Thursday 1 November - Can I have the camera back love?
Julie (38) - demented planner
Brian (40) - planning, whats that?
Michael (11) - quiet, clone of his Dad, hormones just starting to kick in, , auditioning for Snow Whites 8th dwarf, Grouchy
Andrew (5½) - not quiet, mummys boy, very fussy eater, favourite saying of the holiday Excuse me, is this ride scary?
The Plan - MGM - Character Breakfast at 10.00 at H & V
Decided on breakfast in the hotel again as the easiest and cheapest option and as we felt up to another Disney park today MGM was the unanimous choice but cancelled breakfast at H & V as we didnt want to waste park time this week..
Arrived about 9.15 (the park opened at 9.00 and closed at 6.30 today) and just as we were getting on the tram the Green Army Men pulled up in their truck and put on a bit of a show. Very little wait to get through security and into the park after stopping for Jessies autograph at the entrance. Decide I like this park already after such a good start and we havent got through the entrance yet.
Decided to head left past Echo Lake and first stop Star Tours which was a walk on. We all enjoyed this ride, even Andrew who was very apprehensive again about going on. Andrew and Michael then spotted Buzz and Woody giving autographs so a short wait in line and next stop Muppet Vision 3D and again a walk on. Really really enjoyed this show and would have liked to see it again but didnt get chance.
Just as we got outside Brian said Can I have the camera back love? Camera, Ive never had the camera, you had it last taking photographs of Buzz and Woody. Oh no, luckily we had only been on two rides and knew we had the camera after Star Tours so it must be in Muppets. Great, good job there was still no line. Managed to race round to the entrance and the very kind CM checked that it hadnt already been handed in and told us to go straight through to the pre-show area and slip through the first set of doors into the theatre. We could wait there until the show now running finished and go straight in. We then had about 2 minutes before the next pre show went through. We each took a row of seats approximately where we had been sitting and just as the next show was starting to enter Michael found the camera tucked right back under one of the seats. It was quite amusing because there were 3 other people in there at the same time looking for things they had left behind and it was still only about 10.00 am!!!! Panic over and big hugs for Michael we went outside again. I would have been really miffed if Brian had lost this camera because I had only bought it for him for his 40th birthday in July. Needless to say it was securely strapped to his wrist for the remainder of the holiday.
Next we wandered back to the Sorcerors hat and got ice creams all round and then we spotted the characters. This place was FANTASTIC for characters. The boys were in their element as each character had very small lines and there were hundreds of them - Belle, Tweedledum, Tweedledee, Hercules, Meg, Queen of Hearts, White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, Donald Duck, Eeyore and loads loads more. The Green Army Men also arrived again and put on an amusing show with volunteer children from the people watching. We must have spent about 90 minutes just going round and round and each time there were different characters there.
At some point during those 90 minutes I got a bit twitchy as I knew Brian was keen to go on TofT and both Brian and Michael wanted to do RnR Coaster so I wandered off to get some FPs. I got 2 FPs each for TofT and RnR as I knew Andrew was too small and I had no intention of going near either of them as I am a complete roller coaster chicken - dont even like the log flume at Blackpool Pleasure Beach so how wuss is that? Didnt really need the FP at that time as both were a walk on even at 12.00 but got them anyway in case the queues had built by the time we got back. The FP time was only about 30 minutes later.
Rounded up the troupes and back to the fear zone for the boys to get their thrills and Andrew and I to people watch with more ice cream. They decided to do RnR coaster first using their FPs although it was still a walk on. Both came off and the look on Michaels face was an absolute picture. I wasnt sure whether he would enjoy it because he is by no means a roller coaster veteran but he absolutely LOVED it, so much so that he wanted to go straight back on and managed to persuade me to go back on with him. You really will love it Mum, honest. The sun must have gone to my head by then because I duly trotted off after him and with no time to get scared or turn back we were strapped in and WHOOSH .. we were off and most of you know the rest. I must admit that even though it was dark I had my eyes shut for most of the way round, but I was so proud that I had plucked up the courage to do this.
Brian then went on TofT. Michael didnt fancy it and I had definitely had enough thrills for one day so we let him get on with it. He said it was really good and tried to persuade Michael and me to go on it but we both chickened out.
Next we headed over to Millionaire to get a FP - again we probably didnt need it as the FP return time was only for 30 minutes later. Carried on down Mickey Avenue to see what the line was like for Mickey Mouse, not holding out much hope of it being less than an hour wait, but to our amazement there was only one family in the line waiting to see him so we were well chuffed with our little selves and the great mouse himself spent loads of time with the boys much to their delight.
Back to Millionaire and straight into the show. This set is so realistic and the show was really good fun even though a lot of the questions have an American bias to them. The man in the hot seat was already half way through his questions when the show started and got to the $500,000 question before bottling out. Brian made it onto the Leader Board at No 4 but later admitted that he had copied the answers to the American questions from the American boy sat next to him - what a cheat eh????
