Note: Min's trip report is in Coral and Bill's comments are in Blue. In the Gallery links, pictures without a border link to the specific picture and those with a border link to a gallery of related pictures.

Click to Read:  Intro & Prelude  - Part One  - Part Three  - Part Four

May 14, 2004 - Friday

We were up at 6:30 as we had a PS at Chef Mickey's at 7:50.

Who's crazy idea was it to get up this early, we are supposed to be on vacation... Oh yeah... it was mine... wanted to be done with breakfast and ready to get to Fantasyland right after park opening...   :)

We headed for the bus and called the moms. They were having coffee at an outside table behind the lobby. We met them on the way to the bus. We caught the bus to the Magic Kingdom and then the monorail to Contemporary. We arrived a few minutes before our PS time and were seated immediately. The food was great and the characters were even better.

Kudos to the cast member that helped us get a picture of our moms with Mickey. They had both took an after breakfast break and were not at the table when Mickey came around. We told the cast member attending the characters about our desire to get a picture of our moms with Mickey since our trip was a late Mother's Day gift for them. She got him and we were able to get our picture...

After breakfast, we caught the monorail back to Magic Kingdom. Nancy told my mom about the dinner at 'Ohana when we stopped at the Polynesian and then told her about the breakfast at 1900 Park Faire when we stopped at the Grand Floridian. A quick walk through security and the ticket gate and we were in the Magic Kingdom. Our moms and me headed in while Bill took some pictures.

Tried to get some pictures, I wanted to get a close up of the Mickey in flowers similar to the picture I had taken yesterday. I waited my turn in line to get the picture. But since I had no one to stand in front of the flowers when it was my turn, another family stepped up to take pictures. So I waited for them to move, then another family stepped up. I gave up and went into the park to find Min and our moms.

We rode the horse-drawn trolley down Main Street to Cinderella's Castle. Bill took some pictures as we rode.

This is the second time we have gotten to ride the trolley this year. It is a great way to travel down Main Street. My mom made a comment about remembering riding it on our first visit to the Magic Kingdom back in 1972.

The castle was closed as it was about time for Cinderella's Surprise Celebration, so we went down the bridge to the right of the castle headed for Fantasyland. As we neared the teacups, we saw Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum posing for pictures. Since we were wearing matching green shirts, I decided we needed a picture with them.

No comment... but if you want to read Min and Bill's Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum story, click here.

As we headed over to The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh we saw the wall was up around the old 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea area. Nancy said she missed the submarines and asked what they were doing with the area. We told her that they were draining the water and filling in the lagoon for future use. It was a short wait for the Pooh attraction and while in line we talked about how there was usually a really long line here. I was very happy that we got a chance to go on Pooh because Bill and I had skipped it our last couple of trips because of the long lines. We all enjoyed our little adventure with Pooh, my mom even wanted to go on it again.

I guess I could say something about the apple not falling too far from the tree here... but I won't...  :)

As we headed deeper into Fantasyland, we were surprised to find that Snow White's Scary Adventures has reopened early from its scheduled refurbishment, so we walked on and shared her adventures. After Snow White, we decided to bypass Mickey's Philharmagic for now and headed for Peter Pan's Flight. While we walked, our moms "complained" about "it's a small world" not being open. 

Yep, this was another continuing theme of our trip...  :)  Both of them love "it's a small world" and they even joked about canceling the trip when they found out it was going to be closed during our visit...

When we got there, it was posted as an hour wait. This was too long, so we were undecided on what to do. We continued walking towards Liberty Square and talked about what to do next. Finally after much discussion, a decision was made. Bill collected everyone passes and gave them to me. I went back to Peter Pan's Flight for fastpasses while Bill and the moms, made a pit stop. After I caught back up with them, we went over to Liberty Square and visited the Hall of Presidents. Afterwards, we got something to drink and slowly wandered back over to Peter Pan. We got there a few minutes before our fastpass window and after a short wait, we were in the line waiting for a flying ship. Our moms enjoyed the flight and we talked about it as we headed for Mickey's Philharmagic. We walked through the lobby of Mickey's Philharmagic and right into the waiting area. We had about a ten minutes wait before the next show started. The show was wonderful and our moms really enjoyed it.

Well except for the very young child sitting next to us that went ballistic when the special effects started going off... Luckily, it only took his father about three minutes to realize that the child was not going to quiet down and take him out of the theatre...  :) 

We picked up a pin for the show in the gift shop and then headed over to Cinderella's Castle. My mom wanted to see inside of the castle, so we gave her a  tour. Well at least as far as we could go, the front part of the castle was closed once again due to the celebration. We looked at some of the murals on the first floor, then walked around the gift shop. Then we went up to Cinderella's Royal Table. They were just finishing breakfast, so the place was pretty empty. After the tour of the castle, we headed for Tomorrowland. We walked by the wishing well and then through the rose garden. My mom volunteered Bill's picture taking services to a couple that was trying to get a shot from the rose garden with the castle in the background, then they returned the favor by taking a picture of the four of us.

