The "I've Waited My Whole Life" Christmas Suprise Trip Report-Final/Video Update 2/21

[byoung]

Your report has been great. Thanks.

 

[Vannah]

The Holiday Illuminations ending looks wonderful!! So magical, and disney-ish.

--Savannah

 

[Catkramer]

Man! I am ready to go now!!! 26 days and counting and you are really getting me pumped up!!! I have SOOOO enjoyed hearing all about your trip report and your kids are just PRECIOUS! They look like they are really having such a good time. And you had me in tears when I read when you walked into Magic Kingdom and said thank you to your husband. I know I will be in tears most of this trip we are about to go on.

I can't wait to read more! Thank you for taking the time to share it with us.

 

[icebrat001]

oh my goodness! I love it.

 

[MomofCKJ]

Tuesday December 19th

Today was going to be another Magic Kingdom day for us. I woke early, story of my life, I am always one of the first in the house up, and went to the Food Court. Filled the mugs as would be our pattern, one with Cocoa and one with a Mocha. I also got one pancake platter and one French toast. I figured we’d share these. We had granola and cereal bars in our room too that we ate most mornings.

So we ate and got ready and everyone who had to chase the white rabbit did so. Then we got out to the bus. Nothing stands out this morning as odd or unusual or report worthy. It was just the usual ride on the bus.

We got there and waited for the Opening Ceremony. I just loved this. You can feel the energy in the crowd. The air thick with anticipation, full of excitement and wondering what the day holds. I just got all goose pimply each time we were waiting outside the Magic Kingdom. And only outside this park. Sure I love the others too but there really is something so magical about MK. I wish you could bottle it and take it home to your real life.

The people sang the Good Morning song (which my kids like to sing now) and the train came and we were as excited as we were the first time. The special lucky family threw the pixie dust. I have to ask, what time does the family of the day get there to be picked? Must be mighty early. We’d never make it there quite that early I am sure.

We entered and headed down Main Street. I love how all the CMs stand on the sidewalk and wave to you with their big ole’ Mickey hands.

The plan was to split up this morning. Grumpy and the girls would go right to Space Mountain. Goofy and I to the Tomorrowland Speedway. We all went to Space and I got FPs for later while they got in the standby line. The standby line was actually looking quite large already which was suprising since we went right there with our “purposeful walk” once the rope dropped.

Goofy and I went the cars. It said a 10 minute wait and we were given a red card to hold. This is the card they have you hold and turn in at the end so they can judge wait times. I may not have gotton any Dream FastPasses all week but twice I got the old red card. I wish they gave you a little prize at the end for holding it. A sticker. A lollipop. A Mickey Bar. A FastPass. Something. Anything.

I remember this ride from my youth. I remember thinking I really was driving and being so afraid to go off the road. I think Goofy thought he was really driving too and that made me smile. He drove, I did the gas and he was sure that we were the fastest and that we won the race.

As we exited the line for this was quite long so I was glad we had done it. I knew this was one of those rides that takes a long time to load and the line doesn’t move too quickly. Getting it done first thing was as Martha would say, a good thing.

I called Grumpy and got his voicemail so I left a message that Goofy and I would be doing Buzz. We breezed through the queue, I think it was a 10 minuted posted wait but it was more like 2. It was our first time. What a FUN ride! We had a blast! Our scores are nothing to make note of but we sure had fun.

We exited and met with the others. They had loved Space Mountain. I don’t think my girls have met a roller coaster they didn’t love. We all decided to Buzz since the line was so short. The girls would ride together, Goofy and Grumpy together and I would go alone. That was our plan at least. When we went to board the CM told me to get in with the girls. Huh? Being a rule follower I did but what a bummer. I was gun-less now. Riding Buzz Lightyear is not nearly as much fun if you don’t have a gun. So I was the car spinner and I tried not to sulk (I’m an only child. We sulk when we don’t get our way.).

Again we all loved it and Grumpy scored some high crazy score. I wanted to try to beat him so badly. We have a very competitive nature with each other, in a fun way. We’d be back.

