Survived w/teens! Merry Christmas-and a dream! COMPLETED!! 11 day trip w/pics!!!

[MARY-IN-OH]

Hi everyone! Thought I’d take a shot at writing our trip report, hope you enjoy it. I’ve learned a lot from reading TR’s, and hope that you might pick up something of use from ours. If you don’t, hopefully you’ll at least get a laugh or two from it!

Background:

Previous Trips to the World (from Ohio):

Dec 1998 – for six days - with my husband, son (then 9) and daughter (then 7) All Star Music

March 2004 – six days - just my sister and me – Pop Century

And here we are. Our (whole vacation) dates are December 10, 2006 to December 24, 2006
WDW (with a couple of days at Universal) for 10 days! We follow it up with another four visiting Jeff’s family near Ft Myers.

Cast:
Me (Mary) 41
DH (Jeff) 41
DS (Jesse) 17
DD (Emily) 15

Not on this trip (but hopefully someday!) is my oldest daughter and my grandchildren, ages 5, 4, and 1

Yep, my kids are now 17 and 15. Sort of “yucky” ages to have to spend time around the clock for two weeks with your parents! I knew there would be some ups and downs, but I tried not to worry about it too much – (OK, I kind of worried about it a lot).

At first, Jeff wanted to come to WDW just for the last day or so, and then drive to visit his family in Ft. Myers. I finally convinced him that it wouldn’t kill him to just come on vacation the whole time with us. He did OK while I planned for months and months and browsed and joined what my family calls the “dizz-bo” boards. (It’s OK, their dizz-bo mom planned one heck of a trip!).

Jeff pretended to be interested in Mickey Mouse and pixie dust for quite a few months while I planned. He is the kind of guy who can sit in the woods and not move for hours and hours to hunt, but if he has to stand in a line for a ride/attraction for more than ten minutes, he’ll go out of his mind.

My challenge: I am hoping to convert Jeff to at least like Disney so we can continue going after the kids are out of school and out of the house. Loving it might be pushing it for him, though. Not sure if the kids would want to go again, so next trip with them will probably when they have children of their own.

Yeah, I know. I got side tracked thinking about the “next trip” and I haven’t even told you about “this trip” – but you understand, you do that too!

We live about a ten minute drive from the airport, so it should be easy to ask someone to drop us off at the airport. I asked my Dad. Yes, I asked my pack rat/garbage pickin/garage sale shopping Dad to drive us. His mini van is always full of his sh** - I mean, “treasures” so I told him we could fit us and our suitcases in my car, and he could just drive our car home. He said, “no no no, don’t worry about it, I’ll have the van cleaned out, you can trust me!” OK, the night before we leave he called me and is mumbling something about coming to my house extra early in the morning, so that he can unload some “stuff” onto my porch so that he can fit us and the luggage in the van. That’s OK Dad, just come over and we’ll take our car.

Day 1 Sunday 12/10/06
We had a 9am flight from Cleveland (continental direct). The flight attendant said something when we were boarding about how she was able to leave a free seat in one of our rows. I had picked the seats with two in one row and two behind those, and figured the kids would each have a window. Jeff is a little more nervous about flying than I remembered and he grabbed a window seat and I sat next to him. What was strange was that the row the kids were in, had a lady sitting in the middle seat! And, there was a man in the row across from them that had all three seats to himself! We didn’t say anything, and the lady offered my kids the opportunity to sit together, but they didn’t seem to care much so Emily took the window and Jesse took the aisle seat. After we were able to “move about the cabin” we played musical seats anyhow. Oh, and the man with the whole row to himself got nice and cozy and slept across all three seats the entire trip. The movie on the flight was Little Miss Sunshine (I think that’s what it’s called) that is out on DVD now. I didn’t get the headset, but it seemed like a strange movie to show on a flight.

One note that I would like to mention is that we did have a little trouble with bringing quarters. We brought empty film containers so that we could set them up for pressed pennies for Emily and for tolls (tip from the boards). Two quarters/one penny stacked up. But I knew not to put them in the film containers on the plane (as they might look suspicious. I had them in the paper holders in a Ziploc bag, and they still pulled my carry on to take a closer look. Then, on the way home, we packed what we had left on checked luggage, and there was a note in that suitcase that the bag was re-checked. Maybe leaving them loose in a Ziploc bag would be the better way to go.

We arrived in Orlando, got the bags and made it over to Dollar car rental. Thanks to Dis and mousesavers I signed Jeff up for their “card” since he would be doing the driving (not sure if I am allowed to give the name on the boards). We went to the card holder line, and there were some people waiting in the regular line, and we were pulling away in our “$363 for two full weeks Pacifica” – (yay discount code!) Oh, we waved goodbye to the same people still standing the same spot in the regular line.

We had shipped a couple of boxes with dry goods to Old Key West since we had a full kitchen and would be there five nights. One thing that I packed that I was so happy to have the second five nights was a little coffee pot that I bought for $1 at a garage sale. Food court Nescafe was so bad. I took a cup with me on the bus to the park one day and couldn’t even drink it. It was also nice to not have to get dressed and go to the food court to get coffee in the morning. We just left it as trash when we checked out. (another great tip learned here!). I signed us up for the Pop Fridge Swap, and we also bought a Styrofoam cooler at Publix and that helped us out at Pop. We were able to leave the stuff we didn’t use at my MIL’s in Ft Myers at the end of the trip.

Anyway, back to the grocery store. We bought pop (ok – soda or whatever! We call it “pop” here in Ohio!) and beer and lunchmeat etc at Publix. Jeff asked someone in the store who was buying wine where the liquor store was, and I guess it was in the same strip of stores as Publix, so he walked down there while I checked out at Publix, and he got a bottle of vodka. Yes, this bottle of vodka comes into this story again a little later today. We made our way over to OKW and checked in. I figured the kids would prefer to be somewhere near the main pool so we chose bldg 14. This was my first time at OKW (rented points for our stay), so I really didn’t have a preference or any other building to compare it to, so it sounded good to me. I knew that this building did not have an elevator and that was OK with us as well. The view didn’t really matter to me either. We had about an hour wait till our room was ready. My (lazy) family didn’t want to go through the hassle of getting the swimsuits out and changing by the pool or doing really anything until they got settled in the room. We all still had on “Ohio” clothes. Everyone just sat in the rental in the parking lot at OKW. After about 20 minutes of looking at the building we hadn’t noticed any housekeepers and then I saw one on her way out. I asked her if she knew if they were still cleaning rooms. She said, “No, all the rooms were finished quite a while ago”. OK. I said, cool, I am going to try to get in our room. She asked which one, and said she would go there with me to show me around, Kind of odd, but that’s cool. She was really sweet. She asked if I had kids, and then said that we would need more towels than what is usually left in the room. We walked to the supply room and she grabbed more towels, and then gave me a little tour of the room.

We had a 1BR so there was the separate living room and Jacuzzi tub, washer and dryer and everything was beautiful. The view was fine. Our balcony view was basically trees and bushes, and we could sort of see the road thru the trees.

We got settled in, hung the “over-the-door-clear-vinyl-pocket thingy” (purchased at Target for about $6) with all our toiletries over the bathroom door. Thank you for that tip, Dis! That thing fit everything we brought. The pockets were big so you could put more than one item in each pocket. No sink clutter. No one asking “Mom, have you seen my (whatever)”.

Our boxes weren’t there yet. I checked the tracking number before we left and it said confirmed delivered Saturday Orlando (shipped them 2 day express from the post office on Thursday). I found out that they made it to Orlando Saturday but not to OKW on Saturday. We got the boxes on Monday while we were at the park. No big deal, I wanted to go downtown and try Earl of Sandwich tonight anyhow.

We left the room about 4:00 and headed over to catch the boat downtown. Jeff had a few (or, some, or, actually I don’t know how many) drinks before we left. He went in to the Gurgling Suitcase for a beer while the kids and I walked around taking pictures. The boat came. Hmmm. Maybe we should just leave his “butt” here. We went and got him, but we decided not to sit with him, and we also tried to pretend we never saw this man before in our lives. He wasn’t noisy or anything, he just had this silly look on his face that seemed to say, “whoo hoo, I’m on vacation! Baseball cap turned backwards, with sunglasses on even though it’s almost dark kind of thing goin’ on. On the boat, I noticed a couple wearing really nice laminated LGMH’s around their neck. They said that there was a little Dis meet going on at OKW. Ya know, the only thing I forgot, and actually lost and still can’t find, is my stack of about a dozen LGMH’s!! Hey, wait a minute! Ya know what? I wonder…no, they wouldn’t. Would they? My family did not want me yelling “hello Dis friend” to you “dizz-bo’s” while at Disney! I wonder if my family made my lime green mickey heads “disappear”. I’m gonna try and get to the bottom of that one…

We went right to Earl Off Sandwich/Earl For Sandwich, as Jeff kept calling it. The sandwiches were wonderful, and the service was quick! We walked around a couple of shops and tried to lose Dad. He kept finding us. Damn cell phone. We didn’t stay too long. OK with me. I have plans to come back another evening, maybe even by myself.


