Thursday--catch up day

Our room at Port Orleans--Riverside was in this building.


Thursday (January 7) was our last full day at Disney so it was errand day. Paul had decided he liked the soft fleecy throw blankets with the Disney castle on them that Jade, Jarrah and I had bought so we headed off back to the Magic Kingdom to get him one. And, since these were 'bonus' purchases which were discounted after you'd spent a certain amount, of course we had to buy more stuff.

The day before the kids and I had started buying Disney pins. We'd resisted up until that point then I guess we got in the mood for them after seeing so many people wearing them. So that was what we bought--more pins.

Then we went over to the photo store to get prints of our 'in front of the Magic Kingdom' photo. Well that took quite a while because the photo that had been taken on Monday that week had people standing right behind us and just didn't look good. So we went out to the front of the Magic Kingdom again and had another set of photos taken. Neither the cast member in the photo shop nor the photographer were very happy about this. In fact the person in the photo shop told me a couple of times that I could look at my photos online and have them sent to me. They obviously didn't want the extra workload of serving me. Anyway, I didn't want to do that because if anything goes wrong I'm back in Australia and it's a real hassle to contact anybody in the States, especially on the East Coast with the 16 hour time difference. So I just ignored the grumpiness and got my prints. I'm really happy with them.

After we did this it was lunch time so we took a bus first back to the hotel to dump the stuff then to Downtown Disney to Planet Hollywood where we had a booking. Lunch was great and not overly filling. After lunch we went to Disney Quest which is a 5 story indoor amusement center just near the Cirque 'tent'. We all played video games and the kids did bumper cars too. It was fun.

Then we went back to the hotel to pack for our journey the next day.

Wednesday--Animal Kingdom

I'm still finishing off this blog. Apologies for not getting these posts done earlier!

Wednesday (January 6) we finally had a day to spend at Animal Kingdom. We'd already been in the park on our first day at Disney World to go to dinner at a restaurant called Tusker House in the Asia part of the park. By accident that day we'd also seen (and been held up by) the end of day parade which had a Christmas theme.

We arrived early as usual and Dad and Jarrah ran to get fast passes for Expedition Everest while Jade and I headed for Dinoland USA. The boys soon met up with us and the three intrepid riders went on the Dinosaur roller-coaster. Jarrah said the ride was cool! It was really loud, you went into a lab where a scientist sent you off to get a dinosaur. Then the ride went into a search where they were chased by dinosaurs, finally catching one before a meteor exploded. The ride ended back at the lab where they were congratulated for catching the dinosaur. Jade said the ride was too loud.

The kids (and I!) then went on an easy ride called Triceratops Spin which basically was the same as the Dumbo ride they'd waited over an hour to go on at the Magic Kingdom except you sat in a triceratops instead of an elephant. Fun especially as there was no waiting! Then the kids and Paul joined the line to do the Primeval Whirl roller coaster. The sign said there was only a 10 minute wait. Wellllllll they waited about 45 minutes to get on the ride. I waited outside listening to the 60s music that the ride was playing. the music was great but after 25 minutes or so I began to wonder where they were. Especially as I had wandered off to go to the toilet and do a bit of shopping nearby. Each time I came back I couldn't see them on the ride or in the line! Finally, I saw them just as they were getting on so I was able to photograph them.



After this ride we decided to head for Expedition Everest which was going to be Jade's and Paul's highlight of this park. Jade had been really looking forward to going on this ride which is a real wild roller-coaster. I asked her about the ride and here is her explanation:

Dad and I rode the Everest ride. They sat next to each other. First the ride went up a lot, then it went down part-way, then a sharp turn so they were almost vertical, then it kept turning and went down. Then they went up a lot to a dead end. They stopped then went backwards down past the Yeti pulling the tracks apart on the side. Then they went down more with turning both ways. then it stopped and then went forwards and turned a different way before ending.

In short, I'm glad I stayed on the sidelines and watched!

We were booked in for a late lunch so the next stop was a wild river ride called Kali River Rapids. First Paul, Jade and Jarrah rode it (and got wet). I was enjoying reading the names of the boats on the ride. They were really cute. Of course now I can't remember them. Then the kids convinced me it was OK so the four of us went on it another two times. I really enjoyed this ride and could have gone on it again except that Jade was really wet by this time so we got off to dry off.

