Peepster
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Dec 14, 2005
- Messages
- 827
Following our disappearing luggage ordeal, we headed to the Magic Kindom. The direct boat service to the Magic Kingdom was very nice and in 5-10 minutes we were on our way through security (Mary has backpack checking down to a science!) and under the train tunnel. The train tunnel….do any of you feel like me when you enter the park for the first time on a trip? It’s like all these emotions and memories come roiling to the surface. Memories of great times on past trips, the anticipation of this visit…and most of all, and the one that always brings a tear and a happy throat lump is the memory of my parents. My folks, as most of us think, were very special people. Mother with “her” carousel and Dad (well into his 80’s) riding Space Mountain with me. Laugh at me, if you must, but every time I walk out of that tunnel I feel them with me.
We had reservations at the Plaza Restaurant. A place I’d never tried in all these trips. The place, the service, the sandwiches and cherry cokes were great. We skipped desert because Mary said she heard a Mickey bar calling her name!
The Castle lighting was absolutely spectacular!
The parks were as packed as we expected so we felt fortunate to get into Mick’s Philharmagic and Pirates. Actually we rode Pirates twice. The first trip was rudely interrupted by the tourist who did not understand the “NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY, PLEASE!” I certainly don’t mean to be a grinch but, trust me, this was like viewing Cap’n Jack Sparrow via strobes! So the second time around when we reached the CM we kindly asked for a boat with no flash photography please. He grinned at us and announced loudly (at least 15 times as we boarded) the afore mentioned “NFPP!” It worked…only two or three people took pictures! Sheesh!
Then it was time to position ourselves for SpectroMagic. Love the music & floats…hate the clowns, masked or unmasked. They’re kind of like liver & onions for me…you just can’t disguise the weirdness no matter what you do with them.
By this time, it was almost impossible to move in the park but that never deters us from Wishes, especially Holiday Wishes. So we planted ourselves in sight line with the Castle and waited. I’m often accused by my family of being able to carry on a conversation with a post, so while we were awaiting Jiminey’s welcoming voice we visited with two couples who had never seen Wishes before, let alone the holiday version. We were so excited for them and expounded on and on about how much we knew they would enjoy them. So the anticipation for all of us reached a crescendo as the first bright fireworks appeared from the ground. And we waited to be swept away once again by our favorite nighttime show…there was an explosion, we looked skyward…and, believe it or not, we saw nothing, nada, not even a faint glimpse of what we knew was the glorious sight just out of our vision, hidden by the sudden entrance of FOG! Mary and I just looked at each other incredulously and laughingly explained what was happening to our very confused new friends. What could we do but laugh. For us it just seemed like the fitting end to one of our weirdest vacation days. Then we began to look skyward and, upon hearing the explosion (still with no visual) would OHHH and AHHH, just like we were really seeing something. Our new friends caught on and began to do the same. Meanwhile, people all around us are staring…first at us and then at the sky…wondering if they’ve suddenly gone blind or if we’ve suddenly gone mad! Yes, we’re easily amused. Poor Mickey….$85,000 for a night of fireworks no one saw! After the show, or lack thereof, we skittered our way through the stores, avoiding the heaviest of the crowds and caught the first boat back to the Lodge. I’m sure all of you can imagine our incredible joy upon having our suitcases greet us as we walked in the door! An hour later we were unpacked and sleeping with visions of fog banks dancing in our heads.
We had reservations at the Plaza Restaurant. A place I’d never tried in all these trips. The place, the service, the sandwiches and cherry cokes were great. We skipped desert because Mary said she heard a Mickey bar calling her name!
The Castle lighting was absolutely spectacular!
The parks were as packed as we expected so we felt fortunate to get into Mick’s Philharmagic and Pirates. Actually we rode Pirates twice. The first trip was rudely interrupted by the tourist who did not understand the “NO FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY, PLEASE!” I certainly don’t mean to be a grinch but, trust me, this was like viewing Cap’n Jack Sparrow via strobes! So the second time around when we reached the CM we kindly asked for a boat with no flash photography please. He grinned at us and announced loudly (at least 15 times as we boarded) the afore mentioned “NFPP!” It worked…only two or three people took pictures! Sheesh!
Then it was time to position ourselves for SpectroMagic. Love the music & floats…hate the clowns, masked or unmasked. They’re kind of like liver & onions for me…you just can’t disguise the weirdness no matter what you do with them.
By this time, it was almost impossible to move in the park but that never deters us from Wishes, especially Holiday Wishes. So we planted ourselves in sight line with the Castle and waited. I’m often accused by my family of being able to carry on a conversation with a post, so while we were awaiting Jiminey’s welcoming voice we visited with two couples who had never seen Wishes before, let alone the holiday version. We were so excited for them and expounded on and on about how much we knew they would enjoy them. So the anticipation for all of us reached a crescendo as the first bright fireworks appeared from the ground. And we waited to be swept away once again by our favorite nighttime show…there was an explosion, we looked skyward…and, believe it or not, we saw nothing, nada, not even a faint glimpse of what we knew was the glorious sight just out of our vision, hidden by the sudden entrance of FOG! Mary and I just looked at each other incredulously and laughingly explained what was happening to our very confused new friends. What could we do but laugh. For us it just seemed like the fitting end to one of our weirdest vacation days. Then we began to look skyward and, upon hearing the explosion (still with no visual) would OHHH and AHHH, just like we were really seeing something. Our new friends caught on and began to do the same. Meanwhile, people all around us are staring…first at us and then at the sky…wondering if they’ve suddenly gone blind or if we’ve suddenly gone mad! Yes, we’re easily amused. Poor Mickey….$85,000 for a night of fireworks no one saw! After the show, or lack thereof, we skittered our way through the stores, avoiding the heaviest of the crowds and caught the first boat back to the Lodge. I’m sure all of you can imagine our incredible joy upon having our suitcases greet us as we walked in the door! An hour later we were unpacked and sleeping with visions of fog banks dancing in our heads.
I love to be around people like that!
