[tigger]

Great TR so far...really enjoying it!

[richaimg]

Ok, sorry everyone! I'm trying to get through this as quickly as possible, just been a busy few days.

So here is Day 3:

Today was devoted to MK. I had heard about the rehab of the castle, so wasn’t sure what to expect. There was the green wall around the hub area, and the statue was covered, but the view of the castle was still wonderful. There were lots of characters out, we got autographs from Friar Tuck and Prince John then went straight to the Buzz Lightyear Spin, again, no line, so we rode 3 times.

We went on Stitch – was not impressed and the Indy Speedway, which is ALWAYS fun!! By then it was time to head to the Contemporary for our 11:00 PS’s at Chef Mickey’s.

We had never been to Chef Mickey’s before. The food was pretty good, our waitress was great, and kept our coffee coming! Lots of character interaction (Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, Chip, Dale, and Pluto). DD was wearing her Minnie ears and Minnie made a big fuss over them. DS kissed Minnie’s hand and she got all embarrassed and then kissed DS on top of his head. One of our favorite moments!

Took the monorail back to MK and took the train to Frontierland and got right onto Big Thunder Mountain. We missed this ride last time, but the kids LOVED it! I was sitting with DS and he laughed and screamed the whole ride. I think the best part of a vacation like this is seeing the joy in your children!

We did the Jungle Cruise, Treehouse and Pirates then got in line for Aladdin. We stood in line for about 30 minutes when the ride broke down. VERY frustrating. Especially since the CM’s wouldn’t tell anyone what was going on. We finally left feeling very frustrated and disappointed. But we didn’t let it ruin our day. Went to the Tiki room and then got Dole Whips - SO Yummy! We got autographs from Aladdin and Jasmine and then Peter Pan, Wendy and Captain Hook. DS wouldn't go up to Captain Hook without me, but this was MUCH better than last year. ALL of the pictures we have of the characters had ME in them...very funny to look at this year's pictures WITHOUT me! LOL!

We went over to Haunted Mansion. DD and DS said they wanted to go, but after the ride both agreed that they never wanted to go again!

This was EMH night at MK. We got our bands without any trouble, (although we did see some people giving their resort ID’s to others). Rode Buzz a couple more times and surprisingly the Tomorrowland Transit Authority was a HUGE hit with the kids. I don’t think I had ever been on it before, it was nice and relaxing, but I never thought the kids would love it so much!

We were in Fantasyland when it was time for Wishes (after riding the Tea Cups - I was still dizzy!). So we stayed back by the Dumbo ride and while we could see the fireworks, it wasn’t nearly as nice as being in front of the castle.

A tip for all you doing EMH evenings…on the Times Guide that they hand out with the park maps the hours of the restaurants just said “Closing varies with Park hours”
I thought this would mean most things would stay open for the EMH. WRONG! We tried Pinocchio Village Haus and Columbia Harbor House – both closed. We headed back to Tomorrowland and found Cosmic Ray’s still open, so we ate there. I was talking to the people behind us in line and they said they had walked around the entire park before finding out that Cosmic Ray’s was the only counter service restaurant still open. So beware! Eat when you can!!

We had a quick dinner, hit a few more rides and called it a day.

[inluvwithdisney]

Sounds like a MAGICAL trip so far!!! I love hearing about how excited your kids were!!!

[Dana]

I am enjoying every word of this report. I only have one thing that I have to comment on....I cannot beleive that people are giving their resort IDs to people to get into the EMH. That totally ticks me off. Why do people have to see how many ways they can beat the system? It annoys me to no end....people that follow the rules always end up paying for these cheap skates! Sorry rant over.

[jk8]

The Tiki Room was one of my favorite kooky things. I think is my "jungle cruise".

[Erin]

Great report! I love the Tiki Room, too!

I can't wait to hear mooooooore!

[chiasgirl]

Sounds like a fun day! We, too, love the TTA even though we are a little older than your kids!

[LABride]

A question about people giving other's their resort id's for EMH - is the system sophisticated enought to only hand out one a night per resort id?

[richaimg]

About the bracelets...
First, Dana, I'm with you - couldn't BELIEVE people were doing that. The people we saw were young...obviously giving their ID to their friends, but come on! I gave them the "evil eye" but didn't want to get into it in front of the kids...

