3 Sisters take on F&WF - Trip report starts on post 22

[Donald is #1]

Hi everyone! I figure that maybe if I start a pre-trip report, then it will force me to actually write a trip report. Well time will tell. :rotfl2:

So first of all, who are the players?
1) Me -- WDW fanatic; female who is now getting closer to mid-40's than early 40's; multiple trips to the world
2) DSis#1 -- Not a WDW fanatic; in her early 40's
3) DSis#2 -- aka PrincessPower; WDW fanatic; only been there once; just turned 40

OK what kind of background shall I give?

Previous trips
First I will start with previous trips. First of all, we never went to WDW as kids. It was just too expensive for our parents to take the 3 of us to WDW. So, my first trip came the year after I graduated from college. I went down with my best friend from high school & college and her sister. This was the "on-the-cheap" trip and we had an incredible time. That was the start of my love affair with Disney! :lovestruc
So after taking a another trip or 2 to WDW, DSis#1's son was getting older and I wanted to take him. So, DSis#1, her son (8 at the time?), and I went down for about a week in December of 2000. Now, DSis#1 isn't a WDW fanatic but we all had a great time. We even decided to do a a DCL cruise in 2004.
Now fast forward until 2006. DSis#2 was planning her first trip to WDW with her family. She was going with her husband, 2 kids (niece 8, nephew 9) and her in-laws. Well as she was planning, I was starting to feel the WDW itch again. And since I hadn't taken a vacation that year, I really needed to get away. So after a while, I decided to tag along on DSis#2's trip. This trip was for 8 days and I spent about 1/2 my time with DSis#2 and 1/2 my time solo. This trip was during Food & Wine Festival and I had an awesome time at F&WF.

Why are our ages important?
So, why is it important that I mentioned that we are all in our 40's? Well, maybe it isn't, but, when I was first turning 40, we decided that we should go away for a weekend just by ourselves without kids, husbands, etc. Well, after some planning and talking aboit it, it never happened. Then DSis#1 was turning 40 and we talked about a trip again. Again, it didn't happen. Well now, DSis#2 has turned 40 and we are finally taking the trip. The difference is that it went from a 1 night trip to 4 night!

How did the trip come about?
Well, during my May solo trip (see the link in my signature for details), I bought into the DVC. I bought into AKV and was planning on not taking my next WDW vacation until 2008 because I just went for 12 days in May plus I had a trip to Yellowstone planned for September (just came back a week ago). Anyways, I decided to do an add-on for more points at the end of June. OK.. the plot thickens here. Well, they are now running the Double Developer's Points incentive. Hmmm.... Where will this go?
So, anyways, I am talking to DSis#1 and I told her that she really needs to go to F&WF with me some year. I know that she will enjoy this because she loves to try different foods, as do I.
So she asks 'When are you going?"
My reply "Probably not until next year."
DSis#1 "When is it?"
Me "It is in October"
DSis#1 "How about going this year?"

OK all you WDW fanatics, you know that I am hooked now. :rolleyes1 It's time to start planning a trip to WDW. My mind starts whirring. Let's see, if we go before 10/21, then my AP will still be valid. OK, decision made!

So the next decisions end up being: Will DSis#1 commit to going and will she take DNephew#1 (now 15). So I wait a week and then ask DSis#1 if she really wants to go. I want her commitment because I hadn't done my add-on yet and it would impact whether I picked the Double Developer's Points or the cash incentive. So, when I talk to Dsis#1 she says yes she is going. And then she decides that it will just be the 2 of us. She decided that she was going to leave Dnephew#1 at home for this trip and take him in the Spring. (Actually they will be going to VB in Feb.) Ok first decision made.
So, now DSis#2 finds out the Dnephew#1 isn't coming and she starts thinking "Hmmm maybe I should go too!".

Anyways, ok the decision has been made. So I buy my add-on and take the Double Developer's Points. Now, since I was already taking 2 vacations this year, I wanted to minimize the number of vacation days. So we decided to do a long weekend (Thursday -> Monday). So, with my developer's points, I call for a reservation and was able to book a 1 bedroom at SSR for the weekend of 10/11 - 10/15. The next week, DSis#2 decides to come. So now there are 3 of us. Since I am using my developer's points, I decided to splurge so that we would each have our own bed and I changed our reservation from a 1 br to a 2 br. We ended up at OKW. So, now we have a 2 br villa for only 3 of us. Plus the 2 br's at OKW are actually larger than my townhouse! :cool1:

I'll post some more later.

Links to the trip report
Day 1 - Post 22 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21384762&postcount=22)
Day 1, Part 2 - Post 23 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21408647&postcount=23)
Day 1, Part 3 - Post 24 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21408670&postcount=24)
Day 1, Part 4 - Post 25 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21408696&postcount=25)
Day 1, Part 5 - Post 26 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21408716&postcount=26)
Day1, Completion - Post 27 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=21408744&postcount=27)

[Donald is #1]

Flight:
Well, although we live in 3 different states, this in New England. So in reality, the furthest drive is between my house and DSis#1 (about 1.5 hours). So we decided to fly together. DSis#2 and I were on the phone together and on our computers so that we could book our tickets. I booked both mine and DSis#1's ticket. We were able to get a non-stop mid-morning Jet Blue flight for us. So we will be at MCO on our first day at 1:00. This means that we can actually hit EPCOT that night!
:banana:

Itinerary:
Well, our plans are pretty simple. The whole point of this trip is the F&WF. Now, to keep costs down, we decided not to do any of the special events. We will basically spend 3 full days in EPCOT and come 11 AM, spend most of our time in WS eating & drinking :drinking1 our way through WS. When I bought that tickets for my sisters, I did buy park hoppers because I don't want us to be trapped if we decide to hop over to another park. So our main plan is just EPCOT (my favorite park) but I wouldn't be surprised if we decide to head over to MK or AK at least part of 1 day.

To ME or not ME?:
OK, now for the big question: Should we ME or not? Well, originally, DSis#1 was thinking about going to WDW in Feb '08 with her husband & son. So I decided to use ME for this trip so that she could see how it works. Of course, it helped that when I checked the car rental rates, they were fairly high! :eek:
So I booked ME for all 3 of us. This was in July. Now towards the end of July, DSis#1 decides that she is going to go to VB instead of WDW in Feb 08. So I booked VB for her and really didn't think to much about the transportation for our October trip.
Background: I used ME for my Oct '06 trip with DSis#2. It worked well. The only real drawback was that on my return to the airport, the bus made an extra stop and it really was cutting it a tad closer than I would like. Please note that it really wasn't that close, but I am one of those people who would prefer to be in the airport early and read at the gate instead of worrying standing in line. Also I tend to feel trapped if I don't have a rental car even if I don't use it.
So fast forward to the end of August. I am talking to DSis#2 about my trip in a couple of days to Yellowstone. I happen to mention that I hadn't checked rental car prices for October in a while. After I get off the phone, I decided to check the car rental rates. Well I go on Hertz and the AAA rate for that weekend is much lower. So I book the car.
So the answer finally is: I ended up renting a car for a 5 day trip.

[Donald is #1]

Well, now that I have joined DVC, I have basically decided that I will probably do 2 vacations a year at Disney: one week long or so and one long weekend. That being said, as I have been reading these boards, the Owner's Locker definately caught my eye.

After talking about it with DSis#2 a couple of times, I finally decided to sign up for it. First, I made sure that my sisters can use it also if they go down.

So now the big question: What do I put in the locker?

My list so far is:
1) Laundry detergent & fabric softener (will buy down in FL)
2) Extra pair of sneakers (WDW is the only place that I take 2 pairs of sneakers)
3) Sweatshirt (I will buy one in WDW & leave it there)
4) Hat (Will probably bring from home)
5) Sunscreen (again, will bring from home since I have a new bottle)
6) Full size shampoo
7) Corkscrew (already with my stuff to pack)

OK... Does anyone have any other suggestions?

[Donald is #1]

Well currently we only have 1 ADR and I just made that 2 nights ago.

When we were first planning the trip, I asked everyone if they wanted ADRs and they both said no. Our plan has been that we were just going to eat at the food booths. Now, this is a good plan because for the most part, that is what I did last year.

However, I also noticed last year that Epcot got really crowded by late afternoon on Saturday. And by Saturday night, I found that the lines for the food booths were longer than I wanted to stand in.

So DSis#2 and I were talking Friday night we decided to make an ADR for Saturday night. We talked about either Raglan Road or Bomas and decided upon Bomas. Since we now have a car it will be easy to get to AKL plus they will be able to look around at AKL while we are there. Now DSis#1 is the person who really wants to concentrate on eating at the food booths. Plus she remembers our trip in 2000 when you could pretty much walk into any TS place and get a table. So DSis#2 and I decided to make the ADR and then if DSis#1 decides that she wants to stay at EPCOT and the rest of us decide that we want to leave, only the 2 of us will have dinner. I did make the reservation for 3 just in case DSis#1 decides that she wants to come with us. I figure that we can wait until even 5 or 6 in the evening on that Saturday to make our decision since we can drive to EPCOT that day.