I really wanted to see the Beauty and the Beast show as this was only on showing on certain days of the week so we went back over to the next show and just about made it before the start. This was awesome and again worth the park entrance fee alone. I love the songs from this film and was singing along (in my head, didnt want to frighten any children sitting close by).
The next must do on our list was Playhouse Disney for Andrew as he is a big Bear in the Big Blue House and Roly Poly Olie fan but first we wisely decided to get FP for the last Indiana Jones Show of the day at 5.00 pm. The queue for Playhouse Disney was enormous but we just managed to get in before they closed the doors and stopped people entering. We all love Playhouse Disney, even Michael, so all really enjoyed this show and would have done it again if time had allowed.
We then wandered over to Indiana Jones to use our FP and got great seats. So glad we got the FP tickets for this because they were turning people away. Even though the park seemed really quiet the shows all seemed to get really full. Brilliant show and again one we would have done again given time, Andrew in particular thought it was brilliant and has been practising his stunt punches ever since much to Michaels annoyance.
Decided after Indie that we had better make our way over to Fantasmic for the 6.30 pm show as I knew how popular this was. Didnt need the map to find the way, just had to follow the Fantasmic stampede with everyone else in the park down past the TofT and straight in. Managed to get really good seats about halfway up somewhere near the centre of the stage and then Brian was despatched to purchase hot dogs, fries and drinks all round. After munching on these and a few Mexican Waves the show was ready to begin and what a show. If you have never seen this before DO NOT MISS IT. It is awesome. Andrews eyes were like saucers all the way through. The whole show is absolutely stunning, particularly the projections on the water screens - how do they do that? I was fascinated.
Decided not to rush out of the park but took our time sauntering back to the entrance and had no trouble at all getting out and back to the car.
None of us were particularly hungry for anything else to eat after the hot dogs and we didnt want the day to end so we decided to find the Winter Summerland Mini Golf. We played on the Summer course and the themeing here is brilliant. Michael always pesters to play mini golf wherever we are but then always gets really grumpy if he doesnt win or get a hole in one so it is hard to tell afterwards whether he enjoyed it or not. Needless to say he got beaten by his Dad so he wasnt a happy bunny.
We were just leaving the course when we saw the high fireworks from Illuminations and even from there it was impressive. A taste of things to come ..
Back to the hotel exhausted but happy and straight to bed to recharge our batteries.
Tomorrow - Magic Kingdom
Julie (38) - demented planner
Brian (40) - planning, whats that?
Michael (11) - quiet, clone of his Dad, hormones just starting to kick in, , auditioning for Snow Whites 8th dwarf, Grouchy
Andrew (5½) - not quiet, mummys boy, very fussy eater, favourite saying of the holiday Excuse me, is this ride scary?
The Plan - MGM - Character Breakfast at 10.00 at H & V
Decided on breakfast in the hotel again as the easiest and cheapest option and as we felt up to another Disney park today MGM was the unanimous choice but cancelled breakfast at H & V as we didnt want to waste park time this week..
Arrived about 9.15 (the park opened at 9.00 and closed at 6.30 today) and just as we were getting on the tram the Green Army Men pulled up in their truck and put on a bit of a show. Very little wait to get through security and into the park after stopping for Jessies autograph at the entrance. Decide I like this park already after such a good start and we havent got through the entrance yet.
Decided to head left past Echo Lake and first stop Star Tours which was a walk on. We all enjoyed this ride, even Andrew who was very apprehensive again about going on. Andrew and Michael then spotted Buzz and Woody giving autographs so a short wait in line and next stop Muppet Vision 3D and again a walk on. Really really enjoyed this show and would have liked to see it again but didnt get chance.
Just as we got outside Brian said Can I have the camera back love? Camera, Ive never had the camera, you had it last taking photographs of Buzz and Woody. Oh no, luckily we had only been on two rides and knew we had the camera after Star Tours so it must be in Muppets. Great, good job there was still no line. Managed to race round to the entrance and the very kind CM checked that it hadnt already been handed in and told us to go straight through to the pre-show area and slip through the first set of doors into the theatre. We could wait there until the show now running finished and go straight in. We then had about 2 minutes before the next pre show went through. We each took a row of seats approximately where we had been sitting and just as the next show was starting to enter Michael found the camera tucked right back under one of the seats. It was quite amusing because there were 3 other people in there at the same time looking for things they had left behind and it was still only about 10.00 am!!!! Panic over and big hugs for Michael we went outside again. I would have been really miffed if Brian had lost this camera because I had only bought it for him for his 40th birthday in July. Needless to say it was securely strapped to his wrist for the remainder of the holiday.
