nzdisneymom
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- Sep 27, 2003
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Who: Cindy, Gary, Nathan (10) and Zachary (9)
When: Friday, Sept 22 - Sunday, Sept 24
Where: Saratoga Springs Resort / Magic Kingdom
Why: Belated celebration of Nathan's 10th birthday and On-time celebration of Zachary's 9th birthday
We left home on Friday afternoon and drove our usual route with our usual stops down to Walt Disney World, arriving just as the horse-racing trumpets sounded 8 p.m. at Saratoga Springs Resort. SSR is our "home resort" for our DVC membership and this was our 2nd trip "home." We got a studio in Congress Park (1323) with a view of Downtown Disney from our balcony. We got settled in and DH went for a long run (he's training for the Disney Marathon in January).
Saturday morning, Nathan and I got up earlier than the crack of dawn as we were off to do the Magic Behind Our Steam Trains tour at the Magic Kingdom. For as long as we can remember, Nathan has said when he grows up, he wants to be an engineer for the train at the Magic Kingdom. So for his 10th birthday, we got him tickets for the tour (you have to be age 10 to do the tour - and he turned 10 over the summer when our season passes were blacked out). We caught the first bus from Saratoga Springs (6:40 a.m.) over to the Magic Kingdom. We were the only guests on the bus, so we sat near the front and our bus driver (Steve, bus #4813) kept us entertained with facts and trivia about Disney's transporation system.
Before we knew it, we were at the front gates to the Magic Kingdom. We zoomed through security (we were the only guests there that early) and waited by the main flower display for our tour guide. About 2 minutes later, one of the engineers came out to greet us and by that time most of the others had arrived.
This tour is a 3+ hour tour that takes you backstage to the roundhouse (which isn't round) and gives you a history of not just the trains at the Magic Kingdom but also about Walt Disney and how his love for trains developed throughout his life. Nathan had to read a biography of a famous person in 4th grade and he chose Walt Disney. It was interesting because during the tour, our guide mentioned several things that we had read in the Childhood Biography of Walt Disney, so that made it more interesting for Nathan during the more "lecture" times of the tour.
We rode the train around to Toon Town Fair, got off for the track switch, and then backed down quite a distance on the tracks to the roundhouse. We observed how they get the engines going and all the safety things that they do, learned the history of the trains and heard some interesting stories. Back on-stage, we held at the Toon Town Fair station until the park was officially opened and then went on around according to schedule. We got off at Main Street and had a rest break, got some (free) water, and then toured the Main Street Station, looking at pictures of the people the four engines were named after: Walt (of course), Lilly Belle, Roger Broggie and Roy O. Disney. (We rode on the Walter E. Disney for the first part of our tour, and then the Roy O. Disney for the second part.) We finished up inside the station upstairs where our guide showed us pictures of Walt's train in his backyard in California, and then we got a special edition pin. The pin is really nice and not available except to tour participants. Nathan was very excited about it as he likes to collect Disney pins.
The tour ended around 10:20, so we tried to call Gary and Zachary but couldn't reach them. We decided to head over to Pirates of the Caribbean as we wanted to see the changes to it. WOW! We loved the beginning part, especially the Davy Jones part, but were a little disappointed with the last room ~ if felt like they just weren't through with it. We left from there and headed up to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and called Gary and Zachary while walking. Well, they were already there, so they waited for us and we rode together, and then the boys went one more time on their own.
We had plans to meet some friends for lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern, so we filled the time by doing other attractions in the area. We celebrated Nathan's birthday at lunch, so we not only enjoyed a delicious meal and great company, we also got to hear the "Happy Birthday Patriot" song ~ I wish I had the lyrics for it - I'll have to hunt for them.
