Hi blog fans:
Yes, I still have one more day to detail on our Disney World trip.
But here's a preview of next big thing. From the family that orchestrated a simultaneous closing on our old and new house, and from the guy who over-researched every last second of their trip to Disney World comes: "Save Money by Buying a Car in Utah and Shipping it to NYC???" I call it my "Odyssey to Save Money on Cars".
I started researching vans to rent while in Utah for our annual visit. We're staying nearly a month due to a High School reunion scheduled at the end. Mini vans for that long cost in the range of $2,000. "Wow -- that could be several car payments right there" said my smart wife.
"Ah, you're right!"
The timing might be right for us to expand our auto family. And the name of this adventure is going to see how much will it cost -- or how much will I save -- AND at what price hassle-wise. I'll bring you along every step of the way as I evaluate such things as:
• Honda Odyssey OR Toyota Sienna
• Turn in the mini van OR become a two automobile family
• Purchase in Utah OR purchase in NYC
• Buy OR Lease
• negotiating with dealers via the internet only
• comparison of prices in NYC vs. SLC
• how to ship a car cross country
• drawbacks of buying in Zion and owning it in Babylon
• Plans to drive the car back out to Utah (i.e. road trip) in 3 years when lease is up (if I go that route)
The goal is to get the van we want with at least a $1,200 savings (shipping a car is $800; a rental van would be $2,000) and taking delivery within the first 3 days Kathryn arrives in SLC. Can it be done? Stay tuned to my special reports.
We may set off a trend amongst my fellow Westchester / Salt Lakers.
Mark
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Disney World, Day 4 (Magic Kingdom) (part 4)
Our final hours at Magic Kingdom were fun. After the Haunted Mansion, we weren't quite sure what to do, so I did what I do best, which is ran down to get another Fastpass, this time on the Jungle Boats. Kathryn stayed with the kids by the Mark Twain-type steam boat and had the kids eat their peanut butter sandwiches. But then we went to the fast food place in Fantasyland that overlooks Small World for a real dinner of hamburgers, pizza, etc. It was completely empty and so it was very stress free.
Then I made a mad dash off to Big Thunder for one more ride as I had remaining Fastpass to cash in. Kathryn took the kids to Adventureland and they did the Flying Carpets one or two times. I picked up some more Fastpasses at Big Thunder because why not? Then I caught up with Kathryn just as they were getting on the Flying Carpets. Kathryn asked me to jump the fence and join her on the ride because Sammy was having his biggest meltdown of the trip. I ended up running up the exit and jumping in one of the carpets and taking Sam. It was not a pleasant ride with Sam screaming the whole time and me not quite sure what I had just inherited. But considering how good he was the majority of the time, he's allowed one bad moment.
But I felt uneasy entering the ride through an unauthorized manner....if I did that at an airport, I'd be arrested.
Then we did the Jungle Boats again. It wasn't as fun as Wed. night as the skipper was still very good, but we very much loved Skipper Mike.
Then we headed back up to Fantasyland, and I was thrilled that Josh had finally talked himself into going on Big Thunder (guess that's why I got the extra fast passes). It meant we had to fight the parade crowds to get to the ride, but it was worth it, because I didn't want Josh to leave without going on it as I knew he'd regret it. So Kathryn was happy to keep the three in Fantasyland, and Josh talked all the way down about how excited that he was overcoming his fear and doing it. I could tell he was nervous in the line, but he didn't chicken out. And he actually seemed to enjoy it! Too bad it was at night because for the first time on the ride, daytime would have been better to enjoy all the scenery and nuances. But it was a very big victory for all of us.
Kathryn stayed in Fantasyland and among other things went on Dumbo one more time. She really wanted to ride Dumbo at night, and she had a great missionary experience while waiting in line, so maybe that's why.
It was a challenge to meet up again as they close the access to Fantasyland. Fortunately, the fireworks got delayed, which allowed us some time to escape. We kept on the phone, I saw her as she walked by on Main Street, we joined up and got out of Dodge just as the fireworks were starting. So we saw the fireworks from the monorail and left with that picturesque memory. Magic Kingdom....done!
Then I made a mad dash off to Big Thunder for one more ride as I had remaining Fastpass to cash in. Kathryn took the kids to Adventureland and they did the Flying Carpets one or two times. I picked up some more Fastpasses at Big Thunder because why not? Then I caught up with Kathryn just as they were getting on the Flying Carpets. Kathryn asked me to jump the fence and join her on the ride because Sammy was having his biggest meltdown of the trip. I ended up running up the exit and jumping in one of the carpets and taking Sam. It was not a pleasant ride with Sam screaming the whole time and me not quite sure what I had just inherited. But considering how good he was the majority of the time, he's allowed one bad moment.
But I felt uneasy entering the ride through an unauthorized manner....if I did that at an airport, I'd be arrested.
Then we did the Jungle Boats again. It wasn't as fun as Wed. night as the skipper was still very good, but we very much loved Skipper Mike.
Then we headed back up to Fantasyland, and I was thrilled that Josh had finally talked himself into going on Big Thunder (guess that's why I got the extra fast passes). It meant we had to fight the parade crowds to get to the ride, but it was worth it, because I didn't want Josh to leave without going on it as I knew he'd regret it. So Kathryn was happy to keep the three in Fantasyland, and Josh talked all the way down about how excited that he was overcoming his fear and doing it. I could tell he was nervous in the line, but he didn't chicken out. And he actually seemed to enjoy it! Too bad it was at night because for the first time on the ride, daytime would have been better to enjoy all the scenery and nuances. But it was a very big victory for all of us.
Kathryn stayed in Fantasyland and among other things went on Dumbo one more time. She really wanted to ride Dumbo at night, and she had a great missionary experience while waiting in line, so maybe that's why.
It was a challenge to meet up again as they close the access to Fantasyland. Fortunately, the fireworks got delayed, which allowed us some time to escape. We kept on the phone, I saw her as she walked by on Main Street, we joined up and got out of Dodge just as the fireworks were starting. So we saw the fireworks from the monorail and left with that picturesque memory. Magic Kingdom....done!
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Disney World, Day 4 (Magic Kingdom) (part 3)
I may now be getting the order mixed up just a bit on our Friday afternoon after 3 p.m.
But I know Caroline and Matthew and I went to Toon Town to ride the Barnstormer Coaster and Josh, Mom and Sam went on Snow White. I took Josh and Matthew on the Autopia again (that was a real big hit for Matthew, so I'm glad we could do it again).
And of course, I picked up another Fastpass, as that was the theme of the day. This time, we grabbed another Winnie the Pooh (why not!) and got a bonus Fastpass for PhilHarmagic. It's kind of a marketing ploy, as I'm sure they knew crowds were light there so they were being sneaky to get people to fill up the theater. But we felt like we won the lottery! Wahoo - bonus!
So back in Fantasyland, I took Matthew on Dumbo again (he was very happy to wait 45 minutes...he loved the flying elephant). Kathryn used our earlier Peter Pan fastpass for the others. Then they got ice cream, and we joined them once we got off the flying elephant. We did the Winnie the Pooh ride on the Fast Pass, and then the Philharmagic. When you do it right, you don't need to wait in lots of lines!
