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.
Monday, April 6, 2009
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
Friday, March 27, 2009
Disney World, Day 2 (part 1) (Magic Kingdom)
We woke up Wednesday morning armed with our touring plan for Magic Kingdom. I had studied the plans for weeks from the Unofficial Guide, and then tailored them to our needs. Our focus was to knock out Fantasyland and then some Frontierland, not knowing how long we'd last.
We made good time to the ticketing center and rode the Monorail. We were inside the gates awaiting the opening by about 8:20 a.m. (the park opened at 9 a.m.). The wait got a bit long, and we started to sense crowds would be bigger on this trip than thought. I told the kids to look forward to the opening welcome where the characters arrive on the train...well, it was very modest on Wed. with just Mary Poppins and a couple of others waving....but they did do the train version on Friday.
We made it under the entrance tunnels and up Main Street. Matthew was upsetting the plan....he needed Mouse Ears NOW! This is not the time to shop, Matthew! I kind of dragged him up Main Street and distracted him.
Then they hold you at the castle before you rush to the rides. That was good...we got back up to the front of the line.
We rushed to Dumbo and made the 2nd or 3rd flight of the day. I should have been greedier and asked for 3 elephants among the 6 of us....we learned for the future. Then we were a machine. We did Winnie the Pooh twice. My plan said to do Peter Pan next, but Kathryn said "no line on tea cups...let's do it". So we did that...the girls report seeing Alice in one of the cups. Then Matthew really wanted to do the Autopia (I don't think it's called that at Magic Kingdom, but you know what I mean). We kind of knew we wouldn't have any happiness until we did that. That's a tough ride for splitting up due to height restriction to DRIVE and another height that won't allow little littles on it. Not sure how that worked out (maybe Kathryn stayed off with some????) Anyway, I think I rode with Matthew and Josh, allowing Matthew to steer.
The Peter Pan line was growing, so we grabbed a Fast Pass, and rode Small World while we waited. Really like the MK version as the boat isn't just in a canal, but it's like a whole lake, if that makes sense. The colors were brighter and more vibrant than I remembered. I'd be happy to ride that many times.
We then did the new Mickey's Philharmagic 3D film which was just starting. It has Donald chasing a sorcerer's hat through many new classic Disney movies. Fun, fun.
We had a few more minutes to wait for Peter Pan, so we got Matthew his mouse ears, and Josh got a snow globe. But then Josh started to not feel well. We think perhaps it was the teacups that did that. He was hot and uncomfortable and completely miserable. He just wanted to go home and lie down and take a cold bath. So much for our plans.
We got him to go on Peter Pan and I prayed he wouldn't puke over London. That was my one Peter Pan ride, and I didn't really enjoy it worrying he was truly sick. We needed to call a time out. But we had seen 7 attractions (and ridden 8 times) in 2 hours, so we had done very well, IMO.
Kathryn took Josh to first aid where they said he was fine in terms of fever etc. and I fought crowds at Casey's Corner on Main STreet for lunch. This was our "Tomorrowland at 4 p.m." moment feeling despair and like the trip would be a bust. The other kids were happy and open to leave, too, so we got Josh from First Aid (he had been lying down) and headed home, less than 3 hours after entering the park. (I did run and get Buzz Lightyear Fast Passes before leaving).
To be continued....
We made good time to the ticketing center and rode the Monorail. We were inside the gates awaiting the opening by about 8:20 a.m. (the park opened at 9 a.m.). The wait got a bit long, and we started to sense crowds would be bigger on this trip than thought. I told the kids to look forward to the opening welcome where the characters arrive on the train...well, it was very modest on Wed. with just Mary Poppins and a couple of others waving....but they did do the train version on Friday.
We made it under the entrance tunnels and up Main Street. Matthew was upsetting the plan....he needed Mouse Ears NOW! This is not the time to shop, Matthew! I kind of dragged him up Main Street and distracted him.
Then they hold you at the castle before you rush to the rides. That was good...we got back up to the front of the line.
