Magic Kingdom Pictures
After heading out of the Beach Club we headed over to the parking lot at the Transportation and ticket Center, took the ferry over to the Magic Kingdom and headed in. Our first stop was at the firehouse. I wanted to try out Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom with Ari. We got three packs of cards and one key card to share (which is what identifies you at each stop in the game). Our first stop is Fantasyland so we headed over there for the Carousel. Ari loves riding this at the mall, but she completely flipped out here, so I had to take her off while Amande and Lily rode. Ari and I played Sorcerers while we waited.
The game is simple and mostly about exploring the parks. You get a map with the locations of all the portals (hidden screen) throughout the park. You are given a specific location to go (designated by a land and a symbol. We started at Fantasyland, the shield symbol). At each location there is a Sorcerers game symbol on the ground (the SotMK symbol, not the location specific symbol). You put your key card up to the lock and stand on the symbol. A story segment will play and then you battle a villain (Ursula in our case) with your cards. You hold up the spell card you want to use and it will cast the spell. It uses hidden cameras to see which card you are using. After an attack or two, you get to move on to the next portal. There are five portals per land and when you reach the fifth one, you can defeat the villain. Ari and I played as a team. I would find the portals and use the key card to activate it and Ari would stand on the symbol and cast the spell. She loved helping out and seeing what the cards would do. Once we defeated Ursula, we were told to move on to Main Street. We stopped there for now as we wanted to move on to more rides.
Our next ride of the day was Peter Pan. As we expected there was a good line (30 monutes) so we decided to take Ari in her stroller. This is where out worked out the best. There is a separate line here for wheelchairs (which is what they considered Ari stroller thanks to the tag given to us by Guess Relations). We only ended up waiting about 10 minutes for the ride which I just carried Ari on to after we got to the moving floor. Also, this was one of the only few rides where they couldn't slow down the floor for Amanda and the cast member couldn't grasp the idea that she needed help, so I helped her on before getting Ari settled. I've always helped her on these types of floors (she hated these and the spinning type like they have on log flumes) so it wasn't a real issue. It was just the one ride where they seemed least willing to help and the least understanding of the situation. Moving on, we got on the pirate ship and took off. Peter Pan is one of Ari's favorites so she loved the ride. Lily rode with my parents and didn't seem to care one way or the other. It was probably just too dark for her to see much.
Since "Small World" was right across the way, we hit there next. Both kids loved it. They didn't know which way to look there was so much for them to see. The whole ride was spent watching them try to see everything. Then of course there was a large back log of boats waiting to disembark, so we ended up sitting in the last room listening to the song for 5 plus minutes while the boats slowly moved towards the exit.
Next we headed towards Liberty Square. On the way we passed by some construction where the Skyway building used to be. There were some new buildings and in the back was Rapunzel's tower! I had kind of seen it one of the nights we were there, but only slightly as it was late and it's not being illuminated yet. Ari was overjoyed as she loves Rapunzel. She was Rapunzel for Halloween and even brought her dress to wear at Disney, which she would do on Friday.
We cut back towards the hub and made our way across the park to New Fantasyland and Storybook Circus. The Circus portion was closing at 3:00 and we wanted to get that finished. Ari didn't want to go on Dumbo and the wait was listed at 40 minutes so Amanda didn't take Lily either. We headed over to the Barnstormer and took Ari on her first roller coaster ride! She did great and she loved it, even though she was a little scared. Unfortunately though, her back isn't up to riding anything bigger than that. Up next we let the kids splash around in the Casey Jr. Splash and Soak area since the temperature was in the 80s at this point. Neither one got too wet, but wad fun dodging the spitting camels and monkeys with squirting flowers, along with all of the other water hazards there.
Since we hadn't seen Daisy anywhere yet we went over to Pete's Silly Sideshow. We saw Daisy Fortuna and Minnie Magnifique. We ended up not going into the other line as we had seen Donald and Goofy several other times, although we could see them while waiting on the other side. Their costumes were great.
Since we were doing meet and greets, we decided to hit Ariel's Grotto next. We had to leave Lily's stroller barked back in Storybook Circus since there were too many camera from all the media and no stroller parking left. After about a 20 minute wait and Ari almost falling asleep, she got to have a nice conversation with Ariel and teach her about hippos, which Ariel really got in to. So after a nice long chat, we headed over to Be Our Guest restaurant since lunch is counter service and there was no way we were getting dinner reservations. It turns out that it was closed to the general public for the day. Media only. Tomorrow too. The only two days we would be in the park for lunch. So after all the build up we ended up not even getting a look at the restaurant since the only two days we were there for lunch, we weren't allowed in. So back to Gaston's Tavern for a Lefou's Brew and then all the way back to the stroller.
Next up we headed back to Liberty Square where we had left off and hit the haunted mansion. It was looking as good as ever. I personally enjoyed the additions to the queue. Ari loved playing with the instruments on the tombs. We did take her in her stroller for this as the wait was long enough. It's a bit rough getting set up for this. It there wasn't much of a wait, I'd probably carry her but it was worth the hassle to make sure she didn't tire out. The new hitchhiking ghost scene was impressive but didn't seem to line up quite right with us, but I don't think most people would have noticed. I just tend to get really picky with such things.
Next we went to the Country Bears, which broke down during the show before our's. So we left and headed over to Splash Mountain. It was only a 15 minute wait, so we did the rider swap (Two of us go and the other two got instant Fast Passes for when they returned. Do this whenever you can if you are going with kids and don't have someone who isn't riding). My parents went on and we follows after they got back. The ride broke down three times while we were on it, each only for a short time. The laughing place was a joke, pardon the pun. None of the effects were working. No jumping fountain, no turtles on geysers, nothing peeking at you from the ceiling. This ride needs some help. A lot of people seemed to notice this which means it's really getting bad. Most guests don't notice a few things not working. We still had a good time and we'll have out ride pic up soon. Just waiting for them to find one more Epcot pic before I download the whole collection.
