Canadave
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Oct 25, 1999
The CAST: DD1 (Brittany, 15 yrs. old), DD2 (Emily, 11 yrs. old), DW (Marylynn, let's just say early 40's) and myself (Dave,same)
Tuesday Feb.3/04
After juggling our itinerary the last couple of days to accommodate the weather, we were finally off to Magic Kingdom. I can't believe we've been in WDW for 5 days and haven't seen the castle yet...although today is not early entry, Spectromagic is on tonight, so the park is open an hour later...so I guess it works out OK.
Weather today is great...low 70's and sunny...we make it to the park at 8:45 and briefly check out some of the Mickey statues...some singers/dancers perform on the train platform and announce the arrival of the train carrying many characters, including the main mouse himself, Mickey
...after Mickey's greeting, the 'family of the day' tossed some pixie dust and the rope was dropped for the grand opening.
Now this trip we had vowed not to do the park "commando" style, so we just took our time and grabbed a locker and leisurely headed to Space Mountain. As I mentioned in my last report, DD2 started having some foot pains last night...she'd never had this problem before, but she was in severe pain when she walked...we thought about getting a stroller/wheel chair, but DD1 offered to carry her on her back for a while!!! What do you say to that offer...another sister bonding moment
...the carrying lasted for a few attractions, as DD1 was getting tired, but it was nice watching them giggle and have fun together...
...back to SpaceMtn...the DD's and I enjoyed our race through space and then we all went onto Space Ranger Spin...DW won!!!...DD1 and I had to give it another try while DD2 and DW went for a drive at the Tomorrowland Speedway...we finished SRS (I won this time
, now that I got DW out of the way) and ended up waiting at the speedway for the others...next stop was the new Mickey's Philharmagic...very impressive...it's now my favourite 3D at WDW...although the carpet ride through town was a bit dizzying, the music, storyline and other effects were great...certainly a more 'young kid-friendly' show than some of the other 3D's
While the lines were relatively short, we rode IASM and PoC...this was our first meal at Pecos Bill's...love the 'toppings' table...although one side had run out of mushrooms and onions and was not refilled very promptly (another Disney cutback?)...food was good though.
After finding out that Jafar would not be appearing until the weekend (much to the disappointment of DD1), we enjoyed the Tiki Tiki Room, DD's and I rode BTM, and we all arrived just in time for the Country Bear Jamboree...it was a 'Disney Classic' morning to be sure.
We had grabbed FP's for Splash Mtn earlier, so after many years of me bragging about how SM was the best attraction in the park, it was time for the whole family to give it a try...DD1 and I had done it twice before on our first trip, but DD2 and DW had yet to experience it...I kept telling them that it was more than just the plunge at the end...that there was a great show and some smaller drops...and that the plunge was not as scary as it looked from the bridge.....when we arrived at the front of the line, I requested front seats for us because I was hoping to buy the picture and didn't want anyone's raised arms in our faces...DD2 and I sat in the front seat and DD1 and DW were behind us...everything was going along 'relatively' smooth, but I could sense a great deal of tension beside me...she handled the short drops pretty good (I love the drop in the dark more than the final plunge, but that's just me)....now the moment had arrived...we're heading up to the final plunge...DD2 is now in major panic mode..."I don't want to do this, Dad", she says to me, through her tears...she says it again, only louder and with a great deal of more panic....now I've done it
...I try to console her and tell her it will be over very quickly and that she'll love it...not working...DW is in the back, I think having her own panic attack, but at least she's not crying...we drop................of course, being in the front seat, we get soaked...the second seat, mildly wet...I'm watching DD2 the whole way down and now I'm checking her reaction......things are quiet...we watch the end of the ride in silence...we get off the boat and DD2 is all smiles..."that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be"..."let's do it again" 
...DW was still pretty quiet...she said she liked it...I guess that was a good sign...so on to check out our picture...it was perfect...DD1 with a "having a great time" smile... DW with her eyes closed and a mild look of panic...myself, I was pretty straight faced, staring at my frightened daughter...and DD2, mouth wide open, screaming, and a true look of terror on her face...priceless...we have to get the large picture...but wait...the CM tells us we can get it poster size...DD's do their begging act, but it was not needed...we order it and have it sent to our hotel...SM, another highlight of our trip
We head out to stake a spot for the parade in Frontierland...we grab the sunny side to help us dry out...the parade is as wonderful as we remember...we all love the snowglobe parade much better than the previous edition.