We rushed to Dumbo and made the 2nd or 3rd flight of the day. I should have been greedier and asked for 3 elephants among the 6 of us....we learned for the future. Then we were a machine. We did Winnie the Pooh twice. My plan said to do Peter Pan next, but Kathryn said "no line on tea cups...let's do it". So we did that...the girls report seeing Alice in one of the cups. Then Matthew really wanted to do the Autopia (I don't think it's called that at Magic Kingdom, but you know what I mean). We kind of knew we wouldn't have any happiness until we did that. That's a tough ride for splitting up due to height restriction to DRIVE and another height that won't allow little littles on it. Not sure how that worked out (maybe Kathryn stayed off with some????) Anyway, I think I rode with Matthew and Josh, allowing Matthew to steer.
The Peter Pan line was growing, so we grabbed a Fast Pass, and rode Small World while we waited. Really like the MK version as the boat isn't just in a canal, but it's like a whole lake, if that makes sense. The colors were brighter and more vibrant than I remembered. I'd be happy to ride that many times.
We then did the new Mickey's Philharmagic 3D film which was just starting. It has Donald chasing a sorcerer's hat through many new classic Disney movies. Fun, fun.
We had a few more minutes to wait for Peter Pan, so we got Matthew his mouse ears, and Josh got a snow globe. But then Josh started to not feel well. We think perhaps it was the teacups that did that. He was hot and uncomfortable and completely miserable. He just wanted to go home and lie down and take a cold bath. So much for our plans.
We got him to go on Peter Pan and I prayed he wouldn't puke over London. That was my one Peter Pan ride, and I didn't really enjoy it worrying he was truly sick. We needed to call a time out. But we had seen 7 attractions (and ridden 8 times) in 2 hours, so we had done very well, IMO.
Kathryn took Josh to first aid where they said he was fine in terms of fever etc. and I fought crowds at Casey's Corner on Main STreet for lunch. This was our "Tomorrowland at 4 p.m." moment feeling despair and like the trip would be a bust. The other kids were happy and open to leave, too, so we got Josh from First Aid (he had been lying down) and headed home, less than 3 hours after entering the park. (I did run and get Buzz Lightyear Fast Passes before leaving).
To be continued....
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Disney World, Day 1 (Epcot)
We hadn't told the kids about the trip to Disney World, but instead waited until they woke up on Tuesday morning. I'll admit we were a bit underwhelmed with their excitement. I think it was just too big for them to get their heads around. It took several minutes until they understood what we were saying.
I chose to book our trip on JetBlue because they are so reliable. In the end, that's ended up being true, but temporarily, it wasn't. The 9:45 a.m. flight was delayed after we boarded because they couldn't close the cargo door. So we all had to get off, without being given info of what would happen next. This is when I started to see the entire trip through the eyes of "The Amazing Race" reality race-around-the-world TV show. Every time we would make a decision, I'd envision talking to the cameras about whether or not it was a good idea.
Ultimately, they found us a new plane, so I'm glad we didn't try to swap to another flight. (Even if we had, our luggage would have gone on the first flight and I would have had to go back to fetch the bags, so it was just best to stick with the flight we had.) JetBlue had some good personnel, and one person who had been very helpful searched for us in the food court to ensure we made the new flight. So we were now about 2 hours behind schedule.
The younger boys seemed to be so happy just to be in the wide open spaces of the airport. They just seemed to skip and play and such. On the train from the gate to the terminal in Orlando, Matthew was introducing the whole family: "Hi, I'm Matthew, and this is my whole family. That's mom...her name is Kathryn...."
We had another bit of a delay at the rental car counter. I went with Budget to save money and because -- unlike the mighty Hertz -- they were located on-site, so no shuttle needed. I went downstairs with Sammy, who had a major tantrum kicking and screaming on the floor while I secured the car. They promised us a van in about 20 minutes. So we waited, while the clock ticked. Matthew wanted to get in shorts NOW, so he started to undress in the waiting area of the airport. I took him to a restroom to change. Funny -- he has no problem pulling off every last stitch of clothing in front of the public, but in the restroom, he wouldn't allow me in the stall as he changed his pants.
