Well, I'm back. Not feeling very Disney at the moment, but I'm hoping reliving our trip will bring a much needed smile. My grandmother was hospitalized on the kids' second day of school, just as the back-to-school rush was settling down and thinking I could enjoy the peace of being home without the kids all day for the first time ever. So I've spent the last week (God, it seems like longer than that!) helping my mom make decisions about feeding tubes and trying to get my grandmother's house a little closer to sale-ready.
I wish our next Disney trip wasn't so far away...
But the next best thing is thinking about our last trip.
So, where did I leave off? Oh yeah - The Pirate & Princess Party!
A sidenote: Forgive the quality of the night shots. I was shooting in my camera's no-flash night mode for most of the evening, but haven't had a chance to run them through Photoshop to smooth the grainy look that I get when I'm shooting with that setting.
I was actually sort of reluctant to get tickets to the party, because we went to
MNSSHP in '05 and it was PACKED. Much more crowded than the parks were during the day on that trip. So between the heat and the crowds, we didn't get to do much, and I wasn't especially impressed with the experience. But the favorable reports combined with the fact that I know a little better how to avoid crowds now - that MNSSHP was on a Friday, no wonder it was crowded! - made me decide to give it a shot.
We got to the party around 8, so I wasn't surprised that there were no lines at the gate. The red carpets as you go under the train station were a nice touch.
When we got to the grassy area there at the foot of Main Street, I was simply floored. I snapped this picture with no thought to framing or composition, and DS wandered into the frame at the last second, but it gives a good idea of just how empty the park was:
And of course, the castle:
Let me tell you, there is no better cure for a migraine than walking onto Main Street and seeing that castle, and the grins on the kids' faces because this is the moment when it really sinks in that we're at Disney World, and reality and stress and worries are all a thousand miles away.
The crowds were lighter than I'd ever seen them, and we had a great time. We headed for Adventureland and PotC first thing. The pirate tutorial was just starting when we got there, so we stayed for the show. All I have to say is Capt Jack....
Great casting!
We rode the Magic Carpets twice - why not? They were a walk on! - and PotC. We were the only ones in our boat on PotC! I simply couldn't believe how empty the park was. It was nothing short of fabulous, and I'm hoping hoping hoping they'll bring the parties back again for January, just in time for DS's birthday trip.
We have ridden PotC since the rehab that added the movie tie-ins, and I was really impressed by the Davy Jones effect at the beginning.
We had a great time looking for Capt Jack, and the AA figures of him really were very lifelike.
The one at the end:
By this time, it was close to fireworks time and we headed back towards Main Street for to watch the show from near Crystal Palace. Unfortunately, I'd forgotten DD's earplugs, and the noise really bothered her. This worked out okay, though, because even though I missed most of the fireworks, we headed over to Capt Jack and got to meet him with only a 15 minute wait.
This Jack wasn't as good a likeness, but boy did he have the mannerisms down. As we were leaving, the girl behind us said to him "All my friends love you", and without missing a beat he came back with "What a coincidence. I love me too!"
After meeting Jack, we headed back to Frontierland. We ran into Jasmine on the way, and true to her word she remembered DD from Epcot, which just made DD's night!
Of course we had to ride the carpets again since there was no line. By the time we made it to Frontierland, the late parade was just getting ready to start, so we found ourselves a spot and watched the show. This was another of my moments, where I realized how low the crowds really were - we got there less than 5 minutes before the parade started, and we could see!
Once the parade passed, we hit a couple more treasure spots on our way to Splash Mountain. Splash is DS's favorite ride, and I love it too, but my mom & DD don't ride the big rides, so just the two of us headed off while DM & DD found a bench and set to snacking on some of their treasures. Like everything else all night, Splash was a walk on, so we rode twice.
I was really glad to have those few moments with DS, because he tends to bring up the most interesting things at moments like that - he hadn't seemed to be having fun that morning at Epcot, but at the top of Splash Mountain, waiting to go crashing down into the water, he was willing to tell me why (he had to miss a visit with his little half-brother to come on the trip, and even though he was having a great time, he was bummed about that). He's such a sweet, sensitive kid and he tends to keep a lot of things bottled up, so moments like that are very precious with him.
As always, I thought about how much I want a watertight case for my camera. I love the view from the top of Splash Mountain, and it is even better at night! Before the next trip, I'm going to have to get the case I've been eyeing, so I can get a pic of that view next time.
From Frontierland, we headed towards Fantasyland, hitting a few last treasure spots along the way. DD saw Cinderella's coach and had to have her picture taken with it
We also ran into Hook & Smee near the Libery Belle dock, and even DS got in on the fun with them.
At this point, it was getting close to closing time, but I was the only one getting tired, probably because the Tylenol was wearing off. I rode Cinderella's Carrousel with DD and even that little bit of spinning was too much, so I sat out when she headed for Dumbo. She made it onto the last ride of the night at Dumbo, and then we headed out to the bus stop. Some of the treasure stops were still open, and at one, the CM gave the kids all the beads she had left (about a half-dozen per kid). Another CM noticed DD's birthday button and gave her about 10 sheets of the princess tattoos they were handing out. DD is still giving those to her friends! Every little girl in the neighborhood was sporting a princess tattoo on the first day of school!
Next up: Magic Kingdom in the light of day, and a birthday dinner with Cinderella and her Prince
Oh well, I'll make sure to post the next installment tomorrow, because I'm not starting over tonight!
