And Then...We Got to See New Fantasyland - WDW 2012 Day 4
Thursday, October 25th
Sleep continues to be rather elusive. But that's life. I can sleep later. Right?? RIGHT??
After getting stalked by Nosferatu last night, we decided to take it much easier today. It was our waterpark day. Now I love me a good waterpark. I don't need to go on the insanely vertical slides (No. Way.). But I do love getting in a flotation device and hurdling down a fiberglass slide at high speeds (spoiler alert - first slide down and I also had water hurdling down my nose at high speeds. BOO!!). I also love the wave pool and the lazy river and the smell of sunscreen and...all the things with waterparks. I also love the people.
People at the waterparks are fascinating. When you think about it, people are nearly naked and flaunting their bodies for the world to see. That's why I give anyone who decides to go to a waterpark tons of credit. I also go to a waterpark and instantly get a boost to my self-esteem. What?? I am very aware I could lose another 10...or more...pounds. My suit might not be the best fitting suit in the world. My skin might be so pale I'm translucent. But man...I leave feeling like I look like a million bucks compared to some of the crazies at a waterpark. A few days later as I shovel in the food from Food and Wine Fest (or at least the Dessert Party), I don't feel so good, but for now...a million bucks. Plus, it does make me really want another tattoo. Really.
We decided to go to Typhoon Lagoon for our waterpark day. Blizzard Beach was another option, but Blizzard Beach had more "thrill" rides, while Typhoon Lagoon was a little more leisurely. They also had a shark tank!! Excellent!!
We hung out at Typhoon Lagoon for a while. Of course, the first slide was cold and the water went straight up my nose through to my brain. So that wasn't the best start. After that, we found a few tube rides. Unfortunately, it was just a bit chilly during our day at the waterpark, so there were a few things we didn't end up doing. Like the lazy river. Why sit for an hour in a cold pool when you can stay warm...somewhere else?? I don't know. We just never made it to the lazy river. I did want to snorkel with the shark tank. But I was halted when someone mentioned how much colder it was in the shark tank. Tiz. Out. Dammit.
Fun was had by the wave pool. Luckily, we found this bench-y thing that was at the far, far end of the wave pool. So we hung out for a while. Just sitting. Being chatty. Or being silent. Who cared?? All of a sudden, the wave started and we heard the wild screaming from the kids. And probably adults. What we didn't account for was the ferocity of the wave. Cause the wave not only knocked down everyone it its path (they loved it), but it barreled into the bench-y thing and completely knocked people over who were sitting on the bench. Not us. No way. We're sturdy folk. But the chick with the camera that was next to me. She wiped out hard. I did (eventually) ask how her camera was. It was waterproof, so...cool. We hung out by the wave pool for a while, standing up as the waves started (once every 3-5 minutes or so). It kept us entertained before going for donuts (with white chocolate sauce!!) and getting ready to go back to the hotel. It wasn't a frenetic time at the waterpark, but it didn't need to be. We had two full park days before this one. We needed a bit of downtime.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), we didn't have a ton of downtime. We got back to the hotel, got ready and hit the road again for our second Halloween adventure. Yesterday, we got scared by demons and uglies. Today...it was a Not So Scary Halloween Party. Sure, the rain started immediately as we left our hotel, so we dodged, ducked, dipped, dove and dodged around the pelting rain. By the time we got to the park, it was full-on raining. Which was a disappointment. As we huddled under the bus shelter, we finally decided..."screw this" and took off for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (btw...it's going to be referred to as MNSSHP going forward. I don't have it in me to type it all out every time). It was very spitty for a while, but once Scott bought the poncho, the skies opened and the sun came out. The Magic Poncho Lives!!
A hot dog was had immediately (we hadn't eaten lunch and during our tour on Tuesday, we learned Walt Disney had a hot dog every day as a pre-dinner snack. This had to be why he died early, but still...What Would Walt Disney Do?? He'd eat a hot dog.) and we started around the park. The park "officially" opened for MNSSHP at 4p, so we had time before any of the festivities started. We went on the Haunted Mansion, went over to New Fantasyland (Struck out again!! Strike 3!!) and in general killed some time. As the sun set, a magical moment happened. New Fantasyland opened. Yeah.
New Fantasyland is officially opening in mid-November. It was a disappointment, because I am dying to go to New Fantasyland and see the Be Our Guest Restaurant. I LOVE Beauty and the Beast so much. I stalk The Beast when I'm in the parks (did not see him this time) and one of my favorite stories ever from the parks is when Elias and I found Beauty AND The Beast as characters in France as the rest of our family went for pastries. So I was disappointed that Be Our Guest wasn't open for us.
