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Day 3:
We began with a wake-up call from Mickey to get the boys out of bed and waited for Chris and Tommy to arrive. We all ate breakfast in our room since we had brought poptarts, granola bars, cereal, bowls, and milk (in our heavy-duty cooler with lots of ice). We headed to the buses about 7 AM. We waited a few minutes, not too bad, and then a bus came that was just for our resort. I was excited about this, having read the posts about one bus for all of the resorts and movies being last on the line. We had no problems getting there and getting through security check. Then we had to wait at the ticket turnstiles until 7:45. They let us through those and we had to wait at the MK gate until 8. This was one of the frustrating parts of our trip! Once we finally got in, Brad went to get the stroller, and the rest of us headed to Buzz Lightyear. We got fast passes for everyone for later and walked right on. Then we st arted toward Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.
Along the way, we hit Mickey's Philharmagic since there was no line. We all positively loved it. It was just amazing to look at the "layers" they created on the screen. The boys were hilarious reaching out trying to touch things like Ariel's jewels LOL. We also did the Peter Pan ride since we were there (15-20 minute wait) and Haunted Mansion (10 minutes at most). David didn't particularly like HM, though, and kept his eyes hidden against his daddy most of the ride. Funny thing, he's seen the movie, and it didn't scare him a bit. We finally made it to BTMR and after a short wait got on. David was a little uneasy, but once it was over, he decided it was fun. The other boys had ridden it 2 years ago, so they're "old pros."
It was time for our FP, so we headed back to Buzz. Chris and I took the older boys to Space Mountain for their first ride while David and Brad waited (David decided not to ride Buzz again). We had a little bit of a wait, maybe 20 minutes at most, but not unbearable. We did get a little confused once we got inside where the line goes different ways. We almost ended up out the chicken exit! (It's been a while since Chris and I rode, can you tell?). The boys thought it was awesome! They both like roller coasters, but this was their first one in the dark. When we finished, all 6 of us rode the TTA just for a break and to waste a little time because we had PS for Whispering Canyon at Wilderness Lodge for lunch.
We headed out of MK and (pixie dust), the boat was just loading to go to WL. We jumped on and enjoyed the journey across the lagoon, although it would have been better if there had been more breeze blowing inside the boat. We enjoyed lunch. Our waitress didn't pick on us too much, think she realized the boys might be sensitive, but we had fun laughing at the others. No one asked for ketchup, but a girl at a nearby table needed crayons, so everyone in the restaurant was asked to bring her one from their table. Another little boy was wearing --horrors--a Spongebob shirt! His waitress had us all fuss at his parents to buy him a new shirt. After lunch, we walked to the nature trail to look for the letterbox (see archived post about this) that's supposed to be there. We didn't have any luck, though. We think we know where it was, but there was a nearby tree with a huge bees nest inside of it, so we decided to stay away!
We went back to our hotels and changed clothes for a swim. Chris and Tommy joined us at the Fantasia pool. It was fairly crowded, so we went with them over to the piano pool at Music. There weren't many people there at all. The boys had a great time splashing and jumping, etc and enjoyed seeing the Herbie the Love Bug buildings. It was a nice break. We then went back to change to go back to MK. We headed to Splash Mountain, and even though there was a wait (30-40 minutes), Chris and I got in line with the older boys. Brad and David headed back to Main Street to stake out a spot for the parade and fireworks. It didn't take us 40 minutes to ride, and we all enjoyed it. There were 2 girls in front of us whose mom was leery about them riding alone (she didn't want to ride!). They ended up with us, and she was very appreciative that we kept an eye on them. Brad had found a good spot near the end of Main S treet, so we joined them and took turns going to get food. We also had snacks in the back pack.
Following a suggestion from MFL, I had picked up some glow-in-th-dark necklaces at the Dollar Tree. We pulled them out for our boys and shared some with the family beside us. It started raining, but we pulled out our 2 for $1 ponchos from home and stayed pretty dry. It rained off and on during the parade. We really liked Spectromagic. I remember seeing Main Street Electrical Parade (also in the rain!) many years ago, so it was neat being able to share this kind of experience with my own kids. Brad took David back to the hotel, as he'd been battling croup attacks at night and hadn't been sleeping well. The rest of us stayed, and the rain picked up. Of course, I was mostly worried about my new digital camera getting wet! Luckily, it tapered off some in time for Wishes. All I can say is WOW! Unfortunately, because of the weather, Tinkerbell didn't get to fly, but I did get a few pretty good pictures. W hen it was over, we headed out, along with the 1000's of others, to the buses. The Music bus line was much shorter than Movies, so we joined Chris and Tommy in their line. It took a few minutes to walk to our room, but it was better than waiting on the buses! It also gave Jonathan and me a chance to see the hockey pool, Dalmatian, and Fantasia buildings.