After trying to dry her clothes under the hand dryer in the ladies room we walked through the Jungle Trek with me hoping her clothes were going to dry. They weren't and she was miserable so I ended up taking her to a shop to buy some replacement clothes--lovely soft Mickey track pants and a Disney World t-shirt. I got one for Jarrah as well.

Then it was time for lunch at the Yak and Yeti. Despite having a reservation we still had to wait with a whole bunch of people. Anyway, it was worth it as the food (Asian style) was fabulous.

After eating our time was running short as we had to get to Downtown Disney for the 6pm performance of Cirque du Soleil. We took the Rafiki's Planet Watch train and walked through the conservation station and affection section (basically a petting zoo). There was nothing spectacular about this attraction but I guess it is there for families with younger kids.

We returned to Africa to go on the Kilamanjaro Safari--a bumpy ride in a large safari bus looking at animals. It also wasn't that good. The driver tried to make it exciting by driving wildly and telling jokes that weren't funny.

We left quickly after getting off this ride and bussed back to our hotel, got warmer clothes then bussed to Downtown Disney. We made it to Cirque with about 5 minutes to spare! Wow!

Cirque (La Nouba) was fantastic. We had great seats in the 'A' section much closer to the stage than we've sat at Cirque performances in Melbourne. There was virtually no speaking (even in French) connected with this performance also unlike other cirques. I guess this is so that the show appeals to European visitors who may not know English or French. Dunno. It was a great show and a real highlight of our visit to DW.

Tuesday--Magic Kingdom again

Well it's taken me a while to get back and finish this blog. It was just too expensive to work on it every day at the hotel and we also didn't have the time because we left early and got back late each day.

So back to Tuesday 5 January--Jade's birthday! At last her day came. She's been wearing a birthday pin the whole time we've been at Disney World and everyone's been wishing her a Happy Birthday. Finally it actually was her birthday.

We returned to the Magic Kingdom to do the rides we hadn't done on Monday because of the crowds and long lines. The park was much less crowded so my guess is that it was so busy on Monday because people arrive over the weekend and they go to the Magic Kingdom as their first priority. Before we went on the rides we went shopping at the Emporium because I had a voucher that gave us a discount before 12 noon. We had already decided what we were going to buy--Jade got a Stitch toy, Jarrah a Mickey Mouse toy, I bought t-shirts for the cousins and we got lanyards and pins (yes we gave in to the trend), Sleeping Beauty castle soft blankets and a biography of Walt Disney. The sales assistant was an older woman--we've noticed a significant number of older workers--they call them cast members--at Disney--who had a bit of Parkinson's disease. She was very slow and shaking. We were in a hurry to get to the rides but what else could we do?

Anyway, after making our purchases we went back to Fantasyland and rode Snow White's Scary Adventures--an 'in the dark' ride. (Disney pioneered rides in the dark--one of his many innovations). We then went on Peter Pan's Flight before returning to Liberty Square and going on the Haunted Mansion ride. It's funny, I'd forgotten what this ride was like after you go down in the elevator and the pictures get longer and longer. I'm pretty sure we didn't do any of these rides either at Disneyland in 2004 or Hong Kong Disneyland last year. Jade hated the Haunted Mansion. She hid her eyes during the ride. What could we do? We couldn't leave her outside while we went on the ride?

After the Haunted Mansion we went to Tomorrowland and rode Autopia, the car ride. I went with Jade and she drove this time--swerving side to side--but not as bad as Jarrah in HK last year.

So far we've had no to minimal waits today.

We then scooted over to Toontown, the area designed for little kids. The main reason for going there was to meet Mickey. I don't think we'd met Mickey before because of running out of time or the lines involved. Jade and Jarrah rode the Barnstormer roller coaster several times then we went through Minnie's house. She wasn't home so we went into Mickey's house. There was only a couple of minutes wait and both Mickey and Minnie were there so we had photos taken with both of them.