[Donald is #1]

OK, so yesterday when I was doing my weekly grocery shopping, I started getting stuff for my Owner's Locker. I was buying stuff like a sewing kit, crystal light single serving packets, toilletries, first aid stuff, plastic zipper bags, etc. So anyways, as I am in the grocery store, it dawns on me that I really don't need to buy the stuff now because I am going to go shopping when I arrive down in FL anyways (to get water, laundry detergent, snacks, etc.). So do I put the stuff back and decide to buy it in FL?

No! Of course not, I even then drive over to Walmart and buy more stuff. :rotfl: Does this make any sense????

[Donald is #1]

So after my shopping trip on Sunday, here is my current list:


1) Laundry detergent & fabric softener (will buy down in FL)
2) Extra pair of sneakers (WDW is the only place that I take 2 pairs of sneakers)
3) Sweatshirt (I will buy one in WDW & leave it there)
4) Hat (Will probably bring from home)
5) Sunscreen (again, will bring from home since I have a new bottle)
6) Full size shampoo
7) Corkscrew (already with my stuff to pack)
8) Sewing kit
9) Scissors
10) first aid stuff: various size bandages, hydrocortisone, etc
11) foot care stuff: moleskin, Ben Gay, body glide
12) empty slide lock bags
13) bleach tablets to clean jetted tubs
14) batteries

Does anyone have other suggestions? I still have 3 weekends to buy stuff in NH that I could just as easily buy in FL. :rotfl2:

[Donald is #1]

Well, not too much has changed in our itineray. But since we added our one ADR, I figured that I would post an update.

Official Itinerary: (PrincessPower, go ahead and make changes or other suggstions)

Thursday (Oct 11):
6:30 AM -- Meet at DSis#2's house
6:45 AM -- Get picked up by the van service
approx 8:00 AM -- Arrive at Logan airport
9:50 AM -- Non-stop flight for MCO (I :love: Jet Blue!)
12:50 PM -- Arrive at MCO, get our bags and get on Hertz shuttle to get our car
2:30 PM or so -- Arrive at OKW & hopefully check in
3:00 PM -- Go to grocery store (my sisters may head to the park now)
4:00 PM or so -- Head to Epcot!!! :love:

Lunch: I am not sure yet. We may pick up something at OKW or we may just wait until we get to EPCOT
Dinner: F&WF booths at EPCOT

Friday (Oct 12):
8:30-8:45 AM -- Get to EPCOT for opening
9:00 AM -- Go on Soaring plus probably get FP for it. If we are a little late, then get FP and do something else.
9:00 - 11:00 AM -- Wonder around Future World doing whatever we want (after Thursday's Itinerary, you probably thought that I would have everything planned to the minute, didn't you? :rotfl2: )
11:00 & on -- Here we get to enjoy the WS & F&WF taking our time since we have 3 days here. :woohoo:
EMH: I don't know if we will do EMH or not. We will probably get the wrsit bands and then decide whether we are tired or not.

Saturday:
8:30 AM -- Drive to EPCOT. Get to EPCOT for opening (someone may want to sleep in. In that case we will meet up at the park)
9:00 - 11:00 AM -- Continue visiting FW
11:00 - 6:00 PM -- Continue touring WS & F&WF
6:00 PM -- Drive to AKL
6:30 - 7:30 Wander around AKL
7:30 -- Dinner at BOMAs!:yay:
After dinner: Head back to AKL but we could also decide to head to MK since it is open until midnight.

Sunday:
9:00 or so -- Go to EPCOT, finish FW
11:00 or so until 9 PM-- Head to WS & continue with F&WF

Monday:
Sleep in a bit & pack
Around 9:30 or 10, head to the RAC at OKW and check in/drop off our bags.
Around 11:00 -- Head to airport & drop off car at Hertz

1:30 PM -- Flight leaves MCO for Logan
4:33 PM -- Land at Logan, get our bags and find our van
approx 7:00 PM Arrive at DSis#2's house


Possible changes:
1) DSis#2 & I would like to go to DTD for World of Disney and the Pin Station. Most likely we will either do it Thursday afternoon or sometime on Sunday.
2) Will we go to any other parks? Possibly on Sunday, we may decide to go to either AK or MK for part of the day and then finish the day at EPCOT. Since we don't have any ADRs besides BOMAs, we can play this by ear.

[Donald is #1]

So, I was finally (!) unpacking from my Yellowstone trip on Sunday. Yes, I have been back for 2 weeks, but the suitcase and duffle bags were still in the living room minus the clothes. As I was unpacking and bringing the bags back upstairs, I put the bags of stuff that I had bought for my owner's locker in the suitcase. Well, lifting it up, I realized how heavy it was. So now I am thinking that I may have to check a second bag (medium size duffle bag) just to carry my stuff for the owner's locker! :rotfl: I guess that if I actually do that, I will have plenty of space to bring home stuff.

Well, I was telling DSis#1 about this on Sunday night and her comment was "Can't you buy that stuff in FL?" (:sad2: She just doesn't get it sometimes. :) ) Of course, I tell her yes but that still didn't keep me from buying the stuff here.

[Donald is #1]

So, I was talking to DSis#1 last night about the trip and she says that she may want to go to either AK or MGM also. Now, her idea of touring Disney is similar to mine. Sorry all of you planners, but we like to play it by ear a bit. So for now, our itineray will stay with going to EPCOT each day, but most likely, we will do some hopping to at least one of the other parks. I purposely bought my sisters hopper tickets so that we can decide to change parks and not have to worry about it.

After hearing about some of my solo vacations at WDW and other places, DSis#1 really wants to spend some time on her own. So we will probably split up for 1/2 a day or so and DSis#2 and I will do something else. :idea: Hmmm maybe we can make it over to check out Haunted Mansion.


On the Food & Wine Festival front, I was over the on F&WF thread and found a link to cards that one of the members has made for the food booths. So, I printed them out tonight! I only printed 2 per page so I have 26 pages of them! :rotfl2: It will be interesting to see if I actually use them!

[yearbook50]

Just found this!

Sounds like a great trip! You are as bad as me with timing plans.

I'll be at Epcot on the 12th and 13th. So if you see me by myself on the 12th, feel free to say hi!. Or on the 13th, I may be carrying my mother so I'm sure we'll be a riot. (Although, 3 sisters together you guys may be more of a riot!)

[Donald is #1]

Just found this!

Sounds like a great trip! You are as bad as me with timing plans.

I'll be at Epcot on the 12th and 13th. So if you see me by myself on the 12th, feel free to say hi!. Or on the 13th, I may be carrying my mother so I'm sure we'll be a riot. (Although, 3 sisters together you guys may be more of a riot!)

Awesome! By the way, you may recognize DSis#2 if you see her since she works at WPI.

[yearbook50]

Awesome! By the way, you may recognize DSis#2 if you see her since she works at WPI.

What does she do there?

[Donald is #1]

What does she do there?

She is a receptionist in Financial Aid.

[Donald is #1]

Well, since I only have 1 more weekend before I leave, I decided that maybe I should start doing something to get ready. So I finally sat down and organized the pins that I had bought on EBAY for pin trading. OK, I was a bit anal retentive about it this time. I ended up splitting the pins up into zipper bags with 20 pins each. I have definitely gone too far! :rotfl2: No, I just need to figure out how many of the bags to take with me for a 4 park days trip. Hmm... Do I just take all of them? Or do I just take some of them? I ended up with 6 bags of 20 each. Yes, I have been doing a lot of buying on EBAY! The only thing I don't like about my pins this time is that they are mostly Hidden Mickey/Cast Lanyards ones. On my last trip, I had mostly non-Hidden Mickey/Cast lanyard pins. But most of the lots that I have seen recently have been exclusives Hidden Mickey/Cast Lanyard. The reason that I like the other pins is that I tend to trade for the Hidden Mickey/Cast Lanyards ones. So it seems strange to trade one for another.

Another thing that I am considering is whether I will bring a second lanyard just in case one of my sisters wants to trade. Of course the real question is: Will I drive my sisters over the edge with my trading?

[Donald is #1]

Well, we leave in less than a week! :woohoo:

I just checked the weather and the word is : :sunny: hot! The weather looks like it will be 85-90! Hopefully everyone will be prepared for the heat.

I just started putting my carry-on together. I will have it packed with everything except for my prescriptions by the end of the weekend. Then I will probably pack my suitcase on Tuesday night. I normally pack a day early, so that I can think about what I packed and then rearrange/make changes the night before I leave.

[yearbook50]

Well, we leave in less than a week! :woohoo:

I just checked the weather and the word is : :sunny: hot! The weather looks like it will be 85-80! Hopefully everyone will be prepared for the heat.
.

Thats great to hear! I like hot and sunny weather!

Have a great trip!

[Donald is #1]

Well, I had been trying to find us spots on either an Illuminations or a Wishes cruise. So, after posting my request a couple of times, I decided that it just wasn't in the cards.