When we got back to our rooms, mousekeeping had positioned our stuffed animals on the bed. We had a blue "Nemo" fish who was turned upside down on the pillow, and all of the others were around him watching. The boys got a kick out of it.
Highlights: Wishes, fairly short waits, Philharmagic
Downers: not being able to get our letterbox stamp, Fantasia pool crowds
Day 4:
Once again, we awoke to Mickey, ate breakfast in our room, and headed to AK. We had decided that we didn't want a repeat of yesterday, so it was about 8:30 when we arrived. We still got to go right in, though, while non-resort guests waited outside. Chris took all of our room keys to head to Kali River for FP. The rest of us started toward the Safari and hopped in line (knowing there would be a long wait). He easily caught up with us after he got the FP. The line came to a stop at one point, and we found out as we continued that it had been rerouted while medical personnel assisted a woman who appeared to have become overheated--not a good sign when it was only 9AM! I was very impressed with one of the cast members, though, as she was trying to keep the woman's children in good spirits. They were probably between 3rd and 7th grade boys, and the younger one was really upset. She was doing a great job, and I wish I could have commended her for it.
The safari was fun. We saw quite a few animals, but most exciting was how close the elephants were. We even saw the baby elephant playing with an adult (its mom, I guess?) at the waterhole. Once we got off, we started toward Kali River, but we were sidetracked by the bird show. It was getting ready to begin, David wanted to go, so we went. What a great diversion! It even kept David's attention throughout, and he claims it was one of his favorites for the trip. I got a nice picture of the trainer holding a bald eagle. We also really enjoyed the singing parrot.
On to Kali, FP definitely the way to go on this one! All of us but David had ridden before, and we were nervous about him. We put a poncho on him, but when we hit one wave, the water pushed it off his head, so it didn't do everything we'd hoped! He survived and told us it was fun, so... He doesn't really like water in his face, but we're gradually getting over it I think. We went to Dinoland because the boys wanted to do the boneyard, but it was too crowded and too hot. We decided to head out rather than frustrate everyone. Back at the hotel, I refilled our mugs and got some "snacks" from the food court, (breadsticks, fruit & cheese, cheesecake). Those things along with the things we brought from home make up our lunch. Then my boys and I took a nap while Brad ran to the store to try and find something that would help poor David sleep all night without coughing. (I'm not sure what Chris and Tommy did during t his time).
We had dinner PS for Prime Time Cafe, so we headed to the buses to MGM. As soon as the bus pulled up, it started raining. By the time we loaded and pulled out onto the road, it was pouring. We got off at MGM and waited under the bus shelter hoping the rain would slow down. It finally lessened a little and we made a dash into the park and to Prime Time. The only reason I wanted to eat here was for the s'mores dessert, and I got it! Brad ended up taking David back to the hotel because he was getting really cranky. The rest of us wanted to do ToT. It was still raining some when we left the restaurant, but we had ponchos and didn't really care if we got wet anyway.
On the way to ToT, we did Star Tours. The boys enjoyed it more this time than they did 2 years ago. There was maybe a 5 minute wait. At ToT, we got in line and the wait wasn't more than 10 minutes. Jonathan was getting really nervous as we made our way to the elevator! I loved it. He liked it but not enough to ride it anymore :) I think it was more the darkness and the sensations that it creates rather than the actual drops that he disliked. We wanted to see Fantasmic, but they hadn't decided if they were having it (due to weather), so we walked around. It was kind of eerie being on one of the back streets at MGM in the rain with only 2 other people in sight as it was starting to get dark. We got to the Muppet show as they were letting people into the theater, so we walked in and could sit anywhere since it wasn't crowded. We all enjoyed it (but I still like Philharmagic better).
We went back to see about Fantasmic, and it had been cancelled for the night. Darn--I really want to see it. Chris and Tommy decided to head back to ToT, but Jonathan didn't want to. He and I headed toward the exit. Along the way, we detoured to the Great Movie Ride. We waited 15 minutes or so and thought we would just miss the next set of cars. However, they asked if there was a party of 2 close to the front--guess what, that's us! We didn't have to wait any longer. The cast member told us they were saving those seats just for us :) I don't think Jonathan remembered this ride from last time, and he had fun. He did hide his face as we went through the Alien scene--not a good thing when it's almost bedtime! When we got out to the buses, there was one for All-Stars waiting (they were loading a wheelchair--more pixie dust), so we were able to hop on and head "home."
Highlights: Bird show, FP for Kali, 2 seats for GMR, ToT, S'mores!
Downers: Rain, sick woman at Safari, no Fantasmic
Part 1, 2, 3, 4
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