Getting into about 5:30 p.m., we decided to have me and Josh go on Haunted Mansion (I hadn't been yet) while Kathryn took the rest on Small World. Caroline went on it 3 times, and she still says it was a favorite. I didn't think I was going to get on Haunted Mansion, so I'm glad it worked out. I read later that they have added recently a "stair room" which is like one of those classic drawings where the stairs all go up and into each other, but also look like they go down, too, if that makes any sense. But I enjoyed Haunted Mansion more than I ever have. I'd dare say it's better than Anaheim, which surprised me.
Just one more posting and we'll finish Friday night...then off to Animal Kingdom on Saturday.
But I know Caroline and Matthew and I went to Toon Town to ride the Barnstormer Coaster and Josh, Mom and Sam went on Snow White. I took Josh and Matthew on the Autopia again (that was a real big hit for Matthew, so I'm glad we could do it again).
And of course, I picked up another Fastpass, as that was the theme of the day. This time, we grabbed another Winnie the Pooh (why not!) and got a bonus Fastpass for PhilHarmagic. It's kind of a marketing ploy, as I'm sure they knew crowds were light there so they were being sneaky to get people to fill up the theater. But we felt like we won the lottery! Wahoo - bonus!
So back in Fantasyland, I took Matthew on Dumbo again (he was very happy to wait 45 minutes...he loved the flying elephant). Kathryn used our earlier Peter Pan fastpass for the others. Then they got ice cream, and we joined them once we got off the flying elephant. We did the Winnie the Pooh ride on the Fast Pass, and then the Philharmagic. When you do it right, you don't need to wait in lots of lines!
Getting into about 5:30 p.m., we decided to have me and Josh go on Haunted Mansion (I hadn't been yet) while Kathryn took the rest on Small World. Caroline went on it 3 times, and she still says it was a favorite. I didn't think I was going to get on Haunted Mansion, so I'm glad it worked out. I read later that they have added recently a "stair room" which is like one of those classic drawings where the stairs all go up and into each other, but also look like they go down, too, if that makes any sense. But I enjoyed Haunted Mansion more than I ever have. I'd dare say it's better than Anaheim, which surprised me.
Just one more posting and we'll finish Friday night...then off to Animal Kingdom on Saturday.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Disney World, Day 4, Magic Kingdom (Part 2)
After lunch, we decided we kind of want to make one more full circle around the park before the end of day. My intention was to end early and go home and swim. No, I'm not a big swimmer, in fact I kind of hate swimming, but Josh had said he wanted to, and I was thinking we had or would have done everything.
We started after lunch with the Country Bears show as it was about to start, so no wait. Hadn't seen it in years, so that was fun for me, but it could use a bit of a refresh. The kids liked it well enough, though. And Sammy fell asleep, so thus began his afternoon nap as he did transfer. Yea!
We cut across the park with Sammy asleep in his stroller and went to the Monster's Inc. Laugh Factory show. It's part of their new wave of technology where it's computer animated graphics and such, but it's personalized, if that makes sense. So it's an animated character, but he's performing in real time. We got to text in jokes ahead of time, and some were used in the performance. The premise is that laughter provides more energy than scaring kids, so they need to get us to laugh. It really is just like using the old stadium trick of aiming a camera at the fans and then adding commentary when it shows up on the Jumbotron. But it's fun and you laugh, and Matthew seemed to place this at the top of the list of favorite attractions. (Kathryn stayed out with the sleeping Sammy).
If I'm not mistaken, Kathryn now agreed to take Matthew on the Rockets Ride, which had a 45 minute wait, but for which he was more than happy to stand in line for. After all, he was a Jedi now! Kids CAN stand in line and be patient if it's something they want. Matthew really surprised us.
So I had to kill about 10 minutes until the window would open up to get our next Fast Pass (it was nearly 2 hours since I had gotten the passes for Peter Pan, which we hadn't used yet). So I stood by the machine at Buzz Lightyear just waiting and waiting for the clock to hit 1:15, while Kathryn and Matthew were on the Rockets. It's like the Amazing Race! Once the clock hit, I put in our tickets, then we scooted over to the Castle to watch the Performance that they do several times a day. It has Princesses, dancing, characters, etc. Sam slept through much of it, but it was getting pretty warm over there by the end.
We met up together again around 1:45 p.m. I took my turn on Space Mountain while Kathryn hung out with the kids and I think bought some souviners. Space Mountain is dark....it's even darker when you forget to switch out of the sunglasses! Glad to enjoy one last ride before they start a revamp of it starting today. Can't explain why, but definitely more fun at Orlando than Anaheim. When I had my turn, I let Kathryn go (using FastPass) and I took the four kids alone on the Tomorrowland Transit. That's really a big hit!
Unless I'm mistaken, we got done with that and it was time for our FastPass on Buzz Lightyear, so we did that. I think we were moving out of Tomorrowland (for the last time) around 3 p.m.
We started after lunch with the Country Bears show as it was about to start, so no wait. Hadn't seen it in years, so that was fun for me, but it could use a bit of a refresh. The kids liked it well enough, though. And Sammy fell asleep, so thus began his afternoon nap as he did transfer. Yea!
We cut across the park with Sammy asleep in his stroller and went to the Monster's Inc. Laugh Factory show. It's part of their new wave of technology where it's computer animated graphics and such, but it's personalized, if that makes sense. So it's an animated character, but he's performing in real time. We got to text in jokes ahead of time, and some were used in the performance. The premise is that laughter provides more energy than scaring kids, so they need to get us to laugh. It really is just like using the old stadium trick of aiming a camera at the fans and then adding commentary when it shows up on the Jumbotron. But it's fun and you laugh, and Matthew seemed to place this at the top of the list of favorite attractions. (Kathryn stayed out with the sleeping Sammy).
If I'm not mistaken, Kathryn now agreed to take Matthew on the Rockets Ride, which had a 45 minute wait, but for which he was more than happy to stand in line for. After all, he was a Jedi now! Kids CAN stand in line and be patient if it's something they want. Matthew really surprised us.
So I had to kill about 10 minutes until the window would open up to get our next Fast Pass (it was nearly 2 hours since I had gotten the passes for Peter Pan, which we hadn't used yet). So I stood by the machine at Buzz Lightyear just waiting and waiting for the clock to hit 1:15, while Kathryn and Matthew were on the Rockets. It's like the Amazing Race! Once the clock hit, I put in our tickets, then we scooted over to the Castle to watch the Performance that they do several times a day. It has Princesses, dancing, characters, etc. Sam slept through much of it, but it was getting pretty warm over there by the end.
We met up together again around 1:45 p.m. I took my turn on Space Mountain while Kathryn hung out with the kids and I think bought some souviners. Space Mountain is dark....it's even darker when you forget to switch out of the sunglasses! Glad to enjoy one last ride before they start a revamp of it starting today. Can't explain why, but definitely more fun at Orlando than Anaheim. When I had my turn, I let Kathryn go (using FastPass) and I took the four kids alone on the Tomorrowland Transit. That's really a big hit!
Unless I'm mistaken, we got done with that and it was time for our FastPass on Buzz Lightyear, so we did that. I think we were moving out of Tomorrowland (for the last time) around 3 p.m.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Disney World, Day 4 (Magic Kingdom) (part 1)
Wow....being out of town with the Monopoly tournament has thrown me off my writing rampage. Let's return to the narrative.