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We bought the second Pirates movie at World of Disney since we have a DVD player at OKW. Jesse hadn’t seen the movie yet, but the rest of us went to see it at the theater. Emily loves to read, and really wanted a book she saw called Kingdom Keepers. It is about teenaged tour guides who have to fight off villains in the Magic Kingdom at night, or some such thing. Somewhat scary thriller, I think. So I splurged and got it for her.

Got back to the room and tucked Dad in for the night. Emily and I went to the pool about 7:30pm. I finally got up the nerve to go down that awesome slide at the castle pool and jumped out to head up the stairs. The lifeguard was just closing the slide at 8pm. Oh well, maybe tomorrow.

After a while we came back to the room, and my Jesse threw on his swim shorts and the three of us jumped in the Jacuzzi. We were laughing and being silly, and woke up Dad, hee hee. It was a great moment with the kids though.

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[MARY-IN-OH]

Day 2 – Monday December 11th

Epcot Day (so far, my itinerary is working pretty much right on schedule, but how do I get them to wake up earlier?!)

Jeff woke up early since he went to bed pretty early last night, but the kids had to be pried out of bed. Jeff made bacon, eggs, and toast for us for breakfast, and we got to Epcot around 10am. There were teens (maybe the Brazilians I have read about? Not sure.) in yellow jumpsuits at the park today. The whole group seemed to stay together all day, mostly girls, so my son was happy they were there. We videotaped them singing together as they walked, it was pretty cool.

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We headed to Soarin’ grabbed fastpasses for later and got in the standby line. In a few minutes we were Soarin’! We all loved it. We then headed for Mission Space. DH and the kids were looking forward to it, but not me. I waited for them outside. What a beautiful morning, and the park was so empty!

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They finished up MS and begged me to go on it with them. They had fastpasses so I told them I’d think about it. Jeff said he would give me his. We had to wait a little bit to get the fastpasses for Test Track so we took a break and got something to drink. We grabbed the TT fastpasses and went back to MS. The warnings in there are almost as scary as the attraction. If you have fear of small spaces, simulators, spinning, blah blah blah. Oh great! This looks like it will be fun. They forced me to the more intense orange side. I survived. I won’t say that I loved it, and I’m glad the kids hands are not broken from my holding on to them the entire “mission”. Still haven’t decided if I’m glad I tried it, and I’m pretty sure that I won’t do it again. We headed over to Test Track, which was OK. What I did like is that they put the TT picture on the Photopass card. I wish they could do this with all the ride photos. We started to get a little hungry so we headed over to the WS side, as I wanted to try the fish and chips over in England. We thought it was very good. Back to FW side, headed to The Seas with Nemo, and then to Turtle Talk with Crush. What a clever show that is! The little kids got a big kick out of it, and we thought about how much our grandkids would love this.

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We decided to head back to OKW for a break and went through Spaceship Earth on the way out. We ended up timing this with the entire group of the yellow jumpsuit kids. I thought they might have acted up during the ride, but we didn’t hear a peep out of them. On the bus on the way back, we met some people who live near us in Ohio. This happened a few times since Jesse wore Ohio State Buckeyes and Cavs stuff a lot. We got back and had a message from the front desk that our boxes that we shipped from home arrived, so we brought them up and made lunch. Jesse took a nap and Emily played gameboy. After a while we were heading back to Epcot to walk thru the World Showcase and watch Illuminations. Jesse decided not go, and I really missed having him with us during Illuminations, but we got to spend some quality time with just Emily so that was nice. We got to the park and zipped through the WS, I felt like we went “Around the World in 80 Seconds”. Jeff wasn’t very interested in WS, but I did get him to ride the boats in Mexico and Norway, and he didn’t mind them.

Mexico:
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We decided that rather than wait 45 minutes for Illuminations (as I mentioned, Jeff doesn’t “sit” well), we would use our Fastpasses for Soarin and then come back toward the WS for Illuminations. Jeff decided he needed more Fish and Chips, so he ate while we walked to Soarin. We got to Soarin and we had the choice of waiting till the next ride if we wanted to sit together, or we could ride one person in each row. It is cool (I went from 2nd to 3rd row today) how you do get a different perspective of things you see, and how close you feel, depending on where you are sitting at in Soarin’. We really loved this attraction. We came back toward WS which was a little crowded near the water, and watched Illuminations, which was spectacular. The moment it ended, my DH was practically running to beat the crowds out of the park. He is tall, and Emily and I are short, so it wasn’t easy keeping up with him! We got to the bus and walked right on. It was standing room only but that was ok. When we got back, Jesse was all rested up, and picked on his sister while she was trying to sleep. Jeff crashed out too. I decided to ignore the kids bickering, and got in the Jacuzzi tub all by myself!

Tomorrow: We're chosen for a dream in the morning, and then off to Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party!

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[tinawv]

Can't wait to read more, and what great pictures. :)

[staylor]

Great report. Keep em coming!

[Katy Belle]

Nice report Mary! Love the photos of your big kids! I hope mine continue to love the world when they are teens. Looking forward to your report about the Christmas Party, especially since we were there too!
Katy

[MARY-IN-OH]

Day 3 – Tuesday 12/12 – Chosen for a Dream today!
Plan: Typhoon Lagoon/Break at OKW/Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party
Itinerary still working!

We got the kids up, and we did quick cereal/pop tarts breakfast today. We got to Typhoon Lagoon at about 10-10:30.

We went in the gift shop area to rent towels and a locker. There was a CM standing at the register and another one standing near her. The CM that wasn’t at the register was kind of dancing (by the way, my family was happy to have a break from Christmas music at Typhoon Lagoon!) I was in a great mood, and was kind of clapping and excited, probably embarrassing my kids, as I enjoying doing. They were just kind of standing around still looking a little sleepy. The CM started teasing Jesse, and she got him to smile and we were all kind of joking around. I asked for a locker and towels and she jumped in and took the key from the first CM and gave me a different one. Then she told me I didn’t need any towels today. I was confused and I was, like “OK, then I don’t need any towels” She said I needed to put a deposit down on the locker, but to come back and get a full refund when we were ready to leave. OK. So I go to the locker, opened it, and barely looked in it, and saw “other people’s” stuff in there! I quickly shut the door and ran back to her, and told her that she gave me a key to someone else’s locker! She laughed at me. She told me that we were chosen today (as dream recipients), and that was OUR stuff in the locker! So she came over to the locker with me and took our picture with all the stuff in it. Then I had Jeff take a picture with her and the kids and me with all our cool stuff. She was still teasing Jesse even for the picture, making him shrink down in the picture. Anyway, there were two of the refillable mugs, towels, and one of those plastic containers with a neck string to hold your keys and stuff. And, of course, the certificate that was right in front of my face that I didn’t notice at first, saying we were dream recipients. I can’t believe I freaked out and didn’t take a better look before running that key back to her.

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The refill mugs at the waterpark are huge! It is kind of a cool set up too. They have a barcode on them that you use at the self serve refill stations and the mug is only good for that one day. I wonder if they could do that in the food courts at the resorts and base the code on the resort and length of stay. It seems like it could work.

We had lunch at the waterpark, and thought the food was very good. We were able to walk right on the slides at the park. The weather was only partly sunny, and not hot (probably in the mid 70’s), so perfect weather for low crowds! Jeff & Emily hit the wave pool, and Jesse and I took pictures of them in that HUGE wave.

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We then went all the way around the lazy river. That’s when I really feel like I’m on vacation! We did everything we wanted to do, and were on our way back to OKW at about 1:30. Since we were already in swimsuits, Emily and I headed right for the pool at OKW, and I finally went on the slide, and it was wonderful! The water was really warm.

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We went back to the room and took short naps, got up and ready and arrived at the Christmas party at about 5:30.

This picture was taken from over by BTMRR looking across the water.

