WHO WE ARE:
Zoe Dog -- Me; 41; went to MK several times as a child and to EPCOT once in late 1980s with DH; compulsive planner, list-maker, and tip-gatherer, but (much to my and my family's relief) was able to be flexible once we arrived
DH -- turned 41 during vacation; late 1980s trip with me was only foray into the World; was a little spooked by memory of how perfect and "Big Brothery" everything was and loved to tease me about my "disney obsession" but is a total kid at heart and began to lurk on the DIS and other helpful sites during the last weeks before departure
E -- DD (11 years) - has an incredibly vivid imagination and so was a bit apprehensive about "spooky" rides, but determined to be a big kid; loves interaction with characters and spotting live animals and noticing all of the little unexpected things
D -- DD (almost 10 years) - wants to do it all and then do it again and again . . . absolutely fearless and utterly enthusiastic
L -- DD (6 1/2 years) - doesn't like to be left behind by the big girls, but is not a thrill seeker; began to swim like a little fish thanks to daily access to warm pools
WHERE: 6 Nights WL; 3 Nights AKL
DAY FOUR: Tuesday June 25
We awoke very early this morning - still a secret from the girls: we're having breakfast at the castle! It was hard to get going - we were all tired from our previous two busy days (both with later nights than we had planned), but spirits were high because we all knew there was a surprise in store. And we're at Disney!! We took the 7:30 bus from the WL and then stood in the special line at the MK for people with early PS's. The girls still had no idea where we were headed, and we kept the suspense going by suggesting that they look for a bakery where we could have breakfast after the surprise and that we were going through the castle as a short cut to our final destination, etc. Even though L is the only real "princess type" among our three girls, they were all absolutely delighted by the surprise. E spotted Gus and Jacques (Cinderella's mice) in the grand entrance lobby as we headed upstairs. We had an extremely friendly and attentive waitress and chose the yummy pre-plated breakfast (not the healthy version - we're on vacation after all!). We were seated in one of the last tables that the princesses visited, which was good because the older girls could eat some breakfast as they watched them move around the room. L didn't each much - she very solemnly watched their progression around the room. She knows that the characters in the masks are actors, but I think she's still not so sure about the "face" characters like the princesses. Mary Poppins arrived first - she was sweetly bossy as she ordered the girls to stand beside her for a photo. DH said afterwards that he kept expecting her to say "Spit Spot!" Mary Poppins noticed that L's autograph book had a picture of Belle storming out of the ballroom after Stitch crashed the chandelier. She laughed and instructed L to make sure Belle saw it. Snow White arrived next - very sweet and giggled a lot. Belle was a sweet no-nonsense sort - and she did enjoy L's picture, making several smiling comments about how annoyed she had been that Stitch had spoiled such a lovely evening. Prince Charming was next. Here's a trivia question for you: E (our most horse-crazy child) asked him the name of his horse. Answer: Captain. Cinderella was the last to arrive, She was lovely and moved her hands in a graceful way - but she seemed the most distant (maybe because she is so regal?) of all. I much preferred the others to her, but the girls were equally enthusiastic about them all. L had insisted that she bring her American Girl doll "Daisy" along that morning and she and her doll were wearing matching yellow sundresses that I had made them - L was immensely pleased by the comments the princesses made about her "little sister" although she remained very serious during all of her encounters with the princesses. I forgot to mention earlier that we took your advice and wore Guest of Honor badges that we had purchased in advance through Gifts of a Lifetime. The girls especially enjoyed that the characters called them by their names. They also were amused at other times when a CM would joke around with them (such as "Oh E! There you are. Your shift started 5 minutes ago. I was wondering when you'd show up to relieve me!" etc.). We visited with the Fairy Godmother on our way out of the castle. She was a jolly, slightly older woman - very warm and chatty. L asked her what her "real" name was - why fairy Godmother, of course she replied (now why didn't we think of that?!).