FRIDAY, MARCH 20
We knew Friday was going to be a less stressful day (and less structured) as we were back for our return day at Magic Kingdom. We had knocked out so much the first day that there wasn't a lot of pressure of trying to hit everything. The kids were adjusting to the regiment of park touring, we had no specific times or schedules (i.e. shows or meals), and we knew the lay of the land.
We had a McDonald's near the hotel, so we brought in breakfast before we left. Then off to the MK. We got there a bit later as we now knew getting there right at 8 a.m. for a 9 a.m. opening was a bit too early. Of course, we were still in position by before the park opened.
Unlike Wednesday, they did a full blown Disney welcome via the train and lots of characters at the entrance. So that was fun.
The race up Main Street is truly a race....should have been smart enough to realize that the lands would be closed, so no need to hustle quite so much. Today we were going off to Frontierland. When the rope dropped, Kathryn led us through a back alley to get ahead of the rope line walkers, but alas, the Disney folks had anticipated that, too, so it didn't matter. And to be honest, we could have been a lot less "hurry up" as the crowds weren't bad. But once you start in that mentality....
Fearing the worst (and remembering the day at Hollywood Studios) I grabbed Fast Passes for Big Thunder then I took a crew on Splash Mountain (they are next to each other). I tried to get Josh to go, but he wasn't quite ready for that one yet. So I took Matthew and Caroline. We had talked about doing switch-off (as we knew Sam couldn't go), but the policy has changed, and now it involves the Fast Pass line, but that doesn't open til 9:30 or so. So I kind of felt 'stressed' during the ride wanting it to hurry so Kathryn could ride crowd-free, too. We got done, and the lines were still very low for Kathryn to go (and she took Caroline again, I believe).
I stayed with the boys and they found a little play area that they loved. Very simple and basic, but sometimes kids don't need or want much.
After that, we did Big Thunder in turns (I think Caroline went twice -- once w/ me and once with Kathryn) but Matthew steered away from it, as did Josh (though he went later in the day and loved it).
This is now when I turned into a Fast Pass machine!!! I had learned that you can get a new one every 2 hours and that they don't monitor the expiration time. So I figured that we'd stock up on them and get one literally every 2 hours. So around 10:15 or so, I darted off to Tomorrowland to get two for Space Mountain. (After missing out on Rock and Roller, I wasn't going to miss Space Mountain) and Kathryn kept the kids. After I got back, it was Josh's turn to get to go on a favorite ride, so Kathryn took Josh and Matthew on Haunted Mansion (up very near Fantasyland) and I took Caro and Sam on Small World. It was a good trade-off and everyone was happy.
We did early lunch (again, lesson learned from Hollywood -- even if not hungry, eat early for the kids' sake and for the crowds sake). We walked down to Pecos Bill in Frontierland, which was doing some back tracking. Even sillier, we got down there and then decided to get three more Fastpasses on Peter Pan (right next to Small World). After all, 3 passes were going to waste (as we had two for Space Mountain). So Matthew and I ran up to get those while Kathryn ordered lunch. Matthew loved sticking the cards into the machine to get them.
Lots of indoor seating at Pecos Bill, good "fixin" bar for the burgers, and everyone felt happy and relaxed.
FRIDAY, MARCH 20
We knew Friday was going to be a less stressful day (and less structured) as we were back for our return day at Magic Kingdom. We had knocked out so much the first day that there wasn't a lot of pressure of trying to hit everything. The kids were adjusting to the regiment of park touring, we had no specific times or schedules (i.e. shows or meals), and we knew the lay of the land.
We had a McDonald's near the hotel, so we brought in breakfast before we left. Then off to the MK. We got there a bit later as we now knew getting there right at 8 a.m. for a 9 a.m. opening was a bit too early. Of course, we were still in position by before the park opened.
Unlike Wednesday, they did a full blown Disney welcome via the train and lots of characters at the entrance. So that was fun.
The race up Main Street is truly a race....should have been smart enough to realize that the lands would be closed, so no need to hustle quite so much. Today we were going off to Frontierland. When the rope dropped, Kathryn led us through a back alley to get ahead of the rope line walkers, but alas, the Disney folks had anticipated that, too, so it didn't matter. And to be honest, we could have been a lot less "hurry up" as the crowds weren't bad. But once you start in that mentality....
Fearing the worst (and remembering the day at Hollywood Studios) I grabbed Fast Passes for Big Thunder then I took a crew on Splash Mountain (they are next to each other). I tried to get Josh to go, but he wasn't quite ready for that one yet. So I took Matthew and Caroline. We had talked about doing switch-off (as we knew Sam couldn't go), but the policy has changed, and now it involves the Fast Pass line, but that doesn't open til 9:30 or so. So I kind of felt 'stressed' during the ride wanting it to hurry so Kathryn could ride crowd-free, too. We got done, and the lines were still very low for Kathryn to go (and she took Caroline again, I believe).
I stayed with the boys and they found a little play area that they loved. Very simple and basic, but sometimes kids don't need or want much.
After that, we did Big Thunder in turns (I think Caroline went twice -- once w/ me and once with Kathryn) but Matthew steered away from it, as did Josh (though he went later in the day and loved it).
This is now when I turned into a Fast Pass machine!!! I had learned that you can get a new one every 2 hours and that they don't monitor the expiration time. So I figured that we'd stock up on them and get one literally every 2 hours. So around 10:15 or so, I darted off to Tomorrowland to get two for Space Mountain. (After missing out on Rock and Roller, I wasn't going to miss Space Mountain) and Kathryn kept the kids. After I got back, it was Josh's turn to get to go on a favorite ride, so Kathryn took Josh and Matthew on Haunted Mansion (up very near Fantasyland) and I took Caro and Sam on Small World. It was a good trade-off and everyone was happy.
We did early lunch (again, lesson learned from Hollywood -- even if not hungry, eat early for the kids' sake and for the crowds sake). We walked down to Pecos Bill in Frontierland, which was doing some back tracking. Even sillier, we got down there and then decided to get three more Fastpasses on Peter Pan (right next to Small World). After all, 3 passes were going to waste (as we had two for Space Mountain). So Matthew and I ran up to get those while Kathryn ordered lunch. Matthew loved sticking the cards into the machine to get them.
Lots of indoor seating at Pecos Bill, good "fixin" bar for the burgers, and everyone felt happy and relaxed.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
disney World, Day 3 (part 4) (Hollywood Studios)
At the pace and amount of details I add, I'll be writing about this trip until we go the next time! But it was so much fun, I want to capture every moment so we can relive it.
So Kathryn was the queen of scoring us fun meal reservations. At Hollywood Studios, she got us a reservation (two months in advance) at the 50s Prime Time Cafe. It's basically what the title says -- a diner-themed place set in the 50s with old classic TVs and TV shows running.
They make you feel like your in "mom's house". The waitresses tell you to get your elbows off the table. They look for "clean platers". They even "do the airplane" to make Mom eat her greens if she hasn't eaten then when she comes to clear the table.
We had a great waiter who was in character, but not over the top -- which is good because I don't know how the kids would have reacted. But he did ask Caroline and Joshua to set the table. He was originally from Long Island, so we bonded on the NY front. Matthew didn't eat much, but boy was he creative playing with his action figures, gold fish crackers and silverware. It was good food and fun, and came at a good time in the day. I'd go back again. We had S'mores for dessert. Oh yeah, and a vanilla Coke. THAT was needed.
