The MKFan family’s Dec Trip-Day 8: Where we say ‘Thank you Mr. Tyler’

MKFan-PR

Certified MK Freak! Work is what I do for Vacation
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The MKFan family’s 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 I’m 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 she’s becoming an expert.

DD, 4. We’ll 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 8 – Dec 5: Where we say ‘Thank you Mr. Tyler’

It’s another chilly but very bright morning. For a few seconds, I get kind of depressed :( since I know this is our last full day here, and tomorrow we go home…

Or so we thought…stay tuned for that!…

…but I recover. I’m determined that I’m going to enjoy this day! Even if I have to FORCE myself to have fun ;) .

We get up and get dressed and get our breakfast from Captain Cooks (I couldn’t pass up on one more Croissant and Scrambled-egg sandwich. I can feel my waistline getting larger!). We always love to visit MK last, but since I enjoyed RNR so much and want to do it again, and since there are a few things there that we might enjoy doing (plus Fantasmic), we decide to head to MGM.

First, to stock up on souvenirs and stuff, we go to the Marketplace, to the World of Disney store. We pick up some very nice stuff: birthstone necklaces for Non-Stop and her cousins, some clothes for us, Disney roast coffee for DW’s Best Friend (she had it before and loved it) and keychains for almost everyone else. I get a few nice ones for myself. I collect keychains, and from each trip I get a few. My collection is quite large.

Plus I always accept donations. If you have some, especially from WDW, contact me! ;) :p

I look everywhere, but I can’t find the ‘Wishes’ soundtrack. I love soundtracks (Movies, TV, anything…) and have quite a lot of CDs of those at home. (BTW, I accept donations on those too :p). We LOVED the Wishes music, but I couldn’t find it. Maybe it’s because it’s new. Oh, well. One more reason to come back.

With our bags full of goodies (and The Disney Co.’s coffers full of my $$$), we go back to the car and decide to drive to MGM. :scared: Drive to a park! OMG!. There’s a first time for everything since we never drive to the parks (sheer laziness; I don’t want the hassle).

Amazingly, parking at MGM is pain-free. We make a note of where we parked, then board the tram. We breeze through security and soon we’re inside MGM. We ride GMR again, then decide to hit the Indiana Jones show. Non-Stop has never seen it, so it’ll be a new experience for her.

The explosions startled her, but otherwise she loves the show. Especially the ‘big ball’. She loves action movies (with parental controls; stop looking at me funny! ;) ), and this is great.

After making sure Indy is safe, we head out to catch WWTBAM-PI. I’ve never been to this one, and I’m pretty excited about it, since I loved the show when it was with Regis. Right at the start, Non-Stop declares a bathroom emergency. DW insists I stay while she takes her (I love her!). I got almost all the questions right, but I couldn’t do it fast enough!

We saw One Man’s Dream, then took Non-Stop for some autographs and pictures with Mike and Sully. We then decided to get some early dinner (or late lunch if you prefer) at Sci-Fi. The food here is hit or miss (DW’s burger was a ‘miss’, my Ribs were a ‘hit’; then again DW complains that I always have better luck when ordering food!). Non-Stop truly loved to ‘coolness’ of sitting in a car to eat. She enjoyed the clips and drew in her little pad, while DW and me got cozy in the back seat. Hope nobody misunderstand that last sentence!... :rotfl: .

After eating, we strolled and relaxed, browsing through the shops. After I decided my tummy was properly settled, I wanted to get on RNR again. Non-Stop and DW waited outside, while I went in, basically straight through to the studio (told you, early Dec. is the best time to come!). Steven Tyler again provided the transportation to the concert in the back alley…

…3…2…1…Whoa!...Face flat!...WoooHoooo!

Loved it again! As I went out I looked at my picture. Totally ridiculous! I can’t get that picture! So…I went again!

I exited, waved to Non-Stop and DW, whose jaws were now hitting the floor, since they’ve never seen me so excited about a ride! Again, straight through to the studio. Boarded the last car in the limo (awesome view when the limo goes into the loops). And this time…

BIIIIIG Smile in my picture! (although my cheeks felt like they were touching my ears!). Now THIS is the one I want to take home!

Non-Stop and DW enjoy the picture and we laugh about it. Non-Stop says ‘Daddy, is Disney for daddies and mommies too! It can’t be only for kids because you and mommy like it’.

