It's going to be an "Incredible Summer" About This Page:

[Cam22]

You all went on a character bonanza! Love Abby with every single character! Goofy is so good with interacting with guest, and Abby's smiles are proof. I have wondered about the family meal at Pizzafari. It looks very good and plentiful. So sorry the night ended on a our sour note, but it seems like you all had a great AK day.

[CinderAbby]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

A lot accomplished in AK with so much fun and attractions. It was a long one and well worth it! Sounds like a great meal at TH and a place I still need to try as just so many options now. Sorry the day ended the way it did! Besides this most of it was enjoyable!

Despite the end of the day, the rest of it was enjoyable. We do like TH - it is a good meal and if Disney hadn't introduced the family style meal at Pizzafari, we would have eaten dinner at TH too. It is good.

Originally Posted by patclairesmom

Another full packed day! It looked like a lot of fun but sorry it ended not so good

Thanks. Up until the end, it had been a fun day.

Originally Posted by pamcarey

So many great pictures from all the character meets! I love the chipmunks in their dinosaur costumes! Those are adorable, and something that I haven't seen before! Yours is the first review that I've read of the new Up show. Sorry to hear that it isn't quite up to snuff.

Abby had a blast meeting all the characters that she did. Chip and Dale were cute - they were must meets in those costumes. Everyone else was a "bonus". The thing that's funny about the Up show is after we came home, Disney revamped it again and I watched a video of it. Believe it or not, what we saw was actually better than what they changed it to . They really should have left it alone IMO.

Originally Posted by Colexis Mom

Another long day! Glad you were able to fit in so many characters! Wow! Sorry the night ended on a sour note. I’m sure everyone was tired at that point!

Yes, everyone was hot and tired by the end of the night but it's not a good reason for people to act the way they did. I'm glad we could get in all the characters too. Abby has such fun meeting them. She's come a long way with them from that first trip we took.

Originally Posted by NanaTink

I am always amazed at how much you get accomplished every day! You are a master planner! Sounds like a pretty ok couple of days (I was behind) but I'm so sorry for the finish of your AK day. Hope all smoothed out after everyone got a good night's sleep!

Sometimes I'm amazed at how much we get done. I do a lot of planning and even with that, sometimes we seem to get MORE done. The trip didn't start off the way we were hoping and after Monday, things did get better until the end of this night. You'll have to stay tuned to see about the rest.

Originally Posted by Cam22

You all went on a character bonanza! Love Abby with every single character! Goofy is so good with interacting with guest, and Abby's smiles are proof. I have wondered about the family meal at Pizzafari. It looks very good and plentiful. So sorry the night ended on a our sour note, but it seems like you all had a great AK day.

Yes, it was a character bonanza that had Abby really smiling. Goofy is funny and I love how Uncle Scrooge presented Abby with a diploma. I'm sure the piece of paper got lost or thrown out by now but we have the pictures and the memories of it happening. The meal at Pizzafari was both good and plentiful. I'm glad we opted to try it. We all enjoyed it and if it's something they have in the future, we would certainly do it again. Other than the end, we did have a good day at AK.

[CinderAbby]

Friday morning, I was up at 6:45. Today was a day I should have been able to sleep in some but Lenny woke me up. I didn't know what was going on. I thought he was just having a really bad dream with what he was saying and doing but he told me later he was actually hallucinating. I wasn't sure why he would tell me that but I would eventually find out. From 6:45 to 8:15 when Abby woke up, I have no idea what I did. I have no notes on it so either I got everything ready for the day or I played games on my iPad. I really don't know.

At 8:30, I got Lenny up for the day and in the process of getting ready, I learned what I believe was the source of him saying he was hallucinating. He had a travel bottle for his night pills that we took into the parks so he could take them before leaving if he wanted to. He asked where it was and I told him he already had it. He found it and when he looked inside the bottle, it was empty so he went to fill it but the Friday PM spot in his pill pod was already empty. Saturday PM was also empty. It was only Friday morning. Somehow - most likely from exhaustion - he had taken two doses of his night pills on Thursday night and instead of taking his morning pills on Friday he took another dose of his night pills. Luckily we had extra with us so he'd be fine for the rest of vacation in regards to his pills but knowing he was pretty much really over medicated kind of scared me. I just kept my eyes on him but he seemed to be okay.

