No Kids, No Parents - Our First Just Us Trip UPDATED w/pics 11/19

[Kathi OD]

:welcome:

First off, you should know that I've never written a TR before and if it wasn't for mamaprincess I wouldn't be writing this one....BUT since she asked.........here we go!

I suppose that a little background is always best. Soooo........first and most important for this TR, we have NEVER traveled to WDW without at least one of our wonderful children or my parents with us. All of our trips, prior to this one, have always been about the kids, but this trip was about just us!! What a weird feeling!! Just us means me (Kathi - one week shy of 52) and DH (Ed - already 52 and coming up fast on 53). We have 3 grown-up, out-of-the-house-type kids: Kelly (30), Eddie (27) who is married to Emily (also 27), and Dan (21). We also have one granddaughter, Carlee (1) and a soon-to-be-born grandson. On our last trip (2005), DD, 3 of her friends AND my parents came along with us. Now that would have been a wild and crazy TR, but alas, it was oh, so long ago, and my feeble mind cannot remember all the details. :confused3

We live in New Jersey and I'm a public school teacher :teacher: (science - any grade, any age that happens to be unfortunate enough to get arrested before their 18th, and sometimes even older, birthday), so Jersey Week is our preferred time to vacation at WDW. The main reason is because I only need to use 2 personal days to get a whole week off from school, but secondarily it's also because of the F&W Festival at Epcot! Seriously, how many more excuses does one person need? :confused3 (you might want to remember this little tidbit, it might come in handy later in the TR :rolleyes1 )

Anyways, we were having an exceptionally slow day at school (translation: facility lock-down; all classes canceled) back in June, when it hit me that I was having a serious MickeyMousitis attack. Now if you've ever suffered from this painful affliction (and I'm sure you have or you wouldn't be reading this), then you know the only cure is to book a trip to WDW ASAP. Since I made a New Year's resolution to take better care of myself, I acted quickly, and before lunch I had called Member Services, was lucky to get a 1BR at BWV (waitlisted OKW, which came through in less than a week), reserved 2 seats on USAir - Philly to Orlando, and secured a great deal on a rental car! Now how to break the news to DH??

DH enjoys our trips to WDW, but only because he doesn't have to go to work. Seriously, the man would be happy if he could sit in a chair on the dock, looking at the bay, and watching boats go by all day, every day. When it comes to me and WDW, he is definitely an enabler! He goes to WDW only to indulge my mental illness...ahem, I mean recover from my MickeyMousistis attacks. I decided that the best thing to do was just be upfront and tell him that he needed to ask for the 7th, 8th, 9th, 12th, and 13th of November off from work. While he asked why, he knew what was coming...I just said we were going on vacation. He didn't have to ask where. :laughing:

I spent the next couple of months planning what two mature (I'm not ready to use the world old yet when describing myself), child-less people could do for an entire week in WDW without going into the parks. I came up with lots of different ideas, but inevitably it always came back to relax...something I never felt we could really do when we had the kids with us (even when they were old enough to go out on their own). BTW......if you are looking for some great ideas for things to do without going into the parks, I have to put in a plug for Mama's thread. http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1621790 There really are some great ideas to be found!

In preparing for the trip, I spent more hours than I care to admit on the Disboards. Even though we've been to WDW 10 times, there is always something new to discover. I decided early on that we would try restaurants and do some activities that we never would attempt when the kids were were with us. While I'd like to say that we never set foot in a park the whole time we were there, that wasn't quite how it went down. We had 7 days on 2 no expiration hopper tickets left from our '05 trip and DH thought it might be a good idea if we brought them along "just-in-case." That man is soooooo smart sometimes, if only he could be that smart ALL the time!! :rolleyes1

Well now that everyone has a little background info.....It's SHOWTIME!!!!!

[LAS]

Great Start. I'm hanging on for more. We took our first "without kids" trip in April and it was WONDERFUL. I hope you both enjoyed yourself.

[Avivasmom]

That is great an adults only trip.

Sounds like fun...cannot wait to read more.

[mamaprincess]

Yaaaay, I've been mentioned in a TR!:cool1:

Looks like we will be hitting a park during our no parks, no kids trip after all.:laughing: Unfortunately for us we don't have tickets left over.:sad2:

I can't wait to read more! popcorn:: :surfweb:

[Kathi OD]

It occurred to me as I was digesting everything I possibly could about all the things we could do at WDW without kids, that I used to watch those commercials with the two OLD people having a blast on their WDW vacation and think to myself......WHAT???:confused3 No way those people could have a good time like that, especially after spending all day in the parks!! There is no way they could have that much energy at the end of the day! Now that we're home from our trip, I realize that back then I couldn't imagine it because I had no idea what it was like to not have kids along for the ride. It really does make a huge difference, even if the kids you have with you are grown! So while I'm looking forward to the day when the grandbabies are big enough to travel with us, I know that there will be more "Just Us" trips in the future because after all, WDW truly is a magical place regardless of your age! pixiedust:

I don't know about the rest of you, but it's this way with me and DH: no matter where or when we plan a vacation, some problem (and sometimes more than one problem) always manifests itself sooner or later. Sometimes the problem is little and sometimes big; either way they always manage to sneak up and catch you off guard, trying to make you feel like your trip was ruined. So far, in all of my planning, there were no bumps in the road. I was able to book all the special things we decided to do and got ADRs for every restaurant we wanted to try (this was especially amazing, as I was still playing around with them about 10 days prior to leaving).

