WDW Day two (12/17)
Cast: Me (40), DH (47), DD (12 ½) DS (11 ½) staying at BWVs
Mom (late 60s) staying at Pop Century
Another morning wake up call, but again, I was already up and ready. I set the wake up call for 6:30 and let the kids linger a little longer in bed. We were out the door by 7:45 though, and at AK by 8:10 or so. DM had gotten an earlier start and was on the first safari of the day. We met up with her and split up again. DM and DS were going to ride the safari again, then we were going to meet at the first Lion King show (9:30 or so). DH, DD and I went to ride Dinosaur. When we got there, Dinosaur was down, so we pulled fast passes and rode Primeval Whirl before heading to Lion King. DM called and said they had just gotten off the safari. Since the doors were closing, I knew there was no way theyd get there in time. She and DS rode Kali (he rode it twice), without getting too wet, walked the gorilla trail, and met us at the exit to Lion King. Once again, LK was an AWESOME show! DH and DD waited to meet up with Stitch, while we headed over to Tarzan Rocks (our first time seeing that). They met us in time for the show.
DD with Lilo and Stitch (of course, Stitch was her real goal, Lilo was just along for the ride!)
DM took DS to the Boneyard while the rest of us used our Dinosaur fast passes. Another successful journey through time, although DD still buried her head. Since no one was up for Tough to be a Bug, we left about 11:00 for MGM.
An easy bus ride later, we again split up into the thrill ride and non-thrill ride groups. DM and DS went to watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire, while the rest of us headed toward ToT and RnR. I pulled fast passes for RnR (couldnt find the wait time listed), and we rode ToT twice with no wait. In fact, I had to backtrack to see what the dropped letters spelled out. There were some people in the waiting room the 2nd time who had to recite along with Rod Serling, but they quit when the CM asked them to. We all REALLY liked this ride! I know we had at least 4-5 drops each time. It was really great! Our RnR fast passes were good, so we headed that way to find NO WAIT on either line. We all rode, then I sat and wrote some notes while DH and DD went again with no wait. We stopped and got another turkey leg to share. DS and DM had gotten some ice cream.
We had arranged to meet at the Indy Jones stunt show, but I stopped by Prime Time Café to confirm our dining time, and to remind them it was my DMs birthday (she had gotten another button at AK this morning). We watched Indy together, then DS started complaining that Grandma thinks Im a baby. She wanted me to watch Playhouse Disney! So we decided to stick together for a while. We went to the GMR which ended up being the longest wait of the trip. It was about 30 minutes in line, but it turned out that was when it rained, so at least we were dry. We had pulled FP for Star Tours which were ready then, so we headed that way. DS didnt want to ride, so he and I waited in the gift shop for the others. I offered to take the kids back to the hotel to swim while DM saw Beauty and the Beast, but surprisingly the kids didnt want to do that. DD wanted to see B&B, and DS just couldn't decide so we stayed. The kids played in the Honey I shrunk the kids playground while we waited for the B&B time.
A rare picture of my kids together, actually touching each other, and not fighting!
DM and DH took DD to B&B. DS finally decided on Millionaire again, and we fit in the animation tour before meeting back up just in time for our PS for Prime Time. When I made the PS, I thought the park would be open until 9, but it turned out that it closed at 7. Our PS was 6:25, so needless to say, we missed Fantasmic. DD pouted a bit over that, especially since she had really liked Illuminations. A couple of reminders that it was Grandmas birthday and this was her dinner finally settled that down. Our server was Uncle Tim, and he was just about right. The other server in our room was a bit obnoxious. DD got caught up by him in another tables punishment, so she had to sing Im a little teapot.
Notice the hand motions here!
We all laughed really hard through most of the dinner. We finished up about 7:25, and DM and the kids headed out to Pop Century via bus.
DH and I had talked about going back to Epcot for the CP, but decided that we were pooped. We took the 10 minute walk back to Boardwalk, picked up our packages that had been shipped and had a light dessert on the Boardwalk. I decided to go ahead and knock out the laundry then instead of the morning, and Im glad I did. By the time it was done, it was almost 11. I packed up the warmer clothes into a separate bag, since we wouldnt be using them on the cruise, then got everything set for the morning.
Final thoughts on a whirlwind WDW trip:
BWV Boy is this an awesome place! The studio was a bit cramped for 4 people, but the sofa bed was pretty comfortable, and having a fridge, microwave and coffee maker made our mornings a lot smoother! Without those facilities, the lack of quick breakfast options other than bakery items would have been much more of an issue. I loved the free washers and dryers too. The kids really liked the pool. We never made it to Community Hall, but that would have saved us some arcade $ (DH thought the arcade WAS community hall, until I found it on the way back from MGM). Overall, that was the best value for WDW resort money that Ive spent in 6 WDW trips!
Crowds crowds, what crowds???? The perfect time of year to visit as long as swimming isnt very important to you. The weather was really only cold that first night. The rest of the time it was either shirtsleeve or sweatshirt weather.
Pace I realized that my DM is in pretty good shape. There would have been no way to do all that we did with my in-laws. The trip would have been radically different with them. Lots more time in Epcot and at the shows in MGM, less MK. I know we walked at least 10 miles each day, and at a pretty good pace. The commando style was okay for 2 days, but not any longer. DS asked me Friday night, Mom, can I not have any wake up calls during the cruise? And other than the mandatory immigration days, we didnt! The two days were a good warm up to the cruise. The kids are big enough now to ride any ride that there is, so we saw a lot that we didnt in the past. And theyre big enough to not want to do the kiddie things, so we missed a lot of those things.
Overall, it was a fun, but exhausting trip. Now for the relaxation part, Ill post that on the cruise trip report boards.
