Mom and Nate See the World

All it takes is faith and trust......and a little bit of Pixie Dust.....

       December 4, 2000

We woke excited to start another day of play, but bummed out too because it would be our last in the parks.  Our morning would begin at the Magic Kingdom because we had a seating at Crystal Palace.  We checked in and were sent to wait mode.  No problem. It was a beautiful day if a bit chilly, and we were in the Magic Kingdom.   While waiting Ed-dad called from home, and we played tag around a fountain off to the side of Crystal Palace.  There's a quiet little area with restrooms there that I hadn't noticed before.  Our wait was so long I thought maybe we had missed our call, and checked in again.  Nope, they were just behind.  It was about five more minutes and we were called in.  What a beautiful building!  So bright and cheery.  Our server was the best we had the whole trip, for meals that Nate and I were alone.  She kept me supplied with coffee and made sure that all the characters paid Nate a visit.  I didn't have to ask for anything.   Not even the check, which she laid on the table with the comment, "Absolutely no hurry, we'll take care of this whenever you're ready"  What a nice relaxing breakfast it was!

After breakfast, we decided to wander and soak up a last bit of Mickey Magic before heading off to EPCOT for the rest of our day.  We explored shops on Main Street and found ourselves in the Exposition Center.  A year ago, we stopped here and found all seven dwarves with no one to play with.  Guess What! it happened again!  They were near a break tho so most of them left.  We found several photo ops and played there, and also had a picture of the two of us made at a photo booth there.  While we were waiting for it someone goosed Nate.  He turned around to find Dopey had done a sneak attack.  We spent the next several minutes playing with Dopey and giggling.  Finally, our picture was ready.  We said goodbye to Dopey, and his friend Snow White who had also joined in the fun, and so long (never goodbye) to the Magic Kingdom.

We made the loop on the way back to the TTC, and said farewell to the resorts on the route.  I always get teary when I say so long to the Kingdom and this trip was no different.   The Ticket Center was deserted once we got off the monorail platform, and we were able to run around and play a bit on the way to catch the tram.   We hopped aboard, rode back to the truck and drove over to EPCOT.

Once there, I wanted more pics of Spaceship Earth and the Poinsettia "Trees" in front of it.  So I had Nate climb up on the ledge and snapped a couple.  He was hot to ride Test Track again, but as we had arranged to meet Duchess and LindaB to ride it later in the afternoon, we opted for the other direction.  I wanted to check out Honey I Shrunk the Audience again, so that was our destination.  Nate didn't remember it, although he loved it on his last trip,  He giggled thru the whole show, but wasn't happy with puppy sneezes all over his face at the end.  No matter what I said he wasn't convinced it was only water, so we had to find a restroom and wash it off.   He wanted to go see the dinosaurs at Universe of Energy, but before we left this side of Future World, I wanted to pick up a Figment.  The CM at the Figment Beanie kiosk was a talkative one, and we had a nice chat about how she and her husband retired to Florida and how their lifestyle changed.  She was very nice, but a little depressing actually as her opinion of her current status in life wasn't very high.  She did say that she and her husband make a point to visit as guests about once a month just to keep the magic alive for them. 

Figment in hand, and Nate in his chariot, we buzzed across Future World in the direction of Universe of Energy.  I spotted a snack stand selling coffee and cookies and just had to stop.   Ahhhh got my transfusion and we hurried inside to watch Ellen get enlightened in the origins of energy.   During the pre-show I realized I had forgotten to put my cel phone on vibrate when it rang and about sent me into orbit.  It was LindaB.  "Where are you?" she asked.  "About to come face to face with dinosaurs at the Universe of Energy" I answered.  She was almost whispering and since the crowd in Ellen's dream was loudly cheering for her old college room-mate "Stupid Judy" it was hard to hear.  She told me that they would have to decline meeting us for Test Track as Duchess was ill and had been napping trying to feel better.  Bummer.  I was hoping for  a bit more time with these ladies, but it was not to be.  Nate was disappointed, but we told her to wish Duchess a speedy recovery, and said our good-byes.  I consoled Nate by informing him that this meant we no longer had to wait to ride Test Track.  We would go next.  He loves the dinos and with Test Track in the very near future he was a happy boy. 

After Ellen prevailed over Judy and Al, we jumped back on the trail and headed for Test Track.  This time we would go thru the GM Lounge.  We got upstairs, and were informed that unfortunately the ride was down.   Awwww man!  I was instantly glad we had visited last night as this was our last park day and there might not be another chance.  I stood and chatted with hostess for a bit.  Nate went and got himself a drink, visited the giant stuffed Mickey, and checked out the amazing view over the top of Future World.  I asked the hostess how a person got a job like hers and she was filling me in on that when Nate came up and asked for some help.  I told him to hang on a second and finished my conversation.  Oops for Mama.  By the time I got finished with my conversation he had doused himself trying to handle things on his own.  I felt so bad, and it was chilly for him to be out in damp clothes, so off to Mouse Works to buy him a new outfit.  It ain't cheap there!  But he was cute in his new Mickey clothes. 

It was time for World Showcase.    If we hurried we could catch Tapestry of Nations before dinner at Alfredo's.  Nate was for it as he likes that parade, so off we went.  We got to Mexico, and they cancelled the parade due to high winds.  This isn't going well.  First Test Track, now Tapestry.  We have to find something fun to do.  We had missed Norway on Nate's last trip, so a visit to the trolls was just the ticket.  We joined others with the same idea, and about ten minutes later we were cruising the North Sea on Maelstrom.  Nate loved it.  He thought the trolls were funny looking and giggled the whole time.  By then we weren't far from our seating time at Alfredo's and thought we might try checking in early.  We confused the host tho, as his records showed us scheduled for the next night.  What?  I told him that this would be tough unless they delivered to airplanes.  He laughed and told us it would be just a minute.  He was true to his word and soon we were seated with drinks and our order on the way.  It was yummy and the tables on either side of us were adopted as extended family by Nate.  Soon we were joking and laughing with new friends.  I was happily stuffed and Nate was still enjoying a conversation with the lady next door, so I ordered an after dinner cappuccino and watched him in action.  Life is good.

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