Mom to a Princess and a Prince
06-01-2007, 02:10 PM
Cast: Me - Amy, Disney fanatic and planner, 38
DH - Gene, willing participant, 40
DD - Sam, totally hooked, 6
DS - Chris, huge Pirate fan, 4
Monday morning I made sure to wake Sam for the daily trek to the food court for morning beverages. I wanted to avoid any cranky starts since we had a very busy day ahead of us! Chris came with us too, which did not make Sam happy, but I again promised her a Mommy/Daughter breakfast the next day. After getting our liquid kick starts, we got ready for our ADR at 1900 Park Fare. We met my sister and her fiance and took the bus to MK and the boat to the Grand Floridian. What a nice ride! And that hotel sure is gorgeous! Of course, when my kids made themselves comfy on the sofas in the lobby, I was reminded why we don't stay at deluxes. I felt like I was at home reminding them to keep their feet off of the furniture! After about 10 minutes we were seated. We had a very nice server and our breakfast was delicious. They really do offer a great variety. Sam ate her share of bacon and cheerios and Chris filled himself on the yummy Mickey waffles. I don't know why but the waffles were extra good here. We all enjoyed them! The character experience here was fantastic. We waited a little while for the visits, but they were great because they weren't rushed and there were breaks in between characters so we were able to enjoy breakfast. We first met Tigger - what a cutie! He bounced with the kids and posed for pictures and gave autographs. And then Pooh came to see us. I must say, my son's reaction brought tears to my eyes. I think he would have hugged Pooh's stuffing out if he could have! It was just so darn cute. And Pooh loved it and hugged right back! Sam was a little more shy than Chris, but we got an awesome picture of the 3 of them. I really think the characters provide the greatest memories! Then we saw Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter coming. Chris announced that he would only have his picture taken with the Mad Hatter. He wanted nothing to do with Alice, which was odd because he was really excited to meet her since they learned about her in his pre-school class. Funny, he reacted the same way to the face characters last year. Anyway, Alice tried her hardest to coax Chris into a picture, but with him hiding under the table, it just wasn't to be. So just Sam posed with Alice and the Hatter. When we were leaving, we passed Alice again and she called to Chris and waved, but he ran away as fast as he could and just stared from afar. I swear he is going to be a heart breaker! We met Mary Poppins out in the lobby, but again, we just got a picture of her with Sam. Thankfully one of my kids loves to pose!
After our wonderful breakfast, we rode the monorail to Epcot. We took some pictures in front of the amazing pirate ship topiary with Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Then we tried to get Soarin' fast passes but the return time was for 5:00 and we would be at MGM by then. So we headed to the seas with Nemo. What a cute ride. It was pretty cool seeing Nemo and friends swimming in the huge aquariums! After that, my sister and her bf left us to wander around the countries while we explored the Seas and visited with Crush. That is such a great show. My kids just love it. I can't wait for the day when Crush talks to them! After that we just wandered around for a bit then headed back to the hotel for naps since we would be at MGM for Fantasmic that night. After naps for all of us, we met my sister for good byes and headed to MGM. We went straight to Hollywood and Vine for dinner. The dinner was good but honestly, I don't know that we will do this one again unless we are there during a busier time and want to do the Fantasmic dinner package. My kids and I are very picky eaters and there just wasn't much for us. At least Gene was happy with his choices! The kids got fancy drinks - a blinking cherry Sprite for Sam and a strawberry smoothie for Chris since this was the meal that would be reimbursed by Disney to make up for our luggage being 7 hours late with Magical Express. They loved them and so did I! After dinner, we walked around a bit and went to the playground for awhile before heading to the Fantasmic show. I had found Disney dry erase boards at the dollar store at home and surprised the kids with them while we were waiting for the show. We passed the time by playing hangman and drawing Disney characters and before we knew it, it was show time. I just love this amazing show. I sat next to a woman who said she has been to Disney 11 times, but had never seen the show. When it was over, I asked her what she thought and she said she loved it and was so happy she stayed for it. I totally agree with her! After the show, we joined the masses and headed for the busses. The lines for the All Stars were crazy so we found a bench and just waited. And waited. And waited. In hindsight, we probably should have just stood in line and gotten on a bus sooner, but it was late and the kids were tired and standing in a long line is not the greatest thing for tired cranky kids! So after about 4 buses left for Sports, we got in line and finally got on a bus. The kids were both asleep in no time and neither woke up until the next morning.
Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom
DH - Gene, willing participant, 40
DD - Sam, totally hooked, 6
DS - Chris, huge Pirate fan, 4
Monday morning I made sure to wake Sam for the daily trek to the food court for morning beverages. I wanted to avoid any cranky starts since we had a very busy day ahead of us! Chris came with us too, which did not make Sam happy, but I again promised her a Mommy/Daughter breakfast the next day. After getting our liquid kick starts, we got ready for our ADR at 1900 Park Fare. We met my sister and her fiance and took the bus to MK and the boat to the Grand Floridian. What a nice ride! And that hotel sure is gorgeous! Of course, when my kids made themselves comfy on the sofas in the lobby, I was reminded why we don't stay at deluxes. I felt like I was at home reminding them to keep their feet off of the furniture! After about 10 minutes we were seated. We had a very nice server and our breakfast was delicious. They really do offer a great variety. Sam ate her share of bacon and cheerios and Chris filled himself on the yummy Mickey waffles. I don't know why but the waffles were extra good here. We all enjoyed them! The character experience here was fantastic. We waited a little while for the visits, but they were great because they weren't rushed and there were breaks in between characters so we were able to enjoy breakfast. We first met Tigger - what a cutie! He bounced with the kids and posed for pictures and gave autographs. And then Pooh came to see us. I must say, my son's reaction brought tears to my eyes. I think he would have hugged Pooh's stuffing out if he could have! It was just so darn cute. And Pooh loved it and hugged right back! Sam was a little more shy than Chris, but we got an awesome picture of the 3 of them. I really think the characters provide the greatest memories! Then we saw Alice in Wonderland and the Mad Hatter coming. Chris announced that he would only have his picture taken with the Mad Hatter. He wanted nothing to do with Alice, which was odd because he was really excited to meet her since they learned about her in his pre-school class. Funny, he reacted the same way to the face characters last year. Anyway, Alice tried her hardest to coax Chris into a picture, but with him hiding under the table, it just wasn't to be. So just Sam posed with Alice and the Hatter. When we were leaving, we passed Alice again and she called to Chris and waved, but he ran away as fast as he could and just stared from afar. I swear he is going to be a heart breaker! We met Mary Poppins out in the lobby, but again, we just got a picture of her with Sam. Thankfully one of my kids loves to pose!
After our wonderful breakfast, we rode the monorail to Epcot. We took some pictures in front of the amazing pirate ship topiary with Peter Pan and Captain Hook. Then we tried to get Soarin' fast passes but the return time was for 5:00 and we would be at MGM by then. So we headed to the seas with Nemo. What a cute ride. It was pretty cool seeing Nemo and friends swimming in the huge aquariums! After that, my sister and her bf left us to wander around the countries while we explored the Seas and visited with Crush. That is such a great show. My kids just love it. I can't wait for the day when Crush talks to them! After that we just wandered around for a bit then headed back to the hotel for naps since we would be at MGM for Fantasmic that night. After naps for all of us, we met my sister for good byes and headed to MGM. We went straight to Hollywood and Vine for dinner. The dinner was good but honestly, I don't know that we will do this one again unless we are there during a busier time and want to do the Fantasmic dinner package. My kids and I are very picky eaters and there just wasn't much for us. At least Gene was happy with his choices! The kids got fancy drinks - a blinking cherry Sprite for Sam and a strawberry smoothie for Chris since this was the meal that would be reimbursed by Disney to make up for our luggage being 7 hours late with Magical Express. They loved them and so did I! After dinner, we walked around a bit and went to the playground for awhile before heading to the Fantasmic show. I had found Disney dry erase boards at the dollar store at home and surprised the kids with them while we were waiting for the show. We passed the time by playing hangman and drawing Disney characters and before we knew it, it was show time. I just love this amazing show. I sat next to a woman who said she has been to Disney 11 times, but had never seen the show. When it was over, I asked her what she thought and she said she loved it and was so happy she stayed for it. I totally agree with her! After the show, we joined the masses and headed for the busses. The lines for the All Stars were crazy so we found a bench and just waited. And waited. And waited. In hindsight, we probably should have just stood in line and gotten on a bus sooner, but it was late and the kids were tired and standing in a long line is not the greatest thing for tired cranky kids! So after about 4 buses left for Sports, we got in line and finally got on a bus. The kids were both asleep in no time and neither woke up until the next morning.
Tomorrow: Magic Kingdom