Refreshed and with the hottest part of the day behind us -- and the crowds majorly thinned -- we used our fast pass for Toy Story Mania (at about 5:45 p.m.). Even more fun the second time. That's one ride they've really nailed it terms of perfection. Too bad the line is so long.
It was too early to go wait for Fantasmic, so we had a little time to kill. This would have been a perfect time to do the Back Lot Tour, but alas, it was closed (though it hadn't been scheduled to be closed). That's a good attraction, but we didn't majorly miss out.
So we took the kids on the Great Movie Ride. It's entertaining and relaxing and fine. We had chosen to avoid it because I remember Alien being in there and it was pretty gruesome. We figured the kids would just need to deal with it because we needed something to do. So we warned the kids. Caroline scrunched up next to me as we got closer to that part. Josh was OK. Matthew kept saying "Where's the alien!" He couldn't wait to see it and was very excited at the prospect. (Being a Jedi, I suppose...) The good news is it's not as bad as I remember and you only see him up in the ceiling. So I'm glad we went.
If I'm not mistaken, it was now about 6:45 p.m. and the parks and attractions were fairly quiet. We literally walked right on Star Wars. I mean NO ONE in front. I took Josh and Matthew (his third trip.....he seemed to memorize it because he does repeat the phrases now).
With Fantastmic at 8:15, we decided it was time to go to the arena. Glad we did....getting there an hour early and we sat in one of the last available sections on the far left side. You'd think one hour early would be plenty early but no. The time went relatively quickly with the kids playing games on my phone and Josh/Matthew playing with the action figures.
Fantasmic is great. Matthew fell asleep for it (of course). I wish Disney wouldn't make it so gruesome. The dragon couldn't be larger or scarier. Tone it back a bit!!! But definitely worth seeing. (Turns out they had not been doing shows every night the week we were there....Disney cutting back on performances to save money, so we were lucky).
Then the obligatory exodus with crowds and Matthew asleep in my arms. Easy exit and drive home (no need to take a parking shuttle).
Next up: Friday's second visit to Magic Kingdom....and it was a great one. Then Saturday at Animal Kingdom, which was Kathryn's favorite park.
So Kathryn was the queen of scoring us fun meal reservations. At Hollywood Studios, she got us a reservation (two months in advance) at the 50s Prime Time Cafe. It's basically what the title says -- a diner-themed place set in the 50s with old classic TVs and TV shows running.
They make you feel like your in "mom's house". The waitresses tell you to get your elbows off the table. They look for "clean platers". They even "do the airplane" to make Mom eat her greens if she hasn't eaten then when she comes to clear the table.
We had a great waiter who was in character, but not over the top -- which is good because I don't know how the kids would have reacted. But he did ask Caroline and Joshua to set the table. He was originally from Long Island, so we bonded on the NY front. Matthew didn't eat much, but boy was he creative playing with his action figures, gold fish crackers and silverware. It was good food and fun, and came at a good time in the day. I'd go back again. We had S'mores for dessert. Oh yeah, and a vanilla Coke. THAT was needed.
Refreshed and with the hottest part of the day behind us -- and the crowds majorly thinned -- we used our fast pass for Toy Story Mania (at about 5:45 p.m.). Even more fun the second time. That's one ride they've really nailed it terms of perfection. Too bad the line is so long.
It was too early to go wait for Fantasmic, so we had a little time to kill. This would have been a perfect time to do the Back Lot Tour, but alas, it was closed (though it hadn't been scheduled to be closed). That's a good attraction, but we didn't majorly miss out.
So we took the kids on the Great Movie Ride. It's entertaining and relaxing and fine. We had chosen to avoid it because I remember Alien being in there and it was pretty gruesome. We figured the kids would just need to deal with it because we needed something to do. So we warned the kids. Caroline scrunched up next to me as we got closer to that part. Josh was OK. Matthew kept saying "Where's the alien!" He couldn't wait to see it and was very excited at the prospect. (Being a Jedi, I suppose...) The good news is it's not as bad as I remember and you only see him up in the ceiling. So I'm glad we went.
If I'm not mistaken, it was now about 6:45 p.m. and the parks and attractions were fairly quiet. We literally walked right on Star Wars. I mean NO ONE in front. I took Josh and Matthew (his third trip.....he seemed to memorize it because he does repeat the phrases now).
With Fantastmic at 8:15, we decided it was time to go to the arena. Glad we did....getting there an hour early and we sat in one of the last available sections on the far left side. You'd think one hour early would be plenty early but no. The time went relatively quickly with the kids playing games on my phone and Josh/Matthew playing with the action figures.
Fantasmic is great. Matthew fell asleep for it (of course). I wish Disney wouldn't make it so gruesome. The dragon couldn't be larger or scarier. Tone it back a bit!!! But definitely worth seeing. (Turns out they had not been doing shows every night the week we were there....Disney cutting back on performances to save money, so we were lucky).
Then the obligatory exodus with crowds and Matthew asleep in my arms. Easy exit and drive home (no need to take a parking shuttle).
Next up: Friday's second visit to Magic Kingdom....and it was a great one. Then Saturday at Animal Kingdom, which was Kathryn's favorite park.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Disney World, Day 3 (part 3) (Hollywood Studios)
So the Jedi training is by far the greatest thing that happened to Matthew at Disney World. Kathryn had hoped he would be selected, but she didn't want to get her hopes up too high. But Kathryn knows how to "work it" and made sure she had our cute kid up front but not being too stage mommy.
Kathryn has all the real details on this, but a handful of boys (and one girl) got invited up during the 2:20 p.m. show. They put a cape or robe on him, and then they go through Lightsaber training. Then, the crown jewel: Darth Vader shows up and they each get a turn "dueling" with the Dark Side. Again, Kathryn can share the whole play by play, but Matthew truly feels he's been ordained a Jedi. He now says he doesn't have to get married as Jedis don't get married. He's not going on a mission...because Jedis don't go on missions.
Caroline and I saw the last bit and it was very cute (with a sleeping and still stinky Sammy in my arms).
After all the fun and hub-bub with the Jedi training, it was time to stake out a place for the parade. One of Kathryn's friends says this is the best parade of the bunch. I strongly disagree. It was weak. Kind of like an ad for the Presidential Council on "get up and move". The 3 p.m. parade is themed to Pixar, which is great, but once the parade stretches out, the floats stay where they are and you just see one float for a very long time. In our case, one of the army guys stood in front of our area for 20 minutes leading the kids through dance moves, exercises and people jumping on trampolines. I kept wanting to see the floats further down in the parade. Watching the parade wasn't too bad in terms of crowds. Kids got ice cream.
It seems like many leave with the ending of the parade. We headed to the Muppet 3D movie, and it was EMPTY! It was nice to be inside where it's cool. It served as a good break. My favorite line in the movie is from Sam the Eagle: "The finale is titled A salute to all the nations of the world, but mostly America."
I believe Kathryn then took Matthew on Star Tours again via a Fast Pass while we walked the Streets of America. Dinner is next at the 50s Prime Time Cafe....dinner bell rings at 4:35 p.m.
