Edinburgh to Orlando - our holiday was "awesome!!" (did I say it right??)!!! (+pics)

[ScotsMinnie]

Well I started with a pretrip report and couldn't figure out how to move it to the trip report board so I have started again!!!! (sorry - quite new to the boards!).

First of all a wee catch up on who we all are:


::MinnieMo I am 32 and live in Stirlingshire in Scotland. I have been a Disney fanatic since birth I think and always loved the sense of make believe and wonder which the films and stories give you. :tinker: I have been to WDW many times and DL once (and DLRP once on a conference and it is officially the worst place. Does not even start to compare with WDW and I will never be back.)

:goofy: DH is 33 and was not a Disney fan until I made him go just after we got married and now he loves it. i don't think he totally "gets" it but he loves going on holiday (vacation!) here.

princess: DD Emma is 6 and loves all things Disney. This will be her 3rd trip to WDW and she is exceptionally excited about this upcoming trip. I'll call her DE!

princess: DD Katieis just truned 2 and does not yet know what a holiday is!!!! Even so she is very excited about her "oidays" and loves everything about Aurora. I'll call her DK!

Mum :donald: and Dad :simba: are also having 2 weeks at WDW - they are leaving 4 days before us so we will have about 10 days with them. Mum is as Disney daft as me and is always the one wiping tears away during the opening ceremony (I hide mine behind sunglasses!). Dad is going to spend time with the girls - he is not too bothered about Disney at all. But it is rule of the trip - you must be excited so he is doing his best! I'll call them Granny and Grandad in the report!
Both Mum and Dad dote on my girls so we are going to have a lot of fun experiencing it all together.

We have bought a 21 day ticket for WDW which gives us unlimited access for 21 days to all parks and water parks for DH and DD6. DD2 does not need a ticket and I have bought an annual pass to save money on the car parking and to get the discounts at the World of Disney store. This is a good saving for us.
We also have tickets for SeaWorld and a one day 2 park pass for Universal.
So it is going to be a busy 18 days and we plan to fill them up.

Next post..........

Our travel day.........................:cool1:

[ScotsMinnie]

We got to Edinburgh in plenty of time and checked our bags straight through to Orlando which was great as we didn’t have to wait for our bags to do Twilight Check-in at Gatwick as we had already done it online. We gave the girls something to eat at the airport and by the time they were finished it was time to go. Flight was fine – DK was a bit upset during take off and landing but all in all not too bad.

Found out at Gatwick that the plane in the morning was due to be half full hence the reason we were moved around so much. Dinner at the Hilton was great and our room was huge and comfortable. DK and DE were amazed by the bidet and enjoyed hiding in the huge cupboard!:rotfl:

In the morning our flight was delayed by 3 hours so we had a long wait in the departure lounge which was less than ideal. :mad: Eventually we got on the flight and DK fell asleep straight away – before the wheels left the ground. 8 hours passed and we were all still in good humour but desperate to get off the plane. Granny and Grandad met us at the airport and we were off! :yay:

We decided to go via Downtown Disney in order to validate my annual pass to save time in the morning. It was lovely to get a wee taste of what was to come. Downtown Disney is a lovely place with so much going on.

So it was back to the villa , unpack the PJs and to bed. We hoped the girls would not get up too early with the time difference…………………………………. :rolleyes1

[ScotsMinnie]

3.46am!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: That’s when DK started to shout on Mummy! Not good! She did go back to sleep in bed with us for a bit. DH got up and got showered, shaved and dressed before he realised he had got up at 5am by mistake as his clock was wrong!!!! :rotfl:

I took the girls in for a swim as the sun was coming up which was great. The water was a bit nippy but you soon get used to it. Showers and then out of the door by 7.45am.

The Magic Kingdom was very quiet when we arrived in the morning, We parked in Minnie and walked to the TTC. We caught the monorail to the MK – my fave way to go. We got a good spot in front of the Mickey flower display in front of the railway station and both girls sat on the wall and waited for the Welcome Show to begin.

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This would be DK’s first taste of what was to come and I wondered if she would be a bit scared but she loved it. DE has obviously seen it before but was just as excited as ever. I don’t know what it is about that show – must be the angle of the sun but it always makes my eyes water!!!! Ahem…….. :rolleyes1

We walked under the station and came into Town Square. DE was excited to see Chip and Dale come our way and they made a big deal of the fact that DE had similar teeth (she has 2 front teeth missing at the top – actually 3 now but more of that later!!!!) which was really funny.

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DH and Grandad went to Splash Mountain to get fast passes so we made our way up Main Street USA slowly to meet them at Buzz. There was no line for the Astro Orbiters so we walked straight on and were the only ones on it! Then it was on to Buzz where I managed to hit something which gave me 999999 points – max score!!! Wish I could remember which target I hit! That was near the start of the ride so had to move over to the other gun which was in front of DD2 to play more! Buzz is a good ride though.

Grandad and DE on the Speedway.
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DK on her favourite ride!
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We then did the Speedway, Philharmagic, Carousel, and It’s a Small World before heading off to Splash Mountain. DK loved the carousel (she calls it the sasselle) and It’s a Small World – think we will have to go on them again before we go home!! As usual we all got very wet on Splash Mountain. Most of the soaking came from the bit where you ride past the big drop as others are coming down. I got wetter from that bit than the drop itself. Always good fun though! After collecting fast passes for Big Thunder Mountain we went to the Columbia Harbour House for lunch. Thunder Mountain is by far my favourite ride at the MK – its just so much fun. I could happily ride it all day. In Frontierland DE was lucky enough to be picked to take part in Woody’s Roundup which was a lot of fun. And doesn’t that song stick in your mind for ages afterwards? I still find myself humming it now – 3 weeks later!!

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The parade at 3 was lovely as usual but not too busy. DK was looking for Aurora but she was nowhere to be seen. All in all the MK today was very quiet I thought. Not as busy as the last time we were here at this time.

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And how can you leave the Magic Kingdom without a balloon???

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By this time we were all tired and hot and bothered so we headed home for a nice cool dip in the pool. The day was finished off with a trip to Sizzlers for dinner and an early night.

A busy first day – just as we like it!

[macheath]

So glad you started your TR! I've been wondering how your trip went! Can't wait to hear more..

Your arrival and 1st day sound great ( well, except for the 3:45am wakeup from Katie!! :laughing: ) I guess her body clock told her it should be 8:45am!

Congrats on your max points on Buzz! Can't wait to get back on that ride.

Following along for the fun:dance3:
Heather

[Joie29]

Great start-- What a beautiful family you have!

Can't wait to read more :goodvibes

[irky416]

Your girls are cute!


I'm impressed that by 7:45 not only were out the door, but had already been for a swim and a shower. And everyone looks wide awake and ready to go in that first picture!

I can't wait to hear more.

[jmskinner]

:banana: You started your trip report!

Great start and love the pics! Looking forward to more.

[~Fisharefriends~]

great start to your trip report. we are always up at 4am with ds no matter what time he goes to bed, luckily we wear him out enough on the first day he gets up at a normal hour byt he next day!!!

Look forward to reading the rest of your trip.

[ScotsMinnie]

great start to your trip report. we are always up at 4am with ds no matter what time he goes to bed, luckily we wear him out enough on the first day he gets up at a normal hour byt he next day!!!

Look forward to reading the rest of your trip.

Thanks! Sometimes its good to have jet lag - saves having to drag your selves out of bed!

So glad you started your TR! I've been wondering how your trip went! Can't wait to hear more..

Your arrival and 1st day sound great ( well, except for the 3:45am wakeup from Katie!! :laughing: ) I guess her body clock told her it should be 8:45am!

Congrats on your max points on Buzz! Can't wait to get back on that ride.

Following along for the fun:dance3:
Heather

Buzz is a great ride. I have never got that high before. If I didn't have DKs gun to use I would not have been able to play for most of the ride!!!

Great start-- What a beautiful family you have!

Can't wait to read more :goodvibes

Thanks!

Your girls are cute!


I'm impressed that by 7:45 not only were out the door, but had already been for a swim and a shower. And everyone looks wide awake and ready to go in that first picture!

I can't wait to hear more.

Would it surprise you to hear that it was still dark when we swam!!! I am always ready to go when I get to the Magic Kingdom! How can you not be!!! Glad you are enjoying my story so far!

:banana: You started your trip report!

Great start and love the pics! Looking forward to more.

At last eh? I have about 2000 pics to sort through and its taking ages. Lots are being deleted but I can't remember taking so many at the time!!!!

[ScotsMinnie]

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This morning we were off to Epcot for opening which was not difficult as the girls were up super early again!!! As a joint birthday/Fathers Day present we had bought Grandad a place on the Around the World on a Segway tour so we headed straight to guest services where he had to register.

As he waited DH went off to Soarin for the fast passes and the rest of us went to Test Track. Granny and DE went in the line as it was only 10 mins and we got a Rider Switch ticket for me and DH when they came off as obviously DK is too small to ride. We took DK to the exit area where she played happily around the cars and went to the Kidcot Funstop and coloured in a traffic cone to hang on her little lanyard. We found the rider switch system to be great and DE certainly did as she got to ride twice! ;)

After that we had a wander round Innoventions and as we turned a corner there was Grandad on his Segway in the training area! I think the shock of seeing us nearly knocked him off it but after taking a few photos we left him to it. He said it was an amazing tour to do and the Segways are fabulous fun to ride. When they went off round the World Showcase in the 2nd hour the tour guide told them a lot of interesting things about the World Showcase too which made it really interesting.

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Having fun in the Imagination Pavillion.
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We have a ride on Journey into Imagination which I love (sad I know!) and we have a lovely lunch in China. After lunch we go to use our fast passes on Soarin. Its Grandad's first time on Soarin and it blows him away. This really is one of my favourite rides – they do it so well. We then head home to the villa to escape the heat and have a swim in the pool to cool down. The girls stay in for ages and I am sure they will have webbed feet by the time we get back!

Tonight we plan to go to DownTown Disney for a little wander about. Eventually we found a parking place – it seems a lot busier than last time. DE loves the Lego people and gets photos with them all. She wonders how the Lego monster in the lake (who she thinks is the Loch Ness Monster) doesn’t fall over.

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DK is overjoyed to see her favourite type of ride – a sasselle (carousel to me and you!) so we have to ride that – a lot! As we get a table by the lake to enjoy our ice creams from Ghirardellis DE spots the dance party and can’t resist joining in. Therefore we are there for hours as she does every dance the DJ can think up along with lots of other kids (and adults). This is definitely a highlight of her trip (and we make a return visit for more!) and I must admit to enjoying doing a bit of the Birdie Song which I don’t think I have done for about 15 years!!!!

Tomorrow, a date with Alice for a tea party……….

[irky416]

Sounds like you had a great time at Epcot! I would love to try the Segways!

[ScotsMinnie]

Sounds like you had a great time at Epcot! I would love to try the Segways!

Wish I had done it with my Dad now as it looked great fun. Maybe next time.
Lx

[averill94]

Whar a great start to your trip! The girls are adorable.

How long did it take to adjust to the time difference?

Looking forward to more!

[CHEK]

Great start to your trip :thumbsup2 , Magic Kingdom is just the place to be on your 1st morning :goodvibes , just like your family we're always up mega early on our first morning so we make the most of it! Looking forward to reading more :goodvibes , beautiful pic of you all at MK.

[macheath]

So glad your Dad enjoyed the Segway Tour...I would love to try that! Oh, well, maybe someday.

I love Soarin'. I'm glad your Dad liked that also.

Pics at Imagination Pavilion are too cute. Thanks for sharing1
Heather:laundy:

[WDW Fan]

Your girls are so adorable!!! My mom is from a little town on the outskirts of Glasgow and I always enjoy reading TR's from Scotland! Sounds like the girls really enjoyed Epcot. Looking forward to reading more.:)

[caz1712]

What a small world - (oh no the song is coming into my head):rotfl:

I'm from Falkirk and I don't know how but I recognise your face from somewhere! Probably just around town or something! Your girls are gorgeous!

Great trip report can't wait to read more!

Carreen
xxx

[ScotsMinnie]

What a small world - (oh no the song is coming into my head):rotfl:

I'm from Falkirk and I don't know how but I recognise your face from somewhere! Probably just around town or something! Your girls are gorgeous!

Great trip report can't wait to read more!

Carreen
xxx

How strange is that??

Wish i was still looking forward to my trip! Another 3 years for us now......

Lx

[caz1712]

I know bizzare!

My countdown can't go quick enough really! I am an obsessive planner and I have lists for lists! So finding this forum has been great! Knowing that there are other obsessive people like me out there!

DH thinks I'm mad for all the planning I'm doing (well he thinks I'm off my rocker anyway so really doesn't make much difference!:rotfl: ) but he just doesn't seem to understand how much planning this holiday will take!

Oh he will thank me I can tell you:rotfl2:

Three years is probably what we will have to wait for after this holiday as its cost an absolute arm and a leg!

Carreen
xxx

[ScotsMinnie]

I feel your pain! I too am an obsessive planner but I think if you don't plan then your holiday to WDW can be a nightmare. Some people wing it but never seem to have the same enjoyment that you get if you do your homework.

