Part 2
Participants:
Chris, 29 years old
Michelle, 27 years old
Ben, 22 months old
Day 2, Saturday December 1, 2001
And you were there, and you, and you…
Ahh…the first morning of waking at WDW. So yesterday wasn't just a wonderful dream.
This morning we had made plans to meet Laura and Anne and Tom at the Fountainview at 10:00 for breakfast. We woke up and got moving and started a morning routine of a trip to the Mara for milk for Ben. A refrigerator in our room would have been awfully convenient this trip. We left the Lodge shortly before 9:30, thinking that would be adequate time to make a 10:00 appointment.
We were wrong. Perhaps before the heightened security measures we would have made it on time, but we got in a line that seemed to move much slower than the ones we had seen at the Magic Kingdom yesterday. Eventually, we made it through, and arrived at the Fountainview at 10:15.
Chocolate for breakfast!!!
I had never eaten at the Fountainview before, and after one look at their beautiful glass counter of yummy things, I could not figure out why this was not a regular stop on my trips. Anne and Tom already had a table, and Laura was in line, but we found each other without a problem, and all congregated on the shady side of the restaurant. I had the chocolate mousse, perhaps the best breakfast of my life, as I don't like traditional breakfast foods. Chris had a bagel, and Ben and I shared a strawberry smoothie, as he was pretty full from the Cheerios he had been snacking on.
While I sat and ate with Anne and Tom and Laura and Renae who had joined us after deciding not to try out for Who Wants to Be A Millionaire? in New York, Chris and Ben ran around the fountain, allowing Ben to get some always needed toddler exercise. All too soon, breakfast was over, and it was time to say good-bye to Anne and Tom who would be leaving the next day. It was hard to have to part company so soon after finally meeting, but such is life. I teared up a bit after they left. Within a few minutes, however, Laura and I realized that we would be seeing Anne the next morning at Jan's Splash Mountain meet, and the emotional goodbye was totally unnecessary this morning!
As a side note…I do not enjoy rides with drops. Hate them. Was traumatized as a child who was forced to ride roller coasters with her family. However, the theming of Splash Mountain always appealed to me. I thought the interior area I had seen many times from the Walt Disney World Railroad looked so neat. Still, I knew I would never ride. And as I told Laura that I, too, would be at Jan's Splash Mountain meet the next morning, I knew in my heart it would only be as a spectator.
Laura and I made plans to meet for Spectromagic that night, and parted ways. I found my guys, and Ben had a fun exchange with one of the people working at the entrance to Ice Station Cool. She played catch with him for a few minutes with a Coca-Cola logo ball. Ben had a great deal of fun.
The first Epcot attraction
We decided to head to the Land. Chris and I both enjoy Living With the Land, and since Ben seemed to be enjoying boats, we thought he might like it to. When we got to the queue, the posted wait time was 15 minutes. We had learned yesterday on the Pooh ride that a 10 minute wait was pushing it, but since it was early in the day, and Ben was not tired, but had had time to run off some energy, we gave it a try.
Ben was EXTREMELY wiggly during this wait, reaffirming our belief that 10 minutes should be our maximum wait limit. When we finally got to the boat, however, Ben loved the ride. He especially seemed to enjoy the greenhouses, which are my favorite part of this ride as well.
OH NO! Disaster strikes the happy vacationers
As we headed back up the stairs from the ride, I double checked with Chris that he had my driver's license. Because I was silly enough to pack clothes without pockets for this trip, Chris had been holding my license and our traveler's checks. I had taken my license with me to the counter at the Fountainview, in case I needed it to use my traveler's check. I then placed it along with the change on the tray with our breakfast. When I reached the table, I saw Chris pick up the change, and assumed he got the license as well. Imagine my horror when we both realized…he hadn't picked it up!
Enter panic mode: All of the traveler's checks are in my name. They won't let me on a plane home without a photo id. What will we do?
We went immediately back to the Fountainview and I asked a girl at the counter if anyone had turned in a driver's license. She said that no one had, but that I could ask Pedro, the custodial worker. I found Pedro, and he confirmed that no one had turned in a license. I explained my situation to him, and showed him which trash can I emptied my tray into, and he told me to wait there, and left with the trash can in tow.
