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Day 8 - Wednesday, September 22, 2004
This is our last day in WDW, so we decided to spend it at the Magic Kingdom. We slept in, and got to the Grand Floridian around noon. Since we would be
having dinner at 1900 Park Fare, we decided to park at GF, and ride the monorail from there. We got lunch at Peco Bill's, then set out to do some rides that we
hadn't gotten to previously. I forget the name of the building in Frontierland, but we were able to meet Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye. Woody was probably the
most boring character I met, but Jessie was cool- she was doing some linedancing while waiting for the line to move, and poor Bullseye couldn't do much. He
couldn't talk or autograph, and I felt bad for him, so I rubbed his nose, which he seemed to like. We also saw Mickey's PhilharMagic again- it is SO good!. Sit
up close, I think it's better that way.
At 2:30, we headed to the front of the park, grabbed some ice cream, and sat on the curb in front of the train depot. It was a great seat- not alot of people
were there and we were in the shade.I looked like a kid, sitting there with my Minnie ears on, and hugging my new Minnie Mouse doll. (I told Mike that I
decided that I wanted the $20 Minnie instead of the $60 Pal Mickey) At 3:00, the parade started. Mickey Mouse was on the first "real" float. He was waving and
saying things to the crowd like, "Good to see you, pal." and "Hope you are having fun!" Then, just as the float gets right in front of us, Mickey points
right at *me* and says, "Your bow looks just like Minnie's! She's a sweetheart and you are too!" (Something like that)
This was the third time in my entire life that my jaw actually dropped open. I looked at Mike, and he was speechless too. Ok, I'm pretty sure that the voices
are all prerecorded, and the characters just memorize it and act it out- but !!! The timing was perfect!... I mean... the timing was magical!
What could beat that? Well, I'll tell you what... Towards the end of the parade, a bunch of characters are walking together, waving, shaking hands, but
pretty much staying in the parade. A couple feet to my right was a little girl in a Minnie dress. When Minnie Mouse saw her, she walked over and shook her
hand. As Minnie was turning to go back into the parade (I am NOT lying), she leaned back slightly, one hand over her mouth, and the other hand pointing right
at ME! She ran over, PULLED me up off the curb and gave me a big hug! MAGIC!!! Friends- I will never forget this!!
So by now, Cinderella's float is next. I used to be a Cinderella nut. I have porcelain figures, snowglobes, Christmas ornaments, etc. from years of
collecting. As Cindy and the Prince past by, I said to Mike, "She's old hat-it's all about Minnie now!"
After the parade, we went back to Fantasyland, rode the carousel, and wanted to do Dumbo. It had a 45 minute wait, with no fastpass available. Oh well. So we
head back by the castle, and I run into a CM that had chatted with me and Mike the previous day. I had looked at her pins, but didn't end up trading with her.
So today, she told me that she had new pins, and we ended up trading. Then she let us know about a meet and greet in 5 minutes out in front of the castle. We
would have missed it if she hadn't told us!
I wanted to get in the line for Minnie Mouse, but I was afraid of looking like a stalker or something, so I choose the line for Donald Duck. I hugged him
and said, "Everyone knows you are the REAL star, Donald." So he wrote "#1" under his autograph! I also saw Suzy and Perla, who were too cute!
It was time to head over to the Grand Floridian for our PS, so we decided to take a launch (boat) over. Now, I wish that we had skipped the monorail
completely and had only used the launches! At 1900 Park Fare, we saw the Fairy Godmother leaving the restaurant when we got there, but our hostess told us that
she would be back later (which she wasn't- I should have grabbed her then!) Our waiter was Ray, he's one of the few CM's I remember by name- he was so cool!
