Disney Summary

I haven't had a chance to post about Disney. Probably because a) one of the main readers was on the trip with us (Mom) and she KNOWS already; and b) we've been trying to get schoolwork done and ready for Christmas.

But, I thought I'd post a little summary.

Tuesday, Nov 27
We got up early and took an early flight to Orlando. Luckily, Mom and Dad's flight was only 20 minutes later, so we waited for them and took the Magical Express bus to the Pop Century. It was nice because we were the first stop, so I think it was only a 20-25 minute drive!

Check-in was pretty quick; and they had the box of diapers and other items that I had shipped down. We ate some lunch and then threw our carryons in the room, our luggage arrived and the kids changed to shorts, and we headed to Magic Kingdom.

We managed to walk in right as the parade was starting, and we had a good view, so we saw the parade. The kids ran off with Mike to Space Mountain, of course!! We were able to ride a few rides with the kids before heading over to 1900 Park Faire for dinner. We took the boat over to the Grand Floridian. The dock master gave "trading cards" to the kids and told them about the 18 trading cards that they different transporations have (bus, boat, and monorail), so they spent the rest of the trip collecting them!



We were also excited to see the great Christmas decorations and the life-sized gingerbread house!

Dinner was nice. I was afraid that we wouldn't like the evil stepsisters but I think a better description is "the sarcastic, comedic step sisters" because they were great. They were very engaging and funny - we almost liked them better than Cinderella. This one asked Samantha while she was at the buffet if her brother was married!! :) Loved the food.










Wednesday, Nov 28th

We headed off to Magic Kingdom today. Two objectives I had on this trip were to a) see the opening show on the train platform; and b) be at the opening of Toontown at 10am. We accomplished both of these today. The opening show is cute - the Main Street singers come out and sing and then Mickey and his friends come around on the train to open the park. Its a great way to really get into the Disney spirit.

We headed to Fantasyland, our typical first stop. Emma loves to ride rides as much as her brother and sister, so there was no keeping her off rides. And, she wants to be in control - you don't get to drive when you ride with her.



After spending a day riding rides with Emma taking a nap after lunch (which she did EVERY DAY on this trip - thankfully), we went to Liberty Tree Tavern for dinner. We have been there for lunch before, but never for dinner. They serve dinner family style, and you get visited by Minnie Mouse, Pluto, Goofy, Chip and Dale. Emma was doing great with the characters, was loving hugging them and kissing them. But, she was dawdling and NOT eating her dinner. So, after one of the characters left the table, I (innocently) said that she needed to eat quickly so she could be done before Pluto got there or Pluto would eat her food! Boy, what a backfire!




After dinner, we headed out to get our places for SpectroMagic and the Fireworks. Mike and the kids headed off to get in a couple of roller-coaster rides before then, planning to take the train around the main street in time for the parade. I think my favorite "Christmas" decoration Disney did this year was the castle. They have lit the castle with a bunch of "icicle" type lights. They have a little ceremony to light the castle and then it stays lit until the fireworks. It is truely breathtaking - photos just don't do it justice, but here are a couple anyway.







Next post: Epcot and a return to Magic Kingdom