After two non-stop days, Mom and I decided to sleep in and get a late start. It was a nice change of pace after two days of being up and at Parks before the rope dropped. And of course the Boardwalk Bakery muffin we picked up the night before was a nice addition to our yogurt parfaits.
I lazed about while Mom got ready and then she went and checked out the hotel and spa while I got ready. All in all, a very relaxing way to start the day. It was just what my tired feet needed - time propped up on a Heavenly Bed.
We left the room about 11:30 a.m. to catch the bus to the Magic Kingdom. It didn’t take long to arrive at the Swan but it was almost full when it arrived. I never really figured out the bus routes for the Epcot hotels since the buses we took never repeated the same pattern. I guess that just means I will have to return to investigate further. My curious mind needs to know!!!!
Since the bus was crowded, Mom and I were relegated to standing in between all the strollers crowding the aisle. I don’t know what the solution to the stroller/bus crowding problem is but I do know that strollers are cumbersome and aren’t fun for the stroller holder or the stroller neighbor.
Okay, so we are on the bus on the way to the Magic Kingdom and we’re standing next to this large Italian looking family that based upon their accents were probably from the New York area. From my perspective, it looked like a Mom and Dad had taken two of their adult daughters with their husbands and all of their children. But apparently one daughter and her family were not able to attend the family trip to Disney World.
As it turns out one of the son-in-laws was talking (loudly) with the patriarch of the family about one of the other son-in-laws and all of his business dealings. It seems that the SIL in attendance did not think that the absent SIL would be able to afford his mortgage payment since he over paid for the house and that the boat that was just purchased was stepping way above his means. I ended up knowing more about this family and their finances than I know about my own affairs. I don’t really understand why people need to discuss these types of things loudly amongst total strangers. It wasn’t like any of us were impressed or even cared. A little discretion goes a long way. This was definitely under the category of TMI - too much information.
We arrived at the Magic Kingdom at noon, so there were no lines at the security bag check. And the park didn’t seem all that crowded. Once again the Crowd Calendar at www.touringplans.com was correct and Saturday is a good day for visiting the Magic Kingdom.
As we walked through Town Square we saw Jiminy Cricket and had to snap a few pictures.
Of course our pin shopping wasn’t over so we stopped in at Uptown Jewelers to see if there were any pins we hadn’t seen yet. And actually we found a few we just couldn’t live without. But is our pin shopping over? Hmmmm, you can never be sure.
We had missed Adventureland earlier in our trip so we started our tour there. Don’t you just love the tropical drum music as you pass over the bridge - it just makes want to stop and do the hula. (Thankfully for the other guests I have not done any hulas - but you never know when I might.)
We didn’t really have any plans as we walked through Adventureland but when we saw that The Enchanted Tiki Room was just starting we took the opportunity to indulge ourselves. I know there is a lot of debate about the merits of the new version of the Tiki Room versus the original version but I enjoy the new version. It still has the charm of the original version but has the named characters that younger generations can relate to. And besides, it is a good way to get out of the sun for a few minutes. Besides, who doesn’t love a chanting tiki god amongst singing flowers.
Argggghhh! Of course Flat Brody wanted to see Pirates of the Carribean but we only took a picture this trip. Flat Brody will have to wait a few more days to see all of the pirate booty.
As we entered Frontierland, we caught the tale end of Woody’s Round Up.
We didn’t catch any of the performance but it looked it would have been cute. Maybe we will be lucky enough to catch it on our next visit.
Mom had never been to Tom Sawyer Island so we decided to check it off the list and take the raft over to explore. It always seems to be a classic Magic Kingdom thing to do since it has been around so long and often overlooked by those thrill seeking park guests. I had forgotten that the raft drivers really have to pilot the rafts - there is no ride track. Which made me wonder where the life jackets were? Does the Coast Guard check up on the Rivers of America vessels? My inquiring mind needs to know.
Flat Brody on the raft to Tom Sawyer Island.
Although only about 1 o’clock, I told Mom about the hidden paint brushes just in case we were lucky enough to spot one. You never know - there could have been one that was missed. But there weren’t any missed paint brushes this time.
We explored Fort Langhorn first and even shot the rifles from the turrets. You really need to be nimble though because some of the stairs wells were really tight and steep. After fighting off the "Injuns", we took a break to watch the action on the Rivers of America.
Flat Brody waving from Tom Sawyer Island to the passing Ferry Boat.
Flat Brody wishing he was riding on Big Thunder Mountain.
We then ventured on to explore the caves. I forgot how small those caves are. If you are the least bit claustrophobic you should avoid them at all costs because they are tight and narrow. I am getting a little panicky just thinking about it.
Mom and I also had a good time on the barrel bridge but I think we had a bit too much fun since our shoes got a little wet. I am glad I had on my quick drying Crocs. I don’t ever recall getting my feet wet before. Hmmmm. But since our feet were wet, we took the time to sit in a rocking chair at Aunt Polly’s to air dry our toesies. It is a great spot to sit and get a good glimpse of the river boats and a unique view of The Haunted Mansion.
After making the return raft trip we moseyed over to Liberty Square to get some American history at the Hall of Presidents. Alas, our timing was off since the doors to the theater had just closed as we walked up. But it was getting sort of late, so we decided to go to one of our favorite restaurants in Disney World, the Columbia Harbour House. Mmmmm, if I close my eyes I can taste the french fries right now.
