The day started early with a wakeup call from Mickey (really, the voice on the phone is Mickey!) so we would be ready for our character breakfast at Cape May. We headed to Cape May, whose location I had scouted out the evening prior so we didn’t have to hunt for it in the morning, and arrived right on time. As we rounded the corridor and Alison could peek into the restaurant she caught a glimpse of Goofy and got so excited she had to jump into Rayma’s arms.
When we arrived the hostess asked if we wanted to get a picture made with Minnie Mouse immediately since she would be leaving for awhile soon. Alison got shy and didn’t want a picture and we quickly realized that we needed the autograph book which all of the guide books tell you to get first and always carry with you so that kids can get the autographs of the characters they meet. I made a quick trip to the gift shop in the Beach Club Resort (where Cape May is located) and got the autograph book and a pen. Back at the restaurant Rayma and Alison had already been seated, but Alison decided to go ahead and get an autograph from Minnie and while she was next to her posed for a couple of pictures. Minnie was delightful and wrote a careful, fanciful autograph complete with many hearts and X’s and O’s underneath. During our breakfast we also received visits from Chip and Dale and Goofy. Dale taught me how to tell him from Chip (Dale has two teeth and a larger nose), and Chip really enjoyed playing with Alison’s ponytails, which caused lots of giggles from her as he flipped and twirled them in the air. I was really very impressed by the attention the characters gave the customers, especially the kids. They cheerfully signed autographs, and spent at least 5 minutes at each table with them. The buffet was not inexpensive, but it was a sight to behold. Imagine a square about 15 feet long on each side, with every breakfast food you have ever seen along the sides. Amazing selection, presentation, and ample amounts of everything.
From there we returned to our room to apply sunscreen and gather the essentials for the day, fanny packs with water and cameras, film, plus our plastic cards which serve as a room key as well as a charge card and park pass. We caught a bus in front of our hotel which took us directly to the Magic Kingdom, arriving about 9:30. Rented a stroller, Alison clambered in without protest (probably because the walk from the bus stop to the entrance of the Magic Kingdom is about a hundred yards and she was beginning to understand the immensity of the place). We headed down Main Street past Cinderella’s castle (which Alison looked upon with great awe) and found the ride she told us she wanted to go on first – Dumbo. Rayma and Alison rode while I took video from below. Then it was time for Pooh, Peter Pan, then “It’s a Small World” and finally the spinning teacups which turned out to be her favorite ride of the day. We met nice people from all parts of the country, including some fellow Texans and overheard many foreign languages and accents.
By about 1:30 Alison was pretty much exhausted, so we headed for the closest “sit down in air conditioning” place which turned out to be Cosmic Ray’s and Alison insisted that we sit down close so that she could watch the animatronic space alient (who looks sort of like a dragon) play a futuristic organ. The music was surprisingly good – it sounded more appropriate to a Vegas lounge, The food was uninspired but not bad. We shared a chicken sandwich, some chicken strips, and corn dog bites and a lot of french fries.
Upon leaving we came across Belle (from Beauty and the Beast) telling a story using people in the audience as cast members. Afterwards Belle signed autographs and posed for pictures, but Alison was so tired she wasn’t interested in either opportunity, so Rayma got the autograph for her and we moved onward towards the exit to return to our hotel for some rest.
On the way out we got a helium mylar balloon with Minnie on one side and Mickey on the other (Alison had not asked for any kind of souvenir all day, though she did get out of her stroller and carefully examine the offerings at a street vendor car outside Cinderalla’s castle). On our way out of the park Rayma wondered aloud “how are we going to take this on the plane?” My response was “I’m not going to worry about it now.”
On the bus back there was a couple in their twenties sitting across from us and the guy was so tired he nodded off. It made me feel a little better than even the young grownups were wiped out before 2 like we were.
Back at the hotel we drank a lot of water and Alison watched Disney cartoons on TV while Daddy napped and Mommy tried to coax Alison to actually rest. No go, she was just too excited. Finally about an hour later Rayma took Alison to Stormalong Bay while Daddy stayed behind to book dinner reservations somewhere close to the hotel.
Just a few minutes after leaving Rayma radioed from her Motorola TalkAbout that she needed a room key since they were checking to be sure only resort guests were going into the swim area. I walked down with the key, didn’t find her, and radioed her to find out where she was – “standing outside the room door, waiting for you to answer it.” Classic case of technology not solving a problem.
We met in the lobby – I returned to the room to find out what was available and ended up taking priority seating at a restaurant called Spoodles just across the lake from us on the Boardwalk. Everything else seemed to be either at 5 PM or 8:30 PM, and since Alison wanted to spend time in the Bay and needed to be in bed long before 10 PM it seemed like the only reasonable choice.
I joined Alison and Rayma in the pool area – she really likes the small pool at the base of the shipwreck which has the water slide. After she tired of that she took us to the sandy beach and made “snow cones” with Rayma – piling sand into big cones on the beach then encouraging me to come eat it.
