The Walshes' Week at the World! Finished trip report: 5/29 - 6/4!

[lntsmom]

Hey, howdy, hey! We've been back from WDW for over 48 hours now, so it is time for me to get to this! Our family consists of me, a Pooh-sized 45 year old mom with baaaad feed; DS#1, a 12 year old who is Mr. Cautious; and DS#2, a 7 year old who has never met a stranger.

We flew out of DIA at 9:35 on May 29th. Let me say, of all the airports I've flown out of, DIA's security is the craziest. Everyone...everyone!...goes through 1 line. It was probably 500 people long. We arrived in Orlando around 3:20 their time. ME was easy to negotiate and we got to ASMo around 4:30 p.m. After trying to buy Disney dollars (easier said than done...they couldn't figure out how to sell them to me since I wanted to use my debit card...I gave up on it eventually) and searching for our exchange fridge, we took our things to our room, then grabbed a bus to DTD, kicking off our 7 day visit to the World.

Rather than giving a play-by-play account of each day, I'm going to start by giving you the actual what-we-were-able-to-accomplish itineraries for each day. Later I'll come back and add photos and details! Here we go....


May 29 DTD 6 p.m. - 10 p.m. High temp: 93 degrees

1. Kids played in the fountain.
2. Shopped at Disney's Wonderful World of Memories
3. Shopped at Goofy's Candy CO. Picked up cookies for later.
4. Visited the Lego Imagination Center.
5. Walked through Mickey's Mart...into...
6. Pooh Corner. Bought each of the boys a white DW hat.
7. Dinner at Raglan Road
8. Shopping at store inside Raglan Road
9. Took bus back to resort.
10. Went swimming until around 11:30

May 30th. Epcot 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. High temp: 93 degrees

1. Got to park early. After being allowed in had character time prior to rope drop.
2. Soarin'- got FPs for another ride
3. Mission Space
4. Kid's played the game at the end of the ride
5. Soarin'- Got Dream Ears on the way in
6. Living With the Land
7. Nemo
8. Living Seas
9. Turtle Talk w/Crush
10. Visited the Cool Spot.
11. Walked through the Butterfly Pavillion
12. Lunch at the San Angel Inn
13. Rode the Gran Fiesta Tour
14. Began touring the World Showcase
15. Rode Maelstrom
16. Watched the Acrobats in China
17. Viewed Reflections of China
18. Visited Sommerfest for snacks
19. Continued touring countries
20. Stopped to watch Tony Orlando perform 3 songs
21. Saw The American Adventure
22. Saw the drum performers in Japan
23. Listened to music and watched the bellydancer in Morrocco
24. Saw Impressions de France
25. Went shopping in France and stopped at the bakery for pastries
26. Toured countries
27. Shopped at The Tin Soldier in the UK. Luke, a CM there, is fantastic!
28. Staked out a spot on the bridge to the UK for Illuminations. Watched them from there.
29. Wandered back through the park to transportation.
30. Went swimming at the resort until midnight.

May 31 AK 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. High Temp: 95

1. At park for rope drop show
2. Breakfast at Tusker House- grabbed Safari FPs
3. Saw drum show in Africa...DS#2 got to participate
4. Rode the Safari
5. Went to Rafiki's Planet Watch...stopped for Mickey bars on the way in.
6. Saw Finding Nemo
7. Rode the Triceratops Spin
8. Saw Festival of the Lion King
9. Returned to Resort
10. Watched the Space Shuttle Launch
11. Spent about 2 hours trying to get to Winter/Summerland. Never got there. Don't try Disney busses for this one!
12. Ate dinner at ASMo.
13. Made a movie of the resort. Took photos at Andy's room.
14. Went swimming until about 10 p.m. Early bed!

June 1 MK 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. High Temp: 99 degrees

1. Breakfast in room
2. At MK to see the Morning Welcome
3. Dumbo
4. Dumbo
5. Pooh
6. Pooh
7. Peter Pan
8. It's a Small World
9. Rode Carousel
10. Saw Mickey's Philharmagic
11. Rode Tomorrowland Speedway
12. Rode Astro Orbiter
13. Rode Tomorrowland Transit Authority
14. Went to the Laugh Factory
15. Rode Buzz
16. Lunch at Cosmic Ray's
17. Rode Carousel of Progress
18. Buzz again.
19. Haunted Mansion
20. Saw Disney's Dreams Come True Parade
21. Went to the Hal of President's
22. Saw Woody's show
23. Country Bear Jamboree
24. Took boat to Wilderness Lodge
25. Ate at WCC, then took an hour's nap in the lobby
26. Returned to MK
27. Watched Spectromagic
28. Watched the fireworks
29. Rode the Magic Carpets
30. Rode Jungle Cruise
31. Had Dole Whips
32. Pirates
33. Pirates
34. Buzz
35. Buzz
35a. Oops...forgot. DS#2 and I rode Small World while DS#1 hit the bathrooms!
36 Haunted Mansion
37. Returned to resort...time for bed, finally!

June 2 MGM Studios 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. High Temp: 95 degrees

1. Slept in!
2. Arrived at the Studios about 10 a.m.
3. Got PFs for Toy Story Mania
4. Met Prince Caspian
5. Rode Star Tours
6. Jedi Academy- DS#2 is now a Padawan (which means something, I guess!)
7. Muppet's 3-D
8. Great Movie Ride
9. Walt Disney: 1 Man's Dream (Got Dream Ears in line!)
10. Little Mermaid
11. Indy Stunt Show
12. Toy Story Mania...grabbed another set of FPs
13. Pizza Planet
14. Rained out of the Stunt Show
15. Had pictures done at Tatoinne Traders
16. Dinner at SciFi
17. Toy Story Mania
18. Fantasmic
19. Shopping
20. Back to resort. Swimming until 12

June 3rd Epcot and MK 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. High temp: 95 degrees

1. Soarin'
2. Soarin'
3. Journey into Imagination
4. Honey I Shrunk the Audience
5. Imageworks
6. Mission Space
7. Advanced Training Lab
8. Ellen's Energy Adventure
9. Spaceship Earth
10. Lunch at Electric Umbrella
11. Innoventions
12. Monorail to MK
13. Train to Frontierland
14. Tom Sawyer's Island
15. Tiki Room
16. Dole Whips
17. SFR Treehouse
18. Big Thunder Railroad
19. Train to Toontown
20. Mickey's House
21. Minnie's House
22. Donald's Boat
23. Magic Teacups
24. Buzz
25. Buzz
26. Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
27. Fireworks
28. Main Street Bakery.

June 4th Epcot 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

1. Spaceship Earth
2. Lab at the end of the Spaceship ride
3. Innoventions West
4. Cool Spot
5. Innoventions East
6. Shuttle back to resort
7. Lunch at resort
8. ME to airport

Well, that's the overview. I know I've left off things like Kidcot, but it gives you a rough idea of what we were able to accomplish in our given time!

[OhMari]

Hi,
I actually enjoyed your TR. I"m sorry you didn't get to go minerature golfing. I think you have to go to Tymphoone Lagoon and walk over, there is no direct bus. The other minerature golf course is over by the Dolphine resort. I know you have to walk from the Dolphin across the street to get there.
Thanks for sharing. You really spent a long day at the MK. Did you guys take take naps in the Hall of Presidents?

[SunnieRN]

Wow! You accomplished a LOT! Your boys are troopers to swim late and still get up early in the morning!
Can't wait to hear more details and see pictures!!

[seashellmom]

Whew, I'm tired just reading about everything you did! It sounds like you had a wonderful trip. Loved the one about taking a nap in the lobby. :goodvibes

[lntsmom]

On our way to Disney World!

I am the type who loves to go on vacation, but hates to travel, lol! I thought I'd get up around 4 a.m., but by 3 I was wide awake and ready to roll. By 5:30 both boys were up, fed, and dressed, the car was packed, and we were on the road.

It was in the 40's with a ton of fog, which stressed me because I'd never flown out of the new Denver airport and couldn't see exit signs, etc. Luckily, the toll booth ladies were very nice. We arrived at the airport around 6:45, found a parking lot, and grabbed the shuttle to the airport itself.

The security there was bizarre...two areas for everyone flying! Ah, well, I figured, just a warm up for all the line standing we'll be doing this week. To my happy surprise, that security line was the longest line we encountered by far!

I was happy to be to our gate over an hour early. While there we witnessed two people who had missed flights due to the crazy security set-up!

We had a quiet, easy flight and landed in Orlando about 15 minutes early. The ME bus was waiting for us, and only had the value resorts to service, so we were to Movies in about 40 minutes!

I was disappointed to find out we'd been placed in Mighty Ducks. My letter and photos to the manager didn't wrangle me a free "upgrade" to Toy Story. The boys, however, were fine with this. By dumb luck we'd all seen Might Ducks on tv about 2 weeks before our trip, so they were familiar with the storyline. As time went on, we realized that it was nice to have a quiet, uncrowded pool right outside our room!

I bought my younger DS some Disney dollars, using coins we'd saved since our last Disney trip. I tried to buy more using my debit card, but the CM couldn't figure out how to do this. She kept talking about limits on how many she could sell when a guest was using credit, and I finally gave up. We'd only purchased $10 worth, and I'm not sure why a cash purchase would impact using a debit card, but we wanted to go dump our stuff in our room and get the show on the road!

I was part of a fridge swap from here, and was told at first that there was no fridge waiting for me, but it did show up before the night was over, so that worked well for us.

Our room was on the top floor facing the pool. First I checked for signs of bedbugs and was thrilled to see no sign of them. We left our carry-on luggage there, walked over to Music, and got on the DTD bus.

