After some very careful consideration, I have decided to jump back in to the world of Warhammer and play some Warhammer Fantasy Battles. I am quite interested in the 8th edition changes. To chronicle my re-entry I have created a new blog, ...again to Warhammer.
Those with an interest in miniatures gaming, and Warhammer in particular should subscribe to that blog.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Friday, July 2, 2010
Disney Traditions
Melissa and I have developed some traditions over the years going to Disney World. Different places to sit and relax, places to eat, and other fun little things we like to do. Now that we are bringing the kids along, it has been fun to start new traditions. I found it interesting that two of our most common traditions were not done this trip in favor of two new ones that I think will be around for a while.
I miss greatly what was likely our first tradition, a Magic Kingdom lunch of cold fried chicken and chips at Aunt Polly's on Tom Sawyer Island. I remember the first time we went across to the island only to find that they didn't serve lunch anymore, just ice cream. That was a sad day, but not the first time that a Disney change broke up a tradition.
Our two most common traditions are a lunch at the Columbia Harbor House and grabbing some fudge from Main Street. Columbia Harbor House has a nice upstairs seating area, including some tables near the windows overlooking the path from Fantasyland to Liberty Square. This is a fun place to sit as it is well themed and allows you to look out over the park. The food is mostly fried, but that is ok. Our original tradition with the fudge was to get some fudge and then go sit in the cool darkness of the Main Street theater and relax while watching cartoons. Like Aunt Polly's, Disney decided to change the theater to make it into a store. There is still a movie screen showing cartoons, but there is not a good place to sit. We usually still buy fudge, but either take it back to the room or if it is nice out find a side street on Main Street to have a few bites. We did neither of these on this trip though...traditions are changing.
This trip we had dinner at the Pinocchio Village Haus in Fantasyland. We grabbed a table overlooking It's a Small World, and spent a bunch of time waving down at the riders below. Pizza and pasta is on the menu at PVH, so it is a bit different from Columbia Harbor. Being able to watch the boys favorite ride, and wave was a big hit. We also did our breakfast on Main Street of cinnamon rolls and coffee. This was fun, though it was a bit crowded. We actually "ate" here twice. On a previous night at the Magic Kingdom we grabbed a few danish to bring back to the room for the following mornings breakfast. I think we are going to spend a bit more time on Main Street like this, it was a fun change of pace.
Do you have family traditions relating to Disney?
I miss greatly what was likely our first tradition, a Magic Kingdom lunch of cold fried chicken and chips at Aunt Polly's on Tom Sawyer Island. I remember the first time we went across to the island only to find that they didn't serve lunch anymore, just ice cream. That was a sad day, but not the first time that a Disney change broke up a tradition.
Our two most common traditions are a lunch at the Columbia Harbor House and grabbing some fudge from Main Street. Columbia Harbor House has a nice upstairs seating area, including some tables near the windows overlooking the path from Fantasyland to Liberty Square. This is a fun place to sit as it is well themed and allows you to look out over the park. The food is mostly fried, but that is ok. Our original tradition with the fudge was to get some fudge and then go sit in the cool darkness of the Main Street theater and relax while watching cartoons. Like Aunt Polly's, Disney decided to change the theater to make it into a store. There is still a movie screen showing cartoons, but there is not a good place to sit. We usually still buy fudge, but either take it back to the room or if it is nice out find a side street on Main Street to have a few bites. We did neither of these on this trip though...traditions are changing.
This trip we had dinner at the Pinocchio Village Haus in Fantasyland. We grabbed a table overlooking It's a Small World, and spent a bunch of time waving down at the riders below. Pizza and pasta is on the menu at PVH, so it is a bit different from Columbia Harbor. Being able to watch the boys favorite ride, and wave was a big hit. We also did our breakfast on Main Street of cinnamon rolls and coffee. This was fun, though it was a bit crowded. We actually "ate" here twice. On a previous night at the Magic Kingdom we grabbed a few danish to bring back to the room for the following mornings breakfast. I think we are going to spend a bit more time on Main Street like this, it was a fun change of pace.