Our next stop was the Judge's Tent for more character meetings and photos. There were separate lines for Fairies and Princesses. Jade, Jarrah and I met the Princesses first since their line was much shorter. I got photos of Jade with three Princesses. Then she decided she wanted to wait for the Fairies too. We had time so we waited. It was probably about 45 minutes before we got in. The boys were very patient and waited for us--Jarrah had said on no account did he want to meet any fairies! I got a lovely photo of Jade with the Asian fairy.



After this we went back to Tomorrowland and Jade and Paul rode Space Mountain. Then we all did Stitch's Great Escape ride which included having Stitch burp and sneeze on us (scent and water sprayed on us). That was fun. Stitch has certainly become one of Disney's major characters. Finally it was lunch time. Hot dogs/burgers and fries again.

After lunch J, J and Paul rode the Astro orbiter--space ships on the top of the Tomorrowland tower. I rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority while they were on then then they joined me afterwards. Then J, J and Paul rode buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin, we all went into Mickey's Philharmagic back in Fantasyland as our last ride.

You wouldn't think after already having a full day in the Magic Kingdom that we could have another full day here--but it was easy.

We returned to the hotel room to get our warmer coats then took the bus to Epcot for our dinner booking at Nine Dragons. This was a really nice Chinese restaurant with beautiful decor. Jade got a card and the waiter sang Happy Birthday to her. What a special memory. Afterwards we strolled back through Epcot and decided to do the ride in the Epcot ball (Spaceship Earth) which we hadn't done before. We walked right on. It was a wonderful ride narrated by Dame Judy Dench which told the history of written communication from the stone age onwards. It really highlighted that it is communication which has advanced humanity. It was a fascinating ride.

After this we returned home. It had been a long day.

Monday—Magic Kingdom

Today we had hoped that most of the crowd had gone home and the parks would be more empty. At breakfast, though, there were hordes of people including not a few speaking various foreign languages. So it looks as if many of the Americans have gone home and heaps of Europeans and possibly South Americans have arrived to take their places. Drat! Still we’d delayed visiting the Magic Kingdom to this week so we had to get on with our plans.

Once again we arrived at the park just as it was opening. We seem to be doing well with this without really trying. We took the train all the way around as we always do at Disney parks then walked down Main Street to Frontierland. Unfortunately Splash Mountain is closed for two months so that left our thrill-seekers with only Thunder Mt. Railroad as their thrill ride. Jade and Paul went on it twice because the wait time was only 10 minutes. Then Jarrah went on with them as well.
We went to Tom Sawyer’s Island and explored there which Jade said was boring. Then we did the Hall of Presidents which was another animatronic stage show similar to the one at Epcot but this one focussing on a few of the more interesting Presidents then finishing with all 44 figures standing and moving in the final display. To finish Barack Obama gave a speech about his vision for America.

We did some of the Fantasyland rides but by this time the crowds were pretty big so we weren’t able to do Peter Pan’s flight or Snow White’s adventure or the Haunted Mansion in Liberty Square or Pirates of the Carribbean in Adventureland. We’ve got our work cut out for us tomorrow when we return to the Magic Kingdom to try and get these in before the crowds build up again.

The crowds now seem to be made up of more European tourists as we’re hearing a range of languages as well as British accents. I guess the Americans with kids have mainly gone home so the kids can go back to school and other nationalities have arrived to take their places.

Sunday—Epcot Futureworld & Miniature Golf

Sunday we returned to Epcot in order to do the Futureworld section we hadn’t done the previous Wednesday. We arrived again just as the park was opening and we—and just about everybody else—rushed to the ride called Soarin’ which is a new one to Epcot. This ride simulates a hang glider flight over scenic parts of California and has been brought to Florida from Disney’s California Adventure park. I was a bit nervous about taking this ride but had been reassured by several people that it was gentle and would not cause motion sickness so I went on it. As I was strapped into my seat, however, I had second thoughts but then went on with it and was glad I did. The chairs did rise up and move a bit but most of the sensation of the ride came from watching the 3D pictures on the large screen. It was really fabulous!