Next the kids and my parents rested while Amanda and I went on Big Thunder RR. Everything looks great although I do miss the shaking boulders near the end. You can just tell that something is supposed to be there. It's still as bumpy as ever and still as fun as always. When we were done, we decided to head back to the Country Bears in the hopes of finishing off Frontierland. It was open and as you can see I got plenty of pictures. The cuts they made were a bit jarring, but nothing horrible. Toe only thing I really missed was a lot of the banter coming from Melvin, Buff and Max. They kept Blood on the Saddle and Momma Don't Whoop Little Buford so I was happy.
We tried to take the train back to Main Street, but that was closed as well. We didn't get a straight answer as to why but it seemed likely that is was because of the media events related to the closing of Storybook Circus. Whatever the reason we had to walk back to the entrance and I hit a couple of Sorcerer of the Magic Kingdom locations on the way out. Ari had fun watching the portals. Our new villain was Cruela. We would continue with it tomorrow. At this point, all the rides we still wanted to hit were in Adventureland and Tomorrowland (which we hadn't even set foot into yet) other than one ride. Winnie the Pooh was the only thing left in Fantasyland (other than the Be Our Guest Restaurant) that we still wanted to get to.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
Day 5: Cape May Cafe
Cape May Cafe Pictures
Well, I started off the day with forgetting that the batteries in my camera were dead and that I had used the spares in the backpack. So, while I had another 12 back in our hotel room, I had to buy some at the hotel where we were having breakfast. They were way overpriced of course, but we were about to head in for our breakfast and our hotel was miles away. We were at the Beach Club. They had a beautiful gingerbread carousel in the lobby to look at while we waited. I took plenty of pictures of it, including pics of all of the little gingerbread figures. This was an amazing piece of food sculpting. I got to see this and later we saw the gingerbread Christmas tree in the Contemporary. I like this much more.
The kids watched old Mickey cartoons while we waited. The breakfast included visits from Minnie, Donald and Goofy in beath attire. It was a really good buffet with a lot of items that I've never seen on a Disney buffet before. Smoked salmon, asparagus with hollandaise sauce and a few things I've never heard of. One was apple based and had a Spanish sounding name. Again, I ate too much and lasted most of the day off breakfast. Both Ari and Lily loved the characters and there was plenty for them to eat. My personal favorite was the zucchini bread.
Afterwards we wandered around the front of the hotel a little and took a couple of pictures before getting in the van and heading over to the Magic Kingdom.
Well, I started off the day with forgetting that the batteries in my camera were dead and that I had used the spares in the backpack. So, while I had another 12 back in our hotel room, I had to buy some at the hotel where we were having breakfast. They were way overpriced of course, but we were about to head in for our breakfast and our hotel was miles away. We were at the Beach Club. They had a beautiful gingerbread carousel in the lobby to look at while we waited. I took plenty of pictures of it, including pics of all of the little gingerbread figures. This was an amazing piece of food sculpting. I got to see this and later we saw the gingerbread Christmas tree in the Contemporary. I like this much more.
The kids watched old Mickey cartoons while we waited. The breakfast included visits from Minnie, Donald and Goofy in beath attire. It was a really good buffet with a lot of items that I've never seen on a Disney buffet before. Smoked salmon, asparagus with hollandaise sauce and a few things I've never heard of. One was apple based and had a Spanish sounding name. Again, I ate too much and lasted most of the day off breakfast. Both Ari and Lily loved the characters and there was plenty for them to eat. My personal favorite was the zucchini bread.
Afterwards we wandered around the front of the hotel a little and took a couple of pictures before getting in the van and heading over to the Magic Kingdom.
Day 4: Epcot and Amanda's Birthday
Epcot Pictures
We started off the day heading back to Guest Services. We got a birthday button for Amanda and a new Guest Assistance Card for Ari (I, uh, washed her other one...). Our focus for the day was to get as much of Future World done as possible. We did a pretty good job of it. We started over at The Seas with Nemo and Friends (the old Living Seas pavilion). We started with the Nemo ride and both kids loved watching the fish in the tank. We then wandered through the aquarium and Ari had to see the manatees (just like the one on Diego) and it happened to be feeding time. After watching them very slowly eat some lettuce we went over to the tank viewing area and followed a turtle around the tank. We then went to see Turtle Talk which had Ari and Lily just staring at the tank (screen) while Crush answered the kids questions and Dori was crushed up against the glass by a whale which was my favorite part. Got a picture of that.
Next up we went over to the Imagination Pavilion to see Figment. The ride was a little loud for Ari, but she came out of there in love with Figment. We ended up with a pair of Figment Mickey Ears. I have a much better stuffed Figment here at home than anything they have nowadays. I also have a nice Figment bank. Figment was my favorite back in the 80s when I first went to Epcot (or Epcot Center as it was called back then and as it says on my Figment bank). Next up was lunch.
We went over to the Land and went over to get Fast Passes for Soarin'. Unfortunately they were for 4:15 which was the same time as our reservation for Le Cellier, so we went over to Sunshine Seasons and grabbed a light lunch. It was a turkey sandwich which Amanda and me split. We then decided to hit Living with the Land while we were here. I still love that ride even though there is not much to it. It's just relaxing and simple. Plus there is always something fun to see in the greenhouse area. There was actually a line so we used Ari's stroller in the handicapped line. In the end, it probably would have been easier to let her walk or carry her for this ride.
