 |  |
| Discussion Boards | Reviews | News | Trip Planning | Shop | Travel | Site Map |
| Disney Trip Report Archive An archive of reader-submitted trip reports | |
| Alex Stroup, editor | Search just the Trip Report Archive. |
|
Robin Black -- March 2003 -- Walt Disney World (CR)When: February 27- March 8, 2003 Who
Where Why How How I passed the time---I read websites like a madwoman. I loved reading the trip reports here, the DIS boards, Deb’s site, Mousesavers.com and a few others. I bought the Passporter book and just loved it- it is a book and an organizer all in one! I also bought Birnbaum’s book, and borrowed some other books from my best friend who went in 2001. We also watched the planning video several times and I marked the days on my calendar of when to make priority seating. After months of planning, debating and talking here was the plan we came up with:
And here we go!! We arrived at the Portland Howard Johnson around 7:30 PM (on 2/26). The boys wouldn't go to sleep until after 11:00!!!!!!!!!. My husband and I were not happy with them. 4:30 and the alarm clock goes off. Oy. We are at the shuttle waiting area by 5:00 and in the terminal by 5:15. No line at the SWA check in desk. We get our bags checked, get our boarding passes and off we go through security. No problems there. We pass some time by eating some croissants & fruit, and some caffeine consumption by the adults. I am starting to feel a headache come on, so I pop some meds. We give the kids some Benadryl to keep their ears clear, and hopefully to help them doze. We pre-board the plane- the flight is about 1/2 full. Our flight attendants are THE BEST- so warm and friendly. One of the flight attendants just spoils our kids rotten. We chose to sit in the way back and she was back there eating some fries- she immediately puts some in a cup with some ketchup and shares with our kids. It was so nice! The flight to Kansas City was very uneventful; Josh slept for a while, but not Sam. The flight from Kansas City to Orlando was jam-packed. We had a lady who was a PETA-type activist sit behind us and she was a hoot. She talked the whole flight and kept us entertained. She said she wasn't hired by PETA because they had a problem with her former career- an x-rated movie actress. (!!!) So she started her own foundation and was headed to the Coronado Springs to get an award of some sort. She was very interesting, let me tell you. We land in Orlando and take our first monorail ride. Mauro from Tiffany Towncar is waiting for us in the baggage claim area and we wait for our bags. He helps us get them and then he runs and gets his car. We load the car up and we stop at Kash and Karry for milk, water, go-gurt and fruit. I run in by myself to do that- easier than dragging the kids thru the store. I am out in 10 minutes; meanwhile the kids had spilled Cheetoes all over his beautiful car. Bob cleaned it out while I was in the store. Finally......we enter WDW property! YES!!! We see Epcot (As Sam called it...Efcot...and then cracked himself up. Yes we let him watch that episode of the Simpsons) and the monorails and getting more and more excited as we see the signs for the Contemporary. We unload and I'm really excited and yet semi-miserable. It's 4:30 and I have had half a croissant, a banana and some wheat thins...I have a migraine coming on and I just want to have a shower and put on some shorts. Check-in was slow...a huge line and then a dorky cast member who didn't seem to care that our faxed requests didn't come through, told my husband the wrong info on how to get our luggage to our room, and was just "Whatever" about the whole thing. While Bob was checking in, I bought our refillable mugs and some chicken strips for me and the boys to share. We eat and Sam nags me about the arcade, and Bob comes back with our room keys. He said we are all in row- my parents, his Mom, and us with our room and my parents room connecting. We head out to room 7232 and it's a great room- a view of Bay Lake and everything. It's kind of a hike from the Food and Fun center, to get refills on soda, but oh well. We're young and need the exercise. We call for our bags and we see that a lamp is broken. We call on that and for a crib. Our fridge arrives within 45 minutes, as does the maintenance man for the lamp. The crib arrives and it set up while we are at dinner. I take a shower and a migraine pill while Bob goes and buys our park passes for my parents and us. We get a slight military discount- it's $312.75 for a 7 day park hopper plus. At 7:00 we hear some booming and Sam goes, "Oh look!! Fireworks!!!" We could see them from our room!!! Awesome! We watch the show and then head down to Chef Mickey's for our dinner. What a nightmare- I still wasn't feeling 100%, but I just don't recommend this restaurant if you have had a long flight from the West coast. First you wait to be called. Then you get your picture taken. Then you wait again. Then you are seated, and it is LOUD. Goofy and Donald are greeting in the foyer area, and Chip, Dale, Minnie and Mickey stroll around. We immediately get our drinks from our efficient waiter, and then I load up the kids’ plates with fruit, mac and cheese, chicken strips and some pizza. They hardly touch it, they are just staring and waiting for the characters to come. I get some fish, veggies, salad, bread and a couple of Mickey ravioli (cute)..and some parmesan potatoes- those are good. Our empty plates are slow to be taken away, but no big deal. None of us were ravenous, just tired. Mickey, Minnie and Dale all posed for pictures and moved on. (I vetoed the autograph books because I felt my kids were too young to really get into it anyway, and I didn't want to HAVE to stop for every character we saw). Chip spent lots of time with the boys and played with them a little bit, which was really nice. We passed on the picture (it was AWFUL) and we went to go make our cupcakes. What???? No cupcakes??? I had been reading about this for almost a year and no cupcakes. So, I make the boys ice cream sundaes and I get a piece of cheesecake for myself. Bob passes on dessert. We pay the tab ($72 with tip) and we're out of there. We go to the gift shop and I buy Josh a Mickey and Sam a Donald ($24) and we look around a little bit. We decide to take the monorail around to all the resorts- not get off, but just have a little ride. Big mistake. The kids are way too tired and cranky for this- they want to get off every time the doors open. We get back to the CR and it's off to bed for me, Sam and Josh. The boys and I crash, and Bob wants to explore. My migraine is gone (I love Maxalt!!) and I set the wake up call for 7:30. Bob gets sushi at the California Grill and meets my parents in the lobby at 11:00. All and all, a pretty good day for flying coast to coast with two small children. No major catastrophes. I think we would have liked Chef Mickey's more if we had scheduled it for an evening when we were well rested and in the mood for chaos. Friday, February 28th- MK, Whispering Canyon for Dinner 7:30- Rise and Shine! Weather today cloudy, humid and about 74. I had arranged for a wake-up call, hoping to hear Mickey’s voice and it was just music. Darn. I got up and showered and got ready and then got the boys up. Josh discovered he could stand on the bathtub and turn the sink on all by himself. Great. We had to make sure the door to the bathroom stayed shut or he would be in there in 5 seconds flat having a great old time. Greeted Mom and Dad- hadn’t seen Dad since Christmas so it was good seeing him and we had cereal for breakfast. We walked to the MK- I couldn’t find the path at first so we ended up by the racquetball courts- whoops. CAMERA EPISODE #1- I drop my camera while moving my stuff around for the security check. It rewinds the film at exposure 8. Uh-oh. It loads the next roll no problem, but there is a black speck now in my viewfinder. I decide to just deal with it- I scrapbook and usually crop my pictures and the black speck is not in the main part of the frame. We were in the park by 9:10…WOW! We’re really here! My parents were amazed at the sight of Main Street and how HUGE the castle is here! We headed left through Liberty Square- very cute, and we headed to Splash Mountain!! Our first ride of the trip! Me, Bob, Sam and Dad for the front two rows and Mom sat out with Josh. It was so much fun and we didn’t get too wet. We did the baby-swap on Big Thunder Mountain, one of Dad’s favorites. I think I like WDW’s versions on both of these rides better than DL’s. The acoustics are better on Splash and BTMRR is longer and has more animatronics. Then Mom, me, Dad and Josh rode Pirates. Sam was saying no way cause he remembered the bats from DL. I wasn’t going to make him go on it (at this point). There weren’t even any bats on this version! I had remembered it was shorter, but it’s a LOT shorter than DL’s version. But still good. Sam saw a gun in the pirate store and that’s all we heard about for the next 2 hours. Once he gets an idea in his head, well, it’s enough to drive you crazy. We had been saving change and any extra $ over the last 8 months, so I had over $200 in Disney Dollars just for toys and fun stuff for the kids. Anyway, after Pirates, we went on Aladdin’s Carpet ride (cute) and saw Aladdin and Jasmine as we were exiting. We did Jungle Cruise (Some different scenes than DL- good; so-so skipper) and then headed to Tomorrowland to go on Buzz!! This is a fun ride! I got 23,000. They simply must put it in DL ASAP. We toured Tomorrowland on TTA- oh how we miss the People Mover! Bring it back to DL please! We were hungry so we ate at Cosmic Rays. This place is huge and hectic. We got burgers with no cheese & carrots for a side, a hot dog for Sam (it was huge) and corn dog nuggets for Josh & 2 large drinks & a milk. We liked the toppings bar, although our cashier was pretty bad. Bob had to repeat everything 3 times and she still messed up by charging us for 4 milks when we only ordered one. Oh well. Mom and Dad go the roasted chicken and were very happy with it. We ate outside and could hear the Cinderella show at the castle. Total was $27.19. We headed over to It’s a Small World- hands down this ride rules at DL. The first time I went to WDW I was absolutely shocked that Small World was just tucked in Fantasyland, rather unobtrusively. I was used to the beautiful façade and clock at DL. The inside is mostly