CKCK

Day 5: Saturday, June 15

Happy Anniversary to C & K!

Today was our 11th anniversary.  We had reservations to Trail’s End.  MaMa and PaPa were paying.

Bam!  

We got there and Josephine sat us.  She was funny.  

Our server was Lynda.  She wasn’t funny, but she was still good.

I had really been looking forward to this breakfast.  Not because I didn’t have to pay for it, but because I knew they have a version of the Big Kahuna breakfast from Kona.  Trail’s End’s version is egg, hollandaise, barbecue, on top of cornbread.  

It rocks.  

(side note...DW made her own version of that the other day.  It rocked as well)

Unfortunately I didn’t feel great this morning, so I didn’t get to eat quite as much as I had hoped.  

Fail.

Regardless, it was really good.

Redhead #1 can rock a hoola-hoop.  It blows my mind how a 5 year old can do that.  I suck at it.

From here we headed over to the stables.

I saw TCD’s report about the confederate jasmine blooming all over the old windmill.  

We missed it.

One of Cinderella’s ponies was standing in its food.

I was intrigued by these water bowls.  

It has a lever in it that when the pony pushes it fills the water up.

How cool is that?

This was the third wagon that we have seen in this room in the past year or so.

They finally have turned off the calliope music.  It was really weird when the room was empty and it still played.  

Has anyone seen them using the calliope anywhere?  I haven’t seen or heard anything about it since I caught it in the Citrus Bowl parade.  I hope they are doing something with it.

MaMa and PaPa then left and we headed to the pool.  

The Meadows pool was bonkers which I expected, so we headed to the swimmin’ hole over by the cabins.  

Genius move.  

When we got there only 4 people were in the pool.  

And it stayed like that the whole time.

The reds got to practice swimming without all the craziness around.  It was perfect.

And the greatest thing besides nobody being there?  

No lifeguards to ruin the fun.

I could throw the girls up and so forth with no 19 year old fun policeman telling me to stop.  

Bam.

After lunch and naps the rain moved in for a little bit.  It didn’t mess us up too badly.  We were planning on heading to the MK for a little bit, so we just waited for the rain to pass and then made our way over.

I like how from this view you can see how the Bay Lake Tower’s design complements that of the Contemporary.  

I doubt the new DVC resort at River Country will complement the Fort. 

This was the scene at the MK.

The rain came late enough in the day that it helped to clear out the park a little.  Had the rain come earlier it probably would not have had the same effect.  

That equaled winning.

See the woman in the poncho and broom on the left of that last pic?  

She was sweeping up water.  

Gotta love Disney.

We decided to head to Buzz and grab some FPs.  On the way there we were zigging and zagging through the crowds and went over the curb with the strollers...a routine thing for team CKCK.  

When I did that, a CM of a ripe old age of young 20s said “Make sure you don’t do that again...you almost got her hurt.”

?

Did he seriously just tell me that?  

I didn’t stop.  

I don’t need someone telling me how to push a stroller.  I’m quite experienced at it by now.

We got our FP’s and decided to jump in line because it was still looking a little like rain.  The wait was 15 min so no big deal.  

People Mover.

You know what I don’t like?

Dance parties in Tomorrowland.  I can do without.

Does that look familiar?

What about now?

Anyone?

Compare to this:

Bam!

The word on the streets is that they modified one the Flight of the Navigator ships and put it in Tomorrowland.  They smoothed it out a little and added the windshield part, but you can still see some of the lines.

I started putting two and two together.

Then DW is all, “yeah, I knew that.”

Fail.

You probably already knew that as well.

Apparently I missed the memo.  

Regardless, I think that’s pretty cool.

Time to break.  Next we’ll head over to visit some restrooms and teach a CM something.

Loved the sunset pics.

Thats funny that #2 wanted the princesses to herself and didnt want to share time with #1.

Yeah, but not funny when we want a pic with the sisters and princess.  Oh well.

