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Brian Bennett -- October 2000 -- Walt Disney World (OKWR)Friday, October 27 (Fantasyland, Lunch at El Pirata y el Perico Restaurante, Character Bonanza, Dinner at Bistro de Paris) Today, Grandpa blew us off in favor of more sleep and down time at the resort. While he slept, read the paper, and sat in the hot tub, the rest of us rode a bus to the Magic Kingdom to give Allan a much-deserved "kid's day" in Fantasyland. Actually, before we left, I noticed that a screw was loose in my glasses. Without a quick fix with a mini-screwdriver, I was in trouble. Fortunately, I called Conch Flats General Store and found that they had the tools in stock. I drove the van over, and found the screwdriver, and also picked up some Band-Aids (for my blisters) and some fabric softener for the laundry.
Allan was not at all sure about jumping into the hunny pot. He was still very wary of any ride. We got him aboard, eventually, and he really seemed to enjoy the "blustery day" and watching as the "rain, rain, rain came down, down, down." I have no idea how this new attraction compares to the Tokyo Park's new one, but it is easily one of the best dark rides in the US parks, in my opinion. The hopping effects as we met up with Tigger and the floating effects during the rain, rain, rain sequence were great, if simple, additions. Next stop was a Dumbo run. As Barb, Allan and Grandma joined that queue, Daddy was assigned to photo (non-digital...this one's for the scrapbook) duty.
Then Daddy suggested Peter Pan. Everyone liked the idea, so we were off to Neverland! I still love this attraction. It's one of the best dark rides, with a lot of neat scenes and a well-told story. The animatronics are pretty good, too, compared to many of the two-dimensional ones you'll see in the other rides (I was aghast to see some two-dimensional stuff in the Pooh attraction, actually). Again, as we got aboard, Allan was quite sure he didn't want to be involved, but he rode with me when I told him I need him to tell me what everything at Neverland was. He was quite the tourguide, pointing out Hook's ship, the mermaids, the Indian camp (with Tiger Lilly), and so on. Once we got moving through the Darling children's nursery, he did fine. At Allan's suggestion, Small World was next. He told Grandma that he "would sing it for her" when they got there. Sure enough, he sang the chorus several times during the ride. As soon as we disembarked, Allan asked if we could ride Peter Pan again. Clearly, he was making progress on his ride phobia. Of course, we agreed...and visited Neverland again. Our next stop was the Indianapolis Speedway. The wait was about twenty minutes. Allan and I got loaded on the left side, while Grandma and Barb were on the right. Almost as soon as we'd gotten started, a car ahead of us stalled and had to be removed from the track. We were delayed a good five minutes or more as we waited for the cast members to lug that thing away. In compensation, we were allowed to run the track twice! In my opinion, once was enough (ever ride a car down the interstate as it bounced back and forth off a metal strip in the center of the lane? I don't recommend it), but Allan was thrilled to be able to go again.
After our morning exercise, we made our way to El Pirata y el Perico Restaurante for lunch. I had the taco salad that I'd remembered was so good. Allan had a hot dog, and Barb had the tacos. "The Pirate and the Parrot" is always a great place for a decent meal. It's got a simple menu, but the food is pretty good and much better, I think, than the typical burgers and fries you'll find at most of the other fast food places in the park. Besides that, there are a bunch of seating areas around the service counter. All together, this place can probably seat several hundred people at a time. It's MUCH bigger than Casey's on Main Street, for example. We made one last stop on the way out of Adventureland. I had been asked, via email, to provide a picture of a pineapple vanilla swirl Dole Whip. Reed Chitwood, here you go!
It's amazing how many people thing that the Dole Whip is the best snack in the Magic Kingdom (if not all Walt Disney World). Personally, I think they're great if you catch Aloha Isle at the right time, but I wouldn't go out of the way for it. On the other hand, when Reed suggested it...I started making plans to get these pictures right away. Clearly, we didn't have any problems dispatching four of these things, now did we? Our plan for the rest of the morning was simple: Shop down one side of Main Street, then leave the park for a break. Thing didn't turn out quite that way. Oh, the shopping went as planned. We found a lot of things we'd love to spend more money on, but the leaving the park thing got delayed. On the way out, Barb and Grandma planned to go to the Exposition Hall, right next to Tony's Town Square Cafe, to see what scrapbooking supplies they sell (turns out that they sell the same stuff we'd seen over at Downtown Disney last night). In front of the Expo Hall, though, Grumpy was camped out giving autographs and photo ops. We heard a cast member say that more characters were inside, so we went in and Allan was able to meet several of the dwarves including Sneezy (He seemed to be less crazy about Sneezy than the others), Dopey, Grumpy (who came in from the outside), Bashful, Happy, and Doc. The only one missing was Sleepy (but we figured Grandpa was sleeping back at the resort, so maybe he was an honorary Dwarf this day).