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One of the reasons that I wanted to go to the Christmas party, was so that my family could get on the three mountains with no wait. I was pumped up about the rides, but I was really looking forward to the Christmas atmosphere, and the Christmas parade and the fireworks. When we arrived, the day guests were getting ready for the earlier fireworks. We hit Pirates first, and there were technical issues and we got stuck for about ten minutes right where the dog is holding the key from the prisoners. Then we got right on Splash Mountain and right before the first hill we were stopped for about five minutes, due to “technical difficulty”. Then we went on BTMRR twice in a row. Then over to Haunted Mansion and then to Fantasyland. The other times I have been to Disneyworld, the standby was too long to bother with some of the attractions in Fantasyland. Not tonight! We walked right on Pooh, Peter Pan, Snow White, (Adventures of Pooh and Peter Pan were new for me) and then we watched Philharmagic. Emily rode the teacups by herself. The rest of us are not big into spinning, so we waited for her. She was so cute, 15 years old with a little stuffed snowman backpack and wearing reindeer santa antlers that she brought from home. Adorable. I started walking to Small World, but that was not going to happen. My family would have no part of that, so it would be skipped today. (don’t worry, I’ll get to ride it on this trip). We stopped by and watched Suzie and Perla dancing with the little kids at the dance party, and I couldn’t help myself. Jumped in and danced for a few minutes with them. I was the only “big” kid out there, but hey, ya only live once, and I do love any opportunity to embarrass my kids! Emily was a little horrified, but she did get me on video and then called me a dork. It was fun. We then zipped thru toontown, the family wouldn’t let me stop anywhere like Mickey/Minne’s house or Goofy’s barnstormer (don’t worry, I’ll get here later!). We made it to the back walkway (back by the train) that takes you right to Space Mountain. That is a nice quiet area, there was no one back there except us. My kids thought that was cool. We walked right onto SM and made it out in time to sit and relax in Tomorrowland and watch the fireworks. When the fireworks ended, we went right for Buzz. And, there was something wrong in there and we were stuck for a little bit. But, it was actually kind of cool to be stuck, because we were racking up points! Our thumbs all hurt when we were finished. Got the ride photo of my kids shooting those “Z’s” with tremendous intensity, very funny.

Ya know, I didn't really get to take very many pictures at the Christmas party! I think it's because we were walking right on the rides like crazy people!

Here is one that the kids think is cool, they said there's a ghost lurking in the picture...(And I love Emily's reindeer antlers!)

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As the night was ending, just for me, Jeff and the kids (now very tired) put up with the Christmas parade at 11pm. Jeff said, “Look, there’s Santa” and in the same breath that he said, “So, can we go now”? So we did the mad dash to the bus. We got back to OKW and all went right to sleep, we have MGM planned for tomorrow!

[MARY-IN-OH]

tinawv and staylor - Thank you for your comments and encouragement!

Katy Belle - thanks for posting! I hope your kids hold onto the disney spirit when they are teenagers too! Mine did ok, they aren't as big of fans of pixie dust anymore I am, maybe someday!

[Liz]

Great report Mary! That's so cool about getting a dream! We didn't on our trip but that's okay.

I read Kingdom Keepers and it gave me nightmares! But its really good!

Being in a 1 bedroom at OKW sounds wonderful. I've thought about renting points but never have.

Sounds like a great trip so far! Oh, and I didn't take pics at MVMCP either!

[jess98ac]

Great report!

I've had Kingdom Keepers on my Amazon wish list for like 2 years...what did your daughter think of it?

[MARY-IN-OH]

Great report!

I've had Kingdom Keepers on my Amazon wish list for like 2 years...what did your daughter think of it?

Ya know, I'm gonna have to get back to ya on that! She put it down for awhile, and she won't tell me about it till she is finished! (And, she won't let me read it till she finishes it!!!)

[B&Lmom]

Really enjoying your trip report!! Pictures make them so fun to read--like we are there with you :)
Our latest trip to WDW was last spring break 2006. At the time my kids were 12 and 14. I really wasn't sure if they would still LOVE Disney like years past. (and I knew that there was no way I would get a 14 year old boy to take pictures with the characters). We scheduled four days in WDW and three days at the universal parks. Long story short..... they totally got into pin trading and had a blast. (and even took pictures with SOME of the characters--- but NO AUTOGRAPHS PLEASE!). DS14 told me on the first day at universal..... "disney is better.... let's go back". :yay: Wow, I was one happy mom!

Keep up the fun report!

[MARY-IN-OH]

Hi B&L Mom! There were a few things my kids really enjoyed at Universal, and they did everything they wanted to do in a day and half. Funny how now that they are older, the resort pool is still one of their favorite things to do!
Kids, I tell ya!
Thanks for posting!
Mary

[MARY-IN-OH]

Day 4 – Wednesday 12/13 – MGM with our first ADR at 50’s Prime Time Cafe for a late lunch.


The day didn’t start as early as I would have liked, but I expected it, since we were out late last night at the Christmas party. We would have an opportunity to revisit whichever parks we needed to, so I let them sleep in, and we got to MGM at about 12:30pm.

Jeff acted like he was going to "flip" me/or the camera the "bird" but decided at the last moment, probably not a good idea...the man is a little nuts but not stupid! :rolleyes1

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We went straight to TOT, grabbed fastpasses for later, and went in on standby. Then to Rockin’ Roller Coaster and did the same thing. The family loved RNRC, so we went standby a second time. The other thing we were starting to do at the parks, is knowing where they take your picture on the rides, and then when we’d ride something a second time (or third on some things), we all had our arms way up, or made funny faces or whatever on the ride photos. I ended up buying the photo on the RNRC with my husband and son in it (and I'll post of Emily and me here, one of the pics that I tried to take of the monitor with my camera). Sometimes too, we rode again so that they could go on things in the front row.

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We then did the backlot tour, and for some reason, Jesse really remembered this from when he was little, and he set up his sister so that she would be the one to get wet. I didn’t get to see the parade today, because our lunch reservation was right at parade time, but that was ok (I have plans to come back!). Our server was pretty good, I didn’t tell the kids much about the place until we were seated, then started telling them they had better get their elbows off the table. There was one younger server that was nuts. She seriously did a dive bomb through a window that connects the cooking area, and dove right into one of the booth seats. People actually seemed a little afraid of her. My kids thought she was hysterical. The food was very good. Emily got her frozen sour apple freeze drink thing. Man, I don’t know how she can drink those things! (what? yes, I tried it! It one of those things that gives you the shivers and makes your mouth water!) :sick:

After lunch, we made it just in time for the stunt show. If it were a busy time of year, I could see how it would be good to be here early, but we pretty much went into all the shows we saw right at the last minute (you know, don’t want Jeff to wait!). This show was new for all of us, and was a big hit, especially for my guys.

We hurried outta there, and headed right to muppets 3D and only watched a couple of minutes of the preshow and got right in. Then on to Great Movie Ride. We did have a little wait here. Probably about 15 minutes. Just before we went in to the preshow movie area, I took out my tic tacs and offered them to my family, and there was a mom holding a little kid about 4 years old, so he was facing behind her in our direction. This kid whacked the tic tacs out of my hand on purpose and they went flying and hit the floor!! They made a big noise, of course and a bunch of them fell out onto the floor. The mother turned and looked, and she had no idea that her kid did this, she looked at me like she was wondering why the hell I was throwing stuff on the floor! It was very strange, but we laughed about throughout the week.

We finally got on the ride, and right in the gangster area, the ride broke down. The CM on the ride did a great job keeping everyone in good spirits, telling Disney jokes and talking to people. Occasionally, an announcement would play saying that there were “technical difficulties”. (We are starting to see a pattern of things breaking down on this vacation! The kids are thinking we’re jinxed!) They said that the rest of the attraction through the doors to the end did not have any lights. They ended up escorting us off the attraction! But, again, sometimes it’s cool when the unexpected happens. We got to take some great pictures of us walking thru there, instead of riding through. Our ride CM took a picture of my kids and me in there. They were very apologetic and it wasn’t anyone’s fault.

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Stood on the ground right in front of James Cagney and this is his actual tux, ya know. (the CM told me so!)

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It was starting to get close to time for Fantasmic, but first, Jesse, (much to my surprise) wanted to stop in One Man’s Dream. I didn’t think he would want to do that, but I was glad he did, so we walked through and we stayed and watched the movie, and I know that the kids appreciate and respect Walt even more now. (OT: Jesse watched the entire Disney: Modern Marvels on the history channel with me the other night and was totally into it!). :cloud9:

Fantasmic was pretty full when we got there (five minutes before showtime), but we still got very good seats toward the far left side.