the same, yet different enough to notice. The kids loved it and bounced along to the music. We visited the Haunted Mansion- our portraits didn’t stretch at all. Hm. And we had SCREAMERS during the whole ride. It really bothered me- I’m used to it in the stretching room, but come on. It bothered Sam and he said he didn’t want to go on it again. I asked if it was because of the ghosts and he said, “No, it was those screaming girls.” We walked back to Pirates and got the coveted gun ($10.65) and got the boys some sheriff badges in Frontierland courtesy of Grammy Judy. I also bought Joshua a Pooh light-up spinner in the Emporium (10.50). Bob surprised me with a Brave Ears (the Mickey head with stars & stripes) watch- I had forgotten my watch at home and was driving him nuts asking for the time. Me, Bob and Josh went back to the hotel since Sara was due in soon, and Mom, Dad, and Sam got popcorn and took a loop on the train. We greeted Sara, we went to buy her 4-day park hopper, and we rested. We had a 7:20 PS at the Whispering Canyon, so we left around 6:30 via boat launch. This was fun, but it was chilly and rainy that night, so I was a little cold. I was determined not to wear a sweatshirt cause gosh-darn it, I was in Florida and 65 degrees is still pretty nice compared to the 45 degrees we had been having in Portland. We get to the Wilderness Lodge and I got a touch emotional cause this is where we honeymooned. It is so beautiful and we enjoyed showing it to our parents. We had a 20-minute wait for our PS, so we looked in the shop and the boys played with the Lincoln Logs in the wait area of the lodge. Our server was just ok. Kind of rushed and yet slow didn’t get into character like the other servers. Sara, Dad, Bob and I had the all you can eat skillet. Mom had the pork chops and Sam had a hotdog. Josh picked off my plate. The biscuits and corn bread were great- the kids loved the bread! Sam got to do the pony race twice and that was hilarious. We found the antics very funny and loved the ambience and jokes. Our food finally came and it included salad, beans, corn, roasted potatoes, sausage, pulled pork, roasted chicken, ribs and our favorite, “Dinty Moore Stew.” Not!!! It cracked us up when our server said that, cause he said it so proudly and we were all thinking “Goody, canned stew.” It sat there like brown sludge. Anyhow, we loved the ribs, chicken and sausage and got seconds. Josh ate like 4 corncobs! Mom shared a few bites of her pork chops and she was very happy with them. Dad picked up the bill. THANKS DAD! We took the boat back and our captain gave Sam stickers cause he protected us from the Pirates- you know who had brought the beloved rifle to dinner and our captain noticed. Dinner was a B+- would have been an A if our server were more on the ball and more into the theme of things. Magical Moments- being in the park with my family! Splash Mountain! The jokes at dinner. Chernabog Moments- the screamers in the Haunted Mansion. Sam talking (nagging) non-stop about the rifle. Such is life with kids, eh? ? The order taker lady over-charging us at Cosmic Rays. Saturday, March 1st Epcot! Rose & Crown for dinner We head out to Epcot around 8:40. We get on the monorail and switch off at the TTC. I grew to hate the ramps at the TTC. I wish you could beam across the station like Star Trek guys can. Anyway, we arrived about 9:10 or so and made it through security. We hoofed it over to Test Track- I forgot how big Epcot is, especially the Future World area. Innoventions made things a little disorienting for me because it’s in the middle and blocks the view of the pavilions on the opposite side. So we do the baby swap on Test Track- I was a little confused at first where to wait because none of the CM’s were clear- it was just “Follow the ramp.” First I go all the way out and I think, “Now I know this isn’t right.” So I backtrack and see the little waiting area with the TV and I realize that this must be where you wait. Soon enough, the crew comes out the exit, and Bob, Sam and I go again. It was fun, and Bob kept talking the whole entire time- “Ok, now the break test is next…here comes the cold part..here is the fast part.” As much as I love my husband I was like “Could ya be quiet and let me enjoy the ride??” And that I did- although I would never wait in a huge line for it. Then we went over to the Wonders of Life. We all watched Cranium Command, which was very funny, especially if you are a fan of the late 80’s Saturday Night Live cast. It includes Dana Carvey, Kevin Nealon & Jon Lovitz. Bob, Dad & Sam went on Body Wars while Mom, Sara and I sat out with Josh. He loved the tilted room. He ran up and down the little stairs outside of it and then ran up and down the ramp in the room. We then exited the pavilion and criss-crossed over to the Land. We were hungry at this point so we went to the Sunshine Food Fair. Bob and I decide to get BBQ chicken sandwiches and corn dogs for the kids. I was disappointed that they only had caffeine free Diet Coke- I need my caffeine!! I also didn’t care for the Iced Tea at WDW- it is from the soda dispensers and not freshly brewed. But I digress. This was probably my least favorite meal of the whole trip. The sandwiches were dry- they were BBQ basted, no sauce on the bun, no lettuce or tomato either. Just a chicken breast on a dry bun. It did come with a chocolate chip cookie and fries though. The corn dogs were really small, but they came with chips and a drink. Joshua, for some reason, loved my sandwich, so I let him eat as much as he wanted, and I ate half his corn dog. Lunch was about $26. I left still feeling hungry and irritable, but I got over it. Then we went on the boat ride in the Land and I find that interesting- I like all the plants. Dad liked the fish farms. After the land we decided to split up with all the parents going towards the World Showcase and us toward Living Seas, Spaceship Earth and then back to the hotel. While we’re in the Living Seas wait area, I see my parents, but no Sara. They got split up somehow, so we checked out the fish (Josh was mesmerized- Sam thought it was neat), were disappointed that we were at the wrong time for the dolphins and made our way out. Are the manatees there anymore? I only saw signs about the dolphins. We went in Spaceship Earth (although Bob didn’t want to, I made him) and enjoyed that. It stopped 2-3 times, and I assume it was for wheelchair assistance. We hiked to the monorail and were able to sit with the driver! How wonderful! Except that my darling 20 month old SCREAMED the entire time. He wanted to climb into the nose of the monorail (where the windshield meets the nose) and I wouldn’t let him. He was sooo mad. I felt badly for the driver, but I refuse to let my kids run wild. We finally get to the TTC and the driver quietly gives Sam his pilot’s license and we apologize and get out of there. And it is POURING buckets of rain! We run over to the other ramp and get on the resort monorail. We finally make it back and put Joshua down for a nap. Bob and Sam get ready to go for a swim at the Polynesian. Our pool is being rehabbed so the Contemporary mailed us a letter about 10 days before departure apologizing for the inconvenience and letting us know that we will be allowed to swim at the Poly, the Grand Floridian or the Wilderness Lodge. A bummer, and yet it’s cool that we can see the other pools. I was a bit pouty that I couldn’t go, and Bibbity-Bobbity-Boo my Fairy Godmother arrived. Okay, okay, it was Sara, and she said, “I’ll watch Josh, you go and swim.” You don’t have to twist my arm! So I got changed in a flash and off we went. It wasn’t hot, but warm enough to swim and it wasn’t raining anymore. The Poly pool is very nice, with a waterfall and a volcano slide. It also has jets of luke-warm water that come into the main pool, kind of like a hot tub, yet without being hot or a tub. We swam for probably about 40 minutes and then Sam cut his foot. So we decided to go. I let him take his sandals off inside the monorail, and that his button-up shirt fell off while we were getting off at the CR (we didn’t button it up- he just wore it loose). Boy, did we get some mini-lectures from both of the monorail CM’s at the CR station. Of course, they didn’t know he just cut his foot right where his sandal strap laid, and they didn’t know he did have his shirt most of the time- I guess we broke two rules by letting our 5 year old take his sandals and shirt off and they told us “Next time keep his shirt and shoes on!!” It annoyed me, but I just let it go. It mostly annoyed me because no sooner than the first one stopped talking, the second CM said it again. I guess he didn’t hear the other guy admonish us already. We rest for a while longer in the room and then get ready to go back to Epcot. We head back to Epcot around 5:30 or so. We cut through Ice Station Cool and here is the moment I’ve been planning for months. To innocently get everyone to try the Beverly! When I was 20 or so, my Mom and I took one of our many driving trips from San Jose to DL and on the way home we stopped at a Carl’s Jr. She detests Dr. Pepper, so before we left I got refills- I refilled hers with Diet Coke like a good daughter, and got Dr. Pepper for myself- not something I normally drink but it’s ok. We must have drove for an hour before she asked for her soda, and I give her the Dr. Pepper. It was one of the funniest reactions ever!! It is one of our family legends. Anyway, here comes Dr. Pepper saga Part 2. We’re all tasting the sodas, and I go to my Mom & Bob, “Mmm, I hear this Italian soda is tasty.” I even bravely take a sip so they see me drink it (Ewwww) and I go, “yeah, this IS good! You gotta try it.” And they do!!!! And I laughed so hard and my Mom was like, “The worst part is you knew and were planning this for months, you little brat!!” Of course we were all laughing. So I go and find my Dad and pulled it on him as well. Oh my, good times, I tell you, good times. We did like the Chinese one and a few of the others too. We head over to the U.K for our PS at the Rose and Crown. I went to the podium around 6:30 and politely said we have a PS for 7:30 and if at all possible we would love a patio seat. She said, “We give you the first available table, no guarantees.” I’m sure they are asked that question a bazillion times and are sick of it, but her tone was pretty rude. I shrug it off and we go