A MouseEars View of Grand Gatherings - Complete with Over 500 Photos!

[MouseEarsJenny]

I've added an index at the bottom of this post so that you don't have to read about the 80 times I changed my mind booking dining or making resort reservations or whatever. Unless that sort of thing interests you. But I warn you - if you only use the index, you'll miss out on all of Scott's snarky replies, and that's half the fun.

Here's the bare essentials:

Who:
6 adults
5 children

What:
Much needed vacation

Where:
1-3 Days Travel (Planes, Trains, and Automobiles)
7 Days Disney (at Coronado Springs Resort)
7 Days Universal/Wet n' Wild (at Westgate Vacation Villas)
1-3 More Days Travel (Planes, Trains, and Automobiles)

When:
July 2-20, 2009

Why:
Why not?

How:
Very, very carefully.

Index of Pre-Trip Report:
A Little More Detail on the "Who" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29525956&postcount=2) -In Which We Describe The People Going With Us
DH Checks In (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29596901&postcount=4) -In Which FlightlessDuck Gives His Viewpoint
Happy Dancin' - Booking Day (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29843842&postcount=9) -In Which We Describe Our First of Many Calls To Disney's Grand Gatherings Line
Can't Leave Yet - Might As Well Shop (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=29949366&postcount=11) -In Which MouseEarsJenny Shows Off Her Handmade Autograph Books
Steamboat Willie (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31025531&postcount=17) -In Which We Discover How Funny and Perverse Mickey Was
T-Shirts for Chef Mickey's (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31042555&postcount=19) -In Which We Make Patriotic T-Shirts (And Promptly Destroy One)
ADR Day (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31180989&postcount=21) -In Which Flightless Duck Recounts Our ADR Successes and Failures
Princess Party Doubles As Planning (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31472065&postcount=24) -In Which Our Nieces Get Princess Dresses For Akershus
Oh Happy Day! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31855657&postcount=27) -In Which We Pay Off The Trip And Buy Clothes And Cinderella's Ball Gown
Kairi Checks In (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32099670&postcount=28) -In Which Our Older Child Gets Jealous And Decides She Wants To Write A Trippie Too
Nicky Checks In (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32100044&postcount=29) -In Which Our Younger Child Follows Suit
Final Trip Details (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32451683&postcount=33) -In Which I Detail Our Final (No More Changes, Now I Mean It - Anybody Want a Peanut?) Itinerary

Trip Report
We're On Our Way! (Part One) (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32528470&postcount=34) -In Which Some of Our Party Leaves. And Comes Back. And Leaves Again (With Feeling!)
Riding The Rails (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32786941&postcount=36) - In Which We Experience The AutoTrain
Flightless Duck's POV (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32796060&postcount=38) - In Which DH Adds His Two Cents
Welcome Home (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32808364&postcount=40) - In Which We Check In to Coronado Springs
Food, Glorious Food! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32812086&postcount=42) - In Which We Discover the Joys of Wolfgang Puck Express
You Parked Where? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32829251&postcount=47) - In Which We Discover that CSR Rooms Are Beautiful, But Have No Self-Serve Luggage Carts
Eating with a Mouse or Fourth of July Fireworks? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=32886581&postcount=54) - In Which We Get The Best of Both Worlds
That's Why It's Called the MAGIC Kingdom (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33127851&postcount=60) - In Which Pixie Dust Triumphs Over Cranky
Give Me a Break (Not a Broken Toe) (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33129031&postcount=62) - In Which Nothing Stops Our Morning Fun
Here Comes The Sun (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33129282&postcount=63) - In Which We Soak Up the Sun at the Dig Site
'Ohana Means YUMMY, I Don't Care What Lilo Says (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33129996&postcount=64) - In Which We Stuff Ourselves Silly
Is it Tomorrow(land) Yet? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33130437&postcount=66) - In Which We Wrap Up A Long Day
Princess Overdose (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33193789&postcount=72) - In Which We Dine Royally
Pretty Froggy, I Make For You (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33268754&postcount=76) - In Which We Almost Make It Around The World Showcase - Next Time, For Sure!
Stop the Restaurant, I Wanna Throw Up (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33272308&postcount=78) - In Which We Learn Where NOT To Eat
Hooray for Hollywood! (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=33392620&postcount=80) - In Which We Survive Toy Story Rope Drop Mania
And The Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down... (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34859108&postcount=82) - In Which The Weather ALMOST Defeats Mickey
The Infamous "EPCOT Day" (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34861645&postcount=84) In Which We Develop A Bad Case of the Crankies
Happy Birthday To Me (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34890402&postcount=87) In Which We Have A Wonderful Magic Kingdom Morning
I Wish I May, I Wish I Might (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34903939&postcount=89) In Which All My Birthday Wishes Come True
Do We HAVE To Go To Animal Kingdom? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34931550&postcount=91) In Which We Drag Our Feet And Get Frozen Chai
Detour to Ireland (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34933385&postcount=93) In Which Scott and I Sneak Off To Raglan Road
Even MORE Magic Kingdom (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34939316&postcount=95) In Which We Go Back To MK One More Time
Just a Few More Minutes, Please (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34940177&postcount=97) In Which We Make Every Excuse Not to Switch to Universal
Why Are We In Florida, And Not At Disney World? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34941690&postcount=99) In Which We Do Not Like Universal Studios
Oh. That's Why People Like This Place (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34943303&postcount=101)In Which We DO Like Islands of Adventure
Searching For Seuss (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34943419&postcount=102) In Which We Seek The Perfect Picture
Transportation Blues (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34951741&postcount=106) In Which We Go Nowhere, Slowly
So What Else Is In Orlando? (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34957240&postcount=110) In Which We See Enough Of The Non-Disney Parts To Last Forever
Oh, The Places We'll Go (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34958510&postcount=112) In Which We Spend More Time With Dr. Seuss
Sneaking Back to Disney (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34959171&postcount=114) In Which We Go Back Where We Belong
Saying Goodbye...With Feeling (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34959995&postcount=116) In Which We Get Into A Restaurant Sans ADR And Leave While We're Ahead
Departure Day (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34960460&postcount=118) In Which We Leave
To Sum Up... (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=34960735&postcount=120) In Which I Babble A Bit More

[MouseEarsJenny]

First, let me introduce you to our crew. We've never actually vacationed together, so this should be an "adventure". :lmao: We do take lots of day trips as a family, though, and we're a pretty close-knit bunch, so I think it will work out. Especially since they're letting me be in charge of Disney. :rolleyes1

There are essentially three family units here. First, we have Grandma and Grandpa.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/GrandmaandGrandpaforTripReport.jpg

Grandpa has never been to Disney. Grandma has been a few times, but for one reason or another, she always misses the World Showcase, so that's a huge priority for her. They may skip the Universal half of the trip and head right to Clearwater to the home of some dear friends.

Next, my sister's family.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/BarryandCyndyForTripReport.jpg

Barry and Cyndy have been to Disney before, but have never stayed on property or eaten in a Disney restaurant. :scared1: They have a timeshare at Westgate and are responsible for the Universal half of our trip. They love Universal, and can't wait to show us around. (We've never been!)

They have three beautiful daughters:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/HannahForTripReport.jpg

Hannah, who will be 9, is a ride dare-devil. She will go on any coaster, any crazy spinning ride - she has no fear. She's our little rocker - the princesses won't interest her as much as the High School Musical stage show. (But since that show makes MY daughter break out into hives, it could get interesting!)

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/FaithForTripReport.jpg

Faith, who will be 4, will be all about the princesses. If it's pink, and sparkly, it's got her name on it. I don't know how she'll handle the dark rides, but she'll trip happily onto any brightly lit thrill ride provided she's tall enough.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/JuliForTripReport.jpg

Juli, who will be 2, is the party girl. If we're all happy, she'll be happy. She'll love parades, fireworks, and (obviously)confetti. If there's music, she'll be dancing to it.

Next comes our immediate family.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/ScottandJennForTripReport.jpg

Scott (who posts as Flightless Duck here) and I adore Disney. We would live there, if we could. We've never been to Universal, but I'm curious about it, and his attitude about it is improving. ;) We only have two problems standing in our way right now - we still have to finish paying for this trip, and we're working our butts off (literally) to lose weight before we leave, too. Those are the ONLY reasons we're glad we have six months until we go!

We have two kids, and we think they're pretty wonderful:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/KairiForTripReport.jpg

Kairi, age 12, is more hesitant than her cousin Hannah, but generally pretty daring. She's ridden most of the coasters, but won't ride Mission:Space. Why? In her words, "I don't want to die!" However, she's a girly girl to the bottom of her shoes, and will love every minute of princesses and sparkle. She works waaaaay too hard at home, and plays about 7 instruments at last count, so we want her to relax and stress less on this trip before she has to come home to band camp.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/NickForTripReport.jpg

Nicky, who will be 9, is a study in contradictions. He's a tough guy on the football field, and a complete wimp when it comes to thrill rides. He'll slide down a dark, enclosed 50' waterslide, but try to get him on Soarin' and he's shaking in his shoes. He fluctuates between the sweetest child you ever met to the grumpiest whiner that ever was (mostly dependent on his state of tired). As the only boy in our crew, he can sometimes feel a bit left out, but that's balanced by the fact that he and Hannah share an age and are both zany and energetic.

We're going to try to stay together a good chunk of the time, but as you can see, it's gonna be a tricky plan!

[MouseEarsJenny]

We've been debating our dining plans and trying to decide where we'd most like to eat on our trip. We'll be using the dining plan, primarily for convenience, although we think it might save us some money, too. Even if it doesn't, it's worth it to us to have so much pre-paid when we're travelling with such a large group.

Here's what we're thinking:

Day 1 - Chef Mickey's
We're not planning to even attempt a park, since our arrival day is the fourth of July. So we figure we can eat at Chef Mickey's to get the magic started - our nieces have never met the mouse! Then we'll probably ride the monorail and maybe find a spot to watch the electric water pageant.

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

Lunch: Cosmic Ray's
We might split up with our group for some lunches, but probably not today. We love Cosmic Ray's, especially if we can get seats near the band.

Dinner: Everything Pop
We think we'll opt not to use a table service tonight since everyone will be so eager to get back to the park for fun after our nap. Plus, that saves a table service for our last day.

Day 3 - Epcot (Future World)

Lunch: Sunshine Seasons
Scott is concerned about the crowds in the Land pavillion, and the fact that our touring plan will have us on the other side of Future World by this time, but Sunshine Seasons seems to have the most variety in kids meals, and since two of our little ones just miss the cut-off for adult menus, we're leaning toward eating here.

Dinner: Le Cellier
And this is why I'll have Scott's cooperation at lunch. ;) This is his primary stipulation for our trip. Yeah, we know it's not in Future World. But it's close-ish.

Day 4 - Animal Kingdom

Lunch: Flame Tree BBQ
I'll be eating chicken nuggets or PB&J here to give my son my plate of ribs! (Shhh... don't tell anyone - I didn't actually think the ribs were that great last time.)

Dinner: ?????????
We're still trying to figure this one out. Kind of thinking WCC, but Scott's not sure about the antics, and we will just have had ribs at lunch. Maybe 'Ohana, but I haven't heard nice things about the food lately. I really wanna go to Boma, but the extended family isn't keen on adventurous food.

Day 5 - Disney Studios

Lunch: Toy Story Pizza Planet
Gotta love the atmosphere. Plus the kids love the rice krispie Mickey Ears.

Dinner: Mama Melrose
We loved this on our first trip, thought it wasn't as good the second time, but will go back because we want the Fantasmic seats!!

Day 6 - Magic Kingdom - MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!

Lunch: El Pirata Y El Perico
I like Mexican. It's my birthday. So :P.

Dinner: Crystal Palace
I like Eeyore. It's my birthday. See a theme developing?

Day 7 - Epcot (World Showcase)

Lunch: Akershus Royal Banquet Hall Princess Lunch
Not overwhelmed by the menu, but we're travelling with four girls. And it's our last day. And Grandma REALLY wants a day in the World Showcase. (Which say what you will, isn't the most exciting place for kids.)

Of course, this is all subject to change, until 90 days out. Except LeCellier. And my birthday. And Chef Mickey's. :rolleyes:

[FlightlessDuck]

OK, some thoughts from the other half.

I'm really excited about going back. I'm always happiest on vacation, and this is the Happiest Place on Earth :). It's going to be exciting to share it with everyone. I sometimes worry that there are going to be personality clashes and that 11 people is a lot to handle, but I really shouldn't be borrowing trouble.

Dates: I really would have preferred going in June, but then Hannah would still be in school (how unfair would that be?). So we are going over the Fourth of July. Ugh.

Driving: I would have been happier flying, but with gas prices down so far now, I can't really justify the expense. This time we are going over two days (one stop over) instead of three. We plan on taking I-95 the whole way down. The last two time we drove, we avoided Washington. It will be an adventure.

The Resort: I've never had a problem with the "thin walls" at Pop, and the pools and the food are great, but I do feel like there is too many people. There is always the worry about the rumor that it's closing, but I figure the worst that will happen is that they will just upgrade us for free. :) Because of the expense, I will be happy to go here again, but next time I want to go to one of the moderates or maybe even the Polynesian.

Universal: Never been there. Interested in seeing what it is like. It's too bad that the Harry Potter section won't be open yet. I am also slightly sad that the Back to the Future ride was closed before I had a chance to ride it, but I'll go on The Simpsons, so that's OK.

Dining: Le Cellier and Chef's Mickeys are a must for me, I see them being staples of every WDW trip from now on. I'm not entirely happy with Akershus Royal Banquet Hall, but you win some, you lose some. I will probably find something I like, but I would rather have done Mexican or Asian food. I am pushing for having one day where the three families split up for dinner. Preferably somewhere in the middle of the trip. Cyndy likes the idea of going to WCC so the 11 of us don't stick out so much (and because the food looks good). And while the food does look tasty, I was hoping for one quiet dinner. Like Jenn says, we would like to try Boma. If we split up that day for dinner, everybody gets what they want.

[Villainess]

Oh, I love TR's and PTR's that are written by a husband/wife. It is great to read both sides!

About Universal: I did both US and IOA. I was bored w/ US, but did have fun at IOA, but I like rollercoasters. Their log flume ride is great and I was impressed with the Dr. Suess area. However, it isn't the same as Disney and I did miss the 'magic' of WDW. My last visit was in 2004, and no plans of going back anytime soon.

Sea World: Again last visit was in 2004, but we are spending 1 day there this trip so the kiddos can meet Shamu. I think they will enjoy it and I do like the sea lion and otter show so it will be fun to go back. For me, Sea World is a once every 4-5 year visit.

We've driven a few times to WDW, and take NJ Turnpike to I-95 straight down as well. Depending on the time of day we hit the DC area, we avoid it as well!

Looking forward to hearing more!

[MouseEarsJenny]

But getting the Disney Vacation DVD in the mail helps.

I was a bit disappointed, though. I'm immensely fond of the planning DVDs, but this one wasn't quite as good as some of the past offerings. The whole "frolicking in the clouds telling your dreams" theme was a bit cheesy to me.

Still, seeing all those colorful and familiar icons and attractions was great. So, in honor of the planning DVD, here's our current plan for exploring the Magic Kingdom. We have two days there, so the first day will be dedicated to hitting Fantasyland early, and the next will be for tackling the mountains. DH and DD are bummed about Space Mountain, but I'm more bummed about TTA. There's rumors that TTA may run periodically, so I'll just hope for the best.

By the way, yes we DO plan our touring strategy 6 months in advance. It gives us a great excuse to debate our favorite rides.

On our first MK day, we're planning to:
Arrive at opening.
Hit Fantasyland and cover the bases - Dumbo, Pooh, Peter Pan, IASW, and especially Philharmagic.
Then we'll head over to HM, POTC, Jungle Cruise, and the Country Bears, maybe using FP for Jungle Cruise if the line is nasty.
Last, we'll walk to Tomorrowland to eat at Cosmic Ray's and pick up a FP for Buzz for later on.
Hopefully, we'll be able to convince the rest of the family to go back to Pop with us for a nap or swim. We won't plan on heading back until early evening. Then, we'll hit the attractions still open in Tomorrowland (grumble), particularly when the parade empties the place out, and call it a night.

Our second MK day will have us splitting up in the morning because Grandma, maybe Grandpa, and the younger kids won't be able to handle Splash and BTMR. So we'll probably send them to the Hall of Presidents and Tom Sawyer's island. Then we'll hit anything we missed the first day, or go back to things we particularly liked, ending up in Toontown Fair for the little ones.
After lunch, we'll nap and such again, and make our way back for my birthday dinner at Crystal Palace. From there, Spectro and Wishes and the long line for buses at closing. I have to figure out the best spot to plant a group of 11 to watch Spectro that will let us get over to the castle to see Tink fly over. Wish me luck.

Of course, all bets are off if we get picked as Magic Kingdom Family of the Day again!:rotfl:

[MouseEarsJenny]

Oh, I love TR's and PTR's that are written by a husband/wife. It is great to read both sides!

Well, dh will definitely give his perspective. Even though he's probably wrong. ;)

About Universal: I did both US and IOA. I was bored w/ US, but did have fun at IOA, but I like rollercoasters. Their log flume ride is great and I was impressed with the Dr. Suess area. However, it isn't the same as Disney and I did miss the 'magic' of WDW. My last visit was in 2004, and no plans of going back anytime soon.

That's what I'm a little worried about. We HAVE an amusement park five minutes from our house. My kids won't even bother riding the rides there anymore because they're bored with them. (But they do use the waterpark part all summer!) Disney is different because of the 'magic' and I'm hoping that Universal is more than just thrill rides. It does sound that way from what I've heard, so I'll keep an open mind and encourage the rest of my family to do so as well!

Sea World: Again last visit was in 2004, but we are spending 1 day there this trip so the kiddos can meet Shamu. I think they will enjoy it and I do like the sea lion and otter show so it will be fun to go back. For me, Sea World is a once every 4-5 year visit.

I think our family will LOVE SeaWorld. We have annual passes to our local zoo and go to aquariums nearly every vacation. We'll just have to remember LOTS of sunscreen with all that water in the July sun!

We've driven a few times to WDW, and take NJ Turnpike to I-95 straight down as well. Depending on the time of day we hit the DC area, we avoid it as well!

Well, we used to take a really LOOOOOOOONG way around where we'd go west all the way to Harrisburg and then follow (I think) I-64 south through the mountains of Virginia (which does have the benefit of being really pretty). It adds HOURS to the trip, though. We always thought it was a fair trade off to avoid DC, but I think if we time it right, we could lose those miles and hours without hitting traffic. Famous last words, right?

Looking forward to hearing more!

Thanks!

[FlightlessDuck]

On our first MK day, we're planning to:

mourn the loss of Space Mountain. I am really disappointed this is going to be closed most of 2009. The funny thing is that the 2009 Disney DVD doesn't say a single thing about Space Mountain. It's as if it doesn't exist. :(

However, Pirates was getting refurbed the last time we were at MK, so I'm glad we will be able to ride that this time. pirate: And I can't wait to see the new stuff in Haunted Mansion.

On our second day, I am still deciding whether I will be going with the Adventurous Group or the Wimp Brigade. I think I might like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, but I'm still iffy on it. And I did not enjoy Splash Mountain in 2002, but I think I might like to try it again. I do love the Hall of Presidents, and we haven't gotten there either time we have gone as a family.

[MouseEarsJenny]

Had a very exciting hour on the phone this morning - FINALLY got our gathering actually booked. I've been trying to make absolutely sure that everything was in place and I had everyone's information before I made the big call. Of course, I didn't realize the call would be quite THAT big - goodbye 58 cell minutes!

After navigating the automatic system for a bit, I was put on hold to the soundtrack to Haunted Mansion which eventually dissolved into static. Last time I called Disney (3 years ago) it did the same thing. How can a company so high tech not be able to handle hold music? :confused3

Anyway, I finally got through to a wonderful CM named Harriet. She told me we needed a name for our grand gathering, which I had known, but forgot about until she asked for one. I completely blanked, and tried to remember the cheesy "four princesses and a pirate" idea we had planned on using. Since my mom, my sister and I have all married since we shared a name, just using a last name didn't really work. Harriet suggested "Fourth of July Celebration" since we were arriving on the Fourth and I decided to go with that. I've always loved the Fourth!

She explained about needing three reservation numbers rather than just one because "not only is Disney the happiest place on Earth, we try to be the safest place on Earth, so in keeping with Homeland Security guidelines..." Long story short, I have lots of numbers to remember!

It was very funny though - I asked if I would still be able to access all of the reservations since I was paying for them all. She said "Frankly, Disney will take anyone's money. If you want to give them money, they're not going to say no." :joker:

Then we got down to the serious business of data, data, data. She went through the whole cancellation policy with me, explaining that upgrades never cost change fees, so if I won Powerball and decided to put everyone in the Vice-Presidential Suite at Grand Floridian, that would be fine. Unless of course, it was 6 days before the trip, and then there would be a fee for expressing me the new paperwork. But she figured that if I won Powerball, that $10 fee wouldn't bother me. I did tell her it was my birthday, because she asked. She also noted that it was Gordi's first trip. She told me all about the celebrations and explained that almost ANYTHING could be a celebration. They are really encouraging people to list things to celebrate! She also said she noted on our reservation that Scott loves Le Cellier. Which seemed a weird thing to note, but it's true, so whatever!

While all the ressies and credit card stuff processed, she walked me through the grand gatherings experiences. I was SOOOOO tempted by the Safari Celebration, but I knew Scott would kill me if I messed with his dining list without asking! However, when she got to describing the Magical Fireworks Voyage (which is out of pocket) and then said that she had availability for all the experiences while we were there, I caved. (I am an EASY mark for salespeople!) Seriously, though - she wasn't pressuring me at all, I just loved the way it sounded. And when she said it was available Saturday nights, leaving from the Contemporary, and that it went past the Electric Water Parade and included pirates and Peter Pan....

Okay, so let's get to the point - WE'RE TAKING A FIREWORKS CRUISE ON THE FOURTH OF JULY!!!! How perfect is that??? Dinner at Chef Mickey's, pirate-themed cruise, fireworks over the castle with no mob leaving the gates...

Yes, I know. We're supposed to go to bed EARLY so we can hit the Magic Kingdom EARLY.

We'll have to think about that schedule. Yes, indeed we will.

Anyway, after adding :crazy2: $500 to our package, we wrapped up the call. She was excited that she had come up with the name for our "Fourth of July Celebration" and now we were going to be celebrating the Fourth in style. She said it had been "absolutely delightful" to help me today. I know they are supposed to be really polite. I know it's in their job descriptions. But Harriet in grand gatherings is an absolute doll, and she fills that job description to a T. It made my ENTIRE day to get a dose of pixie dust without the 16 hour trip.

Who knew I could be so happy to spend $8000???

[Villainess]

Woo Hoo! Glad you have it booked! Oh, in past 4th of July trips, they usually have a 'dry run' of the 4th fireworks on July 3rd so if you want to view in in park and then on water, I'd recommend that!

If you can plan to avoid driving through the DC metro area between 4 - 7pm you should be fine with traffic.

[MouseEarsJenny]

Picked up some fun things at Michael's last night for the trip. First, I found this bin full of Disney Princess/Fairy stuff for $1.

I got all of the little girls a lanyard:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/Lanyard.jpg

And a notebook for their road trip buckets:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/Notebook.jpg

Course, now I gotta find something similar in pirates or Star Wars or Mickey for Nick.

I don't intend for the girls to carry their own KTTW/Fastpasses, but I thought if I got pouches for the lanyards, they could keep their Disney gift cards for souvenirs in there. I might tear them apart and sew velcro on them to make them break-away. It would be easier to steal that way, but they won't get hung up on something and choke to death, either! (I'm thinking that's the more important consideration!) My two got gift cards for Christmas from a very sweet co-worker of Scott's. The other girls are getting them for their spring birthdays. (shh)

Then I found these star shaped chipboard albums for $1.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/BoardBook.jpg

I decided they would make perfect autograph books. Today, I have a snow day, so I created the first one:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/AutographBook.jpg

I had planned to make one for each child, but I wasn't sure five stars would be enough space for the number of character dinners we have planned. Also, it occured to me that other visitors would be HATING us if we took the time to have each character sign five autograph books! So I decided to make two books, each with half of the stars I bought. That way, my kids and my sister's kids can each have a book.

I just hope they'll be big enough for the characters to sign. They're about 5-6 inches across. We actually NEVER bothered with autographs - didn't even tell the kids you could get them. But last trip, one of the prizes the kids got when we were chosen as family of the day was an autograph book and pen. And once they got started, that was the end of that!

[MouseEarsJenny]

I have been on edge since I heard they were extending the 4/3 deal through August 15th. I'm thinking the 4th is likely to be a blackout date, but I just cannot wait until Monday to call and find out. Getting an extra day and an upgrade to Coronado Springs if this deal works out is just too darn exciting!!!!

*breathe*

Of course, then we'll have to change our WHOLE plan, but that just gives me something to do for the next four months. :rotfl:

[MouseEarsJenny]

I got my upgrade!!!!!!

Thanks to the 4/3 deal, and an additional $340, we now have 8 days and 7 nights at Coronado Springs!!!!!!

I'm so happy! :cool1:

Now I've got to plan all over again!

[MouseEarsJenny]

Okay, so just when I was getting a handle on the first plan through, I decided to completely re-plan. Ah well, gives me something to do.

Right now, we're mostly still in we've-got-to-pay-for-this mode. We've never had a trip price of this magnitude before, so we're having to tighten our budget and do some Ebaying of stuff we've MEANT to sell for years to finish up the trip funding. We're not worried - we just might have to lose some extras like park hoppers or the fireworks cruise if we screw up. But it's going to be much more fun planning for this trip after May 20th when it's all paid off.

Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure my best plan of attack for getting one of those gorgeous newly renovated rooms at CSR. I mean, have you SEEN these??

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/CSRRoom.jpg

Yowsa! Much better than the garish look the rooms had before. That was always my one qualm when I saw pictures of the resort. Clearly, they fixed that. But I SOOOOO want a renovated room for my stay. So I think I will try the faxing a request routine a few days before we arrive.

We also think we've fixed up our dining plans. I'm still not completely happy with them, but at the moment, here's the revised plan:

Saturday, July 4th
Arrive in Florida
Check In
Pick up Priority Seating Printout
Verify Hours of Operation
Explore Coronado Springs
Dinner at Chef Mickey’s
Magical Fireworks Voyage

Sunday, July 5th
Breakfast at Resort
Magic Kingdom
Lunch at Cosmic Ray’s
Nap, etc. at Resort
Dinner at Pepper Market
Magic Kingdom

Monday, July 6th
Breakfast at Resort
Epcot – Future World
Lunch at Sunshine Seasons
Nap, etc. at Resort
Epcot – Le Cellier Dinner

Tuesday, July 7th
Breakfast at Resort
Animal Kingdom
Lunch at Flame Tree Barbecue
Nap, etc. at Resort
Dinner at Whispering Canyon Café

Wednesday, July 8th
Breakfast at Resort
Disney Hollywood Studios
Lunch at Toy Story Pizza Planet
Nap, etc. at Resort
Disney Hollywood Studios – Mama Melrose Dinner
Fantasmic!

Thursday, July 9th
Breakfast at Resort
Magic Kingdom
Lunch at El Pirata Y El Perico
Nap, etc. at Resort
Dinner – Crystal Palace
Spectromagic
Wishes!

Friday, July 10th
Epcot – World Showcase
Lunch – Akershus Royal Banquet Hall
Dinner – World Showcase Counter Service

Saturday, July 11th
Check Out
Magic Kingdom
Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern

Of course, to be honest, I have no idea why I'm even posting that, since it's totally dependent on July hours and Fantasmic times, which will be published mere days before our 90 day mark. *sigh*

Meanwhile, the kids heard me mention "MFV" to Scott. I was trying to hide the fireworks voyage from them, and everyone else - for two reasons. One, if we have to drop it off the reservation to pay for the trip, I don't want anyone disappointed. Two, I'd like to have some surprises. Our last trip was a total surprise, and I enjoyed the magic of that. Anyway, so they heard me mention it, and decided it stood for "Magical Fairy Vincent". I have no idea where they come up with these things. So anyway, Magical Fairy Vincent has become a running gag in the house. I'll just blame anything Disney that goes wrong on him.

[MouseEarsJenny]

:cool1::banana::yay::woohoo::cheer2::dance3:

I think I'm really going bananas here. I've planned our itineraries, I've planned our dining (6 or 8 times), I even have a list of directions to myself for calling for ADRs two Sundays from now. (Reads something like "Book Chef Mickey's. If not available, try earlier. Try later. Try lunch. Try alternate dates x, y, and z. Try lunch on dates x, y, z. Book Le Cellier. If Chef Mickey's date is....) You get the idea.

Do you suppose there are psychiatrists for Disney-triggered OCD?

Now I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to obsess about the half of the vacation I'm not allowed to plan. I've been looking at reviews of my sister's timeshare, trying to figure out Universal's ticketing, worrying that the timeshare people will want Scott and I to listen to a pitch (which is SOOOO not happening)....

What I HAVEN'T done is made progress on my weight loss. *sigh* I'm going to have to break out my dreaded workout DVDs, that's all there is to it. If only I could DIS while I exercise. :confused3

I'm still looking for little Disney toys and games for the road, but am changing my mind about flying vs. driving every few minutes as rates change. Nick (8) is deathly afraid of flying, though, and it's not exactly my cup of tea either. Then you see headlines like the terrible one this week and think "what if?" :scared:

But man, 3 hours by plane - so tempting.

My sister has bought the most ADORABLE outfits for her girls for the Fourth of July. She always has the cutest clothes for them. We're not going to try and match everywhere because it would just be WAY too much hassle, but we are all going to wear red, white and blue on the Fourth. I figure that will look great in the group portrait at Chef Mickey's.

It's even more stressful waiting since we can't really spend much right now, as all our discretionary money is going right into the Disney fund. We did win the free Universal super bowl ticket, though, so that's cool!

So I guess, to sum up... at 100 days out... we're still waiting.

Man, I better not have to wait in any lines once we get there after all this! :rotfl2:

[FlightlessDuck]

I even have a list of directions to myself for calling for ADRs two Sundays from now. .


It's much harder planning for 11 than for 4. It is much more likely we won't be able to get the reservations we want. Especially in July. What a pain in the ***.


Now I'm getting to the point where I'm starting to obsess about the half of the vacation I'm not allowed to plan.


As far as I am concerned, I can spend that week on a couch with a good book. Anything after Disney is bonus. I haven't thought about it at all, except trying to convince people we should spend a day at Kennedy Space Center.


What I HAVEN'T done is made progress on my weight loss.


I like to eat more than I like to exercise. :guilty:


We're not going to try and match everywhere because it would just be WAY too much hassle, but we are all going to wear red, white and blue on the Fourth. I figure that will look great in the group portrait at Chef Mickey's.

:rolleyes: Yes, dear.

Seriously, though, I am getting anxious about getting this all together. I really need this vacation, and spending it with the extended family is going to be awesome, even if it's more of a fiasco to get everything figured out.

Jenn and I have been talking about taking an evening together at Raglan Road, even during the week we are at the timeshare and going to Universal. It's not a place I think half of the family would be interested in (even though our kids would want to go), so it will be a nice way of just taking a few hours for the two of us.