Anyways, it's finally the morning of our trip, Nov. 6th :yay: and I wake up soooooo excited, knowing that after my next sleep I'll be waking up in my most favorite place on earth! :banana: It's now that problem number 1 decides to rear its ugly head. Seems like Ms. Overplanner Extraordinaire (in other words, moi) has screwed up on the departure plans. :eek: Fortunately, we were able to figure it out in plenty of time ... the discovery and resolution went like this......

DH, as he's leaving for work, says: So I'll be home between 2 and 2:30.
ME: Why are you coming home from work so early?
DH: We have to leave for the airport by 3:30.
ME: Huh? You want to sit in the airport for 3.5 hours? :confused3
DH: No, our flight leaves at 6:10.
ME: No it doesn't. We leave at 7:50.
DH: You better check. I'm sure you wrote down 6:10 on the paper I gave Kelly (DD is going to stay at our house while we're away so our dog won't get too lonely).
ME: :rolleyes: You never get anything right, we leave at 7:50.
DH: Please, just go check.
ME: OOOOOOOOOOK (make sure to insert the appropriate amount of irritation at being asked to get out of bed for something soooooo stupid)!
ME: UMMMM....I guess I'll just take a 1/2 day today too.
DH (with just the slightest touch of sarcasm): And why would you have to leave work early?
ME: Well that would be because I won't be able to leave here at the same time I'm getting out of work.
DH: Why? What time does the flight leave?
ME (whispering): 6:15. And you all know how much I hated him being right about this, especially since I had done ALL the planning, right?
DH: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

Like I said, some problems are small and some are large. This one could have been HUGE, but fortunately for some odd reason, on that day DH was sweating the details and potential problem averted!

Fortunately my morning classes flew by and before I knew it, it was time to head home. Once at home, we throw the suitcases in the car and head off to Philly International. Much to our surprise, things move along great! There is little to no traffic (something must be wrong - no traffic on I-95 in Philly late in the afternoon???), we find a parking spot in the economy lot at the airport without much trouble AND it's close to one of the shuttle stops, there's not much of a wait at the check-in counter, and we actually pass through security without having to wait in line (ok, so this last stroke of good luck really has me thinking that the Good Karma Fairy is on my shoulder :goodvibes sometime you should ask me about the trip to Alaska where we arrived at the airport 2.5 hours ahead of our flight and came within 2 minutes of missing the plane because we were standing in lines:scared1: ).

We board the plane and take our seats along with most of the other passengers. Almost immediately, the flight attendant has to move some people who are seated in the exit row (they have children with them). No problem, several people a few rows back don't mind changing seats (more good karma, maybe this is making up for the Alaska trip).:goodvibes Suddenly, it seems as though everyone on the plane is playing musical chairs and the only ones who weren't invited were me and DH! :eek: (not that I'm really minding, since we are also in the exit row and I'm really appreciating the extra legroom.) Turns out that there are something like 30 families on the flight and they are all split up with little ones in seats with no family member, big or little, anywhere near them. The flight attendants are working hard, trying to get as many families together as possible. It's a crazy scene, but passengers are being more than just kind and considerate. All over the plane people are offering to change seats, even those in first class, so no little ones are left traveling without at least one parent sitting next to them (remember these are the people of the city that will always be vilified for throwing snowballs at Santa Claus during an Eagles game, so it really restored my faith in the people who call the City of Brotherly Love home). :hug:

Finally, when it seems as though everything is figured out, the last group onto the plane is a family of four (mom, dad, and 2 little girls). Now of course, their seats have someone else in them because of the musical chair game, but more importantly is that there are only 3 empty seats on the plane! That's right, the airline overbooked the flight and didn't realize it until everyone is on the plane! It takes a couple of minutes for the flight attendants to realize that there isn't a fourth seat available and that there is nowhere for all of these people to sit. The airline rep from the gate comes down the jetway to find out why the plane hasn't left yet and when she realizes that there is one person too many on the plane she starts yelling at the father of the family to get off the plane so it can take off. Of course, he is not getting off willingly, since they all have valid tickets and the rep is not giving him any information about when he is going to be able to get a plane to Orlando. This becomes quite a scene, with the rep insisting that this man get off the plane immediately, and WITHOUT the rest of his family. The rep tells him it is no big deal and they'll put him on the next plane out at 8:00 (right....no big deal :rolleyes1 ) What are these people thinking? The flight attendants are visibly distressed at the treatment this family is receiving. The rep goes and gets someone else, who is evidently her supervisor, and I guess someone she thought would be able to intimidate the father into getting off the plane. This new representative demands, no orders, the man off the plane. He refuses again, stating that he wants his family to travel together, that they booked their seats together and that's what he paid for. He states that he will gladly get off if they can all go together on the next flight. What happens next I still can't believe happened. The airline rep again demands that he get off the plane, accusing him of "holding the plane hostage." I couldn't believe that in light of the heightened terrorism awareness that someone would use this terminology on an airplane! I was seated less than 3 feet from the rep and the father and heard it first-hand! :scared: This guy did not make the mistake of overbooking the flight, USAir did, and they are the ones that are refusing to make any accommodation for him. The weird thing is that at no time did either rep ask any of us if we were willing to give up our seat and fly out on the next flight :idea: (problem solved, right? Well I guess that is too easy a solution for USAir. They need to make a spectacle of themselves). Add to this crazy scene two little girls crying for their father to be allowed to stay on the plane and a mother trying to calm them down. I felt like I was in the middle of a soap opera (seriously, you couldn't make this up it was that bizarre)! Finally, the pilot came back to see what was holding up the plane. He kind of escorts the second representative out onto the jetway and stood in the plane doorway for a couple of minutes whispering to the rep. When he turned around he very calmly restated the problem (4 people, 3 seats) and asked if he and his family would be willing to travel on the next flight, which was at 8PM. Now this guy was much nicer than I would have been at that point because he told the pilot that not only was that acceptable, but it was all he had wanted to begin with. The pilot looked at the flight attendants who all nodded in agreement with the man, the pilot shook his head and returned to the cockpit, the family got off the plane, and the rest of us settled in and got ready to head out of Dodge (oops....I mean Philadelphia) about 20 minutes late. After that start, I'm happy to say that the rest of the flight was rather borrrrrrrrrrrring. :rolleyes:

