brewcrew80
Mouseketeer
- Joined
- May 27, 2009
Monday
-Sunday ended with so much uncertainty, I didn't know what to expect today.
I slept decent. Woke up real earlly. A little after 6 AM. So, I went downstairs and turned on the Weather Channel. The rain had shifted south! Not even overcast. Forecast was for sun all day. I could've jumped in the air. I was also shocked that I was the first one awake. My parents are notorious early risers. They were up soon after. Followed by Lydia. So, I fed her breakfast. Angie woke up sometime in there too. I was starting to wonder how early of a start we'd really get with half the group still asleep. So, I went upstairs thinking I'd get people moving. Another surprise. Kristen was up and showered and Beth was showering! Pat and Tom were both up too. So, I got Kelly up and we were in full swing.
Out the door a little before 9:30 and the bus to the Magic Kingdom was there soon after. Lydia was highly excited to ride the bus. She was happy sitting in another big girl seat and looking out the window....So was I. Again, just looking for signs of Disney. It all came at once. Space Mountain, the Contemporary, The Grand Floridian, and finally, a monorail. We were there.
So, we got off the bus and found a stand to exchange Give a Day vouchers. We did. We all got park tickets and a special voluntear button. Kinda cool. And were now ready to walk through the gates. But, the stress wasn't completely done yet....
....The night before, I had given somebody else my camera to take a group picture. On the handoff, the camera dropped (I blame the other lady...but, not important). It worked right away after being dropped, but now, as we were walking up Main Street towards the Castle, and the lense wouldn't even opened. Kelly freaked out. She messed with it. I messed with it. No luck. My dad was trying to get a consensus on what to do first and we just weren't interested. They decided on the Jungle Cruise. Fine. While in line, the lense finally tried to move. It was clear that it was just slightly bent. So, we just manipulated it back...and it worked again. Relief. But, really overshadowed the Magic Kingdom enterance.
The Jungle Cruise was good. I didn't pay much attention..just focused on Lydia. She was amused. Just happy to point and name the animals. Then, the cave happened. I've never known Lydia to be afraid of the dark...but, the combo of the darkness and the vicious looking tiger caused her to grab mommy and close her eyes. But, after the cave was the baby elephants. And she was a huge fan of those.
After that, we just stayed in the area for Magic Carpets of Alladin. No line. No camera stress. felt like the real first ride. I made a few comments about these types of rides being available at any local amusement park, but it really was fun. Lydia loved it. She sat with Pat and Kristen and Kelly and I sat in front of them...She was able to wave to the other carpet full of family members and my parents on the ground. Plus, being up high gave me a good chance to just look around and finally let it sink in that I was finally there.
Tiki Room was next. Lydia was a huge fan. She was the only one. Pretty sure she thought we were actually listening to birds sing. She loved it.
So, at this point in the day, we decided to do Pirates and the Haunted Mansion, then eat and break apart for the day. Some people wanted to do the big kid stuff, we wanted to it Fantasyland hard. So, Pirates was next. This and Haunted Mansion were a little much for Lydia. She never showed signs of understanding the dark context of stuff. but, she got it. Didn't cry, but didn't open her eyes much either.
After those 2, we got fastpasses for Splash Mountain....
Ate lunch at...I dunno. ...some place in Frontierland that has taco salads. Bad food. We did get free cookies because of our volunteer buttons. That was a nice touch.
After lunch, fastpasses were ready. We were gonna just go in 2 groups, but my mom said she'd be happy to take Lydia...so, the 8 of us went. It was fun. All I could think during the ride was; "yup, Lydia would love this one. they should have a version without the drop."
So, moving on to Fantasyland. At Lydia's request, Snow White was first...oops. So, that's 3 in a row that scared her. I knew it was kinda dark...but, wow! The queen trying to push a boulder on our head might've been the last straw. but, still no tears. Pooh was next....well...fastpass for Pooh. Return time wasn't for another 3 hours, but it did give us bonus fastpasses for Mickey's Philharmagic. So, we walked right in. First time seeing it. It was good. Lydia reaching for the gems during the Little Mermaid part was one of the highlights of the day. Her first experience with 3-D. Then, Snow White. Lydia loved the non scary parts...but, wow. I know the name says "scary" but, I didn't think it'd be that dark. It's a Small World next. meh. I'll probably skip that one next time. Next, a snack and Pooh's Playful Spot. Lydia was a fan. I could tell she was getting tired though and wasn't sure how that'd affect the day. But, it was time for our fastpasses for Pooh. Another new one for me.