By 9:30 we were leaving the hotel and heading to the TTC. When we got there and put the scooter together, it decided it wasn't going to work. The last thing I needed was for another day to start lousy and once again, we had an ADR that we were possibly going to be late for. As Lenny tried to figure out the problem, I called Walker. The girl asked me some questions and as I answered them, Lenny did something that usually does the trick - he whacked the control box. That worked to get the scooter going so we could at least be on our way but we still wanted the scooter switched out. We made it to Be Our Guest right about 11 and because we preorder, we can skip the line and go straight in the restaurant to a different register instead of going to the right and past all the suits of armor. A few minutes after we got seated but before we got the food, we got a call from Walker. A person was waiting outside the restaurant with a replacement scooter for us. I went outside, made the exchange and then returned to the table in hopes the rest of the day would go better. Lunch was starting off rocky - Abby piled our stuff on the table instead of putting it on the chairs which annoyed Lenny - but once everything got moved and we started eating, it did smooth out

For lunch, Lenny got the beef sandwich and green beans while Abby and I got the turkey sandwich. She got fries, and I got the green beans. It was all good as usual and we all enjoyed it. From Be Our Guest, we headed to Frontierland. We had a fastpass for Splash Mountain but we stopped to get a return time at Big Thunder Mountain for Abby and I as Lenny wasn't up for riding it today. We then went and used our fastpass and rode in the front of the log. It is so nice to hear Abby laugh when she gets wet on these rides. Not all that long ago, it would cause a meltdown if she got even a tiny bit wet. After coming out of the Briar Patch mostly unscathed we left Lenny in the shade of the train tracks and went back to Big Thunder Mountain. The line kept moving and it didn't take us long to be on "the wildest ride in the wilderness." Abby wanted to get a return time for Jungle Cruise next so we went to Adventureland after joining Lenny again.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/r5YjFFkFngq1yAkWA

After getting that time, we once again left Lenny to sit in the shade as he didn't want to ride the Magic Carpets - our next fastpass. The shade this time was at the Adventureland Verandah near the treehouse and the bathrooms. Before using the fastpass though, Abby wanted to walk through the treehouse so we did that first. Once upon a time, this attraction actually had a line you had to wait in to experience it but not anymore. After climbing up and down the hundred plus stairs, it was time to go ride the Magic Carpets. It's a simple ride but both Abby and I enjoy riding it. We almost got spit on by the camel but he missed. We then went back for Lenny so we could go ride the Jungle Cruise. The skipper we had wasn't the best one but oh well. It was okay but just not as corny as it could have been.

After we returned to the dock, Abby wanted to go to Liberty Square to see the Muppets again. I thought we were going to make it in time to see the whole show. We would have if the show started at 2:15 like I thought it did. No, the show started at 2:05 so once again we missed some of it. Just like on Monday, after the Muppets we stayed in "our" spot for the parade. Dark clouds were building so we got out all the rain stuff to be ready and Lenny said if it started to rain he was going to go inside the Hall of Presidents. At the first drop of rain, he took off and Abby wanted to follow him so we all headed inside. The doors to the theater were open so we continued in. Unfortunately there were no cast members to help those using wheels so everyone sat where they wanted. Including us, I think there were four or five other people that couldn't use the very back row. At least one person, if not two, just left the theater and the rest of us were forced to park everything and walk to the seats. The seats at Hall of Presidents are on an incline so it wasn't the easiest of things for Lenny to navigate but we did the best we could. Once the show was over, we headed outside again and the parade viewing spots were still open so we took them again. It was around 3 so I asked if the parade would still be done and I was told as far as they knew. The cast members just didn't know what time. The parade finally got to us about 3:55 but it was the short version. No one was dancing, some characters weren't out, Tick Tock was missing and so was the entire Dumbo float.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/YaCCnJvZ6sdUsmuW8

[CinderAbby]