Our first stop there was for my younger DS to play in the fountain. This was followed by a picture at the Happy Holidays sign, which I hoped to use for Christmas this year. Upon developing the picture I found that my older ds had a grimace instead of a smile. That was to become the theme of his Disney World photos. Years from now I bet some kid says, "Gee, what was wrong with Grandpa Liam? Was he always that grumpy? How could he go to Disney and be in a bad mood?" LOL!

Next we wandered through some stores. I grabbed some stickers from the World of Memories store. At Goofy's my older ds made a cookie and I bought brownies for a bedtime snack that night. We wandered through other stores, but the only thing I was looking for was hats. At the Pooh shop I got two of the white DisneyWorld caps, which were a super investment considering neither boy got a sunburned scalp!

Most of our shopping time was spent at the Lego store. Sadly, their bins were nearly empty, so my younger ds chose a bionicle instead of a tub of parts. The CM said they were waiting on shipments, and that usually the bins would have been full. We walked right by the big Disney store, which I came to regret! I never did get my box of Buzz parts. The store at the Studios that had them was low on parts, too. The only big parts they had were the princess hair accessories. No ride parts, no big accessories. Dang!

Our final stop was Raglan Road. I had planned on having Kevin's Ham, but it is no longer on the menu. Instead I had Paddy's Pork. The mashed potatoes with leaks and cabbage were amazing! This is a dish I would definitely have again! When I get a chance I'll come back with food photos. (I thought I could upload them from work, but the controls here won't let me open the Kodak cd...I'll have to bring my camera!) Both boys had the Gold'n Chicken and the ice cream for dessert. They loved everything! I tried the bread pudding, but was so full from dinner that I could only eat a small bit of it. It would be wonderful in the late afternoon with a cup of tea.

I have to say, our waitress was AMAZING. The service was what you'd expect from a high end restaurant, not one that lets in folks in shorts and sneakers! This is one meal that was, pricewise, a bargain!

Around 8 the musicians began playing. We were seated at the primo table...right in front of the dance platform. The music was good and not so loud as I'd been led to expect. At about 8:30 the dancing began. The dancer was good, but what she did would have gotten her boo'd of the stage at a Feis. She was doing Riverdance-style stuff, arms swinging, smiling and playing to the audience. I'd expected the real stuff, so after one dance, we went ahead and headed back to the resort.

We had a great time swimming that night. The air was cooling off but the water was warm, and after a long day of travel, it was a great way to relax.

After returning to our room my younger ds and I had the brownies (yummy!!!) and my older ds ate his cookie. 11 p.m. and we were ready for bed! The next day would be the day of the big walk...Epcot!

[lntsmom]

Hi,
I actually enjoyed your TR. I"m sorry you didn't get to go minerature golfing. I think you have to go to Tymphoone Lagoon and walk over, there is no direct bus. The other minerature golf course is over by the Dolphine resort. I know you have to walk from the Dolphin across the street to get there.
Thanks for sharing. You really spent a long day at the MK. Did you guys take take naps in the Hall of Presidents?

LOL...were you following us? My younger ds used the Hall of Presidents and The American Adventure to snooze, lol! I figured if he was that tired, a nap would be more important than a dose of American History!

My boys are the type that would throw fits if I tried to take them out of the parks for a rest. At home they are slugs, but the air at Disney is like Red Bull for them...they can go and go, then go some more!

[SunnieRN]

Wow, sounds like you had a great time at DTD! Your meal at Raglan Road sounds yummy! I'd love to try their bread pudding, I've heard so many good things about it!
Looking forward to more!!

[lntsmom]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/BigCookie.jpg

Liam and his Big Cookie...all he wanted on it was the peanutbutter cups!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/Brickley-1.jpg

If Teiguen has his way, someday he'll get paid to build things like Brickley!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/PaddysPork.jpg

Paddy's Pork @ Raglan Road: I'm usually not much of a pork fan, but this was the best meal I had at the World! The center of the pork loin is stuffed with their homemade sausage. The mashed potatoes have leeks and cabbage in them. I have got to get the recipe!

[lntsmom]

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/Wevebeenwished.jpg

We got Dreamed!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/Cuttlefish.jpg

We have more photos of the creatures at Disney World than of any of the sites! The boys were captivated by the Cuttlefish. Does anyone know, was it the inspiration for Davy Jones?

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/Japandrummers.jpg

We loved all the shows at Epcot. The Japanese drummers were amazing. So, can anyone explain their funky footwear? I guess this is a topic to Google....

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/Beverly.jpg

I think he was trying to decide whether or not to cry, :lmao: . As you may have guessed, the cup was full of Beverly. This is one beverage that leads you to ignore the old saw: waste not: want not.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/SnacksinFrance-1.jpg

Our treats from the bakery in France. I was wishing I was hungry, as the sandwiches looked yummy, but settled for the plain croissant. The boys each had a slice of the cake-of-the-day. Yum!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/WaitingforIlluminations.jpg

We got to England around 7:30. After a wonderful experience with CM Luke in the Tin Soldier we decided to head back to the bridge to wait for Illuminations. A piece of ground and a cup of ice water were all it took at that point to make us happy!

[lntsmom]

Yes, this is the worst organized trip report on this site! Since I've got the photo thing working, I'm going to go ahead and post another day's photos! I'll come back next time and add my written reports!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/TuskerHouseBreakfast.jpg

This is DS#2's breakfast at Tusker House. Amazingly, he ate almost everything...I think about half the donut was left. He even went back and got some yogurt!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/AKdrums.jpg

Teiguen playing the drums at AK. He has now had the opportunity to play drums with CMs at California Adventure, Animal Kingdom, and the Studios.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/LionKing.jpg

I hate my camera!!! It is a Vivatar that has 17 light settings on it: none of which take decent inside or night action photos! This was the first of many double-exposures. I miss my 35mm and firmly plan to buy a new one before our next big vacation!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/SpaceShuttle.jpg

Later that afternoon we went back to the resort and watched the Space Shuttle launch. In person you could actually see the Shuttle...the photo at least got a good shot of the contrail. This was a very cool bonus experience!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/RC.jpg

This was our short day...here we are wandering around the resort. Teiguen enjoyed posing with all the props!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/Woody.jpg

Posing with Woody. The last time we visited WDW they didn't have the fence up around him...guess too many people mistook him for a jungle gym. Still, he is the coolest toy around!

[SunnieRN]

What awesome pictures!! The meal at Raglan Road looks as good as it sounded! Yummm!!

Your boys are so adorable. Please don't tell your older son I called him adorable as I am sure he would be offended, but he is!!

I can't wait to read more report as the pictures are so great!! Looking forward to it!

[lntsmom]

Our first full day and we were up early and rarin' to go! We ate breakfast in the room (hooray for the fridge swap...we had cold milk handy!) and walked over to Music to grab the bus to Epcot.

I had used the Unofficial Guide and it's organizational pages to write step-by-step plans for Epcot, MK, and the Studios. So, this was day one of following the guide. My boys didn't want to do the more intense rides, so I tweaked the plans. The first thing on our list was Soarin'.

Following the Guides' advice, we were to the park well before opening. They let us in about 10 minutes early and we were able to move to the area in front of Spaceship Earth. The CMs were holding a rope there and they had Mickey and his friends out to entertain the crowd. I was surprised at how excited my younger son was to get to give Mickey a high-5! They did a countdown and dropped the rope, and we became part of an impromptu parade led by the Soarin' CMs and the characters. They led us most of the way through the park; something the boys got a kick out of.

I agree with most Dis members on this one, the theming in Florida is nonexistant. However, the line moved so quickly that we would have missed out on most everything anyway! We met a wonderful gentleman from Tampa and chatted with him up to the ride. What a way to kick off your day in the parks! We managed to spot 3 of the hidden Mickeys in the movie...we still can't find the one on the airplane!

On the way out we grabbed Fast Passes...our first ever! Following the guide we headed over to Mission Space. Turns out, if crowd levels are decent, this traveling isn't necessary! We were in Epcot 3 days and never did see a line there. My older son was in a panic and opted out of the ride. I'd used online videos to show him most of the rides...he's the type who doesn't like surprises...but hadn't shown him this one. DS2 and I loved it, and they both played the simulator game at the end.

Back across the park we went, just in time to use our Soarin' FPses. There was a CM with a clicker counting off guests. I thought nothing of it (I'm not real observant; yes, he did have on the vest and pants!) until we rounded the corner and found out that we'd been Dreamed! My boys were tickled pink to get a pair of ears!

After the ride we checked out more attractions on that side of the park. Living with the Land was an unexpected pleasure! My younger son was fascinated to see how some of his favorite foods grow. My older one loved the technological aspect of it. The Nemo ride, well, um, this is one we would pass on during our next visit. We loved the displays and the marine animals, especially the cuttlefish, the dolphins, and the manatees. This is one place the boys would have loved to have been able to just dally. We had ADRs for lunch, though, so we headed on to Turtle Talk. This was charming and entertaining, but we'd done so much prep that I think we'd seen the whole show before we got there!

On the way to lunch at the San Angel Inn we wandered through the butterfly exhibit and stopped at the Cool Spot to try the sodas. I loved Smart from China! Does Shasta make watermelon soda? I have to look the next time I'm at the store!

We got to SAI in plenty of time. My older ds thought he'd dropped his ears while we were using a restroom and left to search for them. Turns out, he'd dropped them there on the seat and just didn't see them when he stood up! Of course our buzzer called us just after he left...and we spotted his ears. They were nice enough to hold the ressy until he rejoined us.