 

Red and black strollers.... good work.

You know it.

Great update.  That man can rock the veil.

We had the 'lobster' roll for the first time this past trip.  What the heck is that stuff?

So cute that they fell asleep.

Looking forward to breakfast.  That was the one meal we have not done buffet.  Didn't think we could shovel $18 worth of food into our bellies.

 

Upside to professional matchmaking - NO DATING.  Sign a contract, WHAM betrothed and then marriage.  No hanky panky in between.

I assume that it's a little lobster and some imitation stuff like monkfish or something.  Either way I still like it.

$18 is steep, but we used our AP discount (10%) and MaMa and PaPa paid, so win win!

I can dig the no dating thing.  I'm down.

Great sunset photos! 

 

Kudos on knowing the plastic junk cart would be gone and scoring primo parade seating!

Thanks!

Wonk

Blurp.

Whoa... you were right about the continued cuteness.  Adorable!!

 

Smart thinkin' on the parade stake out.

 

Love the sunset pics.

 

Oh and I'm with Mama on the backwards treble clef - bugs the bejinkies out of me every time.

 

I also don't like the backwards "F" door handle at TGIFridays.

 

 

 

KAPOW! 

Never knew about the backwards F.  Don't think I can go there anymore.

The photographer you have a picture of is Alan. You were close to being the first fiend to get a picture of me in knickers.

 

And this is an amazing picture

 

 

The lighting is great.

So close!  That was MaMa's pic of Alan.  I was already out of the park.  I'm usually on the lookout for you.  

Ka-chow!

Wang-Chung!

I'm stil waiting for a three syllable onomatopoeia.

Saw a license plate this morning that reminded me of this TR...

 

KABLAM

Nice.  

 

 

The CM said it was a 30 minute wait, and I can tell you we waited exactly 30 minutes in the line outside.  It was H-O-T and they kept asking people to bunch together and move forward. There was another CM handing out ice water, and if she wasn't there, I'm sure there would have been casualties.  There's been rumors that with MyMagic+ you'll be able to pre-order food with a Fastpass.  In the heat, I would have loved a Fastpass for this line! :)

 

 

Guess they stopped handing out umbrellas by the time you got there.  That's weird.  When we were there they had a CM giving them to every single person in line.  Of course, that was before it opened.  Maybe they stop once they start serving.

Still Day 4:

Okay, we have been stagnant for too long now.  We are in the middle of painting our kitchen cabinets so I haven’t been able to update.  Let’s get this moving again.

MaMa and PaPa eventually called me and I left the site to go pick them up at the marina.  Except the road was being blocked:

doh.  

Apparently these people didn’t understand that they were taking up the entire road.  And they saw me behind them, just didn’t bother to move.  

Hello?

Doesn’t share go both ways?  I’m all about people riding bikes at the Fort, and I look forward to the day that my girls are old enough that we can all go on family bike rides through the Fort.  

I’m also pro golf carts and love driving around the Fort in them.

People often complain about golf carts not getting out of the way of cars on the main roads.  Well shouldn’t bikes get out of the way of golf carts?  

Share goes both ways!   

I thought all was well, but when I got to the entrance to the Settlement there were four more bikes (adults) sitting right in the entrance.  

And kept sitting there.

And still kept sitting there.

Finally they realized I was waiting so they moved.

duh.

I would like to add that the Fort paths need to be more clearly marked.  My first time in a golf cart there I wasn’t sure where I could and couldn’t go.  Especially around the Settlement.  Couldn’t they put up some signs making it clear?

Oh wait, that would make too much sense.

Moving on.

We finally made it back with MaMa and PaPa.

I’m not even going to comment on that.

Time to go back to the MK.  We had princess FP’s that were coming up soon.  

This was sitting at the marina.  They are totally not afraid.

Had to get our Goofy on.

