Day 8 (May 6, 2006)
I forgot to mention in my last post that after we ate at the CP, and before we headed back to our room, we hopped on the monorail and went to the Poly again. I said I wanted to tour the outside of it and we did. That resort is absolutely beautiful IMO. I love it there and would love to stay there one day. The logical side of my brain doesnt really want to spend that much just on a resort though when I know we spend more time at the parks anyway. Its truly beautiful though and if we lived closer and could just go and enjoy a resort for a weekend or something this would be my choice! Okay, now on to day 8.
We decided to head to the MK early again since it seemed to be very nice in the mornings while we were there. The crowds had not yet overtaken the park and there was such a nice breeze in the early hours. When we got to the bus stops, however, we were in for a surprise. The line to the MK was ridiculously long! The Epcot line had about 4 people in it so I had the bright idea to ride the Epcot bus and get on the monorail from there and head to the MK that way. By the time we rode the bus to Epcot, took the monorail to the TTC, and then took the monorail to the MK dh was a bit irritated. He insists it would have been just as quick to wait on a couple of busses for the MK. It probably would have but it was just too tempting to jump on the Epcot bus instead of waiting for 2 (possibly 3) busses just to get to the MK. What was done was done and it was time to enjoy our day.
We planned to ride the things we had not yet done this trip that we knew we really enjoyed. That was the great part about spending a full week at WDW. We didnt feel like we had to do it all in 1 day. Most days we only did about 3-5 attractions at a park before calling it quits. It really didnt matter because we were able to go back and do what we missed later on our trip! That was awesome. This was not my 1st trip to WDW by any means but it was my 1st time spending a full week there. Dh and I only spent 4 days there on our last trip before heading to US, IOA, and SW. This trip was just so much easier, so much more relaxing, and we took in so much more. This is how we plan to do future trips since we have a child now and it seems easier this way with little ones and less stressful on everyone.
The first thing we did when we got to the MK was head to the Jungle Cruise. I usually love this ride and couldnt wait to do it again. There was no wait so we basically walked right on. We had to sit in the middle row and there was a lady and her mother sitting directly across from us. Our skipper was Debbie, whom we instantly dubbed dull-as-dirt Debbie (aka DADD). I am sure most of you know that the skipper is what makes or breaks this ride. We have almost always had a great skipper in the past. Oh, but not dear, sweet, monotone, dull-as-dirt, Debbie! She really did not seem to be into her job at all. She was so quiet and so monotone and she made the ride so completely boring and disappointing! The lady sitting across from us was the one entertaining those around her with her snide comments. For example, DADD said her bit about, Are you all feeling inspired? Well, you should since this is Inspiration Rock. Or something like that. Ms. Lady Across from Us said, Yeah, were feeling inspired by your enthusiasm! Then, toward the end DADD said something like, Out of all the crews Ive had youve been the
Ms. Lady Across from Us muttered, Yep, I think we are feeling the same way about you! Okay, so maybe the lady across from us wasnt being extremely nice, but in her defense she said it so quietly that DADD couldnt hear her and she was doing it in a joking manner. Ill admit dh and I and our quirky (perhaps gleefully evil some might say!) sense of humor found her to be funny and laughed along with her. Shame on us! Aw, but poor DADD, who must have been trying out for the award for least enthusiastic CM ever in WDW history, completely ruined the ride for all of us. Oh, well, there will be other trips
I hope!
After the Jungle Cruise disaster we headed to the Haunted Mansion. There was no wait and we were thrilled. We got all the way up to the doors when a CM came out and told everyone that the ride was experiencing technical difficulties (dont you just love being told that?!) and would be shutting down while they tried to fix it. Somebody asked how long they thought it would be until it was operating again. The CM said it could be 5 min. or 5 hours. Okay. Well, I didnt mind having to come back. I just hoped that we didnt leave only to find out it was working again in only 5 min. I figured the attraction would be packed by the time we made our way back to it. Oh, well, life goes on and so did we.
