CHAPTER 3
Sunday, March 12, 2006
Naomi woke up between 6-7, as always. We looked at the beautiful sunrise over the lagoon, got dressed, and were out the door by 7:28, with potty seat attached to the stroller and the day bag in the basket underneath. We got up to the monorail around 7:35.
This is where I made my first (and probably biggest) stupid mistake of the trip. I knew it was only ONE monorail stop to the Magic Kingdom
but the PA system was being a little weird, and I was chatting with my husband, and then I heard Stitch saying Mahalo! and I thought Oh, wait! Were at the Polynesian! I realized my mistake as soon as the doors closed, but it was too late! What was I thinking, losing my focus like that on my first vacation to Disney World in almost twenty years? (Okay, Im laughing NOW, but I definitely wasnt then.) So we missed our stop, and had to go all the way around on the monorail.
This wouldnt have been so bad, except we had 8:05 reservations at the Crystal Palace. Okay, cutting it a bit close, but still do-able.
Then the monorail stopped between stations. And stopped. And stopped. I am freaking out inwardly and grumbling a bit outwardly (though trying not to let Naomi see how upset I am), both because I hate heights and because I hate being late and this was so special to me, to get one of the earliest reservations so we could be in the park before the opening, but now maybe it wont work out and AAAAAAH!
The monorail starts moving again. We get off the train. It is maybe 8:02. We get through security and the ticket machines, with a bit of confusion because Naomis Park Hopper (which is clearly labeled 3-9 years old) is reading out as 10+ on the computer system, so the ticket person insists that that must be one of my adult tickets, even though I show her that its not. We straighten this out, and we get through.
Were already late, so we do stop on Main Street to take a nice castle picture at around 8:10. What the heck.
There is a line to check in, and we dont get to the front until 8:15. I apologize and tell her about the monorail, and the person is mellow and fine with this. We did have to wait a bit for a table, but were seated by 8:24. (Our camera has a time signature.)
Naomi is still somewhat awe-struck, but does better with the Pooh guys than she did with the Cindy gang. There was a bit of a wait before we got any characters, but then we got Eeyore (8:50) and Tigger (8:52) in rapid succession, a longish pause (during which the parade happened, which unfortunately I missed as I was in the bathroom), then Piglet (9:06)|, then Pooh (9:10). We got pretty good pictures with each of them! Naomi also did some Tigger bouncing of her own with a boy named Bo who was also 3, from somewhere in the south, who was sitting (and I use this word loosely) at the table next to ours.
Food-wise, this was a GREAT meal. Naomi ate pineapple and strawberries, maybe some cantaloupe, and part of a muffin. I *LOVED* this breakfast and could have happily eaten nowhere else our whole vacation! I had a plate of scrambled eggs and roasted breakfast potatoes smothered in ketchup, plus a small chocolate muffin just before we left. The potatoes had some bacon in with them, which I could have lived without, but were still really good. DH had a bunch of stuff including stuffed French toast and some muffins. There were tons of other good looking offerings, including blueberry pancakes.
We emerged around 9:35, and caught Cinderellabration at 9:40! I had not necessarily planned this in our itinerary, but Im glad we caught it because Naomi really seemed to enjoy it.
At 10, we headed off for our first ride of the day, which we had decided would probably be The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Only a 20 minute wait, even though it was already a bit after 10? YAY!
We get about 10 minutes into this line, and are admiring the big placards from Pooh books, when Naomi decides I dont want to do this. We try to talk to her about this, and how it will be fun, and how she should give it a try. She does NOT come around. We move forward some more. A little bit of tears. We talk to her some more. Crying. We bail out.
We are a bit at cross purposes, as Naomi says no to everything. We finally settle on Poohs Playful Place, as she decides that yes, it would be fun to go look at that Piglet up in the tree.
Naomi LOVES this playground. We stay there for at least 20 minutes, maybe longer, from around 10:35-10:55.
