Cheeky's first Trip - Day 7 - Make a Wish

[Jezzerinos]

Today was going to be a special day as Maria was getting her Mothers Day present (full details in the Pre-Trippie). Up and in the Food Court by 7am but we noticed it was a bit busier than normal. Luckily though, it wasn’t at the bus stop. We were heading to the Magic Kingdom today for a full day and evening. When we got off the bus, we instantly heard a choo-choo coming from the pushchair. Joseph had seen the monorail going past and was pointing franticly. On to the Magic Kingdom and through security with ease.





Joseph knew exactly what was going to happen and was awaiting the performers and the choo-choo to come around the bend. 8:50am came and the music hit. Once more, Smokey Miller was the host and after a sing and dance, Casey Jnr came bringing Mickey and the gang in tow. With the fireworks opening the park once more, we went to meet Mickey and Minnie straight away. Again, only a 5 minute wait.

Joseph was now a pro at meet and greets. He was really excited again to meet Mickey. We were let in to the backstage area and in to Mickey’s dressing room once more. I still cannot believe the great detail in these rooms, well done Disney. It was Joseph’s turn now and a very quick walk to give Mickey a big hug kiss along with the same for Minnie. Autographs and photos taken with much delight by all, we headed out and into Town Square.





With the sweet smell of the Sweet Shop (not that it’s actually the Sweet shop oozing that lovely smell) being inhaled, we took a nice stroll up Main Street USA, looking at the magnificence that is Cinderella’s Castle.

First stop was Tomorrowland and Fastpasses for Space Mountain. Now, Maria doesn’t really mind not doing the big rides which means I get 2 rides on the major attractions! With 2 tickets obtained, we decided to have a go on Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. Joseph loved this and loved spinning the Omnimover around! After shooting the targets and me getting a respectable score, we headed to the Monsters Inc Laugh Floor. This show is great and the interactivity is fantastic. Joseph had a good giggle in here and liked Mike Wazowski.

It was now time for me to blast off into space so off I went to Space Mountain. Maria took Joseph for a nappy change and when they came out, he noticed a familiar face coming out and walking to their meet and greet spot. Joseph made a run for him and the character saw him and walked towards Joseph and embraced. It was this little chap…….



Stitich had spotted Joseph coming and gave him a big hug and then took Joseph for a walk, hand in hand, to his spot. What a meet and a shame I missed it! Stitch waved to Maria as if to say ‘bye bye mummy’ and Joseph did the same! A great meet and greet. Joseph was with Stitch for 15 minutes and even though other guests came to meet stitch, he still remembered that Joseph was there and went straight back to him once he had met the other guests. I came out of Space Mountain and had a picture with Joseph and Stitch.



With tummies rumbling, we headed to somewhere we had never eaten at before, Pinocchio’s Village Haus. They do Italian food in there and it is really nice. I went for the pasta and meatballs, Joseph went for the kids pasta and Maria went for a meatball sub. We were very impressed and would definitely eat there again.

With us knowing the queue’s for Peter Pan’s Flight were extremely long, we grabbed Fastpasses for later on and decided to take Joseph to see his second 3D attraction, Mickey’s Philharmagic. We really like this attraction and judging by Joseph’s reaction to It’s Tough to be a Bug, he was going to love this. We weren’t wrong either, he loved it! Reaching out trying to help Donald, trying to catch the jewels with Ariel and catching the bubbles. He loved it and found Donald falling behind the wall at the end of the show hilarious! We had lots of giggles.

Of course, no trip to Walt Disney World is complete with out a trip to visit the children of the world of ‘It’s a Small World’. Now, after listening to the Dibbcast and the WDW Radio show, I have seen this attraction in a whole different light (as with everything on this trip) and the music doesn’t bother me at all. Listening to the Sherman Brothers classic with the animatronics going in time makes a really enjoyable attraction for the whole family. We got on our boat and began the journey around the world. It was too much for a certain little happy chappy who decided it was a good time to take a nap. He had yet again done so well and Joseph deserved that nap!



We got off and it was time for me to ride a timeless classic. An attraction which is now my all time favourite ride ever, beating the Tower of Terror (amazingly)! Yes, on to Liberty Square and into the Hall of Presidents (although I still haven’t been in there yet)! Only joking, of course it’s the Haunted Mansion!