[MouseEarsJenny]

Going to go for a daily dose of Disney in one form or another for the next 99 days. I wanted to rewatch all of the Disney animated movies, in order, before the trip. When I was putting them all on Netflix, I noticed a DVD of "Vintage Mickey" that included Steamboat Willie, Plane Crazy, and 7 other early Mickey cartoons. I blush to admit I had never in my memory watched all of Steamboat Willie, and I didn't really remember which early Mickey 'toons I'd seen, so I threw that on as the first Disney movie for the list.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/200px-Steamboat-willie-title2.jpg

Can I just say, WOW. That was so totally NOT what I was expecting! :rotfl: We were all laughing our rear ends off at how unexpected and snarky the cartoons were. By the time Minnie parachuted out of the plane using her underwear for a parachute, we were about dying. And that Mickey is FRESH, lol.

Nick especially loved it. Just watching him watch the cartoon was funny - and he giggled steadily through all nine cartoons.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/NickyLaughingatMickey.jpg

It was a trip. If you haven't rented or bought this DVD, I highly recommend it!

[FlightlessDuck]

The weirdest part for me of the vintage Mickey cartoons was that it seemed in every single one of them, Minnie somehow ended up getting hooked by her underwear. Walt was such a perv.

[MouseEarsJenny]

The kids and I made these t-shirts tonight for them to wear at Chef Mickey's. It's harder to find cute Disney clothes for my kids than for their younger cousins, so I thought it would be a fun dose of Disney to make our own.

First, we taped off stripes and "stars".

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/SettingUpStencilForNick.jpg

Then, we used spray-on fabric paints.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/SprayPaintingKaisShirt.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/SprayPaintingNicksShirt.jpg

Peel off the tape and Mickey punches, and voila! Two patriotic Disney-fied t-shirts!

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/NicksShirt.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/KaisShirt.jpg

Ain't she sweet?
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/KaiinShirt.jpg

We won't talk about the relative sweetness of my son, who decided to splash steak sauce from his dinner over his newly finished shirt drying on the table nearby. Serves me right for doubling the dining room as my craft area, I guess, but :headache:. Guess we'll be REcreating his shirt soon.

[MouseEarsJenny]

It's the day after my son's birthday, we don't have to be to church until 9, and here I am, up and dressed at 6:30. Why? You guessed it, it's ADR Day!

:surfweb:

We've changed and tweaked and argued and changed and waited and changed. We better have it right now, cause in 29 minutes, I'm calling Disney.

Planning a vacation isn't supposed to be stressful! :confused:

[FlightlessDuck]

Well, things didn't quite work out the way we wanted.

We had to chose between Chef Mickey's at 7:50PM on our first day OR the Magical Fireworks Voyage. At first, Jenny decided to book Chef Mickey's on the 5th, and 'Ohana on the 4th, but called back and switched it. So now we don't have the fireworks voyage, but, whatever.

We also had to flip-flop our Epcot days, but in the end, we did get all the reservations we wanted (although we have one dinner at 3:50...)

This new 90 day thing is a pain in the keister.

So, NOW, our reservations are:

July 4 Chef Mickey’s 7:50
July 5 'Ohana 5:10
July 6 Akershus Royal Banquet Hall 12:10
July 6 Garden Grill 5:55
July 7 Mama Melrose 3:50
July 8 Le Cellier 4:30
July 9 Crystal Palace 4:35

:dance3:

[MouseEarsJenny]

I posted this on Theme Parks Attractions and Strategies tonight for some advice, but I thought I'd post it here as well, so that when I write my trip report, I can compare theory and practice.

Here's our touring plan, as of now:

July 4th
Arrival at Coronado Springs Resort
Resort Recreation/Pools
Dinner at Chef Mickey's (7:50)

July 5th
Magic Kingdom
Arrive before rope drop.
Ride Dumbo the Flying Elephant.
Ride The Many Adventure of Winnie the Pooh.
Ride Peter Pan’s Flight.
Ride It’s a Small World.
See Mickey’s Philharmagic.
Ride The Haunted Mansion.
Fastpass the Jungle Cruise.
Ride Pirates.
See the Country Bear Jamboree.
Ride Jungle Cruise.
Lunch at Cosmic Ray’s.
Nap and Swim.
Dinner at ‘Ohana (5:10)
Return to Magic Kingdom by monorail.
Get Fastpass for Buzz Lightyear.
Ride the Carousel of Progress.
See the Laugh Floor Comedy Club.
Ride Buzz Lightyear.
Everyone except Grandparents and 2 and 4 year old: Ride Stitch.
Grandparents and 2 and 4 year old: Explore Tomorrowland.
Return to CSR for the night, preferably before the fireworks.

July 6th
Epcot World Showcase
(The entertainment schedule will be important here, I know...)
Arrive at World Showcase opening time.
Ride Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico.
Everyone but Grandparents and two year old: Ride Maelstrom in Norway.
Grandparents and two year old: Explore Norway. (Assuming the 3 year old age restriction for this ride I found was accurate.)
Lunch at Princess Storybook Dining at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall (12:10)
View Reflections of China.
Explore Germany.
Explore Italy.
View The American Adventure.
Explore Japan.
Explore Morocco.
View Impressions De France.
Explore United Kingdom.
View O Canada.
Dinner At Garden Grill (5:55)
Return to CSR for the night.


July 7th
Disney Hollywood Studios
Ride Toy Story Mania.
Everyone but Grandparents and 2 and 4 year olds: Fastpass Rock and Roller Coaster.
Ride Tower of Terror
Return for Fastpassed RnRC.
Grandparents and 2 and 4 year olds: See Playhouse Disney Live!
Together again:Get Fastpasses for Voyage of the Little Mermaid, if available.
Ride The Great Movie Ride.
Participate in Animation Academy.
Watch Voyage of the Little Mermaid.
Lunch at Starring Rolls.
Nap and Swim
Get Fastpass for Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular, if available.
Dinner at Mama Melrose (Fantasmic Package). (3:50)
See Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular.
Ride Star Tours.
See MuppetVision 3D.
Fantasmic!
Return to CSR for the night.

July 8th
Epcot Future World
Ride Soarin’ (using Baby Swap for two youngest).
Three Daredevils: Ride Mission: Space
Ride Test Track
The Rest of Us: Ride Living with the Land (and Circle of Life if time)
Together again:Ride The Seas with Nemo and Friends.
Explore The Seas.
Ride Journey into Imagination with Figment
Experience Club Cool
Ride Spaceship Earth
Ride Ellen’s Universe of Energy
Lunch at Sunshine Seasons.
Nap and Swim.
Dinner at LeCellier (4:30)
Explore Innoventions
Finish missed attractions from morning.
Return to CSR for night.

July 9th
Magic Kingdom (My BIRTHDAY!)
Everyone but the Grandparents and 2 and 4 year olds:Ride Splash Mountain
Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Grandparents and 2 and 4 year olds:Ride Magic Carpets of Aladdin
Watch the Enchanted Tiki Birds
Together again:Experience the Hall of Presidents.
Visit missed attractions from Day One. (Cinderella’s Carousel, Snow White’s Scary Adventures, etc.)
Lunch at El Pirata Y El Perico (if it's open, of course).
Nap and Swim
Dinner at Crystal Palace (4:35)
See Spectromagic Parade
See Wishes
Return to CSR with the entire rest of the world on a very crowded bus.

July 10th – Animal Kingdom
MouseEarsJenny:Get Fastpasses for Expedition: Everest
Everyone but Mouse Ears Jenny:Ride Triceratop Spin
Daredevils (until MEJ returns):Ride Primeval Whirl
Chickens:Explore Boneyard
Everyone but Grandparents and 2 and 4 year olds:Ride Dinosaur.
Grandparents and 2 and 4 year olds:Explore Boneyard.
Together again:See Finding Nemo: The Musical.
Everyone but Grandparents and 2 and 4 year olds:Ride Kali River Rapids
Grandparents and 2 and 4 year olds:See Flights of Wonder.
Everyone but Grandparents and 2 and 4 year olds and a certain 9 year old:Ride Expedition: Everest.
Grandparents and 2 and 4 year olds and a certain 9 year old:Explore Maharajah Jungle Trek.
Together again:Get Fastpasses for Kilamanjaro Safaris.
Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ.
Ride Wildlife Express Train to Conservation Station.
Explore Conservation Station.
Explore Pagani Forest Exploration Trail.
Ride Kilamanjaro Safaris.
See Festival of the Lion King.
Return to CSR.
Dinner at Pepper Market

July 11th
Magic Kingdom
Check out of CSR
Revisit favorite attractions.
Visit Mickey’s Toontown Fair Attractions.
Do whatever.
Check into sister's timeshare.

July 12th - 18th
Universal/Orlando
Not my job to plan, but I do have three extra days on my Disney park tickets, just in case...

I'm finishing up my last major school break before summer tonight. We're coming into the home stretch!!

[fayt19]

Hi! I've been lurking this lovely pre-trip report and thought I should just say hi. I love how your family's preparing by watching Disney DVD's and making special shirts and such. I hope my family(although with older kids) can get that excited about the trip we're hopefully taking next year. I think your family is so cute, and I read your other trip report, and was sad when it was unfinished. Looking forward to reading this one! Oh, and may I also say, your scrapbook for your last trip was AWESOME!

So, anywho, looking forward to reading more. :)

[MouseEarsJenny]

Hi! I've been lurking this lovely pre-trip report and thought I should just say hi. I love how your family's preparing by watching Disney DVD's and making special shirts and such. I hope my family(although with older kids) can get that excited about the trip we're hopefully taking next year. I think your family is so cute, and I read your other trip report, and was sad when it was unfinished. Looking forward to reading this one! Oh, and may I also say, your scrapbook for your last trip was AWESOME!

So, anywho, looking forward to reading more. :)

Thanks! :goodvibes I'm glad you're enjoying it! We actually lost our uncle and inherited his house (which was in need of SERIOUS remodelling) right in the middle of our last trip report and never got back to it until it seemed too late to finish. So barring catastrophe, this trippie should get finished.

Back to this trip, my nieces had a fabulous combined birthday party this past weekend. They were born in March, April and May, so we celebrated all of their birthdays together.

The party theme was princesses, of course. What else in a Disney plan year? My sister made them a great castle cake:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/HPIM8311.jpg

Best of all, they all got princess outfits to wear on the trip - and new suitcases, too. We got them the ever popular Disney gift card. I guess they'll still be celebrating their birthdays when we get there!

Here's Hannah as Jasmine and Faith as Aurora:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/HPIM8337.jpg

And here's Juli as Belle (still clutching her Disney card):
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/HPIM8348.jpg

And here's the problem. Now, my 12 year old daughter, who I thought was too old for this stuff, wants a Cinderella dress. Can you blame her? Would you want to be the only girl child not in lace and sparkles? But WHERE am I going to find the right size costume, I ask you...

At least I can count on Nicky to wear regular clothes! :rotfl:

[FlightlessDuck]

At least I can count on Nicky to wear regular clothes! :rotfl:

You mean Nicky ISN'T going to dress like Stitch? :stitch:

[MouseEarsJenny]

WOOHOO!!! I have officially paid off one of the three reservations we have booked! :cool1:

Our bank has seizures if we try to pay huge bills all at once, so I'll be sending in payments over the next two weeks in increments of $500 to get the other two paid off. But having one paid off makes it feel so much closer to Disney!!

Also, we spent some time last night with Barry (BIL) looking at their villa at Westgate. I've heard some not nice things about Westgate on here, but since they're already owners, we figure there can't be too much sales pitch, and the floor plan looks pretty nice:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/WestgateResortVilla.jpg

That part of our vacation makes me a bit nervous, but I'm sure it will be great! (And if not, I have 3 extra days on my Disney pass and can sneak back in...)

[MouseEarsJenny]

:yay::dance3::cheer2::cool1::banana::woohoo::yay:

Our reservations are paid off!

So how do you celebrate spending all that money? Spend more money! :confused3 After Kairi's piano recital, we headed to the Disney Store to pick up some clothes for the trip.

Nicky got some t-shirts, goggles, and a Ferb plush he couldn't live without. Sorry about the pizza sauce on his face, and his *ahem* unique expressions. He's nine. He's a boy. 'Nuff said.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/NickyFabFour.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/NickyMickeyPool.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/NickyPhineasandFerb.jpg

Kairi discovered she could still fit in a 10/12 with the right motivation. Turns out the right motivation is matching her cousins in all their princess finery. We decided to forgo the tiara after looking at the pictures, though - it looks much cuter with the more authentic headband.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/KairiCinderella2.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/KairiCinderella.jpg

IS IT TIME YET???

I don't remember if I posted this before, but we're probably taking the auto train to Disney. We watched Dumbo tonight (Yes, we've only accomplished Steamboat Willie, Snow White, Pinocchio, Fantasia and Dumbo in our line up of Disney movies so far - we got stuck on Snow White because it's "in the vault" :mad:) and anyway, the kids got really nervous about the train when Casey Jr. was trying to get up the mountain. Fortunately, their mom is a bit smaller than Mrs. Jumbo! That movie is much shorter than I remember, though.

As you can see, I don't really have anything to say... I just need to babble Disney cause I CAN'T WAIT! :woohoo:

[Kermit4President]

Hi. I'm Kairi and I'm the 12 yr old in the family. I joined DISboard to tell you about our upcoming vacation. (I had to use big vocabulary in my essay today, so now I'm being all formal.) :)

I can't wait for our trip because we're taking a lot of people. We get to go on a train (with continental breakfast!) which I've never done before. My favorite ride at WDW is Space Mountain so I'm unhappy that they have to work on it while I'm there. Not that they can change that. I'll be asking questions and stuff later but this is my first post! :cool1:

[DonaldDeDuck]

hi im nick i am 9 i rule. at wdw i want to go on toy story mania. i am going on a train this year [i am going to see a movie popcorn:: on the train].good thing there is a lot of rides because i hate rollercoasters.:scared1:

if i could pick the adrs i would go to chef Mickey's evry day.:hyper:

[MouseEarsJenny]

Okay, so here's what I have on my packing list. (I spared you the itemization of the clothes! :rotfl:)

What am I missing?

Advil
Allergy Meds
Bathing Suits
Batteries
Books
Brush/Comb/Hair Ties
Camera/Memory Cards
Cell Phone
Chargers (Phone/DS/iPod)
Clothing (See Detailed List)
Deodorant
Disney Binder
(2) DS and Games
Hats
Inhaler
iPods
Kleenex
Laundry Detergent
Nail Clippers/File
Notebook
Non-Perishable Grocery Items – Breakfast
Playing Cards
Scissors
Soap/Shampoo/Conditioner
Sunscreen
Toothbrushes/Paste
Trash Bags
Water Bottles
Wipes
Ziploc Bags

I'm happy to be so close to our vacation, but still nervous about SOMETHING going wrong. :sad2:

I'm now officially done with school, so I have nothing to do except obsess about Disney for the next 19 days, which may not be a good thing! (Okay, so technically, I have to work on Vacation Bible School, too, but I'm having this focus issue...)

Looking back over this thread, it's no wonder I have few readers - it reads like a laundry list of ADRs, park plans, and now packing lists! Not to mention, it's a laundry list that I keep changing. I promise, once we actually have trip to report on, it will get more interesting. I bought 4 gigs of memory to take pictures. :laughing:

An update on the second half of our vacation - we're going to Universal 3-4 days, we're going to Wet n' Wild 1 day, and we're probably going to the beach one day, although my BIL wants to go to Daytona which just doesn't appeal to me at all. Since I planned the heck out of our half and they didn't get much say, though, I can't fairly say boo to them about their plan!

Also, I'm still geeking out about the fact that we're riding the AutoTrain. That means our party is arriving by planes, trains, and automobiles, but oddly, we'll probably all get there at the same time, leaving on three different days. :woohoo:

How do you get through the last three weeks before vacation??!!

[Kermit4President]

This is my new Candace shirt for when I go to the Magic Kingdom and I can't go on Space Moutain because they are refurbing the ride. :mad: I got the shirt from zazzle and its really cool. :woohoo:

My mom will post it below because I don't have enough posts yet.

[MouseEarsJenny]

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/KairiCandaceShirt.jpg

[MouseEarsJenny]

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/DisneyBinder.jpg

Cause if they're not final now, they're never gonna be.

Our trip documents are printed, organized, and stashed in the binder above. If I mess with anything else, I'm gonna have to reprint. And since my kids have about 50 pages of Disney coloring pages saved to print before the trip, I think I'm done.

Anyway, enough with the babbling. Here's the final overview of our trip:

Wednesday, July 1st:

Grandparents Arrive At Our House

Thursday, July 2nd:

Grandma, Aunt Cyndy, Faith, and Juli Leave By Car For Disney

Friday, July 3rd:

Jenn, Scott, Kairi and Nicky Leave By Autotrain For Disney

Saturday, July 4th:

Grandpa, Uncle Barry, and Hannah Leave By Plane For Disney
Everyone Arrives At Disney
Check-In Coronado Springs Resort
Pool (Pepper Market Lunch) or Downtown Disney (Wolfgang Puck's Express Lunch)
Monorail Ride
Chef Mickey's Dinner

Sunday, July 5th:

Rope Drop at Magic Kingdom
Fantasyland, Haunted Mansion, Jungle Cruise, Pirates, Country Bears
Lunch at Cosmic Rays
Nap and Swim at CSR
Dinner at 'Ohana
Tomorrowland

Monday, July 6th:
Late Start at Epcot
Lunch at Akershus
World Showcase
Dinner at Garden Grill
Relax at CSR

Tuesday, July 7th:
Rope Drop at Disney Hollywood Studios
TSM, TOT, RnRC and etc.
Lunch at Starring Rolls
Nap and Swim at CSR (If time - we may have to skip this today.)
Dinner at Mama Melrose - Fantasmic! Package
More Rides
Fantasmic!

Wednesday, July 8th:
Rope Drop at Epcot
Future World
Lunch at Sunshine Seasons
Nap and Swim at CSR
Dinner at LeCellier
Future World

Thursday, July 9th - MY BIRTHDAY:
Rope Drop at EMH Magic Kingdom
Splash Mtn., BTMRR, and etc.
Lunch at ????
Nap and Swim at CSR
Dinner at Crystal Palace
Spectromagic
Wishes

Friday, July 10th:
Rope Drop at Animal Kingdom
E:E, Dinosaur, Safari, and etc.
Lunch at Flame Tree BBQ
Nap and Swim at CSR
Dinner at Pepper Market or Wolfgang Puck's Express (Depending on which we missed on the 4th)
Night Out at Raglan Road for Jenn and Scott

Saturday, July 11th:
Check-Out at CSR
Rope Drop at Magic Kingdom
Whatever Occurs
Check-In at Westgate Vacation Villas

Sunday, July 12th - Friday, July 17th
(I'm not sure about the exact days involved here cause this is NOT in my binder - it's my sister's half of the trip.)
4 Days Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure
1 Day Wet n' Wild
1 Day Beach

Eating at:
BB King's Restaurant and Blues Club
TGI Fridays
(And obviously others - those are the ones I know about for sure.)

Saturday, July 18th:
Check-Out at Westgate Vacation Villas
Everyone Leaves (Planes, Trains and Automobiles, in reverse)

So, after all that - hate to sound like I'm begging, but...

IS ANYBODY OUT THERE? :lmao:

[MouseEarsJenny]

The first group left first thing this morning. Grandma, Aunt Cyndy, and her two youngest girls are travelling by van (and taking most of the luggage). I think there would have been more room if it weren't for these giant rodents who stowed away, though:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/RoadTrip1.jpg

As you can see, one of them even tried to take over Juli's car seat:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/RoadTrip2.jpg

But we eventually got that sorted out:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/RoadTrip3.jpg

This is Aunt Cyndy, looking pretty chipper for someone who works nights. She's probably going to have the hardest adjustment to vacation time. She's also the one whose cell phone decided not to ring for incoming calls this morning, which will become important later:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/RoadTrip4.jpg

And here's Grandma, who is doing the driving this morning. After a dramatic farewell with everyone waving, and singing the Mickey Mouse song: "M-I-C-See ya real soon.... K-E-Y Why? Because we love you... M-O-U-S-EEEEEEEE - and we're outta here!" she took off down the road:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/RoadTrip5.jpg

And then we went inside and discovered her purse, with her cell phone, all her money, her travel documents, and pretty much everything essential sitting on our kitchen table. :headache:

We tried frantically to call Cyndy, but remember, her phone decided to stop working this morning. We were debating chasing after them, but had NO idea which direction they had gone. Fortunately, they discovered their mistake within fifteen minutes and turned around.

Today for us will involve kenneling the dog, finishing up some last minute packing, charging various devices, looking for an elusive pair of clip on sunglasses for Scott, and twiddling our thumbs impatiently. But, at least now that one part of our group has left, this is an official TRIP REPORT instead of a Pre-Trippie! :woohoo:

See you all on July 20th!

[FlightlessDuck]

And then we went inside and discovered her purse, with her cell phone, all her money, her travel documents, and pretty much everything essential sitting on our kitchen table. :headache:

Actually, first thing I did was call Grandma's cellphone. While I was holding her purse. And then I heard her ringtone and thought "huh, she left her cellphone too, I wonder where that is". Let's see... how about the purse! :rotfl2:

[MouseEarsJenny]

We're back! We took about 3 thousand photos (and got another 100 on PhotoPass. We had really GREAT moments and really NOT so great moments. We experienced about every transportation form known to man, but for the four people in my immediate family, our first form of transport was the AutoTrain, so that's where I'll start. Here goes!

"Railway terminals are our gates to the glorious and the unknown.Through them we pass out into adventure and sunshine, to them, alas! We return." - E.M. Foster

As a reminder, my mom and sister had left the day before with my two smallest nieces. My BIL, stepfather, and oldest niece were flying down the following day. Scott (dh), Kairi (dd), Nicky (ds), and I were all packed and ready to go, so as soon as we woke up, we jumped in the car and headed for the station. As the car pulled out of the driveway, it was 4:48 AM. Mom and Cyndy had called back with horror stories of the traffic around Washington, DC, so we didn't want to risk missing the train. (Which sounds pretty freaking ridiculous now, considering the latest we could turn in our car was 3:00, and we were only driving between southeast Pennsylvania and northern Virginia. Can you guess how EARLY we arrived??)

The kids were revving when we left, very excited about the trip. Scott asked them if they were ready for their very first train trip... to Chicago! Since Nicky and I are Packers fans, that was met with resounding boos and insults.

At 5:11, the sun rose. Yep. We got up before sunrise to leave on a four hour trip to a place we didn't need to be until 3:00 PM. What can I say - we were a bit excited. Around 6:30 we stopped for gas and breakfast in Dillsburg, MD. The kids were still happily playing with their DS's. According to Scott, the McDonald's in Dillsburg makes the single worst cup of coffee he has ever experienced. (No, we don't drink Disney coffee.)

By 7:30 we were starting to realize just how freaking early we were going to be. We considered taking a side trip to the Smithsonian, but since it was DC traffic we were worried about, we thought that might be stupid. Especially since we had NO IDEA how to get there. We did hit a smidgen of traffic near DC, but we were pulling into a mall across the street from the AutoTrain station by 9:00. We saw the train pulling into the station from Florida, and everyone thought that was pretty cool. We tried walking around the mall for entertainment, but it was mostly unopened food and service places, with no actual places to shop. Eventually, we got back in the car and wandered a bit farther, finding a Dollar Tree to browse around in. Scott found a book, Nicky and Kairi picked up goggles (Nick had bought some for the trip, but left them home), and Kai got a pair of sunglasses that Daddy teased her about. He said she looked like Audrey Hepburn in them. Tired of killing time, we went back to the supermarket in the mall across from the train and picked up some deli sandwiches. When we arrived at the station, we were STILL an hour early for the earliest check-in time, so we parked in the visitors lot. Here are some pictures of the station, which I thought was very nice.

The entire station used these art deco stylized palm trees as supports.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport2.jpg

The station is only used for the AutoTrain, I believe.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport1.jpg

There was a cute (but very little) playground area for the kids.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport3.jpg

The train was being cleaned and serviced. This is one of the cars. They are all double decker Superliner cars.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport4.jpg

There was a nice shaded area for parents to sit while their kids play. Scott went to the counter to ask if we could pick up our tickets yet, and they let him check in while I sat here and enjoyed the warm weather. (It has been very cold and rainy in Pennsylvania so far this summer.)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport5.jpg

This is the car loading and pick-up area.
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These are the actual car carriers that the cars would be loaded into - except that we were still too early.
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Finally, after we ate our sandwiches (decent, but nothing special - basic supermarket fare) it was time for Scott to get in the line of cars that was now waiting at the check-in booth. The kids grabbed their carry-ons from the car. (See what we mean about the Audrey Hepburn shades?)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport8.jpg

This police officer and his dog were on hand to sniff every car for explosives. But they didn't search the passengers, which seemed like weird security. Still, the dog was cute!
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport9.jpg

Once the car was checked in, the hours of waiting really started. We checked out the little gift shop. We used the restrooms (which were clean and fresh smelling, but I draw the line at pictures of bathrooms). We tried some limited edition Coconut M&Ms - yum. The station started to fill up a bit by noon. The kids colored, and killed time with their various toys.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport10.jpg

Around 2:30, they announced that boarding was delayed due to the late arrival of the supply truck. By this time, the station was nearly full of people. We were called back to the desk, and the ticketing official explained that a family had booked separately, but wanted to sit together, and would we please move and they would give us an extra seat? At the time, it sounded reasonable, although it ended up being not at all to our benefit. (And to be honest, I was pretty sure an extra seat wouldn't do us any good anyway.) We chatted for a few minutes with a nice lady from Jacksonville who overheard me asking Scott what good an extra seat was going to do us. She said it would give us room to stretch out and then we just talked trips for awhile. She was a veteran rider and got a kick out of how excited our kids were for their first trip. Finally, we boarded the train.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport11.jpg

We had four seats across from each other. The "extra" seat we were promised was behind us with a family of three, who had already spread their baggage over the four seats. Besides, unless one of us went back and slept next to a stranger so that another person had two seats to stretch out in, it wouldn't have made sense. Honestly, I really didn't care that we didn't get an extra- we paid for four seats, and that's what we got. But turns out we were now just about as far from the lounge and dining cars as we could possibly be, and our original seats were much closer. Oh well! The train started moving at 3:30, but the kids didn't even notice as they were playing on their cell and DS. When we pointed it out, neither even looked up - Kai just said "I know" and Nick grinned, never looking up from their electronics.

We saw some pretty scenery as the train headed out, but I don't like bridges in our car, so you can imagine how much I liked them in the train! When you look down on a train bridge, all you see is water.
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The girl behind us talked very loudly on her cell phone for the pre-dinner time, but we had luckily gotten the first seating, so that was only about an hour and a half. Another train went by at speed and wigged out those of us who were riding for the first time, but Scott just shrugged and said "Mmmhmmm."

The conductor announced that our train had 4 coach cars, 5 sleeper cars, 2 lounges, 2 dining cars, 1 crew car, 156 passengers in sleeper class, 244 in coach class, and 139 vehicles in 21 car carriers. The AutoTrain is the longest train that Amtrak runs.

Soon, it was time for dinner. We had plastic plates and cups, being in coach class, but they still had nice warm rolls and wine waiting for us when we arrived. (I didn't like the wine, but I'm not a wine fan anyway - still, I'd imagine it was very cheap as they were pouring pretty freely!)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport13.jpg

Every table had a menu with four choices. We could have Flat Iron Steak Bordelaise, Thai Curry Chicken, Lemon Pepper Cod, or Vegetable Lasagna. It was very fun and relaxing eating as the scenery whizzed by the train windows.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport14.jpg

I tried to take some pictures of our food, but being as the train was dark and moving and I didn't want to use flash and have our fellow passengers think I was weird, the pictures came out badly. Still, they give you a general idea.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport15.jpghttp://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport16.jpg
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Scott and Nick ordered the steak. They said it was good, but not really a steak at all - it tasted more like pot roast. I had the cod, which was nicely done. The vegetables were very good, although the rice was bland. Kairi had the vegetable lasagna, which she loved. (Although you should probably know that Scott and I had been living on Lean Cuisines for several weeks to try to ditch at least a little weight before the trip, so this food was a step up from frozen meals, but probably about the quality of diner food. Didn't bother us, but not gourmet, either.) Dessert was ice cream for Nick, cheesecake for Scott, and the "specialty dessert" for Kairi and I, which was described to us as a chocolate raspberry cake. It was more like a layered bar cookie of some type, but it was really delicious (and not just when compared to Lean Cuisines)! Jumping ahead in my trip report, we were told the specialty dessert on the trip home was a raspberry tart - but when we ordered that, we got this same dessert! Weird.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport19.jpg

After dinner, we headed to the lounge car for some pinochle. The evening's movie was Hotel for Dogs, which the kids had already seen, so we figured we'd just tune it out. As we sat down, we saw swimmers in whatever river this was waving at us, which delighted Nicky. He spent a lot of time looking for people to wave at out the window after that point. There were many cute things to be seen out the windows - I liked a little general store we flew by too fast to take a picture called "Squashapenny Junction".
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport20.jpg

The stairs down to the bathroom were sometimes hard to navigate on a moving train, and the bathrooms themselves were tiny. I prefered the one labelled "changing room" that had both a toilet and a tiny bench next to it for changing because it was twice the size of the other bathrooms.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport21.jpg

We went ahead and played pinochle, to the amusement of the passengers waiting for the next dinner seating. We got comments like "No gambling on this train!" and incredulous "You know how to play pinochle?" directed to the little ones. Nicky and I won the first game 118 to 80, and then trounced them 116 to negative 14 the next game! (It helped that we took all the tricks the first hand, they went back the second, and we won resoundingly on the third.) I'm surprised we won any at all though, because Nick was completely distracted by the movie the entire time and we had to keep telling him it was his turn!
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport22.jpg

We headed back to our seats and I took a few more pictures until the light went.
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Then came the long, sleepless night. The kids conked out happily curled in their chairs, but the seats Scott and I had were broken and the leg rests didn't stay up. We had to prop our feet on backpacks, and Scott gave me the seat where the leg rest at least held at halfway up. I reclined there quietly, and dozed a bit, I'm sure, but I kept feeling the train change speed, or hearing us ringing and blowing the whistle at the crossing. The swaying and rocking, especially when another train passed us, was very distracting. Finally, it was 5:30 AM and I headed down to brush my teeth and then woke the kids up for the earliest breakfast seating. Breakfast was continental and not bad, with warm corn muffins and bagels and cold cereal and fruit. I found out later there were danishes and blueberry muffins in the coach car, so that was a bit of a bummer since I would have preferred blueberry to corn.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport24.jpg

After breakfast, we played pinochle again, getting more comments on how we must be serious gamers, and did we play all night? Kai and Scott redeemed themselves 117 to 89. The train was running early, and we pulled into Sanford station about 8:00. We still didn't get off the train for an hour or more though, because it takes so long to break the train up. It's a much smaller station than Lorton, and they're constructing a new station, so it was a complete mess. Still, it was nice to finally see palm trees out the window!
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport25.jpg

We got off the train and waited what seemed a very long time for our car. We were definitely in the second half of the 100+ cars offloaded, but finally our car number was called and we were on our way.

Next Chapter: Welcome Home

[dismagiclover]

I just found your TR today and I really appreciate the Auto Train experience. I'm thinking about a solo drive down with my 3 kids next summer and have thought about this as an alternative. My biggest concern is will the kids sleep, but it sounds like yours slept just fine. (I know I could get a sleeper apartment, but that ups the cost.) So would you do this again? Looking forward to your report. Stop by my report when you get a chance. We were there a couple of weeks before you.