Cast: Me (40), DH (47), DD (12 ½) DS (11 ½) staying at BWVs
Mom (late 60s) staying at Pop Century
Another morning wake up call, but again, I was already up and ready. I set the wake up call for 6:30 and let the kids linger a little longer in bed. We were out the door by 7:45 though, and at AK by 8:10 or so. DM had gotten an earlier start and was on the first safari of the day. We met up with her and split up again. DM and DS were going to ride the safari again, then we were going to meet at the first Lion King show (9:30 or so). DH, DD and I went to ride Dinosaur. When we got there, Dinosaur was down, so we pulled fast passes and rode Primeval Whirl before heading to Lion King. DM called and said they had just gotten off the safari. Since the doors were closing, I knew there was no way theyd get there in time. She and DS rode Kali (he rode it twice), without getting too wet, walked the gorilla trail, and met us at the exit to Lion King. Once again, LK was an AWESOME show! DH and DD waited to meet up with Stitch, while we headed over to Tarzan Rocks (our first time seeing that). They met us in time for the show.
DD with Lilo and Stitch (of course, Stitch was her real goal, Lilo was just along for the ride!)
DM took DS to the Boneyard while the rest of us used our Dinosaur fast passes. Another successful journey through time, although DD still buried her head. Since no one was up for Tough to be a Bug, we left about 11:00 for MGM.
An easy bus ride later, we again split up into the thrill ride and non-thrill ride groups. DM and DS went to watch Who Wants to be a Millionaire, while the rest of us headed toward ToT and RnR. I pulled fast passes for RnR (couldnt find the wait time listed), and we rode ToT twice with no wait. In fact, I had to backtrack to see what the dropped letters spelled out. There were some people in the waiting room the 2nd time who had to recite along with Rod Serling, but they quit when the CM asked them to. We all REALLY liked this ride! I know we had at least 4-5 drops each time. It was really great! Our RnR fast passes were good, so we headed that way to find NO WAIT on either line. We all rode, then I sat and wrote some notes while DH and DD went again with no wait. We stopped and got another turkey leg to share. DS and DM had gotten some ice cream.
We had arranged to meet at the Indy Jones stunt show, but I stopped by Prime Time Café to confirm our dining time, and to remind them it was my DMs birthday (she had gotten another button at AK this morning). We watched Indy together, then DS started complaining that Grandma thinks Im a baby. She wanted me to watch Playhouse Disney! So we decided to stick together for a while. We went to the GMR which ended up being the longest wait of the trip. It was about 30 minutes in line, but it turned out that was when it rained, so at least we were dry. We had pulled FP for Star Tours which were ready then, so we headed that way. DS didnt want to ride, so he and I waited in the gift shop for the others. I offered to take the kids back to the hotel to swim while DM saw Beauty and the Beast, but surprisingly the kids didnt want to do that. DD wanted to see B&B, and DS just couldn't decide so we stayed. The kids played in the Honey I shrunk the kids playground while we waited for the B&B time.
A rare picture of my kids together, actually touching each other, and not fighting!
DM and DH took DD to B&B. DS finally decided on Millionaire again, and we fit in the animation tour before meeting back up just in time for our PS for Prime Time. When I made the PS, I thought the park would be open until 9, but it turned out that it closed at 7. Our PS was 6:25, so needless to say, we missed Fantasmic. DD pouted a bit over that, especially since she had really liked Illuminations. A couple of reminders that it was Grandmas birthday and this was her dinner finally settled that down. Our server was Uncle Tim, and he was just about right. The other server in our room was a bit obnoxious. DD got caught up by him in another tables punishment, so she had to sing Im a little teapot.
Notice the hand motions here!
We all laughed really hard through most of the dinner. We finished up about 7:25, and DM and the kids headed out to Pop Century via bus.
DH and I had talked about going back to Epcot for the CP, but decided that we were pooped. We took the 10 minute walk back to Boardwalk, picked up our packages that had been shipped and had a light dessert on the Boardwalk. I decided to go ahead and knock out the laundry then instead of the morning, and Im glad I did. By the time it was done, it was almost 11. I packed up the warmer clothes into a separate bag, since we wouldnt be using them on the cruise, then got everything set for the morning.
Final thoughts on a whirlwind WDW trip:
BWV Boy is this an awesome place! The studio was a bit cramped for 4 people, but the sofa bed was pretty comfortable, and having a fridge, microwave and coffee maker made our mornings a lot smoother! Without those facilities, the lack of quick breakfast options other than bakery items would have been much more of an issue. I loved the free washers and dryers too. The kids really liked the pool. We never made it to Community Hall, but that would have saved us some arcade $ (DH thought the arcade WAS community hall, until I found it on the way back from MGM). Overall, that was the best value for WDW resort money that Ive spent in 6 WDW trips!
Crowds crowds, what crowds???? The perfect time of year to visit as long as swimming isnt very important to you. The weather was really only cold that first night. The rest of the time it was either shirtsleeve or sweatshirt weather.
Pace I realized that my DM is in pretty good shape. There would have been no way to do all that we did with my in-laws. The trip would have been radically different with them. Lots more time in Epcot and at the shows in MGM, less MK. I know we walked at least 10 miles each day, and at a pretty good pace. The commando style was okay for 2 days, but not any longer. DS asked me Friday night, Mom, can I not have any wake up calls during the cruise? And other than the mandatory immigration days, we didnt! The two days were a good warm up to the cruise. The kids are big enough now to ride any ride that there is, so we saw a lot that we didnt in the past. And theyre big enough to not want to do the kiddie things, so we missed a lot of those things.
Overall, it was a fun, but exhausting trip. Now for the relaxation part, Ill post that on the cruise trip report boards.
