WDW 2002 - Day 3

Back to the resort to relax a bit and get ready for dinner. The kids were dying to use the Jacuzzi tub, and a good soak sounded good to me as well. No naps today, but other than a bit of moodiness from Maddy back around lunchtime the girls had been VERY good. Looking forward to dinner with Cinderella helped them stay happy I guess! :-) Headed out to catch the boat to Contemporary and then take the Monorail. Get to the outside door and WHOA! Torrential downpour! New plan... Get car from Valet, and drive to Grand Floridian. Valet there is $6 (no free DVC valet there), but with this storm worth it not to be soaked. I love having options. Seems like every time we go to the GF for dinner it pours! :-)

We arrive early and decide to check instead of shop as planned. No problem, and we only wait about 5 – 10 minutes for a table while the girls get a picture with the Fairy Godmother. I know they just saw her and Cinderella the day before, but they just love them both, and Kristen and I love this buffet. So we decided to do it while we were still staying in the Magic Kingdom area. Probably should have waited until next week, but it was still lots of fun. We got a good corner table that gave us a good spot for the camera bag on the floor out of the way, and wasn’t too bad for getting in and out to take pictures. After getting dirty plates, cups and straws in too many character meal pictures, I now ALWAYS get up to take the pictures. They come out MUCH better. :-)

We saw Cinderella and Prince Charming – Perla (Purple) and Suzy (Green) were also both there. The girls had only ever seen the Prince once before and we hadn’t seen the mice (well, one at Animal Kingdom once but Dad flubbed the picture!). It was great fun. They made a point of telling us the characters could take some time to come around (1 – 1.5 hours) and to just take our time and enjoy. (I thought that was nice and unrushed). I know others have said this buffet isn’t for them, so we must be very lucky. It was EXCELLENT tonight. From the Caesar salad, through the pork loin and Prime Rib – EVERYTHING we tried was excellent. Also – make sure you go across the ENTIRE buffet. Don’t assume that both sides are the same because they are not! The desserts were wonderful too. Strawberry shortcake on fresh made biscuits with real whipped cream. Wonderful super rich and smooth fudge, chocolate dipped micky shaped rice crispy treats (kids LOVED these), cup cakes for the kids to decorate, and a bunch more we didn’t have the room to even try.

The characters all made it around twice (except Cinderella – I think we had JUST missed her when we were seated). They spent time, and were very friendly and made big to-do’s of the kids pins of Cinderella and the other princesses. It was an all around great evening.

After dinner we found Minnie Mouse in the lobby along with the Fairy Godmother! Time for some more pictures. :-) They just NEVER seem to get enough character time! We went out and relaxed in the lobby for a few minutes. The Grand Floridian was a beautiful as ever, but we decided to head off to the Magic Kingdom instead of just sit there all night! :-) It was about 8pm, the rain had stopped, and there was a 9pm Spectro scheduled. We jumped on the monorail and arrived inside the park around 8:10. There was a spot right on the main circle as you enter the park that just CALLED our names! :-) It was a bit damp so we laid out ponchos on the sidewalk and sat on the curb to wait. I thought it would be terribly long for the kids, but they really were trying to keep the crowds entertained. Characters kept passing through to get the crowd going or play games. (no pictures, just crowd interactions). We saw Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, Aurora and Mary Poppins. The time went by pretty quickly, and the crowds built up BIG time. We had a great spot, with TONS of people many layers deep behind us.

As 9pm rolled around and the parade started, it started to sprinkle. THEN it started to really rain. Not a total downpour, but plenty to soak us through! The parade continued, but several pieces were missing (Chernobog float and Ursula that I noticed). And the parade did not stop at all. I know that we’ve been told before that they don’t stop if it starts to rain. It was still wonderful, and we didn’t care about getting wet (well – not too much!) had to hide my camera under a hat and then put it away all together! And of course I had had the forethought to bring my tripod so I was all ready this time! :-) Oh well! :-)

We zipped out and caught the boat to the GF. The Monorail station was PACKED, but the boat wasn’t bad at all. With no nap, the girls would NOT make the 10pm fireworks and then have to fight those crowds back. We had valet bring the car around (not such a good deal to keep dry anymore – but we were not soaked at dinner! :-) ) We were quickly back at Wilderness Lodge, and drying everyone off and getting off to bed. It was a LONG and fun day. Tomorrow is a GREAT sleep in day. Nothing planned until the 9:45am - Adventures in Cooking back at the Grand Floridian!