shatzjsl
<font color=teal>No wonder I love DIS boards so mu
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2004
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Day 2 - Sunday, June 4, 2005
Cast:
Me: Trip planner, age unimportant, 2nd trip to WDW
Mimi My mom, 62, 1st trip to WDW
Maddie my niece, 12, 1st trip to WDW
Lauren my daughter, 11, 2nd trip to WDW
Special appearances by coworker Julie and her family (DH Bob, DS Tyler-15, and DD Josie-6)
Before I get started, I completely forgot to mention in Day 1 that while walking back to FW from the UK at Epcot I heard my name being called. It was fellow DISer kpm76 and her DH! I had on my lime green DIS shirt and she remembered that I had posted it. It was so cool to run into a DISer on our first day and my mom was sufficiently impressed! Shout out to kmp76!!
We woke at 7:00 to Mickey and Stitch and did all of our morning stuff to get ready and were out the door at 8:00 to head to Animal Kingdom. We got to the turnstiles and everyone (about 40 people) was in line at one turnstile. Another example of the herd mentality I guess. We walked over to two empty turnstiles and two of us lined up at each one. Other people in the long line noticed and finally lined up at the other turnstiles. People kept asking me questions and I couldn't figure out why until one man asked me how long I had worked at WDW. I laughed and said I don't and he pointed to my name tag. Then I realized that people were seeing my Guest of Honor name badge and were thinking that I worked there. Funny thing was, I was able to answer all of their questions!
When the music started and the turnstiles opened I told the girls that Mimi and I were going to walk but if they wanted to run to the rope they could. Of course being 11 and 12 they had boundless energy so they took off at a sprint. When Mimi and I turned the corner and headed down the hill to the rope Lauren and Maddie were talking to a couple of CM's standing there. When we reached them one CM asked us to follow him. I thought, "Oh, goodie, we get to open the park" He let the four of us past the rope and told us to follow him. I thought that was weird because last year when we were at rope drop the opening family stood there with a rope and waited for the characters to come and then followed the character jeep back to the safari. Instead the CM and us four started walking back toward the safari. He gave us a walking tour on the way back and told us a lot of the history and stuff about what we were seeing. When we got to the entrance of the safari he told us that he was our safari guide and we were going to get the first safari of the day and it would be private!! Woohoo!! We were so excited!! I had never heard of this happening before!
Our safari was great! Just our guide, the driver, and us. And, who should the CM be working the safari loading? The DIS's very own PandyPaws!! She had seen the "Thanks for the Magic" card I gave our guide and knew we must be DISers! Jambo, PandyPaws!!
During the safari we stopped several times to that we could get better looks at the animals and learn more about them. We had a tense moment when a duck decided to take a nap in the middle of the road and wouldn't move. He finally did and we were on our way to saving Little Red. At the end of the safari the CM (I am blank on his name!) gave us an all day FP for the safari! (which we never used but it is a great souvenir) What a magical way to start the day!!
After the safari we entered the forest trail and looked at all the creatures there. It was a nice relaxing walk without a lot of people around. The gorillas were out and I got a great shot of the silverback. We talked about taking the train to Rafikki's but decided against it and decided to head to Tough to be a Bug. On the way Lauren spotted the tattoo cart and just couldn't survive the rest of our vacation without a Tink tattoo on her stomach
Maddie couldn't find one she liked because none of them were Pooh and only Pooh would do.
We walked slowly through the ITTBAB line and looked at all the creatures on the Tree of Life. We reached the entrance and waited about 5 minutes for the current show to end and then headed inside. This was the first time to see this show for all of us because Lauren and I didn't spend much time at AK last year so I kind of knew what to expect but not exactly. We enjoyed the show and the water felt good because it was already hot at AK. Fate stepped in at the end of the show and I dropped my water bottle and had to lean over to get it just as the hornets attacked. Yea for me!!! The rest of the family wasn't as amused as I was though.
We then headed over to Dinoland to check it out. The girls weren't interested in the dig site so we headed over to Triceratops Spin, which had a 5-minute wait. The girls rode it and then headed over to Primeval Whirl. Mimi and I don't do spinning well so the girls got in the 20-minute line while Mimi and I used our tickets to get FP for Dinosaur for the girls. Not gonna get me on Dinosaur, no way, no how! After the girls went for a whirl Lauren wanted to play one of the games. I still don't understand why they are there. They seem so out of place. Anyway, Lauren and I did a roll the ball race and she beat me and got a stuffed frog.
