DAY 2 (SUN OCT 27): A DAY IN FANTASYLAND
Sleep night before: 7h25m (2h total sleep deficit)
Steps: 22,790 (46,364 total)
Miles: 11.2 (22.9 total)
Weather: 76-89°F (record warm low), 70-90% humidity (heat index ~100°F in afternoon)
Crowd Level: 1 (predicted) 1 (actual)
7:00AM Everyone slept in pretty late. The boys are normally up by 6 (sometimes 5:30), but the late night and the time change did them in. We hurried to get ready and boarded the bus to MK around 7:55, 30m later than I had planned. I had wanted to watch Let the Magic Begin at park opening ( TP adjustment #5 ). We saw the very end of it 2 days later, but at that point I didn’t care as we were sort of “Mickey”-ed out already and just wanted to get on the rides before the crowds showed up.
8:27AM Park entry was quick, only took a few minutes. We did have problems with the boys’ fingerprint scans, so we switched to using ours. Walked down Main Street and under Cinderella Castle with very minimal crowds. I just love this experience. I went to get a DAS return time for Peter Pan’s Flight (PPF) while everyone else made their way over to Under the Sea (Little Mermaid ride). The original plan was to rope drop (RD) Winnie the Pooh, but we had a FP+ to meet Ariel at 8:20, so we decided to punt Pooh for later ( TP adjustment #6 ).
8:37AM Rode Under the Sea. No line at all, stopped a few times in the queue to look at some of the theming. As with IASW, this ride was nice and relaxing. The boys kept saying “LOOK!” and pointing at something (more on IASW, but on this one too). DD1 was captivated by the scenery on all the dark rides, it was amazing to watch her reactions.
8:53 AM Met Ariel in her grotto. We actually didn’t need the FP+ to meet Ariel, which I had suspected, but wanted to be sure we didn’t wait for this. While walking through queue, I tried modifying to something I could use, but nothing available would really fit into our plan. She was the first face character we met, and the boys were extremely shy. They did not want to get close to her. Maybe because she was in mermaid form. She was also the first character we asked for an autograph. I had thought a lot about autographs and wanted to do something unique. I decided on a Christmas ornament. DW and I have a tradition of getting ornaments when we travel to new places, so I thought it was a good fit. The trick was finding an ornament that worked. I’ll post some pictures of the finished product at the end. It turned out beautifully.
9:12AM Used DAS to ride PPF. This ride was good, but everyone agreed it is too short. It feels rushed and too much of the story is left out. It was fun riding in the flying ships though. Afterwards, I booked it over to Seven Dwarves Mine Train (SDMT) to get a DAS return time while everyone else took a potty break at the Rapunzel bathrooms and made their way to Splash Mountain. SDMT was not part of the plan today, but the boys would not stop talking about it after walking by, so I started to think about squeezing it in. We had been watching ride videos on YouTube for a few weeks to prep the boys, and they kept asking when we would ride “Heigh Ho” and Slinky Dog
9:37AM Used a FP+ to ride Splash. I really wanted DW and PP to recreate a photo from DW’s childhood on Splash (see below), so they took DS4 on the ride. While they were riding, DS3 played in the little playground around the corner, on the way to the ride exit, and DD1 napped in the stroller. This playground is pretty minimal, more like a toddler playhouse. It entertained DS3 for about 2 minutes. After that we walked over to the bridge and watched people come down the big drop on Splash. DW was nervous that Splash would traumatize DS4, since it terrified her when she was little. But DS4 was really excited and wanted to ride it. I was also a little nervous about this, because my family forced my younger brother onto a rollercoaster when he was 7 or 8 and it scarred him for years. Well, DS4 LOVED it! He wanted to ride more! So, we were off to SDMT! On the way there I got my popcorn bucket. The original plan was for me to take him on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMR), which we had a FP+ for, as well as see Country Bear Jamboree. But we skipped these in favor of SDMT ( TP adjustment #7&8 ) since DS3 could ride it and he was pumped to ride something like his brother.