Afterwards I grabbed Fast Passes as Soarin' was up to 5:30 which was a much better time. We had planned to leave the park right after dinner but we decided to just do this one ride on the way out.
Next up we headed into Innoventions looking for the exclusive Chase Disney Card meet and greet. That was a complete waste of time. The line was huge, longer than any other one we saw the whole time we were in the park. There was a curtain so Amanda asked who was back there. The cast member was rude and in the end told us we would have to stand in line to find out, so we decided it really wasn't worth the hastle. Besides, my dad saw Mickey and Pluto behind the curtain. We did do a fire safety game while we were in there which Ari loved. Afterwards we headed over to the Character Spot and saw Mickey, Pluto and Minnie without any wait. So much for the Chase meet and greet. We never did get back to it.
After a quick stop at Ice Station Cool (or whatever the name is nowadays) for some Mezzo Mix (Germany's drink. I loved off of that when I spent a summer in Germany) we headed over to World Showcase. No one in our group likes Mission Space, and most of us wanted to skip Ellen's Energy Adventure. Plus Test Track was closed (it reopened on Dec 6. More on that later).
We went into Mexico and rode Grand Fiesta Tour. I always loved the Three Caballeros movie (and Saludos Amigos) and like the update for this ride. After a quick tour we got out of the boat and headed to Canada for Amanda's birthday dinner.
After getting a few pictures taken around Canada, we headed to dinner. It was as good as I remember (although much more expensive. Everything is since they started that dining plan. Doesn't help those of us who stay off property). I had the short ribs, which were nice and tender and cooked perfectly. I had a little lobster mac and cheese as well as some of Amanda's steak. Everything was perfect, but the $300 price tag after tip for 6 people (2 of which are kids) seemed excessive. Still, it's not something we did every day and was definitely worth it for Amanda's birthday. She did get a birthday piece of chocolate in the end.
We made our way back to the Land and my parent went on Soarin' first. After a breakdown (which would become a theme for the rest of our trip) they made it out before our Fast Passes expired and we went on. After that we went back to the hotel.
We started off the day heading back to Guest Services. We got a birthday button for Amanda and a new Guest Assistance Card for Ari (I, uh, washed her other one...). Our focus for the day was to get as much of Future World done as possible. We did a pretty good job of it. We started over at The Seas with Nemo and Friends (the old Living Seas pavilion). We started with the Nemo ride and both kids loved watching the fish in the tank. We then wandered through the aquarium and Ari had to see the manatees (just like the one on Diego) and it happened to be feeding time. After watching them very slowly eat some lettuce we went over to the tank viewing area and followed a turtle around the tank. We then went to see Turtle Talk which had Ari and Lily just staring at the tank (screen) while Crush answered the kids questions and Dori was crushed up against the glass by a whale which was my favorite part. Got a picture of that.
Next up we went over to the Imagination Pavilion to see Figment. The ride was a little loud for Ari, but she came out of there in love with Figment. We ended up with a pair of Figment Mickey Ears. I have a much better stuffed Figment here at home than anything they have nowadays. I also have a nice Figment bank. Figment was my favorite back in the 80s when I first went to Epcot (or Epcot Center as it was called back then and as it says on my Figment bank). Next up was lunch.
We went over to the Land and went over to get Fast Passes for Soarin'. Unfortunately they were for 4:15 which was the same time as our reservation for Le Cellier, so we went over to Sunshine Seasons and grabbed a light lunch. It was a turkey sandwich which Amanda and me split. We then decided to hit Living with the Land while we were here. I still love that ride even though there is not much to it. It's just relaxing and simple. Plus there is always something fun to see in the greenhouse area. There was actually a line so we used Ari's stroller in the handicapped line. In the end, it probably would have been easier to let her walk or carry her for this ride.
Afterwards I grabbed Fast Passes as Soarin' was up to 5:30 which was a much better time. We had planned to leave the park right after dinner but we decided to just do this one ride on the way out.
Next up we headed into Innoventions looking for the exclusive Chase Disney Card meet and greet. That was a complete waste of time. The line was huge, longer than any other one we saw the whole time we were in the park. There was a curtain so Amanda asked who was back there. The cast member was rude and in the end told us we would have to stand in line to find out, so we decided it really wasn't worth the hastle. Besides, my dad saw Mickey and Pluto behind the curtain. We did do a fire safety game while we were in there which Ari loved. Afterwards we headed over to the Character Spot and saw Mickey, Pluto and Minnie without any wait. So much for the Chase meet and greet. We never did get back to it.
After a quick stop at Ice Station Cool (or whatever the name is nowadays) for some Mezzo Mix (Germany's drink. I loved off of that when I spent a summer in Germany) we headed over to World Showcase. No one in our group likes Mission Space, and most of us wanted to skip Ellen's Energy Adventure. Plus Test Track was closed (it reopened on Dec 6. More on that later).
We went into Mexico and rode Grand Fiesta Tour. I always loved the Three Caballeros movie (and Saludos Amigos) and like the update for this ride. After a quick tour we got out of the boat and headed to Canada for Amanda's birthday dinner.
After getting a few pictures taken around Canada, we headed to dinner. It was as good as I remember (although much more expensive. Everything is since they started that dining plan. Doesn't help those of us who stay off property). I had the short ribs, which were nice and tender and cooked perfectly. I had a little lobster mac and cheese as well as some of Amanda's steak. Everything was perfect, but the $300 price tag after tip for 6 people (2 of which are kids) seemed excessive. Still, it's not something we did every day and was definitely worth it for Amanda's birthday. She did get a birthday piece of chocolate in the end.
