WDW – Day 7 – Thursday, 16 Dec 04

We reeeeeally didn’t want to go to the Princess Breakfast at 8:40a on Thursday morning. Alas, the event desk, when we called at 8 about arriving later, suggested that, in a pinch, they could push it back to 8:50 …

So we raced into action, throwing on clothes, gathering good, and heading out. We drove like maniacs to Epcot, trotted through it’s pre-opening deserted avenues, and arrived at Norway (the site of the breakfast) at … 8:40. Huzzah.

The Princess Breakfast is, as it implies, a breakfast, served at the very nummy restaurant in Norway. Whilst dining on cinnamon rolls and a big skillet of eggs, cheese potatoes, bacon and sausage (not to mention juice and coffee), a small pack of Disney Princesses come through the room individually, stopping at each table, chatting a few moments, signing autographs, posing for photos with kidlings, etc.

Katherine was a bit overawed by it last time, but she was in fine form this day. The list of Princesses we received at table included:

• Mary Poppins (not really an Princess, but an Iconic Female Disney Character)
• Snow White (presumably a Princess, though we never actually see the wedding)
• Belle (my fave, and presumably a Princess under the same conditions as Snow White)
• Mulan (another who doesn’t qualify — yet — as a Princess, unless something happens about that in Mulan II)
• Aurora (from Sleeping Beauty, and now officially Katherine’s Favorite Princess)

Good food, good pictures, and Katherine was a happy camper.

Since it was our last park day, we decided to revisit the Magic Kingdom — though Katherine insisted on our swinging past Spaceship Earth again.

This time, we took the Clockwise Strategy (most folks tend to go off to the right, be it in parks or when chosing between lines in a queue, so if you enter the park and go left, you should beat those particular crowds; your mileage may vary). That let us go on the Jungle Cruise again (“The hippos!”), Pirates, Splash Mountain …

Hmmm. That gives me an idea.

… three times.

WDW Tip: Group yourselves, rather than being grouped by the ride staff. We found that when you go as a group of three, and one of them is a little’un like Katherine, they’ll try to squoosh all three together, regardless of seat widths. We had a much more comfortable time pairing off as a group of two and a single.

Then it was off to Big Thunder Mountain again (we’d once again FPed before we got on Splash Mountain, and once again were happy to do it). Stopped by Pecos Bill‘s to eat late lunch (good fast food, ably enhanced by sautéed onions and mushrooms over at the condoments bar); we’d met a couple that worked there the day before at Downtown Disney over ice cream, an elderly pair who snowbird down in Florida and work at the restaurant for supplementary income and free admissions.

Off to Haunted Mansion once more, then back around to Fantasyland. FP on Peter Pan (still with the line!), Snow White (a long ride for this sort of thing), then Winnie the Pooh.

It’s funny — WtP gets panned a lot by online review sites. I think it was not the big success that Disney had hoped, but there are usually lengthy lines (i.e., folks want to ride it), and it’s no less enjoyable of a ride than Peter Pan or Snow White. I regret they yanked Mr. Toad from there, but its replacement is still worth visiting.

The only thing I dislike about it was the endless safety lecture alternating between Tigger and a Spanish-speaking girl. The volume was high enough that it was difficult to hear ourselves talk.

We sauntered down to the Teacups (which Margie and I managed to get spinning to a level that made us both dizzy and Kitten giggly), then ducked over to Belle’s Story Time. This is at a little grotto at the side entrance of Fantasy Land; Belle comes out and tells a story (hers) and gets various audience kids to participate. Katherine very much wanted to be called on, but some other little kids did instead.

Well, and one big kid.

Ahem.

Yes, I got tapped to play The Beast, to which role I am well suited for a variety of reasons. I got quickly briefed by Belle’s assistants, got to wear a Beast costume (sans head), roar, dance with Belle, struggle with Gaston (whom I substantially outweighed), die (dramatically, of course), and then change into the handsome prince — which, alas, did nothing to change my appearance (and I don’t recall the original Beast having quite the bald spot …)

It was a lot of fun, and Belle (my fave) seemed pleased by my eptness on stage.

It was getting late in the day, and the park was again closing by 6. Katherine and I took one last spin on the Autopia, then we headed for the exit, which was a much nicer exit than the previous day.

We returned to the hotel, then went to Boatwright’s for dinner, which is the “formal” restaurant at Port Orleans Riverside. We’d not been impressed when we ate there a few years ago, but it was pretty decent food this time — a yummy jambalaya, and a tasty pork loin with cheesy polenta grits.

(It’s evidently pretty popular for its breakfasts, and we saw lines there a few times — the breakfast prices aren’t out of line with the regular dining hall, and are a bit more varied.)

After that, and a bit of hot chocolate, it was time for our horse carriage ride. We’d seen the carriage stopping right there at Riverside every evening, and finally, that afternoon, I made reservations for it. Good timing. We took a leisurely clip-clop down the river to the French Quarter, to the strains of a CD player stuck on repeating “Up on the Rooftop.”

Then it was time to retire to the bar — in this case to get early close-in seats to hear the musical fun of Bob Jackson, a fabulously rollickingly enjoyable boogie-woogie pianist and raconteur. We’d heard about him before, and everyone had recommended going to hear him, but it was only after the brief glimpse of him a few nights before that I pushed to include it in our final evening. Great fun, and a great way to wrap up our stay. We left at the break, as exhausted by the previous sets as by the whole previous day, and headed for bed.

WDW Tip: When you hear people recommending something — give it a whirl. Chances are, there’s usually a reason. Do the research and go to what interests you, but keep your ears open.