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| WDW 2003 |
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Pre trip Notes and thoughts
Wednesday, September 24, 2003
I have decided to start logging our Disney
Vacation for future enjoyment and reference. Being the Disney geek that I am, I
decided this would be fun, and also a great way for the boys and us to remember
our vacations as the years go by.
I put a lot of planning into a Disney vacation,
down to the color-coded spreadsheets and pocket guides. But trust me, the family
will appreciate these in the end. Plus it really is a lot of fun making the
spreadsheets.
This is our first time bring a big group to Disney
World, I’m a bit nervous but I’m sure all will have a good time.
Members of the trip include:
Jenny (me) 31
Marshall (my husband) 30
Peter (our son) turning 4 on the trip
Noah (our second son, his first trip) 10 mos.
Connie (my mom) 53
Nick (my cousin) 34
Nikki (Nick’s wife) 34
Ben (Nick & Nikki’s children) 7
Tori (Nick & Nikki’s children) 4
Helen (my aunt and Nick’s mom) 54
I just found out today that Alien Encounter is
rumored to be undergoing a major rehab and will possibly be closed when we get
there. It is either closing 10/11 or 10/12 and will re-open sometime next year
at a new attraction. This news came as a huge blow to Marshall as it is one of his most favorite
attractions.
Monday, October 06, 2003
We are down to 4 days 12 hours 15 minutes and some
odd seconds to go and I have two sick boys and 1 sick husband. Both Peter and
Noah have ear infections. At least they are on meds now and should be mostly
better by the time we leave on Saturday. Marshall
has a very bad cold and thinks he is getting an ear infection too. So it is off
to the doctor for him in the morning. Me, I feel fine a bit of a cold coming
on, but I WILL NOT GET SICK, not with a Disney trip so close.
Most of the packing is done and has been since
9/27. The non-Tweeds are all laughing at me for this.
Thursday, October 09, 2003
We are 1 day 14 hours 30 minutes and some odd
seconds until D-Day. Marshall
ended up going to the doctor too, and he too is on meds. I’m still good to go,
knock on wood.
I found out today that Alien Encounter closes on
the 11th. Marshall
is very sad, and is now contemplating buying a park ticket for that night when
we get there so he can experience Alien Encounter one last time. I have to
admit I’m considering it too. I foresee a "Skippy" doll purchase in
our near future.
We did a dry run with the suitcases last night. We
wanted to make sure that all the luggage will fit into the mini van for the
trip up to the airport. Connie (my mom) and Helen (my aunt, also known as Ha)
were kind of laughing a bit at us for this trial run. But we don’t want any
surprises when we load up the car on Saturday morning.
At Last - D-Day, Day 1
Saturday, October 11, 2003
We got up bright and early 4:45 am to get ready
with plans to leave Rochester
by 6:30 am. We left our house at 6:00 am gassed up and got coffee. Then it was
off to Helen’s house (my aunt and my cousin Nick’s mom, I’ll call her Ha from
here on out). Next stop my mom’s house (Connie). Finally we are on the road and
it is 6:30, we are actually on time!
We got to the airport and met the rest of our
group. Nick (my cousin), Nikki (Nick’s wife), Ben and Tori (my cousin’s
children). Got through security with no problems and went to the gate. At this
point I was a little tense, okay a lot tense, until I could get everything
organized for our travels for the day. Everyone in the family decided I needed
a drink to relax. I have to agree with them, I did need a drink.
The Flight from Minneapolis
to Chicago was
good. Peter sat by Ben and Ha and was entertained the whole trip, this was a
relief to Marshall
and I as Peter was a bear the first time he traveled via plane. Noah at 10 mos.
Did great he slept almost the whole trip. Tori, who was sitting with her
parents talked the whole time. Nick was looking forward to the next few flights
when he would be alone at the other end of the plane.
The second flight from Chicago
to Charlotte
didn’t go as well. Noah cried for half of the flight then needed a diaper
change. Now this was fun! Peter was sitting by the window asleep, I was in the
middle with Noah and Marshall in the aisle seat. Marshall got out of his seat and sat in an
empty seat ahead of us and I carefully shifted Peter so I wouldn’t wake him and
then laid Noah down to change his stinky diaper. And let me tell you it was
stinky, I was apologizing to the rows around me, at least I had the foresight
to bring diaper baggies. Thankfully Noah was not being his usual self and
actually laid still while I was changing him. Now with a fresh diaper Noah went
right to sleep.
The last flight from Charlotte
to Orlando was
a nightmare. We all boarded and then sat on the plane for over an hour while
they checked out some error message. We finally took off and the flight was
pretty uneventful, the kids finally got settled down once we were in the air.
We landed in Orlando
at around 7:00 about an hour and a half after our scheduled arrival. We were
all worn out.
We met our driver from Happy Limo, Ron. This was
our first time using a limo service, I had reserved a van. Ron was great and
very helpful with the bags. We were very pleased with Happy Limo. We had a
scheduled grocery stop, but since we were over an hour late we couldn’t stop.
So Ron said "I’m so sorry but we are not going to be able to do your
grocery stop because it will run into my next pick up." I told him
"Don’t worry about it, I was going to tell you to skip it anyway."
Ron got us to Wilderness Lodge very speedily and in one piece. Leaving the
airport there was actually a car coming right at us, error on the other cars
part, but Ron was quick to see the car coming right at us and got us out of the
way. I only hope that that other car didn’t hurt anyone and was able to get
turned around.
At last the Wilderness Lodge at first site I felt
at home. I didn’t get to see my cousin Nick’s face but Marshall told me he
could see him holding back an excited little kid smile. Nick is a very
outdoors, north woods type person so I knew he would like the Wilderness Lodge.
While I was checking in Connie and Ha were off
taking photos of all the kids and the lobby. Connie later discovered that she
had no film in her camera, so she didn’t have any of those photos. She often
has problems with her camera and picture taking so my husband and I have
decided that she should not be allowed to run a camera.
Check in went smooth, except for one small glitch.
The computers went down and they were not able to print our room keys right
away. Not a big deal at all. They gave us temporary keys to get into the room
(without our name on them) and then about 2 minutes after we got to the rooms
called to say that a cast member was on her way up with our keys.
Along with our keys the cast member brought
balloons and a birthday card from the "the gang". Peter was thrilled
to get the balloons and the autograph card from Mickey and friends.
Next stop Roaring fork for a bite to eat. Marshall stayed back with
Noah and did some unpacking and put Noah to bed. The rest of grabbed a quick
bit to eat. Typical counter service and quick snack type food, good enough but
nothing to write home about.
We all headed back to our rooms, Nick, Nikki, Ben
and Tori were in room 1543 (a studio at the villas) and the rest of us were in
rooms 1549 and 1551 (a 1bdrm connected to a studio to make a 2 bdrm). Connie
and Ha (Helen) did some unpacking and watched Peter and Noah while Marshall and
I went and got that much-needed drink at the Territorial lounge. We knocked on
Nick and Nikki’s room to see if they wanted to join us but there was no answer
so we headed off without them.
We got back to the room shortly before 10:30 and I
did a bit of unpacking of food and such then we went off to sleep. Or I should
say we tried to go to sleep, but just as we were climbing into bed Noah woke
up, so we didn’t get to bed until after 12:00.