We get to Orlando without any further incidents, grab our luggage and head on over to pick up our rental car. No major issues here either, so I decide that even though our trip has already had a couple of bumps, it wasn't anything major and that we should have easy sailing for the remainder of our vacation. :laughing:

It's about 11PM by the time we arrive at our resort, OKW. It was so nice to hear those two words, "Welcome Home" as we entered the gate! :cloud9: On each trip, the first time I hear them I feel like I am living in a fairy tale. Don't ask me why, I just do!

So we head over to the HH so I can check in while DH can do whatever it is that DHs do while the DW checks in. Now I am so excited I only 1/2 listen to the CM as she tells me our room number and where it is located (after all they write it down on the map and circle it for you, so who really needs to listen to that part, right?)...she says something about beautiful view, water and golf course both, and quite close to the bus stop (OK, I really did hear that very important piece of info). She goes on and asks me about the dining plan, yes, goes over the amount, yes again, charging to the room, yes, yes, yes....(whatever you say....give me my key and let me get to my room). After I finish doing all the check-in stuff, I go find DH and direct him to our room... building 18, #1816 (it says so right on the paper), just a short drive down Miller's Road, and look hun! so close to the bus stop....EXCEPT......(you knew there had to be an except, right?) when we go to open the door to our beautiful room, with the water AND golf course view, AND that is close to the bus stop too.....neither key will work!!:eek: So back to the HH we go! (where did that Good Karma Fairy go and more importantly when is she coming back?)
:confused3

Fortunately, it's not a big problem (BUT it will teach me to listen more carefully). I just couldn't read the CM's handwriting and we were supposed to be in room #1814 :rotfl: WHEW! We're finally home (for real this time), do a quick check over everything and fall into bed, exhausted...I mean, afterall, we're not as young as we used to be and all this excitement has worn us out!! :lmao:

NEXT INSTALLMENT: CAN WE REALLY STAY OUT OF THE PARKS?

[momtoccc]

Sounds really good and it will help me plan trip for DH and me!

The airplane scene sounds really bad ... Good for the father for sticking to his guns! All that you were only 20 min late leaving!

[mamaprincess]

Checking in for updates. I'm packing for my vacation, so I will come back and read tonight!:wizard:

[momtotanmanandraerae]

I am subscribing! My dh and I are going on our first adults only trip this June. Can't wait to see how yours turns out!

[Kathi OD]

Wednesday, November 7th, our first full day at WDW! When we went to bed we made a very rash decision and did something we have NEVER, EVER done before on a Disney vacation. We did NOT set the alarm!! :eek: Now I realize that for most of the people who are vacationing at WDW this is the utmost sacriledge, after all, the goal is to be at the park, preferably the park with EMH, at rope drop. I'd be willing to bet that most of them even set their alarms for a time that is earlier than they would have to get up to go to work :guilty: But not us, not this time! We are kid free and can get up whenever we want. Today it's not until about 9:30! :woohoo: Now this is more like a real vacation!!

We get up and just roam around our home for a bit. It's a first floor, 1BR. I love the patio, so much more room out there than in a studio, I mean you can actually use it to eat a meal! The sun is shining and the temps are pretty cool, so the first place I head is to the patio to see our awesome view. Here are some pics so you can see how peaceful it was.

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Just looking at these pictures makes me want to be back there!:sad2:

After taking our showers, we figured it was time to get something to eat. Since we had never been to Wilderness Lodge, I suggested that we use one of our counter service meals and try Roaring Forks. DH was all for it and so off we went. When we get there we are simply amazed! I loved the buffalo topiary out front and the lobby was awesome! Gotta love those totem poles! They're huge!

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This is very dark, but the flash washed it out completely. I still think you can get a good idea of how big they are.