My younger ds was freaked out by the setting. We'd seen the new Indy movie a few days earlier and the whole Mayan temple thing was overwhelming for him. As for the food, My older son ordered the chicken strips. The spaghetti they served with it was runny and the water from it soaked everything else on the plate. He was embarrassed, but I sent it back, asking that they not put spaghetti on the plate. They were nice and gave him two chicken strips instead. My younger son had the Quesadilla. He didn't like the chicken in it, but after picking that out, ate the rest. I had the Ensalada Mexicana. I'm not sure what to say about it other than it was edible. The bowl was flavorless, so I stuck to the salad itself. This is one dish that might have benefited from better lighting. It was supposed to have cactus strips, for instance, but in the dark it was impossible to tell what was what. The meat was shredded beef and was tasty, but the greens all kind of blended together and I'm not sure what their house dressing is because I couldn't taste any dressing at all. This was our least favorite meal. That said, the mariachies were wonderful and our server was great. It was the food, not the atmosphere, that would lead me to not book at this restaurant again.

After lunch we spent the rest of the day wandering through World Showcase. While the buildings were amazing and the Gran Fiesta and Maelstrom were enjoyable, it was the people we enjoyed the most. We were able to see the performers in China, Japan, Morocco. They were all fantastic! We hadn't explored World Showcase on our previous visit, but now I know that on future trips the way to organize your time there is so you can catch the performers. We enjoyed the shows...but I will say that the movie at China made me dizzy. I have no idea why, but the tilting twisting camera was almost too much for me. We stopped in Germany for ice water and pretzels for the boys. They loved them! In France we stopped at the bakery. I was looking for something lemon (I had the BEST lemon bar at the Main Street Bakery back in '99...and haven't found anything like it at Disney since!), but settled for a croissant. The boys had chocolate cake. YUM! There were little birds in the courtyard that came begging. I think the boys got as big a kick out of the Florida wildlife as they did the parks themselves!

While we enjoyed the shops, there wasn't much to tempt us. My older ds spent $2.50 of his own money on a fan from China. Until the end of the day, that was our total for souvenirs.

The sun was starting to go down when we got to England. We stopped in the Tin Soldier and my younger ds decided to get a sword. He'd seen them at Norway and decided he had to have one. The CM there, Luke, was amazing! He was dressed like a pirate. Instead of simply ringing up the sword he had a duel with my son, letting him win! Then he hid my son's Disney money under his pirate hat, pretending Teiguen hadn't paid him. When Teiguen pointed out that he had, Luke said he'd assumed the $10 was a tip; the going price for killing a Disney CM, lol! This ended up being one of the highlights of my younger son's trip! As we were leaving, Luke told him that the sword had magical powers: it was an unoffical fast pass and anytime that there was a line, my son could use it to cut his way to the front. ROFL! I told Luke that if Teiguen tried it, I would be back to talk with him! If you have boys, be sure to stop in and see Luke...he was great!

By then it was a little after 8. We grabbed ice water and headed back to the bridge to stake out a place for Illuminations. There was a light breeze and we enjoyed people watching. The show was fabulous. Sadly, we met the first of our "I See Crazy People" folks there on the bridge. In the last few minutes before the show started a woman and her children? grandchildren? pushed up between us and the people who'd been waiting next to us. The little snits had the nerve to push me and say, "Move!" I'm pretty sturdily built so I held my spot and ignored them. This was rewarded by the woman screaming all through the show about how everything was wrong and the platform had burned down and they wouldn't be able to do the show again for months because everything was out of control. She sounded local from other things she said, but I'm guessing this was her first time at Illuminations. What a nutter. I'd heard there'd been a rise in these sorts since our last visit, and sadly, she wasn't the last we came across.

After the show we wandered our way back to the front of the park. Busses for the spendy resorts came and went, and all of us from the values stood. Finally a driver showed up for Sports and he took all of us from Movies and Music, too. God bless him!

We got off at Music and started to walk and a CM with a golf cart pulled up and offered us a ride! It was a short way, but after logging miles at Epcot, we were glad to accept. Just another touch of Disney magic.

The boys, of course, heard the call of the pool, so we changed and went to swim for about 90 minutes. This was when we realized the benefits of being in Mighty Ducks. The pool there was only attracting folks from our buildings, so it was wide open and fairly quiet! The kids could really swim and play. What a great time! A little before midnight I hauled them out, and after brief showers they both hit their bed, asleep almost before their heads hit the pillow!

This was a good thing, as day 3 would be calling bright and early, and we'd be off for a day at Animal Kingdom!

[SunnieRN]

Wow, sounds like a great day despite and only ok lunch and a "different" sort of illuminations viewer!
Looking forward to your animal kingdom day!!

[lntsmom]

Okay, let me say first that I am going to post, then edit to complete this. I just spent half an hour typing up the day's report, only to have it magically disappear. This was the day of our trip that was sort of that way anyway, so it shouldn't have been a surprise!

Despite waking up to a blister the size of a quarter, thanks to my trusty New Balances that had turned on me during our day at Epcot, I was ready for day 3. (Well, thanks to a blister bandaid and a Motrin, that is!) We were up and at the busses by 7:15.

I had somehow lost my mind and booked a character breakfast during a morning EMH day! By the time I'd realized this, it was too late to change it, so I figured we'd just have to deal with it. In addition to losing that hour, we also missed out on the opportunity to be allowed into the park early.

Around 7:50 they opened the gates and we were allowed to move to the far end of the Oasis. There, they had ropes. At about 7:55 they brought out a safari vehicle with Minney, Goofy, and Pluto. At the end of the welcome show Mickey appeared on a lift over near the Tree of Life. Countdown and...we're off to Tusker House.

Us and about 200 others, that is. Everyone with ADRs between 8 and 8:40 was already there! Luckily Tusker House was well versed in such chaos, and it never interefered with our experience there. While DS1 ran for FPses for the Safari, DS2 and I waited for our table. Just as DS1 returned they called our name, and in we went. There was a high school marching band that had been seated just before us...well behaved kids, but lots of them (sorry, guys, I can't remember where you were from...just your orange shirts and that you marched at MK on the 30th!). Our hostess told us not to wait for our server...to hit the buffet before the kids were released, lol!

This character breakfast is my favorite! First, despite having picky eaters, there are a ton of things that appeal to my kiddos. They started with Mickey Waffles, but as you can see from the photo, that was just the beginning! They had muffins, cereal, bacon, yogurt, and more! My older son fell in love with the juice. They described it as a passion juice mixture, but to me it looked more like mango. Anything new that my son will eat is a good thing!

I had just gone to fetch yogurt for DS#2 when Mickey arrived at our table. The nice folks next to us snapped a photo, but sadly, didn't realize that DS#2 had his eyes closed. Ah, well, that photo is a good match to the one in '99 where my older son has red eyes and is holding a bump on his head because he'd been so excited at meeting Mickey that he fell off the chair!

The boys had gone to the restroom when Daisy appeared. I knew they wouldn't mind missing her, but wanted a photo, so asked the CM escorting her to take one of us. After posing, Daisy gave me a peck on the cheek! Awwww! I am one of those "it's a kid in a costume" folks, but still found this to be very endearing!

We finished breakfast with about 15 minutes to spare, so we wandered through the market. There were CMs with African musical instruments inviting guests to play along. We watched the first number, and my younger DS jumped in to play along on the drum during the second. This kid gets involved in more of this type of thing than most, lol, and I think these little opportunities are as much fun for him as the big rides!

By the time he finished our window for the Safari had opened, so off we went. There was really no line...we just had to wait while one vehicle loaded, then got on the next. The boys really enjoyed this. They were familiar with all the animals because Africa is the main focus of the Kansas City zoo, and they'd been there many times prior to our move west last summer. Despite that, they got a kick out of this because of the lack of discernable fencing. Some rhinos came right up to the vehicle, and I have a feeling that when I get those cameras developed I'll find that most of two rolls of film were used on that ride!

Next up was the Pangani Forest Trail. The boys really loved this. We all have a thing for gorillas, due to an experience we had with one at the Omaha zoo. While the Disney gorilla's didn't interact with people as much, they were still beautiful to watch. Of course we loved the Meer Cats. If there are any funnier animals around, we've never found them! Despite the humidity, we enjoyed this trail.

Does AK seem to hold the heat more than other parks to anyone else??? By the time we got off the trail the boys were ready for ice cream! I promised them that the next stand we saw, we'd stop.

We headed to Rafiki's Planet Watch. Outside, they had a cart with ice cream. DS1 chose the traditional Mickey on a stick. DS2 chose the Mickey ice cream sandwich. I stuck with the juice bar. They were both fun and tasty! These ice creams are one of those things that I think you have to do if you want to say you've really done WDW!

After that break, it was into the I'd read over and over how this is a minor attraction and not worth the time it takes to ride the train there, etc. I have to say, if you have children under the age of 10, this is a must-do. Even my older son enjoyed the animals they brought out to display. Inside, DS1 and I enjoyed those rooms where you put on the headphones and hear a day in the jungle. This, however, completely freaked my younger ds off. Luckily, he was willing to take off his headphones and wait for us. When we finished there, Rafiki had come out, and the boys had their photo taken with him. We aren't the type to stand and wait for a photo, but when the opportunity arises....

I'm going to be honest...we decided to skip Asia entirely. We wanted to see both of the big stage shows and still have time to leave the park to go putt-putt golfing before hunkering down to watch the Space Shuttle launch at 5:05, and something had to give. Last time we went we saw Flights of Wonder, but nothing else. I figure this gives us some entirely new experiences to look forward to the next time we go to WDW...

So, across the park we went, headed for Finding Nemo. Luckily, we arrived with only about a 10 minute wait for the doors to open. We'd been drinking nothing but water on this trip, but I gave in and let the boys have sodas while we waited, figuring that since they'd have half an hour or more inside before returning to the heat, it wouldn't be tragic.

