This post started as a reply to comments on the preceding article, but I figured, why not make it a post in its own right? So here it is…
It’s been a great week, and Alison has been an absolute angel the entire time. Today, she and her parents woke early (after she slept in till 9:15 or so yesterday—she never sleeps past 7:30!) and went to a Character Breakfast with Chef Mickey, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and Pluto.
Then we met up at the Magic Kingdom. It’s Tuesday after the Washington’s Birthday1 holiday, but you’d think it was still a holiday weekend, from the crowds! (In fact, WDW’s "busy season"—or is it busier?—runs from Washington’s Birthday to about Memorial Day. After that, even though it’s summer, the crowds thin out a bit: The natives know better to fight the summer crowds, heat, and humidity.)
First stop was Mickey’s Toon Town, where we stood in line for 30 min or so to meet up with Tinkerbell and a couple of her pixie pals. Alie, of course, was pretty thrilled, especially since she hasn’t quite figured out the line between fantasy and reality. (Or is she at that age where she knows better, but plays along for the benefit of the grown-ups?)
After autographs and pictures, we headed over to Big Thunder Mountain to get Fast Passes for a later ride. Well, we got the passes, but the ride was temporarily shut down. However, we did have three Fast Passes to use at Space Mountain, so while Alie and I headed over to Dumbo’s ride, her parents and Grandma headed to Space Mountain.
Alie and I stood in line for about 40 minutes, but she was a trouper, and we had a good time waiting our turn. After Dumbo, it was lunch time, then we headed back to Big Thunder Mountain, which was inoperative: not still, but again. A Cast Member confirmed our Fast Passes would be good any time today, so we decided, since Alison was starting to tire out (go figure!) to take the Disney RR back to Main Street and head back to the hotel for a few hours of R&R. We’ll head back to the Magic Kingdom again this evening.
Tomorrow, we check out, and catch our flight home from Orlando at 5:40 p.m., with an ETA in Rapid City of about 10 p.m. It’ll be good to be home. 
Notes:
- Feel free to call it Presidents Day or Presidents’ Day, but the official Federal calendar says Washington’s Birthday. ↩
Tami (23)
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Woot! What a marvelous trip, I’m so happy it’s gone so well!
May fortune smile upon your return trip home. =]
Tami´s latest blog post is Raven Child
“Or is she at that age where she knows better, but plays along for the benefit of the grown-ups?”
Based on my experiences there with my daughter, I expect that it is a combination of the two. Kids aren’t too fussy about these distinctions, as long as they are having fun.
Glad you made it through Dumbo in only 40 minutes, with no mishaps. The wait for that ride is notorious….
Interestingly, we went back last night. After the 9pm parade, everything was walk-on (at least, everything we wanted to do). So we went on Aladdin’s Magic Carpets, which is almost identical to Dumbo except for the shape of the car and that it holds 4 people, not 2. When I mentioned that no wait was way better than 40 minutes on Dumbo, the Cast Member present said in her experience, they’ve never had more than a 30-min wait for Aladdin. Ever. Something to keep in mind!
Oh, and…Alie was great all night: We stayed till 11:30 (she rode Aladdin 3 times in a row!).