Kathryn has all the real details on this, but a handful of boys (and one girl) got invited up during the 2:20 p.m. show. They put a cape or robe on him, and then they go through Lightsaber training. Then, the crown jewel: Darth Vader shows up and they each get a turn "dueling" with the Dark Side. Again, Kathryn can share the whole play by play, but Matthew truly feels he's been ordained a Jedi. He now says he doesn't have to get married as Jedis don't get married. He's not going on a mission...because Jedis don't go on missions.
Caroline and I saw the last bit and it was very cute (with a sleeping and still stinky Sammy in my arms).
After all the fun and hub-bub with the Jedi training, it was time to stake out a place for the parade. One of Kathryn's friends says this is the best parade of the bunch. I strongly disagree. It was weak. Kind of like an ad for the Presidential Council on "get up and move". The 3 p.m. parade is themed to Pixar, which is great, but once the parade stretches out, the floats stay where they are and you just see one float for a very long time. In our case, one of the army guys stood in front of our area for 20 minutes leading the kids through dance moves, exercises and people jumping on trampolines. I kept wanting to see the floats further down in the parade. Watching the parade wasn't too bad in terms of crowds. Kids got ice cream.
It seems like many leave with the ending of the parade. We headed to the Muppet 3D movie, and it was EMPTY! It was nice to be inside where it's cool. It served as a good break. My favorite line in the movie is from Sam the Eagle: "The finale is titled A salute to all the nations of the world, but mostly America."
I believe Kathryn then took Matthew on Star Tours again via a Fast Pass while we walked the Streets of America. Dinner is next at the 50s Prime Time Cafe....dinner bell rings at 4:35 p.m.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Disney World, Day 3 (part 2) (Hollywood Studios)
So it's now about 12:30 p.m. in our journey.
The challenge with Hollywood Studios is that so much of it is based on shows. What that means is you really have to plan more than other parks because you can't just fill a 20 minute void with a quick ride on the merry go round. It also prevents you from truly doing everything because most of the shows end by 5 p.m.
So we decided to split up which was a smart move. Kathryn took Matthew and Josh to the car stunt show that was to start at 1:20 p.m. I took Caroline and Sammy to go see Beauty and the Beast. At some point, Kathryn bought Matthew some non-Hasbro Star Wars action figures from the gift shop near Star Wars. Smart move! That entertained Matthew for quite a while while waiting for the show to start. I really liked the gift shop purchases we made as they were things that the kids played with right away (like the lightsaber, Toy Story blaster, etc.) (Oh, Kathryn and Caroline went to the store on the "Main Street" area while we were on Star Tours and got her the MInnie Mouse princess stuffed animal she wanted. Sammy got Wheezy, the penguin from Toy Story. He's pretty darn cute. Funny thing is I hear the first one they picked up didn't have a working squeaker. Isn't that the whole plot of Toy Story 2?)
We should have done lunch early, as the touring book recommends, as finding a short line around 12:45 p.m. wasn't easy, and the kids were getting hungry. Not sure what Kathryn did, but I ended up going into the ABC Commisary on the way to Beauty and the Beast and was able to get chicken nuggets et al. The line was manageable, and my two kids were great. I was rushing us a bit because we didn't want another bad experience getting closed out of a show.
So we made the trek to Beauty and the Beast with full tummies. I checked the waits and Fast Pass availabilities at the "Main Street" and saw they were gone for Rock n Roller Coaster (as it's near Beauty and the Beast, I had thought I could get one for me and Kathryn. Darn....that is the best ride in all of Disney World, in my opinion. But that's OK...we totally went into the vacation saying it was for the kids and anything we get is just gravy.)
The Beauty and the Beast show was as good as expected. Caroline loved it and Sammy fell asleep (after pooping...so I just tried to position him up wind from other patrons). I was texting Kathryn and learning that they made it to the show just fine, Matthew loved playing with his Star Wars figures while waiting for the show and all was well.
I hear they liked the show....I think they said one part of the show was having technical difficulties, but Josh and Matthew thought it was fun.
I then carried the sleeping (stinky) Sammy through the crowds with Caroline in tow to catch up with Kathryn and the boys. They had gotten out earlier than us. I stopped and got me a frozen lemonade and had hoped to get Caroline a shake but the machine wasn't working. But we worked our way over and stayed in a restaurant that overlooked the Jedi Training stage....and discovered that Matthew had been chosen to be a Jedi (in the show that started at 2:20 p.m.)! Best best best moment of the whole trip for Kathryn and Matthew. Matthew still talks about it. Every dollar spent for the trip just paid off! Details in my next post.
The challenge with Hollywood Studios is that so much of it is based on shows. What that means is you really have to plan more than other parks because you can't just fill a 20 minute void with a quick ride on the merry go round. It also prevents you from truly doing everything because most of the shows end by 5 p.m.
So we decided to split up which was a smart move. Kathryn took Matthew and Josh to the car stunt show that was to start at 1:20 p.m. I took Caroline and Sammy to go see Beauty and the Beast. At some point, Kathryn bought Matthew some non-Hasbro Star Wars action figures from the gift shop near Star Wars. Smart move! That entertained Matthew for quite a while while waiting for the show to start. I really liked the gift shop purchases we made as they were things that the kids played with right away (like the lightsaber, Toy Story blaster, etc.) (Oh, Kathryn and Caroline went to the store on the "Main Street" area while we were on Star Tours and got her the MInnie Mouse princess stuffed animal she wanted. Sammy got Wheezy, the penguin from Toy Story. He's pretty darn cute. Funny thing is I hear the first one they picked up didn't have a working squeaker. Isn't that the whole plot of Toy Story 2?)
We should have done lunch early, as the touring book recommends, as finding a short line around 12:45 p.m. wasn't easy, and the kids were getting hungry. Not sure what Kathryn did, but I ended up going into the ABC Commisary on the way to Beauty and the Beast and was able to get chicken nuggets et al. The line was manageable, and my two kids were great. I was rushing us a bit because we didn't want another bad experience getting closed out of a show.
So we made the trek to Beauty and the Beast with full tummies. I checked the waits and Fast Pass availabilities at the "Main Street" and saw they were gone for Rock n Roller Coaster (as it's near Beauty and the Beast, I had thought I could get one for me and Kathryn. Darn....that is the best ride in all of Disney World, in my opinion. But that's OK...we totally went into the vacation saying it was for the kids and anything we get is just gravy.)
The Beauty and the Beast show was as good as expected. Caroline loved it and Sammy fell asleep (after pooping...so I just tried to position him up wind from other patrons). I was texting Kathryn and learning that they made it to the show just fine, Matthew loved playing with his Star Wars figures while waiting for the show and all was well.
I hear they liked the show....I think they said one part of the show was having technical difficulties, but Josh and Matthew thought it was fun.
I then carried the sleeping (stinky) Sammy through the crowds with Caroline in tow to catch up with Kathryn and the boys. They had gotten out earlier than us. I stopped and got me a frozen lemonade and had hoped to get Caroline a shake but the machine wasn't working. But we worked our way over and stayed in a restaurant that overlooked the Jedi Training stage....and discovered that Matthew had been chosen to be a Jedi (in the show that started at 2:20 p.m.)! Best best best moment of the whole trip for Kathryn and Matthew. Matthew still talks about it. Every dollar spent for the trip just paid off! Details in my next post.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Disney World, Day 3, Hollywood Studios (Part 1)
Thursday morning, and time to tackle a new park: Hollywood Studios. I felt less pressure heading into this park thinking that we could master it without much trouble. But the crowds were massive and it dampened our enthusiasm somewhat.