Tonight, I jsut got a PM from someone with 3 spots available on an Illuminations cruise. Unfortunately, it is the same night as our Boma reservation. So, now, what should we do?

I called both of my sister to get their opinion. So far, I have only spoken with DSis#1. She votes for dinner. Hmmm... Which way will it go?

[Donald is #1]

Well, I spoke to both of my sisters and we have decided to keep our Boma reservations for Saturday night and not do the illuminations cruise.

We are now only 4 days away!!!! Only 3 more work days until Food & Wine Festival! :dance3:

[Donald is #1]

Hi my name is Donald is #1 and I have a problem ...... I am an overpacker! :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

So, I just packed my suitcase and I definitely overpacked! We will only be gone for 5 days and I ended up packing 2-3 extra shirts and 3 pairs of shorts. Now, if you remember we are staying in a 2 bedroom. So we have a washer and dryer in case we need to do laundry. But I still packed extra clothes. :rotfl:
Oh well, at least I pack less than I used to.


Only 1 more work day until we leave! :banana:

[yearbook50]

Have a great trip and safe travels!

[Donald is #1]

Have a great trip and safe travels!

Thanks! DSis#2 read your post after I logged off for the night and let me know that you posted on Thursday.


Well, we are back and we had an awesome time. I will try to download my pictures this week and start the trip report this weekend.

[Donald is #1]

OK, here we go.... Day 1

So, Day 1 started real early for me. I needed to be at DSis#2's house for 6:30 AM. Since it is almost a 90 minute drive, I set my alarm for about 4:15. Well, I was actually up at 4. So, I was downstairs before 4:30. I ended up being ready almost 30 minutes before I needed to leave. So, since I was sure that DSis#2 didn't want me to arrive 30 minutes early :rotfl: , I ended up watching TV for about 1/2 an hour. Guess what? There isn't much on at 4:30 AM.

Anyways, I got on the road at 5 and since it was so early, it was a fairly easy drive to Worcester. I was at DSis#2's house a bit before 6:30. DSis#1 arrived about 5 minutes after me so all we had to do was wait for the van service. Everyone was up at DSis#2's house, so we just hung around and talked with the kids and Dsis#2's husband. Both of the kids (ages 9 & 10) seemed to be handling it well that the three of us were going to WDW without them.

Well, just to drive us crazy a little bit, the van driver was a few minutes late. Luckily, we quickly had the van loaded and were off to the airport. The ride to the airport ended up being a bit aggravating because the Mass Pike was moving very slow. :sad1: DSis#2 and I were sitting in the row behind the driver and we kept watching the clock. Luckily the traffic cleared at about the Brighton tolls. We left Worcester a bit before 7 and we didn't get to Logan until almost 8:30. We had already checked in on-line, so all we needed to do was to drop off our bags. Luckily, there was almost no-one in line to check bags at Jet Blue. So we quickly checked out bags and were on our way to security. We also had good luck at security since the lines were farily short. So despite the traffic on the way to the airport, we were at our gate about 30 minutes before boarding.

Our flight left on time and was a nice un-eventful flight. I really love flying Jet Blue. I ended up watching TV the entire way down. We landed on time at MCO and had our bags fairly quickly. Once we had our bags, we headed out to pick up the Hertz shuttle. We just missed the first shuttle, but I don't think that we were waiting more than 5 minutes before the next shuttle came. I used my Hertz#1 club card so that car was waiting when we got there. We had a Grand Prix which was ok but as we found out later in the day, the remote to lock/unlock the door didn't work at all! Luckily we weren't using the car much because it was a bit annoying to lock/unlock the car from the driver's side door. Now our luck ran out and we encountered our next annoying traffic situation of the day. For some reason, the exit booths at Hertz were operating really (!!!!!!!!!!) slow. We were in line for probably 30 minutes to get out of the parking lot. But despite the slow exit booths, we were at the WDW area within 90 minutes of our plane landing.

We decided to stop at the Disney outlet before checking in to Old Key West. So, our first stop was the Orlando Preminum Outlet Mall. By this time, it was almost 3:00 and we were getting hungry. So we grabbed lunch at the food court in the outlet mall. Then we went to the Disney Outlet. I didn't spend too much time there. I just picked up a couple of pins and traded a pin with one of the CM's before heading off to the Publix. I left both Dsis at the mall while I went shopping. Basically, all I was picking up some soda, water, bagels, etc. The shopping didn't take too long and I picked up my sisters.

It was a short drive to Old Key West and I think that we got to the check-in desk at about 4. We were checked in very quickly and our 2 bedroom villa was ready! :woohoo: I had an Owner's Locker waiting for me, but our groceries and luggage in the car, I decided to come back later to get it. This was my first stay at OKW and also my first stay at one of the DVC resorts as a DVC member. My sisters had not been to any of the DVC resorts. So we were really impressed, floored, ...enter your adjective here... when we walked into our room!

As a reminder, I was using my developer's points, so I splurged and got us a 2 bedroom unit so that we could all have our own bed. Our unit, 1820, was on the second floor in the corner and it was incredible! I am definitely spoiled now! One of the only drawbacks of OKW is that most of the buildings don't have elevators. So we were glad that we weren't on the third floor since we had to carry our luggage up stairs.

DSis#1 and DSis#2 relaxing in the living room after moving all of our stuff from the car to the room.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Old-Key-West0001.jpg

Kitchen & Dining Area:
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Old-Key-West0003.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Old-Key-West0002.jpg

2nd Bedroom:
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Old-Key-West0005.jpg


Master bath:
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Old-Key-West0008.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Old-Key-West0009.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Old-Key-West0010.jpg

Master bedroom:
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Old-Key-West0011.jpg

Balcony (Doors from both Master Bedroom & Living room):
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Old-Key-West0012.jpg

View from balcony:
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Old-Key-West0013.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Old-Key-West0014.jpg

Even though I knew that the villa was going to be large, I just couldn't believe how much space there was! I really like having a separate living area from the bedroom.

As we were un-loading the car, we noticed the DSis#2's key to the room wasn't working. So once we had the car unloaded, I drove back to the check-in desk to get her key re-coded and to pick up my owner's locker.

[Donald is #1]

OK, let's see where I left off.

After we got everything into the room and sat down for a few minutes, we decided to head off to Epcot. Now, we quickly looked at the map that they gave us at check-in and we saw that the bus stop was close to our building. Of course, we didn't look at the map long enough because we ended up taking to long way to the bus stop!

Well the bus to Epcot came fairly quickly. Throughout this trip we really didn't have any problems with the buses. We even had an incredibly lucky experience. (You'll have to wait for the day 3 post to find out about it though.)

What did I do first? Well, of course I had to take a picture of Spaceship Earth without the wand.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Epcot0003.jpg

Our plan tonight was just to wander around and soak everything in. Our first stop was the pin trading station where I bought way too many pins. I bought enough pins that I couldn't remember which ones I bought later!

We then headed towards the World Showcase. Our pattern for the evening ended up being stopping at each gift shop for DSis#1 and stopping at the various food booths as something peaked our interest. For the food booths, we would buy 1 if any item that interested us and then get 3 forks/spoons so that we could all try it.

We decided to start on the Mexico side. In general, our ratings will be from :sad2: (didn't like) to :) (ok) to up to two :thumbsup2. Also for the beer and wine, mostly just DSis#1 and I rated the drinks.

So our first stop was the Champagne booth. Here we tried the Rose Imperial Champagne. :drinking1 Ratings: Me: :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Next we went over to Mexico. At the Mexican stall, we tried the Dos Equis and the Chiliquiles.
:drinking1 Dos Equis: Ratings: Me: :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
popcorn:: (we need a better food smilie) Chiliquiles: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

We went into the building and spent a good amount of time wandering around the stalls here. It always amazes me how the inside of the building looks like an outdoor marketplace. When we stopped at one of the outdoor giftshops, I just had to get my picture taken with one of the hats.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Epcot0007.jpg

[Donald is #1]

OK, I had to split this up into multiple posts because I had too many images.

We next stopped at the Spain booth. Here we tried the Abadia Retuerta Seleccion Especial and the Spicy Calamari Stew.

:drinking1 Retuerta Seleccion Especial : Ratings: Me: :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
popcorn:: Spicy Calamari Stew: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Next we checked out the shops in China and then stopped to get our picture taken.

I am on the left, DSis#2 is in the middle, and DSis#1 is on the right.
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Epcot0012.jpg


DSis#2 and I were very glad to see lots (!!!!!!) of photopass photographers through EPCOT. There were many more photographers than we had seen in October of last year or during my May solo trip. This time we were also better about having the photographer also take the picture using one of our cameras. DSis#2 has most of the pictures on her camera, but I had a couple of them.

Here are a couple of pictures that I took in the shops in China.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Epcot0009.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Epcot0011.jpg

[Donald is #1]

Our next F&WF stop was at the China booth. Here we tried the Pork Pot Stickers, the Carmel Ginger Ice Cream and the Tsingtao Pure Draft Beer. Now, when I think of draft beer, I think of a beer on tap. However, this beer came straight out of a bottle.