Do you have family traditions relating to Disney?
Disney Day 5 - One Last Day
Another late night, and another early morning. What did I say about killing the kids again? We had not gotten a chance to ride on any of the kids rides in the Magic Kingdom because the lines were just too long. Tuesday was early entry at the Magic Kingdom and even though we did not get back to the room till late we decided to get up early to be at the gates by 8:00 am. We skipped breakfast figuring that we could grab something at the parks, and made it in plenty of time for the opening ceremonies.
We headed straight back to Fantasyland, and over to Peter Pans Adventure. It wasn't running. I was pretty sad by this as it is my favorite in Fantasyland. We grabbed a fast pass and went to ride Snow White and Winnie the Pooh. By the time we got back to Peter Pan the ride was open and the line was already at a 10 minute wait. Iain is kinda funny about rides. Going into this trip you could not get him to even consider Peter Pan or Snow White because they were both too scary. I am not sure if this is because we took him on them when he was younger and he got scared or if it is just an odd Iain thing. Not an issue anymore though, because he liked both rides. Liam just loves looking at everything so any ride is good for him. We road Small World one last time before departing Fantasyland for Liberty Square and the Haunted Mansion.
This ride really does scare the crap out of Iain. However, he also seemed to do much better with it this time around. He even joked about the stretching room later. The park was open by this point and we decided it as time for breakfast. We headed to Main Street with the idea of grabbing a nice quiet breakfast at the bakery. We did have a nice breakfast, but man was that place packed. Melissa waited in line and the boys and I scouted out a table. Worked out well in the end. I think we have a new tradition. :)
We headed back to Kidani after our morning at the Magic Kingdom and decided to go for a swim. The pool is really nice, as is the kids area. We played for an hour when I asked Iain if he wanted to try the big slide. To my surprise he said yes. He and I went up, and I went down first. I waited at the bottom and a few seconds later I could hear a WEEEEEEE as he came sliding down on his back. He loved it and he rode about 6 more times. We grabbed a bite to eat poolside before heading back to the room for some napping. Even Iain took a short nap this time, which was good, although not enough.
Our last night at the parks was spent at EPCOT. We went to The Seas first and after the ride Iain wanted to go to the Crush show. For those who have not been the Crush show features Crush the Sea Turtle from Nemo. He talks to an interacts with the audience. It is a very cool show, and all the kids get to sit in the front and ask questions. We were shocked to see Iain raise his hand and hear him ask a question very clearly. We were sooooooo proud of him, mostly because we figured his question would have been about poop. :) We rode on Living with the Land, which I thought Iain would like and he did. Dinner was at the Tangerine Cafe in Morocco followed by the Illuminations fireworks show. Iain decided to through a fit, which made the show less than enjoyable. The park as open for 3 extra hours that night and Iain was ready to ride Test Track. He and I braved the 30 minute line and he seemed to really like the ride. He held on to me pretty tight for most of it. They joke about using a barricade crash test during the ride, but Iain was not sure it was a joke. I had to promise him that we would not hit anything.
We moved on to Journey into Imagination. I love Figment, and I loved the original ride. The new one is OK, but from the lack of any lines (pretty much ever) I have to worry about the future of this ride. I had hoped that Captain EO would be playing while we were there, but it does not open till this Friday. Iain would have liked to see it, as he has been on a bit of a Michael Jackson kick recently. The night wrapped up with a ride on Spaceship Earth. I love this ride because it represents the last of the original Animatronic rides that I remember from the park opening. Horizons and World of Motion are gone and I hope we can keep Spaceship Earth relatively unchanged. I will say that I was disappointed not to see the chariots riding off into the distance in the Rome scene. I hope that is not gone for good.
We made it back to the room a little before 1:00 am and did a bit of packing. It was time to go home in the morning.
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