Your countdown will pass very quickly I'm sure.

Lx

[manntra]

Subscribing.....I wish I knew what target you hit on Buzz Lightyear...I am taking my two nephews in a few weeks and of course they are video game addicts so I would love to beat them! :lmao: Great report so far and lovely pictures of your family! :)

[IcePrincess467]

Subbing to your TR. So far, so good and your girls are just sooo cute!! Looking foward to reading more :)

[ScotsMinnie]

Subscribing.....I wish I knew what target you hit on Buzz Lightyear...I am taking my two nephews in a few weeks and of course they are video game addicts so I would love to beat them! :lmao: Great report so far and lovely pictures of your family! :)

I can't quite remember but the ride stopped and so I got a good look about. i do remember it being near the beginning of the ride on the right hand side. It was like an antanna sticking up with a target on the end - if that helps!!!!! Just luck! I only had to hit it a few times to get that score. i think if you can find targets that are not so easily seen these have the biggest score!

Glad you are enjoying my TR!

Subbing to your TR. So far, so good and your girls are just sooo cute!! Looking foward to reading more :)

Welcome!!! Will try to get the next day done tomorrow night. Been so busy these last few days!
Lx

[ScotsMinnie]

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Animal Kingdom this morning and again we were there pretty early. I really love this park – there is something about the look of the park and the attention to detail which I love. We rode Kali River Rapids - DE loves this ride and we got totally soaked. My problem was that I wore shorts which did not have any elastic in the waist but fitted me nicely. Somehow in getting soaked my shorts started to get bigger and bigger and I had no belt! Oooops!

We then headed to Dinoland USA and did a ride switch for Dinosaur. I was trying to persuade DE to ride Dinosaur but she didn’t want to so I left her. I am sooooooo glad she didn’t want to as I had forgotten how intense it is. Now I know I am a wimp on this but I actually had both hands covering my eyes by the time the picture was taken – queue hilarity from others looking at them! – and still have not seen what happens at the end of the ride. All I know is something big happens as I can hear the roar and feel the breath but my eyes are always tightly shut!!!!!

Note me in the back row. The kids in front crack me up. They are almost on the floor!

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She rode Primevil Whirl and DK rode the Triceratops Spin. A quick visit to the character spot to see Pooh and friends and we were off.

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Then it was off to the Grand Floridian. DD6 had a reservation for the Alice in Wonderland Tea Party. We checked in and waited for it to start. Now I should say that by this time I was seriously in danger of losing my shorts. They were at least 2 sizes too big by this stage. Thankfully my top was quite loose so it hid it well. Every time I stood up I had to ensure that I held on to them – just in case!!!:blush:

When the doors to the tea party opened it looked fantastic. The table was set with little tea pots and cups and each child had a little cupcake with icing and sprinkles. The cast members asked them leave the end seats free for them as they have had a long day and with that the grown ups were sent away! An hour later we returned for her and by all accounts a wonderful time was had by all. When we got back in the room all the kids were pretending to be asleep and then they shouted surprise and they all had made little flower bouquets for the parents. Very sweet! Details are a bit patchy but I gather that they decorated their cupcakes and ate them, had sandwiches and tea (apple juice) and played various games. Obviously the end seats were reserved for Alice and the Mad Hatter and they led the fun. They came out with a photo of themselves with the 2 characters. If you have a little girl (or wee boy – there were 2 there and both had a lot of fun) this is really worth doing. Something they can do on their own and just have fun with other kids.

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Now the other big event of the day is that DE lost another tooth. She already has lost the front 2 teeth by knocking them on the side of the bath 2 years ago – they have not come in yet. She lost the one next to these ones today so she now has 3 missing from the top – all in a row! Lovely!!! It just adds to her cheekiness. :cutie: May be a sign that the front 2 are eventually starting to push down into place – fingers crossed!

[LuccaDrake]

Great report so far! I especially love chip and dale teasing DE about her missing teeth! :rotfl: Also, the tea party seems like a great idea. It was so cute how it was all set up! Keep the updates coming!

~Beka~

[WDW Fan]

The tea party looks so adorable!!! Sound like a fun time was had.:)

[Disney Brat]

Just found your TR! Great job so far!! The tea party looks soooo cute!! Can't wait to hear more!!

[irky416]

I hope you got to change your shorts and didn't have to deal with them all day! the tea party sounds cute.

[macheath]

Love your pictures of the tea party! I may have to do this for my DD6.

[jmskinner]

Great trip report. I've never had shorts get so wet they stretched out, but I had a tshirt do it and it ended up longer than my knees so I looked like I had no shorts on.

The tea party looks lovely. Seeing events like make me miss having a girl, but I love my boy!

[ScotsMinnie]

Great report so far! I especially love chip and dale teasing DE about her missing teeth! :rotfl: Also, the tea party seems like a great idea. It was so cute how it was all set up! Keep the updates coming!

~Beka~

The tea party looks so adorable!!! Sound like a fun time was had.:)

Just found your TR! Great job so far!! The tea party looks soooo cute!! Can't wait to hear more!!

Love your pictures of the tea party! I may have to do this for my DD6.

Great trip report. I've never had shorts get so wet they stretched out, but I had a tshirt do it and it ended up longer than my knees so I looked like I had no shorts on.

The tea party looks lovely. Seeing events like make me miss having a girl, but I love my boy!

The tea party was so lovely. A real treat for kids and she really did have a wonderful time. Anyway thinking about it should go ahead!

I hope you got to change your shorts and didn't have to deal with them all day! the tea party sounds cute.

No I had to deal with them all day. I have had to throw them away now as they are far too big!!! Shame - they were nice too!

[jjk]

:goodvibes just found your report and have really enjoyed reading,your children are adorable and I thought your picture on Dinosaur was great :goodvibes

[ScotsMinnie]

One of my favourite characters breakfasts this morning – Chef Mickeys! We park at the Contemporary Hotel and make our way down. We get seated almost straight away and are pleased to see a change of characters since our last visit. Last time we had Chip and Dale there and not Donald and Minnie. It was great to see them there as I love Donald and Minnie.

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Food was lovely and we ate a lot. The kids especially loved the Mickey shaped pancakes and of course the gummi bears! We also chatted to the people at the next table and Mum was so interested to hear that the woman was a doggy nanny. Lovely people from Miami and great to have a chat with.

The traditional Fantasia Mini Golf challenge followed. Now the men in our group take this activity very seriously indeed. As a result they came bottom, then Mum and I and DE was the winner. May be due to there being so many gimmies (free shots!) but she was overjoyed and really rubbed it in with the men!! They, of course, took it in good humour!!! Ahem……. :rotfl2:

DE and her serious golf swing!!
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Late afternoon we had a swim in the pool before going to the Outback for dinner. It was lovely and the Wallaby Darned cocktails are worth the visit alone! :banana: How do they get them so slushy?

Now on the way back to the villa we were unpacking the car when Mum and DE went to the door to open it. As DE got to the end of the path Mum shouted at her to move towards the door as she saw a snake by the side of the path which had its head raised up looking like it could bite. DE was not doing what she was told so Mum ran on and got her away. Now this snake was not huge but it was obviously planning to bite.:scared1: :scared1: We took a photo of it and decided to persuade it to move on away from the door. DH got a broom handle to chase it off but the snake struck at it quite a few times before going off under a bush. We went inside and looked on the internet to see what it was. The markings on it indicated it may have been a juvenile Cottonmouth also called a Water Moccasin which is a venomous snake. :scared1: Not good. Plans were made to do a snake check before any of the kids left the house or car to ensure that they are safe. Hate snakes so this is not good! Must admit to having a quick look under the beds – just in case! Horrible thing! Here is a pic of the offending creature! :eek:

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[ScotsMinnie]

:goodvibes just found your report and have really enjoyed reading,your children are adorable and I thought your picture on Dinosaur was great :goodvibes

A bit embarrassing but never mind. Its all good fun!

[Disney Brat]

Sounds like you had a great day!! We have been thinking about adding some of Disney's mini golf to our plans this trip! I would have freaked to see a snake!!! I HATE them!! I hope you didn't run into anymore on your trip!!

[ScotsMinnie]

Sounds like you had a great day!! We have been thinking about adding some of Disney's mini golf to our plans this trip! I would have freaked to see a snake!!! I HATE them!! I hope you didn't run into anymore on your trip!!


You'll have to stay tuned to find out!!! :rotfl:

I hate them too. Very scared of them. Even more so now!

[irky416]

Very cute pictures from Chef Mickey's. They have gummi bears there?

:scared1: to the snake. I would have been so scared!

[caz1712]

Oh I would have FREAKED if I had saw a snake! I'm useless if I see a flaming house spider never mind a venomous snake!!!:rotfl:

My boys however would have thought it to be cool and would have wanted to keep it as a pet knowing them - never going to happen! LOL

Great day! We have been trying and trying to get an ADR booked for Chef Mickey's for dinner our last night as we are doing MVMCP that night so thought it would be a nice finish. But unfortunately the earliset we could get was 8pm and I don't want to pay for tickets to leave half way through for dinner so I'm going to keep trying and see is anything earlier comes up. I didn't realise there was a charactr change - is this just the breakfast or dinner as well?

Great update!

Carreen
xxx

[jjk]

eww snakes, we have had a few on our doorstep in florida too,i am terrified of snakes so hubby does snake patrol every evening before i will even get
out of the car :scared1:

[Zeebs]

Great trip report so far, I like reading ones that have a child the same age as mine it lets me know a little bit of what to expect when we get there.

The girls are so cute, they look like they are having a fab time. I am glad you liked Chef Mickey's we are having dinner there on our first day. I am hoping it is good and the boys really like the characters.

Kirsten

[luvmyboys]

Terrific report so far-- minus the snake!:scared1: I would've wet my pants! Can't wait to hear more...



--Shannon

[chaslaw]

I can't wait to hear the rest!!!

I lived in Edinburgh from 1991 - 1992 while getting my MSc at Univ. of Edinburgh and that is one of the places I am determined to return and show my boy. Good times!! Too cold during the winter for a whimpy Southern girl like me but an awesome place.

[ScotsMinnie]

Very cute pictures from Chef Mickey's. They have gummi bears there?


:scared1: to the snake. I would have been so scared!


They do!!! Thankfully my girls noticed AFTER they had eaten something else - otherwise it would have been just gummi bears for breakfast!!!

Oh I would have FREAKED if I had saw a snake! I'm useless if I see a flaming house spider never mind a venomous snake!!!:rotfl:

My boys however would have thought it to be cool and would have wanted to keep it as a pet knowing them - never going to happen! LOL

Great day! We have been trying and trying to get an ADR booked for Chef Mickey's for dinner our last night as we are doing MVMCP that night so thought it would be a nice finish. But unfortunately the earliset we could get was 8pm and I don't want to pay for tickets to leave half way through for dinner so I'm going to keep trying and see is anything earlier comes up. I didn't realise there was a charactr change - is this just the breakfast or dinner as well?

Great update!

Carreen
xxx

I would keep trying - they do get cancellations. It is a really good place to go - a good atmosphere. I'm not sure what characters are at the dinner as we have only done the breakfast.

eww snakes, we have had a few on our doorstep in florida too,i am terrified of snakes so hubby does snake patrol every evening before i will even get
out of the car :scared1:

I hate them too. We did a Hissing Sid hunt every time we went out or in. We called him that to make him less scary - not for the kids (they didn't care) but for me!!!!

Great trip report so far, I like reading ones that have a child the same age as mine it lets me know a little bit of what to expect when we get there.

The girls are so cute, they look like they are having a fab time. I am glad you liked Chef Mickey's we are having dinner there on our first day. I am hoping it is good and the boys really like the characters.

Kirsten

I loved Chef Mickeys and would highly recommend it.

Terrific report so far-- minus the snake!:scared1: I would've wet my pants! Can't wait to hear more...



--Shannon

Thanks!! May be more snake to come....... :eek:

I can't wait to hear the rest!!!

I lived in Edinburgh from 1991 - 1992 while getting my MSc at Univ. of Edinburgh and that is one of the places I am determined to return and show my boy. Good times!! Too cold during the winter for a whimpy Southern girl like me but an awesome place.

I'm glad you enjoyed it here. Edinburgh is a lovely place but you are right it is freezing in the winter. I'm not best keen on the cold either. We have just had our monthly gas heating charge put up due to my excessive use during last winter!! :rolleyes1 Have been warned this year to buy more jumpers!!!

[ScotsMinnie]

.

[ScotsMinnie]

A quieter day today (almost) – we head to Animal Kingdom after only spending a short amount of time there the previous trip. We did Kilimanjaro Safaris which was fantastic as usual and DH rode Everest which he loved.