Our friend works as a CM in Adventureland, so after lunch we headed over to "her" attractions ~ Aladdin and the Enchanted Tiki Room. It was fun to hear her "Adventures with Guests" stories. We spent more time in Adventureland on this trip than any other Land. Of course we had to do Pirates again and the Jungle Cruise. I heard a new (to me) joke by the Hippo pool -- be still and quiet and whatever you do, try not to look like a big white marble -- because these are hungry, hungry Hippos
Time for snacks, and oh what an adventure that was. Most of us wanted something from the Dole Whip stand, but Zachary wanted a churro and Nathan wanted a Mickey ice cream bar. So I scooted through to Fronteirland to get the churro and ice cream bar while everyone else went to the Dole Whip stand. I got the churro, no problem, no line, no wait. But there was a line of about 8 people for ice cream. No problem, it will move fast, right? Wrong! The CM's hand-held computer thing went down and it was her first day working the stand by herself and she was getting so flustered and upset. Finally another CM came along and was able to help her get it working again and 15 minutes later I had Nathan's ice cream. Turns out that the Dole Whip stand was also experiencing a back-up, so the rest of our group had just gotten theirs, too -- I had worried that my Dole Whip float would be all melted.
We ventured over to Tomorrowland for a turn on the TTA - the kids love doing it because we let them go in one car while we adults take the next one -- and this time the kids were in a completely different vehicle -- so they thought they were something else By then it was 5 p.m. and I said something I never thought I would say at the Magic Kingdom; "I'm tired and really want to go back to the hotel." So we stopped at VMK Central to pick up the Pirate Quests and a few others, and then at the Exhibition Hall and then said goodbye to our friends and went our separate ways.
We had a rest at SSR and then the boys went swimming for about 1 1/2 hours. The pool was pretty empty but you could tell it had been busier during the day from all the wet towels and food-trash left around. I don't understand why people can't put their garbage into a trash can (they have plenty around) nor why they can't drop their wet towels into the wet towel bin.
The boys were hungry after a big swim, so we walked over to Downtown Disney. From where we stayed in Congress Park at SSR, it was less than 5 minutes from our room to where the buses drop off at the Marketplace. It would've taken 1/2 hour if we'd tried to take the bus. It was nice to have that convenience although the boys were complaining about walking We got some dinner at McD's (imagine that?!) and at least were able to use our DVC member discount there and saved 20%... it was like a free happy meal. We trekked through the Lego store and then the Christmas store on the way out (we found a Partners ornament that we got for Nathan to use with his train set up). Then back to the room for the night. The kids settled in early while Gary and I enjoyed sitting on the balcony just watching DTD and talking.
Sunday morning, we got up early as we had a 7:30 breakfast over at Whispering Canyon Cafe. It was Zachary's birthday, too, so lots of birthday hugs and rushing around packing up and we were out the door at 7:10. We valet parked at Wilderness Lodge and went right in to breakfast. WCC is our favorite breakfast place and we always get the Skillet. We had Robert for our server whom we've had before, and he was as much fun as usual. The food was delicious, and we were the first ones to ask for ketchup (and before you get grossed out, it was for the potatoes, not the eggs). We ended up with 24 bottles of ketchup, but they didn't last long before someone else needed some Because it was Zachary's birthday, he got a cake for breakfast.
We headed over to the Magic Kingdom for the day and arrived just as the park was opening at 9 a.m. We spent some time in Adventureland and then up to do Big Thunder Mountain Railroad again, and then hit our usual spots. We did Buzz Lightyear at one point and I scored over 788,000 points -- mostly because we got stopped in the dark room with the projections and I just happened to see the exact spot to aim and hit near the exit point from that room -- so I racked up - but FWIW, I had over 300,000 before we even entered in there. I never knew you could get points in there until that time.
Zachary wanted to do Space Mountain and since it was his birthday, I agreed to do it with him. He loves that ride but the older I get, the more jerky I find it. Gary and Nathan did Carousel of Progress and another turn on Buzz while we were doing Space Mountain. We rode the train around a time or two, and we also went to see Mickey and get pictures (something we usually skip).
By 2:00, we were pretty much done, so we headed back over to Wilderness Lodge for a snack at Roarin' Forks and then it was time to leave. We're always sad to leave but we know we'll be back in December and actually stay at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge then!
