MKFan-PR
Certified MK Freak! Work is what I do for Vacation
- Joined
- Jun 27, 2002
- Messages
- 495
The MKFan familys Dec Trip
The cast:
MKFan-PR: Me, 35, Disney maniac since my first trip way back when I was 5. This was my 11th trip, the 7th with my DW, the 3rd with our DD. I love planning, but Im no commando. I go to WDW to relax.
DW, 39. This is her 8th trip total. We really enjoy being here. And she loves the fact that shes becoming an expert.
DD, 4. Well call her Non-Stop, since she literally was during the trip. This is actually her 3rd trip, but it will also be her most memorable, since she was 9 months and 3.5 YO on her two previous ones.
Day 7 Dec 3: Where we almost forget the fudge
Another chilly but otherwise fine morning. The ladies are still sleeping, so I have to make the most of this time. I pick up the newspaper at the door, and read it in the balcony. Sigh! Just when Im getting used to the chilly mornings, we have to go in two more days! But Im not going to let the impending PDD (Post-Disney Depression) prevent me from enjoying these last couple of days.
Non-Stop is now up and she joins me in the balcony. We talk, and she plays a little with her balloons, which are amazingly still pretty well inflated. DW then gets up and we go over the plans for the day.
In this vacation we didnt go outside to other parks, since we wanted to be able to enjoy WDW in every day without using UPHs. That way, if we felt like staying in the Resort in one of the days, we wont lose it. For that, we have an Annual Pass (mine) and two 7-day Hoppers. So far its been working out great. Since we havent done much resort hopping this trip, with the exception of the Boardwalk yesterday, we decide to include that in our plans: well go to MK, then change and go check out AKL.
While the ladies get changed, I went out to drop some more quarters in the arcade er, I mean, get breakfast. Sorry, but I was getting hooked on the basketball game there. Thankfully the ladies take a while to change and getting breakfast at Captain Cooks is pretty fast and painless, so nobody notices the extra time
We are soon dressed and out the door. Since we are now taking things slow and enjoying the atmosphere (and since the cold has subsided a bit ), we decide to take the boat from the Poly to MK. Very nice. I just adore MK (hence my username), and the Poly has some of the best transportation options to it (for the Poly Bus Bashers Club, the new Bus Stop is nice, and we didnt wait long for buses to AK and MGM. But we used it in a very slow season, so please dont hate us! ).
We take some pictures of the 75 Mickeys and a picture of our Walk around the World tile. We bought it on our first trip as a family (when it was just DW and me) back in 94. Every trip since then we find it and take a picture of it with our shoes. Since she is now bigger, on this trip we include Non-Stops shoes in it. Its one of the cutest pictures and one of our favorites, in a way that maybe only us understand. The rest of the world would look at it and immediately think:
.
We enter MK and head for the train. Non-Stop loves trains, and this ride is fun for all of us. We have to do the whole loop, since we couldnt take the stroller with us in the train, but thats ok. Were not hurried.
We now continue through Main Street, and as we pass the candy shop, we remember one of our favorite treats: chocolate fudge squares! We are too full now, but we make a mental note to get some when we leave.
We decide to go to Tomorrowland, since we havent seen much of it. AE is now being refurbished as a Stitch-themed ride or show. Im probably in a minority, but I loved AE. But Im also excited about the new ride. I hope it can live up to its billing more that AE did.
Since Buzz has quite a few people, we decide to ride the TTA around, with Non-Stop as a bouncing ball between seats. In the dark parts, she sits with me; in the light parts, she sits with DW. She comes to me for protection! I feel like such a great dad!.
Right now, people without children reading this are going like this:
. Sorry, but shes my only child!
Right after that we cramp into a car in the Indy Speedway, and manage a personal best to finish 578th. I couldve done better, but our pit crew sucked!
Since Non-Stop has been enjoying interacting with the characters, we decide to go to ToonTown Fair to get THE most coveted autograph and picture: Mickey! But first, a stop at the Barnstormer. Non-Stop remembers this clearly from our trip last year (it was her first thrill ride) and she wants to go. As we exit we see
Hey! Whos that? Its Goofy himself at the Barnstormer!
Non-Stop wants to get his autograph, so we go into the line. Non-Stop loves Goofy because hes always doing something funny. Hes actually my favorite character, because he basically cant do anything right, but he keeps on trying. Ive always loved that attitude about life.
Getting life lessons from Goofy! Now its people who dont get WDW that are going like this:
We get the pictures and the autograph, and then Non-Stop gives Goofy the biggest, warmest hug youll ever see! We didnt take a picture, because we couldnt we were so delighted by it! Doesnt matter. Her face and her smile while she rested her head on Goofys arms is another image thatll be it me forever.
