After a day at Epcot we returned to our room and the girls and I showered. This became our pattern and it worked really well for us. This let us look fresh and decent for dinners and let us get up and out quickly in the mornings. Mike would shower in the morning while I got the girls up.
I should say that I found that the most effective way of waking them was to turn the TV on and Stacy's voice would quickly rouse them from sleep. Skylar was just horrified by Stacy, asking me repeatedly "What is WRONG with that lady?". On our third day or so, she said. "Hey, I know what it is Stacy needs some Ritalin!"
Let me just say here that we absolutely loved our room at the Poly. It was a refurbished room. The day bed was a wonderful plus and the room was nice and big. The little pull out table worked great for breakfast and the hallway outside the bathroom worked as our mini "kitchen" where we kept our food (in the fridge and on the shelf) and our supplies like napkins, cups, plates and utensils.
The only thing that was a sort of problem was the shower head. It seemed to be placed at just the correct height....if one were a pygmie. I had to kind of bend down. But this had some upsides.
First, the shower was the perfect height for the girls. Second, Mike, lets just say, likes to indulge in long showers. At home, he (and I) have our own showers. His had 6, count em 6 different heads and is the size of a small NY apartment (mine has a measly 2). Mike's showers can last 40 minutes!
But here the shower's properties kind of helped speed him up a little! He was in and out in 12 minutes, which made the start of our day a lot more efficient!
Anyway, we showered and relaxed and made our way to the monorail. We made our way around to the Contemporaty from the TTC and then to Chef Mickeys.
Now I had sort of been dreading this meal. I had made the reseravations before spending time on the DIS and I was worried about what I heard. And after the so-so meal at the Crystal Palace, I didn't think this was going to be very good.
Well we were all pleasently suprised. Skylar and Sophie chowed down on the Prime Rib and Parmesan Potatoes and I had the chicken, which was very moist and good tasting, as well as the yummy potatoes.
Mike does not really eat meat, but he found the Salmon to be just fine. And he like the veggies and salads.
The desserts were a lot of fun too. The girls made their own Sundaes. I don't like ice cream (weird I know), but took some cheescake and poured chocatalate syrup and candy over it and it was yummy. I also indulged in a big helping of my favorite candies: gummy bears and snow caps. I was delighted with the meal.
As for the character interaction, it was fine. We really don't go for that anyway. We go to the character meals becasue for our family buffets work out the best.
After we finished dinner it was early ennough to go to the Magic Kingdom. I told the girls that we might not be able to do much except look around becasuse it was too late to start with standing in long line.
Well, we arrived and the crowds were already starting to form for the parade (more than ONE hour before Parade time) We wanted to avoid the crowds so we took the train to Frontierland which worked out great.
At that point there were NO lines and we were able to do Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. The girls were thrilled with both. One thing that made it more enjoyable for all was that we had the Ponchos in our bag. When we got on Splash Mountain we put the small ones on the seats and the large ones we put over us like blankets. This meant we came off the ride perfectly dry. It was nice out, but if we'd been wet we would have been miserable!
As we were walking around we got to the Jungle Curise. I remembered that ride as terribly corny but since there was no line we did it. Well, I have to say that the Jungle Cruise at night is 10 times better than it is during the day.
It's harder to see the fakiness of the animals at night and the whole thing is just more fun as the boats light hit one area at a time.
We also went onto Pirates of the Carribean, which was good, at least when you did not wait in any line for it!
At that point, we wanted to go home. We made our way back. Jumped on the express monorail and got back to the hotel. As we were leaving the park the girls asked why so many people were coming. We explained it was to see the fireworks. The girls expressed their desire to do so also. I just smiled and said "we will...sometime".
We got back to the hotel and the girls got into p.j.'s and read for awhile. At 9:55 I said "Do you really want to see the fireworks tonight" I got a resounding "YES!!!".
"Come on then, put on your sandals" The girls looked at me like I was nuts, but did so. I led them out of the room and the 30 feet or so to the edge of the beach. Just then the first fireworks exploded. Of course we had a perfect beautiful view. The girls could not believe it!