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We did some roaming around the grounds before heading over to get something to eat. I definitely would think about staying here on one of our future trips. Both of us are big outdoors-type people. As a matter of fact, our first trip to WDW was in a camper...not a motorhome or trailer, a camper...pop up the roof with canvas sides. So this is the backside of the Wilderness Lodge. I think it really shows the outdoors character of the resort.

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Well the plan was to get some breakfast, but we missed it by about 10 minutes, so we just shifted gears and got ourselves some lunch. Ed got the bacon cheeseburger with fries and I got the roast beef & blue cheese sandwich. We got frosted brownies for desert. We headed to the outdoor seating area because the temperatures were so very cool. What an absolutely beautiful little place to have a quick bite to eat. As a bonus, who knew that fast food could taste that good?? We even had little friends join us as we ate.

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Well, lunch is over and it's time to head out. We decide that maybe it would be a good idea to go hit the grocery store and get a few things to munch on throughout the week. We really won't be doing much cooking since we're on the dining plan, but I'd like to get some fruit, cereal, and milk for breakfast (I brought my own teabags), and of course, Ed is going to need some beer for our down time. Thank God for GPS! There's a grocery store just a couple of blocks from DTD. (I know you're looking for the pictures of the grocery store, but believe me, it was just your regular, everyday supermarket...nothing special.....sheesh....can you believe it didn't have any special theming at all?)

Back in the room around 2, we put the groceries away and decide to watch the WDW channel while we have a little something to drink. Does anyone else do that? I mean we sat there and watched the same thing for about 30 minutes...that channel where it just tells you what is going on in the parks? You can read it in about 3 seconds and there we are watching it scroll through every park there is. I guess it was a good thing, because it is here that Ed gets a good, no, make that great idea. About the third time through the park rotation, he looks at me and says he thinks we should go on the KTTK tour at the MK. :thumbsup2 I've been wanting to do this for about the last 5 trips, but knew the kids would not really be interested, and so you know how that goes. Now this has me excited, BUT it means we have to go into the park! :lmao: We're not even at WDW for 24 hours and there goes our NO PARK vacation. :rotfl: All I can say is, at least it wasn't my idea!
So we call and make plans to go on the tour the next day. :woohoo:

Now it's time to take a little rest and get cleaned up for our big evening! We're headed to DTD to see La Nouba! Ed and I both love the Cirque! I coerced my fisherman to go with me a few years ago to see Alegria when it came to Philadelphia. I knew that if he went he would be absolutely amazed by the performance and I was right. I had no trouble convincing him that this trip we should definitely go to La Nouba. We had tickets to the early show, 6PM, and had to pick them up at the will-call window before the show. I wanted to get there a little early, just in case there was a line.

We picked up our tickets and wandered around DTD for a bit, just to waste some time. The sun was starting to set and as we crossed the bridge to Pleasure Island, hundreds of birds came flying over our heads to roost in the trees near Planet Hollywood! I was amazed at the sheer number of birds and how heavy they were on the branches of the trees.

Back at La Nouba the doors were just opening, so we timed that perfectly. Our seats were awesome, 2 rows up in the center of the second section. We really had a great view of the entire stage. The seats were also quite generous and comfortable, most definitely the best of any stage show or concert I've been to. The show itself was pretty awesome (although I thought Alegria was better). Most of the acrobatics were very difficult and took your breath away. There was however, one part that I wasn't all that impressed with and I feel they just threw it in to get the kids' attention. One of the performers rode a freestyle bike with front and back pegs and did tricks on the stage. Ed and I looked at each other and were like so??? Our youngest son had been doing those same tricks on his bike when he was about 12 or 13 yo. :confused3 I told DH maybe we should tell Dan that if he wasn't successful getting a job after graduation this spring he should just join the Cirque! Poor Ed, he thought I was serious, "We just spent 100K on tuition and you want him to join the Cirque??" :eek: We really did enjoy the show though and are really glad we went.

After the show we had ressies for dinner at Raglan Road. I highly recommend this restaurant to everyone. If you are able to make your ressie for after 8 (I think), there is Irish entertainment every night except, I think, Sunday. Ed had bangers and mash (a first for him), which he absolutely loved, and I had the steak (a little too well done for my liking, but still very, very tender and flavorful). Our waiter was Tony and very efficient. Toward the end of our meal he asked where we were from and DH said Pennsylvania (we live in Jersey now, but he's not used to it yet....hey its only been 2 years). Tony asked where and it turns out we're from the same town and know many of the same people! This isn't the first time something like that has happened to us while we were in WDW, but I'm always shocked just the same.

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Well, it's late again and we've had a long day of pretty much doing nothing, so we head back to the resort and have one last drink before hitting the bed. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day....KTTK and a yummy dinner at the MK!! I can hardly wait!

[Kathi OD]

I guess I should let you in on a little secret...we didn't schedule the KTTK tour for Thursday. We really went on Friday. I was trying to do this without looking at my notes, but I guess I am just having a hard time getting back into the swing of things. That, plus going on vacation from mid-week to mid-week gets my days all :confused3! I guess I really should have looked at that spreadsheet I did when planning our vacation before I started writing, BUT I was sooooo sure I knew what we did when :lmao: So the bottom line is that I've spent the past couple of days writing up our day at the MK and was about 90% into it before I realized that I've got us there on the wrong day. :mad:

I figure I have a couple of choices: 1) just let it go and pretend that we did go on Thursday (I know you all probably don't care, but I'm obsessive about things being right, so this isn't really an option) or 2) fess up and admit that it's going to be a little bit before I get Thurday posted.