After the parade, Abby wanted to go see the Country Bear Jamboree and then the Tiki Room. We had some time before our next fastpass at the Speedway so that was a good way to fill the time. By the time we got out of those two shows, it was 5:20. Our fastpass window ended at 5:25. Despite repeatedly telling Abby we would still be able to use the fastpass even if we were a few minutes late, she still rushed to get to the ride. We got there at 5:27 and we had no problems whatsoever. The light turned green and the cast members didn't even bat an eye. After Abby "won" the race at the Speedway, we went to ride the Peoplemover. It was a little bit tough on Lenny but he did it. We do enjoy our tour around Tomorrowland but once we were done, I was a little worried for Lenny. It took some time but he did get out of the car before the end of the belt - barely. As we stepped off of it (I stayed close to him) there was a cast member there (I'm pretty sure it was a supervisor) who got on the belt going down to ground level right in front of us. I thought absolutely nothing about it until he got down to the bottom, stepped off and stood to the side. I just smiled and thanked him as Lenny and I stepped off the belt onto the ground. To those around us, it wasn't obvious what he had done but to us it was. The cast member went ahead of us to make sure Lenny was okay at the bottom.

Once Lenny was back on the scooter, Abby wanted to go to Monster Laugh Floor. She sent a joke in - I forget what it was - but it didn't get used at all. After our laughter opened the doors and we walked out, we watched the last few minutes of Super Super Fans Cosplayers that were part of The Incredibles Expo. We hit the bathrooms next and from there, I know Abby wanted to do something, I forget what now, but she ended up in the booth making herself a Tomorrowland license. It was 7:15 when she was done with that so we all decided to go to the Tomorrowland Terrace and wait for the dessert party. Even at that early time, we were third in line to check in. About 7:40 is when check-in actually started. We were shown to a table and given wristbands to show when entering the dessert party areas. Abby took pictures of everything offered and among the three of us, we tried at least one of almost everything offered. None of us had the spinach dip, I do know that, but we tried pretty much everything else. What I liked about the party was we even got to pick from the after fireworks dessert party offerings. Out of those, the s'mores tasted burnt, the toffee cake was okay, and the cheeseburger spring rolls were good. Lenny really like them and ate quite a few instead of having more desserts. Abby like them too and had a couple. I don't know why but the thing I liked the best was the ice cream. Maybe because it had been so hot and that was good and cold. Everything else we had was good too, don't get me wrong, but at the end, it was the ice cream that I took with me to eat in the Plaza Garden viewing area.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/egPEhpDhg5mPmoqH7

At 8:45 we headed down to the garden area and there was a lot of room left to choose from. Where we picked was a good viewing spot as there was a limited number of poles and bushes in the way. Even once the fireworks started and everyone stood up ( most people sat down to wait) there was still a lot of elbow room. When it came to the fireworks though, there were times I felt overwhelmed with trying to figure out which I should be watching - the fireworks or the projections. I can honestly say I don't know if I would do it again. I liked the desert party portion and I liked the viewing area. I liked what I saw but I felt like I didn't get the full effect from it. I actually left thinking if we could swing it, we should see if there were any Pirates and Pals openings for the next week and try to view it that way instead. I never looked into it however.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/R9P4PFi3EQcx6rQs5

The fireworks ended at 9:35 and we waited about 10 minutes before leaving the Plaza Garden. When we did, we hit the bathrooms first and then Abby and I rode the teacups with only a five minute wait posted. From there we went to Storybook Circus and got in line for Dumbo. One of the spinners was already closed but the line was still only at 10 minutes. It was cool riding this at night - it's not something we've ever done before. When Abby and I exited the ride, instead of waiting for us, Lenny was moving away from us and I wondered why. He was getting tired and thought we had already ridden the ride and had just walked off without telling him. He tried calling me but of course I didn't hear my phone ring. Since we were there and Barnstormer was only a five minute wait, I told him to let Abby have one last ride and then maybe she'd be ready to go. I wanted to try and close the park - it's rare that we as a family are in the Magic Kingdom that late (as a kid I closed down the Magic Kingdom all the time) but it wasn't going to happen. Abby was getting tired too and was happy to make that her last ride of the night. At 10:26 we were ready to leave the park. Knowing ahead of time it was going to be elbow-to-elbow people leaving the park, my plan - for Abby at least - was to let her sit in the wheelchair with Duffy and Shellie Mae whom we brought into the park with us to help ease her anxiety about the crowd. It helped. Lenny on the other hand wasn't happy with the crowds and at one point in time when he moved his scooter up to purposely bump into someone who had been rude, he hit me instead. It's probably better that way. In all, it took almost an hour and a half to get from The Barnstormer to our room. We were all tired and while Abby went straight to bed, it was closer to 1 when Lenny and I got to bed.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/32KfdUHYHjJqMLKw5

[Pris]

It looks like another long but good day. I'm sorry Lenny seems to not be having such a good time on this trip so far. I hope things get a bit better as time goes on.