Many trips ago we tried to find this and couldn’t.  Then it turned out that it had been taken out for refurbishment.  Since then, we have seen it many times but I think this may have been the first pic that we have taken with it.

Weird.

Some of you may remember that last Thanksgiving Redhead #2 had her first princess meeting.  She had never been willing to meet anyone before, even though her big sis was all about meeting some people.  On that trip she finally met Merida (must have had something in common with her) and went on to meeting Snow White (to DaveinTN’s dismay).  

She continued her streak today:

Funny though, she REFUSED to pose with her sister.  She wouldn’t go up to meet them until big sis was cleared out.

While we were walking through the gift shop afterwards I noticed some items I hadn’t seen before.  I ended up seeing them in other shops later on.

Those bother me.  

Hey, I have a great idea...let’s take Minnie and turn her into some round stuffed things.  

Yeah, great idea!  We can totally desecrate her just to make a few more bucks!

Dinner time.

MaMa tends to be...well...PICKY with food.  So some of the options that we might normally consider were out.  

So we went to Columbia Harbor House.  Seems like we often end up there.

And we got what we usually get.

DW:

Lighthouse Sandwich (hummus).

Me:

“Lobster” roll.

We headed to Mickey’s Philharmagic.  

One my of my favs.  

We were some of the first people in, so we knew we would be waiting a little bit, but it’s never too long for this. 

MaMa was really bothered by the backward treble clef.

The room filled up behind us and it was time for the doors to open.

Except they didn’t. 

And they kept not opening.

They were obviously having a problem inside.

The crowd was getting restless.  So much so that some guy started chanting “open the doors” over and over again.

And it caught on.

I was not happy about this.  Stop being stupid and just chill out.  Nobody wants to listen to you chant like a flippin teenager, old man.

People started leaving. 

We probably would have left too, but we were next to the doors so it would have been near impossible for us to make our way out.

And it was also at this time that the people behind us forgot about the personal space rule and buddy who kept bumping into me was about to get an earful.  Fortunately, I tend to keep my mouth shut more than usual when the redheads are around.

Finally we went in.

But something wasn’t right.

Those lights usually aren’t on.

And they weren’t doing the whole Goofy stumbling over stuff act.  

And there were workers everywhere.

Finally it started and went on without a hitch.

After another trip in the carousel it was time to stake out our spot for the parade.

joy.

I’m not opposed to the parade, but when given the choice I would prefer to NOT go.  

MaMa wanted to see it, because she hadn’t seen it since we went back in the ‘80s.  

We wanted to be up in the front near Tony’s so we could make a quick exit when it was over.  

Most of the curb was already taken.

Except for right behind a souvenir cart.

Nobody wanted to sit behind that.

Except for me.  

Because I realized that it would be gone by the time the parade started and we would have prime seating. 

Bam.

Here was my view for the time being:

I didn’t care, because I knew it wouldn’t be there for long.  Plus, it was kind of fun to watch people spending tons of money on cheap plastic stuff.

As the sun set it made for some great views.

We made it through the parade, saw all the drug floats (Alice in Wonderland, Pete’s Dragon, etc.) and made a quick exit.

MaMa stopped to take some pics on the way out.

I like how PaPa and I totally photobombed that pic.

The boat wasn’t full at all, so we had a nice ride back to the Fort.

Tomorrow MaMa and PaPa leave to go to the beach.  But not before we have breakfast at Trails End!

Bam!

We’ll also visit the stables and make an evening trip to the MK where I discovered something related to a pic I had taken earlier in the trip (turns out DW already knew it, but it was new to me).

Awesome update.

 

Waffles. Check

 

Redheads. Check

 

Photo montage of randomness.  Check.

Thanks.

Check.

You had me at waffle sandwich...

 

ZORT

No.  Not working for me.  Keep trying.

I must get one of those Nutella waffles. Must. I'm penciling it in for Day 1 so I don't miss it like usual.

