The Slonecker’s Holiday Trip to Disney-Will we get to MGM? and MVMCP (Part 3 of 10)

[Obsessed w/Disney in OH]

The Slonecker’s Holiday Trip to Disney-Will we ever get to MGM?? and fun at MVMCP (Part 3 of 10)

Slonecker Family:

Lisa-Obsessed w/Disney crazed planner; been planning this trip since last Christmas

Russ-DH, is a converted Disney-fan; read the Passporter this time

Holly-DD-15, even admits to her teenage friends that she loves Disney; future goal is to work at Disney as an architect and Imagineer

Emily-DD-12, spirited & creative–energy galore, happy to be out of school

Jana-DD-8, nothing holds her back–keepin’ up with the sisters; roller coaster rider

Trip:: 7 nights at Beach Club for our third family trip to WDW-first trip for Christmas activities. November 29-December 6

We were up and at it this morning early–we’re at Disney!!! We had breakfast in the room and set off for MGM. We were excited to be able to walk there and not rely on bus transportation. We knew it was the opposite direction of EPCOT and we started that way. Russ stopped to ask someone(can you believe it–a male asking for directions?) and we proceeded on the way he thought we were supposed to go which DH described as going between Swan and Dolphin and then turning left. We walked and walked and walked. We finally got to Fantasia Miniature Golf(!) and kept seeing the buses that said MGM going the other direction. We could see Tower of Terror, but it was still way off in the distance. The girls were getting irritated and I was too and we finally decided to follow the road and thought we would get there. I can’t imagine how far out of the way we walked. Good golly, we wasted 45 minutes!! However, we finally found the way and we arrived to our favorite park. So, now we know–do NOT go between Swan and Dolphin–you cut off before you get to Swan and Dolphin and walk beside the Boardwalk and follow the water way.

We headed to TOT while Russ headed to get FPs for RnR. We walked onto TOT and was surprised to see seatbelts for everyone(when we were there last, they still had the lap bar). As we were approaching the part of the ride where you begin the drops, the ride stopped and a voice came out of the darkness, “Please turn off all video cameras”. Our car still didn’t move. A voice came again, “Sir, in the back row, turn off your video camera now.” Finally the man in the back row turned off the camera. (You are being watched every moment in Disney! ) We finally proceeded on with the drops. The girls, however, were very disappointed in the ride because they thought it was less scary than the last trip. However, we found out during another ride on TOT that we must have had a modified ride with fewer drops because of the delay in our car going. Then, they were really mad at the man who was trying to videotape!

We headed over to RnR and gosh, this is fun, fun ride. However, I must be getting older because I thought it seemed really rough and I don’t remember that from before. We headed over to Millionaire and saw the characters out at the Sorcerer’s Hat. Jana got autographs and pictures with Pluto and Lilo & Stitch. We loved their holiday attire. We saw Millionaire(an 11 year old got in the hot seat and did well!) and we saw Making of Haunted Mansion which Emily especially enjoyed. We headed to Backlot Express for lunch and the girls had burgers and Russ and I had the Sesame Chicken Salad which was good. After lunch Emily and Jana wanted to explore Honey I Shrunk playground. This place drives me crazy with the chaos so Holly and I opted to sun ourselves sitting on the street curb and we enjoyed relaxing in the sun while Russ monitored the other two. We retrieved our stuff from the lockers. Did you know that if you pay for a locker at one park and head to another, they will validate your receipt and you won’t have to pay for the locker again–just the $2 deposit? This was new news for us!

We decided to head to MK to get acclimated before MVMCP. We bused to TTC and jumped on the monorail to MK. We went to City Hall to get information about MVMCP. We were told that after 4:00, wristbands would be available in front of the castle and they had the map and schedule of shows for MVMCP available. The girls also checked out the maps of MK in other languages. Holly takes French and Emily has some limited Spanish, so they were fascinated by these maps and entertained themselves quite often interpreting and studying the maps. It was time for the afternoon parade (as we found out when we walked down Main Street), so we thought we’d try our luck in Frontierland. It also was pretty crowded, but we arrived as they were putting down the ropes. One of the walkways they usually leave open was getting ready to be closed off with rope and no one was waiting for that spot–so we lucked out.

The globe parade was more enjoyable this trip, not sure why, but it was nice. Emily and Jana got pulled out on the street for “Donkey Says” and that was fun. We enjoyed this parade and after the parade, we headed to Philharmagic to get FPs. We noticed the lines in Fantasyland were very short, so we jumped over to Tea Cups–just love this spinning, fun ride. We decided we finally had to graduate to 2 cups instead of stuffing ourselves in one–so we split up the girls in one and Russ and I in another. The second benefit to this was that we could control the spinning instead of the girls! As the CMs were checking the ride, we noticed them talking to 2 little girls in a cup near us. The basic gist was that the youngest was 4 and couldn’t ride with her sister because she wasn’t old enough to be responsible for the younger one. The CM asked us if we would be willing to take the 4 year old in our cup. She explained that the parents got sick if they rode the ride. No problem for us and she joined us. We did spin the cup a little for her benefit. After the ride, the CM gave us a priority line pass for our whole family to ride anything in Fantasyland. That was nice!