Non-Stop plays a little in the play yard. She has some leadership skills (and knows some pretty decent English for her age Thank you, DirecTV), and in no time she has gathered a play group. We let her enjoy herself, then enter Minnies and Mickeys house and continue to the Judges tent. And then
There he is! Its Mickey! We get a beautiful picture, the autograph, and Non-Stop plants a big kiss on the Big Cheese himself.
After that, we exit ToonTown to Fantasyland, with a stop at the Mad Tea Party, where Non-Stop and I proceed to get DW completely dizzy. We then ride Fantasyland, which has very few people: Pooh, Snow White and a new ride in the Carousel are all pretty soon dispatched. Peter Pan has a wait time of about 20 minutes, so what we decide to do is get a FP and head to Columbia Harbor House and eat our customary late lunch.
This is one of our Must Sees (sorry, Krista). We always have to eat there. Were in the mood for some great Clam Chowder (New England, of course) and yummy chicken strips. DW and Me get the Clam Chowders, Non-Stop gets the strips. We head up to the second floor, to one of our newest (we discovered it last year) secret nooks: alongside the windows over the walkway from Liberty Square to Fantasyland. Sometimes the second floor is closed, but not today, so we enjoy our lunch with almost no one else there. Dont tell anyone about this. This is just between all 60,000 of us here at the DISboards!
After our meal, we go into the HM (this is just a doll ride, so Non-Stop is brave about it), then back to Peter Pan for our FP. After this we have two choices: back to Tomorrowland for Buzz and the Astro Orbiter (in 10 previous trips over the years I have never been on it
), or on to Frontierland. Since Non-Stop would enjoy the options there more, its back to Tomorrowland.
We ride Buzz, with Non-Stop as the pilot since she found that role much more exciting. I remember the robot at the beginning and we turn, but after frantically trying to hit the target, I miss badly! I still win (Who? Me? Competitive? Nah!), but I still havent been able to hit the robot in any of our trips!
Non-Stop and I go up to the Astro-Orbiter. DW skips it since its so high up and one of us would have to ride alone. Because its so high, she would be freaking out. And with one of us riding alone, she would be freaking out by herself (and make a fool of herself) or with Non-Stop (not be able to watch her and make a fool of herself). As you can see, its a win-win situation!
I expected this to be like Dumbo. And it is, really. But maybe its because the circle is smaller, but as we go up and down, I feel like Im tilting to the side! And I feel like Im going to fall!
Non-Stop is enjoying it because she is nested comfortably in Daddys lap, but she doesnt notice that Daddy is hanging on for dear life!.
Well, with that experience out of the way, we head out back to the Poly. MK closes today early because of MVMCP. As we get to the Main Street plaza, we remember something
The fudge!
We trot back and get two squares. We eat one on the way out (perfect mot too hard, not too moist), then save the other for later (or for home, if were able to resist). We take the boat back, and return to the Poly with a beautiful sunset sky overhead!
We rest, then freshen up and change to go to AKL. We hoped to get there earlier, so that we could see the animals, but we were enjoying ourselves too much at MK to leave. Well, thats what life is all about: tough choices!
We take the car and head out to AKL. Even before we get to the entrance we feel like were in another place: the vegetation changes and soon you find yourself somewhere else.
As we enter the lobby, were impressed. DW loves the decorations and the feel of the place, and although its quite busy, the lobby is very nice. We walk around a bit, doing some atmosphere soaking, the head below to the Mara to get something to eat.
We decide on what appears to be chicken and rice. The food takes a while to arrive, but when it comes we dig in.
Well, the rice was not rice at all. It was something. I have no idea, but as I tried it the image that kept popping in my head was of spice-seasoned lint. Oh, well. The chicken was pretty good, though.
We walk around some more, enjoying the resort. We would have loved to come during the day, and we will definitely stay there on a future trip!
By the time we get back to the Poly Non-Stop is asleep. We tuck her in, then chat a while in the balcony. Then DW changes and goes to sleep, while I watch some more TV.
These are the final days. Just one more full day tomorrow. Then home. But guess what? Im not depressed! Ive enjoyed everything!
PDD will not beat me!
RHETORICAL QUESTIONS AND THINGS THAT I THINK I THINK:
-Why does Peter Pans Flight always have a line, no matter what time of year?
-I think the cars at the Indy Speedway work with gasoline. If so, how much of it do they use every day?
-Isnt the Chicken Strips and Clam Chowder at Columbia Harbour House great?
-Why is it that, no matter what thrilling attractions open at WDW or at any other parks, people always, always, HAVE to go on PotC and the HM?
-I think those are two examples of rides with character. I think one of the best examples of newest rides that have it is ToT.