[FlightlessDuck]

According to Scott, the McDonald's in Dillsburg makes the single worst cup of coffee he has ever experienced. (No, we don't drink Disney coffee.)

OK, so technically I didn't have any Nescafe at Disney, but I probably should have, just to make sure I was right about this McDonalds.

Also, Dillsburg is actually in PA, not MD. Just south of Harrisburg. :)

We did hit a smidgen of traffic near DC, but we were pulling into a mall across the street from the AutoTrain station by 9:00.

You called that a "smidgen"???

Scott found a book,

It was a humor book by the "I'm a PC" guy. The cool thing was is that I saw this same book for full price at Barnes and Noble a few weeks earlier and was tempted to get it then, but ended up getting it for only $1. :dance3:

(I didn't like the wine, but I'm not a wine fan anyway - still, I'd imagine it was very cheap as they were pouring pretty freely!)

I'm not a fan of red wine, but learned on the train I like cheap white wine. :)


We went ahead and played pinochle, to the amusement of the passengers waiting for the next dinner seating. We got comments like "No gambling on this train!" and incredulous "You know how to play pinochle?" directed to the little ones. Nicky and I won the first game 118 to 80, and then trounced them 116 to negative 14 the next game!

They cheated.

Then came the long, sleepless night. The kids conked out happily curled in their chairs, but the seats Scott and I had were broken and the leg rests didn't stay up. We had to prop our feet on backpacks, and Scott gave me the seat where the leg rest at least held at halfway up. I reclined there quietly, and dozed a bit, I'm sure, but I kept feeling the train change speed, or hearing us ringing and blowing the whistle at the crossing. The swaying and rocking, especially when another train passed us, was very distracting.


I didn't sleep well, either, but mostly because I was uncomfortable in the seat. I ended up waking up about once every two hours for a few minutes.


After breakfast, we played pinochle again, getting more comments on how we must be serious gamers, and did we play all night? Kai and Scott redeemed themselves 117 to 89.

Without cheating.

[MouseEarsJenny]

I just found your TR today and I really appreciate the Auto Train experience. I'm thinking about a solo drive down with my 3 kids next summer and have thought about this as an alternative. My biggest concern is will the kids sleep, but it sounds like yours slept just fine. (I know I could get a sleeper apartment, but that ups the cost.) So would you do this again? Looking forward to your report. Stop by my report when you get a chance. We were there a couple of weeks before you.

Glad it helped! I had lots of questions about the AutoTrain before I left, so I tried to take pictures of most of the things I was curious about. They shut off the lights early - I think 9:30 - and most of the passengers get really quiet at that point. I saw many people happily sleeping the whole trip. I usually sleep on my side, so maybe that's why I just couldn't get comfortable. But the kids had no problems - they were smaller and could curl up in their chairs. I would have said yes, I'd do it again if you asked me right after the trip down. The trip back was not so great, mainly due to the passengers around us. Plus, we realized at the end of the vacation that we really never need to set foot off Disney property again (except maybe for one day at IoA when Harry Potter opens) so it's not worth the cost of transporting a car we won't use. We'll probably fly next time, and my plane-frightened son will just have to live with it! Thanks for stopping by - I will check out your report.

[MouseEarsJenny]

God gave all men all earth to love, but, since our hearts are small; ordained for each one spot should prove beloved over all. - Rudyard Kipling

This will be a short installment since the next chapter has a ton of pictures. We followed the signs from the Sanford station to I-4. As we got closer we started seeing billboards for Disney and the new Characters in Flight balloon. Finally, we drove through the gates of Disney World. It always makes me puddle up. (And take bad pictures.)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport26.jpg

We got a call at the station that Grandma, Cyndy and the girls had arrived and were heading back out to buy a shirt for Grandma, since she was the only one without some type of red, white, or blue shirt for our dinner that night. (Duh - did I forget to mention? It was the fourth of July! Happy Independence Day!) While on I-4, we got another call that Grandpa, Barry and Hannah had arrived at the airport. We did pretty well I think - we took three different forms of transportation and all arrived at the resort within about an hour and a half of each other. Google Maps is pretty much totally useless on Disney property, so we just followed the signs for Coronado Springs, and soon we were turning into those gates.
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The resort is really beautiful, and you'll see tons of pictures as the trip report goes on. I would return here in a heartbeat. For now, we still had to get into the resort. We were stopped at the guard post by a CM from Pennsylvania, so he made small talk for a moment asking us about our home state. Then he waved us on with a "Welcome Home!" (Gotta love that! I do adore our real home, and it's PROBABLY the "one spot" most beloved by me... But DISNEY is a close second!!)

We parked and headed into El Centro. We found our two nieces enjoying the fountain and greeted everyone like we had been apart for weeks instead of a few days.
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The kids headed over to the cartoon area with Scott while Grandma, Cyndy, and I checked in.
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I was pretty much actually bouncing with happy. Cyndy said that it must be tiring to be that happy all the time, which I suppose I should have taken as a sign of things to come, but at the time, I was too overjoyed at finally being at the resort I had read so much about for 6 months to care about her pessimism. When we checked in, we got Ranchos 6B, prompting another bounce from me because I knew it had been renovated. Our CM gave us ALL celebration buttons. Family Reunion buttons for everyone, "I'm Celebrating" buttons for anyone without an occasion, First Visit buttons for Juli and Grandpa, and a Happy Birthday button for me. It was so funny - she just kept pulling out more paperwork, more buttons, and Grandma and Cyndy just kept handing everything to me. (I had booked, paid for, and generally handled the entire trip, so they were still thinking I needed everything.) Here's how Faith looked when I had redistributed all the buttons, compounded by the stickers random CMs kept handing out:
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At this point, Grandma was mostly worried about meeting Grandpa and company when they got off Magical Express. I was concerned about moving our cars closer to our actual room (which wasn't ready yet). So we sent Cyndy and Scott to move the cars, and the rest of us hung around El Centro. I took pictures. (Are you surprised?)

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport30.jpg
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El Centro was really fabulous. We loved the decor, and it was a cool oasis because it was HOT that day. Maybe it was just adjusting from PA to FL, but it was definitely right up there in one of the hottest days we had. Finally, the rest of the family arrived, and Cyndy and Scott re-arrived from the wilds of the parking lots (every lot was chock full of cars which was SO weird because later in the week the lots were nearly empty). Finally together again, we headed to the bus stop to get some lunch at Downtown Disney before our rooms were ready.

Next Chapter: Food, Glorious Food!

[denise5374]

Loving your report!

We took the Auto train in 2004 and I, like you, didn't sleep at all. My DH, who can sleep anyway, snored the entire night and the kids were sleeping. I was looking at my watch waiting for 6am to roll around and the second it did, I woke DH up. He was "Why, I was sleeping!" I replied, "Well I wasn't and ia mhungry and bored, so lets go eat":lmao: Needless to say, he wasn't real happy with me:laughing:

Just wanted to let you know I can empathsize with you and the lack of sleeping.

[MouseEarsJenny]

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” -J.R.R. Tolkien

We boarded our first of many Disney buses to head to Downtown Disney. Everyone was in a pretty good mood as the trip started. Unfortunately, the trip to Downtown Disney seems to be about the longest bus ride on property, no matter where you stay, so tummies were rumbly by the time we got off the bus.
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The moment we arrive at Downtown Disney, I hear something that will come to haunt me in upcoming days: "We need to find a restroom." Gotta tell ya, I've travelled with my kids when they were young, and never did I see so many of Disney's bathrooms as I did on this trip. It seemed like every three rides or attractions we'd be stopping at a bathroom. The kids wanted to use the bathroom at least twice during every meal. This time, I took advantage of the time to snap this cute shot of Nicky near the Fantasia brooms. (Yeah, I know, no Disney Photopass magic shot, but I thought it came out pretty cute!)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/EditedPictureofNickandBroom.jpg

We started to make our way toward Wolfgang Puck's Express, but were distracted by a bird show outside Rainforest Cafe. I thought I knew were WPE was, but I was confused by the layout of Downtown Disney relative to the bus stop. Fortunately, Scott was less confident than I of my navigation skills and checked a map, so he guided us to the restaurant. Once inside, I tried to give the family a crash course on the Disney Dining Plan. I had tried to explain it a million times at home, but everyone kept tuning me out. Now everyone wanted me to walk them through ordering and they were super confused. With the help of some uber-patient CMs and Scott's table scouting skills, we eventually managed to get everyone's order placed and everyone seated under some umbrellas in a courtyard hidden around the side of the restaurant. Unfortunately, it was REALLY hot, and since we hadn't had access to our rooms yet, not all of us were dressed for Florida weather. (I HATE being cold, so I had worn 3/4 length sleeves and long jeans on the train. Dumb.)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport37.jpg

Anyway, on to the FOOD! I have pictures of some of the food, but not all because I knew my extended family would think I was crazy. (Then, when we got back and looked at the pictures, Grandma was all "why didn't you take a picture of my food?" so go figure.)

I ordered the BBQ Chicken Pizza. It was delicious, but had WAY too much spicy BBQ sauce. It wasn't really spicy, but when it was glopped on like this (instead of drizzled as I'd seen on the food porn thread) it added up on you. I also had an unsweet iced tea which was very nice. I couldn't finish it at all, which was the case for many of us with this lunch.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport38.jpg

Scott had the Chicken Pesto Focaccia, which was out of this world. It was like the best chicken salad sandwich you've ever tasted, times three. The chips that came with it were erratically seasoned, though - many had no taste at all, while a few random others were coated with parmesan.
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Kairi went for the Chicken Caesar Salad which was tasty and she really enjoyed. I think she chose it because she knew what it was, and it was comfortingly familiar.
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My mom (Grandma elsewhere in the report - I'm not trying to be confusing) ordered a Chopped Italian salad she's still raving about. She kept saying "I have no idea what I'm eating, but it's SOOO good!" It seemed really delicious and refreshing on a hot day.
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Barry ordered Crispy Chicken and was disappointed when it turned out to be chicken tenders (which is why reading the menu is good :rolleyes1) but he said that they were excellent for chicken tenders. I guess he was expecting a fried chicken like the rotisserie chicken halves? Cyndy ordered the BBQ Chicken Quesadilla, which she liked. I had a taste and I liked it better than my pizza. Juli, her 2 year old, made out like a bandit with some of each person's dishes.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport42.jpg

Nicky (ds) and Faith (dn) ordered the kids' quesadillas, which were pretty good basic cheese quesadillas. Hannah (dn) raved about her kid's linguine and offered everyone a taste, but didn't come close to finishing it. Grandpa had a Roast Beef and Cheddar. He said he liked it, but he's a bit on the quiet side and it's hard to get his opinions often.

We were assisted by Mike, who was VERY attentive about refilling drinks and taking our dessert orders. We had ordered at the counter, but they just put in "Frozen Yogurt" for several of us, and we had to decide on flavors and toppings. I went for chocolate frozen yogurt with Reese's Pieces, but couldn't do justice to it at all. After a few bites, I was more than full and beginning to realize why so many people say the dining plan is just too much food. Again, being really hot probably didn't help. In fact, Mom and Gordi took off after eating their food, leaving their cookie and fruit cup with us. They said they'd meet us in air conditioning. Here's my dessert:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport43.jpg

The rest of the party ordered 2 fruit cups, which were fresh and enjoyed by Juli very much, 2 cookies, which were pretty melty but tasty, 3 brownies, which everyone said were good, but a bit dry, and 5 frozen yogurts. For some really weird reason, the bill for my sister's room lists an extra fruit cup and brownie, but we didn't get them or pay for them. (Our bills were zero totals because of the dining plan and they didn't take snack or counter service credits for the extras that were rung up.) :confused3 Anyway, the total of our bill was $174.07 if we had paid out of pocket, $0 and 10 Counter Service Credits on the dining plan, and we left a $35 out of pocket tip.

We headed to World of Disney to meet up with Mom and Gordi. Cyndy got a call about her room but accidentally answered it and promptly forgot her room number. Fortunately, Mom and I had opted for texts so we knew her room had to be next to ours. We decided we didn't really want to shop this early in the trip, cause who knew what we'd decide to get later. However, Nicky had been looking forward to Goofy's Candy Company, so I asked if everyone would be willing to stop while he got a snack for later. After the several minute walk (I was quickly discovering that covering ground with 11 people was not for the faint of heart) we arrived at that candy paradise - Goofy's.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport44.jpg

Again, it's probably my fault that the dining plan confused the other families so badly, but I swear I tried to explain before we left home. It started to rain outside, which worried the other members of our party. So, while my kids were happily filling out their order forms...
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport45.jpg

And watching their candies made...
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport46.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport47.jpg

A huge fight broke out among the rest of the party. I'm still not entirely sure what exactly it was about, but the end result was unhappy kids who were told they were not standing in line for 20 minutes just to get a cookie, and irritated spouses stomping off in different directions - it wasn't pretty. I went and rescued my nieces and brought them to the correct counter to order. Fortunately, I still had some of their room keys from when everyone handed me all the paperwork earlier. Soon all the kids were happily awaiting their sugary treats, while Cyndy and a sleeping Juli went to the bus stop (the rain only lasted a few minutes, just like we assumed) and Barry, Grandma and Grandpa went outside to avoid the noise and confusion. It IS a really crowded shop to take dining plan newbies into, but it's so much fun to watch the faces of the kids as their choice is covered with candy, candy and more candy!
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport48.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport49.jpg

Finally the candies were done and I could get our cranky family out of Downtown Disney. To be fair, the airplane folks had gotten up at 3AM, the train folks had gotten interrupted sleep, and the car folks had driven three days with two kids under age 5. So everyone had a right to be a bit cranky. The bus ride was long and hot because the engine in the back of the bus was heating up the bus more than the air conditioning was cooling it. We finally made it to our resort and piled off the bus. So this installment still has a sweet ending, here are some photos I took later of the candies my kids made:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport51.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport52.jpg

They would have cost $12.37, but they cost us 4 snack credits. I'll total up at the end of the day.

Next Chapter: You Parked Where?

[MouseEarsJenny]

Just wanted to let you know I can empathsize with you and the lack of sleeping.

Thanks for the sympathy and for reading the report - wait 'til I tell you about the four year old who sat behind us on the way home. :headache:

[dismagiclover]

Coronado Springs looks marvelous:goodvibes I'm thinking of staying at a moderate next summer we won't need to sleep 5 and CSR is definitely going to be looked at closely.
:laughing: Love the picture by the broom!
That WPE food looks fabulous! Plus what a deal on the DDP:thumbsup2
:love: Goofy's Candy Company's Make Your Own Treats! I want one right now!
Looking forward to more!

[FlightlessDuck]

About Universal: I did both US and IOA. I was bored w/ US, but did have fun at IOA, but I like rollercoasters.

This will become more apparent as we get to the Universal half of the TR, but MEJ, me, DD, and DS basically had the same reaction (although none of up ended up riding Hulk or Dueling Dragons...).

[kristin t]

Very much enjoying reading your trip report. I'm anxious to hear how everyting went with all the people you had to in your party. I only had 9 people(3 different families), and it became overwhelming! I love your pictures, and am interested to hear more about Coronado Springs - it looks so beautiful, and the refurbed rooms look more like a deluxe than a mod.

[MouseEarsJenny]

"A hotel isn't like a home, but it's better than being a house guest." -William Feather

We got off at the Ranchos bus stop and began another daily adventure called "How do we get to our building?" Ranchos 6B is not along a parking lot or any of the main trails, so you have to walk along the archways of 7A or 6A to meander your way back to the building. To be honest, I'm not at all sure if we ever did it the same way twice. And I'm pretty freaking sure Scott was still getting lost by check-out. That was the only drawback I found to Coronado Springs, though, so as long as you're not navigationally challenged, I highly recommend it. :thumbsup2

We found our room, courtesy of the cute number plates:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport53.jpg

When we walked in, I immediately fell in love with the room. It was airy and cool, and the blues and whites contrasted beautifully with the dark wood. I loved that the curtain and mirror brought in some orange tones as well. We discovered that the beds were not only pretty but also very comfortable. In fact, I brought home that little flyer about buying Disney bedding and may just take them up on it. The silver lights above each bed have a pinpoint pattern on them that appears when the lights are on.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport54.jpg

The changing area was an excellent bonus with a brother/sister sibling group sharing the room. We loved the sliding doors that let us have three separate changing areas, counting the bathroom. (Again, no pictures. Gotta have some boundaries.)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport55.jpg

I don't know what I did to make this shot of the TV/Refrigerator/Dresser console so blurry. It was a nice piece, but the drawers were on the small side (then again, I've often wondered if we're the only people who unpack on vacation - seems like everyone I know lives out of their suitcases). Also, the refrigerator was tempermental and we had to keep it less than half full for it to chill anything. We called maintenence about it a few days later and she showed up promptly, but basically said, "Put less in it." Hmm... less than eight bottles of water and two rice krispie treats?
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport56.jpg

I really liked this lamp, and the picture also shows the curtains and border on the wall.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport57.jpg

This mirror was pretty, too. My sister wanted one to take home. It's blacked out like the one above cause I managed to get a big ol' distracting flash in the middle of each mirror.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport58.jpg

Finally, the room was full of hidden mickeys like this one on the decorative blanket:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport59.jpg

These on the roll pillow:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport60.jpg

This one on the changing room mirror:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport61.jpg

And the lighted one on top of the desk lamp:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport62.jpg

So now that I had taken a bunch of pictures, I stepped back outside to go in quest of our luggage with Mom and Cyndy.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport63.jpg

As I mentioned before, Ranchos 6B is not on any parking lot. Plus, the lots were so full, Cyndy and Scott had parked way over by Ranchos 7B. We left with the intention of finding a rolling luggage cart somewhere and hauling our stuff back. Unfortunately, rolling luggage carts don't exist at CSR, and by the time we had hauled ourselves all the way to the cars in the blazing afternoon heat, we still hadn't found a way to get all our luggage back. And we had a TON of luggage. Mom and Cyndy had packed every available inch of the van with stuff (and not all of it packed in something, either). The four of us "only" had 6 bags - 3 carry-ons from the train and 3 suitcases, but we also had two cases of water. Grandpa and Hannah's carry-ons had been left at the desk. So we stood there and tried to think of what to do. Should we pull the car closer? It would still be several trips to hand-carry everything to the rooms. Should we send one person to keep looking for a luggage cart? Should we call everyone else to help? (Which would hinder because then we'd have all the kids, too.) Finally, I decided to see if I could get the front desk and ask where to find a luggage cart. I called the Grand Gatherings line as it was the only one programmed into my phone. They transferred me to the front desk at CSR, who transferred me to Bell Services, who transferred me to dispatch. Just as they promised to send someone with a golf cart to help us, a bellhop in a golf cart drove by and asked if we needed help. We explained that yes, we did, but that Bell Services was supposed to be sending someone. He got on his radio and verified that help was on the way, and then stayed with us until the other cart arrived. He was very sweet about it. We were finally rescued by the other bellhop Eric, who piled everything on his cart and gave us a ride back to the front of 6B. I tried to tip the first bellhop, but he told me to save it for Eric. (I know his name started with an "R" but I forget what it was.) When we got back, the bellhop insisted we walk to our room and he would follow behind with our bags. After tipping and profusely thanking our rescuer, and sorting the world's largest pile of luggage, we settled in to unpack and freshen up for Chef Mickey's.

Next Chapter: Eating with a Mouse or Fourth of July Fireworks?

[MouseEarsJenny]

Coronado Springs looks marvelous:goodvibes I'm thinking of staying at a moderate next summer we won't need to sleep 5 and CSR is definitely going to be looked at closely.
:laughing: Love the picture by the broom!
That WPE food looks fabulous! Plus what a deal on the DDP:thumbsup2
:love: Goofy's Candy Company's Make Your Own Treats! I want one right now!
Looking forward to more!

Definitely look into CSR. The pool is fabulous, the rooms are fabulous. The only small problem we had was that our particular building was off the beaten path - but then again, that made it very quiet.

WPE was fabulous. I think it will be a family favorite from now on.

[MouseEarsJenny]

Very much enjoying reading your trip report. I'm anxious to hear how everyting went with all the people you had to in your party. I only had 9 people(3 different families), and it became overwhelming! I love your pictures, and am interested to hear more about Coronado Springs - it looks so beautiful, and the refurbed rooms look more like a deluxe than a mod.

:welcome: to my report! Thanks for reading. Vacationing with three families definitely was a challenge. I'd say the main difference is that our little group of four is used to being mostly happy with grumpy moments on vacation, whereas with such a large group, it's harder to keep everyone happy all the time. But the happy moments are still there, and that much more special because you're sharing them.

Coronado Springs was great - I want to experience so many of Disney's resorts, but I will have a hard time booking elsewhere in the future. There was just so much beauty everywhere you looked, and the rooms were so very relaxing.

[dismagiclover]

Love all the pictures of the room!!!! Such fun little details everywhere! And I'm glad you figured out a way to get everything to the room:thumbsup2 (And just so you know we always unpack on vacation too.;)

[FlightlessDuck]

As we got closer we started seeing billboards for Disney and the new Characters in Flight balloon.

And I made it abundantly clear that, even though I basically didn't want to leave Jenny's side this whole trip :hug: , there was no way I was getting in that balloon.

The kids headed over to the cartoon area with Scott while Grandma, Cyndy, and I checked in.

The four of them kept themselves pretty much occupied, while I stood around feeling antsy. It seemed to take so long to check it (after all, it was three rooms). I started to worry that there was a problem, but when I stopped over, I found everything was OK. I figured something HAD to go wrong at this point, since everyone had gotten to Florida OK.


Our CM gave us ALL celebration buttons. Family Reunion buttons for everyone, "I'm Celebrating" buttons for anyone without an occasion, First Visit buttons for Juli and Grandpa, and a Happy Birthday button for me.

Once I was hooked up with my lanyard that Grandma brought for me and my Key to the World, I put my buttons on the lanyard. In the end, I was the only one who wore both of my buttons all week.

Finally, the rest of the family arrived, and Cyndy and Scott re-arrived from the wilds of the parking lots (every lot was chock full of cars which was SO weird because later in the week the lots were nearly empty).

Cyndy and I caught a bus, which I thought was a little weird. Jenn said that we could pick up any of the buses and it would drop us off at El Centro. I was a little nervios about this (I didn't want to end up at Epcot with everyone else at El Centro), so I double checked with the driver. The only bus that stops at El Centro first (and therefore we couldn't use to get back) was Downtown Disney, I believe.

As for the sheer number of cars in the parking lot, I'm thinking it was because of the mixed martial arts competition that was at the convention center that weekend. Or maybe because it was the fourth of July? I dunno.


We started to make our way toward Wolfgang Puck's Express, but were distracted by a bird show outside Rainforest Cafe.

Ick. Stupid birds.

I thought I knew were WPE was, but I was confused by the layout of Downtown Disney relative to the bus stop. Fortunately, Scott was less confident than I of my navigation skills and checked a map, so he guided us to the restaurant.

I also walked around to make sure I was reading the map right while everybody else was distracted by the bird show. WPE was tucked back in a corner.

With the help of some uber-patient CMs and Scott's table scouting skills, we eventually managed to get everyone's order placed and everyone seated under some umbrellas in a courtyard hidden around the side of the restaurant.

In hindsight, I probably should have looked around more to find room inside, but I saw enough room for 11 and decided to grab it instead of being finicky.

Scott had the Chicken Pesto Focaccia, which was out of this world. It was like the best chicken salad sandwich you've ever tasted, times three.

Not only that, but that sandwich, by itself, made WPE my favorite counter service meal all week. Don't get me wrong, I still love the burgers at Cosmic Ray's, but this sandwich had it beat.

The chips that came with it were erratically seasoned, though - many had no taste at all, while a few random others were coated with parmesan.

I think the problem was that the chips weren't stirred or separated enough when they were being fried, so I had some undercooked, underseasoned chips. But the ones that were cooked thoroughly and seasoned were really great.

The rest of the party ordered 2 fruit cups, which were fresh and enjoyed by Juli very much, 2 cookies, which were pretty melty but tasty, 3 brownies, which everyone said were good, but a bit dry, and 5 frozen yogurts.

Both Jenn and I wanted the creme brulee, but they were out of it at the time. I ended up with the brownie, but I don't think I realized at the time was sugar free. It was OK, for a sugar free brownie. But I was really disappointed I couldn't get my creme brulee.

We headed to World of Disney to meet up with Mom and Gordi. Cyndy got a call about her room but accidentally answered it and promptly forgot her room number.
:rolleyes:


A huge fight broke out among the rest of the party.

Barry got in line for a cookie with Hannah (who actually was in the wrong line, since she wanted a Rice Krispie thing), and thought Cyndy wanted him out of the line, or something. I don't really know what the heck happened, because I was sitting in a corner by a window waiting for everybody to make their candies. Quite frankly, I wasn't really interested in any of the candy that was at Goofy's. Looking at it (especially the Rice Krispie treats the kids had designed) made my teeth hurt.


We got off at the Ranchos bus stop and began another daily adventure called "How do we get to our building?" Ranchos 6B is not along a parking lot or any of the main trails, so you have to walk along the archways of 7A or 6A to meander your way back to the building. To be honest, I'm not at all sure if we ever did it the same way twice. And I'm pretty freaking sure Scott was still getting lost by check-out.

I could find my way to the pool, and where we were parked, but not back to the room from either. I think if I actually bothered to pay attention instead of just following in the back, I would have gotten a mental picture of the place in my head.

When we walked in, I immediately fell in love with the room. It was airy and cool, and the blues and whites contrasted beautifully with the dark wood.

I really like the room, too, but I think I would have classified that color as "teal", not "blue". Also, I don't think it was cold enough in the room.

Finally, the room was full of hidden mickeys

The only one I either didn't notice at all or forgot about was the one on the corners of the mirror.

So now that I had taken a bunch of pictures, I stepped back outside to go in quest of our luggage with Mom and Cyndy.

And while the three of them did that, I don't quite remember what all I did back in the room. I do remember finding everyone's favorite tour guide, Stacy, on the TV. The show was called "Must Do Disney" or something like that, which, looking back now, is kind of a sick name. Anyway, after the second time through, the kids and I decided we should count the number of times Stacy said "must do" within one showing. I think the total was 32. :teacher:

[nilla]

Then what? Please continue, I'm enjoying this! :)

[FlightlessDuck]

Then what? Please continue, I'm enjoying this! :)

We promise to finish (this time), but we're in the middle of setting up Vacation Bible School for our church at the moment :scared1:

[MouseEarsJenny]

"I only hope that we don't lose sight of one thing - that it was all started by a mouse." - Walt Disney

Our original plan for the Fourth of July was to take part in what was then a Grand Gathering experience - the pirate Fireworks Cruise. When we booked, I had secured a reservation, and I was very excited about it. Unfortunately, when I called 90 days out, our only available time for our Chef Mickey's first night dinner was 7:50. I reluctantly booked 'Ohana, and then changed my mind almost immediately. We HAD to start our trip with Chef Mickey's. So I cancelled the fireworks cruise.

But here's the thing. I was born on July 9, 1976, just five days away from the country's bicentennial. I have always had a soft spot for all things patriotic, and I just love the fourth of July. And although there may have been years in the past 32 where I missed fourth of July fireworks, I'm blocking them out. I love me some fourth of July fireworks. And I was going to be in viewing distance of the Magic Kingdom on the FOURTH OF JULY. So as the trip grew nearer, I was bumming about my choice of Chef Mickey's. But, Juli, Faith, Barry, Hannah, Grandpa and possibly Cyndy had never met Mickey. So, at about 6:00, off we went.

Why 6:00 for a 7:50 ressie, you ask? Well, first, remember this is the family who left before dawn to get to a train station 4 hours away by 3 PM. Yeah. And also, we wanted to make a full circuit of the monorail before we checked in. I was also worried because someone on the DIS had reported trying to get to California Grill last Fourth of July and leaving the Beach Club by car at 7:00 for a 9:00 reservation and completely missing their reservation because of gridlock between the entrance and the Magic Kingdom. Last, but not least, I was sort of hoping if we got there early, we could get seated early, and maybe, just maybe catch a glimpse somehow of those fireworks.

Despite dire predictions, the bus ride to the Magic Kingdom took all of 15 minutes. We boarded the monorail for a trip around the lagoon. The one treat my son had asked for on this trip was to ride up front with the driver, but when I saw another family had been picked, I decided not to wait for the next train, figuring he would have many more opportunities to ride up front later in the trip. That of course, would never happen, but we had no way of knowing that then. (And really, it's not important in light of the tragedy that occured later that night.)

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport64.jpg

Unfortunately, after the first stop, our car was so packed we couldn't even see the rest of our party on the other side of the benches. Still, we enjoyed the views out the window and the ever popular spanish directions to stay clear of the doors. We had to pause at one point because another monorail was in the station ahead of us. The driver came on the speaker and made an announcement. He said "We'll be holding here for awhile while we wait for another monorail to clear the station. We've never tested whether two monorails can occupy the same space at the same time and we don't want to try it today." We all laughed, and I thought about what a great line it would be for our trip report. Later in our trip, after finding out about the accident, that line came back to me, and made me sad.

Getting back to our report, we made the complete loop and then pulled into the Contemporary again. We headed down slowly toward Chef Mickey's.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport65.jpg

At this point, it was just barely 7, and our ressie was 50 minutes away. I checked in anyway, and was told that we'd be seated... at about 7:50. So we went and got our picture taken. We had planned on getting this shot done, and were all wearing red, white and blue. It came out pretty cute, I think! It's usually much harder to get the little ones to smile, but all the photographer had to do was plop them down next to the statue of Mickey and they were happy.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/ChefMickeysPhotopass.jpg

Then came the waiting. The long, long, waiting. We saw two different people with guide dogs, and I accidentally scared one by "eek"-ing when a bird landed right next to me. They thought I was frightened of their dog, or something. The kids got pretty rootchie waiting all that time and the adults got a bit irritated. Especially at the person who told them we had to leave so early. Still, we were in Disney, so we tried to put on a happy face.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport66.jpg

It helped that the CM who took our picture was very funny and tried to engage the little girls by using a stuffed Mickey to talk to them.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport67.jpg

It also helped that our kids entertain themselves pretty well. Albeit in odd ways.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport90.jpg

Still, by the time we were finally seated (finally being my fault, not Disney's - it was just about our reservation time) I was feeling pretty sad. I was in charge of planning and organizing, so when things didn't go well, I felt like everyone was blaming me. And then we were seated at two separate tables, which we were warned might happen, but I wasn't really expecting since I'd seen big parties at Chef Mickey's before. Cyndy jumped in to save the day, though. She asked the waitress - "Can we just push these together?" and soon we were smooshed in family style around a funky figure eight of two big round tables. I was still bumming a little, but by the time I got back to the table with my first round of food, I could see that everyone else was happy now - laughing and eating and enjoying themselves, and I quickly shook out of my funk. That feeling that any problems on the trip were my fault was harder to shake, though, as you'll see in the rest of the report.