Pedro to the rescue
I waited nervously outside the Fountainview, being dive-bombed every few seconds by scary crumb-seeking birds. I have a strange, but strong, fear of the sound of bird wings flapping, so this was a pretty terrifying experience for me. As the minutes passed, I began to realize how remote the chances of my getting my license really were. From where I was, I could see Chris pushing Ben in his stroller on the sidewalk below, and I could see that Ben had fallen asleep. After what seemed like an eternity, Pedro emerged…holding a little white card. My driver's license!!! I hugged Pedro, I almost kissed him, but had to hold myself back. I would have been in such a mess without my license, but Pedro really saved the day!
A nap and a nosh
I returned to my family and shared the good news with Chris. Since Ben was asleep, we decided to head over to World Showcase. Chris was intrigued to see that what had looked to him like bedsprings from a distance were actually arches of holiday lights. We walked by an amazing instrument. It was a huge set of bells, operated by a keyboard. I can not remember now what the name of this instrument was, but we heard it perform, along with a guitar and drums (I think?) a few times while we were in Epcot.
We stopped at a shady bench just inside the World Showcase. Ben was sound asleep and I wanted to write a few trip notes, so I went into a nearby store and bought a pen. Chris was feeling a bit peckish after only having eaten a bagel today, so as I wrote, he went to the UK to get some fish and chips.
As I was busily writing away, I heard someone say hello, and looked up to see Jan and Mike. They were on their way to the big RADP [rec.arts.disney.parks newsgroup] meet at International Gateway. I told them we'd stop by if Ben woke up in time. It was pretty cool to run into someone I knew at WDW.
Chris returned and heartily enjoyed his fish and chips. I tried a bite, but they didn't do much for me. Shortly after Chris finished eating, Ben woke up, and we were all refreshed and ready to proceed.
Back to touring
We scoped out the nearest restroom for a diaper change, and who should we pass on the way in? Laura and Renae. That was twice in a short amount of time that I had run into someone I knew, I was beginning to feel like a WDW pro. Laura and Renae, too, were on their way to the meet. So, after our leisurely stroll around World Showcase to International Gateway, we dropped by to say hi.
The RADP meet seemed like a big family reunion, and I imagine this must be great fun for those who know everyone in the group. We had a nice time visiting with Jan, Charlotte, Laura and their families. Jan gave Ben an adorable stuffed Zazu, which he loved. Laura pointed out a few people to me, but I'm afraid I just don't read RADP quite enough to recognize many names. This was the most welcoming group, though, as many people greeted us, and treated us as if we were a part of the family. I was not surprised that a group of people who love WDW would be the kind of people who would interact in such a warm, fun way.
Mmmm….bread
After visiting for a few minutes, we realized that it was time for lunch. I think it was approaching 2:00 by now, and I was ready for some real food. We headed back into the park, and as we passed through France, I stopped at the bakery and got a chocolate éclair (for me) and a slice of peach tart (for Chris) to go. We put those in the bottom of the stroller, and continued around to Morocco where we had lunch at the Tangierine Café. I had the vegetarian platter, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Of course, I would enjoy almost any meal that began with warm, crusty bread.
After lunch, we took a Friendship Boat to Canada. Ben was loving each boat ride more and more. On our way out of the park, we rode Spaceship Earth, with no wait. I was worried that Ben would be frightened either by the darkness, or by the backwards descent, but he was very mellow throughout the ride. One little bit of disappointment on this ride, however, just as we were reaching the top of the sphere, the soundtrack skipped, right in the middle of "On this our Spaceship Earth" so all we heard was "On……..rth." A bit of a let down, but out of anyone's control, I suppose. After the ride, we headed back to the Lodge in order to allow our senses to rest before Spectromagic.
We're the perpetually late family
We arrived at the Lodge around 3:30. By now we were ready to eat our pastries, so the three of us shared the two delicious treats. After resting and getting our Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah Tip for Today, we left for the Magic Kingdom around 4:30 in order to meet Laura at 5:00. We didn't arrive until 5:10, though, and I felt so terrible for being late that Ben and I left Chris at the security area, and headed on in through the gates to find Laura.
The curbs were already lined with people, and I didn't see Laura anywhere. Luckily she spotted me and called out. She had secured a prime viewing spot in front of the Emporium, and as no one was behind her yet, there was room for Chris and Ben and I there.
A wonderful surprise
Laura and I had just started chatting about our days, when I happened to turn around, and who should be behind us, but Anne and Tom! They had realized that they had time to do both Spectromagic and Illuminations, so they had contacted Laura to find out where we would be viewing the parade. Chris showed up seconds later and we were all able to chat as we waited for the parade.