We made our way back to the Land and my parent went on Soarin' first. After a breakdown (which would become a theme for the rest of our trip) they made it out before our Fast Passes expired and we went on. After that we went back to the hotel.
Day 3: Hollywood Studios
Hollywood Studios Pictures
We had a 10:00 reservation for the Play & Dine breakfast over at Hollywood & Vine in Hollywood Studios. This is where all the Disney Jr. characters hang out so we made sure to do this one for the girls. They got to see Jake (from Jake & the Neverland Pirates) who was a huge hit with Ari. He came by several times and Ari really enjoyed herself each time. Next we saw Handy Manny (without his tools, which disappointed Ari, but she got over it). He was a hit as well. Up next was Special Agent Oso, who the kids don't really watch but Ari knows who he is. He actually scared Lily a little but Ari had fun with him. Last was June from Little Einsteins. Again she was a hit. All of them made it around again so we got to see all the characters at least once.
The food there was really good. The ham was excellent and the burrito scrambled eggs were probably my favorite thing there. There were tortillas there, but I just had the eggs with a little cheese and sour cream. Ari had a few pancakes and I had too much food. I didn't eat lunch and ended up only having a small dinner, but I guess it saved on food expenses.
After breakfast we went over to see the Disney Jr. show. It's basically a large puppet show Ari the kids loved it. It has Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Little Einsteins and Handy Manny all weaved together to tell one big story. I especially liked the Skully animatronic and the Sharky and Bones puppets. All very well done.
Next up was a meet and greet. We went to see Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz in Game Central Station. I think this one was as much for me as the girls. Both of them loved the movie and were excited to see them. Lily can even say Wreck-It Ralph so she was yelling it while we were there. Also, I did wear my Donkey Kong shirt on purpose this day and both Vanellope and Ralph had a good laugh at seeing it.
After leaving Game Central Station (in the Animation building) we saw the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show. Still the same show after all these years and the kids loved it. So far we were making good time and catching things with little to no wait even for the shows. We just seemed to keep getting to things right at start time.
We kept heading down the path past the Little Mermaid and made our way to The Legend of Jack Sparrow. It's a fun walk through/show involving a story where you are training to join Jack's crew. It's hosted be a floating skull, which confuses Jack quite a bit. The imagery here is wonderful and they somehow have a very realistic looking video of Jack during the scenes where he is present. Nicely done overall, although very cheesy at points. True Jack Sparrow style throughout.
After the show we headed over towards the Tower of Terror. Here we split up with my parents. They took the kids to see the Beauty and the Beast stage show (with front row seats) and Amanda and I went to Tower of Terror followed by Rock 'n' Rollercoaster. I have pictures from both the rides which I will post as soon as I get the CD from Disney.
We next headed over to the Great Movie Ride. No wait again here. There was a bit of a line although we used the handicapped entrance. It didn't really save any time but it saved my back and Ari's legs. There would have been a good amount of walking for her to get through the whole queue. She did pretty well through this ride although some parts were too loud for her. The gangster scene and Alien were really the only two problem areas. The Wizard of Oz scene was a little loud for her but she seemed to still enjoy it.
When the ride was over we caught Max (Goofy's son) in the courtyard so we stopped to say hi before heading over to Star Tours.
Amanda and I went in while my parents stayed out with the kids. We walked right in and rode. We got Darth Vader looking for the spy followed by the pod race on Tatooine, the message from Princess Leia and ended with the Death Star. The second time I went with my parents. This time it was Darth Vader again, followed by Kashyyyk (the Wookie planet), message from Yoda and Naboo. So at the end of the day I left the part with two ride throughs and only missed one scene from each set (Stormtroopers, Hoth, Ackbar and Coruscant). Not bad for only having seen it twice. Also, I know people who have ridden a dozen times and have yet to see the pod race. I got to see it one my first ride.
After wandering a bit we stopped to see Mater and Lightening McQueen and then decided to head over to get a seat for Fantasmic. Again, we kept Ari in her stroller and the crowds were just too much for her. She was asleep at this point anyway. We got a handicapped seat in the back row and let her rest. She woke up part way through and got to see some of the show. We were more worried about her being awake for the Osborn lights so we didn't force the issue with her.
When we arrived at the Orborn lights, we were corralled around the Streets of America towards the back. Once in we headed over to see Santa Goofy. By the time that was done it was almost 8:00 and the part was getting ready to close. Luckily, Disney doesn't shut down the lights right at 8 so we took our time seeing everything before leaving for the night.
We had a 10:00 reservation for the Play & Dine breakfast over at Hollywood & Vine in Hollywood Studios. This is where all the Disney Jr. characters hang out so we made sure to do this one for the girls. They got to see Jake (from Jake & the Neverland Pirates) who was a huge hit with Ari. He came by several times and Ari really enjoyed herself each time. Next we saw Handy Manny (without his tools, which disappointed Ari, but she got over it). He was a hit as well. Up next was Special Agent Oso, who the kids don't really watch but Ari knows who he is. He actually scared Lily a little but Ari had fun with him. Last was June from Little Einsteins. Again she was a hit. All of them made it around again so we got to see all the characters at least once.
The food there was really good. The ham was excellent and the burrito scrambled eggs were probably my favorite thing there. There were tortillas there, but I just had the eggs with a little cheese and sour cream. Ari had a few pancakes and I had too much food. I didn't eat lunch and ended up only having a small dinner, but I guess it saved on food expenses.