I can't say with any certainty what everyone ate at Chef Mickey's. I do know that everyone liked everything they ate. I had the salmon, which is one of my favorites. I had been looking forward to it for months. I also had some delish vegetables. I know my sister ate chicken because it became a running gag that she personally consumed 2.5 chickens all by herself while we are at Disney (and she's usually not a big eater). The kids were happy as clams, but you think I would have checked they were getting some form of nutrition. Unfortunately, I was too busy taking pictures of them with the parade of characters that started coming past our table.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport70.jpg

Our first character was Minnie, who kissed all the girls on the head before posing for pictures. Two little girls from another table rushed up while she was with us, and Minnie tried to handle it diplomatically, but there didn't seem to be many character handlers around to help her out. Still, she spent plenty of time with us.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport68.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport69.jpg

Next came the big cheese himself. I was so excited to see him last time we went here that I forgot I was zoomed in and only got his face in the one photo I got before he rushed off. This time, he seemed inclined to take his time, so I naturally took far too many pictures.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport71.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport73.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport74.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport75.jpg

I was glad the girls hadn't seen Goofy first, because BOY is he BIG! Could have been intimidating - but actually, they handled all the characters with no sign of trepidation.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport76.jpg

Grandpa had never met any characters before and Grandma signaled Goofy toward Grandpa by calling him the "Goofy" of our group. Grandpa, who used to be a clown, got a kick out of the characters. They often seemed to single him out at the meals, which was great fun for the rest of us.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport77.jpg

Next up was Donald, a personal favorite of Scott's. (Um, Flightless Duck... duh... guess that was obvious.)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport79.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport80.jpg

So of course, I had to ask Donald for a picture with him!
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport81.jpg

The characters mostly focused on the kids, as they should, but it was especially hard for the characters to ignore our dimpled little darling Juli. She did get more than her fair share of attention pretty much everywhere. Here, Mickey tries to explain to her that he likes her bow because it reminds him of his best girl.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport82.jpg

Soon it was time to head for the fabulous dessert bar. The kids, with all the choices in the world, headed straight for ice cream. Grandpa even tried to pay Kairi to go build him an ice cream sundae just like hers. (She did it for free, naturally!) Faith is something of a chocolate connoisseur - she has to be covered in it to completely experience it.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport83.jpg

I, on the other hand, decided my modest supper of fish and veggies entitled me to THREE desserts. But they were MINI desserts...
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport84.jpg

At this point, two things were happening. We were watching anxiously for Pluto, the only character who hadn't worked our side of the room at all. And I was surreptitiously glancing at my cell and realizing we still had a couple of minutes until the fireworks. As our check was presented, we mentioned we handn't seen Pluto, and our server miraculously made him appear by the time she returned with our receipts to sign. Even as the kids were hugging Pluto, I was gathering belongings.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport85.jpg

Our meal would have cost $310.06 out of pocket. We paid 10 TS credits, and a $55 tip.

That brings our trip total to 10 CS, 10 TS, 4 S, and $90 in tips with $0 OOP. If we had not been on the dining plan, we would have paid $496.50 so far.(Yes, I am trying to track this. I'm curious as to exactly how much we saved and I have almost all of our receipts except some snacks shoved in a Raglan Road shopping bag here.)

I scooped up one of the kids and said, "Follow me!" Scott knew what I was up to, because he's good like that. Everyone else just followed cause they're sweet like that. I led everyone down the concourse and straight out the door onto the 4th floor observation deck just under the monorail. It was MOBBED, but by boosting up the little kids and standing on our tiptoes, we could just see the castle as the music began for the Fourth of July fireworks. I don't love this picture of me, but I love that Scott tried to capture my joy as my whole family (and a lot of other families) smooshed onto a balcony to watch the beautiful tribute to our liberty that Disney put on. My mom, who HATES fireworks because of the noise even stuck her fingers in her ears and came out because she knew what it meant to me.
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Now, please, give Scott credit - I don't think he's ever taken a firework picture in his life, but he tried really hard. This shot shows what our basic view looked like, with the castle to the left and Space Mountain on the right.
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This shot was a decent capture of my favorite star shaped fireworks. I had Faith on my shoulders, so it was great that Scott grabbed the camera.
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Poor Nicky was too big to be picked up and too small to see anything, but he said he was happy just to see the few at the top and hear the music. After the fireworks, we walked back through the hotel and smack into Jenn-planned-poorly land again. Cause how do we get out of the Magic Kingdom area after fourth of July fireworks? Ya got me. I had no plan. We probably SHOULD have taken the monorail around and then gotten a bus. But I remembered that you could walk from the Contemporary. And it didn't seem that far to me. But when it's 9:30PM on a day where some of you woke up at 3:00AM, and some didn't sleep the night before, and some are 2, and some are 82... walking was a bad call. Still, we lucked out with a very short line at our bus stop when we finally got there, and soon we were back at the resort, and ready to crash for the night. (At least, until we got up to make rope drop at the Magic Kingdom!)

Next Chapter: That's Why It's Called the MAGIC Kingdom

[MouseEarsJenny]

Then what? Please continue, I'm enjoying this! :)

Glad you're enjoying it! Hello, neighbor! (We're from Bethlehem, too.) I took a break from turning our church into a swamp to write an update tonight.

By the way, everyone wish Flightless Duck a :bday: - I'm taking the night off from VBS to spend his birthday with him, in theory. Funny how I'm on Disboards... :rolleyes1

[FlightlessDuck]

I'm taking the night off from VBS to spend his birthday with him, in theory. Funny how I'm on Disboards... :rolleyes1
*sniff sniff*

Oh, wait, now I'm on Disboards...

[FlightlessDuck]

Unfortunately, after the first stop, our car was so packed we couldn't even see the rest of our party on the other side of the benches.

This was my fault, actually. I thought both set of doors would open into the same part of the car. I think I confused the Disney monorail with the tram at the Tampa airport MEJ and I were in last year.

We had planned on getting this shot done, and were all wearing red, white and blue. It came out pretty cute, I think!

I'm glad we didn't go through Cyndy's original idea of all wearing the same shirt. Unfortuantely, I got sucked into doing this twice during this vacation, as you will see later. Technically, I am wearing gray. But that is because my red, white, and blue Philadelphia Eagles logo can't be seen in the picture.


The kids got pretty rootchie waiting all that time and the adults got a bit irritated. ... It helped that the CM who took our picture was very funny and tried to engage the little girls by using a stuffed Mickey to talk to them.

I did not see this interaction at all. I think I basically kept my head down the entire time we were waiting. I was getting a bit irritated myself for getting here so early, and I was worried the rest of the party, or worse, other guests, were going to get annoyed by the kids going :banana:

I can't say with any certainty what everyone ate at Chef Mickey's.

I don't even remember what I had myself at this point. I know I started with green salad. I had the salmon and I think some of the mashed potatoes and other veggies. I know my desert plate looked just like MEJ's. While I don't remember what all I ate, I do remember enjoying the food, especially the salmon. In the future, I think I would like to keep this as our only character meal and buffet when we come back to WDW from now on (although I know MEJ wants to get into Cinderella's Royal Table some year). We ended up with 4 character meals, of which 2 were buffets and 2 were family style. It gets a little old, especially in a 7 day period.

I was glad the girls hadn't seen Goofy first, because BOY is he BIG! Could have been intimidating - but actually, they handled all the characters with no sign of trepidation.

This thought really hadn't crossed my mind. It never even occurred to me that the two little ones would freak out with the characters. Kai got scared when we tried to see Cookie Monster once in a mall when she was really little, but neither of them ever had a problem with character meals.

Next up was Donald, a personal favorite of Scott's. (Um, Flightless Duck... duh... guess that was obvious.)

One of these times, when we are leaving Mickey's PhilharMagic, I am going to ask one of the CM's about why Donald can't fly. I mean... he's a duck, right?


Soon it was time to head for the fabulous dessert bar. The kids, with all the choices in the world, headed straight for ice cream. Grandpa even tried to pay Kairi to go build him an ice cream sundae just like hers. (She did it for free, naturally!)

And then Grandpa pouted in mock insult when he noticed he had less ice cream in his sundae than Kai did in hers.

Our meal would have cost $310.06 out of pocket. We paid 10 TS credits, and a $55 tip.

That brings our trip total to 10 CS, 10 TS, 4 S, and $90 in tips with $0 OOP.

Stupid Disney and their stupid change to their stupid Dining Plan. Didn't have to pay tips last time. Although occassionally we did add extra...

I scooped up one of the kids and said, "Follow me!" Scott knew what I was up to, because he's good like that.

Well, yeah, sort of. I know we were going to the 4th floor observation deck to see the fireworks. Although I had no idea were that was. Heck, I didn't even realize we were on the 4th flood to begin with.

Now, please, give Scott credit - I don't think he's ever taken a firework picture in his life

Bingo. And I stink at taking picture to begin with. But without a flash, I can never get them to focus, even when I do what MEJ tells me to.

Poor Nicky was too big to be picked up and too small to see anything

I tried to pick him up, but I was also trying to take pictures. He's a bit to big to put him on my shoulders anymore.

We probably SHOULD have taken the monorail around and then gotten a bus.

Bingo, again. Hindsight, as they say, is 20/20. What a pain in the *** that walk was.

[nilla]

Hello, neighbor! (We're from Bethlehem, too.)

Scott was actually a very close neighbor of mine, until the higher-ups decided to start moving cubes around :)

[dismagiclover]

I love all of the Chef Mickey pictures! It's just such a fun place and it looks like everyone had a ball. I also think the plate picture turned out really cute. You all look so patriotic!

[MouseEarsJenny]

Sorry for the delay - we had to turn our church into a swamp, educate and entertain for a week, and turn the church back to normal. It was an adventure. But back to our Disney adventures!

"It's a world of laughter, a world of tears..." - Robert and Richard Sherman

After the transportation troubles of the day before, my family had officially decided I was crazy for wanting to leave so early in the morning. So we had made our time to leave 7:30 instead of 7:00 AM. But by 7:00, all the kids were standing outside the hotel room watching the frogs and snails playing by the walkway.
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If everyone was already ready to go, we figured we might as well head to the bus stop. There was some residual morning crankiness, of course, but for the most part we were in a good mood, and I was glad that we would be so early. We were the only family on the bus, which was fun.
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Turns out it was a very good thing we left so early. The night before, knowing we weren't going to any parks, I told Cyndy that she only needed one room key for dinner at Chef Mickey's. They didn't realize that when we went to the parks, everyone would need their keys as park passes. Oops! I was pretty sure they could get that fixed at guest services, though, so when they wanted to go back, I said we should just get off the bus and check with guest services, which the bus driver corroborated. (I know, I know. Bus drivers aren't the best source of info. But this one was right.) Still, we were in such a hurry to get off the bus that we didn't notice that Hannah dropped her spending money out of her little purse.

What followed was a nasty and tense 15-20 minutes where just as we got to guest services, Cyndy decided she needed to go back to the bus to find Hannah's money, half the family decided they needed to go to the bathroom, none of the family would stick together, and while my family was in full cranky mode, I got to watch the cheerful family right in front of us who had passed me while I tried to get my crew together get picked as Family of the Day. *sigh* I am WELL aware that my family was not deserving of that honor that morning, but it was somewhat frustrating to think that if it were just me, Scott, Kairi and Nicky, we would have been standing where that lucky family was. More to the point, by the time we finally cleared the turnstiles, another contingent had wandered off to the bathroom so we ended up well behind the group at the entrance to the train station. And Cyndy was STILL off looking for Hannah's money. For 15 lousy dollars. I had paid 500 times that to be standing at rope drop at the Magic Kingdom that morning with the very people who were now driving me batty, and I admit, I was not in my best mood. Especially when everyone finally did show up and promptly started to put on sunscreen as the opening show played. (Why didn't that get done before??)

We did manage to get the sunscreen on in time to make it through the train station with the rest of the mob. Nicky was all about speedwalking down Main Street, but we had to go the pace of the slowest people in our group which meant we were being passed like we weren't moving at all. Still, even with all the frustration of the morning and the concerns about hour long waits for Dumbo, the first sight of the castle worked its magic on me. Did it really matter if we missed every ride? We were in the Magic Kingdom, right? Crowds, grumpy people, missing money, bathroom breaks - who cares! That's Cinderella's Castle back there in the early morning mist!
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Of course, I had to keep taking castle pictures as we got closer.
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And closer...
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And soon we were waiting at the second rope under the castle. Well, pretty far back from the second rope cause we'd been walking a bit slow, but close enough. A few short minutes later, we were hustling across Fantasyland. Dumbo had a line by the time we got there, but we were in the third group loaded. What should we do while we wait? Take more castle pictures! Duh!
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One nice thing about travelling with family (and there are MANY, despite how the morning had started) is that SOMEONE will get a picture of the big moments. Like that first morning ride on a magical flying elephant. So courtesy of three cameras, here's all 11 of us on various Dumbos. (Notice the word "on" - we may also BE various Dumbos, but that's not the point here!)
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We were on, we were up. Nick despised it, and made me keep our Dumbo down the entire time until it lifts you up automatically at the end. He's really, really, really not a fan of heights. Yes, it's Dumbo. But you are in the air, and that's bad enough for him. Fortunately, he's rather fond of our next stop. We hopped off Dumbo and headed straight over to Winnie the Pooh.
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I was lucky enough to get plopped into a hunny pot with pretty much all of the kids, so I got to watch their faces as we bounced our way through the Hundred Acre Wood. I love this ride. I actually love pretty much all of the dark rides. To me, they're a good part of what sets Disney apart from lesser parks. Sure, they're not thrilling, but there's magic there.
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Nick agreed with me, because as we walked from Pooh to Peter Pan, he was skipping. He said "It's working! The plan is working!" He had been convinced at the gate that we were never going to get on the rides without lines because of the slowpokiness of our family. He is a sucker for a plan, and he brags up our touring plans to every random person he meets. "We never wait for rides because my mom has a PLAN." He thought the rest of the family was going to mess it up, but we tripped onto Peter Pan without a wait. I was with Faith this time, and she was seriously wigged out by the idea of flying over London. She kept saying we were going to fall. I just pointed out what we were flying past, and she did okay.

Next it was time for Grandma's favorite ride in all of Disney. She could honestly ride this OVER and OVER and OVER. Believe it or not...
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By this time, every bit of grumpy and cranky had been magically pixie dusted right off of our family. Everyone was smiling as we piled into a boat. Just saying "11" when CMs asked how many in our party was fun. And so we set sail with a smile.
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Oh, come on - you know you love that irritating song!
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And look! Perry the platypus CAN be found in Disney World! "A-gent P!!!!" say Kairi and Nicky.
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And of course, my Kingdom Keepers fan daughter had to turn around and say, "Mom!! The sun! It's the clue!"
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So minor frustrations of the morning aside, my heart was dancing with my darling niece Hannah as she danced and spun her way down the ramp and off the ride.
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And then someone had to go to the bathroom. :laughing: Seriously, again! So we all plopped down in Fantasyland and watched the clouds float puffily overhead and the people walk by and just soaked it all up. While some of us went off on our fabulous tour of every bathroom in Disney World (to be continued at EVERY park, hotel, restaurant...) Now, at some point this morning, I was stopped in my tracks by a castle employee. I walked past her and heard "Eat with the princesses! Tables are available for breakfast in the castle!" I stopped dead - seriously?? Tables available in the castle??? Really??? But on asking Scott, he looked at me like I had grown an extra head. He didn't want to interrupt our touring. And fortunately for me, he didn't realize just how much money I was considering throwing away. Cause I think I would have been added to Disney lore as the woman whose husband killed her in Fantasyland. But I still think it was awesome that there were seats available at Cinderella's Royal Table for walk-ups. That should also tell you how busy the park wasn't. It was the 5th of July, and we'd yet to encounter anything like a line, even moving at our snails pace.

Back together again, we headed to Mickey's Philharmagic. Well, we headed there. Then someone had to run back to park the stroller. So we stood and waited there. But we were still revving on our newly recharged good mood. Just look how happy Hannah and Kai were! (And check out Kai's shirt. I was bummed no one noticed it all day. She was just bummed Space Mountain wasn't open!)
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After noticing all the great posters that line the queue and advertise shows that were familiar to us after our rewatching of the oldest of Disney movies (Willie the Whale sings at the Met, anyone?) we waited for the doors to open automagically, and took the requisite 3-D glasses pictures.
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Philharmagic was everything we remembered. Magical, musical, funny... but Donald wasn't the only one who suffered consequences on this ride.
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Unfortunately, I'm out of room for pictures, so I'll continue in the next section...

Next Chapter: Give Me a Break (Not a Broken Toe)

[dismagiclover]

:yay: A Magic Kingdom morning! Not much I like better! And no crowds. I guess July 5 is a day to be at rope drop:thumbsup2 It's unbelievable they were actually going begging for people to eat with the princesses!

[MouseEarsJenny]

"Look at those hippos, they're wigglin' their ears. Same as they've done for the last fifty years." -"Skipper Dan" by Weird Al Yankovic

So. Turns out, as Mom tried to enter the Fantasmic theater, the person just in front of her stopped suddenly. He was wearing big clunky shoes. She was wearing open-toed sandals. She jammed her toe against the back of his heel. And while I enjoyed Philharmagic, as reported previously, in the back of my mind, I was pretty concerned about Mom's wincing and grimacing. As soon as the show was over, we were all gathered around concerned. She was upset that she was throwing off our touring plan and kept telling us all to go to the next ride, even though she thought her toe was broken. :eek: We told her to hush, naturally, and enlisted the help of the exit CM. He offered us the option of calling paramedics or borrowing a wheelchair to head to First Aid. We took him up on the second option.

First Aid in the MK is located back by Crystal Palace. The path through the castle was closed, so we took the ramp around, losing some people in the process, but I figured they'd catch up eventually. The CM at First Aid was very nice and explained that she couldn't actually treat anything, but she could give us what we needed to self-treat. We got some ice, a gauze elastic band to hold it on, some pain-killers, and continued on our way at Mom's insistence. It's not the world's most flattering picture, but this is how Mom and I spent the rest of the morning - staying together was actually a bit easier when everyone had her wheelchair to keep in sight!
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Meanwhile, the kids relaxed by the fountain just outside of first aid. And with all that running water, had to explore the bathroom there, too. Of course.
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Next up on our agenda was Haunted Mansion. I didn't get many pictures, as I was pushing Mom's wheelchair, but Barry took a few of the funny tombs near the wheelchair parking area. I was very surprised how far they had Mom walk. Fortunately, she had all of us to lean on, but it's quite a way from the wheelchair entrance to the actual ride. But maybe that's because we wanted to go through the stretch rooms?
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Anyway, wincing and limping, Mom made it through the ride. We hadn't been on Haunted Mansion since the update, and it was FABULOUS. I loved all the new details - the ghostly staircases, the bride and her husbands of the disappearing heads. Scott had a completely different experience. I'll let him tell you about riding with Juli and Cyndy! :rotfl:

We stopped just before the bridge to Adventureland. I wanted to take stock and let everyone know what was still on the agenda. I asked if everyone was ready for lunch since we had been delayed by the trip to first aid, or if they'd like to push ahead and go get a fastpass for Jungle Cruise and ride Pirates. They all voted to keep touring. A CM (Jeff) in business attire was standing nearby. He wished me a happy birthday. That happened many times this morning thanks to my button. I felt a bit weird about it, since it wasn't my actual birthday yet, and I was only wearing the button because it was given to me at check-in. But it was very cool - especially since everyone greeted me by name. Anyway, Jeff asked if we were headed to Jungle Cruise and we said yes. He said he would call over and tell them to let us right on! He told us to just mention his name.

We thanked him and headed to Adventureland. We all felt pretty pixie dusted, and Scott was especially happy to find more Disney magic.
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Unfortunately, the CMs at the Jungle Cruise didn't know who Jeff was, didn't have a clue whether he had called, and didn't really care either way. Didn't matter to us whether we got right on, and the line was short, so Mom limped in through the handicapped entrance and we got a few dirty looks from people in the regular line, but really, the lines looked about the same to me.

The Jungle Cruise was just as groaningly funny and slightly dated but charming as always.
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Next up was Pirates. The last time we visited, Pirates was closed to add Cap'n Jack. So we were really revved to see the changes.
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The kids LOVED trying to spot Jack Sparrow throughout the ride. I didn't remember it being as long as it was, and loved the mist effect with Davy Jones. The last scene with Jack singing was really great. Mom, meanwhile, didn't remember the small drop. And while I warned her,and told her to hang on, she called it a "roller coaster" for the rest of the week and accused us of tricking her onto it. (Never mind she's ridden it at least 4 times before that I know of...) Still, other than Mom and Gordi, the ride was popular with everyone.

On our way out of Adventureland, we saw Jack himself leading the Pirate Tutorial. The new stage was still roped off at that point. By the end of the week, we'd see the same show being performed on the new stage. So that was kind of cool. But we never actually stopped to watch the show. None of the kids wanted to volunteer, and since it wasn't actually Johnny Depp, who cares, right? (Scott's gonna get me for that...)
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We headed back across the hub toward Tomorrowland for lunch. There was a small crowd because of the castle forecourt show. We snapped pics from a distance, but didn't stop to watch. We were all too hungry!
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And of course, we took more castle pics. It was too bad Mom was in a wheelchair because I would have liked to get some Photopass pictures done while the sky was a perfect blue with pretty white clouds, but there you have it.
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We headed to Cosmic Ray's for lunch. We decided our best bet was to sit everyone down and then send three representatives to buy lunch for all. I had the kids' chicken salad and grapes for lunch because Nicky wanted a burger and there isn't one on the kids' menu. It was okay. Nick's burger looked fabulous. I did insist that we trade desserts, so he got pudding and I got a chocolate cake. Grandma got a 1/2 rack of ribs and carrot cake which she thought was delicious, but too much food. Grandpa had a chicken sandwich and a brownie with the same opinions. Kairi, Barry, and Scott also got burgers, although Scott was the only one who took advantage of the toppings bar. (We did try to tell Barry, but he later said he thought we meant condiments, not mushrooms and lettuce and tomato and etc. He was bummed he didn't get toppings.) Cyndy had the half chicken and ate it all, which lent more fuel to the Cyndy is eating all the chickens in Florida joke. She said it was delicious, and so was the chocolate cake she followed up with. Hannah and Faith both got chicken nuggets kids' meals and didn't have complaints, but I don't know whether they liked them. Faith was getting a bit cranky at this point because she's only four and she was very tired.
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Juli was much more tired. Cause she didn't eat anything - she was too busy snoozing. We saved her leftover grapes and pudding and food off various plates for later, though.
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Isn't she a doll baby? Sorry, couldn't help adding the extra picture...
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The total would have come to $122.43, but it cost us 10 CS.

Running Totals: 20 CS, 10 TS, 4 S, and $90 in tips with $0 OOP for food. If we had not been on the dining plan, we would have paid $618.93 so far.

I ate quickly and ran to get fastpasses for Buzz Lightyear for later. When I got the passes, fastpasses for Carousel of Progress popped out, too. Surprise! Actually, I was surprised you'd need a fastpass for CoP, and it turns out later we didn't, but it was still fun to get them. Mom and Gordi headed straight back to the room while we waited for everyone to finish up lunch.

We were all getting pretty tired, so we headed back, too. You can see that tired was taking its toll on Faith as she sat grumpily all the way back on the bus just like this:
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As we got off the bus, it started pouring rain. The kids, who had wanted to go swimming, were completely bummed. Cyndy paused under the bus stop, not wanting to get wet, but we were tired and just herded our two right through the rain. After a moment, Cyndy and Barry joined us, and we dragged our wet and tired selves into our room. I turned around after setting down our bags to see the kids sitting at the window staring out at the rain, and wished for a brief, crazy moment that we were at Universal. WHY? What could possibly inspire that kind of craziness?

Well, because the Cat in the Hat is at Universal. And the kids were the perfect illustration for:

The sun did not shine.
It was too wet to play.
So we sat in the house all that cold, cold, wet day.
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Next Chapter: Here Comes the Sun

[MouseEarsJenny]

Our holidays had come at last
They came real slow and went by fast
Just one week, that's all we had
Then back to work went mom and dad
Happy to be swimmin' in the sea - Gaelic Storm

We made the kids lie down and try to nap for 15 minutes. We didn't think it would actually work this time, but it's worth a try. Sure enough, in 15 minutes they were back up. Fortunately for them, the rain was over, the sun was shining, and it was time to go explore!
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When we picked Coronado Springs, a good chunk of the reason had to do with the Dig Site pool. Since we started planning our first trip, I had seen pictures of that pool and wanted to be there. And thanks to the 4/3 deal, we were finally there! We tossed on our suits and headed out. Our room was not too very far away from the main pool, and it was a nice walk. The pool was absolutely EVERYTHING we expected it to be from the photos. My one complaint, and it is minor, was that the water was REALLY warm on the first few days we were there. Like heated indoor pool warm. And since it was already Florida hot, that didn't make for much refreshment. But it was so gorgeous it made up for it. I'm not going to go into details here - the pictures tell the story of what we were up to for the next hour and a half.
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After we left the pool, I took some pictures of the resort as we headed back to change for dinner.
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Meanwhile, the rest of our group missed the pool but had a much needed nap! Poor little tired out kids!

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Next Chapter: 'Ohana Means YUMMY, I Don't Care What Lilo Says

[MouseEarsJenny]

"Mahalo Nui Loa"

We regrouped after our nap and swim and headed for the bus stop. It took 20 minutes for an MK bus and I was a bit anxious about time since we were starting later at the insistence of everyone who waited too long for Chef Mickey's. We planned to go to the Magic Kingdom and then board a monorail to the Polynesian. When we got to the bus stop at MK, I heard someone talking about the monorails not running and the bus driver made some announcement about buses to the Grand Floridian and Poly that I didn't quite catch. I headed toward the monorail anyway, figuring I'd get the scoop there, but the area was deserted except for a sign announcing the monorail was closed and apologizing for the incovenience. That's okay, there's more than one way across the lagoon, so I herded everyone to one of the boats. There was a huge line at all of the boats, but if the monorail wasn't working, that made sense to me.
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Other than some minor concerns about making it to 'Ohana in time for our reservation, we enjoyed the ride across the lake very much.
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I had a bad moment when I didn't know how to find 'Ohana from the dock, and a passing CM didn't know either, but we made our way inside to discover a HUGE line. 'Ohana is on the upper story of the Poly main building, and there is a railing all the way around that lets you look down to the waterfalls and plants in the middle of the lobby. The line went all the way along 2 sides of that railing. I was so worried about missing our reservation time, and I wasn't sure if the line was for people who actually had ADRs or if it was full of people trying to get seats. Turns out, the restaurant wasn't open for dinner yet! We had a 5:10 reservation, and the restaurant opened at 5 with a big "Aloha!" from the staff. We were seated very quickly at a table that had been set up for our group of 11. We were right next to the grill, with its dramatic bursts of flame, which put us right in the middle of the action.
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We started with the absolutely delicious bread. I could have just eaten that for dinner and been perfectly happy. It was right up there in the best bread I had all week.
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The kids were in seventh heaven because they got umbrellas in their drinks. Give a kid an umbrella drink and they'll finish glass after glass. (Good thing it was diet Coke.) So they visited the bathroom something like three times during the meal.
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Everyone was relaxed and happy and having a great time. Our wonderful server Melly calling us cousins amused the kids who had so many actual cousins there.
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When the food started arriving, we were all pretty busy! The wings were great and flavorful. I found them a bit sticky, but tasty. The dumplings and various dipping sauces were incredibly delicious. I even liked the veggies and noodles that are often negatively reviewed on the DIS. Everyone else raved about the food that "just kept coming" all week, so I can safely assume they liked it as well. Although Cyndy looks a bit overwhelmed by all that meat!
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Barry asked for some well-done pieces of steak for Cyndy and Mom. The meats were good, but the steak was very VERY rare. While we waited for that, we were entertained by a strolling ukelele player with lots of fun activities for the kids.
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The Shaka Maraca parade was fun for Faith and Grandma.
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But someone forgot to tell Faith it was a coconut RACE as she dawdled along with her broom.
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It took some time (and a little berating of the chef from our server - we were right by the grill, so we could hear her telling him off for not knowing how to cook steak well) but eventually, we got some well-done pieces of steak. By then, however, we were all ready for dessert.

I should say up front I never liked bread pudding. Until this trip. And this pudding. It was DIVINE. I especially liked the bananas foster sauce. It was SOOOO tasty - we polished off all the family servings we were given. And the little ones liked their plain ice cream, too!
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This was the meal the whole family thought was one of the best we experienced all week. It really was very special - we were happy, having fun, and well entertained and fed. We'll be coming back.

As we were leaving, the ukelele player began to honor couples celebrating their anniversaries. We were waiting for people to get back (from the bathroom, of COURSE) so Hannah and I danced along with the couples for a minute, which made her giggle.
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Then they wanted everyone with a birthday this month, so Scott and I were shoved up front by our family. We learned to say happy birthday in Hawaiian, but I forget now.
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Our total came to $278.88, plus a $50 tip. We paid 10 TS credits. (Well, okay, we paid more than that because our server accidentally charged us twice, but I got that straightened out with our front desk at CSR later on.)

Running Total: 20 CS, 20 TS, 4 S, and $140 in tips with $0 OOP for food. If we had not been on the dining plan, we would have paid $897.81 so far.

We stopped to browse in the Poly gift shop for a minute...
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...and then we were on our way back. Sort of. We walked out the back of the Poly and took some pictures of the beautiful landscaping (and Hidden Mickeys).
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But as we got to the dock, the CMs were announcing that the line would take several boats to transport and that it would take 45 minutes or so to get back to the MK. So we turned around and walked back through the Poly as the CM suggested...
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...and tried to get on a bus. But no MK buses came by. Finally, Mom asked a driver, who said "I'm going to the Grand Floridian, and then back here, and then to the Contemporary, and then to the TTC, and then to the Magic Kingdom, if you want to just get on and wait. She thought that was a great idea. Me, not so much. But hey, I wanted to let someone else be responsible for transportation choices for a bit and let me off the hook, so away we went. Scott was bumming because of what we had just finally found out - the monorail was closed due to a fatal accident. Everyone was tired. But eventually, we made it back to the Magic Kingdom.

Next Chapter: Is it Tomorrow(land) Yet?

[FlightlessDuck]

And Cyndy was STILL off looking for Hannah's money. For 15 lousy dollars.

As it happens, Hannah put her money in her phone clip, which was almost as big of a purse, but with holes in it. The money fell out at the bag checker.

Barry thought of this, talked with security, and found out somebody DID find the money, was was GOING to take it to lost and found, but apparently never did.

Meanwhile, Cyndy is still walking trying to find the money. And she wasn't answerring her phone so we could tell her that she should stop looking. She either didn't have the phone on or didn't have it with her. This became a recurring theme.

Jenn didn't mention the fact that we did get to watch the openning show. Well, some of us did (because of where we were in line). I decided after getting through the turnstyle that I should keep a handle on Faith, the 4 year old. I put her on my shoulders so that 1) she should see the openning show, 2) she could be carried and not fight her sister, Juli (2), for the stroller, and 3) so I wouldn't have to lug her around on my hip. This proved very effective, but I ended up not continuing this tread for the rest of the week. I probably should have.


We did manage to get the sunscreen on in time to make it through the train station with the rest of the mob.

After this day, I made sure to point out to people to put sunscreen on while we were ON THE BUS.


We were on, we were up. Nick despised it, and made me keep our Dumbo down the entire time until it lifts you up automatically at the end. He's really, really, really not a fan of heights.

Although after how much he ended up liking some of the thrill rides later, I think this will not be a problem next time.

I was lucky enough to get plopped into a hunny pot with pretty much all of the kids, so I got to watch their faces as we bounced our way through the Hundred Acre Wood.

I don't remember who I went on this with.

And of course, my Kingdom Keepers fan daughter had to turn around and say, "Mom!! The sun! It's the clue!"

I hadn't read the first book by this point, although I did end up reading it during this vacation. Unfortunately, by the time we got to DHS, I ended up being spoiled. Ah, well.


And then someone had to go to the bathroom.

I can feel the tension creating a knot in the back of my neck just reading this...