In dealing with the parking lot Budget space, they told me they had a van in slot 325 as the other van hadn't come. I went over and it was a car. They assured me it was a van. I went back again .... I swear it's a car! I explained to the attendant the difference between a van and a car. Eventually we were on our way.
I did a quick check-in at the All-Star Music resorts to just drop off our bags. Then off to Epcot. We entered the park at about 5 p.m. -- had the flight not been delayed, we would have been there at 3 p.m. as scheduled. But some Epcot was better than nothing. (With the way the Disney passes work, 5 days for the family cost us a grand total of $15 more than 4 days....so Epcot was only costing us $15, so every minute was "bonus").
The plan/hope at arriving at 3 p.m was a fastpass or two may still exist for Soaring or Test Track, but alas, no such luck at 5 p.m. May not have been an option at 3 p.m. either as it was crowded and the wait for both was 135 minutes, so I bet they "sold out" of fast passes in late morning.
We immediately did Spaceship Earth, and Matty said "I've never been in Space before!" Then we did the boat ride for Living with the Land. Then the fun (and one of my favorite rides) Nemo ride in the Seas exhibit. Very cute and well done. I'd ride it again if I could. Kathryn then toyed with waiting 135 minutes for Soaring, but ultimately did not. We ate and headed to the World.
We quickly were able to do the Mexico ride (which is now Donald Duck themed) and then scouted out space for the Illuminations. We took turns using Fastpass on the Norway ride (as we waited for the show in Norway). Kathryn got the kids "MIckey Mouse lightsabers" and Matthew and Sam were in heaven. They just danced and waved and it was very funny, though at the time I kept fearing they were going to bonk someone. Some nice people next to us helped keep me relaxed.
The show was good. Then I carried Matthew out of the park asleep (first time of many for the week). We felt like it was a good first day. Josh was saying how this was the best day ever, best vacation ever, etc. I think we succeeded.....
TOMORROW: First experience at Magic Kingdom
I chose to book our trip on JetBlue because they are so reliable. In the end, that's ended up being true, but temporarily, it wasn't. The 9:45 a.m. flight was delayed after we boarded because they couldn't close the cargo door. So we all had to get off, without being given info of what would happen next. This is when I started to see the entire trip through the eyes of "The Amazing Race" reality race-around-the-world TV show. Every time we would make a decision, I'd envision talking to the cameras about whether or not it was a good idea.
Ultimately, they found us a new plane, so I'm glad we didn't try to swap to another flight. (Even if we had, our luggage would have gone on the first flight and I would have had to go back to fetch the bags, so it was just best to stick with the flight we had.) JetBlue had some good personnel, and one person who had been very helpful searched for us in the food court to ensure we made the new flight. So we were now about 2 hours behind schedule.
The younger boys seemed to be so happy just to be in the wide open spaces of the airport. They just seemed to skip and play and such. On the train from the gate to the terminal in Orlando, Matthew was introducing the whole family: "Hi, I'm Matthew, and this is my whole family. That's mom...her name is Kathryn...."
We had another bit of a delay at the rental car counter. I went with Budget to save money and because -- unlike the mighty Hertz -- they were located on-site, so no shuttle needed. I went downstairs with Sammy, who had a major tantrum kicking and screaming on the floor while I secured the car. They promised us a van in about 20 minutes. So we waited, while the clock ticked. Matthew wanted to get in shorts NOW, so he started to undress in the waiting area of the airport. I took him to a restroom to change. Funny -- he has no problem pulling off every last stitch of clothing in front of the public, but in the restroom, he wouldn't allow me in the stall as he changed his pants.
In dealing with the parking lot Budget space, they told me they had a van in slot 325 as the other van hadn't come. I went over and it was a car. They assured me it was a van. I went back again .... I swear it's a car! I explained to the attendant the difference between a van and a car. Eventually we were on our way.