Happy Birthday Peter – Day 2
Sunday, October 12, 2003
Marshall and I received our 5:45 am wake up call
but it wasn’t from Mickey Mouse. It was from Noah, he was sleeping in our room
with us in the pack-n-play. He was ready to go for the day we were excited and
knew there was no getting him back to sleep so the three of us threw on some
clothes and took a stroll down to the Roaring Fork. Being very early the grill
wasn’t open just yet. Not a big deal for me as I was going to share toast and
yogurt with Noah. Marshall
waited so he could get a breakfast sandwich, he always has at least one of
these during our trip. I think it is now more of a tradition then just liking
them so much, because they aren’t all that special, but it is how we started
our first morning out there the first time we came to the Wilderness lodge on
our honeymoon.
So after a leisurely breakfast it was now going on
7:00 am. We headed back to the room to see if our oldest son was up yet. He got
to sleep with his Grandma Connie for the week in the second bedroom of our
2-bedroom villa. Lucky Grandma! I laugh as I write that as Peter at 4 years old
hogs the bed and sleeps right on top of you no matter how much room you have in
the bed.
Peter was up and so were mom (Connie) and Ha, they
were just starting to get ready. At this point I realized that I forgot to tell
everyone about early entry and that we needed to leave for the Magic Kingdom
by 7:30. Oh well, so we don’t make early entry, no big deal, it is the slow
season, or so I thought!
Peter opened his present from Marshall and I. Just
a little something we pick up the night before in the mercantile. We got him a
WDW water bottle and an autograph book and pen. (He had a party back home where
he go most of his presents from the family but we decided that he needed a
little something to open on his birthday.) Peter wasn’t all that impressed, but
no big deal it wasn’t all that impressive of a gift and I thought that once he
realized what the autograph book was for he would be thrilled.
So the whole group is finally ready to go and we
start heading over the to boat launch at about 9:00 am. On the way there we of
course pass by the swimming pool. It was very hot and humid and I think the
second you stepped outside you started sweating. Anyway, Peter sees the pool
and tells us he wants to go swimming. He doesn’t want to go to the park he
wants to go swimming. Well we force him to come with us, I kept telling myself
he’ll change his mind once we get to the Magic Kingdom.
We had a very enjoyable ride to the Magic Kingdom.
Everyone was so impressed with the transportation. They all thought it was so
cool to travel on the boat. I can’t remember who, but someone saw the Grand
Floridian Hotel and ask me if that was the Castle. I told them it was a hotel
and they were in awe. Then I pointed out the Castle and they were really in
awe.
We get to the gates and into the Park, first thing
I notice is that it is a bit more crowded then I’m use too, and I think to my
self "Maybe it is because it is the weekend".
The group wants to do everything, no specifics
just "everything". So Marshall and I decided the plan was to conquer
Fantasyland after out brief stop in Town Hall to get Peter his birthday badge.
This was cute, I tell the CM that it is Peter’s 4th birthday, and he looks at
us and says he knows. Then tells Peter that there was a message left for him.
So he gives Peter the phone and Goofy wishes him a Happy Birthday. Again Peter
isn’t all that impressed. I thought he would be really excited, but he wasn’t.
I tell myself, he is just overwhelmed. Even though this is his second time at
WDW, it still is a lot to take in and process. We leave Town Hall and Peter
asks if he can go swimming now.
There are lots of characters out and I ask if
anyone wants to meet them. Everyone says no. Ben (7 yrs), says no they are just
people anyway. I’m thinking I want to meet them, but this trip isn’t for me so
off we go down Main St.
We get up to the Castle courtyard and the
Cinderella show is going on. We watch that for a bit, but I can see that Ben
and Nick are getting very bored, I tell them where Tomorrow land is and say if
they want to head that way. Nick says no, he’ll stay.
So the rest of the group decides that maybe they
should get going to some rides. I decided that since we were closes to
Adventure land that we should head that way. Helen asks what is in Adventure
land, I tell her and she is very excited, as "Pirates" is one of her
favorite attractions from Disneyland. So go to
head over to Adventure land and we can’t find Nick or Ben. Now this is where I
made my mistake, I should have said lets all just go to Tomorrow land, because
that is where I told them to go and that is where they probably were. But
instead, everyone except Connie went to Adventure land and Connie went to
Tomorrow land to try and find Nick and Ben.
I really don’t know what I was thinking, first of
all I should have explained to the group how big the Magic Kingdom
is and if you want to go off fine, but tell some one so we can meet up later.
And the second thing I should have done is established a meeting point for
"lost" members of the group. Now this wouldn’t have been a big deal
but I didn’t know if Nick had actually been listing when I said we need to be
at the Crystal Palace by 11:30 for Peter’s Birthday
lunch.
All turned out fine. Connie caught up with Nick
and Ben and told them we were in Adventure land and they decided they would
meet up with the group after a visit to "Timekeeper".
While Connie was off finding Nick and Ben, the
rest of us headed to "Aladdin’s Magic Carpets". Noah and I waited for
the rest of them to ride as I thought someone should wait for Connie and I
wasn’t sure about taking Noah on that ride.
Mom caught up with Noah and I before the group was
done on Aladdin. Lines were a bit longer then I was use to, but not bad.
After that we all headed to the "Tiki
Room". Peter still wanted to go swimming. The Tiki room was enchanting, as
always. Noah just bounced up and down the whole time on my lap. He liked it a
lot.
It was now about 10:40 am and Noah was in need of
a diaper change and a bottle so I headed off to the baby center and the rest of
the group was going to get a quick snack and drink and wait for Nick and Ben. I
told them to do whatever just be at the Crystal Palace
by 11:30.
The baby center was a nice relaxing break for me
as I was becoming stressed that things were not going as I wanted them to. My
group wanted to do "everything" but wouldn’t tell me what was
important to them and I could tell by the crowds that they were going to have
to make some decisions as to what they really wanted to do. So back at the baby
center Noah and I relaxed and he had his bottle. It was a very nice and
relaxing environment, The only thing I wish is that they had a rocking chair in
the feeding area for bottle fed babies. I’m sure they had comfy chairs in the
nursing rooms, but the sign said for nursing moms only.
Noah and I finished up by 11:15 and I thought I
try to see if I could find the rest of my group. I looked through some shops in
Adventure land but hadn’t found my group so at 11:20 I decided to head back to
the Crystal Palace. Noah was now napping in his
stroller, so I just grabbed a bench and waited.
11:30 am came and my group wasn’t there, I was
getting a little anxious as I new I really needed to check in for our Priority
Seating with in the next 10 minutes. No big deal I’m calm, or at least I keep
telling myself that. They finally show up at 11:45, our Priority Seating is for
11:50. Okay I’ll get us checked in, but Peter and Marshall are not there yet. Marshall was buying Peter
a sword. I look at the check in line and decide I better get in line anyway.
The line was hardly moving and it was now 11:50
and the people in front of me ask "Is this the Priority Seating check in
line?" I tell them I’m pretty sure it is, if they hold my place I’ll go
and check for sure. Yep we are in the right place. I get to talking to the
people in front of me and we find out my PS time is before them so they say go
ahead of us, we sill have plenty of time. I love how friendly and kind WDW
makes people. The couple insisted I go ahead of them so I did, as it was now
11:55. Finally a CM made an announcement that they were all booked up for the
day. This cleared out more then half of the line. So I got us checked in and
reminded them we were celebrating a birthday and that I wanted the Mickey cake
too.
It was very busy at the Crystal Palace
that day and since we had a large party we had a bit of a wait. While we were
waiting I noticed that another group was called and they did not have all the
members of their party there yet, so the CM’s said they couldn’t seat them unless
all the members of their party were there. At this point I told everyone in my
party not to go anywhere. Not even to the bathroom. They all listened to me
too, I think mostly out of fear that I might have a break down. Have I
mentioned that it is much easier planning for a smaller group and this was my
first time to WDW with more then 4 people?