Next Day 8 Where we say 'Thanks, Mr. Tyler'
Stay Tuned!
The cast:
MKFan-PR: Me, 35, Disney maniac since my first trip way back when I was 5. This was my 11th trip, the 7th with my DW, the 3rd with our DD. I love planning, but Im no commando. I go to WDW to relax.
DW, 39. This is her 8th trip total. We really enjoy being here. And she loves the fact that shes becoming an expert.
DD, 4. Well call her Non-Stop, since she literally was during the trip. This is actually her 3rd trip, but it will also be her most memorable, since she was 9 months and 3.5 YO on her two previous ones.
Day 7 Dec 3: Where we almost forget the fudge
Another chilly but otherwise fine morning. The ladies are still sleeping, so I have to make the most of this time. I pick up the newspaper at the door, and read it in the balcony. Sigh! Just when Im getting used to the chilly mornings, we have to go in two more days! But Im not going to let the impending PDD (Post-Disney Depression) prevent me from enjoying these last couple of days.
Non-Stop is now up and she joins me in the balcony. We talk, and she plays a little with her balloons, which are amazingly still pretty well inflated. DW then gets up and we go over the plans for the day.
In this vacation we didnt go outside to other parks, since we wanted to be able to enjoy WDW in every day without using UPHs. That way, if we felt like staying in the Resort in one of the days, we wont lose it. For that, we have an Annual Pass (mine) and two 7-day Hoppers. So far its been working out great. Since we havent done much resort hopping this trip, with the exception of the Boardwalk yesterday, we decide to include that in our plans: well go to MK, then change and go check out AKL.
While the ladies get changed, I went out to drop some more quarters in the arcade er, I mean, get breakfast. Sorry, but I was getting hooked on the basketball game there. Thankfully the ladies take a while to change and getting breakfast at Captain Cooks is pretty fast and painless, so nobody notices the extra time
We are soon dressed and out the door. Since we are now taking things slow and enjoying the atmosphere (and since the cold has subsided a bit ), we decide to take the boat from the Poly to MK. Very nice. I just adore MK (hence my username), and the Poly has some of the best transportation options to it (for the Poly Bus Bashers Club, the new Bus Stop is nice, and we didnt wait long for buses to AK and MGM. But we used it in a very slow season, so please dont hate us!
).We take some pictures of the 75 Mickeys and a picture of our Walk around the World tile. We bought it on our first trip as a family (when it was just DW and me) back in 94. Every trip since then we find it and take a picture of it with our shoes. Since she is now bigger, on this trip we include Non-Stops shoes in it. Its one of the cutest pictures and one of our favorites, in a way that maybe only us understand. The rest of the world would look at it and immediately think:
.We enter MK and head for the train. Non-Stop loves trains, and this ride is fun for all of us. We have to do the whole loop, since we couldnt take the stroller with us in the train, but thats ok. Were not hurried.
We now continue through Main Street, and as we pass the candy shop, we remember one of our favorite treats: chocolate fudge squares! We are too full now, but we make a mental note to get some when we leave.
We decide to go to Tomorrowland, since we havent seen much of it. AE is now being refurbished as a Stitch-themed ride or show. Im probably in a minority, but I loved AE. But Im also excited about the new ride. I hope it can live up to its billing more that AE did.
Since Buzz has quite a few people, we decide to ride the TTA around, with Non-Stop as a bouncing ball between seats. In the dark parts, she sits with me; in the light parts, she sits with DW. She comes to me for protection! I feel like such a great dad!.
Right now, people without children reading this are going like this:
. Sorry, but shes my only child!Right after that we cramp into a car in the Indy Speedway, and manage a personal best to finish 578th. I couldve done better, but our pit crew sucked!
Since Non-Stop has been enjoying interacting with the characters, we decide to go to ToonTown Fair to get THE most coveted autograph and picture: Mickey! But first, a stop at the Barnstormer. Non-Stop remembers this clearly from our trip last year (it was her first thrill ride) and she wants to go. As we exit we see
Hey! Whos that? Its Goofy himself at the Barnstormer!
Non-Stop wants to get his autograph, so we go into the line. Non-Stop loves Goofy because hes always doing something funny. Hes actually my favorite character, because he basically cant do anything right, but he keeps on trying. Ive always loved that attitude about life.
Getting life lessons from Goofy! Now its people who dont get WDW that are going like this:
We get the pictures and the autograph, and then Non-Stop gives Goofy the biggest, warmest hug youll ever see! We didnt take a picture, because we couldnt we were so delighted by it! Doesnt matter. Her face and her smile while she rested her head on Goofys arms is another image thatll be it me forever.