So, in the middle of all the Fantasyland stuff, we did get pretty good spots for the 3 pm parade. Lydia loved this. She was yelling to characters and waving. got Kelly teary-eyed. We knew at that point that we should find a way to be there for Spectromagic at 8.
By now, it was 5. Tom and Beth went back to OKW to relax for a couple hours right after The Haunted Mansion. They were coming back at 6:30 for their Space Mountain fastpasses. So The remaining 7 of us walked to Tomorrowland for the first time. My parents encouraged us to go on Space Mountain while they took Lydia on other things. Angie stayed with 'em as she had fastpasses with Tom and Beth. So, we did. The line was about an hour, but it went real fast. We had video games to play in line and were able to just chat without a child to watch. It was refreshing. Ride was ok. Doesn't hold a candle to Disneyland's version. Got done and waited for my parents and Lydia. They had much success. She fell asleep in line for Buzz, slept through that. Then loved TTA...a lot. Then, they actually went on the Carosel of Progress. So, all told, Lydia napped for 35 minutes. Good enough. She was energized..as were we. This break in the day made the rest of the day possible.
And now, it was just Kelly, Lydia and I. We did the Indy Speedway next...another big hit with Lydia...Before that we got fastpasses for Buzz. Got to do that right after the Speedway...Then, I saw something I completely spaced out...The Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. So, we got right in. So awesome. Lydia was Boo, for anybody familiar with the attraction. She was beyond thrilled.
Now, it was supper time. We went to Cosmic Ray's for a bad burger and fries. Then, parade time. We found a good spot in Liberty Square. The parade was great. Lydia was wide-eyed the whole time. And that lasted until about 30 seconds after the parade. Then, she was asleep on my shoulder. Not unexpected. She was a trooper...and loved almost every minute. But, Kelly and I still wanted to see the fireworks, so, we found a spot and watched them. Then, we realized we were missing one thing we wanted to do..Peter Pan. So, we went over there. 10 minute wait. So, we did it. without waking Lydia up. She slept through the line and the ride. It was my first time riding in over 15 years. good way to end the day.
Great day. pretty much everything I had hoped for.
-Sunday ended with so much uncertainty, I didn't know what to expect today.
I slept decent. Woke up real earlly. A little after 6 AM. So, I went downstairs and turned on the Weather Channel. The rain had shifted south! Not even overcast. Forecast was for sun all day. I could've jumped in the air. I was also shocked that I was the first one awake. My parents are notorious early risers. They were up soon after. Followed by Lydia. So, I fed her breakfast. Angie woke up sometime in there too. I was starting to wonder how early of a start we'd really get with half the group still asleep. So, I went upstairs thinking I'd get people moving. Another surprise. Kristen was up and showered and Beth was showering! Pat and Tom were both up too. So, I got Kelly up and we were in full swing.
Out the door a little before 9:30 and the bus to the Magic Kingdom was there soon after. Lydia was highly excited to ride the bus. She was happy sitting in another big girl seat and looking out the window....So was I. Again, just looking for signs of Disney. It all came at once. Space Mountain, the Contemporary, The Grand Floridian, and finally, a monorail. We were there.
So, we got off the bus and found a stand to exchange Give a Day vouchers. We did. We all got park tickets and a special voluntear button. Kinda cool. And were now ready to walk through the gates. But, the stress wasn't completely done yet....
....The night before, I had given somebody else my camera to take a group picture. On the handoff, the camera dropped (I blame the other lady...but, not important). It worked right away after being dropped, but now, as we were walking up Main Street towards the Castle, and the lense wouldn't even opened. Kelly freaked out. She messed with it. I messed with it. No luck. My dad was trying to get a consensus on what to do first and we just weren't interested. They decided on the Jungle Cruise. Fine. While in line, the lense finally tried to move. It was clear that it was just slightly bent. So, we just manipulated it back...and it worked again. Relief. But, really overshadowed the Magic Kingdom enterance.
The Jungle Cruise was good. I didn't pay much attention..just focused on Lydia. She was amused. Just happy to point and name the animals. Then, the cave happened. I've never known Lydia to be afraid of the dark...but, the combo of the darkness and the vicious looking tiger caused her to grab mommy and close her eyes. But, after the cave was the baby elephants. And she was a huge fan of those.