:drinking1 Tsingtao Pure Draft Beer: Ratings: Me: :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2
popcorn:: Pork Pot Stickers: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :thumbsup2
popcorn:: Carmel Ginger Ice Cream: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Our next stop was the India booth. Here we tried the Curried Butternut Squash Soup and the Grover Vineyards Cabernet-Shiraz.
:drinking1 Grover Vineyards Cabernet-Shiraz: Ratings: Me: :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2
popcorn:: Curried Butternut Squash Soup: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :sad2:

[Donald is #1]

Our next stop was the India booth. Here we tried the Curried Butternut Squash Soup and the Grover Vineyards Cabernet-Shiraz.
:drinking1 Grover Vineyards Cabernet-Shiraz: Ratings: Me: :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2
popcorn:: Curried Butternut Squash Soup: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :sad2:

We next wandered around the shops at the Outpost and in Germany (do you see a pattern yet?). While in germany, we got a Becks beer and the Spaetzle with Creamy Mushroom Ragout. Throughout our trip, the lines at the Germany booth seemed to be the longest consistently.

:drinking1 Becks: Ratings: Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

popcorn:: Spaetzle with Creamy Mushroom Ragout: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :sad2:

By this time we were getting rather full, so I don't think that we got anything else to eat while at EPCOT this evening. We went through the shops at Italy and I continued to do some pin trading while my sisters looked around. We stopped here to get another photo.
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071011Epcot0014.jpg

[Donald is #1]

We continued looking through the shops at each of the countries and at the France booth, found our favorite drink of the event: Sparkling Pomergranate Kir. This drink was awesome! We had it atleast 2-3 more times during the weekend.

:drinking1 Sparkling Pomergranate Kir: Ratings: Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

By the time we got to the UK, it was just about 9 PM. So we started watching Illuminations but then decided to head back to the resort before the end.

When we got back to the resort, both DSis#1 and DSis#2 were getting hungry. So we ordered a pizza through room service and while we were waiting DSis#1 and I drove over to the store at OKW to get a bottle of wine.


Overall, we had an awesome day. It was a lot of fun just to wander around the WS checking out all of the food, wine, and beer. It was really nice and relaxing because we really just wandered.


Hopefully I got all of this in the right order because I didn't take the notes that I normally take besides writing down what food & drinks that we tried.


I guess that I shouldn't have used the smilie's in my ratings.:confused3 I ended up with so many images that I had to break this up into many pieces.

[yearbook50]

I can now place who your sister is!

Sounds good so far.

[nebo]

Well, I spoke to both of my sisters and we have decided to keep our Boma reservations for Saturday night and not do the illuminations cruise.

We are now only 4 days away!!!! Only 3 more work days until Food & Wine Festival! :dance3:

Hi Don, just wanted to drop in for a second. Great start on your report, OKW looks just great, wish we could stay there sometime. But we've just cracked the Deluxe resorts, barely, much less the DVC ones.
Anyway,, I think you made a good decision on the cruises. A week before you were there, we watched Illuminations from the International Gateway bridge. ANd low and behold, right beneath us, are all the cruise boats, all lined up for the show. The Pontoons, Breathless, it was like boats at a drive in movie. So you don't get any closer, and I have no doubt that we still had a better view from up on the bridge. And this time I didn't even have to ask Smidgy to put me on her shoulders. :rotfl:
That's it. Great start. Resume.

[Donald is #1]

I can now place who your sister is!

Sounds good so far.

Hi! I was wondering if you would recognize her from seeing her on campus.

I hope that your trip was awesome! I can't wait to read your trip report.

Hi Don, just wanted to drop in for a second. Great start on your report, OKW looks just great, wish we could stay there sometime. But we've just cracked the Deluxe resorts, barely, much less the DVC ones.
Anyway,, I think you made a good decision on the cruises. A week before you were there, we watched Illuminations from the International Gateway bridge. ANd low and behold, right beneath us, are all the cruise boats, all lined up for the show. The Pontoons, Breathless, it was like boats at a drive in movie. So you don't get any closer, and I have no doubt that we still had a better view from up on the bridge. And this time I didn't even have to ask Smidgy to put me on her shoulders. :rotfl:
That's it. Great start. Resume.

Welcome! We were really impressed at OKW. The only negative with it was that there aren't many food options. There is a sit-down restaurant that we ate at for breakfast a couple of times and a to-go place that has a very limited menu. Luckily, I had checked out the menu's ahead of time so I wasn't surprised. That being said, I wouldn't hesitate to stay there again. The rooms were so big and nice!

You're in trouble now if you are starting to crack the deluxe resorts. :rotfl2: Once you get used to them, it is so hard to go back. I decided to join the DVC bandwagon this past spring when I looked at the cost of my trip at WL last October and the cost of my upcoming (at that time) trip to AKL and realized that it would have paid for a 1/3 of the cost of DVC.

Looking back, I am glad that we didn't do the Illuminations cruise. We were there for such a short time that we really didn't have time. You're right. I agree with you that the view from the bridge is the same as from the boats. Of course the positive side of the cruise is that you have a "seat" and don't have to stand waiting for the show to start. I did do one on my May trip with Goldilocks_63 and it was a great time.

[50 years Too!]

Enjoying your report.
How fun that you and your sisters could go on a trip together!

Deb

[Donald is #1]

50 years Too!: Thanks! We had an awesome time! We all live within an 1.5 hour drive so we see each other often enough. But we almost never get together without kids, spouses and/or our mother. We had been talking about a trip with just us for a few years but never had the chance to do it. It was great to finally do it. We all had such a great time that we will have to find time to do it again! :banana:

[Donald is #1]

On our first full day at OKW, we decided to head up to the hospitality house to check out the breakfast options. There ended up being 2 options for breakfast: Olivia's and the ToGo place. When we first got up to the hospitality house, we checked out the menu's at both places and then decided to walk around the main pool. It was a neat looking pool with a large Sand Castle which I believe had the slide and a lighthouse which housed a sauna. There seemed to be lots of places to sit around the pool.

After the walk around the pool, we decided to eat at Olivia's. It was a beautiful morning, so when they went to seat us, we decided to sit outside in the patio area. The restaurant didn't seem to be too busy and we had a nice & relaxing breakfast. DSis#1 & I had eggs and DSis#2 had an omlet. If you like omlets, Olivia's is a great option. Basically for all one price, you can add as many options to your omlet as you want! We all really enjoyed our breakfasts!

After breakfast, we got the bus over to Epcot from the bus stop by the hospitality house. I think that we got to Epcot at about 9:30. Our first stop was Soaring to get fast passes. (Hopefully I got the order here correct. I didn't get a chance to make too many notes during the trip.) After getting our FPs, we went on Living with the Land. At this time in the morning, it was a walk-on. I really like this ride. It is a nice relaxing boat ride and I love seeing the greenhouse area, including the mickey pumpkins.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071012Epcot0015.jpg

After Living with the Land, we headed over to the Living Seas to go on the Nemo ride. Again, it was pretty much a walk-on. We only thought this ride was ok. It is the second time that I have been on it and I think that it is a ride that I will go on if it is a walk-on but otherwise will avoid.

After Living with the Land it was time for Soaring (I think). Both DSis#2 and I have been on Soaring before and we really enjoyed it. When we were in the FP line, a woman came up behind us with her kids. When they got to the line, she got confused. She went up to the CM at the front of the line and asked him a question and then came back to her kids. I was standing right next to her and I heard her say that " I thought that FPes let you skip the line.". Well, for some reason, I just had to add in my 2 cents, so I told her (very politely) that she was in the FP line and that she was skipping the line because the main line was on the other side of the wall. As I was thinking about it, she had probably never been on the ride before and the partition between the lines is high enough that you can't see over it. Anyways, we weren't in line for too long before we were sent over to Concourse 2. We ended up in the third row. :sad2: Both DSis#2 and I enjoyed the ride though the first row is better :thumbsup2 but DSis#1 didn't like it. She had to keep her eyes closed the entire time. Although she loves roller coasters, she doesn't like Imax theaters or other things with large screens. Apparently, it really dis-orients her.

After Soaring (or maybe just before it - boy is my memory going!) we went over to Imagination for the Figment ride. We had a good time on this ride and by this time it was time to head over to the WS.

We headed over towards Canada and our first stop was at the Peru booth. Here we got the Arroz con Pato (roast duck with cilantro rice).
popcorn:: Arrox con Pato: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Our next stop was the Canada booth. Here we tried the Labatt Blue and the Salmon.
:drinking1 Labatt Blue: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2
popcorn:: Salmon: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 DSis#2 :thumbsup2

[Donald is #1]

Our next stop was the Canada booth. Here we tried the Labatt Blue and the Salmon.
:drinking1 Labatt Blue: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2
popcorn:: Salmon: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 DSis#2 :thumbsup2

We visited the shops in Canada and then headed to the UK. At the UK, I went into the Pub for a Boddington's while DSis#1 stopped at New Zealand for the lamb slider and also picked up a Bass Pale Ale.
:drinking1 Boddingtons: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :sad2: DSis#2: :sad2:
:drinking1 Bass Pale Ale: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
popcorn:: Lamb Slider: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 DSis#2 :thumbsup2

We walked around the UK and then headed to the shops in Paris.