After breakfast we went over to see the Disney Jr. show. It's basically a large puppet show Ari the kids loved it. It has Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Jake and the Neverland Pirates, Little Einsteins and Handy Manny all weaved together to tell one big story. I especially liked the Skully animatronic and the Sharky and Bones puppets. All very well done.
Next up was a meet and greet. We went to see Wreck-It Ralph and Vanellope Von Schweetz in Game Central Station. I think this one was as much for me as the girls. Both of them loved the movie and were excited to see them. Lily can even say Wreck-It Ralph so she was yelling it while we were there. Also, I did wear my Donkey Kong shirt on purpose this day and both Vanellope and Ralph had a good laugh at seeing it.
After leaving Game Central Station (in the Animation building) we saw the Voyage of the Little Mermaid show. Still the same show after all these years and the kids loved it. So far we were making good time and catching things with little to no wait even for the shows. We just seemed to keep getting to things right at start time.
We kept heading down the path past the Little Mermaid and made our way to The Legend of Jack Sparrow. It's a fun walk through/show involving a story where you are training to join Jack's crew. It's hosted be a floating skull, which confuses Jack quite a bit. The imagery here is wonderful and they somehow have a very realistic looking video of Jack during the scenes where he is present. Nicely done overall, although very cheesy at points. True Jack Sparrow style throughout.
After the show we headed over towards the Tower of Terror. Here we split up with my parents. They took the kids to see the Beauty and the Beast stage show (with front row seats) and Amanda and I went to Tower of Terror followed by Rock 'n' Rollercoaster. I have pictures from both the rides which I will post as soon as I get the CD from Disney.
We next headed over to the Great Movie Ride. No wait again here. There was a bit of a line although we used the handicapped entrance. It didn't really save any time but it saved my back and Ari's legs. There would have been a good amount of walking for her to get through the whole queue. She did pretty well through this ride although some parts were too loud for her. The gangster scene and Alien were really the only two problem areas. The Wizard of Oz scene was a little loud for her but she seemed to still enjoy it.
When the ride was over we caught Max (Goofy's son) in the courtyard so we stopped to say hi before heading over to Star Tours.
Amanda and I went in while my parents stayed out with the kids. We walked right in and rode. We got Darth Vader looking for the spy followed by the pod race on Tatooine, the message from Princess Leia and ended with the Death Star. The second time I went with my parents. This time it was Darth Vader again, followed by Kashyyyk (the Wookie planet), message from Yoda and Naboo. So at the end of the day I left the part with two ride throughs and only missed one scene from each set (Stormtroopers, Hoth, Ackbar and Coruscant). Not bad for only having seen it twice. Also, I know people who have ridden a dozen times and have yet to see the pod race. I got to see it one my first ride.
After wandering a bit we stopped to see Mater and Lightening McQueen and then decided to head over to get a seat for Fantasmic. Again, we kept Ari in her stroller and the crowds were just too much for her. She was asleep at this point anyway. We got a handicapped seat in the back row and let her rest. She woke up part way through and got to see some of the show. We were more worried about her being awake for the Osborn lights so we didn't force the issue with her.
When we arrived at the Orborn lights, we were corralled around the Streets of America towards the back. Once in we headed over to see Santa Goofy. By the time that was done it was almost 8:00 and the part was getting ready to close. Luckily, Disney doesn't shut down the lights right at 8 so we took our time seeing everything before leaving for the night.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Day 2: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party
MVMCP Pictures
After leaving the Animal Kingdom, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. The party started at 7:00 and we got there right around then. I first headed over to the fire station to get my limited edition Lanny and Wayne Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game card. Got 3 actually. Didn't actually have any other cards to use at that point, but that would come later. For now I just wanted to get the limited edition card.
After that we headed over towards the hub and watched the stage show there. That was followed be a trip to Frontierland to watch the parade. We found a good spot to view it from and waited for it to start. The parade was great and I'm glad we decided to try out the party. It's something that's good to do once, although its probably not an every trip kind of thing. Especially at $60 a ticket for 5 hours worth of party. I have some good shots of the parade. The kids loved it and had fun watching all of the characters. The even had a few rare oned like Clarabell and Horace Horsecollar. After that we cut into Adventureland, avoiding the wave of people going through Liberty Square to get to the hub. We made our way, relatively crowd free, to right in front of the Crystal Palace. We had a beautiful view of the castle from there and all of the crowds were in line for cookies. The line there was horrible, but our viewing spot was nearly empty. We watched the castle show (which included Wreck-It Ralph wrecking the castle!) and the Wishes fireworks from our nice, relaxing spot. Ari was even able to watch everything from her stroller as we were right up against a fence.
After the fireworks, we went character hunting. We got to see Alladin and Abu and grab a few cookies and some hot chocolate. We never did make it over to Tomorrowland and see the stage show there and we tried to see Tinkerbell as there was a short wait but there was some sort of issue there. The cast members disappeared and the line stopped moving. No one came out to tell us what was going on so after a while most people just left, including us. We never did get another chance to see Tink. After that, everyone was getting tired and we headed out. We had a 10:00 breakfast the next morning so we all wanted to get a good night sleep before heading into Hollywood Studios.
After leaving the Animal Kingdom, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom. The party started at 7:00 and we got there right around then. I first headed over to the fire station to get my limited edition Lanny and Wayne Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom game card. Got 3 actually. Didn't actually have any other cards to use at that point, but that would come later. For now I just wanted to get the limited edition card.