Z asked what I was looking at, and I told him Disney pictures. He saw the reds and said he needs to meet them because they have red hair like Ariel.

I'm not into Nutella, but totally into the chicken.  

You'd better get Z under control!  When my daughters are allowed to start dating in 20 years maybe we can talk.

 

OH THE CUTENESS... must. look. away...

Sorry.  You may need to keep looking away.

We were so surprised to see them doing the sword thing too! We were hoping they would choose our grandson to pull it out, but like you, my son-in-law decided to look for something to eat and when he walked away, we all followed. Many years ago, our youngest DD was chosen to pull the sword out and somewhere in this house is the certificate and medallion that they gave her.

 

Yeah, I was thinking that we should have stayed to see if they would pick Redhead #1, but honestly I was afraid they were going to make me go up and try to pull it first, and I wasn't in the mood for that!

For a small fee, I could be persuaded to become a professional matchmaker. [paying me makes me professional]

I'm not okay with this situation...

 

The Move it! Shake it! Celebrate it! Parade was just coming down main street too.

 

Somewhere I have a video..  And will update..

 

Please don't post it.  I can't stand that thing.

Thanks for the update!

 

We looped quit a bit and only saw 1 FF sign....and that was CKCK in the loop behind us on the corner.

 

Sorry we missed you!  We kept pretty busy and didn't have as much Fort time as I would have liked.

Glad you had a great trip!

waiting patiently...

Whap, that sound my head makes when my Dad would slap the back of it.  Whap.

Oh, makes sense now!

Still Day 4:

So what have I never seen before?

A “Renaissance band” coming through Fantasyland.  

Huh?

And Lady Whatsherface and Squire Dude.  

At the stone. 

With the sword.

I had heard they used to do a Sword in the Stone show here, but had never seen it and frankly thought it was gone.

Apparently I was wrong.

They sure enough did it.  

They pulled out some guys from the crowd to try, and were on their way to picking a kid to finally pull it, but we were tired of waiting so we left to go eat.

See the guy playing the clarinet with his tongue out?

I’ve seen him before:

There he is playing in the saxophone quartet on Mainstreet last October.

Bam.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I really want a playing gig at WDW.  When I retire, hopefully that’s where you’ll find me.  

So it was lunch time.  

And where do we usually eat lunch in the MK?

Sleepy Hollow.

duh.

The girls split a nutella fruit waffle.

Redhead #2 had tapped out by this point, and she didn’t eat much of hers.  

And what did we get?

Notice the baked potato in that shot?  DW likes to walk over to Liberty Square Market thing and get a potato and sometimes corn on the cob.  

Way better than anything else we could choose from.

Back to the waffle sandwich.  

We have gotten these every trip for the past 4 trips to the MK now.  

The chicken is definitely not as big as it first was.

The problem this time was that it was WAY spicier than normal.  

We like spicy things.

But this was almost too spicy to enjoy on a hot summer day.

Don’t know what’s up with that.

The redheads were definitely ready for a break, so we headed to the restrooms and then made our way out.  MaMa and PaPa stayed to do a few things by themselves then would come back over the Fort later.

I really dig all the flowers everywhere, and found a good shot here.

Outside Casey’s the piano dude was playing.

MaMa wanted to buy the girls something, so we were wandering in the shops.  

We got trapped by the Move It Shake it Suck it parade.

I hate that thing.  

Ever noticed this piano?

Steinmouse & Sons. 

They crack me up.

We ended up in the Chapeau hat shop.

We finally ended up with these:

Here was the scene on the boat to the Fort:

On the ride I noticed something:

See it?

It’s just a simple tower.  Either cell or weather sirens or something.  

But it’s kind of camouflaged.  I noticed one earlier in the trip over by Animal Kingdom but I didn’t get a pic.  It was even more camouflaged to look like a tree (though a super tall one).  