[purplegal]

Another long and busy day. Your desserts looked very good and the cheeseburger spring rolls sound yummy.

[NanaTink]

That was an amazingly long day for y'all! So sorry about Lenny's medication mix-up. I hope he starts having a better time! The desserts at the dessert party looked very good!

[DMA]

Another full day! You made good use of your time in between FP+. The dessert party fare looks yummy!

[Ashli]

I love the picture with the lantern by the Tea Cups. Is that there all the time in the evenings now, do you know?

[pamcarey]

You really did a lot and made great use of your time! The dessert party looks like fun!


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[Cam22]

You all really packed in a lot this day. Love all the photos!

[CinderAbby]

Originally Posted by Pris

It looks like another long but good day. I'm sorry Lenny seems to not be having such a good time on this trip so far. I hope things get a bit better as time goes on.

It was a long one but it almost didn't seem it I think because we went into the park late. Lenny definitely did not have a good start to the vacation. You'll have to keep reading though to find out if he continues that way or not.

Originally Posted by purplegal

Another long and busy day. Your desserts looked very good and the cheeseburger spring rolls sound yummy.

It was. The desserts were good. I'm glad we did the party. The spring rolls were good too and they had some sort of "dip" there for them - I forget what it was - but Lenny said they were much better with the dip.

Originally Posted by NanaTink

That was an amazingly long day for y'all! So sorry about Lenny's medication mix-up. I hope he starts having a better time! The desserts at the dessert party looked very good!

Yes, it was yet another long day for us. It was kind of scary for me in regards to Lenny's meds. He's on heart and blood pressure meds that shouldn't be taken more than prescribed. Thankfully he was okay but still, it wasn't a good way to start the day. The desserts were very good. If we weren't watching what we eat, we probably would have all overindulged in them instead of trying to be careful.

Originally Posted by DMA

Another full day! You made good use of your time in between FP+. The dessert party fare looks yummy!

Yes, it was. Since we all like the shows, it's "easy" to fill in the time between FP for us. Plus I do a lot of planning too so even if it's not the shows we're doing, it's something else fun. The dessert party was good. We did enjoy it.

Originally Posted by Ashli

I love the picture with the lantern by the Tea Cups. Is that there all the time in the evenings now, do you know?

Unfortunately I do not know when the lantern shot is there. We just happened upon it.

Originally Posted by pamcarey

You really did a lot and made great use of your time! The dessert party looks like fun!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I try to. Maybe too good since our days are so long. The dessert party was fun. I'm glad we did it.

Originally Posted by Cam22

You all really packed in a lot this day. Love all the photos!

Thanks Cam. We did do a lot this day but we had fun too.

[CinderAbby]

Saturday the 11th was our first of what should have been two down days. Despite that fact, I was still up at 7 to do laundry. I was the only one there and had my pick of machines. When I got back to the room, I updated my notes, played my iPad games and after a while started texting Kate (lovewdw2). She was just a couple of buildings away as this was the weekend she came down to spend with us and I was really looking forward to it. I had talked with her a little on Friday - the day she actually flew in - but we didn't plan on officially getting together until this morning.

My original plans for today had us going to AoA for the learn to draw class, going to play mini golf, resort pin trading, dinner at Trails End Buffet, possibly going to the GF to see the lighthouse for Lane and swimming. Kate was welcome to join us for any and all of those activities but the two that were definites were mini golf and dinner. With everyone being tired and Lenny taking extra meds, on the way back to the resort Friday night we talked about changing things up. We ultimately decided above all else Lenny needed to be able to sleep as long as he was able to.

With that decision, Abby and I decided we'd play mini golf in the morning and use the bus to get there. We'd try for AoA at 2 and then most likely go from there to dinner. Once I got talking with Kate, she was fine with the new time line. I finally finished laundry (washed, dried, folded and put away) by 9:45 and then I was "free" to play the rest of the day. Abby woke up around 10 and after we got ready - including Kate - she came and met us at our room. We talked for a few minutes but not long as Lenny was still sleeping in the other room and I didn't want to wake him up. After leaving a note for him in case he woke up and couldn't remember that we left to go play mini golf with Kate, we then went to the bus stop. When Abby and I play mini golf, we usually start at Winter Summerland and then go to Fantasia Gardens. Since our plans had changed and we were using the bus system, Abby agreed to go back to Winter Summerland for our second mini golf day because it was the easiest thing to do. Kate was easy going - she would go to whichever course we decided upon.

