AHHHHHHH, we got to sleep in this morning. DidnâÂÂt even get a call from Mickey. After we rolled out of bed at about 7:30, we headed over to the bus stop at Dixie and boarded a Magic Kingdom bound bus. It was about 39 degrees this morning and we had an 8:25 PS for the Crystal Palace character breakfast. I finally went down that first alley on Main Street and looked up into the windows near the top of the building that said âÂÂTap and Piano LessonsâÂÂ. It was really cool to hear the teacher giving instructions to the young piano student. We then found a shop that sold gloves since I knew we were going to Illuminations that evening and bought a pair for my lovely. We then proceeded to Crystal Palace where we were seated in a corner near a window. The only other character breakfast I have attended was one at Animal Kingdom in September at DonaldâÂÂs Breakfastausorus. Crystal Palace was lame compared to the breakfast at AK. DonâÂÂt get me wrong, the CMâÂÂs that played Tigger, Piglet, Eeyore and Pooh were very good. Tigger even poured me a cup of coffee after seeing that I was wearing Tigger Ears and my wife had Eeyore ears on. Eeyore scolded me for wearing Tigger ears though and my wife thought that was extremely funny. The knock would have to be about the amount of interaction. We had way more interaction at the AK breakfast than here. The characters only came to the table once and they seemed to be taxed by the end of our stay. All in all it was fun but they could have come around a little more.
Hopped on the monorail and went to the TTC to get a bus to MGM. Walked into MGM and went directly to Rock N Rollercoaster. BAM! 70 minute stand-by wait and a 10 minute wait for fast-pass. I grabbed a fast-pass at 10:45 to return at 2:30. Tower of Terror wasnâÂÂt much better with their wait either. We walked across to catch the Beauty and The Beast show and enjoyed that very much. We then went to the Back-Lot tour and waited for about 45 minutes. It was well worth it for me because I just loved that attraction. We were able to see some of the Christmas lights (not too impressive during the daylight) and Catastrophe Canyon was awesome. This was my 1st time on that ride. We did a lot of store hopping since the crowd was so large and spent quite a bit of money there. It was now time to use the fast-pass to RnR. I love that ride! On our way out we decided to stake a spot for the Mulan Parade near the end of the route so we could make a quick escape. It worked. We saw the parade (not bad, but certainly not the best) then hopped back on the bus to Dixie. Rested for awhile then off to Epcot for a PS at the Biergarten in Germany at 6:15.
I loved Germany because in September we stopped there to check out this Oom-Pah band and one of the band members picked me out of the crowd to do a dance in front of a lot of people. I did the dance, much to the chagrin of my children and my hysterical wife, and they gave me a complimentary buffet for performing with them. Since that was the last day of our trip, I didnâÂÂt know when I would be able to use the couponâ¦.that is, until this trip came up. So we got there about 6:00 and they took us right in and seated us at a table with 4 other strangers. They were not strangers by the end of dinner though. We had made new friends with the Brauns of Pennsylvania and found out that they live only about 45 minutes away from us. We are now calling each other and arranging a visit in the near future. The food was great and I filled up. Next up was the Tapestry of Nations Parade. Here was our dilemma. My wife wanted a great view of Tapestry and I wanted a great view of Illuminations. We knew it was going to be hard to get both. TON started at 8:10 and Ill. Started at 9:00. I scoped out a spot where it was narrow and found that spot to be across the bridge near China. They had tape on the ground where you had to stand for TON and the fence for the World Showcase Lagoon was only a few feet apart from each other. TON began and we both loved it. The interaction was spectacular and I got some good pictures of my wife touching the puppets. We were able to turn around and watch Illuminations. The only setback was the island in front of our viewing area. We were able to see the fireworks just fine but had a partially obstructed view of the âÂÂglobeâ when it moved across the water. I was a little disappointed with the longevity of the entire show. It only lasted about 18 minutes and I was expecting a little more for all of the hype it was given.
Then came the final phase of the night. Trying to get back to Dixie after Epcot empties out. Like a heard of cattle going through the shoots, people were all over the place looking for âÂÂshortcutsâ and cutting people off. Kamikaze strollers ran up the back of several peopleâÂÂs legs, laying claim to their life or death trail. I knew the lines for the busses would be long so I âÂÂstrongly encouragedâ my wife to make a last minute potty stop. Hitting the restroom right next to Spaceship Earth and seeing a line for the womenâÂÂs room, I made a few people chuckle by asking them where the fast pass entrance was for this line. (hey, not a bad idea. Take note Disney). The lines for all of the busses were much like I expected. Of course the Port Orleans and Dixie Landings bus stop was all the way at the end of the terminal. I struck up some nice conversations with a few people and the time passed rather quickly. There were multiple busses pulling up so we were able to not only get on a bus but also get a seat. I canâÂÂt tell you how many times during our trip I found my wifeâÂÂs elbow planted in my side coaxing me to give up my seat for someone who needed it (elderly, pregnant woman, parent with child etc.) I have never had a problem doing this and I wish more people on the busses would do this also. Seems one of the little children on the bus had too much to eat and drink at the park and deposited it on the floor of the bus. You could tell all of the moms on the bus, my wife included, at that instant when they all came through with flying colors by supplying baby wipes, towels, napkins and plastic bags. This had to be one of the fastest cleanups in the history of Disney transportation for it was no more than 3 minutes from start to finish that everything was clean, including the floor of the bus. SQUEEEEEEEAK went the brakes and I knew we were home. Relax with a bottle of wine and off to la-la land for the night.
