A Hair Eating Chipmunk and a Mean Capt'n Jack! Aug 25-Sept 1,'07! Last entry on Pg 5!

[Ellasgirls]

We got back 2 weeks ago and it seems like forever so it is time to get going on our trip report! We went for a week but had so much pixie dust even before we got there with a free resort upgrade, free food and my dd's 4th birthday to celebrate at WDW! Our trip also includes: Pirate & Princess Party, Meals at: Liberty Tree Tavern(LTT), Whispering Canyon Cafe(WCC), Norways Princess Breakfast, Crystal Palace (CP), Earl of Sandwich (Earl), Hollywood & Vine w/VIP Fantasmic tickets & Garden Grill! Hopefully it won't take me too long to get all 8 days on here...we took (ok, I) over 700 pictures. I promise I won't post all of them! Enjoy!
Cast:
Me: Mommy to 2 wonderful kids & 1 fur puppy. Married 10 years and LOVE planning disney vacations as much as going!
Dh: Daddy to the same crew. Loves letting me plan all vacations and just taking a shower and getting in the van to go to the airport on vacation.
Ds: Jack (7). Loves pirates but found out he loves rides even more.
Dd: Grace (3 & 4). Celebrated her birthday at WDW..how lucky. Loves Ariel more than life itself...or so we thought!

Day 1: Aug 25th. Pop Century. Because we came a day before Free dining started we stayed at POP Century and didn't have tickets to the parks. We swam, until it started lightening, and then had dinner in the chaos they call a food court. As we were walking to dinner we saw that the staff was getting a parade together and the kids were handed noise makers and flags. So of course we joined the parade around POP. My dd thought it was great and our ds looked at us like we were crazy, but enjoyed the prize at the end :). When we looked at the choices for dinner my kids and husband got something from the same area and I really wanted something else. By the time I got my food and paid for it they had been done eating for 10 minutes and wondering if I left them all there for the Mouse! Then it was to bed "early" (10 pm) because we had a cab coming at 6:15 the next morning to take us to our FREE UPGRADED new home, Old Key West. Yep, we got the magical email saying we were offered a free upgrade to Old Key West and after quickly looking on the DIS I found out others were offered it also and it wasn't a scam (the pessimist in me) I called and got a 1000 sq foot, 1 bedroom villa with a jacuzzi tub! We were pretty excited because we always have stayed in the value resorts and loved them, but we were willing to try a different resort ;) . Here is pics from our only night at POP. The only mishap we had was D was running and fell on the sidewalk and really tore up her elbow at the end of the night :(. The 1st pic is of our only towel animal all week. The 2nd pic is of the parade & the 3rd pic is of the kids and dh in the parade (girl in green, boy behind her in grey & dh in burgandy).
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Day 2 coming up next....

[Ellasgirls]

Day 2: Aug 26th. Magic Kingdom.
Our early day! We had to be up, checked out and in the lobby of POP by 6 am to get our cab to take us to OKW at 6:15. My goal was to get checked in and our tickets/dining credits at OKW and make it to the opening of the Littles Ones Magical Hour at MK and we made it! The kids were excited once they woke up. Check in at OKW at 6:20 in the morning is very easy and no lines and they even had a room ready for us! Granted I had requested a room by Hospitality House and didn't even come close to it but I didn't want to wait and take a chance so we took the room in building 34 (room 3411) and it had a gorgeous view of the pond and golf course. The kids were so happy to have room to run around and I was happy to have more than 1 TV and a separate bedroom!
Here is dd eating breakfast on the patio because it was too cold in the room for her in the morning when she first woke up. A pic of the livingroom area and a pic of the jacuzzi tub that we did use a couple times and it felt sooooo good!
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After we took our stuff to our room (they actually had to drive us there because it is so far back :) ) we got outside and realized that the bus stop was right across the street from our room...very nice! Onto the Magic Kindgdom for Little Ones Magic Hour.
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The kids were able to make it to rope drop and even got some mickey head confetti to throw. They thought that was fun and now that we are home dd keeps ripping paper and throwing it!
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Then it was on to Fantasy Land were the kids got to play with the characters. Grace played Duck, Duck, Goose with Daisy and Minnie and when Minnie picked her she had to waddle around the circle like a duck. Then Grace walked around the circle saying "duck, duck, duck" and when she got to Daisy she stopped and said "I want to say Goose but your a DUCK!" and kept going. We were able to make it on every ride in Fantasy Land in less than an hour! Our highlight came when we got on the carosaul (sp?) with Chip and Dale and Grace sat in a bench with Dale behind her. She was so excited until she realized that he was munching on her pony tail. She turned around and said very loudly "You shouldn't ever eat kids hair. It's gross!", got up and found a horse next to Chip! She got to hold hands with Chip as they rode and gave him LOTS of kisses! I had tears in my eyes the whole time. I highly recommend using this morning if you have the chance!
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We then moved over to Splash Mountain because Big Thunder was shut down to fix something. I have to say that Splash Mtn scares me (I am a HUGE ride weeny and am the 1st to admit it) but everyone was tall enough to go we all went for it. As we got into the boat my ds (who loves rides after he goes on them) starts to whine and cry and throw a 7 year old fit saying he doesn't want to do it and he is never coming back again if we make him (we are already sailing at this point). I try to show him stuff as we go and it makes it worse (sorry to all of the people on the boat with us..it was a long ride). Then we get to the top of the drop and he freaks out screaming he hates this place....very dramatic boy! By the end of the ride my dh was not happy, I was happy I made it down alive and dd wasn't crying but said she wasn't going on that again! He talked to Jack and decided that he would be going again with daddy only. Jack agreed (reluctantly) and off they went. Grace and I went on the Magic Carpet rides (her favorite) and saw the Woody & Jesse parade and then met back for lunch at Pecos Bills. I was very nervous wondering how the 2nd attempt went and as I saw my dh and ds walking toward us all my fears melted away and ds had found his new favorite ride! He went on that 7 times (even at night) before we left! I know if someone was walking by and heard my dh telling my crying son that he was going on it again they probably thought we were horrible parents but we know our son and if he wouldn't have done it Jack would have carried that drama all day and not gone on anything else the whole trip.... and he proved over and over he is NOT a ride weeny like his mama!
Lunch at Pecos Bills was ok. Typical counter service but we were so happy we didn't pay the $45 it would have cost due to free dining!
After lunch we went over and did Buzz Lightyear and headed back to OKW for naps. After naps we got dressed and had to be to MK for dinner at LTT. As we waited for the bus at OKW it started thundering. We decided free food is waiting for us so we went and I made sure we had our cheap .84 poncho's. We got on the bus and the sky opened up. I have never seen so much rain in all my life. It was like a movie set! I got the kids into their ponchos on the bus and got into mine. I wish I would have spent the $8 for the disney ones because ours were horrible. They were the cheap garbage bags with a huge hood that wouldn't stay on. Well ds thought running in the puddles that were half way up his legs was the best part of the day, but dd hates her clothes to get wet so I made sure she was wrapped in that poncho! We made it back to LTT and they were handing out towels! Thank you!!!! The meal was wonderful and the kids loved having the characters come to our table and we LOVED not paying $100 for the meal!
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That night was also extra magic hours so we got our braclets and went over by Tomorrowland and did Buzz Lightyear again and again while waiting for DS & DH's fastpasses to come up. We also did the Laugh Floor and the Speedway cars after the fireworks. Then we headed for "home" since we had been up since 5:30 am! Next up....day 3: Animal Kingdom, Whispering Canyon Cafe & back to the Magic Kingdom for more fun!

[scottny]

Ok I am here. great report and pics so far. I have never seen little ones emh. Looks like fun.

[m11dolphin]

Great start on the report, very cute kids. Can't wait for the rest

[TinkAsh2001]

i am loving this so far! Cant wait to read more!
*Subcribing!!*

[joyerbides]

I'm here too :goodvibes . See, there are people who are reading your TR. I made sure I looked for yours first so you won't feel sad. :grouphug: I'm sure more of our group (from our thread WWYD free upgrade...) will be here too. Love it so far. Keep going. I'm only on day 2 of mine, I'm taking a break for a minute to read everyone else's TR's. :thumbsup2

[Ellasgirls]

You guys are awesome! Does anyone know how to change the title since I must have been tired when I wrote it....Chips eating my princesses hair....chipS (I need to fix it!)...

