After much waiting and excitement, we finally made it into the parks today. Because we had lunch reservations at Le Cellier, we started our trip and our day over at EPCOT. Benji didn't take too kindly to this as the kiddie rides are over at the Magic Kingdom. But we were able to appease him with the Nemo Ride, especially since he is so fond of the Nemo movie. Prior to lunch we rode on The Seas with Nemo and Friends and saw Turtle Talk, as well as riding Listen to the Land and Soarin'. Finding Nemo is probably Benji's favorite Disney movie, so it's no surprise he really liked the Nemo ride. Turtle Talk is very impressive, as it has an animated Crush that actually interacts with the children. Only I got to ride Soarin' on the first day since Benji is too short and we ran out of time before our lunch reservation for Matthew to ride. I really wish he had been tall enough to try it out, but I guess we need something new for next time.
For lunch we had coveted reservations at Le Cellier, the steakhouse in Canada. It's so famous for the steak that even I had the filet minon. The free dining plan was a huge reason this trip was fun for all. As I've said before, this makes it our "cruise on dry land" — tons of great food and totally self-contained.
The rest of our day was spent in the Magic Kindgom (which is also where we spent a large part of the rest of our visit). It was hot and humid, but that didn't matter to Benji. We were finally at the park for him! When we saw Cinderella's Castle down Main Street for the first time, Benji got so excited. I was actually quite surprised at how excited he got by the castle, but he had seen it before in a Sing Along Songs DVD I had gotten for him. Because of some shows on the castle stage every afternoon, the walkway was closed off. So we chose to go to Fantasyland via Tomorrowland and stopped off at Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin along the way. But Benji was completely insistent that we needed to go to the castle so we didn't go to any other rides and made a beeline for the backside of the castle. At which point he burst into tears. Here we were at the "happiest place on earth" and Benji was crying and crying about how he wanted to go into the castle. It turns out he thought there were games and rides in the castle (we think partially due to the influence of Enchanted Castle) and that we were keeping him away from them. Despite all the rides he could see, he was upset about the (nonexistent) ones he couldn't see. Seeing all this, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother came over and helped to calm Benji down. Only at the Magic Kingdom would you have a real Fairy Godmother available calm an upset kid.
He finally calmed down and realized there were tons of rides he could go on and we began exploring Fantasyland. We had the first of many rides on It's a Small World, Dumbo, Pooh, and the Teacups. Then it was time for dinner at Cosmic Ray's and some air conditioning. Refreshed, we set out again for the rides. By then it was evening so the park was much cooler and more pleasant. We headed off for Toontown where we found what would easily become Benji's favorite ride — The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm (a.k.a. Goofy's Barnstormer). He loved the roller coaster. We went on it twice that evening before it was time for the fireworks, but we would return every day we were in the Magic Kingdom.
We watched the fireworks from Fantasyland instead of the more traditional in front of the castle, but I think I actually preferred this view. And as long as Mommy covered his ears, Benji enjoyed the fireworks. After the fireworks (when the park is technically closed) we saw that people were still getting on the Teacups so we hopped in line for a bonus ride before heading hope (or so we thought). They were still letting people in line when we were done, so we tried again. The third time they asked for our hotel key; it turns out it was Extra Magic Hours, which was a very pleasant surprise for us. So we took advantage of it and rode the Indy Raceway twice, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (a.k.a. the Peoplemover), and Buzz Lightyear. Afterwards, we sat on a bench in Tomorrowland and ate some chocolate cake leftover from dinner as a nice evening treat. It was so pleasant to sit there and take in the evening atmosphere. While waiting in line for the bus, I got another pleasant surprise as we saw the Electrical Water Pageant pass by on the Seven Seas Lagoon. It's not very fancy, but it's a very old tradition at Disney World and I had never actually seen it.
An area that would become very familiar to us is the bus waiting area. Here, however, we are on our way into the park.
EPCOT focuses more on educational rides than thrill rides, including Living with the Land. Benji actually enjoyed "the farming boat ride" and we went on a few more times during the week.
On the faming boat ride, we get to see so many foods being grown, including these Mickey pumpkins. Benji was also interested in the banana trees.
The Disney Dining Plan includes dessert with every meal, which was Benji's favorite part of every meal. We had so much chocolate on this trip!
Cinderella's Fairy Godmother calms Benji down when he can't go in the castle.
Benji's first of many character pose photos during the trip.
Benji was looking forward to the Teacups for weeks before our visit. He has a Little People amusement park that includes a teacup ride and we had watched a Disneyland Sing Along Songs DVD that includes time on the Teacups, both of which got him excited for this particular ride.
i sincerely do not know what you are doing here. are you lost? were you
looking for your delicate calico cat, and did you follow her up two flights of stairs
to this room? she is not here. she was here, yes. we gave her a warm bowl of milk, we talked with her about campaign finance reform for a time, and then she bid us good day. i believe she was
going to the post office two blocks down, but i don't quite recall.
for surely you did
not find your way from prinsiana, the least traveled site on
the internet. if you did, though, perhaps you are looking for humor. perhaps you are looking for profundity. perhaps you are looking for answers.
i'm sorry, but you shall go naught-for-three.