Next we wandered back to the Sorcerors hat and got ice creams all round and then we spotted the characters. This place was FANTASTIC for characters. The boys were in their element as each character had very small lines and there were hundreds of them - Belle, Tweedledum, Tweedledee, Hercules, Meg, Queen of Hearts, White Rabbit, Mad Hatter, Donald Duck, Eeyore and loads loads more. The Green Army Men also arrived again and put on an amusing show with volunteer children from the people watching. We must have spent about 90 minutes just going round and round and each time there were different characters there.
At some point during those 90 minutes I got a bit twitchy as I knew Brian was keen to go on TofT and both Brian and Michael wanted to do RnR Coaster so I wandered off to get some FPs. I got 2 FPs each for TofT and RnR as I knew Andrew was too small and I had no intention of going near either of them as I am a complete roller coaster chicken - dont even like the log flume at Blackpool Pleasure Beach so how wuss is that? Didnt really need the FP at that time as both were a walk on even at 12.00 but got them anyway in case the queues had built by the time we got back. The FP time was only about 30 minutes later.
Rounded up the troupes and back to the fear zone for the boys to get their thrills and Andrew and I to people watch with more ice cream. They decided to do RnR coaster first using their FPs although it was still a walk on. Both came off and the look on Michaels face was an absolute picture. I wasnt sure whether he would enjoy it because he is by no means a roller coaster veteran but he absolutely LOVED it, so much so that he wanted to go straight back on and managed to persuade me to go back on with him. You really will love it Mum, honest. The sun must have gone to my head by then because I duly trotted off after him and with no time to get scared or turn back we were strapped in and WHOOSH .. we were off and most of you know the rest. I must admit that even though it was dark I had my eyes shut for most of the way round, but I was so proud that I had plucked up the courage to do this.
Brian then went on TofT. Michael didnt fancy it and I had definitely had enough thrills for one day so we let him get on with it. He said it was really good and tried to persuade Michael and me to go on it but we both chickened out.
Next we headed over to Millionaire to get a FP - again we probably didnt need it as the FP return time was only for 30 minutes later. Carried on down Mickey Avenue to see what the line was like for Mickey Mouse, not holding out much hope of it being less than an hour wait, but to our amazement there was only one family in the line waiting to see him so we were well chuffed with our little selves and the great mouse himself spent loads of time with the boys much to their delight.
Back to Millionaire and straight into the show. This set is so realistic and the show was really good fun even though a lot of the questions have an American bias to them. The man in the hot seat was already half way through his questions when the show started and got to the $500,000 question before bottling out. Brian made it onto the Leader Board at No 4 but later admitted that he had copied the answers to the American questions from the American boy sat next to him - what a cheat eh????
I really wanted to see the Beauty and the Beast show as this was only on showing on certain days of the week so we went back over to the next show and just about made it before the start. This was awesome and again worth the park entrance fee alone. I love the songs from this film and was singing along (in my head, didnt want to frighten any children sitting close by).
The next must do on our list was Playhouse Disney for Andrew as he is a big Bear in the Big Blue House and Roly Poly Olie fan but first we wisely decided to get FP for the last Indiana Jones Show of the day at 5.00 pm. The queue for Playhouse Disney was enormous but we just managed to get in before they closed the doors and stopped people entering. We all love Playhouse Disney, even Michael, so all really enjoyed this show and would have done it again if time had allowed.
We then wandered over to Indiana Jones to use our FP and got great seats. So glad we got the FP tickets for this because they were turning people away. Even though the park seemed really quiet the shows all seemed to get really full. Brilliant show and again one we would have done again given time, Andrew in particular thought it was brilliant and has been practising his stunt punches ever since much to Michaels annoyance.
Decided after Indie that we had better make our way over to Fantasmic for the 6.30 pm show as I knew how popular this was. Didnt need the map to find the way, just had to follow the Fantasmic stampede with everyone else in the park down past the TofT and straight in. Managed to get really good seats about halfway up somewhere near the centre of the stage and then Brian was despatched to purchase hot dogs, fries and drinks all round. After munching on these and a few Mexican Waves the show was ready to begin and what a show. If you have never seen this before DO NOT MISS IT. It is awesome. Andrews eyes were like saucers all the way through. The whole show is absolutely stunning, particularly the projections on the water screens - how do they do that? I was fascinated.
Decided not to rush out of the park but took our time sauntering back to the entrance and had no trouble at all getting out and back to the car.
None of us were particularly hungry for anything else to eat after the hot dogs and we didnt want the day to end so we decided to find the Winter Summerland Mini Golf. We played on the Summer course and the themeing here is brilliant. Michael always pesters to play mini golf wherever we are but then always gets really grumpy if he doesnt win or get a hole in one so it is hard to tell afterwards whether he enjoyed it or not. Needless to say he got beaten by his Dad so he wasnt a happy bunny.
We were just leaving the course when we saw the high fireworks from Illuminations and even from there it was impressive. A taste of things to come ..
Back to the hotel exhausted but happy and straight to bed to recharge our batteries.
Tomorrow - Magic Kingdom
