[JustaT]

Awwww....how nice to come back to the room and have those things waiting for you. Is that a standard thing when you are celebrating at WDW?

[packerbeth]

Originally Posted by lisalovesmickey

#2 I thought you might find it interesting that David Cook is my Boyfriend.
Lisa

Then you must be very happy today!

[packerbeth]

Originally Posted by JustaT

Awwww....how nice to come back to the room and have those things waiting for you. Is that a standard thing when you are celebrating at WDW?

I have read other TRs in which people got special treats when they are celebrating something. Just let them know when you make your reservation, and remind them when you check in. You never know!

[MickeyEars]

We walked to the GCH to catch the monorail. As soon as we got on the monorail, Kate fell asleep.



Doesn't this always happen, when you want them to sleep they don't - when you don't want them to sleep they do. What a precious photo of Princess Kate.

I love Grace's explanation of the slide at the Poly.

[yankeevttch]

Great TR. I love the pics of our kids. They all are cute.

[packerbeth]

First thing we did when arriving at MK was to check in at Guest Relations for my missing camera bag. I had stopped by earlier, on our way out, and was told that when the park closes, every lost thing leaves MK and goes to central Lost and Found, which is over at the TTC. While we were there this time, the girls had made another pin trade and given another CM card away. They did not have my case, so we left, anticipating a stop at TTC later in the week. I wasn’t too worried about the case; I was running out of space on my current memory card, though, so I would be needing the extra one in my case very soon.

We mentioned to the CM there that we were hoping to finish the last of the mountains tonight, having done Splash and BTMRR already, but when I ran ahead to Tomorrowland, leaving the family loitering by Monster’s Inc., I saw that Space Mountain was all out of FPs and the standby time was too long! Oh well, we would be back to the Magic Kingdom several times before the end of our trip, we were bound to catch it another day!

Our next stop would be Adventureland, since I had been looking forward to an evening cruise around the jungle. I was going to try to pick up another FP for it, since I had discovered somewhere along the line that I had lost one of the FPs I had picked up before we left the park. Imagine my surprise when the Jungle Cruise was all out of FPs for the evening! So far, we were 0 for 2! I don’t know what I expected, since it was 7:30 by this time, but I had really hoped we’d get at least one of those out of the way tonight!

Christian hadn’t ridden anything since It’s a Small World that morning, so it was definitely time for an accessible attraction! The Magic Carpets of Aladdin have an accessible vehicle, so off we went.


As we made our way over there, I noticed that Adventureland seemed particularly busy tonight; there were a lot of people standing around! Apparently there is no special treatment for wheelchairs here, so Rick took Christian and the big girls to wait in a surprisingly long line, while I wheeled Kate over to get a couple more FPs for BTMRR. I was surprised again to find that not only were there FPs available for BTMRR, but the standby time was only 10 minutes! I think they were just about to shut the FP machines down, because as I approached the machines to put in my ticket, the CM there asked me if I wanted to go right now. I told him I couldn’t at the moment, but thanked him anyway. I only needed 2 FPs since I had 2 leftover from our first stop here, so I was quickly on my way back to the Magic Carpets.





The girls seemed to enjoy their trip over Agrabah, and I was glad that they had gotten another opportunity to ride with their Dad. I don’t think Christian enjoyed it all that much, but at least he didn’t have to sit and watch everyone else enjoy the attractions instead of taking part in the fun himself!

Next up was our second ride of the day on BTMRR! I took Grace with me, and I absolutely loved dashing by all of those people standing in the “slow” lane. It may have only said 10 minute standby, but that line sure made it look longer! While we waited, we chatted with the boy in front of us. He was probably about 14, and told us he lived locally but didn’t get here very often since he lived “across town.” Hey, if I lived in the state of Florida, I’d be getting the Disney World as often as I could! Anyway, he told us all kinds of things I already knew about the ride and Disney World in general. Grace is my friendly girl, and she asked the fellow if he wanted to ride with us. He politely turned her down without hurting her feelings, and went off to ride in the very first car, about which he was very excited! That put us in car #2, which Grace wasn’t so sure about. It was just after dusk, and I found this ride a little bit scarier than it is in the daytime, and not as enjoyable. Grace pointed out the place where we had seen a little lizard as we flew by earlier, and she wondered if he were still there! In fact, every time she saw a lizard for the rest of the trip, she asked if it were the same one from BTMRR!