Anyway, after waiting about 30 minutes we called,
I was very pleased to see that we were all together at one big table. When I
make the PS, the CM told me that we would be at 2 tables near each other. So I
was very pleased. The table was decorated with Mickey Mouse confetti. Peter,
Ben and Tori had fun playing with it and sprinkling it on each other calling it
Pixie dust. Noah just wanted to eat it, so he was a bit angry that I kept
pushing it away from him.
The CM said that there was just enough time to get
our plates before Pooh got to the table. So I stayed at the table with all the
children while the adults went and got food. Marshall, Nick and Nikki brought
back the children’s food and then returned to get their own plates. So here I
am all alone with all the kids and Pooh comes. Peter isn’t all that interested,
he was concentrating on his food, which is not like him at all. Noah loved him
and Ben and Tori were a bit more interested then Peter. So here I am trying to
video tape the greeting, get Pooh autograph for Peter, and take pictures. Half
way through the visit my mom and Helen got back to the table and my mom started
snapping off pictures. Helen decided not to take any at this point because she
figured she would get copies from my mom.
So now I’m even more stressed out then I was
before because of trying to juggle all the stuff and keep Noah from throwing
his muffin all over the place. With the Pooh visit over I told Marshall that he had to be responsible for
one of the cameras because it was too much for me to handle both cameras and
both boys. He was seated way at the other end of the table not near any of the
children. Hummm….
This is when my mom realized that she had no film
in her camera and that all the photos she had taken were not there.
Since there was a break in the action I decided to
go and get my food. But first, where did Noah’s muffin go? Not on the floor,
not on the table, he couldn’t have eaten it all, could he??. Oh well, I’ll get
him another one.
Lunch was very good, but that is all I can
remember, because I didn’t get a lot of eating done, I actually left the
Crystal Palace satisfied, not full by any means, that had to be a first!
The next visits were a bit more relaxed. We
decided not to videotape anymore as it seemed like more of a hassle (now that
we are home I wish we would have toughed it out and took more video of the
trip). Marshall
had the camera and I only had to manage the autograph book and the boys.
Piglet came by next. Again Peter really, didn’t
care as his birthday cake came just before Piglet stopped. Perfect photo op,
but Peter was more interested in the cake. Peter, Ben and Tori did pose for a
picture with Piglet but they were ready for cake. Piglet signed Peter’s book
but I was beginning to see that Peter really wasn’t interested in his autograph
book. Noah on the other hand, loved Piglet. He had the biggest grin and was
giving Piglet big slimy kisses on his nose. Piglet was giving Noah big hugs. It
was so cute.
Then came Eeyore. Peter, Ben and Tori were too
into their cake now to really even care. Noah like Eeyore too but was starting
to get a little restless, he had been at the table long enough. We didn’t
Eeyore’s autograph because we decided that since Peter really wasn’t interested
that we would just save the book for a return visit.
I took Noah out of his highchair and guess what I
found? His muffin; smashed into tiny pieces all over his bottom and the chair. Looking
at the huge mess he made I decided to clean it up as best as I could.
Tigger never did stop by, I think he missed us by
accident. But given the way the kids were responding to the characters I didn’t
think they would really care. So we decided it was time to leave and carry on
with the days activities. So we go to leave and Peter says we didn’t get to
meet Tigger. I really wanted to meet Tigger. At this point I thought about
grabbing a CM and seeing if they could get Tigger for us, but instead I told
Peter that we’d see Tigger again later. He left with out too much of a fit but
only because I told him he could have his sword once we got outside.
After lunch Marshall and I decided that maybe a
different park wouldn’t be quite as crowded. So they all decided to head on to
MGM. I was going to go back to the room to put Noah down for a nap but I would
meet up with them later; 4:00 PM outside the Brown Derby (I finally got smart
and started making meeting places).
Back at the room Noah went down pretty quick, I
let him crawl around for a bit then gave him a bottle and he was out. Feeling a
little sleepy myself I decided to lie down too.
Not more then 30 minutes had passed since I had
laid down, when I heard the door open. I quietly left the bedroom to see Peter
and Marshall in the living area. Marshall
said the he and Peter Nick and Ben decided to come back because the crowds were
too big and he was just getting frustrated with the rest of the group because
they would not make a decision. Connie, Helen, Nikki, and Tori were still at
MGM, they were going to Beauty and the Beast. Ben didn’t want to do that, Nick
was getting frustrated by the crowds and Peter still wanted to go swimming, so
the men came back to go swimming.
Marshall and I discussed the crowd levels, feeling
like we let our group down because we told them it wouldn’t be this crowded.
The stand by line for Tower
of Terror was 120. We
have never seen it more then 45 minutes long even in the middle of the
afternoon. Then I realized it was Columbus Day and that may people had that
holiday off. We are guessing this had a lot to do with the crowd levels.
Marshall and Peter got their swim gear and headed
out to the main pool to meet Nick and Ben. Noah was just waking up so I said
we’d follow them shortly. Then Marshall
told me that my mom would be waiting for me at 4:00 at the Brown Derby. It was
3:15.
So the plan now was that the men and boys of the
group would go swimming. Noah sat in his stroller with Uncle Nick beside him
sipping a drink from the Trout Pass Pool Bar. Hummm, is that a smile I see on
Nick’s face? Yes! It is! Peter Ben and Marshall swam in the big pool and I was
off and running to MGM to meet up with the girls, who would either be waiting
for me at Brown Derby or waiting at Little Mermaid as they had 4:15 fast passes
for the show. This time I took the cell phone so the men could call me if they
decided to come back to MGM and go to Fantasmic with the ladies.
I get to MGM at about 4:05, I’m running and
looking all around the Brown Derby. Now I’m thinking, I should have been a bit
more specific. Like the Brown Derby sign or something. I don’t see my mom so I
go running over to Little Mermaid. I don’t see anyone. I go into the shop by
the Little Mermaid, still no sign of anyone. Check one last time down by the
little Mermaid, and I see Helen and Nikki. I ask Where is my mom, they answer
she is waiting for you at the Drown Derby. So I run back over there and finally
I see her.
Our fast pass time is now up so we can go into the
Little Mermaid. Marshall
had got a fast pass ticket for me and gave it to my mom before he left with
Peter so I could go in with them.
While waiting for Little Mermaid they told me
about their day. They said it was very nice once the crabby boys left. See the
women in my family have a very hard time making any decisions and this often
gets the men very crabby. I do it too (though not as often), just not on a WDW
vacation when you can’t waste precious time deciding what you want to do.
They all loved Beauty and the Beast. And after
they happen to stumble onto the parade, which they said was very good too.
Finally the doors opened for Little Mermaid. I
know Tori would love this show and she did. The rest of the gals did too. I
wasn’t all that impressed with Ariel’s voice. I had seen much better Ariel’s in
the past. But they were all happy and I wasn’t going to spoil it for them with
my comments n Ariel’s voice. I’m a hard critic when it comes to singing,
because I sing. I guess I expect WDW singers to be better then I am, and I know
I could have sung better then that Ariel. She sang just fine I guess, but her
voice wasn’t right for Ariel’s voice.
Now it was 5:45 so I thought we could do the Great
Movie Ride before going to get seats for Fantasmic. Once we were in line I
decided that the line was too long if we want to be sure to get seats for
Fantasmic. With the crowds the way they were I didn’t want to miss out on
getting seats as Fantasmic was the one thing I know everybody would love. So we
jump out of line and start heading over to Fantasmic.