Then it was time for the girls to use their Dinosaur FP. Lauren looked at me like I was crazy if I thought she was going to ride it and Maddie looked at me like I was crazy if I thought she wasn't going to ride it. The only problem was who was going to ride it with her. Mimi just gave me that look that moms give their kids and I knew that I was going to have to take one for the team. Oh, the humanity!! Maddie thought it was funny that I was so scared before I even got on the ride. She asked how I knew it was scary. I said because my DIS friends said so and they wouldn't lie to me. Would you? Anyway, we were standing in line about 20 people back and Super hearing Maddie heard the CM yell for 2 people. I swear I never heard the guy. Her arm shot up and she said "2 here!" Crud! I thought I had at least a few more minutes to prepare myself and here's Maddie pulling me by the arm to get in the next jeep!
Away we went through time to find some dinosaur. All I can remember is that it was dark. I decided I had better hold Maddie's hand since I was sure she was scared. That is until she asked me to let go because I was squeezing HER hand so hard 
I knew that any moment some big bad dino was going to jump out at me but wasn't sure when. Well, buddy, let me tell you, he scared the you know what out of me! I screamed like I didn't know I could scream! The rest of the ride was a complete blur. Then next thing that I can remember is looking at the picture. It was so funny! You see pictures of people acting like they were really scared. That was me, but I wasn't acting. My eyes are bulging, my hands were up, and my mouth is wide open in mid scream! 
Maddie was sitting there just smiling. I decided not to buy the picture because I decided that I don't look very appealing when I am scared senseless!
After Dinosaur it was really hot so we decided to head back to CBR for a swim. On the way I saw the sign for McDonalds and must have read it out loud because from the back seat both girls said "Mmmm, McDonalds. drool" (think Homer Simpson and donuts) So being the great mom and aunt that I am , I exited and we took our McD's back to CBR for lunch.
We rested and swam for a couple of hours and then decided to head to Downtown Disney for some shopping. Ouch! My charge card got quite a work out! I recently redecorated my downstairs 1/2 bath in Mickey and picked up a few decorating items and some items for the kitchen, and then I had to have the 50th CD and a ring and some earrings. Ack! Get me out of here!! While at DTD, my coworker Julie who was driving from Dallas called to say that they had arrived and had been able to get a room three doors down from us! Yea!! We headed back to CBR and met up with Julie and family and recapped our days and their drive.
After catching up we all loaded into Julie's SUV and headed over to the Contemporary for our 6:50 ARS at Chef Mickey's and Wishes Cruise. I had warned Julie and her DH about the 3-hour parking pass at CR but it wasn't a problem. The guard looked at the CBR parking pass and waved us on. We didn't even have to tell him why we were there. CM's was fun as always and we got to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Chip, and Dale. This was Julie and fam's first WDW trip and she just kept saying "I can't believe I'm really here I felt so happy for her! After dinner we had time for a trip around the monorail and time to press a few pennies.
Then it was time to head to the CR dock for our Wishes cruise. Besides the eight of us another DISer, grumpyandbashful, and her DH and DD joined us. We left the docks around 9:20 on our pontoon boat and headed around the island and our captain told us some of the history and showed us the "shoe tree". We were moving along and we saw all of these boat lights and I thought that there must have been a lot of Wishes cruises leaving the CR. Then the music started and the boats lit up! It was the Electric Water Pageant!
Cool! None of us had ever seen it! We loved it!! After the parade we headed over towards MK via the scenic route of viewing the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian. Our driver was trying to get around the little island to park the boat and ferry's were coming from both directions so he had to kick it in high gear and go the other way around and Wishes stared about 30 seconds after he parked the boat. Beautiful as always! The music wasn't piped in but we could hear it from a Grand Gathering boat nearby.
After the cruise we headed back to CR, paid the driver, hopped in the SUV and headed back to CBR. We were all in bed by 11:00 having Disney dreams!