Thanks for reading. You can see pictures here: http://ezurl.com/gh
When: Friday, Sept 22 - Sunday, Sept 24
Where: Saratoga Springs Resort / Magic Kingdom
Why: Belated celebration of Nathan's 10th birthday and On-time celebration of Zachary's 9th birthday
We left home on Friday afternoon and drove our usual route with our usual stops down to Walt Disney World, arriving just as the horse-racing trumpets sounded 8 p.m. at Saratoga Springs Resort. SSR is our "home resort" for our DVC membership and this was our 2nd trip "home." We got a studio in Congress Park (1323) with a view of Downtown Disney from our balcony. We got settled in and DH went for a long run (he's training for the Disney Marathon in January).
Saturday morning, Nathan and I got up earlier than the crack of dawn as we were off to do the Magic Behind Our Steam Trains tour at the Magic Kingdom. For as long as we can remember, Nathan has said when he grows up, he wants to be an engineer for the train at the Magic Kingdom. So for his 10th birthday, we got him tickets for the tour (you have to be age 10 to do the tour - and he turned 10 over the summer when our season passes were blacked out). We caught the first bus from Saratoga Springs (6:40 a.m.) over to the Magic Kingdom. We were the only guests on the bus, so we sat near the front and our bus driver (Steve, bus #4813) kept us entertained with facts and trivia about Disney's transporation system.
Before we knew it, we were at the front gates to the Magic Kingdom. We zoomed through security (we were the only guests there that early) and waited by the main flower display for our tour guide. About 2 minutes later, one of the engineers came out to greet us and by that time most of the others had arrived.
This tour is a 3+ hour tour that takes you backstage to the roundhouse (which isn't round) and gives you a history of not just the trains at the Magic Kingdom but also about Walt Disney and how his love for trains developed throughout his life. Nathan had to read a biography of a famous person in 4th grade and he chose Walt Disney. It was interesting because during the tour, our guide mentioned several things that we had read in the Childhood Biography of Walt Disney, so that made it more interesting for Nathan during the more "lecture" times of the tour.
We rode the train around to Toon Town Fair, got off for the track switch, and then backed down quite a distance on the tracks to the roundhouse. We observed how they get the engines going and all the safety things that they do, learned the history of the trains and heard some interesting stories. Back on-stage, we held at the Toon Town Fair station until the park was officially opened and then went on around according to schedule. We got off at Main Street and had a rest break, got some (free) water, and then toured the Main Street Station, looking at pictures of the people the four engines were named after: Walt (of course), Lilly Belle, Roger Broggie and Roy O. Disney. (We rode on the Walter E. Disney for the first part of our tour, and then the Roy O. Disney for the second part.) We finished up inside the station upstairs where our guide showed us pictures of Walt's train in his backyard in California, and then we got a special edition pin. The pin is really nice and not available except to tour participants. Nathan was very excited about it as he likes to collect Disney pins.
The tour ended around 10:20, so we tried to call Gary and Zachary but couldn't reach them. We decided to head over to Pirates of the Caribbean as we wanted to see the changes to it. WOW! We loved the beginning part, especially the Davy Jones part, but were a little disappointed with the last room ~ if felt like they just weren't through with it. We left from there and headed up to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and called Gary and Zachary while walking. Well, they were already there, so they waited for us and we rode together, and then the boys went one more time on their own.
We had plans to meet some friends for lunch at the Liberty Tree Tavern, so we filled the time by doing other attractions in the area. We celebrated Nathan's birthday at lunch, so we not only enjoyed a delicious meal and great company, we also got to hear the "Happy Birthday Patriot" song ~ I wish I had the lyrics for it - I'll have to hunt for them.