[lyzziesmom]

Great start, can't wait to hear the rest. Your DD is so cute, she looks much bigger than just barely 4. Mine is 3 and looks like a baby in comparison! Your DS sounds a lot like my older DD. She cried the first time she rode Mission: Space and ToT, and they are now two of her favorite rides.

[mla1977]

To change the title you edit the post and then click "go advanced."

[Ellasgirls]

To change the title you edit the post and then click "go advanced."

Thank you! I wanted to change the title and it was so easy! Now onto day 3....

[Ellasgirls]

Day 3: Aug 27. Animal Kingdom, Magic Kingdom & Epcot! We got up early (at least for my husband) and made it to Animal Kingdom by 9 ish. Because of the rain the previous night my dh's tennis shoes were soaked and he felt bad putting them in the dryer because they were so loud. They were also his only pair of shoes! So, what does any smart man do? He wears his wifes flip flops and buys Crocs in Animal Kingdom! Now my husband is not a small man...he is 6'6" and wears a size 11 1/2...I wear a womens size 9 so the flip flops were not fitting too well! So Animal Kingdom and the search for Crocs begins...
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We walked into the first shop we could find only to learn that Disney only carries Crocs up to a size 10/11 in Mens sizes. Dh insists they fit, even tho' he told me his toe could touch the end. What else was he going to do? Either buy Crocs that I KNEW were too small or wear his wifes Old Navy flip flops all day! He bought the bright red Crocs and by the time we made it EE he was complaining about his feet and he had a blister starting. I tried to give him a bandaid but the humidity wouldn't let it stay stuck to his skin :).
We immediately walked over to Expedition Everest for my dh to get a fastpass and noticed that the wait was only 10 minutes. He still got a fast pass for later and hopped in line. The kids & I just sat by a wall waiting and watching. He loved the ride but couldn't convince Jack to try it and dh didn't push it (see, we aren't horrible parents!).
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Next we went on the Safari and the sign said 15 minute wait that turned into a 40 minute wait for some reason. Once we were on the ride it was worth it because we had a giraffe and her baby walk right out in front of our car so we had to wait and they were so close. The guide told us it wasn't uncommon for them to stick their heads inside the vehicle...that would be neat and maybe a little scary :).
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After the Safari we headed to see the Lion King show and got seats right on the floor toward the front and on an end...VERY COOL show. The tall guys on stilts kept coming over and looking down at us and would lean down and talk to the kids. They thought that was the coolest part (oh, and the monkeys). Unfortunetly I don't have pics of the show because they said no flashes and it was too dark for my camera.
Then we looked at the show times and tried to run for the Nemo show and got there 2 minutes too late and the "nice" lady wouldn't let us in...I think it was because we were totally sweating and smelly from running from one side of Animal Kingdom to the other. We even told her that it was our only day at Animal Kingdom and we had to leave in an hour for lunch and she wouldn't let us in. She told us that we needed to be 45 minutes early because it fills up. I asked if it was full and she wouldn't answer me so I take that as a big NOPE, you just smell too bad :rotfl2: . So we walked back to EE and let dh ride with his fastpass and walked by the Tree of Life. The kids wouldn't go into Bugs Life because they remembered it from last time and were scared and didn't like the stink bug...even tho' mommy smelled way worse than that at any given moment!
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At this point there wasn't time to do anything else so we walked to the front of the park, turned in our stroller and took a bus to the Wilderness Lodge for our lunch ressie at Whispering Canyon Cafe. I was excited because we went there last time and a great time. The kids got to do the stick horse race and Grace started in the front and by the time they rounded the last corner Grace was last and not happy about it! The food was great! We both got the BBQ Chicken Sandwich but I got the chicken quesidilla (sp?) and dh got the nacho's. For desert he got the smores cheesecake and I got the banana something or another. SOOOO much food and SOOOO good for our tummies! They did a couple of funny things like the horse race and they had people come up and make animal noises into the microphone. Jack (ds) was the first to get up there and barked like our English Shepherd, Honey. Then Grace (dd) goes up, which is super surprising, and she also does her version of Honey...here is Honey because we are talking about her...and she is cute :)
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Dh is really complaining at this point about his feet and I look and he has like 4-5 blisters across the top of his foot! I know his shoes are still wet back at OKW ask if he wants to buy some socks at the gift shop in the WL and he does...$14 for 2 pairs of socks but he was happy and I was happy we didn't have to leave! So on we go....
over to Magic Kingdom because Jack wants to ride Space Mountain again. At this point dh and Jack go one way and I take Grace on her favorite rides. I decided the line didn't look too long to meet Ariel and Grace LOVES Ariel more than life itself. She even has an imaginary friend named Ariel that gets into a lot of trouble! We stood in line forever and met a very nice family from Canada that had no idea it was the start of free dining and paid for the dining plan. This wasn't our last encounter with people that had no idea about free dining. It was finally our turn to meet Grace's favorite princess of all times and she takes one look at Ariel and says "I changed my mind, I don't want to see her". I couldn't believe it. She loves the characters to the point of some of them needing a restraining order and she won't go near Ariel. I picked her up and walked over to Ariel and the CM was nice enough to take my camera and snap some pictures for me. Ariel asked about her favorite color (Green) and Grace just stared at her...poor thing was star struck! The picture is not very good because I am in it. I tried to slide off the rock and keep Grace there but no way was I leaving her with that huge real Ariel monster!
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After that we met with Dh and Ds in the Emporium (?) store...the store with all the dresses and while I was paying Grace was chosen as the Princess in Training. The cashier took so long I missed the whole thing and of course dh didn't take any pictures :(. This is his version of it. They asked if Grace could help dress the Cinderella doll in the window. She got to pick out the dress, coat, gloves and shoes. After she helped dress it the trunk under the doll opened and she got a Cinderella pen that lights up and has fuzzy stuff around it (or at least it did, Honey got to it and it is now furless :( ). She was so excited.
We then talked about either going back to the resort for the evening or heading to Epcot on the monorail. Of course the kids aren't tired, they rode in a stroller all day (yes, even ds did and yes he is 7 and yes he is too big for a stroller but too bad...I was tired of him pooping out 2 hours into the day because of the heat!). So, onto Epcot we go. Jack has been waiting for 2 1/2 years to take dh on Test Track and he is getting excited. We get to Epcot and of course the fastpasses are gone and the wait says 80 minutes. We explain how long that is to ds and he agrees it isn't worth it. We ended up eating at some counter place and heading back to the resort to get to bed early...again it was past 10 when we got to bed :)....
UP NEXT...dd's 4th birthday, breakfast with the dreaded princesses & the Princess & Pirate Party all in one day!

[scottny]

another great update. DH's feet must have been killing him,. OUCH!!!

your dog is too cute.

Have a good night

[Ellasgirls]

another great update. DH's feet must have been killing him,. OUCH!!!

your dog is too cute.

Have a good night

Thanks for the response!

[joyerbides]

Great TR so far, can't wait to hear more. Don't feel bad about DS7 in a stroller. My DS6 was in a stroller the WHOLE time. Not only for him, but for us too. I knew before hand, what we were up against, and I knew he wouldn't be able to keep up and I did not want to carry him or hear him whine all day. We brought 2 strollers with us just for this reason. (The other one was for DD3).

[lyzziesmom]

No worries, my 25-year-old brother was in a stroller the whole time. Ok.. so it was actually a wheelchair, but he kept accidentally calling it a stroller and eventually we all started calling it his "man-stroller."

Last year at USO/IOA I saw a kid about 9 years old pushing his DAD in a rental stroller! I'm sure they were just goofing off, but it was really weird to see.

[blessdmommy]

Excellent trip report. I'm so glad I found it. I have a few things I want to comment on.