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I was really excited about seeing the Finding Nemo Musical so we made sure we were there in time for that. DK was shattered by this time and really was not in the mood. DE was being awkward and saying she didn’t want to see it as she thought it was going to be too scary. I must admit to being pretty annoyed with her this morning as all she was willing to do without a fuss is what she wanted to do. We had a little discussion about how everyone is on holiday and she has to play the game a little bit. While we waited for it to start I took DK to the back and held her till she went to sleep so we thought we would get to watch it. Unfortunately she woke up and one of us had to take her out. As I had been so looking forward to it DH took her outside for a walk in her buggy and she feel asleep out there. It was a real shame as I thought the show was amazing. So different and visually stunning – a real favourite of mine of the trip. Needless to say DE loved it and said it was one of her favourite things of her holiday. Then it was back to Dinoland and another ride on Primevil Whirl for DH, DE, Granny and Grandad while I took DK to see Dino Sue. She loved playing in the sand and digging up the dino bones. Perfect for little ones and a bit of time out of the sun was much appreciated. We had a play on some of the side shows and won a few toys. I can already tell there is no way we will be trekking them all back to the UK!!!

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Lunch today was at Flame Tree BBQ and I love the pork sandwiches. I found seating right down the bottom on the little blue area which goes out into the lake area. The table looked out over to Asia and Everest and it was a fun place to sit. The kids were spotting fish and turtles in the water next to the table which kept them busy for a while.

Afterwards a quiet night and a chance to have some rest time because as you can tell we haven’t had much of that yet. We popped out briefly to Walmart to do a bit of shopping while Mum babysat the kids. :cool1:

Now I know that an American would wonder why we go to Walmart when we come over. You have to understand that out supermarkets are nothing like Walmart and I could spend hours wandering about! Also for us buying things like shampoo, razors, etc is less than half the price than at home so it’s a good chance to fill up on some goodies. Why do the lines take so long to go down though? It’s a Walmart mystery!

[macheath]

Now I know that an American would wonder why we go to Walmart when we come over. You have to understand that out supermarkets are nothing like Walmart and I could spend hours wandering about! Also for us buying things like shampoo, razors, etc is less than half the price than at home so it’s a good chance to fill up on some goodies. Why do the lines take so long to go down though? It’s a Walmart mystery!
:rotfl: I have distant family in Wales. They have said the same thing. They love Walmart! I once sent them some pictures that I had processed at WM and I think they were more thrilled in the WM envelope than anything! They say they wish they could take WM back home with them.

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Thank you so much for your TR so far! I'm really enjoying it a lot and can't wait to read more. Your girls are absolutely beautiful.

I'm just curious: What were the dates of your trip? I'm assuming it was recently. Are you still in Florida?

It seems like you and I have the same taste when it comes to attractions. I love Journey into Imagination as well. DH just groaned through it. I'm so said that they took away the Figment meet-n-greet. I didn't realize it was there when we went last and I found out about it when I got home. Now it's gone. :( I also thought Finding Nemo: The Musical was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen. It is, bar none, the best show I've ever seen in a theme park.

I'm really glad you talked about the Tea Party. We don't have children yet but this seems priceless. Exactly the type of thing I would have liked to do when I was a little girl. How long did it last and how much did it cost? It would be so nice if Disney could offer more things like this to give parents a little break from the kiddies without feeling guilty.

By the way, I've only been to Edinburgh once, and it was just for a few days, but it is perhaps my favourite city in the world. I come from a place in Canada that has very strong Scottish roots with a lot of people who still speak Gaelic. My DH owns a kilt and that's not uncommon here. So, I enjoy your perspective!

Very cute pictures from Chef Mickey's. They have gummi bears there?

:scared1: to the snake. I would have been so scared!

There are all kinds of fun things that they offer at Chef Mickey's to top your waffles or pancakes.

I recommend this short clip about Chef Mickey's. It shows many of the options:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8voYH0wbQTk

[Zeebs]

There are all kinds of fun things that they offer at Chef Mickey's to top your waffles or pancakes.

I recommend this short clip about Chef Mickey's. It shows many of the options:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8voYH0wbQTk

OH WOW, thanks for that link now I wish we were going for breakfast instead of dinner. All those desserts for the kids look fab though. I CAN'T wait......

Kirsten

[irky416]

There are all kinds of fun things that they offer at Chef Mickey's to top your waffles or pancakes.

I recommend this short clip about Chef Mickey's. It shows many of the options:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8voYH0wbQTk

Thanks for the video! I might have to try Chef Mickey's next time I go. The gummi bears really pushed me over the edge! :rotfl:

[Kewz1]

I'm really enjoying your TR! I'm one of the several on the boards that wants to visit the UK as much as you all want to visit WDW! :goodvibes

Your daughters are adorable! And so sorry about the snake! Yikes! :scared1:

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip. popcorn::

Kristen

[Microcell]

Great TR! Yeah, the Walmart love has me stumped, as I do everything in my power to avoid it like the plague! I take it for granted to be sure, as there is one 1/2 a mile away from my house! You won't find me in one between November and January.. the Christmas rush is INSANE!!

[mplsmom1]

What a great trip report! Really enjoying it and now will be sure to do Nemo at AK, it wasn't even on my radar. I've been to Edinburgh about 13 years ago and thought the city was beautiful and enjoyed a sidetrip to Lithingow (sp?!) even more.

Your girls are so sweet. I will be traveling with big teenage boys - ah, but they are pretty sweet as well!

being from Minnesota I have to put a plug in for Target instead of Wal-Mart. I never shop Wal-Mart unless I can help it.

Will keep reading - have to see if that snake resurfaces (:scared1: ) THanks again for the wonderful report!

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

OH WOW, thanks for that link now I wish we were going for breakfast instead of dinner. All those desserts for the kids look fab though. I CAN'T wait......

Kirsten

Didn't that peanut butter and jelly with mashmallow pizza thing look amazing? It's funny because when I showed DH the Chef Mickey's video, he was grossed out by all the junk food for breakfast. Me? I would be in heaven. :lovestruc

being from Minnesota I have to put a plug in for Target instead of Wal-Mart. I never shop Wal-Mart unless I can help it.

Agreed. I :love: Target! Can't stand the evil Wal-mart. :mad:

[mplsmom1]

Agreed. I :love: Target! Can't stand the evil Wal-mart. :mad:

Is Target in Canada?? We just drove to Banff Alberta and I saw some Wal-Marts but no Targets??!:confused3 Perhaps they were hiding from me!

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Is Target in Canada?? We just drove to Banff Alberta and I saw some Wal-Marts but no Targets??!:confused3 Perhaps they were hiding from me!

I don't believe there are any Targets in Canada but there are plenty in the States.

[ScotsMinnie]

Thank you so much for your TR so far! I'm really enjoying it a lot and can't wait to read more. Your girls are absolutely beautiful.

I'm just curious: What were the dates of your trip? I'm assuming it was recently. Are you still in Florida?

It seems like you and I have the same taste when it comes to attractions. I love Journey into Imagination as well. DH just groaned through it. I'm so said that they took away the Figment meet-n-greet. I didn't realize it was there when we went last and I found out about it when I got home. Now it's gone. :( I also thought Finding Nemo: The Musical was one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen. It is, bar none, the best show I've ever seen in a theme park.

I'm really glad you talked about the Tea Party. We don't have children yet but this seems priceless. Exactly the type of thing I would have liked to do when I was a little girl. How long did it last and how much did it cost? It would be so nice if Disney could offer more things like this to give parents a little break from the kiddies without feeling guilty.

By the way, I've only been to Edinburgh once, and it was just for a few days, but it is perhaps my favourite city in the world. I come from a place in Canada that has very strong Scottish roots with a lot of people who still speak Gaelic. My DH owns a kilt and that's not uncommon here. So, I enjoy your perspective!





We werein orlando in Early June. Our first MK day was the 11th June and we flew back the evening of the 27th. Wish I was still there!!!

Don't miss Finding Nemo the Musical. It was magical and totally worth seeing.

Glad you enjoyed Edinburgh. Love the fact that your DH has a kilt! All men look fab in a kilt I think!!! :blush:

[ScotsMinnie]

:rotfl: I have distant family in Wales. They have said the same thing. They love Walmart! I once sent them some pictures that I had processed at WM and I think they were more thrilled in the WM envelope than anything! They say they wish they could take WM back home with them.

We have the UK equivelent from the Walmart family - Asda. Its rubbish. I could wander round Walmart all night!

I'm really enjoying your TR! I'm one of the several on the boards that wants to visit the UK as much as you all want to visit WDW! :goodvibes

Your daughters are adorable! And so sorry about the snake! Yikes! :scared1:

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip. popcorn::

Kristen

Thanks!!!

Great TR! Yeah, the Walmart love has me stumped, as I do everything in my power to avoid it like the plague! I take it for granted to be sure, as there is one 1/2 a mile away from my house! You won't find me in one between November and January.. the Christmas rush is INSANE!!

See I always think "I bet this place is great with the Christmas stuff in" !!!! :rotfl:

What a great trip report! Really enjoying it and now will be sure to do Nemo at AK, it wasn't even on my radar. I've been to Edinburgh about 13 years ago and thought the city was beautiful and enjoyed a sidetrip to Lithingow (sp?!) even more.

Your girls are so sweet. I will be traveling with big teenage boys - ah, but they are pretty sweet as well!

being from Minnesota I have to put a plug in for Target instead of Wal-Mart. I never shop Wal-Mart unless I can help it.

Will keep reading - have to see if that snake resurfaces (:scared1: ) THanks again for the wonderful report!

Linlithgow is very close to me and it does have a beautiful palace - I take it that is where you visited?

We also visited Target and I like it too - although not as much!!!

I know - I am a sick puppy! :rotfl:

[lborne]

Its funny. I shop the Wal-Mart on 192 in Orlando when I'm there because they have an entire row dedicated to Brit food. I stock up on Apple & Black Current Squash which we can't normally get here in the states. Otherwise, as others have said, we stick to Target.

As for the long lines, it is due to slow check out clerks and/or slow customers who seem to occupy Wal-Marts in greater percentages than other stores.

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

As for the long lines, it is due to slow check out clerks and/or slow customers who seem to occupy Wal-Marts in greater percentages than other stores.

And Wal-mart is notorious for understaffing its stores. Not only that, but with the way they treat their employees, it's no wonder they don't work with a spring in their steps. But I digress . .

Sorry...on with the TR!

[ScotsMinnie]

This is a boys or girls day.

Boys day first…….

The boys left at 6am and left for Port Canaveral to do some sea fishing. We found a great company online (don’t know if I can post the link or not?) who had small boats (they were the only customers on the boat) and go about 4-5 miles out for some fishing for 4 hours. DH said it was great as it wasn’t sterile and organised too much. It was like the guys were going out to fish they were along for the ride. Very laid back and enjoyable. It seems that it was mainly sharks but some croakers that were caught but a great day was had by all. DH caught a shark which he is very proud of! After some lunch they head to the Magic Kingdom to pick us up.

DH and his shark - Jaws eat your heart out!!!
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Girls day.....

Probably my favourite day of the holiday. We had a taxi pick us up at 7am to take us to the Magic Kingdom. The Magic Kingdom didn’t open till 9 but we had a reservation at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique at 8.05am for DE. We arrived outside the Magic Kingdom in loads of time and went through the gates. There were a few others walking through at that time on their way to breakfasts and things but it very surreal going up Main Street USA almost by yourself. The girls had earlier in the trip bought princess outfits to wear. DE chose to be Jasmine and DK was Tinkerbell. DK really wanted to be Aurora but nowhere could we find the Aurora dress in the smallest sizes. She loved her Tink dress too though. She is still wearing it now we are home!! I snapped loads of pictures of them wandering up to the castle – it was quite special.

My little princesses!
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The ball invitation....
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We arrived at the Boutique and DE was taken straight away. It was done so well and the salon area was gorgeous. We got to sit on the chairs in the middle of the room and watch which DK loved. DE chose the Princess makeover with the little tiara and she had her makeup and nails done. Must admit to being impressed by the ladies there. They really make the girls feel special and the little touches are so pretty. DK even got a sprinkling of fairy dust which she was excited about. Granny and I also got a little bit of fairy dust which I was then covered in all day. I really had to scrub my scalp to get it off my head too. I thought DE looked very pretty when she was done and she was very pleased with herself!

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At Rope Drop...
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When we came back into the castle we were at the rope for rope drop. DK insisted we went on the sasselle (carousel) first and so that is what we went straight for. We were first in line so DE was able to ride Cinderella’s horse. (In case you are wondering – Cinderella’s horse is the one in the second row with the gold bow tied round its tail). DK, not to be outdone, insisted that she was on Aurora’s horse! As noone was waiting to ride the cast member told us to stay on for a bonus ride much to DK’s excitement!

Note the ribbon on the tail..
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Within the next hour we manage to ride most of Fantasyland due to walking on most rides which was great fun. I love the Winnie the Pooh ride and of course we had to go on It’s a Small World again for DK! Again!!!!

