buzznwoodysmom
01-16-2012, 03:28 PM
Cast:
Me -Denise 34
DH -Kevin 38
DS -Collin 11
DS -Landon 9
Day 2
Tuesday, December 21
I am trying to think of what we did each day before I start the report, but everything seems so fuzzy now. I’ll do my best to remember.
Today we visited MK. We had hoppers and had every intention of using them, but we pretty much stayed in the park we started in each day. We got to MK a bit after 9, even though the park opened early today, 8am I think. I think DH ran for FP for Space Mountain while the rest of us headed to Adventureland. I don’t really remember the order in which we did things, but I know we did the new Tiki Room, which I thought was just OK, I didn’t like the other one better, I think both are just OK. I know we did Pirates, got FP for Big Thunder Mountain. I know we split up for a bit, DH and Collin heading in one direction, while Landon and I in another. What we did during that time I don’t really remember. All I remember was meeting back up and DH saying he had a text from our bank about some CC fraud. We went to the first aid station so we could have a bit of quiet while trying to contact our bank. Turned out it was a charge from the Hard Rock Hotel. It was a charge that wasn’t supposed to go through. We had “borrowed” a Fender Guitar to have in our room for Collin to play while we were at the resort. They put a $1000 hold on a CC until the guitar is returned. The charge isn’t supposed to go through, but it did and we spent a good deal of time contacting the resort to get it taken off. In the end everything was well, but it took some time and got me a bit nervous.
When that was taken care of we decided to have lunch and since we were right by Casey’s that’s what we had. For the first time ever we ate outside. What a great spot for lunch. The weather was absolutely beautiful, lunch was great, and what a wonderful way to have lunch with the castle in the background.
After lunch I think we used our FPs on Space Mountain and Big Thunder. I know at some point we browsed the shops along Main Street, did Philharmagic, Haunted Mansion (we loved the new queue), Buzz, Stitch, People Mover (several times), COP, Tom Sawyer Island (I think this is one of my kids’ favorite attractions even after all these years). I know at some point we got Mickey Ice Cream bars and Dole Whip floats. We missed the parade. Today I almost felt like I was walking around in a daze. I paid no attention to time, hence missing the parade, and even though we did a good bit, I felt like we didn’t do as much as we normally do. We did enjoy our day and it was great to just “roam freely” without feeling pressure to do and see everything. The crowds were actually pretty light, and the park felt especially quiet today. We didn't wait more than 20 minutes for any attraction, and even those attractions with 20 minutes or longer wait times posted the wait was always much shorter. DH commented more than once at how quiet everything seemed. I kept saying it was the “calm before the storm”. LOL.
Dinner was at Liberty Tree Tavern. We dined here years ago on a trip without DH so it was a first for him. The food was even better than I remembered. Everything was fresh and well prepared. The dessert was almost as good as Ohana’s dessert. During dinner Landon stated that he was “so tired I’m gonna sleep right here”. As dinner went on we realized that we were all feeling tired and really just wanted to go back to the room and call it a night.
We slowly made our way out of the park, stopping in the shops, and just taking in the lights on the castle. By the time we were exiting I think we may have had a second wind and we decided to hop the monorail instead of taking a bus or the boat back to WL. We got off at the Contemporary and shopped a bit. I love the shops here. We looked at the decorations and just enjoyed the continued slow pace of our day. On the way out the boys spotted a movie playing outside. My kids are suckers for this kind of thing. They seem to gravitate towards these kinds of things. We stayed and watched the movie for a while, then DH and I quietly coaxed the boys away.
When we arrived at the boat dock at the Contemporary Peter Pan was entertaining the crowd that was waiting. After some fun with Pan the pirate adventure cruise showed up. We’ve never done this before, but it looked like lots of fun. We hoped on the boat and were back at WL quickly.
I think we watched the water parade from the beach. We rested our feet by “our” fireplace in “our” living room then called it a night and were fast asleep in record time!
Even though I felt we didn’t do much today it felt good to just go with the flow. I could tell early on that my family, the kids especially, seemed a bit burned out with the parks. Not just on this day or this trip, in general they are kind of tired of the parks. At many of the attractions my kids were like “we don’t care if we ride that”. Which is fine by me, but I noticed it a lot on this trip at all the parks. My family was just as content, if not more so, at the resorts and when doing non park activities. I remember thinking more than once today that I think it’s time for an extended break from WDW. We’ve been going every 9 months, sometimes sooner, for the past several years. I’ve said for a while that we need a longer break between trips, and we never do it. However, after just one day in the parks I knew this was going to be our last trip for a while. We need at least 12 months, maybe more, between this trip and our next. And I’m not sad at all about it, I think of how exciting it will be when we go back after a longer than normal break!