Since it was a later lunch the lines to order weren’t very long but I had Mom go stake our our table. There were plenty of tables but I love the tables upstairs that overlook Fantasyland. Since there are only a couple of them you have to have your lucky panties on to get one. But today I must have had them on because when I walked upstairs with our food Mom was sitting at "my" table. I did a little inner dance of joy - since I was carrying a tray of food and drinks I thought it best to not dance with abandon.
Unfortunately, I didn’t take any pictures of our food. But I had the Chicken Breast Nuggets and Mom had the kid’s Garden Salad with Chicken. (I shared my fries with Mom.) I do have to say that I prefer the Chicken Strips better than the Nuggets - I like more chicken than breading. What can I say, I like to save room for the french fries.
After enjoying our lunch at our favorite restaurant at our favorite table, we ventured back to The Hall of Presidents. We still had our lucky panties on because we caught the very next show.
Flat Brody feeling presidential at the Hall of Presidents
I know some people don’t like The Hall of Presidents or just use it to go to take a nap but I find it very interesting and patriotic. I love history so it fills a need for me. I suppose most children are probably bored out of my mind when they get dragged into The Hall of Presidents but I recall always loving it as a child. And who doesn’t love an opportunity to buy a bunch of presidential pencils and dolls at the end of the show.
We ventured to Fantasyland next but still didn’t ride "it’s a small world". Not sure why we skipped over it because it is a ride that makes me happy. Call me crazy but I could be stuck on it for hours and still enjoy singing along. I know - call me crazy!!!
But we stopped in at Mickey’s PhilharMagic which was basically a walk on - guess our lucky panties were still working. Seeing PhilharMagic always makes me want to get out all of my Disney movies and watch them again - but they are all on VHS and I don’t even have a VCR hooked up anymore. I might have to invest in some Disney DVD’s - it would certainly be easier than trying to work a VCR.
After dutifully returning our 3-D glasses , we stopped in at Tinker Bell’s Treasures to browse all the cute and pretty girly stuff - every once in a while you have to satisfy the girly girl in you or she will explode. As we left the shop we ran in to Cinderella’s Step Sisters.
Of course we couldn’t be in the Magic Kingdom and not try our hands at Buzz again. Besides I had to regain the Mom and Me Buzz Champion title back from Mom after her win earlier in the trip. But when we arrived at Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin there was a 40 minute wait posted so we got Fastpasses with a return time at 3:05 p.m.
Since we had some time to kill we thought we would take another trip on the People Mover (a.k.a. Tomorrowland Transit Authority). So we walked over but there was a Cast Member roping off the escalator to the platform. It was broken!!!! UGH!!!! Thankfully Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress was right there or we might have had to resort to seeing Stitch’s Great Escape! - and that would have been tragic.
Carousel of Progress was as it usually is - outdated in the modern scene and charming as always with everything else. I love seeing all of the old kitchens. Mom felt very nostalgic to see the kitchen from the 50's.
Afterwards we still had a few minutes to burn before our Fastpass time for our Buzz Lightyear rematch so we decided to sit down in the Galaxy Palace Theater and listen to a high school choir that was singing The Lion King songs. They were very good and a very large choir. I can’t really remember where they were from though, since we missed their introduction. I felt bad for them though because the theater was practically empty and it was obvious they had worked very hard on their songs - and probably had a lot of carwashes to pay for the trip. At least they can always say they performed at Walt Disney World.
On our way to Buzz, Flat Brody decided to stalk the Tomorrowland ducks.
Although an upland bird dog and not a water fowl dog, Real Brody does like to point at any bird given the chance so I though I would indulge Flat Brody since I was missing Real Brody at this point in the trip.We made it on to Buzz in no time flat with our trusty Fastpasses. And I am happy to report I am the reigning Mom and Me Buzz Champion once again. But I will say that Mom’s laser gun wasn’t working properly because she only scored 2700 points - which is was too low for even Mom on a bad day. I am sure a rematch will be called for later this week.
It was getting to be early evening so we decided to make our way out of the Magic Kingdom. But before we got out of the Park we were approached by one of the survey taker people. In all of my trips to Disney World (and I have lost count of my trips) I have never been asked to do one of the surveys, so of course I said yes. She ushered us to this little area of City Hall with a few laptops where I sat down and answered some questions about my dining experience in the Park that day. Overall I rated our meal as very good but did suggest that paying over $2 for a fountain soft drink was too much. And I also said they should bring back the chicken strips and the Monte Cristo sandwich. I miss that sandwich!!!!! I was the one thing I looked forward to eating at Disney World when I was a child. ***sigh*** Sometimes change just sucks.
Since we weren’t going back to our hotel but instead going to MGM we decided to take the Ferry Boat to the TTC. After many trips on the Ferry Boats when leaving the Magic Kingdom I have decided that if you see the Ferry Boat at the dock then you don’t need to rush because you won’t make it. Instead you should only rush to the loading dock if you see the Ferry Boat approaching the dock. (Those are my words of wisdom for the day.)
Flat Brody anticipating his first Ferry Boat ride.
Next Installment - Our Final Dining Decisions
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