10:29AM Used DAS to ride SDMT. Best ride so far. And best ride photo of the trip. So good, I may even frame it. The looks on our faces speak for themselves. After all struggles last year, and the delayed trip, we are finally here having the best time of our lives. I’m so glad we didn’t go last year. DS3 would not have been tall enough to ride this, and we would have been stressed out about his bladder/bowel care, which we were just starting to manage at that time. To me, it was worth the wait just for this experience. As you can tell, both boys loved this ride. Turns out we’ve got two adrenaline junkies in the making. I’m not surprised actually. When he was going through chemo, DS3 was usually covered in bruises (low platelets) because he was constantly diving off the couch or doing some other acrobatic stunt. He is tenacious. I’m terrified of what the teenage years are going to look like…
10:51AM Rode Winnie the Pooh standby (postponed from earlier). The posted wait was like 20 minutes, but with the “interactive” queue, I knew it would be fine. It was. The boys were entertained the entire time. As for the ride itself, everyone enjoyed it as much as IASW and PPF. My favorite part was the heffalumps and woozles. It stirs something in me from my childhood. Not sure if it’s a good or bad memory, but it brings on the nostalgia like no other.
11:10AM We had a reservation at 11:30 at Harmony Barber Shop to get DD1’s first haircut, but DW decided she wasn’t ready to do it yet. I thought it would be unique and fun, and the certificate they give you would make a nice keepsake. But this was not a battle I wanted to fight and agreed to let it go ( TP adjustment #9 ). So instead we rode Mad Tea Party and Prince Charming Carousel (postponed from night before). Both standby with short waits, maybe 10 minutes each . Afterwards, we walked towards Main Street, and watched the MousekeDance It Street Party on the way, around 11:45ish.
12:10PM ADR at Tony’s Town Square Restaurant with parade VIP package. They wouldn’t seat us until everyone was present, which was annoying because DW had taken DS3 to the bathroom, and wasn’t back for 10 minutes. The bathroom was literally 10 feet from the host stand. I think this policy is ridiculous. It wasn’t a big deal though, because we had plenty of time to eat before the parade at 2. While waiting, I got a DAS return time to meet Tinkerbell next door. We had a great lunch. All the food was delicious, and the plates were enormous. We could easily have shared meals. Cannoli for dessert, my favorite. Allergen menu: full printed version provided at table
1:40PM Used FP+ to meet Tinkerbell at Town Square Theater. The boys were more interested in her than Ariel, so maybe it was the mermaid form that threw them off earlier. We had a great interaction, and this was one of my top 5 character meets. After this we headed outside to the VIP area for the parade
2:00PM Watched Festival of Fantasy parade. Big Magical Moment. We got the best spot. I’m not sure why people didn’t fill in this area, the furthest left when facing the castle, but when we arrived there was plenty of room for both strollers and for the adults to sit. It was an amazing view. The VIP package at Tony’s was worth every cent. I was a little disappointed that the characters didn’t interact with us, which I had heard they do for the VIP area. They waved a little bit, but they do that to everyone. Not a big deal though.
2:45PM Boat to WL, downtime in room. I thought that after the late night, and long morning the boys would take a nap. WRONG! When we got back to the room they got a second wind. They were bouncing off the walls with energy. It was frustrating, because I could foresee this happening every day on our trip. Turns out I was right. 8 days without naps… Finally, we gave up trying to rest around 4:30 and we took the kids down to the splash pad to play/swim for about an hour. Then we explored the resort a little bit. WL is so beautiful! PP and the boys found a “cozy spot” that they went to for a little bit each morning/afternoon while we were trying to get things packed and ready for the park. I’m sure PP will cherish that memory for many years.
~7:30PM Put kids to bed, and DW and I went to Territory Lounge for a date night, our first in many months (actually can’t even remember the last one). We had pulled pork sliders and beer with some kind of berry cobbler for dessert. Delicious, good service, pretty sure they share a kitchen with Artist Point next door. High recommend this for a light meal and drinks. Interesting note: as we sat down, I checked availability for Artist Point and there was an 8:00 slot for 2! But we ultimately decided that we lacked the energy and the hunger to fully enjoy the experience. Artist Point dinner is on my short list, so it was a hard decision. It was the right one though.
~8:30PM Back to room, prep for tomorrow, crash