So I had an idea.  Why don’t they just camouflage the entire 4 seasons?  Sounds like a great idea to me.  Then we wouldn’t even notice it.  They could paint it to look like the sky.  

Or, they could just tear it down instead.

And that ends our looooong morning.

I’ll also end this update.  

But I will leave with you another MaMa montage of random people and objects in the middle of her pictures of other things.

Guy in a Green Bay shirt in front of the Crystal Palace:

Foliage:

Pole in front of the Liberty Bell:

Photographer’s backside (not Dave’s...that would be awkward)

Dapper Dan guy squatting:

A tree in a yellow shirt.  Classic.

 

Squish

Glad you appreciate good art.

Squish?

Oops, almost forgot...

 

FA-TANG!!!

That was a close one.

Great update.

Mama photobombing was funny.

She has a certain knack.

 

I hope there are some more photos from MaMa's montage coming up.  She definitely has the gift.

 

TCD

I think you're in luck.

No umbrellas for us either.

 

Love the photo bombing.

 

Great updates.

 

WHAP

Thanks!

And whap?  That's kind of right there along with squish.

I've used my umbrella there every time and the cast members always tell me what a great idea it is. I'm happy to see they are doing this. I always feel guilty standing there all shady and cool while everyone else bakes. Last time they were handing out water which was really nice. Standing on that bridge really is like stepping onto the surface of the sun. I don't know what it is, but definitely the hottest point of the park.

Maybe you were the influence that started the umbrellas! 

And I never feel guilty about things like that.  If I'm smarter than other people, tough cookies!

Great update!  Obviously Red Head #2 on the Carousel with a photobombing MaMa steals the show! :)

Yeah.  I think it was because MaMa likes the carousel better than anyone else.  She probably thought she was the only one on the ride...

 

Hey, somebody didn't get the arms up memo:

 

 

TCD

Took the words right out of my fingers!

CKCK...    Love that MaMa  is having fun with the Reds...    There is nothing better than grandparents having fun with grandkids...  The girls are blessed !

Yes they are!!!

As Andrew states, this really gets me mad.  I am a rule follower and of course the first time I would take a UTV to the fort I most likely would get told to park it.  Is it that hard for the rangers or CM's to stop a UTV and say, "hey, that is not allowed.  Please park the vehichle or put it back on your trailer"  I know there is more involved due to unions and propbably certian CM guidlines but seriously  give me a break.  If people in the world these days would follow rules, make maortageg payments when they are due and just stop bucking the system, we would all be in a better place.  UGHHH........

ABSOLUTELY!!!

It was in CKCK's previous trip report and references once or twice in the current one. Way to much crap sticks in my head.

Bam!  That's what I'm talking about!

Hoity Toity Tea.  You would be perfect.

Epcot needs:

To bulldoze imagination, energy, wonders of life and build new attractions in their place.

They should also get rid of the outpost in world showcase and add another country.

Spaceship earth also smb but they can keep it so Dave doesnt go through Damn Judi withdrawals.

Agreed with all points, especially how Dave loves Judy Dench.

I think they should remove the crap in universe and recline the seats and let it just be a napping ride. Dark, quiet, a/c. Yes please.

I have never been in there.  Maybe I will have to go now!

Caught up.  I got nothing.  Just enjoying the TR.

 

Splat.

Thanks for having nothing.  Appreciate the thought you put into that.  

Keep it coming!

The few rides thing is a big problem at Epcot.

The recent thread you started about the new Fastpass+ attractions illustrates this.

Here's the list of the Epcot attractions which will offer Fastpass:

Captain EO

Journey Into Imagination with Figment

Living with the Land

Mission: SPACE

Maelstrom

Soarin'

Spaceship Earth

Test Track Presented by Chevrolet

The Seas with Nemo and Friends

 

How lame is that?

 

They have just 9.  Which, unless I'm missing something is all the attractions in Epcot (other than the movies at the various World Showcase countries and the America robot show). (ETA- I forgot about Universe of Energy- I'm surprised they didn't add that snoozer to the list).