So here I am fessing up. We didn't go on the KTTK tour on Thursday. BUT stay tuned to find out if we did stay out of the parks or not!

[Kathi OD]

Now that I've got my days straightened out, I can tell you what we really did on Thursday. Actually the only thing I had planned was dinner at the Whispering Canyon Cafe in the Wilderness Lodge. After having eaten lunch at the Roaring Fork, we were really anxious to have dinner here.

With not having anything really planned for the day, we took our time in the morning getting dressed and eating breakfast. The sun was shining again and the weather was quite cool. I mention that since lunch was included with our tour yesterday, we have a CS meal we need to "make up" somewhere during the remainder of our trip. Ed figured we could catch a breakfast one morning, so that was ok with me. Now I just have to figure out where we're going.

We went back and forth with the "what do you want to do?" "I don't care, what do you want to do?" game for about a half hour when Ed says he thinks he'd like to go to the Animal Kingdom. :rolleyes: He's already got us going to the MK tomorrow for the tour and now he wants to go to the Animal Kingdom too! I had figured at least one day at Epcot for F&W, but that was it. Oh, did I mention that it was his idea to not go into the parks?? :laughing:

Well now I am always up for the parks, doesn't matter which one, and I hadn't been on EE yet, so AK was just fine with me. Off to the bus stop we go and the very first bus along is the one we want (there's that Good Karma Fairy sitting on my shoulder again)! So far so good.

Walking into AK, it doesn't seem as though it is very busy, but it's about 10, so who knows what is waiting for us inside. First thing I do is grab my park map. I know all the parks like the back of my hand, EXCEPT for AK. Up until now, it has always been my least favorite park (although I love KRR). Part of that is because we never see very many animals when we go on safari and I've always felt that it really was geared much more toward little kids. On this trip I realize how much I LOVE this park! :love:

The first thing we decided to go on was the Safari. Of course, along the way you have to stop and see the animals along the Discovery Island trails. Well if this is any indication of what we're going to see on the safari, we might as well not even bother. All we saw were birds, and not that many either. Seems like everyone else is sleeping.

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We finally get meander over towards Africa and from the bridge I can see what it is I came here for......

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Even from the other side of the park EE is intimidating! I pull Ed over to look and he starts turning green just looking at that mountain. HMMM.....maybe I didn't mention that the poor guy doesn't like roller coasters at all! Never has, never will. This trip without kids is going to be tough for him, because I LOVE roller coasters and without kids there is no one to go on them EXCEPT him!!

Well if I don't go on the safari, I'm never going to get over to Asia and get on EE, so its into Harambe and on the safari.

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The line says 30 minutes, but just like last night in the MK, the line is actually much, much shorter. Although we did have a wait this time, if we waited 10 minutes, I'd be lying. We had a great driver and saw more animals on this trip than we've seen on all our other visits combined! I was a little disappointed that we didn't see any lions. :sad1: Some of the animals were hard to photograph, what with the bumps and people's heads in the way, not to mention me learning how to use a new camera, but I was able to get a few good shots.

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http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff82/KathiOD/CopyofDSCF0082.jpg

After the safari we wander over to EE and see that the wait time is 55 minutes. Ed is having none of that wait, especially for a roller coaster, so he grabs some FPs and we're off to check out Dinoland and "Finding Nemo." I check the show schedule and we've got awhile to wait before the next show, so what can we do between now and then. One option is Kali River Rapids, but the outside temperature isn't much above 70 and every time I go on that ride I get drenched - not wet - drenched. Last time we were on it first thing in the morning and I was still wet at 5PM!! Nope, not doing that today.:sad2:

In the past, we've never really explored Dinoland because everything there seems geared toward really little ones. This time we figure we have some time to kill, so we wander around and decide to try Primeval Whirl. What a cool little ride, a tame coaster that Ed can handle. We both laugh and laugh and since the line is so short, less than 5 minutes, decide to do it again!

By this time we're getting a little hungry. I had wanted to eat at Tusker House, but it's closed, so the choices are Flame Tree BBQ and Restaurantosaurus. Well, we can eat at Mickey D's at home, so we opt for the Flame Tree. The place is packed! Every person in the park must have gotten hungry at the same time we did. Fortunately, the line moves pretty fast and we end up with some yummy ribs and bbq chicken. :thumbsup2
To top things off the tables are situated in beautiful surroundings.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff82/KathiOD/CopyofDSCF0100.jpg

Now that our stomachs are full, we head over to "Finding Nemo." Such a great show! Can't wait until our DGD is old enough to see this. I know she is going to love it.

After Finding Nemo, it's time for our EE FPs, so it's back to Asia for the ride of the trip! The standby line now says 20 minutes, so instead of using the FPs right away, we get in line and wait, maybe 10 minutes for our turn (the Good Karma Fairy has decided she really likes me today) :woohoo: . I really am excited about this. EE is now my favorite Disney ride, surpassing SpMtn in the MK and even Ed thought it was OK. So being the sweet guy that he is, he agreed to go again.