After our adventure, we found the gang right where we’d left them and sent Rose with her dad for his first ride up Big Thunder Mountain. We were going to wait right where we’d found them, but then Grace asked if we could look in the store that’s right nearby. I had seen the line in BTMRR, and thought we should have time to look around a bit before they came back. Of course, we should have stayed where we were, but I was tired and there were rocking chairs inside! We made our way inside the store and probably were there for 15 minutes or so. When we came out to the spot where we were to have met, a man asked me if I was looking for my husband. He could tell by our shirts that we were supposed to be together. Apparently, Rick and Rose had gone around the area three times looking for us, since their ride had taken almost no time at all! They had even commented on the way down the exit ramp how surprised I would be that they were back already! I tried his cell phone, but he had left it in Christian’s backpack, which was with me, so that didn’t help. Eventually, he came back to the meeting spot and we were all on our way to find a spot for Wishes. Unfortunately, all the confusion had taken up a lot of time, so there wasn’t much of a chance we’d find a good spot for the fireworks. Moral of the story: when you agree to meet someone somewhere, stay there! We didn’t make that mistake again!

Up next: someone else gets lost…

[JustaT]

Originally Posted by packerbeth

Up next: someone else gets lost…

Who, who, WHO?!!!!

[packerbeth]

Since we were in Adventureland, and it was almost time for Wishes to start, we were kind of stuck trying to find a spot on this side of the park. We headed toward the castle hub, but as you may know, there are lots of trees in this area. We picked a spot with as unobstructed a view as we could (read: obstructed! ), but I wanted to go toward Crystal Palace to see if there were any other spots with a better view. I told the family to stay put (but would they? ) While I was heading that direction, I didn’t see any good spots, but I did spy Casey’s Corner. We had not had any dinner yet, so I ran over there to grab us a bite to eat while we watched Wishes.

I hadn’t been to Casey’s before, so I didn’t know what I could get for a CS credit. There was no one in line, so I walked right up to the counter and a lovely young CM helped me figure out what to get. I ended up using two credits and getting two servings of corn dog nuggets, fries and very large drinks. For dessert, I had the choice of a brownie or Cracker Jacks; I chose two brownies and she gave me three! Of course, I gave her a thank you card (one that said “Aren’t you sweet?” with old-time Minnie and Mickey. I thought it was appropriate!) I loaded up on napkins and straws and headed back to find my family.

They were not where I had left them (you saw that coming, right?) so I had to look around the area a bit before finding them. For whatever reason, Rick had decided to move the group from the right side near the tree to the left side on the bridge closer to Crystal Palace. While moving from one place to another, Grace went off into her own little world and did not stop walking when the rest of them did. All of a sudden, she looked around to find that she was alone. Fortunately, we had watched the “The Safe Side: Stranger Safety” video before our trip and discussed what the girls should do if they got separated from us while we were at Disney World. She found a CM and told her she didn’t know where her dad was, and told her his name. They weren’t very far apart, because when the CM called out Rick’s name, he was able to hear her and rush right over to find Grace. Rick had noticed that she was not with them, and was freaking out! It was a very scary experience, and they were discussing whether or not to tell me about it when I returned and Rose blurted out, “Grace got lost!” When I heard the story, I hugged Grace and told her how proud I was that she had known what to do and done the right thing. We all cried a little bit and were so glad to be back together again!

We put the girls up on the wall so they could see the fireworks a little better, and we all shared our corn dog nuggets, fries and lemonade. I’m not a big fan of corn dogs, but I had read that the ones at Casey’s were good and they are! I don’t know if it was because we were all really hungry, but the fries were excellent as well, even without ketchup (which is a staple in our house!) While our Wishes spot wasn’t ideal, we still enjoyed the show, but I vowed to start looking for a spot for the Pirate & Princess Party fireworks on Friday at least 30 minutes before the show so we could actually see the whole thing!

After Wishes, I really didn’t want to fight the crowd, so I told my family we’d stay put a while and let everyone else go home. I had also read that they do a cool “Last Kiss Goodnight” show at the castle starting at 9:30, so I was interested in seeing that. We moved toward the hub as the crowds cleared out, and I took a couple of blurry pictures of the castle.







After the goodnight show at the castle, which basically consists of the castle changing colors and a “last call” from the voice of the Magic Kingdom, we started walking toward the exit. I checked in with Guest Services one last time, and Rick and the girls made a quick bathroom stop, and we were off to the monorail.

