The wake up call from Mickey came at 6:50 AM, and the morning starts off rocky because Alison wants to wear a SpongeBob SquarePants band-aid on her chin because she banged it on the edge of the sink counter while brushing her teeth the night before. She insisted on the band-aid before going to sleep even though there was no cut inside or out (thankfully). She also wants to take her Koala bear from her birthday party to the Magic Kingdom today. Both of these are not popular ideas with us. Alison doesn’t respond well to the direct “no” approach from me, so I depart for the lobby and leave Rayma to try the gentle negotation technique which she is far superior at.
I make arrangements for the cab, and wait a few minutes before the girls appear in the lobby – Alison is without band-aid or Koala so it appears Rayma has batted a thousand. Later I learn that “Pink Polka Dot Puppy” is riding inside Alison’s fanny pack as a surrogate for Koala.
We take a cab to the Contemporary resort, and an escalator from the lobby takes us to the floor where Chef Mickey’s restaurant is located. Before we are escorted to our table we pose for a family portrait that will later be offered to us in a ready to take away package of two 8×10’s, some wallets, a keychain and fridge magnet, along with portraits of the characters who visit during this character breakfast.
This restaurant is completely unlike Cape May which was sedate and refined in comparison. Chef Mickey’s breakfast is a party, and periodically they play upbeat dance type music and the staff (sorry, “Cast members” is what they are called at WDW) all sing and encourage everyone to wave their green cloth napkins in the air. Dale, Mickey, Goofy, and Chip all come by for a visit, a hug, an autograph, and pictures. Chip sits down at the adjoining table and plays a full game of “Go Fish” with a boy who looks to be about 10. Alison is amazed at how well Chip plays and in the end he wins a close game, pumping his paws in the air triumphantly. Minnie comes by and then we are ready to return the Magic Kingdom to catch the attractions we missed yesterday.
We ride the monorail from the Contemporary resort to the Magic Kingdom, and even though it’s been around for decades it still seems very futuristic and space-age to me. The view from the enormous windows of the lake and the Grand Floridian Resort is impressive.
Once we arrive we pay for a stroller rental, ride the train to Mickey’s Toon Town Fair, and wait outside the rope crossing the street in front of Mickey’s house for a few minutes before ten AM arrives and we are allowed in. We tour Mickey’s house, follow the sidewalk to the “Judge’s Tent” where he is judging the county fair entries, and Alison gets to meet Mickey and have her photo taken. From there we go duck into a large store whose name I can’t recall where there are roped off lines to meet other characters for photos, autographs, and hugs. We wait for about ten minutes in a line that never moves for the Pooh characters before Rayma remembers we are supposed to lunch with them tomorrow so this is really not necessary. We duck out of the line and end up back in the store where Alison decides she wants to do a little shopping. Maybe more than a little. She’s entranced with everything and they have a LOT of stuff. After waiting as long I can I give Rayma our room key/charge card and retire to a bench outside and wait for the outcome.
When the girls reappear Alison has a set of Minnie ears (pink dome with black ears) and a bracelet she has chosen the parts for with an assortement of different charms. Considering the selection in the store, I am impressed. We tour Minnie’s house, and Alison particularly enjoys the kitchen where you can bake a cake, microwave popcorn, and even open the refrigerator to see what’s inside.
Afterwards we head over to Goofy’s Barnstormer, a roller coaster which we have been told is not going to frighten Alison. It’s temporarily shut down while some minor adjustments are made so we wait for it to reopen and then head to the boarding point. We think we will have time to watch the first groups of cars go around to let Alison decide if it looks too scary. No such luck – we’re herded onto cars and before we know it the ride is moving. Rayma and Alison in one car, me by myself in the one in front of it.
The people we have talked to about this ride reassuringly say the it has “no drops – just curves.” As we approach the first climbing hill I can tell this is going to be more than Alison has been prepared for. We climb and climb some more than the car jerks to the left and races down a banked curve and I look around to see Alison screaming in terror. Despite our best efforts to reassure her the rest of the ride (thankfully, very short) is tears and screaming. We promise that we won’t do anything like this again, apologise repeatedly for misjudging the scariness, and hustle her on to something else to get her mind off it.