At this point I was a bit sad that the boys hadn’t
called and I figured that they decided not to come. Then the cell phone rings
and it is Nick wanting to know where we are at. So I tell him and he says they
will see us shortly as they are just entering the park. I was so happy that
they came back for Fantasmic and I knew they would be happy they did.
We went and got seats with about 1 hour and 15
minutes to go until show time. This turned out perfect as we had good seats. We
were in the Scar section and about 10 rows from the top, that would be really
good when it came time to leave I thought.
Noah made it until about 7:10 PM. He was just too
hot and too cranky and there was nothing I nor anyone could do to make him
happy. I even stripped him down to his diaper. I really didn’t want to do this,
but I thought if I could get him cooled down maybe he’d make it. Nope, nothing
was working and I decided that it wasn’t fair to all the guests around me to
put up with a cranky baby during the show. I wanted everyone to enjoy it,
besides I told myself that I would not force my children to stay if they were
very unhappy, because that is not the kind of memories I wanted my family to
have of their WDW trip. Besides I knew I would be back again in February and
could see Fantasmic then.
So Noah and I headed home. On the way out I
stopped in a shop and Noah saw a Piglet doll. I handed it to him and he gave me
the biggest grin and gave Piglet big kisses. So of course I had to buy it for
him.
We got to the bus stop and there was a bus there
waiting. It was full so I was going to have to stand holding 21 lb. Noah. I
didn’t care, I was just happy I didn’t have to wait for a bus. I position
myself to hold on when a very nice lady offers me her seat so I don’t have to
stand with the baby. I thanked her and took the seat.
Side note: If you do not have small children you
have no idea how much this means to a person with a baby or small children to
give up your seat if you are an able adult. It absolutely makes your day to
have some one who is just as tired as you give you a place to sit so you don’t
have to try and balance while holding a tired, cranky, child. Thank you to all
of you out there that do this. Before we even had children, Marshall and I would
give up our seats to people with children or those whom have difficulty
standing. We always got many thankful looks and thank yous, but it is not until
you are in the same situation do you know how truly wonderful the "seat
giver uppers" are. So thank you to all you "seat giver uppers"
out there.
Back to the trip. Noah and I got back to the room,
and after the cool ride on the bus he was much happier. Just incase you are
wondering, I ended up putting his pjs on him on the way out of Fantasmic. I
just couldn’t carry him through the park in just a diaper. I let him crawl
around and then let him splash around in the tub then he went off to sleep.
The rest of the group came home after Fantasmic
and loved it. They all decided they wanted to do it again on another night. I
told them they could if they wanted, but there were other firework shows at the
other Parks too.
Marshall
offered to get Peter to bed and let me go out with my mom (Connie) and Helen.
We went down to fill our mugs and go and grab a lounge chair on the beach to
watch the water parade on the lake. Nothing beats kicking your shoes off and
digging your feet into that soft white sand on the beach at Wilderness Lodge.
We kicked back and waited for the parade. Watching the nightly water parade from
the beach is one of the things I love most about Wilderness Lodge. It is a
great way to end a busy day in the Parks.
After the parade Helen decided she wanted to go
for a dip in the pool. Connie and I decided to join her. My back was pretty
sore from carrying and holding Noah so mush for the last 2 days. We went for a
dip at the Hidden Springs Pool, the pool by the Villas and it sure felt good.
We swam for a bit and sat in the hot tub. I had a very enjoyable conversation
with some other DVC members. We all talked about how DVC was the best purchase
we ever made, and how most of us have yet to travel beyond Disney. We all said
we know we will someday, but we all love Disney so much that we just keep
coming back.
Now with Day 2 behind us and a relaxing swim, I
decided that my attitude needed to change on this trip, else I wasn’t going to
have fun. I decided that I would give options but if nobody wanted to make a
decision, I would make one so we could maximize out time. Most of all I decided
that the group was having fun and I needed to stop worrying about them. I had
already done this by telling all members of the group that Marshall and I and
the boys would be going to the Magic
Kingdom tomorrow and
would be at the boat launch at 8:30. If people wanted to come with us great, if
not, then we could meet up later.
Day 3
Monday, October 13, 2003
Day 3 started with a bright and early wake up call
from Noah. At 5:00 am Noah decided he needed a diaper change. So I changed his
diaper and thought maybe if I put him in bed with Marshall and I he would go
back to sleep. He laid there and poked at my eyes, and laughed. Pretty soon I
feel wet, and the bed is wet. Evidently, I didn’t get his diaper on just right
so he leaked all over the bed. So we throw a towel down change Noah again and Marshall decides to take
Noah out to the living room and let me sleep. I couldn’t sleep, so the three of
us end up going for coffee and a bite to eat at 6:00 am.
We were all running on time, and after our call to
house keeping to change our sheets we were on our way. I made Marshall call to tell them the baby wet the
bed. I’m not sure they believed him though as I heard him say, "Yes we
have a crib, but the baby was in bed with us for a while this morning."
We all got to the boat dock by 8:30. We were
heading back to the Magic
Kingdom to see more sites
there since we didn’t get to see much the day before. I asked what everyone
wanted to do and got no answers so. I decided we should start out in
Fantasyland and we would go from there.
On the way to Fantasyland we saw Buzz Lightyear
and there was a very small line, so we stopped for pictures with him. Peter,
Ben and Tori decided they didn’t want to meet Buzz, so only Noah met Buzz. Noah
loved Buzz. He kept grabbing at his nose then Buzz would "get" Noah’s
nose, and Noah just laughed and laughed.
Then we were off to Dumbo. All the lines were
pretty short, big difference from the day before and it was early.
After Dumbo, we all headed to Mickey’s
Philharmagic. This was excellent. It is the best 3-D film yet. Although the
show is only 10 minutes it seems a lot longer then that. Everyone loved
Philharmagic. All the kids we’re reaching out for the things that were flying
at them. Noah (who didn’t have glasses on) was just going wild too, he loved
the music and was bouncing up and down on Marshall’s
lap. The only thing Noah didn’t like were the bursts of air, it startled him.
Next up Snow White and Small World. Everyone like
both attractions. Even Nick said he really liked Small World.
We were having a much better day, getting through
lots of attractions, lines were still small but starting to grow, but nothing
like the previous day.
After Small World, we decided to grab a fast pass
for Peter Pan and go and have lunch. We grabbed counter service at Pinocchio’s
and I have to say they had a great chicken salad with a vinaigrette dressing,
walnuts, blue cheese and peaches. Very good for counter service. Peter had a
PB&J sandwich, which they are using the smuckers uncrustables and he ate the
whole thing. This was amazing, as Peter doesn’t eat anything. We were so
thrilled that he was eating.
After lunch our fast pass time was up for Peter
Pan. Peter loved Peter Pan, this was his favorite attraction. Everyone thought
it was really cool how the ships fly.
With Fantasyland completed we headed off to Liberty Square,
first up Haunted Mansion. The little ones were a little
worried, but I told them it is fun the ghosts are just having a party. Then as
we were riding through I started to wonder if we should have brought the little
ones on this ride. It is amazing how many things you forget about on this
attraction that may scare little kids. When I think of the Haunted Mansion,
I think of ghosts dancing in the ball room and the floating head in the glass
ball. I tend to forget about the scarier sights, like the "Bride with the
glowing heart". At the end all the kids had liked it and were not too
frightened. Tori didn’t like the hitch hitch-hiking ghosts at the end and was
concerned that one was still with her, but when asked if she would like to ride
it again sometime she said "yes", as did the entire group.