We left the castle just after 9:00 and headed immediately to Adventureland. All three girls LOVE the Swiss Family Robinson video and so were thrilled to explore the treehouse. They had a lively debate about which boy slept in which room, etc. Then on to Aladdin's Flying Carpets (no wait) - what fun! I know that the Dumbo-type rides are just simple, low tech rides and probably not on many peoples' lists of favorites - but we really enjoyed soaring around and seeing what was in the areas beyond. After the carpets we got a fast pass for the Jungle Cruise and walked right onto Pirates of the Carribean. L was a bit spooked that it was yet another boat ride and so much of it was in the dark, but we kept her attention on the action around her and she did fine. Thank goodness we followed your tip to give her a little flashlight - that really helped her feel that she had control of the situation. When we emerged it was raining hard (again!). E and D raced around to ride Pirates again while DH and L poked around in the gift shop and I went to get 5 fast passes for Big Thunder Mountain RR. As we went to use our Jungle FPs, we came upon Peter Pan and Wendy - nice surprise!! We thought that the Jungle Cruise might be cancelled due to rain, but we walked right on and had a fun ride (but boats again - oh no! Poor L!) Then onto the Tiki Room (no wait). We got 5 FPs for Splash Mountain on our way to BTMRR. Once there, E and L decided that BTMRR didn't look like their idea of fun, so the three of us headed over to Bear Country while DH and D rode. When we returned to meet DH and D at BTMRR, we found DH sitting alone on a bench. He and D had used our 5 FPs to ride BTMRR together twice and now D was riding a third time by herself! We all headed to Tom Sawyer Island - enjoyed it immensely and could have stayed for much longer, but the Splash FP was about to expire so DH and D headed for that (E and L decided against it) and we arrived to watch just before they plummeted down the big slide. It was lunchtime so we took the train around the park to the entrance, cooled off with Mickey ice cream bars (it was so much fun to be able to allow ice cream before lunch instead of being reponsible adults and requiring healthy food first!)
Once back at WL, we supplemented our room picnic with some goodies from Roaring Fork snack bar, had a good long swim, and then cooled off and rested in the room. Oh - and I got a surprise! When we were in the UK at the World Showcase the day before, DH had managed to choose a china tea cannister, two china tea cups, and some teas without my knowledge and had them shipped to the room. They had arrived by lunchtime today and DH gave them to me to thank me for all of the planning I had done for this trip! He is such a sweetie!
We returned to MK again at about 7:30. Wow! It's a lot busier at night! We got a FP for Buzz, but the return time wasn't until 9:00. So we stood in line (about 30 minutes, the longest of our trip) to ride Astro Orbitor. L was tired and thirsty (and didn't want water) and began to get whiney as we waited in line, but we all enjoyed the ride - both the views and getting to cool ourselves off in the breeze! We revived ourselves with some cold drinks and discussed what to do while we waited for our Buzz FP return time. We finally decided on the tea cups since it was close and we all liked it - luckily a fairly short line. Then it was time for Buzz. E and D rode together. L rode with DH and me and controlled the spinning direction while DH and I shot targets. She had a blast spinning us around - we were laughing so hard at the all of the target-less places she pointed us toward that it's amazing that we got any points! Since we still had time before the 10:00 fireworks, we rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority so the girls could check out Space Mountain. We found a good spot on the bridge right beneath Tinker Belle. Then, just as the fireworks began, L announced she HAD to go to the bathroom and couldn't wait another minute. So I scooped her up and we scurried through the crowds to the bathroom near Indy Speedway. I was a bit annoyed because she had insisted she did not need to go when offered the opportunity a short while before. On the way there she remarked that she was glad that she could hear the fireworks because then she could imagine what they must look like. Any annoyance I felt instantly melted away and we had a good time discussing what we imagined they must look like. After a quick pit stop, we raced around to where Tomorrowland and Fantasyland connect and watched the last of the fireworks explode right over our head - great spot! MK was open until 11:00 that night so we decided to go ride Aladdin's Carpets again -- L's favorite ride -- and then shared some pineapple vanilla ice cream. With just a few minutes remaining until closing, E decided she wanted to try BTMRR too - so she and D and DH headed off for it. E was glad she tried it (I think) but it was much too jerky for her taste. D was ecstatic. As we headed out and down Main Street we noticed that people were lining the street for the parade - we had thought the only night parade was at 9:00 which we had missed due to Buzz. What luck! L was asleep in the stroller (which, by the way I urge you take in the evenings even for "big girls" who are 6 1/2 and outgrew strollers long ago. It made evenings much more enjoyable for all of us to give her little legs a break). The rest of us enjoyed the parade, especially watching Chip and Dale slide into each other on the piano bench. Then we meandered out and got in line for the boat to WL. It wasn't terribly crowded - probably because it was an E-Night and a lot of people were staying after the parade. But it was the only time we waited for a second vehicle because the first was too full to take us. Once back at WL, I poured L into her bed while DH and D and E took a midnight swim. Wonderful end to a truly magical day!