After the parade, it's Haunted Mansion time...this was another goal for DD2...she went on it once last trip and cried the whole time...but she was determined to beat it this trip...I think that watching the HM movie recently, helped her...DD2 and I rode together in one of the doom buggies....we chatted a lot during the ride and talked about the effects and the subplot of the ride and laughed when we picked up the hitchhiker (love that part)...another success for our 11 year old.
DW was the only one who had previously seen the Hall of Presidents show, so we all decided to give it a try...we learned a little about the American presidents and then headed into the show...very well done...in fact, DD2 kept asking me if they were real.
We got out just in time for our PS at the Liberty Tree Tavern...we had not been there before, but had heard some good things about it...love when they call up each family by name and where their from...kind of like a show in itself...the dinner was served promptly and we had lot's of character interaction (Minnie, Chip, Dale, Pluto and Meeko)...they looked wonderful in their period costumes...and the food was delicious (served family style) and we felt it was reasonably priced for what we got...pork, turkey breast and roast beef...the kids (and Dad) liked the macaroni and cheese...the buns were excellent...overall, service - 5 out of 5 stars; food 4.5 stars; price 4 stars; atmosphere 4 stars...I would definitely recommend going there...make sure you make PS...and thanks again hockey mom for the tip.
We were so stuffed as we slowly meandered over to the Carousel of Progress...it is usually closed at this time of year, but because AE is being changed, the COP was open...COP is a favourite of ours (love the song...very catchy).
After COP we staked out our spot on Main Street for SpectroMagic...almost had an incident when about 5 minutes before the parade was to start, a family tried to sit in front of us and the family beside us
...I don't know whether they changed their mind on their own or because of our reaction (we'd been there for at least a 3/4 of an hour and the family beside had been there 1/2 hour before us), but anyway, they moved along...I just don't understand people like that.....the parade was great...love when all the lights on Main Street go out.
We followed the parade up Main St. and stopped in front of the Walt/Mickey statues, and waited for the new firework show, Wishes....note to all, this was a great place to watch the fireworks...it was spectacular...I'm glad Tinkerbelle still does her thing...I do miss the old fireworks show, but this was very different.
It was a wonderful day at MK, but it was time for the slow walk to the monorails (although it does amaze me how they can clear out so many people as quickly as they do)...
Tomorrow, EE at Epcot
Tuesday Feb.3/04
After juggling our itinerary the last couple of days to accommodate the weather, we were finally off to Magic Kingdom. I can't believe we've been in WDW for 5 days and haven't seen the castle yet...although today is not early entry, Spectromagic is on tonight, so the park is open an hour later...so I guess it works out OK.
Weather today is great...low 70's and sunny...we make it to the park at 8:45 and briefly check out some of the Mickey statues...some singers/dancers perform on the train platform and announce the arrival of the train carrying many characters, including the main mouse himself, Mickey
...after Mickey's greeting, the 'family of the day' tossed some pixie dust and the rope was dropped for the grand opening. Now this trip we had vowed not to do the park "commando" style, so we just took our time and grabbed a locker and leisurely headed to Space Mountain. As I mentioned in my last report, DD2 started having some foot pains last night...she'd never had this problem before, but she was in severe pain when she walked...we thought about getting a stroller/wheel chair, but DD1 offered to carry her on her back for a while!!! What do you say to that offer...another sister bonding moment
...the carrying lasted for a few attractions, as DD1 was getting tired, but it was nice watching them giggle and have fun together......back to SpaceMtn...the DD's and I enjoyed our race through space and then we all went onto Space Ranger Spin...DW won!!!...DD1 and I had to give it another try while DD2 and DW went for a drive at the Tomorrowland Speedway...we finished SRS (I won this time
, now that I got DW out of the way) and ended up waiting at the speedway for the others...next stop was the new Mickey's Philharmagic...very impressive...it's now my favourite 3D at WDW...although the carpet ride through town was a bit dizzying, the music, storyline and other effects were great...certainly a more 'young kid-friendly' show than some of the other 3D'sWhile the lines were relatively short, we rode IASM and PoC...this was our first meal at Pecos Bill's...love the 'toppings' table...although one side had run out of mushrooms and onions and was not refilled very promptly (another Disney cutback?)...food was good though.
After finding out that Jafar would not be appearing until the weekend (much to the disappointment of DD1), we enjoyed the Tiki Tiki Room, DD's and I rode BTM, and we all arrived just in time for the Country Bear Jamboree...it was a 'Disney Classic' morning to be sure.
