It rained and poured and thundered throughout nap time, but it had blown itself out by the time we were ready to leave again for the parks. It had also dropped the temperatures, which was a nice surprise. (Usually, rain in Florida just ups the humidity instead of altering the temps.) We didn't think there was much for Luke to do at Epcot, and we weren't sure if just walking around and looking at animals would be enough to entertain him at Animal Kingdom. That left us with a return to the Magic Kingdom for our last few hours at the Disney parks. Once again, we took the ferry across, but this time, there were not many people so Luke could easily get to one of the panels where he could see out. He looked so happy!
It was also some time in here that emergency light saber surgery was necessary. For some reason, the mechanism that held the keychain part to the end of the light saber broke. I had each of his blinky toys on lanyards of some sort, both to keep them from getting lost if he dropped them, and to limit his reach with them (he can't stab someone with a light saber that is on an 18-inch lanyard unless they are really close). And being the particular child that he is, he was very distressed that it wasn't the way it was supposed to be. The lanyard itself was too large to fit through the hole on the end of the light saber, and none of the other links on the chain were thin enough to be opened without pliers. Come on, Erin, you're an engineer. Think! All we really needed was a large jump ring of some sort. And I remembered DH's keys. A few years ago for Christmas, my father gave DH a keychain where each key is on its own ring so it slips off the large ring easily, for things like when we get the car fixed and have to leave a key. So, we pulled off one of DH's less important keys, releived it of its ring, and used the ring to reattach the end of the light saber to the lanyard. Problem solved! Whew. And all before the end of the boat ride.
We knew he liked trains, and since we were at the very front of the park, we hopped on the Disney Railroad right at the main station on Main Street. I thought it would be great fun for him, but I had forgotten how little there was to see on the train. Because they are so concerned about theming, and one theme not bleeding over into another, most of the train is shielded from the lands it is riding through by greenery. Guests in the park can't see the train, and and train riders can't see any of the park. There are a few "scenes" set up just to keep you from being bored out of your skull, but that's about it. We stayed on at Frontierland, and got off at Mickey's Toontown. Gee, what might we be doing there?
The Barnstormer! We stood out front and watched it for a few minutes, as much to give my husband an idea of what it was like as to watch Luke's reaction. Luke seemed quite interested, and DH was looking a bit green. But DH was not about to be shown up by a 2 year old! LOL We had Luke officially measured at the entrance (he cleared by over three inches), and into line we went. The ride queue actually winds around the supports under the coaster itself, so you get a good view of the track and the vehicles. I was afraid the noise would bother or frighten him, but he did just fine. My husband and mother gave me the honor of riding with him for his very first ever roller coaster ride. I didn't know if he was going to cry, scream, or do what the rest of the Warren family coaster lovers do: laugh! Actually, cackle would be a more accurate term. We climbed in, pulled down the safety bar, and took off. And the cackling began! We both just laughed our way around the track, with the biggest grin I have ever seen on his face. Woo-hoo! Another coaster lover is born! Too bad that will be the only one he can ride for a few years to come, but still, the seed has been planted, and I can't wait to watch it grow as he does.
We got back to the loading platform, and Luke pitched a fit! He absolutely did not want to get off. He screamed, he cried, he turned into "noodle pudding" (as my mom put it) falling down on the exit platform, and pointing to the ride vehicle while screaming "MINE!" Guess he really did like it. The line was still short, so we rode it again, this time letting Nana have her turn with him. And without even having to ask, they were put in the front seat. DH and I sat behind them, where I was able to get this! Be sure you have the sound on. Hear the high pitched squealing? That's Luke! (Sorry about the quality. It is much better on the real file than it is on this uploaded version, but what do you expect from a free service.)
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Much screaming and crying ensued again as we got off the ride, and we realized it was past time to eat, so we headed on out of Toontown and over to The Starlight Cafe on the outskirts of Tomorrowland (you could see it from the entrance to Mickey's Toontown). We glanced at the Winnie the Pooh ride on the way by, but the wait was 45 minutes, and the Fast Passes were for after 9 PM. Guess we'll just have to pass on that one this trip. The Starlight Cafe is another place we tend to eat when we're at Disney. They have a nice selection of fast food type options, more than most counter service restaurants. And best of all at that moment, they have an animatronic alien music lounge show in one of the rooms to keep Luke entertained while Mom and I ordered. Burger with fries for DH, Luke got his own fries (and, yep, a granola bar), and Mom and I split half a rotisserie chicken with mashed potatoes. Yum!
After this, we decided to let Luke just play for a bit. Sometime in the last couple of years, Disney built Pooh's Playful Spot (right on top of the old 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ride, boo-hoo!), a soft foam play area designed specifically for those ages 2-5. There was another of those flat fountains (GRRR!! please stop putting those where my kid will find them!), but we kept him dry. They had honey pot tunnels to play in, a treehouse (he didn't show much interest in), and a slide which he loved. We'd done a lot of walking and waiting and riding in the last two days, but just not much playing, so we turned him loose and just let him burn off some energy in the fading sun.
After all that playing, Luke was pretty thirsty. (Actually, I'm just looking for an excuse to put these two photos in here. I love them!)
Our time at the Disney parks was also setting. How should we finish off our trip? How about another spin on Buzz Lightyear! The line was short, and the Fast Pass times were too late, so we just got in line. This time, we let him ride with his Nana, who in true magical-grandparent style, managed to get him off the ride without the slightest whimper or tear. How? They said and waved "bye" to Buzz during the last scene. "Bye Buzz!" And he got right off. If only we'd remembered it could be so easy, LOL! With no wait, as usual, we decided to end our trip with one more ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. As we toured Fantasyland, we waved bye to Disney, got off the ride, and left the park. Thank you, Mickey, for such a fantastic trip!
We put Luke down to bed at the hotel, took showers, and then DH and I headed out to Downtown Disney for a little alone time. So where did we go? The movies? A nice restaurant? Nope. The toy shop! LOL (Well, and the pin shop. We're Disney pin collectors, though not hard-core.) This let us shop without light saber meltdowns and such. But we were good parents and picked up something for our son: a Buzz Lightyear doll. Excuse me, action figure. But our motives were not completely parental doting. We were going to hold it in reserve and smuggle it into the ballgame the next day, hoping it would buy us an inning or two once he got bored with the game. Jacob called while we were there, saying that he was almost there. We decided to just let him meet us at Downtown Disney instead of trying to explain to him how to get to the hotel. Steve went on back to the hotel to relieve Mom from babysitting duty, while I waited for Jacob. He picked me up, we wandered through The World of Disney briefly (picking up a thank you gift for Mom while we were there), and headed back to the hotel.
Next will be the final installment of our trip: the Braves game!
Sounds like a good time was had by all! I hope Katie handles the Barnstormer as well as Luke did! :)
ReplyDeleteThat pic of Luke waving goodby is just the cutest! :)