Grand Prize Trip Report, Day 6: Sat, Aug 15th

[TikiGoddess]

Saturday, Aug 15th:

This morning was our family tradition – breakfast at the Crystal Palace before park opening. We got to the MK via boat around 7:50, had someone take our picture on a very empty Main Street, and checked into CP. We were the 5th or 6th family in. I love this breakfast. The Pooh characters are always great to meet and the food is always tasty. I love the look of the restaurant too – a place I always wanted to go to when I was a kid.
We missed Piglet in lieu of getting out of the restaurant before the rides opened.

The kids wanted to do Dumbo, so we headed there --- but wait! Ariel was in her grotto and there was no wait. Katie’s one request for this trip was to meet Ariel. Of course when we met her Katie was as shy as anything! But Julie did talk to her and she was very gracious to both of them.

Peter pan was next. This time Katie showed me all of the characters on the ride “look Mommy we’re in Wendy’s room”, “look there’s the mermaids!” Then we rode the carousel and small world (ride count: 3) while Tim went to Splash for FPs… gee, wonder why he didn’t want to go on small world again…)

We walked over to Toontown. It was 9:45 and I was surprised to see that it was open, as it usually opens at 10am. We went to the tent and saw that the Fairies already had a 45 minute wait! The CM explained that they opened Toontown early and all the people waiting had made the 45 min wait. Geez, I didn’t know the Fairies were so popular.

Thankfully my girls weren’t that invested in meeting Tinker Bell. So we let them ride Goofy’s Barnstormer 3 times. The last two times they didn’t need to get off the ride, just went on it again. I found the stand by the exit had unsweetened ice tea (not easy to find in the parks at CS), so I was happy. We walked through Minnie’s house (where the kitchen was once again a hit) before deciding to take the train around to Frontierland.

We arrived in Frontierland just in time for the girls makeovers at the Pirate’s League. All of the CMs kept in character from the minute we checked in to the minute we left. Some were better than others but they all stayed in character. Julie’s pirate, Erin, was fantastic. She had a story for everything – how she got her name, stories about Capt. Jack, and how to be a real pirate. It was a real experience – the girls first had to receive their pirate names (by rolling dice in a chest), then they were taken into the pirate room. They sat in chairs and received their makeovers with accompanying pirate booty. After learning how to hold a pirate sword, they were taken into a secret pirate room (can’t tell you about that!). It was expensive but totally worth it. The girls were a little overwhelmed with all of the attention (and didn’t totally enjoy the feel of the makeup on a hot August day). They got a lot of attention from CMs and guests alike as we traveled back to the WL!

I think we had lunch back at the room while the kids watched some of Wall-E. Tim went to pick up our rental car, as his brother had taken the car that we had borrowed from the in-laws in Tampa. We rented from the Car Care Center and it was very easy. They sent a shuttle to the WL to pick him up and he was back pretty quickly.

After a nice cool break in the room, we went off to Epcot for our 5pm dinner at Teppan Edo. This was not one of my favorite dinners from the trip. The food was good and we all enjoyed the entertaining chef… but the room was hot, noisy, and crowded. The kids were flagging at that point too, and weren’t happy with having to sit for any amount of time.

We knew that it was a good idea to get the kids to bed early that night, so we only did Spaceship Earth on the way out of Epcot. Julie really enjoyed it. I miss Jeremy Irons.

We went back to the hotel and the kids watched the rest of Wall-E before collapsing in bed. I had a little more energy, so I took the car to Downtown Disney. Unfortunately I didn’t realize that it was a Saturday night and all of Orlando was interested in going to DTD. I rode through the parking lot and drove back to the WL without even getting out of the car. For whatever reason, this really upset me and by the time I got back to the WL I was in tears. I think it was because it was the only night I had by myself and I was wasting it by driving around looking for a parking spot! (Ironic… I should have taken a Disney bus….) But the night was not lost. In fact it turned out okay. I caught the boat to the MK and did some shopping at the Emporium. It was getting close to 10pm and Wishes, so the plan was to finish shopping right before 10 and walk out into the street to see the fireworks. But at about 9:50pm everyone started coming into the stores. It was pouring! I didn’t want to get stuck in the stores (silly me) so I walked outside the stores hoping to get a place to stand by the Plaza Restaurant. I only made it to one of the umbrella tables before it started pouring. Me and 3 other girls stood there and chatted for about 10 minutes while the rain got worse then better. As soon as it let up, I said my goodbyes to my new friends and walked up to the popcorn stand in the hub. I found an unobstructed view under cover and waited for Wishes. It was postponed about 15 minutes. What a beautiful show. I have to admit though – the only place to see it is standing directly on Main Street. I’ve now seen it from about 4 different spots and that is definitely the best one.

After a quick ride on the Haunted Mansion (figured I would do it now as the girls had no intention of doing it again!) I headed back to the hotel on my favorite ride, the WL boat. Whenever I get stressed out here at home, I remember that boat ride and how cool and beautiful it is.

[Mousefever]

(See...don't you feel better now?) I'm glad the girls were pretty happy with their pirate makeovers, given the major mix-up with the BBB reservations! I hate it when frustration overwhelms me at DW. It should be the least frustrating place on earth, right?

Amy

[princessgirls]

Nice evening Kathy! Good for you enjoying some shopping and Wishes!!

Thanks for the great report.

Julie

[mouseketeer mom]

Oh Kathy! Glad your night alone ended happily anyway.

[RedSoxFan]

Sounds like a great day. Glad the girls liked their pirate makeovers. Sounds like fun.

[SBETigg]

I hate crowded parking lots! I'm glad you just went back and saved your evening. Sounds like fun.

[DizNee143]

another good day!!!

[Dsnygirl]

Kathy, it sounded like a really nice day... and the pics of your girls on F'book from their makeovers were priceless!! I'm so glad that worked out so well!

Glad, too, that your night on your own got better after a frustrating start... not fun when everything seems to get in your way. But you fixed it, and that's all that matters!!

Thanks for sharing all your adventures... can't wait for day 8!

PS - the kitchen in Minnie's house is a big hit here, too.... even Dan & I get a kick out of all her signs and memos!!

[faline]

Oh dear! The good thing is that a frustrating evening turned into a happy one!

[vizsla]

Thanks for the report.

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the Report!

[Tigerinvestigator]

Thanks for taking the time to share your trip with us. Glad everything worked out well!

[BluewaterBrad]