Since we all love Christmas and Christmas
decorations we made our next stop "Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe". I was
on a mission to find the 2003 Mickey disk ornament. You see it is a series of 5
that started in 2000. I have managed to go to WDW ever year since 2000 to get
that years Mickey disk. I finally find the 2003 Holiday Mickey, but they are
all out of the disks. I was a bit bummed but thought I could always check MDM
or Downtown. Well Marshall
went and ask a CM if they had any and the very nice man went and looked and
found them. By now most o four party was done with the Christmas Shop, only a
few of us die hards were left looking, so I was happy when the CM returned and
thought great we’ll check out and be on our way. Wrong………. We had a very chatty
CM, and Marshall and I didn’t want to be rude, especially after he went and
found the disk for me. Now normally I love chatting with CMs and I wouldn’t have
cared how long it was taking but the rest of our party was waiting for us and a
line at the checkout counter was starting to form behind us. I felt really bad
like we were holding up our group and other people in the store, but the CM
just wanted to talk and talk. So I excused myself and let MarshallMarshall
was finally done and we were on our way. finish up so I could let everyone
know we were almost done. I ran into Helen who was just heading to check out
and I directed her to a faster less chatty CM. Finally, after 15 minutes at the
checkout
By now it was about 1:00 and the heat was starting
to get to people and the lines were getting long for some attractions. Noah was
getting hot and cranky so I decided it was time to take him back for a nap. The
rest of the group was headed towards Frontierland to cool off on Splash Mountain.
On the way to Frontierland they all stopped for
ice cream. Yummmm… Mickey
Bars. Of course they
didn’t mention to me that they were going to get Mickey Bars
before I left, so I didn’t get to join them. Marshall
confessed when he got back to the room that they had Mickey bars without me, I
did end up getting my Mickey bar from the Roaring Fork and it was good, but
just not the same as eating it in the Magic Kingdom.
There is something about the Magic
Kingdom that makes Mickey
bars taste even better.
On the boat back to Wilderness Lodge I see the
rest of my group on a different boat. (The afternoon route for the boat back to
Wilderness lodge first stopped at Fort Wilderness Campground, then the Lodge.
It was on the trek from the campground to the lodge that I was the rest of the
group on a boat that was headed to the campground). I thought to myself they
sure did Splash Mountain fast.
Shortly after I got Noah down the rest of the gang
walked in. They decided that Splash
Mountain was too long of
a wait and decided to come back and go swimming instead. Since Noah was
sleeping I told Marshall
I’d say in the room and he could go swimming if he wanted. Peter had fallen
asleep on the boat ride home and was still sleeping so Marshall decided to stay in the room with me
so I wouldn’t have to be alone. The rest hit the pool and the Trout Pass
bar.
It was nice to just sit and relax with Marshall just the two of
us. He told me that the wait for Splash
MountainSplash
Mountain. was 60 minutes,
and I aid what about a fast pass. He said nobody seemed interested even though
they all wanted to ride Pirates again. He said he didn’t push it, that he was
just there to help guide the group’s decision and just go with the flow.
Swimming is what they wanted to do so they all came back. By this point in the
trip we had both just slipped into "go with the flow attitudes" and
things were much more relaxed. I have to admit though this is a hard attitude
to acquire, especially when you know they are missing out on something really
great like
Noah and Peter had really nice long naps and the
rest of the group had a great time swimming and drinking. Helen and Nikki had
Strawberry Coladas, which Nick told them about, as it had been the drink of the
day the day before. They both raved about it. Connie had a Blue something or
another that was the drink of the day. She said that it was very good and would
have liked another, but knew one was enough.
At around 5:00 PM we headed back to the Magic Kingdom,
we were off to Tomorrowland. We picked up fast passes for Buzz Lightyear and
then went to eat at Ray’s Starlight Café. Marshall and I had ½-roasted chicken
and it was pretty good. Eating counter service for most of our meals was a big
change for Marshall and I, as we usually have one sit down meal a day, but with
a group this size counter service seemed to work the best.
After supper we headed to Buzz Lightyear. Everyone
really got into shooting the targets. I got all of the pictures at the end and
I’m giving them to the families for Christmas. The expressions were great on
the adult’s faces. The kids were kind of hidden behind the guns so you couldn’t
see them as well.
After Buzz, Nick, Nikki and Ben decided to go on Space Mountain,
the line was only a 30-minute wait so they should have had plenty of time to
ride and get a spot for the fireworks. We had just planned to meet them back at
the room verses trying to meet up with them after the fireworks. Later I found
out they never did get to ride Space
Mountain, they waited in
line for 50 minutes and hadn’t even made it all the way down the entrance ramp,
so they bailed out of line so they could go and watch the fireworks. I’m
guessing something must have triggered a safety check, and that slowed up the
line, because I have never had a wait be longer then the posted time. I felt
bad as Nick was leaving the next day and I knew he would have enjoyed Space
Mountain, but he told me he had fun and not to worry about it.
Meanwhile, the rest of us headed up to the Castle
so they could walk through it. Every time we were going to walk through the
Castle, a show was in progress so we couldn’t get through. The same would be
true this time too, but at least they all got to see the Cinderella mural. We
headed out the side that leads to near Liberty Square then went back toward the
hub. We headed up getting seats for the fireworks just off the hub that leads
down to Adventureland.
At this point Marshall and I left Helen and Connie
with Noah, Peter and Tori while we ran to Adventureland so we could buy Peter
his Halloween costume. Who was Peter going to be for Halloween? Let’s see… His
favorite ride was Peter Pan, his favorite movie at the time was Peter Pan, and
his name is Peter…. You guessed it Peter Pan.
We cot his costume and on the way back I decided
that since I missed out on Mickey Bars earlier that day that I deserved a dole
whip. Yummmm. Mickey vs. Dole Whip you ask? I never choose one over the other,
I always have both during my visits.
Wishes was excellent. I loved the narration
throughout the show. It made me cry my happy tears. Noah was in awe; this was
the first time he ever saw fireworks.
After the show we started making our trek down Main Street. Here I
over heard some lady complaining about, our group and not moving. Hello, you
can only move as fast as the people in front of you are moving, especially if
you are pushing a stroller. You don’t want to run people over. Then I heard her
comment on how people shouldn’t bring kids that need to use strollers, they
(the strollers) just slow everything down. I was a bit miffed, but bit my
tongue as I wasn’t going to let this Cruella, ruin my magic.
While waiting for the boat it started to pour,
thankfully we were under the launch canopy, and we had plenty of Mickey Ponchos
for all. We have at least 8 ponchos as we usually forget them in our room and
end up having to buy more, but this time we were prepared and we stayed dry,
mostly. By the time we got on the boat the rain had let up a bit and then
stopped completely on our ride over to the lodge. So we all managed to stay
mostly dry.
Nick, Nikki and Ben, weren’t so lucky. They were
on the boat to the lodge when the rain hit, and they were sitting in the front
section that isn’t covered so they got soaked.
So we had a soggy end to day 3.
Day 4
Tuesday, October 14, 2003
On day 4 we loss a member of our group. Nick had
to go back home. This was planned; as he didn’t think he could handle a whole
week in "The World". He is not big on crowds. Nick, Nikki, Tori, Ben
and Helen all had breakfast at the Whispering Canyon Café. The plan for the
rest of us was to just head to Epcot and have the others meet up with us at
about 11:00 at the Land.
Peter didn’t want to go to the park with out Ben
and Tori so my mom waited with Peter back at the room for the others while
Marshall, Noah and I headed off to Epcot.
It was really nice to have some time with just
Noah in a park. It gave us a chance to really see him taking the sites in. A CM
took our picture as we were entering Epcot, but Noah would not smile no matter
what we tried. We didn’t end up purchasing the photo because Peter wasn’t in it
as he was back at the room, but now I wish we would have to have a reminder of
that special time we had with Noah.