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When Fantasmic ended, we headed right to TOT with our fastpasses from earlier today, and that worked out great! Jesse and Emily were pretty much “spent” by now, and “asked” if they could please leave. Emily was ready to hit the pool as usual. I wanted to head over to the Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights, so Jesse (surprisingly) said that he would stay with me. By the time we walked back there, most of the crowds had left. The lights and music were amazing. For me, the Spectacle of Lights was one of my favorite highlights of the trip, maybe even “the” highlight. Spectacular, the lights, music and snow, and I think what made it extra special is that there weren’t many people left when we got there. :goodvibes

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As we left, we thought it was, as Jesse said, “way cool” how it was as though we had the whole park to ourselves. We even set up a picture near Muppets with the camera on a trash can, and put on the timer, with no one around to walk through the photo! (lots of magic and pixie dust for my son, ha ha!) pixiedust:

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I was happy to have some mother/son time, and Emily and Jeff got to have some father/daughter time. When we got back to OKW, found out that they didn’t really hang out much. Jeff spent some time talking with his brother on the phone, and Emily (of course) headed down to the pool again by herself. He did end up going down there, and he annoyed her and she came back to the room, (he apparently had a couple more of those drinks!) Jesse thought it was funny, so he threw on his swim shorts and headed down to find “fun Dad”, who made his way to the hot tub and joked around with the ladies that were in the hot tub (if anyone who is reading this was there that evening, I am really sorry!) But, I’m glad I wasn’t there! :thumbsup2 :upsidedow :laughing:

That's about it for today! hope you are enjoying the report, dis friends!

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Tomorrow, the family better get up bright and early for Animal Kingdom, or, I'll ride Everest without cha!!...yep, that should do it. (so far - we're still on track with my -TGM- schedule too!..but will it last???)

[tinawv]

How exciting to be a recipient of a dream pass. Can't wait to read more. :)

[MARY-IN-OH]

Day 5, Thursday 12/14 – Animal Kingdom day

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Since Animal Kingdom closes at 5pm, I managed to get the kids up early (early for them, anyhow – at 8am). We skipped breakfast today, because I thought we’d have breakfast at Tusker House. My sister and I ate there for breakfast when we went in 04, and I thought they’d like that. We were at the gate at 9:05 am, and headed straight for Expedition Everest. We saw Pooh on the way with no one with him, and I had a Pooh shirt on today, so he was happy to see me! Took a couple of pictures with him, and made it over to EE, grabbed fastpasses for later, and walked right on – twice!

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By this time, Jeff was starving and getting a little crabby, so we walked to Tusker House. Breakfast was good, and we watched the people dancing and playing drums just outside Tusker House for a while. There was a younger guy that was really gettin’ into it, and we had fun watching him getting crazy with his “moves”. This park has a much more laid back feeling to me, I don’t feel quite as pressured, and getting there early helped a lot. We went to the Safari Ride, and Pangani Trail, and we were walking by Flights of Wonder just in time for the show, which was very funny and we all enjoyed it. I made a note to myself to remember what the lady said during the show. She said that we have not inherited the Earth from our parents, we are borrowing it from our children. I thought that was cool. One of the trained birds brushed his wing into my hair! That was a little freaky. The guy on stage made a comment, something like “there ya go, a new hairstyle for ya, free of charge!” We went over to Dinosaur. Last time we went to Disney with the kids, Animal Kingdom was new. The Chester and Hester area was not there yet, and when we went on Dinosaur, the kids had their faces buried in my lap for the entire ride. They did much better this time, kept their eyes open and everything. We went on Primeval Whirl (twice). The second time we video taped it. That roller coaster is wild! Fast and “spinny” but it make me laugh hysterically for some reason.

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See! Everyone has their eyes open on Dinosaur!

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I wanted to see the new Nemo show, we made it over there (at the last minute of course). I think this show would be better if you can get there a little early to get closer. It is a really big arena and was pretty packed. And ya know what? Yeah – technical difficulties! They stopped the show right after the scene with Crush (and the cool looking guy with the dreadlocks, and they stopped the show and exited us out! Very strange.

We brought rain ponchos with us so that we could ride the Kali rapids, had an ice cream and went back to Expedition Everest. The standby was about 40 or 50 minutes by then, so we were glad we had fastpasses! We did the Maharjah Jungle Trek and Bugs Life 3D.

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We watched the parade (and video taped it and took great pictures). There was hardly anyone near the end of the parade, so we felt like the parade was there just for us. That was a magical moment, there at that Jingle Jungle parade!

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My family was done with AK at this point (they wouldn’t go to the Lion King show either, and that is one of my favorites!), They were ready to leave. I had planned to bus over to Animal Kingdom Lodge just to try a zebra dome and check out the decorations, but no one wanted to go, so I went back with them. One of these trips I’ll get over to Animal Kingdom Lodge! (maybe on another trip…)

When we got back to OKW it was starting rain a little bit. By now, you know my Emily! Yep, rain or shine, day or night – ready for the pool. So…in the rain, in the dark off she went. OK, then! Go for it! After a little while I heard noise that sounded like someone doing laundry in the next room. I went over by the door and realized it was coming from outside. I opened the door and it was pouring! She stayed out there in the pool. I figured that was OK since I knew the lifeguard would still be on duty, and there wasn’t any lightning. She had fun. I made dinner and everyone crashed out for the night, well, except for me. I finished up laundry and packed up most of our stuff since we are checking out of OKW tomorrow and heading over to Pop Century for the next five nights! I talked to my sister for a while and had a couple of beers and jotted notes from the day, and then my sister called back, pretty late. The first time we talked she was at my house feeding our pets and hanging out in my house. She went to her boyfriends house after we hung up, and he proposed to her! So of course she had to call me back! They have been talking about getting married for a while, but this was the day she got her ring. I was so excited for her, I woke everyone up. Oops!

I was a little sad to leave OKW and curious about what the kids would think of Pop. I had been there before, but this would be new for them...

For the most part, my family stuck to the itinerary pretty well for the first half of our trip. From here on out, our days are more flexible, and I am giving them options of what they want to do. Stay tuned!

Here are a couple of pics of Old Key West...

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And to Disney Vacation Club owners, thank you! We enjoyed your home away from home. Thanks for lettin' me sit on your porch!

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[Liz]

Another great installment! That 1 bedroom looks absolutely devine! I would love to stay someplace like that some day.

Can't wait to see what part of Pop you stay in and how your family likes it. In 2005 we had a bottom floor room facing the bowling pin pool - great location. I loved Pop!

BTW, can't believe you are a grandma! You look so young!

[OhMari]

Did you know the people that you rented points from?

How do you like your red Baggalini Bag, I have the Khaki colored one and I started using mine before our trip.

[MARY-IN-OH]

OhMari, I love the Baggalini bag! I was watching a current thread on the boards about them, so I kept putting off buying one. Some negatives some positives. I got it just a few days before we left. I love it! It was easy to move to my side on rides, and to spin around to the front if I needed something from it. I had it pretty packed some days, and I didn't feel like it weighing me down. Still using it too, when I take my grand kids. My oldest daughter hates when I take them to the zoo or the mall with a fanny pack! She says the baggalini is perfectly acceptable! :thumbsup2

Oh, and for renting the points. That is a funny story. My friend Darla at work is DVC and mentioned that her friend Sue in FL might have points available. Got in touch with Sue, and found out she is "the" Sue, who I've been reading TR's on "another" trip report board for years. It was kind of silly, but I was "star struck" to get to rent points from her!

Liz, yep, young Mom = young Grandma! :rolleyes1
I'll be 42 on Sunday and my oldest daughter is 26 (that's why the other kids are just 17 & 15!). My grandkids are gettin big, and want me to pick them up a lot, and after an afternoon with them I feel a lot older than 42!!
They keep having me measure how tall they are (like every week), since I told them I'll take them to DW when they are big enough to ride the big rides. I'll post a picture of my three pumpkin-heads tonight when I get home, along with the next installment!

Hi Tina - It was cool to be chosen! I can't believe that I almost gave it back! My family is still telling the story about what a dork I was. :flower3:

[MARY-IN-OH]

Day 6, Friday, 12/15 – Leave OKW go to Pop, and then we’ll decide from there.

