I opened the curtains.
The snoring increased. The boys bed didnt budge.
My men were plum tired from an MGM morning and an afternoon of reeling em in.
I finished my beer and watched them sleep.
Have I mentioned how comfortable the Beach Club beds were? Ive never stayed at the Swan/Dolphin but these beds were mighty fine for the Fixers.
Maybe we were just tired.
I have come to appreciate someone making my bed for me even if I am paying an astronomical price for that service. Disney World is one place where Mousekeeping (any housekeeping) is greatly appreciated. We always leave Thank you Mousekeeping envelopes with a few dollars a day. The boys love doing this and I thank the Dis for hooking me up to the printable envelopes a few years ago.
Here, you can try it, too. This is one example of many you can print on envelopes before you leave home. Heidi Wolff
It was time to put the suspended plan back into action. Naptime was over.
We sing all the time at Disney World, dont you? The music plays everywhere, so you can just Give a Little Whistle, Look For the Bare Necessities, or wish you were Part of That World any time it strikes your fancy.
It struck my fancy that it would be an excellent way to wake my men at that moment.
Its a world of laughter, a world of tears.
Its a world of hope and a world of fears
Theres so much that we share
That its time were aware
Its a small world after all.
Sorry.
They were, too.
It got them movingfast-- in hopes of hearing better music in the course of the evening.
My boys hopped into their evening clothes and skipped down the hall for a soft drink with the Gatelatch crew before we left our beloved 5th floor.
I continued to sing and think about singing. I even wrote it in my little trip report notebook. I told you in last years report that the CookMaster is a songbird. I wish you could hear her! The rest of us WISH we could belt it out like she can but alas, we were meant to listen or sing in the shower. She had my dear niece and the Presidents daughter, just cast for her to direct them in the school play as Cinderella and the Queen, so we enjoyed listening to her teaching them songs from the script as we skipped through the World. Her own DS 10 has a fabulous voice, but has sights on his band as lead drummer or guitarist first.
The rest of us are simply Confident Singers. We probably embarrass the CookMaster. Maybe we are the source of Cledus ear pain. As I look through my pictures, its all coming together.
Hmmm
I cant worry about that right now. Were on our way to
.MGM Extra Magic Hours (nope, not Magic Kingdom!).
As usual, we meet everyone in the lobby of our beautiful Beach Club and catch the lovely launch to the Studios.
We never do the
Fantasmic! dinner package. I know many of you do and Im sure it works out great for you.
Well, I lied.
Memory segue.
This could take a minute.
Maybe this is why we dont do it anymore.
We did it once when we were there with the Teacher and her family and my Daddy when my A and her B were 7 and my niece (Cinderella) was 5. Daddy was buying then and we ate at the Brown Derby. BD was on the Fantasmic! dinner package back in the day. Daddy wasnt up for much walking on that trip and we knew the kids wouldnt be up for a long wait in their seats. It seemed like a great idea and, actually, it was the right thing to do.
See, Daddy was the fourth child on that particular vacation.
Let me say that again. My sister and our husbands and I had four children on that trip. It was man on man for five hysterical days. Imagine a retired Middle Eastern pediatrician watching his grandchildren scamper around the World taking risks (hes going to ride that thing? Oh my ***!) BUT wanting to be a part of their every experience by buying them everything their hearts desired.
Pair that with at least two adults (me and BIL) with color coordinated spreadsheets and well-timed ADRs.
I loooove my Daddy but he is slow, easily distracted (you have no idea), and stops to look in every store/wanders away just like a child. Wheres Daddy? Do you have Daddy? I thought you were watching Daddy! and Hang on, Daddy wandered into that store/sat on that bench/is talking to that CM. were the most common phrases on that 2001 trip.
Now I know how I learned to walk backwards in Disney World and orchestrate moving crowds around the parks with some efficiency. If we could do it with my sweet Daddy in the mix, these recent trips would be a cinch.
Hi Daddy! Hi Teacher sister!
OK, back to MGM, March 2007. Thank you for going back in time with me. I needed that.
This one was a cinch because, again, as I was saying before I started thinking about and telling you all about my Daddy and the
Fantasmic! dinner package and experience in 2001, we just went to the ABC Commissary for a (not very) delicious dinner BUT some very pleasant eye candy.
Did you know they have Supersize posters of ABC TV shows and stars there?
While I am not much of a TV watcher, I DO watch one particular show to catch my favorite neurosurgeon.
Kindly enough, Dr. McDreamys picture was largely displayed for our viewing pleasure in the ABC Commissary so my friends and I could enjoy it while we ate our commissary-issued burgers and wraps.
I think I am remembering the President and her family ate somewhere else then joined us at the Commissary but I am sure my dear Emeline will jump in here and set the facts straight.
After a bit more (there was never enough time, NEVER) conversation we packed it in to head over to the hideous, carnivalesque, stroller-laden, squeezy
Fantasmic! line. Queue. Both.
Guess what?
The boys were hungry again! Starving!!!! They almost perished between ABC Commissary and the
Fantasmic! line, so they ran over to Toluca Legs and a couple of other kiosks to load up on snacks that would sustain them through the line.
When we were finally seated in the land of far FARAWAY (no offense Disney) I again remembered that 2001 family trip and my darling niece
The beautiful now-Cinderella was not quite 5 then. She was a round-cheeked curly-headed chatterbox and the love of my life. She was and is the closest thing to a daughter I will ever love, and that night she almost climbed up inside me.
Fantasmic! TERRIFIED her. I felt horrible. I held her candy-apple sweaty little head and body close to mine and covered her ears except to whisper encouragement during the entire show. She didnt cry; she just didnt want to look. I remember our hearts pounding together as I counted the seconds until Mickey emerged triumphant and she counted on me to do just that. I think she ate the sticky apple (who remembers how I feel about sticky??) the whole time. I can remember how it all felt, smelled and looked.
This night would be very different. She grabbed my hand when we were walking in and told me she remembered the last time, too. She said she thought shed be OK now. We laughed.
She was fine.. We all loved the show! It was the first time for the Gatelatch family!
Its time for me to tell you a bit more of the OGRE side of my darling Shreks ogre-with-a-heart name.
He announced, on this trip, to my dismay (but sadly, understanding) that he would not be returning to
Fantasmic!
The one-entrance-one-exit thing undid him for the last time.
Its just more than he can deal with on a logical level that Disney designed it that way.
He loves the Mouse and all the magic.
This setup just tears him up.
Thats the ONLY advantage to the dinner package.
Once we were out of there the giddiness began and the older kids reveled in the fact that we agreed to some late night Extra Magic.
Even the CookMaster, not known for her exuberance in late night antics, agreed to stay up for some Rockin and dropping.
We let them go.
We let them Rock.
We let them drop.
We let them Roll.
We did it too.
Shrek screamed the most.
We boated and bussed back to the resorts late with strict but pleasant orders to be ready to meet at the appointed spots for MORE coaster drops in the morning. Oh yeah, AK, here we come!
and Hi Jami of course!