It was one of the easiest pictures I ever took... when the husband started to explain how to use their camera, I just showed him ours and we both had a little laugh... they had the same digital camera as we do...  :)

Unfortunately, Timekeeper was closed so we were unable to check that one off my mom's list. We headed over to Carousel of Progress, my mom actually got to go on it at the 1964 World's Fair, so this was like old home week for her. Afterwards, we did a couple of rounds around Tomorrowland on the TTA. This is becoming a tradition for Bill and me, multiple rounds on the TTA as a little break from all the hustle and bustle. We headed back to the hub, once there we stopped to discuss what to do next.

My mom was in commando mode and wanted to keep going... Min and Linda were starting to fade and needed a rest... I was caught in the middle...  :)

We decided on a walk down Main Street through the shops opposite the Emporium with a trip on the Walt Disney World Railroad to follow. After our stroll down Main Street and our train ride, my mom and I headed back to the resort, while Bill and Nancy continued on. We made plans to meet up at Disney Studios around 3:00. When we got back to our rooms, we found that mousekeeping had paid us a visit. There was a frog made from a washcloth in the moms room and a rose made from a washcloth in our room. 

I guess I get to pick up the story for a while...

Mom and I headed back down Main Street towards Adventureland, she wanted to see the tiki birds. We went through the Emporium, did a little shopping and then headed into Adventureland. We stopped for a Dole Whip and both ended up getting a Dole Whip float. While enjoying our refreshments, Mom and I talked a lot about the park and how it had been when we first visited over thirty years ago. She was surprised at the number of characters that were out and about. Next, we walked through Agrabah Bazaar which mom enjoyed because they had a lot of Stitch merchandise. Then it was on the Enchanted Tiki Room Under New Management, we walked right in and had a seat. When the show was over, mom was very quiet. Finally, she said she hated what they had done to the tiki room and was never going to visit it again. A check of the watch showed that it was time to head for the studios. On our way out of the park, we went through the Emporium, again. Mom wanted another look at something she had seen in there earlier. We caught the monorail to the TTC and from there a bus to the studios. After going through the security check, I reached for the camera to take a picture of the Star Wars Weekends billboard and realized that Min had taken it back to the room with her. Once we were through the gate, we had a seat outside the Darkroom camera shop to wait for Min and Linda. Mom took a break while I called Min to find out where Linda and her were. It turned out that they were getting off the bus at the studios and would be joining us shortly.

After a short rest, we caught a bus to Disney Studios. Bill called me on the cell phone, just as we were arriving, wondering where we were. After going through security, I tried to take a picture of the Star Wars billboard out front and discovered the same thing that Bill did this morning. I did not have anyone going up to the billboard for a picture, so I was pretty much ignored by everyone and could not get a picture. I finally gave up and headed into the park.

After a short wait, there was no Min and Linda so I called Min again...  :)

Bill called again wondering where we were, I could see him standing inside the park and told him to look up. He looked up saw me and smiled. He gets a little impatient sometimes but I've learned to live with it. Once we were all together, we looked over the show schedule trying to decide what to do. We had my mom's to do list and wanted to get some of the things from it done. We also wanted to see the parade, the Great Movie Ride and the Beauty and the Beast show, which were not on my mom's list.

The Beauty and the Beast show... well, sure... if we got there early enough to see Four for a Dollar, too...  :)

After much debate, we finally decided to see the Beauty and the Beast show. We had a little time to kill, so we walked through the Darkroom, Celebrity 5 & 10, L.A. Prop Cinema Storage, Legends of Hollywood,

Legends of Hollywood = the Pooh store...  :)

and the Sunset Blvd Shops. My mom picked up the snowman with the Mickey mouse ears hat that she had been looking at last night. Our time killing effort did the trick as we arrived at the amphitheatre just as they were dropping the rope. We got a seat in our favorite area and then Bill walked down to the cast member next to the stage and asked if we could meet the guys from Four for a Dollar.

We had wanted to meet them for a while and on our last trip the Beauty and the Beast stage manager, Claudia, had recommended trying to catch up with the guys before their set. The cast member minding the stage, said she would go see if they had time to come out and talk with us before their set. I got Min's attention and motioned for her to come down with me.

A few minutes after Bill went down to the stage, he motioned for me to come down. We got to go backstage and meet Sammy, Doug and Andrew. We talked with them about how much we loved their music and how we came to see them almost every time we visited WDW. They said that since we were down so often to not hesitate asking to visit with them again on a future trip. We said our goodbyes and headed back to our seats with the moms. The guys show was good, they did Disney music instead of their regular stuff.