When the doors opened we wandered in and ended up sitting about 8 rows from the front on the right side of the stage extension. The area directly behind it, higher up, had filled up first. Although it wasn't my first choice for seating, it was a good choice. We'd seen Finding Nemo: Disney on Ice about a month before, and were looking forward to comparing the two shows. They tell similar versions of the story, but no duplicates, which was nice. One embarassing thing...a CM came and asked me to turn my flash off. Thing is, it WAS off! I'd turned it off before the show. Someone behind me to my right had been using a flash, and I got the blame. I wasn't going to argue with the CM, but I did check, and yes, my flash was off! So, if you were at the 1:00 show on May 31st and saw me getting a talking to, please know I was innocent, lol!

After the show we headed to The Festival of the Lion King, but stopped on the way so the boys could ride the Triceratops Spin. This whole section of the park was nonexistant on our last visit, and knowing they only had time for one ride, they settled on this one. It is cute, but as everyone says, somehow the dumbo-clones don't hold the same charm as the original!

Next up, Festival of the Lion King. We had a wait to get in...they didn't seem to open the doors here as early as they did at other shows. We were seated in the giraffe section, third row. After the warm up, some of which was cute but most of which was totally lame, the show started. My boys are in agreement that this was the best show they saw on our trip! The younger one came to me today, almost 3 weeks after the fact, to talk about the fire juggler and ask how he kept from getting burned! Personally, I enjoy the Tumble Monkeys. One question: has this show always been enclosed??? My memory of it was that it was horribly hot last time (5/99). Either my memory is faulty, they didn't have the air on the last time we were there, or it really wasn't fully enclosed when it first opened!

By the time the show ended we needed to head to Winter/Summerland. I stopped at Guest Relations to ask for advice on the quickest way to get there. None of the CMs had ever heard of it. After a conference, they suggested we head back to our hotel and connect on the bus from there.

Looking back, we should have gone to our hotel and asked the concierge. Instead, I talked to bus drivers. After waiting about 20 minutes with no resort bus in sight, I asked a driver for MK if we could go to the TTC with him, and transfer from there. He assured me that there was no way to do so. He said I needed to go to my resort and take the bus to Typhoon Lagoon.

We got to the resort around 4:30 (Yes, it really did take that long! Believe what you read about busses. At either end of the day they are plentiful, but in the middle of the day, not so much!) Since the Space Shuttle was scheduled for a half hour later, we decided to sit and watch from there. The concierge was able to tell my son that we would see it fine from the front of the resort, so we parked ourselves on the "E" in "Movies" and waited. By about 4:50 there was quite a crowd waiting. One man was using his phone to get info, and was able to tell us when the Shuttle had cleared the tower. Sure enough, about 15 seconds later, there it was, streaking skyward! I don't know what I'd expected, but from 60 miles away you could clearly see the shuttle itself! First there was the huge contrail, then they did a burn, and you could see the white shuttle at the end of the fire streak. When the burn was finished, we could clearly see the Shuttle...the top was facing towards us! We watched it until it disappeared behind the smoke of a local fire. This was a really cool bonus for us!

Still wanting to go golf, we jumped on the next Typhoon Lagoon bus. We enjoyed the trip, as the family next to us was from the metro area where we used to live. Arriving at the park I asked the bus driver which way to walk to get to mini-golf. She apologized and told me that I should have taken the Blizzard Beach bus, not hers, and that since she wasn't going back to Movies we had to get off and wait for a bus. Her suggestion was that we either go to Coronado Springs or Epcot and switch from there. She assured us that there were no direct busses from our resort.

By the time we got back to our resort it was after 6. Yes, we really had spent 2 1/2 hours trying, unsuccessfully, to get to Winter/Summerland. I stopped to talk to our concierge, telling her that it was frustrating to have followed advice from Guest Services and bus drivers and having had wasted all that time going nowhere. She laughed and told me that it was good that I hadn't followed the last bus driver's advice, as that was for the off-season, when the water parks aren't open. It wouldn't have gotten us there, either.

We were all cranky and tired, but stopped to grab dinner before heading to our room. The boys both had chicken strips, which they declared to be yummy. I had the salmon with aoli pesto sauce and rice. It was delicious. Don't let people put you off of the food courts at the values. It isn't 4-star, but it is as good or better than you'd get at any of the chains (Chili's, Applebees, etc!)

Next up, our room to grab the video camera. We went back out and toured the resort. On our first visit it was just me and a 3 1/2 year old. We were staying in Toy Story, and I just never took the time to wander and explore. This time, we did. DS1 took off on his own to make the video. DS2 and I did the photo thing. I haven't had a chance to watch the video yet, but I think this was a good use of time!

By the time we finished our tour, it was almost 8. We went up and grabbed swimsuits and headed to the pool. This was the night that the boys got to swim to their heart's content! It was about 10:30 when they finally fell into bed, ready for a good night's sleep, knowing that the next day was our marathon day at MK!

[lntsmom]

Why does this keep happening? It times me out and then when I sign in again, my posts have disappeared? Before, if I signed back in, it finished the post. This is very frustrating!

Oh, well, with abbreviated commentary because I've already wasted 2 hours of my life these past two days on disappearing posts, here are the photos from day 4:

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/Castle.jpg

Entering the park.

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/Liambird.jpg

After some research, we found that this is a white heron. These were everywhere...and quite tame. Amazing!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/WCC.jpg

Which one to choose? Dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/trainstation.jpg

Back to MK...ready for part two of the marathon day!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/Zurg.jpg

Take that, Zurg!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/smallworld.jpg

How did I not know that they'd changed the theming on Small World! I was thrilled to see the replica of the Clock Tower at DLR!

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b357/princessfiona64136/nightcastle.jpg

Gotta love those EMHs! This was taken around midnight...and we were still going strong!

[TCKK]

Just found your report. I'm certainly enjoying it and all the pics. Your boys are so cute and look like they're having a great time. Thanks for sharing! Looking forward to the next installation :goodvibes

Cathy

[lntsmom]

First, thank you ladies who've left comments! I'm glad someone else is enjoying my look back! I know I found lots of hints and tips hidden in trip reports I read in the months prior to our vacation...maybe I can do that same favor for someone else!

Day 4. I knew this was the big one. I'd purposely chosen our itinerary with this day in mind. Day One: travel and a Disney warm-up at DTD. Day Two: Many Miles to Go...Epcot, which I knew we needed to tackle while we fresh if we were really going to follow the Unofficial Guide's plan...which added miles to the normal route as it ping-ponged back and forth across the park. Day Three: The easy day at Animal Kingdom. Strolling vs. hustling. Lots of sitting. An early evening. Day 4: Where's Bob the Builder when you need him? I need someone to tell me I can do this, yes I can, :rotfl: .

We were up fairly early and had breakfast in our room. By 8:00 we were at the bus and ready to roll!

We got there early enough to see the Morning Greeting at the Main Street Train Station. This was a chance to see those characters we would otherwise have missed, including Clarabelle Cow! I'd never seen her before on any of our Disney visits! One question: does anyone know if the face characters really work the entire day? We saw Alice three times this day: opening, the early parade, and the late parade. I swear, it was the same girl all three times! Do they really work 12 hour days? Yikes!

After gathering Mickey Confetti and some streamers for scrapbooks, we headed through the right-hand tunnel and headed for Main Street, USA. Stopping only for a quick photo at the end of the street, we headed for Dumbo. Yes, I have no toddlers, but we still have to do Dumbo. I was sad to see that the castle was closed off...it was this way until after the last stage show of the day. Sadly, we never got a chance to go through the castle due to this!

Heading around the castle to the right, we jumped in line for Dumbo and were able to ride with only a short wait. While the lines were short, we jumped back in line and rode again! On the way around the castle we had seen Pooh. On my last visit we missed the opening of this ride by two weeks...we'd waited 9 years for this, so it was next up! We'd ridden the Disneyland version and were happy to find that the MK version was a much better ride.

Here's my confession. I have loved Pooh forever. When I was about 5 someone bought me a pinafore dress...the dress was a print of the 100 acre Woods, and it had a little cream colored apron over it. I looked forward to the Pooh specials each year. When I was pregnant with DS1 I purchased all the Pooh videos that were out then...3 different series...and decorated the nursery in Pooh. Sadly, neither of my boys has ever showed a love for Pooh. DS1 was a major Barney fan and DS2 took to the Wiggles. I'd given up hope of that ever changing.

Amazingly, after riding the first time, DS2 declared that this was his favorite ride ever and begged to do it again! Maybe there's hope yet! So, back we went for ride #2.

Next up, Peter Pan. This is a ride that has grown on me over the years. I remember seeing it at age 16 and thinking, "Barbie dolls? They call this a ride?" Luckily, my boys aren't as jaded as I was, and we all enjoyed the trip.

The next challenge was Small World. DS1 had been threatening to boycott the ride, so I just announced that DS2 and I were going and he was welcome to come along if he wished. Amazingly, he jumped right in the boat and was ready to go! There is something very sweet about this ride...I don't see how you can go to the MK and not go on Small World! My favorites are the goats. It tickles me to see how they deal with theming the goats in each of the lands!

I'd had to promise on the way by it that the Carousel was next, so it was. We all rode. My boys laughed at me because of course at the end of the ride my horse was way up in the air. I'm 5'2" and have very short legs...it took a leap of faith to get down off that horse. Hey, entertaining the kiddies is my job, and they seem to appreciate me most when I look like a total fool!

Next up was Mickey's Philharmagic. I was a little nervous. We've tried Tough to be a Bug twice, not making it through either time. I was hoping that this would be closer to Muppets than Bug. Hooray...what a fun show! The effects were mild enough that neither of the boys were bothered. They got a real kick out of the end...Donald's end, that is! Of course they had to figure out how the effects were done. This was a very good thing, because later they'd be challenged by Honey I Shrunk the Audience...

