This is why we don't go to Disney World in summer

For some variety, the fourth day of our trip was spent at Disney's Hollywood Studios (formerly Disney-MGM Studios). This park really focuses on shows, but it also has two adult thrill rides (including Tower of Terror) and the brand new Toy Story Midway Mania. It turns out, Benji doesn't really like the shows and kept asking all day for the roller coaster and Magic Kingdom.

Unfortunately the only real ride he could go on was also the one with the insanely long line. Toy Story opened earlier this year and has some pretty neat technology so it definitely had the longest line anywhere in the four parks. When we arrived, Fast Passes were all the way out to 4:20 and the line said it was 50 minutes. Now, if we were there during the summer every ride would have one or two hour lines, but we're totally spoiled and balk at 20-30 minute lines. Still, we hopped in to wait it out for the new ride (unfortunately, the wait was actually 80 minutes — I think it broke down while we were in line).

The queue area for Toy Story has a lot of detail and is fun to look at. There are giant toys everywhere and they're actually the toys as they would have appeared years ago. Chutes and Ladders on the ceiling doesn't look like Benji's current edition — very retro. Toward the end of the line is the highlight of the queue — the animatronic Mr. Potato Head. He sings and moves and his eyes blink. He's supposed to be able to take off his own ear, but that apparently wasn't working the day we were there (and I had read earlier that they were having trouble with that part of the technology). The ride itself takes you around to many different stations where you play carnival midway games with 3-D glasses and a shooter. For example, you pop balloons at one station and "throw" rings around the aliens from Toy Story at another. I was surprised at how quickly the car moved from one station to the next, but that made it a bit more of a thrill ride for Benji. With our Fast Passes, we were able to take advantage of a loophole and got Benji on the ride three times total — once by waiting in line, once with Daddy's pass, and once with Mommy's pass.

With the rest of our time at the Studios, Benji spent a long time in the Animation walk through attraction. You see, there were computers to play with there, including his favorite computer coloring book. Daddy and Benji hung out there while Mommy took a ride on Tower of Terror. I thought they might go to the Little Mermaid show, but apparently Benji got angry when Daddy tried to leave the computers.

In the evening we took the boat over to EPCOT for our dinner reservations at Restaurant Marrakesh. The food was pretty good and there was a belly dancer during the meal. Matthew, however, didn't feel very good that evening and didn't really enjoy this restaurant. So, he headed back to the hotel after dinner and Mommy and Benji took a "romantic" stroll around the World Showcase lagoon. He behaved really well and held my hand as we walked in the moonlight. On the other end of the lagoon is the Norway pavilion where we rode the Maelstrom ride. It's not very exciting by my standards, but there's a little hill on the boat ride similar to the little hill in Pirates of the Caribbean and Benji quite enjoyed it. So we rode another time and then stepped out of the ride to be greeted by the fireworks show.



Benji's favorite part of the Toy Story queue was at the very beginning — Candy Land.

Because the lines weren't as long as they would have been, he even got to walk on the game board!


Notice the retro Chutes and Ladders on the ceiling.


Got to have those 3D glasses. Notice the shooting mechanism on the left. This one has you pull a string rather than push a button.





So much detailed theming, even in the loading area.


High fives for Mickey. We eventually met Mickey at all four parks.


Celebrity sighting — WALL-E!





All tuckered out sleeping on the boat ride.


At then end of our evening, Benji was happy to pose with Spaceship Earth all lit up for the night.

Libellés : Benji, vacation

Rain, rain, go away

While "yesterday" was hot and humid at Disney World, "today" was our rainy day of the trip. The morning started off great — a wakeup call from Mickey and Stitch and then breakfast at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends. Last time we were at Disney World, Benji hugged the noses of all the characters; this time he talked to them, gave high fives, and posed for pictures with "the animals". It was more crowded than last time, so we didn't see the characters many times. But Benji was pretty happy with the visits he got. He was also very happy with his chocolate chip Mickey mouse pancake. I'm not sure which he liked more — the Mickey shape or the chocolate chips. In either case, he had a good time at our character meal.