We then head over to the Fairytale Garden for Storytime with Belle. The Fairytale Garden is already starting to fill up, but we manage to snag some front bench seats on a sideways facing bench on the right side of the stage. Storytime with Belle is really cute. Belle and her helper select kids from the audience to play Maurice, Gaston, Cogsworth, Lumiere, Mrs. Potts, and Chip, and one adult, who plays the Beast. They have Velcro-on costumes for them to wear. Naomi did not want to be picked and wasnt, but was happy to watch. Belle was very funny and interacted so well with the boy playing Gaston, whose repeated line was Marry me, Belle! and with the Beast/Dad, who had to roar a few times. Oh dear! she said, as if overwhelmed, which made the audience laugh. Naomi enjoyed the show.
We thought there was going to be a meet and greet afterwards, but Belle had to run off to be in Cinderellabration, so there wasnt. Oh well. We got to meet Belle at character meals without standing on line, so this wasnt the worst thing.
We then explore a bit more. Naomi had interest in frolicking in Ariels Grotto, but wants a bathing suit. Rats! One of the only things I didnt bring to the park. We head into Tinkerbells Treasures. No bathing suits, but we do find some other stuff of interest. Naomi (with DHs help) makes a bead bracelet. Kind of a fun activity! (I did have to clean up after her a lot, though, because she really enjoyed looking at all the different treasure, as she called it. There were all kinds of character charms.)
A little more exploring, then we stopped by the Pooh ride and got Fast Passes
just in case someone changed her mind.
Not too long after this, we headed off to Liberty Square for our lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern. We had a 12:15 ADR. I didnt feel particularly hungry, but DH was and was glad Id made the reservation. I had a Colony Salad, and actually ate every bite; I guess I was hungrier than I thought I was. DH had pot roast. He liked it, though he thought it could have been a little more spiced. We ordered Naomi the fruit and yogurt dip appetizer, and Naomi ate some fruit, plus some Wheat Thins I brought with me.
Naomi was a little tired and had a bit of a crying jag when I went to the restroom (Id invited her to come with me, but shed turned me down, then worried because Mommy is all alone!) I took her outside and she immediately pepped back up, chasing birds and saying Shoo! (I think this is an idea she gets from Lion King, when birds start eating at what Timon describes as the best buffet in the Pride Lands. I apologize to all the birds of Disney World, and I hope we spilled enough popcorn to make things up to you.) We then played balance beam on the perimeter of the landscaping out in front of Liberty Tree Tavern, which Naomi thought was great fun. We did at least half a dozen laps.
Naomi had a change of heart! She DID want to use our Fast Passes to try The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. Thank God for Fast Pass, by the way; much less chickening out time. We got on our hunny pot without incident. The ride jolted us around much more than I had expectedI had expected it would just roll slowly along the track and Pooh guys would say stuff around you. Instead, there were sharp-ish turns, some bouncing (Tigger section), and a nightmare section. But Naomi did great. Afterwards, we bought her some Pooh rubber stamps as a reward.
Out to the monorail, and back to the hotel. I thought we might just make it back before Naomi fell asleep
but there was a long-ish pause in front of the Polynesian, and she dozed. We managed to do a successful transfer to her bed, though.
She slept from around 1:40-4:20. We rested too.
After wake-up, we got Naomi in her Belle gown and headed off to Epcot. We were a family on a mission: TO MEET THE BEAST! I had read on Steve Soares site (confirmed by the Times Guide I picked up in the park) that characters only appeared in France until 5:55. It was about 5:25 when we debarked from the monorail. We walked briskly to France. (Okay, briskly for people pushing a stroller and occasionally glancing at a map.) Found France easily, but didnt see any characters. Asked a cast member, and he said he thought character stopped appearing at 5:30. It was 5:35. I told him it said 5:55. Oh! he said, then try in between France and Morocco. We headed off briskly in that direction, and
THERE HE WAS!
Only Naomi now was having second thoughts about this and was scared. DH got on line anyway, and I had a chat with Naomi, who was pretty certain she didnt want to meet the Beast. I talked her around, though, albeit I had to emphasize that we would be very proud AND would get her the popcorn she had been asking for if she at least went and stood next to Belle with Mommy. (Its not like I really care that much if she meets the Beast or not, but I dread a situation where an hour later she decides that she DOES want to meet the Beast and its too late. Okay, yeah, I kind of wanted the photo too
but if she had absolutely refused, I would have accepted it.)