Our next stop was the Tomorrowland Speedway. DS2 was thrilled to find that he was tall enough to drive this time! This was the only ride we had much of a wait on...and it wasn't too bad. The same can't be said for the heat. The day was really heating up, and our next stop had to be for ice water!

While the boys stood in line for the Astro Orbiter, I grabbed ice water, passing it over the rail to them. Give the two, I think they prefered the Orbiter at Disneyland! My older son said there was a longer line atop the orbiter than at the bottom, and by the time they got back down, they were ready for more water!

While they were at the Orbiter, I'd gone to get FPses for Buzz. After our water break, we zipped through the FP line and were ready to take on Zurg and his aliens. This ride is a big favorite for us. I love it because, while I can't even begin to play their video games at home, I can beat them at this one every time, lol! I really love how you can spin your car around so the folks in the car behind or ahead of you can see your score for themselves, snork, snork, snork!!! We grabbed FPses on our way out so we could return later for more fun.

Our next stop was the Laugh Factory. This is one show that lives up to it's billing. Our only complaint was that it could have been a bit longer! DS1 was bummed that he'd left his cell phone in the safe in the room. Be sure to take your cell phones if you want to text a joke!

After the show the boys were hungry. It was too hot to eat outside, so we headed for Starlight Ray's and split up to order. One nice thing about DS1 being 12...I set up his room key so he could charge, and at food courts we could go our separate ways, saving a ton of time in line! Finding a place to sit was a bit harder, but we eventually found one inside to the far right side of the ordering area. We wished we could have seen Sonny, but were willing to settle for anything air conditioned!

After finishing we handed our table off to another family we headed to the Carousel of Progress. Amazingly, this was one that my older son really wanted to do! He had it on his short list, so we settled in. I have to admit, there was a certain amount of charm to the show...history if nothing else. Funny, though, how the modern day house looked more like the houses that were built back in the 60's and 70's than the McMansions you see today!

By the time the show ended our window for Buzz had opened, and off we went. Did I mention how disappointed we were about them charging for ride photos? When we went to Disneyland we were able to e-mail our photos home! Here, they come and go from the screen so quickly that I couldn't even get a photo of it! Dang! This is one ride that we love either way, but given the choice would choose the one at DLR every time!

Our next stop would be the big test...the Haunted Mansion. This is the ride that DS1 refused to do both at WDW and at DLR. He hates surprises and despite DS2 and I describing the DLR version and his having seen snippits on videos and tv shows, he was still saying he wouldn't do this. That was, until someone here posted a link to their You Tube video of the ride. Thank you, thank you, to the member who did that! After watching the video my son decided we'd give it a try. I kept thinking, "Just let the elevator doors close and we'll be fine!" The boys rode one doom buggy...I rode the next...and they LOVED it! Woo-hoo! I think we are officially over that hump. DS1 now trusts Disney enough to give most of the rides a try...which makes the trip much more enjoyable for DS2 and I!

Upon exiting the Mansion we realized they were setting up the ropes for the Dream's Come True parade. DS2 staked out a seat on the planter in front of the Hall of Presidents while DS1 went off to get us water...misunderstanding my suggestion he go to Columbia Harbor House, he stopped at a cart and came back with soda instead. Ah, well, a soda probably wouldn't kill us, despite the heat. We hunkered down for the parade...a tip, we were in a GREAT spot for this parade! As the floats turned the corner they came directly towards us, giving us unrestricted sight lines and allowing for great photos!

As soon as the last float cleared we headed into the Hall of Presidents. DS2 had slept through The American Adventure, but we all stayed awake for this show! To be honest, the best thing about this is the air conditioning, lol! Not that the show was bad, but when it's in the high 90's with 70 or 80% humidity, the dark cool auditorium is a nice break!

After the show we headed towards Frontierland and saw Woody and his pals headed down the street toward us. We stopped to see most of the show, but for some reason neither of the kids wanted to get involved, so as it was winding up we headed to the Country Bear Jamboree. "There was blood on the saddle...." LOL!

Not wanting to push my luck with our schedule, we headed for the exit to get a ferry to Wilderness Lodge. We had 6:05 reservations for dinner. Arriving a bit early allowed us time to find the bathrooms and send DS1 to find The Roaring Fork and order his chicken nuggets. Shortly after this we were seated...and the fun began. DS2 participated in the stick horse races. Not only did our waiter give us grief, so did another waiter and the waitress who is able to circular breathe, apparantly, given her version of the call for catsup!

We ordered the chips and queso dip as a starter. OMG...this is THE BEST! The chips were warm and fresh. The dip was creamy and silky...not a bit of grease in it! The tomato and onion topper was fresh and crisp. It's a good thing we weren't staying at the Lodge, because I KNOW we would have had to make time for the chips and milkshakes daily! DS2 had the kids' cheeseburger, which he deemed delicious. He was so full that he took the cookie for later...and never did get around to eating it! I ordered the trout and was sad to find out that they were out already...and they substituted salmon instead. I wish they'd given me another choice instead. I love salmon, but I'd just had it the night before and, to be honest, the salmon at the Movies food court was better than that at WCC! Ah well, the kids enjoyed the silliness...tossing straws, the yard-long straw, the races, the scoldings by the waiters for having tried to hold on to one bottle of catsup for our use, etc! This a meal I'd do again for sure...but next time, even if it is summer and nearly 100 degrees out, I'll order the skillet!

After dinner I figured we needed a breather before tackling part two of our day at MK. We spent an hour in the lobby, feet up, resting. We weren't the only ones. The constant commotion in the WCC kept us from dozing off, which I guess is a mixed blessing. Or, I should say, DS1 and I rested. DS2 networked. He left knowing half a dozen new kids.

A little before 8 it was back to the ferry and off to MK. By that time they were handing out the EMH bracelets, and we grabbed ours as we entered the park. Entering by the left tunnel (why does this matter???) we headed down Main Street. After a bathroom stop we decided to pull up a piece of curb...except, by this time, 8:15, the entire street was already filled. Huh? I've never seen a crowd line up that early, but we found a place on the Tommowland side, right by a crossing, and waited. There were some fussy English folk sitting there having dinner...on the sidewalk...and they didn't appreciate us or any of the others who squeezed in. I guess they figured they could have the entire roped off area from curb to rope, and from the rope down the sidewalk about 8', to themselves. We ignored their rude looks and snarky comments, as did everyone else. (I should add, about half the guests that week were from England...and this was the only group of rude foreigners we encountered. I guess that's why it stood out...everyone else was so friendly and ready to chat...but not this family!)

It turned out to be a good choice, because the parade was coming from Main Street...and due to the walk way next to us, we again had an unrestricted view! I Enjoy Spectromagic, but I have to admit, in my heart I really WANT to see The Main Street Electrical Parade. Is it still running (abbreviated as it is) at CA? Doesn't Disney realize how much everyone loves that parade? Ah, well, the kids love Spectromagic.

After the parade we headed to Casey's Corner to grab some water. I know it was very hot out that day, but we managed to run into our second group of crazy rude folks in a row. There were tons of unused chairs. I started making my way toward some, figuring we'd sit down and decide if we just wanted water or if the boys were ready for snacks, when a man at a table barked at me; "ARE YOU TRYING TO TAKE MY TABLE?" :furious: Mind you, it was him and his wife at the table and about 20 unused chairs scattered all around. I said no, and apologized, asking if they needed the chairs. I added that we were just going to sit a bit while DS1 got us drinks. His response? Again with the yelling: "Well, you're moving in a bit quick, don't you think?" His wife tried to shut him up, without luck. Ah, the blessings of being a single mother! It might not be an easy job, but at least I don't have to haul an **** like that along everywhere we go!!!

So, we moved down to the end, grabbed a seat, and had some water. A CM had heard the exchange and gave me a sympathetic smile. I mentioned that I'd read here that the crazies had increased since our last visit. Honestly, this was my fourth Disney trip and the first time we'd come across anyone acting this way. We ran into a total of 4 completely certifiables and two or three minor wackos. She said yes, the CMs had noticed a huge increase in this in the past few years. Sad.

After enjoying our ice water we headed to the hub to watch the fireworks. I don't remember this from our last visit, but the CMs were forcing everyone to move as far forward in the hub as possible...cramming folks in like sardines. I guess they wanted to clear Main Street, but why? We enjoyed the show, but my one lasting question is, is Tinkerbell a guy, :lmao: ??? She is pretty solid for a gal!

After the fireworks we headed for Adventureland! We rode the Magic Carpets. Clunkety, clunkety...I think maybe they were herky-jerky because DS1 was doing his best to get us soaked, lol! Next up, the Jungle Cruise. I'd read one of the "what rides do you HAVE to ride in the dark" threads here and saw Jungle Cruise listed, so we thought it would be fun. Not so much. We couldn't see a whole lot and, thanks to a grandma who was loudly pointing out the "animals" to a toddler, couldn't hear the jokes. Ah, well. This is one ride we've done numerous times before, and we were disappointed, but not heartbroken. My opinion: do this one in the daylight!

It was nearing midnight and still hotter than the blazes, so we stopped for a Dole Whip (to share...we were still stuffed from dinner) and ice water.

Refreshed, we headed for Pirates. DS1 had hated the unexpected drops at DL, but knew there was only one here and had gotten his nerve up, thus, was willing to ride! We loved the Davy Jones effect, and thought that the last Captain Jack was the best. Knowing we might not make it back to Adventureland, we did a bit of shopping then jumped back in line for a second go!

By that time we were having to ration our time left. We headed back to Tomorrowland and rode Buzz twice...again, no wait! Having had our fill of Buzz for one day, DS2 and I headed for Small World while DS1 took a bathroom break.