 

And 7 of those 9 are almost always available with little or no wait any time of the year.

 

For morning EMH (and rope drop), there are just two things everyone is trying to do.  That means you're lucky to get one or two rides before the wait times immediately balloon to near an hour, where they will remain for the rest of the day.

 

Evening EMH's at Epcot are awful too (for riding attractions).  There are only two rides there anyone wants to ride, and each will have an hour plus wait all the way through any evening EMH.

 

Although DHS and AK each have fewer Fastpass+ attractions listed, the ones that they have listed are legitimately popular rides, not just attractions that Disney scraped up to make a list like they did for Epcot.

 

Here's a link to Mo's thread about the Fastpass+ attractions in case anyone missed it: http://www.fortfiends.net/forum/topic/10332-fastpass-attractions-and-experiences/

 

 

TCD

 

That's interesting info.

I often wonder if WDW management sits around a table and snickers when they make dumb decisions about things.  

-"Hey, I have a great idea...let's make Figment a Fastpass+ ride so all those dumb saps will come and actually ride it.  That way we don't have to tear it out!"

-"That's a great idea.  Those suckers will never see it coming!"

Grrrrr.

 

I feel bad for Redhead #2.  She gets the little bike and got up early to go to Epcot for nothing.

 

I like PaPa's style.

 

Jorts.

 

Crossing the legs.

 

He has a certain panache.

 

I guess that's where you get your love of hoity toity tea?

 

TCD

Yeah, but Redhead #2 gets to be my daughter, so that has to make up for a little, right?  

Yeah, PaPa's style.  Not so sure about that.  Don't think I can pull off his panache.  And despite said panache, I think you could find him eating GAG and beer while the ladies are at HTT.  

As far as the leg crossing goes, it's always been a mystery to me.  He used to be a basketball coach and I would often look across the court and see him on the bench sitting like that.  And somehow, it didn't look weird.  Not sure how he pulled that off.  Oddly enough my good friend, Hector, has recently adopted that sitting style.  He says as we get older it works.  

I'm not on board.

I'm with MaMa.  Only the MK is really Disney.  Everything else is just fluff.

I can agree with that, but there's too much to experience at WDW to just stay at the MK which is what she would do if she had her way (especially now that she's ridden Soarin' she has no need to go anywhere else!)

Good job with all the pictures. That stinks for little red. Nemo should be open since it appeals to younger kids. Z hates when he can't ride something. He will get to ride Soarin and TT for the first time in a few weeks. He's super excited.

Thanks!  We're hoping #2 will be 40" by Thanksgiving.  If not, we're putting her in some platform shoes!

More awesome pics!  I saw someone refer to the new paint scheme recently as looking like a giant Diet Coke can.  I kinda see that, but I do like the new look.

 

Big bummer for Redhead #2.  For sure riding the Damn Judy Dench History Extravaganza is no substitute for Nemo when you're 38.5" tall.

 

Sounds like Epcot is not a prime AM EMH park.  You'd think with so few rides it wouldn't be all that hard to pull off having them open an extra hour.

 

But if you thought that, apparently you'd be wrong.

Thanks!  Diet Coke or not, I like them.  

Damn Judy Dench is no substitute for anything.  It's a close second behind Figment for me.

No rides for RH#2 SMBP.

 

It is awesome that she wants to eat good so she can ride Soarin'. 

 

Imagination SMB.

 

I agree Disney needs to get there crap together in Epcot.  One whole side of "Future" World SMBP.

 

Looking forward to Redheads at the MK.

Thanks, thanks, and thanks!

Great!  I am all caught up!  Refund from Disney?  BAM!

 

Butterfinger cupcake?  Double BAM!

 

Obnoxious people not neccesarily from around here invading personal space?  BAM! could possibly take on a whole new meaning.   ;D  J/K  maybe.