We had grabbed FP's for Splash Mtn earlier, so after many years of me bragging about how SM was the best attraction in the park, it was time for the whole family to give it a try...DD1 and I had done it twice before on our first trip, but DD2 and DW had yet to experience it...I kept telling them that it was more than just the plunge at the end...that there was a great show and some smaller drops...and that the plunge was not as scary as it looked from the bridge.....when we arrived at the front of the line, I requested front seats for us because I was hoping to buy the picture and didn't want anyone's raised arms in our faces...DD2 and I sat in the front seat and DD1 and DW were behind us...everything was going along 'relatively' smooth, but I could sense a great deal of tension beside me...she handled the short drops pretty good (I love the drop in the dark more than the final plunge, but that's just me)....now the moment had arrived...we're heading up to the final plunge...DD2 is now in major panic mode..."I don't want to do this, Dad", she says to me, through her tears...she says it again, only louder and with a great deal of more panic....now I've done it
...I try to console her and tell her it will be over very quickly and that she'll love it...not working...DW is in the back, I think having her own panic attack, but at least she's not crying...we drop................of course, being in the front seat, we get soaked...the second seat, mildly wet...I'm watching DD2 the whole way down and now I'm checking her reaction......things are quiet...we watch the end of the ride in silence...we get off the boat and DD2 is all smiles..."that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be"..."let's do it again" ...DW was still pretty quiet...she said she liked it...I guess that was a good sign...so on to check out our picture...it was perfect...DD1 with a "having a great time" smile... DW with her eyes closed and a mild look of panic...myself, I was pretty straight faced, staring at my frightened daughter...and DD2, mouth wide open, screaming, and a true look of terror on her face...priceless...we have to get the large picture...but wait...the CM tells us we can get it poster size...DD's do their begging act, but it was not needed...we order it and have it sent to our hotel...SM, another highlight of our tripWe head out to stake a spot for the parade in Frontierland...we grab the sunny side to help us dry out...the parade is as wonderful as we remember...we all love the snowglobe parade much better than the previous edition.
After the parade, it's Haunted Mansion time...this was another goal for DD2...she went on it once last trip and cried the whole time...but she was determined to beat it this trip...I think that watching the HM movie recently, helped her...DD2 and I rode together in one of the doom buggies....we chatted a lot during the ride and talked about the effects and the subplot of the ride and laughed when we picked up the hitchhiker (love that part)...another success for our 11 year old.
DW was the only one who had previously seen the Hall of Presidents show, so we all decided to give it a try...we learned a little about the American presidents and then headed into the show...very well done...in fact, DD2 kept asking me if they were real.
We got out just in time for our PS at the Liberty Tree Tavern...we had not been there before, but had heard some good things about it...love when they call up each family by name and where their from...kind of like a show in itself...the dinner was served promptly and we had lot's of character interaction (Minnie, Chip, Dale, Pluto and Meeko)...they looked wonderful in their period costumes...and the food was delicious (served family style) and we felt it was reasonably priced for what we got...pork, turkey breast and roast beef...the kids (and Dad) liked the macaroni and cheese...the buns were excellent...overall, service - 5 out of 5 stars; food 4.5 stars; price 4 stars; atmosphere 4 stars...I would definitely recommend going there...make sure you make PS...and thanks again hockey mom for the tip.
We were so stuffed as we slowly meandered over to the Carousel of Progress...it is usually closed at this time of year, but because AE is being changed, the COP was open...COP is a favourite of ours (love the song...very catchy).
After COP we staked out our spot on Main Street for SpectroMagic...almost had an incident when about 5 minutes before the parade was to start, a family tried to sit in front of us and the family beside us
...I don't know whether they changed their mind on their own or because of our reaction (we'd been there for at least a 3/4 of an hour and the family beside had been there 1/2 hour before us), but anyway, they moved along...I just don't understand people like that.....the parade was great...love when all the lights on Main Street go out.We followed the parade up Main St. and stopped in front of the Walt/Mickey statues, and waited for the new firework show, Wishes....note to all, this was a great place to watch the fireworks...it was spectacular...I'm glad Tinkerbelle still does her thing...I do miss the old fireworks show, but this was very different.
It was a wonderful day at MK, but it was time for the slow walk to the monorails (although it does amaze me how they can clear out so many people as quickly as they do)...
Tomorrow, EE at Epcot