We left OKW around 11am and headed to Pop in our “$363 for two full weeks Pacifica”. We got checked in (50’s section, cool !! Just what I wanted!), and had to go to the concierge line to get our park tickets moved from the OKW room cards to the Pop room cards. This time, I was giving the kids charging privileges so they could go to the food court when they wanted to. After getting through with the cards, we were walking into the food court for something to eat, and the lady at the concierge desk came into the food court, and tracked us down to tell us that we had to come to back to concierge desk, because their computers went down and our tickets did not get scanned onto the room cards properly. She gave us temporary cards to use for the day at the park. Not a big hassle but we sure are accumulating cards on this trip! She said that after we get back from the park tonight, we needed to stop at the desk to have the cards fixed.

My itinerary had MK for today, to do the things we didn’t do at the Christmas party, like Tom Sawyer Island, Jungle Cruise and Tikki Room (etc) – plus, you know I was determined to get on Small World! We would then leave before the Fireworks and relax at Pop for the evening, plus it there was a Christmas party tonight so MK would close early anyhow. But we kind of took a family vote and we decided to go back to MGM instead. I think because we got there late the other day, and had that lunch reservation, there was a lot we missed. We also figured that we could do some things while everyone else was at Fantasmic since we had already seen it. And as you know, I loved those Osborne lights, and I really wanted to get back there with Jeff and Emily since they left last time and didn’t see them. Oh, and I wanted to see the parade too (hee hee! Didn’t mention that to them at the time though). Jesse decided to be lazy today and stay at Pop, I was not thrilled, but didn’t want to push him.

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We got to the park a little while before the parade, Jeff and Emily ran over to hit TOT while I held my ground in a good spot for the parade. Oh, while they were gone (I keep trying to block this out, and I didn’t even put it in my notes, but I just gotta tell ya). I saw a kid about 12 or 13 yrs old stand there and throw up right near me. What was strange about it, was that no one was giving up their good spots for the parade, no way – no how!). Stuff like that doesn’t bother me much and apparently everyone around me handled it pretty well too!. I tried to make it to Beauty and the Beast, as I have never seen it. Didn’t realize it’s only shown on Sunday and Monday or something like that?! Anyone know what’s up with that? I’ve never seen it, and it looks really great from what I’ve heard and pics that I’ve seen. Well, maybe next time. (Side note: we ran into a nice couple in line at the Animation Bldg. and they raved about Beauty & the Beast show, and told us that if there is ever a show in our city or nearby, that it is really worth seeing on stage).

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We did Star Tours a couple of times, Indiana Jones show, Mermaid and the Animation building. They have this photo op thing with Lightening McQueen from the Cars movie and Jeff took an awesome picture of Emily and me there (in the Animation bldg). It’s one of the coolest pics. My grandsons are really into the movie right now and I know they’ll like that one.

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Went thru Narnia just because Emily loved the movie, it was ok. We tried to go back to Great Movie Ride but it looked like there were a lot of people going in there so we skipped it. We headed over to the Osbrone lights while the Fantasmic show was going on, and we almost made it out of that area before “they” all arrived from Fantasmic. Holy crap! Making our way against the crowd wasn’t too easy. Especially with us trying to keep up with that “tall guy with longer legs” again!

When we got back I hooked up with Dis board fridge swap person and we got a cart and went to their room and picked up the fridge. That went wonderful. Of course, Emily went swimming so I went down there with her for a while, and my Jeff ended up finding us and we sat by the pool for a while with a couple of “cold ones”!

I am posting this picture only because I really really wanted it !! I mean, it was only $175!! I kind of wish I would have bought the ornament of the same thing I saw later in the week, but even the little ornament was $20! Sure is awesome though!

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Now that the kids have seen both resorts, here are there their comments:

The vote from the kids: Jesse liked Old Key West better than Pop. He liked how it was spread out and didn’t feel crowded at all, and it was really laid back. He also liked having elbow room in the room (especially if Dad farts or spends a long time in the bathroom! There is nowhere to escape in a Pop Century Room). But, Jesse did like seeing more teenagers, well – girls, actually at Pop!

Emily liked Pop better! She said she felt more comfortable since there were lots of people, especially teens/kids. She liked the action, music, lights and fun everywhere! You know, the hula hoops and sidewalk chalking and stuff like that. Also, since she spends so much time in the pool, she was able to make friends with more kids than at OKW.

I was glad to do a split stay. It was fun to have two totally different experiences, and I loved them both! As far as tomorrow, I had plans for later in the evening, but other than I had no idea what this family would want to do! So…stay tuned for tomorrow nights episode!

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[Liz]

Isn't the 50's section of Pop the best? Loved it!

Beauty & the Beast is at the top of our list! I don't think its only on Sun. & Mon. though because I'm sure we saw it on a Wednesday. Thanks for another great installment! What day did you leave to return home? I'm thinking our trips must have overlapped since we arrived on the 17th!

And HAPPY BIRTHDAY Sunday!!!

[tkd lisa]

I'm really enjoying your report! As a 42 year old mom of an almost 15 and 13 1/2 year old, I can SOOO relate!

So what do you think of WDW with older kids? I really enjoy the fact that we can do things together, yet do some things separately. Looking forward to the rest.

[MARY-IN-OH]

Hi !!

I promised a picture of my grandkids! I'll try to post another installment soon!

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[tinawv]

Your grandkids are adorable. Your family sounds like they would be a lot of fun to hang out with. Keep them coming. :) :)

[Liz]

Hi !!

I promised a picture of my grandkids! I'll try to post another installment soon!

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Very cute! I bet they would be fun to take to WDW!

[bobcat]

I am really enjoying your report. My kids are getting older and touring the parks is much different than when they were younger and I like reading your comparisons. My 14yo DD still hides her head on Dinosaur! LOL

[MARY-IN-OH]

Day 7, Saturday 12/16 – Open day most of today, and fun plans tonight!

When I planned this trip, I knew that if I asked Jeff to take me to other resorts just to see them, he probably wouldn’t go for it. So, I made a couple of table service reservations and a carriage ride reservation, so he wouldn’t really know that’s what I was up to! :rolleyes1

Today’s itinerary was kind of an open first part of the day. I told everyone we could either go to Disney Quest, or to Universal or whatever they wanted to do. But, as everyone was waking up, I could tell that they needed a “real” off day, or they wouldn’t enjoy what I had planned for the evening. We had a late reservation for the carriage ride at Port Orleans and an even later dinner planned at Ohana’s. So, everyone got to sleep in as late as they needed. We went down to the food court for breakfast. Emily went, well you know – swimming all day. She pool hopped at Pop today to try them all out. She said that ours (the bowling pin) was the warmest. We hung around the room, went thru our digital pictures on the TV and watched a little of the video we had taken. Then I asked Jeff if he wanted to walk around the resort with me, and walk over to the bridge. We stopped by the pool to see if Emily wanted to come with us. Yeah right. “No thanks, Mom, you guys are holding hands, go on ahead on your little “date” there!”

Emily (of course!) at the pool

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So Jeff and I walked around, :love: and I should have known what would happen. Jeff saw how big the lake was. I told him that I read you could fish on the bank, (not on the bridge). I think he must have been picturing a big puddle or something! Well, now we gotta get going, because we are going to Walmart. Need a fishing pole, need a fishing pole, need a fishing pole. All right already! – but, we have reservations tonight! 8pm at Port Orleans for the carriage, and 9:15 pm at the Poly for dinner!

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By the time we got dressed and ready and out of Pop into our $363 for two whole weeks Pacifica, we were cutting it a little too close for me, I think it was about 6:40 pm. Walmart was a little further than I thought it would be. Also, people were Christmas shopping and - it’s a Super Walmart so they are grocery shopping too. :scared1: And, not only that, some of you probably know what its like when a fisherman has all those choices of lures and stuff! Goodness!

One other thing that I wasn’t sure about, was whether the kids would actually want to come with us tonight. I wasn’t sure if this would be date night for Jeff and me, or family night with all of us. I included them when I made the reservations, and they were up for it, and I’m glad that we were all together. I was doing that panic thing that I have read about some of you doing too, so I’m right there with ya! Ran across the parking lot, asked someone where we should be, and ran thru the lobby to the other side. There were quite a few people there looking at the horse and wondering who the “important famous people” were that would be getting in the carriage. Yeah, it’s us. My kids were like, “Ma, look at all these people looking at us”. They said that they felt like they should wave those people on parade floats. We all felt very special and we had a very relaxing quiet ride around the resort :hug: (it’s a 25 min. ride, well maybe a few less for us since we were two minutes late!). It was well worth $35, (and $5 tip) and we would do that again. My original plan was to reserve the carriage when it starts for the day at 6pm, so that we could arrive during daylight and look around a bit, but maybe next time. I called about a month before we left, but looks like I should call even sooner!

