Sue (me): Chief organiser and planner
Jorge: (DH) Happy as long as he's in Orlando
Rebecca: (DD 8) Happy as long as she gets her own way!
Day 3
MK & Wishes
This morning we enjoy a quick breakfast at the villa and are at the gates of MK by 8.45am. For the first time ever we get to see Mickey and all the characters arriving at the MK by train and welcoming in the guests. Its a nice touch and really puts us in the Disney mood. While Jorge takes Rebecca into the Emporium to buy pins I book a PS at City Hall for a late lunch at Crystal Palace. We then vote to go straight to Mickeys Philharmagic, which due to the early hour is still a walk on. This gets the thumbs up from us all: it really is magical and one of the best 3Ds I have seen. Next, we hop on Its a Small World. We keep hoping that Rebecca will outgrow this ride but even at 8 years old she still loves it, although I feel it is beginning to show its age. Next we visit the Haunted Mansion, I love the Ballroom with all the ghosts dancing away. Walking through Frontier Land we do Big Thunder Mountain with only a 10-minute wait time and then we head over to Splash Mountain its closed as they are doing maintenance work but will be open again at noon. We obtain FP for 1.00pm and move onto Pirates of the Caribbean. I have fond memories of this, which have been reinforced by the film, but I found the ride a bit of a disappointment. Maybe my expectations were too high (no Johnny Depp LOL) and it was over quicker than I remembered. Time is moving on now so we head over to Tomorrow land and do Buzz Lightyear with only 10 minutes standby wait. I dont remember my score but it was pitiful, good ride though. Next is Space Mountain. Rebecca has never done this and is a tad nervous. The queue is posted at 15 minutes but we get on in 10 and Rebecca LOVES it, even more than R&RC her all time favourite. She begs to go on a second time and I join her while Jorge goes off to check emails on a nearby webphone. This time is virtually a walk on. Time is nearing for our FP on Splash and, rather than walk back we elect to catch the train from Mickeys Toontown. Toontown is my least favourite area of MK at its always heaving and makes me feel claustrophobic so we swiftly pass though and onto a conveniently waiting train. Jumping off at Splash we are satisfied to note that the standby queue is up to 45 minutes. Werent we clever to get FP?! We walk smugly along the FP line and are seated in our log 5 minutes later. I love the inside of the ride and we all enjoy the drop at the end while remaining dry there is no water going down the chute today due to to the maintenance work so no big splash at the bottom. This is a bonus for me, as I hate getting wet on rides. I loathe walking around in wet clothes, especially when the weather is a tad cool, as it is today.
By this time its 1.30 and we rush over to CP for our 1.40 PS. We are seated almost straight away despite them being busy and have a wonderful lunch with Tigger, Pooh and friends. We also include Barnaby in our party and get his picture taken with the characters. Barnaby is Rebeccas School bear that belongs to the nursery. A couple of weeks before we came away they advertised for families to take him on holiday so the could collect pictures from around the world so he duly has his picture taken with all the characters. Lunch is superb, by far the best food we have had at a character meal, although thers may disagree. I sample a little bit of everything, (including the kids selection) and particularly enjoy the Thai green curry and the chicken tenders. For dessert the banana bread pudding is to die for. We pay the $75 bill and stagger outside holding our oversized stomachs. After taking a photo of Barnabys with the Castle we decide to give the parade a miss and head back to the villa for some R&R
After two hours in the pool and a power nap we head back to MK to experience Wishes. Luckily we manage to park within walking distance of the T&TC and board the monorail, Rebecca wants sit with the driver but alas, it is already full. When we arrive Main street is full of people waiting for Spectromagic to start but when given the choice Rebecca would rather give it a miss in favour of Space Mountain. Jorge doesnt want to ride so we leave him to stake out seats for us on the Plaza Café Terrace. According to a tip on the Dis, this is an excellent viewing spot and you get to sit down too! Excellent! We manage to do Space twice as its a walk on while Jorge watches the tops of the Spectro floats pass by, albeit from a distance. By the time we get back the terrace is quite full and I am glad we left Jorge guarding our places. There is just enough time to stock up on Chicken Tenders and drinks before the display starts. I was not really expecting much difference from Fantasy in the Sky - I mean, how different can a fireworks display be? But Boy, was I wrong. The fireworks began with a narrative from Jiminy Cricket and filled the sky for ages with an amazing variety of fireworks, all set exactly to the Disney music. By the time it had finished both Jorge and I had tears in our eyes and agreed that this even surpassed Illuminations, our previous favourite. One little niggle was that, although they turned off all the lights on Main Street to enhance viewing of the fireworks, the lights on the terrace were left on. A small price to pay though for a good view and a seat!
After the display we joined the usual throng of guests heading for the monorail and waved goodbye to Mickey as he wished everyone goodnight from the Railway Platform above. The queue moved quickly and we were soon on the monorail: again no luck with the driver seats!
Back at the villa we made further inroads into our Beer & Wine stocks before watching some more adverts on TV and then bed.
Tomorrow Disney Quest and my Christmas Pressie.