I did a quick check-in at the All-Star Music resorts to just drop off our bags. Then off to Epcot. We entered the park at about 5 p.m. -- had the flight not been delayed, we would have been there at 3 p.m. as scheduled. But some Epcot was better than nothing. (With the way the Disney passes work, 5 days for the family cost us a grand total of $15 more than 4 days....so Epcot was only costing us $15, so every minute was "bonus").
The plan/hope at arriving at 3 p.m was a fastpass or two may still exist for Soaring or Test Track, but alas, no such luck at 5 p.m. May not have been an option at 3 p.m. either as it was crowded and the wait for both was 135 minutes, so I bet they "sold out" of fast passes in late morning.
We immediately did Spaceship Earth, and Matty said "I've never been in Space before!" Then we did the boat ride for Living with the Land. Then the fun (and one of my favorite rides) Nemo ride in the Seas exhibit. Very cute and well done. I'd ride it again if I could. Kathryn then toyed with waiting 135 minutes for Soaring, but ultimately did not. We ate and headed to the World.
We quickly were able to do the Mexico ride (which is now Donald Duck themed) and then scouted out space for the Illuminations. We took turns using Fastpass on the Norway ride (as we waited for the show in Norway). Kathryn got the kids "MIckey Mouse lightsabers" and Matthew and Sam were in heaven. They just danced and waved and it was very funny, though at the time I kept fearing they were going to bonk someone. Some nice people next to us helped keep me relaxed.
The show was good. Then I carried Matthew out of the park asleep (first time of many for the week). We felt like it was a good first day. Josh was saying how this was the best day ever, best vacation ever, etc. I think we succeeded.....
TOMORROW: First experience at Magic Kingdom
Monday, March 23, 2009
Disney World Recap No. 1
Over the next few days I hope to make up for my dormant posting by posting multiple posts about our trip to Disney World last week. Here's just a few top-of-mind thoughts to get things started:
• Best Thrill Ride at Disney World: Rock 'n Roller Coaster at Disney Hollywood Studios (we were unable to ride it this year)
• Best Ride at Disney World: Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios (worthy of the crowd mania at park opening -- even had a 15 minute wait to get a Fast Pass!)
• Biggest Disappointment Ride: Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom. I had read about this many years ago and couldn't wait to go on it. Very disappointed by it...quite lame. Not much cooler than seeing the dinosaurs in the tunnel of the train at Disneyland in Calif.
• Slightly Disappointed Ride: Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom. It's a bit of a cross between the Matterhorn and Big Thunder. The overall appeal and look to it is great from the outside, but the ride itself seems to lose it's theming and for me, didn't live up to the Disney style of roller coasters. And sure it was fast and high and whatever, but I thought it was kind of tame -- and I'm not one to demand zillions of thrills for coasters. It didn't deliver on the potential I thought it would have.
• Best Parade: Animal Kingdom
• Worst Parade: Hollywood Studios
• Ultimate Disney Pricing Genius: "Mickey Mouse" light-up lightsabers that cost $5 at dusk, then automatically get re-priced to $7 when it's dark.
• Best Show: Finding Nemo the Musical at Animal Kingdom. Equal to "Lion King" on Broadway.
• Attractions that we didn't get to enjoy due to circumstances that I really wish we could have enjoyed: Indy Jones stunt show, Rock 'n Roller Coaster, Soaring, Test Track.
• Disneyland vs. Magic Kingdom: of rides in both parks where there's a difference between the two:
BETTER AT DISNEYLAND
-- Pirates of Caribbean (miss the opening bayou setting, and just better throughout...FL version just doesn't make much sense. Though it has improved with changes beyond the Johnny Depp additions)
BETTER AT MAGIC KINDGOM
-- Small World (better boats, more "lake" to float in vs. just a canal, bright and vibrant, and no disney characters hiding in the displays as they now do in Calif...but I do miss the clock in Anaheim).
-- Haunted Mansion. Maybe I've never done this at MK before as I think it was closed or too crowded, but a couple of cooler rooms inside. I was surprised and wowed.