It wasn’t easy but we finally convinced her we needed to head out for dinner. She didn’t want to change – so Rayma went upstairs and changed while we waited in the courtyard. The boat left just as we were walking down the pier, so we had to wait about 15 minutes for the next one. Meanwhile Alison was getting progressively crankier and I was beginning to wonder if we should have just had burgers and hot dogs at the grill next to the pool.
The boat finally came and we took a nice short trip across the lake to the Boardwalk area.
We ate at a restaurant called Spoodles, Alison has Mickey shaped pasta and Rayma and I each ordered a different type of flat bread pizza. The service was slow even though the place was only half full, but the food was fine. Afterwards Alison got an ice cream cone from the confectionary next door and then we rented a quadracycle (18 bucks for half an hour – ouch!) because Alison had wanted do this since she saw one the first night we stayed at the resort.
The Boardwalk wasn’t crowded at all, and as we pedaled along we got to see a performer balance golf clubs on a the point of a knife he held in his mouth. When he pulled out a long saber and talked about swallowing it Alison quickly told us she didn’t want to see this trick because it was too scary, so we pedalled off to complete our circle around the lake. The Disney staffer who rented us the cycle pointed out the map on the dashboard, and specifically the two “hills” which we would need to gain speed before approaching since they would require some momentum to cross. The first wasn’t too bad but we didn’t get as much speed as we would have liked before tackling the second because a group of people coming from the other direction were walking four abreast and we weren’t sure which side we would pass them on. As a result we ended up huffing and puffing as we tried to get the quadracycle up the hill while the onlookers surely thought at any moment they would see the couple with the kid in the front basket start rolling backwards.
Once we got back Alison decided she would prefer to walk back to our resort rather than wait for the boat which originally took so long to arrive. As we strolled along the Boardwalk she noticed a couple of arcades and asked to try them. The first was a game where you smacked a rubber mallet onto a metal launching device with a rubber lobster on it, propelling it into the air and if you were lucky, into one of several “lobster pots” which rotated around the end of a spinning table. Alison told me when to whack the launcher and the first lobster went into a pot. Yay! (Imagine big sigh of relief from Dad). The next one I hit too hard so it sailed over the target into the center of the table, and the last one teetered on the edge of a pot before falling out. Still, Alison got to pick a prize, and chose a blue and yellow colored lobster.
Next up was the game she excels at when she goes to parties at Chuck E Cheese’s – squirting a water gun at a target. Only problem was that Dad only had five bucks left in his pocket and each player cost 3 bucks. She needed two to play because they would award a prize only to a winner of a “race” and you can’t have a race without more than one contestant. There wasn’t any sign of negotiation from the employee staffing the game. A nearby Dad who had a son who wanted to play the game kindly gave us a buck so we could play! So Alison won the race, chose a small pink stuffed dog with spots around his nose she promptly named “Pink Polka Dot Puppy.” Later that evening when we asked her what her favorite parts of the day were she told us riding Dumbo, the teacups, and winning the dog. As we walked back to our resort I put the stuffed blue and yellow lobster on my head and told Alison it was because I wanted everyone to see that I won a prize. This was far too embarassing for her and she made me crouch down so she could pluck it from my head.
Then it was off to bed for our little princess since tomorrow’s breakfast is bright and early at 8 AM and this time it’s not near our hotel – we have to get to the Contemporary Resort to eat at Chef Mickey’s! While Rayma showers I head off in search of advice on the best way to get there. Turns out the only way for us is a cab since the bus and monorail system doesn’t run early enough. Feeling a twinge of late night snack cravings I wander into the gift shop and end up with a box of Goofy’s salt water taffy for me and Mickey shaped chocolate covered pretzels for Rayma.
When I get back and show my purchases to Rayma she asks me “Did Dr. Yankelson say it was OK for you to eat those?” Dr. Yankelson is our dentist and I recently saw him for a new crown. After it was firmly cemented in place I asked him specifically if I could eat sticky candy again (I have a particular fondness for “Hot Tamales”) and he said that I could eat anything I wanted to. While I had a temporary crown I was forbidden from Hot Tamales or anything else sticky which might pull it off. I explain that I have explicit permission from Dr. Yankelson and she goes off to dry her hair. About ten pieces of taffy later I feel something very unchewable in the back of my mouth and discover that I have pulled out a filling from my wisdom tooth which I had to beg to get since Dr. Yankelson wanted to pull that tooth as well as the rest of my wisdom teeth.
The bad news is that I have to face Dr. Yankelson over this again when I return to Austin. The good news is that I don’t have any pain so I don’t have to search out a dentist in the House of Mouse. And yes, I did tell Rayma about it. But I made her promise not to say “I told you so” before I did.
Tonight before we went to sleep Rayma told me that a week from today Alison starts kindergarten. Trying to reassure her I said, “Remember what Ms. Vicky (her pre-K teacher) said, ‘She’s so ready.'” “Bully for Ms. Vicki,” Rayma said, “Mommy’s not.”