After our second turn on EE, it's pretty late in the afternoon and we have to get ourselves back to the resort and showered for dinner, so it's time to head back to the buses and beautiful OKW.

Dinner at the Whispering Canyon Cafe is a real hoot! If you were to whisper in this restaurant no one would hear you! It's rowdy and it's loud and they like it that way! The first thing you notice is that there are only about 4 bottles of ketchup in the whole place, and the way you notice is that before you're even seated you'll hear one of the servers screaming at the top of their lungs "I NEED KETCHUP!" People are jumping out of their chairs and literally running to the table that needs the ketchup, bottles in hand. Another common request is crayons for the kids to doodle with while they wait for their meals. Again the request comes from one of the server's screaming "I NEED CRAYONS!" Little kids from all over the restaurant run to the table bearing gifts of crayons from their own tables. One of the great things at this restaurant was the "pony races." About once an hour, all the kids in the restaurant are invited to pony race around the restaurant's perimeter. The ponies are just sticks with horse heads on them that the kids put between their legs and then pretend to gallop. After the race, all the kids are given prizes after they complete the "oath." Depending on who administers the oath, the kids promise to bug their parents for eternity or to never, ever go to Universal Studios. Even without kids, this was a fun place for dinner and the food was very, very yummy.

At this time it's too late to go into any of the other parks, so we opt to drive ourselves over to the GF and take a ride around the world on the monorail. There is nothing like seeing WDW from the monorail at night, gives you a whole different perspective (and it's free, which is an added bonus).

After the monorail, it's back to the resort because tomorrow really is our KTTK tour at MK and we've got to set that alarm!

[Kathi OD]

Great Start. I'm hanging on for more. We took our first "without kids" trip in April and it was WONDERFUL. I hope you both enjoyed yourself.

TY!! Those problems at the beginning were nothing that could keep me from enjoying this trip! It was an awesome! I was really having a hard time imagining that a trip without children could actually be fun, but it truly was!
An added bonus, when we got home, I actually felt like I had been on vacation! No need to take a few days off to recover. VERY weird feeling!

Yaaaay, I've been mentioned in a TR!:cool1:

Looks like we will be hitting a park during our no parks, no kids trip after all.:laughing: Unfortunately for us we don't have tickets left over.:sad2:

I can't wait to read more! popcorn:: :surfweb:

:rotfl: Yep. This is all YOUR fault!!! :rotfl: :rotfl:

It's so hard to stay away, isn't it? DH and I decided on our last trip that whenever we run out of tix that we would just buy more 10-day, no expires. We know we're going back and it's just a given that the prices are going to increase, so it just makes sense to us to get them ASAP after the others run out.

I am subscribing! My dh and I are going on our first adults only trip this June. Can't wait to see how yours turns out!

I know you will enjoy your trip as much as we did.

That is great an adults only trip.

Sounds like fun...cannot wait to read more.

It really was fun. I've had a Disney dream every night since we've returned. That hasn't happened to me in a long time. The greatest part was just taking our time and not having to be concerned with what other people in the group wanted to do. Being selfish in Disney is a strange feeling for a parent.

[Kathi OD]

Friday morning came a whole lot faster than either Wednesday or Thursday's did, but that's what we get for thinking we are young and can handle late nights at the MK like we could 20 years ago....UMMM....that would be definitely NOT! Thankfully we set the alarm before we went to bed because I am sure we both would have slept through our KTTK tour that was starting at 8:30AM. :mad: Seriously, why do they have to do these things so early? Don't they know that I want to sleep in late on my vacation, even if I am in WDW? :confused3 Well, anyway, after a quick breakfast on that patio with the beautiful view, we head on out to catch the bus to the MK. On the way out I just couldn't resist taking a picture of the front of our building.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff82/KathiOD/CopyofDSCF0053.jpg

I loved the way the trees came together on either side of the path, making what seemed to be an arch that you passed under to get to your villa. Sometimes I wish I could live in a place like this year-round, but then I remember how hot it gets in the summer and figure that I'm better off just visiting.

Anyway, I digress (oooooooo......Such a big word for a trip report. Somehow I don't think you should use big words in a trip report, but owell....I just did). Unbelievably we're the only ones on the bus!! In 11 trips to WDW, we've NEVER, EVER had a bus to ourselves! It was a very, very weird experience. Actually, this trip was definitely a good one for the bus system. We didn't wait any longer than 20 minutes for a bus, and that was only once. More often than not, our wait was 10 minutes or less. WHEEE!!! We're on our way!:banana:

One of the things you have to know about me is that I follow directions ALL THE TIME. Well, maybe not all the time, but I sure do try. Let's just say I never DELIBERATELY not follow directions. This drives Ed nuts, but I figure that there are rules for a reason, even if we don't know what they are or agree with them. ;) So anyway, we were told on the phone to bring photo ID, our DVC cards (to get the member discount), and that NO cameras would be allowed on the tour. So when Ed and I get to the MK, the first thing we do is get a locker and stash my camera in it (just in case we decide to stay in the park for the time between the end of the tour and our ADRs at Tony's). Then it's off to City Hall to register for the tour. :yay:

