Monday Morning-
I did a LOT of research before our trip and I had a notebook filled with helpful information what to bring, what to see, what to do. I even went through every single ride and attraction on the Disney website and wrote down who I thought would be interested in what attractions. One of my notes said that you would get more accomplished the first two hours that the park was open than you would during the next four after that. Which meant that we should have been there at 9:00 am. Unfortunately, we didn't get there until about 10:00 am. Let me say that I am NOT a morning person. However, I AM on vacation. I believe that you should squeeze every last drop out of vacations, which means getting up early and staying out late. And I was positively giddy over going to Disney.
It's hard to describe the feeling of driving up to Disney World. I guess it's kind of like Christmas morning when you were a kid, when you still believed in Santa and life was great.
So we get to the parking lot and take the tram to the entrance, then we take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. For those unfamiliar, this process takes about 30 minutes if you're lucky. We made our way through bag check and now we're in line to get in. Here's where I have to add a little back story. As I said before, I researched everything about Disney. One of the things I came across in my research was a discount website for tickets. Now I know that a lot of them are scams and people are ripped off every year by trying to save a little money but I had researched this particular site and felt it to be on the up and up. So on my recommendation, this is where we bought our tickets. And while we were standing in line with our tickets to get in...I was TERRIFIED!! I was so worried that our tickets wouldn't work and then we would be stranded with no way in and all that money gone, just because I tried to save a few bucks. But alas, they worked just fine. WHEW.
It certainly lived up to every expectation I had going in. It was really kind of overwhelming. So much to take in, but no time to stop and really absorb it all. Our first stop was the steps of City Hall where some of us picked up our "First Time at Disney" buttons. From there we went to the train station and rode the train over to Frontierland. Jumped off the train and straight into line for Splash Mountain. And here is where I first started to take notice of the little things. While waiting in line there were several places where fans were built into the scenery, not really noticeable if you weren't paying attention, just a cool breeze coming from a barrel or out of a crate. There was a really cool tree that had lanterns hanging from rope in the branches that would light up at night and the electric cords for them were inside the rope, little details. Walt Disney was a genius. Something that I noticed several times while waiting in lines was that he always kept the goal within sight but never let you see how far you were from the goal. The lines would wind this way and that, up and down, around and over before you ever reached your destination. But along the way he would keep you entertained with upbeat music, funny signs or just highly detailed surroundings. He clearly was well versed in crowd control.
So we finally made it to the ride and thankfully it sat eight so we were all able to ride together. Little Miss sat by me, in fact, Little Miss sat by me on every single ride, every day, at every park. When we ate she sat by me, when we rested she sat by me. I don't know what got in to her on this trip but I won't complain, someday she won't be able to get far enough away from me, so I'll take her affection now.
After Splash Mountain we ventured over to Tom Sawyer Island. There isn't really anything to do on the island except explore, so next time I would skip it. However if you have small children I would hit it later in the day when you're tired and the kids are still going strong. You can sit next to the boat dock while they run and play. From here we made our way towards Haunted Mansion. We stopped for Little Miss to buy a souvenir, this adorable hat.
And I encountered a rarity at Disney, a snarky cast member. Who knew? At this point we lost Granny, she decided to stay behind and have a seat while we went on ahead. After seeing the line for Haunted Mansion, Swag decided to go jump on the river boat so off he went. Just as the rest of us got into line for The Haunted Mansion it experienced technical difficulties and shut down. From here confusion set in, Mom and my nephew decided to go jump on the riverboat too since it hadn't pulled out yet and apparently Joe did as well unfortunately he was carrying my backpack at the time. So Mister Man, Little Miss and I made our way over to Cinderella's Castle where we caught part of the parade. Unfortunately there was no sign of Cinderella, which upset Little Miss. By this time it is after noon and the sun is beating down relentlessly. Another one of my eccentricities is that my internal thermostat seems to be broken. I can go from fine to heat stroke in the blink of an eye, or so it seems. It's as if my body doesn't know how to regulate temperature. So remember when I said that Joe had the backpack, that meant he also had all the water I brought plus all of the money. All three of us were wilting. So I decided that we needed to get indoors and made our way over to It's a Small World. I had wanted to ride this ride anyway because the one vague recollection I had of my last trip to Disney I think was of this ride. And oddly enough the memory I had was of being really hot and then getting into a cart and going inside a building where it was cool, and there were animatronics. Weird how history repeats itself huh?
By the time we got on the ride, everyone else was off the boat so they gathered up Granny and met us at the exit when we got off. By this time, appr. 2:00 pm, my nephew had had enough so Mom debated taking him back to the resort for a couple of hours and rejoining us later. By this point I had had enough as well, so I suggested that we all leave, cool off, get some lunch and come back later. So we did.
