WDW Day one (12/16)
Cast: Me (40), DH (47), DD (12 ½) DS (11 ½) staying at BWVs
Mom (late 60s) staying at Pop Century
Stitch woke us at about 6:10, followed by Mickey explaining that Stitch was loose in the Magic Kingdom. I had woken up about 4:45 so I was completely ready. I had used the in-room coffee maker and had microwaved some scrambled eggs. Surprisingly the kids jumped up pretty quickly, and we all had eaten and were ready to hit the bus about 7:20. We made it to the Magic Kingdom about 10 minutes before the gates opened. Mom had called about the time we got on the bus saying she was headed to the bus stop and would call when she got to the park. I did notice a substantial difference in her bus transit times, since we were at the park by 7:45 and she didnt make it there until about 8:15 even though we left our rooms at the same time. That happened again the next day.
Temperatures that morning were in the low 60s, but it was a beautiful sunny day. The short version of our MK time is Low crowds, low lines, saw everything we wanted to see! Longer version follows.
DS doesnt do thrill rides, and hes not really fond of scary things either. We did a lot of splitting up using our cell phones and a general plan to keep the group somewhat together. DM had stopped to get her birthday button and met up with us after we had each ridden our first rides (DH and DS Buzz Lightyear), (Me and DD Stitch). I completely agree with the people who say that Stitch is NOT for small or timid children. My DS would have absolutely FREAKED out, and the 6 year old behind me was screaming for the majority of the time. Its loud, its dark, and Stitch jumps up and down on your shoulder harness while hes breathing on you. Overall a fun ride but not something I would feel the need to do over and over again. DD had to spend some of that allowance money, and she found a Santa Stitch hat in Merchant of Venice. Lot of people asked about it, and I understand they sold out pretty quickly each day.
DS found PUSH on one of our criss cross trips to ride Buzz Lightyear (again sideways photo)
and I took this shot of the castle just before the park opened to non-resort guests
We criss-crossed the park quite a bit, and split into smaller groups several times, but we managed to ride the following: Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear (I think DS ended up with 5 rides on this during the 4 hours we were in MK!) Indy Cars (DS rode 2 times), Stitch, Pooh, Peter Pan, Philharmagic (the whole group did this once, and DH and DD did it twice, it was awesome!), Haunted Mansion, BTMRR, Tiki Birds, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Jungle Cruise had too long a line, and it was too cold for Splash Mountain. We skipped the toon area since my kids are just a bit too old for it, the same with Dumbo. We used fast pass quite a bit (Space Mountain, BTMRR, and Pooh, as well as one of the Buzz Lightyear rides), but we didnt wait more than 10 minutes for anything.
While we were in Frontiertown, my DD mentioned to the oompah band that it was her Grandmas Birthday, so they came over and serenaded her while we were eating turkey legs. They were really nice and probably spent about 15 minutes with our family.
Mom being sung to while eating her lunch
About 12:00 we took the Monorail over to Epcot. I went to get fast passes for Test track and we met up with everyone at Mission Space. MS had a 5 minutes wait time posted. DS (remember him, the non-thrill rider) had been talking about MS for the past 2 days. I had taken my Dramamine that morning since I was determined to at least try it. While we were in the briefing area, DS said that he wanted to be pilot. They split us into a group of 2 and 3, and we were with a very experienced teen ager who made sure DS was in the pilot slot. Just before we got into the ride, my DM decided that she really didnt want to do this, so she hit the chicken exit. We settled into our seats, the doors closed, and DS said Mom, I really want to get off. Ooops!! I just told him to sit back, look straight ahead and push his buttons. Pretty good advice for mom too! I did feel a little weird but didnt get sick. Im sure I would have without the Dramamine though! When it was over, DS said it was pretty cool, but he wasnt riding it again! We spent some time in the computer area, then our TT fast passes were good, so we headed over there. Even with fast passes, it took us about 20 minutes to get into our vehicle. The loading for this ride does seem very confusing. It was a fun ride that we all enjoyed. Pretty darned brisk out in the outdoor area though since it was still only in the high 60s.