This ride is one of my favorite memories. DS2 and I found all the goats, enjoyed the other animals, and sang along. About half way through the ride he confessed to me that he really does love Small World, but made me agree to not repeat this to DS1, as it would destroy his reputation as a cool dude!

Deciding to test my theory about DS1's willingness to ride the bigger rides, I suggested we head back to the Haunted Mansion and ride it at night, and both boys agreed! As we entered the stretching room the CM, a gal about my height, fixed DS2 with a steely glare and snuck up behind him, staring down. DS1 and I were snickering, and when DS2 finally looked up and realized it wasn't me behind him, he jumped, then started laughing! Thanks go to that CM...she was a treat! party:

It was almost 2 when we got off the ride, but our day wasn't done!
We headed to the stairs of the train station to wait. Yes, the ignorant laughed at us. I guess they thought we were dazed and had made it that far only to be able to make it no further. Nope, we were waiting for 2:30 and the Kiss Goodnight. Yes, they do the kiss 4 times a night, but this was one of those special moments. It was finally cooling down, there were only a handful of people left in sight, and the castle twinkled for us!

Finally, finally, it was the end of our day at the Magic Kingdom. A stroll to the busses, a short ride to the resort, quick showers all around, and at 3 a.m. we fell into bed, sure that nobody has ever accomplished more in a day at Disney World!

Day 5 was waiting...a trip to Hollywood Studios! :darth: :yoda: :smickey:

[lntsmom]

Hm...yes, I know this is the day the boys have been waiting for. They are huge fans of both Star Wars and Indy. Personally, I'm a major Toy Story and CS Lewis geek...sooo, do I let everyone sleep in (a relative term considering we hadn't gone to bed until 3 a.m.) or do I set the alarm?

I decided on a compromise...a little of both. I set the alarm for 9. I got up and got ready and got them up about a half hour later. Splurging, we went to the food court at Music and grabbed breakfast before starting our day.

We got to the park about 10...two hours late (:worried: ). My question was whether we'd even get FPses for Toy Story Mania. So, that's where we were headed first. But, just as we entered, a gate opened, and there was the High School Musical float, headed down to where they put on the show. :rotfl2: :lmao: :laughing: You must understand, my boys think there are few things on this earth less disgusting that the High School Musical phenomena. It tickled me to no end that our first impression of the park, even before we got to the hat, was this parade. Life is good!

Yes, we did get our passes for TSM, but they were for over 4 hours later! We were headed to Star Tours when we noticed Ben Barnes standing in the Narnia area...no line! Of course I had to have my boys' photos taken with him! He seemed like a nice fellow and he suggested my younger son should be a teacher some day. (I can't remember how we even got to that point of the conversation!) We also chatted about how both my boys are named in honor of C.S. Lewis. DS1's middle name is Lewis and DS2's name means "poet and philosopher" (which I chose because of all of Lewis' writings, the only ones I had to slog through were his epic poem and his writings about the meaning of 16th century English literature). This photo is one of my favorite...one of two I ordered a Photopass copy of so I could add the boarder.

After our visit, it was across the park we went to Star Tours. I was a little worried. Remember Day 1 when DS1 wouldn't get on Mission Space? Deciding to bite my tongue, knowing he was so geeked out about the whole Star Wars thing that he might be on the ride before he realized it, up the ramp we headed. The theming kept both boys entertained all through the line...hooray! We had to wait for one group before us to load, but then it was our turn. What a cool ride! I'm a bit of a nervous nelly and believed everything I'd read about the ride. Happily, none of it was true...at least for us. It wasn't claustrophobia inducing, nor were any of us sick to our stomach. We LOVED the jump to hyperspace...that's something I'd been waiting for since I was 14 years old and first saw Star Wars. This ride was a major hit!

On the way out we window shopped at Tatooine Traders, but decided to save shopping for later in the day. Why? It was almost time for the Jedi Academy, and we needed to be up front!

DS2 had worn a Lego Star Wars shirt and, without prompting, was bouncing all over the place begging to be chosen. Of course, he was. To let you know how seriously he took this, it is nearly a month later and he is still practicing using the force to move objects. :rotfl: I have to go today to pick up DS1's last two disposable cameras and I'm praying that he got a good shot of DS2 battling Darth Vader. Darth must have stepped sideways while I was taking mine, and all you can see of him is just his leg and foot. DANG. I have mentioned that I hate my digital camera, haven't I? Slow shutter...can't see anything on bright days...doesn't do well in the dark. UGH. Even without the photo I can guarantee that this is one Disney Adventure DS2 will never forget!

It was getting very hot, and after an hour outside in the sun we were ready for air conditioning, so, we headed to Muppets 3D. This is the third time we'd seen it, and I have to say, for me it is getting a little old. We enjoyed it, but compared to the newer films that have a stronger storyline, it doesn't hold up well. Plus, my kids are too young to have ever seen The Muppet Show, and they never liked Sesame Street, so the characters aren't familiar to them.

DS1 wanted to head to The Great Movie Ride, so that was our next destination. The boys LOVED this ride. I couldn't put aside disbelief...the figures just didn't seem human enough to me. However, I know this ride is somewhere in my future, as both boys have raved about it since we got home. DS1 even said he wished we'd have ridden it a second time!

Next up: Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. Having lived in KCMO for 19 years, I am more than familiar with Walt's beginnings. In fact, there was a unit on him in our literature anthology for 4th grade that led right into our SS unit on famous Missourians. We enjoyed the displays, and were thrilled to find ourselves Dreamed for a second time as we rounded one corner! We got a second set of ears. While we would have loved the Dream Fast Passes we saw others with, we were happy to have another set of ears. We enjoyed chatting with the CMs while waiting for the movie, and amazingly, all of us thought the movie was great!

Working our way around that area of the park, we headed to Voyage of the Little Mermaid next.:fish: As a mom of boys I walk a fine line. I thought I could get away with Mermaid if we skipped the Beauty and the Beast show. Turns out, I was right! The boys enjoyed the show. I enjoyed it, but my view was blocked by a woman in front of me holding her cell phone above her head the whole time to film the show. Note to show-goers, if you hold your hand above your head it not only blocks the view of those behind you, the screen on your cell phone and the light from it ruin the atmosphere of the dark theatre. It would be polite to sit in the back if you are going to film the show!

Knowing the boys would rebel without a testosterone-driven activity next, we headed to the Indy Stunt Show. Hooray! This was what they'd been waiting for. Danger, comedy, burning vehicles, exlosions! Everything a boy could ask for!

Then, finally, our window for Toy Story Mania opened. We hustled back over and realized that there was no waiting line...everyone was in the FP line. HM. I wish they'd have let everyone go through the other side, since this way nobody got to see Mr. Potato Head. Ah, well.... We loved the ride! One of the screens on my side didn't work right, and we later found out that it went down for nearly 2 hours later that day, but we got to ride and were happy to have done so. We grabbed another FP so we could get one more ride in that day.

The boys were thirsty, so our next stop was Pizza Planet. DS2 and I decided to split a pizza. We were pleasantly surprised...I was expecting the worst, and found it to be pretty much what you'd get on the kids' menu anywhere. While I enjoyed the quiet and my soda, the boys took some cash and went to play. They really loved this place. I have to say, the cms there are the best. I was thrilled to see an indoor restroom, and on the way stopped to tell the cms who were bussing tables that I was just headed to the restroom and would be back to grab our drinks. One of the men actually went to our table and stood guard for me! How nice is that?!?!

Just as we headed out the door the infamous Orlando summer rain began. Buckets...and lots of lightening. DS1 had managed to leave his poncho in the room, so I gave him mine, and we headed to Lights! Motors! Action! Sadly, our trip across the park and up the wet bleachers was for nothing. The lightening was too close and they cancelled the show...the last one of the day.

One comment on this park: although it is small, due to the way they schedule the shows it felt as if we were rushing from one thing to another all day. One of my main goals this trip was to have my picture taken with Woody. Not only do all the shows wrap up around 5, so do most of the character interactions! I never did get my picture...I'm now 0 for 3 on this one! Why does most everything here wrap up so early???

Wet, disgruntled, and tired, we headed back to Tatooine Traders. So did everyone else, it seemed. DS1 ended up with a 3x t-shirt because it was so crazy crowded that I had him go grab a shirt while DS2 and I stood at the entrance. I didn't realize the shirt issue until we got home. I'm still trying to decide whether to call Disney and buy another one in the correct size or go ahead and let him wear the huge one. DS2 needed a bathroom break, so we headed out to take care of that, then went back to get the boys' photos done for the Star Wars photos.

A warning to moms of boys: you need to know the prices on the build-your-own-light-saber and Star-Wars photos before you promise them to your kids! The cheapest Star Wars photo? $42!!!! You get two 5" x 5" photos in acrylic frames for that price. Yes, it is over twice the price of photos elsewhere! I had to back out on the promise of light sabers. A boy was having his rung up as we had the photos done...it came to just over $130! It seems you pay for each individual piece! He had noise effects, lights, etc. My boys do just fine with their cheapie light sabers and their imaginations!

It was time for our ADRs at Sci Fi Cafe, so that was our next destination. It was extremely crowded and they asked whether we wanted a car or whatever opened up first, and we took a chance on whatever opened first. DS1 ran to grab chicken nuggets and got back just in time to go with us as we headed to our car. Yup, we got a car anyway!

I was sad to see the menu had changed a lot from what is posted on the internet. We'd been tempted to just do shakes and fries, but had decided that morning to give dinner a go. I was looking forward to a Reuben, but the closest thing to it was pastrami on rye. I also ordered a cherry coke. The boys both ordered milkshakes, and DS2 had the tomato soup and hot dog.

The food was decent...again, I'd heard nothing but bad things about this place, but my travel agent swore she loves it, so we gave it a try. The service, however, is lacking. We were half way done eating before I was able to grab the waiter to let him know that I'd never gotten my drink.