The park opened at 9 a.m., and we were there early, as usual. We didn't feel the need, though, to be at the Pole Position spot by the rope. We kind of thought we'd just be mellow about it. So we were back just a little bit. We figured that the real rush would be to Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster. Turns out the real rush is to Toy Story Mania. It's a dis-jumbled mess. It didn't help that we were a bit unfamiliar with the park, so we were just part of a cattle run. And the corridor to get you to Toy Story is too narrow -- especially with an army of strollers jockeying for position.
When we arrived in the area, there was confusion as to whether we were in the line or the line to get Fast Passes. We were in the correct line and the wait jumped up to 45 minutes pretty fast. (Shortest it would be all day). At one point, Kathryn encouraged me to go get a FastPass for Little Mermaid, so I jumped out and claimed one for 10:30 a.m.
My touring plan that I created said we'd do Toy Story twice right in a row when the doors opened and then move on at 9:20 a.m.. We laughed about that! It was around 10 before we had gone on it once. But it is a super duper awesome ride. Perhaps the best ride we went on at Disney World. You ride in these cute cars and wear 3-D glasses. It's all done virtually, though -- I'm told without the glasses, you'd just see silver screens. Then you go along in a fun house and stop in front of a screen and it becomes a shooting gallery where you score points on what you hit. Some of the items you hit then react with you -- for example, a water balloon shot results in a mist of spray hitting you. It's kind of the same idea as Buzz Lightyear in Magic Kingdom, but much much cooler.
Oh, and there's the Mr. Potato Head in the waiting area that is fully interactive and isn't just on a computer loop.
So then we made a split-second decision and decided that we liked it enough that it was worth waiting in line to get a Fast Pass to ride again. Kathryn took the troops down the road to Mermaid and I waited in line to get the tickets. It was starting to feel very warm already. Somehow I was able to catch up with Kathryn and the kids waiting for the Mermaid show, which I thought was pretty amazing....but then Caroline had to go to the bathroom.
So Kathryn swam upstream with Caroline, got her to the bathroom and talked her way back into the line. I took the three boys in, and luckily Kathryn got into the same audience with us to watch the show. A little manuevering and she ended up with Sammy on the front row, and I had the other three back with me.
The show was good, and we liked it, but after seeing Nemo at Animal Kingdom, I realized this paled in comparison.
It's now 11 and we've done 2 things. The day before, we had knocked out 7 in that short of a time....of course, we also had to deal with "let's go home." But still, this had the "not my favorite park" feeling happening.
We rushed like mad to make the Indiana Jones show at 11:30. Alas, we arrived at 11:10 a.m., and it was already full. Due to what else we wanted to do, we knew we weren't going to get to to see the show at all. One of my bigger disappointments as that was something I thought the kids would really enjoy....and I like it too. Drat.
We had to regroup. We puttered around a little bit between snacks and my trying to get a FastPass for the Lights Actions Car show (after being sold out of one show, we didn't want to take a chance. We were told you could get a FastPass for this show and it didn't count against other Fast Passes. Alas, they weren't doing Fast Passes for it this day).
So we hit Star Tours, one that we knew would be a Matthew favorite. We should have jumped just a few minutes sooner because it was like a 10 minute wait....but a show must have let out because it went up to like 30. I took Josh and Matthew while Kathryn hung with Caroline and Sam. They watched a Jedi Training show....which was good learning for later. Matthew really loved the line for Star Tours, and actually seeing 3CPO and R2D2. (He got on a Star Wars kick earlier this year and loves everything about it). It was magical....like watching a kid meet Santa. I was glad Josh was riding on Star Tours, because it's a good intense ride that's not too scary.
While waiting in line, I formulated our new game plan, which would involve one half going to see Beauty and the Beast, and the other going to the Cars show. More on that in the next post.
The park opened at 9 a.m., and we were there early, as usual. We didn't feel the need, though, to be at the Pole Position spot by the rope. We kind of thought we'd just be mellow about it. So we were back just a little bit. We figured that the real rush would be to Tower of Terror and Rock n Roller Coaster. Turns out the real rush is to Toy Story Mania. It's a dis-jumbled mess. It didn't help that we were a bit unfamiliar with the park, so we were just part of a cattle run. And the corridor to get you to Toy Story is too narrow -- especially with an army of strollers jockeying for position.
When we arrived in the area, there was confusion as to whether we were in the line or the line to get Fast Passes. We were in the correct line and the wait jumped up to 45 minutes pretty fast. (Shortest it would be all day). At one point, Kathryn encouraged me to go get a FastPass for Little Mermaid, so I jumped out and claimed one for 10:30 a.m.
My touring plan that I created said we'd do Toy Story twice right in a row when the doors opened and then move on at 9:20 a.m.. We laughed about that! It was around 10 before we had gone on it once. But it is a super duper awesome ride. Perhaps the best ride we went on at Disney World. You ride in these cute cars and wear 3-D glasses. It's all done virtually, though -- I'm told without the glasses, you'd just see silver screens. Then you go along in a fun house and stop in front of a screen and it becomes a shooting gallery where you score points on what you hit. Some of the items you hit then react with you -- for example, a water balloon shot results in a mist of spray hitting you. It's kind of the same idea as Buzz Lightyear in Magic Kingdom, but much much cooler.
Oh, and there's the Mr. Potato Head in the waiting area that is fully interactive and isn't just on a computer loop.
So then we made a split-second decision and decided that we liked it enough that it was worth waiting in line to get a Fast Pass to ride again. Kathryn took the troops down the road to Mermaid and I waited in line to get the tickets. It was starting to feel very warm already. Somehow I was able to catch up with Kathryn and the kids waiting for the Mermaid show, which I thought was pretty amazing....but then Caroline had to go to the bathroom.
So Kathryn swam upstream with Caroline, got her to the bathroom and talked her way back into the line. I took the three boys in, and luckily Kathryn got into the same audience with us to watch the show. A little manuevering and she ended up with Sammy on the front row, and I had the other three back with me.
The show was good, and we liked it, but after seeing Nemo at Animal Kingdom, I realized this paled in comparison.
It's now 11 and we've done 2 things. The day before, we had knocked out 7 in that short of a time....of course, we also had to deal with "let's go home." But still, this had the "not my favorite park" feeling happening.
We rushed like mad to make the Indiana Jones show at 11:30. Alas, we arrived at 11:10 a.m., and it was already full. Due to what else we wanted to do, we knew we weren't going to get to to see the show at all. One of my bigger disappointments as that was something I thought the kids would really enjoy....and I like it too. Drat.
We had to regroup. We puttered around a little bit between snacks and my trying to get a FastPass for the Lights Actions Car show (after being sold out of one show, we didn't want to take a chance. We were told you could get a FastPass for this show and it didn't count against other Fast Passes. Alas, they weren't doing Fast Passes for it this day).