We decided to head to Country Bear Jamboree. Kylie absolutely loved this and kept talking to the bears and the heads on the wall. She was rather loud as usual. It was pretty cute. The guy sitting next to us doesnt seem to think she is too cute though apparently! I think that he is the 1st person ever who has not instantly been fooled by Kylies charm. Oh, wait, now he is smiling and laughing at Kylie! Aw, looks like Kylie has won another round. She must have a hypnotic gaze or bribes people with money or something. I dont know. Dh and I were not nearly as into CBJ as Kylie was. She really enjoyed it. I enjoyed watching her reaction but wasnt feeling the actual show. Dh slept through it so I think you can guess what he thought of it!
We had been planning to grab lunch at Pecos Bills anyway so when we realized that the show exited into Pecos Bills we decided to just go ahead and eat lunch then. We ordered and found a table. I had the chicken wrap and cheese fries and dh had a double bacon cheeseburger and cheese fries. We both had the peanut butter brownie mousse for dessert. The whole meal was good but man was that brownie delicious! I felt sorry for poor, deprived Kylie. She couldnt understand why her mean parents would not share the brownie with her. We will not allow her to eat peanut butter until after she is 2 since the food allergy to it runs in my side of the family and wed rather be safe than sorry. Somehow she managed to survive without it though. Will wonders never cease?!
After lunch we headed back to the Haunted Mansion. Talk about perfect timing! They had just gotten the ride running again and we were able to walk right on! Unfortunately it seemed like it was still a little off though. The ballroom part didnt seem right. The spirits were barely showing up. I am guessing that is where the technical difficulties were. If not, then I guess I was just losing it! It also seemed like the ride went faster than usual, like they were rushing people through. Maybe that is why we were able to walk right on.
So far things werent going as well with the attractions as we had hoped but that was okay. We were planning to do Mickeys Philharmagic one last time since we knew how much Kylie loved it so all was not lost! Sure enough Kylie loved it just as much as the previous 3 times we had done it. And of course she jumped at the Peter Pan part again much to her demented parents delight! This time she even attracted the attention of the couple sitting next to us and they laughed at her too. After the show was over we let her look in the gift shop at all the Donald stuff one last time.
We were about to leave the park when I told dh we should ride the CoP one last time. Now remember
dh absolutely hates this ride with a passion and I absolutely love it! He so did not want to ride it again. BUT I said something about how Kylie had slept through it last time and she missed the puppy in it. Kylie loves puppies! How could he resist letting Kylie see the puppy? Guess who won? I'll give you a hint. Dh is the one that is the most easily suckered by Kylie's charm over anybody else. She's a daddy's girl and he can't help but give in to her! It is not a problem right now, although I am sure it will be in the future.
As we entered the Carousel of Progress Kylie seemed to be getting sleepy. She saw the dog and was very excited. She kept trying to get down to get to him and yelling at him. However, in the part where the power goes out, Kylies power went out too. She fell asleep as soon as the lights went out. When the lights came back on Dh glanced at her sleeping peacefully and gave me a look. I could tell he was not thrilled we were there since Kylie was sleeping anyway. I just giggled to myself. I can be so cruel sometimes! But hey, she really did like the puppy
until she fell asleep!
The weather was now in the 90s and the crowds were starting to pour in so we decided that would be our last attraction at MK during this trip. It was kind of sad knowing that this time when we left Main Street it would be for good for this trip. I promised myself I wouldnt cry and I didnt! I was quite proud of myself for that accomplishment! It was still sad though.
We went back to our room and dh was out in minutes. Kylie was incredibly wound up though and I wasnt feeling sleepy either. I decided to take her to the pool again, this time by myself. I told dh of our plans and he murmured something that sounded like an, Okay. Have fun and be careful! Kylie and I got ready and headed down to the 50s bowling pin pool.