We went outside and we decide to hop on the TTA or People Mover. It is just a nice way to catch a break and chill for a few minutes. Of course with my kids it is always about “Does this go any faster?”. They truly are thrill ride kids for sure.

The girls and I hopped on SM now to use our Fast Passes. I used to love this ride. I think I must be getting old. It is so herky jerky! You just feel like you are being thrown around and I felt like my brain was banging into the side of my head. No smoothness of Rock N Rollar Coaster here! It was fun but really once was enough for me. Bashful sat in the very front with her hands in the air the whole time. Belle held on and laughed and laughed. I sat in the back thinking “Is this over yet?”.

While we were hurtling through Space the boys met Buzz Lightyear himself.

We started walking and went past the castle.

The Dreams show (I don’t know the real name) was taking place so we stopped for a few minutes. We were so far back we couldn’t see much but it looked like a cute enough show and who doesn’t love daytime fireworks. We were headed to Adventureland. We had some Pirates to meet. Aarrgghh!

We got pictures on the way with some other friends, Tick Tock!

The Pirates ride has no Fastpasses, why is that? Seems like a popular enough ride that it would be FP worthy. She told us 30 minutes at the front. We hemmed. We hawed. We decided it would only get worse so we went for it. Grumpy set the watch timer and again the wait time was off. In 12 minutes we were boarding our boat. Why are they so off on their times? To deter people? I don’t know but it worked in our favor.

We all loved this ride! The kids having never been on it before could not compare but Grumpy and I liked the new additions. Jack Sparrow looks so REAL! His movements, his eyes, it is amazing how far they have come with animatronics! Goofy is in such a pirate phase right now that he just loved seeing the ship and the cannons going off and all the antics. Good times for all.

I had hoped El Pirato and El Perico would be open today, it had been open on Saturday, but alas it was closed. I have read such good reviews on the food here, why on earth is the place never open??? Pecos Bills it would be instead and we got there early enough to avoid lines and trying to find a clean table.

“Sloppy Joes! They have Sloppy Joes how great!” I said to get the kids excited about the lackluster children’s menu. Sloppy Joes or Chilled Chicken. Who comes up with these menus?? Well they all went for the Sloppy Joe as the lesser of two evils and though not as good as mine, they deemed them pretty good. Of course more sugar free Jello to go around. Grumpy had the Chicken Wrap which was very large and I had the Cheeseburger. The Fixins bar is another “good thing” even if the infamous cheese sauce is now missing in action. I loved adding the mushrooms to my burger, delish! Lunch was good here actually. It was not crowded as it was early, I think it was maybe 11am. The food was good and the Peanut Butter Brownie Mousse was not bad. We all shared those, just taking little bites. My family was seeing that eating early had its advantages and that waiting another 45 minutes would have meant long lines, crowded dining areas and much more noise.

Off to the Jungle Cruise.

Belle: Are the animals real?
Me: Nope, the real animals are at Animal Kingdom
Belle: So why are we going on this then? No one wants to see fake animals. This is going to be stupid.
Me: Because I said so and it is a Magic Kingdom original. I rode this ride with your Grammy and your Great Grammy when I was 3 years old and darn it (I really didn’t say that, just adding it in for effect) you are going to ride it today and like it!

Again a 30 minute posted wait but really in 15 we were boarding our boat. We had seats in the back and on the side. I wish I could remember our guide’s name but I can’t. All I can say is he was so funny. I am sure many of them are but this guy had us laughing out loud. Even Grumpy! His dry sarcastic humor was PERFECT for Grumpy and if you asked him now he (Grumpy) would say this was one of his favorite rides purely for the wit of our guide! Even the kids were laughing and seemed to get a kick out of the fake animals. Even Belle.

At one point the guide said “How many of you woke up today and said ‘Jungle Cruise, gotta do it’?” It had us howling, just his tone. He then went on to say if we thought JC was dull we should go see the Hall of Presidents and then come talk to him. And probably the best if any children are left on the boat they will be taken to It’s A Small World where their feet will be glued to the floor. They may all use these same lines all the time, I have no idea, but to us it was new material and very funny!