He loved the ride but couldn't convince Jack to try it and dh didn't push it (see, we aren't horrible parents!).
Ditto to that; my son "freaked" about MGM's Backlot Tour and wouldn't open his eyes on that "ride". And that was before we rode anything remotely considered a ride. Now after we "encouraged" him to try rides he goes on RnR, all the MK mountains, even cyberspace mountain at DisneyQuest and loves the thrill rides.

the "nice" lady wouldn't let us in...I think it was because we were totally sweating and smelly from running from one side of Animal Kingdom to the other. you just smell too bad :rotfl2:
I'm sure the words "nice" lady weren't the first that came to mind.

We stood in line forever and met a very nice family from Canada that had no idea it was the start of free dining and paid for the dining plan. This wasn't our last encounter with people that had no idea about free dining.
We also encountered those sort of people so I stopped talking about "free" dining just like I did not mention THE "upgrade" while on premises.

Of course the kids aren't tired, they rode in a stroller all day (yes, even ds did and yes he is 7 and yes he is too big for a stroller but too bad...
Don't feel bad at all. We hauled our old umbrella double stroller just for our 4 turned 5 year old and all our stuff in the other seat. 8 year old sat in it to watch a parade but it was available if he needed it.

Loving your report. Keep it coming!!:thumbsup2

[Our2Girls&Disney]

An upgrade, how wonderful! :thumbsup2 In the MK photos, did someone make DD's green outfit. It is very adorable!

[Ellasgirls]

Excellent trip report. I'm so glad I found it. I have a few things I want to comment on.


Ditto to that; my son "freaked" about MGM's Backlot Tour and wouldn't open his eyes on that "ride". And that was before we rode anything remotely considered a ride. Now after we "encouraged" him to try rides he goes on RnR, all the MK mountains, even cyberspace mountain at DisneyQuest and loves the thrill rides.


I'm sure the words "nice" lady weren't the first that came to mind.


We also encountered those sort of people so I stopped talking about "free" dining just like I did not mention THE "upgrade" while on premises.


Don't feel bad at all. We hauled our old umbrella double stroller just for our 4 turned 5 year old and all our stuff in the other seat. 8 year old sat in it to watch a parade but it was available if he needed it.

Loving your report. Keep it coming!!:thumbsup2
Thank you for your comments and I will try to get day 4 up tonight...somehow finishing our kitchen/living room & dining room remodeling has taken every brain cell out of my head!

An upgrade, how wonderful! :thumbsup2 In the MK photos, did someone make DD's green outfit. It is very adorable!

Yes some very good friends of ours had it made for her for her birthday! We got so many comments on it while we were there.

No worries, my 25-year-old brother was in a stroller the whole time. Ok.. so it was actually a wheelchair, but he kept accidentally calling it a stroller and eventually we all started calling it his "man-stroller."

Last year at USO/IOA I saw a kid about 9 years old pushing his DAD in a rental stroller! I'm sure they were just goofing off, but it was really weird to see.

ROFL with "man-stroller"! That is great! You will love this picture (hopefully my husband won't see this :banana: )......
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o91/holthe4/100_8376.jpg

[joyerbides]

Thank you for your comments and I will try to get day 4 up tonight...somehow finishing our kitchen/living room & dining room remodeling has taken every brain cell out of my head!



Yes some very good friends of ours had it made for her for her birthday! We got so many comments on it while we were there.



ROFL with "man-stroller"! That is great! You will love this picture (hopefully my husband won't see this :banana: )......
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o91/holthe4/100_8376.jpg

:lmao:

[scottny]

that is funny that he got in there.

[TinkAsh2001]

Thank you for your comments and I will try to get day 4 up tonight...somehow finishing our kitchen/living room & dining room remodeling has taken every brain cell out of my head!



Yes some very good friends of ours had it made for her for her birthday! We got so many comments on it while we were there.



ROFL with "man-stroller"! That is great! You will love this picture (hopefully my husband won't see this :banana: )......
http://i118.photobucket.com/albums/o91/holthe4/100_8376.jpg

That is so funny!:rotfl:

[Ellasgirls]

Day 4: Epcot, Princess Breakfast in Norway, Magic Kingdom, Pirate & Princess Party and Grace's 4th birthday all on Day 4!
I was so excited for this day to arrive since it was our dd's 4th birthday and Disney was throwing the ultimate party that night! We started the day off with breakfast at Norways Princess Breakfast. I really wanted to have lunch or dinner there because Ariel is Grace's favorite....she even has an imaginary friend named Ariel and most of her dolls are named Ariel...I was told that Ariel is NEVER at breakfast and sometimes at lunch and always at dinner. I looked at the menu for dinner and lunch and there was no way my family would eat the food even tho' we are 100% Norwegian! So, I decided on breakfast and would ask if she could come back later for a quick picture. We got up and she got to wear the adorable dress my mom made her with a matching hat and purse in of course Ariel material and off we went to open Epcot.
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Our goal was to get there at rope drop and walk quickly to Soarin' since we have never been on it and it looked fun and then stop and get fast passes for Test Track to ride after our breakfast. I had even stopped at Guest Relations the night before and got her free 'It's my Birthday' Pin so we wouldn't take time doing that in the morning. It worked perfectly and our 1st ride on Soarin was great even though we were in the 3rd row and could see feet. It is a wonderful ride that all of us could go on together and didn't scare anyone!
We really didn't know how breakfast was going to go now that we realized she was afraid of princesses! We walked in and guess who was there.....Ariel! I mentioned to the one of the CM's that I was surprised to see her there and they said they were too because Ariel is NEVER at breakfast. Well Grace was not happy with all these scary princesses walking around and tried to hide under our table :). I took ds up to get food and left daddy to try to convince Grace that the princesses were very nice (she didn't believe me!). By the time we got back with our YUMMY YUMMY food she was ok as long as she was on Daddy's lap. We gave her our birthday cards (I found a singing one with Ariel that she loved) and then the princesses started coming around.
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She did great and even got her picture with each one. As soon as I pointed out there beautiful jewelry she was fine :)...what a girl! Here are pictures with Jasmine, Esmerelda (sp?), Aurora, and finally Ariel.
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I have to say that we were most impressed with Ariel and how she really looked like Ariel. She saw Grace's card and asked how we got Sebastian in there to sing! Grace loved it and couldn't believe when Ariel kissed her card and left her lipstick on it!
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Then they brought her a card signed by all the princesses and our waiter :) and gave her a little cupcake with a candle in it and sang to her. She was so happy and Jack was so happy for her!
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At one point he told her to smell the cupcake and pushed her head into it! The man at the next table started laughing and Grace thought it was hilarious..they almost started a food fight right there in Norway but we stopped it pretty quick!
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After breakfast it was time for our ride on Test Track. Jack has been waiting for 3 years to go on this with daddy and Grace was over 40" so we all went...she didn't like it...she was screaming and crying and I was happy when it stopped! The rest of us LOVED it and unfortunetly it was the only time we were able to ride it the entire vacation so I am glad we went! Jack was in row 1 with Daddy and Grace was in row 2 with me. The 2nd picture is Jack making sure Grace feels safe going into the ride...I love it!
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After Test Track we headed back to OKW to get some naps in because it was getting really hot and it was going to be a very late night because of the Pirate and Princess Party! The rest of the day will be in the next update because I have to shake someone out of bed for school :)........tune in next time for pictures of our Pirate and Princess going to the party and find out why Capt'n Jack is MEAN!

[mt mommy]

what a great TR! Can't wait to hear more!

[mla1977]

I'm so jealous that you got to see Esmerelda! I went to Akershus because I wanted to see Belle and she wasn't there. I got to see Aurora, Snow White, Ariel and Alice.

[lyzziesmom]

Very cute. I love the face-in-the-cupcake picture, priceless!

[scottny]

Nice update. The pics were great. Glad she warmed up to the Princesses. And Ariel being there was great for her and eerie as they say she is never there for breakfast.

[Hedy]

Love the cupcake picture!

[pilferk]

ROFL with "man-stroller"! That is great! You will love this picture (hopefully my husband won't see this :banana: )......
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The crocs just MAKE that picture.