Zoe Dog -- Me; 41; went to MK several times as a child and to EPCOT once in late 1980s with DH; compulsive planner, list-maker, and tip-gatherer, but (much to my and my family's relief) was able to be flexible once we arrived
DH -- turned 41 during vacation; late 1980s trip with me was only foray into the World; was a little spooked by memory of how perfect and "Big Brothery" everything was and loved to tease me about my "disney obsession" but is a total kid at heart and began to lurk on the DIS and other helpful sites during the last weeks before departure
E -- DD (11 years) - has an incredibly vivid imagination and so was a bit apprehensive about "spooky" rides, but determined to be a big kid; loves interaction with characters and spotting live animals and noticing all of the little unexpected things
D -- DD (almost 10 years) - wants to do it all and then do it again and again . . . absolutely fearless and utterly enthusiastic
L -- DD (6 1/2 years) - doesn't like to be left behind by the big girls, but is not a thrill seeker; began to swim like a little fish thanks to daily access to warm pools
WHERE: 6 Nights WL; 3 Nights AKL
DAY FOUR: Tuesday June 25
We awoke very early this morning - still a secret from the girls: we're having breakfast at the castle! It was hard to get going - we were all tired from our previous two busy days (both with later nights than we had planned), but spirits were high because we all knew there was a surprise in store. And we're at Disney!! We took the 7:30 bus from the WL and then stood in the special line at the MK for people with early PS's. The girls still had no idea where we were headed, and we kept the suspense going by suggesting that they look for a bakery where we could have breakfast after the surprise and that we were going through the castle as a short cut to our final destination, etc. Even though L is the only real "princess type" among our three girls, they were all absolutely delighted by the surprise. E spotted Gus and Jacques (Cinderella's mice) in the grand entrance lobby as we headed upstairs. We had an extremely friendly and attentive waitress and chose the yummy pre-plated breakfast (not the healthy version - we're on vacation after all!). We were seated in one of the last tables that the princesses visited, which was good because the older girls could eat some breakfast as they watched them move around the room. L didn't each much - she very solemnly watched their progression around the room. She knows that the characters in the masks are actors, but I think she's still not so sure about the "face" characters like the princesses. Mary Poppins arrived first - she was sweetly bossy as she ordered the girls to stand beside her for a photo. DH said afterwards that he kept expecting her to say "Spit Spot!" Mary Poppins noticed that L's autograph book had a picture of Belle storming out of the ballroom after Stitch crashed the chandelier. She laughed and instructed L to make sure Belle saw it. Snow White arrived next - very sweet and giggled a lot. Belle was a sweet no-nonsense sort - and she did enjoy L's picture, making several smiling comments about how annoyed she had been that Stitch had spoiled such a lovely evening. Prince Charming was next. Here's a trivia question for you: E (our most horse-crazy child) asked him the name of his horse. Answer: Captain. Cinderella was the last to arrive, She was lovely and moved her hands in a graceful way - but she seemed the most distant (maybe because she is so regal?) of all. I much preferred the others to her, but the girls were equally enthusiastic about them all. L had insisted that she bring her American Girl doll "Daisy" along that morning and she and her doll were wearing matching yellow sundresses that I had made them - L was immensely pleased by the comments the princesses made about her "little sister" although she remained very serious during all of her encounters with the princesses. I forgot to mention earlier that we took your advice and wore Guest of Honor badges that we had purchased in advance through Gifts of a Lifetime. The girls especially enjoyed that the characters called them by their names. They also were amused at other times when a CM would joke around with them (such as "Oh E! There you are. Your shift started 5 minutes ago. I was wondering when you'd show up to relieve me!" etc.). We visited with the Fairy Godmother on our way out of the castle. She was a jolly, slightly older woman - very warm and chatty. L asked her what her "real" name was - why fairy Godmother, of course she replied (now why didn't we think of that?!).