Me -Denise 34
DH -Kevin 38
DS -Collin 11
DS -Landon 9
Day 2
Tuesday, December 21
I am trying to think of what we did each day before I start the report, but everything seems so fuzzy now. I’ll do my best to remember.
Today we visited MK. We had hoppers and had every intention of using them, but we pretty much stayed in the park we started in each day. We got to MK a bit after 9, even though the park opened early today, 8am I think. I think DH ran for FP for Space Mountain while the rest of us headed to Adventureland. I don’t really remember the order in which we did things, but I know we did the new Tiki Room, which I thought was just OK, I didn’t like the other one better, I think both are just OK. I know we did Pirates, got FP for Big Thunder Mountain. I know we split up for a bit, DH and Collin heading in one direction, while Landon and I in another. What we did during that time I don’t really remember. All I remember was meeting back up and DH saying he had a text from our bank about some CC fraud. We went to the first aid station so we could have a bit of quiet while trying to contact our bank. Turned out it was a charge from the Hard Rock Hotel. It was a charge that wasn’t supposed to go through. We had “borrowed” a Fender Guitar to have in our room for Collin to play while we were at the resort. They put a $1000 hold on a CC until the guitar is returned. The charge isn’t supposed to go through, but it did and we spent a good deal of time contacting the resort to get it taken off. In the end everything was well, but it took some time and got me a bit nervous.
When that was taken care of we decided to have lunch and since we were right by Casey’s that’s what we had. For the first time ever we ate outside. What a great spot for lunch. The weather was absolutely beautiful, lunch was great, and what a wonderful way to have lunch with the castle in the background.
After lunch I think we used our FPs on Space Mountain and Big Thunder. I know at some point we browsed the shops along Main Street, did Philharmagic, Haunted Mansion (we loved the new queue), Buzz, Stitch, People Mover (several times), COP, Tom Sawyer Island (I think this is one of my kids’ favorite attractions even after all these years). I know at some point we got Mickey Ice Cream bars and Dole Whip floats. We missed the parade. Today I almost felt like I was walking around in a daze. I paid no attention to time, hence missing the parade, and even though we did a good bit, I felt like we didn’t do as much as we normally do. We did enjoy our day and it was great to just “roam freely” without feeling pressure to do and see everything. The crowds were actually pretty light, and the park felt especially quiet today. We didn't wait more than 20 minutes for any attraction, and even those attractions with 20 minutes or longer wait times posted the wait was always much shorter. DH commented more than once at how quiet everything seemed. I kept saying it was the “calm before the storm”. LOL.
Dinner was at Liberty Tree Tavern. We dined here years ago on a trip without DH so it was a first for him. The food was even better than I remembered. Everything was fresh and well prepared. The dessert was almost as good as Ohana’s dessert. During dinner Landon stated that he was “so tired I’m gonna sleep right here”. As dinner went on we realized that we were all feeling tired and really just wanted to go back to the room and call it a night.
We slowly made our way out of the park, stopping in the shops, and just taking in the lights on the castle. By the time we were exiting I think we may have had a second wind and we decided to hop the monorail instead of taking a bus or the boat back to WL. We got off at the Contemporary and shopped a bit. I love the shops here. We looked at the decorations and just enjoyed the continued slow pace of our day. On the way out the boys spotted a movie playing outside. My kids are suckers for this kind of thing. They seem to gravitate towards these kinds of things. We stayed and watched the movie for a while, then DH and I quietly coaxed the boys away.
When we arrived at the boat dock at the Contemporary Peter Pan was entertaining the crowd that was waiting. After some fun with Pan the pirate adventure cruise showed up. We’ve never done this before, but it looked like lots of fun. We hoped on the boat and were back at WL quickly.
I think we watched the water parade from the beach. We rested our feet by “our” fireplace in “our” living room then called it a night and were fast asleep in record time!
Even though I felt we didn’t do much today it felt good to just go with the flow. I could tell early on that my family, the kids especially, seemed a bit burned out with the parks. Not just on this day or this trip, in general they are kind of tired of the parks. At many of the attractions my kids were like “we don’t care if we ride that”. Which is fine by me, but I noticed it a lot on this trip at all the parks. My family was just as content, if not more so, at the resorts and when doing non park activities. I remember thinking more than once today that I think it’s time for an extended break from WDW. We’ve been going every 9 months, sometimes sooner, for the past several years. I’ve said for a while that we need a longer break between trips, and we never do it. However, after just one day in the parks I knew this was going to be our last trip for a while. We need at least 12 months, maybe more, between this trip and our next. And I’m not sad at all about it, I think of how exciting it will be when we go back after a longer than normal break!