I know I said this before and I'll say it again. I'm glad Kate had the crazy idea to come to Disney to spend time with us. It was a lot of fun. Plus with knowing each other outside of Disney and the boards, the conversations just flowed about anything and everything. There were things we talked about that won't find their way into this TR and of course there was a lot of talk about how vacation was going. There was never a lack of conversation or times where we had to think about what to talk about. Abby too was even fully included in these conversations. So having said that, once we got out of the room, the conversation started and it just continued. We made it to the bus stop and it didn't seem to take too long for a bus to arrive. I know we looked at Kate's phone for the bus arrival section of the app. I just didn't note the wait time. Once on the bus, it was only a couple of minutes before we arrived at Blizzard Beach as it is really close to the AS resorts. At 11:15, we were being rung in to play the winter course and while I don't remember the wait time the CM told us, I do remember him telling us a storm was in the area that could cause the golf course to have to shut down. If that happened, we could wait it out or get a rain check. Since it was still sunny at that time, we obviously just waited and sat down at one of the picnic tables.

I would say not even 10 minutes later, the CM's were telling people to find shelter and going around the golf course talking to those that had already started playing. They once again told people that we could wait it out or get rain checks. At that point in time, most people, including us, stayed. Luckily there was enough room under the roof for everyone because it wasn't long before the rain started. It went from just rain to a very heavy rain to a light rain then back to a heavy rain. It was also thundering and lightning out. The CM said every flash of lightning would extend the time they had to be closed by 30 minutes and he estimated that they might be closed for up to an hour. We had no place else to be and we didn't want to get soaked by walking back to the bus stop so we stayed. Some people left however. We even said we could talk just as easily there as we could at the hotel.

Time went on but it didn't drag for us. We just kept chatting away watching the rain, eating some snacks Kate bought and watching as the storm drain could no longer handle the water rushing into it. The covered area we were standing under even started taking on water but we were standing in a good location. It stayed dry the entire time. Just when we thought the storm was moving away, there was more lightning extending the close time another 30 minutes. At some point in time while we were waiting for the storm to stop, I called Lenny. I thought for sure he would have been worried because we were gone so long so when I didn't hear from him, I was kind of worried. Turns out he was still in bed sleeping (I said he needed the sleep that's why he stayed behind) so I told him to go back to sleep and I'd wake him when we got back if he wasn't already awake.

By the time the storm was over, the six or eight families that were in line ahead of us to play the winter course had all left so we were first in line. Of course now it was 1pm - almost 2 hours after we arrived. I don't know why they didn't wait. We did. :-) When the storm finally stopped, the CM's were given the okay to open again. The first thing they did was go around the course with a couple of leaf blowers to clean off the greens. I thought it was humorous myself but it's what they do. We were finally called to play our round of mini golf and it started off a little rough. Between Abby rushing and the greens being wet, she wasn't doing very well and this required a lot of "do overs." Once she finally settled down and paid better attention, she did much better. She even got the lowest score out of the three of us - no surprise there. She got I want to say maybe 5 holes in one, I know Kate got two or three and I got a couple as well. I had left my camera back in the room so I only have a couple of photos that Kate took.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/2dCaM9nygcudxBjq6

[CinderAbby]

After we turned in our clubs and Abby put her name on the board, we walked back to the bus stop. We probably waited 15 minutes for a bus to show up but since we kept talking the time just seemed to go. Once we got back to the hotel, Kate went to her room to rest for a bit before dinner - she would meet us at Trails End Buffet in FW - and Abby and I headed to our rooms. When Abby and I got to the room, Lenny was still asleep. I kind of felt bad waking him up but it was 2:30 in the afternoon and I didn't want him up all night. Over the next hour, Lenny got ready and said he did feel better. We drove to Fort Wilderness and took the wheelchair with us instead of the scooter. We don't have luck with the scooter on the bus. We had a much better time with the wheelchair and we were at Trails End Buffet about 4.