The whole family clowing in Epcot
About that time, DM said that she wanted to take us to dinner to thank us for hosting her on the trip. I told her that we had just planned on counter service, but she wouldnt hear of it. After some discussion, we decided on Alfredos, since I knew that my picky DS would be able to get plain pasta there. We went into guest services and made a PS for about 8:00 that evening. We kept going through the Imagination Pavilion (rode Figment), split up since DS doesnt do 3D movies (DH and DD did Honey I shrunk the audience while DS, DM and I went to the Land Pavilion). We pulled fast passes for living with the land and watched the Lion King movie. DS had a snack of ice cream and a croissant while we waited. Living with the Land had absolutely no wait by the time we all were there, so we rode that then headed over to the World Showcase. We watched the movie in Canada and walked through the UK. The kids convinced DH to take them back to Mission Space for another ride. DS actually sat out the ride, but spent his allowance money on a shuttle toy (which we sent back to the resort). DM and I walked through the countries and watched some of the storytellers. We saw the set up for the CP, and worked out that the kids would stay with her the next night, so that DH and I could come back for the CP then. We hooked back up, then rode the boat ride and watched the movie in Norway.
Typical pose with the troll in the Norway store
We headed to Italy about 7:30 to see if they could seat us early for dinner. We were seated by 8, and had a nice dinner. DD had the appetizer alfredo, DS had the kids spaghetti (plain), and the three adults split the antipasto and another entrée. Two chocolate mousses for the kids desserts and we were out of there. DM left to catch the bus back to Pop Century. I think we were wearing her out! We watched Illuminations over some protest by DS (its just fireworks!!). After it was over, while we were walking out, he said Mom, that was the best fireworks Ive ever seen! Im so glad we stayed. A short boat ride, and we were in bed by 10 again.
Overall, it was a beautiful day with almost no wait for anything. The most people we saw anywhere was in the Alfredo lobby while we were waiting for dinner. It got up to the upper 60s, and warmer weather was predicted for the next day. The only thing we didnt get to that we had planned on doing was the CP, but Eartha Kitt just didnt seem like the best narrator to me. Steven Curtis Chapman was on for the 17th, so we planned to do it then.
Cast: Me (40), DH (47), DD (12 ½) DS (11 ½) staying at BWVs
Mom (late 60s) staying at Pop Century
Stitch woke us at about 6:10, followed by Mickey explaining that Stitch was loose in the Magic Kingdom. I had woken up about 4:45 so I was completely ready. I had used the in-room coffee maker and had microwaved some scrambled eggs. Surprisingly the kids jumped up pretty quickly, and we all had eaten and were ready to hit the bus about 7:20. We made it to the Magic Kingdom about 10 minutes before the gates opened. Mom had called about the time we got on the bus saying she was headed to the bus stop and would call when she got to the park. I did notice a substantial difference in her bus transit times, since we were at the park by 7:45 and she didnt make it there until about 8:15 even though we left our rooms at the same time. That happened again the next day.
Temperatures that morning were in the low 60s, but it was a beautiful sunny day. The short version of our MK time is Low crowds, low lines, saw everything we wanted to see! Longer version follows.
DS doesnt do thrill rides, and hes not really fond of scary things either. We did a lot of splitting up using our cell phones and a general plan to keep the group somewhat together. DM had stopped to get her birthday button and met up with us after we had each ridden our first rides (DH and DS Buzz Lightyear), (Me and DD Stitch). I completely agree with the people who say that Stitch is NOT for small or timid children. My DS would have absolutely FREAKED out, and the 6 year old behind me was screaming for the majority of the time. Its loud, its dark, and Stitch jumps up and down on your shoulder harness while hes breathing on you. Overall a fun ride but not something I would feel the need to do over and over again. DD had to spend some of that allowance money, and she found a Santa Stitch hat in Merchant of Venice. Lot of people asked about it, and I understand they sold out pretty quickly each day.