After the grand finale, we walked back to the room and the girls were in their beds 5 minutes later. "Mommy", said Sophie, "You picked the best hotel for us"
Why thank you Sophie, I agree, if I do say so myself!
I should say that I found that the most effective way of waking them was to turn the TV on and Stacy's voice would quickly rouse them from sleep. Skylar was just horrified by Stacy, asking me repeatedly "What is WRONG with that lady?". On our third day or so, she said. "Hey, I know what it is Stacy needs some Ritalin!"
Let me just say here that we absolutely loved our room at the Poly. It was a refurbished room. The day bed was a wonderful plus and the room was nice and big. The little pull out table worked great for breakfast and the hallway outside the bathroom worked as our mini "kitchen" where we kept our food (in the fridge and on the shelf) and our supplies like napkins, cups, plates and utensils.
The only thing that was a sort of problem was the shower head. It seemed to be placed at just the correct height....if one were a pygmie. I had to kind of bend down. But this had some upsides.
First, the shower was the perfect height for the girls. Second, Mike, lets just say, likes to indulge in long showers. At home, he (and I) have our own showers. His had 6, count em 6 different heads and is the size of a small NY apartment (mine has a measly 2). Mike's showers can last 40 minutes!
But here the shower's properties kind of helped speed him up a little! He was in and out in 12 minutes, which made the start of our day a lot more efficient!
Anyway, we showered and relaxed and made our way to the monorail. We made our way around to the Contemporaty from the TTC and then to Chef Mickeys.
Now I had sort of been dreading this meal. I had made the reseravations before spending time on the DIS and I was worried about what I heard. And after the so-so meal at the Crystal Palace, I didn't think this was going to be very good.
Well we were all pleasently suprised. Skylar and Sophie chowed down on the Prime Rib and Parmesan Potatoes and I had the chicken, which was very moist and good tasting, as well as the yummy potatoes.
Mike does not really eat meat, but he found the Salmon to be just fine. And he like the veggies and salads.
The desserts were a lot of fun too. The girls made their own Sundaes. I don't like ice cream (weird I know), but took some cheescake and poured chocatalate syrup and candy over it and it was yummy. I also indulged in a big helping of my favorite candies: gummy bears and snow caps. I was delighted with the meal.
As for the character interaction, it was fine. We really don't go for that anyway. We go to the character meals becasue for our family buffets work out the best.
After we finished dinner it was early ennough to go to the Magic Kingdom. I told the girls that we might not be able to do much except look around becasuse it was too late to start with standing in long line.
Well, we arrived and the crowds were already starting to form for the parade (more than ONE hour before Parade time) We wanted to avoid the crowds so we took the train to Frontierland which worked out great.
At that point there were NO lines and we were able to do Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. The girls were thrilled with both. One thing that made it more enjoyable for all was that we had the Ponchos in our bag. When we got on Splash Mountain we put the small ones on the seats and the large ones we put over us like blankets. This meant we came off the ride perfectly dry. It was nice out, but if we'd been wet we would have been miserable!
As we were walking around we got to the Jungle Curise. I remembered that ride as terribly corny but since there was no line we did it. Well, I have to say that the Jungle Cruise at night is 10 times better than it is during the day.
It's harder to see the fakiness of the animals at night and the whole thing is just more fun as the boats light hit one area at a time.
We also went onto Pirates of the Carribean, which was good, at least when you did not wait in any line for it!
At that point, we wanted to go home. We made our way back. Jumped on the express monorail and got back to the hotel. As we were leaving the park the girls asked why so many people were coming. We explained it was to see the fireworks. The girls expressed their desire to do so also. I just smiled and said "we will...sometime".
We got back to the hotel and the girls got into p.j.'s and read for awhile. At 9:55 I said "Do you really want to see the fireworks tonight" I got a resounding "YES!!!".
"Come on then, put on your sandals" The girls looked at me like I was nuts, but did so. I led them out of the room and the 30 feet or so to the edge of the beach. Just then the first fireworks exploded. Of course we had a perfect beautiful view. The girls could not believe it!
After the grand finale, we walked back to the room and the girls were in their beds 5 minutes later. "Mommy", said Sophie, "You picked the best hotel for us"
Why thank you Sophie, I agree, if I do say so myself!