[Donald is #1]

About this time, we decided that we needed some dessert, so first DSis#1 & DSis#2 each got something at the Pastry shop. After we ate most of what they got, I decided to head in and get something. So here we tried:

popcorn:: Pralineige: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
popcorn:: Cheesecake: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2
popcorn:: Napolean: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#1: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

We really enjoyed all 3 desserts, but I think that the Napolean was our favorite. After we finished the pastry, we headed back out towards the main pathway and we stopped to watch the end of a balancing act. It was right outside the Chefs De France and the person was balancing on top of stacked chairs. It was a lot of fun to watch. I think that DSis#1 got another Kir from the French booth. We next went to Morroco and while DSis#2 was picking out which henna tattoo she wanted, DSis#1 and I wandered around the shops and took some pictures.
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071012Epcot0018.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071012Epcot0019.jpg

Here is a picture of DSis#2 getting her tattoo.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071012Epcot0021.jpg

Although the tattoo was neat looking, DSis#2 found that it started to wash off within a few days.

We wandered around the WS a little while and then decided that we wanted to head to DTD. Both DSis#2 and I wanted to go to the World of Disney because we can get a discount there with our Disney Visa cards. So we wanted to get there early in the trip before we bought too much.

[yearbook50]

I got a henna tattoo too..it was gone quick too. Oh well. It looked neat for a little while.

[Donald is #1]

I got a henna tattoo too..it was gone quick too. Oh well. It looked neat for a little while.


DSis#2 and I were talking about the henna tattoo this evening. We were wondering if they would last longer if they were done higher up on an arm or a leg. We were wondering if it wore off quickly because it was on her wrist and hand.

[Donald is #1]

One thing that I forgot to mention in my earlier post is that we decided to try to see if we could get some character pictures at the Disney Visa setup. But when we got over to innovations, the line was fairly long so we decided to skip it. Since there is no direct bus to DTD from EPCOT, we walked to the International Gateway and then walked over to the Beach Club to get a bus. My sisters have never been to the Epcot resort area, so I figured it would be neat for them to see. When we got to the Beach Club, I asked for directions to the bus stop and then we walked over to the bus stop. I am definitely going to have to stay at the Beach Club Villas one of these days. The resort looked really neat!

While we were waiting for the bus, we had our worst experience with love-bugs. For some reason, the white benches were crawling with love bugs! We ended up waiting probably about 15 minutes for a bus to DTD.

Once we got to DTD, our first stop was the World of Disney. I was caught by surprise at how busy the store was in the afternoon. I normally go to DTD in the afternoon and don't find it as busy as it was this day. Perhaps, it was busy because it was a Friday and there were a lot of people coming in or leaving that day. Anyways, we spent some time in WOD and I think that for the most part, we found everything that we were looking for. I did notice that the selection at WOD was different than that at MouseGears because I couldn't find the sweatshirt that I had looked at in MouseGears nor some of the woman's clothing. However, we basically found what we wanted and who could pass up at 10% discount.

After WOD, we stopped into the Lego store so that DSis#2 could do some shopping and then wandered through Pleasure Island and the shops over in Westside. By the time that we finished Westside, we were hot and tired again and decided to head back to OKW. We were near the boat dock. So we took the boat from Westside over to the DTD dock and then immediately transferred to the boat for OKW. So far so good....

Well, we had 2 pilots for our boat. One experienced pilot and one in training. (still with me?) So, the boat that we were on, went from DTD to SSR to OKW. The ride down the canal was very pleasant and we were the only people on the boat. So we enjoyed the ride. The boat is fairly slow so it definitely wasn't the fastest trip but it was relaxing. Well, we stop at SSR without any incident and then the head off to OKW. Now the fun begins. The entire time the pilot in training is controlling the boat. (No flames please, I realize that everyone must learn.) But as she is pulling into the dock at OKW, she isn't aligned properly. So the trainer has her back up and pull in again. She tries again, still not aligned properly. So she backs up again and tries again. Still not aligned right. Now by this time, there is a woman on the dock waiting to board the boat. She must have gotten nervous now so she turned the boat over to the other pilot and he backed up and docked the boat. Finally we were at the dock. The poor pilot trainee, she must have been so nervous with people on the boat as she started having problems docking it.

Well, by the time we got back to OKW is was about 4:30 and we were getting a bit hungry. So we stopped at the to-go place (Goods to Go) and we all ordered cheeseburgers. Two of us got our burgers with fries and one of my sisters got the fruit cup. They definitely cook the burgers to order, at least at 4:30 in the afternoon, because we each had to wait for our burgers. The burgers and fries were good. DSis#1 thought that the fruit cup was only ok. After finishing our meals, we stopped in the gift shop and then convinced DSis#2 to walk back to our room instead of waiting for the internal bus. The walk back really wasn't that bad. Once we were in the room, DSis#2 and I decided to just relax and enjoy the AC and DSis#1 decided to head to the local pool. The local pool was really quite close to our building. DSis#1 found that it was almost empty and she spent time between the hot tub and the pool.

About 6:00 or so, we decided that it was time to head back to EPCOT. So we started getting ready. We were a bit slow moving, so we didn't start heading to the bus stop until about 7. We must have timed it wrong, because we had to wait about 20 minutes before an EPCOT bus came. We got to EPCOT just before 8 and decided to split into 2 groups. DSis#1 decided that she wanted to wander around solo for a while. I wanted to see the updates to the American Adventure. So DSis#2 and I headed over to it. We got there just before the last show. I have always loved this show and DSis#2 had never seen it before. I really liked the updates and as usual, I teared up near the end. DSis#2 also enjoyed the show.

By the time that we got out, it was almost 9:00. We decided to split a funnel cake and then we sat on a wall to eat it and then finish watching the fireworks. Since tonight was an EMH night, we stayed after the fireworks and we found that most of the FW&F booths stayed open during EMH. We did sample some of the food during EMH. However, it was too dark to make any notes and of course, by the time that I got back to OKW, I forgot to make the notes.

After we sampled some food (that of course I can't remember :rotfl: ), we decided to head over to the Character Connection. When we got there, we found that the line was extremely long so we decided to skip it. We then headed over to Test Track. At test track, the walk-on line was about 40 minutes. So we went into the single rider line. For some reason, this was the most confused that I had ever seen Test Track. Normally, the single rider line works well. However this night, we were in the line and first we noticed people with younger kids in the line. DSis#2 and I started wondering if some of these people really understood how the single rider line works. For those of you who have never used it before. There is a large sign as you walk in stating that all groups will be split up. There are also signs in the briefing room for the single riders. Anyways, after standing in line for a little hile (5-10 minutes). A bunch of us were sent into the single rider briefing room. When we got in the room, the exit doors where open and blocked by a large group of people. The briefing room video cycled 2-3 times while we were waiting. While we were in there, one woman asked DSis#2 if she would be able to ride with her children. :sad2: DSis#2 explained that she thought that they would be split up. To confuse matters even more, there were some people (in ECVs, etc) in the single rider room that came through the regular line. So everyone was very confused. The CM filling the briefing room kept checking the room but it took a long time for the mass of people to move. Finally, we were able to make our way out the exit and into the line per se. It continued to seem a bit confusing here as it seemed that they were sometimes pulling multiple people from the single rider line. Finally we made it to the front and we were in consectutive cars. The ride was fun as always! In my car, there was a family split into both rows with the mother and the young son in the second row with me. The mother really loved it, but her son, probably about 7 or 8, didn't really like it. He didn't cry or anything but he definitely wasn't happy when he got off.

I waited for DSis#2 and my this time it was about 10:30. We decided that we were tired and decided to head back to OKW. We called DSis#1 and told her that we were heading back. She decided that she wanted to stay a while longer. When we got to the OKW bus stop, there was only 2 couple in front of us. Now comes our mistake! One of the people was in an ECV so they stopped by the ECV loading area. They were in line so we stopped behind them. (Big mistake). We waited for over 1/2 an hour and no bus. By this time the line behind us had grown and DSis#1 came to the bus stop. Finally a CM came by and said that because no one was at the front of the line, the sensors could not tell that there were people waiting. So they asked us to move up. Moral to the story: Make sure that there are people standing at the front of the line so that the sensors will recognize that there are people waiting. Finally, the bus came and we all made it on bus (though DSis#1 had to stand since she was at the back of the line).

We made it back to our room at about 11. As soon as I got back, I had to check the scores to see how the Red Sox did. And yes! They won!


So ends another day. We had another awesome day at WDW!