The Haunted Mansion is truly a great achievement of the Walt Disney Imagineering crew. So much detail in just the graveyard and the newly added interactive queue. On this go, I went on my own and didn’t go through the new queue (I would do that on another go later on in the trip). I wanted to just get in and enjoy what the 999 grim grinning ghosts had to offer.

I have never been in the Haunted Mansion on my own and on the first go, it was a completely new experience and being in the Doom Buggy on my own made it all that more spooky. I love the details in the stretching room and nothing can beat the Ghost Host’s voice swirling around the room as though he is flying around it. A hint for you, make sure you stand under the portrait of the ballerina on the tightrope if you want to get out first. If you want an extra little treat, hang back and let others leave the room first! I won’t give away what happens.

I really like the effects of the ‘Endless Stairwells’ where the foot prints can be seen walking along the steps and then fade away. Further on and into the attic and the heartbeat of the bride can be clearly heard! The heads of the grooms fading after a few beats. Then through the attic window into the graveyard, or so I thought! I had just got through the window and had just turned so I was leaning back and the ride stopped for about for a fair few minutes. That didn’t bother me though, I got to listen to Grim Grinning Ghosts vocalising. I think I may be rambling here so to round it all off, the last effect with the Hitch-Hiking ghosts is fantastic and a must see!

After enjoying the Mansion, I went out to find Maria sat near the entrance with Joseph still flaked out in his stroller. With it being fairly ‘warm’, we decided to go and get a Dole Whip (another first). WOW, how have we not tried on previous trips?! So nice and refreshing! Really needed. We ate it fairly quickly and with some slight brain freeze, we went to get a FastPass for Splash Mountain (for guess who). With some time to spare before the allotted time, Joseph woke up to see Chickapin Hill with the ‘boats’ going down it.

We began walking from Splash Mountain back into Frontierland, we saw some more familiar western faces in Woody and Jessie. Autograph book at the ready, we queued up for the sheriff himself. Once it was Joseph’s turn, he ran up and gave big hugs and loved getting the autographs.



Once we had said bye to them, it was time for me to head onto Splash Mountain. I went in with the ride working and just when I was about to get on the ride, there were some ‘Technical Difficulties’. Whilst waiting for the ride to be fixed, the CM’s played the Disney Character Alphabet game. It was good and passed the time. 20 minutes later the ride was back up and before I knew it, I was sat in the front row and got quite wet!

After getting off, it was nearly time for the parade so we went and got our spot. Not long after, the music hit and the characters and floats came.





He got high 5’s and was waving at all the characters and performers going by. Yet again, loving every second of it! With the parade over and Joseph fully awake, I thought it was time for the little man and wife to join me and the 999 happy haunts back in the Mansion. We went in not knowing how this was going to go. We got to the Stretching room and everything was fine (I had Joseph in my arms whilst queuing and leading up to the Doom Buggy). We got through there no problems and rode the whole Mansion without any tears or anything. We think he sort of enjoyed it too. After this, we went to check out the FastPass times for Peter Pan’s flight as we wanted to ride this. It was for before our ADR for the Wishes Dessert Party so we got the tickets.

Joseph had been a very brave boy and had done so much. With that said, we went and got him a ‘ball’ (in English means ball and balloon. We got the latter). He was very pleased.





We then stopped to watch the Dream Along with Mickey show at the castle but just towards the end, the rain came so we made a dash for Pecos Bill’s in Frontierland for dinner. Maria and I went for the Angus burger and Joseph had the kiddie burger. It was a wise choice as the rain did come for the duration of our dinner. We polished off our grub and then headed to the Yo Ho’s (Pirates of the Caribbean). Timing was perfect as when we arrived, Pirate Goofy was at the entrance doing his meet and greet so we queued up to meet him.



After that, on to see some Pirates. Joseph loved it yet again and was really looking around to make sure he saw everything. He now loves the ride and will sing along to the music in the queue! Little Einstein! Next up was the original Glee Club, the tiki birds in the Enchanted Tiki room, back in its former glory. Joseph loves the song as we have it and he recognised it when we were inside.

After the show, we went down Main Street USA and just outside the Emporium, Chip and Dale were doing a meet and greet so Joseph went to meet the playful two who were in full swing! They were causing mischief and playing with everyone who met them.