Now, at some point this morning, I was stopped in my tracks by a castle employee. I walked past her and heard "Eat with the princesses! Tables are available for breakfast in the castle!" I stopped dead - seriously?? Tables available in the castle??? Really??? But on asking Scott, he looked at me like I had grown an extra head. He didn't want to interrupt our touring.

Through the course of this week, we ended up with 3 character meals, include two with Mickey and one with the princesses. Since Faith loves Cinderella, it was a tempting offer. But I was afraid we were already backed up on our plan, and I didn't want to spend either 2 credits/person or over $500 on a breakfast buffet, even if it was in the castle. Only later did I find that Jenn really would have liked to eat i the castle (I thought she was asking for the girls). Maybe next time...

[MouseEarsJenny]

"Oh, that's great, blame it on the little guy. How original. He must've read the schedule wrong with his one eye." - Mike Wazowski

We went straight to Tomorrowland when we got back into MK. We still were not seeing very big crowds, but we were concerned about getting out of the park before fireworks since dinner had taken such a very long time. (We didn't mind the time it took to eat, but it was a long dinner, and the long bus ride after didn't help.)
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We bopped off to Buzz Lightyear, where I was reasonably pleased with my score for not having played in 3 years.
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But Kairi beat me!! A trend that was to continue distressingly through the trip. At least I still beat Scott. ;) And didn't get trapped with Zurg.
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We headed to Carousel of Progress next, as it's one of Scott's favorites. Don't ask me why, as I thought it was REALLY showing its age. But it's nostalgic, and he was happy.

Next we decided to squeeze in the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. We had never seen this particular attraction.
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I had heard about the texting of jokes, though, so I quickly looked for the screens and started trying to text in a joke from Nick. I had just gotten a new cell plan that had unlimited texting, and was only beginning to get addicted to texts. (Now I've sent hundreds, maybe thousands, but I literally got this phone a week before we left.) So there I am, trying to hunt and peck my way through "How many princesses does it take to change a lightbulb? None, duh, they have castle servants!" when we're released to the next room. I figure, it's too late, I can't send Hannah's much better joke. Then the screen flashes for texts again. So I try to laboriously type in her joke. Meanwhile, my 12 year old daughter is impatiently bouncing. And making noises of frustration. Now mind you, she's only HAD a cell phone with texting for the same week I've had my new one. I at least texted before that week. So I turn to her and say, "Do you think you can do this faster?" She says "YES!" and grabs the phone out of my hand. In about 5 seconds, she had the entire joke typed and sent while Scott and I just stared blankly at her. It was SOOO funny. The whole family was just busting up, because it's like some pre-teen built in skill or something.

So we waited by the doors, which I had to take a picture of, since I'm not allowed to take pictures inside.
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The show was cute, and we liked it - and then Hannah's joke got picked! "Which pets are most musical? A Trum-PET!" Hannah was thrilled at the attention, Kai was thrilled cause her texting skills made it possible, and Nick conceded she had the better joke.

Unfortunately, we cut our time too close again. So when we walked out, the fireworks were getting underway. Grandma hates fireworks, so walking up to see them was out. It was too crowded to try to make our way through. So we hid in Auntie Gravity's so that Grandma could plug her ears and the little kids could get ice cream. Scott had a Cappucino Smoothie he didn't like. Barry had an Orange-Pineapple Smoothie he liked, and recommended the Smoothies to Grandpa, who did not like his Strawberry-Banana one. Hannah had a cone, and the little girls shared one. It cost $18.90, but we used snack credits.

Running Totals: 20 CS, 20 TS, 9 S, and $140 in tips with $0 OOP for food. If we had not been on the dining plan, we would have paid $916.71 so far.

I wanted to wait until the crowd thinned out, but everyone was tired, so as soon as the fireworks were over, we made our way through the traffic jam on Main Street.
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We didn't have to wait too long for a bus, and thank goodness again that Coronado's bus stop is so close to the entrance. It was a long day, but we were mostly still smiling on the trip home. Unless we were sleeping.
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Next Chapter: Princess Overdose

[FlightlessDuck]

So. Turns out, as Mom tried to enter the Fantasmic theater, the person just in front of her stopped suddenly. He was wearing big clunky shoes. She was wearing open-toed sandals. She jammed her toe against the back of his heel. And while I enjoyed Philharmagic, as reported previously, in the back of my mind, I was pretty concerned about Mom's wincing and grimacing.

This is the part where I feel like a jerk. Although I never said it out loud, because that would solidfiy the fact that I was a jerk, I was pretty much thinking "oh, great. Mom's overreacting to a stubbed toe, and it's going to screw up the rest of our day." It's a good thing it wasn't broken, or else I would have felt like a big jerk the rest of the week for thinking that.

First Aid in the MK is located back by Crystal Palace. The path through the castle was closed, so we took the ramp around, losing some people in the process, but I figured they'd catch up eventually.

It was at this time that I discovered that Nick left him Green Bay Packers visor in the theatre. We asked a CM, who looked around a little, but said we would have to wait for the next show to let out. Fortunately, I knew where Crystal Palace was, so he and I hung out and looked at stuff in the gift shop. As the next group of people let out, the CM followed, with Nicky's visor.


Scott had a completely different experience. I'll let him tell you about riding with Juli and Cyndy! :rotfl:

I questioned whether Juli and Faith should go on the ride at all. I ended up sitting with Cyndy and Juli, and Cyndy acted calmly and sweetly so Juli wouldn't get upset. "Ah, look, the pretty ghosts are dancing". And my favorite: "Ah, look, that lady in the picture is going to get married. And she has an axe to cut her cake..." :laughing:


The Jungle Cruise was just as groaningly funny and slightly dated but charming as always.

The skipper reminded me of someone I used to work with when I worked in an area amusement park 15 years ago.


The kids LOVED trying to spot Jack Sparrow throughout the ride. I didn't remember it being as long as it was, and loved the mist effect with Davy Jones.

I hadn't remembered either. I spent most of my time trying to find the additions. I liked how even in scenes were they didn't physically add Jack, there were references to him.

On our way out of Adventureland, we saw Jack himself leading the Pirate Tutorial. The new stage was still roped off at that point. By the end of the week, we'd see the same show being performed on the new stage.

New stage? What new stage? I barely paid attention to this, and it didn't even occur to me until reading this that they moved from one stage to another over the course of the week.

None of the kids wanted to volunteer, and since it wasn't actually Johnny Depp, who cares, right? (Scott's gonna get me for that...)

I didn't get to go to Morroco at all :(

We headed to Cosmic Ray's for lunch.

Still one of my favorite counter service places to eat. MmMmMmMm.

We were all getting pretty tired, so we headed back, too. You can see that tired was taking its toll on Faith as she sat grumpily all the way back on the bus just like this

Somewhere along the line, the members of the family who have the body temperature of your average polar bear decided it was a good idea to ride in the back of the bus, where all the heat from the engine is. I never understood this. We're in Florida, it's hot! Bus is cool. Cool good, hot bad! :confused3

[aaaateamsgrandma]

I just read your whole PTR and TR. Very good. What fun I know you had. We had 9 in our Grand Gathering and stayed at CSR also. We loved it there. We had no small children but that is the magic of Disney. It doesn't matter your age at all. Loving all the pics. The children are adorable.

[FlightlessDuck]

Skipping over the pool post. All I have to say about it was yes, the water was warm, but the slide was awesome!

When we got to the bus stop at MK, I heard someone talking about the monorails not running and the bus driver made some announcement about buses to the Grand Floridian and Poly that I didn't quite catch.

I knew something was up when I heard the monorails were down. It's really sad what happened. :(

That's okay, there's more than one way across the lagoon, so I herded everyone to one of the boats. There was a huge line at all of the boats, but if the monorail wasn't working, that made sense to me.

I really enjoyed the boatride. Moreso than the monorail the day before, I think.

we made our way inside to discover a HUGE line.

This was weird, and I started to worry. Our ADR was supposed to be at 5:10, and yet there are like 40 people ahead of us in line. But we got seating almost exactly at 5:10, so that was good.

The food was absolutely fantastic. I was not sure how things were going to go this time, because last trip we had breakfast at 'Ohaha and were not impressed. Nothing could be further from the truth this time. Everything was good. The wings, postickers, bread, veggies, noddles, and especially the meat.

The beef was medium rare, but it didn't bother me. As soon as I bit into it, I saw it was rare, and knew this was going to be a problem for Mom and Cyndy. More on that when we get to Le Cellier...

I should say up front I never liked bread pudding. Until this trip. And this pudding. It was DIVINE. I especially liked the bananas foster sauce.

I love bread pudding, and this one was excellent. But it gets outmatched a few days later...

Then they wanted everyone with a birthday this month, so Scott and I were shoved up front by our family. We learned to say happy birthday in Hawaiian, but I forget now.

I was actually one of the ones "indisposed" at this point, and when I came out, people were yelling at me to go to Jenn. I was confused. It wasn't my birthday. Finally someone decided it was a good idea to explain to me that they were celebrating all the birthdays in July. Then it made some sense.

But as we got to the dock, the CMs were announcing that the line would take several boats to transport and that it would take 45 minutes or so to get back to the MK. So we turned around and walked back through the Poly as the CM suggested...

We should have stayed on the boat. I think we ended up wasting an hour by getting on the bus we got on.

Scott was bumming because of what we had just finally found out - the monorail was closed due to a fatal accident.

We heard a CM died, but didn't get any actual details until we got back home two weeks later.

[FlightlessDuck]

We bopped off to Buzz Lightyear, where I was reasonably pleased with my score for not having played in 3 years.

I don't know what my score was, but she did beat me. Then again, she cheats, just like Pinochle.


We headed to Carousel of Progress next, as it's one of Scott's favorites. Don't ask me why, as I thought it was REALLY showing its age. But it's nostalgic, and he was happy.

Why? Why!?! Because it's a great, big, beautiful tomorrow, that's why!


Next we decided to squeeze in the Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. We had never seen this particular attraction.

It was OK to do once, but I doubt we will go back to it. Also, I wasn't really that surprised by Kai's texting skills, but it was still darn funny.

It was too crowded to try to make our way through. So we hid in Auntie Gravity's so that Grandma could plug her ears and the little kids could get ice cream. Scott had a Cappucino Smoothie he didn't like.

The smoothie had a weird aftertaste to it. Can't pin it down. Afterwards, Jenn mentioned that she thinks I got the same thing last time, and didn't like it then, either. I'll try not to repeat this mistake next time.

Also, next time, I am going to make it a point to get on Astro Orbiter. I finally worked up the nerve to ride this, and never had a chance. And I think I want to do it at night, too.

[DevonsDisneyMom]

Loving the report!!! We are from PA too!!! Can't wait to head to the World next month!

[MouseEarsJenny]

"Life itself is the most wonderful fairy tale." - Hans Christian Anderson

I left the family sleeping this morning and scooted over to the laundry to wash a few loads of clothes. We were only planning on going to the World Showcase today, and since it didn't open until 11, we could afford a little extra dawdling time. By the time I got back, the kids and Scott were up. We were headed for the Akershus Princess lunch, so I helped Kai and the little girls into their princess costumes, and we took a few pictures outside the room.

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We just missed the EPCOT bus, so we had to wait 20 minutes for the next one. The girls got lots of looks and comments as we made our way through the turnstiles at EPCOT, but the whole trip there was a hurry up, wait, hurry up, wait kind of affair. Since the rest of the group was travelling slowly and I was concerned about fitting in everything we wanted to do, I decided to take everyone's tickets and run over to the Land to pick up fastpasses for Soarin'. To my chagrin, the fastpasses being distributed were for 2:00 in the afternoon. I had heard that I would be lucky to get fastpasses by 11 in the morning, and assumed our fastpass time would be around our dinner reservation at the Garden Grill. This was going to throw a kink in our touring plan, but I figured I should grab them anyway. (Yes, I know fastpass return times aren't always enforced, but I'd heard they were at Soarin' sometimes.)

Meanwhile, I told Scott to head right for Mexico, and I'd meet them there. That did not work very well at all. Scott started walking them that way, but the rest of the group wanted to stop at MouseGear and he thought they'd have time, and didn't want to argue with a crowd. So, I called him to say I was walking up to Mexico and he said they were still in the gift shop. AARGH. Fine, fine, no biggie. I'll sit on a bench outside Mexico, catch my breath, take some pictures.
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The group finally shows up, and guess what? Someone has to go to the bathroom! Nearest bathrooms are by Norway. So we walk to Norway. Wait by the bathroom. Walk back to Mexico. I'm being told off by people who say they want a chance to shop. Which is great and all. But we still haven't DONE anything this morning. So I promise we'll shop before the end of the vacation and we all get on the Gran Fiesta Tour.
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This ride is much cuter than it used to be, now that Panchito and Jose are everywhere looking for Donald. But it's still pretty lame. Fortunately, we just watched The Three Caballeros at home, so the kids have a ball with it - especially Nick, who has a Donald Duck fixation like his dad. Plus, on both this ride and Maelstrom, Grandpa had difficulty getting down into the seat because there wasn't room for his knees to bend without also turning to the side. He had a double knee replacement a year or two ago, so that made it difficult for him.

We headed back to Norway to ride Maelstrom. We saw the stave church, and Mom and Gordi wanted to go in. I wanted to explore, too, but I figured we should get Maelstrom out of the way before lunch. Turns out, I should have left them at the church because they hated Maelstrom. Another "roller coaster" in their estimation.
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When we got off the ride, it was time to check in for our lunch. It was very hot, and the check-in is outside, so Grandma wanted to take Faith in the gift shop to get her out of the heat. Fortunately, while we were still debating, they called us in for lunch. Well, they called us in to stand in line for a picture with Belle, anyway.

I think I'll just get this out of the way now, so I don't have to repeat myself for the next hour or so. The princesses? CReeepy. Seriously. Never booking a princess meal again. Really, really creepy. The girls didn't mind, of course. They were thrilled, as you'll see in the pictures. But the big, fake, scary smiles, the unblinking, over-made-up faces, the slightly askew wigs... *shudder* I'm sorry - I know it's the highlight of many a little girl's vacation. But I couldn't get past the "scary smily lady in a bad costume" thing.

Anyway, like I said, the girls had no problem with them. They traipsed up for their picture, but the photopass guy was having camera issues. So they got to talk to Belle for a good long time before their picture. Long enough that you could see she was running out of canned interaction. She kept turning and smiling like if she just held the pose, the camera would start working. Ok, seriously, I'm shutting up. *ahem* The girls were thrilled with Belle.
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Juli especially didn't want to let go of her hand, since she considered Belle her personal princess.
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The photopass guy got some decent shots. The one we all got printed for free was the worst of the lot - I don't think I even included it here. (It was the first one taken and Juli and Faith weren't even smiling). But these two were very cute, and luckily I was getting the CD anyway.
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Next it was time to peruse the menu. We were a bit nervous about the menu choices, but everyone eventually found something they were willing to try.
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We headed to the cold buffet and filled up plates with salads, cheese, fruit, and sliced meats. The buffet food was basically what you would expect at a salad buffet. Not bad at all, but nothing stood out to me as particularly delicious. When Grandma brought back a heaping plate to Gordi, he said "That's supposed to be appetizers?" As far as he was concerned, the plate from the buffet would have made a fine lunch all by itself, and he was probably right. Good thing, too, because our food wasn't going to show up for a while. We were right near the front of the restaurant, not in the great hall I had seen pictures of, which was a bummer. But, that put us right on the path from the princess dressing room. So, the next 20 minutes was a parade of princesses. Faith abandoned all pretense of eating from her buffet plate to point excitedly at each new princess that appeared.
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The first princess past the table was Aurora. She's a favorite of mine, but as I mentioned, I was kind of creeped out by the princesses. So it was particularly ill-advised of me to joke with Scott that "nobody took MY picture with Aurora". I was kidding because we kept asking favorite characters like Goofy and Donald to pose with adults. But I followed it up by quickly saying I did NOT want a picture with Aurora, I was just teasing. Wish my sister listened to that part. *sigh*
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Aurora posed, smiled, and walked away. Cinderella appeared. She posed, smiled, and walked away. (In the interest of fairness, I should point out she was the most personable, and did tell my daughter to not lose her shoes.)
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Ariel arrived, moments later. Pose, smile.
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Ariel actually paused to give hugs. But Juli didn't care - she was already looking to see who was coming next!
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Turns out, it was Snow White, right on the heels of Ariel. She took a few moments to ask Nick if he was being Bashful today. Notice how he's been hiding safely FAR AWAY from the princesses?
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She also took the time for hugs, which was nice.
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And just like that, the princesses were gone. It was nice, don't get me wrong. The girls were thrilled beyond imagination. It was a fairy tale come true for them. But the character interaction with characters who can't even talk was WAY better everywhere we went all week. Mickey or Tigger or Chip would take time with each kid, make jokes, pose for tons of pictures - this just felt like a princess assembly line. It was worth it because it gave the girls such a rush, but I would not do it again.

All the princesses had passed by and we were still working on our buffet plates. Actually, Faith was paying attention to hers for the first time since she saw a princess.
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Then our food arrived. Mom and Grandpa had the Kjottake. Mom thought the hidden mickey presentation was adorable, and they both seemed to like the taste. It was WAY too much food when you had already been to the cold table, though.
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I had the Classic Lamb Stew. (Allears says this is only available at dinner, but it was on our lunch menu.) It was tasty, and reminded me of an Irish lamb stew I make. A bit unseasonable, though, as it made me feel very warm. My sister and Kairi both had the vegetable stuffed pasta and enjoyed it. Barry had the chicken breast (also listed on the dinner menu at Allears). I don't honestly know what he thought of it. Scott had the open faced salmon sandwich and LOVED it. Generally, the food was not as different as it sounds on the menus, and it was all pretty tasty. Our server Beate had more personality and charm than any of the princesses, and I think I would eat in Norway again if the princesses would move out!

The kids got typical kids' fare of hot dogs, pizza, and ravioli. They gave Juli a meal choice for free because she's two. No one complained, and Faith looks pretty happy.
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So, remember I said I wished my sister listened to me? She went and told the server that I wanted a picture with Aurora. And so Aurora came back to our table to take a picture with me and wish me happy birthday. If I weren't so creeped out by her, it would have been nice that Cyndy did that, and especially nice that the character handler and Aurora went out of their way to arrange it. Since my "smile for the camera" face looks much creepier than hers, I guess I shouldn't be bratty about it!
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Dessert was delicious. We were given two or three family plates of School Bread, Rice Cream, and Chocolate Mousse. Hannah grabbed the whole School Bread as soon as the plate landed on the table and I had to make her put it back so everyone got a taste. It was as good as I remembered but still TOO sweet, so Hannah ended up getting 3/4 of it back after everyone tried some. The mousse was divine and easily the best dessert of the three. Scott liked the rice cream, but I despise rice in desserts, so it really didn't work for me. Meanwhile, Belle strolled by and stopped to plant a big lipstick kiss on Juli. Awww!
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After I'd already eaten a taste of all the desserts, I was brought another dessert! The waitress wished me a happy birthday and gave me a card signed by all the princesses.
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I'm still not sure why there were gummy worms, but whatever! It was a cute cupcake and the bite or two I managed to eat was tasty.
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The lunch cost $277.88, and we paid with 10 TS credits, and $50 for tips.

Running Totals: 20 CS, 30 TS, 9 S, and $190 in tips with $0 OOP for food. If we had not been on the dining plan, we would have paid $1194.59 so far.

Then the girls headed into the bathroom to change into park clothes. Nick meanwhile, was revving to get far, far away. Until the server told him this chair was used in the filming of Pirates of the Carribean. Then he decided I could get one picture of him in the restaurant!
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Next Chapter: Pretty Froggy, I Make For You

[MouseEarsJenny]

:yay: A Magic Kingdom morning! Not much I like better! And no crowds. I guess July 5 is a day to be at rope drop:thumbsup2 It's unbelievable they were actually going begging for people to eat with the princesses!

I know, I was shocked! But while I'd like to eat in the castle, I don't think I really like dining with the princesses, so it's just as well we didn't go. It was a pretty great morning, though.

I just read your whole PTR and TR. Very good. What fun I know you had. We had 9 in our Grand Gathering and stayed at CSR also. We loved it there. We had no small children but that is the magic of Disney. It doesn't matter your age at all. Loving all the pics. The children are adorable.

You're right - age is completely unimportant in Disney. Glad your Grand Gathering went well, too! Thanks for reading and the compliments on the kids!

Loving the report!!! We are from PA too!!! Can't wait to head to the World next month!

OooH! Lucky you! Have a super trip. Glad my report is getting you in the Disney spirit!

[DisBride2009]

Hey, I am enjoying your TR so far. The kids are just soooo adoreable :). You guys have a wonderful family. I love the T-Shirts you and the kids made. Especially where it says "Mo--om Fineas and Ferb and refurbing Space Mountain." That was so cute. I would have never thought of having a shirt saying that lol. Can't wait to read more. Keep on posting...Lots of love xoxoxoxoxox.

[FlightlessDuck]

I left the family sleeping this morning and scooted over to the laundry to wash a few loads of clothes.

Thank goodness! It was nice knowing Day 2 was going to be a late-start day at Epcot. We were out much later than we expected yesterday.


To my chagrin, the fastpasses being distributed were for 2:00 in the afternoon.

This was supposed to be a day for World Showcase stuff, but because of this, we ended up zig-zagging back and forth through the park. In hindsight, we should have got the Soarin' passes the next Epcot day instead.

Meanwhile, I told Scott to head right for Mexico, and I'd meet them there. That did not work very well at all. Scott started walking them that way, but the rest of the group wanted to stop at MouseGear

There was some commotion about wanting ears, or wanting time to shop. I thought Jenn would be longer getting the passes, not thinking about how fast she would walk by herself. This problem shows up again later at Animal Kingdom...

Nearest bathrooms are by Norway. So we walk to Norway. Wait by the bathroom. Walk back to Mexico.

At the time, I didn't understand why we just didn't ride on Maelstrom then. It was right there. At least Mexico was right next door, which is funny, because I've seen maps of the globe, and I don't remember Norway being anywhere near Mexico.

This ride is much cuter than it used to be, now that Panchito and Jose are everywhere looking for Donald.

I definitely agree with this. It seems a lot less like a commercial for Mexico tourism than it did before the refurb. I think the four of us got more out of it than the others since we had just watched "The Three Caballeros" a few weeks earlier.

We saw the stave church, and Mom and Gordi wanted to go in.

Nobody pointed this out to me. Seeing the picture, I now know what the others meant, but it wasn't until later in the day somebody say that Mom and Gordi wanted to go back to Norway to see "the church". I had no idea there was a church, let alone that it was moved from Norway.

Turns out, I should have left them at the church because they hated Maelstrom.

I liked it much better this time around. Last time, SOMEBODY (glares at Jenny) told we we actually did go backwards over the falls, so I spent the entire ride in a panic. That person obviously doesn't like me very much :P. This time, knowing what came when, I enjoyed it.

I think I'll just get this out of the way now, so I don't have to repeat myself for the next hour or so. The princesses? CReeepy.

I cannot get over how creepy it was. I much prefer the mask characters over face characters. The only exception to this are the people who aren't supposed to actually look specifically like anybody (Jedi training academy, street performers, etc). But the princesses looked like zombies. It was really, really odd.

I was also starting to get sick of the character meals (and this was only our second one). I wanted to be able to eat without interruption. I think from now on, I want to limit us to going to one character meal a trip.

Next it was time to peruse the menu. We were a bit nervous about the menu choices, but everyone eventually found something they were willing to try.

I had agonized over the menu months in advance. After seeing a picture of the salmon on one of the food threads, I decided to try that. I am glad I picked it. The fish was cooked perfectly, and the sauce that went with it was wonderful and not overpowering.


So, remember I said I wished my sister listened to me? She went and told the server that I wanted a picture with Aurora. And so Aurora came back to our table to take a picture with me and wish me happy birthday.

I saw Cyndy get up to go do something, and I knew this was exactly what it was. I had found that Jenn didn't really care that much if she got a picture with Aurora or not, so I didn't bother to go ask. Ah, well, it was nice.

Dessert was delicious. We were given two or three family plates of School Bread, Rice Cream, and Chocolate Mousse.

I liked the Rice Cream the best, but then I also like rice pudding. It's a Pennsylvania Dutch thing, I guess.

After I'd already eaten a taste of all the desserts, I was brought another dessert! The waitress wished me a happy birthday and gave me a card signed by all the princesses.

That was nice, and I think Jenn ended up getting two more cards over the course of the week. It's too bad Chef Mickey's didn't do this.

Next Chapter: Pretty Froggy, I Make For You

Please, no! Anything but that!

[MouseEarsJenny]

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” - Jawaharial Nehru

We were now supposed to spend the afternoon exploring the World Showcase. Unfortunately, I had made that Soarin' fastpass run earlier, hoping to get passes near our dinner time since we were eating in the Land pavillion. Instead, as you'll recall, our passes were for 2:00. And after our leisurely lunch with the royals, it was just about time for Soarin'. Grandma and Grandpa had left the restaurant to get a head start on the walk to the Land pavillion while the girls changed clothes. So we headed off to meet them, back into Future World.
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Now, we have planned to walk around the World Showcase over and over again. When I was a kid, going with my family, I'm pretty sure I made it around once. But that was so long ago, I'd swear we travelled around on a double decker bus. They did have those to transport guests 18 years or so ago, right? Or am I completely losing it?? Anyway, one way or another, since that childhood trip, I've never managed to actually tour the World Showcase. So this time, we dedicated a WHOLE DAY to it. We thought. :lmao:

Anyway, as we headed away once again from the World Showcase, I felt justified in the detour by the long wait we were avoiding at Soarin', one of my favorite rides. Nicky had agreed, much to my surprise, to try the ride again. So, while I waited with the two little girls for Grandma and Grandpa to show up, our first group headed into the fastpass line. The girls weren't thrilled with waiting, and were getting a bit antsy. The day before had been all about rides for them, and now they were having to wait while other people rode. Guess we were raining on their parade.
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Finally, Grandma and Grandpa showed up, and soon after, the first group came off the ride. Hannah was bouncing and bubbling about how much she LOVED the ride. Nick was miserable, and hated it more than last time, if possible (he's afraid of heights). Kairi really liked it, but when I asked who wanted to go on with me and Grandma and Grandpa (we had an extra fastpass because I had scanned Faith's ticket but she turned out to be a hair too short) she said Hannah could go. (I had actually asked Kairi specifically first because it's one of her favorites, too, and she hadn't gotten to ride anything with me yet.) Well, we headed back on, and I was a bit nervous. I had INSISTED that Grandma and Grandpa ride this, and extolled its virtues. Mom gets motion sick in IMAX theaters and I was afraid she'd hate it and not be happy with me. Then we actually got on.

For the first time all vacation, I saw Grandma and Grandpa COMPLETELY and totally give in to child-like wonder. They were calling out, lifting feet over trees, laughing - and Hannah was giggling on my other side. They were all so completely caught up in the ride - it was purely a joy to experience. Everyone else on the ride was similarly caught up. When the ride stopped, everyone applauded, which is just cool. Grandma and Grandpa found their way back on that ride 3 or 4 times before the end of the trip.

When we got off, Mom headed to the kiosk that looks like a check-in counter and got the complete list of everything we had passed over from a very patient CM who wrote it all down for her out of a binder they kept behind the desk. Did I mention she really loved the ride?

Looking at the time, we realized that once again, we were NOT going to make it around the World Showcase. We decided to cut directly to the other side of the lagoon to walk from Japan to Germany and stop at the American Adventure, since Grandpa is a big fan of patriotic and historical shows, Kairi had wanted to get a pearl in Japan, and Grandma wanted a cuckoo clock in Germany. We took a Friendship across. Those boats are REALLY stuffy and hot in the summer humidity. I was also bummed to see how much trash was floating in the lagoon - especially near the dock by Japan.

When we arrived, we were about 15 minutes before the posted time for Miyuki's first show of the day. I decided that everyone else could go shop in Japan if they wanted, but I was planting myself at the front of the rope and waiting for Miyuki. Kairi, the reason for the trip to Japan, wanted to stay with me, though! So we mostly stayed by the rope, although Grandma and Grandpa went inside to get out of the heat.

They were drawn back outside by the drum show, which happened right before Miyuki arrived. The kids especially liked watching the drummers playing this HUGE drum.
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Then Miyuki came out and set up her shop. I'd never seen her show, but I heard about it on the DIS. She started with some rules. Families had to share. Only one kid per family could get a candy. Then she looked right at Kairi and asked what she wanted. It came as no surprise to anyone when Kairi asked for a frog - she is CRAZY about them. Her room at home is wall to wall frogs. With a flick of her wrist, Miyuki went to work.
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Kairi was thrilled to be picked, and amazed, just like the rest of the group, at how a lump of rice taffy turned into an adorable animal.
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One thing the DIS didn't tell us, though, was the absolutely adorable patter Miyuki kept up while she was crafting. "Pretty Froggy, I make for you, lovely froggy, green froggy, long froggy leg, pretty water, I make for you, shiny pretty candy..." I thought it was too cute. Scott? Well. You can read his report. Let's just say if you want to make him scream, just start saying "Pretty froggy..."
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In the wink of an eye, Miyuki was done with the frog. She hung it to dry and started on a sea turtle for someone else. She picked Faith, but we told her we were all one family, so she moved on. Faith, of course, took that personally. But there you have it.

When Kairi got her frog, we took some pictures and then went to look at the pearls. Kai changed her mind about picking a pearl (after months of saying that's the one souvenir she wanted). Still not sure what that was about. So we moved on.
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I liked the style of the buildings in Morrocco and wished we had time to stop, but everyone was eager to keep moving, so I had to settle for bad pictures snapped on the way.
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When we got to the American Adventure, we were already running low on time. I checked with the person at the door and found out how long the show was. I thought we'd have just enough time to see the show, and asked if everyone wanted to see it. They all agreed, and I moved forward.
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That's when some confusion happened. I'm still not sure exactly how this worked out, because as soon as I got to the door, a CM rushed up to me. He said, "What state are you from?" and I said "Pennsylvania" and he said, "Oh, we have a message for a Jean from Pennsylvania!"

I was confused, and quickly tried to explain I was Jenn, not Jean, but he said something about that's what he meant and hustled me over to a wooden box. He opened it to reveal a phone and told me to dial 3333. I did, and ended up getting birthday greetings from Goofy! It was so very cute, and I was revving on it, when I realized that Scott had his mad face on, Grandpa was looking lost, Grandma and Cyndy were nowhere to be seen, and Barry and the girls were already in the next room.

*sigh* I tried to find out what had happened. Turns out, Grandma decided we didn't have time to see the show and go to Germany to get the cuckoo clock she wanted. So, she took Cyndy and took off. She didn't bother to tell Grandpa, who was looking for her, and then wanted to try and find her once we told him where she was, which was a really bad idea. One, trying to find someone else in Disney World when you've never been there yourself is daunting. Two, we were only at the American Adventure because we thought he'd enjoy it. We convinced him to wait with us as the Voices of Liberty wrapped up their performance. They had lovely voices, but I didn't care for their version of Black is the Colour (Of My True Love's Hair).

