mill4023
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2005
Sunday, May 1st -
This was our first MK day. This was the day when I realized that you cannot rely on reading road signs to find your way to the different parks. Throughout the trip, it seems like the signs would give you a hint of which way to go, then you'd have to figure it out on your own. I passed a sign that said MK - Turn right. So I did. Then after a couple miles, the road ended and we had to turn left or right. Of course, there was no sign at that point, so I guessed and guessed wrong. After panicking that we were going to get lost and miss our PS at Crystal Palace, we did finally make it and arrived at the MK gates at about 7:55. There was a line of people waiting to get in for PS's and at 8:00, everyone was let in. We made it to CP just in time for our 8:10 PS and were seated within a couple minutes. Food was good, characters were good, but the fact that it was a buffet meant we had to wait awhile to get our food or risk missing the characters. Because I promised my DW we wouldn't rush, we ended up finishing up and leaving about 9:15. I wouldn't do breakfast again, just because it was stressful wanting to be done by park opening time. In fact, next time, I probably won't do many character meals. At least not at the parks. They were rather expensive, my kids weren't all that thrilled with them, and it was just one more thing that we had to be at at a certain time.
Anyway, after finishing breakfast around 9:15, we headed straight for Fantasyland. We rode Dumbo, Pooh, Peter Pan, IASW, and saw Mickey's Philharmagic all with no lines. Then we headed over to Splash and BTMR, also with virtually no wait. We had lunch at Columbia Harbour House, this was a big disappointment. The food was ok, but the portions were tiny and expensive.
After lunch, we caught the parade, then headed over to tomorrowland, grabbed FP's for Space and rode Buzz while we were waiting. The sign for Buzz said 20 minutes, but it was actually no more than a 5 minute wait. DS10, DD7, and DD4 all loved Buzz and rode it twice. Once with me and once with DW. I then took DS10, DD7, and DD4 all on Astro Orbiter. Not my favorite, but the kids seem to like it for some reason.
We then did Space. DS10 and DD7 rode this twice since we did the baby swap.
We decided to leave MK early (around 6pm), since we were all getting pretty exhausted after 3 full days at parks. Got back to the Fairfield around 7pm and took the kids swimming for awhile before bed.
All in all, it was a great day at MK, although it was very hot.
Monday, May 2nd -
Woke up, enjoyed the free continental breakfast again, made it to Sea World by about 10:00. Had some coffee and food, and headed towards Shamu stadium. Took our time, seeing everything on the way, then made it in time for the 11:15 Shamu show. My cousin was one of the performers in the show. He's a trainer who works with the whales, but unfortunately, he hasn't been able to be in the water in the past week because his whale is misbehaving. It was still cool to see him leading the show and doing the narration and announcing. He said he was extra enthusiastic just for us. After the show, he took us back to the employee area around the pools and we got to pet one of the whales and take pictures with them. The kids were thrilled of course, as were my wife and I. It was really amazing to be able to touch these animals and be so close to them. I am still in awe that this is what my cousin does for a living. I'll be posting pictures when I get a chance.
After the Shamu show, we saw the Sea Lion show, fed seals, saw other animals, and rode Kraken and Journey to Atlantis. Journey to Atlantis is fun, but nothing really amazing. DW took DS10 and DD7 on it, then told me she thought DD4 would be fine on it. So I took DS10, DD7 and DD4 on it. DD4 was terrified. Mostly because of the darkness and the sea monster.
Kraken was one of the only things DD7 was too short to go on. She was very irritated because she had so much fun on RnR, ToT and the other thrill rides. DW had never been on a ride that went upside down before this trip, but had been brave and tried RnR and loved it. So she went first on Kraken and absolutely loved it. I went next and it really is a great coaster. There's something about having your feet dangling that makes the experience more intense. The most thrilling part is right after the initial ascent when you go around the first turn and the only thing you see below you is the lake at least a hundred feet below you.
It was around this time that DS10 started feeling ill. I was also starting to burn out. It was very hot on this day and no matter what I did, I couldn't stop sweating. After a bit of a rough late afternoon, we saw the dolphins then ended up leaving around 7pm. DS10 woke up really sick a couple hours after going to bed that night. We had planned on getting up early the next day to check out at the Fairfield, check in to POR and get to MK by opening time. But with everyone tired, DS10 having a stomach bug, and DW getting a cold, we decided we better sleep in a bit the next day.