Service aside, the kids loved this place!!! They got a kick out of the silly movie clips and ads. We don't have any photos because my camera did the double-exposure thing due to the dark, but I will say that I had no problem fitting into the car (I'd been worried about this because others said it was a tight fit for any adult) and that the food was decent.

By the time the boys finished up a sundae, our window for Toy Story Mania had opened, so back across the park we went. This time everything was up and running, and we had a great time. Here's hoping that by our next Disney trip the thrill of newness has worn off and it's easier to ride this one at least a couple of times in a row!

Keeping our fingers crossed that the ongoing drizzle and thunder wasn't going to be enough to cancel the show, we headed to Fantasmic. This show is my favorite memory from our first Disney trip. I know people say that the California version is better, but I just can't agree! We were sitting to the left of the theater. Behind us was a group of completely charming folks from England. We spent the better part of the wait comparing our travels and experiences. The announced a delay and most of the folks around us got up to leave, but we decided to wait it out, hoping that we wouldn't miss this show, too.

We were repaid with a complete viewing of Fantasmic. There is just something magical about this show...my boys were spellbound!

After the show we wandered our way back to the front of the park. I was sad to see that they didn't have any Potato Head Disney World parts in stock. This was one of two things on my personal souvenir list...the other being a photo frame. I looked at other things, but nothing caught my eye.

I did have a long chat with a CM who said that I should consider applying there. It seems they have a lot of teachers who work 2 weeks in the summer and a day over Christmas in return for all the perks regular CMs get. This is something I might really consider when DS1 turns 16. I enjoy an adventure, and this sure sounds like one...plus we would get two Disney trips in one year as long as we did this!

The scariest ride of the day was our bus ride back to our resort. There were long lines and few busses...and it was still raining a little. We found a seat for DS2 at the back of the bus and DS1 and I stood. Luckily I was able to hold on to poles on both side of the aisle, because at one point the bus driver threw on the brakes, sending everyone standing forward. One of the girls in front of me fell into the lap of the people seated. Luckily, they were together! DS1 slammed into me, but because I was holding on with both hands, I was able to stop him. If I'd been using one hand we both would have tumbled down the step!

Happy to be back to our room, the boys saw that, despite the storm earlier, there were kids in the pool. We figured the lifeguards would clear the pool if needed, so in we went.

I popped laundry in while we swam. An fyi: laundry at the values is now $2 to wash, $2 to dry. I found that the driers ran plenty long. I lost my mind, however, and dried everything. Luckily I only ruined one item...my new gray Mickey shirt. It is now about 5" shorter than it used to be. Ah, well. The boys headed to bed at midnight. I followed about half an hour later, once the clothes were dry.

Looking back, if I had it to do again I would have just packed us each 3 more outfits rather than spending vacation time doing laundry. But, it worked, and we had clean clothes for the rest of the trip!

[lntsmom]

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Breakfast at Music: Waffles of all shapes and sizes!

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Big waffles!

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Small waffles!

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Meeting Ben Barnes/Prince Caspian

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Finally! Long ago in a galaxy far, far away....

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Where are the Ewoks when you need them?

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Jedi Training Academy: Darth makes his appearance...

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and is vanquished by one of the new Padawan's...Teiguen!

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Pizza Planet! The claw, the claw!

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Fast Pass line: Toy Story Mania. I didn't even realize we'd missed Mr. Potato head until after we'd left the park that night!

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Another funky inside photo. I miss my 35mm camera! Sci Fi Cafe.

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Mickey saves the day again! Thankfully, the rain didn't cause a cancellation of Fantasmic. The Orlando version is our favorite show of all the shows at both DLR and WDW!

[lntsmom]

Until this day we were following strict schedules. Knowing that we'd regret 7 days of regimented fun, I left day 6 and our half day for day 7 open. We got up and grabbed a quick breakfast of toast and juice and discussed how to use the day. Should we go back to the Studios and try to see Lights!? Head back to Epcot to explore what we'd missed there?

After a short discussion, the boys decided we'd start at Epcot and then ride the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. I couldn't believe it, but they decided that since they'd already seen the Indy show, they could wait for our next visit to see the stunt show. I still can't believe that was their decision!

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The first thing they wanted to do was ride Spaceship Earth again! Liam had let Teiguen answer all the questions at the end of the ride the first time through, and wanted to do it again so he could choose the answers he wanted this time. We enjoyed e-mailing the resulting postcard to ourselves!

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The boys enjoyed Figment and the Imagination Station at the end. This is Liam's alien creation.

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What's Your Problem? I was amazed that Liam was willing...and even excited!...to play! We loved the show...they proudly saved their ribbon stickers for their scrapbooks.

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Riding the monorail from Epcot to Magic Kingdom was one of Teiguen's "must-do's". We got some really bad advice from Guest Services at Epcot, and ended up having to ride the Epcot loop 1 1/2 times to get to the TTC. Guest Services assured me that I was wrong...I should ride to the Contemporary and switch to the other track there. I just knew that was wrong, but didn't trust myself. Ah, well, Teiguen got his ride!

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Can you use these monorail photos to guess which boy is my rule follower and which is my rebel? Here is Liam on the monorail!

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Of course we had to do the teacups again!

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The Buzz ride went down during our last ride. My best score disappeared, :sad:, but in trade we got some shots of the inside of the ride!

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We rode the train from Main Street to Toontown. The boys were disappointed with the theming here. They enjoyed the wackiness of Toontown at the DLR better. They did enjoy Mickey and Minnie's houses, though! My question, what happened to the car they used to have outside the bathroom? I wanted to get a photo there...so I could do a "now and then" page in our scrapbook...but the car is gone!

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We ended our day with a stop at the Main Street Bakery. Here are the boys and their selections. Liam chose a cinnamon roll that was nearly as big as his head. Teiguen chose the chocolate cake. If you're playing along, yes, that was his third slice of chocolate cake in 6 days!

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Here's a close up of the roll. I can't believe he ate the whole thing!

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And, the cake. For a few minutes there I was afraid Teiguen was going to fall asleep while eating it, but he stayed awake long enough to finish it!

[lntsmom]

I had this trip planned, baby! I purchased 4 guide books and read at least 4 more. Days 1 - 5 were locked down tight as a drum weeks before we were to leave for our vacation. Part of planning is knowing when to throw the plans in the trash and just go for it...and that's what days 6 and 7 were for.

At the end of day 5 we sat down to discuss how to best use our time. I was willing to try to hit 3 parks in a day so the boys could see the stunt show we were rained out of at the Studios, but they chose to split the day between Epcot and Magic Kingdom instead. So, after a quick breakfast of peanutbutter toast and milk at the Music food court, we were off for Epcot.

(A hint: if you are a budget traveler, take along the individual tubs of peanutbutter. The bread was about .40 a slice and butter and jelly were available at no extra cost. You can't beat this for a cheap breakfast!)

We got to Epcot shortly after opening and headed for Soarin'. We grabbed a FP on our way in, so we were able to ride two times in a row without a wait. Then we began exploring all the things we'd missed on Day 2. The boys loved Journey into Imagination with Figment. They'd never seen Figment before, but quickly took to the character.

Our next stop was Honey I Shrunk the Audience. My dilemma: do I warn them about the effects ahead of time and risk them balking, or keep the info to myself and risk a freak-out. I gambled on silence...and won! Since Liam had figured out the wind/water effect at Philharmagic, he knew what was coming when he saw the screens on the seat backs. Amazingly, both boys enjoyed the show, though they agreed that the snake and the lion were both pretty darned scary. They had a good time trying to figure out the effects when the show was over.

Imageworks was a danger zone...I could have easily lost them there for hours. Both boys had a great time messing around with the computer programs there. Luckily, I had Mission Space in mind for our next stop, and that was enough of a temptation to get them out of Imageworks after about a half hour.

Remember Day 2, when Liam refused to ride Mission Space. Well, that was another lifetime. This time he grabbed his green pass and strolled right on in with us! To be honest, I would have gone for orange had he still refused, but green was fine with me. Hooray...this ride was a great success!

We made another stop at the Advanced Training Lab. For some reason they told Teiguen there wasn't room for him. I think he misunderstood...not knowing that all the computers were part of the game. He chose to play in the tunnels while Liam's team went on to victory on the simulator game.

Hanging a right, we ventured on to Ellen's Energy Adventure. The boys rave about this ride. I remember thinking, "huge empty warehouse, cheezy movies, zzzzz" A nap was just what I needed, lol! This is one attraction that just didn't live up to my expectations.

Then, it was back to Spaceship Earth. Liam wanted to ride this again because he'd let Teiguen answer all the questions the first time around. So, this time Teiguen rode with me and we got a second set of postcards to e-mail home. Just curious, does anyone else here have problems with the sulpher smell on this ride? It really did a number on my asthma. I had my inhaler handy, luckily!

We decided that our light breakfast had worn off and stopped at The Electric Umbrella for lunch. This is the only spot on our trip where we witnessed the slow lines that everyone else talks about. There were three lines being served by our counter. For some reason anyone in the far right line got their meals right away...while the other two lines just stood and watched. It took nearly 20 minutes for them to get our meals. It was cool and air conditioned, so I guess I shouldn't gripe...luckily my boys found a place to sit and were behaving themselves!

After lunch we went to Innoventions. I'd been a very smart momma and hadn't let them know what Innoventions was prior to the trip. Why? I really didn't want to spend 7 days listening to them beg to go play computer games. After about half an hour I got them to agree to go to What's Your Problem. This show was one of the unexpected treasures of this trip. Yes, it is silly...and really, a whole show about velcro?...but the boys had a ball. They were chosen to play "Bag It". I was amazed when Liam went right up to play. Usually he is very shy. I guess the small audience and the fact that he'd already seen that it was just goofy fun worked. I have to add this to my list of "must do's" for parents of preteen boys!