:rotfl2:

[Ellasgirls]

ok, we are back for more of day 4! So, we have gone to breakfast, rode a couple rides and taken a nap and here it is already 4:00 and we have dinner ressies at Crystal Palace for 5:30! Grace wakes up and we give her, her birthday present from us....an Ariel dress that she saw months ago on ebay (yeah for ebay and only paying $15.00 for this brand new dress!)! I get her dressed and do her hair and nails and then make sure our pirate is all ready. We had bought him a pirate doorag, eye patch and earring the day before since it was going to be way to hot for the whole costume. He also had gotten a Jack Sparrow shirt so he was looking the part! Here they are all ready out on the patio of our hotel room...
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We got on the bus by 4:45 and made it to Crystal Palace by 5:15.
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The kids were so excited when they saw Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore, & Tigger that they didn't want to eat! Also, the CM's had decorated our table for Grace's birthday with Mickey Mouse Confetti (they even shaped some into a #4) and put some streamers down the center. Of course the kids scooped almost all of it up and put it in their treasure bags for the P&PP later that night...our first treasure.
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So we did convince them to eat since we had a huge breakfast and some snacks for lunch they decided they were hungry and ate and ate and ate until they saw the characters coming around! Then Grace started jumping around and laughing and looking like she was going to pee her pants she was so excited! I think Jack was excited just because Grace was and some rubbed off on him because he happily got his picture taken with them! They even brought another cupcake (this one didn't get smashed on a face) and had Pooh stand there while we all sang Happy Birthday and she got another card with the characters from CP. She had a very happy birthday...
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After eating we decided that Jack needed to get in line for Capt'n Jack Sparrow since I read on these awesome boards that you need to get in line early or risk waiting an hour or more. I explained this in great detail to my dh, who agreed to take Jack, and then we agreed to meet in front of the castle for the show and parade. Grace and I went on a couple rides like Pooh (again) and Mickey's Philharmagic (again) and then showed our wristbands and got under the rope and a prime curbside seat. The area in front of the castle was empty so I got a couple of really great pictures. About 30 minutes before the show started my dh and son came back looking a bit disappointed and I was eager to see the pictures of my Jack with Capt'n Jack! I was then informed that they waited for 50 minutes because they decided to go on a ride 1st since there was no line when they went by...duhhhhhh! Then when Jack got back to see Capt'n Jack they started "arguing" who was the real Jack. My Jack said "I'm Jack" and Capt'n Jack would say "NO, I'm Jack" and it went back and forth and all of a sudden my Jack was leaving. My dh told him to wait so he could get a picture with them together and Jack wouldn't do it! I asked him why and he would just say "because" and wouldn't give us a reason. So, dh was able to get a picture of them talking but not looking at the camera (bummer). Fast Forward to around 12:30 am...that is when dd and I got back to OKW...I sat down with Jack and asked again why he left without a picture and he said "He told me he didn't like me". After talking some more I found out that while dh was messing with the camera and the "argument" over who was really Jack had gone on for a about a minute Capt'n Jack just said "I don't like you!". He was totally in character and dh never heard him say it but ds wasn't sticking around if someone doesn't like him! Dh felt horrible that he didn't know that because he would have stepped in and "fixed" the situation by explaining that he is just acting like that...anyways here is the only picture we have with the 2 Jack's...
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Ok, Rewind back to the show and parade. The kids passed the time with games in the streets like hula hoops and limbo and throwing some balls around with the CM's and we just sat and watched and sweat! At one point a CM took Grace's hand and got everyone's attention that was waiting for the parade and had them all sing Happy Birthday while she was in the middle of the street! I didn't know they were going to do it so I didn't have my camera ready...Grace had the biggest smile on her face and thought it was pretty cool and then ran back to the limbo game.
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After the parade and show it was dark and we decided to go back to the Laugh Factory and ds wanted to ride Space Mountain. After the Laugh Factory we made the decision that dh would take Jack for the rest of the night and I would take Grace for the rest of the night and meet back at OKW when we got tired. The park was open until 12:30 and Grace and I didn't want to wait for the boys to ride all the rides. She wanted to meet the characters and go on Pooh (again). So off we went and off they went. This is why I have more pictures of Grace than Jack on this trip. We ended up going separate ways most days because of the gender and age difference between the 2 kids....definetly harder to have a family vacation with a 7 year old boy and a 4 year old girl! Dh told me they rode Space Mountain 6 times in a row, then off to Big Thunder Railroad and down Splash Mountain in the dark with a stop for a treat. They also rode Pirates again and then Jack decided he was tired and wanted to go "home". Grace and I rode every ride in Fantasy Land (again) and even waited to see Ariel! She also wanted to meet Minnie, Aurora and Daisy (they were together in the toon tent?) so we wasted....I mean waited close to an hour for that.
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We danced at Ariels dance party with Flounder and Sebastian and collected a bunch of treasures (necklaces)...she loved treasure hunting.
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We got to see the fireworks as we walked through Minnies house (it shook like it was going to fall in!) and they were Spectacular...I wish I would have remembered they were going to start and headed for the castle. The brochure we got said you can see them from anywhere in the park and they are right! It was all around us! Around midnight Grace and I headed down Main Street and I told Grace she could pick out any "barbie" she wanted...of course it was Ariel. We got up to the counter and were told that the entire system had shut down (from checking in to dining to buying anything on your card) and they asked if I had another form of payment. No, I only carry my room key so they had a manager come and print the reciept and write down our room number and name so they could ring it through the next day...shhhhhh...it never got charged to our account...don't tell! We returned the stroller and headed back to OKW where dh and ds were already in bed! We also got quite a surprise in our room that night...someone had brought in a bunch of balloons for Grace and a birthday card with a signed picture of Ariel that said "Happy 4th Birthday Grace! Love, Ariel". She was just beaming and they both slept in until 9:30 the next morning....See I told you it was a long day!
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Day 5 to come: our day off...swimming (pics of OKW pool area) & downtown disney (with pics and Earl of Sandwich review).....

[Ellasgirls]

The crocs just MAKE that picture.

:rotfl2:

Tell me about it! He felt soooo stupid walking around like that but had no choice because the crocs were too small and gave him blisters (so hense the socks with crocs) and the hat was to match my sons and it came with 6 pins and we only paid $30 for the hat and pins...but yes he knows that is not a flattering outfit and his only other shoes were soaked from the rain the night before! Poor guy...he would not be happy if he finds this site :)

[lyzziesmom]

I just had to laugh at the picture of all your pirates with their "hook hands." My DD8 dressed as a pirate and she did the same thing!! We also had our "off day" at DTD the day after the P&PP.

[Sabrina90744]

Subscribing, what a great report can’t wait for more!! :wave:

[Ellasgirls]

Subscribing, what a great report can’t wait for more!! :wave:

Welcome and thank you!

[Ellasgirls]

I just had to laugh at the picture of all your pirates with their "hook hands." My DD8 dressed as a pirate and she did the same thing!! We also had our "off day" at DTD the day after the P&PP.

Wasn't it crowded on Wednesday?! We ate at Earl of Sandwich and were not disappointed!

[lyzziesmom]

Actually we went to a different P&PP night, so our DTD day was the day after Labor Day. It wasn't very crowded at all! The party was pretty empty too, they were practically begging us to take candy. We came home with at least five pounds of chocolate! We went to Earl of Sandwich for a smoothie... yummy!

[Our2Girls&Disney]

WOW what a great Birthday. FYI, my family would not eat at Norway either. I said, why spend the money? We ended up eating at the Poly Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch.

I love the picture of Grace looking at the castle (the back of here), great shot! And of course Jack met Jack!

[Ellasgirls]

WOW what a great Birthday. FYI, my family would not eat at Norway either. I said, why spend the money? We ended up eating at the Poly Breakfast with Lilo and Stitch.

I love the picture of Grace looking at the castle (the back of here), great shot! And of course Jack met Jack!

The breakfast at Norway was wonderful and was American food..the hashbrowns that they brought out were absolutely the best I have EVER had! That picture of Grace with the castle is my favorite too! Thank you!

[Ellasgirls]

Actually we went to a different P&PP night, so our DTD day was the day after Labor Day. It wasn't very crowded at all! The party was pretty empty too, they were practically begging us to take candy. We came home with at least five pounds of chocolate! We went to Earl of Sandwich for a smoothie... yummy!