 

Seriously, you have a beautiful family and I'm glad you were having such a great time!

I know; refund?  Weird.

Thanks!

I am in an all caught up. I love the reds.

Glad you're here!

I am a fan of Ms. Sundee, who was unceremoniously given the old boot many years ago.

 

That woman could warble a tune like you've never heard.

 

And that is not a compliment.

 

TCD

Ms. Sundee?  Sure it wasn't Sundae?  That would be way cooler.

Wish I could have heard her.  

Or maybe not.

Did she play anything with her warbling?  

Maybe Lou could be a server for HTT.

 

Hang on, I'm on a roll.

 

How about this photo- which is archived in the same place as the previous ones with Roy and the men inspecting the property:

 

 

That is the Shoe Tree there standing out in the lake, and Discovery Island over to the right.

 

I think it's safe to assume that Roy is on that boat.

 

How cool is that?

 

TCD

Crazy cool.  Keep your roll going.

Day 4: Friday, June 14

Okay people, here we go.  Sorry for the delay.  

This installment will take us through Epcot.

First things first.  

Morning visitors.

I know you’re all, “CK², you’ve lost your dang mind.  There are no visitors in that pic.”

And then I’m all, “Bam!”

Time to go:

I still haven’t figured out how PaPa can sit like that and get away with it.

It was an 8:00 rope drop at Epcot, and the entire purpose of going there was so MaMa and PaPa could finally ride Soarin’.  

Literally that was the only reason.  MaMa thinks that “Disney” is only “Disney” if you’re at the MK, but she wanted to ride Soarin’.  

So we set off early so we could knock it out and get over to the MK.

Wow that’s early for vacation.

I’m really digging the new paint jobs.  I wish there were more of them around.

I call this “sunrise over the stables with clueless wife and cute redhead.”

I call this “.......”   Okay, I’m not sure what to call this.

Love this one:

Also one of my favorites:

We made it to Epcot without issue.

So the plan was to book it back to the Land with PaPa and Redhead 1 to grab Soarin’ FPs and then jump on the ride.  That way MaMa, DW, and Redhead 1 could then ride it using the FP.  

Redhead 2 is not 40”.  She’s handling it well, but she’s definitely ready.  She often will remind us that if she eats all of her dinner it will help her grow so she can ride Soarin’.  

While we were on Soarin’, MaMa and DW took Redhead 2 over to Nemo.  She likes Nemo, and it’s a good thing for her to do while big sis is on Soarin’.

Great plan, right?

Wrong.  

The geniuses who run the parks like to give us Magic Hours, right?  But then they don’t open everything.  Like I recently found out that at a MK magic hour they don’t open the entire west side of the park.  

Well, apparently they do the same crap at Epcot.

WHAT THE FORT?

How are you going to open up early, but then be selective with which rides you’re opening?  Not everyone at magic hours wants to ride just those rides.  

Like little redheads who aren’t quite tall enough yet.  

So you guessed it, Nemo was not open.  So now Redhead 2 doesn’t have a ride while she waits on big sis.  

Are you kidding?

So they headed over to Figment.  

Not open.

So they figured they would just jump on Living With the Land.  

Oh wait, it was broken.

SERIOUSLY?

At that point Redhead 2 was getting frustrated.  All she wanted to do was to get on something.  My wife asked the CM there if there was anything for a little girl to ride, and she told her she could go ride Spaceship Earth.

. . .

Really?  

So they’re going to walk all the way back to the front of the park just to ride that crappy thing?  

And what they are trying to say is that the only thing open for a munchkin before 9:00 was Spaceship Earth?  Are you kidding me?  

They ended up getting some food at Sunshine Seasons and waiting for us to get off.  

Disney needs to get their crap together.  I think it’s ridiculous to not open everything at magic hours.  ESPECIALLY in a park that is only half open until 11:00 anyway!!!!!!!!!!  Management needs to walk around and see the little kids who are not 40” wait on their big sisters riding the big fun rides while they can’t get on anything because nothing for them is open.  