We jumped in line for Spaceship Earth right away
because we had time to kill and thought Noah would like it. Normally we wait
until the afternoon when there is usually no line but we figured that Noah
would be sleeping by then. Noah enjoyed Spaceship Earth, he was busy looking at
all the sights and he really liked the stars at the top, and on our journey
back to earth he fell asleep.
Since Noah was asleep Marshall and I decided to go
get coffee at Fountain View Espresso & Bakery. I had a fruit filled Pastry,
which had a flaky crust with apple filling in the middle, very similar in looks
to an apple danish. Marshall
had a fruit filled croissant. This was a croissant filled with a custard like
filling and fresh fruit; strawberries, blueberries, and Kiwi. Both pastries
were very good, but the croissant was outstanding, I really wanted it but I let
Marshall have
his choice. We both had Mocha to drink and they were very hot. I burned my
tongue pretty bad; so be careful the coffee is hot.
We were suppose to meet the gang at the Land at
11:00 but we saw them as we were having our coffee so we all decided to head to
the living seas. Marshall
took all of our tickets and ran over to Mission Space and get fast passes for
everyone.
Living seas was very fun. We by passed the movie
since we had all the little children and went right down to the tanks. They
didn’t have the ride through to get to Sea Base Alpha. I’m not sure if this
portion of the attraction was being refurbished or if they have discontinued that
part of the attraction.
The kids loved looking in all the aquariums. Since
Sea Base Alpha is carpeted and there weren’t too many people around, I let Noah
crawl around. He was so happy not to be trapped in his stroller. Noah and I
went into the ground level aquarium with the Manatees. He loved looking through
the glass at the manatees. Then a manatee swam right up to him at the glass, as
if he was checking on him or to say "Hi". Then the manatee laid down
right next to where Noah was as if he was watching over him to make sure he was
all right. It was so cool. I’m not sure if the manatee could see Noah through
the glass or not. But it was as if the manatee thought Noah was alone and came
over to make sure that he had someone around to take care of him. When I bent
down by Noah to make sure he wouldn’t get scared that is when the manatee laid
down as if to say, "ok, you do have someone watching over you".
I also learned that the male sea horses carry the
babies in other words the men get pregnant. I found this very interesting. I
always learn something new when I visit Epcot.
When we returned back to land we discovered that
it had rained while we were inside. You would think with all of our experience
with rain and the storm the night before we would learn our lesson, but no. We
didn’t cover the strollers with the rain gear so they were soaked. But now the
sun was starting to come out so they would dry out pretty fast.
Next we headed to the Land. Noah was getting
pretty fussy so I decided to feed him lunch while the rest went and saw the
environment movie "Circle of Life" at Peter’s request as he loves The
Lion King. Peter really liked the movie the rest said they could have passed.
Connie and Helen decided to go on Living with the
Land while the rest of us had lunch. Nikki ended up taking Tori back to the
room because she was just too crabby and tired. We decided that we would call
her around 4:00 to see where she wanted to meet up.
After lunch and Living with the land we were off
to Mission Space. Marshall, Ben and I went first while Connie and Helen watched
Peter and Noah splash in the water sprites. Peter wasn’t tall enough to go on
Mission Space but he was just as happy to splash around in the sprites.
Mission Space was excellent. Ben loved it and took
his role of pilot very seriously. This was one of his favorite attractions and
he decided that maybe instead of being just a pilot when he grows up that maybe
he will be an astronaut too so he can fly in space. After our flight, I stayed
with Ben at Mission Control so he could look around and Marshall went to the sprites so that Connie
and Helen could have their turn.
Ben and I took part in one of the space races. We
were busy uploading fixes to our team so they could fix the ship. After playing
at Mission Control we headed back to the sprites and Ben decided to join in the
fun.
Once Helen and Connie returned I went and got Noah
changed into dry clothes and then took all the tickets and went and got fast
passes for Test Track. Our time wasn’t until 7:40 but we got a bonus fast pass
for Honey I Shrunk the Audience for 4:15. I had never got a bonus fast pass
before so I thought that was pretty cool. Marshall
decided to head back with Noah and we decided that we would meet him after the
4:15 show of Honey I Shrink the Audience.
I got Peter into dry clothes and then we had ice
cream treats.
TIP: always bring either swim clothes or a change
of clothes if the little ones are going to splash in the sprites. The kids love
splashing in the sprites, even Noah at 10 months.
After our treats we headed to Universe of Energy.
Ben thought it was really cool especially Albert Einstein. He really got a kick
out of him being on Jeopardy. Peter liked the dinosaurs, especially when I got
"dino slobber" all over me. He thought that was very funny.
Next up was the Wonders of Life. We all rode Body
Wars and that was about it because Ben was really cold. I forgot to tell Nikki
to bring extra clothes into the park so Ben didn’t have anything to change into
after splashing in the sprites.
We decided that we needed to make a shopping stop
to buy Ben some dry clothes. So we decided to stop in Mouse Gear on the way
over to the Imagination Pavilion. We saw Goofy right out side so Peter decided
to get his picture taken with him.
Shopping with Ben was funny. Here this poor kid is
freezing but he will not pick out any new clothes. He wouldn’t say he wanted
anything or if you asked if he liked something he would just shrug his
shoulders. Finally he says I really don’t like shopping. Peter on the other
hand was begging for everything he saw. I was glad I had him strapped in the
stroller. Ben finally found something he would wear, with a bit of
encouragement from me. It is amazing how far "I think this shirt is really
cool" will take you when you are talking to a 7 year old boy.
Ben got into his dry clothes and we headed for
"Honey I Shrunk the Audience". There was no line so we didn’t even
need our fast passes. I wonder if that is way they popped out as a bonus fast
pass at Test Track?
I was trying to determine if I should take Peter
to this attraction. My better judgement was telling me "skip it let the
rest go and you can take him to Imagination Labs". But I didn’t listen to
my better judgement. He got pretty scared and ended up closing his eyes and
covering his ears for most of the show. He doesn’t like loud noises, so I
really don’t know what I was thinking.
After the show, Connie and Helen really wanted to
see the World Showcase, S o I sent them on their way for the rest of the day. I
had Ben and Peter and Marshall and Nikki and the rest of the kids would be
there soon so no big deal.
Peter, Ben and I rode Journey Into Imagination
With Figment and we all enjoyed it. After the ride I figured we would kill time
by playing the Imagination Lab. IT wasn’t too long before Marshall, Nikki, Tori
and Noah were there. We decided to ride Journey Into Imagination With Figment
again so the others could enjoy it too. Peter put up a bit of a fuss about
having to go on it again. He liked it the first time, except for the one loud
noise at the end, normally I don’t think it would have bothered him but after
getting pretty shook up at Honey etc., I don’t think he was in the mood.
We decided to head to Mexico for supper. We hit the
Cantina and grabbed a couple of tables outside. Nikki, Ben and Tori had tacos.
Marshall and I shared a Chicken Taco salad it was huge. The kids ran around a
bit, mostly by our table where there weren’t too many other people for them to
disturb while we ate a leisurely supper. After supper we rode "El Rio de
Tiempo" and the kids thought it was cool. Tori really liked floating by
the in door volcano. Knowing that our children especially Peter and Tori, would
not have the patience for the World Showcase we headed back to Future World.