-- Space Mountain, but I can't tell you why
-- Jungle Boats: I was a purist and liked Anaheim better, but now I like MK with its added little 'cave' in the attraction
-- Tree house -- like that it's still Swiss Family Robinson, not Tarzan
• Missed attractions that are only in California: Indiana Jones ride, Matterhorn
• Reunion let-down: Country Bears. It's gone from Disneyland, and I hadn't seen it in years (it's at Disney World). It's kind of tired and old.
• Favorite Ride to Enjoy Again: "People Mover" (called Tomorrowland Transit in MK). Just a simple easy way to chill and enjoy a view of the park.
• Favorite '3D interactive' show (each park now has one): Mickey's Philharmagic.
• Record number of attractions enjoyed via Fast Pass in one day: SEVEN (Big Thunder x 2, Space Mountain/Peter Pan (half of our family for one, half for the other in this cycle), Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh - which earned us a bonus one for PhilHarmagic -- Jungle Boat)
• Best Thrill Ride at Disney World: Rock 'n Roller Coaster at Disney Hollywood Studios (we were unable to ride it this year)
• Best Ride at Disney World: Toy Story Mania at Hollywood Studios (worthy of the crowd mania at park opening -- even had a 15 minute wait to get a Fast Pass!)
• Biggest Disappointment Ride: Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom. I had read about this many years ago and couldn't wait to go on it. Very disappointed by it...quite lame. Not much cooler than seeing the dinosaurs in the tunnel of the train at Disneyland in Calif.
• Slightly Disappointed Ride: Expedition Everest in Animal Kingdom. It's a bit of a cross between the Matterhorn and Big Thunder. The overall appeal and look to it is great from the outside, but the ride itself seems to lose it's theming and for me, didn't live up to the Disney style of roller coasters. And sure it was fast and high and whatever, but I thought it was kind of tame -- and I'm not one to demand zillions of thrills for coasters. It didn't deliver on the potential I thought it would have.
• Best Parade: Animal Kingdom
• Worst Parade: Hollywood Studios
• Ultimate Disney Pricing Genius: "Mickey Mouse" light-up lightsabers that cost $5 at dusk, then automatically get re-priced to $7 when it's dark.
• Best Show: Finding Nemo the Musical at Animal Kingdom. Equal to "Lion King" on Broadway.
• Attractions that we didn't get to enjoy due to circumstances that I really wish we could have enjoyed: Indy Jones stunt show, Rock 'n Roller Coaster, Soaring, Test Track.
• Disneyland vs. Magic Kingdom: of rides in both parks where there's a difference between the two:
BETTER AT DISNEYLAND
-- Pirates of Caribbean (miss the opening bayou setting, and just better throughout...FL version just doesn't make much sense. Though it has improved with changes beyond the Johnny Depp additions)
BETTER AT MAGIC KINDGOM
-- Small World (better boats, more "lake" to float in vs. just a canal, bright and vibrant, and no disney characters hiding in the displays as they now do in Calif...but I do miss the clock in Anaheim).
-- Haunted Mansion. Maybe I've never done this at MK before as I think it was closed or too crowded, but a couple of cooler rooms inside. I was surprised and wowed.
-- Space Mountain, but I can't tell you why
-- Jungle Boats: I was a purist and liked Anaheim better, but now I like MK with its added little 'cave' in the attraction
-- Tree house -- like that it's still Swiss Family Robinson, not Tarzan
• Missed attractions that are only in California: Indiana Jones ride, Matterhorn
• Reunion let-down: Country Bears. It's gone from Disneyland, and I hadn't seen it in years (it's at Disney World). It's kind of tired and old.
• Favorite Ride to Enjoy Again: "People Mover" (called Tomorrowland Transit in MK). Just a simple easy way to chill and enjoy a view of the park.
• Favorite '3D interactive' show (each park now has one): Mickey's Philharmagic.
• Record number of attractions enjoyed via Fast Pass in one day: SEVEN (Big Thunder x 2, Space Mountain/Peter Pan (half of our family for one, half for the other in this cycle), Buzz Lightyear, Winnie the Pooh - which earned us a bonus one for PhilHarmagic -- Jungle Boat)
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