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We left and got to Poly with plenty of time for our 9:15 reservation. We were seated at 9pm. The fireworks were just beginning. Just before we sat at a table near a side wall, a lady with a clipboard came over and said that she needed to move us (not sure why), but to follow her and not to worry, we'd be happy! So we didn’t even get the same server but we did get a table in the front area with a view of the fireworks at Magic Kingdom! It’s that pixie dust thing, I tell ya! We sat down, and Jeff jumped up. He walked over to a guy sitting near us and started talking to the guy. Hmm. He knows this guy?! Yep, it’s “Captain Greg” of the fishing charter boat Jeff has been on several times out of Key West. (Small World after all!)

Dinner was amazing. This is the meal that Jeff and the kids are still talking about to everyone at home. We couldn’t eat a second serving of anything, but we managed to fit in almost everything they gave us on the first serving! Jesse was still trying to finish the wings while the rest of us were starting dessert. Jeff polished off that big serving of shrimp. Even Emily (who is not much of a meat eater) did very well with her dinner, and enjoyed everything. The dessert was fabulous. The servers were very attentive. Emily can be sort of shy, and she almost went up with the kids to try a hula dance, I knew for her to even think about it, she must have felt very comfortable there. (maybe next time!). And, hey! I don’t remember you guys mentioning the warm wet washcloths! Or maybe, they just gave them to us, after watching Jesse eat all those wings!

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We (rolled) out after dinner, and I asked my family if I could pretty please go down and check out the beach. They laid in cabanas while I walked around. It was dark but I got a few nice pictures of the pool area. (Missed the electric water parade, at least for today!).

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With the exception of the Walmart excursion (nightmare), it was a truly magical day. :cloud9:

Tomorrow: C’mon guys! I have Universal tickets too, ya know! 7 days for $85! Can we at least check it out!!??? -- And (don’t tell TGM, but I attempt MK on an EMH evening! Wait till you see how the family reacts to that! Will they abandon me in the Magic Kingdom?

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[MARY-IN-OH]

Hi Liz! We checked out on 12/20 so we were there with you! We then went to my in-laws and relaxed for a few days, we flew home to Cleveland on Christmas Eve...and thanks for the happy birthday wishes! few more hours now! :scared1: Don't tell my grandkids, but they think I'm 24, and I'll be turning 25 tomorrow! pretty funny since their mother is 26, hee hee :rotfl:

Hi Lisa, ya know I kind of thought the kids would actually want to do the parks on their own now and then. It was nice to go our separate ways (and you'll see coming up), how its funny that it was Jeff and me going off doing our own things while they stayed behind at the resort! (suppose it was tired teenager syndrome!). :confused3

Hello bobcat! (tell your 14yo it took a lot for me to keep my head up on dinosaur too!) shh!

[Katy Belle]

Great stuff Mary!! I LOVE your ride photos! I wish I would have purchased more. I think I just got Rock-n-Rollercoaster and Jurrasic Park at Universal. Wondering if you ever made it to Universal!
Keep 'em coming!
Katy

[Disney owl]

Enjoyed the report thanks

What a great surprise a surprise locker !!!!!!!!!!

[MARY-IN-OH]

Day 8, Sunday 12/17 – Universal day – Lunch Reservation Whispering Canyon Café for 2:40 lunch reservation, and then…

Kids did well this morning. They were up at 7:45am. Today we would drive over to Universal for a short day, as we have lunch reservation for WCC at Fort Wilderness, but we will still have more days to come back to Universal.


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We arrived by 10:00am, went straight back to MIB, and Jeff stopped for a snack. I think a chili dog. Right by where we sat down, was the “Amazing Alfonso or Alonso or something like that”. You know, one of those “Guess your weight/age/birth month” guys. Emily went for birth month, he guessed June. Close. It’s May. She picks out a stuffed dog. OK. Here I go. How old am I? He looks at my family. Not fair, I tell him, don’t look at them! I then tell him – 41. He turns his card around, and it says 43. I wanted to take that stuffed animal, and well, you know what I wanted to do. But, I didn’t. I took a unicorn and walked away. We worked our way around quickly hitting Jaws, Mummy (twice), and Terminator. Then, I wanted to go on ET (I bought a picture with me on the bicycle with ET to give to my Mom). Note to anyone going to USF. I somehow missed that I can’t take my “not that big” baggalini on a lot of rides at Universal! If it helps anyone, try to take just a fanny pack. Otherwise, there are lockers near each of the rides to lock up your bag. (Free for 30 min). It’s a computer screen and thumb print deal. Not a huge hassle, but the next time we went I didn’t bring my baggalini bag.

Headed out and made it WCC for lunch. They gave us a beeper and we walked around outside to check it out. At least I’m finally at another resort in the daytime! The geyser was just about to blow (yes, it was 3pm and they hadn’t called us for our table yet!).

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We took pictures of that and moseyed back inside, and uh oh! They are yelling for us to come to lunch! They were laughing, we were embarrassed! OK, so we learned something, those pagers don’t work that far away from the restaurant! Our server was pretty good. She didn’t do the typical things that I have read about, but actually that kind of made it more fun. She was missing a salt shaker on the table next to ours. She yelled at us, to ask which one of us took it. We all pointed to my Jesse, of course! She was calling him a “stealer” or was it a “steeler”? She was from PA, and we’re from OH. We are not Steeler fans, she was yelling to everyone in the restaurant, telling them to watch their property because they had a “stealer” in the restaurant and she told everyone how much he loves the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was cute.

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There was one boy who was celebrating his 13th birthday. Of course, he did not want any attention. But, he came to the wrong place to hide under the radar! One waitress from across the room gave him one of the guests at her table, yep! She actually gave him a teenaged girl for his birthday! No, she wouldn’t give him a birthday kiss, and yes, they were both very red faced! My family wasn’t super hungry today, and I was the only one who got the skillet. I am not usually a big fan of corn bread, but this was excellent corn bread! The kids and Jeff just ordered sandwiches and burgers, and then they kept picking at my food, for which of course they were “yelled” at for!

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Here is where I made my most dangerous move of the day, actually the whole vacation (don't tell Tour Guide Mike that I did this, OK?). I wanted to see the Spectro parade. This is my last chance. It’s going through twice today. Yes, that means that it is (gasp!) an EMH night. So, I make it out to my family like this: “So, since we’re right here, let’s hop on the lovely boat and take it over to Magic Kingdom. We can do those things we missed today! and see my parade, OK?” We took the boat over and left the $363 for two whole weeks Pacifica at FW. It is a wonderful boat ride, and it was nice to see the stop at FW beach area too.

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Ya know, I think the best thing that came from this for Jeff and the kids, is that they knew now how well I planned their other days of vacation. We arrived at MK at about 4:30 and their mouths dropped when we got off the boat.

The guys went thru the "I have no bag" line quickly, and waited for us. This is about how they would look the entire time at MK today.

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We could barely even get down main street! We did manage to get photopass pictures by the castle during daylight though.

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We headed to Jungle Cruise (I am not sure that I have ever been on this!). No way. 60 min. standby. We hit the Tiki Room and got the last seats in there. We headed to Hall of Presidents, and why did I do this? I don’t know. I thought they would like to sit down. They did. They crashed out. We got out of there, and they pretty much looked like they all wanted to kill me. So, I did what I had to do. I said goodbye to them, and sent them on the bus back to Fort Wildnerness to the “$363 for two whole weeks Pacfica” that was still parked there. They caught the bus right away and were the only three people on it.

Now I am by myself at MK and ya know, it feels pretty cool.

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It was still too early for me to sit to wait for the parade. I headed to Toontown to visit Minnie’s and Mickey’s house.

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I asked a CM where I could find a bathroom here in Toontown, I looked myself and couldn't find one anywhere! He said, Pete's garage. Hmm. Sounded mysterious. Just walk that way. Pete's garage. OK. Then, there it was! It is a bathroom! Well whattya know!

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Not sure why, but it was pretty empty in here! Took some pictures and video in there and then headed to Goofy’s barnstormer. Yes, I was the only adult by myself in line, so what?!! So when the CM said, “how many? I mumbled “one” and he gave me one of those, “It’s OK, lady, you’re not the first” kind of smiles, and in I went. Whoo Hoo! It was cute too see the little kids screaming and laughing. That was one of the longer lines I waited in too. It was about 15-20 minutes! I headed back toward the castle to watch Spectro. I wanted to be near Pecos Bill’s in Frontierland so I could sit on the “porch” and got a great spot. I sat and relaxed for awhile, and made funny faces with a baby boy who was 7 months old. I managed to take pictures and video of the parade at the same time, by myself (I know I looked like a real goof trying to video tape and clicking pictures at the same time). I had stood up when the parade started, and there were two little boys behind me, so I let them in front of me, you know, trying to pay back a little magic, their mom was really appreciative. One of the boys was so excited taking pictures of the parade with his mom’s camera. What a magical time.