We had a brief delay, as Goofy needed a break to get a drink of water. In the meantime, Daddy's feet (blisters, you know) were a little bit tired, so I went over toward Tony's where I saw some rocking chairs just waiting for someone (me) to sit on them. Then, I spied something odd. Pluto was walking in from the Expo Hall, but he was walking very furtively. He was trying to surprise Goofy! I took a picture of Pluto, crawling towards Goofy, and a few minutes
later, Pluto (on his own initiative) came over and Since Goofy had returned, Allan waited for his turn, and eventually gave him a great big hug! Then, we found out that Cinderella was inside (in a different area than we'd been with the dwarves). So, we were led back inside by another cast member that took us right to Cinderella, the Fairy Godmother, and Pearl, one of the mice that made Cinderella's original ball gown. It was a great opportunity to talk and get some photographs with some characters with such a small group. Then, as we were leaving the area, Allan saw Pluto was there, too. He just had to say hi to Pluto, so he did. Pluto was great! Again, with the very small crowds, the interaction was fantastic. Pluto let Allan pet him, tickle him, and everything and Pluto played with Allan too. It was really a cute moment. Finally, we were able to drag ourselves out of the park. We were
there until 2:00pm, and we'd planned to be out of there shortly after
noon. There's no way we could ever have had those moments any other
time or way, so we're glad we did it After our break, Barb and I left the rest of the group behind and made our way to Epcot for dinner at Bistro de Paris, a restaurant we hadn't visited since our Honeymoon in 1989. After dinner, we just milled about in the France, UK, and Canadian pavilion before making our way back to the bus via the Mouse Gear shop (this place deserves more time, we'll definitely be back to browse some more). On the way back to the bus, we ran into Grandma, Grandpa, and Allan who had also come over to Epcot for the evening. We rode the bus back together and settled in for games, trip report updating, and bed. Another great day comes to an end. But, I can't let a trip to a wonderful WDW restaurant go with just a single sentence. So, in the tradition of Lumiere, "the dining room now proudly presents, our dinner..."
First, we enjoyed some wonderful hard rolls, and an interesting pâté and raisin relish.
Next, I had a salmon appetizer. I was expecting something like a braised or grilled fish (like at Artists Point), but was served something more akin to sushi. I honestly didn't like it very much, but I enjoyed trying it.
For our entrees, Barb had a wonderful Filet Mignon!
While I had the Rack of Lamb. Excellent!
Of course, you can't eat in France without having desert! Barb had a fantastic chocolate cake soufflé with a hot creamy chocolate center (we had to wait fifteen minutes while they prepared this one, and it was worth ever second!)
While I opted for the crepe's with orange sauce, prepared by our waiter (who flambéed them right there at the table!) It was an excellent top off for the meal. (Sorry, but the bright light during the "flambéing" prohibited taking a good picture...although I did try.)
Bon Appetite!
Tomorrow, we have breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table. Good thing we walked off that French feast! Saturday, October 28 (Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table, Enjoy the WDW Parks (Barb's Parents Date Night)) This morning, we got up a bit later than usual. Actually, Allan
was up a bit early (for him, on this trip) and asked to take a "bathtub"
in the big tub in "ours room." Barb drew him a bath, and
the little guy enjoyed quite the swim. I turned on the Then, we got ourselves ready and left for the Magic Kingdom a few minutes after 9:00am. This was a late start for us, but since the park opened at 9:00 and we had priority seating for 9:50am, it didn't make a lot of sense to go to the park just for a few minutes. Instead, we enjoyed a little later start and a more relaxing morning. We did stroll through some of the Main Street shops on the way to our breakfast seating, otherwise, it was pretty much a straight shot to the castle. Breakfast at Cinderella's Royal Table was fantastic! Of course, the character interaction was everything you could hope for. Downstairs we saw the Fairygodmother and Jasmine. Upstairs we saw Cinderella, of course, and Aladdin, Belle, and Aurora. Quite the collection!