No one was there to check us in so we just waited. When a cast member did finally come out, I went over and explained how I had an ADR for three people and we had a friend that wanted to join us. I was told it wasn't a problem but all four of us needed to be there. Kate wasn't - she was in the process of getting there. It was still early and our ADR wasn't until 4:30 so it wasn't a problem IMO. Kate and I kept in touch via text and I know she felt bad that it was taking her so long to get there with Disney transportation but it was all good. We were just earlier than I expected us to be. At 4:30, Kate still wasn't at Fort Wilderness but she was getting very, very close. When the boat finally got to the dock, and I felt enough time had passed for people to be getting off, I approached the podium again and said "my friend used the boat to get here and it's right there so she'll be getting off at any minute if she's not already. Is that close enough for us to be checked in?" I must have had a really hopeful look on my face because the cast member looked at the dock, checked us in and then asked for my cell phone number so they could text me when the table was ready.

In no time at all, my phone went off and it was probably another minute before the cast member came out to seat us. When she did Kate still wasn't with but she was within sight and only feet away from the porch staris. As soon as she got onto the porch, I'm not even sure I said anything beyond "Hi Kate, let's go get seated." I know Kate felt bad and kept apologizing but it was only 4:40. She wasn't super late and other than one extremely large party that was celebrating someone's 100th birthday that was taken in really early at maybe 4:10, no one else was taken inside until 4:30 anyway. Even without Kate joining us, we may not have been seated any earlier than we were. Once we got seated - again about as far away from the buffet as we could actually get - and the server took our drink order, Abby and I went up to get food while Kate and Lenny stayed at the table. When we got back, Abby talked about the cake she saw for the large birthday party. The cake was the house from UP and there were a bunch of cupcakes to represent the balloons. The next time I walked by it, I did stop to look and someone did a nice job on it.

I didn't get any pictures of dinner - I don't think I had the camera with us - but Kate did so I'll share hers. Dinner was good, we all enjoyed it and we had a lot of laughs during it. At the end, Lenny said to our server "I'm ready for my birthday cupcake now." Even though she had asked about everything we were celebrating, our server seemed surprised. The rest of us all laughed about his not so subtle hint. Then the server seemed confused because Lenny had used the word cupcake and she thought he was referring to the cupcakes for the large birthday party. She told us they were something that the people had brought with them, they weren't provided by the restaurant so therefore she couldn't give him one. I then just said "Lenny they don't give cupcakes here. They usually give strawberry shortcake." The server then understood and brought him his dessert with a candle in it too. Then she announced to the whole restaurant the way they do that it was Lenny's birthday. He got his birthday Yee Haw and then he blew out the candle. The Strawberry Shortcake was huge - it was big enough to easily feed all four of us - and it was really tasty.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dyTSRgeoiYk8p2D27

After dinner, our plans were to go to the Grand Floridian to look for the Lighthouse for Lane. Kate wanted to see it too and instead of using Disney transportation to get there, she decided to ride with us. It didn't take us long to get to the hotel and after looking at the map on the wall, we had an idea of where to go. It was getting cloudy and somewhat windy when we got outside so we didn't dawdle. We found the lighthouse, spent a few minutes there to pay our respects and then went back inside the hotel where Abby wanted to do some pin trading. We went in some shops I never knew were there and Lenny bought me a new necklace that we saw in one of them. When we were done shopping and pin trading, we got the car from valet and went back to the hotel. Around 8:30 is when we arrived at All-Star Music. Abby wanted to go swimming and I was getting tired. Kate went to her room, Lenny and Abby went off to the pool and I did some organizing for the next day. I forget what time they came back from the pool but I'm fairly certain we were all in bed and asleep by 10:30.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/zXeXJ1F7xUCC5h5f8

[CinderAbby]

Sunday morning I was up at 5:20. Lenny and Abby were up at 5:45. We got ready for the day and we were out of the hotel at 6:40. We made our way to the TTC even though we had an ADR at Ohana. It's just easier to park and walk then drive and have to move the car later. The monorail was running but I didn't want to repeatedly go through security. If we took nothing into the parks with us I would have but we don't so once through security is enough for me. The walk really isn't too bad. It only took us 12 minutes to get from the disabled section of the parking lot (way over to the right for those that might not know) to the Great Ceremonial House at the Polynesian. When we got upstairs, I started the line for check-in - It wasn't even open yet - while Lenny and Abby went to the restrooms.

