Quick Links
Calendar
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
Categories
Archives
XML/RSS Feed
Statistics
Total entries in this blog:
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Aug 05, 2007 08:38 AM
Total entries in this category:
Published On: Aug 05, 2007 08:38 AM
Vacation, Day 7
Disney MGM second visit, Magic Kingdom
third visit
A Park Hopper day, and again, no HV20 for the
day. We arrived at Disney MGM at 10 AM. This was William’s choice for
the day. He wanted to see Indiana Jones, the Lights, Motors, Action show, and
Beauty and the Beast. We first caught the 10:45 AM Beauty and the Beast show.
Then we quickly went to the 11:30 AM showing of Lights, Motors, Action!
We had a bit of a break before the 2 PM showing of Indiana Jones, so we had lunch at Pizza Planet. William wanted to play the video games.
Eventually, I let William play this circus target-shooting game.
After catching the 2 PM Indiana Jones, we viewed the end of Disney MGM’s daily parade as we waited near the entrance to the park around 3 PM (while James had his diaper changed in the baby care center there). We took the bus back to the Grand Floridian for naps and Sugar Loaf’s snacks in our room. Meanwhile, I spent time exploring the resort grounds for pool locker rooms and showers: Our departing flight for 5/30 is for 7:20 PM, with a Magical Express pickup around 4:25 PM. With late-checkout no later than 1 PM, we’d have to spend part of the afternoon in one of the parks, meaning I’d be sweaty and tired for the flight. Concierge staff suggested I could freshen up in the locker room showers near a pool. I found the locker room shower by the Beach Pool, then I returned to the courtyard poolside bar for a strawberry daiquiri before returning to the room.
At 7 PM, we were back at the Magic Kingdom. Our first stop was Toontown, where William agreed to ride the Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm. I’ve been trying to get William onto a kiddie coaster for a long time, but he’s always been so scared. My intention is that he’ll eventually be less scared of the rides, opening up a lot more entertainment possibilities than we currently enjoy. He rode with Hsuan, who reported that he was very scared at first, but once the ride was over, he wasn’t scared and was, in fact, quite proud of himself.
Meanwhile, I took James to Mickey’s house in Toontown, and then we visited Mickey Mouse in the Judge’s Tent for a meet’and’greet. Again, James not only wasn’t scared of Mickey but walked up to Mickey all by himself, while I crouched next to the Photopass photographer and stayed out of the picture. Adorable.
James, near Mickey's garden, with Mickey Mouse shaped pumpkins.
James' first visit, solo, with Mickey Mouse.
After a quick stop by the bathroom, I rode Barnstormer with William. Twice!
Rather than fight the crowds in front of the Castle and in Main Street, we camped out with much fewer people in Liberty Square for the 10 PM Wishes fireworks, and our view of the show was shockingly, stunningly good!
Waiting for the fireworks in Liberty Square.
Our view was surprisingly good.
After the fireworks, we rode Haunted Mansion, which was very close to our viewing area anyway, and there were hardly any people on the ride. We then headed for the exits, hoping that crowds would stay for the 11 PM Spectromagic parade. As we sat near the entrance (James got a diaper change with Hsuan at the restroom), I noticed a steady stream of people apparently attempting to escape the park early, as we were. It looked to me like it would be a toss-up whether there would be long lines at the monorail, before or after the parade.
As the parade got started, I noticed cast members had to start regulating guest traffic out of the park, because their pathway crossed the parade pathway. Therefore, I timed our departure to just a little while before I expected a batch of people to be let through the parade. We ended up catching a boat at 11:15 PM to the Grand Floridian, which ended up being faster and more direct than the monorail. Plus, there were only a handful of people on the boat.
On the boat back to the Grand Floridian.
We had a bit of a break before the 2 PM showing of Indiana Jones, so we had lunch at Pizza Planet. William wanted to play the video games.
Eventually, I let William play this circus target-shooting game.
After catching the 2 PM Indiana Jones, we viewed the end of Disney MGM’s daily parade as we waited near the entrance to the park around 3 PM (while James had his diaper changed in the baby care center there). We took the bus back to the Grand Floridian for naps and Sugar Loaf’s snacks in our room. Meanwhile, I spent time exploring the resort grounds for pool locker rooms and showers: Our departing flight for 5/30 is for 7:20 PM, with a Magical Express pickup around 4:25 PM. With late-checkout no later than 1 PM, we’d have to spend part of the afternoon in one of the parks, meaning I’d be sweaty and tired for the flight. Concierge staff suggested I could freshen up in the locker room showers near a pool. I found the locker room shower by the Beach Pool, then I returned to the courtyard poolside bar for a strawberry daiquiri before returning to the room.
At 7 PM, we were back at the Magic Kingdom. Our first stop was Toontown, where William agreed to ride the Barnstormer at Goofy’s Wiseacre Farm. I’ve been trying to get William onto a kiddie coaster for a long time, but he’s always been so scared. My intention is that he’ll eventually be less scared of the rides, opening up a lot more entertainment possibilities than we currently enjoy. He rode with Hsuan, who reported that he was very scared at first, but once the ride was over, he wasn’t scared and was, in fact, quite proud of himself.
Meanwhile, I took James to Mickey’s house in Toontown, and then we visited Mickey Mouse in the Judge’s Tent for a meet’and’greet. Again, James not only wasn’t scared of Mickey but walked up to Mickey all by himself, while I crouched next to the Photopass photographer and stayed out of the picture. Adorable.
James, near Mickey's garden, with Mickey Mouse shaped pumpkins.
James' first visit, solo, with Mickey Mouse.
After a quick stop by the bathroom, I rode Barnstormer with William. Twice!
Rather than fight the crowds in front of the Castle and in Main Street, we camped out with much fewer people in Liberty Square for the 10 PM Wishes fireworks, and our view of the show was shockingly, stunningly good!
Waiting for the fireworks in Liberty Square.
Our view was surprisingly good.
After the fireworks, we rode Haunted Mansion, which was very close to our viewing area anyway, and there were hardly any people on the ride. We then headed for the exits, hoping that crowds would stay for the 11 PM Spectromagic parade. As we sat near the entrance (James got a diaper change with Hsuan at the restroom), I noticed a steady stream of people apparently attempting to escape the park early, as we were. It looked to me like it would be a toss-up whether there would be long lines at the monorail, before or after the parade.
As the parade got started, I noticed cast members had to start regulating guest traffic out of the park, because their pathway crossed the parade pathway. Therefore, I timed our departure to just a little while before I expected a batch of people to be let through the parade. We ended up catching a boat at 11:15 PM to the Grand Floridian, which ended up being faster and more direct than the monorail. Plus, there were only a handful of people on the boat.
On the boat back to the Grand Floridian.
Posted: Tue - May 29, 2007 at 10:34 PM