Breakfast was simple, but plentiful. We had a bread course, with muffins and croissants. That was served with fresh fruit. French service plates of scrambled eggs, cheesy potatoes au gratin, link sausage, bacon, and a deep-fried pastry provided more than enough sustenance. The meal is all-you-can-eat, but we didn't need any more than the original plateful. We also had bottomless cups of coffee and orange juice, too. From that Moment on, Belle constantly referred to Allan as "Just Allan" -- even later in the morning when we saw her at the Exposition Hall on Main Street. Belle was also the first "face character" to get Allan to be pleasant enough to pose for a picture. He seemed a bit skittish with the others. Barb, Allan, and Grandma went downstairs to meet some of the characters
while Grandpa and Daddy stayed behind to pay the "royal debt,"
the "royal bad news," or whatever you'd like to call the bill
at the end of the feast. Our server found out that Grandpa was a
Minnesota fan and offered (to Tampa Bay fans in the room) to have him
pay for everyone's bill. (The Vikings and Buccaneers are playing
on Sunday afternoon). After breakfast, Grandpa abandoned us to go back to the resort and see a football game (the Gophers, go figure) he was salivating over. The rest of us strolled around Fantasyland. We found Fairytale Garden, where Belle told us her story (with help from some guest from the audience). We also stopped to watch the "Everyday's a Holiday" show. It was a little celebration of all of the major holidays of the year. It was fun to see, not too long, and staged right in front of the castle. Then, we made our way back down Main Street, walking through the shops
on the East side that we hadn't yet visited. We also stopped back
at the Exposition Hall and found Sleepy, Belle, Aladdin, the FairyGodmother,
and some of the other dwarfs, too. With almost no crowds for a second
time, it was a great time for Allan to see the characters (who are fantastic
with little ones, I All of the characters do a great job of hamming it up, too. During one classic moment, Sleepy decided to take a little rest in the middle of his shift, so Allan had to go over and wake the slacker up. Allan was really quite sure that Sleepy should be up and about, so he did his best to wake up the slothful dwarf. After our break, which was a bit abbreviated due to the character time we spent at the expo hall, we went over to the studios. Believe it or not, this was the first time we went over to the movie-themed park on this trip (we have Monday morning penciled in, too, right now). I leave you tonight with a couple of pictures: one of the Sorcerer's Apprentice and one of Steamboat Willie at the end of the show.
Goodnight...and have "wondrous dreams!"
brian@mouseplanet.com Mail a Comment to Brian Bennett |
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When
I got back to the room we caught the first bus to the park. We arrived
a little before 9:00am, and walked down Main Street to the Castle where
we waited for rope drop. At the appointed time, we were permitted
in, and made a beeline to Winnie-the-Pooh's new ride. It was great
to ride a new Fantasyland attraction -- finally! Later in the morning,
I looked forlornly at the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea lagoon. I
hope to see Vulcania turned into an E-ticket someday in the future.
The
carousel was next. We all mounted our white horses and galloped
off to, well, we rode in circles. But as you can see, Allan enjoyed
the equestrian interlude.
The
Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse was next. It had been years since
we hiked up and down and up and down and up and down those steps.
Barb figured that the Swiss must have great calfs. I figured, after
twenty years of living in that thing, they must have had great everythings.
First,
I present a pineapple vanilla swirl Dole Whip! Then, I present the
results of buying one.
When
we exited the area, we found that Goofy was there, too, outside of the
Exposition Hall! Goofy is one of Allan's all time favorites (ever
since the trip, in May 1999, when Goofy got Allan's hair all wet at the
fountain play area at Epcot). So, of course, we had to wait to see
Goofy.
posed with me sitting on the rocker! A cast member took my camera,
and here's the result. Pluto was being quite the pleasant puppy
here...but there was more to come with the canine.
when the opportunity was there. Certainly, Allan will be talking
about this day for a long, long time.
Jacuzzi for him, and when the bubbles started up in earnest Allan looked
at me with an astonished look and exclaimed, "What are you doing?"
I turned off the bubbles.
Of
course, the castle and the restaurant are beautiful. The downstairs
hall is decorated with a suit of armor, swords, and a huge fireplace.
Gus Gus and Jac, Cinderella's mouse friends, can be seen in the hall,
too. Upstairs, the dining room is gorgeous, with tapestries hanging
from the ceiling and other decorative trappings about the room.
A
very cute moment came up when Belle stopped by to see us. She said
to Allan, "Hi little prince." To which he replied, "I
not a prince." Belle said, "What are you then?"
And Allan replied, "Just Allan."
must say).