Our friend works as a CM in Adventureland, so after lunch we headed over to "her" attractions ~ Aladdin and the Enchanted Tiki Room. It was fun to hear her "Adventures with Guests" stories. We spent more time in Adventureland on this trip than any other Land. Of course we had to do Pirates again and the Jungle Cruise. I heard a new (to me) joke by the Hippo pool -- be still and quiet and whatever you do, try not to look like a big white marble -- because these are hungry, hungry Hippos
Time for snacks, and oh what an adventure that was. Most of us wanted something from the Dole Whip stand, but Zachary wanted a churro and Nathan wanted a Mickey ice cream bar. So I scooted through to Fronteirland to get the churro and ice cream bar while everyone else went to the Dole Whip stand. I got the churro, no problem, no line, no wait. But there was a line of about 8 people for ice cream. No problem, it will move fast, right? Wrong! The CM's hand-held computer thing went down and it was her first day working the stand by herself and she was getting so flustered and upset. Finally another CM came along and was able to help her get it working again and 15 minutes later I had Nathan's ice cream. Turns out that the Dole Whip stand was also experiencing a back-up, so the rest of our group had just gotten theirs, too -- I had worried that my Dole Whip float would be all melted.
We ventured over to Tomorrowland for a turn on the TTA - the kids love doing it because we let them go in one car while we adults take the next one -- and this time the kids were in a completely different vehicle -- so they thought they were something else
By then it was 5 p.m. and I said something I never thought I would say at the Magic Kingdom; "I'm tired and really want to go back to the hotel." So we stopped at VMK Central to pick up the Pirate Quests and a few others, and then at the Exhibition Hall and then said goodbye to our friends and went our separate ways.We had a rest at SSR and then the boys went swimming for about 1 1/2 hours. The pool was pretty empty but you could tell it had been busier during the day from all the wet towels and food-trash left around. I don't understand why people can't put their garbage into a trash can (they have plenty around) nor why they can't drop their wet towels into the wet towel bin.
The boys were hungry after a big swim, so we walked over to Downtown Disney. From where we stayed in Congress Park at SSR, it was less than 5 minutes from our room to where the buses drop off at the Marketplace. It would've taken 1/2 hour if we'd tried to take the bus. It was nice to have that convenience although the boys were complaining about walking
We got some dinner at McD's (imagine that?!) and at least were able to use our DVC member discount there and saved 20%... it was like a free happy meal. We trekked through the Lego store and then the Christmas store on the way out (we found a Partners ornament that we got for Nathan to use with his train set up). Then back to the room for the night. The kids settled in early while Gary and I enjoyed sitting on the balcony just watching DTD and talking.Sunday morning, we got up early as we had a 7:30 breakfast over at Whispering Canyon Cafe. It was Zachary's birthday, too, so lots of birthday hugs and rushing around packing up and we were out the door at 7:10. We valet parked at Wilderness Lodge and went right in to breakfast. WCC is our favorite breakfast place and we always get the Skillet. We had Robert for our server whom we've had before, and he was as much fun as usual. The food was delicious, and we were the first ones to ask for ketchup (and before you get grossed out, it was for the potatoes, not the eggs). We ended up with 24 bottles of ketchup, but they didn't last long before someone else needed some
Because it was Zachary's birthday, he got a cake for breakfast.We headed over to the Magic Kingdom for the day and arrived just as the park was opening at 9 a.m. We spent some time in Adventureland and then up to do Big Thunder Mountain Railroad again, and then hit our usual spots. We did Buzz Lightyear at one point and I scored over 788,000 points -- mostly because we got stopped in the dark room with the projections and I just happened to see the exact spot to aim and hit near the exit point from that room -- so I racked up - but FWIW, I had over 300,000 before we even entered in there. I never knew you could get points in there until that time.
Zachary wanted to do Space Mountain and since it was his birthday, I agreed to do it with him. He loves that ride but the older I get, the more jerky I find it. Gary and Nathan did Carousel of Progress and another turn on Buzz while we were doing Space Mountain. We rode the train around a time or two, and we also went to see Mickey and get pictures (something we usually skip).
By 2:00, we were pretty much done, so we headed back over to Wilderness Lodge for a snack at Roarin' Forks and then it was time to leave. We're always sad to leave but we know we'll be back in December and actually stay at the Villas at Wilderness Lodge then!
Thanks for reading. You can see pictures here: http://ezurl.com/gh