After that, we just stayed in the area for Magic Carpets of Alladin. No line. No camera stress. felt like the real first ride. I made a few comments about these types of rides being available at any local amusement park, but it really was fun. Lydia loved it. She sat with Pat and Kristen and Kelly and I sat in front of them...She was able to wave to the other carpet full of family members and my parents on the ground. Plus, being up high gave me a good chance to just look around and finally let it sink in that I was finally there.
Tiki Room was next. Lydia was a huge fan. She was the only one. Pretty sure she thought we were actually listening to birds sing. She loved it.
So, at this point in the day, we decided to do Pirates and the Haunted Mansion, then eat and break apart for the day. Some people wanted to do the big kid stuff, we wanted to it Fantasyland hard. So, Pirates was next. This and Haunted Mansion were a little much for Lydia. She never showed signs of understanding the dark context of stuff. but, she got it. Didn't cry, but didn't open her eyes much either.
After those 2, we got fastpasses for Splash Mountain....
Ate lunch at...I dunno. ...some place in Frontierland that has taco salads. Bad food. We did get free cookies because of our volunteer buttons. That was a nice touch.
After lunch, fastpasses were ready. We were gonna just go in 2 groups, but my mom said she'd be happy to take Lydia...so, the 8 of us went. It was fun. All I could think during the ride was; "yup, Lydia would love this one. they should have a version without the drop."
So, moving on to Fantasyland. At Lydia's request, Snow White was first...oops. So, that's 3 in a row that scared her. I knew it was kinda dark...but, wow! The queen trying to push a boulder on our head might've been the last straw. but, still no tears. Pooh was next....well...fastpass for Pooh. Return time wasn't for another 3 hours, but it did give us bonus fastpasses for Mickey's Philharmagic. So, we walked right in. First time seeing it. It was good. Lydia reaching for the gems during the Little Mermaid part was one of the highlights of the day. Her first experience with 3-D. Then, Snow White. Lydia loved the non scary parts...but, wow. I know the name says "scary" but, I didn't think it'd be that dark. It's a Small World next. meh. I'll probably skip that one next time. Next, a snack and Pooh's Playful Spot. Lydia was a fan. I could tell she was getting tired though and wasn't sure how that'd affect the day. But, it was time for our fastpasses for Pooh. Another new one for me.
So, in the middle of all the Fantasyland stuff, we did get pretty good spots for the 3 pm parade. Lydia loved this. She was yelling to characters and waving. got Kelly teary-eyed. We knew at that point that we should find a way to be there for Spectromagic at 8.
By now, it was 5. Tom and Beth went back to OKW to relax for a couple hours right after The Haunted Mansion. They were coming back at 6:30 for their Space Mountain fastpasses. So The remaining 7 of us walked to Tomorrowland for the first time. My parents encouraged us to go on Space Mountain while they took Lydia on other things. Angie stayed with 'em as she had fastpasses with Tom and Beth. So, we did. The line was about an hour, but it went real fast. We had video games to play in line and were able to just chat without a child to watch. It was refreshing. Ride was ok. Doesn't hold a candle to Disneyland's version. Got done and waited for my parents and Lydia. They had much success. She fell asleep in line for Buzz, slept through that. Then loved TTA...a lot. Then, they actually went on the Carosel of Progress. So, all told, Lydia napped for 35 minutes. Good enough. She was energized..as were we. This break in the day made the rest of the day possible.
And now, it was just Kelly, Lydia and I. We did the Indy Speedway next...another big hit with Lydia...Before that we got fastpasses for Buzz. Got to do that right after the Speedway...Then, I saw something I completely spaced out...The Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. So, we got right in. So awesome. Lydia was Boo, for anybody familiar with the attraction. She was beyond thrilled.
Now, it was supper time. We went to Cosmic Ray's for a bad burger and fries. Then, parade time. We found a good spot in Liberty Square. The parade was great. Lydia was wide-eyed the whole time. And that lasted until about 30 seconds after the parade. Then, she was asleep on my shoulder. Not unexpected. She was a trooper...and loved almost every minute. But, Kelly and I still wanted to see the fireworks, so, we found a spot and watched them. Then, we realized we were missing one thing we wanted to do..Peter Pan. So, we went over there. 10 minute wait. So, we did it. without waking Lydia up. She slept through the line and the ride. It was my first time riding in over 15 years. good way to end the day.
Great day. pretty much everything I had hoped for.
. I'm not one for breaking the rules...but, that rule is dumb.