DS found PUSH on one of our criss cross trips to ride Buzz Lightyear (again sideways photo)
and I took this shot of the castle just before the park opened to non-resort guests
We criss-crossed the park quite a bit, and split into smaller groups several times, but we managed to ride the following: Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear (I think DS ended up with 5 rides on this during the 4 hours we were in MK!) Indy Cars (DS rode 2 times), Stitch, Pooh, Peter Pan, Philharmagic (the whole group did this once, and DH and DD did it twice, it was awesome!), Haunted Mansion, BTMRR, Tiki Birds, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Jungle Cruise had too long a line, and it was too cold for Splash Mountain. We skipped the toon area since my kids are just a bit too old for it, the same with Dumbo. We used fast pass quite a bit (Space Mountain, BTMRR, and Pooh, as well as one of the Buzz Lightyear rides), but we didnt wait more than 10 minutes for anything.
While we were in Frontiertown, my DD mentioned to the oompah band that it was her Grandmas Birthday, so they came over and serenaded her while we were eating turkey legs. They were really nice and probably spent about 15 minutes with our family.
Mom being sung to while eating her lunch
About 12:00 we took the Monorail over to Epcot. I went to get fast passes for Test track and we met up with everyone at Mission Space. MS had a 5 minutes wait time posted. DS (remember him, the non-thrill rider) had been talking about MS for the past 2 days. I had taken my Dramamine that morning since I was determined to at least try it. While we were in the briefing area, DS said that he wanted to be pilot. They split us into a group of 2 and 3, and we were with a very experienced teen ager who made sure DS was in the pilot slot. Just before we got into the ride, my DM decided that she really didnt want to do this, so she hit the chicken exit. We settled into our seats, the doors closed, and DS said Mom, I really want to get off. Ooops!! I just told him to sit back, look straight ahead and push his buttons. Pretty good advice for mom too! I did feel a little weird but didnt get sick. Im sure I would have without the Dramamine though! When it was over, DS said it was pretty cool, but he wasnt riding it again! We spent some time in the computer area, then our TT fast passes were good, so we headed over there. Even with fast passes, it took us about 20 minutes to get into our vehicle. The loading for this ride does seem very confusing. It was a fun ride that we all enjoyed. Pretty darned brisk out in the outdoor area though since it was still only in the high 60s.
The whole family clowing in Epcot
About that time, DM said that she wanted to take us to dinner to thank us for hosting her on the trip. I told her that we had just planned on counter service, but she wouldnt hear of it. After some discussion, we decided on Alfredos, since I knew that my picky DS would be able to get plain pasta there. We went into guest services and made a PS for about 8:00 that evening. We kept going through the Imagination Pavilion (rode Figment), split up since DS doesnt do 3D movies (DH and DD did Honey I shrunk the audience while DS, DM and I went to the Land Pavilion). We pulled fast passes for living with the land and watched the Lion King movie. DS had a snack of ice cream and a croissant while we waited. Living with the Land had absolutely no wait by the time we all were there, so we rode that then headed over to the World Showcase. We watched the movie in Canada and walked through the UK. The kids convinced DH to take them back to Mission Space for another ride. DS actually sat out the ride, but spent his allowance money on a shuttle toy (which we sent back to the resort). DM and I walked through the countries and watched some of the storytellers. We saw the set up for the CP, and worked out that the kids would stay with her the next night, so that DH and I could come back for the CP then. We hooked back up, then rode the boat ride and watched the movie in Norway.
Typical pose with the troll in the Norway store
We headed to Italy about 7:30 to see if they could seat us early for dinner. We were seated by 8, and had a nice dinner. DD had the appetizer alfredo, DS had the kids spaghetti (plain), and the three adults split the antipasto and another entrée. Two chocolate mousses for the kids desserts and we were out of there. DM left to catch the bus back to Pop Century. I think we were wearing her out! We watched Illuminations over some protest by DS (its just fireworks!!). After it was over, while we were walking out, he said Mom, that was the best fireworks Ive ever seen! Im so glad we stayed. A short boat ride, and we were in bed by 10 again.
Overall, it was a beautiful day with almost no wait for anything. The most people we saw anywhere was in the Alfredo lobby while we were waiting for dinner. It got up to the upper 60s, and warmer weather was predicted for the next day. The only thing we didnt get to that we had planned on doing was the CP, but Eartha Kitt just didnt seem like the best narrator to me. Steven Curtis Chapman was on for the 17th, so we planned to do it then.