Granny decided not to join us on the return trip that night. The rest of us went back to the park about 6 that evening. We went straight to Adventureland and were able to jump on The Pirates of Caribbean ride TWICE within 10 minutes. This is when we decided that ThIS was the way to do Disney, forget getting up early, dodging crowds, and dealing with heat. We also did the jungle cruise with our very amusing tour guide while in this area.
From there we walked to Frontierland and jumped on the train over to Tomorrowland. Here we headed for the Tomorrowland Speedway where we all rode race cars. Once again I rode with Little Miss who very much wanted to drive until she got behind the wheel and we were moving, lol. Suddenly she decided that she didn't want to drive but there wasn't much to be done at that point so I pushed the gas pedal and she steered....kind of. Thankfully, we were on a track.
Then we jumped into the line for Space Mountain, which was going to be a long wait. Remember how I mentioned my many neuroses and eccentricities? Well, here's one more...I get seasick on a rocking chair. Seriously. I don't do heights, I don't like small spaces, and any type of motion makes me sick. Psychotic, I know. So you want to hear the prescription for all of this? Go to Disney! Well, that and pop Dramamine like its candy. But seriously, after waiting in line for 2 hours you'll be amazed at the things you'll do. We get into line and once again Mr. Disney entertains you most of the way. Then we pass a sign that describes the ride, ya know, one of those "If you are pregnant, have been pregnant, or may ever be pregnant you should not ride this ride. If you have a heart condition, turn back now. This ride has sudden drops and accelerations and will make your head fall off." signs. At which point Joe turns to me and says " you know this IS a REAL roller coaster, right?!". To which I said " what?sorry, I can't hear you over the screams in my head! Please stop trying to freak me out!"
At a certain point there is no turning back, they have you lined up single file like cattle. Did I mention the claustrophobia? Lol. I wanted to ride this ride because well, it's SPACE MOUNTAIN!! When you think Disney, you think Space Mountain. And after waiting that long in line there was no way that I wasn't getting on. Unfortunately luck of the draw, or some cruel twist of fate, put me in the FIRST car. Sigh. It's like Walt Disney himself was telling me to be all I could be. And by golly, I rocked it!!
Upon exiting we made our way back to Cinderella's Castle where the show The Magic, The Memories, and You was about to start. It was amazing. It is a light show that is projected onto the castle and features photos that have been taken by Disney photographers throughout the park that day. When asked what their favorite part of the day was this show was mentioned by all of us. Now, it could be because we were able to sit in one spot and be entertained for awhile, but I really think its because it was so amazing. When it was over I wasn't even sure if the castle was really there or if it was just a projection.
Once the show was over it was time to make our way home. On the way out we caught part of the Mainstreet Electrical Parade. Once again Little Miss was upset that she didn't get to see Cinderella. I had no idea she was such a fan.
I did a LOT of research before our trip and I had a notebook filled with helpful information what to bring, what to see, what to do. I even went through every single ride and attraction on the Disney website and wrote down who I thought would be interested in what attractions. One of my notes said that you would get more accomplished the first two hours that the park was open than you would during the next four after that. Which meant that we should have been there at 9:00 am. Unfortunately, we didn't get there until about 10:00 am. Let me say that I am NOT a morning person. However, I AM on vacation. I believe that you should squeeze every last drop out of vacations, which means getting up early and staying out late. And I was positively giddy over going to Disney.
It's hard to describe the feeling of driving up to Disney World. I guess it's kind of like Christmas morning when you were a kid, when you still believed in Santa and life was great.
So we get to the parking lot and take the tram to the entrance, then we take the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. For those unfamiliar, this process takes about 30 minutes if you're lucky. We made our way through bag check and now we're in line to get in. Here's where I have to add a little back story. As I said before, I researched everything about Disney. One of the things I came across in my research was a discount website for tickets. Now I know that a lot of them are scams and people are ripped off every year by trying to save a little money but I had researched this particular site and felt it to be on the up and up. So on my recommendation, this is where we bought our tickets. And while we were standing in line with our tickets to get in...I was TERRIFIED!! I was so worried that our tickets wouldn't work and then we would be stranded with no way in and all that money gone, just because I tried to save a few bucks. But alas, they worked just fine. WHEW.
So we finally made it to the ride and thankfully it sat eight so we were all able to ride together. Little Miss sat by me, in fact, Little Miss sat by me on every single ride, every day, at every park. When we ate she sat by me, when we rested she sat by me. I don't know what got in to her on this trip but I won't complain, someday she won't be able to get far enough away from me, so I'll take her affection now.
