Three Giant Children

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Disneyworld 2012 - Day 3

Magic Kingdom day. Nice early start as always. We headed to the Magic Kingdom for a day of fun and frolic. This park is the furthest off so we headed out at 8:15 and made it there in good time of the 9 AM open. Immediate jaunt to Frontier Land for Big Thunder and Splash Mountains. Kate loved both, Drew like Splash more than Big Thunder (we'll come back to that), and Ben did really well for his first big kid coaster action. He basically screamed the whole time since he thought that was a necessary thing to do.

Side note: Kids, as you read this blog in 10 years or more, you need to realize that mom and dad pretty much dominate Disneyworld with awesome timing, Fast Pass usage, and maneuvering through crowds. There can't be many families that hit everything as quickly and easily as we do. Just remember that.

Highlights of the day? Kate did not like driving her own car at the Grand Prix Raceway. Drew momentarily lost his Cubs hat, but Chris tracked it down while the rest of the family went on It's A Small World. That's pretty much a win win for all parties. We were randomly given the world's largest ice cream sundae (basically the size of Kate's head with a cookie, brownie, sponge cake, who knows how many scoops, chocolate/strawberry/caramel/pineapple sauces, and 4 inches of whipped topping by a Disney worker. It took us 8 minutes to eat it as a family. In your face American propensity for overindulgence.

Today was a day that surprised the parents a bit as we had to encounter some big changes from previous trips that caused us to learn some new things about park layouts and inner workings. Change bad.

We rode the monorail in, the steamboat out. Saw the parade. Hit about half the rides in the park. We will definitely his this park again. Ben managed a good nap fairly late in the day. Ate at Crystal Palace with Tigger and the gang. Yummy. The kids all hit various levels of slap happiness by the end of the day, mainly Ben with his random singing in the car on the way back to the hotel.

Kate got to go up and take the pirate pledge at Pirates of the Caribbean. Drew got to fistbump with multiple characters. Ben has managed to hug just about everyone. No character fears for anyone. Did the park stroller free for the first time today. Liberating in terms of mobility and whininess about who got to ride in it.

Major kudos to Kate and Drew who really earned their Phelan legs today.

Fave rides? Kate said Big Thunder as did Ben though his might have been the monorail. Drew loved Goofy's Barnstormer though he did end up really enjoying the mountain coasters and even rode with his hand's up for most of it.

Part 2

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Tigger and pooh's eating contest pt 1

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Monday, September 10, 2012

Disney 2012 - Day 2 - Epcot

Welcome back you lucky survivors. You have to say it with a Norwegian accent to get the full impact. Between that and Sam Eagle's "A salute to all nations, but mostly America" line, those may be the favored two quotes from Disneyword.

Epcot day

Started off a bit later, just had to be at the park by 9 which was nice. So, breakfast was some bars in the car and then off to the races. Autographs from the big 6 characters and then the first of 5 Soarin' rides throughout the day. Once again, the crowds were quite good and today the weather held off all day long.

We hit the big rides, saw manatees and sharks, and had a blast. Drew continually wanted to sit with Dad, Ben with Mom, and Kate bounced back and forth. We spent the first couple of hours on the side with the rides prior to heading to the world showcase to see countries and characters. Came across Mary Poppins, Alice in Wonderland, Belle, Beast, and Snow White among others. Ate lunch in Japan at their quick service place. Note to self, eat there every time. Good food and sort of a hidden nook. Snack time in Norway....yum. Mousse and creme puffs.

Spent the evening bouncing between the two sides for more Soarin', Mission to Space, and back to Mexico. Ended the night in Norway for dinner which everyone really enjoyed. Salmon for most which I think Sherri and Kate really dug on. Drew loved the asparagus, probably equally for how it tasted and for learning what it does to you when you go to the bathroom. Lots of princesses for pictures. Kate is rapidly gaining on all of them size wise.

Fireworks to end the night then a walk to the car, two sleeping boys, and gearing up for Magic Kingdom tomorrow.

Favorite rides? Kate was Mission Space, Drew was Soarin', Ben was probably the Living Seas.

Donald

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Disney 2012 - Day 1

Or day 2, depending on how you count it. Really, day 1 in the parks so we will go with that. Hollywood Studios today with a super early 8 AM start due to breakfast t the Hollywood and Vine in the park prior to it opening. We ate with Oso, Handy Manny, June, and Jake. Gloriously, it appears all kids are A-OK with all the characters. Ben spent copious amounts of time trying to tickle Oso. We ate and were merry. We treated today as Drew's birthday so he wore his birthday pin and heard Happy Birthday dozens of times. This also resulted in a free birthday breakfast cupcake for Drew

Headed to the rides since the park was just opening up and had our first of 6 rides on Toy Story Mania. This was easily Drew's favorite ride. Every trip was Drew and Chris, Ben and Sherri, and Kate in her own car. Lots of high scores and fun times.

We hit every ride and event in the park we wanted, some with multiple trips. Low crowds (yay for homeschooling) due to school timing and lots of rain through about 2 PM but we soldiered through it all because Phelans don't stop for that kind of thing. We all did Tower of Terror. Ben and Drew were not huge fans.

Kate's favorite ride was Rock N Roller Coaster which she did with Sherri 3 times. We got to see Chris get picked as a volunteer at Indiana Jones where his big tryout was with an evil laugh. He then got to do a bonus death scene after getting "shot" during a "knife attack". The kids very much liked that.

Headed to Pepper Market for late lunch. This resulted in Ben's favorite ride of the day........the bus. Awesome food and a very awesome server that not only brought Drew a birthday brownie, but ice creams for Kate and Drew just because. Ben had managed about a 20 minute nap at that point.

Headed back to the park for more rides. Stayed late and watched Fantasmic which the kids all liked, though Ben did nod off again. Back to the hotel after 9, Drew had zonked out. Ben got a momentary 4th wind. Kate is just now falling asleep.

Epcot tomorrow.

Star tours

Nap time

Saturday, September 8, 2012

Disney 2012 - Night One

Pop Century, room 6415

All kids are now winding their way to sleepytown. Drew and Ben sharing a bed, Kate in a sleeping bag on the floor. We had a pretty easy drive here timewise, just a hair under 8 hours. We had tons of rain, mainly south Georgia and North Florida, at times too heavy to really see. So, that was a blast.

Ben slept a little on the way but they were all basically wide awake the whole time, even after three monster soccer games to start the day.

Party time tomorrow at Hollywood Studios.