There was enough time to see Spaceship Earth before heading over to Test Track
for our fast pass time. Marshall and I really love Spaceship Earth and will
usually do it w few times in a given trip, but I don’t think the others were
too impressed. They liked it but I think they were expecting something else due
to the look and size of the attraction. However, the kids really liked the
technology stuff after you get off the ride. Noah was crawling around on the
carpet and when he came to the change in the floor that is blue under a glass
like floor he just stopped at the edge. He didn’t move on to the floor until he
saw others standing on it and new it was safe. I thought this was really neat
as he did exactly what developmental psychology books said he would given this
situation. There is a theory name for what he did but I can’t remember it. In
fact I was surprised that I even remembered that it had to do with
developmental psychology.
Next we headed to Test Track, but the line was
long. No problem, we had fast passes. Nick, Nikki, Ben, Tori and Peter headed
towards the fast pass line. I was waiting with Noah. I waited and waited and
both the stand by line and the fast pass line got longer and longer. Pretty
soon I heard some one say that Test Track was closed and they were running
safty checks. Pretty soon people started to leave the lines. Marshall came running back to me with Peter.
Peter had decided he didn’t want to go on the ride because it was so loud. And
if you are standing out by where the cars go zooming by it is pretty loud. I
tried to convince Peter that he would really like it but he just was too
scared, again chalk it up to "Honey, I shrunk the Audience". So Marshall ran back to
line, tey were now at the front of the fast pass line because so many people
had left. Finally they re-opened Test Track and they all got to ride. Ben and
Tori came bouncing over to Peter, Noah and I telling Peter how much fun the
ride was and how it wasn’t scary. Test Track quickly became one of Ben and
Tori’s favorite rides and Peter was a bit disappointed that he didn’t go on it.
After Test Track we decided to head home, we
wanted to get the kids to bed early. So we headed towards the bus and there was
one waiting for us. Nothing beats the feeling of seeing your resort bus waiting
for you after leaving Epcot for the day.
Meanwhile, some where in the World Showcase Helen
and Connie were having a great time seeing all the countries. They powered
through so they at least got a taste or look of all the countries. They then
stayed for illuminations and thought the show was outstanding.
Day 5
Wednesday, October 15, 2003
We were up and off to MGM by 8:30. We got to MGM
and headed for Rock-n-Roller Coaster (R-n-R). Which isn’t usually how we start
our days at MGM. Marshall and I always start off at Starring Rolls Bakery for a
little something but this time we decided that maybe the others might not do
well with having just had something to eat, so we decided to head toward R-n-R.
Much to our surprise when we got to the end of the
street we saw that The Tower of Terror (ToT) was open. We were all so thrilled,
as ToT was scheduled to be closed; even better the wait was only 20 minutes. So
I grabbed out tickets and ran over to R-n-R to get fast passes. I got back and
Peter decided he didn’t want to go on ToT, which we were glad. Peter had been
talking for months how he wanted to go on ToT. Marshall plays ToT with him at home. Peter
will sit in a laundry basket and Marshall will lift it high above his head and
let it come down quickly then back up, then down, then bounce around, basically
like the ToT. So I was quite relieved that Peter decided that he didn’t want to
go on ToT. I was pretty sure he would have been a tearful crying mess if he had
gone on and then all the other people there would be saying to themselves;
"What were those parents thinking? Why would you take your 4 year old on a
ride this scary."
Since the rest had just started up the path I ran
and caught up with them. I only had to ask to cut in front of a few people. And
they were all very nice about it.
I love ToT; it is my favorite attraction at MGM. I
scream every time but I love it. Ben and Tori got pretty scared but neither one
of them cried. Although Ben was very concerned and kept asking his mom;
"This hasn’t ever really happened before." Helen said her knees were
shaking when she got off. Connie had done it once before on a previous trip and
was scared to death, but had to do it again to make sure her sister Helen would
go on. I’m pretty sure that that was her last stay at the Hollywood Hotel.
Nikki decided it was too scary too.
After that we headed towards Rock-n-Roller
Coaster. Our fast pass time was up so Marshall, Nikki, Ben, and Connie headed
off in the first group. Helen and I stayed back with the little ones. Peter and
Tori were not tall enough to ride and of course Noah wasn’t either. I realized
we had two extra fast passes so I found a couple that was headed towards line
and asked if they would like a fast pass, as we had two extra, and the time was
for right now. They were very happy to not have to stand in line for 45
minutes. I love helping to make someone’s day more magical when I’m at Disney
World when I can. I made them happy and the extra fast passes we got didn’t go
to waste.
After the first group was done Helen and I got our
turn. Helen loved it. It became on eof here favorite attractions.
After R-n-R Helen and I headed to Starring Rolls
to meet up with the rest for our little snack. The others were just getting
their food when Helen and I caught up. I had a mini cheesecake with fresh fruit
on top. Yummmmm. Marshall
had a mini Key lime pie, which was equally as good.
Next we headed towards the Great Movie ride to see
if we would have time to rite it before the next Indy show. After seeing the
line I decided that we would have time, so we headed over towards Indy. Helen,
Nikki, Ben, Peter, Noah and I went in and got seats for the show. Marshall and
Connie were going to have lunch at the Brown Derby, they has priority seating
for noon so they headed off that way with plans to meet up with the rest of us
at Pizza Planet after they had finished their lunch and we had seen Indy.
Connie had been waiting for two years to eat at
the Brown Derby. She and I had planned to have lunch there when she came with
us in 2001, but the terrorist attacks had spoiled our plans. That is right, we
had planned to have lunch there back on 9/11/2001. When we all met up again
after lunch, she proclaimed that the Brown Derby was worth the 2-year wait. She
had gotten a bunch of recipes and was excited to bring them home and try them
out.
The rest of us enjoyed Indiana Jones Stunt Epic.
It had been 3 or 4 years since I had seen it and I was amazed at how much I
forgot about the show.
After Indy we headed to Pizza Planet, this was
Ben’s request. We had pizza and salads and after lunch the kids all played some
games for a bit. The kids really had a great time in there. Sometimes as adults
you forget to stop and enjoy the small things. We could have gotten in another
attraction or so but the kids wanted to play some games and it was very
enjoyable for all. They had such a great time and so did the adults watching
and helping them play some games.
After Pizza Planet we headed to the Muppets 3-D
theater. The kids really enjoyed this show. I just love watching the expression
on all the little ones faces and watching them try and touch the things that
were jumping out at them.
After Muppets it was time for Nikki, Helen, Tori
and I to head back to the room to start getting ready to have dinner at 1900
Park Fare with Cinderella. Tori was very excited to have dinner with
Cinderella. I was just thrilled that I got to go along, because I figured that
this would be my only chance to see a little princess meet a big princess. I
love seeing all the little girls all dressed up in their princess gowns when
they go to meet a princess or in hopes of meeting a princess. Since I have two
boys, I’ll never get the chance to see a little princess meet a big princess. I
was very glad I got to be there too.
While the girls, all except Connie, went back to
the room to get ready for dinner with Cinderella, the Boys and Connie continued
on at MGM.
After the Muppets they headed towards the Honey, I
Shrunk the Kids play ground. Now I have never been on this attraction but Marshall told me it was
really fun. He had a great time running through it with Ben and Peter. In fact
he said if it’s not too busy and you like climbing around and acting like a
kid, that all adults should try it too. If it’s not too busy when we go in
February I’m going to have to give it a try. After climbing around Honey, I
Shrunk the Kids, they headed to the Great Movie ride. Ben and Peter were a
little nervous during the gunfight and the Alien part, but otherwise did just
fine. Connie loved the Wizard of Oz part, as it is one of her favorite movies.
After the Great Movie Ride they headed back to the
room to have supper and go swimming. After swimming Ben and Peter played guns.