We exited with big smiles on our face! My kids took advantage of that and suckered me into spending $6 so they could try and drive these ancient little motor boats around the little pond. I figured we were on vacation right, why not. So they each tried to drive one, “tried” being the operative word. Goofy’s worked well but Belle’s just seemed to spin in circles frustrating the heck out of her. It was time to move on.

We needed something to bring our mood back up after the Mini Motor Boat fiasco. We needed…Dole Whips. And just a short walk away there they were. We got in line. Grumpy and I decided on the Dole Whip float. Goofy and Bashful went with just swirl ice cream I believe and Belle after complaining and indecisiveness and well, Belle-ness, went with the Dole Whip. We got a seat on the rocks across the way and enjoyed. Everyone was enjoying their treat and peace was settling back in. Aahhhh. Some lady stopped to ask us what our floats where. She had a little “float envy” going on. We told her and she thanked us and got right in line. Another Dole Whip addict was about to be born.

As the gang was finishing I ran over to Splash to get FPs. I walk fast, very fast. During most of this trip I was looking over my shoulder to see if Grumpy and Goofy were still there. The girls have learned to keep up with me over the years but no go for Grumpy, he still moseys along behind me. So sending me for the FPs was much faster than having him, or all of us, go.

Came back and they were cleaning up and so we got in line for the Magic Carpets. 5 minute wait and the CM at the entrance was from MA! I loved finding CMs from our neck of the woods and always made it a point to strike up a conversation with them. We met a bunch from MA and the closest one was from a town just 20 minutes from us. Just kind of neat! We were all in/on one carpet for this. Grumpy and I in the rear and the 3 kids up front. Mistake. They all want to control the carpet. Ay yi yi. We tell them they need to take turns and remind Belle and Bashful that their brother is 4 and to let him do it. The ride is quick and the want to go again but we decide to move on. We skip the Tiki Birds this time as no one wants to see a “fake bird” show (one guess who said that). We don’t have long till our Splash FP so we head over. Something is happening outside the Briar Patch store. A boy is on the ground and people are there to help him. It appears to be his foot or leg. Nearby a person is in an ECV (or is it ECV?). This is purely speculation as I don’t know what really happened but my guess was this boy got nailed by the ECV/EVC. Whatever happened the medics were having to take this boy out and I felt very bad for him and his family. You hate to see anyone get hurt on their vacation.

We went into the store to kill some time till our FP. We were browsing when a CM came up and asked if Grumpy would like to play a game? Sure thing. So she brings him over to the black kettle in the middle of the store and gives him a stuffed brer rabbit. He has to throw it 3 times and try to get it in. He does and sinks them each time (it isn’t too hard!). Then she gives him a Magical Moments certificate. He looked at it quizzically.

Goofy: What can I do with this?
CM: Not much!

ROFL, made me laugh! We kept it of course and it will go in our scrapbook but their exchange was just too funny!

Bashful made a purchase here that we had sent to our hotel. She loves stuffed animals. Love is not strong enough of a word. Anytime she has money burning a hole in her pocket that is where she wants to spend it. She has so many it is insane. She had already bought a stuffed Lady at the Pop gift shop but this time she wanted a Piglet. And I must say he is cute. They have all those very round chubby character stuffed animals now. I asked a CM about them and she said the series is called the Cuties. Well they sure are cute! So Cutie Piglet would be arriving at Pop the next day.

It was time for our Splash FP and we were on our way. This had to be one of family’s favorites. It was just as good the second time as the first. There is so much to see and look at and we loved the music too. Good clean fun!

At this point we had to think about getting back to Tomorrowland. Remember Belle is a big High School Musical fan and one of her must do’s was to see the HSM show. We started heading that way. We did stop at the Frontierland Shooting Gallery and all of us had fun with that. I must say I’m a pretty good shot!

We breezed through Fantasyland and came to ToonTown. Goofy really wanted to ride the Barnstormer and the girls did too. I was not sure why. After riding RnRC you want to ride the Barnstormer? Come on! The line was long, like 20 minutes but they really wanted to. *sigh* So we waited. And although cute for kids who have never been on a coaster I found it kind of a waste of time to wait 20 minutes for a 35 second ride. I didn’t time it but it really felt like it was about 35 seconds. Whoopie!