I like the guys voices, harmonies and style, but I didn't like the Disney songs as much as their regular songs...  :(

After the Beauty and the Beast show which the moms loved, we walked back toward the center of the park headed for the Great Movie Ride. We took a stroll through the Beverly Sunset and we talked about Fantasmic which we were seeing that night. After checking out the villain merchandise, we continue on towards the Great Movie Ride. As we neared the big ass hat, we decided to stop and take a look at the pins. We wanted to pick up some as a reminder of our trip. I found a couple that I liked and Bill said go ahead and get them. While standing at the cash register, Bill remembered that there was a special Disney-MGM Studios 15th Anniversary Commemorative Coin. We asked if they still had them and the cast member who was ringing up the pins said sure. We both showed our annual passes and each got a commemorative coin.

Our RADP friend BigBob also got one of the coins and sent us a scan of it. To see the Disney-MGM Studios 15th Anniversary Commemorative Coin, click here.

We checked out the Great Movie Ride, but it had a long wait and so did Voyage of The Little Mermaid. We bypassed both deciding to try again later. We started heading for the Backlot Tour but decided to have a look at Walt Disney: One Man's Dream instead. Bill loves this attraction and so did the moms.

The models of the different parks' "signature features" on display in One Man's Dream are beautiful... They make me wish for the chance to see every Disney park some day...

When we went into the film, I recognized the cast member hosting it as one that usually worked at Epcot. I remembered seeing him several times as we were leaving the park in the evening wearing a Mickey glove and asking guests to give him four. After the film, our host hoped that everyone enjoyed the rest of their day at Epcot. Bill and I laughed then Bill went up to talk to him.

I said, "give me four." He held up four fingers slapped my hand and started laughing. We chatted for a minute or two and I told him that Min and me remembered him from Epcot. I said goodbye and headed out. The problem is I don't recall his name. I guess I need to start carrying a notepad, so I can write down the cast members' we meet and chat with names...  :)

It was getting close to parade time, so we wandered in the direction of Min and Bill's Dockside Diner. We got a place in the shade under the trees and waited for the parade. When folks started standing out in the sun in front of us, Bill found another spot a little ways down and moved up to the line so that he would have a good spot for taking pictures.

I learned my lesson at Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. I did not want a lot of pictures of the backs of the heads of the people who squeezed in front of us just before the parade started...

I stayed in the shade with our moms until the parade was about to start then we all got to our spot next to Bill.

Then what should happen just as the parade is starting... a lady with a double stroller appeared out of nowhere and got a bit upset when I would not let her park the stroller in front of me... the moms and I made a spot for the stroller to the side of us and I assured her that the parade would come right in front of the stroller, so her children would not miss a thing... she was still upset with me because I was blocking her children's view of the parade's approach... some folks just amaze me with their lack of... oh, never mind...  :)

Bill got a bunch of pictures of the Stars and Motor Cars parade. It was very warm where we were standing and I was glad that we had a dinner PS at Hollywood & Vine right after the parade. When the parade was over, we checked in for dinner and were seated right away. The food was wonderful and the service was very good. Our moms really loved the food. The desserts were my favorite, the chocolate mousse and mini key lime pies were awesome.

Yep, we all pigged out... maybe a bit too much for me, as after a couple of plates I still finished the couple of dessert items that Min left on her plate...  :)

After dinner, we rode the Great Movie Ride then headed over to the Hollywood Hills Amphitheatre for Fantasmic. We ended up with seats in the Pocahontas section, which is to the left of center stage, and settled in for the 45 minute wait.

I made a run to get us something to drink and encountered the longest line of our whole trip at the snack bar...  :)

We all loved the show, especially our moms. The only thing we did not like about the show is that we were sitting down wind and ended up getting rather wet. The walk out of the amphitheatre seemed to take forever.

It sort of did... instead of the leaving via the main entrance, we walked out on the path that is behind the Fantasmic dinner package seating area... it took us behind the Beauty and the Beast stage area and also by the stroller storage area before letting out on Sunset Blvd between the shops and the entrance to the Beauty and the Beast show... it was a long walk...  :)

We finally made it to the bus stop. The wait for a bus was rather long because we skipped a bus on which we would have had to stand. We were one of the first ones on the next bus and got a seat.

Well Min and our moms got a seat, I let a lady with a small child have my seat... After everyone was packed in like sardines, we headed for the resort...  :)

At the resort, we stopped in Jackson Square for our nightly drinks. Our moms went their way and we went ours. We were both tired and went straight to bed.

Well, I watched a little TV before turning in for the night...  :)

I woke up a little after midnight with a stomach ache and spend a good bit of night in the bathroom or tossing and turning in bed.

Much to my embarrassment the next morning, I did not notice Min's comings and goings during the night... since I am usually a very light sleeper, I blame it on the king size bed as we have a queen size bed at home... there was no way that I could have been that tired, after all I had only spent the day touring the parks in commando mode with my mom...  :)

Click to Read:  Intro & Prelude  - Part One  - Part Three  - Part Four