I'll explain this. Chip had opened the autograph book to Stitch's page and Joseph was telling him that Stitch licked the page!



Just after this, we saw Pluto come out from beside the Fire House and we followed him up the stairs to the Main Street Station so we met and had our pictures with him.





Don’t ask why I’m bending down a bit. I seem to do this with shorter characters, weird. Heading back up Main Street, walking through the shops, we got outside and the heavens opened. Luckily, we were under the canopy outside the Ice Cream Parlour. We stood there for quite a while watching the hoards of guests leaving. I was bemused by this but also pleased as this meant the park would be a lot quieter!


You fools but thank you!




Ha ha ha! Bye bye!

Joseph was happy watching Cars on the iPod while the rain came down. After about half an hour, the rain had eased enough for us to don the fashion statements that are the see-through ponchos and head for the TTA. Joseph also loved this ‘choo-choo’, probably because he could sit going backwards!

[Jezzerinos]

We got off and headed round to Fantasyland as we had FastPasses from earlier to use. On to see Peter Pan then. We boarded our ship and off, heading to the second star to the right. Joseph and I liked this attraction but Maria wasn’t too sure. Joseph was put back in his stroller and it wasn’t long before he fell asleep. It had been such a long day and he had done really well and had lasted so long too. Again, what an absolute trooper.

A positive though is that me and Maria could have some alone time while Joseph slept. We took a stroll around Fantasyland and through Tomorrowland, heading towards the Tomorrowland Terrace and our ADR for some desserts. We checked in and were seated instantly in the front row next to the barrier and had a perfect view of the castle changing colour.




Pooped!


WOW!

There are no pictures of the desserts, mainly due to us eating them quickly! The Magic, Memories and you show started and from what we could see, it was fantastic. I say that as we could not see any of the photos being shown as we were quite far away. But that is not what we came for. On to the main show and, well, here are a few pictures.









If you haven’t seen Wishes, go and see it. It is truly an amazing fireworks display and brings a tear to my eye every time I watch it. The word magical doesn’t do it justice. Joseph stayed asleep the whole time and woke up after they had finished.

Once the show had ended, we gathered our things and headed for the exit and the bus. We didn’t have to wait long for the bus and once we got back to the hotel, Joseph was bathed and in bed. No Duffy story though as the channel ran from 6pm – 10pm. He didn’t need that though as once his head hit his pillow, he was gone. We, again, were not far behind him.

What a day. It was a long one for all of us and a magical one at that. We all thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. Joseph yet again proving he can handle anything and loved all the rides he went on, obviously not as much as meeting all the characters! We had a special little treat for him the next day we thought he may enjoy!

Click here for Day 8

[kaydee]

Sounds like another great day! Thanks

[Hrm27]

Wow! I love the picture of Joseph wih chip'n'dale and the one of Pluto with the three of you. Sounds like another magical day.

[Sunshinekid]

What a lovely day you all had. Your DS has truly maxed up on the character greetings. Those are some great pictures and wonderful memories for you and your wife. Looking forward to reading the next day.

[Jezzerinos]

Originally Posted by Hrm27

Wow! I love the picture of Joseph wih chip'n'dale and the one of Pluto with the three of you. Sounds like another magical day.

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It was an amazing day. We got some amazing photos and we are just going through the PhotoPass photos as well which also have some great pics.

Originally Posted by Sunshinekid

What a lovely day you all had. Your DS has truly maxed up on the character greetings. Those are some great pictures and wonderful memories for you and your wife. Looking forward to reading the next day.

See more...

We have some great memories and want to get a couple of the pictures made bigger as they are our favs. He loved meeting all the characters and almost filled all 4 of the autograph books!

[Mrschopper]

The firework photos gave me goose bumps, can't wait for our first visit

[Jezzerinos]

Originally Posted by Mrschopper

The firework photos gave me goose bumps, can't wait for our first visit

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I know what you mean! It was hard to pick what pictures to put up because we got quite a few good ones!

[Gill635]

Love how Joseph is with the characters. It's like he's just accepted the magic with no fear or questions

xx

[Milner]

What a lovely day Joseph seems to love the characters. Cant wait for next month as we are doing Wishes Dessert Party.