[Donald is #1]

Well, we were a bit slow moving this morning! OK, let's be honest, we were slow moving every morning! :lmao: We decided to have breakfast in the room. So we each made a bagel for breakfast. It was really nice being able to eat breakfast in the room as everyone was getting ready. Plus we were able to eat when we felt like it instead of waiting for everyone to be ready before going out to breakfast.

After breakfast, we headed off to the bus stop to get a bus to AK. Our original plan for the day had been to spend the entire morning & afternoon at AK and then take the bus over to AKV where we had a dinner reservation and finally head to MK since it was open to mid-night. How did our plans work out? We'll see.

By the time we got to AK, I think that it was getting towards 10. We stopped at the gift shop at the entrance and then at the one near the tree of life. While we were there, I stopped at the pin cart out side the store to buy some pins and to trade. While I was there, a little girl comes up and asks to trade for one of my pins. It was a Belle pin with a rubber flower on it. Well, her mother told her that I wasn't a CM and didn't need to trade with her and also told me that I shouldn't feel like I needed to trade. Since it was a pin that I had for trading, I was happy to trade with her. :wizard: I told her to pick one of her pins and if her parents said it was ok to trade it, she could have my pin. Well, after all of this, she couldn't pick a pin to trade with me. So her parents thanked me for being willing to trade with her and then went on her way. The result: I didn't trade with ber but only because she couldn't decide on a pin of hers to trade and her parents moved off. I was half thinking about giving her the pin anyways but for some reason I didn't. :confused3

While all this was going on, my sisters went off to the safari to get us some FPs. When I caught up with them, we had about an hour to kill before our FP. So we decided to due to Pangani Trail first. The crowds on the trail weren't too bad and when we got to the gorillas, there were a couple of gorillas right near the window!

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071013Animal-Kingdom00.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071013Animal-Kingdom05.jpg

I really love these trails! If they are not too crowded, they are a great place to take your time and really enjoy the theming and animals. After we finished the trail, we still had time before our FP. So we decided to head over to Asia. As we were walking over there, we saw a large group of people crowded along the trail. As we neared the crowd, what did we see? DeVine!

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071013Animal-Kingdom07.jpg

Until my last trip, I had never seen DeVine and this year I saw her on both of my trips! :woohoo:

We really took our time walking around and eventually went over to the Asian trail. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures on this trail. I am not sure why, just didn't feel like it. As usual, the tigers were sleeping while we were there. After we completed the trail, it was time for our next FP. So we stopped at Kali River Rapids for a set of FPs. By this time, it was time for our safari FP but it was also getting near lunch. So we decided to eat lunch first. After some discussion and changing of minds, we decided to eat at the Flame Tree BBQ. Since I had a DDE card, I ended up ordering for everyone and it was a nice discount! We ended up getting:
Me: pulled pork sandwich & a safari amber
DSis#1: BBQ beef sandwich & a bud light
DSis#2: BBQ ribs & water
All: shared an order of French Fries & onion rings.

While we were ordering, DSis#2 went to get us a table. Of course as DSis#1 and I were walking with our food, it dawned on me that I had no idea where she went! :rotfl2: If you have never been to Flame Tree BBQ, there are lots of seating areas hidden amongst the trees. Luckily, she was in one of the closest ones. So we all sat down and had an awesome meal!

After lunch, we headed over to the Safari and used our FP. As usual, it was getting fairly hot & steamy at AK. We didn't have to wait too long to get on the ride. This is my favorite ride at AK!

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071013Animal-Kingdom09.jpg

After the safari, we headed back over to Kali River Rapids. With our FPs, this ride ended up being a walk-on. There was no wait for us what so ever. As soon as we got to the loading area, we were put on a raft. Since I am paranoid about getting my camera and wallet wet, I had some plastic zipper bags on me so that I could protect my wallet and fanny pack. Kali River Rapids is a great ride though I wish it was a little longer. We all got wet but no one got soaked.

We next headed over to Expedition Everest.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071013Animal-Kingdom10.jpg

If you read my trip report from May, you learned that it took me until the last full day of my trip to get up the courage to go on EE. Well, the result was that it is a ride that I can probably do once per trip. On this trip, by the time we got to EE, it was hot and I didn't feel like going on the ride. So I decided to wait while both DSis went on it. They decided to use the single rider line. Unfortunately, there weren't any places to sit in the shade to wait. So I ended up going into the store and waiting there for the most of the time that they were in line. They were probably in line for 30-40 minutes before they got on a train. According to DSis#2, the standby line may have been shorter than the single rider line. They both enjoyed the ride!

By this time, there wasn't anything else that we felt like doing and I really wanted to sit down in some air conditioning. After some thought, we decided to head towards RFC since there was a lounge in there. We made our way over there but instead of going to the lounge, we spent some time shopping. We then decided to head back to our resort for a while. I think that it was about 3 PM when we headed towards the bus stop. We didn't have to wait too long before the OKW bus came and we were back at the resort fairly quickly.

[KYCruiseCrazy]

love the TR so far. can't wait to see more:goodvibes

[yearbook50]

another great update!

[Donald is #1]

love the TR so far. can't wait to see more:goodvibes

another great update!

Thank you both! I should have another segment or 2 up this weekend!

[Donald is #1]

Well, I finally remembered which booth DSis#2 and I sampled during the EMH on Friday. We tried the Shrimp, Grilled Lamb Chop, and the Rosemount Traminer Riesling.

popcorn:: Shrimp on the Barbie: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 Dsis#2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

popcorn:: Grilled Lamb Chop with Caramelized Onions: Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 Dsis#2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

:drinking1 Rosemount Traminer Riesling Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

I don't know if we just timed it right or not, but the shrimp was cooked just right! I think that the Riesling was my favorite wine of the trip.

[Donald is #1]

OK, let's see where did I leave off? I believe that we were on the bus heading back towards OKW.

When we got back to OKW, DSis#1 and I decided to head over to the pool while DSis#2 decided to relax in the room. Once we changed into our bathing suits, we headed over to the pool near our building. Our first stop was the hot tub which was heavenly! It really was a nice pool area. The pool itself was a good size and there were plenty of chairs around it. There was also a small playground area near the pool. I decided to alternate between the hot tub and relaxing on a lounge chair while DSis#1 alternated between the hot tub and the pool. According to DSis#1, there were definitely more people at the pool today than yesterday. There was probably about 10 people in the pool area included an extended family with multiple kids. Even though it was a bit louder than the previous day, it was very relaxing. I think that we spent about 45 minutes to an hour at the pool before heading back to our room. Once we got back to our room, we changed and slowly got ready for dinner.

We had a 7:30 reservation at Boma that night and all day had been debating whether to take the rental car over there or the buses. I was lobbying for the car since taking a bus between resorts can take some time. However, we were also comtemplating going to MK after dinner since it was open until midnight. Well, since we were ready by 6, we decided to take the bus. As we were walking towards the bus stop, we were discussing whether we should wait for an Epcot bus since Epcot is so close or take the first bus that appears. Well, it ends up that the discussion doesn't matter. The first was was... you guessed it!.... an Epcot bus.

So we get on the bus and it was pretty empty. The ride to Epcot was quick and uneventful until the bus pulls into its stop! Here is where we got sooo lucky!
As the bus is pulling into the bus stop, it goes by the OKW stop, then past the WL one and then it pulls into its stop and I look at the flag. What does it say but AKL! This seems too good to be true. So I tell my sisters to stay in my seat and I walk up and ask the driver "Where is your next stop?" The driver responds " AKL". I can't believe our luck! :woohoo: We didn't even need to get off the bus! So, the bus loads up with a few people and then takes off for AKL. We ended up at AKL at 6:30! By some miracle, it took us the same time as driving would have!

Aside for any readers who have never taken a bus between resorts: please don't use our experience as a judge for how long to allow for a resort to resort bus trip. We were extremely lucky!

OK back to our story: My sisters have never been to AKL before and since I bought into AKV, I wanted them to see it. After a stop at the gift shop, we headed directly to the arusha (spelling?) savannah to see the animals! (now to read it right, you need to pronounce it an-ne-mals :rotfl2: since I get so excited to see them.)

My sisters just loved seeing the savannah and how close the animals were!
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071013AKL0003.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071013AKL0004.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071013AKL0006.jpg

After looking at this savannah, we headed over by the pool to walk around and look at the savannah near it. Finally we headed over to Boma and checked in about 15 minutes early. There were plenty of people hanging around so when we checked in, I was told that it would be about 15 minutes. So I got the pager and my sisters decided that it was time for a rest room break. Well, as soon as I sat down, the pager started going off! :woohoo: I waited for my sisters and we were seated only about 5 minutes after we checked in. They seated us in a table right next to the buffet. It was a great location except that people kept cutting through behind DSis#1's chair. I don't think that it bothered her that much, but it drove me a bit crazy. The only dissapointment of the night was that they didn't have any Casa beer. All they had was Tusker which I had tried before but thought that it was just ok. So instead I had a Sam Adams, DSis#1 had a glass of wine and DSis#2 had a Coke. We had just an incredible meal! We tried lots of different things and although we didn't like everything we tried, there was plenty of things that we did try that we loved! The prime rib this night was incredible! It was so much better than during my May trip! Well we ate out way through a couple of passing at the buffet and then went for dessert. Both my sisters tried Zebra domes and loved them! While I was up at the dessert section, one of the chef's came to the table and asked my sisters how they liked the food. They said that they really enjoyed it. DSis#1 mentioned that she was surprised that there weren't any plantains on the buffet. The chef explained that the menu had changed and they didn't have plantains on the menu anymore. All this happened while I was at the buffet. So I get back to the buffet and they tell me that a chef stopped by. As I am eating my dessert (they had already eaten theirs) -- Magical moment here -- the chef comes by and put a large bowl of fried plantains drizzled with chocolate sauce down! We were stuffed already and the bowl had enough for at least 5 people, but we had to eat it. So we attacked the bowl and they were so good!!!!!!!!! It was incredible!

