Just had to add this story from a day in the life of Patty. It is a gem. Enjoy the read.
Our trip to Magic Kingdom was a great experience, but even then had good and bad. I discovered that the drive to Disney was farther than I had anticipated and that an accident on the highway further slowed us down.
Space Mountain was our first destination with a wait time of 70 minutes – Bad. The Good news was that it was only a 40 minute wait, and Ev loved it. I read a notice about a Disney Experience App for your phone that would tell you the wait time for every ride in the park. I thought, hey, why not? I warn you – DON’T DO IT! That bugger zapped the power from my phone in no time – leaving me with no way to call, text or take pictures within a couple of hours. Thank goodness I took my actual camera along – Good. We enjoyed many more rides (Good) as the temperature soared -Bad. Everson decided that his feet hurt and he was tired, so we could go home (Bad).
I said no way, encouraged him along, and we stumbled across the Celebration parade from the beginning! (Very Good) Ev loved the floats, characters, and he waved back at all those who waved at him. Very cute.
We rode a few more rides including the Haunted Mansion, and by this point we were on a mission to find some lunch. It had to be something that would appeal to both of us. This restaurant had seafood – bad for EV, this one had just hotdogs – bad for both, that one was just too expensive – bad for Grandma. During this hunt for food, another parade cropped up and we were caught on the one side with limited amenities. Sigh, corndogs and a bag of chips became lunch due to raging hunger.
After the parade passed, it was time to explore Frontierland and ride the Mine Railroad. It was closed for repair – Bad. We decided to take the raft and explore Tom Sawyer’s Island – something I had never done in all my trips there – Good. Massive heat and no breeze– Bad. On the way back across the lake, we talked to two young ladies who are interning at Disney and were enjoying their time off at the park. They invited us to accompany them to the Mine Railroad which was back open (Good) AND be part of their Fastpass group -Very Good. Ev LOVED walking past all the people in the “regular” line of which he had been part of all day while complaining about those that went in the Fastpass line.
As we parted ways with these generous young ladies, one gave us Fastpasses to use for our next ride, Splash Mountain-Again Very Good. After enjoying that ride, we cooled down with frozen lemonades and I shopped in the store. When we were ready to leave with our baby girl gifts in hand, we found that it had started pouring down rain outside-Bad.
After cooling our heels in the store a little longer, we headed through what had turned into just a sprinkle of rain-Good. Unfortunately, the next rides we wanted to enjoy were still closed due to lightning in the area-Bad. We eventually made our way to the Pirates of the Caribbean which was still open-Good. Ev liked it so much, that we rode it three times while it was pouring down rain again-Very Good.
After having corndogs for lunch, I was determined to have something tastier for dinner. You wouldn’t think it would be that difficult. Each place we tried either wasn’t taking any more names or was closed. Seriously?-Bad We continued trekking around the kingdom and wound up back in Tomorrowland. We hit the Laugh Show with Monsters Inc characters and the Peoplemover-Good. We were just ready to board the Astro Orbiter when it was closed due to more lightning-Bad timing. We finally found a place to eat nearby which looked out over the landscaping and castle – very pretty –Good.
By then, people were lining up for the Electric Light Parade. Did we take seats? (Bad) No, you know me. We could check out one or two more attractions before it started if we kept going. (Good-right?) As we headed towards Adventureland, lightning streaked across the sky. Yes, the Jungle Cruise closed again-Bad. However, no one was guarding the entrance to the Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, so we scampered up before anyone could see us and I explained the whole story to Ev.
Afterwards, I decided to break down and buy the Disney ponchos due to the continuing rain. (Good?) Hot, sweaty, and eventually really not necessary afterall. (Bad? – sigh) The Electric Light Parade was postponed twice due to the weather. We finally found a place to watch it from on the second level of the train station, so that Ev could see over all the tall adults-Good. Unfortunately, we were crammed down at the end and peering around this Asian family whose daughter kept her arms hanging out over the railing. (Semi-Bad) Ev loved the lighted floats-Good.
We headed down towards the castle to see the fireworks before leaving and found a curb to sit on-Good. This laser-light show was flashing on the castle re-enacting various Disney films, and we weren’t sure if fireworks would ever start. Ev decided that his feet hurt so much, he didn’t care about the fireworks. (Good & Bad?) We headed out of the park and caught the ferry back to the trams. As the ferry crossed the “pond”, we had the best view of the fireworks you could get! (Very good) The tram took us directly to our car, so no midnight hunting ensued for a car I don’t usually drive and may or may not recognize -Also Very Good.
On the way home, Ev jumped at the chance to play his 3-DS even though he has so tired and it was the end of a v-e-r-y l-o-n-g day. I was cruising home, rethinking the day, singing with the radio and eventually realized that the gas tank was on empty! (BAD) Hmmm… most of the exits with gas stations were far behind. I finally saw one ahead with a sign for a town I recognized, H for hospital, and four choices of gas stations – Good! As I exited and headed towards the sign for the town I recognized, I realized that the exit split and the fork I didn’t take was the one going to the gas stations. So did I mention that my phone died early in the day? I am on a road with NO lights, NO businesses or houses, NO way to turn around, NO phone, a six year old in the car, and the fuel needle that is sitting on E! (BAD) Is this a horror story in the making??? I drove and prayed for what seemed forever before spotting a gas station ahead-GOOD! I fueled up, confirmed that I was close to I-95, and headed on home to bed. A sigh of relief was heard the world over. If you didn’t hear it, you weren’t listening.
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