The party was busy if you were trying to see a character but the rides were empty which I loved and Jack and dh loved even more! They were all rided out by 10:30! Downtown Disney was the worst I have ever seen it and we didn't stay long because we could hardly walk without someone bumping into us or us running them down in our stroller...sorry :eek: .... But I must say that free food was unbelievable. I would love to do it again next year but I don't know if I like that we have to come up with the tip...that is not free dining if you ask me! It would cost about $20.00 per table service...granted I know that is a huge discount still and would save us money but I am happy we got this vacation as our last one for a very long time!

[stitchgal]

Great report; we were there the same time as you (8/23-9/1) My daughter's favorite is Ariel too. We had dinner at Norway but didn't get to see her there. You have some great photos too!

[Mr._The_King]

:cool1: :goodvibes Hey Girl!!!!! I am so thrilled to read your report. What a wonderful job you are doing! The picture with Grace looking at the castle is so amazing it made me gasp!

You are so lucky to get such an awesome free upgrade. And lucky with the whole picking out the princess clothes. And lucky with Ariel being at the breakfast.

I think you are one of those "lucky" people. Get a lotto ticket right away.

I am like you except in the reverse. Like if I was walking across a football field and there was one single dog poop, I would step in it. You would step in money.

I am totally in for the ride, subbing, laughing, feeling sad for your sweet boy after Jack said "I don't like you" Next time we should get your boy to say "Johhny Depp has more money than you"

:cheer2: :flower3: :grouphug: :dance3: :yay: :banana: :thumbsup2

[Ellasgirls]

:cool1: :goodvibes Hey Girl!!!!! I am so thrilled to read your report. What a wonderful job you are doing! The picture with Grace looking at the castle is so amazing it made me gasp!

You are so lucky to get such an awesome free upgrade. And lucky with the whole picking out the princess clothes. And lucky with Ariel being at the breakfast.

I think you are one of those "lucky" people. Get a lotto ticket right away.

I am like you except in the reverse. Like if I was walking across a football field and there was one single dog poop, I would step in it. You would step in money.

I am totally in for the ride, subbing, laughing, feeling sad for your sweet boy after Jack said "I don't like you" Next time we should get your boy to say "Johhny Depp has more money than you"

:cheer2: :flower3: :grouphug: :dance3: :yay: :banana: :thumbsup2

WOW WOW WOW..the famous Mrs. Mr. the King is here on MY trip report! Now I am nervous :goodvibes . I hope you enjoy it! I am usually NOT lucky...very blessed at times but not in the $$ department. 3 years ago was our last trip and I said the next time I go to WDW I will stay in a really nice place (thinking Boardwalk) and not have to worry about food....I was really getting sick of worrying the entire time about how much $$ was being spent when we were hungry and sharing hotdogs. Fast forward to this year and I found free dining and was thrilled...no worry about $$ on food. A week after booking it I got the email that we were upgraded to a 1 bedroom villa and I thanked God for His blessing...it was nothing I did. It was a wonderful vacation and we were happy we got to take it because it will be our last one for a very long time :sad2: ....too high of debt to vacation ratio! I will try to get another day up asap but right now I have to find the children!

[Thumpersmom]

What a wonderful birthday for yourprincess: Looks like you had an awesome time.

Great report. I love your DD's dresses that were made for her. Too cute!

[scottny]

Sounds like a great day and a great birthday.

sorry for the rude "Jack". what a horrible thing to say to a kid.

great update. :thumbsup2

[Ellasgirls]

Day 4: Swimming at OKW and Downtown Disney!
Due to the late night partying that we did at the P&PP we decided that today would be a day of sleeping in, swimming and maybe taking the boat into Downtown Disney. Of course, I was up by 7 and was ready to roll but my family took advantage of sleeping in and didn't roll out of bed until 9:30! We got up, got our swimming suits on and headed for the main pool by Hospitality House. It was nice because we could get on any bus and go right there since HH is the last stop.
The kids were so excited to try the waterslide and the water felt SOOOO good because of the heat. The pool area is very nice and we were able to get a table by the little shallow pool so I could watch Grace if she wanted to play in there...yah right. She wanted to go down the water slide. We let her go down with her floaty ring (and didn't get caught until she had gone down 4-5 times). Then it was a little scarier because the water comes shooting out of that slide really fast. In fact, the last day we were there we were just leaving and a little guy (1-1 1/2) got away from his mom and came down the slide without anyone catching him and the life guard was in the water and had him out in seconds. I was very impressed. They then took him and found the mom wandering around looking for a table and not even worried he was on his own. :eek: . We swam until around 1ish and then got some lunch at the snack shop by the pool with our counter service credits. I had the tuna sandwich (very good), dh got the burger (ok...just another burger), ds got a hotdog (just another hotdog...with a really hard stale bun we threw away), and dd got a pb&j (she ate the whole thing because it was one of those prepackaged crustless sandwiches) and of course we got rice crispy treats for dessert..YUMMY as always!
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Then Grace found the sand area...that was a mess but she loved it. I think she brought home sand because it just won't come off. She was completely covered in fine white sand and then wanted to go into the pool. I tried and tried to rinse her off in the outside showers but I don't think a power washer would have gotten the sand off so I just let her hop into the pool...hopefully that was ok and the sand is filtered out. I figured they must be prepared for sand in those pools when they put a HUGE sandbox next to them. No one gave me the evil eye so I didn't worry about it anymore.
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After we were done swimming in the sandbox and pools we dried off and I tried putting Grace's little dress over her suit but the princess didn't want her dress to get wet so I finally let her just wear the dress...unfortunetly for the lady that sat across from her on the bus I didn't have anything for her to put under the dress....I was SOOOO embaressed but she just smiled and said "I have a 4 year old daughter back at the room, I understand" and reminded dd that she didn't have undies and she needed to keep her legs down to which my not so quiet dd asked "Did that lady see my you-who?"....I couldn't wait to get back to our room! I guess that is what you get when you upgrade us value folk to a classy place like OKW...
Here are my pics as we walked out to the front of HH to catch the bus. The kids almost made it past the arcade area...almost...
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Then it was nap time again before we headed down to Downtown Disney....
After naps we asked the kids if they wanted to take the bus or the boat to Downtown Disney and Grace freaked out. She was sure it was another boat like Splash Mountain! That would be nice and quick! We assured her it was NOTHING like SM and it would go slow and she could see all the birds and maybe a crocodile as we floated. She agreed and we set off on the boat. Our driver was very strict, by the rules. At one point Grace half stood/half sat to see something around me (kids can't be on the outside, they have to ride in the middle of the boat) and the guy immediately told her to sit down all the way...he had eyes on the back of his head! We got to see the old tree houses and yes they look really old and we got to see SS as we picked up people there. I would someday like to try that resort also but I was so happy we were at OKW. I enjoyed having a condo village feel...very quiet and private.

[Ellasgirls]

ok...somehow I posted so here is DAY 4 Continued at Downtown Disney.....
Here is our journey to Downtown Disney. The brown buildings are the old treehouses that the international students/workers stay in and the large nice building is Sartoga Springs.
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I have never seen so many people at DD before EVER! I guess we all had the same idea..the parks must have been empty on Wed, Aug 29th. We first had to stop in the pin trading store. The kids loved trading pins and Grace would trade her one pin all day long and sometimes end up with the pin she started with! She was given 2 different pins by CM: one was the YOMD pin set (one to keep and one to give)..we didn't let her trade that one and another CM gave her an Ariel pin because of her tatoo (that will be explained later...). Then we headed into the store that you can make your own lightsaber and My Little Pony. Jack has been waiting and waiting to make his own lightsaber so dh watched him do that while Grace and I figured out the My Little Pony stand. I thought it was $18 for a pony and outfit but was quickly corrected in that you pay $18 for whatever you can stuff in that box. We were able to get 2 ponies and every outfit (and some doubles so the ponies would match) for $18 and she was sooo excited to get back to play with it. We found Jack and Daddy but no lightsaber. Jack put it all together and said he changed his mind, he didn't want to spend his $$ on that since he had one at home already so he took it all apart. He was really more excited about putting it all together :). Then Jack and Daddy went to the Lego store and Grace & I went in the store with BBB to look around at all the princess stuff. Of course I took lots of pictures with her by the different figures and lego figures.
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We decided to eat at Earl of Sandwich for dinner using our counter service credits and that was the best meal we had at a counter service! I would eat here again anytime. I again got the tuna sandwich and the kids got a pizza sandwich (he didn't like it) and a grilled cheese sandwich (LOVED IT and shared it with her big brother) and I have no idea what dh got..probably an italian type of sandwich (He LOVED it and still is talking about it). This was our best "deal" because that meal would have cost us $50!
We then took the bus home and got to bed because it was back to the parks the next day and we were going to try to stay without leaving for naps... stay tuned for MGM (Hollywood & Vine, Fanstasmic VIP tickets and NO NAPS)....