Coming next: Magical start at Magic Kingdom!
Day 3, Part I
Cast:
Me: Trip planner, age unimportant, 2nd trip to WDW
Mimi My mom, 62, 1st trip to WDW
Maddie my niece, 12, 1st trip to WDW
Lauren my daughter, 11, 2nd trip to WDW
Special appearances by coworker Julie and her family (DH Bob, DS Tyler-15, and DD Josie-6)
Before I get started, I completely forgot to mention in Day 1 that while walking back to FW from the UK at Epcot I heard my name being called. It was fellow DISer kpm76 and her DH! I had on my lime green DIS shirt and she remembered that I had posted it. It was so cool to run into a DISer on our first day and my mom was sufficiently impressed! Shout out to kmp76!!
We woke at 7:00 to Mickey and Stitch and did all of our morning stuff to get ready and were out the door at 8:00 to head to Animal Kingdom. We got to the turnstiles and everyone (about 40 people) was in line at one turnstile. Another example of the herd mentality I guess. We walked over to two empty turnstiles and two of us lined up at each one. Other people in the long line noticed and finally lined up at the other turnstiles. People kept asking me questions and I couldn't figure out why until one man asked me how long I had worked at WDW. I laughed and said I don't and he pointed to my name tag. Then I realized that people were seeing my Guest of Honor name badge and were thinking that I worked there. Funny thing was, I was able to answer all of their questions!
When the music started and the turnstiles opened I told the girls that Mimi and I were going to walk but if they wanted to run to the rope they could. Of course being 11 and 12 they had boundless energy so they took off at a sprint. When Mimi and I turned the corner and headed down the hill to the rope Lauren and Maddie were talking to a couple of CM's standing there. When we reached them one CM asked us to follow him. I thought, "Oh, goodie, we get to open the park" He let the four of us past the rope and told us to follow him. I thought that was weird because last year when we were at rope drop the opening family stood there with a rope and waited for the characters to come and then followed the character jeep back to the safari. Instead the CM and us four started walking back toward the safari. He gave us a walking tour on the way back and told us a lot of the history and stuff about what we were seeing. When we got to the entrance of the safari he told us that he was our safari guide and we were going to get the first safari of the day and it would be private!! Woohoo!! We were so excited!! I had never heard of this happening before!
Our safari was great! Just our guide, the driver, and us. And, who should the CM be working the safari loading? The DIS's very own PandyPaws!! She had seen the "Thanks for the Magic" card I gave our guide and knew we must be DISers! Jambo, PandyPaws!!
During the safari we stopped several times to that we could get better looks at the animals and learn more about them. We had a tense moment when a duck decided to take a nap in the middle of the road and wouldn't move. He finally did and we were on our way to saving Little Red. At the end of the safari the CM (I am blank on his name!) gave us an all day FP for the safari! (which we never used but it is a great souvenir) What a magical way to start the day!!
After the safari we entered the forest trail and looked at all the creatures there. It was a nice relaxing walk without a lot of people around. The gorillas were out and I got a great shot of the silverback. We talked about taking the train to Rafikki's but decided against it and decided to head to Tough to be a Bug. On the way Lauren spotted the tattoo cart and just couldn't survive the rest of our vacation without a Tink tattoo on her stomach
Maddie couldn't find one she liked because none of them were Pooh and only Pooh would do.We walked slowly through the ITTBAB line and looked at all the creatures on the Tree of Life. We reached the entrance and waited about 5 minutes for the current show to end and then headed inside. This was the first time to see this show for all of us because Lauren and I didn't spend much time at AK last year so I kind of knew what to expect but not exactly. We enjoyed the show and the water felt good because it was already hot at AK. Fate stepped in at the end of the show and I dropped my water bottle and had to lean over to get it just as the hornets attacked. Yea for me!!! The rest of the family wasn't as amused as I was though.
We then headed over to Dinoland to check it out. The girls weren't interested in the dig site so we headed over to Triceratops Spin, which had a 5-minute wait. The girls rode it and then headed over to Primeval Whirl. Mimi and I don't do spinning well so the girls got in the 20-minute line while Mimi and I used our tickets to get FP for Dinosaur for the girls. Not gonna get me on Dinosaur, no way, no how! After the girls went for a whirl Lauren wanted to play one of the games. I still don't understand why they are there. They seem so out of place. Anyway, Lauren and I did a roll the ball race and she beat me and got a stuffed frog.