exploring in the pavilion. The kids love the maze and we meet up with Pooh and Tigger! It was so great because it was a surprise encounter- we weren’t expecting to see them. Josh was freaking out- in a good way. He kept running back and forth in a frenzy between the two characters and they were so good with him- lots of hugs and kisses. Luckily there were only a small handful of kids in there, so we weren’t robbing anyone of their turn to see Pooh and Tigger. We managed to drag them out of there (this was in the Pooh shop in the back of the UK) and I found some Almond and Apricot hand crème I loved, but I didn’t buy it. Before we go check in, Josh spots Tigger again and bolts back there to give him another hug. Very sweet. We are seated at Rose and Crown and darn, we’re inside. I was trying not to be disappointed, but I was. Then our server, Kerry approached the table & my gray skies cleared up. She was absolutely marvelous. Very cordial, warm, & efficient. She chitchatted with us several times during dinner and was so wonderful to the boys. We ordered 3 orders of the fish & chips, 1 prime rib dinner, & 1 special that was steak & seafood stuffed shrimp. The kids had a Mary Poppins cheese pizza & a hot dog. Mom & Dad split a salad as well. Kerry brought our drinks out (cute plastic cups for the kids- I’m easily entertained) and some rolls which we demolished. Our food came pretty quickly and it was hot & very tasty. I ate all of my fish & Josh gobbled up my peas. Kerry said, “How delightful! (In her clipped British accent) Someone who actually likes the peas!!” A manager type person also came by and made chitchat with us, asking about our stay, where we were from and interacted with the kids. Sara picked up the tab, which was very nice of her!! I left a very positive comment card for Kerry and we staked out a great spot just to the left of the pub for Illuminations. I had bought Sam a Buzz light spinner earlier at the hotel (about $12) so both boys were spinning their light chasers. We enjoyed Illuminations very much- Josh kept pointing and bouncing to the music. It’s cute to see babies get into stuff like that. We dragged our tired buns to the monorail and went back to the room and crashed. Magical Moments: Fooling everyone with the Beverly (although I guess it would be everyone else’s Chernabog moment ?) Having Kerry as our server at Rose and Crown, the kids seeing Pooh and Tigger, Illuminations. Chernabog Moments: Being snipped at by the monorail CM’s about Sam’s shoes and shirt. Sam cutting his foot at the pool. Sunday, March 2 Animal Kingdom & date night at Shula’s Mickey calls at 7:30. We get ready and are at the bus stop by 8:35 or so. We must have just missed the bus because the other one didn’t come till close to 9:00. This was the only time we were unhappy with Disney transportation. 30 minutes is quite awhile to wait for a bus, esp. at a peak time. We saw several MGM Studios & Downtown Disney/Typhoon Lagoon busses while we were waiting. Plus then we stopped at the Poly and the GF. Anyway, we finally get there around 9:30 and had to make bathroom breaks, etc. My parents and Sara were really intrigued with this park, but Bob had already made up his mind he wouldn’t like it. He’s not really into animals. I knew there were some things I wanted to see, but that it could probably all be accomplished by 2:30. The weather was incredibly humid today- sweat just pouring down you even if you were just sitting still. About 78+ degrees or so. We make our way back to the Safaris and there is only about a 10-minute wait. I was so glad- I wasn’t sure if there would be a wait since it was 9:45 by this time. Jambo! We really enjoyed this- we saw lots of grazing animals, good views of the elephants, rhinos, crocs (or is it gators? I forget) and saw a baby hippo. The lions were sleeping and the giraffes were quite a ways away. We would have liked to do the safari again, but we ran out of steam too soon. We go on to Pangani Trails- I didn’t realize it would be quite so long and it was STEAMY. I was miserable because I was lugging Joshua who absolutely refused to sit in his stroller. We liked the gorillas and were only able to see the hippo’s bottoms. We trek on over to Asia and do the baby swap for Kali River Rapids. First Sara, Mom, Dad, Sam and I go on and Bob stays back with Josh. Sara and Sam get soaked, and I stay almost dry!! It was fun, but shorter than I thought it would be. We walked on the ride, which was nice. Then we exit and I go on again with Bob and Sam, while Sara, Mom, Dad and Joshua go and find something to drink. Again, I didn’t get that wet! Miracle! I wouldn’t have minded if I had gotten wet, because it was so hot and humid. Being from Oregon & California, I just am not used to the humidity- whew!! It saps the life right out of ya! We get off and most of our party is getting grumpy so we decide to eat. Sam is freaking out over some Doritos he saw on a cart, so good ole Dad goes off to get them for him. We order chicken stir-fry from the Chakrandi Chicken Stand and Sara stands in line to get Sam a hot dog from the nearby McDonalds window. The stir-fry was ok- I really had wanted to eat at one of the restaurants that offered the meal coupons, but we really needed to eat at that point. Anyway, it was filling and the chicken was tasty- the veggies were too soggy, but I ate them anyway. I liked that our drinks came in a cute souvenir Animal Kingdom cup for the same price as a regular drink- again, I’m amused easily. My mom got a beef salad and she said that was really good. I think the 3 stir-fries and drinks were about $27; Sara paid for the hot dog. At this point we decided to split up the groups- our kids were really getting restless and Bob and I didn’t feel like walking them through the Maharajah Jungle Trek, and our parents really wanted to see the animals. So, we took off to DinoLand USA and agreed to meet them at the 1:15 Festival of the Lion King show. The kids burn off a ton of energy in the Dino play area. I didn’t know what to think of this area- I kind of liked it in its ticky-tacky sort of way. We didn’t go on any of the rides because Sam was adamant about NOT going on Dinosaur after watching the planning video. And he wasn’t tall enough for Primeval Whirl. We watched and rocked out to the music of the Triceratops ride, but the kids expressed no interest in going on it. So we poked around the shop after spending 30-40 minutes in the dig site and left. We duck into Island Mercantile to pick up a few souvenirs (postcards, a toy jeep and some jelly bellies- $13) and run into our parents. We look outside and it is raining the hardest I have ever seen. And I live in Oregon. It was absolutely pouring down buckets. We had ponchos, so we donned them and braved our way out- it had slowed down at this point. No wonder it was so humid earlier! We sloshed through inches of water and made it to the Festival of the Lion King. We waited about 20 minutes or so for the show to begin. We should have tried to greet some characters with the kids, but c’est la vi! The show was spectacular- gave me the chills at some points. The kids enjoyed it as well- Josh fell asleep in my arms while we were waiting, but he woke up when the music started. It’s amazing that these performers do this day after day and keep it so fresh. We exit the park after the show and Sam was whining about a dinosaur he had seen. I didn’t want to go back and get it, and again, Fairy Godmother gramma Sara appears and shows Sam a toy Kali River Raft that she bought him. So, he was pleased with that and played with it on the bus ride home. I gave Josh the safari Jeep and they have had fun with those. We get back to the hotel and rest for a while. We leave around 5:45 for the Dolphin. We had 6:45 reservations for Shula’s. Bob thought we could leave at 6:00, but I insisted on 5:45 knowing that we had to wait for a bus for Downtown Disney and then wait for a bus there for the Dolphin. Guess who was right? Ding-ding-ding---you’re so right, it was I. While waiting for the bus at DtD, I was drooling at the Once Upon A Toy store. We had plans to mini golf afterwards, but I was considering scrapping those plans for the opportunity to shop- with no kids for a few hours after dinner. We check in at Shula’s and are immediately seated. We wait for a while for our server, Ted, and he finally comes to take our drink order. The menu is on a football, which is kinda funny. Ted disappears again, Bob goes off in search of the men’s room (The one by Shula’s was closed…he had to go all the way down to the other end of the resort) and his co-waiter (the serve you in teams of two) Aleks, brings us our drinks and bread. This is the beginning of a trend. We got the feeling that Ted was the headwaiter for us, and Aleks was his assistant. However, Aleks was really our true waiter- he brought all the food, drinks, checked on us, refilled our water, and cleared our plates. Ted took our order, presented the meats so we could choose, and brought the tab. The reason being is that 5 minutes after we were seated, a party of 15 business people was seated right behind us. And they were high rollers- they ordered several bottles of wine, cocktails, lobster and shrimp appetizers for everyone- and each entrée is $30-80 each, plus about $6 per side. I said to Bob, “We are never going to see our waiter again…that party is easily a $500 tip.” When Ted came (finally) to take our order, my husband says very cordially “We see you have a big party over there. I sure hope you will still have time for us.” Ted tripped all over himself with “Of course sir, absolutely. No problem.” I order the Filet Mignon, and the potato skins. Bob orders the Kansas City Strip and the creamed spinach. We split a Caesar salad and a shrimp cocktail appetizer. (Well, Bob had the shrimp). Aleks brings the salad and appetizer quickly and offers to get us another cocktail- we decline. The salad was huge- don’t order one for only yourself! It is more than enough to split! The shrimp are huge- I think there were 5. Then our steaks and sides come. Aleks asks us to cut open our steaks to ensure they were cooked to our liking- they were (medium), and oh my oh my, these babies were big and absolutely delicious. Think Ruth Chris steakhouse- melts in your mouth meat. And my potato skins were divine- a huge baker’s potato cut in half-length wise and stuffed with cheese, bacon, chives