This wait was definitely a test of Ben's patience. Chris bought him a Mickey balloon to keep him entertained, the first of our trip. He loved it, but still, by the beginning of the parade he was finished holding still. We experimented with a few different combinations of Ben in Daddy's arms, Ben in Mommy's arms, Ben on Daddy's shoulders, but finally found that Ben standing on the sidewalk where Laura and Anne were sitting worked well. We filled our 2 foot section of sidewalk well, with Tom and Renae sitting on the curb, and Laura and Anne sitting immediately behind them, Ben standing between/beside/behind them, and Chris and I standing or crouching behind Ben.
A little more magic
I still wasn't sure if Ben would make it through the parade, but then he saw a dragonfly and was absolutely enchanted. By the time the second dragonfly float went by, Ben was spinning and dancing just like them in his little spot on the sidewalk. He blew a kiss at the dragonfly who passed nearest him. By now he was loving the parade. He blew kisses at many of the characters, and eagerly pointed out the ones he recognized. By the finale, Ben snuggled up in my lap, and watched in wonder as the floats turned to white lights, and I hugged my little boy very close to me as I felt the Disney magic running through both of us.
After the parade, the park was crowded, but we were hungry, so we decided to brave the crowds in order to get a bite to eat. We strolled past both the Crystal Palace, and Liberty Tree Tavern, knowing full well that they would have long waits. I guess our hunger was effecting our judgment. We settled on Columbia Harbour House. This was the perfect choice, as there was no wait at the counter, and almost no one in the restaurant. Chris and I got the clam chowder in bread bowls, and Ben got the macaroni and cheese. The soup satisfied our hunger, but I definitely won't seek it out again. Here at home, we go to the St. Louis Bread Company where they served soup in wonderful crusty sourdough bowls, and Columbia Harbour House just didn't measure up. The empty restaurant where Ben could be loud more than made up for the mediocre food, however, and we were happy that we made the stop.
A serendipitous discovery
As we were finishing cleaning up after our meal, we heard a strange booming noise. Almost instantly, we realized it must be Fantasy in the Sky. So we headed out to the area where we had watched the fireworks the night before and had a second viewing. Ben enjoyed them even more this time.
After the fireworks, there was no wait at the Haunted Mansion, so we decided to give it a try. Again, I had some reservations about Ben becoming scared, but he had done so well so far, that we gave it a go. We made certain that Popcorn rode with us, and while Ben clutched him extra tight at a couple of points, overall he seemed to enjoy the ride.
We decided to check the line for Pooh, so we headed over to Fantasyland. On the way over, Ben grabbed the string that was attached to his balloon, and pulled the balloon down to his eye level. Then he started giving the balloon hugs and kisses as he said "Mah Mouse, Mah Mouse." It was too cute.
The Winnie the Pooh line greatly exceeded Ben's waiting abilities, so instead we went for another ride on it's a small world. Ben seemed to enjoy this more than yesterday. I think by now he understood that the vehicle you get in after waiting in line takes you to see some neat things.
An unexpectedly fun end to the day
By now it was roughly 8:00, park closing time, so we headed toward Mainstreet. The crowds still seemed enormous, and we knew that many of the swarms of people we saw heading toward the gates in front of us would be waiting for monorails and ferries. We noticed that the bakery was still open, so we popped in and picked up a couple of bottles of water. Our luck would have it that a table in front of the bakery was open, so we had a seat and people watched for a while. It was very apparent which people had commando touring styles, as they looked quite exhausted, and had clearly taken in all of the magic they could handle for one day. Even their children had glazed looks in their eyes. Many families, on the other hand, seemed energetic and were still smiling and pointing out to each other the various details of Mainstreet, USA.
Ben was begging to be allowed out of his stroller, so while Chris watched Ben run around on the little side street, I went to the confectionery. I got a couple of pretzels and a rice krispies treat, so we would have some snacking material for our room at the Lodge. However, Ben was having so much fun running around the little side street area, and laughing hysterically, that we ate the pretzels as we watched him go. The atmosphere was perfect, most of the crowds were gone, but we felt no pressure at all to leave. Around 9:00, they turned on lights which I guess they use for night time maintenance. We took this as our cue to leave, but we were by no means the last people to leave the park. I'd guess that there were still a couple hundred people in the street as we left the park.
Happily we had no wait for the monorail, although there were enough people to fill all of the cars pretty much to capacity. We got our car and headed back to the Lodge. Ben was very sleepy, so we all went to bed a bit on the early side. Once again, I was able to drift off to sleep with the contented, peaceful feeling I so often have at WDW.