At 10.10 we made our way to the Castle again for our breakfast with the princesses. After checking in we went inside and got our photo taken with Cinderella. Its a great way to keep people busy while they wait for their table to be ready. I love the fact that Jaques and Gus are up in the rafters watching Cinderella. A very nice touch. Almost immediately we were called to go up stairs. I love the dining room in the castle – its so well done. The girls were given their wands and their wishing starts and enjoyed making their wishes when the time came. DE loved the twinkling lights after the wishes were made. I love the little speech about how everyone has wishes and dreams in their heart. I am a big softie and that always brings a little tear!!! How pathetic!!!! We had a lovely server and I think the food was much nicer than the last time we went. I love the bacon in the US. I seem to be in the minority as the rest of my family find it too fatty but I love the crispy sweet taste of it. DE was overjoyed to see Jasmine was there as she was not there on our last trip. For some reason Snow White is always my favourite at these things. She just sounds right (if you know what I mean?). DK was ecstatic to see Aurora and actually sat next to her for a photo – almost the only character she did this with.

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All too soon it was over and we made our way outside. By now the heat had really cranked up so the girls changed out of their costumes. I had brought a nice skirt and top for DE and she kept on her sash. DK was very reluctant to give up her Tink dress – maybe as she was attracting such attention in it, but it was far too hot. She was very suited to being Tink – she has that cheekiness about her, but very cute.

ToonTown Fair was calling so as Mum and I took turns to take DE on the Barnstormer, the other played with DK in the playground. She was as happy as Larry on the slides and at least it is shaded in there. After a few more rides we headed for Main St USA. Mum has being dreaming about an apple charlotte from the Main Street Bakery since our last visit 3 years ago so that was our next stop. We got a table on the street so spent some time people watching – my favourite sport! The Family Fun Day parade passed and it was fun to see other guests taking part.

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My very special princess...
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At about half past two we left the park and the boys picked us up at the TTC. A shopping trip to the Premium outlets followed and then we stopped at Bahama Breeze for a lovely meal. I had paella and it was truly delicious. Back to the villa for a bit of a relax!

It didn’t seem so busy when we were there! No wonder I am so tired now!!!!

[ScotsMinnie]

And Wal-mart is notorious for understaffing its stores. Not only that, but with the way they treat their employees, it's no wonder they don't work with a spring in their steps. But I digress . .

Sorry...on with the TR!


Thats a shame - didn't realise that....... :sad2:

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Thank you for your continued TR! Sounds like you had a great day with just the girls.

I love your pic of the Family Fun Day parade. You see that firetruck with all the characters in it? Well, DH and I were the ones sitting in it leading the parade on our honeymoon!

[mplsmom1]

Linlithgow is very close to me and it does have a beautiful palace - I take it that is where you visited?

Yes, the palace where Mary Queen of Scots lived. It's incredible.

Wow! Your daughters as princesses -- so cute! What a fun, fun day!! Thank you for doing this trip report

[luckylady]

Your girls are cutie pies.Great TR and the princess are dolls in thier outfits.How long was the plane ride.One day DH and I are going to make it to Scotland.

[Scotfan]

and enjoyed a sidetrip to Lithingow (sp?!) even more.


I live in Linlithgow! I always have to spell it out when I call for my ADR's LOL

Loving the trippie. And I completely get the Walmart thing - mind you the asda in Livingston is nearly as big! if not such good value.

[jmskinner]

Finally got to catch up on your TR. Your Princesses are so adoreable.

[mplsmom1]

Scotfan: I live in Linlithgow! I always have to spell it out when I call for my ADR's LOL

Scotfan - How lucky for you! I hope your trips were just as magical! I'm looking forward to the next installment of ScotsMinniepopcorn::

[ScotsMinnie]

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Shamu is calling today so we get up early and go off to SeaWorld. We all love this park and so everyone is looking forward to a great day. The only problem with SeaWorld is that there is far too much to see in one day. You only ever get a little bit of what you want to do done. We always say we will use the second free day you can get at guest services but never end up doing it.

One thing my Mum noticed is that the planting in this park is exquisite (she loves her garden). It did draw my attention to it and started to see what she meant. Our 2 wishes for this park are the Sealion Show and the Shamu show - Believe. We picked out which shows we wanted to see and then filled the time before they started with seeing the Penguin Encounter (which DK loved) and the Shark exhibit which we all enjoyed. By the time we sat down for the Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island show the sun was baking and taking its toll on the wee one. I had to take her to the back of the theatre into the shade and she was fine after that. The pirate with the white face who mimes and takes the mickey out of people coming in was hilarious as usual. I love that guy. I dread the day I come and he isn’t there. The show was great and we all laughed and gasped at the size of Winston Walrus – what a strange creature!

After lunch we made our way to the Shamu show. We were very early and the DK was sleeping so Mum and DH went on to find seats and I stayed outside with DE and DK. DE wanted to ride on the new Shamu coaster by herself which she did and loved it.

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Unfortunately when I went back it was closed as it was full!!!! I explained that I have seats already but nipped out for a drink as the baby was still sleeping and she let me in……………. phew! That is a lesson!!!!! The show was great. I always marvel at how these creatures and the trainers interact. At the end when the whale comes out to splash to audience her baby came too and so the whale refused to do it. The trainers explained that when they don’t do what they are asked they are ignored. But no amount of ignoring was going to make the whale engage so the show ended there. No splashing! I suppose it was good to see that the animals are not forced to do things that they don’t want to do.

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DE just couldn't resist the fountains!
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After that DH and DE rode on Journey to Atlantis and DH rode on Kracken. That sort of ended the day as the heat was so bad and we were all shattered. We missed the Elmo show which was a shame as DK would have loved it but I suppose that gives us something still to see when we back next time. We also didn’t get the chance to see Blue Horizons which is disappointing. A return trip here is definitely on the cards.


Tonight was kid free zone! Mum and Dad were babysitting and DH and I had a night on our own!!!! We had reservations at the California Grill. We got there, checked in and got escorted in the elevator up to the top floor. We went into the lounge bar area and found a seat by the window with a drink. Our server was a lovely man and he walked us through the menu and made some recommendations. We started with the Rainbow Roll Sushi which was lovely and then we both had the lobster salad. It was delicious but by this time I was worrying that I wouldn’t manage my main course. For main course DH had the prime rib and I had the Kona fish and corn butter sauce dish. They were both amazing and so very filling. The different flavours were perfect – one of the best meals I have had in a very long time. Before dessert we made our way out onto the terrace to watch Wishes which was a real treat. It was very special to watch it from up there with such a beautiful view over the Magic Kingdom. I tried to imprint it on my mind so I never forget it. I didn’t quite realise how far back from the castle the fireworks are set off from as we usually watch it from in front of the castle. They pipe the music up there so you do get the whole experience. DH had dessert – a molten chocolate concoction which was very rich – too rich for me but he thoroughly enjoyed it. After a drink at the bar we made our way home. A very special night thanks to Mum and Dad for allowing us the time to do it. If you have the chance this was a very special thing to do and I would highly recommend it. The food and atmosphere was terrific and although slightly pricey, well worth the cost.

The view from the top!!! Unfortunately the fireworks ones didn't turn out well.

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[soldiersmom]

I just found your trip report, and am loving it! Looking at your posting dates, I guess I missed the beginning because I was in...wait for it....Scotland! I was absolutely charmed by your lovely country. (Although I like the bacon here better, too!)

Your girls are darling--the pictures of them walking up to the castle in their princess outfits nearly brought a tear (I only have boys myself). Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip!

[ScotsMinnie]

I just found your trip report, and am loving it! Looking at your posting dates, I guess I missed the beginning because I was in...wait for it....Scotland! I was absolutely charmed by your lovely country. (Although I like the bacon here better, too!)

Your girls are darling--the pictures of them walking up to the castle in their princess outfits nearly brought a tear (I only have boys myself). Can't wait to hear about the rest of the trip!

Thanks!!!

Glad you had a lovely time. I need to get my hands on some of your bacon. Its just tooo tasty!!!

[jmskinner]

Love your pics of Seaworld! I can't wait until we can go. I figure when the weather is a little cooler. We did go to the one in Texas and really enjoyed ourselves.

It was so nice of your parents to keep the girls while you went out. You have me wanting to try CG.:goodvibes

[Disney Brat]

Loved your installment! I haven't been to Sea World for about 12 years(very rough estimate), I would really like to go back this trip! Yay for a kid free night!! Those are great, Cali Grill looks amazing, and the views were spectacular! That is one place that is on my wish list!! Can't wait to hear more!!

[ScotsMinnie]

Love your pics of Seaworld! I can't wait until we can go. I figure when the weather is a little cooler. We did go to the one in Texas and really enjoyed ourselves.

It was so nice of your parents to keep the girls while you went out. You have me wanting to try CG.:goodvibes

Loved your installment! I haven't been to Sea World for about 12 years(very rough estimate), I would really like to go back this trip! Yay for a kid free night!! Those are great, Cali Grill looks amazing, and the views were spectacular! That is one place that is on my wish list!! Can't wait to hear more!!


California Grill was one of the highlights of my holiday. It was very special and being able to see the MK and Wishes up there was amazing.

Go Go Go!!!!

[irky416]

Sea World is really beautiful. I love the picture of the baby and mom whale. I;m glad to hear they don't force them to do the tricks, either!

How nice that you had a night out by yourself. The pictures from the top of Cali Grill look amazing. I've never been up there. It sounds like you had a nice night!

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

The pirate with the white face who mimes and takes the mickey out of people coming in was hilarious as usual. I love that guy. I dread the day I come and he isn’t there.

<snip>

Before dessert we made our way out onto the terrace to watch Wishes which was a real treat. It was very special to watch it from up there with such a beautiful view over the Magic Kingdom. I tried to imprint it on my mind so I never forget it.

We love the mime too! Don't worry; he's been there since the early 80s at least so I doubt they'll get rid of him any time soon.

Isn't the view from CG fanastic? That was one of my favourite experiences. The piped in music really made it special.

[mplsmom1]

Hoping for more updates!!

[ScotsMinnie]

A day at Disney's Hollywood Studios was planned for today so we were up and about getting organised to go. Dad had gone into the garage to hang up some washing to dry when he came in and announced that there was another snake! :scared1: :scared1: :scared1: This one looked the same as the last one but was a bit smaller. It was curled up in the corner of the garage where the door was. Enough was enough and we decided to call the management company. We explained the story and that we had seen one a few days ago outside and that we thought it was a cottonmouth. They said to stay out of the garage and they would send someone over. In the meantime Dad had been in the garage and put a bucket over it!!!!

A really nice guy from the management company came round and looked at the photos we had taken of the previous snake and confirmed that it was a cottonmouth or water moccasin as we had thought. He said the juvenile ones are very aggressive and he hates dealing with them as they can't control their venom very well. Adult ones inject just enough as is needed whereas the juvenile just empty their venom sacks completely which made us feel great about the fact that one was eyeing up DE's leg the other night.

He opened the garage door and kicked the bucket down the drive so the snake landed on the driveway.

Now sorry to any snake lovers out there - look away now......................

He then got his spade and chopped it up! Must admit to being quite glad. He picked it all up and washed it down and went on his way. They said they would send someone in to block up the hole in the garage door and to check round the outside for others! Makes you really nervous and the amount of snake checking that was done for the rest of the trip was ridiculous!

Thankfully no more were spotted!

Here is Mr Hiss!
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So much for our early start! It was late morning before we eventually left the villa. With DE dressed in her East High Cheerleading outfit we made our way to Hollywood Studios. As we arrived the High School Musical show was about to start so we got a good spot and waited. DE was in her element and sang and danced through it. She did get picked by the cheerleader to do the limbo and of course was able to dance with the other kids at the end.

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We tried to get fast passes for Toy Story Mania but the return time was not till later that night and we would not be staying in the park that long which was a shame. We did however go to the Beauty and Beast show which DE loved so much the last time we went. DK also enjoyed it and even managed not to be scared of the Beast. My enjoyment was marred however by the teenage boy sitting next to me who spent the whole show spitting on the ground. Totally disgusting and actually was turning my stomach. Of course his parents said nothing about it.

When we came out of that show we met up with DH and Dad who had gone to have a wander round - Beauty and the Beast is not really their thing!!!! We missed the parade as people were hungry :mad: (can you tell that I would have preferred to see the parade but was outvoted??!!) People were tired and rain was on the horizon so we decided to leave for the day. A short but sweet visit. We were coming back to this park so decided to do the rest when we returned later in the trip.

Mum and Dad only have another full day after this one so we went home, had a swim and something to eat and got the kids to bed early. Mum and Dad packed their bags for their return journey as we have a busy day and night planned for tomorrow. Mum starting to get upset about going home. DH and I had a trip out shopping while we can still go out without the girls – who are not such patient shoppers!!!

[ScotsMinnie]

Mum and Dad’s last full day

Epcot was the park of choice today. We still had things we wanted to do and also Dad was very keen to ride Soarin again.

We went straight to Soarin for fast passes and then to Test Track as this is another of our families favourites. I took a little video of the fast part of test track which was funny – lots of squeals. DK was desperate to go in aswell and even stood under the height chart but as you can see she was well below the limit!!!!! DK took a shine to the Hummer and was happy playing in the exit area.

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When we had all rode we made our way to the Living Seas with Nemo and Friends. It was our first time on the clam shells and I loved it. How on earth do they get the animation to appear so clearly in the water? Very clever. A lovely vibrant ride. A real highlight for me. I love coming off a ride wondering how they did something. It is so realistic. Both girls loved looking at the fish and seahorses in the small tanks. A cast member was feeding the angler fish and it was amazing to see how quickly they snap up the food. After the obligatory snap inside Bruce’s mouth for DE – DK screaming as I don’t think she realised he was plastic! – and a quick look round we made our way to the Land.