After another hour or so at Innoventions I rounded the boys up and we headed for Guest Relations. I checked in for our flight the next day (:sad2: Was the end really this near already?). The checking in went very well. They had a little private room off to the side where you could go in and check yourself in, no charge! We were flying Southwest and I wanted to make sure we'd be able to board early enough to get seats together. Then I upgraded our tickets. After much discussion, the boys assured me that what they really wanted to do with the last half day was....return to Innoventions! So, I ponied up my $6.50, :rotfl: , and we had another day of Disney fun on our cards.

Then, I chose to ignore what I'd learned from our adventure with Guest Services at the Animal Kingdom, and asked the Epcot Guest Services CM for transportation advice. How stupid am I??? How stupid do they come??? I knew his answer made no sense, but followed it anyway. What did he tell me? That I was wrong...you couldn't ride the monorail from Epcot to the TTC, switch to the other monorail track, and end up at MK. No, Mr. CM from Germany told me that the Epcot monorail would take me to the Contemporary and I needed to switch to the MK monorail system there.

My travel agent thinks he misunderstood me...or I misunderstood him. She said that I was right about the first part...he was just adding that I shouldn't have gotten off at the MK stop, I should have continued on to the Contemporary and then switched to the third monorail line, the one that actually stops in the MK.

Well, miscommunication aside, we rode the Epcot loop 1 1/2 times, switched to the MK loop at the TTC, and got off at the MK gate and walked. Note to self for next trip: do all the planning for transportation as thouroughly as the plans for the parks themselves!

At the Magic Kingdom our plan was to ride the train to Frontierland. This worked out well, and within minutes of entering the park we were headed to Tom Sawyer's Island. I let the boys explore, planning to grab a soda at Aunt Polly's and watch the ducks. Sadly, no Aunt Polly's. There were soda machines instead...just not the same...and no ducks. Sigh. This used to be the most charming spot in the park. I knew they didn't serve food anymore, but what a bummer...the soda machines jerk you right back into 2008. There's no magic here anymore! The boys had a good time exploring, but a storm was blowing in, so we decided to head back to dry land.

On the way to Adventureland Teiguen begged for FPses for Big Thunder, whick we did. The Tiki room...hm. Can I say I miss the old show? And, is it my imagination, or are the DL and WDW shows different? Maybe it was just that I had been so disappointed at Tom Sawyer's Island and the mood carried over...I don't know.

Our next stop was a huge improvement, lol! Dole Whips for everyone! It was so hot that the first one was mostly melted before they handed the last one out the window...but they were cool and refreshing- Just what the day called for! While I was in line the boys explored the Swiss Family Robinson tree. I swear to you that the last time we were there it was themed for Tarzan. Am I losing my mind? The boys were bummed at the theming...ah, well, bad things come in 3's they say, and happily, this was the last of our disappointments.

By the time we finished our Dole whips and washed up, the window for our Big Thunder ride had opened. Liam decided to opt out, but Teiguen and I rode and had a great time. It was his first "big" coaster, and he smiled and "woo-hoo'd" the whole way. I think his desire to ride was due to the commercial that shows the mom and daughter...where the mom transforms into a kid again. I think that had we had more time, he would have given Space Mountain and Splash Mountain the go, too. Ah, well, something for next time!

About that time the sky opened up and it rained buckets. The boys had wanted to find a bathroom anyway, so we ended up hanging out there until it had cleared off enough to get back on the train and ride to Toontown.

At Mickey's house we were treated to a near nonstop blaring of alarms. There was a mom with her two extremely photogenic children, lifting them over every single barrier so that she could photograph them ON the bed, IN the garden. My younger son asked, loudly, why an adult would break the rules. Why, indeed? I'm thinking maybe Disney needs to get a reputation for magically transporting folks like this to the exit. The boys wanted their photos taken with the pumpkins, which I did, and we were on to Minnie's house. I didn't know until we got home that in the photo of them with Mickey, my younger son's eyes were closed. Drat! Had I known it, we would have stopped in the tent. Ah, well....

The boys got a kick out of Minnie's. I have a feeling, though, that this was our last visit to Toontown. They weren't even nearly as entertained as they were 3 years ago at DLR.

They wandered over to Donald's Boat, which was fun for them. But, as it was dark, and raining, it wasn't as hard to pry them off of it as it was on earlier trips.

They wanted to head back to Fantasyland, so off we went. After a final spin on the teacups we rode Buzz two more times. Then, making a major tactical mistake, I suggested we visit the Laugh Floor a second time. I was thinking that I was helping make our exit easier, as the parade was running. Nope...by the time the show ended, folks had packed themselves in for the fireworks. There was no escaping Tomorrowland. So, we settled in on the bridge and had a wonderful view of the show.

When the crowds cleared we headed towards the busses, making one final stop...a visit to the Main Street Bakery for a snack. You'll notice we didn't have dinner. You know the kids are having a good time when they're too busy to stop for dinner! Liam's first choice was a brownie, but the brownies had nuts on them. Then he spotted the cinnamon rolls. Seriously, they are as big as 4 regular rolls, covered in both icing and caramel sauce. If you look at the photos you'll get an idea of how big the thing was...let's say it more than made up for a missed meal. Teiguen was so tired that he almost took a nap in his chocolate cake. Luckily for all of us, he stayed awake to finish it. I had the keylime cheesecake. It wasn't a lemon bar, but it came in a close second!

Bellies full, we were off to the busses and our resort. Quick showers and into bed...there was half a day of fun left to be had, and we wanted to be ready for it!

[lntsmom]

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Given a choice of going to any park, doing anything they wanted on the half day before we had to head home, the boys chose to return to Epcot. Here they are as we entered the park.

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They spent almost the whole morning at Innoventions. I managed to grab this photo when they'd finally finished smashing the tv. They didn't "get" that activity at all...but they had a great time being destructo babies. Here they are being inventive!

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Our last bus ride. I was amazed Liam was smiling. I found that it is much easier to give up one good thing when you have another waiting. We were headed to Kansas City to pick up his best friend who was going to come home with us for a 3 week visit. That took the sting out of leaving Disney.

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You know what the one souvenir Teiguen wanted but wasn't able to get was? One of the bus posters! He got a kick out of the warning posters at the front of each bus. Crazy kid! The bus driver gave each boys a set of bus trading cards. What a great way to end our time in the parks.

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Our last photo from our 2008 Disney vacation...waiting for the Magical Express. You'll notice we were right by the bay, waiting, waiting, waiting.... We almost missed our bus because it didn't pull up into the assigned bay...it parked at the corner instead...and it wasn't a Magical Express bus, it was a Disney Cruise bus! Luckily, a major disaster was avoided when I heard the driver asking another family if they were waiting for the 1:45 bus...we survived 7 days at Disney World!

Time to start saving up for our next Disney adventure!

[lntsmom]

Yep, by the time day 7 dawned Teiguen had decided that when he grows up he wants to work for Disney so he can take his family to Disney World as often as he wants. Sounds like a plan! (I'll fill him in on the bugs, the crime, and the weather some other time, lol!)

Being our last day, it was time for Mickey waffles for breakfast. The boys scarfed them down, theorizing, correctly it turns out, that they use the same kind of waffle makers you can find at Comfort Inn to make the Mickey Waffles.

They had decided that, given 3 hours in the park of their choice, they wanted to go back to Epcot.

First up was Space Ship Earth, in response to Liam's request to ride again so he could answer the questions at the end of the ride this time. We rode for the second time this trip, this time each boy sending himself a postcard of visit. We had enough time that they got to play several of the virtual games. Their favorite was the one about finding energy for the community.

Our first stop was Innoventions West. We all participated in the recycling lesson, then the boys took off to explore on their own. After about an hour we headed to Innoventions East. On the way, we stopped at the Cool Spot for one more cup of watermelon soda! Yum! Igloo and Cave Man? They were nowhere to be seen, but the soda was there and was yummy.

At Innoventions East the boys could re-explore everything they'd seen there previously. I decided to take a breather...sit myself down and just enjoy people watching. Before long a mom from Oklahoma plunked down next to me and asked, "So, is this all there is at Epcot? Computer games?" Seems they had been at Disney as long as we had, but her kids were miserable. They had stayed offsite to save money and had done absolutely no planning, not even bothering to grab park guides as they entered each day. They had spent 7 days wandering, standing in line, and hating it. I didn't bother to share my approach, but I did silently give myself a pat on the back. We'd spent 7 long days at Disney World, seen everything we'd wanted to with one exception, and had had great fun doing doing it. Lines, nope. Whining, nope. Begging to go home, nope. This trip had been a success from start to finish. As my younger son said repeatedly, "Disney really is magic!"

Amazingly, when it was time to leave, we were all smiles. Not that we wouldn't have liked to have another 7 days, but there were good times ahead, too.

On our last bus ride the driver gave each of the boys three bus trading cards. I wish we'd known about these at the start of the trip, but it gives them something to look forward to "next time".

We had just enough time to grab bread and make sandwiches for lunch (not that I planned it...the food court was so slow that time of day that we couldn't wait to get served) and head outside to wait for the Magical Express. The Disney magic held out to the end...we waited at the bus bay, and almost missed our bus because it neither used the bay nor was labeled as a Magical Express bus. But, it all ended well, and we were at the airport in plenty of time for our flight.

While one adventure was ending, another was just beginning, as we had an upcoming layover in Kansas City, which had been home until 10 months prior to our trip. Waiting there was one of my older son's best friends, who was traveling on with us and spending 3 weeks learning all about our new home in Colorado.

Meanwhile, I'd already begun Disney dreaming anew....