After that we headed over towards the hub and watched the stage show there. That was followed be a trip to Frontierland to watch the parade. We found a good spot to view it from and waited for it to start. The parade was great and I'm glad we decided to try out the party. It's something that's good to do once, although its probably not an every trip kind of thing. Especially at $60 a ticket for 5 hours worth of party. I have some good shots of the parade. The kids loved it and had fun watching all of the characters. The even had a few rare oned like Clarabell and Horace Horsecollar. After that we cut into Adventureland, avoiding the wave of people going through Liberty Square to get to the hub. We made our way, relatively crowd free, to right in front of the Crystal Palace. We had a beautiful view of the castle from there and all of the crowds were in line for cookies. The line there was horrible, but our viewing spot was nearly empty. We watched the castle show (which included Wreck-It Ralph wrecking the castle!) and the Wishes fireworks from our nice, relaxing spot. Ari was even able to watch everything from her stroller as we were right up against a fence.
After the fireworks, we went character hunting. We got to see Alladin and Abu and grab a few cookies and some hot chocolate. We never did make it over to Tomorrowland and see the stage show there and we tried to see Tinkerbell as there was a short wait but there was some sort of issue there. The cast members disappeared and the line stopped moving. No one came out to tell us what was going on so after a while most people just left, including us. We never did get another chance to see Tink. After that, everyone was getting tired and we headed out. We had a 10:00 breakfast the next morning so we all wanted to get a good night sleep before heading into Hollywood Studios.
Day 2: Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom Pictures
We got an early start on the day for Animal Kingdom. We ended up getting into the park shortly after it opened. We would have been there earlier, but the GPS sent us off towards another part of Orlando. We ended up having to use my phone to get us back to WDW property and we just followed the signs from there. On a good note though, we found a Wawa while we were wondering and saw some nice parts of Orlando.
After getting past the gate and getting our pictures at the Christmas tree (something we did at every part except the magic kingdom), we headed over to the Safari. I like it much better without the "find the poachers" section. It was also much better for Ari's back since to there is no linger a really bumpy, high speed chase. She also loves zebras so she liked the addition of the zebra section to the ride. Now the whole thing is much more of a relaxing trip through the various areas of the reserve. I got a lot of good pictures (including one of Lily falling asleep).
Next up we did the Pangani Forest Trail. I love the trails here at the park and unfortunately we only got to do this one, especially since the other trail (Maharajah Jungle Trek) is my favorite. I love all the detail and the way all of the animal areas are set up. We got through this area fairly easily and headed over to the train that takes you to Rafiki's Planet Watch. They let Ari stay in her stroller and just put her into one of the handicap spots. That was much easier on her back. Also, they just let Lily stay in her stroller as well, which worked out since she was asleep. She missed this whole section of the park. She would have loved the petting zoo area but she really didn't miss out on much. There's weren't many animals available and many of the ones there were in roped off areas with signs saying they were on break. I guess the animals there have a strong union. We didn't stay over here long and we really could have skipped it. I had only ever been over there once before and wasn't impressed. I figured at least it would be a good area for the kids, but it really didn't hold Ari's interest and we were out of there fairly quickly. The train ride was really the best part.
We then headed over to Flame Tree BBQ. Amanda and I split a rib and chicken platter. It was plenty of food and the ribs were excellent. We sat all the was at the bottom of a little trail off to the left side of the building. This area was almost empty of people and had a roof over the tables. Also, it was right on the waterfront and had a beautiful view of Everest, which is where the shots I have were taken from. Ari entertained herself chasing away all of the birds in the area while we took a break and enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.
Next up was Legend of the Lion King, which is my Mom's favorite thing to do here. It was great as always and pretty much the same as all the other times I've seen it. Still, its a great show so that's fine. That was followed up by some character meet and greets. Mickey, Chip & Dale and Donald, all of which were dressed up for the Christmas although Donald only slightly so. I have more pictures on the way that were taken by the Disney photographers so for now I only have pictures of us with Donald.
Next we made our way over to get a spot for the Jingle Jammin' Jungle Parade, which is a their normal parade with some Christmas decorations. Not a bad parade overall, but one I could definitely skip next time.
I had grabbed Fast Passes for Everest, but they were for way too late as we needed to head out to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Instead, Amanda and I ran over to Dinosaur and rode that as the wait was under 10 minutes. I have the ride photo from that (included with our picture package - PhotoPass+) and I'll post that when it comes in with the rest of the PhotoPass+ pictures. We left after a way too short day although the part wasn't open for a whole lot longer anyway. I really think I could do two days at this park and really get a lot out of it. One day just isn't quite enough. I still wanted to get to Everest, Finding Nemo the Musical, Flights of Wonder, Kali River Rapids, the Jungle Trek and try out some other places to eat such as Yak and Yeti but that didn't happen this time around. Overall though this was a wonderful day at the Animal Kingdom.
We got an early start on the day for Animal Kingdom. We ended up getting into the park shortly after it opened. We would have been there earlier, but the GPS sent us off towards another part of Orlando. We ended up having to use my phone to get us back to WDW property and we just followed the signs from there. On a good note though, we found a Wawa while we were wondering and saw some nice parts of Orlando.
After getting past the gate and getting our pictures at the Christmas tree (something we did at every part except the magic kingdom), we headed over to the Safari. I like it much better without the "find the poachers" section. It was also much better for Ari's back since to there is no linger a really bumpy, high speed chase. She also loves zebras so she liked the addition of the zebra section to the ride. Now the whole thing is much more of a relaxing trip through the various areas of the reserve. I got a lot of good pictures (including one of Lily falling asleep).