This time DH, DE and I rode Soarin first while Granny and Grandad took DK to Sunshine Seasons to get something to eat. We were in the front row which was my first time and it was even more enjoyable than usual. A swap with my parents and we had something to eat. I was impressed by this place – I thought the choice was great compared to other places. DK however took exception to the fact that Granny had gone off and left her so screamed for about 20 mins. It was embarrassing. It was like I had kidnapped her and she didn’t know me! I am sure people around me were thinking I must a really bad mummy! She finally calmed down but I was a nervous wreck by then!

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As usual there was a bit of last minute shopping to be done. DH also wanted to get some polo shirts form the Lacoste shop so we made a quick visit to Mall at Millenia. Cue Grandad and DE complaining very loudly about shopping – after about 2 mins. We only had 2 shops to go into. You would have thought he was the 6 year old. We got some cheesecake to take away from the Cheesecake Factory…. Yummy!.... and headed back to eat it!!!!!

We all freshened up and got dressed to go to the Grand Floridian. Its tradition to do something really nice on the last night and it usually ends up at the MK! Tonight we have bookings for the Cinderella’s Gala Feast at the Grand Floridian. We parked at the GF and got there with time to spare. We got our pager and sat in the lobby to wait for it to light up. DE used DK’s wand to magic it into lighting up and eventually that worked!!! We got seated and not long after that the characters started to come out. I should also say that the food here was terrific. Last time I was here I had a urinary tract infection and had only just got the antibiotic so managed to eat nothing and spent the time in the toilet! So I was super glad to be eating the food!!!! The choice was great and we ordered the cups for the girls with the light up tinkerbell which they loved. I saw a woman with a cocktail with a flashing ice cube in it too late to have one myself (although I did find these in the World of Disney shop and brought some home!!).

The character there were Prince Charming (and very charming he was too!!), Cinderella (of course!), Lade Tremaine (very good at playing the part – I think she scared a lot of the men!), and the 2 step sisters (again very good at acting the part). The quality of the characters made it really quite special. The step sisters and Lady Tremaine bounced off each other constantly and I’ll never forget their “interesting” rendition of Sing Sweet Nightingale!!!!

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Then it was on the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. We found a great spot for Spectromagic just as it enters Main Street USA. DK especially loved this parade and waved to all the characters. DE also enjoyed it and got to do a bit of hula-hooping before it started. As it finished we did a sprint through the shops and got a great spot for Wishes right in front of castle – just to the right where the little river is. We love it from here as noone is in front of you. Its quiet too as the parade is still not finished at that spot so everyone is still watching the parade.

Wishes of course was amazing. I had forgotten to bring cotton wool for the girls ears so nipped into the First Aid to ask for some. They gave me proper ear plugs for them to wear which were great. They are soooo nice in there. So DE and DK had their ear plugs in and DE was very nervous but she loved the sparkles – just hates the noise. DK loved it too but fell asleep on my shoulder just before the end. She was obviously not bothered by the noise!!!

So the end of a perfect night. We make our way out and queue for the boat back to the Grand Floridian to get our car. The boat ride is a great way to end the night. As we sailed over the Electrical Water pageant was on and it is really pretty. The GF also looks amazing all lit up and we slowly walked back to the car.

Granny very sad about going home. Serious tears on the way for tomorrow!!!

[jmskinner]

Really enjoying your TR! I'm sad just reading about your Mum and Dad going home.

The whole snake thing would have me so freaked out I wouldn't be able to sleep!

All of your pics are great, especially the girls dressed up for High School Musical.

[irky416]

:scared1: to the snake. I would have been freaking out.

The HSM outfit is cute!

I want to meet the Stepsisters and stepmother! Everyone says they're so funny!

[manntra]

Yes...I want to meet the stepsisters and stepmother too! They look great! And that snake...ooohhh I hope that is all we will be hearing from them! Yuck!:eek:

[WDW Fan]

Just got caught up with your TR and it sounds like you're having a great time! ;) The girls looked adorable in their costumes and your older daughter looked so cute after her appt. with BBB!:thumbsup2 Sea World looked like a lot of fun and your dinner at the CG looked delicious and so magical. That is our favorite spot to have dinner at WDW. The view is like none other and we just love when they pipe the music from Wishes in during dinner. That snake would have had me freaking out! I've heard there are snakes in Florida but I've personally never seen one and that would have had me running for the hills.:scared1: Hurry back with more.:)

[mplsmom1]

Great updates - I also love Wishes. Thanks for the updates!popcorn::

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi there,
Caught your post on another TR and it caught my eye as I'm from Scotland too...always nice to catch up with a fellow Scot!
Your TR is great and your girls are lovely. You sound like you had a fab time - although the snake !!!!!! :scared1: I would have been too scared to move - I hate snakes!!!
The photos of the dinner at 1900 PF were great - we went last trip but the step sister and step mother weren't part of it, it was two of the mice. Though the Prince was pretty tasty!
DE was being awkward and saying she didn’t want to see it as she thought it was going to be too scary. I must admit to being pretty annoyed with her this morning as all she was willing to do without a fuss is what she wanted to do. We had a little discussion about how everyone is on holiday and she has to play the game a little bit.
Glad to know I'm not the only one who has these talks, they're a regular occurence with my kids!
Can't wait to read more!
Bye
Diane x :donald:

[winkers]

I'm loving your report! Your girls are adorable! the youngest in her tinkerbelle costume is one of the cutest things I've ever seen!

If I had to deal with snakes outside my room I would be a neurotic mess!:scared:

[ScotsMinnie]

Well today is not a happy day as it is the day that Granny and Grandad go home. :sad2: :sad2: They have been here for 2 weeks now and have had an amazing time. They had a great few days on their own before we arrived and they both agree it has been the best holiday they have ever had. However, I am sure they could easily stay for another week with us.

We started the day in the pool – splashing around and having a great time. Granny and Grandad packed the last of their stuff and enjoyed their last morning.

At lunchtime we went to DownTown Disney as Granny wanted a last look round the World of Disney store. She spent the last of her dollars and got the girls a lovely present each. Lunch was from the Earl of Sandwich which was great. Never eaten there before but would totally recommend it. I had a chicken Caesar wrap and it was lovely and fresh.

So with heavy hearts we made our way to the airport. We did a drop off and we were getting a bit emotional. Mum was in tears which was making me feel like having a cry. :sad: :sad: :sad: Silly really as we would be home in a week – but I think that Mum would have loved to stay longer. She loves seeing the girls enjoy their holiday and sharing the different experiences with them. Anyway – all that done and lots of joking in the car to make the girls smile we went to the Florida Mall to spoil them a little.

DE decided that she would love to have her ears pierced. She wavered a bit when she thought of the process but I left it up to her and she went ahead. She chose really small studs which actually look lovely on her. She thinks they are diamonds!!! I’m not going to spoil it by telling her they are not! She was going to do it on her 7th birthday in September but I suppose she can always say she got her ears pierced in the States. We spent too much money in the Mall but did enjoy it!!!! I spent ages in Sephora buying Benefit make up as it was half the price of what it is here. Also I found a shop which sold Pandora charms for my bracelet so i bought a couple of lovely charms. Before leaving we had a bite to eat. I had been looking forward to this as last time I had Bourbon Chicken in the Florida Mall and it was so tasty. I had some again and it was just as I remembered it. Mmmmmmmmmmmm !

We had a deadline to get home by! Camp Rock was premiering on the Disney Channel and DE was desperate to see it. She got on the sofa with a quilt and pillow – very cosy – and a snack and a drink and watched her film. She loved it and also very excited as it is not out yet at home. They have just started to advertise it here – but just says coming soon. The date for premiere here is the 19th September.

So the end of the day was great but we did have a thought for Granny and Grandad flying across the Atlantic to a rainy and cold Scotland. Not a nice thought. Yup – cold. We have not yet had our summer – we are waiting with lots of hope though. Last year it passed by with very few nice days – hoping for better this year. I had 5 weeks unpaid leave planned to cover the school holidays and last year all it did was rain. And this year? A few nice days but mostly rotten weather. Typical.

Tomorrow was DE’s choice of where to go. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out where we went…… !!! :rotfl: :banana:

[ScotsMinnie]

You guessed it – the Magic Kingdom again!!! :banana: :banana: For some reason everyone seems happiest in the Magic Kingdom. It will always be my favourite park and think the girls love it best too. There is just so much to see and do.

We started this time in Adventureland while DH got fast passes for Space Mountain. We rode the Flying Carpets of Aladdin which was great fun. There was no queue and so when we were done DH had arrived and took DE on for another ride. We went to Jungle Cruise and our skipper was very good. Love the corniness of this ride. :rotfl:

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I am sure this will be no surprise but we had another ride (or two!) on the Carousel and then a play in the Hundred Acre Wood playground. The girls loved it here – a good chance to run off some energy. They especially loved ringing Pooh’s bell!!! DH went off to get some ice cream and the girls spotted Darby, Pooh and Tigger coming their way. We got in line and the girls had pictures with them. DH came back just in time and we all sat and shared some ice cream.

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Into ToonTown after that and the rain started very lightly. DE and I were in the line for the Barnstormer but as we got to the front it was closed due to lightening. Sure enough it did get very heavy so we hid for a while in the shop. We had a wander through Mickey’s House and then thought we would wait to meet him. No luck – the line was horrendous. The rain was letting up anyway so we decided not to wait.

Then it was time for Space Mountain. It would be DE’s first time – she was too small the last time. Off she went with Daddy full of excitement. She hated it! Totally!!! Tears and everything when she came out. Not good! I rode by myself and actually could see why. It is very jerky. Lesson learned!

DK loved riding the Tomorrowland Transit Authority and when we went through space mountain we actually saw DH and DE getting in their rocket. She looked fine at that point!

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Today was the day too that DE started to trade her pins properly. My Aunt had bought her a lanyard and some pins to go on it but she was not keen to trade them. After trading one she was a kid on a mission and decided which set she wanted to collect. I think that it is a great idea for kids. DE traded only with cast members and she loved it. It is such a good idea. Kids know they can approach them and ask them to swap. A CM at a pin trading stall gave her a Sharing the Magic pin as a gift which had Tinkerbell on it. She in return gave her a special Scotland Flag pin she had brought to give to CMs who were especially helpful or kind. The CM loved her gift so everyone left happy. Of course she ended up persuading DH to buy her some extra ones!!! We have mounted them in a frame now to put on her wall. A great way to display them when you get home.

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We did bits and bobs and then headed out. We were able to ride in the front of the monorail as the monorail was so very quiet. Howevere by this stage it was rainging and you couldn’t see a thing out of the window. Those things should have window wipers!!!!! It was odd watching the girl drive not being able to see. She assured me it was done by computer so it was fine.

The plan was to return to DownTown Disney tonight to let DE take part in the dancing. The DJ had started when we got there but there was plenty of seats. We got ourselves settled and DE joined in. Both DH and I were dragged up at some point and even DK threw a few shapes on the dancefloor!!!!!! It was a great night – we all enjoyed it. Of course we could not leave without a few rides on the Carousel!!!!!! (do you see a theme here??!!) and DK insisted on having her pics taken with the plastic characters in the pin shop while DH and DE looked at the pins.

DE in the green dress.
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Now this will probably come as a shock to anyone in the US reading this. We had never eaten a pretzel!!!!!!! So tonight was the night. I had tried little hard pretzel type things at home (yuk!) but not these huge round soft things. We bought one with cinnamon sugar on it. It was amazing!!!! We all fought over it!!!! How had we never tried one before????? Not too good for the waistline mind you! A new obsession is born!

[jmskinner]

Great updates! Magic Kingdom is becoming my favorite park also.

I bet that was sad leaving your parents at the airport. I know I would be teary-eyed also.

[Dr_Finkelstein]

Hi Scotsminnie,
Good to see more updates! :thumbsup2
Really enjoying reading them! Sounds like a great trip!

Di x:donald:

[irky416]

Cute updates!

I love Magic Kingdom also! I'm glad you enjoyed your first ever soft pretzel. A cinnamon one was a good choice!

[ScotsMinnie]

Cute updates!

I love Magic Kingdom also! I'm glad you enjoyed your first ever soft pretzel. A cinnamon one was a good choice!

OMG so there are more flavours???? Didn't know that!!! Need to try then all next time. They are soooo good! Is there one with icing (I think Americans call it frosting?) on it That would be delicious!

[irky416]

OMG so there are more flavours???? Didn't know that!!! Need to try then all next time. They are soooo good! Is there one with icing (I think Americans call it frosting?) on it That would be delicious!

Definitely they have ones with icing. (I think icing and frosting might be regional in the US - I call it icing!) They have all kinds of flavors and then you can add different dips! I had a cinnamon pretzel with a chocolate dip before...so good! My favorite is a plain pretzel with cheese dip, though.