Both boys managed to talk their parents into letting them get play guns from
the shop in the hotel.
Meanwhile all the girls got ready to meet
Cinderella. Tori was all dressed up in her Cinderella dress with crown and
"glass" slippers. She looked really cute all dressed up. We headed
for the boat and took the boat to the Contemporary. WE had some time to kill so
we looked around the shops there for a while. Tori got a new Cinderella purse
for the occasion. Then we hopped the monorail to the Grand Floridian.
This is the first time I had ever been in the
Grand Floridian and it was so beautiful inside, but made me a little nervous
like I better remember to use my best manors and hummm, maybe I’m a little
under dressed for this hotel. It just didn’t have that relaxed comfortable
feeling you get while staying at the Wilderness Lodge. I’ve always said I want
to stay their sometime but now I’m not so sure. I don’t know if I want to say
at a hotel where I can’t get that comfortable homey feeling. But just the parts
of the hotel that I saw were so beautiful, it makes me want to see the rest.
Anyway, we headed to 1900 Park Fare to eat with
Cinderella. We got seated right away and had time to get started eating. All
the food was wonderful, but my favorite was the Strawberry Soup, this was
outstanding.
First to stop was Prince Charming and he was very
sweet. Telling Tori how pretty she was and calling her Princess Tori. Tori was
a little shy of him so she didn’t really talk to him and we were only able to
get a picture of her with him as long as Nikki, her mom, was in the picture.
Next came the mice, Suzy and Perla (I think that is her name). Although Tori
said their names were Suzy and Mary. Tori loved the mice, she smiled and hugged
them and posed for many pictures. Then came Cinderella, and again Tori was a
little shy at first but warmed up and did pose for a few photos just here and
Cinderella. We had a great time. It was so much fun seeing all the little girls
dressed up in their princess clothes to meet Cinderella. And the food was
really, really good too.
After supper we headed back to the Wilderness
Lodge. Helen and Connie (the grandmas) had agreed to watch the kids while the
parents went out. Nikki, Marshall and I headed downtown to do a little shopping
and then hit Pleasure
Island. We spent lots of
time looking through and buying things in lots of shops. After a few hours we
decided that we were just too tired to head to Pleasure Island
so we headed back home and called it a night, we were home by 11:00 pm.
Day 6
Thursday, October 16, 2003
Everyone decided that they wanted to go to Blizzard Beach instead of spending our last day
at Animal Kingdom so we skipped Animal Kingdom. I was a little surprised at
this decision, but it is what the group wanted to do, so that was fine with me.
We found a nice shaded area by Tike’s Peak. The
kids and adults had a great time splashing around Tike’s Peaks. Helen, Connie,
Ben, Tori, and Nikki took a spin around the lazy river while Peter Noah,
Marshall and I continued to splash around and slide down the slides in Tike’s
Peak.
After a while Marshall and I took Ben over to some
of the bigger slides. We took the chair lift to the top. The chair lift is fun
to ride, but is was very slow because there were a lot of guests that used
wheelchairs visiting that day so it took a bit longer loading and unloading. We
could have gotten in more sliding time had we just walked. After we got off the
chair lift we headed to Teamboat Springs, the family raft slide. This was a lot
of fun. After that we headed to Runoff Rapids. I went down in a single tube and
Marshall and
Ben went in a double. This was a fun slide too, but you had to climb a lot of
stairs carrying your tube. I thought I was going to die by the time I made it
to the top. After that we jumped in the Lazy River
and rode it back to Tike’s Peak.
By now it was early afternoon and Peter and Noah
were getting cranky so Marshall and I decided to head back to the room so Peter
and Noah could get rested up for Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party.
The rest of the group was going to take a ride on
Teamboat Springs and then Nikki, Ben and Tori headed back for some rest while
Connie and Helen were headed downtown.
Connie and Helen never did make it downtown.
Partially because of the directions Marshall and I gave them. I told them to
hop a bus to the Ticket and Transportation
Center and then hop a bus
to downtown. I told them to take this route because is all of my visits the
Ticket and Transportation Center was a main hub and you could always get to
where you need to go from there, not so anymore! Marshall
did tell them to just ask a bus driver whom they did once they got to the
Ticket and Transportation
Center and they told them
that there were no busses that went downtown. So they were told to stay on the
bus they were on and take it to Animal Kingdom and from there take a bus to any
resort and then take a bus to downtown from the resort. So they ended up just
coming back to the Wilderness Lodge and skipped going downtown. So (TIP)
if you want to go to downtown go to the nearest resort and take a bus to
downtown. This is how you also travel from resort to resort (if there isn’t
direct transportation to the resort you want to visit from your home resort),
bus downtown then bus to the resort of your choice.
Finally it was time for Mickey’s Not So Scary
Halloween Party (MNSSHP). Peter dressed up like Peter Pan, Ben was a bandit,
Tori was Cinderella and Noah was dressed in Halloween pj bottoms and a onsie
that I had painted on before we left that said "My First Halloween"
and had pumpkins and skeletons on it. We headed out to the boat to go to the Magic Kingdom,
and wow was there a lot of people waiting. We were the last group to make it on
the first boat that came.
The Magic
Kingdom was all decked
out. It was so cool. They did an excellent job on the decorations. We were
using this night as a chance to do the rides we missed and the ones that the
group wanted to do again, so I didn’t really get to look and admire decorations
as much as I wanted too. I highly recommend that if you ever are at Disney near
Halloween to go to a MNSSHP, but don’t use it as an extra park day but rather
use it to just take advantage of the other activities and to admire the park’s
transformation.
We did lots of rides even though the Park was
pretty crowded. I was prepared for crowds but was hopping that it would have
been a little less crowded then it was. Although, the wait times for rides were
not bad at all, except for the rides in Fantasyland. We did space mountain, Ben
was thrilled and thought it was so much fun. Buzz Lightyear, Tea Cups, Peter
Pan (twice, even though the wait was long) Pooh, Pirates, and The Haunted
Mansion. We ended up missing the fireworks, which was Fantasy in the Sky
because we were on the Haunted
Mansion. So I was a
little bummed out that we missed the fireworks.
Next came the Boo to You parade. This was a great
parade that started out with the headless horseman galloping through the park,
very cool! I’m not a big parade person, but I loved this parade. It was fun to
see all the characters in costumes. And the characters did such a great job of
interacting with the kids too. For example Captain Hook spotted my son, Peter,
dressed up like Peter Pan and stared pointing at him and staking his hook as if
to say "I’ll get you Peter Pan." Peter got a kick out of that. MNSSHP
was a great way to spend our last night. We were all having so much fun that we
ended up staying later then we had planned, almost until 12:00, which is late
for little ones.
Day 7- Good-bye Disney World
Friday, October 17, 2003
We ended our vacation with breakfast at the
Whispering Cannon Café. We all had a big delicious very filling breakfast.
Our flight home was uneventful, not nearly as
stressful. And although I was sad to go I couldn’t wait to get home to rest and
start planning our winter get away where it would just be Marshall and I and
one Big World.
Lessons Learned
I learned many things this trip. Most important,
things don’t always go as planned so just kick back and go with the flow and
you’ll have fun.
Not only will no two Disney World trips will be
the same, but also the trip will differ depending on the players involved. This
trip, with 10 people was fun but very different from any other Disney trip I
have taken.
Lastly, keep your 4-year-old out of all shops or bring
lots of money. I always thought it was so cute how you always end up in a store
at the end of most attractions. This isn’t so cute when you have a 4-year-old
who thinks he needs everything he sees.
I highly recommend investing in a very good blind fold that you can slip over
your child eyes at the end of attractions.
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