Next up we did the Pangani Forest Trail. I love the trails here at the park and unfortunately we only got to do this one, especially since the other trail (Maharajah Jungle Trek) is my favorite. I love all the detail and the way all of the animal areas are set up. We got through this area fairly easily and headed over to the train that takes you to Rafiki's Planet Watch. They let Ari stay in her stroller and just put her into one of the handicap spots. That was much easier on her back. Also, they just let Lily stay in her stroller as well, which worked out since she was asleep. She missed this whole section of the park. She would have loved the petting zoo area but she really didn't miss out on much. There's weren't many animals available and many of the ones there were in roped off areas with signs saying they were on break. I guess the animals there have a strong union. We didn't stay over here long and we really could have skipped it. I had only ever been over there once before and wasn't impressed. I figured at least it would be a good area for the kids, but it really didn't hold Ari's interest and we were out of there fairly quickly. The train ride was really the best part.
We then headed over to Flame Tree BBQ. Amanda and I split a rib and chicken platter. It was plenty of food and the ribs were excellent. We sat all the was at the bottom of a little trail off to the left side of the building. This area was almost empty of people and had a roof over the tables. Also, it was right on the waterfront and had a beautiful view of Everest, which is where the shots I have were taken from. Ari entertained herself chasing away all of the birds in the area while we took a break and enjoyed the food and the atmosphere.
Next up was Legend of the Lion King, which is my Mom's favorite thing to do here. It was great as always and pretty much the same as all the other times I've seen it. Still, its a great show so that's fine. That was followed up by some character meet and greets. Mickey, Chip & Dale and Donald, all of which were dressed up for the Christmas although Donald only slightly so. I have more pictures on the way that were taken by the Disney photographers so for now I only have pictures of us with Donald.
Next we made our way over to get a spot for the Jingle Jammin' Jungle Parade, which is a their normal parade with some Christmas decorations. Not a bad parade overall, but one I could definitely skip next time.
I had grabbed Fast Passes for Everest, but they were for way too late as we needed to head out to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. Instead, Amanda and I ran over to Dinosaur and rode that as the wait was under 10 minutes. I have the ride photo from that (included with our picture package - PhotoPass+) and I'll post that when it comes in with the rest of the PhotoPass+ pictures. We left after a way too short day although the part wasn't open for a whole lot longer anyway. I really think I could do two days at this park and really get a lot out of it. One day just isn't quite enough. I still wanted to get to Everest, Finding Nemo the Musical, Flights of Wonder, Kali River Rapids, the Jungle Trek and try out some other places to eat such as Yak and Yeti but that didn't happen this time around. Overall though this was a wonderful day at the Animal Kingdom.
Day 1: Flight to Orlando and the Magic Kingdom
Day 1 Pictures
Starting off the day before, I left work a little early in order to get home in time to meet me parents and Ryan when they got to the house. Of course, traffic was horrible and both Amanda and I were late getting home so we all just met up at Jennings. After dinner, we got Ryan set up at the house and he was going to be house/dog sitting for the week. We had used points to get a couple of rooms at the Aloft near BWI in order to get things started early and because we had an early flight so the closer to the airport the better. Not that we live very far away, but it was still nice to get out of the house and Ari had a good time swimming in the really cold indoor pool.
We were up at 4:30 the next morning and heading over to the long term lot by 5:30. We had a 7:55 am flight and with all the stuff we had, plus the kids, we wanted to get an early start. Between the six of us we had 5 suitcases, 2 strollers, 1 car seat, plus our carry-ons. We used Skycap for check-in and made our way through security without any issues. We were worried about Ari with all the metal implants, but she made it through the metal detectors without setting anything off, just like her doctor said.
We made our way over to the Silver Diner and had our breakfast right at the airport. I've eaten at this place way too many times, mostly from when I was traveling a lot for work, but it's still a nice place to have a sit down breakfast right in the terminal. Our plane took off right on time and we were able to get seats all near each other. At this point Lily fell asleep and Ari was wired but we were able to keep her generally occupied. We landed with no issues and got our bags. We got a Southwest employee to help us get our bags to the car and we got a nice big minivan which just about fit all of our luggage. We got Ari's booster seat out of her suitcase and hooked up Lily's car seat and headed to Target.
After getting supplies for the week we headed over to our hotel. We stayed at the Sheraton Vistana Villages. A beautiful two bedroom condo with a beautiful view of one of the lakes on property. We didn't get to explore much, but it was a nice place to relax between trips to the parks.
Once we were set up and the kids got a nap, we headed out for our first trip to the Magic Kingdom. My only real goals were to see New Fantasyland, ride the Little Mermaid ride and see the Main Street Electrical Parade. We were able to do all of that and even caught the afternoon parade on our way in. We took the ferry over to the park (which ended up being Ari's favorite way of getting there. We only took the Monorail twice the whole trip).
Let me make a quick note here and put in a big thanks to Disney. After seeing the afternoon parade we headed over to Guest Relations. We did a lot of research before heading out on our trip, especially concerning what would be best for Ari. With her back problems and muscle condition (metal rods in her back due to scoliosis and low muscle tone) we knew she would have trouble getting around and be uncomfortable in many of the seating areas. We read that we could talk to the cast members over at guest relations and get a Guest Assistance Card. This was basically a card explaining Ari's limitations. This was nice by itself, but since she would tire out too quickly standing in all the lines, they also gave us a sticker for her stroller that stated that it was to be treated as a wheelchair. This way she would be allowed to stay in her stroller while in line. This made her much more comfortable and made it so she could rest when needed. It also saved our backs from having to hold her for long periods while in line. Of course, we still had to hold Lily, but she's half Ari's weight. Overall, it allowed us to use the stroller when needed to let Ari relax and keep her strength. It never was much of a time saver as many people would think (and sometimes it actually took longer to get to the ride) but in the end probable about evened out for the total waiting time. Again, thanks go out to Disney for being so accommodating to Ari's needs.