We left the castle just after 9:00 and headed immediately to Adventureland. All three girls LOVE the Swiss Family Robinson video and so were thrilled to explore the treehouse. They had a lively debate about which boy slept in which room, etc. Then on to Aladdin's Flying Carpets (no wait) - what fun! I know that the Dumbo-type rides are just simple, low tech rides and probably not on many peoples' lists of favorites - but we really enjoyed soaring around and seeing what was in the areas beyond. After the carpets we got a fast pass for the Jungle Cruise and walked right onto Pirates of the Carribean. L was a bit spooked that it was yet another boat ride and so much of it was in the dark, but we kept her attention on the action around her and she did fine. Thank goodness we followed your tip to give her a little flashlight - that really helped her feel that she had control of the situation. When we emerged it was raining hard (again!). E and D raced around to ride Pirates again while DH and L poked around in the gift shop and I went to get 5 fast passes for Big Thunder Mountain RR. As we went to use our Jungle FPs, we came upon Peter Pan and Wendy - nice surprise!! We thought that the Jungle Cruise might be cancelled due to rain, but we walked right on and had a fun ride (but boats again - oh no! Poor L!) Then onto the Tiki Room (no wait). We got 5 FPs for Splash Mountain on our way to BTMRR. Once there, E and L decided that BTMRR didn't look like their idea of fun, so the three of us headed over to Bear Country while DH and D rode. When we returned to meet DH and D at BTMRR, we found DH sitting alone on a bench. He and D had used our 5 FPs to ride BTMRR together twice and now D was riding a third time by herself! We all headed to Tom Sawyer Island - enjoyed it immensely and could have stayed for much longer, but the Splash FP was about to expire so DH and D headed for that (E and L decided against it) and we arrived to watch just before they plummeted down the big slide. It was lunchtime so we took the train around the park to the entrance, cooled off with Mickey ice cream bars (it was so much fun to be able to allow ice cream before lunch instead of being reponsible adults and requiring healthy food first!)
Once back at WL, we supplemented our room picnic with some goodies from Roaring Fork snack bar, had a good long swim, and then cooled off and rested in the room. Oh - and I got a surprise! When we were in the UK at the World Showcase the day before, DH had managed to choose a china tea cannister, two china tea cups, and some teas without my knowledge and had them shipped to the room. They had arrived by lunchtime today and DH gave them to me to thank me for all of the planning I had done for this trip! He is such a sweetie!
We returned to MK again at about 7:30. Wow! It's a lot busier at night! We got a FP for Buzz, but the return time wasn't until 9:00. So we stood in line (about 30 minutes, the longest of our trip) to ride Astro Orbitor. L was tired and thirsty (and didn't want water) and began to get whiney as we waited in line, but we all enjoyed the ride - both the views and getting to cool ourselves off in the breeze! We revived ourselves with some cold drinks and discussed what to do while we waited for our Buzz FP return time. We finally decided on the tea cups since it was close and we all liked it - luckily a fairly short line. Then it was time for Buzz. E and D rode together. L rode with DH and me and controlled the spinning direction while DH and I shot targets. She had a blast spinning us around - we were laughing so hard at the all of the target-less places she pointed us toward that it's amazing that we got any points! Since we still had time before the 10:00 fireworks, we rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority so the girls could check out Space Mountain. We found a good spot on the bridge right beneath Tinker Belle. Then, just as the fireworks began, L announced she HAD to go to the bathroom and couldn't wait another minute. So I scooped her up and we scurried through the crowds to the bathroom near Indy Speedway. I was a bit annoyed because she had insisted she did not need to go when offered the opportunity a short while before. On the way there she remarked that she was glad that she could hear the fireworks because then she could imagine what they must look like. Any annoyance I felt instantly melted away and we had a good time discussing what we imagined they must look like. After a quick pit stop, we raced around to where Tomorrowland and Fantasyland connect and watched the last of the fireworks explode right over our head - great spot! MK was open until 11:00 that night so we decided to go ride Aladdin's Carpets again -- L's favorite ride -- and then shared some pineapple vanilla ice cream. With just a few minutes remaining until closing, E decided she wanted to try BTMRR too - so she and D and DH headed off for it. E was glad she tried it (I think) but it was much too jerky for her taste. D was ecstatic. As we headed out and down Main Street we noticed that people were lining the street for the parade - we had thought the only night parade was at 9:00 which we had missed due to Buzz. What luck! L was asleep in the stroller (which, by the way I urge you take in the evenings even for "big girls" who are 6 1/2 and outgrew strollers long ago. It made evenings much more enjoyable for all of us to give her little legs a break). The rest of us enjoyed the parade, especially watching Chip and Dale slide into each other on the piano bench. Then we meandered out and got in line for the boat to WL. It wasn't terribly crowded - probably because it was an E-Night and a lot of people were staying after the parade. But it was the only time we waited for a second vehicle because the first was too full to take us. Once back at WL, I poured L into her bed while DH and D and E took a midnight swim. Wonderful end to a truly magical day!
Krissy