We get a hot dog, relax for a while to let her eat it, smush a penny with a Mickey Mouse design in a machine, and get some frozen lemonade because the day is starting to heat up. Then it’s off to Frontier Land to see the Country Bear Jamboree. On the way Alison spots the teacups and wants to do them again, so we park the stroller and do just that. It is amazing to see the crowds that wait for and ride the teacups – every age group. Most of the people our age are telling each other “I remember my parents taking me on the teacups.” Alison loves the teacups but demands that she be the only one who gets to turn the center wheel which makes the cup spin.
From the teacups we make our way to Frontier Land and into the cool air conditioned lobby of the building where the Country Bear Jamboree is presented. After about a ten minute wait we enter the auditorium and the show begins. The bears are animatronic, but the show provides some laughs and a 20 minute relief from the sun and Alison is amazed at the bear who drops from the ceiling on a swing to sing a song.
From there we spot a ferry to Tom Sawyer’s Island and decide to take it – kind of an anticlimactic event since the “ride” is on a barge which goes a total of about 30 feet across the river to the opposite bank. We clamber off, find Polly’s which is an ice cream sort of place that immediately reminds me of the post office because there is a huge line of people waiting to be served and all of one person staffing the counter. I claim a table in the shade, Rayma gets in line, and everyone waits while one poor soul of a woman gets to make everything on the menu by herself and then complete the monetary transaction required to serve it. I find some bird food in a vending machine which amuses Alison for a few minutes as she treats some white birds with long red bills to a snack. Rayma calls me over and tells me that the ice cream machine has frozen up and won’t be working for about 15 minutes so we get to wait even longer. Finally we have our cones, eat them and catch the raft back to the other side of the river. It’s abut 2:30 and Alison wants to go back to the hotel.
As we head towards the exit we notice that preparations for the 3 PM parade are already starting – ropes are being set up on the sides of the street and people are claiming spots on curbs and in shady spots under trees. The street we are on is the parade route and I soon realize that we aren’t going to make it to the front of the park before Alison realizes there’s something going on and we might as well see if she wants to stay while there are still some places to sit closeby. Of course she wants to see it, so we find a spot right behind a rope, but on a very hot pavement to wait for the parade to begin. Alison is in the shade courtesy of her stroller and the longer we wait the more I wish I were, too.
Finally the parade begins and it’s very impressive, with the major Disney characters on floats in huge snowglobe things which I am guessing just have to be air conditioned. They wave and blow kisses and there’s Disney music in the background and it’s all very touching. Alison loves all of it except the float with evil characters like Cruella De Ville which she dubs “the mean float.”
After the parade we take a shortcut to Main Street towards the front of the park where Alison gets her Minnie ears embroidered with her name (free!) and then it’s out of the park and back to the hotel via bus. We are literally the last people on the bus which is packed and I end up standing next to the driver while we head back to our resort. At one point he stops at a yellow light and some tired and cranky people on the bus playfully harass him with boos. He smiles and points out to me the cameras at the intersection noting that every driver is always under surveillance.
When we get back it’s time to cool off in the room. Alison enjoys a couple of cartoons on the Toon Disney channel while Mommy and Daddy stretch their tired legs on the bed. Rayma and Alison don swimsuits and head down to her favorite swimming place – I tell her I will be down soon. We’ve decided to dine at Hurricane Hanna’s – a grill next to the pool to avoid the lateness of the previous evening. Rayma calls me and tells me that the grill is closing at 6 PM. We end up waiting WAY too long to eat at Beaches and Cream, the ice cream shop which also sells burgers and such. Alison has a grilled cheese sandwich and chocolate ice cream, then it’s up to the room for a bath and bedtime.
I decide to watch the news after Alison goes to sleep since my only contact with the real world has been the USA Today we find outside our door in the morning and there’s a story about the nasty Windows virus which is wreaking havoc on business and government offices around the world.
The weatherman says there’s a tropical depression headed towards Florida – it’s expected to pass to the south, but leave us with thunderstorms and a generally wet day tomorrow. So our plans are kind of in flux – we have a character lunch at Magic Kingdom with the Pooh characters at 11:40, so we’ll let Alison sleep late and then head over there to for remaining attractions in Tomorrowland, etc. and then lunch at the Crystal Palace. Afterwards we’ll head to MGM Studios where she will enjoy the Playhouse Disney show and with luck we’ll see Rolie Polie Olie, whom she adores.