I had gone up to the cast member on the left at the opening to New Fantasyland. This time with Scott in tow. He was wearing his "Happy Birthday" button, so I thought that might help our cause. The Left Hand Girl said she didn't know when New Fantasyland would be open, but to check back later. We started walking away, and then a random lady yelled, "They're letting people in with wristbands!!" Wait. We had a wristband. We slowly stalked this lady and she went in on the right hand side of the opening. We followed her. Showed a wristband. And WENT IN!!! Holy Shit, you guys!! We got in!! I'm pretty sure I was jumping. I might have twirled. But man, I was jazzed.
We walked through and saw The Beast's castle (otherwise known as Be Our Guest Restaurant). It was not open, but we got some pictures. Next stop was Gaston's Tavern. We actually walked over to Gaston's Fountain as Gaston was walking out. A Cast Member asked if she wanted to take Scott and my picture in front of the fountain. Sure. He was fussing with the camera with the Cast Member, and I yell over to Gaston, "Come on over here for a picture!!" He oblidged and we put our arms around each other. Scott was still fussing with the camera and I asked Gaston if he just wanted to cuddle for a while. Fab. Pictures were taken and we went along on our merry way.
Our next stop was the Little Mermaid Ride (Scott said, "Wait, this is an actual ride??"), which is basically the ride Elias and I went on in Disneyland earlier this year. But still cool. Then, we went back to Gaston's Tavern for a drink. LeFou's Brew was shared in a Beauty Goblet. This was a frozen apple juice with a passion fruit foam. Glorious!! It's kind of a Disney version of Butterbeer, but just as good. We hung around the Tavern for a while, taking stupid pictures of the decorations. Then a quick stop at the shop next door. Soon enough, it was time to go back to the Halloween Party. But we got to go to New Fantasyland. It was fantastic!!
We decided to hang out in New Fantasyland instead of seeing the first parade. After we left New Fantasyland, we decided to do a bit of Trick or Treating. MNSSHP is the only place where a 37 year old can gather some candy in a baggie. Though I'm sure there are other places I could get some candy. I'm just not social enough to find those places. We could have found characters all dressed up with their Halloween costumes. We didn't. We did watch the fireworks. We did see the parade. And we were good with that. Between the lack of sleep and the late night, I was ready for bed after a while. But we did hear the two best lines said by parents...
Mom to kid - "Remember, this trip is all about Grayson."
Dad to kids at the end of the night - "Ok you guys, you just have to give me 30 more minutes."
We kept quoting those two parents for the rest of the week. They killed us.
Sleep continues to be rather elusive. But that's life. I can sleep later. Right?? RIGHT??
After getting stalked by Nosferatu last night, we decided to take it much easier today. It was our waterpark day. Now I love me a good waterpark. I don't need to go on the insanely vertical slides (No. Way.). But I do love getting in a flotation device and hurdling down a fiberglass slide at high speeds (spoiler alert - first slide down and I also had water hurdling down my nose at high speeds. BOO!!). I also love the wave pool and the lazy river and the smell of sunscreen and...all the things with waterparks. I also love the people.
People at the waterparks are fascinating. When you think about it, people are nearly naked and flaunting their bodies for the world to see. That's why I give anyone who decides to go to a waterpark tons of credit. I also go to a waterpark and instantly get a boost to my self-esteem. What?? I am very aware I could lose another 10...or more...pounds. My suit might not be the best fitting suit in the world. My skin might be so pale I'm translucent. But man...I leave feeling like I look like a million bucks compared to some of the crazies at a waterpark. A few days later as I shovel in the food from Food and Wine Fest (or at least the Dessert Party), I don't feel so good, but for now...a million bucks. Plus, it does make me really want another tattoo. Really.
We decided to go to Typhoon Lagoon for our waterpark day. Blizzard Beach was another option, but Blizzard Beach had more "thrill" rides, while Typhoon Lagoon was a little more leisurely. They also had a shark tank!! Excellent!!
We hung out at Typhoon Lagoon for a while. Of course, the first slide was cold and the water went straight up my nose through to my brain. So that wasn't the best start. After that, we found a few tube rides. Unfortunately, it was just a bit chilly during our day at the waterpark, so there were a few things we didn't end up doing. Like the lazy river. Why sit for an hour in a cold pool when you can stay warm...somewhere else?? I don't know. We just never made it to the lazy river. I did want to snorkel with the shark tank. But I was halted when someone mentioned how much colder it was in the shark tank. Tiz. Out. Dammit.