We had a blast playing in the water together and waving at the Lady and the Tramp icons again. My sweet little girl is part fish, just like her mommy. After about 30 min. she decided she wanted to play between the chairs again. She gave me a run for my money as I was constantly chasing her. She found this incredibly hilarious and began to turn it into a game. I like to call this game, Try to get away from mommy
shes old and out of shape
lets see if she can catch me! Okay, so Im not old but I imagine I am to her so you can see where I got the title from. After another few min. of her giggling and me frantically trying to keep up with her we decided to go back to the room. Did I mention that at this point Kylie couldnt even walk yet? She could cruise along anything though so she was just as fast as any walker (possibly faster) as long as she had something to hold on to and I was tired from chasing her!
Once back in the room Kylie and I bathed and got dressed in fresh clothes. Dh slept through all of it. When I finally woke him up he swore to me he had just laid down. Um, nope. He had been sleeping for at least 2 hours by then! He rested a little longer and then he had to get up and get ready since we had ADRs at Rose and Crown Pub that night. I also wanted to go the Character Connection at Epcot one more time before they closed for the evening. Last time we had gone I had accidentally forgotten to bring my camera inside and the only pictures we had were on Photopass cards. I knew I did not want to buy the Photopass CD on this trip and did not want to buy a lot of Photopass pics either. So I decided if I wanted the pictures I would have to go back and take them myself. I also wanted to let Kylie see Donald Duck again. She had only seen him once and it was at CC so we figured hed probably be there again. Wrong! When we got there we discovered the only ones there was Pluto, Mickey, Minnie, Chip and Dale, and Goofy. That ended up being okay though as Kylie was very excited to see them. She wasnt really awake when we saw Pluto and Mickey but by the time we got to Minnie she was all smiles! Even dh was starting to enjoy the characters. Operation Character Conversion was starting to work!
After seeing the characters one last time we decided to snap some pics from the Flower and Garden Festival. It is so pretty at Epcot during this time of year!
As we admired all of the greenery and scenery we made our way to the UK in the World Showcase to check in for dinner. We checked in and admired all of the Pooh shrubbery at the UK while we waited for our buzzer to go off. I definitely had to snap pictures for Kylies album since I know how much she likes the Pooh characters and all.
Our buzzer went off shortly after and our hostess showed us to our table. I think my only complaint about the Rose and Crown Pub would be how crowded it gets. They cram you in the tables and booths like sardines! I guess that isnt really their fault though, is it? I mean, that was actually a good sign. It meant that this place seemed popular which I was hoping meant that people thought the food was really good and werent just there for the beer!
We had a very nice server named Christopher from Wales. I just loved his accent. He seemed to only be about 19 but I could have listened to him speak all day! My great-grandmother was British and I remember loving her accent. Unfortunately she died when I was 3 so she is but a vague memory now. Anyhow, Christopher was very polite and efficient and was very nice to Kylie so he gets 2 thumbs up from me!
For our appetizers I ordered the fruit and cheese plate as I knew Kylie would love it. She did! She ate almost all of the cheese and crackers herself! Dh ate all of the grapes. I guess I got some of the cheese, but I cant remember what kinds exactly. It was pretty good. Dh ordered the Prawn cocktail. He wasnt crazy about it but I thought it was also pretty good.
I had not been looking forward to eating here at all actually. I had planned this meal at dhs request. He really wanted to try the fish and chips. I am so not a fish person so I knew I would be ordering something else but had no clue what. I also had to choose something that had things Kylie could eat as well. Well, it ended up working out great. Dh ordered his fish and chips and I ordered the grilled steak. The grilled steak also came with mashed potatoes and green beans (that Kylie could eat) and Yorkshire pudding. I have never liked Yorkshire pudding! My mom used to make it often when I was a kid since we do have a bit of British blood in us and that is one recipe that has been passed down throughout the generations. I am also half-Italian and I think my Italian blood overshadows my British blood or something, lol! Anyway, the point is I still do not like Yorkshire pudding and I did not enjoy it at the R & C Pub either! But the rest of it was sooo good! The grilled steak was absolutely delicious! It was so much better than the filet mignon we had ordered at Le Cellier IMO. Dh took one look at it and was instantly regretting his decision about the fish and wishing he had ordered the steak instead. Being the sweet wife that I am, I took mercy on him. I gave him half of my steak. I have already said I do not like fish but Ill admit his fish did look pretty good and it smelled good too. So I traded half my steak for half his fish. And lo and behold, that was some really good fish! I actually liked it! So did Kylie and she ate a good majority of it. She and I ate like pigs! The food was so good. My mouth is watering just thinking about it!