and sour cream. Yummy. I ate one of the halves and wish I could have eaten the other. Ted checks on us, as does Aleks. Aleks clears our plates and sweeps the table up for us. We decline on dessert- I haven’t eaten that much in a long time and my stomach hurt. Ted brings us the check- it was $117. Bob slips Aleks some cash and says “This is only for you- you were great” and then we leave an additional $30 or so for them to split however they do that. We waddle out of there and decide to get a cab to Downtown Disney. ($20 with tip). We hit World of Disney first and Bob finds the men’s room. I don’t know how he found me- luckily we both had our cell phones in case we lost each other- that store is unbelievable! We walked around with our mouths agape at everything. We have been in the DL World of Disney and this place is at least twice the size. Miraculously, we don’t buy anything. I had plans to come the next day to do some damage. We go to Once Upon a Toy and I stuff a box full of parts and a potato (be sure to stuff all the little pieces inside your potato), plus the additional Pirate accessory box and the Frontierland accessory box for Joshua. Okay, I admit it; I had a ball picking out the stuff. We each make our own Potato-head postcard. I spent about $28 on the potato head. Then onto the Scrapbook store. I was under whelmed- I had high expectations for this store, as I am a pretty serious scrapper, and it had nothing that any of the other stores didn’t have. And it didn’t even have the stickers I had seen at the MK (a plastic box of four rolls of stickers- 1 for each park). I still plunked down about $20 for a pen, a post-it cube and some assorted stickers and was the 3rd person from Oregon on their board that day. We bought some huge cookies at the Gourmet Pantry ($2.75 each) and shared the raspberry/white chocolate/dark chocolate chip cookie. It was an enjoyable evening. We had back to our room and Sam is asleep with Gramma Sara and Josh is asleep in our room- my parents left the connecting door open to their room. All is bliss. Magical Moments- lots of them today! The safari, the Lion King show, marveling at the rainstorm, having a delicious dinner with my hubby, and strolling around Downtown Disney, just the two of us. Chernabog Moments- the noisiness of Shula’s- you can hardly have a conversation and feeling a little bit shafted by our server Ted. The slow bus arrival to Animal Kingdom. Joshua the toddler showing his will and refusing to sit in his stroller in the Pangani trail. Monday, March 3. More showers and overcast skies. 80 degrees and high humidity. We had already scrapped our plans for Hoop Dee Doo after we arrived. We cancelled before the 48 hour notice and had an open evening for dinner. CAMERA EPISODE #2- I took my camera out of my bag and panicked when I realized it was soaking wet (from the AK downpour). It had a brand new roll of film on it, with no pictures taken, so no pictures were ruined, but I was out a camera. I didn’t think it was totally busted cause it would try to load film, but then would flash an error message. After much stewing, I decided to ask Sara (who had rented a compact car) to drive me to a grocery store so I could buy 5-6 disposable cameras. Her parents spent their retirement years in Kissimmee, so she was fairly familiar with the area. Sara, Mom, Josh and I venture out to Publix. Josh had a fit being in his car seat this child doesn’t like being restrained, esp. after being car-seat-less for 4 days now. He screamed the entire way- and of course we made a few wrong turns. But the cameras were only $5.99 a pop ($10 less than on Disney property) and I grabbed some bananas as well. Dad, Bob and Sam headed over to the Grand Floridian so Sam could swash-buckle off on his Pirate Cruise. Dad and Bob were going to swim while waiting for him. I had given Bob the one waterproof disposable camera so he could take some shots of Sam leaving and coming back from the cruise. After we go to Publix, we girls (& Josh) head to Downtown Disney. We park on the McDonalds end and hoof it to World of Disney. We agree to meet in the baby room if we become separated. I got a t-shirt for myself, a t-shirt for each boy, some stickers (although not the coveted park stickers I am now semi-anal about finding), key chains, a license plate frame, a coffee mug for Bob, a bunch of pens, and some cups for the kids. As we are in line, Mom grabs the boys’ t-shirts out of my basket and she buys them. Thanks Mom! I spent about $85. Not too bad. That morning I had bought Sam a Buzz Lightyear Spaceship and a Buzz and Woody to go in it- he saw it the first day and hadn’t stopped talking about it. That was about $45 and he had it to play with the rest of the trip. It’s about 11:45 and I call Bob to say we’re going to stay at DtD to eat lunch- I leave a message cause he doesn’t answer. We were going to try the Rainforest Café and assumed it would have a huge line and maybe the guys could meet us (but I didn’t say let’s meet- I just said we’re eating here- you guys can do your thing). We go to check in and they seat us immediately! Bob called back while we were being seated and was miffed that we weren’t going to wait. Oh well, you can’t please everyone and we were starving. We had a great waiter who was pleasant and efficient. I had the chicken wrap, Mom had the China salad and Sara had the BBQ beef wrap. Josh had dino nuggets and fries. We sat in the Gorilla room and it was great looking at everything. My only other Rainforest Café experience was at Anaheim and we sat upstairs on the terrace- nothing to really look at the service was spotty at best. This time was completely different. Our food came and the portion sizes are HUGE! If you go here and aren’t starving, consider sharing. Sara had a $10 coupon and offered to pay the tab- Mom and I tried arguing with her and was shoving money at her; she compromised and let Mom pay the tip. Thanks Sara! And Mom! We then went in the World Of Pooh store cause Sara saw a cute Pooh fishing set she wanted to get Joshie in the display window. We found it and while we were looking, Mom wanted to look in another store. We agreed to meet up by the little train station. Well, Sara left her credit card at Rainforest Café, so she gave me the car key. I waited and waited and waited and waited by the train station for Mom so she would know to go to the car. And I waited some more. And I bought a churro. And I waited. I was starting to wonder what the heck was going on, so I checked my phone and sure enough, there were two messages. Sara had seen my Mom before I had and they were waiting for me at the car. Mildly irritating, but no big deal. We drive back to the CR and rest. CAMERA EPISODE #3- Bob lost the other camera! Ugh! I really kept my cool and didn’t flip out, but now we were out not only our waterproof camera that I wanted for Typhoon Lagoon, but also the 7-8 pics he took of Sam and the Pirate Cruise. Sam liked the Pirate Cruise and had fun saying “Argh” and spreading his loot all over the room. Mom and Dad decide they want to go to Fulton’s Crab House for dinner. Bob, Sara and I think about where we want to go and I mentioned that I heard good things about Cape May Café. We agree on that and we make a PS. We head out to the Yacht and Beach Club around 5:45- guess what- we got lost. I figured it would be near Epcot but oh no. The Epcot parking lady was very pleasant and gave us directions to get to the Yacht and Beach Club. We explore the Yacht and Beach Club, and make the grand circle around the Boardwalk. It’s so quaint and full of energy! We really liked it and all agreed we would like to stay at one of these resorts someday. I scurried in every gift shop on my Holy Grail search for the stickers, but no luck. I am panicking that by the time I get back to the MK, they will be sold out- tons of boxes with Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Pooh & Tinkerbell, but no theme park. Ack! Anyway, we go back for our seating and we have Linda as our server. Very nice lady. We order iced tea and diet Coke and hit the buffet. I get fruit and chicken strips/hot dogs for the kids and get some salad and bread for myself. Sara gets shrimp and chowder and Bob gets a plate of mussels and clams. Sam had 3 hot dogs! He was hungry for sure. Josh grazed at everything- mac and cheese, some chicken, some fish, lots of melon and lots of corn. I go back and get some very delish sautéed squash, some ribs, salmon, rice, a potato or two and some carrots. Bob loved the clam chowder- he said it was great- lots of clams and wasn’t overloaded with potatoes. I really wanted some more ribs, but I had seen the dessert bar and figured if I wanted a few of those desserts, I better quit with the entrees. I got a piece of Key Lime pie and a piece of cheesecake and a handful of taffy. The kids had Jell-O and a donut. They made a mess out of that!! Sara and Bob had the Key Lime pie as well. It was great! All and all, we really loved this place- good value for your money & plenty to choose from, for both seafood lovers and landlubbers. They also had Prime Rib, beef stir fry, roasted chicken and a pasta dish with some sort of seafood in it. With tip it came to $102, which we paid. Mom and Dad enjoyed Fulton’s and their evening out as well. Magical Moments: Having time with the girls, watching Josh play in the fountains at Downtown Disney and seeing him giggle at all the Pooh stuff. Strolling around the Yacht and Beach Club and the Boardwalk. Having dinner exceed our expectations. Chernabog Moments- getting lost twice and the miscommunication about meeting at the car. The camera episodes. Tuesday, March 4- EE at MGM Studios in the AM;? in the PM Mickey calls at 6:30. Up and at ‘em! Mom and Dad wait for the bus, and Sara drives the rest of us over because she had a massage appointment around noon and she wanted to be able to drive to her appointment from the studios. First miracle of the day- I try my camera out, thinking maybe it had had time to dry. And Thank You Gracious God, it had! It loaded up the film and was ready to rock and roll. So I had 5 rolls of film and 3 disposable cameras! Woo Hoo! Anyway, we all meet up at the same time at the gate- this time the busses were just as efficient as driving! A long security line these morning- lots of people hauled themselves out of bed to be at MGM by 8:00. We walked in the park about 8:10 or so and