Disney Vacation - Part 2

Go read part one first.

Tuesday

We got up somewhere between 7:00 and 7:30 and managed to get ourselves and kids ready for the long day. The dining hall serves food that is perfectly consistent with needing to serve several thousand people for each meal. Standard fare. Eggs and potatoes or pancakes and bacon or just fruit and a bagel. Not made to order, but kept reasonably hot in the steam trays and they go through enough so that what you get is palatable.

After breakfast concluded, we began the trip over to the Magic Kingdom where we would spend the first full day. For some reason, we decided to drive over instead of taking the Disney bus. That would be the last time we drove to a park for the week. We passed through the entrance to the complex right at 9:00 AM, flashed the card indicating that the $11 parking fee was already bundled somewhere in our package and followed the throngs to the lot. Parked the car. Got on a tram. Then needed to either get on a monorail or the ferry. Since the monorail line seemed to be several hundred long, we hopped the ferry. Even though we probably would have gotten to the main gate faster the other way, I would rather pass my time sitting on a boat than standing in a ridiculous queue. There would be plenty of opportunities for that later.

It was probably a good 30 minutes between when we got out of the car and finally were able to enter the park. Immediately, β₁ wanted to ride the train. ok. Seemed like a good way to review what was going on that day and figure out what we wanted to do next. Unfortunately, β₀ had evidently worked herself up internally into a frenzy and this was NOT in her plans. We were finally here and she wanted to do something that SHE wanted to do. Right. Now. Full blown pout session. Arms crossed, chin to chest, wouldn't say a word. Code blue. We need 50cc's of princesses, stat. Finally get off the train and head for Mickey's Toon Town. Evidently, there were going to be a group of princesses doing meetings until 11:30. On the far side of the park. When we get there, the line is already an hour long and there is less than an hour until they leave. No dice.

We walked over to Fantasyland, hoping that we could at least get the girls on some rides. Now, Disney has a pretty cool thing called Fast Pass. If there is a long line, you can stick your ticket in a machine and it will spit out what is basically a rain check for the ride. Then, when your hour long time window comes up, you go through a different entrance and skip around 90% of whatever line is there. Good deal. There is about a 30 minute wait for the winnie the pooh ride, but the next Fast Pass window starts in 45 minutes. We grab them and then notice that Pooh and Tigger are signing autographs and taking pictures nearby. No problem. As long as it will take to finally have the girls meet some characters, we'll then be able to get right on the ride. I was really proud of β₀ for waiting so patiently. She finally got to the front of the line and was able to give Pooh and Tigger hugs, have them sign her autograph book (a recurring theme), and get pictures with them. Then there was only a 2 minute wait to get back on the pooh ride. Things were starting to look up.

After the ride, it was time for lunch so off to FrontierLand and the Pecos Bill cafe. Standard burgers/fries/chicken strips fare, but everyone was hungry and we weren't looking for anything gourmet. Just quick. And when I say quick, I mean Disney quick which is about 15 minutes in a food line. After lunch, we found Peter Pan and Wendy at the front of a relatively short line, so we snagged a few more pics and signatures. We could have gotten Captain Hook and Smee also in an even shorter line, but β₀ said they were too ugly and didn't want to see them. We would end up waiting for a half hour for them later in the week. Sigh.

Oh well. Back to Fantasyland for some more little kid friendly rides. Carousel. Check. Teacups. Check. Then ε waited in the 50 minute line with β₁ for the flying Dumbos. Meanwhile, I noticed that the line for Ariel was down from 2 hours to just under 1. We did that and, thankfully, there was a little area there where the kids could run around and play in and around some sprinklers. So while I waited in the line, β₀ went into an hour long wait with me/play in the water loop and then we finally met Ariel. Now, the folks they get to play the characters are usually pretty spot on, but to me, this girl looked like she was earning a little extra scratch out behind Space Mountain $25 at a time if you catch my drift. But β₀ was really happy so who am I to judge?

Eventually, we just started meandering around, caught the show outside of the castle around 4:00 and slowly made our way to Liberty Square dinner at the Liberty Tree Tavern. We had reservations for "Goofy's Liberate Your Appetite Character Dinner". Family style servings of:

DECLARATION SALAD - Tossed Mixed Greens, served with our special Tavern Strawberry Vinaigrette Dressing

PATRIOT'S PLATTER - A generous serving of roasted turkey breast, carved beef, and smoked pork loin, with mashed potatoes, seasonal vegetables, herb bread stuffing, and Stouffer's Macaroni and Cheese.

DESSERTS - Apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream included.

But, they had Minnie, Goofy, Pluto, and Chip & Dale wandering around and stopping at each table for pics and sigs. The food was average at best, and β₁ slept in the booth the whole time, but it was a long day already and I wasn't feeling overly critical. By the time we finished, the sun was down and it was into the 40's which made for a not very pleasant trek back to the car. Got back to the hotel after 9:00 and collapsed.

Next... Day 3, Animal Kingdom