After Splash Mountain we ventured over to Tom Sawyer Island. There isn't really anything to do on the island except explore, so next time I would skip it. However if you have small children I would hit it later in the day when you're tired and the kids are still going strong. You can sit next to the boat dock while they run and play. From here we made our way towards Haunted Mansion. We stopped for Little Miss to buy a souvenir, this adorable hat.
And I encountered a rarity at Disney, a snarky cast member. Who knew? At this point we lost Granny, she decided to stay behind and have a seat while we went on ahead. After seeing the line for Haunted Mansion, Swag decided to go jump on the river boat so off he went. Just as the rest of us got into line for The Haunted Mansion it experienced technical difficulties and shut down. From here confusion set in, Mom and my nephew decided to go jump on the riverboat too since it hadn't pulled out yet and apparently Joe did as well unfortunately he was carrying my backpack at the time. So Mister Man, Little Miss and I made our way over to Cinderella's Castle where we caught part of the parade. Unfortunately there was no sign of Cinderella, which upset Little Miss. By this time it is after noon and the sun is beating down relentlessly. Another one of my eccentricities is that my internal thermostat seems to be broken. I can go from fine to heat stroke in the blink of an eye, or so it seems. It's as if my body doesn't know how to regulate temperature. So remember when I said that Joe had the backpack, that meant he also had all the water I brought plus all of the money. All three of us were wilting. So I decided that we needed to get indoors and made our way over to It's a Small World. I had wanted to ride this ride anyway because the one vague recollection I had of my last trip to Disney I think was of this ride. And oddly enough the memory I had was of being really hot and then getting into a cart and going inside a building where it was cool, and there were animatronics. Weird how history repeats itself huh?
By the time we got on the ride, everyone else was off the boat so they gathered up Granny and met us at the exit when we got off. By this time, appr. 2:00 pm, my nephew had had enough so Mom debated taking him back to the resort for a couple of hours and rejoining us later. By this point I had had enough as well, so I suggested that we all leave, cool off, get some lunch and come back later. So we did.
Granny decided not to join us on the return trip that night. The rest of us went back to the park about 6 that evening. We went straight to Adventureland and were able to jump on The Pirates of Caribbean ride TWICE within 10 minutes. This is when we decided that ThIS was the way to do Disney, forget getting up early, dodging crowds, and dealing with heat. We also did the jungle cruise with our very amusing tour guide while in this area.
From there we walked to Frontierland and jumped on the train over to Tomorrowland. Here we headed for the Tomorrowland Speedway where we all rode race cars. Once again I rode with Little Miss who very much wanted to drive until she got behind the wheel and we were moving, lol. Suddenly she decided that she didn't want to drive but there wasn't much to be done at that point so I pushed the gas pedal and she steered....kind of. Thankfully, we were on a track.
 |
| Little Miss Driving?! |
 |
| TomorrowLand |
Then we jumped into the line for Space Mountain, which was going to be a long wait. Remember how I mentioned my many neuroses and eccentricities? Well, here's one more...I get seasick on a rocking chair. Seriously. I don't do heights, I don't like small spaces, and any type of motion makes me sick. Psychotic, I know. So you want to hear the prescription for all of this? Go to Disney! Well, that and pop Dramamine like its candy. But seriously, after waiting in line for 2 hours you'll be amazed at the things you'll do. We get into line and once again Mr. Disney entertains you most of the way. Then we pass a sign that describes the ride, ya know, one of those "If you are pregnant, have been pregnant, or may ever be pregnant you should not ride this ride. If you have a heart condition, turn back now. This ride has sudden drops and accelerations and will make your head fall off." signs. At which point Joe turns to me and says " you know this IS a REAL roller coaster, right?!". To which I said " what?sorry, I can't hear you over the screams in my head! Please stop trying to freak me out!"
At a certain point there is no turning back, they have you lined up single file like cattle. Did I mention the claustrophobia? Lol. I wanted to ride this ride because well, it's SPACE MOUNTAIN!! When you think Disney, you think Space Mountain. And after waiting that long in line there was no way that I wasn't getting on. Unfortunately luck of the draw, or some cruel twist of fate, put me in the FIRST car. Sigh. It's like Walt Disney himself was telling me to be all I could be. And by golly, I rocked it!!
 |
| And my head didn't even fall off! |
 |
| Gorgeous! |
Once the show was over it was time to make our way home. On the way out we caught part of the Mainstreet Electrical Parade. Once again Little Miss was upset that she didn't get to see Cinderella. I had no idea she was such a fan.
 |
| MainStreet after dark |
 |
| Waiting on the Tram |
Thoroughly enjoy your postings Coco! Love Mimi
ReplyDeleteThanks Mi, maybe I'll actually finish my posts on Disney before I forget everything but the chances are slim, lol.
ReplyDelete