[Hedy]

Save the bus story for when she's older. ;)

[scottny]

Great update. Always nice to have a nice relaxing day by the pool.

[Ellasgirls]

Save the bus story for when she's older. ;)

No kidding!

[frdeb1999]

Wonderful report and pics!! Looks like you had a great time!

[Ellasgirls]

Wonderful report and pics!! Looks like you had a great time!

Thank you and yes we had a wonderful time...very hot and humid but we loved the upgrade and the free food!

[Booknut]

Thanks so much for doing this trip report, i've really enjoyed reading it and the lovely photos of your beautiful family!! Did you really love OKW? Do you think you'd ever stay there again?

[blessdmommy]

Great report! I avoided letting my children see the "sandbox". I would much rather hang out in the pool watching them come down the slide than roasting in the sand watching them. They saw your picture and said "hey we didn't see that". ha ha

You have some terrific pictures and great stories!! "you-hoo" :rotfl2:
That'll be one for later years!

[lvstitch]

Great report, can't wait for the next update. OKW looks really nice. Your kids are so cute.

[Ellasgirls]

Thanks so much for doing this trip report, i've really enjoyed reading it and the lovely photos of your beautiful family!! Did you really love OKW? Do you think you'd ever stay there again?

If we had the money we may. We are value folks because that is how much we can afford but it certainly spoiled me to have all that room! If I had the money I would probably try other resorts just to try them but HIGHLY recommend the 1 bedroom villas at OKW. It was so relaxing and yet felt like Disney still (that was a worry of mine)....such a change from the craziness of the value resorts. That said I would still go back to the value resorts but will NEVER forget our wonderful OKW room!

Great report! I avoided letting my children see the "sandbox". I would much rather hang out in the pool watching them come down the slide than roasting in the sand watching them. They saw your picture and said "hey we didn't see that". ha ha

You have some terrific pictures and great stories!! "you-hoo" :rotfl2:
That'll be one for later years!

Trust me I was REALLY hoping that Grace wouldn't see the sandbox because I HATE sand. I won't even have one at our house. I would rather get a peegravel box. She had a blast and hopefully didn't reck the good pool rinsing off the sand!

[Mr._The_King]

Hey Sweetheart!!! I am loving this trip report. Your pictures are fantastic. What a cute little family. I am so going to stuff a pony box next time I am home. That sounds like so much fun. I love how beautiful your free upgrade was. I would have let the kids play in the sand too. That looked so cool. I think I would have been playing with them. I think it is sweet that you triedto rinse them off. I would have thrown them in the pool like little sugared donuts.
The sacriest part was that little guy going down the slide by himself. People are clueless. Three cheers for the lifeguard:cheer2:

Looking foward to more!!!

[Ellasgirls]

Day 5: MGM. Hollywood and Vine w/VIP Fantasmic seats

Ok, today my husband agreed to staying at the parks all day and not leaving for nap time.... we got to the park close to opening, got our stroller and a map and circled everything we wanted to see. Of course, Jack wanted to see Star Wars, Lights Motor Stunt Show and Grace was all about Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney and Daddy only wanted to go on Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster. Dh then told Jack (7) that if he tried either Tower of Terror and/or RR he would buy him a pin of that ride. Jack decided he wanted to try both of them and I could feel a knot in my stomach (this is the same kid who had a complete meltdown the first time he rode Splash Mountain). I don't do TOT or RRC because they scare the pants off of me and my son, my little guy wants to do it for a PIN?! So we get 2 Fast Passes for TOT and 2 fast passes for RRC. Jack decided to hit TOT first and off they went. I paced and paced and tried to take my mind off the fact that my son was about to be dropped 13 stories for FUN. Well they came off the ride and Jack was smiling, kind of but stated that he will never go near that ride again EVER again....yeah...happy mom! The picture we got is great and we framed it for him (bragging rights). Then he actually got up the nerve to go on RRC right away! This is not my kid! I think that was easier to get on because you can't see it....if that thing was out in the open for everyone to see I can guarentee Jack would have passed on that ride. He did know that he would go upside down but would be protected by the harness. They came off that ride and Jack said it was fast and he didn't like it. Here are some pictures of that part of MGM. The pictures of Grace are what we did while we waited....
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I tried to get a picture of Jack as he got off the ride but it didn't turn off.
After we were done with that, Jack wanted to go to Star Wars and Grace didn't want to wait around for them to get off another ride so we went our separate ways for about 2 hours. Dh took Jack to Star Wars & the Stunt show and I took Grace to Little Mermaid and then had time to go to Playhouse Disney before we met dh and Jack at the Indiana Jones show.
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sorry...gotta run...be back soon for the afternoon installment of MGM!

[scottny]

good for him for trying both rides. at least he can tell his friends he did it. :thumbsup2

I have to try the shows next time the only show we saw was beauty and the Beast and fantasmic.

[Ellasgirls]

Day 5...continued...

OK, real life is a bit crazy right now so I am sorry it took so long to finish this trip report!
So where were we? Jack and Daddy went to Star Wars (big hit!)
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and we took care of Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney and then it was onto meeting Daddy and Jack at Indiana Jones and then the parade. We had missed EVERY parade (minus the Pirate and Princess Parade) because of naps. The kids really like the Indiana Jones show and tried to get daddy picked to be an extra (he wasn't picked which was fine because it was SOOO hot). After the show we got a place under a tiny palm tree and I had to run to the bathroom and when I came out the streets were lined with people for the parade. I started looking in the crowds for my little family under the little palm tree and I couldn't find them....I kept walking and there they were....all alone under the little palm tree. The streets were packed and yet NOBODY was sitting by my family! We must have really smelled and even a cast member laughed at us!
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After the parade we were soooo hot and didn't feel good so we decided to go on the Great Movie Ride. I forgot about the Alien part and Grace was not happy about that but was sitting next to Daddy so he protected her. After that we walked over to Hollywood and Vine for our early dinner (4:20). The food was great and the kids ate so much! We got our VIP Fantasmic tickets and were told where to go by a certain time to get in the back door. During dinner Jack announced that he really wanted to go on Rockin Rollercoaster again! Dh was soooo happy! After dinner we all walked over there and got 4 fastpasses for them to ride twice! At that time the timer board said that the wait was 15 minutes so they were going to just stand in line and then use the fast passes later but the lady told them it was really a 50 minute wait and the timer board was broke! Thank goodness they had the fast passes. Grace and I headed off our separate way to do some shopping, play in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground and go in the Muppets theater. We would all meet by the stroller return for Fantasmic. As we passed Tower of Terror the sign said 5 minute wait and people were commenting they just rode alone....no lines in the middle of the day...it was very weird! Grace had a ball in the playground and would have stayed there all day if I let her!
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We left there and picked up some gifts for our friends back home and headed down to the stroller return for Fanstasmic. The line for the main entrance for Fantasmic as all the way back to the big hat!!! I couldn't believe it AND they weren't opening the gates for another 45 minutes!!!! We met dh and Jack, returned the stroller and were told to go through a gate, up a road and give our ticket to the guy on the road. It was very eery...we were the ONLY people on that road! I highly recommend eating at one of the places that provides the VIP seats so you don't have to wait in line.
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Once we got in we got our seats and I got in a very long line for treats because you can use your snack credits and we wanted some popcicles the size of our 4 year old! Once I got back someone started the wave and it continued for about 20 minutes...back and forth, back and forth....just so you know 20 minutes is about 15 minutes too long for the wave to go back and forth! We started talking with a wonderful family sitting ahead of us and their kids and Jack were telling each other about all the rides they went on and what was their favorites and I looked down and Grace was sound asleep...I guess no naps just won't work for her! She did wake up right before it started. I have been to Disney 7 times and we have never gone to Fanstasmic for some reason. It was AWESOME! We all loved it and the only thing I wish was different was I wish we were sitting in the middle of the stadium vs the side where VIP seating is. I know we could have moved into the other area and maybe next time we will....we will have to see!
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Right after it was done we headed to the busses and got right on and back to OKW and to bed! We were soooo tired and yet had so much fun and we even saw EVERYTHING on our map that was circled! Next up: Day 6: Epcot, eating at The Land....our last day at the parks :(

[scottny]

:thumbsup2

seems like a great end to a nice day at MGM.