Here's only a few different choices:
http://www.auntieannes.com/pretzels.aspx

There's another chain that sells more but I can't think of the name of it right now. Maybe somebody else can help out. I don't actually eat them that often, but they are really good!

[WDW Fan]

Soft pretzels are delicious!!! I love the pretzel with the raisins and white icing on it.;) Can't wait to hear more.;)

[ScotsMinnie]

The plan for the day – a trip to the beach!!!! The destination is Clearwater beach and we are really looking forward to it. We eventually get out the villa and head off. As we approach Tampa we drive right into the most horrendous thunder and lightening storm. The rain is lashing down and I end up driving at 20mph with hazard lights on as I just could not see where the road was. It was really bad. :mad: Of course we were wondering what on earth we were doing going to the beach but we kept on hoping it would pass.

Thankfully by the time we get to the beach it is glorious sunshine. Blue sky and it is so beautiful. The girls have sunsuits on so I make sure they are covered in sunblock in the bits that are sticking out! We do ourselves and we are good to go. We take the bucket and spade that was in the villa and trek down to the beach. It was stunning. White sand and blue sea – gorgeous.

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Biggest shock of the day was the temperature of the sea. As I stepped in I braced myself but it was lovely and warm. You have to understand that we go to St Andrews regularly and I spent a lot of time there as that is where I was at University so we are used to the sea there. You only really paddle it is so cold. Your feet actually go numb and turn a funny colour. The water feels like it is almost at freezing point. No kidding. Eventually you lose feeling in your feet so can paddle for a while. :eek: :eek: The North Sea and the Gulf of Mexico do not really have a lot in common. :rotfl: So it was lovely and warm and relaxing! We played on the beach for about an hour and a half before calling it a day due to the heat. We wandered back to the car and due to it having tinted windows changed in the back!!! I was a bit concerned about this but after circling the car 360 degrees when DH was changing I was satisfied noone could see in. ;) Needless to say there was sand a little bits of shell everywhere!

Our tummies were calling so we went to a lovely little diner for something to eat before driving back home.

As we were leaving Clearwater we could see a really bad storm approaching. It was right behind us most of the way home but thankfully we were not caught in it.

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On the journey which was about an hour and a half DH noticed that I seemed to be changing colour. I was getting redder and redder by the minute. I could feel my skin tightening and I knew it was bad. :mad: By the time I checked the mirror I got a shock. My arms were bad but my back was horrific. I can only think that as I was spraying the sunblock on the wind was stopping it from landing properly on my skin as I did apply it. DH had a laugh and insinuated that I didn’t put any on on purpose to get some colour (which is ridiculous as I don’t get a tan – ever!!). He was convinced of this until he saw his back which was the same. :rotfl: That’s is the only thing we can think of as to why we burned. We were well covered and didn’t get a hint of red any other day. I suppose with the wind and the dry heat you maybe don’t feel it as much at the coast. Thankfully both girls were absolutely fine and had no red at all. I applied their sunblock at the car though so I am grateful for that. We had to got o the pharmacy and get some of the solacaine gel. That helped a bit.

A trip to the Outback for dinner finished off the day and another couple of Wallaby Darned cocktails – loving the Happy Hour!!!! These are amazing and I would recommend anyone to try one – especially when they are 2 for 1!!! It numbed the pain of the burn!!!!! ( a little………… ) :drinking1 (except a lovely shade of champagne peachy pink!)

[ScotsMinnie]

Oh and wee bit of exciting news! My lovely DH has decided that we shouldn't wait another 3 ears to go back - we have just booked flights for the end of June next year!!!! :goofy: :mickeyjum :donald:

So excited!!!!!!! We will still do a big trip in 2011 but this will be a bonus one!!

[ScotsMinnie]

One of the days DE has been looking forward to. She used some birthday money to pay for a Pirate Adventure at the Grand Floridian. I learned about this activity on another forum and though she would love it. I wondered if it would be just little boys but in actual fact it was about 50:50 split. We arrive at the hotel with pretty much no time to spare so had to valet park. The trip meets at the marina so we literally run through the GF to get there in time. We arrive and DE goes with a Cast Member to get organised. They get a life jacket to wear and also a bandana with Mickey Ears on it to put on. They all looked very cute!

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All the kids gathered and then made their way onto the Pirate Ship after getting a buddy. It was a great little boat. Very well decorated to look like a real pirate ship - complete with the Jolly Roger! They practiced their “aaarrrrhhhh”s and off they sailed! We could hear them yelling it at other boats as they went out! Madness!

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DH, DK and I went to the monorail and and headed for the Magic Kingdom. On the monorail we could see the pirate ship sailing about the lagoon.

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We had decided to go to the Main Street Bakery for something for breakfast. DH had the Cherry pie which he loved last time. DK and I shared a cupcake and a box of strawberries. Yummy. We got an outside table on Main Street and watched the world go by. I love people watching on Main Street. Thinking about the other people having their own special holidays, wondering if they too had spent time planning, maybe on the dis?, and what their stories are.

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Before we know it its time to go back and collect our little pirate. We took the boat back which was lovely. I love the GF - its such a pretty resort.

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And who wouldn't want to get married here.....

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We got back with time to spare and chatted with another Mum waiting for her 2 kids to come back. A boatful of pirates returned making a lot of noise and it is clear they have had a great time. It seems that they have been finding pieces of a treasure map and looking for the chest. One of the cast members decided to steal the chest but they left her on an island. She managed to get a speedboat and she came back. After forgiving her they brought back the treasure chest. During this time they had a lunch on the beach (PB&J sandwiches, goldfish crackers and a juice box). When the boat docked they opened the chest and found a little treasure bag for each of them containing beads, rings, a telescope, etc. They also got to keep their ears.

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DE loved this trip and it was relatively inexpensive so big thumbs up for this one. You need to book obviously but DE really enjoyed the fact that she got to do this on her own and be independent. Many parents who put all their kids into this activity were especially excited about having 2 hours to themselves – child free!!! I could see their point. Maybe next time when DK will be old enough we will do the same. DK has really missed her sister and is pleased to see her. DE shard her loot bag with her so that was really sweet.

After nearly being convinced to listen to the DVC presentation – we would have bought I am sure – how good does it sound? – we went to DownTown Disney again to collect the Christmas decorations we were getting personalised. They were lovely. We have one from very trip for DE and this is DK’s first one. We also bought one for my Godson who would be 2 the next day. He is Mickey daft and its so lovely to keep. They were supposed to be coming but circumstances meant they were unable which was sad. They have never been before but maybe they will be bale to come on another trip.

Very quiet after that – a bit of a swim and some chill time round the pool. A lull before the last few days when we go mad trying to fit everything in!!!!

[jmskinner]

Hey, you were in my neck of the woods. Now you know how far of a drive I have to WDW! Sorry you got sunburned. I always manage to do that. Love the pics!

I have wondered about the Pirate Cruise for our Jacob. He would probably enjoy it.

Oh, you get to come back next June!:banana:

[ScotsMinnie]

Hey, you were in my neck of the woods. Now you know how far of a drive I have to WDW! Sorry you got sunburned. I always manage to do that. Love the pics!

I have wondered about the Pirate Cruise for our Jacob. He would probably enjoy it.

Oh, you get to come back next June!:banana:

Jacob would love it! i thought it was really good value too for what they get.

I am sooooooo excited about June. Was getting depressed at the thought of having to wait another 3 years!

[luckylady]

Oh and wee bit of exciting news! My lovely DH has decided that we shouldn't wait another 3 ears to go back - we have just booked flights for the end of June next year!!!! :goofy: :mickeyjum :donald:

So excited!!!!!!! We will still do a big trip in 2011 but this will be a bonus one!!

Woohoo that is great news.

[rochek1999]

Scotsminnie -

If there is a next time you get a sunburn (LOL) get some regular grocery store Vinegar. Slap that on your burn and the pain is gone! Yip, you don't smell very good, but at least you aren't in pain!

Enjoying your TR!

Kim
:banana:

[ScotsMinnie]

Scotsminnie -

If there is a next time you get a sunburn (LOL) get some regular grocery store Vinegar. Slap that on your burn and the pain is gone! Yip, you don't smell very good, but at least you aren't in pain!

Enjoying your TR!

Kim
:banana:

Thanks for the tip - I will remember that one. I wouldn't have cared aboutt he smell. It was agony. And the heat coming off it would have kept a small arctic country warm for a whole winter!

Not fun!

I never plan to make that mistake again. (although I'm sure I've said that before!!!)

[WDW Fan]

Beautiful pictures! The pictures of the storm behind you when you left the beach were pretty eery looking!!! Glad the weather turned out so nice for you but hope your sunburn didn't bother you too much. I loved the pirate cruise DD took. It looked like a lot of fun for kids. Sorry your TR is coming to an end.

[*MyGirlLovesMulan*]

I am loving your TR, I MUST start my very own, been back one week today and I am feeling thoroughly depressed! More than anything because we don't ever seem to have a summer of our own any more? :sad2:

I totally freaked at the photos of your villa visitor (wow, thought I was brave with a couple of cockroaches and a couple of frogs but jeez a snake!! Respect to Grandad for the bucket :scared1: ) we also stayed off site at a beautiful villa in Formosa Gardens. Where were you staying at??

I'm also hearing you about the North Sea thing, we live a mile from the coast here in the North East and I can confirm the purple toes comment, a world away from the beautiful Gulf Coast! :lovestruc

Your photos are absolutely fab, I tend to take dreadful photos but I got a few beautiful ones this trip. The pirate trip looks brilliant (I think I will be keeping that one in mind for our next trip).

I am so pleased for you that you are getting to go back next year :banana:
we are also going back next year (hopefully) we learned some bad news about my neice when we were away, she was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis and we are hoping to raise the money to take her away with us in April. She is SUCH a sweetheart, she is only 2 yrs old and she watched our holiday video in COMPLETE awe! and couldnt believe her presents we brought back for her ("they came all of the way from Cinderella's Castle for me?") Fingers crossed, we will get to make her Disney Dream come true.:tinker:

I look forward to reading the rest of your TR, brilliant so far, looks like you all had a wonderful time!

[I love OKW]

Loving your trip report!! Can't wait to hear more.

How exciting that you will get to go back next summer!! We will be there the mid of July...just booked the flight today:cool1: :cool1:


Your girls are adorable!!

We will be bringing the light of our lives, our granddaughter, next summer. She will be 2 1/2 and I can't wait to see it thru her eyes like we saw it thru her mother's!!:love:

[SeptemberGirl]

Hi! I'm really enjoying your trip report. I love how you write about things you do, and your cadence and use of language makes me miss my friends across the ocean (England and Ireland).

I find the same thing happens to me with the spray-on sunscreen. It just doesn't stay put!

Oh, soft pretzels. I love them. Where I live they are plentiful, and you can get them plain - just salt, not butter or sugar - and they are still delicious and, best of all, not a lot of calories. They are what you get on the way home after going for drinks with girlfriends. Perfect no-guilt late night snack.

That's wonderful that you can come again in June! How fun!

[irky416]

I'm glad you had good weather for the beach. It sounds like you had a good time. DBF and I had the same thing happen to us with the wind and spray sunscreen when we were in the Caribbean this summer. I still have lines all over my back from getting sunburned. I;m glad you didn't get cuaght up in that storm that was rolling in. It looked bad!

I'm glad DE enjoyed herself on the pirate cruise. It sounds like fun for the kids!

[mplsmom1]

we have just booked flights for the end of June next year!!!! :goofy: :mickeyjum :donald:

Hooray! It gets in your blood. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.:surfweb:

[ScotsMinnie]

Today was a Universal day. DH loves the big rides at universal and I am not too keen. On our last trip he went by himself to the 2 universal parks and did all the rides through the single rider queue. This time he didn’t want to go himself so we bought a 1 day 2 park ticket for the 3 of us – DK not needing one.


We set off quite early with a plan. First we were going to go to Islands of Adventure, do the rides there and then have lunch in the Circus McGurcus Café and then head to Universal Studios. We had no idea how long this would take us to do so it was a play it by ear kind of day.

We obviously had to do it with no fast passes. I know you can buy Universal Express passes but I refuse to do so as I think it’s a cheek to ask guests to pay for their fast passes when Disney gives them out for free. This is one of the reasons I don’t like these parks. More will follow!!!!

Anyway we park our car and then set about the 6 mile walk from the car park to the park! Slight exaggeration but with a 2 year old in tow and no stroller – we are going to rent one today – this was a long way in the heat. We get to the entrance to Islands of Adventure and spot the stroller rental. Due to their being as lot of walking we had decided to rent a double stroller today and so DE can perch on the front as we are walking between parks. I get in the line for the strollers with DK and DE and DH go off to ride of Dudley Doright’s Ripsaw Falls. Now I had 4 parties ahead of me and it took 20 mins to get a stroller. Not exactly Disney service. :sad2: So eventually we get our stroller which DK loves! It must be like a little cart or something – anyway there were no arguments about sitting in it which makes a nice change.

We go to the Falls and are there just in time to see DE and DH whizzing by down the big drop – looking very wet. A few minutes later they came running over – completely drenched. They both were soaked to the skin. Never mind – it’s a hot day so they will dry off in no time.