By the time that we were done, they had to roll us out of there! :rotfl:

Well, after dinner, we walked down to the bus stop and hopped on the next bus for MK. Here is where our timing was incredible again. As we are riding the bus towards to MK, I looked at my watch and noticed that we may jsut get there in time for the 9:00 Wishes presentation! Well the bus pulls up and we have about 10 minutes to get from the bus stop, through security and the turnstiles. We book it and just get on the Main Street side of the railroad station just in time! DSis#1 didn't want to watch so she headed off to Adventureland while DSis#2 and I watched from street level in front of the railroad station. It was just amazing timing! DSis#2 has never seen Wishes before because when we were at WDW in October 2006, it was one week later and all they were showing was Hallowishes. She was just floored by the show! :dance3:

After the show, a lot of people were heading out. We moved forward to the center area in front of City Hall and I took a couple of pictures.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071013Magic-Kingdom000.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071013Magic-Kingdom02.jpg

Next, we cut through the gift shops & did a little shopping as we were heading towards the center of the park since the street was filled with people heading out. As we got to adventureland, we called DSis#1 and met up with her. She had gone on Pirates of the Carribean while we watched the fireworks. We headed over towards haunted mansion but the line was longer than we wanted to wait in. We then wandered through fantasyland slowly and went to tomorrowland. The lines were longer than we wanted to wait in for most of the lines including Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear. We went on the TTA which is neat at night because everything is lite up. By about 10:00 or so, we decided that we wanted to head back to the resort. Here is our big mistake of the evening! Spectromagic was going on! During my past few trips, I noticed that the CMs were really good at keeping a passageway open during the parades. But not tongiht! We headed down the left side of main st in the passageway. But for some reason it was packed! You jsut couldn't move. We ended up getting separated, luckily we were all adults, and finally met up at the Candy store. At one point while I was stuck, I took a picture of Spectromagic that didn't really come out but looks neat.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071013Magic-Kingdom05.jpg

Anyways, we finally get back to the bus stop and get a bus back to OKW.
When I got back to the resort, the Red Sox-Cleveland game was still on. So I put it on in my bedroom and started to watch it. Luckily I started falling asleep so I turned it off. Luckily, because this was the extra-innings game that they (Red Sox) lost.

Anyways, this was another incredible day at the world!

[Donald is #1]

Well, this was our last full day at the world. :sad1:

Once again, we had breakfast in our room. I decided to sit out on the porch to eat my breakfast and it was so relaxing! :beach:

After breakfast, we decided that we were going to head to the MK for the first part of the day. Once again, we had good luck with the bus system because we didn't have to wait too long for the MK bus. I think that we got to the park around 9:30. So, we didn't make park opening again. Our first stop was Space Mountain. Unfortunately, it was down but we got FPs for it.

I think that we next did Buzz Lightyear using the Standby line (though we may have done this after Space Mountain). Even though we missed park opening, we were still fairly early so there wasn't any line. It was so uncrowded that we each had our own car. This ride is always so much fun!

We next headed to the Haunted Mansion. Luckily, there was almost no line so we were on the ride very quickly. I have always loved this ride and I was excited to see the changes. I think that the changes were great! They really did a nice job updating this ride. During her trip last year, DSis#2 didn't get a chance to ride Haunted Mansion. So she really liked being able to see it. We both decided however, that it may be too dark for her kids. I will have to keep that in mind next fall when I take them.

After haunted mansion, we decided to head over to Splash Mountain. It ended up being a walk-on which was very surprising because Big Thunder Railway was closed. I haven't done Splash Mountain in many years so it was nice to go on it again. I had forgotten how long the ride actually was. The ride was a lot of fun, but just as we got past the big drop, the entire ride stopped! We were stuck there for at least 15-20 minutes. It was a little wierd since the point where we were at was near the end and there were atleast 4 cars back to back. Finally, the ride restarted and we got to the end. When we were in the gift shop, I was talking to one of the people that came off behind us. He said that his boat was stuck at the top of the drop. He said that they had an incredible view of the park!

Once we finished browsing the gift shops and after I did a little pin trading, we headed over to Pirates of the Carribean. We walked right on until we got just before the boat loading area and then everything stopped! The ride was broken. :sad2: We waited for a few minutes and then decided to leave and get lunch. It was probably about 11:30 and we decided to beat the crowds. We headed over to Pecos Bills for lunch. I really love the fixin's bar here!:cloud9: Both DSis#2 and I got Cheeseburgers with Bacon and I think that DSis#1 got something else but to be honest, neither DSis#2 nor I can remember. Anyways, as always when I eat here (or at Cosmic Rays), I almost buried my burger in all of the fixin's. :thumbsup2 I just love the mushrooms and grilled onions. Since it wasn't very crowded and it wasn't too hot yet, we decided to eat at one of the tables outside. It was really a nice and relaxing lunch.

After lunch, we headed back to Pirates of the Carribean. I stopped along the way to do some pin trading while my sisters went ahead. When they got to Pirates, it was still broken but the Pirate Tutorial was going on. So they were able to watch the show. By the time that I got there, the show was just about over. But it is amazing how much the lead guy looks like Johnny Depp.

By this time, it was time for our FPs, so we headed over to Space Mountain and was able to pretty much walk on. Again DSis#2 wasn't able to do this ride last year. So this was her first time on the ride. With our FPs, the ride was almost a walk-on. I think that we waited all of 5 minutes. :woohoo: We hung around the gift shop for a bit while DSis#1 spent some time in the arcade.

Finally, we decided that it was time to head back to the resort for a rest. So we headed for the bus stop.

[yearbook50]

That Sunday was a bad day for the parks.

Space Mountain was down, the first time we went to Splash it was down, you had trouble with Pirates,


Sounds like a good day though!

[Donald is #1]

That Sunday was a bad day for the parks.

Space Mountain was down, the first time we went to Splash it was down, you had trouble with Pirates,


Sounds like a good day though!

Were you at MK also that day? Yes, we really had some bad luck with the rides that day. But luckily, when we were stuck on Splash Mountain, we were outside. I wonder if those people stuck in one of the inside portions of the ride were in the dark?

[yearbook50]

Were you at MK also that day? Yes, we really had some bad luck with the rides that day. But luckily, when we were stuck on Splash Mountain, we were outside. I wonder if those people stuck in one of the inside portions of the ride were in the dark?

Yup I was there starting at 8am until like 3ish. It was an unlucky MK! Its good that you were outside while you were stuck.

[Donald is #1]

Well, let's see, where did I leave off?

In the early afternoon, we took the bus back from MK to OKW. We were leaving tomorrow. So we wanted to head back to our room to pack. For once, packing for me was fairly easy. I think that it was because I was leaving so much of what I brought down in my owners locker. Plus since this was only a long weekend, I bought less than I usually do. We took our time packing and then headed for Epcot. I wanted to spend our last evening at the Food & Wine Festival.

When we got to Epcot, DSis#1 decided that she wanted to spend some time solo again. So DSis#2 and I started wandering around Epcot together. I think that we got there just before 4, because DSis#1 and I decided to check out the lines for the Disney Visa photos. However, the line was longer than we wanted to wait in. So we decided to head towards the WS. We really just slowly wandered through the WS. When we got to Japan, I decided that I wanted to try some sushi. I had tried sushi may years ago and it really didn't do anything for me. But I have been thinking that it was time for me to try it again. So when we got to the Japan booth, I got both the California Roll and the Cripsy beef sukiyaki roll. I also got the Plum wine. I really liked both types of sushi but I didn't like the plum wine at all. I ended up throwing most of it away.

popcorn:: California Sushi Roll Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :thumbsup2

popcorn:: Crispy Sukiyaki Beef Roll Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

:drinking1 Takara Plum Wine Ratings Me: :sad2: DSis#2: :sad2:

When we got the food, we decided to eat it at the outdoor tables near the counter service restaurant. It is really nice and relaxing there since it is right next to the Japannese garden.

I am glad that I tried the sushi because I really enjoyed it! I am going to have to order sushi more often now.

