait time and we basically walk on to the ride. DS said that this one was fun! We meet up with the rest of the crew and head towards Mama Melrose's to see if maybe we can be seated a little early. When we get there the lobby is packed, so we look to burn some time before we check in. We tool around the nearby shop and end up buying a couple of t-shirts for DD and DS. Then we decide that we've got time to hit Muppetvision before dinner. There's little to no wait and we're soon inside and enjoying the movie. DS got a lot of laughs out of this one and really seemed to enjoy it. When we leave the theater we head back over to Mama Melrose's and check in right on time. Dinner was nice and it made for a good bookend to our trip. I had the steak, DW has the salmon, Gram had the chicken parmesan, and DW had the eggplant. The kids split some salad, spaghetti with meat sauce, and a fruit cup. My steak was closer to medium than medium-well, but the roasted red pepper polenta that came with it was very good. Overall the food was good, but not great.
After dinner Gram and Paco stayed in the park for a little while the rest of us headed back to the Beach Club. We had no problems hopping a boat back. As we were walking up to the hotel I was looking for someone to give the three Test Track FPs that we weren't able to use in the morning. I spotted a group of three and asked if they were heading to Epcot. They told me that they were and I handed them the FPs -- they seemed very excited to receive them! We headed inside and were soon giving the kids their baths and putting them to bed. When Gram and Paco returned, DW and I took a little stroll around the boardwalk and ended up in the General Store over by the Boardwalk hotel. I bought a t-shirt and we bought the Four Parks, One World CD which has been a favorite with the kids in the car over the past months. We made our way back to the room and tried to pack as much as we could and set a wake up call for 5:15 AM so we could catch Magical Express at 6:40.
Sorry no pictures for now -- I will post some later...
This was our last full day at WDW and our last day of park time because we had to catch the Magical Express bus at 6:40 AM the next day. Unfortunately, it was also the only day with rain the forecast. The chance of rain was 100% so we stopped at the Marketplace on our way out and bought ponchos for everyone. We were expecting the heavy rain to hit mid-morning. The plan for today was to get DS on some of the rides in Epcot that we had yet to ride, but really wanted him to ride. We decided that we would split up and Gram, DW, and DD would go and visit the characters. By now we've discovered that visiting with the characters is definitely one of her favorite things to do. And Paco, DS and myself were planning on hitting Test Track, Soarin', and Spaceship Earth. As we walked to the International Gateway entrance to Epcot there was just a very little rain not enough to break out the ponchos as of yet. Since Gram and DW weren't planning on going on any of the bigger rides, when we got in the park, I took their tickets and ran ahead of everyone to grab FPs (3) for Test Track return time of 10:25. As I was leaving Test Track I overheard a CM telling someone that if the ride closed due to inclement weather.... Uh oh...I hadn't thought of that. Test Track has that high speed loop out in the elements and apparently it very well might close if it rains enough. That information in hand, I met everyone back at the Land pavilion. I gave DW and Gram their tickets back and we split up. Paco, DS, and I headed downstairs to get FPs for Soarin' with our remaining two tickets (DD didn't have a ticket because she was only 2). The standby wait for Soarin' was only 25 minutes, but I picked up two FPs for 10:27 and 10:30 and then we headed for Spaceship Earth. We enjoyed Spaceship Earth and liked the new addition where they incorporate your photo into a vision of the future.
The rain had picked up a bit on our way to Spaceship Earth, but when we get off the ride it has slowed considerably. We decide to head towards back towards the Land Pavilion and Soarin' before it started raining harder. We get back there but have a little time before our FP time so we hop on Living with the Land. After the ride it was 10:27 so DS and I head over to Soarin' (sorry Paco...). One of the FPs is for 10:27 and the other is for 10:30 the FP return time reads 10:27 and the CM looks at both FPs and lets us through. We wait a short while and then get on the ride. We end up on the left hand side in the top row. DS was a little nervous, but after the ride he said that he loved it! We find Paco sitting on a bench near the FP distribution. He said that he had been watching and lots of people will accidentally leave their FPs or even their admission tickets on top of the FP machines. I assume that he was helping people remember their forgotten things and not pocketing them. Best not to ask...
I check my phone and find that I missed a call from DW and Gram. They were heading into the Circle of Life show. I call them and leave them a message telling them that we're heading for Test Track. On our way out of the Land Pavilion and over to Test Track we notice that the rain has gotten steadier so DS and I break out our ponchos and put them on. Paco decides to wait to put his on. When we get over to Test Track we find that it's closed! I really wanted DS to get the chance to ride this one. The rain is really coming down hard now so we duck into Innoventions. I call DW and Gram back and leave them a message to call us back when they get out of their show. In the meantime, DS takes part in a Kitcot station where he builds a little pyramid (the food pyramid? I completely forget). Then we go over and he makes a velcro frog. Then we go over and he plays some of a Bolt game on a Playstation 3. While he's playing I get a call from Gram letting me know that they're out of the Circle of Life show. We decide that we'll head over to the Land Pavilion and have lunch at the Sunshine Seasons Food Fair.