Can I tell you that I've never been in the MK when there were so few people in the park. So that's another really weird feeling I'm experiencing on this trip. Maybe I should rename this TR, "The Weird Feeling Trip," or "The Trip Where I Experience New and Weird Feelings." The first thing that I notice (after the fact that there is no one in the park) is that MK is already TOTALLY decorated for Christmas! There's even Christmas music playing! I commented to DH about this and a nearby CM offers that today is the first day that the Christmas music is playing. I thought that was sooo cool, being in the MK first thing in the morning on the first day that the Christmas music is playing (I know, the littlest things make me happy). ;)

We were able to check in right away and pick what we wanted for lunch. No one asked us for either our photo ID or our DVC cards. :rolleyes1 Now this is where Ed kind of gets annoyed; why tell us we need to bring something when you don't even ask to see it? :mad: Can't say I disagree with him here; these are two credentials I'd really rather not have on my person in the MK, but owell, what can I say.....I am a follow the directions type person! :) We had to wait for the rest of our group to arrive and sign in, so we watched the park opening with an inside view. Again, kinda weird! We had watched some of the Main Street costumed CMs come out from behind City Hall and go up to the train station and now we were watching the train pull in and all the characters depart as the guests entered the park. Nothing super, duper, but something different. Like I said, little things make me happy! :goodvibes

The other members of our group arrive and sign in and the tour is on! Our guide was Steve. I don't think I've ever met anyone with as much Disney trivia/knowledge as him. A true Disney nerd! I wanted to hug that boy he has so much inside info! Heck! I wanted his number so I can call him any time! :rotfl: :rotfl:

I always knew that Walt was an amazing person. I think that most people in my generation grew up watching Uncle Walt and Tinkerbell every Sunday evening. As I grew up, I became aware that Roy Disney was part of that magic too. However, after taking this tour, I realized what I knew was only about 1% of how amazing they both really were! The tour was incredible, probably the best money we've ever spent for something "extra" at WDW. As amazing as the tour was, it was also that exhausting; especially for a couple of people on the verge of "oldhood." Five hours of running around the park wore this old lady out! Fortunately, one member of our group didn't follow the directions very well and brought her camera along. Every so often we had to stop so she could take a picture of this and that. :eek: On the one hand, I was grateful for the few minutes to rest my weary feet, but on the other hand, :mad: doesn't NO CAMERAS mean not to bring one along? :confused3 Can someone please explain to me why some people think that the rules apply to everyone else but them? I suppose that Steve should have told her to put the camera away, but I'm not surprised that he didn't.

During our tour we got to see where they refurbish different elements of teh MK, the waste disposal system, the pool for Splash Mtn and where they work on and store the parade floats. We went to the front of the line for the Jungle Cruise and had our own "tour" boat where we learned about how the JC was constructed rather than listening to the normal corny storyline. We also got to go to the front of the line for the Haunted Mansion. However, before we experienced the ride, Steve gave us all kinds of information about how the concept was brought to reality and debunked some of the rumors that are out there about the attraction.

We had a yummy lunch at the Columbia Harbor House (included in the cost of the tour...now I have an extra meal I have to find a place to use during our trip...think I'm smelling me some breakfast one day). I was grateful for the time to regenerate for the remainder of the tour. After lunch we went down into the Utilidors, more commonly known as "Disney's Underground City" (believe me it is nothing like a city, either under or above ground). As a construction engineer, Ed was particularly interested in this part of the tour, although it wasn't long enough for him. The way the Utilidors were made was explained and the reasoning behind them. We saw some interesting drawings, pictures, and newspaper articles on the walls that described the planning and opening of the MK while down there. Very interesting stuff. Another thing that was kind of interesting was the music playing down there was not "Disney" music, but Top 40 radio stuff. Unusual, huh?

After we left the building our tour was over. One member of our group asked what was being built over at the Contemporary. While there has been lots of speculation here on the DIS that it's going to be DVC units, Steve did not confirm this. All he would say is that whatever it is hasn't been formally announced yet, but that the announcement would be coming soon. GRRR! I wanted info! :mad:

Let me tell you, this tour was exhausting for me! I learned a lot and really enjoyed it, but when it was over, I was ready to just go back to OKW. Dang! I needed a rest. Ed agreed and so that's exactly what we did! :thumbsup2

[Kathi OD]

Now that we were well-rested, it was time to go back to the MK to get us some yummy dinner! When I made my ADRs for this trip, I asked the CM at MS for some suggestions. I don't know about all of you, but when Ed and I find a place we like, we tend to keep going there instead of being a little adventurous and try new places. He was a little disappointed that we weren't going to LeCellier or the Biergarten, but hey, this is our chance to try something different! The CM asked where we were used to going and what our plans were for the week, so I told him where I didn't want to eat and that our plans were pretty wide open. Believe me when I tell you this guy was worth his weight in gold! He not only gave us suggestions, but also told us where we wanted to sit and what times we should go. The absolute best tip he gave us was for Tony's Town Square. Now, you would think that after going to WDW for 10 times, we would have known about Tony's, but nope, not us. I always thought it was like an ice cream parlor. Was I surprised! He told us to get a 7:15 or 7:30 ressie and ask to be seated on the porch. He didn't tell me why, and I didn't ask, but WOW, I'm sure glad I followed his advice.