After getting Ari set up and getting my PhotoPass+ card, we took the train straight back to Storybook Circus, part of New Fantasyland. We wandered through and I took a few pictures on our way over to the Little Mermaid ride. It was about a 40 minute wait, which was our longest wait of the week. The queue was beautiful and the ride even more so. I love these old style dark rides and this one was taken to a new level.
After the ride, I headed over to Gaston's tavern and grabbed a Lefou's Brew (an iced apple drink) which was great. I ended up having several of them over the week. We then went to find a place to sit for the Electrical Parade.
The parade was as good as I remember. This has always been my favorite parade and I was glad to get a chance to see it again. I got a lot of pictures and tried to get a video as well. I haven't taken a look at it yet but hopefully it turned out. I'll find out soon enough. After that it was on to the Monorail for our trip back to the car and on to the Tram (which Ari decided to call the Travel, which stuck for the rest of the trip).
We got back to the hotel and got the kids to sleep (which wasn't hard) and got ready for the Animal Kingdom and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on the next day. Then we passed out as we had been up since 4:30 that morning.
Starting off the day before, I left work a little early in order to get home in time to meet me parents and Ryan when they got to the house. Of course, traffic was horrible and both Amanda and I were late getting home so we all just met up at Jennings. After dinner, we got Ryan set up at the house and he was going to be house/dog sitting for the week. We had used points to get a couple of rooms at the Aloft near BWI in order to get things started early and because we had an early flight so the closer to the airport the better. Not that we live very far away, but it was still nice to get out of the house and Ari had a good time swimming in the really cold indoor pool.
We were up at 4:30 the next morning and heading over to the long term lot by 5:30. We had a 7:55 am flight and with all the stuff we had, plus the kids, we wanted to get an early start. Between the six of us we had 5 suitcases, 2 strollers, 1 car seat, plus our carry-ons. We used Skycap for check-in and made our way through security without any issues. We were worried about Ari with all the metal implants, but she made it through the metal detectors without setting anything off, just like her doctor said.
We made our way over to the Silver Diner and had our breakfast right at the airport. I've eaten at this place way too many times, mostly from when I was traveling a lot for work, but it's still a nice place to have a sit down breakfast right in the terminal. Our plane took off right on time and we were able to get seats all near each other. At this point Lily fell asleep and Ari was wired but we were able to keep her generally occupied. We landed with no issues and got our bags. We got a Southwest employee to help us get our bags to the car and we got a nice big minivan which just about fit all of our luggage. We got Ari's booster seat out of her suitcase and hooked up Lily's car seat and headed to Target.
After getting supplies for the week we headed over to our hotel. We stayed at the Sheraton Vistana Villages. A beautiful two bedroom condo with a beautiful view of one of the lakes on property. We didn't get to explore much, but it was a nice place to relax between trips to the parks.
Once we were set up and the kids got a nap, we headed out for our first trip to the Magic Kingdom. My only real goals were to see New Fantasyland, ride the Little Mermaid ride and see the Main Street Electrical Parade. We were able to do all of that and even caught the afternoon parade on our way in. We took the ferry over to the park (which ended up being Ari's favorite way of getting there. We only took the Monorail twice the whole trip).
Let me make a quick note here and put in a big thanks to Disney. After seeing the afternoon parade we headed over to Guest Relations. We did a lot of research before heading out on our trip, especially concerning what would be best for Ari. With her back problems and muscle condition (metal rods in her back due to scoliosis and low muscle tone) we knew she would have trouble getting around and be uncomfortable in many of the seating areas. We read that we could talk to the cast members over at guest relations and get a Guest Assistance Card. This was basically a card explaining Ari's limitations. This was nice by itself, but since she would tire out too quickly standing in all the lines, they also gave us a sticker for her stroller that stated that it was to be treated as a wheelchair. This way she would be allowed to stay in her stroller while in line. This made her much more comfortable and made it so she could rest when needed. It also saved our backs from having to hold her for long periods while in line. Of course, we still had to hold Lily, but she's half Ari's weight. Overall, it allowed us to use the stroller when needed to let Ari relax and keep her strength. It never was much of a time saver as many people would think (and sometimes it actually took longer to get to the ride) but in the end probable about evened out for the total waiting time. Again, thanks go out to Disney for being so accommodating to Ari's needs.
After getting Ari set up and getting my PhotoPass+ card, we took the train straight back to Storybook Circus, part of New Fantasyland. We wandered through and I took a few pictures on our way over to the Little Mermaid ride. It was about a 40 minute wait, which was our longest wait of the week. The queue was beautiful and the ride even more so. I love these old style dark rides and this one was taken to a new level.
After the ride, I headed over to Gaston's tavern and grabbed a Lefou's Brew (an iced apple drink) which was great. I ended up having several of them over the week. We then went to find a place to sit for the Electrical Parade.
The parade was as good as I remember. This has always been my favorite parade and I was glad to get a chance to see it again. I got a lot of pictures and tried to get a video as well. I haven't taken a look at it yet but hopefully it turned out. I'll find out soon enough. After that it was on to the Monorail for our trip back to the car and on to the Tram (which Ari decided to call the Travel, which stuck for the rest of the trip).
We got back to the hotel and got the kids to sleep (which wasn't hard) and got ready for the Animal Kingdom and Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party on the next day. Then we passed out as we had been up since 4:30 that morning.