Prince Charming came over first. He signed my autograph book, and asked us what we were doing after dinner. I laughed embarrassedly and said, "Watching
softball." He looked up and asked where. So we told him how the softball World Series was being held at the Wide World of Sports. Mike told the Prince how he
had played last weekend. We talked sports for a while, I even invited him down to the WWoS with us! The Prince told us he didn't think Cinderella would let him
go, but that he has ESPN in the castle. LOL Then the Prince helped me out of my chair, we posed for the picture, and then he pushed in my chair for me. He was
very "princely" and polite, but he seemed so "real' at the same time. Most of the other characters are totally in character, as if they were still in their
movie, but the Prince was really good at... um, do you know what I mean? I can't find the right words! It was like talking to a friend who just happened to be a
Prince! LOL
Suzy came over next, posed for a picture with me, and we danced for a while in the aisle. Somehow, I forgot to get her autograph, but Mike reminded me that
I met her at MK, and had gotten an autograph. Perla came over, and I got a picture with her. She saw my book, so she signed it. I told Mike that now I
needed to wait for Suzy to come around again to get her autograph again too (which I did).
Ta-da! Here comes Cinderella! She asked if we had met the Prince and Mike said that we had talked sports. Cinderella laughed, so we told her all about it.
She said, "Oh, I wouldn't stop him from going to the playing grounds to watch his beloved sports!" She posed with a picture with each of us, and signed my
book. Mike asked her if she still has to do dishes, and she told us that her stepsisters help her with them, but she makes the Prince bathe Lucifer. I wanted
to say that I thought that Lucifer died when he fell out the window in the tower, but there were kids around us and I didn't want to "ruin' anything for
them- whether by saying the cat is dead or making Cinderella look like a liar! :)
After dinner, we went back tot he WWoS, watched 3 games of the World Series, then went back to our resort to do the bulk of packing and get to bed. We have a
7am flight, so we need to be up at 4.
Day 9 - Thursday September 23, 2004
At 4am, Mike shut off the alarm and hit "speaker" on the phone, so that we could both hear Mickey's wake up message. I don't remember what he said except
to get up, and he called us his "pals". The next thing I know, a bunch of people in my dream are telling me to wake up. I nudge Mike and asked him what time it
was. He looked at the clock and groaned... it was 7:15. Our flight left at 7:00. Oops.
Those stressful head and belly pains returned as we scrambled to get dressed (no showers) and pack up the last things. On our way to Hertz, I asked Mike how
much money was in the debit account, since I knew we only had $5 cash left. He answered, "20 bucks". I almost burst into tears!
We get to Hertz, drop off the car, and luckily there are no extra fees. The whole shuttle ride to the airport, I was feeling so sick... just like the first
day. I couldn't believe how bad our luck was with everything in FL not Disney-related!
Mike told the woman at the JetBlue counter that we had missed our flight-she said no problem, and we got tickets for the next flight- no fees. Whew! On
our way to the gate, there was a food court, and Mike said that since we have over an hour, we should have breakfast. I said I just wanted coffee. Mike said,
"Aren't you hungry? I'll go to the ATM and we'll have breakfast." I said, "But you only have $20".
Mike spun around, looked at me and LAUGHED. He said, "I was only kidding about that! We have plenty of money in the account!" Grrr. I said, "You mean, I
have a headache and I almost puked for nothing??", which set him back into hysterics. Grrr. I wanted to punch him!
So we fly back to Boston, where my brother-in-law, Nick, picked us up. I was so happy to be back in Boston, I started singing the Boston song (Ooh! Boston,
you're my home!") walking through the airport. The weather was chilly and everyone had new England scowls on their faces- ahh! Home!
When we got to the house, I ran up the stairs to the porch, (leaving the guys to deal with the luggage) where our 2 yo son, Mikey, was waiting. He ran
into my arms saying "Mama! Mama!" It was so good to be home with my little guy! Then, when we went into the house, we received a little more Disney magic!
With a bit of help from my mother (hee hee), Mikey had thrown us a "Dada party". (Mikey calls Mickey "Dada" and Minnie "Mama".) My mother and Mikey had gone to
the party store and bought all sorts of Mickey Mouse party stuff- plates, cups, toys, balloons and streamers. The whole dining room was decorated! Plus, since
Mikey kept asking "when is Mama and Dada here?", there was a cake that said "Mama and Dada here" with little Mickey faces on it! And for Mike there was a 6
pack of Mickey Coca-Cola bottles!
Now... I have to go and plan trip #2...
Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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