As for the American Adventure, I think I saw it once before (must have been on that 18 years ago trip) but I didn't remember Mark Twain being such a jerk. He was really negative! But we all liked it, and learned some interesting bits of trivia along with the familiar history. Or not-so-familiar history, as my daughter asked me if Mark Twain was related to Shania Twain. :headache:

Gordi did especially like it, and we had a great conversation as we walked about how much of that history he had lived through personally. As we headed back to the Friendship, we got a call from Cyndy and Mom. They were already headed over the lagoon and would save our spot for us at the Garden Grill. Mom had NOT gotten a cuckoo clock because even the very smallest were ridiculously expensive (could've told her that...) and she was disappointed. But between Soarin', Miyuki, and the American Adventure, I enjoyed the afternoon. There was plenty of beauty, charm, and adventure in the World Showcase. Maybe we'll get all the way around it... NEXT TIME. :rotfl:

Next Chapter: Stop the Restaurant, I Wanna Throw Up

[FlightlessDuck]

Finally, Grandma and Grandpa showed up, and soon after, the first group came off the ride. Hannah was bouncing and bubbling about how much she LOVED the ride. Nick was miserable, and hated it more than last time, if possible (he's afraid of heights). Kairi really liked it

I believe Barry liked it, but complained about seeing people's feet in front of him (we were in the last row). Cyndy said that she could see the black around the screen and it was a bit distracting. I liked it, but I was also trying to keep an eye on Nicholas, who looked green. I probably would have been happier if Jenn had ridden with us and someone else stayed with the girls.

Looking at the time, we realized that once again, we were NOT going to make it around the World Showcase.

:sad2:

Those boats are REALLY stuffy and hot in the summer humidity.

The boat didn't bother me at all. I don't recall feeling stuffy. Maybe hot, but then, it was Florida.

They were drawn back outside by the drum show, which happened right before Miyuki arrived.

I really liked the drum show, and next time I want to be in a better position to watch it properly. From where we were, it was hard to see the whole thing.

"Pretty Froggy, I make for you, lovely froggy, green froggy, long froggy leg, pretty water, I make for you, shiny pretty candy..." I thought it was too cute. Scott? Well. You can read his report. Let's just say if you want to make him scream, just start saying "Pretty froggy..."

I found it highly annoying. Grandma said something about how she probably doesn't know that much English, but I am probably a little more skeptical of this. It seems this act was on purpose. It drove me crazy. I'm glad Kairi got her frog, but I never want to do this again. There must have been something else going on in the Japan pavilion of interest.

When Kairi got her frog, we took some pictures and then went to look at the pearls. Kai changed her mind about picking a pearl (after months of saying that's the one souvenir she wanted).

I wanted to buy a souvenir in Japan, but didn't really get enough time to look around and really pick something out I wanted. Although I did like the swords. :rolleyes1

I liked the style of the buildings in Morrocco and wished we had time to stop, but everyone was eager to keep moving,

I liked the dress in the picture. Very Princess-Leia-on-Jabba-the-Hutt's-barge-esque. Also, if I remember correctly, I wasn't allowed into Morrocco because of the belly dancers. :-P

I thought we'd have just enough time to see the show, and asked if everyone wanted to see it. They all agreed, and I moved forward.

This is the key thing to this incident. I was in the back of the group, and was the last one in the building. As far as I could understand, nobody said they didn't want to go into the American Adventure, but then Cyndy and Grandma promptly turned around and walked off to look at clocks. Meanwhile, I'm trying to figure out why Jenn is on the phone while I am trying to make sure she knows that we lost a couple people. It seems weird that in the American Pavilion they would waste the time to set up a phone just for birthday greetings.

We convinced him to wait with us as the Voices of Liberty wrapped up their performance. They had lovely voices, but I didn't care for their version of Black is the Colour (Of My True Love's Hair).

I don't remember what else they sang, but I wasn't impressed either. But then, I am used to the Gaelic Storm version, so that might have something to do with it.

I wish we sat more in the middle of the room for the American Adventure. We sat pretty much in the front row and all the way over to the left. It was annoying having to watch everything from other there. But I liked the show, and I am pretty sure I saw it before, too.

Next Chapter: Stop the Restaurant, I Wanna Throw Up

Or: Who Let All The Crickets In Here?

[MouseEarsJenny]

“I seem to you cruel and too much addicted to gluttony, when I beat my cook for sending up a bad dinner. If that seems to you too trifling a cause, pray tell for what cause you would have a cook flogged?” - Marcus Valerius Martialis, Roman poet (1st century B.C.)

No, I am not going to physically abuse the chef of the Garden Grill in today's installment. But this is going to be a rather negative review, so consider yourself duly warned.

We were seated at a table on the top level of the two revolving levels of this restaurant. Our waitress took our drink orders, and brought back Evian for Barry, who had asked for water. That did turn out to be on the dining plan, but I was a bit annoyed about the $6+ I thought it was going to cost us. (Mainly because Evian sells for about half that at home.)

The characters started arriving the second we were seated, and I missed the rushed, rehearsed recital by our waitress of what we would be eating. Several baskets of bread were plopped down on the table, and the waitress took off again, returning to dump salads in a big communal bowl. (I had seen pictures of individual salads with Mickey shaped cucumbers, so that was kind of a bummer). Meanwhile, I was noticing that the decor on the second level of this restaurant leaves a lot to be desired. Twice a rotation, we'd go past alcoves like the one you can see here. The alcoves had doors leading to the kitchen, but were also being used as catch-alls for anything someone might need in a restaurant. You can see there's a fire extinguisher, stack of high chairs, booster seats.... What you can't see is the bucket full of garbage, the dirty mop resting against the wall, a crate of produce that hadn't been hauled in. It was, in a word, nasty.
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But the characters were much more engaging than the princesses had been, and I sat back and tried to enjoy their interaction with the kids. The bread turned out to be oatmeal cluster rolls and they were very delicious. I wish I had simply filled myself up on those and not tried to eat anything else, but I was feeling a bit queasy. (Ominous music...) But Chip was loving on the kids, so who cares, right?
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And then along came Farmer Mickey, who delighted everyone.
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It was hard to take pictures without chopping off character heads or ears because you could only get so far back from the table since we were bumped right against the railing to the second level. It was a very narrow seating arrangement.
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But upclose and personal with the characters if you were sitting on the outside of the table.
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Unfortunately, I was on the inside of the table, and I was starting to feel like I might need to throw up. That wasn't helped by the swift arrival of our food. As Pluto charmed the kids...
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And Dale teased them by playing with hair...
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Coloring on menus...
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And pretending to walk away without seeing them, and then running back to give them attention...
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The waitress moved in front of pictures, reached over tables and around characters to dump plates on the table. She dropped off a platter of macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets and said "for kids" and then dumped one platter of turkey, stuffing, vegetables, potatoes, fish and beef on the table. Again, she took off. We had 7 "adults" and one plate of food piled on top of itself like someone's messy buffet plate.

Everyone started eating fairly happily enough, although with super small portions. You'll see I'm not in this photo, though. A few bites of dry turkey with greasy stuffing and I KNEW I was going to throw up. I took off to the bathroom, which required me to climb over and around the table and then leave the restaurant entirely, since the bathrooms are off in the Land pavillion.
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When I thought my stomach was settled, I returned. I tried to eat again, but the beef was ridiculously over salted. The potatoes had already been eaten, and when a second serving of just potatoes and veggies was ordered, it came back with parchment paper stuck to the potatoes, which a chef came out to explain when Mom called the waitress over. He said it wouldn't hurt her, basically. Which, fine, it won't. But shouldn't a chef make sure he's only sending the edible material off a baking sheet out to guests? The rest of the family complimented the freshness of the vegetables, but they had absolutely no flavor whatsoever. I steam fresh vegetables all the time, but these had all their natural flavor leached out and no seasonings to enhance their flavor either, unless you count the drippings from the stuff piled on top of them. The turkey was nearly inedible, and so dry I think they roasted the individual slices. I love stuffing, and I don't even want to think about that greasy, nasty, liquidy stuffing. And all of that was on just a few bites of each. No one else complained about the food, but that tiny plate they had given seven adults turned out to be enough. Most of the adults ended up eating the kids' chicken fingers.

I ended up back in the bathroom hoping my stomach would settle if I could just stop moving.

While we ate, the kids liked watching the rotation, but the adults could only see the wall behind them, and the alcoves full of junk. The characters had barely left the first time when they were coming around a second, and third time. Each time, they posed for pictures like they weren't sure they had seen us before. We felt bad taking up all their time, but I think the restaurant is so small they actually did see everyone twice.

Still, we got some cute pictures. The chipmunks are such cut-ups! I will miss them if we only go to Chef Mickey's next time (and no Liberty Tree Tavern like previous trips, and DEFINITELY NO Garden Grill).
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport224.jpg

Nicky got some attention to make up for the Princess morning.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport225.jpg

And Juli and Dale certainly hit it off.
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And Grandpa got quite a lot of attention the second time the characters travelled, too.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport227.jpg
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport228.jpg

The waitress again mumbled something about dessert and wanted a count of how many wanted blueberry buckle and how many were "kids". We explained that 3 were technically kids, but that Kai would also like a kid dessert. And apparently, Grandpa said something about why can't he have pudding. Because when the "Worms In Dirt" dessert came out, he got one too. That was nice.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport229.jpg

Everyone else had some kind of blueberry thing I'll let Scott describe because I don't eat blueberries and I was back standing outside the restaurant trying to not throw up. Unsuccessfully. (TMI. Sorry.)

The dinner cost $285.38, and we paid with 10 TS credits, and $52 for tips.

Running Totals: 20 CS, 40 TS, 9 S, and $242 in tips with $0 OOP for food. If we had not been on the dining plan, we would have paid $1479.97 so far.

We left the restaurant, with Grandma feeling guilty because she had picked the place and it was fairly evident no one had really liked it. She and Grandpa headed off to use their second set of fastpasses for Soarin'. (They picked them up earlier - they really LOVED the ride.) The rest of us tried to leave, but Cyndy insisted on going back to MouseGear because my call that morning had interrupted her shopping. (Um... I just threw up. Half of the kids still haven't gotten in the pool, and were promised they could tonight. Could we just freaking leave??)

But we sat in the Innoventions plaza.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport230.jpg

And took pictures cause we were there.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport231.jpg

And watched the fountain.
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And finally, Faith and Cyndy came back with their all important purchase of pink mouse ears. Can't get those ANYWHERE else. (Sorry. Bad food makes me grouchy, can you tell?)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport233.jpg

When we got back to the hotel room, we were greeted by this guy and a ton of his brothers, all over our room doors and walls. Good thing we like frogs, huh?
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport234.jpg

Scott took the kids out to the pool, where they met up with their cousins and had a reportedly great time, with Nick finally braving the water slide - and then doing it again 5 times.

I stayed in the room until I felt less nauseous and then meant to join them to at least take pictures when I noticed that our TS credit count was off for two of the rooms. After about 30 minutes on the phone with the front desk, I got it sorted out, and by then everyone returned and we all called it a night. ('Ohana had double charged us, if anyone cares.)

Next Chapter: Hooray for Hollywood!

[FlightlessDuck]

“I seem to you cruel and too much addicted to gluttony, when I beat my cook for sending up a bad dinner. If that seems to you too trifling a cause, pray tell for what cause you would have a cook flogged?” - Marcus Valerius Martialis, Roman poet (1st century B.C.)

When I saw the quote, I knew Jenn was going to get more vicious than I would have about Garden Grill. Sure, I never want to go back there again, but wow...


Meanwhile, I was noticing that the decor on the second level of this restaurant leaves a lot to be desired. Twice a rotation, we'd go past alcoves like the one you can see here.

These were really kind of off-putting. The entire restaurant seemed to be designed poorly. I've been in rotating restaurants before, but this one was just set up badly. Having those alcoves open and having the upper level so narrow were bad design choices.

But the characters were much more engaging than the princesses had been, and I sat back and tried to enjoy their interaction with the kids.

This was one of the few saving graces of the place. I thought the characters came around too many times, which made the dinner seemed rushed, but I did like that they played with the kids more than the creepy princesses.

The waitress moved in front of pictures, reached over tables and around characters to dump plates on the table. She dropped off a platter of macaroni and cheese and chicken nuggets and said "for kids" and then dumped one platter of turkey, stuffing, vegetables, potatoes, fish and beef on the table. Again, she took off. We had 7 "adults" and one plate of food piled on top of itself like someone's messy buffet plate.

This was also annoying. There were 11 of us, on the cramped upper level, with a waitress who didn't seem to know how to not get in the way. Maybe she never had to deal with such a large group before.

As for the food itself, I ended up swiping one of only two piece of Mahi-Mahi that was served the 7 adults, and quite enjoyed it. I didn't mind the veggies or potatoes, but I didn't like anything else.

I ended up back in the bathroom hoping my stomach would settle if I could just stop moving.

Jenn gets queasy sitting in a car and reading at the same time. I'm not sure if the movement of the restaurant, which actually was quite slow, was causing the problem or not.

While we ate, the kids liked watching the rotation, but the adults could only see the wall behind them, and the alcoves full of junk.

One of the things Jenn failed to mention was the sheer noise of the place. You could hear the soundtrack of the Living with the Land ride. You could hear the damned crickets the entire time. It was really highly irritating, and very loud. :headache:


Everyone else had some kind of blueberry thing I'll let Scott describe

Um, it was this blueberry cake thing in a tray and I liked it very much. Since it was a month ago, that's all I really remember about it. Probably the best thing I ate at Garden Grill.

The dinner cost $285.38, and we paid with 10 TS credits, and $52 for tips.

I am so glad I didn't have to pay cash.


When we got back to the hotel room, we were greeted by this guy and a ton of his brothers, all over our room doors and walls. Good thing we like frogs, huh?

They turned into a bit of annoyance after awhile, because we had to make sure they didn't get in the room. But they were still cool. If you go to CSR and end up somewhere facing the center area, the frogs probably don't show up around your room.

Scott took the kids out to the pool, where they met up with their cousins and had a reportedly great time, with Nick finally braving the water slide - and then doing it again 5 times.

I didn't go on the slide this time, but spent a good amount of time making sure Nick actually stood up and didn't drown to death after each one of his trips down the slide. He isn't a strong swimmer, although he has shown a lot of improvement this year. By the time we go back next year, I won't worry about it.

[MouseEarsJenny]

"Hollywood is where if you don't have happiness, you send out for it." - Rex Reed

Tuesday dawned sunny and bright, and it was time for the day that scared us most planning-wise: Hollywood Studios. HS is often dissed on these boards, but we love it. We could happily spend the majority of our trip time between the Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. Which is why it was seriously bumming us out that we only had one day there. We had yielded to Grandma who wanted two EPCOT days and three Magic Kingdom days, so what are you gonna do? In fact, Grandma was so disinterested in Hollywood Studios that she and Grandpa planned on getting a late start and extra sleep, then having a leisurely breakfast at Pepper Market. They promised to join us around dinner time and stay through Fantasmic! but it was a smaller group that headed out to make rope drop at the Studios.
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We were lucky in our buses this morning, and I had stressed the importance of rope drop due to the (new to us) Toy Story ride. I had heard all the horror stories, and didn't want to ruin our morning touring plan. Unfortunately, we were at the turnstiles _45_ minutes before they opened. So we had a nice view of all the employees walking in past deserted park buildings while everyone got antsy and cranky. Ooops.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport236.jpg

Finally, the turnstiles opened and we headed in. We were still close to the front of the rope, but the crowd was pretty massive and I was starting to worry about whether TSM could possibly be worth being trampled. But our way ahead was still clear...
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Until Tootsie DuJour rolled up and started the opening show. I had never seen this particular opening show somehow, but it was cute and funny. Most of the crowd just ignored it and anxiously awaited their release into the park.
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Finally, the rope dropped. It really was midway mania. People were shoving and pushing to an extent that I tried to just slow our group up. But Barry and Cyndy were into it now, and didn't want to give up the position we had waited so long to get. Still, with a sleeping baby on Cyndy's shoulder, and 4 other kids in tow, we got jostled back pretty far. Didn't matter though, because the line was still really short when we got to the ride - everyone was in the fastpass line.

We headed past all the awesome theming...
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport240.jpg

Passing and repassing our own group in the winding empty queue...
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Waving at high speed to Mr. Potato Head...
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And finally getting on the ride. It was GREAT! It was so much fun! I had no idea about the way it swung you from screen to screen, and I loved the constant surprise about which way you'd turn next. The games were fun, though my score was atrocious. As soon as we got off, I grabbed everyone's cards and hustled for the now empty fastpass machines and got us fastpasses for about 2 that afternoon. I thought that was pretty good, considering.

Next on our agenda was some splitting up. Nick was an absolute NO on Tower of Terror and Rock and Roller Coaster. Faith and Juli were too small. Cyndy wanted to go to Playhouse Disney with Faith and Juli, and though I had wanted to try ToT and RnRC, I decided to stay with her rather than saddle her with Nick and her own two girls. I was a bit bummed, but I'm also a chicken, so I wasn't completely heartbroken.

So while we took our picture with a rocket that's apparently also a character...
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport244.jpg
And sat through the most inane and boring show in Disney... (I think it has subliminal messages behind the poorly designed stage that sends preschoolers into a state of rapture. Cause I can't explain why it keeps playing otherwise.)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport245.jpg

Scott, Hannah, Barry, and Kairi headed for ToT. That's when Kairi chickened out. She'd been making noises about not wanting to ride, so it wasn't entirely surprising. Scott decided she could sit out on her own and headed into the ride. Hannah, our daredevil, didn't care and happily waited in the hotel lobby with her Uncle Scott, who I believe was also pretty nervous.
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Scott didn't buy the picture at ToT. I have conflicting reports about whether he was hiding his face or "holding on his hat" but he decided it wasn't flattering.

Oddly, he DID buy this picture on RnRC. It only LOOKS like he's having a heart attack. Really.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/RnRC.jpg

Meanwhile, back with the shorty and chicken group, Nick wanted a picture with Sorceror Mickey in topiary form. I should probably explain that he didn't know at this point that you could get a picture with the actual Sorceror Mickey. I should also explain that he is a certifiable Fantasmic! junkie. He asserts that there would be no point at all in a Disney trip without Fantasmic. In fact, I rearranged our entire park schedule to accomodate Fantasmic because he loves it that much. So whenever he saw anything at all with Sorceror Mickey or brooms and buckets, he wanted pictures.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport246.jpg

Dragging Nick away from the topiary, we decided breakfast was in order. So we stopped by Starring Rolls to use some snack credits. This place is SOOOOOOO good. The baked goods are phenomenal, and the dessert case was calling my name before 10 in the morning. I was good (relatively) and got a croissant instead of one of the desserts in the case.

So what if it was a chocolate croissant?
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Juli obviously approved!
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport249.jpg

But the only thing Nick loves more than obscure versions of Mickey Mouse is cinnamon rolls, so that's what he headed for.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport250.jpg

The two croissants, a juice, a chocolate milk, and a cinnamon roll cost $13.15, and we paid with 5 Snack credits.

Running Totals: 20 CS, 40 TS, 14 S, and $242 in tips with $0 OOP for food. If we had not been on the dining plan, we would have paid $1493.12 so far.

When we finished eating, the rest of the family caught up with us. Hannah had made a detour to buy these adorable sparkly teal Mickey deely-boppers.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport252.jpg

We headed for one of our favorite attractions, the Great Movie Ride. Yes, it's old, and the movies are out of date. But the thing is, good movies are never out of date - they just become "classics". So, we stopped for pictures outside of the Grauman's facade...
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport253.jpg

And headed in for our journey into the movies. Unfortunately, we ran into our longest line to this point and waited about 10-15 minutes to board. But it was worth it. Our tour guide (and I so want this job, of all the jobs in Disney) whisked us under the marquee, and into magic.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport256.jpg

We just saw Mary Poppins on Broadway, so the kids probably remember that more than the movie, but it's a favorite and the closest we got to Mary Poppins on this trip. (Which is a good thing, too. Much like the dancer in Morocco, Scott's not allowed too close to Mary.)
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport257.jpg

The kids were astounded by the exploding bank building, and really got into the whole storyline, which was fun. We were right up front, too, so I think at least the little ones thought we actually were being hijacked by an escaping bank robber.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport259.jpg

Even though we had just eaten breakfast, the rest of the group was ready for lunch, and our next chance to eat might conflict with the times for our TSM fastpass and the Indiana Jones stunt show. Not to mention the fact that dinner was slated for 3:50 (thank you Fantasmic package - sigh) So we headed back to Starring Rolls. At this point, the little girls were starting to get a bit thirsty and cranky, and Cyndy was losing patience. It didn't help that as we tried to get into the bakery, the skies opened up in a torrential downpour. Fortunately, Scott snagged us a spot under the umbrellas that kept our food and fronts very dry - although run-off from the umbrella still got our backs wet.

Fortunately, the food was good, although I wouldn't order the ham sandwich again because it had spicy mustard on it, and I am not a spicy mustard fan. You can't make changes because the sandwiches are pre-made. That's okay, though, because the turkey was great so I can have that next time. The sandwiches were massively huge, and I wasn't very hungry, so I didn't come close to finishing mine. Still managed to do justice to the fabulous dessert selection, though! I had this beautiful banana split dessert, which was like a creamy layered banana trifle. It was heavenly. Scott had a tasty tiramisu - not the best tiramisu we've had, but not shabby. Kai had the cheesecake, and enjoyed it very much. Cyndy and Barry both had gigantic, delicious cupcakes. The kids all enjoyed PB+J for lunch and had bites of all the desserts going around. Most of our bags of chips went in bags for later. The non-dessert selection is somewhat limited, but the great flavors and out of this world desserts certainly make up for it.
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Lunch cost $95.65, and we paid with 8 CS credits. Meanwhile, Grandma and Grandpa went to the Pepper Market at CSR and spent $31.43, and paid with 2 CS credits.

Running Totals: 30 CS, 40 TS, 14 S, and $242 in tips with $0 OOP for food. If we had not been on the dining plan, we would have paid $1620.20 so far.

After lunch, it was time to go back and rock Toy Story Mania again.
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Nicky insisted on riding with me again, and I tried to get him to help me with strategy, but he just wanted to shoot things. Still, we did better than the first time.
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We took a shot of the giant Scrabble board for Grandma, since she loves Scrabble. But the clear blue of the sky had given way to some serious cloudiness.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport264.jpg

Fortunately, everything was sunny again for the moment with our personal emotional rollercoaster, and while poor Scott hustled to find the stroller, a passing CM offered to take a shot of us that turned out to be one of my favorites. I love the angle he used to try and get us and the TSM sign. Someone ought to sign him up for photopass! Wish I had his name, but thank you, CM!
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport262.jpg

Next Chapter: And The Rain Rain Rain Came Down Down Down...

[FlightlessDuck]

Unfortunately, we were at the turnstiles _45_ minutes before they opened. So we had a nice view of all the employees walking in past deserted park buildings while everyone got antsy and cranky. Ooops.

I was a bit worried that the members of the party that didn't "get" Disney were getting annoyed that we were waiting this long. But if it was just the 4 of us, it wouldn't have been a problem. Ah, well.

Until Tootsie DuJour rolled up and started the opening show. I had never seen this particular opening show somehow, but it was cute and funny.


I loved this opening show. If nothing else, having a character named "Tootsie DuJour" was just awesome.

Finally, the rope dropped. It really was midway mania. People were shoving and pushing to an extent that I tried to just slow our group up.

I remember it being hurried and crowded, but I don't really remember it being rowdy.

We headed past all the awesome theming...

I was a little dissappointed by the fact that we hurried through the queue. I wanted to look at the theming more. I have the same problem with Star Tours. But, I also don't want to stand in line for an hour...

And finally getting on the ride. It was GREAT!

I hadn't gotten the hang of the pullstring shooter the first time around, but that fixed itself in later ride opportunities. But besides that, I loved this ride. It is one of my favorites in WDW.

I also like the fact that we decided to get in line right away instead of getting the fast passes first.

Next on our agenda was some splitting up. Nick was an absolute NO on Tower of Terror and Rock and Roller Coaster. Faith and Juli were too small. Cyndy wanted to go to Playhouse Disney with Faith and Juli, and though I had wanted to try ToT and RnRC, I decided to stay with her rather than saddle her with Nick and her own two girls. I was a bit bummed, but I'm also a chicken, so I wasn't completely heartbroken.

While the Chicken Brigade watched Playhouse Disney (ugh!), Barry, Hannah, Kairi and I went down Sunset Blvd. to get on Tower of Terror first. Of course, we had to stop at a bathroom first, but finally made our way to the Tower entrance. This is when I saw the wait time posted as 55 minutes. I was at a bit of a panic, because I didn't want to wait that long and leave the Chicken Brigade alone, so I called Jenn. The time didn't seem right to me, so I wanted a second opinion. She agreed that it sounded too long, so we went on the ride. Kairi decided she didn't want to. She was nervous, and didn't have her inhaler, which made her even MORE nervious. I told her to WAIT BY THE ENTRANCE.

There was basically no line at all. We walked right through the queue and into the room where the TV showed the pre-show. Unfortunately, I got to miss a lot of the theming in the ride queue again. A got a little bit antsy as we went through the rest of the queue, through the "boiler room" and got into our row to wait our turn. I am not good with heights, but I figured this was inside. I hadn't been on in either 2002 or 2006, mostly because the kids were too little, but also because I was a bit chicken myself.

Finally, we got in our row and buckled in. There was no turning back now. The elevator went up, opened into a hallway scene were we saw the ghost of the family and elevator operator, which disappeared into a star field. This is really a very impressive effect. The car moved through it's track and finally the window opened up so we could see outside. To be honest, I don't remember what we saw, because we were going down as soon as it registered that I was up high.

The ride was amazing. There was a freedom in being able to enjoy myself free falling and getting shot back up into the air. I had absolutely no fear at this point. I was laughing, grinning like an idiot, and emersing myself in the sensation of being lifted off my seat over and over again. I WAS holding on to my hat, though, so you don't see my face in the picture.

Hannah and Barry decided to look through the gift shop while I went to look for Kairi. I walked out of the gift shop and up to the entrance, only to not be able to see her.

:scared1: :scared1: :scared1: Holy crap, I lost our daughter in Disney World! :scared1: :scared1: :scared1:

She either didn't have her cell on, or didn't have it with her. I was getting rather scared at this point, and started walking back to the gift shop to get Barry and Hannah, and I found Kairi in the gift shop. She said she saw it from where she was and assumed she would find us in there. I must have walked right passed her, or something. But, as you can see from above, I told her to stay by the entrance.

OK, so heart attack averted. At least for the time being...

Next was Rock-n-Roller Coaster. This was another first for me. Kairi, once again, chickened out. The posted time for this was 40 minutes, but I was hoping for a shorter line. We did wait in our longest line up to this point. I didn't time it exactly, but it was over 20 minutes, maybe 30. I was getting nervous more from hearing the warning about high blood pressure (which I had) than anything else.

The nervous feeling hadn't subsided when I got on the ride, and when the coaster shot off at 60 mph, I thought I was going to have a heart attack right then and there (see: picture in Jenn's post). However, as soon as the initial g-force of the launch was lifted, I had a blast. Steel looping roller coasters are another ride I can't handle because of my fear of heights. Seeing how these things look when they are outside gets me antsy. The fact that I couldn't see what this ride was going to do, again, gave me the freedom to just love the ride itself. The lit up road signs and rest of the theming were great. I could feel corkscrews and lifts and falls and everything. It was awesome.

Hannah bought her deely boppers in the gift shop, and I met Kairi out by the big guitar. We stopped by the same bathroom, AGAIN (*sigh*) and while walking back up Sunset Blvd., I started getting a tightness in my chest. While I had lost 23lbs since January, I was still rather large, and I was starting to panic. Should I have heeded the warning? Was I actually, really, truly going to have a heart attack?

We met up with the rest of the group and went over to the Great Movie Ride, and the tightness hadn't subsided. We waited in line and watched old trailers, and the tightness still hadn't subsided. Finally, we got into the ride itself and I started to feel better. I think I mentioned to Jenn at some point that I wasn't feeling well, but she didn't seemed that concerned. I ended up chalking the feeling up to indigestion (I hadn't drank a carbonated beverage all trip, which wasn't normal for me).

The Great Movie Ride is started to show it's age. And we had to hide Faith and Juli during the Alien scene. But I do so love the ride. It's cheesy, but in a classic way.

We just saw Mary Poppins on Broadway, so the kids probably remember that more than the movie, but it's a favorite and the closest we got to Mary Poppins on this trip. (Which is a good thing, too. Much like the dancer in Morocco, Scott's not allowed too close to Mary.)

English nannies are hot! Dick Van **** thinks so, too :P

Even though we had just eaten breakfast, the rest of the group was ready for lunch, and our next chance to eat might conflict with the times for our TSM fastpass and the Indiana Jones stunt show. Not to mention the fact that dinner was slated for 3:50 (thank you Fantasmic package - sigh) So we headed back to Starring Rolls. At this point, the little girls were starting to get a bit thirsty and cranky, and Cyndy was losing patience. It didn't help that as we tried to get into the bakery, the skies opened up in a torrential downpour. Fortunately, Scott snagged us a spot under the umbrellas that kept our food and fronts very dry - although run-off from the umbrella still got our backs wet.

We obviously didn't think this through. Barry, Hannah, Kairi and I didn't have breakfast with everyone else, so we were hungry. We were all able to eat. I think I had the turkey (I don't really remember). It was good, as was the dessert, but not Wolfgang-Puck's-Express-good. Still better than any other counter service in DHS.


After lunch, it was time to go back and rock Toy Story Mania again.

We didn't record scores, but Kairi and I beat Jenn and Nicky pretty well both times. I think Kairi beat everybody, but I am pretty sure I came in second either in the morning or in the afternoon. Maybe both, I forget.

Fortunately, everything was sunny again for the moment with our personal emotional rollercoaster, and while poor Scott hustled to find the stroller, a passing CM offered to take a shot of us that turned out to be one of my favorites.

I think it kind of sucks that I was relegated to stroller duty while everyone else who was there got to be in basically the best picture from the whole trip. Ah, well, that's what happens when there is a 2 year old along.

[MouseEarsJenny]

"I meant what I said and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, one-hundred percent" - Horton

The quote for this post refers more to my trip report than to the trip. Sort of completely ignored this trip report for the past few months. (Thanks to the moderators for pulling it out of the trip report graveyard.) We had some major family upheaval and things got crazy. But I want to use this report to help us remember the trip, so I want to finish the whole report before all the memories fade even more! So, once more - with feeling!

We hadn't run into too much in the way of weather yet on the trip and we were overdue for a good Florida soaking. Once we left TSM, we headed toward Muppet Vision 4-D, but on the way it started to pour.

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Not just a little drizzle, but a serious downpour. We were soaked, but sought shelter anyway, and ended up under the exit of Muppets rather than at the entrance. We huddled there for a little while, then decided, aw, what the heck, let's just go. So we slogged over to the entrance and watched the show. By the time we left, the rain was more of a nasty drizzle.

We then headed for the next show of Indy. They warned us at the entrance it wouldn't be the full show because of the rain, but Scott had missed this particular attraction every time he's been to Disney and we all love the Indy movies. (Enough that we went out to see Crystal Skull at midnight. And had a very rude surprise when the movie theater messed up and showed the opening five minutes of the second Harold and Kumar movie to a theater full of young kids. Hm... Perhaps that's a bit off topic here. Certainly was off topic at the time!)

Anyway, we headed into the ampitheater, getting a good laugh about the misters along the path. I'm sure they're great for cooling off when you're hot and dry. When you're already wet and clammy... not so much.

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So there we sat, bedraggled and damp, waiting for the show to start.
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I did a crazy thing, and volunteered, but nowhere near as loudly as I needed to if I actually wanted to be in the show. So Indy had to save Marion without my help.