bee-lined to Tower of Terror. On the way to the tower we got some fastpasses that CM’s were passing out on Hollywood Boulevard- cool! It was for 10:10-10:20. Perfect. I had really been looking forward to the Tower- I loved it the last time we went and it didn’t have all the up and down motion then. Mom, Dad, Bob, Sam and I walk on. It posted a 13-minute wait, but we walked right into the library. I had forgotten the extraordinary detail! I sure hope they don’t skimp on the California Adventure version. We all loved the ride- we laughed and screamed the whole time. My mom was cracking me up because she could see we weren’t dropping yet, so she was saying, “Ok, now we’re driving….driving…driving…stopping…AAAHHHHH!!” Dad bought two pictures and we sent them to package pick-up. Then Dad, Bob and I hoofed over to Rock-n-Roller Coaster. Sara was so nice to sit out with Josh for both of the rides, and Mom joined her with Sam for Rock n Roller Coaster. About a 10-15 minute wait. It was really fun, but short! We meet up with Sara and she said Mom had taken Sam over to Star Tours and we were to meet them in the shop. Sam had been looking forward to this for months. He loves the older Star Wars series and I had been telling him how he could spend some of his Disney Dollars at this store. And that he did. Mom went halvsies in with him on Luke’s Speeder- $30, and it came with Luke. Mom also got his a little R2D2. I think it was about $5. Sam was thrilled, and yet mad because we had it sent to package pick-up. Sometimes kids need a little patience. Especially my kids. We got some cool pictures around the Star Tours area, and headed over to Muppets. We all really enjoyed the show- both Bob and I were kids in the late 70’s early 80’s, when Muppets was huge. I love reading all the boxes and props in the waiting area. After the Muppets, Sara left us and we moved on to Who Wants to be A Millionaire. Mom, Josh, Dad & I stopped in a shop while Bob and Sam rode Star Tours one more time and were going to meet us at Millionaire. A light from heaven came down, the clouds parted and soft trumpets blared…..the stickers I had been searching for were here!! At the Writer’s Shop! I grabbed two boxes, one for me, one for Mom and paid for them. I was relieved. You have to understand us scrapbookers- the perfect sticker can make or break your layout! ? Total was $12.78 and I threw them in the stroller basket. We kind of went the long way to Millionaire- I had to consult my map. Bob had to call me on the cell to figure out where I was and it was kind of funny giving directions, “Ok, you see the Mickey Arch? Turn left and then left again at Ariel.” We kept talking till we saw each other. We all shared a popcorn and water and then got in line for Millionaire. I felt gypped cause I was holding Josh the majority of them time and couldn’t truly have a fast finger. Oh well. The first guy made it to 64,000 and the second guy was held over. Mom was on the leader board at the end, in 8th place. Go Mom! Not the greatest show to do with young children, but we wanted to do it. By this time it was about 11:00 and we were getting hungry. We had a 12:15 PS at 50’s Prime Time, but Sam had spotted Pizza Planet earlier and we all agreed that sounded good. Mom, Sam & I waited in line to get a picture with Buzz and Woody- so far the longest line of the trip! We waited about 30 minutes. But the picture turned out really nice and I bought it on the way out (13.80). While we were doing this the guys took Josh to Honey I Shrunk the Playground and we met back up at Pizza Planet. All the adults got the veggie pizza combo, which included salad and a drink for a little over $9. The boys split a cheese pizza and a milk. I had read several times that this pizza is mediocre at best, so I wasn’t expecting anything great. I did like getting the extra veggies; the line moved super s-l-o-w. Bob and Dad were waiting for us upstairs so we could sit by the aliens hanging from the ceiling. We all chowed down and it was decent enough food. I would probably buy it again, but just go expecting cafeteria type pizza & you won’t be too disappointed. For the two combos and a single cheese pizza and a milk it was $29. After lunch we headed over to Indiana Jones and walked in shortly before the show began. It was good, although the boulder didn’t work. After this show it was our intention to go see Little Mermaid. We get over there and Dad says “I’m gonna sit this one out, I’ll meet you guys afterwards.” Then Bob says the same thing…then Sam. So Mom and I look at each other and we decide to skip it- the group was tired and hot, and the kids were getting grumpy. We figured we could come back Thursday or Friday and see the Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast and ride Tower of Terror again. We head back to the hotel- again, no problem with the busses. I was feeling antsy, so I asked Bob if it was ok if I took Sam to the MK to catch the parade and get his haircut. He said sure, he would stay with Josh, so off Sam and I went! How exciting! As much as I love my younger son, having a toddler or baby in your group will slow you down. I dealt with it, but I’m a commando at heart. We chose to walk to the MK because if you go on the monorail from the CR, there are 3 stops and it takes just as long than if you walked. On the way back however, the CR is the first stop from MK and that’s nice. We buy some Gummi Mickey’s in the Market House, and a Diet Coke and park ourselves in front of Liberty Tree Tavern for the parade. Sam was excited because for some reason he likes Chernabog- he thinks he’s extra scary and I told him that Chernabog was in the parade. The parade started within about 10 minutes and we really liked it. A lot. It was the only parade we were able to catch and I took about 18 pictures of it. I loved the snow-globes and how the walking characters brought kids in to dance with. Very cute. After the parade we went to Splash Mountain and got FP’s and then hopped on the train to go to Tomorrowland. I didn’t realize Tomorrowland doesn’t have it’s own station. I figured it out when we stopped at Toontown and heard them say “Get off here for Toontown, Fantasyland & Tomorrowland.” That we did, and then walked to Tomorrowland. Kind of a long walk, especially when it’s so hot! We wait about 10-12 minutes for Buzz and I scored 267,000 this time! Woo Hoo! I was able to hit the backside of the red robot’s arm twice- that’s worth a lot of points- try and get it. Sam got about 800. Sam wanted to get something at the Buzz Lightyear kiosk so I said ok, and he picked some Buzz slippers. Wow- they were on sale for $7.99! Cool! He said he wanted to wear them now because “They are fluffy and they will make my tired feet feel better.” Aw. But I said no, cause they would get all dirty. He was grumpy and didn’t want to walk back to Splash so I said ok and we went down to the barbershop. There were two people in the chairs, and two people in front of us. I would guess we waited about 20-25 minutes. Sam got a very nice haircut and received blue hair gel and pixie dust to boot! And about 20 stickers for sitting still. And it’s only $12!! I left him a nice tip and off we went back to the hotel. Josh was still asleep, and we all gathered in Mom and Dad’s room and discussed where to go. Sara wanted to go back to a park since she had only gone one 1 ride at MGM. We agreed on dinner at Epcot. We narrowed it down to either Chinese or Japanese counter service. Miscommunication between Bob and myself on what was happening with dinner and we had “words.” Mostly my fault because I was tired and starving and Josh was acting up, which made me more short-tempered. We all had Chinese at Lotus Blossom Café. So-so Chinese food at a fair price, at least according to Disney standards. A combo box of fried rice, sweet and sour chicken and an egg roll was $6.10. We bought 3 of these combos, a cup of hot and sour soup, 3 drinks and a slushie for the kids to share and it was $31. The eating area is covered and has walls, but has openings in the walls so it’s kinda outside dining. But no fans to keep the air moving and it was stifling. We finished our dinner and I was still grumpy; Dad offered to go back and get me a layered margarita and I said sure. It was pretty tasty! Thanks Dad! We poked around for a while and looked at the trains in Germany. We (Sara, Bob, me and the boys) decided not to stay for Illuminations. Mom and Dad went to see the France movie and stayed for the fireworks. Sara bought Sam one of those light up light-saber things. He didn’t even nag about it! Miracles never cease. It was a surprise bargain at $6. I thought it would be twice that price. Sam decided to sleep with Gramma Sara and we shared some soft serve ice cream before bed. I crashed hard that night! 3 parks in one day! Whew! Magical Moments: Tower of Terror, watching Sam meet Woody & Buzz, seeing the parade, the haircut on Main Street, my Fiesta margarita. Chernabog Moments: getting into an argument over dinner & the stuffiness inside the restaurant. Wednesday, March 5th- Typhoon Lagoon, dinner at O’hana’s We slept in awhile this morning and left for Typhoon Lagoon around 9:30 or so. Sara stayed behind with Josh. It was supposed to be 88 and sunny today, and she was worried about him getting sunburned. That was really, really nice of her and we appreciated being able to go to the water park without worrying about Josh. We get there about 10:10, 10:15. I cannot stress the importance of getting there before opening time! It was mobbed! It was the first sunny days in 5 days, & with Blizzard Beach still closed, Typhoon Lagoon was the place to be! We wait in line to get Sam a life vest, just in case. Sam has fun playing in the rinse-off shower. Then we wander around trying to find some lounge chairs. We find some and dump our stuff. Bob, Sam and I head for the waves and Mom and Dad go for the Castaway Creek. There were lines probably 25 deep at every point to grab a tube. Oy. We splash around in the waves and the kiddie slides for a while and then Sam and I go in the Creek. We get a double tube and make the full circuit. We meet up with everyone by our lounge chairs and we decide to get in line for the family raft slide. We waited 30 minutes. For the shortest water slide ever. It was fun, but I seriously thought it would be longer. I should have gotten a clue when I saw where people had to exit the