Second, LABride...no, the system isn't sophisticated AT ALL! They have several places set up throughout the park and basically there are a couple of CM's there - you show them your resort ID and they put a bracelet on your wrist. The kids had to have them too. Oh, and they give you the little handout telling you what rides are open. But that's it!

We did have to show our bracelets to get on each ride (even the kids).

[richaimg]

Ok, back to the fun stuff!

Day 4 - Animal Kingdom and MGM

Our plan was to be at AK when they opened, but we ended up sleeping in a little since we stayed out late at MK the night before. It was great having the refrigerator in our room and being able to get breakfast before going anywhere.

We got FP’s for Kilimanjaro Safaris right away and then went to Camp Minnie-Mickey and got autographs from Donald and Koda (strange combination), Chip and Dale, and Minnie and Mickey. As we were leaving it was just about time for Pocahontas. I didn’t know much about this show but it was GREAT! All the kids sit in the front and Pocahontas tells her story, sings and brings out her live animal friends. Great show and great message!

By now it was time for our Safari. It was fairly cool, so there were a lot of animals out. Last year we missed Dinoland, so DD wanted to make sure we saw it this time. I didn’t like it at all! It seemed like a cheesy fairground, and so out of place with the rest of the park…we rode Dinosaur, which was great, then hit “It’s Tough to be a Bug” on our way out.

Half a day at AK is plenty for us, so we went back to POFQ for lunch and a break before heading to MGM.

We went straight to the Indiana Jones show, which is one of my favorites! Then saw the parade. DS was SO excited! Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia were in a speeder car! (I told you he is obsessed with Star Wars!) We went to the Magic of Disney Animation, which was really nice and then saw the Incredibles afterward. The line was really long, so we didn’t wait for autographs.

Now it was time for Beauty and the Beast. This is my favorite Disney movie, so even though they didn’t want to go, I MADE everyone sit through the show with me. We were there early enough to catch Four for a Dollar (I think that’s their name) they are so great! And of course the show was wonderful.

This was the 5:30 showing of Beauty & the Beast, so when we got out we went straight into Fantasmic! I was worried about getting our EMH bracelets, but they were handing them out on the way into Fantasmic! which worked out great. We had about an hour wait, but got some snacks and enjoyed some “down” time. Fantasmic! is our favorite nighttime show, and it was as wonderful as we remembered it.

Now, granted, we were there in the middle of February, but we didn’t find the crowds bad at all and EMH times meant NO wait for us. We were able to see Playhouse Disney and the Little Mermaid. By then DS was getting tired, so we walked right onto Star Tours and called it a night.

Another great day!

[Dopey]

ahhhhh what a great day. I had such a good time reading your report. Thank you.
And, what Dana said about cheating the system!

[CathysCAT]

Loved your trip report. Question though, with young kids, do you really stay late at parks? When planning our trip and PSs for end of April (before the park hours came out, of course) I didn't plan days at parks for the Early Opening or Extra Night Hours. We're all morning people so I figured we'd get to parks for opening, and then by 9pm or so we'd call it a day. Hope they all don't surprise me and stay up until midnight!

[richaimg]

Originally Posted by CathysCAT

Loved your trip report. Question though, with young kids, do you really stay late at parks? When planning our trip and PSs for end of April (before the park hours came out, of course) I didn't plan days at parks for the Early Opening or Extra Night Hours. We're all morning people so I figured we'd get to parks for opening, and then by 9pm or so we'd call it a day. Hope they all don't surprise me and stay up until midnight!

I have to say that our kids surprised us...especially DS (4 1/2) We stayed at MK until just before they closed at 10:00. We didn't have a stroller or take naps and they still wanted to stay. I think adrenaline must set in!

My advice would be to let the kids set your pace, and remember you can always get your bracelets and if you decide to only stay for a short while, you will still be able to ride a few rides without a minimal line. (and just because you have a bracelet doesn't mean you have to stay!)

[PrincessJill]

I'm loving your trip report! Please tell me there's more!!

Just curious... what did the Incredibles look like? Were they covered completely like Mickey or could you see their faces like Aladdin? I didn't even know the Incredibles were out and about in the parks! That's great! :)

[Pooh Fan]

I enjoyed reading your trip report. It sounded like a wonderful trip! Thanks for telling us about it.