Part 5 of 5 to follow Downtown then Homeward Bound
Hopped on the monorail and went to the TTC to get a bus to MGM. Walked into MGM and went directly to Rock N Rollercoaster. BAM! 70 minute stand-by wait and a 10 minute wait for fast-pass. I grabbed a fast-pass at 10:45 to return at 2:30. Tower of Terror wasnâÂÂt much better with their wait either. We walked across to catch the Beauty and The Beast show and enjoyed that very much. We then went to the Back-Lot tour and waited for about 45 minutes. It was well worth it for me because I just loved that attraction. We were able to see some of the Christmas lights (not too impressive during the daylight) and Catastrophe Canyon was awesome. This was my 1st time on that ride. We did a lot of store hopping since the crowd was so large and spent quite a bit of money there. It was now time to use the fast-pass to RnR. I love that ride! On our way out we decided to stake a spot for the Mulan Parade near the end of the route so we could make a quick escape. It worked. We saw the parade (not bad, but certainly not the best) then hopped back on the bus to Dixie. Rested for awhile then off to Epcot for a PS at the Biergarten in Germany at 6:15.
I loved Germany because in September we stopped there to check out this Oom-Pah band and one of the band members picked me out of the crowd to do a dance in front of a lot of people. I did the dance, much to the chagrin of my children and my hysterical wife, and they gave me a complimentary buffet for performing with them. Since that was the last day of our trip, I didnâÂÂt know when I would be able to use the couponâ¦.that is, until this trip came up. So we got there about 6:00 and they took us right in and seated us at a table with 4 other strangers. They were not strangers by the end of dinner though. We had made new friends with the Brauns of Pennsylvania and found out that they live only about 45 minutes away from us. We are now calling each other and arranging a visit in the near future. The food was great and I filled up. Next up was the Tapestry of Nations Parade. Here was our dilemma. My wife wanted a great view of Tapestry and I wanted a great view of Illuminations. We knew it was going to be hard to get both. TON started at 8:10 and Ill. Started at 9:00. I scoped out a spot where it was narrow and found that spot to be across the bridge near China. They had tape on the ground where you had to stand for TON and the fence for the World Showcase Lagoon was only a few feet apart from each other. TON began and we both loved it. The interaction was spectacular and I got some good pictures of my wife touching the puppets. We were able to turn around and watch Illuminations. The only setback was the island in front of our viewing area. We were able to see the fireworks just fine but had a partially obstructed view of the âÂÂglobeâ when it moved across the water. I was a little disappointed with the longevity of the entire show. It only lasted about 18 minutes and I was expecting a little more for all of the hype it was given.
Then came the final phase of the night. Trying to get back to Dixie after Epcot empties out. Like a heard of cattle going through the shoots, people were all over the place looking for âÂÂshortcutsâ and cutting people off. Kamikaze strollers ran up the back of several peopleâÂÂs legs, laying claim to their life or death trail. I knew the lines for the busses would be long so I âÂÂstrongly encouragedâ my wife to make a last minute potty stop. Hitting the restroom right next to Spaceship Earth and seeing a line for the womenâÂÂs room, I made a few people chuckle by asking them where the fast pass entrance was for this line. (hey, not a bad idea. Take note Disney). The lines for all of the busses were much like I expected. Of course the Port Orleans and Dixie Landings bus stop was all the way at the end of the terminal. I struck up some nice conversations with a few people and the time passed rather quickly. There were multiple busses pulling up so we were able to not only get on a bus but also get a seat. I canâÂÂt tell you how many times during our trip I found my wifeâÂÂs elbow planted in my side coaxing me to give up my seat for someone who needed it (elderly, pregnant woman, parent with child etc.) I have never had a problem doing this and I wish more people on the busses would do this also. Seems one of the little children on the bus had too much to eat and drink at the park and deposited it on the floor of the bus. You could tell all of the moms on the bus, my wife included, at that instant when they all came through with flying colors by supplying baby wipes, towels, napkins and plastic bags. This had to be one of the fastest cleanups in the history of Disney transportation for it was no more than 3 minutes from start to finish that everything was clean, including the floor of the bus. SQUEEEEEEEAK went the brakes and I knew we were home. Relax with a bottle of wine and off to la-la land for the night.
Part 5 of 5 to follow Downtown then Homeward Bound
Looking forward to the last installment!