After Soarin we went on a boat ride called Living with the Land which took us on an environmental education program about land use and the ways researchers at Disney are working to grow crops more efficiently. Then we went on the Nemo ride again. Jade and Paul went on Test Track--a wild car ride and they and Jarrah went on the Astro orbiter simulator. I was going to do the more gentle form of this ride with Jarrah but opted out at the last minute. I felt bad leaving him but didn't want to ruin the day by getting sick.

We made really good time going on these rides so much so that we were able to return to the World Showcase rides in Mexico and Norway that we hadn’t done. Then we went to the France pavilion and had a delicious lunch at Chef de France.

After lunch we took a boat to the Swan and Dolphin hotels and walked over to the Fantasia Miniature Golf course where we played a fun round of golf.

Saturday—Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Saturday was sunny but chilly. Florida is having unusually cold weather but at least the sun is out.

We left early for Disney's Hollywood Studios and arrived at the gate just at opening time. This park has only a few rides but two great live shows--one about filming Indiana Jones stunts and the other about filming car chases. We saw both. The shows, especially the car chase show, held very large audiences and they packed them in. It was really fascinating. For example they revealed that they had three versions of one of the cars--one where it appeared to drive backwards, the body was actually on the chassis backwards with the driver looking out the back window to drive. Another car had the driver mounted outside the car on one side hidden from view so that it looked like no one was driving the car.

The display that I took the most from though was the walk through displays of memorabilia and information about Walt Disney's life. This display ended with a short film about Disney. I'd never really thought much about Disney before this. Like most people I think I took him and his creations for granted. But seeing his life as a whole made me appreciate much more what he actually achieved. That he lived much of his life in debt and suffered a nervous breakdown because of this also gave me pause.

We pretty much covered the whole park except for the backlot tour. Paul and Jade went on the Rock n Roller coaster and Paul tackled the Tower of Terror on his own. Jarrah and Jade went on the Toy Story Mania ride together-the first time they've done this.

At each park we've gone to I've noticed how common it is to see adoptive families as well as inter-racial families. I've been pointing these families out to Jade as I've seen them but they're now so old hat that she's bored when I do so so I've mainly stopped bothering. As well as families with Asian children I've seen families with black children--I presume mainly African American or mixed race American kids. At a guess I would say that I've seen a dozen or more families formed by adoption each day. It is all so common and normal that even I have to cause myself to notice. In a way I'm thinking that this is one of the quiet social movements of this generation which is going to have a profound impact on the future.

Friday--Kennedy Space Center

First of all I must apologise for not blogging daily. The internet here at our resort is $10 for 24 contiguous hours so if I blogged each evening I would have to pay $10 each day for about an hour's internet usage. The other problem is that we are out late and very tired when we return to our hotel so in order to get the kids to sleep we have to turn off the lights.

Another complaint I have to make about our room is the lack of wifi and the poor location for the internet cable--behind the bedside table between the two double beds. We have a table and chairs in the room opposite the beds but there is neither a power point nor an internet connection at the table. So I have to sit on the bed with the laptop in my lap and type in order to have both internet and power. It's a very poor situation.

Friday was going to be a wet and rainy day so we decided to book a trip to the Kennedy Space Center. We did this through Mears bus company. A van picked us up at our hotel just after 8am and took us to another Disney resort hotel where we and other guests boarded a full sized bus for the hour's trip to the space center. Our return trip was scheduled to be at 6pm. We were surprised that it was such a late return but soon found out that a day at the space center is a very full day.

First we took a tour around some of the outside facilities including the enormous Vehicle Assembly Building. We viewed the launch pads for the space shuttle from a distance and we also saw the building where parts of the international space station are assembled. The bus tour alone took about 3-4 hours. Then Paul and Jade went in to the Shuttle launch experience--a very realistic simulation of a shuttle launch. There were two IMAX theatres showing two movies but we only had time to see one of them before our time was up. The one we saw was called Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D and it was very good.

I think the kids had difficulties understanding and relating to the whole space experience as they don't know about the history of space exploration, which Paul and I lived through, nor did they know much about what's happening today in the space program because it's not anything they've ever learned about in school. So for some of the day Jade especially was bored but then we started to explain things more to her and she became more interested as did Jarrah.

I am going to upload photos to this blog another time as it's going to take me too long to do so now.