I have to laugh. For the past few years since the Polynesian started with an actual area to line up in for Ohana, our routine is the same. We get upstairs and I get in line. Other people are always there too but they're always sitting down. When the cast members come out to start checking people in, those that are sitting finally get up and then give me a dirty look. If they wanted to be first in line, they should have been in line, not sitting down. Besides, the line goes quickly so I don't know what their issue is. Mine is I don't like the chairs there so I don't want to sit and then try to get up again. If I'm going to stand then I'm going to do it in line.

New this year, at least to us, is Pluto meeting outside the restaurant. When I checked in, I was given a little paper ticket to see him and you have to give this paper to the PhotoPass photographer before you can see Pluto. We couldn't see him before breakfast because he wasn't out yet - it was still really early - but that was okay. We would just make sure that we got in line on the way out. Breakfast was pretty much the same as it always is. The pineapple bread which I don't like, fruit and the skillet with the eggs, waffles, potatoes, sausage, and ham. Everything was good and the only thing I requested more of was the waffles. They were very skimpy with them. We got three of them the first round, two the second and two the third time.

The character interactions were good as well. Up first was Mickey followed by Stitch then Lilo. It didn't take too long to see all three of them and as we were getting ready to leave, they announced the parade around the restaurant that they have. Abby is always willing to participate in this and I try to take photos or video and this morning I chose video. Abby and Mickey walked by us once and continued around the restaurant. As they started coming toward us the second time, I don't know how it happened, but Mickey lost his pants. They just fell right down. Luckily he was right near the kitchen so as soon as he was able to pull them up, he was able to go into the kitchen. It was certainly a memorable end to our meal. Still laughing about Mickey losing his pants, we gathered all our stuff and left the restaurant to get in line for Pluto. His line was short, so it didn't take us too long.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NFVXVeHWn7krBTXC6

At 8:30, we were already through security and waiting for the monorail. It was actually running this morning! 2 years ago we were allowed to get on the monorail only to be told a few minutes later service was suspended indefinitely. We were at the Magic Kingdom at 8:40 so after stopping for the wheelchair, we were still early enough to see the opening show. I vaguely remember watching it but don't actually remember what I saw. We had plans to get together with Kate again but she wasn't in the park yet so we stuck to our plans and went to Tomorrowland. First up was the Astro Orbiter. This line gets ridiculously long later in the day but if we can go there first, it's usually only a five to ten minute wait. This morning they were using both elevators so we were lucky and got on the second time they went up. I can't put the rocket all the way up but for the height I'm comfortable at, it is a pretty neat view. After we got out of our rockets and back down on the ground, we headed back to Main Street and Guest Services. Kate had made it into the park and that's where we were meeting her.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JoFe6uReSpVVaTwS8

Earlier in the week when we got Abby's DAS I asked the cast member how it would work if we had a friend spend time with us. I was told just visit Guest Services again and I could add her onto it. It was as simple as that. When we found Kate, that's exactly what we did and this time, the cast member asked if we wanted a return time for anything in particular. We chose the Mine Train. From there, we all went back to Tomorrowland where Buzz was only at a 15-minute wait so we got in line. I don't know what target Abby found as she got a really high score and Kate took a picture as proof. Way to go Abby. From Buzz, we decided to ride the Peoplemover together. We talked about breakfast and Mickey losing his pants. We probably talked about plans for the day too. Conversations just flow with Kate so it's impossible to remember everything we talked about.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rDGyYFjntkeWzJk29

After our grand circle tour of Tomorrowland, we used the bathrooms and then went to use our Mine Train return time. As I said, Lenny was having problems walking this trip so if he didn't use the canes, he held onto my shoulders and walked behind me. At the Mine Train, when it was our turn to be told where to stand, Abby and Kate were told a low number. I knew Lenny wouldn't make it that far so I asked if we could sit in the back to reduce the walking he would have to do. The cast member let us and it was a help. When we got off the Mine Train it was close to Kate's fastpass time for Peter Pan so we headed off in that direction. Kate to use her fastpass and us to get a return time for it. As we walked by the carousel though, there was barely any line so Kate, Abby, and I decided to ride that first. We then went to Peter Pan where we split up. Kate got in line for her fastpass and we got a return time. From there we went to use our fastpass for the Ariel meet and greet. Kate and I would text back and forth though to keep in touch.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/iiyD6VyUy2hhZnx1A