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Next on the agenda was the Flying Unicorn which had no line so we rode about 3 times. Good fun but hurts your back as the seats are a strange shape.

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DH now wanted to ride on Duelling Dragons – both fire and ice so the girls and I headed for the Dr Seuss part of the park. I love this bit – it’s the only bit I really like. We did the new trolley ride which was fun and of course DK nearly laid an egg (translation – was very excited!!!) to see a Car-seuss-ell. DK loves a carousel! We rode that about 3 times. During one ride a little girl sitting near us refused to put her strap on. The lady who was working the ride told her 3 times before the ride started and she kept taking it off. During the ride she kept telling her to fasten it but she didn’t. When it stopped there was no line so we got another ride but the lady came over and asked the little girl to leave. She was about 10. Her dad was livid as he was a few lines back and didn’t see her do it. It’s the first time I have seen a child being asked to leave a ride!!! Good on the lady though. Her job would have been on the line if anything had happened.

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Lunch was a bit of a nightmare. We bought our pizzas and went to find a seat but there were no high chars anywhere. I was sent form one side of the restaurant to the other and eventually I was brought one. You would think they would have plenty considering it is really the only area of the park aimed at the little ones. Grrrrrrrr They are also trying to sell everyone their version of the Disney Dining Plan but you buy it for the day. You can’t use it in both parks though and when you look at it there is no real saving. When we paid it was a bit of a pain that we did not have it and wanted to pay with money. Grrrrrrrr (again!) :sad2:

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After seeing some of the Dr Seuss characters and buying v cute Thing1 and Thing 2 tshirts for DE and DK we left for Universal Studios.

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Universal was reasonably busy. We had a few objectives in here. DH had rides he really wanted to do and DE and DK wanted to go the Nickolodeon part of the park. DK wanted to see Barney and meet Dora.

Very hot today and just as we got near Barney it was getting ready to open so DK and I waited while DE and DH went to ET and to the other small rides round about. DE obviously had decided that she was too old for Barney and has seen it before anyway. DK loved Barney but didn’t want to meet him afterwards. DE loved ET and has never seen the film so we promised we would get it when we came home. We have since let her watch ET and it was a mistake. She sat and watched it all the way through then at the end she burst into tears and wouldn’t stop. She was distraught because they would never see each other again. She is quite sensitive but I didn’t expect this reaction. Ooops!

DH went off to do his thing and DE, DK and I had a wander about. DK fell asleep and DE and I had some juice and found out where to wait for Dora. We sat down and DK woke up just in time to see her appear. We were first in the line and at the last minute DK didn’t want to go so we got DE’s picture with her. When we moved away she started crying as she wanted to see Dora!!! So we got in line again and the same thing happened. So we are in the line for the 3rd (yes 3rd!) time and thankfully DH appeared so I got in the pic too and she was happy with that. So it was 3rd time lucky.

We had pretty much done everything we wanted to by late afternoon so decided to call it a day. It had been non stop so everyone was tired. So instead of leaving our stroller by the exit to the park we made out that we were park hopping so took it right to the escalator to the car park. There was no way I was carrying DK all that way. Universal really should think that one through.

So not a bad day but I really don’t rate these parks. Maybe its because I am not a fan of big fast rides or maybe its because I have a 2 year old to entertain in a park ( or 2 parks) which in the main are aimed at older teens and adults with a token small kid area. The service is terrible compared to Disney – but again maybe you get spoiled at Disney because the service is just soooo good. I also thought that it was looking a bit tatty. IOA was lovely when new but there didn’t seem to be much done for upkeep. For example the carousel in the Dr Seuss area had chips in the paint of all the animals on it and the paintwork everywhere was looking dirty and was peeling off. I know I probably have a Disney bias!!!!!!!;)

So off we head and decide to stop at the Nike outlet to buy a friend some golf shoes. We notice next door is a surf shop so go in and come out with a pair of Oakley sunglasses each!! Whoops!!! We justified it by saying it was cheaper than at home - ahem!

Next door to there was a Golden Corral. DH not a fan but we were very hungry so went in. The food was actually quite nice but the highlight was a lady sitting at the table behind us on her own. We noticed that she was filling her bag with things from the buffet. She was taking bread rolls and filling them with cold meat and salad, wrapping them in serviettes and stuffing them in her bag. She also was putting in piles of cookies. We were giggling about it and DE wanted to know what we were laughing at so I told her which was a mistake as she is not subtle at all and kept staring at her at laughing. :rotfl: Some people have a real brass neck! (translation – doing something you shouldn’t be doing without getting embarrassed or showing any signs that you are up to no good!)

So we chuckled all the way home to start getting packed.

[jmskinner]

Thanks for the info on Universal. We haven't made it over there yet, but obviously I will have to research a lot before we do to get the best price. I want to go, but DS doesn't like rollercoasters.:confused3

:rotfl: That is too funny about the lady stealing the food. Can't believe management didn't catch her, or maybe they didn't care. Was she older?

Packing, what is your TR almost over???? Funny, we hate our own vacations to end, but hate others to end also.

[irky416]

We obviously had to do it with no fast passes. I know you can buy Universal Express passes but I refuse to do so as I think it’s a cheek to ask guests to pay for their fast passes when Disney gives them out for free.

This annoys me as well about Universal. Next time I go I think I will stay onsite for the Ultimate "Fast Pass"!

Anyway we park our car and then set about the 6 mile walk from the car park to the park! Slight exaggeration but with a 2 year old in tow and no stroller – we are going to rent one today – this was a long way in the heat.

It is far! I can't imagine doing it with a 2 year old and no stroller!

We go to the Falls and are there just in time to see DE and DH whizzing by down the big drop – looking very wet. A few minutes later they came running over – completely drenched. They both were soaked to the skin. Never mind – it’s a hot day so they will dry off in no time.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v704/RinkyTink/P1030734.jpg

Cute picture! That ride does get you soaked.

During one ride a little girl sitting near us refused to put her strap on. The lady who was working the ride told her 3 times before the ride started and she kept taking it off. During the ride she kept telling her to fasten it but she didn’t. When it stopped there was no line so we got another ride but the lady came over and asked the little girl to leave. She was about 10. Her dad was livid as he was a few lines back and didn’t see her do it. It’s the first time I have seen a child being asked to leave a ride!!! Good on the lady though. Her job would have been on the line if anything had happened.

Glad your DD enjoyed the carousel! I can't believe the girl got kicked off the ride! Don't get me wrong - she deserved it, but I'm surprised they actually did it!

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So cute!!!

We have since let her watch ET and it was a mistake. She sat and watched it all the way through then at the end she burst into tears and wouldn’t stop. She was distraught because they would never see each other again. She is quite sensitive but I didn’t expect this reaction. Ooops!

Oh no!

When we moved away she started crying as she wanted to see Dora!!! So we got in line again and the same thing happened. So we are in the line for the 3rd (yes 3rd!) time and thankfully DH appeared so I got in the pic too and she was happy with that. So it was 3rd time lucky.

Wow, you're patient! I'm glad she decided to finally get her picture. I guess the third time really is the charm! :rotfl: (Do they have that expression in Scotland?)

So not a bad day but I really don’t rate these parks. Maybe its because I am not a fan of big fast rides or maybe its because I have a 2 year old to entertain in a park ( or 2 parks) which in the main are aimed at older teens and adults with a token small kid area. The service is terrible compared to Disney – but again maybe you get spoiled at Disney because the service is just soooo good. I also thought that it was looking a bit tatty. IOA was lovely when new but there didn’t seem to be much done for upkeep. For example the carousel in the Dr Seuss area had chips in the paint of all the animals on it and the paintwork everywhere was looking dirty and was peeling off. I know I probably have a Disney bias!!!!!!!;)

Sorry you didn't like Universal. Did your DH enjoy it? We loved it when we went. They have three of my favorite rides ever there and many more I really enjoyed. We thought it was a great park!

We notice next door is a surf shop so go in and come out with a pair of Oakley sunglasses each!! Whoops!!! We justified it by saying it was cheaper than at home - ahem!

:lmao:

Thanks for the info on Universal. We haven't made it over there yet, but obviously I will have to research a lot before we do to get the best price. I want to go, but DS doesn't like rollercoasters.:confused3

There's a lot more than just roller coasters! So many people think that's all that's there, but there's only like 4 big roller coasters. It's not like Cedar Point or Six Flags. There's a Universal section on the DIS that's very useful if you haven't found it yet. We loved it and can't wait to go back when they put in Harry Potter World! And Spiderman is the best ride ever! :thumbsup2

[snowbell]

I just came across your trip report and I am really enjoying it. Your children are adorable. You may have a different opionion of Universal when they are older.. I do agree it is not really for little ones.
i just got back from a vacation in Italy... I had the opposite shopping experience.. I could hardely afford a thing..:rotfl2:

[Ms Sleepy]

Hi

really enjoying reding you trippie, we will be going next June and was thinking of doing the Gala Dinner. But had read some reports that the food was bad not worth the money, you would definately recommend it by the looks of your report. Thought I might book the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique and then go or the gala dinner. What do you think?

[QUOTE=ScotsMinnie;26723328]
We all freshened up and got dressed to go to the Grand Floridian. Its tradition to do something really nice on the last night and it usually ends up at the MK! Tonight we have bookings for the Cinderella’s Gala Feast at the Grand Floridian. We parked at the GF and got there with time to spare. We got our pager and sat in the lobby to wait for it to light up. DE used DK’s wand to magic it into lighting up and eventually that worked!!! We got seated and not long after that the characters started to come out. I should also say that the food here was terrific. Last time I was here I had a urinary tract infection and had only just got the antibiotic so managed to eat nothing and spent the time in the toilet! So I was super glad to be eating the food!!!! The choice was great and we ordered the cups for the girls with the light up tinkerbell which they loved. I saw a woman with a cocktail with a flashing ice cube in it too late to have one myself (although I did find these in the World of Disney shop and brought some home!!).

The character there were Prince Charming (and very charming he was too!!), Cinderella (of course!), Lade Tremaine (very good at playing the part – I think she scared a lot of the men!), and the 2 step sisters (again very good at acting the part). The quality of the characters made it really quite special. The step sisters and Lady Tremaine bounced off each other constantly and I’ll never forget their “interesting” rendition of Sing Sweet Nightingale!!!!

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[ScotsMinnie]

Would totally recommend it. I thought it was pretty good value for money and really one of the best character dinners we have done.

Going tot he BBB first would be great. I would do the BBB as early as you can as then you get the whole day to enjoy it. My DDs hair did not last till the next day so if she had it done at night she would only have got a few hours out of it. I would do it during the day and then go to the Gala feast that night as it will still be perfect.

Found the menu for you form another site - DM me if you want the link.

Regulars include Cinderella, Prince Charming, Lady Tremaine,
Anastasia and Drizella
(some characters may only be in the lobby for photos).

4:30pm - 8:30pm

An All You Can Eat Character Meal

COST: $29.99/adults; Children 3-9 $14.99

Tax and gratuity extra
Non-Alcoholic, non-specialty Beverages INCLUDED in the price

Holiday Pricing May Apply During Specific Times of the Year

ALL Menu Items Subject to Change without Notice!

Starters - spring mixed greens, Caesar Salad, Dressings, Broccoli Salad with cashews, Greek salad, ambrosia, tomato mozzarella salad, macaroni salad, apple with port vinaigrette, peel and eat shrimp

Soups - cream of mushroom, tomato florentine, and chilled strawberry

Accompaniments - sweet potato and red bliss mashed potatoe, brown gravy, carrot and broccoli medley, sauteed squash with chives, niblet corn

Entrees - Chef's freshly prepared pasta, roasted prime rib of beef, mojo marinated turkey breast, salmon with a caper butter sauce, curry chicken with Israeli couscous, apple chutney stuffed pork loin with apple glaze, portobello raviolis with a pesto cream, mussels in ginger broth, salmon with a dill cream sauce, chicken marsala, cheese lasagna, Italian sausage with peppers, chorizo stuffed pork loin with mango barbeque sauce, vegetable egg rolls, mussels in tomato broth

Children's Corner - chicken nuggets, cheese and macaroni, mini corn dogs, pasta marinara, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, niblet corn, cheese pizza and fresh vegetables

Desserts - apple cobbler, bread pudding, brownies, key lime tarts, linzer torte, rice krispie treats, chocolate chip cookies, lemon cheesecake tart, Edy's Soft Serve Ice Cream

Hope that helps. It was lovely to jump on the monorail afterwards for the nighttime things at the MK. Makes a lovely end to the night.

[ScotsMinnie]

OK going to try to get this trip finished tonight!

Day 15

Big plans for today! We are going back to DHS to do the rides which we missed the first time and also we really want to see the new parade. We are not out really early but make it there in time to get reasonable fast passes for Toy Story Mania.

DH heads off to do Tower of Terror so the girls and I go off to catch High School Musical......................again!

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The weather was looking very very dull and rain was surely on the way. We had a great little look around and before we knew it it was time to meet DH and ride TSM. DE and I went in first and even with a fast pass waited at least 20 mins to get on. It was worth it though. It was such good fun and the 3D effect was great.