After brunch we again headed off to Fantasyland. And Benji was upset again that the castle was closed. But I asked around and figured out when it would open for the day and we rode some rides in Fantasyland in the meantime. We rode the carousel, Dumbo, and Winnie the Pooh and saw Mickey's Philharmagic. Philharmagic was the only attraction during the entire trip that Benji actively disliked. He didn't cry or scream, but halfway through the film he asked "is it done yet?" and looked rather perturbed. We took off his 3-D glasses for the rest of the film and he was OK, but he was still happy when it was done. We think he didn't like the way things look like they're coming out at you in the film, so no more 3-D films for a while.

Then it was back to the castle to see if we could go inside. The doors were finally open so we could walk from Fantasyland through to Main Street. It really is beautiful to look all the way through the castle. On one hand Benji was happy to finally get in the castle, but on the other hand he was disappointed that there were no games or rides inside the castle. Benji's perspective on the world is so different than ours and so wonderful!

Our next stop was Toontown for a few spins on the roller coaster and a visit to Mickey's house. It was a magic moment to see his excitement at meeting Mickey. We were escorted into a room to meet the Mickey and Minnie and Benji ran towards Mickey, came back to us, and ran to Mickey's arms when we said it was OK. He hugged both Mickey and Minnie and happily posed for photos. While we were riding the roller coaster this afternoon, it began to drizzle and quickly turned to heavy rain.

We waited out some of the rain in the gift shop by the roller coaster while Benji ate a Mickey lollipop. We finally got tired of that and ran over to the train station and rode around the park a few times. We eventually got off in Frontierland for dinner at Pecos Bill's and some rides and shows over there, including Country Bear Jamboree, Aladdin's carpets, and Pirates of the Caribbean. Frontierland is a great place to watch the parades, so we saw the electrical parade and then rode the magic carpets over and over again while waiting for the fireworks. It was so empty that they didn't make us get off the ride and we rode until they shut the ride down, including one ride as the fireworks were starting. I think it spoiled Benji a bit because when we came back later in the trip he thought he would get to ride again without waiting in line. We finished off our evening by sharing a piece of fudge with three friends in the hotel room. Yummy!



One of my few "postcard" photographs. It was such a beautiful morning it's hard to believe how much it rained later in the afternoon.


Big hugs for Tigger!


Mommy gets to pose, too.


We definitely didn't get Benji to pose with the characters last time. Now, however, he is happy to pose for pictures (and he looks at them afterward on the camera screen to check himself out).








I wonder if the best part of brunch was the characters or the Mickey pancakes.


I wonder what Piglet and Benji are laughing at. Perhaps one of Benji's knock-knock jokes?


Big hugs for Pooh!





We only rode the carousel once during our trip. I guess it wasn't thrilling enough for Benji!


So cool in his 3-D glasses!


I was surprised at just how excited Benji was to meet Mickey and Minnie.





Benji has been on a lollipop kick for a while now so I brought some Dum-Dums on this trip in my purse. Somehow they just didn't cut it when he saw a 5-pack bouquet of Mickey lollipops. He asked for them in every store we went into, so during the rain we gave in and used some of his splurge money from Grandma and Grandpa on lollipops. He loved it!

Libellés : Benji, vacation

First day in the parks

After much waiting and excitement, we finally made it into the parks today. Because we had lunch reservations at Le Cellier, we started our trip and our day over at EPCOT. Benji didn't take too kindly to this as the kiddie rides are over at the Magic Kingdom. But we were able to appease him with the Nemo Ride, especially since he is so fond of the Nemo movie. Prior to lunch we rode on The Seas with Nemo and Friends and saw Turtle Talk, as well as riding Listen to the Land and Soarin'. Finding Nemo is probably Benji's favorite Disney movie, so it's no surprise he really liked the Nemo ride. Turtle Talk is very impressive, as it has an animated Crush that actually interacts with the children. Only I got to ride Soarin' on the first day since Benji is too short and we ran out of time before our lunch reservation for Matthew to ride. I really wish he had been tall enough to try it out, but I guess we need something new for next time.

