When we last left the Mushfam oh so long ago, it was only Day 3, which you can read here. It has been several months since I updated the report, and I apologize for that if you were following it. As you will find out when you read it, this was one that I really didn't want to recap as it was one of the rougher days we've had; not just in the parks, but as a family. Still, it was part of a memorable trip, so I buckled down and got this written. With that....on with the next installment of the trip report!
Day 4, Part 1 (link to the index of the entire report can be found HERE)
Yeah, you could imagine that we didn’t sleep too well at all that night. I was fully expecting the worst – to hear that our cat didn’t make it through the night…alone…without us there. I woke up every 25-30 minutes in a fit of restless sleep. I could tell Sheri wasn’t doing a whole lot better.
The alarm goes off, but I’m already out of bed and on the computer working on stuff for the online class I’m teaching. The boys are oblivious, which is a good thing…it helps seeing them jumping around and enjoying life. We get dressed (it’s MK day, so that means Sheri has matching outfits for us…our Chicago Disney shirts!), contemplate cutting across the savanna for the 8th time (and chickening out yet again) and make our way to the bus stops – we know we’ll likely have to catch the bus at the right time as we have 8:05 ADRs for the Crystal Palace. If we miss the first one, we don’t know if there will be a second one that will get us there in time.
As luck would have it, a bus pulls up just as we arrive at the stop. A woman with an exasperated look on her face looked at us as though we had some sort of magic bus-conjuring ability as she complains that she had waited 45 minutes for an MK bus to get here (which meant she was out there around 6:20). It’s a quiet ride over to MK…normally I’m like a little kid, excited to pass the toll booths and trying to catch my first glimpse of the castle spires, going under the water bridge past the Contemporary, hearing that all-too-familiar fanfare that the buses play as it makes the turn into the MK bus stops.
Instead, I’m holding my phone, waiting for our neighbor to call. The boys are a little tired this morning…Sheri and I both strain some humor as we pass the toll plaza…
Despite being tired, they’ve been here enough to know when to start looking for the castle. They crane their necks to see who could find it first (I think it was Eric this time, which led to a well-timed elbow by Aaron). We pull in, and they drop us off. As we all pile out, the majority of those on the bus head up the monorail ramp for Chef Mickey’s. We head into the park along with a couple of other families. We’re a little early (it’s about 7:45), so we let the boys explore a bit…
I pull out the video camera for the train station shot:
The people behind us in line got a kick about the sarcastic enthusiasm.
Around 7:50-7:55, they let us in, and we finally get to see the castle. I try to get excited, but it’s just not working at the moment. Still, we put the smiles on our faces and showed the boys that we’re HERE at the most magical place on earth.
I get in line to check in at the Crystal Palace, while Sheri and the boys do their routine here (pics of the castle and greenery).
We didn’t have to wait too long at all as we’re one of the first names called. We head in and get seated. Our server gets our drink order and asks if we’ve been here before. We all shake our heads in the affirmative, and she then proceeds to drop a bombshell on me.
The menu has changed a little, and breakfast lasagna is no longer offered.
OH COME ON!!!!!!!!!
This was one of the main reasons I chose to eat here!!! Sheri loves the orange juice, and I love the breakfast lasagna. Well, at least Sheri gets her orange jui…wha? It doesn’t taste like it normally does, hun? I taste it and agree that it seems to have lost its “freshly-squeezed” taste that it always had in the past. As we go up to get in line for the food, our fears are confirmed as we actually saw the Minute Maid cartons through an open door to the kitchen.
Okay…eggs, biscuits and gravy, and bacon (to make Piglet all the more uncomfortable when he comes to visit our table). I check the phone for the 87th time this morning, hoping I didn’t miss a call. We sit down and grab a sip of the coffee that was waiting for us.
My hair nearly curled at how strong it was.
I’m thinking that I’m just in a funk and am hoping that I’m just seeing things from a bad perspective. Sheri nearly falls out her chair at her first sip.
We settle in and start eating. Piglet comes in, followed by Tigger and Pooh. The boys get pics…
Hey...they turned out pretty well!!
Okay…things are calming down a bit. Maybe I’m just doing what I always do and assume the worst-case scenario. Maybe things are improving and that the vet can figure out what to do to get Mac back on the path of healin…
RING
So much for that momentary lapse of reason.
It’s our neighbor….as we get the update, I can hear his constant meowing in the background – I won’t soon forget that. I’ll leave out the specifics, but I tell our neighbor that he’s being picked up to be taken to the vet. They apologize again for all that’s going on, and I immediately apologize back for them being the ones to deal with it. It wasn’t supposed to be like this…he seemed to be doing better before we left. As I heard his calls in the background, I pretty much knew what the vet was going to tell us, but I still held out a little hope. I tried to sugar coat it a bit for Sheri, but my eyes were welling up just a bit, and she immediately knew it was bad.
Okay…don’t delve on this…we’re at the Magic Kingdom, and we need the diversion to keep our minds off of everything for the day.
It seems that something has changed at the Crystal Palace since the last time we dined here. I’m not sure if it’s a changeover in management or an attempt at cutting costs a little, but Sheri and I were both disappointed at how the place has changed. This is saying something because we have had nothing but great things to say about breakfast the other 3 or so times we have eaten here. I hate saying this, but the Crystal Palace has moved from a “definitely recommend” to a “use extreme caution when recommending” status. We pay and get out of there rather quickly.
Part 2 can be found HERE.
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