The rain is still coming down very hard on our way over and when we get there, the pavilion is very crowded with people getting out of the rain. We go down and grab some lunch. It's PB&J for DS and DD. DW and I split a turkey and cheese sandwich and a fruit and cheese plate. I also have some Doritos and DW has a tomato and mozzarella salad. It was hard to find an available table and the food serving area was packed. We found a table and enjoyed our lunch. When we left the rain was still coming down pretty good and we starting making our way towards the front entrance on our way to the Magic Kingdom. We get a little ways along and think better of it. This was quite possibly the best decision of our vacation. Instead we make our way back to the hotel which is good because despite our ponchos (Paco still hasn't put his on yet), we are all partially soaked. DD was the worst she was riding in her stroller with her poncho on, but apparently some water was getting under it and her pants had gotten soaked.
When we get back to the room we change into some dry clothes and watch a little bit of Aladdin on DVD while we rest. We check the radar on the TV and the rain is starting to move out. Great! We still wanted to make our way over to the Magic Kingdom with the goal of seeing Mickey's Philharmagic and DS wanted to ride the Barnstormer again. We head down to the bus stop around 2:30 and the sun is shining on us as we make our way over to the MK. What a difference from the morning! It had turned into a beautiful afternoon. We entered the MK and made our way straight back to Mickey's Philharmagic. We only had a short wait before we entered the theater. DW and I had seen this before, but DS, DD, Gram, and Paco were all new to it -- everyone really enjoyed it! As we exited the show we decided that we would hit It's a Small World one more time. The kids really seemed to enjoy it the first time and there's generally not much of a line, plus Gram really likes this one. It's a short line and we float our way around the world once again. We now head towards Mickey's Toontown and split up once again. DW and DD head for the princess greeting area, DS and I head for the Barnstormer, and Gram and Paco hang out nearby and wait for us. The Barnstormer line is a short one and DS enjoys his second ride. We meet up with Gram and Paco and are soon joined by DW and DD. And DD has lipstick marks all over her cheeks! She was getting some princess kisses apparently she really enjoyed her time with Cinderella, Belle, and Arora. The kids want to play in the play area so we let them do just that for a little while. Then we ditch the stroller and catch the train back to the front of the park. Our next destination is Hollywood Studios since we have a dinner reservation for Mama Melrose.
We hop the monorail to the TTC and then a bus to Hollywood Studios. Another ride that I wanted DS to experience was Star Tours, so we head there first and DS and I head in. There's a five minute posted wait time and we basically walk on to the ride. DS said that this one was fun! We meet up with the rest of the crew and head towards Mama Melrose's to see if maybe we can be seated a little early. When we get there the lobby is packed, so we look to burn some time before we check in. We tool around the nearby shop and end up buying a couple of t-shirts for DD and DS. Then we decide that we've got time to hit Muppetvision before dinner. There's little to no wait and we're soon inside and enjoying the movie. DS got a lot of laughs out of this one and really seemed to enjoy it. When we leave the theater we head back over to Mama Melrose's and check in right on time. Dinner was nice and it made for a good bookend to our trip. I had the steak, DW has the salmon, Gram had the chicken parmesan, and DW had the eggplant. The kids split some salad, spaghetti with meat sauce, and a fruit cup. My steak was closer to medium than medium-well, but the roasted red pepper polenta that came with it was very good. Overall the food was good, but not great.
After dinner Gram and Paco stayed in the park for a little while the rest of us headed back to the Beach Club. We had no problems hopping a boat back. As we were walking up to the hotel I was looking for someone to give the three Test Track FPs that we weren't able to use in the morning. I spotted a group of three and asked if they were heading to Epcot. They told me that they were and I handed them the FPs -- they seemed very excited to receive them! We headed inside and were soon giving the kids their baths and putting them to bed. When Gram and Paco returned, DW and I took a little stroll around the boardwalk and ended up in the General Store over by the Boardwalk hotel. I bought a t-shirt and we bought the Four Parks, One World CD which has been a favorite with the kids in the car over the past months. We made our way back to the room and tried to pack as much as we could and set a wake up call for 5:15 AM so we could catch Magical Express at 6:40.
Sorry no pictures for now -- I will post some later...
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