After that, we strolled in a more leisurely fashion back to Canada, where we picked up that popcorn, and then browsed around past Mexico, Norway, China, and the Outpost. Around Mexico was the first time in the trip that I actually felt things were at all crowded; I had actually been surprised at how moderate the crowds were in the Magic Kingdom.
We started heading back toward Norway, as we had a 6:30 reservation, when we came across the Chinese acrobats show, which I think had started 2 or 3 minutes earlier. I am so glad we caught this, as it was utterly AMAZING! A woman kicked bowls up on her head while on a unicycle, much to Naomis delight. (Funny back story: Naomi was fascinated by the Mongolian bowl dance which she saw featured on Sesame Street. When I asked her if she wanted to take dance lessons a few months ago, she said yes. I asked her if she wanted ballet, tap, or partner dancing like Mommy and Daddy do, and she said bowl dancing. Um, okay, honey, Im sure they have that here in our quiet little not-particularly-diverse rural/suburban town.) Then, two women did some fancy tricks, like one did a one-handed handstand on the other ones belly. Then, another woman balanced a whole bunch of drinks on top of a straw that she was balancing between her teeth or something. She eventually did this and climbed two parallel ladders while wearing heels. She didnt spill so much as a drop. Pretty amazing!
We checked in at Norway, and took a couple minutes to throw a coin in the waterfall while we waited to be called.
6:36. Our turn! The greeter princess was Ariel. This was initially slightly disappointing to me, as I had been hoping to get a picture of Naomi in her yellow Belle dress next to Belle in her yellow Belle dress. But Ariel was actually great. Naomi had been carrying around her two inch tall Ariel and King Triton poseable figures that we had purchased earlier that day at Tinkerbells Treasures. Ariel said Heres what my father and I always say to each other, and made up a little dialogue between the two dolls. Naomi beamed in delight. It was one of the best moments in our three days.
We were seated, and the princesses came quickly thereafter. We got Belle (6:54), Aurora (6:55), Mulan (6:56), and Jasmine (6:58). All of them were nice. We got particularly good pictures with Aurora and Jasmine. Belle is Naomis favorite, but I think that for this reason, it is hard for us to get a good picture of the two of them. Naomi is so overwhelmed by actually meeting her heroine that she can barely make eye contact, never mind smile and look at the camera. But we got some okay pictures of them hugging.
The food experience was only okay. The buffet moved REALLY slowly. After the drink order, DH kept getting up to try to get food, made no progress, and then another princess would come by and he would come back to the table. This is the only place at Disney where we experienced this. There were some okay cheeses, pre-sliced thin (not the loveliest presentation), shrimp and I think some other fish stuff (Im not a fish eater), and some salads. I had a slice of cheese and some pasta salad with vegetables, which I liked. DH had some cheeses and herring, and some beet salad, I think.
DH had the lamb stew as his main course and thought it was okay. I had the Pasta Akershus topped with grilled chicken breast. The chicken was good, but the pasta seemed overcooked to me. Maybe that is authentically Norwegian, I dont know, but I like my pasta a little more al dente. Naomi got grilled chicken breast as well, and ate a bit. She might have had a bit of cheese off of DHs plate as well.
The desserts were nice, and after sampling all three, we realized we each had our own favorite. I really liked the lingonberry tart topped with oatmeal streusel, DH liked the rice pudding with strawberries, and Naomi liked the chocolate mousse.
We headed back toward the monorail. It struck 8 oclock, and there was this really cool fountain show in front of Innovations, where various spigots of water leaped up and changed colors as music played. Naomi described it as being like fireworks. For some reason, she started saying "Yee-haw!" and sweeping her arm dramatically out toward the night sky. Very cute. We went back to our hotel and got there around 8:30, I think. We watched the Electric Light Pageant from out on the lawn, went for a swim, took a very quick bath, and then let Naomi watch the fireworks with us out on the balcony. It was really special. Naomi was really tired, and fell asleep within minutes after the show ended.