Clever girl! I tell her that ‘I’m a daddy, but in here I’m like a boy, and I love it. And when you grow up and come with your daughter, you’ll tell her how grandpa loved it so much!’

Hey! It’s all about passing family values to the next generation! ;)

Me Enjoying RNR so much means a lot to DW. This has been a year of a lot of changes (family troubles and crises on both DW’s family and mine, we moved, I changed jobs, we had to get rid of a car, and a few stuff more…). She told me that me being ‘brave’ enough to try what previously I feared, reassured her that we would take on anything and not back down. That gave her a lot of confidence into the new year.

So for that, I say ‘Thank you, Mr. Tyler!’

Enough with the rambling! I have a macho image to uphold!

I decide to ride TOT (billed as TOT-4), just to say that I’ve ridden all four versions. Still freaks me out. And I still keep coming back!

Since the crowds are low, we are able to grab a seat for Fantasmic about 15 minutes to showtime. We share some popcorn and Coke and all three of us agree that this has been our best trip ever (of course, we always say that about a trip!), especially because of all the Christmas decorations and shows. Of course, Non-Stop wasn’t always sweet and nice, sometimes she was cranky and unyielding, but we were able to handle it all because we always do things relaxedly, and could change plans ‘on the fly’.

Ok, stop it with the ‘reflecting’! This is a trip report!

Fantasmic was amazing, as usual. We file out slowly to the exit, enjoying everything. We stop at one of the shops and get some goodies and kitchen stuff that DW liked. It’s early, but we decide to enjoy the last few hours of this night at the Poly, since we have to finish packing and we have to get up early tomorrow.

We bid farewell to ‘The Hat’, then board the tram and hear out back to the Poly for our last night ‘home’.

We have in-room dinner from Captain Cooks (ate a lot there, as you can see; Non-Stop and DW loved the pizza!). We are finishing packing, and getting a few more glimpses of Krista showing us the Top 7 Must-Sees when suddenly…

A distant BOOM! ’What is that?’ Non-Stop asks
‘Probably fireworks’ I say…

Fireworks? Oh like the ones in the Castle

Cue the Wishes theme, which she starts singing…

Wait…The Castle? THE CASTLE! FIREWORKS! I HAVE A VIEW!

I run outside, almost tipping over the suitcase, then look at my corner…

YES! FIREWORKS! COME HERE!

(Now you can see who’s the child in this family!)

We can’t completely see the high ones because the balcony blocks them, but we see everything else! We’re seeing Wishes from our balcony! It’s from the MVMCP, which I had completely forgotten about. I start regretting not knowing, since we could have been at the beach, enjoying a full view…

Then I see that we all three are huddled together, loving every second of it through our ‘partial’ castle view, with both Non-Stop and DW’s face now lit up brighter that any of the fireworks we’re seeing…

…and it hits me: this is what’s important. Being all together, having a great time…together. It’s worth every penny, because we’ll always remember…

See why Daddy loves this place so much?

After that, there’s not much else to tell. Get to bed. Tomorrow we go back home…


RHETORICAL QUESTIONS AND THINGS THAT I THINK I THINK:

-Are there any support groups for PDD (Post-Disney Depression)?

-Are you like me? There is a point in the vacation when I start counting the full days we have left. When I get to 3, I start doing it with a sigh, since I can see the eand near :(

-I think the Sci-Fi would be an even greater place to eat if the food was actually good every time. Then again, in that case it would be very hard to get a PS!

-In case you are counting, I think these are the four versions of TOT:
1) All the way up, doors open, picture, down you go.
2) Small drop at the beginning, all the way up, doors open, picture, down you go.
3) Random drop sequences each day; lots of drops, including all the way up, picture, down you go.
4) Random drop sequences each ride, lots and lots of drops. On one of them, picture.

-How in the world can you get on the board at WWTBAM-PI? I thought I was answering pretty fast (and correctly too) and couldn’t get into it!

-I think we have a new tradition for our last night at WDW: Fantasmic. Of course, the bonus Wishes from the balcony was a great bonus too!

-I think I envy those of you who can take more than one trip per year. Change that. I DO envy you ;)

Next…the Finale…Goodbye and ’Security WHAT?’

Stay Tuned!
 
Another great day! Your daughter sounds adorable. Now she knows that Disney is for everyone of all ages. It's a great place to be a big old kid.

I'll be looking for the last day, but is it really the last?
 





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