For dessert dh and I both had the Guinness chocolate cake but it was way too rich for us and neither of us could finish much of it. We were pretty full by that point anyway so it was no huge loss.
If you havent guessed, I definitely recommend eating at the Rose and Crown Pub! I think this was by far my favorite place to eat for the food alone! I also loved Chef Mickeys for breakfast so thats a close second. Dhs favorite places to eat were Le Cellier for dinner and Chef Mickeys for breakfast. I think the Rose and Crown Pub was so good that I was even able to forgive the crammed seating arrangement. Kylie also left with a cute plastic cup from Epcot that our server said she could have. She is still on a sippy cup at the moment but I know we will transition to a plastic cup soon enough and I know she will love having her very own Mickey Mouse cup. All in all I say the Rose and Crown Pub is a must-do dining experience!
After dinner we decided to leave Epcot. I was pretty sad walking out as I knew we wouldnt be returning again until our next trip. I snapped a few more pics on the way out, as it was getting darker.
And the cruelest picture I took at Epcot? It is a sign that says Thank you for visiting the Epcot Flower and Garden Festival. It just reminds me that we had to leave, that our trip was nearing its end! It was like it was mocking us and continually reminding us that we would not be back. Stupid sign!
We sadly left Epcot and made our way to our bus. We headed back to our room and Kylie fell asleep before we ever started fully moving. She woke up after we got to our room. We decided to head to the
Walmart in Kissimmee. We always end up stopping there at least once during our trip it seems like. I had promised to get someones kid a souvenir and I wasnt about to pay a lot of $$$ for one and I knew Kissimmee had some nice souvenirs for much cheaper than the prices at WDW. We also were about out of formula. We had enough to last that night but not enough for the ride home. So we decided a trip to Walmart was in order.
Kylie fell asleep in the car on the drive there. To my surprise when we went to get her out of the car she never woke up! That is not like her at all. I guess the sun and excitement from our trip had really worn her out. She is such a light sleeper so I was shocked that she never woke once while we were in the store. I bought a Disney t-shirt for the little boy and a can of powdered formula for Kylie. We paid and headed back to our room. Kylie still had not woken up even once! Could this mean she might sleep in the playpen and let mommy and daddy have the bed all to themselves on our last night there? Could this really be a possibility? I wasnt holding my breath!
We got back to our room and Kylie woke up briefly. I changed her diaper and gave her a bottle and once again she was out. Dh put her in her playpen and we both stared in anticipation. Surely she would throw a fit, stand up, and reach for us with her pitiful little arms and pleading eyes. Nope! She rolled over, sighed, and continued to sleep! I covered her with a blanket and dh and I quietly got ready for bed. She still hadnt stirred. OMG! I might actually get to sleep without a squirming toddler stretched out on me! These are things you take advantage of before you become a mommy, let me tell you!
I climbed into bed and dh laid down beside me. This was the 1st night we had shared a bed all week since Kylie had been sleeping with me the entire trip. I gotta admit I was feeling a little crammed with dh in the bed with me though. We have a king sized bed at home so I am not used to sharing a full sized bed with him! Either way we adjusted just fine and got a good nights sleep. Kylie slept in her playpen the entire night, never stirring! I guess she knew it was our last night and had decided to give me one night of freedom!
Dh and I drifted off to sleep knowing full well this would be our last night in our room at Pop, our last night at WDW.
TO BE CONTINUED
Up Next:
Do I finally get to ride Expedition Everest?
Our afternoon at DTD
Our near head-on collision on the drive home
I hope to read a TR from you when you get back!
So sorry your report is over, I will miss hearing about Kylie's adventures. Wish you all well and a speedy return to the land of the Mouse (or ducks
! What a fantastic first birthday Kylie had 
.