slide. Oh well- we bought the picture for the memory. The incredibly short memory. It’s time to eat, so I go get myself a burger and Sam a hot dog ($10.80). Bob was fasting in light of..no, not lent, we’re eating at O’hana’s later!! I refill our mug, which turned out to be a pain cause one of the soda refill stations was closed- the one right close to our lounge chairs (Typhoon Tilly’s). Mom and Dad get a burger too and we eat for a while and then Bob and I go in the creek, Mom reads and Dad takes Sam in the wave pool. We relaxed and had a fun time. When we all met up we decided it was time to go- it was almost 2 already and we had told Sara we would be back by 2. Bob calls her and asks her to put Josh down for a nap. They ended up swimming for a little while in the Bay Pool at the CR and ordering room service for lunch. We return to our room about 2:30ish and we rest for a couple hours. I think I actually even took a nap this day. We head out to the Polynesian via the monorail at about 5:30. We had a 6:40 PS. We stroll around the grounds for a while and look at the shops. At 6:15 Bob checks us in at the podium and asks for a window seat, and that we were willing to be seated early or late in order to get a window seat. He gets the standard, “We cannot guarantee a window seat sir. We will seat you at the first available table for the size of your party.” Bob looks around- the restaurant is maybe 1/3 full. He says, “Again, we are perfectly willing to wait for a window seat, or you can seat us now if that’s better.” She repeats her self in a semi-snippity way. So, Bob goes, “Then I would like to speak with your manager please.” The other host that was standing there says, “Sir, I am sure there will be no problem accommodating your request. There is plenting of seating available tonight.” Meanwhile the original hostess’s face just dropped and she was very embarrassed. I mean, just like Rose and Crown, I know they are asked the same thing over and over again. But if someone asks politely, and the restaurant is practically empty, I think you can stray from the “first available table” spiel. Three minutes later our pager goes off and a different hostess greets us and tells us the story of O’hana, grabs our bread and leads us to our table. The most glorious table in the whole restaurant! Thank you Bob for standing your ground cause it scored us the most awesome view. It was in the far left hand corner of the restaurant, directly facing the castle. We were so excited and happy. We took several pictures of us around the table and of the view. Almost immediately our waitress comes and greets us warmly. We all order a cocktail and the boys get Sprite. She explains the menu and is off to get our drinks. We enjoy the bread and the view, and soon Cliff (our other waiter) brings us our appetizers. He was wonderfully warm and nice as well. And oh my, the appetizers were AWESOME! We devoured everything- wontons, teriyaki chicken wings, the salad with the honey-lime dressing, fried rice & stir-fried veggies. The only thing that was even slightly so-so was the veggies- a little soggy and lots of snow peas. I like my snow peas crunchy. But again, no big deal in light of everything else being so tasty! We especially all liked the won tons and I think we ended up getting thirds on those. Very quickly our waitress (I forgot her name, but she was very good) brings out the turkey and the steak. YUMMY. They both were so flavorful- we especially liked the steak. Sam participates in the hula-hoop contest. Let’s just say he’s not quite coordinated enough for that yet. He would spin the hula-hoop around his waist really fast and be so proud of himself. There was a little red headed girl, maybe 6, who ROCKED at hula hooping! She was great! Anyway, soon after that the lights dimmed and the fireworks music started to play. We let the kids sit right up next to the window to watch the show. It was truly magical- I felt so warm and fuzzy sitting there with my most important family members. Unfortunately that feeling ended soon because Josh started acting like a bear and was fussing, crabbing and yelling. We ask Cliff for some hot dogs and fries and he returned with them in about 5-6 minutes. Thank you Cliff! The kids were happy with those, at least for a while. Out came the pork and shrimp! Wow! Again, very tasty, very hot and fresh. We loved the peanut sauce to dip everything in. Several of us had seconds on shrimp and steak, and then we were ready to pop. Out came the pineapple and caramel sauce and finally, something to make Josh happy! He must have had 10 spears of pineapple!! We took some to go to keep him happy while we looked around at the Grand Floridian. Our waitress brought the check to Bob and my Dad insisted on taking care of it. Wow!!! Are you sure Dad? He insisted so he paid. What a magical meal! We rolled out of there and headed over to the Grand Floridian. Mom, Sara and I wanted to see it a little bit. We enjoyed the band playing, and poked around in the gift shop. Mom bought Sam the Mickey Sorcerer hat he had been eyeing since day 1. He was a happy camper! Sara bought the boys a shirt, and some shirts for her 3 other grandchildren- triplet 3 year olds! (I’m glad I’m just their Auntie and not their Mommy- oy, what a job!!!) Funny/most embarrassing moment of the trip: Bob is standing with Josh by the guardrail, overlooking the lobby of the GF. Two little girls are all dressed up in their fine princess dresses and Bob says, “Look at the Princesses Joshie!” Josh sees them, and flings his final piece of pineapple down, and it hits one of them!!!! Bob wanted to die….he quickly skee-daddled out of view and was like “Let’s get out of here!!!” Sorry Princess Cinderella, who was sitting in the GF on March 5th! Didn’t mean to peg you with a pineapple! We make it back to the Contemporary and hit the hay. Early morning at MK tomorrow. Magical Moment of the Day- O’hana, hands down. I highly recommend this restaurant, especially if you can get a window seat. The food is wonderful, as is the service. Chernabog Moment- The first hostess at O’hana…she needed a little more customer service training. Thursday, March 6th- Bob & Dad go on Steam Train tour. Mom, myself & the boys go to EE, Sara departs for California. 6:15- Bob gets up & gets us our caffeine for the AM. At 7:00 he & Dad walk over to MK for the Magic of Steam Trains tour. Dad is a huge fan of trains & Bob wanted to see some backstage stuff. Mom and I get ready soon after because we want to take advantage of the EE at the MK today. We take the monorail over to the park this morning, and are in the gates by 8:05 or so. I decided to rent a double stroller this morning, hoping Josh would enjoy sitting next to his brother and would be better about sitting down. Plus, Sam was getting tired every day and he would benefit from the stroller as well. I pay my $15 and we’re on our way. I really love the castle here- we got several pictures of it this morning and we loved the mosaics on the inside. The Magic Kingdom is definitely winning me over- the first time I visited WDW, it bothered me how different it was from Disneyland. This time I really enjoyed it and liked the broader pathways and how everything is bigger. Anyway, off to Fantasyland, my least favorite land of this park. Now that I’ve just gone off on a tangent of how I’m really enjoying MK versus DL, this part of the park really gripes me. It definitely lacks the quaintness & European feel that DL has a lot of…and it doesn’t have a lot of the attractions that I love! Namely Storybookland Canal Boats, Matterhorn and Alice in Wonderland. And I like the fountains that DL’s Dumbo has. Anyway, first we go on Dumbo, and our CM is full of the Disney magic this morning! Very enthusiastic and gives each child a Disney nickname. Sam and Josh were Tigger and Pooh. We fly with Dumbo and go over to Pooh. This is a cute ride- both of the kids loved seeing their favorite Pooh characters. We criss-crossed back over to the Carousel, rode it, got in line for Peter Pan and loved that classic ride. Sam wanted to go on Small World again, so we did that and the kids loved it. (I’m so proud- as a child my absolute favorite was It’s a Small World and I still enjoy it. Bob detests it and I thought it was funny that the kids wanted to go on it over and over ?). We hoofed it over to Big Thunder Mountain and used our three tickets to get fastpasses for when the guys were done (it was close to 9:30 by this time). We went in the Briar Patch shop and I got a t-shirt for my best friend’s baby & big lollipops for my kids ($20 total). They ate those for a while & then they played for quite some time in the Laughing Place play area by Splash Mountain. What a lifesaver this little area is! My kids loved it, although Sam was mad at me when I wouldn’t let him climb on top of it like several other kids were. I just knew it wasn’t ok, and was irritated other parents would let their kids do that. Especially because a lot of these kids were in the 7-10 year old range- too big to be needing to play there anyways (it’s designed for kids too short to go on Splash). I am a school-age daycare provider by trade, so I instinctly wanted to tell those kids to get down, but I held my tongue. The guys meet up with us around 10:15 or so and Mom, Dad & Bob go on Big Thunder. Before they left I grabbed all their tickets and got FP’s for Splash. We’re all hungry at this point and our FP time for Splash is between 11 and 12, so we mosey over to Pecos Bills for some grub. I think Dad and Bob got burgers, hold the cheese (side note- Mom and Dad have lost a combination of 120 pounds on Weight Watchers last year and were trying to be good while on vacation. I think they did very well considering everything there is to tempt you), Mom got a salad and I got the chicken wrap. I got the kids hot dogs. Right before I ordered the cashier’s computer went down, so we just stood there for 5 minutes. Not a long time, but you know how it is when you are so hungry and you don’t know how long you are going to have to stand there. We sat outside to eat and it was right our of Hitchcock’s The Birds. We had to shoo them away all meal and then I got POOPED on! I was so grossed out- I have never been pooped on. At least it was on my shirt and not in my hair. We finished our lunch and went back to Splash. We did the baby swap- first Mom, Dad, Bob and Sam rode while I