AliciaG
06-04-2003, 05:56 PM
Saturday, May 24
This was my day for some true Disney magic. John agreed to watch the kids this morning, while I took the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. I was up and at the bus stop early in anticipation of this day. The bus came by at 7:20 and we were at the Magic Kingdom by 7:35. I’m such a sappy sucker; I get off the bus…look across the lagoon at the Polynesian, and start happy tears of anticipation. :roll: As I was going thru the bag check line, a group of new CMs was coming in. The guard welcomed them with a booming “welcome to the wonderful world of Disney”. It was cute, and fun to sense their excitement. I waited a short while at the gate until they let all those with early breakfast and tours thru the gates. I went immediately to the tour garden and checked in with my guide Isabelle. She was from Montreal, Canada and really sweet. She said I had a while till the tour started, so to feel free and explore a little. I did just that, taking in the sites and sounds of Main Street. After a while I just sat on a bench and did some people watching. I was fortunate enough to see a little Belle and Aurora on their way to the castle for breakfast. :D Too cute!
Finally it was time to meet back up with my tour group and guide. There were several people who didn’t show up, so we had the benefit of only having 5 people on our tour. The tour was incredible! We learned lots of tidbits about the park and Walt Disney. I got a little teary a time or two on Main Street too. During our tour we were also able to ride the Jungle Cruise and the Haunted Mansion. We went off stage twice, and saw the parade floats and the utilidors. I even got to see Timon with his head off, lol. Oh, and despite the rumors you may have heard…Tinkerbell is a woman. She must weigh in nightly and be no less than 100 and no more than 110 lbs. We had a nice break for lunch at Columbia Harbor House where I thoroughly enjoyed the garden galley salad. At lunch we were presented with our Keys to the Kingdom pin. What a great addition to my growing pin collection. The tour started at 8:40 and ended at 1:10. I’d highly recommend it to anyone.
After the tour I hopped the monorail and headed to Epcot. I was in search of the Flower and Garden Festival pin. I love to collect pins for hotels we stay at and events we’ve attended, so it was important to get this one. I’d gotten the Star Wars pin the day before, and it is really nice. I found the pin quickly and headed for the BCV via the International Gateway entrance. John had survived three kids for the morning! :shock: They all adored Stormalong Bay, and I was anxious to try it for myself.
http://members.aol.com/aguethlein/newpins.jpg
These are the new pins I collected this trip. I especially like the Keys to the Kingdom, Star Wars, and Flower and Garden Festival pins. The stars & stripes hat pin was found by my DD in Star Tours. She turned it in, but they told her it was a CM exclusive pin, and they'd have no way of knowing who it belonged to, so to keep it.
Dinner tonight was at Biergarten. My husband’s family is from Germany, and he loves all things German. He was really looking forward to this meal. We cleaned up and got ready and headed out of the Beach Club. There was a light sprinkle, so we donned our raincoats. This was the only rain we saw during the entire trip, and it was over by the time we left the Biergarten. We did enjoy our meal! Total with tip was $85. The entertainment was great, and Anna Kate really enjoyed the music. We were seated with a really nice couple from New York. They had come down to see her niece graduate, and were spending a few days at WDW.
http://members.aol.com/aguethlein/Biergarten.jpg
Fun was had by all!
While we were dining another family came in and set at the table behind ours. I kept thinking the woman and kids looked familiar, but you know how that is…people look like people you know all the time. Finally, I asked one of my kids if they recognized those kids and they did. I went over and asked if they were from our small hometown. They were! She’s the Creative Memories lady around here, and her daughter goes to elementary school with my oldest two, and her son goes to mother’s day out at the same church as my youngest. It really is a small world. We introduced ourselves, and she talked me into scrapping this trip. I’ve wanted to do it for a long time, but I have so many pictures. This will be a good way to start.