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The show was much abbreviated, but it was still pretty cool and everyone really enjoyed it. Especially the parts with explosions, cause who doesn't like explosions?

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Still, I think Scott could see why I kept bumping it to the end of our touring plan. However, the show did earn the lifelong admiration of Nick, so I imagine we'll be seeing it again on our next visit. In fact, Nick finally decided to part with some of his hoarded souvenir money for an "authentic" Indy hat. Which he then proceeded to wear off and on for the rest of the trip. In 90 degree weather. Ah, well - Indy wears his in the desert, right?

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Kai also wanted to shop and bought a $10 necklace that broke before we left the park that night. Meanwhile, the rest of us hung around and took pictures of lizards. Cause the line at the cart right after an Indy show with thousands of audience members is pretty nasty. And we were very bored.

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We met up with Grandma and Grandpa for dinner at Mama Melrose with the Fantasmic Package. Dinner was not bad. I was disappointed in my choice - the pipette pasta was pretty bland. But the mozzarella and tomato I had as an appetizer was great, and the chocolate truffle cake fantastic. The rest of the table was pretty overwhelmed with the choices and felt like the appetizers were enough food all on their own. Barry's Eggplant Napoleon and the Italian sausage pastas looked great, though. The kids mostly got pizza.

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After dinner, our server Laurence presented me with a card signed by the staff and a chef's hat. He was from China, and he wrote birthday greetings in Chinese on my hat. It was fun. Running totals: $48 tip, would have been $267.11 if we paid out of pocket but cost us 10TS, brings us to a total of 50TS credits used, $290 in tips, and $1887.31 if we had paid OOP.

We then headed to Star Tours. It started raining and thundering a bit on the way, and Grandma (who is incredibly phobic about thunderstorms) started getting very upset. She and Grandpa went to Tatooine Traders while the rest of us rode. We had picked up fastpasses before dinner, so we breezed right through the queue, pausing only to get a few pictures.
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I rode next to Cyndy on this ride, and we were cutting up a bit. We were whining because the ride attendant told us we couldn't use Jedi mind tricks and joking that he was "packing" cause he had a lightsabre strapped at his waist. We giggled hysterically through the whole ride and then said we were going to complain about the unacceptable tour while exiting - none of this to actual CMs, mind you, or very loudly, but just in good, silly fun. I think it was my favorite moment of the trip with my sister.

Unfortunately, Grandma was not as happy. When we got down to Tatooine Traders, she was really upset because we all wanted to walk through the slight drizzle. She hates thunder and lightning, and she thought we were all taking our lives into our hands. But she really wanted to see The Little Mermaid with the girls, so she finally came along with us.

Our immediate family, however, hates The Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Just don't like it. It's boring. It's girly. It's sickeningly sweet. (Yes. We ride on Winnie the Pooh. And like it. One of those paradoxes of life, kay?)

Plus, our FAVORITE attraction at HS was closing shortly. We only had a few more rotations to sneak in a trip to the Animation Academy. So while the rest of the group went to cheer on a whiny fish girl who can't follow rules, we headed to learn to draw characters!

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It was our bad luck that we drew a character we had already done on our last trip - Stitch. But at least we got a refresher course!

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When we came out of our drawing class, we met up with our family in crisis. Juli was having a full-blown meltdown, Grandma was leaving and NOT staying for Fantasmic! whether we liked it or not, and the rest of the family was at their wits end. Grandma and Grandpa did leave, which bummed me out because I really wanted them to see Fantasmic! Especially since this was our only chance and I had already been terrified all day that the weather would cancel the show. Still, I needed to sort out my priorities and and be happy to see it with the family that was with me. Ice cream to the rescue!!
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A break for ice cream fixed Juli and the other kids' moods. Except when Faith's Itzakadoozie broke and she started crying. So I took her back to the stand to blow another snack credit. But they gave her a replacement for free! Very nice!
(Snack Credits Used: 5, If OOP: $13.75, Running Totals: 19 Snack Credits, $1901.06 if we'd been paying cash all this time.)

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We headed to the ampitheater to find out how the whole reserved section thing worked. Last time we had done the Fantasmic! package the reserved section had a separate entrance and we were a bit nervy. But it was really easy. We just went to the attendant by the package sign, they checked our ticket and tore it, and let us in. When we needed to leave, we just took the torn ticket with us.

I blew some souvenir money on light up Mickey heads for all the kids, which kept them entertained until the show started.
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The place was packed. This crowd shot reminds me why we ate dinner so early - it was worth it to get into the reserved area!
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And THIS picture reminds me of why any amount of hassle is worth it when it comes to Fantasmic! My son adores Mickey. The only thing he likes more than Mickey is Sorceror Mickey. The only thing he likes more than Sorceror Mickey is Steamboat Willie. In this show, he gets all three. And fireworks. And dragons. And this is how he looks, through the WHOLE thing:
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Speaking of Steamboat Willie, here he is. The show was fabulous, as always.
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Now that Nick had seen Steamboat Willie, it was imperative that he find him in souvenir form. So we worked our way with the rest of the crowd back toward the entrance.
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And in Mickey's of Hollywood, we DID find Steamboat Willie. But they wouldn't let us buy him, for some reason...
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We did find a smaller bobble head version of him, though. So Nicky ended the night happily. Kai also found a cute purse made of vintage Mickey and Minnie comics, so she was happy.
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Barry, Cyndy, and the girls did some shopping while we sat in the warm air outside and watched the crowds and the lights. Actually, we were ALL happy. It was a great end to the day.

Up Next...
The Infamous "EPCOT Day"

[FlightlessDuck]

We were soaked, but sought shelter anyway, and ended up under the exit of Muppets rather than at the entrance.

As we waited, I got a little concerned. I didn't want us to be in the way of anyone coming out from the show. Fortunately, that worrying was for naught and we moved on before a show let out.

The show was much abbreviated, but it was still pretty cool and everyone really enjoyed it. Especially the parts with explosions, cause who doesn't like explosions?

I liked it a lot, and had no idea what I was missing out on until we ended up going back to DHS on an extra day we had the next week. I contemplated getting an Indy hat of my own, but decided against it when I thought about the fact that I really wouldn't find a way to use it. Still, it looks spiffy on Nick.

We met up with Grandma and Grandpa for dinner at Mama Melrose with the Fantasmic Package. Dinner was not bad. I was disappointed in my choice - the pipette pasta was pretty bland.

I would have to agree, her pasta wasn't that great. I had the Pork Marsala, which I enjoyed. But this restaurant isn't as good as it was the first time we ate there in 2002. At this point, we only eat there to make sure we get the Fantasmic package.

I rode next to Cyndy on this ride, and we were cutting up a bit.

I don't quite remember, but I think I sat next to Nick on the opposite side of the row. It was fun, but the whole "this is my first time, too" line gets silly after you've ridden on the ride ten times. "Really, I'm pretty sure you were my pilot last time." ;)

Plus, our FAVORITE attraction at HS was closing shortly. We only had a few more rotations to sneak in a trip to the Animation Academy.

I'm glad we got a chance to do this. And we got a twofer by avoiding Little Mermaid at the same time. It also got us some private time for just the four of us.


A break for ice cream fixed Juli and the other kids' moods.

I grabbed a chocolate covered frozen banana for my snack. Wasn't my favorite. Certainly not as good as an ice cream Mickey head. But I wanted to try one, and now I know.

Except when Faith's Itzakadoozie broke and she started crying.

This was weird to see from my position. It's like the whole thing was in slow motion. Cyndy was on the phone probably about 50 feet away. Faith was happily eating her popsicle when the top half of it just broke off. I was about to get up when I saw Jenn go over, pick up Faith, and haul back over to the ice cream wagon. I figured we'd just burn another snack credit, but the vendor was very nice and replaced it for free. I don't think anybody else in the group knew anything had happened.

I blew some souvenir money on light up Mickey heads for all the kids, which kept them entertained until the show started.

I contemplated a snack or a beer but decided against it. I didn't want to have to navigate my way back and forth to the bathroom before the show started.

The crowd was really heavy, I think partially because there were so few shows this year. I think all of the kids enjoyed the show, especially Nick (who always does). I remember being very happy but very exhausted as we left and did some shopping so Nick could find his Steamboat Willy item.

The Infamous "EPCOT Day"

Can we just skip this? ;)

[MouseEarsJenny]

"Good morning, Pooh Bear. If it is a good morning. Which I doubt." -Eeyore

There's one on every trip. The term was coined on our last Disney trip, but it applies to non-Disney trips, too. We call it "The EPCOT Day". It's that day, partway through a great vacation, where the crankies set in full force. Where no one is happy. And no one WANTS to be happy. And why do you care if we're happy anyway??

Lucky for us, the cure is usually pretty simple. Eventually, we figure it out. Oh. It's the EPCOT day. Let's stop what we're doing. Cause, hey, that's not working. And do something we want to do. Cause that's why it's called VACATION.

So, consider yourself warned. This is the EPCOT day. (And once again, it's at EPCOT. Coincidence? I THINK NOT!)

We started the day with an argument at the bus stop. About what, I don't even know. Didn't even write it down in my trip journal.

All it says is "Argument over something silly at bus stop." Basically, everyone was tired, and we were snappy because we were tired. But it carred over to the park. The bag check at EPCOT is particularly inconvenient, and breaks up line-of-sight with non-bag-carrying folks. And we just missed a bus, so we were at least 10-20 minutes late for opening. And... well, point is, by the time we broke up to send Barry and Hannah to Mission: Space and the rest of us to Living with the Land, we all had our pouty faces on.

We're not ride chickens, really. But when it comes to rides that spin us silly in claustrophobic little cages, no one had any interest except Barry and Hannah. Fortunately, most of the family is fond of gardening. So we enjoyed the Living with the Land boat ride very much.

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It was a special favorite of Faith's, for reasons no one quite understands. But you can see how happy she was. She wanted to ride again, but we talked her into going to see Nemo.

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We were supposed to meet Hannah and Barry at Nemo. While we were waiting, Faith or Juli needed to go to the bathroom. So Cyndy took them and disappeared. That left the rest of us sitting in the very hot sun just outside of Nemo. Disappearing to the bathroom was becoming an eight times a day proposition with this group and it was starting to be frustrating - especially when it was already a cranky day. Imagine how cranky we were to get a call from Barry asking where we were. He thought we were supposed to meet INSIDE the Living Seas and had already ridden Nemo with Hannah. So now we were outside, Barry inside, Cyndy who knows where, and we'd still only ridden on one thing. Finally, we all got together and went through the ride. I really liked it, but Scott hated it, and made his opinion clear.

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Things cooled down a bit at Sea Base Alpha, as everyone wandered around looking at all the fish. We especially enjoyed the manatee, but couldn't get any good pictures.

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Next, Cyndy's crew wanted to go to Turtle Talk with Crush. This wasn't on our list for the simple reason that we hate it more than Little Mermaid, if possible. Last time we went to this show, Crush kept asking a little girl to point out her dad until her fed-up single mother finally yelled out "She doesn't have a dad!" Sort of put us off on the show. Plus, it's boring. So we didn't want to go, but we told them they were welcome to. Well, that got people even grumpier, but they went to the show. Meanwhile, we watched a dolphin show that was fairly cool. Scott didn't watch so much, though, since the inside of Sea Base Alpha makes him nauseous.

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As we left, Faith decided to pitch a fit. She hadn't gotten to ride Living with the Land twice, and now she wasn't getting to stay with Nemo. We managed to talk her out of her sulks, but we were fighting a losing battle. Two Disney trips ago, we had found a solution to a hot and cranky family at Club Cool (it was Ice Station Cool then, but same diff, right?) so we tried that next.

Club Cool did help a bit. We reached a consensus that the drink from China was the best. Only Scott liked Beverly. Even Juli knows better than to try that.

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Hannah, however, tried everything, and liked most of it. Then again, this is the same girl who ate a dried grasshopper at the airport on the way home.

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Next we headed to Spaceship Earth. We all loved the renovation that had been done since our last trip. Well, all but Barry. He accidentally picked German for his language. Which made the ride a bit hard to follow. Hannah and I rode together and she especially loved the little animation where we went scuba diving.

I'm not particularly proud of my role in the next bit of this report, but there you have it. It was an EPCOT day for sure. As we left Spaceship Earth, more thunder rumbled. The sky looked ominous. And of course, that meant Grandma didn't want to go anywhere. Meanwhile, yet another person needed a bathroom. So I showed everyone to a bathroom indoors near Innoventions. We all waited, and I tried to talk Grandma into at least crossing over to the Land pavillion so we could eat. Meanwhile, we're walking in one of the covered walkways and suddenly she's all "Fine, I'll go to
the Land but we have to go RIGHT NOW." So she's telling me to run and hurry and I'm trying to get everyone together and move quickly to avoid the thunderstorm phobia and meanwhile Scott is in the back and Barry needs to go back and find something and Scott's screaming at me to wait for Barry and then he yells, "JENNIFER" at the top of his lungs like I'm a recalcitrant child, even as Grandma is yelling at me to hurry. So I lost it. I just went to the Land double quick and ignored them all. They all start showing up and no sooner does Scott get there than he starts yelling at me for taking off. So I walked away.

Yeah. Like I said, not particularly proud. But very fed up.

Anyway, my little tantrum more or less ended with me deciding to get lunch at Sunshine Seasons, find tables big enough for everyone, and text them to join me. Or not. As they saw fit. On the plus side, lunch was delicious. On the minus side, when everyone did finally show up and navigate the food court on their own and get their own lunches, the whole group of us were more or less on pins and needles with each other. Eventually, though, everyone laughed about something or another and the crisis was at least temporarily averted.

As I said, everyone loved lunch here. It was all very tasty. I had the rotisserie chicken plate, and the strawberry shortcake dessert. YUMMY. Scott was bummed because without me to navigate the lines with him, he didn't even see the entire dessert case and ended up with a prepackaged sugar free brownie. But other than that, lunch definitely refueled everyone. (Running Totals - 10 CS Credits used instead of $137.74 - total of 40 CS used and total of $2038.80 if we had not been on the dining plan.)

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After lunch and some discussion, we decided to not go back for a nap, since we had missed so many rides in the morning. Grandma and Grandpa went off on their own to explore the World Showcase. The rest of us headed over to Journey into Imagination, which the kids loved. (Especially the stinky part.)

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Next, we tried to get Test Track Fastpasses, but they were already for late at night. Instead, we waited while, you guessed it, part of the party used the bathroom. Finally, we hit Ellen's Universe of Energy, which was pretty good. Faith giggled through most of it, the movie bits were funny, and we liked the dinosaurs. The one problem was that Juli got a bit wiggly and once you get going, there's no bailing, even with a wiggly 2 year old.

To kill time before our reservation for dinner, we did a bit more shopping. Juli got mouse ears, Hannah and Faith got charm bracelets. I also found a charm bracelet I really wanted - the Chamilia one with a Mickey charm, but I decided to wait until the next day to buy it - since I'd be getting my birthday money from Mickey!

When we arrived at Le Cellier, we couldn't check in because Grandma and Grandpa weren't there. We did find a hidden Mickey while we waited, though.

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Le Cellier was our favorite dinner on our last trip, and we were looking forward to sharing it with the rest of the family.

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We didn't have to wait too long, and were enjoying the gardens until Grandma and Grandpa arrived. Turns out they had been dashing from shelter to shelter avoiding the rumblings of thunder all afternoon and they were pretty tired and stressed out. So we went inside to wait for our meal.

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The food didn't disappoint, and neither did the service. Our waitress Amanda was ridiculously patient with our large group. My sister and mom are very particular about the way their meat is cooked. Basically, if it has a trace of pink, they won't eat it. So they grilled the waitress before ordering and she was a doll about it. We added a few extras at our meal - Scott had a Moosehead Ale, I had an espresso martini. We both added the cheddar cheese soup, as well. Then, we ordered chocolate moose and campfire smores desserts for all of the kids, which they shouldn't get on the dining plan, so we assumed we'd pay OOP for those as well - but they didn't charge us for them.

I had the mushroom filet, which was as divine as I remembered. I also had the maple creme brulee. Perfect! The kids mostly liked dessert, but I think everyone enjoyed Le Cellier.

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Running Totals: Would have cost $376.88 out of pocket, but we used 10 TS credits. Also, we added $25.48 in additional purchases, and spent $67.84 on tip. (Although I think we threw extra tip in cash on the table here - don't remember how much.) So, that means we've spent $25.48 OOP, $357.90 in tips, and $2415.68 is what we would have paid had we not been on the dining plan. Considering that we spent $2190 on the dining plan, and at this point we still have 10 TS credits left, 20 CS credits left, and 51 Snack credits left, I'm thinking we made out on the deal.

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Barry was really disappointed that we weren't planning to stay for Illuminations, since he had heard good things about it from the boat captain on our previous EPCOT day. Cyndy wanted to see the Bon Jovi tribute band that was playing that night for the summer concert series. The rest of us really wanted to go back to the hotel and relax - especially the kids, who were dying for some pool time. So we talked Cyndy and Barry into letting us take all the kids for the rest of the night. Grandma and Grandpa went back to bed. And that's when the EPCOT day turned itself around. I think our mistake was trying to keep too many people together too much. We all had things we wanted to do, and we forgot that those things wouldn't always be the same. Grandpa and Grandma really wanted to sleep (Well, after another ride or two on Soarin' - they apparently fit that in three times during this day!). Barry and Cyndy had a blast with the concerts - they stayed for two sets, plus Illuminations, and got to meet the band (Slippery When Wet).

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As for Scott and I? We did what we had been missing. We had fun. And relaxed.

We did have one little detour. Juli and I had to hike across the lake to El Centro to get a bathing suit because we searched their hotel room and could not find hers. But it was a scenic detour!

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Then it was nothing but splashing and playing in the pool. Faith was very daring, and loved "swimming" with her life vest.

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Nick, Kai, and Hannah played like seals and loved the water slide.

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Juli just wanted to keep jumping off one of the steps to me, then go back up, then jump off again. She just kept saying "wanna do it 'gain!"

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The water was warm and relaxing and we all felt better. We stayed in until 9:00 when the pool was closed for "unscheduled maintenance". (Ew.) By the time we made our way back to the room, it was more than time to close the book on our EPCOT day.

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Up Next:
Happy Birthday to Me

[mumto2]

So glad you started this back up! I just started planning my own grand gathering for this June. We are debating whether to do the dining plan or not, so having those tallies helps too. Glad to see that you are able to overcome the "emotional rollercoaster" moments. I have to admit that has me a little concerned as well.

[FlightlessDuck]

We're not ride chickens, really.

I dunno, I would declare myself a ride chicken, at least until this trip. Before this trip I hadn't gone on any of the thrill rides, but I guess I lightened up by this point. I think if we had more time, I would have wanted to ride Test Track, but I still don't think I'd ride Mission: Space.


So we enjoyed the Living with the Land boat ride very much.

It was quiet and relaxing and educational without being boring. And Faith really liked it, which was a plus. It got me to wonder about the things I had eaten at the Garden Grill a few days earlier, and how much of it was part of the ride a few days before.

Finally, we all got together and went through the ride. I really liked it, but Scott hated it, and made his opinion clear.

I dunno if it was because I was cranky or because I wasn't that impressed with it. I had a hard time hearing the soundtrack and following the story. And honestly, I liked the old theming better (the whole SeaLab thing).

Scott didn't watch so much, though, since the inside of Sea Base Alpha makes him nauseous.

This seems to be an on-and-off problem for me. The aquarium at Baltimore doesn't bother me at all, and half the time I am fine when visiting The Seas, but every other trip or so, I end up getting nauseous. The concave glass and the swirling light caused by the rippling water plays havoc with my sight and I get dizzy and out of balance.


Club Cool did help a bit. We reached a consensus that the drink from China was the best. Only Scott liked Beverly. Even Juli knows better than to try that.

I really liked the Smart Watermelon from China soda as well, and I don't believe I tried last time we made it here (2002). And Mezzo Mix. But Beverly is still my favorite.

Next we headed to Spaceship Earth. We all loved the renovation that had been done since our last trip. Well, all but Barry. He accidentally picked German for his language. Which made the ride a bit hard to follow. Hannah and I rode together and she especially loved the little animation where we went scuba diving.

I really liked the ride before the renovations to begin with, and the updates were great. I rode with Nick, and I think I remember our animation had us going under water as well, but I'm a bit fuzzy.

I'm not particularly proud of my role in the next bit of this report, but there you have it.

Me neither. But let me explain. No, that will take too long -- let me sum up.

I had volunteered at the beginning of our vacation to be in the back of the group whenever we walked together. This was to make sure everybody was together and going the right way. This also got me out of leading, since Jenn was more of an expert at knowing where we were going next. But Barry and/or I always was the one to remember the stroller, so every day there was at least two instance where the rest of the group would start on to the next location while Barry would get the stroller. Honestly, I think it would have been easier if they didn't bring it, or if I was assigned stroller duty as well as caboose duty. By the time Barry and I caught up with the group, I was thoroughly grumpy and made sure everybody knew it. It wasn't my best moment.

I knew I wasn't really being fair once Jenn walked off, and then I panicked when we first got into Sunshine Seasons and didn't see her. She didn't answer the phone, but eventually sent a text saying she was eating. Kairi found her back in the corner near one of the stairs. I helped Nick navigate the food court and got myself the asian food I was hoping to find during the vacation, but somehow missed all of the decent desserts and ended up with a horrendous sugar free brownie (which I didn't know was sugar free at the time).

Finally, we hit Ellen's Universe of Energy, which was pretty good.

I am a big Bill Nye fan, and while I never really watched Ellen's sitcom, I always thought she was a very funny person. This is one of my favorite rides in Epcot.

When we arrived at Le Cellier, we couldn't check in because Grandma and Grandpa weren't there. We did find a hidden Mickey while we waited, though.

This is were Grumpy Scotty almost made another appearance. All I wanted out of this day was a steak and a beer. Fortunately, we found each other and got checked in.

I ended up with the coffee rubbed Kansas City Strip (medium), which you don't hear much about on the DIS. The coffee flavor was just enough to compliment the steak. The cheese soup was divine, as always. I even was able to grab myself a pretzel bread stick. Feeling a little daring, I decided against my traditional Samuel Adams and got a Moosehead Lager instead, which I very much enjoyed. Heck, this was "Canada" after all. But somehow or another I talked myself out of the maple creme brulee again. I had the mont blanc for dessert, which was decent, but I swear next time I will have the maple creme brulee. This has always been my favorite dining experience at Disney, and that was true again this trip (We will see if that stays true next time, since I think we will be going to California Grill).

Cyndy wanted to see the Bon Jovi tribute band that was playing that night for the summer concert series. The rest of us really wanted to go back to the hotel and relax - especially the kids, who were dying for some pool time.

I think under other circumstances I would have liked to see the concert as well. But this gave us some time to decompress and some time to split up the group, which I think we needed at that point.

I had a lot of fun with Faith in the pool while keeping half an eye on Nick, who was the weakest swimmer out of the three older kids. During this vacation, though, he started to show he could swim like a fish, which was great. When Jenn and Juli got back we stuck together and traded off every once in awhile so I could play "catch the Juli".

So while there were some hairy moments, the day ended very nicely.

[MouseEarsJenny]

"A diplomat is a man who always remembers a woman's birthday but never remembers her age." - Robert Frost

I had to go to the Magic Kingdom on my birthday, even though they had morning Extra Magic hours, which I would usually avoid like the plague. We were up and out super early to get to the park. Our first stop was guest services, where I picked up my $75 Birthday Fun Card. Thanks, Mickey!
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Everyone was in a pretty good mood as we watched the opening ceremony, but after we got through the train station, Grandma walked the wrong way around the flagpole and got stuck in the area they were roping off for character greetings. The CM wouldn't let her join the rest of the party and had her go around the ropes. By the time she joined us, she was cursing and angry. I guess Scott could see by the look on my face that I just couldn't handle any family drama today, because he took me by the arm and simply walked away. I was bummed, because I knew he was trying to help, but I had really wanted some Photopass pictures in front of the castle with everyone. Still, I wanted to keep my good mood, so I stopped with just the four of us at the next Photopass photographer and we took some shots.
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I don't honestly know what Scott said or did, but when our photo was done, the rest of the family joined us with no more grumpy faces in evidence. The next photographer took the group shot I had wanted.
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He then went on to take some of my favorite shots of the trip when he put me with Hannah for this great Tinkerbell pose (my first "magic" pic). Hannah is only with us part of the year, so it's a really special memory for us.
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Seeing Nick's Indy hat, he worked him into the next picture with a parody of the golden statue scene in Raiders.
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Leaving the little ones (and ride chicken Nick) with Grandma and Grandpa in Fantasyland, we headed to one of my all time favorite rides - Splash Mountain!
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We rode Splash Mountain, which stopped much more frequently than I remember from previous trips. Kai, who had been looking forward to this ride, did not like it one little bit, and ended up a crying wreck after the drop. Which was a bummer. Still, I would have liked to buy the ride photo, so we stopped to pick it up. No luck - our picture had gotten eaten, along with about 20 others, when a camera malfunctioned. They offered to put us right back on the ride so we could get a picture, but we decided we shouldn't make the others wait that long. (Especially since it was a 20+ minute ride with all the stopping it was doing.)

Cyndy had a quick conversation with Grandma and said that the girls were crying hysterically and that we needed to skip BTMRR, so we fastpassed it for later and headed back to Fantasyland. When we arrived, we found Nick sitting on a bench alone - Grandma and the girls were happily in line for Dumbo, and Grandpa had gone off somewhere. We rode on the Carousel while we waited for the Dumbo riders. Turns out the non-Splash group had ridden on It's a Small World and the Carousel over and over while they waited for us, but since those three rides are way down on Nick's list, he had just waited there.
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Once everyone was back together, we rode Snow White. Had to get this picture of Dopey, Cyndy's favorite. Unfortunately, the design of the ride cars is pretty dopey, and Grandpa twisted his knee trying to get into the little mine car. He had a double knee replacement not that long ago, and he definitely had difficulty getting in and out of the rides with small amounts of legroom. At the time, we just thought he gave up on getting into the ride when he got back out and waved us on, but turns out he hurt himself quite badly. He's a tough guy, though, so he didn't let any of us know for some time.
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We rode on Winnie the Pooh, and then walked to Liberty Square. On the way, we took some silly pictures in the stocks. I'm glad I wasn't a rule breaker of colonial times - that is one seriously uncomfortable pose!

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Mom had been wanting to take Gordi to the Hall of Presidents, one of her favorite attractions. I was surprised by how much I liked it. The Obama animatronic was very new at the time and we thought it was well done.

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We stopped in the gift shop for the requisite playing with silly hats...

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...and moved on to the Haunted Mansion for another ride with the happy haunts.
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It was raining by this time, and only Scott, me, and the kids decided to go on the ride. I love the Haunted Mansion, but I could live forever without getting stuck for 15 minutes by the toasting ghosts in the graveyard. Bummer. I'm guessing it was truly stuck, too, not just loading someone, cause the lights came on briefly and it stopped and started for inches several times before it moved again.

We headed back to meet with the group. By this time, everyone was hungry. I had wanted to eat at El Pirata Y El Perico, cause I like tacos. But it was still drizzly and Columbia Harbor House was RIGHT THERE. So we headed there instead.

The fish and chips weren't half bad. The restaurant wasn't at all crowded, and the staff, on seeing my button, sang a funny short birthday song. The only thing that was disappointing was the apple dumpling which looked pretty, but had a soggy crust. Oh, well! Not like we hadn't eaten enough desserts!

(Running Totals: CHH would have been $113.76 if it were OOP. Since it wasn't, we're up to 60 TS Credits used, 50 CS Credits used, 19 Snack Credits used, $25.48 OOP, $357.88 in tips, and $2529.14 we would have spent not on the dining plan.)

Everyone but Grandma, Grandpa, and the two little girls headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - even Nick. Unfortunately, by the time we got the the front of the queue, he was wigging out. Seriously. I told him we were NOT getting out of line, but that he could step right through the train car and wait for us on the exit platform. The guy ahead of us really sweetly tried to convince Nick that it would be okay, and that it was a great ride, but he was past the point of convincing. It's not that he was screaming or carrying on or anything like that. He just had a terrified look on his face and a constant stream of tears just running down his cheeks. He stepped through, and talked to a CM, just like I told him. They pointed him behind the yellow line by the exit, and the rest of us rode. I blush to say that I never thought this ride was worth the wait, and had never been on it before. I completely ADORE this ride now! It was really, really cool. I love the theming and the twists and turns were exhilarating. It may not be the most intense coaster, but it's fun. Everyone else seemed to really like it as well.

When we got off the ride, we headed to meet up with Grandma and Grandpa. They had been planning to take the girls to Country Bears, but you can see they had a bit of a problem with that. Juli had conked right out in her stroller.

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You can't take strollers into the show, so Grandpa took Faith while Grandma waited with Juli. At this point, we were supposed to go back to the hotel. I pleaded the excuse of shopping with my Fun Card, and everyone left without us. SCORE!! Finally, it was just the four of us, in the Magic Kingdom.

I know, that seems like a HORRIBLE attitude. But the fact of the matter is, I was discovering that I was wrong, and the DIS was right. The thing about Grand Gatherings that I just didn't want to accept was that you don't have to stay with your whole group all the time. It was a relief to have four people with similar walking paces to keep together!

We started strolling around, just hanging out. We headed to Pirates, and rode with no wait at all. Actually, all of our wait times had been minimal on this trip - knowing when to hit attractions still works with a big group - you just hit less of them! We goofed in the Pirates gift shop for awhile, but didn't find anything we wanted to buy.

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We saw Jack Sparrow from afar again. Earlier in the week, they were still performing off to the side of the plaza near Pirates - but now the stage that had been under construction earlier in the week was open. It was pretty cool to see changes happening right in front of our eyes.

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Next, we headed to Aloha Isle, so Scott could try the Dole Whip he's heard so much about. (I know full well I hate pineapple juice, so nothing doing!) I'll let him give you his opinion in his post.

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We were definitely taking time to smell the roses as we meandered back toward Main Street and the buses. Or maybe I should say taking time to look at the butterflies. This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip, and not a Disney thing in sight. Weird.

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Quick, take a picture with something Disney! Whew. By the way - still no crowds. It's July 4th week at Disney. Where are all the people?

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Next stop was the Main Street Jewelers, where I got my present from Mickey - a Chamilia bracelet and my first charm - a spiral Mickey.

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We headed back to the resort, where I was accosted by my family, who had been anxiously awaiting my arrival to give me birthday gifts. They had agreed to leave ahead of us so they could get ready to surprise me with presents, and then we didn't show up for a good hour or more. Ooops.

After presents, we headed to the pool. This was another favorite part of mine, as I plopped down in a deck chair with a nice big strawberry daquiri. (With a REALLY big umbrella.... wait.....)

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Grandma joined me later and drank a pina colada, while Scott had a mojito. Relaxing by the pool, frosty drinks - now THIS is vacation! Plus, again with the birthday - the lifeguards had the whole pool sing Happy Birthday to me and two other Birthday celebrants.

Meanwhile, the older kids swam like crazy little fish. Where DO they get their energy? Kai loves any chance to swim with goggles.

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Jumping into the water was another fun pastime. Especially for Nick, who learned the whole cannonball thing. Which is so weird, since he was afraid to swim last year.

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And who knew ride chicken boy would LOVE the water slide so much?? I swear, he went down it 50 times if he went down once!

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But we did find all those crowds missing from the Magic Kingdom. I think they were all in the Dig Site pool. Especially the obnoxious teenagers who were trying to slide down the water slide standing up. Oh, well! Lifeguard's job - no teacher hat today!