waited. Then Bob, Sam and I rode again while Mom and Dad sat with Josh. Bob and I needed to head back to the hotel to say good-bye to Sara and help her load her car.”Duh” alert- I had put the security lock on our door before we left, cause Josh kept trying to go out our door. We exited out of Mom and Dad’s room that morning, so when Bob & I got back in the afternoon, we couldn’t get in the room because of the lock! Duh! We were able to get a key to Mom and Dad’s room no problem because the room was reserved in our name. Phew. Mom and Dad stayed in the park and they went on the train again, Pirates and the Tiki Birds. Sara left for her flight and called the next morning to let us know she was home safely. I rested while Josh napped, and Bob, Dad (they had come back) and Sam went for a swim. We went back to the MK around 4:30, and were in the park by 4:50. I ran ahead and got FP’s for Space and we all got in line for Buzz. Guess what my score was this time……527,000!!! I confess, we got stuck in the last room for several minutes and I aimed my blaster at a Z right below Zurg and got 10,000 points a pop. I added 300,000 points to my score by doing this. I gloated cause Bob, a trained firearms specialist, only got like 280,000 or something like that. ? The ladies and the kids went on TTA and the men went on Alien Encounter. The said it was “intense” but not scary. We all line up for Space, ready to do the baby sway for Josh. Sam wasn’t tall enough! This totally threw us for a loop cause he was able to go on it at Disneyland, and that was over a year ago. There is a 4” high difference here so beware- Sam is like 43 ½” tall, so he didn’t make the 44” height requirement. Poop. Bob sat out with both boys and I remembered I had two other FP’s in my pocket (his and Sam’s) so when we were done, Bob and Dad went on it again. I couldn’t believe how long the exit ramp was to get out of that ride! Geesh! It was fun though- I wish it had the music like DL’s. We met up with the guys in Toontown. No water working in Donald’s boat! What a rip! I see the character tent so I wait in line, forever, with Sam and Josh to see Minnie and Cinderella. This seriously was the longest wait of the entire trip and I was really getting antsy as the boys were getting restless. But oh my gosh, it was so worth it when we were finally let in!! There was a huge line for Cinderella, but no one wanted to see Minnie or Miss Suzy mouse! My boys got tons of love and kisses from Minnie and they LOVED it! Josh just squealed and cooed and kissed her over and over again. Can we say “Aw” all together? Thank you. We saw Miss Suzy, I took a picture of Cinderella and we saw Minnie again to give her one last kiss and a hug. We exit Toontown and are able to get on the Teacups with no line! This is one of my Dad’s favorites- he is a mean teacup spinner. Mom, Dad and Sam go in a cup and Me, Bob and Josh goes in another. We have a great time and Mom, Dad & I wanted to start exiting the park before the fireworks so we don’t have to deal with the throngs of people. Bob stays back with Sam and they go on the cars. Mom, Dad, Josh and I watch the fireworks from the monorail ramp and we exit the second they are done. Perfect timing! I recommend this, especially if you have a stroller and don’t want to be herded along like cattle down Main Street. If you return your stroller at the stroller place, you get a Disney Dollar back- I didn’t know that so it was a nice surprise. We decide just to grab a bite at the Food and Fun Center at the CR. We would have liked something nicer, but oh well. I got myself and Josh chicken tenders, and a fruit plate to split. Dad had gone back and got our refillable mugs. (16.91). We ate and by the time we were about done, Sam and Bob join us. Sam eats one of the chicken strips and we get one more order of kids’ strips for him. Bob declares he wants a chicken sandwich from Concourse Steakhouse and makes plans to get one to go later on. He takes the boys upstairs and I go to the gift shop to grab myself a sweatshirt I had been eyeing all week. I also got Bob a Mickey shaped Chip and Dip platter he liked. And some chocolate covered pretzels ?. Another $86 slapped on the Amex and I went back to the room. Bob waited too long to get his chicken sandwich, because when he went down there, they had stopped serving food. He was mad and just went to bed hungry. He didn’t want to order room service and chance the kids waking up. Magical Moments: Walking on the Tea Cups at night, watching the kids soak up the magic in Fantasyland, seeing Minnie Mouse. Chernabog Moments: Getting pooped on, Bob not getting his sandwich that he was craving, Sam not being tall enough for Space Mountain Friday, March 7th- our last full day. We hadn’t made any plans for this morning, and Mom and I were able to go to MGM and Epcot, just us girls, for the morning and early afternoon. Thanks guys!!! We waited awhile for the MGM bus and got there about 9:15. The wait for Tower of Terror was already 60 minutes!! What?? We get FP’s for 10:20- 11:20 and went in some shops and walked over to the Little Mermaid. We saw the 10:00 show. I was a little bummed because the show schedule said 9:50, and I thought we would be able to sprint back and see the 10:15 Beauty and the Beast show. No dice. We really liked the Little Mermaid, although we encountered one of the few extremely rude people while in the show. The CM’s said you don’t need to scoot all the way down, as the theater was only going to be about ½ full. So a family 2 rows in front of us does exactly that- sits down about ½ or 2/3’s down the row. No big deal. Well, the woman and her family behind them were LIVID that they stopped and sat down and says as they’re scooting by “NEXT TIME GO TO THE END OF THE ROW AND STAY OUT OF PEOPLE’S WAY!” It was so rude! I felt bad for the other family. And those rows are pretty spacious- you don’t have to crawl over people to get by- there’s quite a bit of leg room. We head back towards to Tower and go on it. The sign said 60 minutes, but I bet it was only about 30. We only walked in front of maybe 75-100 people using our fastpass. We loved it and laughed the whole time. As we were exiting, there was a MOB forming by Beauty and the Beast, so we decided to skip it. We got a diet coke and a caramel apple and left the park. We got on the boat to Epcot and enjoyed seeing all the Epcot resorts. Again, we hope to stay here someday! It is about a 30-minute ride to Epcot with all the stops. We enter through the International Gateway and stop in the UK to sniff the Almond and Apricot lotion again. Yum. I still don’t buy it. We get pictures of the Butchart Gardens in Canada and head over to Mexico. Mom buys some silver jewelry in Mexico and we eat lunch at the Cantina. We cracked up in line at some people ahead of us. No offense to anyone intended at all, but some Americans simply butcher the Spanish language. The people in front of us happened to be Southerners and they ordered the “Plato Combinacion” and tried saying it in Spanish. They should have just said, “I’ll have the combination plate.” The CM grimaced at their pronunciation and Mom and I tried not to laugh out loud. We are from San Jose, and there is a huge Mexican population there. Even if you never learn Spanish, you learn the flow of the language. Anyway, I guess you had to be there. I had the chicken taco salad and she had some chicken soft tacos. Pretty good. My corn tortilla shell bowl was quite stale, so I didn’t eat any of it. We wished they had some chips and salsa to order off the menu, but it wasn’t offered. It was about $10 for water and a salad. It was HOT this day- 87 and sunny, so I got lots of water to stay hydrated. We went into Norway and I fell in love with the Laila perfume. It’s on my birthday list. Very light and pretty. We didn’t go on the ride- Mom had gone on it with Dad a few days before and she didn’t want to see the movie at the end again. We didn’t stop in China, but did some shopping in Germany. Didn’t stop in Italy, but took some photos, and then we debated about seeing the American Adventure. It was about 1, and we told the guys we would be back by 2. We decided we didn’t have time since we missed the most current showing by a couple minutes. I poked around in the American shop- I remember it having more unique items back in 95 and was disappointed it had lots of just Disney Americana stuff. Same with the Liberty Square shop- I bought the cutest stuff for our home there on our honeymoon and they didn’t have anything that grabbed me this time. I got a fritter and we ate it in Japan. I like Japan- very soothing atmosphere. We wandered around Morocco and I almost literally ran into the Genie as he was coming in from backstage. He beckoned me to follow him and I was first in line to get my picture with him! Cool! We skipped France and I decided not to buy the UK lotion after all. On the way out we stopped in Mouse Gears- Mom made the decision that she wanted to buy some pins. Uh-oh! She bought a few, and I got a Flounder for Josh and a Sorcerer Mickey for Sam, and some candy for the kids at my work. ($30) We left Epcot happy with our morning together. We got lots of nice pictures and I felt like I had finally seen the World Showcase- it’s just not something that you can really absorb while chasing after little kids. We got back and Dad and Josh were asleep on the sofa and Bob was in the MK with Sam. Dad and Mom decided to go to the MK for the afternoon and they tooled around there for awhile- they went on Jungle Cruise, Pirates again, and saw the parade. Bob and Sam came back and they went on a lot of rides! I made a PS for Mom, Dad and the kids at Whispering Canyon- I tried for Chef Mickey’s, but it was booked till 8:00. Bob decided he was really craving Benihana so we made a reservation for 7:15. There is a Benihana at the Hilton right across from Downtown Disney. We got there around 7:00 and checked in. We were seated with a well-to-do trio that liked to talk about their money and their stuff. I found it nauseating- I was there to have a good time in my Mickey t-shirt- not hear people gush about their $650 Italian bags, and their 1.5 carat diamond earrings. It was tacky and I felt slightly ill at ease- like they were so great and we were country bumpkins. Anyway, the meal was awesome. We often go to Benihana for birthdays or our anniversary and it never disappoints. The reason