[Ellasgirls]

Thanks...at least I have one follower of my trip :)! We had a blast and I would love to do it again. I just got an email from Disney Destinations that showed the catalog of all the Dreams that will be granted in 2008 and I would love any of them! Just another reason to go back :)

[scottny]

Thanks...at least I have one follower of my trip :)! We had a blast and I would love to do it again. I just got an email from Disney Destinations that showed the catalog of all the Dreams that will be granted in 2008 and I would love any of them! Just another reason to go back :)

r they different from this years?

[lyzziesmom]

You have more than one follower! I've been reading, just don't always post comments. But I'm loving it!!

The Dreams for 2008 are the same, but there are a few new ones. The "catalog" really shows the big BIG stuff, such as the Grand Marshall around the world, and the nights in the parks, etc. Very cool!!

[scottny]

I saw the dreams on a website. A day on a private island alone.

the biggest breakfast Disney has ever given with every character on Main St.

it all looked nice. there were so many more

[Ellasgirls]

Is there anyway to win or enter to win even if we aren't able to go to WDW in 2008? That would really be a dream come true!

[joyerbides]

I'm still following your trip too. Enjoying it as well.:thumbsup2

[Ellasgirls]

2 days to go until the end of the trip but it will have to wait because Desperate Housewives are on shortly and I have 2 kids to feed, bathe and put a movie in for.....or turn on the PACKERS!!!! They start in 15 minutes to hopefully crush the Bears :)

[Ellasgirls]

Day 6...Epcot all day/our last day at the parks :(

Ok, I am back and hopefully will finish this up once and for all...thank you to all who are still around to read!
We got up early for rope drop and didn't make it. My family decided to lollygag around the room and we made it by 9:00 am. We immediately got our fast pass at Soarin' and ran over to Nemo which had a 10 minute wait. Grace loved it and Jack wasn't impressed but still put on a good game face for his little sister!
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After we rode Nemo we decide to find Turtle Talk with Crush. The room was about 1/2 full and we waited for about 10 minutes when a CM came out and said something we couldn't understand/hear from the middle of the room but a lot of people in the front left. My dh was going to follow them and I instead told him to hold tight and I would find out what the problem was and how long it was going to take. I made it up to the front (only about 15 of us stayed) and I asked the CM what the problem was: a tank microphone problem that was going to be fixed in about 5 minutes). We waited for about 5 minutes and they let us in! The kids got to sit right in the front on the floor and they LOVED it! In fact Crush wanted to talk to Jack (little dude with a white sleeveless shell and white top) and the CM in the room wasn't paying attention (Crush had to say his name a couple times to get his attention) and he went to the kid next to Jack :(....Crush even said "or that kid". Oh well, the kids still LOVED it. I wish we had time to do that show again! When that was done we took the kids picture in the mouth of the shark.
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Then we went over to the Land building to ride Soarin' for the 2nd time. This time we wanted to be in the middle group of seats in the front row. Big order to fill....never hurts to ask! I asked and it was granted! Middle set of seats in the front row! It was so cool and much better than when we were in the last row and on the far right side....don't get me wrong- I don't think any seat is bad on Soarin'- the front middle is just...better! After that we thought about getting another fastpass for right before our dinner reservation at Garden Grill but it wasn't at that time yet. It was now time for lunch and we decided to eat at Sunshine Seasons (the counter service in the Land)...we spent a lot of time in The Land! The Sunshine Seasons was the best counter service we had ate at all week! I really wanted a certain desert (can't even begin to remember now what it was) but Grace really wanted another desert so I picked that one. The very nice CM behind the counter gave me the one I wanted and told them it was on her! I was soooo amazed and thankful! That was my magic of the day...a free desert! It takes so little to please me!
After we were done eating we took the Land boat trip and we really liked it! The pumpkins "earning their ears" was a big hit with us!
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Then we walked over to Innovations and let the kids run in there. If anyones children has done the fire drill in the house they will know what I am talked about next. All the kids sit on a bed and the CM talks about what to do and not to do in a fire and explains all the rules of the "game". They have all the kids (usually about 7-8 kids) go into different parts of the house and pretend to play. Then a red light starts flickering on the floor in a room of the house and parents around the house start saying "fire, fire...beep...beep" and the kids all have to crawl out of the house without touching the "fire". Well all was ok until the fire started and the kids all started crawling out of the house...all the kids except Grace! She sat in a corner and started crying. Jack saw her (he was outside of the house) and ran in, through the "fire" and PULLED her out of the house screaming! All the parents cheered and the CM had to explain why he shouldn't have run back in...all too much for Grace who is now TERRIFIED of fires!
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We were going to leave that and go into the other Innovention building when we realized it was POURING rain. We stayed and played some more games and then took our shoes off and ran for it! We were soaked! We played the robot game and Grace & Daddy won the race and came in 2nd for the best looking robot! Jack's robot came in 3rd! Then they made their own robot...of course Grace's was all green and Jack made his red and gray. They loved that part...
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We took the kids into the kodak area and found a station that was open and took our pictures and morphed into these:
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Sorry, I have to get to bed.....the rest of day 6 too come soon! I promise!

[scottny]

Great update and pics.

[Thumpersmom]

Great day at Epcot.......

My DD loved the Nemo ride too. My DS rode it to make us happy!;) We had lots of fun in the fire house and making the robots. Nice to take a break for us from the heat but for you from the rain. Time goes by quickly in Innoventions.

We loved the Land. Took the boat ride 3 times while at WDW and the kids were amazed by the pumpkins. We just went to the pumpkin patch last weekend and my DS said hey they don't have any of the cool pumpkins like we saw at WDW.:confused3

[Keggy]

Great report! I was reading Scott's adventures and he shamelessy plugged your report - so I clicked on it to read!

I love your daughter's dresses - super cute!

Kelly

[Ellasgirls]

Great report! I was reading Scott's adventures and he shamelessy plugged your report - so I clicked on it to read!

I love your daughter's dresses - super cute!

Kelly

Thank you and I am amazed that my trip report was plugged by Scott....where did he plug it...I would love to read it! I really need to finish it...I can't believe how crazy everything in our life is right now....DISNEY TAKE ME AWAY!

[scottny]

Thank you and I am amazed that my trip report was plugged by Scott....where did he plug it...I would love to read it! I really need to finish it...I can't believe how crazy everything in our life is right now....DISNEY TAKE ME AWAY!

In my everything report I mentioned your report and how great it was and thought others should go over and read it.
Now I hope I am the Scott she was talking about. :confused3 :laughing:

[Keggy]

In my everything report I mentioned your report and how great it was and thought others should go over and read it.
Now I hope I am the Scott she was talking about. :confused3 :laughing:

Yes - you are! I love your posts too, btw!

[scottny]

Yes - you are! I love your posts too, btw!

thank you.

[Ellasgirls]

ok, Let's continue Day 6 and hopefully get to day 7...the last day :(....