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I kind of went around the park for Wishes because the crowd was so thick trying to move from where I was to the front of the castle, and I didn’t really want to be stuck front and center in a huge crowd. I somehow ended up by the rose garden on the other side of the castle. There were people there, but not mobs of people. I videotaped all of Wishes so I could at least share it later with my family, and got a great clip of Tinkerbell flying from the castle and waving at people. It was wonderful. I had planned to leave after Wishes, but decided to stay. It was a beautiful evening, and I figured maybe the crowds would thin out a little since Wishes was over. The crowd did thin out, but only a little. The park was still packed compared to how empty it was during the Christmas party (on Tues 12/12!). I walked back again through Toontown to the quiet walkway that leads to Space mountain.

It was packed at Space Mountain! Glad we already did this!

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Talked to Jesse, back at Pop. Found out that Jeff went fishing for a while but didn’t catch anything. Emily - swimming. After chatting, I remembered that I know how to set the timer thing on my camera. I set the camera on a trash can (like Jesse and I did earlier in the week) and took a picture of myself. (that's not too pathetic is it?). I love this spot though! I'm glad I have a picture here.

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Afterward, I remembered that my family wouldn’t let me go to It’s A Small World. Hee hee. I sent a text message to Jesse, and just typed in, “It’s A Small World”. He sent me back a message threatening my life if I came back singing that song.

Then, I realized that the next Spectro was about to start, so I made my way past the crowds to the exit, and actually got a couple more nice pics of the parade near the exit. As I headed to the bus, I got to see the Electric Light Parade on the water! Yay! I wish I would have taken a couple pictures, but I did video tape it!

I noticed a Pop Century bus at the stop and ran over to it. There were people that didn’t want to get on as it was standing room only. My feet were kind of killing me, but I jumped on anyway. And, of course someone – umm, passed gas (Hey! It wasn't me! I think it was some younger guy standing in front of me, on his IPOD. Dude, you know who you are!). There was a cute young girl with a British accent on the bus with her mom and brother, and her brother was teasing his sister that it was her who passed gas. She was yelling at him loud enough for everyone on the bus to hear how disgusting it was, and it most certainly wasn’t her! Yes, I am easily amused, but it was pretty funny. I was exhausted when I got back, and told the kids if they want to get back to Universal tomorrow they need to take over and make sure Mom gets up in the morning! We’ll see how that goes…

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[mlill]

Awesome TR! I just now caught up - and WOW! What a GREAT idea to send them all back to the resort and have fun by yourself in the Magic Kingdom! I'm going to have to remember this the next time we go to WDW. I bet you had a great time! :thumbsup2

Can't wait to read more!

-Michelle

[Katy Belle]

Another great day Mary! We were at Islands of Adventure while you were at Universal Studios! We loved MIB. Did it several times!
I'm really enjoying your photos! I tried for a while today to get mine posted. I still have some learning to do!
Katy

[MeMom]

That picture of Lady is exactly where we want to be in July! I have requested the 50's building, since I'll be turning 50 on our trip. We stayed in 70's last time. Good picture of the geyser at WL, too. Thanks for sharing your pictures and your trip.

[Liz]

Just catching up, Mary! I am amazed at the Space Mountain crowd! Wow! It sounds like your solo night in the MK was lots of fun! Love the pic you took of yourself!

[MARY-IN-OH]

Michelle, thanks for reading! It was nice hangin' out by myself!

Katy, it's funny how we did so many of the same things! We must be good trip planners! :thumbsup2

MeMom, Let us know how your birthday is in Disney! I would love to do that!

Hi Liz! I'm going to try to get my post finished so I can read your next installment!

I had such great time by myself, I decided to do it again.....:cheer2:

[MARY-IN-OH]

Day 9 – Monday 12/18 – Universal today? OK, no? How bout back to Typhoon Lagoon? OK!

Kids were determined to get up early today and go back to Universal to hit the Islands of Adventure side, and maybe get back to Universal to do things we missed the first partial day. All I can say is, that didn’t happen. They wouldn’t get up and that’s all there was to that. Kind of a shame too, because today was looking sunny, finally! (this is a photo of what I went thru every morning!)

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Jeff got up and he and I thought about what we wanted to do. Maybe head down to the pool, or maybe back to Typhoon Lagoon, just the two of us. We decided on TL. We had a wonderful day.

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Not too crowded, huh? :woohoo:

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There were photopass people everywhere, and we got several pictures taken. Jeff went snorkeling and thought that was pretty cool. There were sharks and all kinds of fish in there that he got to swim with. I went down a stairway where you are “underground” so that I could take pictures thru these little windows, of Jeff under the water. I used the video option on the camera and have a little movie of him waving at me under the water.

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We parked our butts at a nice sunny spot a little away from the water near, but not too close to the big wave area. And, there just happened to be these beautiful college girls laying out on the lounge chairs. OK. Great. So now I gotta spend the whole day here, don’t I, Dear? No way. OK, honey, that’s enough. Let’s go get some lunch. We grabbed lunch on the other side of the waterpark closer to the entrance. Jeff took that tray, and yes, he walked all the way back to where the girls were. :rolleyes:

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After we ate lunch, I was done with that, and told him I was going to sit somewhere else, and he can stay or come with me. He came with me. ;)

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I decided to sit by the kiddie pool by Crush N Gusher. He went on that slide with the kids the other day, and finally talked me into going with him today. I agreed, since I wouldn’t have to go by myself and we could ride a two person tube. There were quite a few big drops on this slide! I was not thrilled with it but it was pretty fun. When we hit the bottom, a photopass guy handed us a photpass wristband (I like that better than digging out the regular card!). Ya know there are about four pictures of us shooting out of that slide on that photo card!

We got back to Pop about 3:00 and Jeff wanted to go fishing. Cool, have fun, honey! I wanted to go to Downtown Disney – by myself, thank you very much. So he did, and I did. Not sure what the kids did (but that’s ok!). So I got on the bus, and talked to some people on the bus, and had a great time looking in the shops. Got a few items to take home and to my MIL’s, OK, fine. I can’t lie. I bought quite a few things. And, some of them were purchased at the “Everything under $10” store, so that’s good, right? Also, I got in line again with all little kids, this time it was to have my picture taken with Santa. My kids were glad they weren’t there for that! The CM’s were so nice. They took pics with my camera as well as putting them on photopass. Santa was pretty funny too. He told me to "lose the fanny pack", he actually said, "those things look terrible in pictures, you should set it down" OK Santa!

(I was going to rotate this picture, but pc is giving me a little trouble that past couple of days!) :santa:

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I sent a quick text to my family while on the bus coming back to let them know where I was.

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I had quite a few bags with me on the bus, and was glad the bus wasn’t packed since the bags took up their own seat. And what a surprise when I got off the bus! Jeff was standing right there waiting for me. Totally unexpected! I was dreading carrying the bags to the room, and now I didn’t have to! :cloud9: While I was at Downtown Disney I didn’t eat anything and was starving when I got back to the room. My family had ordered pizza and actually saved some for me! Yep, another wonderful magical day! Oh, I almost forgot! Jeff caught four nice bass at the lake today!

OK, so tomorrow is our last full day! I'm goin to US/IOA with or without 'em!

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[MARY-IN-OH]

Day 10, Tuesday, 12/19 – Will we finally get back to Universal? - Oh yeah!


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We were at Universal before 10am today! The ride lines were just a little longer today than Jeff would have liked. We got right on Hulk, but had about 15 min. for Spiderman (this was one of my favorite attractions of the whole trip). Then, over to that drop ride, which, when it was over, we were like, “that’s it?” I think that the similar ride at (Ohio’s) Cedar Point is much longer and more intense. We walked right on Dueling Dragons. After we got off that coaster, I told my family that my brains were loose. Really, that’s the only way to describe it. Then, they wanted to go again! It’s nice how Universal has a re-ride line and not only that, but a separate line if you want the front car. Yeah, real nice. Thanks for that, Universal! My family wants to ride in the front car, (about 10 minute wait, not bad!) At least this gave me some time for my brains to straighten out, become less loose, or whatever. The line was so “non-existent” on Dueling Dragons, that some cars were just going with front row people and just a couple of other people!

