|
Day 2, Part 2 – The broom kissed the balloon
Since
we booked our trip through AAA/CAA, we received a diamond lot-parking
voucher. Basically, with this voucher, we were eligible to park
in a lot very close to the handicapped parking, and thus, close
to the main entrance. We followed the blue or green line into
the ticket & transportation parking lot and flashed the parking
lot attendants. Get your mind out of the gutter – I meant
we flashed the voucher. Sheesh! ToT
sis said that she felt like royalty. Bring on the red carpet!
We make the short walk to the Resort Monorail where Goofy Guy
asked the closest CM if it was possible for the boys to ride
in the front of the monorail. No time like the present to get
those boys enthralled in the Disney magic. I figure it’s
best to start young when trying to convert innocent young boys
into obsessed Disney maniacs like myself. We were given the green
light (oh sure, where was it at the toll station this morning!)
and the boys, along with ToT Sis and Cocoa Bil started to walk
towards the front of the monorail.
Before boarding their first monorail ride, a very nice CM (Disney
must be growing a good crop this year) stopped the boys for a
moment. In her hand was one of those big balloons with a picture
of Mickey on the front and Minnie on the back. She said to Splashboy
that she would give him the balloon if he made a promise to her.
Splashboy was listening intently. You could just see the wheels
turning. She would let Splashboy and Boomer have this balloon,
if they promised to go into the Polynesian and go to the first
gift shop and ask for a string. You see, this balloon was full
of helium, but attached to no string! I have no idea how that
happened, but anyway….it does make for a pretty
good story.
Splashboy promised to ask for a string as soon as we arrived at the Polynesian.
In the meantime, the CM had Cocoa Bil hold onto the balloon so that it wouldn’t
blow away. Both boys agreed to this arrangement and everyone got into the monorail.
What an amazing start to the day!
But
wait, I hadn’t thought this all through. We received this
balloon at the BEGINNING of the day which meant someone would
have to hold onto it ALL DAY! I was placing bets on how long
we’d be able to hold onto that thing before either:
A) It blew away
B) It accidentally popped
C) Someone intentionally popped it
D) It gets wrapped around a doll in It’s a Small World.
It really was anyone’s guess.
Just as they promised, the boys went into the first gift shop they could find
in the Polynesian, and asked for a string. The store didn’t have any.
We went to the next gift store. Nothing. Hmm, this kind gesture of the monorail
CM was quickly becoming a bit of a nuisance! I was now having visions of that
kindly CM laughing in a Cruella-de-Ville type voice just daring us to find
a string as we pulled away in the monorail. It was time to check-in at ‘Ohana’s
for the character breakfast. Dapper Dad suggested we all check-in while he
searched the hotel for a string. That sounded like a great idea – then
chaos ensued.
You see, Splashboy was growing weary of having this cool balloon and not being
able to hold it. You know where I’m going with this don’t you?
After being given strict orders from Cocoa Bil to pinch the bottom tip of the
balloon and not let go, Splashboy was holding the balloon! Success! And he
really did love that balloon, for all of 5 seconds.
Before we knew it,
we were saluting the balloon as it sailed up to the roof. Even
before the balloon hit the ceiling, we were dealing with our first
tears of the trip. Not bad really, considering we’d been together for a few hours already.
I was reminded of a story Dapper Dad loves to share about me.
When I was about Splashboy’s age in Disney, I had the same
thing happen to me despite my dad’s insistence that I tie
the balloon around my wrist. Sigh I feel your pain Splashboy – we
must be related!
Thankfully, there was a light at the end of the tunnel. For those
of you who have been to ‘Ohana’s, you may know that the ceiling is relatively
low. There was a chance we could get that balloon back, if we could just get
high enough. After all, Dapper dad was still running around trying to find
a string for the balloon that had just sailed to the ceiling. We asked a couple
nearby CM’s if they could help us, and they sent for the manager.
A few minutes later, the manager appears with a short broom with a big piece
of double-sided tape at the end of the handle. We were all more than skeptical,
but we thought it was worth a shot. We all held our breath as we watched the
rescue attempt begin.
Goofy Guy lifted up Splashboy who had stopped crying by
now, and got Splashboy to try to touch the bottom of the balloon
with the tip of the broom he was holding. He tried once, and
then again, but to no avail. It was like watching an Olympic
sport. Everyone was cheering him on! The suspense was killing
us.
On
his third attempt, he got it and the crowd cheered!!! In keeping
with his photographer role, Cocoa Bil videotaped the whole thing
and took a picture of Splashboy, the manager and the infamous
broom & balloon. Another crisis averted with some good old-fashioned
Disney magic! Cocoa Bil decided to hold onto the balloon until
we got our string.
Just then, our name was called – breakfast was served. Dapper Dad then
appears with a string in hand. We quickly fill him in on the recent events
while we tied the string to the balloon. If we didn’t have the video
to prove it, I doubt he would have believed us! He then smiled and started
laughing to himself. Turns out, that in his quest for the elusive string, he
asked a manager for some assistance, but the manager said sorry, he couldn’t
help because he had to go rescue a balloon… Little did he know!
We were seated at a large, circular table by the window. The first thing the
boys pointed out was Cinderella’s castle off in the distance. They were
so excited. When we told them that we were going to go there after breakfast,
their eyes were positively dancing. Our server was fantastic. He was full of
fun and joked with the characters as they all made their way to our table.
The boys were delirious as they got the characters to sign their autograph
books and pose for pictures. We have so many good pictures of the boys posing
with the characters; it’s almost impossible to pick out our favourites.
Even the food was terrific. I like buffet’s that are served family style
so that you can all eat together and not constantly get up to fill your plates.
The Mickey waffles were wonderful! God Bless elastic waist pants.
Here are a couple tips for you. If you kids enjoy getting their picture taken
with the characters, take them to a character meal at the beginning of your
trip! Have the characters come to you while you eat rather than wait in long
lines in the steamy parks to get your pictures taken. Also, since we booked
a late breakfast, we felt we got particularly good service, character interaction,
and the boys enjoyed participating in the parade. Our first character meal
was a resounding success. After ToT sis saw the expressions of pure joy on
her sons’ faces, and after filling herself was great food and fun, she
said that, she could go home now!! Her main mission for this trip was realized!
I
told her to feel free to go, but the boys and I were going on
Peter Pan.
None of us admitted it out loud until now, but we were all still
a little bit skeptical over how “free” the “free” dining
plan really was! We handed over our coveted dining plan cards
to our server, and he came back with 3 receipts. Amazingly, the
only other thing he asked from us was our autograph, I mean signature.
He said that we were free to go and enjoy the day.
I
still wasn’t convinced. I
told everyone to go ahead of me…I’d create a diversion
in case this nice man was scamming us like the monorail CM before
him…. Next stop Magic Kingdom or bust!!
Day 2 - Part 3...
|