When we came off she rode again with DH. DK was so tired and hot and was at the point where she was too tired to sleep if you know what I mean. She gets a dummy (pacifier) at night only when she is in her cot but I was desperate and she was wailing for one so I set off to the Child care centre at the front of the park. To my delight they had some and it was the best $3 or so that I spent. She dropped off straight away - bliss!

We had lunch at the cafe near to Star Tours - can't remember what it was called and it was fine. It was getting close to time to get a spot for the parade and just as we were leaving the restaurant the rain started. And boy did it rain! We huddled in a doorway with everyone else and wished for it to go off. It didn't. there was an announcement that the parade was canceled. I was gutted.

De however loved the fact that it was raining and was the only loopy person out in it. She did at least make the other people in the doorway laugh with her singing in the rain outbursts!

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It did go off a little bit so we took DK back to the Playhouse Disney show. She loved this last time so DH stood at the back and got some of it on the camcorder for later use! It is a lovely little show and even DE was singing along.

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So we left and went back to the villa. Big days tomorrow and the next so kiddies in bed at a reasonable time and washing, ironing and general packing to be done.

Tomorrow - much excitement......................

[ScotsMinnie]

Our last full day. :sad1: :sad1:

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We really wanted to return to Animal Kingdom today so manage to get organised quite early. It looked quite busy but we have a plan so we go straight to Kali River Rapids. DH and DE ride this one while I take DK over to Kilimanjaro Safaris for a fast pass.

I love Asia - the theming is beautiful.

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I walk round that back path and stop in the clearing to look at the Tree of Life. I love that tree. It’s so beautiful with all the carvings. You see something different every time you look at it. The craftsmanship that must have gone into not just the trunk but also attaching all those leaves is amazing.

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By the time I get back they are done and are very wet. So it’s back to the safari ride (with me thinking I could have just met them there!). I show them the clearing and a cast member offers to take a group photo for us which was really kind.

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The safari as usual was great. I love the fact that every time I visit WDW and ride the safari the ostrich has laid her eggs in exactly the same spot and always lays the same number! Isn’t that strange? Not surprisingly we chase off the poachers and rescue Little Red.

Some pics along the way....

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I love this picture...

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Dinoland is calling as DE wants a last ride on Primeval Whirl which has proven to be one of her favourites this trip. DH takes her on (I hate spinning roller coaster type things!!!! – reminds me of the waltzers at fairgrounds!) and DK and I go relax.

At this stage clouds are staring to roll in. A decision is made to leave the park and get back to the villa and finish the packing. We have a great evening planned so want to be organised for going home tomorrow.

DK falls asleep on the way home so we pop her in her cot at the villa and DE settles down to watch a bit of the Suite Life of Zack and Cody. We had thought about a swim but the rain by this stage was lashing down. DH and I get to work sorting out all the bags and squeezing as much stuff in as we can. And boy do we have a lot of stuff! Some of the more unusual items are food related.

3 bottles of French dressing (you know the red coloured stuff)! We can’t get that at home and it’s delicious.
Numerous bags on goldfish crackers. Kids love them!
6 boxes of those kellogs jellies with Dora or princesses and thing on them. With 10 bags in each box this should last a long time!
Candy corn
Gummy bears
Lollies
And so on!!!!!

Now although we do get bad weather in Scotland its not spectacularly bad. We get lightening but its not very often and its not very impressive. So DE has been amazed by this lightening in the sky in Florida. The villa we are staying at backs on to a conservation area with a little lake. Imagine my surprise when DE comes running into the bedroom where DH and I are packing to inform us that a bit of lightening just fell in the lake! :scared1: That was too close for comfort! She settled back down by the TV and I was walking through the dining room when there was a huge crack and a weird flash. I can only imagine that lightening hit the house. The TV lost the signal and stayed that way till the next morning. Quite scary.:scared1: :scared1:

Even worse was that DH decided if this was to continue we were not going out in it. Now I had planned a great evening at the Magic Kingdom for our last night and there was no way a little (OK a lot) of rain and some pesky lightening was going to stop me. So defiantly I got showered and changed into a dress and did the same for the girls. So there the 3 of us were. In our dresses and sandals waiting to go out in the rain!!! He gave in and off we went with ponchos in hand!:rotfl:

When we got to the Magic Kingdom there was not a soul to be seen at the car park. Hence I got terribly lost and ended up in the disabled car park. I was not about to park there so I tried to get out and then got into a car park called the Diamond Lot or something. I parked there and still to this day have no idea what it is or who it is for. :rolleyes1 One thing I did know was that there was no trams to be seen. So DKL got in her buggy with the raincover so she was dry (except her sandals did stick out the bottom just a wee bit) and the other 3 of us put on our ponchos. Now DE and I had sandals on and the puddles we had to walk through covered our entire feet! V wet. It was very funny though – even DH could see the funny side by this time. He thought we had lost the plot! :rotfl: Every so often through the driving rain I could hear a wee voice from inside the dry raincover that her sandals were a bit wet! Cheek! She was the driest of everyone! :rotfl:

Onto a deserted monorail and off we went. Up Main Street – where most people were going home and to the Crystal palace about 15 mins early. I parked the stroller and covered it completely wit the raincover so it stayed nice and dry. We got our ponchos off and sat on the terrace. As we did the rain stopped and it dried up a bit.

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Dinner was lovely. DK was not too keen on the characters so we sat her at the window away from them. I got a nice hug from Tigger! The food here was great and we all enjoyed it. There was one small incident when little piglet came over and ruffled DKs hair! You would have thought he has tried to kill her the screaming was so bad. Piglet looked horrified!

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When we were done the ground had dried up and it was a lovely evening. The plan was to watch the parade and fireworks then head home. We had time to spare and so made our way towards fantasyland. You guessed it! DK could not go past the carousel so we had a go on that. I have to say it looked beautiful all lit up. It’s a small world was next (obviously) and then DE wanted to ride on Winnie the Pooh. It was getting close to parade time and DE wanted to ride some more so I took DK to see the parade and arranged to meet after wards. DK loved it as much as the first time. Its nice to see these things through fresh eyes. It is quite magical.

We met up and had a quick visit to the Candy store for some fudge and lollipops. Yum! Then we walked back to the monorail as we had decided to watch Wishes from the TTC to avoid the rush out of the park. We got a place by the barrier to the boat which was a great spot. A few people were also there with the same thoughts! The music is piped here so you get a good view of the show as a whole. DE also enjoyed it more as the bangs are not so intense. A boat did come in and people tried to stand at the other side of the barrier but were moved on by the boat captain.

A fabulous last night – and not dampened by the rain. I am so glad we went out anyway. You can’t let rain stop your fun at Disney!:rotfl:

At home both girls were out like a light. Oh, did I mention that although we are staying in a 4 bed villa we are all in the same room now Mum and Dad have gone. DE is in bed with us (good job it’s a big one) and DK is in her cot in the room too. Good use of the space eh?!!!

So it’s a few last things and the dirty clothes from today into the case and off to sleep. Sometimes at the end of a holiday you are ready to go home. We were not ready at all. We could easily stay another 2 weeks!


OK so nearly finished but not quite. Will do the last day tomorrow night!

[jmskinner]

On no, it's ending. So, did you get a pic of DK upset after Piglet ruffled her hair?

I love that pic by the tree of life that looks like an elephant coming out. I'll have to look for that next time we go.

I love French dressing also. I thought I was the only one that did. Too funny that you take some back with you, but I understand. Just moving from TX to FL, there is so much I miss that I can't get here.

I'm the same way, no way is some rain and lightning stopping me from going to the parks. At least most of the rides are indoors, including the lines. I'll have to try watching Wishes from the TTC sometime.

[irky416]

The picture of DE in the rain is so cute. She looks so happy! I can't wait to hear about the end of your trip!

And jmskinner, you two are not the only ones who like French dressing! It's my dressing of choice!

[ScotsMinnie]

Our last day – sob! :sad1: :sad1: We get up early and get the last few things packed into our many cases! 7 between the 4 of us!!!!! :rolleyes1 I point out that we could take another one and do have time for a bit more shopping but DH nearly fainted so I thought I would leave it at that! :rotfl: The girls said goodbye to every room and the pool of course (OK I did too!) while we got the car packed with all our stuff. We set off and reached the Virgin Atlantic check-in desk at Downtown Disney by about 9.10am. There was no line and so got the whole process done very quickly. :woohoo: So boarding cards in hand and free from our cases we head off for our last morning of fun at the Magic Kingdom. We were in the park at about 10 am and we all had one wish for our morning, Except DH – he didn’t mind what we did! My wish was Thunder Mountain so we got fast passes for that. We headed to Fantasyland and did Katie’s wishes (yup you guessed it) It’s a Small World and the Caroussel. :laughing: DE wanted to ride Peter Pans Flight as we had not had the chance to do that. I love that ride – its quite magical. On Thunder Mountain I managed to bash my elbow on the side of the ride vehicle and really hurt it. :sad1: It was a sharp pain and actually it took a couple of weeks to get totally better. Its great though – I love riding it with DE. We do a lot of screeching!

Of course we had to do It’s a Small World and the Carousel!!!!! DK will never get tired of these rides! Don’t think I have ever been on these rides so much as I have this holiday.

Something else we hadn’t done yet was see the castle forecourt show. We were just in time for it starting and girls loved it. DK was enthralled and of course was over the moon to see Aurora. It was a great show but the facial masks that some of the characters had on were just weird. D E thought that Donald was very funny in this show.

My girls and the castle.

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Love this one of Peter Pan!

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Now our tummies were calling and since this was probably the last meal we would have till the next day we decided to get some Hot Dogs at Caseys Corner. This was our first time here and it was delicious. But huge hot dogs – DE, DK and I shared one! :)

So now for the moment we were dreading. Time to go. DE’s lip started to wobble so I took her into the shop and bought one last charm for her little bracelet and we headed towards the exit.

At this point people would have thought we were the worst parents in the park as we were literally dragging 2 crying children out of the park. It was awful. :sad1: :sad1: DK was shouting that she wanted to see Aurora again. DE was so upset. She was begging to stay another day. It was so upsetting – she was nearly making me cry – I didn’t particularly want to go home either!!!! :sad: :sad:

We promised we would bring her back and that seemed to stop the wailing but not the tears. We asked if we could ride in the drivers cab in the monorail and we got on the next one that came. The driver was lovely and he really tried hard to cheer her up. He gave her monorail cards and a driver’s licence. It did work a little and by the time we got to the car she had calmed down a bit. I knew how she was feeling though. It is horrible to be leaving and going home. :sad: :sad:

The drive to the airport was pretty quick and we got the car checked in and through security. We changed in the departure lounge into our comfy clothes and packed our shorts and t-shirts away.

The flight was uneventful. The girls got a bit of sleep – I got none as usual. But 8 hours passed and we got to Gatwick with lots of time to spare for our connecting flight to Edinburgh. DK slept on this 1 hour flight and DE played her Nintendo DS and so I had an hour to start to devour my new book. “Westlife our story” which is an autobiography from my favourite band. :lovestruc I scoured the bookshop in the airport for it at Gatwick. It was heaven!:laughing:

At Edinburgh we got to the arrivals hall and Mum and Dad were waiting for us. Didn’t seem that long since we last saw them in Orlando. Bags came quite fast and soon we were on the way home. Got home by about 11-30am and decided to go for an hours sleep. Girls fell asleep straight away and the hour passed very quickly. A nice shower and freshen up and we were out the door for the 2nd birthday party of my best friends wee boy. :bday: It was a bit of a godsend as it meant that we didn’t fall asleep again. It was lovely to see everyone again and by the time we got home in the evening we were more than ready for our nights sleep.

So that’s us! Over. We all decided that it was the best holiday we have ever had. The girls have had a ball and seeing them enjoy it has been wonderful. We did at this stage say that we would return in 2011 giving us 3 years to save up. But since then we have booked flights for next June!!!!!! :woohoo: :woohoo: The planning starts again! 15 days this time and we will not be doing so many extras as we still plan to do a big trip in 2011. So if anyone is around for the 24th of June to the 10th of July – we might see you there!!! :tink:

[jmskinner]

I was almost in tears hearing about your girls crying when leaving. I wouldn't have thought you bad parents. I would have felt sorry for ya and the girls. That is great you got to ride up front in the monorail. I want to do that sometime.

I would love to catch you on your next trip.

Man, I really hate seeing TR end. Are you going to start a new PTR for the next trip?

[WDW Fan]

I really enjoyed your trip report. Your family is just adorable and I was so glad to read that you'll be returning the end of June next year. Hope you do a trip report for that trip too.:thumbsup2 Thanks for sharing your holiday with us.

[bob6sims]

Great trip report :cool1:

Your DDs are so cute princess: princess:

Enjoy planning for your next trip :dance3:

[irky416]

Great ending!

Have fun planning your next trip!

[Ms Sleepy]

:surfweb: Really enjoyed reading your trippie was filling up reading about the girls tears on leaving MK

[TPCShauna]

I've started reading but have not made it too far. Your girls are darling! The trip looks fun!