We made the ressie for 7:15 and when we arrived the hostess couldn't find our ADR. She told us that we would have to wait at least 20 minutes for a table. That had me a little irritated, but the Ed (showing off his smarts....AGAIN) asks the girl if she is spelling our last name correctly. Seems she was leaving off the O and that was the problem...she found our ressie right away. I asked if we could be seated on the porch and she said she would do her best. We no sooner got our behinds on one of the chairs in the waiting area when our name was called and we were escorted to our table. I guess the hostess felt a little bad about initially not being able to find our ADR , because we were seated on the porch, along the railing, right behind where the outside podium would have been. As we sat down, I realized why the MS CM suggested this spot at this time....we would probably have the best seats in the house for viewing Spectromagic!! Our server, Christine, was great...very friendly and attentive, nothing was too much trouble for her. Seeing as we were on the DPP, our gratuity was included, but she did such a great job we had to leave a little something extra to let her know how much we appreciated her attention to detail during our meal. Both the meal and the parade were awesome! I never tire of Spectromagic! As an added bonus, as we were eating dessert, the Wishes fireworks were plainly visible over The Chapeau! What a great idea eating at Tony's was! I had to find the paper where I recorded all my information to find the name of the CM that helped me so that I could email MS and let them know how pleased I was with his meal tips.

Here's a picture Christine took of Ed and myself after dinner.

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff82/KathiOD/CopyofDSCF0143.jpg

And a little video clip of the parade, that is if it works. The quality was not as good after I uploaded it as it is on my computer. I guess I'll have to figure that out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5sjCYAwq3U

After dinner we just strolled around the MK and rode some of the rides. I really wanted to do the Tiki Room (I know, I'm weird, but I looooooove this attraction) and POC, so we headed off in that direction. The Tiki Room was closed :sad2: So it was off to my second choice, Splash Mtn. The last time we had been to WDW we had waited over 2 hours to ride Splash Mtn. :eek: I know, crazy, but hey, sometimes you do what you need to do. I knew that this time around Ed wasn't going to do that, so you can imagine my excitement when the stand-by line said the wait was only 10 minutes! Hurry up and get in line before everyone else decides they want to ride too! Well, to be honest, the wait was more like.......oh, that would be NO WAIT at all! We walked right on! Of course, since there was no wait, we decided to ride again. Even more surprising was that the same thing happened when we went over to POC! No one in line, the boats were leaving the dock less than half full. The Good Karma Fairy was definitely looking over our shoulders. Where was everyone? Owell.......we didn't care....they weren't in the MK and we certainly were having a good time!

After POC, we headed over to Tomorrowland where Ed challenged me to Buzz Lightyear. This has become a ritual with us. Ed likes to consider himself a big-time hunter (as a matter of fact, he left today for his annual deer hunting trip) :rotfl: :rotfl: I have absolutely no experience with guns, not even toy ones (and if you're over 50 you know everyone played with toy guns as a kid). This challenge ritual stems from the first time we rode Buzz. We had no clue what to expect that first time, but figured it out rather quickly. Anyway, at the end of the ride, I had managed to get a much, MUCH higher score than my big-time hunter DH. :lmao: Ever since then the man has been trying to prove a point (sometimes he does, but most of the time he doesn't). I've tried to tell him he takes it way too seriously, that it's only a game. :rolleyes: He spends most of the time trying to spin the car so that I can't aim at any of the targets. What he doesn't understand, and what I'm not about to tell him, is that I don't aim at anything! I just keep on pulling the trigger while swinging that gun all over the place. He spends so much time trying to throw me off my game, that he has no time to take care of his own. It's really become funny :rotfl2: well at least to me it has, and of course I beat him again this trip. :laughing:

Being that we've had a long day...remember we closing in on being old...we decide to call it a day and try to beat the crowds out of the park and head for the buses. As we walk along Main Street, Spectromagic is coming down the street for its second run of the night. I'm actually able to grab a spot right on the curb with no one in front of me and room for about 10 more people next to me (Seriously, where are all the people tonight? After all, it IS Jersey Week). :confused3 Well you know that I can't pass up such a good view of the parade, even if it is the second time tonight that I've seen it. I was able to get some more video and that makes me happy. :woohoo:

When the parade ends we really head for the gates and our bus back to OKW. We don't have to wait very long when the bus shows up and off we go. More weird stuff happening at WDW.....the park was so empty there are only about 10 of us on the bus and NONE of them were children. I guess Ed and me aren't the only ones doing a "no kids" Disney vacation!!

I'm glad we don't have anything big planned for tomorrow....I really need to get me some good sleeps tonight! No alarms for me in the morning!

NEXT: Ed and Kathi do Daytona! :lmao:

[OhMari]

I'm glad you are having a good time. Me and my dh did WDW last April by ourselves and had a great time.

Your dh looks like the Philadelphia Eagles Coach, Andy Reid.