DAY 21

MON 17th JAN 2000

The girls are off on the pirate cruise this morning and Tammy wants to go to the Polynesian for Tonga Toast while they are buckling their swashes. Told you she would fit it in again. If there's one thing this woman looks after, it is her stomach.

We are up at 8:00 and down to the food court for the girls to have breakfast. Georgia plumps for the healthy option of lemon cake.
As we arrive at the bus stop an Epcot bus is waiting, so we hop on with the intention of riding in the front of the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately the monorail is not running. Curses, foiled again. Back to the Epcot bus stop for a bus to the TTC , then the monorail to the Grand Floridian.
At the marina we pay for the cruise ($20 each) and the girls are kitted out with life vests and pirate bandannas. One little boy is reluctant to leave his mum but the Disney CM's are wonderful. The captain comes out and talks to him and tells him that he can be captain for the day and sit alongside him and steer the boat.
Off they go with a very jealous Tammy looking on as she wants to dig for buried treasure, unfortunately she is 30 years too old and two feet too tall.

We take a rather hurried walk past the wedding pavilion to the Polynesian as we think that they stop serving breakfast at 11:00. When we get to the Kona Cafe at one minute to 11:00 we find that it ends at 11:30. Oh well, that's our exercise for the day.
The Tonga Toast is also forgotten as we all remember how good the Eggs Benedict looked last time we were here. This gets the thumbs up all round, so another wise choice.
We take a leisurely stroll back to the Grand Floridian, stopping for a swing in the hammock on the Polynesian beach. As we stroll past the wedding pavilion we decide to have a look inside. This is exceptionally pretty, it really must be a dream to get married here if you are a Disney fan. In fact I'm thinking of getting divorced from Tammy just so I can get married again here.
The ceremony and exchange of vows take place in front of an arched glass window giving a lovely view of the castle, but it is not plain glass, it actually magnifies to make the castle bigger and closer than it really is. Trust Disney to think of every last detail.

We pick the girls up from the pirate cruise. they come back armed with all the booty they have looted from the treasure chest they found. According to the girls this is a must do for children. They get to have a go steering the boat and the crew were a lot of fun.

Into the Magic Kingdom for a last go on Big Thunder Mountain. The attendance is high today as it is Martin Luther King day and there is a 30 minute wait despite both sides being open. Georgia laughs all through it and once again professes it to be her number one ride.
Back to Liberty Square where both girls have their silhouettes done for $14, the frames being another $14. I am amazed how quickly this guy works. It can't take much longer than 90 seconds to do both of them.

Into Fantasyland for pretzels and a chocolate sundae before leaving the park. Only a flying visit and we say a fond farewell to the Magic Kingdom as we won't be back again this trip.

Back at Dixie Landings we get the girls to have a sleep for an hour or so as we are going to Pleasure Island later and a rest this afternoon will enable them to stay out longer tonight. While they snooze we have a look around Magnolia Terrace. I like the look of this side of Dixie Landings, more refined but not so convenient for the food court and other main areas.

We rouse the girls and all shower before getting the boat to Downtown Disney at 5:00.
A little more shopping follows. Notice I did say a little. Over to the House of Blues at 6:30 where we are told that a private function is taking up the majority of the place and it will be a one hour wait. This does not seem like a good idea so it's off to Planet Hollywood. I would guess that everyone knows about this place by now, not a quiet, romantic place but reasonable food at a reasonable price. (By Disney standards.)

On to Pleasure Island. We intend to briefly visit the Adventurers Club but Georgia is loving it so much that we stay until 10:00. She wants to go to every show and does not want to leave. The cast are great but I have noticed that the only one who makes jokes about children in a bar is the woman playing Samantha Sterling. She made the same jokes the first time we were there. Let me tell you that my children are a damn sight better behaved than many adults. I know some of you think that the cast temper their material because of the presence of youngsters, but any off colour jokes go straight over their heads. We are out of the place by 10:00 for goodness sake. Everyone else is very pleasant and makes us feel welcome. Please do not think that I am over sensitive on this issue, I can take a joke as well as anyone. (I married Tammy didn't I? Oooh, I'll suffer for that one.) I just think that, no matter what Ms Sterling's personal opinion might be, she is a Disney Cast Member and should act accordingly.
Anyway, it certainly doesn't stop us enjoying ourselves enormously.

On to the Rock 'n Roll Beach Club. Here the girls have a great time playing air hockey and arcade games. The highlight of their evening is when they find 4 cents on the floor, the next half hour is spent combing the area for more cash.
The band we watch are called Blue Stone Circle (awful name) and they have a very talented guitar player who also plays the violin. He manages to play it upside down, behind his head and also between the legs of a woman from Chicago who is wearing a skin tight short skirt. Now that's not a sight you see everyday.

We leave around 11:45 and Georgia has a few tears because she wants to dance before we go! Tammy, the walking zombie, thinks that it is too late for that so off we go.
As we walk past the Virgin Megastore Tammy decides that it may be too late for dancing but not for shopping. In we go to get a t-shirt she wants.

We eventually make it back to Dixie Landings and bed at 1:00 AM.

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