For lunch we had coveted reservations at Le Cellier, the steakhouse in Canada. It's so famous for the steak that even I had the filet minon. The free dining plan was a huge reason this trip was fun for all. As I've said before, this makes it our "cruise on dry land" — tons of great food and totally self-contained.

The rest of our day was spent in the Magic Kindgom (which is also where we spent a large part of the rest of our visit). It was hot and humid, but that didn't matter to Benji. We were finally at the park for him! When we saw Cinderella's Castle down Main Street for the first time, Benji got so excited. I was actually quite surprised at how excited he got by the castle, but he had seen it before in a Sing Along Songs DVD I had gotten for him. Because of some shows on the castle stage every afternoon, the walkway was closed off. So we chose to go to Fantasyland via Tomorrowland and stopped off at Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin along the way. But Benji was completely insistent that we needed to go to the castle so we didn't go to any other rides and made a beeline for the backside of the castle. At which point he burst into tears. Here we were at the "happiest place on earth" and Benji was crying and crying about how he wanted to go into the castle. It turns out he thought there were games and rides in the castle (we think partially due to the influence of Enchanted Castle) and that we were keeping him away from them. Despite all the rides he could see, he was upset about the (nonexistent) ones he couldn't see. Seeing all this, Cinderella's Fairy Godmother came over and helped to calm Benji down. Only at the Magic Kingdom would you have a real Fairy Godmother available calm an upset kid.

He finally calmed down and realized there were tons of rides he could go on and we began exploring Fantasyland. We had the first of many rides on It's a Small World, Dumbo, Pooh, and the Teacups. Then it was time for dinner at Cosmic Ray's and some air conditioning. Refreshed, we set out again for the rides. By then it was evening so the park was much cooler and more pleasant. We headed off for Toontown where we found what would easily become Benji's favorite ride — The Barnstormer at Goofy's Wiseacre Farm (a.k.a. Goofy's Barnstormer). He loved the roller coaster. We went on it twice that evening before it was time for the fireworks, but we would return every day we were in the Magic Kingdom.

We watched the fireworks from Fantasyland instead of the more traditional in front of the castle, but I think I actually preferred this view. And as long as Mommy covered his ears, Benji enjoyed the fireworks. After the fireworks (when the park is technically closed) we saw that people were still getting on the Teacups so we hopped in line for a bonus ride before heading hope (or so we thought). They were still letting people in line when we were done, so we tried again. The third time they asked for our hotel key; it turns out it was Extra Magic Hours, which was a very pleasant surprise for us. So we took advantage of it and rode the Indy Raceway twice, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (a.k.a. the Peoplemover), and Buzz Lightyear. Afterwards, we sat on a bench in Tomorrowland and ate some chocolate cake leftover from dinner as a nice evening treat. It was so pleasant to sit there and take in the evening atmosphere. While waiting in line for the bus, I got another pleasant surprise as we saw the Electrical Water Pageant pass by on the Seven Seas Lagoon. It's not very fancy, but it's a very old tradition at Disney World and I had never actually seen it.


An area that would become very familiar to us is the bus waiting area. Here, however, we are on our way into the park.


EPCOT focuses more on educational rides than thrill rides, including Living with the Land. Benji actually enjoyed "the farming boat ride" and we went on a few more times during the week.


On the faming boat ride, we get to see so many foods being grown, including these Mickey pumpkins. Benji was also interested in the banana trees.


The Disney Dining Plan includes dessert with every meal, which was Benji's favorite part of every meal. We had so much chocolate on this trip!


Cinderella's Fairy Godmother calms Benji down when he can't go in the castle.


Benji's first of many character pose photos during the trip.