After dinner, we rode the Maelstrom and Spaceship Earth. We also took some time looking at the decorations for the Flower & Garden Festival. They were magnificent! Then it was time to stake out a spot for Illuminations. We found a really nice area in Norway, and I ran to get some slushies at the Outpost. The kids waited patiently, and we had a perfect view. After it was over, Eric kept going on and on about Illuminations. It’s great to see them have an appreciation of this stuff.
http://members.aol.com/aguethlein/pandas.jpg
Pandas in China
http://members.aol.com/aguethlein/dragon.jpg
This dragon really breathes steam
Coming next…EE at Magic Kingdom, and breakfast with Pooh
This was my day for some true Disney magic. John agreed to watch the kids this morning, while I took the Keys to the Kingdom Tour. I was up and at the bus stop early in anticipation of this day. The bus came by at 7:20 and we were at the Magic Kingdom by 7:35. I’m such a sappy sucker; I get off the bus…look across the lagoon at the Polynesian, and start happy tears of anticipation. :roll: As I was going thru the bag check line, a group of new CMs was coming in. The guard welcomed them with a booming “welcome to the wonderful world of Disney”. It was cute, and fun to sense their excitement. I waited a short while at the gate until they let all those with early breakfast and tours thru the gates. I went immediately to the tour garden and checked in with my guide Isabelle. She was from Montreal, Canada and really sweet. She said I had a while till the tour started, so to feel free and explore a little. I did just that, taking in the sites and sounds of Main Street. After a while I just sat on a bench and did some people watching. I was fortunate enough to see a little Belle and Aurora on their way to the castle for breakfast. :D Too cute!
Finally it was time to meet back up with my tour group and guide. There were several people who didn’t show up, so we had the benefit of only having 5 people on our tour. The tour was incredible! We learned lots of tidbits about the park and Walt Disney. I got a little teary a time or two on Main Street too. During our tour we were also able to ride the Jungle Cruise and the Haunted Mansion. We went off stage twice, and saw the parade floats and the utilidors. I even got to see Timon with his head off, lol. Oh, and despite the rumors you may have heard…Tinkerbell is a woman. She must weigh in nightly and be no less than 100 and no more than 110 lbs. We had a nice break for lunch at Columbia Harbor House where I thoroughly enjoyed the garden galley salad. At lunch we were presented with our Keys to the Kingdom pin. What a great addition to my growing pin collection. The tour started at 8:40 and ended at 1:10. I’d highly recommend it to anyone.
After the tour I hopped the monorail and headed to Epcot. I was in search of the Flower and Garden Festival pin. I love to collect pins for hotels we stay at and events we’ve attended, so it was important to get this one. I’d gotten the Star Wars pin the day before, and it is really nice. I found the pin quickly and headed for the BCV via the International Gateway entrance. John had survived three kids for the morning! :shock: They all adored Stormalong Bay, and I was anxious to try it for myself.
http://members.aol.com/aguethlein/newpins.jpg
These are the new pins I collected this trip. I especially like the Keys to the Kingdom, Star Wars, and Flower and Garden Festival pins. The stars & stripes hat pin was found by my DD in Star Tours. She turned it in, but they told her it was a CM exclusive pin, and they'd have no way of knowing who it belonged to, so to keep it.
Dinner tonight was at Biergarten. My husband’s family is from Germany, and he loves all things German. He was really looking forward to this meal. We cleaned up and got ready and headed out of the Beach Club. There was a light sprinkle, so we donned our raincoats. This was the only rain we saw during the entire trip, and it was over by the time we left the Biergarten. We did enjoy our meal! Total with tip was $85. The entertainment was great, and Anna Kate really enjoyed the music. We were seated with a really nice couple from New York. They had come down to see her niece graduate, and were spending a few days at WDW.
http://members.aol.com/aguethlein/Biergarten.jpg
Fun was had by all!
While we were dining another family came in and set at the table behind ours. I kept thinking the woman and kids looked familiar, but you know how that is…people look like people you know all the time. Finally, I asked one of my kids if they recognized those kids and they did. I went over and asked if they were from our small hometown. They were! She’s the Creative Memories lady around here, and her daughter goes to elementary school with my oldest two, and her son goes to mother’s day out at the same church as my youngest. It really is a small world. We introduced ourselves, and she talked me into scrapping this trip. I’ve wanted to do it for a long time, but I have so many pictures. This will be a good way to start.
After dinner, we rode the Maelstrom and Spaceship Earth. We also took some time looking at the decorations for the Flower & Garden Festival. They were magnificent! Then it was time to stake out a spot for Illuminations. We found a really nice area in Norway, and I ran to get some slushies at the Outpost. The kids waited patiently, and we had a perfect view. After it was over, Eric kept going on and on about Illuminations. It’s great to see them have an appreciation of this stuff.
http://members.aol.com/aguethlein/pandas.jpg
Pandas in China
http://members.aol.com/aguethlein/dragon.jpg
This dragon really breathes steam
Coming next…EE at Magic Kingdom, and breakfast with Pooh