Disney Day Two

Saturday morning came early, since we had to be down at breakfast at 7:30 am. I am not much of a morning person, so this was a stretch for me-- but a very necessary one as we had lots to do and just a little bit of time to do it in. We had breakfast in a private area in the hotel and were joined by a mom who works for Disney. She answered lots of our questions and said something that I will always remember. One reason Curt used to give me for not going to Disney when they were younger is, "They won't remember it." She talked about taking her two year old daughter to Disney and how she knows she won't remember it. She put her hand to her chest and said, "But those are my memories. And they are priceless." I like looking at it that way. We moms all have those moments we tuck away in our hearts forever. I can see how Disney would fall into that category.

After breakfast, it was time to head to the Magic Kingdom. We set off in a bus, all laughing and talking but none of us, thankfully, wearing our Mickey ears. We went straight to the castle to have our pictures professionally done by a photographer who followed us around for awhile like we had our own personal paparazzi. I opted not to get my photo made alone but did take a couple in groups. After photos, it was time to ride rides! The first stop? Space Mountain of course!

We got to use special Media Fast Passes at Space Mountain that took us to the front of the ride. This was the first moment that I realized that coming back to Disney as normal folk would be hard. Not impossible, but hard. We joked that we would always call our new friends at Disney whenever we returned.... just in case they were in the mood to continue to treat us like VIPs. One girl (who shall remain nameless) quipped, "Well, I'm just here with my grandchildren."

I hadn't ridden Space Mountain since I was eight years old and went to Disney with my aunt. I remembered it being very scary. Something about becoming adult diminishes the effect. It wasn't nearly as scary as I remember! But still so fun. We all screamed and laughed. Then it was on to Small World, Pirates of the Caribbean, and then time to meet up with the group for our lunch at the Brown Derby. I had a delicious Cobb salad, which is their signature item. Yum! After the lunch, we headed to our top secret destination-- something even the press hasn't seen yet. We got to tour the new Toy Story ride which will be opening in just a matter of weeks. It looks like it is going to be so much fun. We also got to meet a Disney Imagineer. The work that has gone into this particular ride was especially fascinating-- and the pride that these people feel for it is evident.

After our tour, it was on to see the Playhouse Disney show, which of course made me miss my little ones like crazy! Then it was on to see the new Block Party parade, which was lively and fun. After that we had a bit of free time. Lori Seaborg and I rode The Great Movie Ride, which was pretty cool. I kept wishing my movie buff 11 yo son was with me for that one. He would have loved it! Then it was time to meet the group and head back to the hotel. We had about an hour to "freshen up" and call home before we had to be downstairs for our dinner and another surprise. I will tell about that in the next post.