We decided to take advantage of the line pass to go on Winnie the Pooh–we love this ride! So, we rode that and loved it just as much as always–so cute!! It was time for our FP Philharmagic, so we headed over. We ended up in line near the top. We had to sit in the second from the top row. There was not enough angle on that row, so it was difficult to see. However, we were enchanted by this show. It is amazing and AWESOME!! We vowed to see it again.

It was past 4, so we decided to get our MVMCP wristbands and we noticed the entrance to the castle was blocked. We discovered that it was because the castle show was getting ready to start, so we walked around. We got in line for wristbands just as the show started. The girls got their wristbands, and headed over to see the show. Just so you know, you must be present to get the wristband. You cannot send someone to get them for the whole group. We watched Cinderella’s Surprise Celebration and enjoyed it as always. Jana joined the lines for the characters after the show and got to see Mr. Smee, Captain Hook, Suzi and Pearla(mice from Cinderella) and Queen of Hearts. The girls especially enjoyed the Queen of Hearts who gave them some attitude about signing the book and posing for pictures–really into the character.

The girls wanted ice cream, so we headed to the Plaza Ice Cream Parlor on Main Street. The girls got Cookie Sandwiches. The cookies were warm and delicious!! We also amused ourselves while eating by watching some bunnies playing in the bushes really close to us. They were very, very tame. Russ went to retrieve the pant legs(love those zip-off pants!) and sweatshirts from the locker and we dressed for the evening which was cooling down quickly.

We headed to Tomorrowland to see the 6:15 Twas the Night Before...show. The girls were a little anxious at this point, because they wanted to ride rides instead of seeing the shows. I assured them we would have another day in MK for the rides, but to do it again–I probably would have done MK for a day before MVMCP so they could get the rides out of their system and enjoy the activities at MVMCP. However, we LOVED the show. So enthusiastic and cute. We had no idea what it would be like, but we really enjoyed this more than even I had anticipated.

I decided to follow DIS advise to get the photo early and we headed over to Fantasyland to see where we needed to go. It was set up in front of It’s a Small World, but they said they would not begin until 7:00. We noticed no line at Peter Pan, so we hopped over there and returned to walk right in to get our picture taken with no wait. In Fantasyland, we also saw Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs! You could not get their autographs, but they would take the entire family’s picture with them and had a CM who would take it. We were so excited to get a picture with the whole group! :happy1:

We wanted to catch several rides on BTMRR and we headed there to ride with no wait. It was terrific as always! We did that several times and also got some hot chocolate and cookies. We decided to do Haunted Mansion and the CM at the entrance made us laugh. He said to Jana in a very mysterious, scary voice, “If you’re too scared to ride, you can stay here with me”. Jana not to be intimidated by that replied, “I don’t think so!” and marched on by. Jana was very frightened by this ride in the past, but got out a laugh out of Holly who was the most scared of all of them this time!

The girls wanted to check out the wait on Space Mtn., so we hiked over there. They got in line and ended up only waiting 5-10 minutes. Russ and I walked over to see the first parade go by. It was awesome and I couldn’t wait for the girls to see it. We met up with them and walked to Main Street to watch Wishes. We were extremely impressed with Wishes. I absolutely love the music and the choreography of the fireworks. Disney did it right when they put that together. It was very, very enjoyable. We also enjoyed the snow floating down on Main Street. Although we see plenty of the real stuff, it was so great to look toward the entrance and see the decorations and watch the snow floating down. It was a magical Disney scene without a doubt.

After Wishes, we decided to head to Frontierland to stake out a spot for the parade and as expected, the girls enjoyed it very, very much and Russ and I didn’t mind at all watching it a second time. If you don’t get in the Christmas spirit after this parade, you are a Scrooge! We really enjoyed our night at MVMCP and we were so glad we decided to do it. It was a real treat! Unfortunately, after the parade, we decided we just couldn’t make it until midnight. Our big day yesterday was catching up with us and we headed along with half of the rest of the park to the entrance to catch a bus back to BC. Lights out, we are TIRED!!

Stay Tuned for: “Cape May Café, EPCOT, Mission Space & Candlelight Processional”

 

[bjakmom]

I'm enjoying your trip report!! I'm trying to pick which days to go next Dec. - which night were you at MVMCP? - was it Sat Nov 30th? Sounds like the crowds were pretty light - did you think that was a good night to go? Can't wait to read about the rest of your trip!

 

[IloveDMB]

What a nice day! Can't wait to read the rest of your trip!

 

[Obsessed w/Disney in OH]

Bjakmom--Thanks for the reply. We went on Sunday, Nov. 30(the Sunday of T-giving weekend). If I was there for T-giving weekend only, I would do it on that date. Since we had the whole week after, if I was to do it again, I would have waited until another day that week.

The crowds were light(I thought), although others on DIS thought differently. I think there were probably more people there on that Sunday because some people stayed until Monday after T-giving. Just a guess...

Our kids were very anxious to ride rides and that interfered somewhat with the enjoyment of the shows. Additionally, we were tired from our arrival and we probably should have waited until we were more rested up.

HOWEVER--we had a great time and would do it again even if we had to go on the most crowded day. We debated doing it again later in our trip, but didn't. $$$!

 

[swankybeth]

Sounds like a great day. I just adored MVMCP when I did it last year, glad to know I'm not alone!

 

[susy]

We were at MVMCP on the same night. I did think it was crowded , but had fun anyway.