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Now, with loose brains again, we made our way over to Poisedan’s Fury. I think both parks at USF are very nice. The theming is great. We walked through Suessland and I took a lot of pictures. It is really colorful !! I got a picture of Cat in the Hat, too! By then, we were getting hungry, so I suggested Margaritaville. It was so empty! It was a seat yourself anywhere you wanted to sit thing, and we could sit inside or outside. I wanted to go inside and see the Margarita volcano. (cute). We then headed back over to the Universal Studios side to catch things we missed.

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Back to the Future (this was the longest line of the trip, about 25 minutes). We hit Earthquake and Twister (Cow!), those were OK, we liked Twister better than Earthquake. We went to the Horror Makeup show, and this was one of our favorite shows of the trip. I would like to “sneak” and video tape this show someday. Is it always this hysterical? I’m sure that there are different people who do the show, right? We had this blonde guy, Mark maybe? I can’t remember for certain what his name was. He was hysterical. Kind of guy ya want to have a beer with. I can’t say enough about that show! The girl he brought up to mess with was from China. She didn’t really understand what was going on. Funny stuff.. There was quite a line the other day for Shrek 4D. We decided today we’d hit this while the parade was going on. You know I hate to miss a parade, but sometimes you gotta do it. We did see a bunch of the parade balloons down the side street, so I was happy. The Shrek show was pretty good. For me, it seemed that everyone, especially Donkey was talking so fast, I couldn’t always catch what they were saying. We did that Nick ride too (as you can probably tell, I didn’t take great notes today on which things we did when, and I didn’t keep a IOA map!) We made our way out of Universal, and I secretly decided to myself that the next visit to Florida will include an on-site stay at Universal! At least for a couple of nights! (shhh!).


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We got back to Pop about 5:30. Apparently, our stuffed animals were mis-behaving! They were all sitting on one bed, with the remote nearby - watching TV! yep, the TV was on, and they were "watching it!" - thank you mousekeeping! that was cute! (we brought the bunny (emily's) and stitch (mine) from home, and the unicorn and dog are those we "won" at universal the other day!

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Wow, this is the last night at Disney! I wrapped some gifts for my in-laws and organized the room and packed up some of our stuff. The Dis suggested bring an empty suitcase with me, and yep, I should have done that! I also fit it some gifts from Jeff's mom for the grandkids at home in our luggage, and gifts that she gave us while we were there!

Anyway, at about 9:30 Jeff and the kids went down to the gift shop and came back with a couple of souvenirs for friends at home (I gave them each $40 in Disney Dollars and they hadn’t used them yet!). Jeff started falling asleep, and at about 11:00 or so I asked Jesse & Emily if they wanted to come with me for one last dip in the pool. I thought for sure they were going to say that I was nuts, but they were all for it! We got to the pool and there were a couple of people there, and then they left. We had the pool to ourselves and we had a blast! Jesse and I kept making Emily laugh (it doesn’t take much), so by midnight I thought we’d better leave since we weren’t being very quiet! Another great day!

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[MARY-IN-OH]

Leaving Disney Day. Wednesday 12/20

We got the (Dis-board fridge swap) refrigerator to the lobby for the next person who would be checking in a couple days after we left. We all decided to go the waterpark one more time before leaving for Grandma’s house. While we were packing up the $363 for two whole weeks Pacifica”, it got really cloudy and breezy and we ended up scrapping that idea, and decided to just go ahead and leave for Grandma’s. It was difficult for me to leave. And, after we left, the kids were talking about some things they wished they would have done, like Disney Quest, and some of the other areas in Downtown Disney they hadn’t visited, etc. (I didn’t say anything, but – their fault, not mine!).

We had a great time relaxing and visiting family. It was the first time we were able to spend Christmas time there. It was fun to see the neighborhoods decorated for Christmas, especially lights on palm trees! We ate lots of Christmas cookies, did a lot of chillin’ on the lanai, and Jeff’s Mom, Step-dad and Grandma made us feel right at home. We were also able to visit some of Jeff’s buddies and their families in Port Charlotte, who leave near his Mom’s in Punta Gorda.

We flew home on Christmas Eve. My sister is awesome! She took great care of our pets, and when we got home, she was waiting there for us. She did a bunch of cleaning in my house, (I had it pretty cleaned up before we left, but she even had the bathroom sparkling!). It was a nice surprise. And, I don’t know how she found the time for it, but she hand made about a hundred paper snowflakes and hung them by string all over the house! We just finally took them down a couple of days ago, and I miss them hanging in the house, but Jeff was done looking at them. It was cool when the heat kicked on, they would “sway”!

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My final thoughts on vacation. Hmm. There was so much that we managed to do, and I’m glad that there are things we didn’t do, so that I can look forward to going back someday. I’ve been telling Jeff about the possibility of free dining in aug/sept, and trying to catch the Halloween party at that time. You know, kind of pushing the "just you and me honey" and "could you imagine a nice meal like we had at Ohan's every day we're there!?" At first he said, no way! But…the other day I was talking to his Mom and Dad in Florida, and they said, “so…we hear you are planning the next Disney trip already!” Uhh. You did? Hmm. I’ll take that as an OK then! Don’t think we’ll make it in 07, but hopefully I’ll be financially ready for 08!! We'll see! I would love to do a trip with just Jeff and me, and would love to have Jeff’s parents in Florida join us. His mom has done the marathon at Disney, and they both like Disney, and I think we all get along great. Then, of course I’d like to take those grandchildren, thinking about 2010 for that trip!

Thanks to you, Dis friends, for your help and encouragement, and also Tour Guide Mike, mousesavers, allearsnet etc. for helping me. It was a dream come true! :hug:

mary

[Katy Belle]

Yeah Mary! Congratulations....you finished it!!!!

I loved it! We really had similar trips...pretty funny!

Your photos and stories were fantastic! Thanks for sharing with us. And now your family can remember it all!
Katy

[AnninIowa]

Great report!! I had a hard time telling you and your daughter apart; you look so young and so alike!!!

[MARY-IN-OH]

Hi Ann! thanks for reading - and for the compliment!!

Hi Katy (and Liz too!) thanks for reading the report! I will try to get on at least briefly over the weekend, we are having computer problems so I may have to wait till I'm at work next week to say hello and check in on your reports! :)

[B&Lmom]

Thanks so much for the fun trip report. The pictures were great and made us feel like we were along for the ride with your family!

Have fun planning and dreaming:angel: of your next Disney trip!!

[Liz]

Mary, it has been so fun getting to "know" your wonderful family through your trip report! I'm sorry to see it come to an end so you'll just have to start planning that Sept. trip!!!

When you came back from Downtown Disney I found myself wanting to go back to the room with you and have you show me everything you bought! :lmao: I'm crazy I guess!

How does that fridge swap thing work? Who keeps the fridge till the next person arrives?

[Angelrose]

Thank you Mary for a wonderful and fun trip report. I enjoyed every minute of it.

[tinawv]

Thank you Mary for such a great trip report. I could hardly wait to finish it, but was sad at the same time to see it end. Our family is hoping to make another trip in September or Christmas. I tell my family that WDW is where I am going to work after I retire. ;)

[MARY-IN-OH]

Hi everyone! Thanks for all your kind words!! Last night I heard Jeff talking on the phone to his Dad. Apparently, his step brother is planning a trip with his family to Disney. I heard Jeff say, "well, tell him if he wants to do it right, he better call Mary!" It was so funny to hear him trying to relay advice that he has learned from me! I just know we'll get back to the world soon!

Liz, There is a sticky on the budget board, Dizneydaz has a link (#18). There a couple of fridge swap links. It was very easy! Sometimes it works out to swap with a dis member in person, and sometimes the fridge is left at guest services. The resorts will keep stuff for (I think) a couple of weeks for incoming guests. But, the Pop fridge is popular, so I think if it's left in guest services it is usually only for a couple of days. It is very well organized! I'm heading over to read your report shortly!

mary

[blue_river]

I just read your trippie from start to finish and wanted to thank you for sharing it! The title brought me since I have two teen daughters and was curious to hear how you "survived" your trip. :lmao:

Loved all the pics - sounds like you had a really great time. I hope you get to go back soon! :)

[alabamagirl]

Loved your trip report ya know! :) I just ordered my baggallini bag today and I am so excited for my March trip! Thanks for sharing your magic with us.