So we hit Star Tours, one that we knew would be a Matthew favorite. We should have jumped just a few minutes sooner because it was like a 10 minute wait....but a show must have let out because it went up to like 30. I took Josh and Matthew while Kathryn hung with Caroline and Sam. They watched a Jedi Training show....which was good learning for later. Matthew really loved the line for Star Tours, and actually seeing 3CPO and R2D2. (He got on a Star Wars kick earlier this year and loves everything about it). It was magical....like watching a kid meet Santa. I was glad Josh was riding on Star Tours, because it's a good intense ride that's not too scary.
While waiting in line, I formulated our new game plan, which would involve one half going to see Beauty and the Beast, and the other going to the Cars show. More on that in the next post.
Early Season Baseball
Hi all:
I'll return to the play-by-play of Disney World in a day or so, but today is the first real day of the Baseball Season. I see the Red Sox home opener has already been postponed in Boston. It's pouring rain here in NYC....and I hear the same is predicted in Baltimore, where the Yankees open. Some games are threatened due to snow.
When will MLB learn? It would be better for all, eliminate some catch-up double-headers and often return travel to certain cities if the first two weeks of the season featured games exclusively hosted in warm weather cities and/or domed stadiums. Who wouldn't be in favor of that? What fan wants to sit in weather not suitable for skiing, let alone watching baseball?
It's not perfect, but there's nearly enough warm weather venues to go around - for each league, it could be set up to have only one cold-weather venue for the first week or two of the season:
NL (with 16 teams, they need 8 warm weather places)
• Florida (Miami)
• Atlanta
• Los Angeles
• San Diego
• Houston
• Arizona (Phoenix)
• San Francisco
AL (with 14 teams, they need 7 warm weather places)
• Tampa
• Toronto (dome)
• Minnesota
• Los Angeles (Angels)
• Oakland
• Texas (Dallas)
To be fair, I looked over the schedule again, and it's not as bad as some years. Maybe they did wise up. But why aren't Tampa and L.A. Dodgers hosting games today instead of being on the road?
I'll return to the play-by-play of Disney World in a day or so, but today is the first real day of the Baseball Season. I see the Red Sox home opener has already been postponed in Boston. It's pouring rain here in NYC....and I hear the same is predicted in Baltimore, where the Yankees open. Some games are threatened due to snow.
When will MLB learn? It would be better for all, eliminate some catch-up double-headers and often return travel to certain cities if the first two weeks of the season featured games exclusively hosted in warm weather cities and/or domed stadiums. Who wouldn't be in favor of that? What fan wants to sit in weather not suitable for skiing, let alone watching baseball?
It's not perfect, but there's nearly enough warm weather venues to go around - for each league, it could be set up to have only one cold-weather venue for the first week or two of the season:
NL (with 16 teams, they need 8 warm weather places)
• Florida (Miami)
• Atlanta
• Los Angeles
• San Diego
• Houston
• Arizona (Phoenix)
• San Francisco
AL (with 14 teams, they need 7 warm weather places)
• Tampa
• Toronto (dome)
• Minnesota
• Los Angeles (Angels)
• Oakland
• Texas (Dallas)
To be fair, I looked over the schedule again, and it's not as bad as some years. Maybe they did wise up. But why aren't Tampa and L.A. Dodgers hosting games today instead of being on the road?
Thursday, April 2, 2009
Disney World, Day 2 (part 3) (Magic Kingdom)
It was now about 5:30 p.m. and we were ready to test out a new land: Toon Town! Kathryn took some kids to try and catch some characters in the State Fair tent, and I let Matthew blow off steam in Donald's Boat. He didn't want to leave there. Eventually, Kathryn found the line for characters was too long, so she, Matthew and Caroline decided to try Goofy's Barnstormer, a fun little roller coaster.
I kept an eye on Sam (and Josh) in the boat and another little playground.
Kathryn encouraged us to push onward as it was now around 6:30 p.m. So I did one of my famous dashes across the park to see if I could get Fast Passes for Jungle Cruise. While there, I checked out the line for Pirates, and it was less than 10 minutes. So I sprinted back, and got the family back to Adventureland.
We then mimicked our early morning success in terms of "rides per hour". We essentially did everything in Adventureland in one hour: First it was Pirates, then the Magic Carpet, then the Tiki Room, the Swiss Family Robinson tree house (I like that it's not Tarzan), and then the Jungle Cruise.
The Jungle Cruise is DEFINITELY more fun at night as the skippers are more relaxed and are funnier. The kids loved Skipper MIke. They loved a joke about the dancing natives losing the key to the men's room, we loved him humming "Small World" while going through the scary dark cave, and his comment that while he didn't know where the cave would take it, odds were -- being Disney -- it would end in a gift shop.
It reminded me of when Liz (my sister) and I did Jungle Cruise at night many years ago at Disneyland. We still laugh about the jokes...it was just so dry. I don't think we had ever done it at night.
At this point it was now about 8:15 and the parade was coming our way (it goes through Frontierland in Magic Kingdom, unlike Disneyland.) Kathryn found a place that sells ice cream that was just closing down, but we got ice cream, went through a passageway and saw the parade, which had many components of an Electrical Parade. We then figured we'd see the fireworks, but of course it was time for the Matthew and Sammy sleepfest.
So we made it to the Castle area and kept an eye on Sammy in the stroller and held the sleeping Matthew while Kathryn and the olders went for a better view of Tinkerbell and fireworks.
I couldn't really see it, but Kathryn said this was her favorite night time program.
Then, much to my dismay, we joined the throngs at exiting the park in mass. Matthew got heavier and heavier, and I felt my arms were losing their elastics, like a rubber band. Down the street, up the ramp to the Monorail, on the Monorail, down the ramp, onto the parking shuttle. Of course, once we get to the car he wakes up.
But a very very satisfying first full day that even got some swimming.
Hollywood Studios, here we come!!!!
Mark
I kept an eye on Sam (and Josh) in the boat and another little playground.
Kathryn encouraged us to push onward as it was now around 6:30 p.m. So I did one of my famous dashes across the park to see if I could get Fast Passes for Jungle Cruise. While there, I checked out the line for Pirates, and it was less than 10 minutes. So I sprinted back, and got the family back to Adventureland.
We then mimicked our early morning success in terms of "rides per hour". We essentially did everything in Adventureland in one hour: First it was Pirates, then the Magic Carpet, then the Tiki Room, the Swiss Family Robinson tree house (I like that it's not Tarzan), and then the Jungle Cruise.
The Jungle Cruise is DEFINITELY more fun at night as the skippers are more relaxed and are funnier. The kids loved Skipper MIke. They loved a joke about the dancing natives losing the key to the men's room, we loved him humming "Small World" while going through the scary dark cave, and his comment that while he didn't know where the cave would take it, odds were -- being Disney -- it would end in a gift shop.
It reminded me of when Liz (my sister) and I did Jungle Cruise at night many years ago at Disneyland. We still laugh about the jokes...it was just so dry. I don't think we had ever done it at night.
At this point it was now about 8:15 and the parade was coming our way (it goes through Frontierland in Magic Kingdom, unlike Disneyland.) Kathryn found a place that sells ice cream that was just closing down, but we got ice cream, went through a passageway and saw the parade, which had many components of an Electrical Parade. We then figured we'd see the fireworks, but of course it was time for the Matthew and Sammy sleepfest.
So we made it to the Castle area and kept an eye on Sammy in the stroller and held the sleeping Matthew while Kathryn and the olders went for a better view of Tinkerbell and fireworks.