Non-Stop plays a little in the play yard. She has some leadership skills (and knows some pretty decent English for her age Thank you, DirecTV), and in no time she has gathered a play group. We let her enjoy herself, then enter Minnies and Mickeys house and continue to the Judges tent. And then
There he is! Its Mickey! We get a beautiful picture, the autograph, and Non-Stop plants a big kiss on the Big Cheese himself.
After that, we exit ToonTown to Fantasyland, with a stop at the Mad Tea Party, where Non-Stop and I proceed to get DW completely dizzy. We then ride Fantasyland, which has very few people: Pooh, Snow White and a new ride in the Carousel are all pretty soon dispatched. Peter Pan has a wait time of about 20 minutes, so what we decide to do is get a FP and head to Columbia Harbor House and eat our customary late lunch.
This is one of our Must Sees (sorry, Krista). We always have to eat there. Were in the mood for some great Clam Chowder (New England, of course) and yummy chicken strips. DW and Me get the Clam Chowders, Non-Stop gets the strips. We head up to the second floor, to one of our newest (we discovered it last year) secret nooks: alongside the windows over the walkway from Liberty Square to Fantasyland. Sometimes the second floor is closed, but not today, so we enjoy our lunch with almost no one else there. Dont tell anyone about this. This is just between all 60,000 of us here at the DISboards!
After our meal, we go into the HM (this is just a doll ride, so Non-Stop is brave about it), then back to Peter Pan for our FP. After this we have two choices: back to Tomorrowland for Buzz and the Astro Orbiter (in 10 previous trips over the years I have never been on it
), or on to Frontierland. Since Non-Stop would enjoy the options there more, its back to Tomorrowland.We ride Buzz, with Non-Stop as the pilot since she found that role much more exciting. I remember the robot at the beginning and we turn, but after frantically trying to hit the target, I miss badly! I still win (Who? Me? Competitive? Nah!), but I still havent been able to hit the robot in any of our trips!
Non-Stop and I go up to the Astro-Orbiter. DW skips it since its so high up and one of us would have to ride alone. Because its so high, she would be freaking out. And with one of us riding alone, she would be freaking out by herself (and make a fool of herself) or with Non-Stop (not be able to watch her and make a fool of herself). As you can see, its a win-win situation!
I expected this to be like Dumbo. And it is, really. But maybe its because the circle is smaller, but as we go up and down, I feel like Im tilting to the side! And I feel like Im going to fall!
Non-Stop is enjoying it because she is nested comfortably in Daddys lap, but she doesnt notice that Daddy is hanging on for dear life!.Well, with that experience out of the way, we head out back to the Poly. MK closes today early because of MVMCP. As we get to the Main Street plaza, we remember something
The fudge!
We trot back and get two squares. We eat one on the way out (perfect mot too hard, not too moist), then save the other for later (or for home, if were able to resist). We take the boat back, and return to the Poly with a beautiful sunset sky overhead!
We rest, then freshen up and change to go to AKL. We hoped to get there earlier, so that we could see the animals, but we were enjoying ourselves too much at MK to leave. Well, thats what life is all about: tough choices!
We take the car and head out to AKL. Even before we get to the entrance we feel like were in another place: the vegetation changes and soon you find yourself somewhere else.
As we enter the lobby, were impressed. DW loves the decorations and the feel of the place, and although its quite busy, the lobby is very nice. We walk around a bit, doing some atmosphere soaking, the head below to the Mara to get something to eat.
We decide on what appears to be chicken and rice. The food takes a while to arrive, but when it comes we dig in.
Well, the rice was not rice at all. It was something. I have no idea, but as I tried it the image that kept popping in my head was of spice-seasoned lint. Oh, well. The chicken was pretty good, though.
We walk around some more, enjoying the resort. We would have loved to come during the day, and we will definitely stay there on a future trip!
By the time we get back to the Poly Non-Stop is asleep. We tuck her in, then chat a while in the balcony. Then DW changes and goes to sleep, while I watch some more TV.
These are the final days. Just one more full day tomorrow. Then home. But guess what? Im not depressed! Ive enjoyed everything!
PDD will not beat me!
RHETORICAL QUESTIONS AND THINGS THAT I THINK I THINK:
-Why does Peter Pans Flight always have a line, no matter what time of year?
-I think the cars at the Indy Speedway work with gasoline. If so, how much of it do they use every day?
-Isnt the Chicken Strips and Clam Chowder at Columbia Harbour House great?
-Why is it that, no matter what thrilling attractions open at WDW or at any other parks, people always, always, HAVE to go on PotC and the HM?
-I think those are two examples of rides with character. I think one of the best examples of newest rides that have it is ToT.
Next Day 8 Where we say 'Thanks, Mr. Tyler'
Stay Tuned!
