MGM

We bought my father-in-law The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2007 for Christmas. My initial draw to the book was that it explained in detail each one of the rides at Disney World. Turns out there was much more than just detailed ride information in this book. Using this book and the resources the book recommended, my father-in-law put together a touring plan for families with preschoolers. In addition to recommending what park you should visit on which day, where in the park you should start, and what the top rides for 3-5 year olds were, it even provided step by step instructions, literally, to the rides and attractions. A couple days before the trip we were all overnighted detailed copies of "The Plan" to review and memorize.

While we took every opportunity to tease Ron's dad about compiling "The Plan", it really was very handy. For the most part we avoided crowds, spent very little time waiting in lines, saw the best shows, and rode the best rides (for our age group). There was even a 3 hour rest period built in to each day's plan.

Day 1 of The Plan took us to MGM. There weren't many rides that were appropriate for our children, but there were some good shows. My favorite show at MGM was The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We also enjoyed Playhouse Disney Live. The kids really enjoyed the Honey I Shrunk the Kids play area. Tyler was disappointed because there weren't many actual rides. He wasn't too interested in the shows, but he did enjoy the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.

He absolutely loved the Stars and Motor Cars Parade. That was one of my favorite parades, too. Danielle watched a lot of it through her fingers but seemed to enjoy it, too.

After dinner we settled in to watch Fantasmic!, a light and laser show over the water. Unfortunately, I did not do my research or I would have heeded the warning on MGM's website: "This attraction may be frightening for children." It was. Danielle will probably have nightmares from this for weeks.

Overall it wasn't a bad first day. Tyler wasn't thrilled, though, and declared in the van on the way back to the house that it was "the most horriblest day ever". Fortunately we could only improve from there!

Next: "The bestest day ever" at the Magic Kingdom