Tuesday, May 3rd -
Woke up around 8am, packed up most of our luggage, then I drove over to POR to see if we could get our room, while everyone else rested. I had been assigned a room in bldg 27 as I requested, but it wasn't ready and I decided I needed the room now so I could get everyone moved and let DS10 rest for awhile. They were able to get me bldg 28 on the ground floor. It was very nice and not too far from the lobby/foodcourt, but it would definitely have been nicer to be in 14 or 27 just for convenience. POR is beautiful. I had been stressed about missing our morning at MK, but checking in and just walking from the car to the room made me feel relaxed and stress-free. Eventually, I got us checked out of the Fairfield and got everyone moved into POR. DS10 and DW both went back to sleep for a couple more hours. We ended up taking the bus and making it to MK around 2:30pm. Just enough time to briefly visit toontown, before heading to Liberty Tree Tavern for our 4:20 PS. This was my favorite character meal. Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip, and Dale were all there. We weren't rushed, the food was pretty good, and we had a great table. We were in an elevated area in a corner booth where DD1 could stand and see the characters on the lower levels all around us. Most of the food was quite good, except that the meats were a little dry. Dessert was a delicious berry cobbler with ice cream. Mmmmmm. I really preferred the family-style service. It was much more relaxed than a buffet. With older kids, buffets are fine, but with 1 and 4 year olds that need assistance, it's a hassle.
After dinner, we headed back to toontown. It was just starting to rain and there was no wait on Dumbo, so we rode that again and stopped to visit with Ariel before continuing on to toontown. We saw Minnie and Mickey's houses and found my DD4's favorite ride: Goofy's Barnstormer. Luckily this was not a crowded day and there was no wait on the Barnstormer. We took her on it about 6 times. It was great to find a ride that was thrilling for her without being scary. After toontown, we went on Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, and Magic Carpets, all with no wait. By this time, it was almost time for Wishes. We were planning on watching from the Adventureland bridge, but the crowds were so low, we ended up going right into the main plaza area between main street and the castle. A couple minutes before Wishes began, it started to rain. By the time the show started, it was pouring. And it kept pouring throughout Wishes. By the time the show ended, everyone in the crowd was drenched to the bone and it was still raining. It sounds sappy, but there was actually something very magical about watching Wishes while standing in the rain. The rain continued to come down the whole time we walked down main street, exited MK, waited for the buses, rode back to POR, and ran from the bus stop to our room. After getting everyone dried up and in bed, I went to the walmart and bought ponchos for everyone. Even though we missed the morning, we had an awesome afternoon and evening at MK with a very memorable ending.
I've got to wrap it up for now, so I'll continue with part 3 later tonight or tomorrow.
This was our first MK day. This was the day when I realized that you cannot rely on reading road signs to find your way to the different parks. Throughout the trip, it seems like the signs would give you a hint of which way to go, then you'd have to figure it out on your own. I passed a sign that said MK - Turn right. So I did. Then after a couple miles, the road ended and we had to turn left or right. Of course, there was no sign at that point, so I guessed and guessed wrong. After panicking that we were going to get lost and miss our PS at Crystal Palace, we did finally make it and arrived at the MK gates at about 7:55. There was a line of people waiting to get in for PS's and at 8:00, everyone was let in. We made it to CP just in time for our 8:10 PS and were seated within a couple minutes. Food was good, characters were good, but the fact that it was a buffet meant we had to wait awhile to get our food or risk missing the characters. Because I promised my DW we wouldn't rush, we ended up finishing up and leaving about 9:15. I wouldn't do breakfast again, just because it was stressful wanting to be done by park opening time. In fact, next time, I probably won't do many character meals. At least not at the parks. They were rather expensive, my kids weren't all that thrilled with them, and it was just one more thing that we had to be at at a certain time.
Anyway, after finishing breakfast around 9:15, we headed straight for Fantasyland. We rode Dumbo, Pooh, Peter Pan, IASW, and saw Mickey's Philharmagic all with no lines. Then we headed over to Splash and BTMR, also with virtually no wait. We had lunch at Columbia Harbour House, this was a big disappointment. The food was ok, but the portions were tiny and expensive.
After lunch, we caught the parade, then headed over to tomorrowland, grabbed FP's for Space and rode Buzz while we were waiting. The sign for Buzz said 20 minutes, but it was actually no more than a 5 minute wait. DS10, DD7, and DD4 all loved Buzz and rode it twice. Once with me and once with DW. I then took DS10, DD7, and DD4 all on Astro Orbiter. Not my favorite, but the kids seem to like it for some reason.
We then did Space. DS10 and DD7 rode this twice since we did the baby swap.
We decided to leave MK early (around 6pm), since we were all getting pretty exhausted after 3 full days at parks. Got back to the Fairfield around 7pm and took the kids swimming for awhile before bed.
All in all, it was a great day at MK, although it was very hot.