Jorge: (DH) Happy as long as he's in Orlando
Rebecca: (DD 8) Happy as long as she gets her own way!
Day 3
MK & Wishes
This morning we enjoy a quick breakfast at the villa and are at the gates of MK by 8.45am. For the first time ever we get to see Mickey and all the characters arriving at the MK by train and welcoming in the guests. Its a nice touch and really puts us in the Disney mood. While Jorge takes Rebecca into the Emporium to buy pins I book a PS at City Hall for a late lunch at Crystal Palace. We then vote to go straight to Mickeys Philharmagic, which due to the early hour is still a walk on. This gets the thumbs up from us all: it really is magical and one of the best 3Ds I have seen. Next, we hop on Its a Small World. We keep hoping that Rebecca will outgrow this ride but even at 8 years old she still loves it, although I feel it is beginning to show its age. Next we visit the Haunted Mansion, I love the Ballroom with all the ghosts dancing away. Walking through Frontier Land we do Big Thunder Mountain with only a 10-minute wait time and then we head over to Splash Mountain its closed as they are doing maintenance work but will be open again at noon. We obtain FP for 1.00pm and move onto Pirates of the Caribbean. I have fond memories of this, which have been reinforced by the film, but I found the ride a bit of a disappointment. Maybe my expectations were too high (no Johnny Depp LOL) and it was over quicker than I remembered. Time is moving on now so we head over to Tomorrow land and do Buzz Lightyear with only 10 minutes standby wait. I dont remember my score but it was pitiful, good ride though. Next is Space Mountain. Rebecca has never done this and is a tad nervous. The queue is posted at 15 minutes but we get on in 10 and Rebecca LOVES it, even more than R&RC her all time favourite. She begs to go on a second time and I join her while Jorge goes off to check emails on a nearby webphone. This time is virtually a walk on. Time is nearing for our FP on Splash and, rather than walk back we elect to catch the train from Mickeys Toontown. Toontown is my least favourite area of MK at its always heaving and makes me feel claustrophobic so we swiftly pass though and onto a conveniently waiting train. Jumping off at Splash we are satisfied to note that the standby queue is up to 45 minutes. Werent we clever to get FP?! We walk smugly along the FP line and are seated in our log 5 minutes later. I love the inside of the ride and we all enjoy the drop at the end while remaining dry there is no water going down the chute today due to to the maintenance work so no big splash at the bottom. This is a bonus for me, as I hate getting wet on rides. I loathe walking around in wet clothes, especially when the weather is a tad cool, as it is today.
By this time its 1.30 and we rush over to CP for our 1.40 PS. We are seated almost straight away despite them being busy and have a wonderful lunch with Tigger, Pooh and friends. We also include Barnaby in our party and get his picture taken with the characters. Barnaby is Rebeccas School bear that belongs to the nursery. A couple of weeks before we came away they advertised for families to take him on holiday so the could collect pictures from around the world so he duly has his picture taken with all the characters. Lunch is superb, by far the best food we have had at a character meal, although thers may disagree. I sample a little bit of everything, (including the kids selection) and particularly enjoy the Thai green curry and the chicken tenders. For dessert the banana bread pudding is to die for. We pay the $75 bill and stagger outside holding our oversized stomachs. After taking a photo of Barnabys with the Castle we decide to give the parade a miss and head back to the villa for some R&R
After two hours in the pool and a power nap we head back to MK to experience Wishes. Luckily we manage to park within walking distance of the T&TC and board the monorail, Rebecca wants sit with the driver but alas, it is already full. When we arrive Main street is full of people waiting for Spectromagic to start but when given the choice Rebecca would rather give it a miss in favour of Space Mountain. Jorge doesnt want to ride so we leave him to stake out seats for us on the Plaza Café Terrace. According to a tip on the Dis, this is an excellent viewing spot and you get to sit down too! Excellent! We manage to do Space twice as its a walk on while Jorge watches the tops of the Spectro floats pass by, albeit from a distance. By the time we get back the terrace is quite full and I am glad we left Jorge guarding our places. There is just enough time to stock up on Chicken Tenders and drinks before the display starts. I was not really expecting much difference from Fantasy in the Sky - I mean, how different can a fireworks display be? But Boy, was I wrong. The fireworks began with a narrative from Jiminy Cricket and filled the sky for ages with an amazing variety of fireworks, all set exactly to the Disney music. By the time it had finished both Jorge and I had tears in our eyes and agreed that this even surpassed Illuminations, our previous favourite. One little niggle was that, although they turned off all the lights on Main Street to enhance viewing of the fireworks, the lights on the terrace were left on. A small price to pay though for a good view and a seat!
After the display we joined the usual throng of guests heading for the monorail and waved goodbye to Mickey as he wished everyone goodnight from the Railway Platform above. The queue moved quickly and we were soon on the monorail: again no luck with the driver seats!
Back at the villa we made further inroads into our Beer & Wine stocks before watching some more adverts on TV and then bed.
Tomorrow Disney Quest and my Christmas Pressie.