we chose Benihana over Teppanyaki is we like the fried rice at Benihana and Teppanyaki only offers noodles. Oh----I need to back up a bit. This night was a compromise on my part- I really wanted to grab a casual bite somewhere, and go to E-night at the MK with Bob & no kids. While I had gone on all the E-rides at least once so far, I really wanted to be in the MK with my hubby and be able to go on the fast rides over and over. He really wanted a nice dinner and Pleasure Island. I was disappointed, but I compromised- it’s what marriage is all about, right? Okay, back to the dinner. The tab came and with tip it was about $75. We head out in a downpour back to Downtown Disney…we saw little frogs on the pathways. I’m glad Bob pointed them out, because they didn’t move! I would’ve stepped on one if he didn’t show me! Okay, here comes the BEST part of the trip. Are you ready? We go into the Pin Traders Shop, just to poke around. I really wanted to get a few pins, but I know myself, and once I got 2 or 3, I would want 20. Right when we go in, they are announcing a Disney Trivia Contest. I play the trivia contest at www.laughingplace.com every week, have tons of Disneyana books, own all the Disney movies, and have several Disney trivia games. But I was hesitant- what if it was totally hardcore? Bob encouraged me so I grabbed a piece of paper and a pen and went for it. There were 20 questions and the top 3 contestants would get a free pin. She slowly read the questions and they weren’t hard (for me) at all! They were like “Name Donald Duck’s 3 nephews and the corresponding colors they were.” “Where did Simba and Nala tell their mothers they were going when they went to the elephant’s graveyard?” “What candy can you not buy at the WDW resort?” I was feeling pretty good- there were only 2-3 I wasn’t sure about, but put an answer down anyways. One I got tricked on- what other character does the actor who voices Winnie the Pooh provide the voice for?” I put Tigger, cause in the current Pooh stuff, Jim Cummings does both. But they were talking about the original Pooh voice, who also voiced the Cheshire Cat. (And the stork from Dumbo!) Anyway, drum roll please. There was a tie for second…they named the 3rd place winner. Not me. Named the first second place winner. Not me. They named the other 2nd place winner….IT WAS ME! I got 17 out of 20 right. I chose a Capt. Hook pin. And guess whom I came in second place to…just guess. Shane Disney, none other than Walt Disney’s Great Nephew! I was so freaking proud of myself. I guess he is down there every Friday night, trading pins, and plays the contests. It made my week. And in the meantime, Bob found about 9 pins and we plunked down $85.? We head over to Pleasure Island and I immediately realize I was going to feel out of place. I am usually stuck in “Mom” mode. I am 30 years old, still young, but I have two young children, been married for 8 years & I have already done the whole party/college scene. Sure I like to have a drink once in awhile, but I’m way past the dressing up, getting drunk and trolling for guys. Well, it’s Friday night at PI, and it’s Mardi Gras week. There are TONS of young people everywhere, dressed to the 9’s, looking to party hard. My husband pleaded with me to at least stay till 10 and I said of course. I wanted to see a comedy show and check out the Adventurer’s Club. We go into the Comedy Show and it’s close to starting. We got kinda cruddy seats, but oh well. Really funny set with Krista, Matthew, Phil, John and Brian. (I can’t believe I remembered their names!!) Very well done. We left and walked across the street to the Adventurer’s Club. It was so steamy in there. Bob and I looked at each other, and while I really wanted to check it out, it was way too hot in there. It’s about 10:20 and I am fading fast, the music, while good, is REALLY loud, and more and more partiers are coming in. There are cops everywhere and I just felt uneasy. So I told Bob I was ready to go. Here comes the worst part of the week….we get into an argument about the whole thing. He didn’t want to go, I did, he was disappointed, I pointed out I did everything he wanted to the whole night, etc., etc., etc. It wasn’t pretty. We were pretty quiet the whole bus ride back. I didn’t want to go back to the room until we had cleared the air. We did, so all was well. Marriage isn’t always easy, but worth the bumpy times. I crashed into bed after showering and Bob walked around the grounds for a while. Saturday, March 8th. Our last day. ? We are going to hit the MK for a few hours and head to the CR to meet Tiffany Town car at 1:45. Rise and Shine at 7:15. I had packed most of our stuff the afternoon before, so there wasn’t too much to do except throw toiletries into a bag. We walked down Main Street and Mom and Dad said they needed to do some last minute shopping and would meet up with us at Pirates. Hmmmm…what are they doing? So, Bob and Sam go on Pirates (remember how he didn’t want to go on with the bats? On Friday Bob talked him into it by buying him a $3.50 sword if he would go on it. Sam did and loved the ride. And we win parent of the year award for bribery) and I stroll around the shop and get a pressed penny. I love the play sets with the plastic Pirate Mickey and pirate ship, but we have already bought so much and have so many toys at home. Bob and Sam come out, and finally Mom and Dad come down. We all go on Pirates together, one last time. Sam talks Dad into getting him a stuffed pirate Goofy and Donald. Didn’t I just say we had too many toys? Oh well, that’s what grandparents are for I guess. Bob, Sam and Dad go on Jungle Cruise while Mom and I go on the carpets with Josh and see the Tiki Birds. I had wanted to see this version. It was ok, but I have to admit I love the original. Iago’s screeching hurt my ears. I did like the length of it though, and there were a few funny moments. We meet up afterwards and mosey back through Adventureland and Frontierland. We wander around Liberty Square a little bit and it’s almost 11. We had wanted to see the Hall of President’s, but it was about time for Mom and Dad to leave to catch their ride back to the airport. We didn’t want to say good-bye, but we did. We all agreed it was a wonderful trip- it had far exceeded my parent’s expectations and I was so glad. I really wanted them to love it and not just go because they felt pressured to by me. They joked about moving to Florida after they retire so Dad could work on the trains one or two days a week. Bob, the boys and I go to Columbia House to eat lunch. I liked this place a lot. We got two fish and chicken combos, a clam chowder bowl, coleslaw, a milk and two drinks for $26. It was all very good. We got some carrots as one of the sides to try and stick with our semi-healthy routine. After lunch we go back to Splash- we had picked up some FP’s earlier. I get to go first this time with Sammy. I wanted to buy the picture, but his face was covered. So then Bob goes on with Sam and their picture turns out awesome! They are in the front row and both have their hands up and are smiling big. We buy it. We slowly head back to Main Street and I’m trying not to get emotional. It truly had been the vacation of our dreams. Everything from all our parents there, to the great deals we got, to seeing our kids with the characters, to the great meals & just fun memories we made. I stop in the Emporium and get one last t-shirt for myself, a ball for Sam and a cute magnet for my best friend. I’m glad I got the t-shirt, cause we then got a Mickey Bar, which the boys shared. Josh got chocolate all over his hands and before I could clean him up, he gets a perfect handprint right on my right- ahem- breast. Nice! We exit the park and catch the monorail back. I’m pouting the entire way. I don’t want to go home! We get to the CR and I duck into the bathroom to change. We get some last soda refills and watch cartoons for about 20 minutes. Our Tiffany Town car guy arrives and we load up and head out. We check-in at curb side and have a very nice baggage handler who was asking Bob all sorts of questions about his service in the military. It’s nice to know that people are appreciative of what you do for our country. We go through security (a long line) and get a bite at McDonalds. Blah. We have an uneventful flight home- we even all dozed/slept the last hour or so. I have to admit it was nice to be home; even if it was rainy and 58. 58 isn’t really too bad I guess, especially compared to other parts of the country. I’m already back to the grind of work and I have a chemistry final in 5 days! I am going back to school so I can be a nurse. Final Thoughts: Plan ahead. Lots of planning makes for an easier trip. I was surprised how often my obscure Disney knowledge actually helped us out! And lots of planning helps in cutting costs (getting good airfare) or at least helps in anticipating what you will spend (thousands!!! ?) Be flexible- you have to be if you go with young children. You never know when their devil side will appear and you have to roll with the punches. This isn’t always easy for me, but it was either be flexible or everyone will be miserable. Take lots of picture- I love going though my pictures and being able to remember what we were doing and what I was thinking about when I took the picture. Know that you won’t be able to do everything. Go through websites and guide books and really pick and choose what you gotta see. If you have time to do other stuff, great. And plan to do those rides early in the day, before lines form. It is shocking how much you can accomplish by getting there when the gates open. Try and buy your own bottled water. We spent $7 for a case of 24 bottles at Kash and Karry and I only bought 1 bottle of water in the parks. Each bottle at the parks was $2.50. We saved a lot of $ that way, and we saved by bringing cereal and buying a gallon of milk. That’s what we ate almost every morning. It kept us going usually till about 11. If you’re traveling with a larger group, or even if it’s just 2 of you, don’t be afraid to split up for awhile. I was afraid while planning the trip that 10 days was a long time to be together, but by splitting the group up in different ways almost daily, we were able to keep positive family dynamics going throughout the whole trip. Feel free to e-mail me. Robin Black disnychck@aol.com Mail a Comment to Robin Black |
|