Then it was time for the girls to use their Dinosaur FP. Lauren looked at me like I was crazy if I thought she was going to ride it and Maddie looked at me like I was crazy if I thought she wasn't going to ride it. The only problem was who was going to ride it with her. Mimi just gave me that look that moms give their kids and I knew that I was going to have to take one for the team. Oh, the humanity!! Maddie thought it was funny that I was so scared before I even got on the ride. She asked how I knew it was scary. I said because my DIS friends said so and they wouldn't lie to me. Would you? Anyway, we were standing in line about 20 people back and Super hearing Maddie heard the CM yell for 2 people. I swear I never heard the guy. Her arm shot up and she said "2 here!" Crud! I thought I had at least a few more minutes to prepare myself and here's Maddie pulling me by the arm to get in the next jeep!
Away we went through time to find some dinosaur. All I can remember is that it was dark. I decided I had better hold Maddie's hand since I was sure she was scared. That is until she asked me to let go because I was squeezing HER hand so hard I knew that any moment some big bad dino was going to jump out at me but wasn't sure when. Well, buddy, let me tell you, he scared the you know what out of me! I screamed like I didn't know I could scream! The rest of the ride was a complete blur. Then next thing that I can remember is looking at the picture. It was so funny! You see pictures of people acting like they were really scared. That was me, but I wasn't acting. My eyes are bulging, my hands were up, and my mouth is wide open in mid scream! Maddie was sitting there just smiling. I decided not to buy the picture because I decided that I don't look very appealing when I am scared senseless!After Dinosaur it was really hot so we decided to head back to CBR for a swim. On the way I saw the sign for McDonalds and must have read it out loud because from the back seat both girls said "Mmmm, McDonalds. drool" (think Homer Simpson and donuts) So being the great mom and aunt that I am
, I exited and we took our McD's back to CBR for lunch. We rested and swam for a couple of hours and then decided to head to Downtown Disney for some shopping. Ouch! My charge card got quite a work out! I recently redecorated my downstairs 1/2 bath in Mickey and picked up a few decorating items and some items for the kitchen, and then I had to have the 50th CD and a ring and some earrings. Ack! Get me out of here!! While at DTD, my coworker Julie who was driving from Dallas called to say that they had arrived and had been able to get a room three doors down from us! Yea!! We headed back to CBR and met up with Julie and family and recapped our days and their drive.
After catching up we all loaded into Julie's SUV and headed over to the Contemporary for our 6:50 ARS at Chef Mickey's and Wishes Cruise. I had warned Julie and her DH about the 3-hour parking pass at CR but it wasn't a problem. The guard looked at the CBR parking pass and waved us on. We didn't even have to tell him why we were there. CM's was fun as always and we got to see Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Pluto, Chip, and Dale. This was Julie and fam's first WDW trip and she just kept saying "I can't believe I'm really here I felt so happy for her! After dinner we had time for a trip around the monorail and time to press a few pennies.
Then it was time to head to the CR dock for our Wishes cruise. Besides the eight of us another DISer, grumpyandbashful, and her DH and DD joined us. We left the docks around 9:20 on our pontoon boat and headed around the island and our captain told us some of the history and showed us the "shoe tree". We were moving along and we saw all of these boat lights and I thought that there must have been a lot of Wishes cruises leaving the CR. Then the music started and the boats lit up! It was the Electric Water Pageant!
Cool! None of us had ever seen it! We loved it!! After the parade we headed over towards MK via the scenic route of viewing the Grand Floridian and the Polynesian. Our driver was trying to get around the little island to park the boat and ferry's were coming from both directions so he had to kick it in high gear and go the other way around and Wishes stared about 30 seconds after he parked the boat. Beautiful as always! The music wasn't piped in but we could hear it from a Grand Gathering boat nearby.After the cruise we headed back to CR, paid the driver, hopped in the SUV and headed back to CBR. We were all in bed by 11:00 having Disney dreams!
Coming next: Magical start at Magic Kingdom!
Day 3, Part I
.