Benji was looking forward to the Teacups for weeks before our visit. He has a Little People amusement park that includes a teacup ride and we had watched a Disneyland Sing Along Songs DVD that includes time on the Teacups, both of which got him excited for this particular ride.





The Teacup ride lived up to Benji's expectations.


Try as he might, Benji could not pull the sword out of the stone.


Despite Dumbo's long lines, Benji loved "the elephant ride".


Playing on the fence in line for the roller coaster looks like tons of fun.


Before the roller coaster, Benji doesn't know just how much fun this ride will be.


But afterward he was so happy and ready to go again. It was "so fast and fun." He told us how we "go fast and faster" with such amazing excitement.

Libellés : Benji, vacation

Getting there is half the fun

While our trip down to Florida went very well, I know that it wasn't half the fun. That would be pretty sad if our flight to Florida were half the fun of a ten day trip to Disney World, wouldn't it? Anyway, we flew out of Milwaukee and left with plenty of time to spare so we were actually able to get on the flight before our scheduled flight. It's always nice to start a vacation early and not have to spend as much time in the airport with an antsy kid. We had to split up two and one, but Benji behaved very well for Mommy. He enjoyed his airplane surprise and between that, his Fun Pad, and candy the flight went pretty quickly. The descent was a bit troublesome but he was happier after Mommy covered his ears.

The whole day he kept wanting to know if we were in Disney World yet and if we could go on rides. Unfortunately, we had no plans to go into the parks that day so we basically kept stalling. We played Twister in the courtyard of the hotel and checked out the giant stuff in the architecture of the Pop Century resort. We also went to Downtown Disney for dinner, where they have a small carousel. We paid our $2 and placated him with a ride, but of course he knew that wasn't the bid deal of Disney World. That evening he wanted to get in the car and drive home, so it was a bit tough to convince him to go back to the hotel (for all the following days he was quite content to go back to the hotel once he figured out how much fun this place was). In any case, the excitement was mounting and none of us could wait until the next day when we would really see Disney World.

Libellés : Benji, vacation

Our Minnesota getaway

As we're waiting for the big vacation this fall, we took a quick getaway to Minneapolis-St. Paul to have some fun and visit Aunt Megan. While I know that I enjoyed it more than Matthew (how much girl talk can he handle?) it was a nice break from the routine. And hey, Megan has a Wii! Benji was also quite fascinated by Megan's two cats. He didn't run up to them, but when Megan invited him over to pet Blackers he touched her ever so gently. They didn't seem too fond of him, especially when he stood by their food bowls and told them they needed to eat. Megan was excellent tour guide, taking us to the farmer's market, the sculpture garden (where Benji thought the Spoon Bridge and Cherry sculpture was a water slide), and one of the 10,000 lakes (Lake Calhoun, I think, where Benji wanted to go swimming).

As far as Benji was concerned, though, the best part of the trip was the Mall of America — and the amusement park inside. He could go on some of the rides all by himself and the ones where he needed a chaparone didn't need a ticket for the adult. So we got him an all-day pass and let him ride over and over. I think he rode his favorite ride 10-15 times!



Benji and Matthew got a head start on the rides while Megan and I went shopping. It looks like they took a stop on the carousel.


They also rode the giant ferris wheel. I think here Benji is looking up at the top of the wheel.





Benji loved the hot air balloon race. He felt like they were flying!





By far his favorite ride was "bouncy bouncy bouncy". We have no idea what the real name of the ride was (they were all named about Nickelodeon shows and we don't have that channel), but I think bouncy bouncy bouncy was a very appropriate name. (I think this video clip is especially long.)








Some of the other kids were upset on the ride, but Benji was an old pro. I liked that it had two restraints, including a seat belt that only the operator could unlock.


After we were done shopping, I took Benji on his first roller coaster. He loved it! We might have some trouble at Disney because he'll want to go on all the coasters, but we'll have to steer him to Goofy's Barnstormer.


He had to take Mommy on the Balloon Race!

Libellés : Benji, vacation