Believe it or not, it was another wake up call morning and it was HARD to wake up. In case you haven't noticed by now, we are not morning people. 
In fact, Dd didn't get up until about 10 minutes before we walked out the door. But we had the Family Magic Tour to get to so we were out the door and into the MK shortly after opening. We had some time before the tour so we watched the performance of 'Right Down the Middle of Main Street USA' That was kind of cool. And we finally corralled the Photopass photographers and got some pictures taken. I have to say that I am usually the first to get pics as they are my most favorite souvenir and it is a wonder that I didn't scope the photographers out until 6 days into the trip! So I was happy to get some Main St. family photos and some of Dd holding Tink. After that we got Dd a name badge and traded pins with the super nice cast members. One man gave Dd a pin to trade. Soooo nice.
It was time to head over to the tour gardens so we picked up our cute name badges and a cold bottle of water and went out to meet the group and our tour guide, Greg. He was very low key and seemed rather unsure of himself at first, especially when he recieved a 'phone call' right when he was supposed to be starting the tour. Okay, now I had read all about this tour before I booked it and I was still fooled by that phone call! Either Disney is incredibly good at creating a magical atmosphere, or I am just pathetic....or maybe a little of both?
Anyway, he came back all worried telling the kids that that was his boss and, "You all know who my boss is..." And all the kids yelled, "Mickey Mouse". They didn't miss a beat. It was too funny. Greg proceeded to tell the story of the stolen hook in a perfect Mickey Mouse voice. It was great. Thus began the search through MK....the kids located a wonderful treasure map with clues they followed for 2 1/2 hours all over the MK. Dd was giddy with happiness. She tends to be quiet in large groups, but she is very observant and she ended up finding a lot of the clues. It just made her feel so good. And by the end she really came out of her shell. She even found the hook!
I don't want to reveal too many more details, but meeting Peter Pan and Wendy at the end really exceeded my expectations of how much fun can be had on a tour! It was truly a magical experience. At the very end, Dh and I looked at each other and agreed this was one of the best things we had ever spent $$ on for Dd. She will never forget the fun she had or how special she felt playing with Peter Pan in MK. She told me later it was her favorite thing we did on vacation.
After traipsing all over MK, we were HOT and tired and I was soooo glad I had made a PS for lunch at Kona Cafe. We waited for 3 monorails as we had some time and wanted the front. On the third try, the front was available so we rode to the Poly. Halfway thru, they switched drivers. A new guy was being trained so 2 others were with him. They were sooo nice to Dd...when we stopped at the Poly they got up and asked if I had a camera. Then they proceeded to let Dd into the drivers seat and show her how to 'drive' while I got a picture. Then she got her honorary copilot liscence. Now she was beaming even more brightly than before! What a morning. Everyone needs times like this and there is nothing better than watching your child have a day when she really gets to feel how special she is!
After all the excitement, it felt so good to sit and relax at Kona. The food was good and we enjoyed a delicious lunch complete with appetizers and dessert, courtesy of the dining plan. I had a yummy bleu cheese and strawberry salad and the blackened mahi with sticky rice...very good. Dh had crab cakes and the Asian noodle bowl, which I thought could have been more flavorful when I tasted it. Dd had a grilled cheese. For dessert, Dh had apple crisp-he liked it, I had banana creme brulee and Dd had the best kid dessert ever-the kiddie cone! She ate almost the whole thing and it is big! Dh and I shared a press pot of coffee with our dessert, which tasted sooooo good and gave us a little more 'energy' for some more MK fun after lunch.
We then headed back to MK to see what we could see. We hopped on the train at Main Street and rode it over to Adventureland. We saw the Tiki room which was fun, but I like the original better. We rode Pirates(much better at DL), Jungle Cruise( I thought WDW version is better than DL ), Country bears(don't have this anymore at DL
) and Thunder Mountain with a fastpass.
By this time, I was really fading. It was HOT and I was feeling a bit nauseous so we headed out to Main Street and stopped to view the photos from that morning. I purchased a couple and we had fun posing at the sets in the back before heading back to our resort to rest.
When we returned I took a nap and Dh and Dd swam for awhile. When they got back, we hopped on the bus to DTD and had dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express again. None of us wanted dessert. There really is too much dessert on the dining plan. It would be nice if you could choose a side salad instead of dessert.....although I'm not complaining as the dining plan turned out to be such a good deal!
After browsing around DTD for awhile, we headed back to the resort and fell into bed. We were all beat and ready for a long sleep with no wake up call in the morning! It had been a spectacular day.