Monday, May 2nd -
Woke up, enjoyed the free continental breakfast again, made it to Sea World by about 10:00. Had some coffee and food, and headed towards Shamu stadium. Took our time, seeing everything on the way, then made it in time for the 11:15 Shamu show. My cousin was one of the performers in the show. He's a trainer who works with the whales, but unfortunately, he hasn't been able to be in the water in the past week because his whale is misbehaving. It was still cool to see him leading the show and doing the narration and announcing. He said he was extra enthusiastic just for us. After the show, he took us back to the employee area around the pools and we got to pet one of the whales and take pictures with them. The kids were thrilled of course, as were my wife and I. It was really amazing to be able to touch these animals and be so close to them. I am still in awe that this is what my cousin does for a living. I'll be posting pictures when I get a chance.
After the Shamu show, we saw the Sea Lion show, fed seals, saw other animals, and rode Kraken and Journey to Atlantis. Journey to Atlantis is fun, but nothing really amazing. DW took DS10 and DD7 on it, then told me she thought DD4 would be fine on it. So I took DS10, DD7 and DD4 on it. DD4 was terrified. Mostly because of the darkness and the sea monster.
Kraken was one of the only things DD7 was too short to go on. She was very irritated because she had so much fun on RnR, ToT and the other thrill rides. DW had never been on a ride that went upside down before this trip, but had been brave and tried RnR and loved it. So she went first on Kraken and absolutely loved it. I went next and it really is a great coaster. There's something about having your feet dangling that makes the experience more intense. The most thrilling part is right after the initial ascent when you go around the first turn and the only thing you see below you is the lake at least a hundred feet below you.
It was around this time that DS10 started feeling ill. I was also starting to burn out. It was very hot on this day and no matter what I did, I couldn't stop sweating. After a bit of a rough late afternoon, we saw the dolphins then ended up leaving around 7pm. DS10 woke up really sick a couple hours after going to bed that night. We had planned on getting up early the next day to check out at the Fairfield, check in to POR and get to MK by opening time. But with everyone tired, DS10 having a stomach bug, and DW getting a cold, we decided we better sleep in a bit the next day.
Tuesday, May 3rd -
Woke up around 8am, packed up most of our luggage, then I drove over to POR to see if we could get our room, while everyone else rested. I had been assigned a room in bldg 27 as I requested, but it wasn't ready and I decided I needed the room now so I could get everyone moved and let DS10 rest for awhile. They were able to get me bldg 28 on the ground floor. It was very nice and not too far from the lobby/foodcourt, but it would definitely have been nicer to be in 14 or 27 just for convenience. POR is beautiful. I had been stressed about missing our morning at MK, but checking in and just walking from the car to the room made me feel relaxed and stress-free. Eventually, I got us checked out of the Fairfield and got everyone moved into POR. DS10 and DW both went back to sleep for a couple more hours. We ended up taking the bus and making it to MK around 2:30pm. Just enough time to briefly visit toontown, before heading to Liberty Tree Tavern for our 4:20 PS. This was my favorite character meal. Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Chip, and Dale were all there. We weren't rushed, the food was pretty good, and we had a great table. We were in an elevated area in a corner booth where DD1 could stand and see the characters on the lower levels all around us. Most of the food was quite good, except that the meats were a little dry. Dessert was a delicious berry cobbler with ice cream. Mmmmmm. I really preferred the family-style service. It was much more relaxed than a buffet. With older kids, buffets are fine, but with 1 and 4 year olds that need assistance, it's a hassle.
After dinner, we headed back to toontown. It was just starting to rain and there was no wait on Dumbo, so we rode that again and stopped to visit with Ariel before continuing on to toontown. We saw Minnie and Mickey's houses and found my DD4's favorite ride: Goofy's Barnstormer. Luckily this was not a crowded day and there was no wait on the Barnstormer. We took her on it about 6 times. It was great to find a ride that was thrilling for her without being scary. After toontown, we went on Haunted Mansion, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, and Magic Carpets, all with no wait. By this time, it was almost time for Wishes. We were planning on watching from the Adventureland bridge, but the crowds were so low, we ended up going right into the main plaza area between main street and the castle. A couple minutes before Wishes began, it started to rain. By the time the show started, it was pouring. And it kept pouring throughout Wishes. By the time the show ended, everyone in the crowd was drenched to the bone and it was still raining. It sounds sappy, but there was actually something very magical about watching Wishes while standing in the rain. The rain continued to come down the whole time we walked down main street, exited MK, waited for the buses, rode back to POR, and ran from the bus stop to our room. After getting everyone dried up and in bed, I went to the walmart and bought ponchos for everyone. Even though we missed the morning, we had an awesome afternoon and evening at MK with a very memorable ending.
I've got to wrap it up for now, so I'll continue with part 3 later tonight or tomorrow.
