While "yesterday" was hot and humid at Disney World, "today" was our rainy day of the trip. The morning started off great — a wakeup call from Mickey and Stitch and then breakfast at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends. Last time we were at Disney World, Benji hugged the noses of all the characters; this time he talked to them, gave high fives, and posed for pictures with "the animals". It was more crowded than last time, so we didn't see the characters many times. But Benji was pretty happy with the visits he got. He was also very happy with his chocolate chip Mickey mouse pancake. I'm not sure which he liked more — the Mickey shape or the chocolate chips. In either case, he had a good time at our character meal.
After brunch we again headed off to Fantasyland. And Benji was upset again that the castle was closed. But I asked around and figured out when it would open for the day and we rode some rides in Fantasyland in the meantime. We rode the carousel, Dumbo, and Winnie the Pooh and saw Mickey's Philharmagic. Philharmagic was the only attraction during the entire trip that Benji actively disliked. He didn't cry or scream, but halfway through the film he asked "is it done yet?" and looked rather perturbed. We took off his 3-D glasses for the rest of the film and he was OK, but he was still happy when it was done. We think he didn't like the way things look like they're coming out at you in the film, so no more 3-D films for a while.
Then it was back to the castle to see if we could go inside. The doors were finally open so we could walk from Fantasyland through to Main Street. It really is beautiful to look all the way through the castle. On one hand Benji was happy to finally get in the castle, but on the other hand he was disappointed that there were no games or rides inside the castle. Benji's perspective on the world is so different than ours and so wonderful!
Our next stop was Toontown for a few spins on the roller coaster and a visit to Mickey's house. It was a magic moment to see his excitement at meeting Mickey. We were escorted into a room to meet the Mickey and Minnie and Benji ran towards Mickey, came back to us, and ran to Mickey's arms when we said it was OK. He hugged both Mickey and Minnie and happily posed for photos. While we were riding the roller coaster this afternoon, it began to drizzle and quickly turned to heavy rain.
We waited out some of the rain in the gift shop by the roller coaster while Benji ate a Mickey lollipop. We finally got tired of that and ran over to the train station and rode around the park a few times. We eventually got off in Frontierland for dinner at Pecos Bill's and some rides and shows over there, including Country Bear Jamboree, Aladdin's carpets, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Frontierland is a great place to watch the parades, so we saw the electrical parade and then rode the magic carpets over and over again while waiting for the fireworks. It was so empty that they didn't make us get off the ride and we rode until they shut the ride down, including one ride as the fireworks were starting. I think it spoiled Benji a bit because when we came back later in the trip he thought he would get to ride again without waiting in line. We finished off our evening by sharing a piece of fudge with three friends in the hotel room. Yummy!
One of my few "postcard" photographs. It was such a beautiful morning it's hard to believe how much it rained later in the afternoon.
Big hugs for Tigger!
Mommy gets to pose, too.
We definitely didn't get Benji to pose with the characters last time. Now, however, he is happy to pose for pictures (and he looks at them afterward on the camera screen to check himself out).
I wonder if the best part of brunch was the characters or the Mickey pancakes.
I wonder what Piglet and Benji are laughing at. Perhaps one of Benji's knock-knock jokes?
Big hugs for Pooh!
We only rode the carousel once during our trip. I guess it wasn't thrilling enough for Benji!
So cool in his 3-D glasses!
I was surprised at just how excited Benji was to meet Mickey and Minnie.
Benji has been on a lollipop kick for a while now so I brought some Dum-Dums on this trip in my purse. Somehow they just didn't cut it when he saw a 5-pack bouquet of Mickey lollipops. He asked for them in every store we went into, so during the rain we gave in and used some of his splurge money from Grandma and Grandpa on lollipops. He loved it!
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.