It was split up time again and Grumpy took the girls to go see the HSM show. I had a date with Goofy in the Judge’s Tent. We had his autograph book and we were looking to fill it up. We got to where you have to decide which line to get in. Hmmmm. We opted for the one with Chip and Dale and surprise guests. Who would they be? Would we be happy? Would we be let down? Nahh, that isn’t possible at MK is it? It was only like 10 minutes and we were ushered in. I really liked how this was set up and how each family gets a few minutes with the characters. Well done I thought.

We had Daisy Duck, Chip and Dale, Alice and Sleeping Beauty/Princess Aurora. As we waited Sleeping Beauty came over to us in the line and asked Goofy if he was a prince. He said no and she asked if he wanted an invisible sword. He wasn’t sure so she told him to think it over. She was SO sweet with him! Their interaction was a highlight of the week for me.

We got pictures and siggys and Alice asked if he was a prince too since she has always wanted to meet a prince.

Then it was time for Sleeping Beauty.

He did in fact want the invisible sword so she turned around to get it. She handed it to him and it was just priceless.

She signed his book, we took pictures and then we walked out with this.

This is one of my favorite pictures of the whole trip. I just wish his shirt was clean! He and I left (I had to carry the sword) and toured Minnie’s house. It was okay but crowded and lots of kids in the kitchen so it was hard for him to explore much. We left and headed towards Tomorrowland. Grumpy called and they were in line for Astro Orbiter so we went to wait for them over there. Goofy and I got a Coke to share and one Sweet Cream Cheese pretzel (HUGE thumbs up) and one Spicy Cheese Pretzel (HUGE thumbs down, just ewwwww).

The gang came off Astro Orbiter pretty disappointed. They didn’t think it was that much fun and it was pretty short. They did like the HSM show though Belle wished it had been a little longer. We had to think about heading out now as we had to be at the Wilderness Lodge for a surprise at 5:15. We started walking towards Main Street.

The smells from the Confectionary drew us in. Oh so many goodies! How to decide? Grumpy got some fudge, I had chocolate dipped strawberries, Belle had a Mickey Rice Crispie Treat as did Bashful and Goofy had a Chocolate and Sprinkle dipped Marshmellow on a stick. We sat on the curb and got a nice sugar rush.

Time to go and I was hitting that point of vacation where you know you are halfway done. The week was half over and the next time we visited MK would be the day we go home. That made me sad. I wanted to enjoy every minute of our trip but the depressing countdown was already starting in the back of my mind.

We left and decided to take the boat to the WL. It is nice trip over and we enjoyed the break. The WL is gorgeous! Simply gorgeous. I would love to stay there sometime. I just love that type of atmosphere.

Coming up…another suprise for the kids and a rip roaring dinner!

 

[Cass]

Oh, what a pretty Princess Aurora you had, sometimes she looks really trashy, but your's is beautiful. Love the lipstick print!

 

[Vivsmom]

Great installment! The "fake bird" show comment is very funny to me as I have an 11 year old DD and I can hear that exact phase coming out of her mouth.

The picture after the kiss is priceless.

Can't wait to read more.

 

[SHB]

Allyson, I have really enjoyed you TR. The video was the best. I agree with the other DISers, you should send that the AFV. You would probably win. Keep on posting cant wait to hear about the next "surprise"

 

[javamom]

Allyson... what do you mean? His shirt looks clean to me:

Rumored Avatar Fairy and Picture-fixer-upper

 

[PrettyInTink]

Shirt looks clean to me too!

More trip report! I must have more! It's jsut too good to stop now......

 

[Wishing upon a Star!]

Great trip report. Love the video of the kids reactions. Can't wait to read more.

Terri

 

[swankybeth]

Great report, I'm really enjoying it.

 

[PrincessV]

I may not have gotton any Dream FastPasses all week but twice I got the old red card. I wish they gave you a little prize at the end for holding it. A sticker. A lollipop. A Mickey Bar. A FastPass. Something. Anything.