After it stopped raining we headed toward Test Track since that is Jac's favorite ride but it was shut down while they tried to dry the track. All the fast passes were gone so we didn't stay.
It is now onto Mission Space. My husband is certain he wants to do this even tho' the tea cups get him sick. I tried to talk him into the Green side since it says it doesn't spin but nope, he had to go with the Orange Team. I was nervous waiting for him to come out. The kids & I waiting outside for about 10 minutes before we decided to head to the gift shop. Then we found the "play" area. They had sooo much fun and we spent the rest of the time in there. Grace ran through the tunnels and Jack played the big video game. Dh came out and was happy to sit down and watch Grace play while I helped Jack. He said it was very cool and didn't make him sick to his stomach but he was done with rides...he didn't get his nap that day :). The kids were still going strong!
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Then we decided Daddy needed a break to sit down and we headed over to Ellen's Energy Adventure because we knew it was inside and took a while to go through. While in the big holding room we sat next to a man in a wheelchair that looked very familiar to me but I didn't know why. It wasn't until after we were all done on the ride did I see his LIME GREEN MICKEY HEAD...it was a diser! It was the famous BILL SEARS! I knew I should have said hello but he was leaving and Grace was sleeping on me and I knew my dh would think I was a complete idiot if I went running after someone that was on the internet :). When we got back I posted a question to Bill asking if that was in fact him and he even remembered my children playing with their robots. Now there is a game that will be called Where in the WORLD is Bill Sears...he will let us know when he will be there and whoever finds him wins a picture with him :rotfl2: . After Ellens ride we had to head to dinner back at the Land Building. Where did our day go? If you didn't notice we never made it back into the countries....I was soooo disappointed. I had decided that dh would take Grace back to the room after dinner and Jack and I would stay at EPCOT for extra magic hours that night. The dinner was great. I was hoping that we would get a table on the outside but we didn't and it was ok. The characters came around about 4 times each so the kids were very happy. They played little tricks on the kids like stealing their napkins and trying to stand in front of them when I was taking a picture. I love when the characters interact with the kids...It makes all the heat and $$ spent all worth it. Here are some pictures from dinner at The Land (btw...VERY good food and again we walked away STUFFED).
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When we came out of dinner the sky was BLACK and you could see lightening coming down in the distance. I made the decision to leave with Grace and Daddy and Jack was very happy because he was exhausted from not having any rest all day. I was bummed because I am used to going Disney Commando (open to close) and we didn't get to see the countries this time. I really think I need to start doing Disney with my mom and maybe bring Grace when she is older :).
Here is our last picture of EPCOT and then standing at the bus stop waiting for the bus to pick us up (which it did just before the storm hit!)
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NOW...onto Day 7: our last day spent at the pool.
We slept in because I had stayed up washing all our clothes and packing everything the night before. All we had to do that morning was get up, get dressed and head to the pool. The kids had cereal for breakfast and we all got our swimsuits on, got all our luggage and hopped on a bus to Hospitality House. Grace was cold when she got up so I fixed her breakfast on the patio (nice and HOT out there)...she loved it and I loved the pictures :)...
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Dh was nervous about leaving our luggage/getting our airline tickets/finding out if our free meal plan ended when we checked out or if we could use it past 11 am (if you have the dining plan it is good until midnight of the day you check out)....so I sent him on with the kids and took care of getting our airline tickets, checking our luggage with the bellhop (is that what they are called), getting our question answered regarding the meal plan and making it to the pool. I swear that if I didn't do it we would still be at Disney (maybe I will remember that next time :) ). The kids swam and went down the water slide a million times and as we were getting out for lunch the lifeguard took a flying leap into the pool and pulled out a 2 year old that had gone down the slide by himself with no parents around! I was amazed at how quick they were because I didn't even see him come down. The were ahead of us while walking to get food and the mom was walking toward us (not looking for her son AT ALL) and the lifeguard had a stern word for her about leaving him unattended by the pool..you know what the moms reply was (not Thank you for saving his life)..."I am looking for a table to sit at and he just wandered off"...she wasn't even looking for him! She wasn't upset...I was upset and felt bad for the little guy. We had an awesome lunch and then got changed and let the kids play in the community room for about an hour waiting for the bus to take us to the airport.
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Just as we were getting on the bus the rain started again...that is a nice way to leave Disney...RAINING! It rained so hard we saw a car next to us on the highway hydoplane and go flying off the road! It was scary because I have no idea what happened to them or if they are ok or not. The rest of the trip was uneventful and we were home by 9pm that night.
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So there you have it....a trip full of chipmunks eating Grace's hair, laughter, a mean Captain Jack Sparrow, blisters, rides, swimming, memories and lots and lots of magic...Thank you Disney for not letting us down..AGAIN!
THE END

[scottny]

what a fantastic ending. Sad it is over but it was great. The pic on the monorail is fantastic looking.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Hopefully if you go again you will do another.

[lyzziesmom]

What a great trip! Where did you take that last picture above the monorail? I had to look at it a while before I figured out they weren't laying across the tracks!

Oh and FYI, the new signature rules cut off the bottom of your signature so you can't see the link to your TR -- just thought you might want to fix that if you didn't notice.

[Ellasgirls]

what a fantastic ending. Sad it is over but it was great. The pic on the monorail is fantastic looking.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Hopefully if you go again you will do another.

Thanks for following my trip report! You are awesome!

[Our2Girls&Disney]

I have agree with the monorail photo, way cool. You have a nack for taking photos. Good job on the trip report. It is a lot of work to write, but worth it. Thanks for sharing.

[Ellasgirls]

what a fantastic ending. Sad it is over but it was great. The pic on the monorail is fantastic looking.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Hopefully if you go again you will do another.

What a great trip! Where did you take that last picture above the monorail? I had to look at it a while before I figured out they weren't laying across the tracks!

Oh and FYI, the new signature rules cut off the bottom of your signature so you can't see the link to your TR -- just thought you might want to fix that if you didn't notice.

I have agree with the monorail photo, way cool. You have a nack for taking photos. Good job on the trip report. It is a lot of work to write, but worth it. Thanks for sharing.

You guys are very kind...that picture is taken on the "monorail" at the airport that goes between terminals. It is always the thing that makes our trips start and end...the kids love laying on the platform for the short spurt over to our terminal. I have to figure out how to fix my signature....I guess I missed the new rules...again...

[Hedy]

Love the monorail picture!

[Thumpersmom]

Thanks for the great trip report. :thumbsup2

I love the kids shirts they wore to Epcot! It is always a little sad :guilty: if you don't get everything done that you want to but that means you get to return!!!!:cheer2:

[ruthie]

Hi
Just read your trip report, another person that came over here from scotts.
You did an excellent job, loved your photos and cute family! Hope this is not your last one!

Ruthie

[Ellasgirls]

Hi
Just read your trip report, another person that came over here from scotts.
You did an excellent job, loved your photos and cute family! Hope this is not your last one!

Ruthie

Me too! Hopefully there will be many more trips in the future. Maybe if I get my act together I could do a trip report from one of our other trips...I think I can remember with the help of pictures..

[Keggy]

Great ending! I also loved that final picture! The picture of EPCOT when you were leaving is pretty cool too - there is hardly anyone there!

I hope that you get to go back soon!

Kelly

[Ellasgirls]

Great ending! I also loved that final picture! The picture of EPCOT when you were leaving is pretty cool too - there is hardly anyone there!

I hope that you get to go back soon!

Kelly

Epcot was actually packed but they were all inside in line at Soarin and Test Track!

[Coach81]

Enjoyed this report. Your children are beautiful! We will be staying at a 1 bedroom in OKW this coming February, what were your impressions of it?

[Ellasgirls]

Enjoyed this report. Your children are beautiful! We will be staying at a 1 bedroom in OKW this coming February, what were your impressions of it?

You will not want to leave! We have always stayed at the value resorts and loved them and even had to stay one night at POP this trip before getting our upgrade to OKW and let me tell you it is FANTASTIC! We are now officially spoiled rotten...it is quiet, peaceful and the 1 bedroom villas are so big! We definetly could have stayed in our room all week and just relaxed (vs the value resorts where you HAVE to leave your room...if you have kids...to relax!). Have a great time and enjoy!