When we got back to the Polynesian, we stopped in Capt Cook’s where I was a bad mommy and let the girls have Mickey bars before bedtime. I was tempted to get a Dole Whip from the self-serve machines, but decided against it. Here's a picture of my very tired but happy family.



It wasn't long before we were back in our room and off to dreamland!

Memories of our second day:
The weather today was pleasant, warm and sunny.
The best thing today was spending time in MK with Hugh.
The worst thing today was Grace getting lost at MK, losing my camera bag.
The funniest thing today was Rose hiding under her poncho on Splash.
Today we tried corn dog nuggets from Casey’s and the result was they were a good snack to eat while watching Wishes
The most magical moment today was eating breakfast at Cinderella castle.

[Goofy3230]

Originally Posted by lisalovesmickey

#1 Still loving your TR

#2 I thought you might find it interesting that David Cook is my Boyfriend.


Can't wait for the rest!

Lisa

Hey, David told me I was his one and only girl, lol! I luv him, too! So glad he won!!

[Goofy3230]

Originally Posted by Peppertink

[/b]


Hmmm...why does Daddy look so happy, and what is Christian looking at?!?!?!?

What every other red blooded American teenage boy...or almost teenage would be looking at! [/quote]

That's a great picture. I have a very similar one of my daughter and my husband. Her face in it looking at Jasmine is priceless.

I love your report so far. I'm so afraid of losing one of my kids, I'll have to look into that video, my son will talk to anyone!

[dznygrl]

Originally Posted by E&B's Mom

OMG - this made me cry!

I am glad I wasn't the only one!

[dznygrl]

I have to say this is honestly one of the most enjoyable TRs I have ever read! Your writing is so clear and detailed, and the pictures are wonderful! Plus I think the fact that you have such a beautiful family just makes it all the more magical.

I absolutely cannot wait to hear more!!

P.S. I almost forgot - I was going to address you losing one of your FPs for the Jungle Cruise. The next time something like that happens, don't be afraid to go to the attraction anyway! As attraction CMs, we were trained to allow families into the FP line even if they had lost one or two of their passes...Disney understands this happens, and it's really unfair for you to have to wait up to several hours to use your FP, only to not be able to go!

[packerbeth]

Originally Posted by dznygrl

I have to say this is honestly one of the most enjoyable TRs I have ever read! Your writing is so clear and detailed, and the pictures are wonderful! Plus I think the fact that you have such a beautiful family just makes it all the more magical.

I absolutely cannot wait to hear more!!

P.S. I almost forgot - I was going to address you losing one of your FPs for the Jungle Cruise. The next time something like that happens, don't be afraid to go to the attraction anyway! As attraction CMs, we were trained to allow families into the FP line even if they had lost one or two of their passes...Disney understands this happens, and it's really unfair for you to have to wait up to several hours to use your FP, only to not be able to go!

Thanks for your kind words. When I'm writing my TR, I kind of get lost in the Disney magic, and then when I log off, I'm right back home again, but at least I get that little "break" for a while!

I actually thought about asking the folks at JC if we could go anyway; I'm not sure why I didn't. It's good to know that I have that option when I lost another FP (because I'm sure I will! )

[packerbeth]

Originally Posted by Goofy3230

I love your report so far. I'm so afraid of losing one of my kids, I'll have to look into that video, my son will talk to anyone!

I'd recommend the video. I got it from Netflix, but you can probably get it on Blockbuster or wherever. It's done by John Walsh, the man who lost his son, and who really brought the kids' safety thing out in the public consciousness. It's hosted by "Superside Safety Chick" or something like that, who is kooky and crazy and makes it fun to learn about "don't knows" and "kind of knows." Puts things in kids' language, and presents the info without being scary. I actually laughed quite a bit during the video. It gets the discussion going about a topic that can be hard to talk about!

[dznygrl]

Originally Posted by packerbeth

Thanks for your kind words. When I'm writing my TR, I kind of get lost in the Disney magic, and then when I log off, I'm right back home again, but at least I get that little "break" for a while!

I actually thought about asking the folks at JC if we could go anyway; I'm not sure why I didn't. It's good to know that I have that option when I lost another FP (because I'm sure I will! )

You are so welcome - I haven't enjoyed a TR this much in a long time! Can't wait to read more!