I couldn't really see it, but Kathryn said this was her favorite night time program.
Then, much to my dismay, we joined the throngs at exiting the park in mass. Matthew got heavier and heavier, and I felt my arms were losing their elastics, like a rubber band. Down the street, up the ramp to the Monorail, on the Monorail, down the ramp, onto the parking shuttle. Of course, once we get to the car he wakes up.
But a very very satisfying first full day that even got some swimming.
Hollywood Studios, here we come!!!!
Mark
Disney World, Day 2 (Magic Kingdom) (part 2)
When I last posted, I was writing about the Wednesday experience at Magic Kingdom (our first full day in "the World"). We had left the park 3 hours after a gang-busters start.
I was actually pleasantly surprised at how quickly we got home, despite having to catch a Monorail and then walk to the car. I know Kathryn was very frustrated by this turn of events, but as I had said from the start, every moment of this trip was going to be magical for the kids....even the ones away from the parks. In their eyes, going to the pool was as big an "E ticket" as Big Thunder.
Sammy fell asleep on the drive home and mercifully transferred, so he got a GREAT nap....Josh cooled off with a cool bath and then napped, too....Kathryn caught a few zzzs too.
I took Matthew and Caroline to the pool. They loved it! We stayed for an hour or so. They had life jackets which helped. Having a huge, uncrowded, outdoor pool in springtime was really a treat to the kids.
Fortunately, we had dinner reservations at 3:45 p.m. which forced us to get back to the Park. We arrived with no hassles, even though we had to ride the parking lot shuttle and then the monorail again. We got in just as the parade was going on Main Street. It was great....we were able to see the majority of the parade (and cross that off the list...I'm not a big fan of camping out for Disney parades) without investing any wait time. I thought it would be a zoo to get up Main Street during the parade, but they did well with crowd control and we had an open path -- then we ditched under the rope and stayed to watch for a time.
We made it to the Crystal Palace and had a wonderful experience. Josh started saying he felt 100 percent better and the mood improved. The buffet was very yummy and Daddy got a full tummy. It was a Pooh and Friends character dinner, so we got visits at the table from Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore and Piglet. Some may complain that for all the money and effort you only get a brief moment with the characters, but I disagree. I liked that they came to us, and we could just be prepared to move fast and shoot our photos and get our autographs.
This is an area where Kathryn excels. It's like managing a Hollywood shoot. When the characters come, she has the autographs (bought at Target, not Disney) turned to the right page, the camera ready, etc. I think the staff learned quickly that we would respect the characters' time (even though we had 4 kids) and not monopolize them. I also like that there's plenty of time for the kids to eat BEFORE the characters come over.
I always made a point of thanking the characters....it can't be easy and I know it's hot. I like to think they don't get thanked a lot and appreciate someone appreciating their work.
I felt like we'd probably only stay another 2 hours, but Kathryn encouraged us to push onward, and we stayed the rest of the night, and it was a success. We walked right on Buzz Lightyear because I had gotten FastPasses before we left the park. That's the best trick -- they don't enforce the expiration of the Fast Pass, just the entry time. So while our pass had expired at 2 p.m., they didn't care....so we'd start stockpiling them (because you get one every two hours) and then use them when it was convenient to us.
Kathryn and I think Matthew and/or Caroline got an immediate second ride as their vehicle hadn't worked, so that was a nice bonus. Then, the little boys wanted blasters from the Toy Story gift shop. I don't know where Matthew and Sammy got into guns, but it's actually kind of cute to see them engaged in such an authentic boy behavior. It's harmless. The blasters didn't shoot anything...just lit up. Really kept them entertained. We went from there to seeing Buzz Lightyear standing in the Carosel (sp?) of Progress and got his autograph and photo -- posing with the Toy Story blasters. Then the gentle Tomorrowland Transit (people mover) which Matthew claimed as one of his favorite rides.
I had thought this may be as far as we could push it due to the morning issues, but as stated earlier, we made it the rest of the night. The rest of the day to be covered next posting.
Mark
I was actually pleasantly surprised at how quickly we got home, despite having to catch a Monorail and then walk to the car. I know Kathryn was very frustrated by this turn of events, but as I had said from the start, every moment of this trip was going to be magical for the kids....even the ones away from the parks. In their eyes, going to the pool was as big an "E ticket" as Big Thunder.
Sammy fell asleep on the drive home and mercifully transferred, so he got a GREAT nap....Josh cooled off with a cool bath and then napped, too....Kathryn caught a few zzzs too.
I took Matthew and Caroline to the pool. They loved it! We stayed for an hour or so. They had life jackets which helped. Having a huge, uncrowded, outdoor pool in springtime was really a treat to the kids.
Fortunately, we had dinner reservations at 3:45 p.m. which forced us to get back to the Park. We arrived with no hassles, even though we had to ride the parking lot shuttle and then the monorail again. We got in just as the parade was going on Main Street. It was great....we were able to see the majority of the parade (and cross that off the list...I'm not a big fan of camping out for Disney parades) without investing any wait time. I thought it would be a zoo to get up Main Street during the parade, but they did well with crowd control and we had an open path -- then we ditched under the rope and stayed to watch for a time.
We made it to the Crystal Palace and had a wonderful experience. Josh started saying he felt 100 percent better and the mood improved. The buffet was very yummy and Daddy got a full tummy. It was a Pooh and Friends character dinner, so we got visits at the table from Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore and Piglet. Some may complain that for all the money and effort you only get a brief moment with the characters, but I disagree. I liked that they came to us, and we could just be prepared to move fast and shoot our photos and get our autographs.
This is an area where Kathryn excels. It's like managing a Hollywood shoot. When the characters come, she has the autographs (bought at Target, not Disney) turned to the right page, the camera ready, etc. I think the staff learned quickly that we would respect the characters' time (even though we had 4 kids) and not monopolize them. I also like that there's plenty of time for the kids to eat BEFORE the characters come over.
I always made a point of thanking the characters....it can't be easy and I know it's hot. I like to think they don't get thanked a lot and appreciate someone appreciating their work.
I felt like we'd probably only stay another 2 hours, but Kathryn encouraged us to push onward, and we stayed the rest of the night, and it was a success. We walked right on Buzz Lightyear because I had gotten FastPasses before we left the park. That's the best trick -- they don't enforce the expiration of the Fast Pass, just the entry time. So while our pass had expired at 2 p.m., they didn't care....so we'd start stockpiling them (because you get one every two hours) and then use them when it was convenient to us.
Kathryn and I think Matthew and/or Caroline got an immediate second ride as their vehicle hadn't worked, so that was a nice bonus. Then, the little boys wanted blasters from the Toy Story gift shop. I don't know where Matthew and Sammy got into guns, but it's actually kind of cute to see them engaged in such an authentic boy behavior. It's harmless. The blasters didn't shoot anything...just lit up. Really kept them entertained. We went from there to seeing Buzz Lightyear standing in the Carosel (sp?) of Progress and got his autograph and photo -- posing with the Toy Story blasters. Then the gentle Tomorrowland Transit (people mover) which Matthew claimed as one of his favorite rides.
I had thought this may be as far as we could push it due to the morning issues, but as stated earlier, we made it the rest of the night. The rest of the day to be covered next posting.
Mark
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