I agree! I mean, c'mon - they're asking guests to help them out, right? A little something to say "Thanks" would be a nice touch.

(I’m an only child. We sulk when we don’t get our way.).

Ditto for me... and my DS. This just tickled me!

I had hoped El Pirato and El Perico would be open today, it had been open on Saturday, but alas it was closed. I have read such good reviews on the food here, why on earth is the place never open???

I used to eat there every day trip we took. The taco salads were sooo yummy! Honestly, I'm in the MK at least 5-8 times a year and I haven't seen it open in about 8 years. I don't get it, either.

We went into the store to kill some time till our FP. We were browsing when a CM came up and asked if Grumpy would like to play a game? Sure thing. So she brings him over to the black kettle in the middle of the store and gives him a stuffed brer rabbit. He has to throw it 3 times and try to get it in. He does and sinks them each time (it isn’t too hard!). Then she gives him a Magical Moments certificate. He looked at it quizzically.

Goofy: What can I do with this?
CM: Not much!

Well, at least she was honest about it! Our useless certificate is hanging on the fridge.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

I love your report, can't wait to read the rest, your son was so cute with princess aurora! Great pics, i love the reports with pics, it feels like your there.

 

[Marjol]

I just read your trip report and loved it! The video was hilarious!

 

[AshClan]

The girls and I hopped on SM now to use our Fast Passes. I used to love this ride. I think I must be getting old. It is so herky jerky! You just feel like you are being thrown around and I felt like my brain was banging into the side of my head. No smoothness of Rock N Rollar Coaster here! It was fun but really once was enough for me.

ITA!! It must be old age creeping up on us.

The Pirates ride has no Fastpasses, why is that? Seems like a popular enough ride that it would be FP worthy.

I KNOW!!! On our last trip, I said that several times. I just don't understand why they'd FP a theatre show like Philharmagic, but not FP this! There is always a long wait posted. Although, as you noted, that wait time isn't always correct.....Which is a nice surprise if it's SHORTER than the posted time. But NOT GOOD if it's the other way around.

We needed…Dole Whips.

YUM! I finally got around to trying one in November. I wish I had one now!!!

I walk fast, very fast. During most of this trip I was looking over my shoulder to see if Grumpy and Goofy were still there. The girls have learned to keep up with me over the years but no go for Grumpy, he still moseys along behind me.

That's ME!! On our last "commando" trip in April of '05, my older son and I were always miles ahead of my husband and my younger son. On day 4, I think it was, Jay(DH) said he had just one favor to ask of me. "Could you try to not walk so fast today?" Since then, I've tried to slow it down. But that's not always possible. KWIM??

Allyson, I found myself nodding in agreement to so much of this chapter! Thanks!!

 

[Vannah]

I may not have gotton any Dream FastPasses all week but twice I got the old red card. I wish they gave you a little prize at the end for holding it. A sticker. A lollipop. A Mickey Bar. A FastPass. Something. Anything.

Once, when me, my dad, and my younger sister were in line for Haunted Mansion, the line was reallllllly long and we had just gotten in it. The CM at the end of the line place (I guess the fast pass place) handed us the little red card deally-bop and told us to give it to the people when we got to the ride. Well, it was five minutes later and the line hadn't moved since we got there, so the CM handed us three fast passes and told us to go on ahead. It was pretty cool.

Can't wait to read more!!

 

[MomofCKJ]

Allyson, I have really enjoyed you TR. The video was the best. I agree with the other DISers, you should send that the AFV. You would probably win. Keep on posting cant wait to hear about the next "surprise"

I burned a copy last night and am going to send it in, can't hurt right? We love that show and watch it (all 5 of us) every Sunday night. Nothing like good family fun of watching someone fall off a boat dock or sled into a tree.

Allyson

 

[MomofCKJ]

Allyson... what do you mean? His shirt looks clean to me:

Rumored Avatar Fairy and Picture-fixer-upper

Awww, muchos gracias Java Mom! You rock! You are even better than Oxi Clean!

Allyson

 

[newcomer52]

Allyson,

You are right. Goofy is soooooo cute! Love the TR.

Jerry