In fact, Dd didn't get up until about 10 minutes before we walked out the door. But we had the Family Magic Tour to get to so we were out the door and into the MK shortly after opening. We had some time before the tour so we watched the performance of 'Right Down the Middle of Main Street USA' That was kind of cool. And we finally corralled the Photopass photographers and got some pictures taken. I have to say that I am usually the first to get pics as they are my most favorite souvenir and it is a wonder that I didn't scope the photographers out until 6 days into the trip! So I was happy to get some Main St. family photos and some of Dd holding Tink. After that we got Dd a name badge and traded pins with the super nice cast members. One man gave Dd a pin to trade. Soooo nice.It was time to head over to the tour gardens so we picked up our cute name badges and a cold bottle of water and went out to meet the group and our tour guide, Greg. He was very low key and seemed rather unsure of himself at first, especially when he recieved a 'phone call' right when he was supposed to be starting the tour. Okay, now I had read all about this tour before I booked it and I was still fooled by that phone call! Either Disney is incredibly good at creating a magical atmosphere, or I am just pathetic....or maybe a little of both?
Anyway, he came back all worried telling the kids that that was his boss and, "You all know who my boss is..." And all the kids yelled, "Mickey Mouse". They didn't miss a beat. It was too funny. Greg proceeded to tell the story of the stolen hook in a perfect Mickey Mouse voice. It was great. Thus began the search through MK....the kids located a wonderful treasure map with clues they followed for 2 1/2 hours all over the MK. Dd was giddy with happiness. She tends to be quiet in large groups, but she is very observant and she ended up finding a lot of the clues. It just made her feel so good. And by the end she really came out of her shell. She even found the hook!
I don't want to reveal too many more details, but meeting Peter Pan and Wendy at the end really exceeded my expectations of how much fun can be had on a tour! It was truly a magical experience. At the very end, Dh and I looked at each other and agreed this was one of the best things we had ever spent $$ on for Dd. She will never forget the fun she had or how special she felt playing with Peter Pan in MK. She told me later it was her favorite thing we did on vacation.
After traipsing all over MK, we were HOT and tired and I was soooo glad I had made a PS for lunch at Kona Cafe. We waited for 3 monorails as we had some time and wanted the front. On the third try, the front was available so we rode to the Poly. Halfway thru, they switched drivers. A new guy was being trained so 2 others were with him. They were sooo nice to Dd...when we stopped at the Poly they got up and asked if I had a camera. Then they proceeded to let Dd into the drivers seat and show her how to 'drive' while I got a picture. Then she got her honorary copilot liscence. Now she was beaming even more brightly than before! What a morning. Everyone needs times like this and there is nothing better than watching your child have a day when she really gets to feel how special she is!
After all the excitement, it felt so good to sit and relax at Kona. The food was good and we enjoyed a delicious lunch complete with appetizers and dessert, courtesy of the dining plan. I had a yummy bleu cheese and strawberry salad and the blackened mahi with sticky rice...very good. Dh had crab cakes and the Asian noodle bowl, which I thought could have been more flavorful when I tasted it. Dd had a grilled cheese. For dessert, Dh had apple crisp-he liked it, I had banana creme brulee and Dd had the best kid dessert ever-the kiddie cone! She ate almost the whole thing and it is big! Dh and I shared a press pot of coffee with our dessert, which tasted sooooo good and gave us a little more 'energy' for some more MK fun after lunch.
We then headed back to MK to see what we could see. We hopped on the train at Main Street and rode it over to Adventureland. We saw the Tiki room which was fun, but I like the original better. We rode Pirates(much better at DL), Jungle Cruise( I thought WDW version is better than DL ), Country bears(don't have this anymore at DL
) and Thunder Mountain with a fastpass. By this time, I was really fading. It was HOT and I was feeling a bit nauseous so we headed out to Main Street and stopped to view the photos from that morning. I purchased a couple and we had fun posing at the sets in the back before heading back to our resort to rest.
When we returned I took a nap and Dh and Dd swam for awhile. When they got back, we hopped on the bus to DTD and had dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express again. None of us wanted dessert. There really is too much dessert on the dining plan. It would be nice if you could choose a side salad instead of dessert.....although I'm not complaining as the dining plan turned out to be such a good deal!
After browsing around DTD for awhile, we headed back to the resort and fell into bed. We were all beat and ready for a long sleep with no wake up call in the morning! It had been a spectacular day.
Great report.