Fun was had by the wave pool. Luckily, we found this bench-y thing that was at the far, far end of the wave pool. So we hung out for a while. Just sitting. Being chatty. Or being silent. Who cared?? All of a sudden, the wave started and we heard the wild screaming from the kids. And probably adults. What we didn't account for was the ferocity of the wave. Cause the wave not only knocked down everyone it its path (they loved it), but it barreled into the bench-y thing and completely knocked people over who were sitting on the bench. Not us. No way. We're sturdy folk. But the chick with the camera that was next to me. She wiped out hard. I did (eventually) ask how her camera was. It was waterproof, so...cool. We hung out by the wave pool for a while, standing up as the waves started (once every 3-5 minutes or so). It kept us entertained before going for donuts (with white chocolate sauce!!) and getting ready to go back to the hotel. It wasn't a frenetic time at the waterpark, but it didn't need to be. We had two full park days before this one. We needed a bit of downtime.
Unfortunately (or fortunately), we didn't have a ton of downtime. We got back to the hotel, got ready and hit the road again for our second Halloween adventure. Yesterday, we got scared by demons and uglies. Today...it was a Not So Scary Halloween Party. Sure, the rain started immediately as we left our hotel, so we dodged, ducked, dipped, dove and dodged around the pelting rain. By the time we got to the park, it was full-on raining. Which was a disappointment. As we huddled under the bus shelter, we finally decided..."screw this" and took off for Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (btw...it's going to be referred to as MNSSHP going forward. I don't have it in me to type it all out every time). It was very spitty for a while, but once Scott bought the poncho, the skies opened and the sun came out. The Magic Poncho Lives!!
A hot dog was had immediately (we hadn't eaten lunch and during our tour on Tuesday, we learned Walt Disney had a hot dog every day as a pre-dinner snack. This had to be why he died early, but still...What Would Walt Disney Do?? He'd eat a hot dog.) and we started around the park. The park "officially" opened for MNSSHP at 4p, so we had time before any of the festivities started. We went on the Haunted Mansion, went over to New Fantasyland (Struck out again!! Strike 3!!) and in general killed some time. As the sun set, a magical moment happened. New Fantasyland opened. Yeah.
New Fantasyland is officially opening in mid-November. It was a disappointment, because I am dying to go to New Fantasyland and see the Be Our Guest Restaurant. I LOVE Beauty and the Beast so much. I stalk The Beast when I'm in the parks (did not see him this time) and one of my favorite stories ever from the parks is when Elias and I found Beauty AND The Beast as characters in France as the rest of our family went for pastries. So I was disappointed that Be Our Guest wasn't open for us.
I had gone up to the cast member on the left at the opening to New Fantasyland. This time with Scott in tow. He was wearing his "Happy Birthday" button, so I thought that might help our cause. The Left Hand Girl said she didn't know when New Fantasyland would be open, but to check back later. We started walking away, and then a random lady yelled, "They're letting people in with wristbands!!" Wait. We had a wristband. We slowly stalked this lady and she went in on the right hand side of the opening. We followed her. Showed a wristband. And WENT IN!!! Holy Shit, you guys!! We got in!! I'm pretty sure I was jumping. I might have twirled. But man, I was jazzed.
We walked through and saw The Beast's castle (otherwise known as Be Our Guest Restaurant). It was not open, but we got some pictures. Next stop was Gaston's Tavern. We actually walked over to Gaston's Fountain as Gaston was walking out. A Cast Member asked if she wanted to take Scott and my picture in front of the fountain. Sure. He was fussing with the camera with the Cast Member, and I yell over to Gaston, "Come on over here for a picture!!" He oblidged and we put our arms around each other. Scott was still fussing with the camera and I asked Gaston if he just wanted to cuddle for a while. Fab. Pictures were taken and we went along on our merry way.
Our next stop was the Little Mermaid Ride (Scott said, "Wait, this is an actual ride??"), which is basically the ride Elias and I went on in Disneyland earlier this year. But still cool. Then, we went back to Gaston's Tavern for a drink. LeFou's Brew was shared in a Beauty Goblet. This was a frozen apple juice with a passion fruit foam. Glorious!! It's kind of a Disney version of Butterbeer, but just as good. We hung around the Tavern for a while, taking stupid pictures of the decorations. Then a quick stop at the shop next door. Soon enough, it was time to go back to the Halloween Party. But we got to go to New Fantasyland. It was fantastic!!
We decided to hang out in New Fantasyland instead of seeing the first parade. After we left New Fantasyland, we decided to do a bit of Trick or Treating. MNSSHP is the only place where a 37 year old can gather some candy in a baggie. Though I'm sure there are other places I could get some candy. I'm just not social enough to find those places. We could have found characters all dressed up with their Halloween costumes. We didn't. We did watch the fireworks. We did see the parade. And we were good with that. Between the lack of sleep and the late night, I was ready for bed after a while. But we did hear the two best lines said by parents...
Mom to kid - "Remember, this trip is all about Grayson."
Dad to kids at the end of the night - "Ok you guys, you just have to give me 30 more minutes."
We kept quoting those two parents for the rest of the week. They killed us.
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