We continued slowly wandering around the WS just soaking it all in. Our next stop was the Oklahoma booth. DSis#2 wanted to try the buffalo. So we got the Three Sister's Soup and the Seared Buffalo with scalloped wild onions.

popcorn:: Three Sister's Soup Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

popcorn:: Seared Buffalo with scalloped wild onions Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Both of these meals were excellent.

[Donald is #1]

After trying the buffalo, we decided to head over the France and try the Escargot. DSis#1 had tried it the other night and really liked it. However, when she decribed it to us, we thought that there was only 1 in a serving. So we both ended up getting an order. In reality there were 3 in an order so we could have only ordered 1. oh well. I also got the Riesling.

popcorn:: Escargot Persillade en Brioche Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

:drinking1 Bernard Sparr Extrem Riesling Ratings me: :thumbsup2 DSis#2: :)

The escargot were excellent! We both really enjoyed them. As for the Reisling, while it was good, I preferred the one that I had gotten on Friday at the Australian booth.

At this point we stopped to decided what to do next. When DSis#2 was talking to some of her friends prior to the trip, they were teasing her about David Cassidy being at Epcot during our trip. So she wanted to get a photo of David Cassidy to send them. Well, we still had time to kill before the show, so we decided to head over to Journey to Imagination. (I think that I posted that we did the Figment ride earlier, but the more I think about it, we did it this evening.) So we walked over towards Future World and decided to stop at the Dominican Republic both for some flan.

popcorn:: Coconut Flan Ratings Me: :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2 DSis#2 :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

Sauce on the flan Me: :sad2: DSis#2: :sad2:

We both really enjoyed the flan but we didn't really like the sauce on it.

We went over to the figment ride and it was basically a walk on. DSis#2 had never done this ride before. We both really enjoyed the ride and then spent a few minutes in the area at the end of the ride.

By now, it was about time for the first David Cassidy show. We decided to take the boat across, so we walked over to the boat ramp closer to Canada. But it was late enough in the evening and this one was closed. There was a sign sending us over to the one near Mexico. In reality, we should have jsut walked. But of course, we didn't know that at the time. We ended up waiting for at least 15-20 minutes for the boat. Finally it got there and we got on. The boat took us across, but by this time the first show had ended.

We stopped at the America Pavillion for a while and while DSis#2 went to the ladies room (I know TMI .... :rotfl2: ) I sat on one of the walls in the courtyard of the pavaillion and people watched. As I sat there, I noticed a large extended family and saw a woman with an extremely small baby walking towards them. I noticed her because the baby looked very small and had a bit of a bluish tint. Well, I heard the family talking and someone walkign by asked how old the baby was. It was only 1-2 weeks old! :scared1: Now, I don't have any kids and it was obviously a large family gathering, but to me the baby seemed awfully young to be at the parks.

Anyways, once DSis#2 came back, it was probably about 30 minutes before the next show. The line for the show was very long! We decided to get some popcorn and then sit here and wait for the show so that DSis#2 could get her photo. So we sat there and people watched for the next 1/2 hour. Just before the show started, we walked over and found that there were plenty of seats. So we picked a bench at the back decided to watch the show. We called DSis#1 and it ended up that she was over the that Tangerine Cafe having dinner. So she decided to join us after she finished. The show was really a lot of fun. Of course he only had a couple of hits, but it was fun to watch and listen to. We all ended up going up closer at separate times to take photos. Here are a couple that I took:

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071014Epcot0028.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r248/bosox3260/3%20Sisters%20WDW/20071014Epcot0029.jpg

It ended up being a real fun way to cap off our trip. After the concert, we took our time heading towards the buses and headed back to OKW.

Once we got back to the room, DSis#2 and I were a bit hungry so we ordered another pizza. Again, the pizza was very good. It wasn't the best pizza that I have had but it was very good and enjoyable.

[Donald is #1]

Well, here it was, the day that we went home. :sad1:

Our flight was at about 1:30 so although we didn't have time to go to a park we also didn't need to rush.

Well, again we were up at about 7. We slowly got ready and finished packing. We took our time, but in reality, we had the car packed with all of our stuff fairly quickly. After a final look around the villa, bye-bye OKW 2 BR villa :sad1: , we all got in the car and drove over to the Hospitality House. I dropped my owner's locker off at the bell hop and then we took our suitcases over to the RAC to check in for our flight. I just love that you can use RAC without using ME. We were able to check in and drop off our suitcases and not worry about them any more. :thumbsup2

We next went over to Olivia's cafe for breakfast. It was pretty quiet in there since we were probably there at about 8 or 8:30. I ordered the pancakes with a side of the breakfast potatoes. DSis#1 also ordered pancakes and decided to get strawberries on it and DSis#2 decided to order an omlet again. If you are not a big fan of their breakfast potatoes, you can get regular home fries instead. All of our meals were very good! The only drawback that I can see to their breakfast menu is that they don't have Mickey waffles. :sad2: This was my first trip to a WDW resort with having at least 1 Mickey waffle. Anyways, if you are at or near OKW and want to have a good breakfast, definitely check out Olivia's.

When we were at breakfast, we realized that we didn't get anything for our mother. So we made a quick stop in the store at OKW but didn't see anything. We still had time before we needed to head to the airport. So we decided to stop at DTD. We ended up getting there 5-10 minutes before it opened. So we found a table & chairs to sit at until 9:30. As soon as WOD opened, we headed in there and decided to get our mother a tin of Mickey shortbread. We picked up a few other things and then wandered around a bit longer including stopping in the toy store and the christmas store.

Finally it was time to leave for the airport. So I headed back to the main route near DTD and found a gas station so that I could fill the car up. Very quickly we were on our way to Hertz to drop off the car. Even though Hertz is off-site, I haven't had any problems with them and they seem to be efficient. We were at the airport before we knew it and since we had already checked in, we headed directly to security. Well, the lines were very long here and we were glad that we had so much time that it really didn't matter. One thing that we didn't realize is that if you want to shop in the Disney or Sea World stores (& probably Universal.. I don't if they had a store too) at the airport, you need to do it before you go through security. They don't have additional stores once you are in the gate area.

We made it to our gate with plenty of time and were able to sit down and relax before our flight. OK, let's be honest, since we were flying Jet Blue and wouldn't have lunch on the plane, we each wandered over to the food court to get something for lunch. I wasn't even hungry but I got a sandwich since I wouldn't be home until much later.

Our flight was both on-time and un-eventful. Just the way I like it! :thumbsup2

We landed in Boston and waited a little while for our bags. But once we got them, our van (Knight's limo) was waiting for us. We decided to do a private van with them and it worked very well. We were quickly loaded up in the van and on our way back to DSis#2's house. The traffic on the Mass Pike ended up being much lighter on a Monday afternoon heading out of Boston than it was on our trip in the previous Thursday. I didn't stay long at DSis#2's house. I wanted to get home so I jsut loaded up my car and headed home. The drive wasn't too bad. I hit a bit of rush hour traffic but was home right when I expected.

[Rozz]

Great trip report! I wish I could go to WDW as often as you do. I'll just have to read your trip reports in between my visits to the World.

[yearbook50]

Glad you had a good last day. You seemed to have a good girl's only trip with your sisters. Btw...no Mickey Waffles? Thats sad! I always need at least one per trip.

[Donald is #1]

Great trip report! I wish I could go to WDW as often as you do. I'll just have to read your trip reports in between my visits to the World.

Thank you! Actually 1/2 my trips have been in the past year. I took my first trip 20 years ago when I got out of college. I then went 3 times between 1999 and 2000 and then I didn't go again until 2006. Now I just can't stop going! :rotfl2:

Glad you had a good last day. You seemed to have a good girl's only trip with your sisters. Btw...no Mickey Waffles? Thats sad! I always need at least one per trip.

Yes, we had a great time. I think that one of the things that made the trip successful since we all have different touring styles was that our main goal was just to get away and enjoy ourselves.

The next time that I go to F&WF ('09 maybe) I am going to have to try 1 or 2 of the special events.

[Donald is #1]

So, let's see what are my final thoughts?

1) It was great to get away for the weekend with my sisters. We have been talking about it for 3-4 years now and we finally were able to get away.

2) This was really a nice and relaxing vacation. As hopefully you can tell from the report, we really didn't rush anywhere. We just took our time and moseyed around. It was very nice and relaxing. Of course the point of the trip was not to "do everything at WDW". The point of the trip was to relax and have fun.

3) Both of my brother-in-laws survived having to take care of the kids for the 4 nights that we were gone. OK, maybe an in-law or two helped :rotfl2: , but the kids survived! I guess that means that we can do this again in another few years.


4) I am definitely spoiled by the 2 bedroom villa. I am still strongly considering (can you say add-on-itis? :rotfl: ) adding enough points so that I can stay 8-9 days in a 1 BR at AKV. Luckily, the number of points that I would need is lower than the level for the current incentives so there is no pressure to buy right now.


5) I am an annual pass convert! This was my first time with an AP and I ended up with 3 trips: 8 nights, 12 nights, and 4 nights. I will be buying my next one sometime this Spring to cover my '08 vacations.