O, we're just waiting for the sun to come up...

Uh, Dad, isn't it a bit early for Space Mountain?

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Since today was scheduled as an Early Entry (EE) day at DL, Nat and I decided to go in early and do as many rides as we could first thing. First on our agenda was Space Mountain (SM). Nat had never ridden SM at either DL or WDW. The last time we were at DL, Nat was only 2 1/2 and, of course, too little. I think she could have gone on the WDW version when we were there last year, but the cars there have a configuration where each rider sits, essentially, by themselves, and I don't feel real comfortable about that. I like to be able to hold on to my little girl when we go on coasters. So, this was her first ride on SM and she loved it. I really like this new thing of adding musical soundtracks to coasters. It really adds something.

After SM we rode Star Tours (ST). This was also Nat's first ride on ST. I'm not sure, but I think I've never ridden ST at WDW. Next up was Astro Orbiter, a first for both of us as I haven't been on it since the old Rocket Jets days.

We then headed over to Fantasyland and rode Peter Pan Flight (PP). I think I'd rate PP as my favorite of the Fantasyland "dark rides". After our flight we still had enough time for breakfast before the rest of the park opened (only Fantasyland, Main Street and Tomorrowland are open for EE.) The only non-table service restaurant that was open was the Tomorrowland Terrace, so we backtracked and ate there. We had bacon & eggs and pancakes, and the food was surprisingly good. I noticed that most of the people in line had some sort of coupon that got them a discount or a free breakfast or something.

After breakfast we headed over to Adventureland to be there as they opened the area, so we would be among the first for the Indiana Jones Adventure (IJA.) As soon as Adventureland was opened we went straight over and got in with almost no line. For this ride something happened with Nat I've never seen before. Not on California Screamin', not on Splash Mountain or Space Mountain, not on Countdown to Extinction, not on the Dragon Coaster at Rye Playland, not even on Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Nat got scared. She essentially covered her eyes through the whole thing and couldn't wait until it was over. I think it was mostly the loud noises she didn't like.

Hey! Where'd all this water come from?

I don't look scared, do I?

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After scaring the bejeezuz outa my oldest girl, I figured it was time to join up with Andie and Charlotte. We walked out and went straight across the plaza and back into DCA. This way we were able to stop at Soarin' Over California and pick up some FP tickets. I did a little trick here because I had heard that the FP machines won't work on inactivated tickets. So, when we went into DCA we used Andie and Charlotte's tickets. This way we could get 4 FP tickets. Pretty smart, eh?

We walked straight through to the DGC entrance and were headed for the room when we ran into Andie and Charlotte in front of SC. Andie was thinking of going there for breakfast, but since it was a character breakfast we decided to skip it and head over to White Water Snacks instead. Nat and I had already had breakfast, so Andie and Charlotte dined on fruit, cereal, juice and muffins. Actually, they sell "muffin tops" there, which are pretty good.

After they were done with breakfast we headed back into DCA so we could make use of the FP we got and ride Soarin' Over California (SOC.) Since Charlotte was too small, we had to baby swap. Luckily, there's a lot of neat stuff in front of the SOC building to keep a small child's attention. And Nat got to ride twice. Technologically speaking, SOC is sort of a mellow version of Back to the Future (BttF.) Like BttF, you are in a ride vehicle that is suspended and surrounded by a large domed screen, with a projected image timed to the vehicle movements to give a sense of movement. In SOC the result is an uncanny feeling of flying. It is, IMHO, an absolutely must-do attraction.

We wanted to take Charlotte to Fantasyland, so we left DCS and headed over to DL. Upon entering the park we did something I haven't done in years - we rode one of the Main Street Vehicles. In this case we rode the double-decker bus. What a blast!

EEEEEE! Here we come!

Wow! What a surprise! We rode the carousel!

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After unloading at the entrance to Sleeping Beauty Castle, we headed straight for our first stop - what else? - The carousel. Gotta do the carousel. After the carousel we got in what would be the only long line we would be in for the trip - Dumbo. The wait was about 45 minutes, but Charlotte really wanted to go on it and Andie and I felt she was getting a little short shrift on this trip. So we waited. It was worth the wait, though, because Charlotte was so thrilled.

Elephants can fly!

Into the mouth of the whale...

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We then got in line for Casey Jr. Circus Train, but after a few minutes we realized that the wait was going to be ridiculous. So, we headed over to the other side of Fantasyland and got in the much shorter Storybookland Canal Boats line. This is another ride I hadn't been on in years, and it was so much fun to see how enchanted little kids can still get with such a simple little attraction. I thought about when I was a kid and "Alice" piloted all the boats, and I think it makes sense that they changed. I mean, there must have been a lot of kids who couldn't figure out why there were so many Alice's.

The detail is amazing.

Aladdin's village.

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We then stopped for lunch at the Village Haus, where we had burgers and chicken nuggets. It started to get pretty crowded, so we decided to walk around a bit and do some shopping. After a while, it warmed up (it never really got hot on the whole trip), so we headed over to the hotel for a swim. We left DL, and as it turned out we would not come back on this trip.

The pool area at DGC is very nice, beautifully landscaped and nicely laid out. I keep a sort of mental tally of water slides at various Disney pools, and informally rate them. To this day, none has bettered the Kiester Koaster at the Boardwalk. The slide at DGC is nicely themed, but too short. I'd rate it at the bottom of the list, but it's still a lot of fun. I only went down it twice, because it got a bit cool when I would get out of the pool.

As we were sitting there we noticed the top of the River Creek Challenge Trail, which peeks over the fence separating the pool area from DVC. We made a mental note to check it out, as it looked like a lot of fun.

We swam for about an hour, then headed back to the room to get dressed as we were going to my brother Todd and sister-in-law Kimmie's house for supper. Charlotte and Nat had not met their new Aunt Kimmie yet, and when Kimmie asked Charlotte if she was 2 or 3, Charlotte replied "I'm fwee but I still pick my nose and suck my fumb." Glad we got that straight.

After dinner we left the kids at their house, in my parent's care, so the four of us went to Downtown Disney. We had a great time wandering around and looking in all the shops. Todd especially likes a store called 'Starabilia' where they sell movie, music and sports memorabilia. There was some stuff Todd said he'd love to buy and take home, but to tell the truth I found most of what they had there to have more in the way of presentation than substance. As an example, there were two very large Beatles displays that they were selling for some ungodly amount, and the only thing that the 2 giant displays had that was really worth anything was a letter signed by all four Beatles. The rest of the stuff, while interesting, was not really worth anything IMHO. But hey, to each his own.

We left DD after a few hours and took Todd and Kimmie home. They have an open stairway in their apartment, and Kimmie has several stuffed animals piled underneath it. When we got there, we found both of the kids curled up under the stairs asleep, surrounded by stuffed animals. Very cute. We gathered them together, said our good-byes and headed back to our hotel.

Go on to Day 3