Well what a nice afternoon! I'm glad everyone got time to relax in whatever way they needed! I hope the rest helped Nick and Denny!
Well, Nick was definitely down with the cold for 24 hours, but Denny was ready to go by evening, so that was a plus.
Score on the Splash FPs! I have yet to ride that ride! I know! My kids are afraid of the drop, although this summer Sarah went on a flume type ride at our local amusement park, so I think she might be game. I told them they could wear ponchos if they didn't want to get wet.
You HAVE to ride it. OMG. Such a classic. The drop is over before you know it, so if you close your eyes or look at your feet you'll be fine. Its definitely worth seeing the whole inside of the ride.
Your burger looks yummy! Now I feel the need to eat dinner early!
Haha - that happens to me all the time when I see pictures of Disney food. In fact, that burger was actually making me hungry last night and I didn't even feel very good.
I hope you all stayed for fireworks! My favorite way to end the day at MK!
Well, I stayed for the Fireworks. Let's just leave it at that, shall we?
Honestly for a first visit especially, I really do think it's fine not to have a touring plan. Sure, you can get done more with one but are you really, as a total newbie, just soaking it all in if you do that? Maybe not. Rushing from one ride to another is great for some but others might want to get a feel for the lay of the land first. Especially with littler ones. Efficient? Maybe not but I don't see anything wrong with it at all.!
I do agree with you to some extent. If we were visiting during the cooler, less crowded months then no touring plan could be great. But it was June - it was hot. It was crowded. If you have no plan at all then both of those things will overwhelm you. Heck - I don't even know if they picked up a map.
Truth be told I had no idea for SEVERAL trips that the FP's had a 2 hour window, we always thought you had to use up one set before you could pull another. We managed just fine. It is hard to let go and watch other folks waste what seems like precious park time, I know we struggled with that on our trip with Jeff's mom and her DH but you know what? They had a great time and that's all that mattered and we, like you, didn't let it slow down our park time so everyone was happy.!
Everyone does use their park time completely differently. I have noticed that from reading others' TRs. Some people could care less about any of the rides and spend a few hours in one park in the morning, one park in the afternoon, and one park in the evening. I love seeing how each person/family approaches the parks.
I guess I just feel a little guilty because in retrospect, I should have given them more of a plan. I think they would have liked the park better. I really do!
Glad Splash was such a hit and that burger looks really good! I've never made it to Pecos, maybe in Oct. LOL! Probably not...but you never know!
No - probably not!

But, you're right, you never do know!
Can't believe I was 3 updates behind.
How the heck did that happen?
I loved the black and white photos from POTC.
Thanks! They were originally color photos, but by the time I edited all the red/orange hue out of them they turned grey and black.
I'm really sorry about the rain. The meltdown wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. I'm sorry your brother took out his frustrations on you. I'm going to chalk it up to being tired and not in control.
You are absolutely right. Fatigue had a lot to do with it and then looking at the monorail line for the first time is enough to make anyone feel out of control. I just felt bad that we started off the trip with that incident. I know he was pretty angry that evening.
Not being at the park for opening is one of those things that really bother me. I know it can't be helped at times but I just keep thinking about how far behind I'm getting. The more getting there before me the longer I'm going to have to wait. I have promised myself that one day I'm going to take a trip and not hit rope drop but come in late and stay to the wee hours of the morning so I can compare which way works better for getting things done.
I agree that being there for rope drop is pretty much the only way to go when there are crowds.
However, I have gone into MK at 4pm in the evening and stayed until midnight and I've found that to be more fun than coming in during the day, especially in the summer. I would be perfectly happy visiting all the parks from 4 to midnight if that was possible. The cooler temps make me feel so much better.
I think that's why I take a break. I could never go straight from rope drop to 10pm. I would be like this
Your break sounded like just what you needed. Splash is my favorite ride at MK so that is the perfect way to start your night off.
I totally need my breaks!
I LOVE Splash Mountain, especially at night. Sometimes if I start thinking about any Disney ride I might want to be on at any given time - Splash always comes to mind - the length, the theming, the views, the little bit of adrenaline from the drop. Perfection!
Loved your last update - who can beat a relaxing afternoon by the pool with an adult beverage

followed by some park time accompanied by people who want to be there

I know how hard it can be to try to make sure everyone has a good time when you have a big group together.
Thanks!
You summed it up perfectly. I love pool time with an adult beverage. It puts me into the perfect mood everytime. I feel relaxed, rejuvinated, and sometimes even a little buzzed.

Then its time to go on back to the parks.
Glad that you were able to go back to MK for some late afternoon fun. That is how I & DH usually roll on our Disney trips. We have to have that midday slowdown at a pool & of course a poolbar!
before we hit the parks in the evening!
For me its pretty much a requirement. I look forward to that pool time!
I'm not a fan of Pecos Bill's, my burger was dry. The atmosphere was too noisy for us.
ACK - I hate dry burgers. Bleech! Pecos Bills can be really jammed pack at times, that's why it was so great eating outside. Not crowded and the weather was summer perfect. Makes all the difference.
I agree with eandesmom about her view of first time visitors not going all commando.
I'm never a big fan of total commando. But a general park plan with lots of flexibility is nice. That's what was missing and I didn't realize it until it was too late.
Feel better soon. Maybe crackers? As usual looking forward to your next post when you are felling better of course!
Thanks! I feel much better today. And just between you and me, I ate an entire roll of crackers yesterday.

Way to consume tons of calories and not even eat anything with substance.
No I was 5 minutes late, but thankfully they had space to get me on to the next one. I think I was aiming to do the 7:45 am too. I've actually done it twice including that time and I've also done the one that they used to do at DCA twice too.
When my GF and I were scheduled for that one we overslept and woke up at 7am. I have no idea on earth how we got there in time. Fast taxi, I guess.
I bet the DCA tour is fun. I would really like to try the one at Fort Wilderness. That sounds cool.
Hope you feel better soon and whatever you caught moves on quickly.
Thanks Pat. I feel a lot better today. Not perfect, but tons better. Yesterday I never made it outside of the house or off the couch, for that matter.
So glad you made it back without much incident. After your morning I was a bit worried.
I'm so glad we got back in and were still able to use the FPs. I was hoping we would be back by 5, but I should have know that would be a stretch.
For a burger - Pecos Bills is the go-to place.
Couldn't agree more.
I love the splash area at the pool! So great for little ones!
That area was perfect for my younger nephews. They loved it. I remember loving that kind of stuff too when I was little.
I'm glad y'all were able to use the FP's for Splash!

Y'all look like y'all were having a great time on the ride.
We had a wonderful time on the ride and I was so thankful that the CM let us go through. It was wonderful to see my SIL and 3 nephews have a blast like that.
And your burger at Pecos Bills looks yummy!
It was and, despite the fact that lunch is a couple hours away, I am sort of craving it right now.
