samogram
Cast Member
Posts: 166
Registered: Aug 2002
|
Posted 11-21-02 03:21 PM
Part 3-This is it!
November 3, 2000-I forgot to mention two other things from last night that were new to all of us, but are probably "old hat" to all of you. We all had Mickey bars and we all purchased refillable mugs! My SIL, the cynic, was impressed with both but nearly died when he heard our tab at the food court was $126! It would take some magic to make him relax and enjoy.
So. We arrive at Sunday morning at 6:15 and our alarm has not gone off and we had not asked for a wake up call. We are still trying to get our eyes open when Sam and Molly bound in our room, bright-eyed and ready to go with DD and SIL right behind them. We pay only cursory attention to our personal grooming and head out to the food court for hopefully, very fast food. I am back on my scooter and running into door jams and walls left and right and scaring the whole family to death. This is the first time I have seen All-Star Music in the daylight and I am so impressed. The grounds and pools are beautiful and I saw the little kiosks for hair weaving and face painting and thought that was a nice resort-feeling touch. I actually can't quite believe how nice AS-M is. It is whimsical and fun and maybe a little tacky (okay, a lot) but it's a wonderful to transition back to being a kid.
We load up the van with kids, strollers and my scooter. Nana and Boppa get in the senior's section again. Our drivers pile in and we're off to the Magic Kingdom. My stomach does those interesting little butterfly things and I can't believe it is finally time to see the castle.
Now all of you know, the travel and transportation ma[s are not at all scarce. We each had two that were new and pristine in our pouches and pockets and bags. DH picks an old one we used to get to our hotel yesterday, up off of the floor of the van and proceeds to be the navigator. The sad thing is old and wrinkled and I've been using it since a friend brought it back to me from WDW a year and a half ago. This may not sound like any big deal, but stay tuned.
We had no trouble getting to the Magic Kingdom gate (time to celebrate again). There are several hot-air balloons to watch as we get close to the gate. On to the TTC. I know I have told the whole crowd that you have to take a boat or the monorail to get to MK, but suddenly it's news. Sam is saying, "Where is it?" and the others don't quite understand the MK-on-an-Island thing, but they follow me to the gates. Now the picture taking begins: Pictures of us walking; pictures of other people walking; the entrance without us; the entrance with Sam; the entrance with all of us.... We took the monorail to MK. The fabulous, famous monorail...another historical moment. I had no trouble getting on with my scooter, but it is also worthwhile to mention that DH did a lot of the maneuvering so they didn't have to. I’m not sure the result would have been as good if I had been alone. Some monorail people were friendly and accommodating. Others were just accommodating and by comparison, it gave a message that as someone who needed something a little different (a ramp), you are a bit of a problem.
I wish I could have had an unposed, candid picture of all of us as we approached Main Street. We were all little kids then, with big eyes and goofy smiles and lots of wows and giggles. The first thing we noticed was how many characters there were all up and down Main Street. Sam and his dad lined up at the first character they saw and lined up and lined up and lined up…. Molly liked watching the character from a distance, but seemed to have some sort of inner boundary thing they couldn’t cross. If they got too close she screamed bloody murder. In the meantime, I was learning the little known Disney game called “I’ll-Bet-I-Can-Beat-That-Scooter-Across-The-Street-Without=Getting-Hit.” By the trip’s end, I was getting pretty good at it myself, but that first day I was still a rank amateur and didn’t manage to hit anyone. The character I enjoyed the most was Donald Duck with Sam. He kept turning Sam’s baseball hat (that said “Mickey” on the front) around and the picture we have of them is one of the best.
I thought we would spend forever on Main Street with the characters, but we gradually crept toward a kiosk where we bought all of our various versions of ears and headed off to Adventureland. I know that all the books suggest that you go toward Frontierland first, but the minute we hit Main Street, if was clear that even though I was the WDW planner there would be no controlling this crew. First stop was Space Mountain. It was the first WDW ride Sam rode and he loved it. It was there we started buying him theses little nametag thingys that said, “Sam rode the _____.” Later in MTF, he was disappointed in Goofy’s Barnstormer ride. I was still trying to orient myself to being on my scooter and figuring out what I could do and how, so I missed the first two rides: SM and Buzz Lightyear. While I was hanging around outside wondering if this was where I was going to be for the whole trip, I struck up a conversation with the CM at Buzz. He was great! …Funny and friendly and so wanted me to “learn the ropes” (literally) he kept trying to talk me into going on Buzz that minute, without my gang who were already in there. What a sweetie. From that minute on, I was game for anything and chose to ride or not, but not based on my disability.
More on Part3-B
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons; for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
|