For the record, morning magic hours suck.  They COULD be really good, but they aren’t.  They’re just a ploy to make Disney look like they are giving resort guests these big perks, but they only are perks if you’re running in to ride the big things like Soarin’, Test Track, TSM, RnR, Everest, etc.  If you are a 38.5” redhead, they suck.

Once MaMa, DW, and Redhead 1 went in with the FPs, it was close to 9:00 so PaPa, Redhead 2 and I headed over to Nemo that was now open.  When we got off we met the other red and they played in the shark thing for a minute.

I had two extra Soarin’ FPs that I had gotten on purpose just so I could make someone’s day later.  I found a nice looking couple and made their morning.  

Probably my favorite thing to do while in the parks.  

We were about to leave the park but Red 2 still was wanting to ride something else, and since we all felt bad about earlier we did one more.

Possibly my least favorite ride of all of WDW.  

I can’t wait for Figment to become just that.

A figment of my memories.

Still rockin the caladiums.

Since we wanted to get to the MK quickly we were forced to Monorail it.  That meant that whenever we got back to the Fort I was going to have to take a bus to the front to get the GC.  Oh bother.

We thought we were going to have our side of our car to ourselves.

Or not.

This is after a family with three kids came in:

And can you guess what one of those kids did the ENTIRE ride to the TTC?

You got it.

Screamed his head off.  

The parents were nice enough and tried to get him quiet, but it didn’t work.  

It was a great ride.

We have been fortunate that our girls have never decided to show out in public.  Team CKCK doesn’t play like that.

That wraps up the first part of our morning.  Next we will hit the MK.  I have tons of pics (more than you probably care to see) plus our favorite lunch in the MK that ended up being a little different than normal.  We’ll also see something that I didn’t think happened any more in the MK.

Bam.

Rude people SMBP.

Redheads do not.

What was the movie?

Steaks at the Fort. If there was beer involved it can't really get any better.

Thanks for your support!

We didn't stay for the movie.  Not sure what it was.  

WooHoo!  Redheads!

 

Great update.

 

Sorry about the crowds at the campfire.  

 

Looking forward to more.

Thanks!  I was sorry about the campfire too.  I think my favorite time for the campfire is Thanksgiving simply because the weather is so much better.

Great update!

 

I hope Redhead #2 gets that new bike soon.  From the look on her face you will be in big trouble if that bike is not delivered soon.

 

I'm glad the weather was much better for grilling on this trip.

 

Sorry about the campfire experience.  Personally, I don't like any of the cowboys or jackwagons- so it doesn't matter to me who's playing.

 

Sorry about the guests who crowded you in the bleachers.   There are a lot of folks who don't understand personal space, and they seem to be attracted to Disney World for some reason.

 

TCD

Yes, you're right.  She has been reminding us about it too.  Great, just means one more large item to load!

Why don't you like the cowboys?  At first the cheesy jokes and so forth bothered me, but I got over it and appreciate it for what it is now.  

With rude groups I find it best to kill one early.  It sets the tone...

Harsh, but effective.

Steaks on the grill, corn on the cob, and fried potatoes....  Our first night at the fort meal also....   We jokingly call it the offical supper of summer...

Yes!

3 words...

Farting.At.Will.

I don't fart.  

The Redheads are adorable.  Looking forward to more! 

Thanks!  

Yeah, you better get that bike ASAP.

 

Your daughters are so freaking cute. Seriously.

Thanks!  I got lucky I guess!

She sucks.

I'm in!

 

Ahhhhh.... I don't miss the days of flying with an infant. Z always managed to poop on the plane, so I had to change him on that over the toilet changing table. Good times!

 

You could always stay at the cabins at the Fort!

I've always managed to poop on planes too.

Weird.