Up Next...
I Wish I May, I Wish I Might

[FlightlessDuck]

I guess Scott could see by the look on my face that I just couldn't handle any family drama today, because he took me by the arm and simply walked away.

Having been the cause of some, if not most, of the stress the previous day, I was determined to keep Jenn away from any bruhaha that may go down on her birthday. I don't actually recall saying anything to the rest of the grumpy gusses, but if I did, it was probably something like "Jenn wants a picture in front of the castle, and it's her birthday."

Leaving the little ones (and ride chicken Nick) with Grandma and Grandpa in Fantasyland, we headed to one of my all time favorite rides - Splash Mountain!

The last time I went on this, I didn't really like it at all. I was quite freaked out by the whole thing. Because I was afraid of the final drop, I didn't really enjoy the rest of the ride. But my "ride chicken" self had melted away this trip, thanks, in part, to the fact that Rock'n'Roller Coaster was inside. :)

I was surprised when Kai freaked out on it. It wasn't really like her. I think she will do better next time, and Nick says he will try it, too.

we found Nick sitting on a bench alone... Turns out the non-Splash group had ridden on It's a Small World and the Carousel over and over while they waited for us

I'm surprised he was still lucid after listening to those evil dolls sing over and over again.

Mom had been wanting to take Gordi to the Hall of Presidents, one of her favorite attractions. I was surprised by how much I liked it. The Obama animatronic was very new at the time and we thought it was well done.

I think it just opened the week before. It was very good, but probably not something we will bother going back to until there is another new president.

We headed back to meet with the group. By this time, everyone was hungry. I had wanted to eat at El Pirata Y El Perico, cause I like tacos. But it was still drizzly and Columbia Harbor House was RIGHT THERE. So we headed there instead.

I wanted to go to El Pirata Y El Perico as well, since we didn't get any Mexican on this trip. I remember liking Columbia Harbor House, but I don't remember what I had. Jenn says I had the Fish and Chips, too, so I guess I did. I do remember having the apple dumpling, which wasn't my favorite dessert either, but was still better than that stupid sugar free brownie from Epcot.

Everyone but Grandma, Grandpa, and the two little girls headed to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad - even Nick. Unfortunately, by the time we got the the front of the queue, he was wigging out.

Unlike Kairi's episode earlier, this did not surprise me. I was a little worried about him waiting by himself, but those thoughts got jostled out of my head when the ride started. This was my first time on BTMRR as well. It wasn't as good as Expedition Everest (of course), but I liked it and will ride it again next time.

waited with Juli. At this point, we were supposed to go back to the hotel. I pleaded the excuse of shopping with my Fun Card, and everyone left without us. SCORE!! Finally, it was just the four of us, in the Magic Kingdom.

I felt the same was as Jenn did about this. In fact, even a few months before we left, I had the sinking suspicion this whole "let's all go together!" idea wasn't going to work out. But it was too late by that point to change anything. Don't get me wrong, we did have fun together, but it was nice to have this time to ourselves.

We saw Jack Sparrow from afar again. Earlier in the week, they were still performing off to the side of the plaza near Pirates - but now the stage that had been under construction earlier in the week was open.

I think I mentioned this earlier, but I didn't notice AT ALL that there was a new stage being built, let alone the fact that Jack moved from one to the other over the course of the week.

Next, we headed to Aloha Isle, so Scott could try the Dole Whip he's heard so much about. (I know full well I hate pineapple juice, so nothing doing!) I'll let him give you his opinion in his post.

It tasted like frozen, liquid death. Well, no, not really. But I don't at all understand why people like it so much. It was much too sour. I was thinking the pineapple ice cream would be sweeter to counterbalance the juice, but it wasn't. Next time, vanilla and coke!

By the way - still no crowds. It's July 4th week at Disney. Where are all the people?

I wasn't complaining. Although we ended up finding them the next day.

Next stop was the Main Street Jewelers, where I got my present from Mickey - a Chamilia bracelet and my first charm - a spiral Mickey.

As a husband, I would like to say whoever invented these things is Man's new best friend. It makes shopping for special occasions so much easier.

After presents, we headed to the pool. This was another favorite part of mine, as I plopped down in a deck chair with a nice big strawberry daquiri. (With a REALLY big umbrella.... wait.....)

One of my favorite pictures of the trip. It's just funny. I wasn't too impressed with my mojito. I really didn't get much mint flavor out of it. In fact, it tasted like the bartender used basil or grass instead or something. But then, it was my first mojito ever, so maybe I just don't like it.

And who knew ride chicken boy would LOVE the water slide so much?? I swear, he went down it 50 times if he went down once!

This surprised me, too. Although he started to like water slides last summer, and I went down this one earlier in the week and thought it was fun, so that might have helped.

[MouseEarsJenny]

"We'll make a wish, and do as dreamers do, and all our wishes, will come true."

When I planned this trip, I knew I wanted my birthday at the Magic Kingdom. MK is my favorite park (by a smaller margin than it used to be, but still...) and nothing compares to Spectro and Wishes to end a day right. I had also never gotten to eat with Winnie-the-Pooh and friends, so I figured Crystal Palace would be the perfect dinner.

The wait wasn't too bad, but we were seated at two different tables, and there was no way to combine them, unlike at Chef Mickey's. I had known this was a possibility, but it hadn't happened all week, so I was a bit bummed that I wouldn't get to see the little girls reacting to the characters. But, not enough bummed that I didn't want to sit with my own kids! The restaurant was also completely frigid, leading Grandma to dub it the Ice Crystal Palace. It was so genuinely cold that I left twice during dinner to go outside and warm up for a minute.

The characters were fabulous, and started arriving the second we sat down. I just love Eeyore.

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Piglet and Pooh showed up in quick succession. By this time, we saw the order that the characters were following around the tables, and knew that Tigger was on his way.

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Unfortunately, he passed right by us. Tigger is Kairi's favorite, and she had never gotten to meet him. She spent the whole week looking for Tigger merchandise, which is surprisingly hard to find for girls. The closest we could find was a shirt with a real tiger and Pooh asking if it was Tigger. So she was really bummed when he walked right by our table. But a quick word to a passing character wrangler had him coming right back. And was he ever funny!!

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He goofed around with everyone, even grabbing me for a big hug when I walked to the other table to get a few more pictures.

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Unfortunately, the great characters were the ONLY great thing about Crystal Palace. The waitress took our drink orders and disappeared completely. She brought the drinks 15 minutes later, and then never refilled them once, or removed any dirty plates at all. This was the only time all trip I was annoyed to leave a $50+ tip. The 18% is mandatory for groups our size, and I had no issues with it - sometimes even leaving extra in cash. But if you're going to plop down 10 drink glasses and NEVER walk by again, do you really deserve a $53.26 tip??? Meanwhile, the food was really just okay. It was about the quality of the food you would get at an Old Country Buffet or Ponderosa - maybe a church potluck. Which isn't awful, but it was disappointing compared to the delicious food we had everywhere else. I love the Pooh characters, but I don't see me coming back here. Maybe I would think about breakfast, but that's wasting good morning touring time, so I doubt it.

I have to say that the waitress did reappear finally to bring our bill, and with it she brought a frozen cupcake and a card signed by the characters, which was nice. (Well, the card. The cupcake was pretty much inedible, but it was pretty!)

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Running Totals: I forgot to mention that Scott's Dole Whip earlier had cost $3.99, but really 1 snack credit. So that's included in this total, too. Also, I have no earthly idea what we paid for our poolside drinks, but I know Mom got hers free because she gave the bartender a ten and he gave her change for a twenty and when she tried to explain he just waved her off. Anyway, Crystal Palace used up our last 10 TS credits, would have cost $295.88 out of pocket (which is a good reason to have better food than OCB...) and we paid a $53.26 tip. That brings our totals to: 70 TS Credits 50 CS Credits 20 Snack Credits, $25.48 OOP, $411.14 in tips, and $2829.01 if we weren't on the dining plan. Of course, since we only paid 2K for the plan to begin with, I suppose Crystal Palace was free at that point, and it wasn't half bad for a free dinner.

While we were in Crystal Palace, Grandpa finally confessed that his hip and knee were paining him so badly that he couldn't possibly stay for the rest of the evening. (Remember, he had twisted his knee trying to get into the mine cars at Snow White.) Grandma didn't want to send him back to the hotel alone, so she said she would take him back and then meet up with us later. This made me really nervous because I know she's always wanted to watch the "Electrical Parade" (as she still calls it from the days when that was the title). But I knew I wouldn't have wanted Scott to go back by himself in a similar situation, so I just crossed my fingers that she would get back in time.

The rest of us decided to grab some candy before we staked out our parade watching spots. We went to the Main Street Confectionary, but got stopped by the Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! Street Party. It's a really cute parade - the only problem was that it turns around and goes back along the same route, so when the last float passes and you think you can cross the street, you can't, cause here it comes again!
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Also, does anyone but me think that Jessie in character form is kind of creepy?
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We saw lollipops bigger than Faith's head, but got a rice krispy treat with a snack credit instead.

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We also snagged pure sugar for my son, like he needed it. Later, near our spot in Frontierland, I would pick up some Jelly Bellys, which are my favorite candy. The sugar and jellybeans added $9.96 to our OOP cost, and the krispy treat cost a snack credit - I'll add them to the totals the next time we eat.

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The first time Scott and I saw Fantasmic! a vendor was selling the Skyliner toys that spell out messages when you spin them. He had programmed his to say "My Feet Hurt!" and we thought that was hysterical. So, after we staked out our Spectro spot (the elevated wooden sidewalk near Pecos Bill's - shhh... don't tell anyone) I saw a cart selling the Skyliners and had to have one. It was my birthday, so I got spoiled, and Scott snagged me one. I spent the next 10-15 minutes programming it (it only has two buttons and you have to count through all the letters to write a message) and then I started spinning it. I swear, I singlehandedly sold out that cart's Skyliners that night. The guy selling them loved the "My Feet Hurt" message and I fielded nearly constant questions about where I got it. I pointed to the vendor, and pretty soon he was sending people to other carts because he was all out.

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Meanwhile, the kids were getting a bit antsy. Faith, who is always brutally honest, even when it's rude, said, "Aunt Jenn. I waited a REALLY long time, but I didn't see ANYTHING. I want to go on the rides." Finally, Grandma showed back up, and shortly after, the parade started. It was amazing, as always - I was ridiculously happy.


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I loved every minute, and everyone else really liked it too. As soon as the parade was over, Grandma hightailed it out of the park. Her hatred for thunderstorms carries over to fireworks. The rest of us hustled around the back of the castle to find the perfect viewing spot on the bridge between Tomorrowland and the hub. Alas - I got turned around in the dark and took us across the WRONG bridge! We were on the closer bridge near Cosmic Rays and the teacups.

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We couldn't seen any of the fireworks from our too close, too angled perspective. With the rest of the crowd, we ended up moving into the hub, and being late to realize our mistake, ended up with a partially obstructed view thanks to a water stand, but who cares?

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It didn't matter. I hugged everyone in the family. I was really happy. It was my birthday. I was at Wishes. The Wishes song was playing. I was crying like a little baby.

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It was, quite possibly, the best birthday I ever had.

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Even the long lines at the buses after the last fireworks exploded into darkness couldn't dampen my mood.

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I just spun my "My Feet Hurt" Skyliner some more and watched all the tired faces grin as they read it.

Up Next:
Do We HAVE To Go To Animal Kingdom?

[FlightlessDuck]

Unfortunately, the great characters were the ONLY great thing about Crystal Palace.

For me, it was a tie between this and Garden Grill as to what my worst dining experience was during the Disney part of the trip. I liked the food at Garden Grill, thought the service was OK, and loathed the atmosphere. Here, I liked the atmosphere, though the food was OK, and loathed the service. I didn't mind the temperature too much, but it was definitely chilly.

Looking back on it, I vaguely remember eating here on my first Disney trip.

Also, does anyone but me think that Jessie in character form is kind of creepy?

Oh, yes. Doesn't really look like her. Very creepy.

We saw lollipops bigger than Faith's head, but got a rice krispy treat with a snack credit instead.

I don't think I ever ate mine (actually, I think I got mine two days later, not today...). Not all of it at least. I'm beginning to think next time, I'm going to end up spending most of my snack credits on water just because I won't be able to eat as much as this trip.


The first time Scott and I saw Fantasmic! a vendor was selling the Skyliner toys that spell out messages when you spin them.

Man, having one of these was great! And it was funny watching people come up to Jenn asking where she got it, only to see them go over to the cart, and eventually see the cart seller just shrug. We should have gotten a kickback or something.

Meanwhile, the kids were getting a bit antsy.

Honestly, so was I. We waited a LONG time for the parade. But it was worth it. Outside of Fantasmic!, Spectro and Wishes are my favorite nighttime shows.

Alas - I got turned around in the dark and took us across the WRONG bridge! We were on the closer bridge near Cosmic Rays and the teacups.

I felt a little bad because I thought were were in the right spot. But it all turned out OK in the end. And besides, we'll get it right next time.

I'm glad Jenn had some a great time on her birthday.

[MouseEarsJenny]

"I can't understand why men make all this fuss about Everest--it's only a mountain" -Junko Tabei

When we woke up on Friday, nobody REALLY wanted to go to Animal Kingdom. We were all tired, and frankly, it’s our least favorite park. Grandpa had already decided he was staying in his room for the day after his injury the day before. The rest of us got up and headed to the bus stop – just in time to see the Animal Kingdom bus pull away. We had to wait 30 minutes for the next bus (by far the longest bus wait time we had) and by the time we had arrived, we had missed the opening show. Grandma really loves that show, so she was a bit bummed. The plan called for me to hike across the park and get Everest fastpasses for everyone, but Nick, who was getting pretty tired of being surrounded by girls, begged to come with me. (Apparently, I don’t count as a girl. Or something.) We took off for Asia, but stopped for a quick photopass picture.

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I love all the details Disney includes in their theming. As we hustled across the bridge, I noticed this great little peddler ship tied up in the water. Who creates and maintains an elaborate set piece like that just to leave it floating where only a few people will notice? That’s just awesome.

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We arrived at Everest, and picked up the fast passes. On the way, we passed the Royal Anandpur Tea Company. I wanted to stop because I am a big fan of chai and I had heard about their frozen chai drink. But my job was Fastpasses, and I didn’t want the rest of the group getting bored in Chester and Hester’s Dinorama, which is where they were headed.

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Problem is, when we arrived at Dinorama, our party was nowhere in sight. Actually, NO one was in sight, except a few CMs. There was no line at Primeval Whirl, no one on Triceratop Spin, and definitely no rest of our group.
Turns out, they had also stopped for Photopass pictures.

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And then they wandered into several gift shops. Scott was getting really frustrated trying to get them to meet us. (This was his personal “EPCOT day” – he will continue to be pretty miserable all day long, poor guy.) Nick and I didn’t know this, though, so we called Scott, who said everyone was in the bathroom and that they would get there shortly.

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We decided to play some carnival games while we waited. We quickly found out that we needed vouchers to play. We bought a few and Nick started playing, and winning, much to our delight.

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It probably helped that most of the games worked on the “one winner per round” philosophy and we were the only two playing.

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I beat him once, at Whack-A-Mole.

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It was silly, but we were having a really great time. I think it was one of Nick’s favorite parts of the whole trip. He loves carnival games, he loves winning, and he loves having Mom all to himself, so I guess that makes sense.

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After Nick won the one game of skill that didn’t guarantee a win, the rest of the party finally caught up with us.

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Scott was upset and angry and wanted to move on to the next thing on our itinerary, but most of the party had already gotten in the line for Triceratop Spin. It looked like fun, in a Dumbo sort of way.

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When they got off, Kairi wanted to ride on Primeval Whirl. There had been NO one there just 20 minutes earlier when Nick and I showed up, but now there was a REALLY long line. The posted standby wait said 15 minutes, so Barry, Hannah, and Kai jumped in line. At the last minute, I decided I wanted to ride too, which apparently annoyed the heck out of Scott. I’ll let him tell his side of the story, though. I left Nick to show the little girls, Cyndy and Grandma around the carnival games (they won quite a lot, too – I think Grandma bought them vouchers). Then the PW group spent the next 25 minutes in line. *sigh* The ride itself was really quite fun, but it wasn’t worth the line. I had not planned to ride this because I thought it would be too spinny. It only spins in selected parts of the track, though, so it wasn’t bad at all. I would definitely ride again – but not if I had to wait for it!

We got off the ride and met the rest of the party at the Boneyard play area, where they had headed after playing games. Apparently, things weren’t going well. Scott was still in a temper. Faith was scared witless because some of the play areas had dinosaurs roaring, which terrified her. And Cyndy was really angry with Hannah because the CM at the top of one of the slides had told Hannah that she couldn’t slide down with her little sister Juli, and then Hannah had lost Juli once she got down the slide.

Grandma, Cyndy, and the girls took off with the intention of heading to the train and going to Rafiki’s Conservation Station or whatever it’s called. The rest of us headed to Dinosaur. I really liked the ride in terms of the animatronics and the theming. Unfortunately, the whiplash inducing turns kept me from enjoying the animatronics and theming. No one else seemed particularly impressed.

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We headed to meet up with the rest of the group, but they had still not even gotten on the train. They were annoyed to have wasted all that time waiting, but decided to meet back up with us anyway so that Cyndy could go on Everest with the rest of us, and Grandma could take Nicky. We grabbed safari fastpasses when we went to meet up with them. Grandma took Nick and the two little girls to the Flights of Wonder show. The rest of us headed to Everest.

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Once again passing by the tea company, we jumped in the Fastpass line. Scott looked a bit nervous, but Kai and I (who had been on Everest on our last trip) told him he would love it.

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We were right. It was everyone’s FAVORITE ride. Everything about it was absolutely loved by the whole group. (However, Scott and Kairi didn’t even SEE the Yeti. Well, they saw the shadow one, of course, but not the big one. And I’m pretty sure it was in the not-moving mode, but with the strobe lights, it still looked like it was moving. But I’ve seen the full arm swipe before, and this wasn’t it.)

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We stopped for a few souvenirs, including the ride photo. They accidentally printed too many copies, so we ended up with four instead of two and gave them to us because they were just going to throw them away anyway, which was nice.

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Once we met the rest of the group, we headed to lunch, stopping for a Photopass pic.

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We also passed by the Tea Company AGAIN. I sighed about it this time, and a few minutes later I noticed that Scott had disappeared. Yup. As we were walking to Flame Tree, Scott ran all the way back, snagged me a frozen chai, and brought it back to me so fast he beat us to Flame Tree. How could you not adore a guy like that? Even if he was a smidgen grumpy that morning.

It was SO hot by this point. For some reason, our Animal Kingdom day is always the hottest day of our trip. So the frozen chai was the perfect refreshment. I think I could wax poetic about that chai the way other DISers do about dole whips. I would make a trip to AK just to get one. Seriously. It was DELICIOUS. Beyond delicious. Anyway, I sipped my frozen chai and cooled down as we waited in the long lunch line.

Lunch was pretty good. I got the BBQ sandwich this time, because I had been disappointed in the ribs the last time we went here. This time, the ribs everyone else got were better than my barbecue. Ah, well! The pre-packaged key lime pie was inedibly bad, but I’d had dessert before I ate anyway. As usual, the pavilion was overrun with ducks.

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Running Totals (including last night’s candy, the OOP chai, lunch, a whole bunch of bottled waters we kept snagging at carts because of the heat and so forth…) 70 TS, 60 CS, 25 Snack, $40.70 OOP, $411.10 Tips, $2966.66 if we had not been on the dining plan.

After lunch, we stopped in yet more souvenir shops (this time to get a bag to hold all the prizes from Dinoland) and to get a hat for Faith, who had forgotten hers in the room. She’s sensitive to heat because of her medical condition, so Cyndy was concerned about letting her get any warmer. Kai also decided on her Disney hat – this adorable pair of leopard ears.

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Kilamanjaro Safaris was next on our list. Our tour guide was great, and gave lots of extra information compared to drivers we’ve had in the past. We got pretty lucky with seeing animals, too. Especially the adorable baby giraffe!

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Up Next: Detour to Ireland

[FlightlessDuck]

I didn’t want the rest of the group getting bored in Chester and Hester’s Dinorama, which is where they were headed.

My day started with a trip to the bathroom. Yes, I had to stop (and Barry, Hannah, and Faith). Remember all of those times when we would sit there and wait for the girls? Guess what. Nobody waited for me.

Come out of the bathroom only to be called on my phone and told that Cyndy, Grandma, Kairi, and Juli were already started to Dinoland and Barry, Faith and Hannah were trying to catch up. Having been in this park only twice, for a total of 1 1/4 days, I wasn't really sure I could find my way around, let alone catch up with them.

I found Barry and Hannah outside one of the shops and was told everybody else was inside, so I sat down to wait. After what seemed like an eternity, I tried calling Cyndy's and Grandma's phone, but neither answered. I found Cyndy and the girls and asked where Grandma was and said we should be going because Jenn and Nick were going to beat us to Dinoland (I didn't mention that the only reason were were heading their to begin with was to give them something to do until Jenn got the FastPasses). Cyndy said Grandma was outside, but I couldn't find her. After another 10 minutes I went back in, only to find Grandma but not anyone else.

At this point, I wanted to just go away.

Instead, we all got ourselves together and went over to Dinoland. Jenn and Nick had their arms full of stuffed animals and asked where we had been. :headache:

Various people went on Dino-Dumbo, which should have happened 20 minutes earlier while we waited for Jenn. After that ride was over, Barry and Hannah wanted to go on Primeval Whirl. Jenn and I had looked at this ride online when we were originally planning and both decided it wasn't interesting. Too much spinning (which she didn't like on the Tea Cups), and I don't really like wild mouse type rides. But, at the last minute, Jenn decided she wanted to go on. Now, if I knew this, I would have gone as well. She said she was going to get in line and asked me to stay with Nick. Before I had time to protest ("please don't leave me alone with these people again", or, better yet "wait, I'll go on too", she was already in line and their were people lining up behind her.

Nick then wanted to play carnival games with me. I don't like carnival games. I'm not any good at them. I didn't have a lot of cash on me, didn't know how to get the tickets or whatever, and he had already played all the games several times. I wanted to be on a ride, or watching animals, or at least in the same general space as Jenn. Instead, I waited around the stupid Dinocarnival and eventually took my aggression out on a bunch of moles with Grandma.

Then we had to wander over to the prehistoric McDonald's playland. I don't quite remember who did what because by this time I was just too pissed off with the entire idea of being here and sat on a rock by myself.

Sometime later, I believe it was the following Tuesday, Barry, Hannah, Kairi, and Jenn finally got through the line and rode their ride. By this point we had been in the part over an hour and a total of two rides were ridden, and we hadn't seen a single animal, which is funny since it's called Animal Kingdom.

We got ourselves over to Dinosaur, which was the other reason we were in this part of the park. I wasn't overly impressed with the ride. It shook around a lot, and at the time I remember this really big plot hole in the story, but I can't remember what it was.

Jenn forgot to mention that Hannah had hurt her toe while playing in the Boneyard, so we headed over to First Aid on the way to pick up Cyndy. Almost 11AM. Three rides ridden, still hadn't seen any animals. Hannah ended up being OK (I think maybe she got a Band Aid? I dunno) and we went to Everest.

By far this was my favorite ride in all of Disney, and one of only three bright spots this entire day (the others being the frozen chai and Raglan Road).

Scott and Kairi didn’t even SEE the Yeti. Well, they saw the shadow one, of course, but not the big one.

You lie! There was no Yeti!

As we were walking to Flame Tree, Scott ran all the way back, snagged me a frozen chai, and brought it back to me so fast he beat us to Flame Tree.

Actually, I didn't really need to backtrack. I just stopped all together and contemplated. I was in a bad mood. I wanted to be spending time with Jenn, which hadn't really happened today, and I needed sugar.

I waited in line quite a while. There was only one person in front of me, she and was an employee. She was talking to the guy behind the counter while her order was being made. She was actually complaining about work, which completely shocked me. I mean, I know I do that with people at my work, but not in front of customers. And I never saw it happen in a Disney park before.

Anyway, I grabbed two chais and hightailed it to Flame Tree because I didn't want to keep everybody else waiting. I never figured out how exactly I got their first, seeing as I stopped, waited in that line, and then never actually passed everybody else.

I had the ribs, I think. I don't really remember. I think next time I want to go somewhere else for counter service. We contemplated Yak and Yeti originally when we were planning this out but decided against it. Maybe because we were afraid that some members of our party wouldn't like it. I dunno.

So, now it's lunch time, it's the most crowded of any park we've been to this vacation, the hottest day of the vacation far, I had ridden on a total of two rides, and saw one animal if you count the ducks. But I was temporarily out of my grumpy mood because I was sitting next to my wife and having a lovely frozen chai.

Kilamanjaro Safaris was next on our list. Our tour guide was great, and gave lots of extra information compared to drivers we’ve had in the past. We got pretty lucky with seeing animals, too. Especially the adorable baby giraffe!

ANIMALS! Finally! The CM was very good, but this ride seems to get bumpier every time I ride it. I was actually lifted off my seat at least once this time. And I was worried about Juli falling out, who was sitting on Cyndy's lap at one end of the truck. I didn't really get to hear that much of the Big Red/Little Red plotline going on, but I didn't really miss it.

[MouseEarsJenny]

"When she gets a lad of her own, she won't tell her ma when she comes home." -Traditional

At some point, Grandma left us at Animal Kingdom to go back and check on Grandpa. I don’t honestly remember if it was before or after the safari, but by the time we started walking to Kali River Rapids, she had definitely gone back to the hotel. Which is probably a good thing. Cause we walked all the way over to the ride, decided the 60 minute standby wait was too long, and walked all the way back to Festival of the Lion King. Again, this was the HOTTEST day of the trip. Temps were insane, the humidity was killer, and we had already hiked around the park repeatedly. Thunder was starting to rumble, so it was going to storm soon and cool down, but for now, we were all feeling it.

Once in a great while, a life-changing event occurs that you don’t realize is a life-changer at the time. We were about to have one of those moments. As we walked, Scott suddenly turned a horrible shade of red with grey undertones. He sat down on the curb in Camp Minnie-Mickey, breathing heavily. He had chest pains. I was genuinely terrified.

I handed Kai a room key and told her to run and get Daddy a water while I sat down and tried to check his pulse. Cyndy ran off in the other direction looking for water. Everyone stopped. Thank the Lord, Scott’s color started to ease back once he stopped walking. He drank some water and started feeling much better. The pains stopped, or at least eased back. He insisted he was fine.

I thought we should go back, but Scott insisted we stick to the plan, because Barry and Cyndy really really wanted to see FoTLK more than any other show – they had seen it once on a previous visit and remembered it as their favorite thing. He was trying to convince me he was fine. I finally said, “Fine. We’ll stay. But we are NOT coming back to Disney until you lose 50 lbs, Mister!”

From our trip report photos, you can probably tell that Scott and I were both very overweight during the trip. In fact, we were both obese. We always had an excuse to put off making lifestyle changes in diet and exercise – we’ll start after the holidays, we’ll start after the school year, we can’t do this right now, we have too much stress, blah, blah, blah. We had both lost a little weight since about May because we were trying to get in slightly better shape to handle all the walking. But we still had a long, long way to go.

Well, since that scary, scary moment in Animal Kingdom, Scott and I have lost 155 lbs. from our highest weights. We are both out of the obese range in BMI. Scott has personally lost 92 of those pounds. I like to tease Scott that it’s because he knew I wouldn’t let him come back to Disney, but in reality, it was just one of those wake-up moments.

Anyway, we went ahead to FoTLK. The sky opened up and it started pouring just before we got in, but we didn’t get too wet before we took our places and the show started.

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I really, really liked the show. I was glad Cyndy and Barry had insisted we include it in the day. The acrobatics and music and pyrotechnics were great. Scott didn’t like it as much, but we were seated kind of far back, and he obviously wasn’t feeling his best.

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Cyndy and Barry were in a hurry to get back to the hotel after the show, so we sent them back without us so Scott wouldn’t have to stress about keeping us all together. The four of us dawdled our way out of the park, stopping to laugh at the logo that represented Animal Kingdom for the “What Will You Celebrate?” promotion. To us, it looked like a big piece of broccoli.

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We met up with everyone else at El Centro, where we had planned to eat at Pepper Market. I can see why the whole process confuses people on the dining plan. There’s really no clear signage as to what you can include on the plan. But we all sorted it out, and placed our orders. Nick was really unhappy with his choices on the kids menu, and was craving hot wings, his favorite food on the planet. So we bought him some out of pocket. Cyndy liked the dessert here best out of all the ones she’d eaten this week – it was some kind of gigantic oreo cake. Scott and I didn’t eat much. This was not because we were already changing our bad food habits – we didn’t start that until after vacation. It was actually because we were planning on eating more that night at Raglan Road. I ate some of a fajita platter, and it was tasty. People on the dining plan don’t have to pay the 10% tip for drink service, but we weren’t sure whether that meant the server just didn’t get a tip, so we left him $20.

Running Totals: 70 TS, 70 CS, 25 Snack, $52.37 OOP, $431.10 Tips, $3149.39 if we hadn’t been on the dining plan.

After freshening up a bit, we headed out to Raglan Road. While we were out, Grandma took the kids to use the arcade cards that came with our packages. They enjoyed the arcade, but were happier when she let them use the quiet pool near Ranchos while her laundry was running. Since we had three rooms, each of the three oldest kids got their own cards, which was a pretty nice little bonus.

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Meanwhile, Scott and I were having an absolutely fabulous time in Downtown Disney. We stopped to order some custom t-shirts at the Design-A-Tee shop – Grandma loves Rafiki and Kai loves Tigger. Neither of them had found shirts at the other shops with their favorite characters, so we ordered both of them a shirt. They told us the shirts wouldn’t be ready for two hours, but since we were planning on staying at least that long anyway, it wasn’t a big deal.

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Raglan Road was, hands down, our favorite evening of the trip. We loved the pub’s atmosphere. The drinks were amazing. I had an Iced Irish and a Dubliner, and Scott had a Guinness, a Murphy’s Irish Red, and Aran Island Iced Tea. The band played a great set, and we and the audience sang along with popular numbers like “Tell Me Ma”, “Dirty Old Town”, “Leaving of Liverpool” and especially “Wild Rover”. The step dancer was fairly cool as well.

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We spilt the Appetiser D’Lirrah for Two, which was flat out amazing. The beer battered sausages were tasty and crisp and the Guinness glazed ribs were to die for. It also came with greens, scallops, and chicken skewers, and we devoured it all, along with really tasty soda bread and Guinness reduction dipping oil.

The highlight, though, was definitely Ger’s Bread and Butter Pudding. It was amazingly delicious – even better than the frozen chai from Animal Kingdom. And I thought I didn’t even like bread pudding before this trip! The whole thing set us back about $100, including tip - this is the one sit-down receipt I lost. But it was OOP anyway, so it doesn't really matter for the purposes of the running totals. It was about a $25 tip, $25 for the appetizer sampler, $8 for the dessert, and the rest was in drinks. So that would bring OOP to $122.37 if we guess about $70 and Tips to $456.10.

After we relaxed at Raglan Road until the end of a set, we stopped in the gift shop so Scott could get a shirt, and then walked back through Downtown Disney. (Consider all the mushy, hand-holding giggly stuff omitted for space.) I am not a drinker, generally speaking, and if I have one drink a month, that’ll do me. So, two relatively potent drinks in one night had me pretty relaxed and silly. When we stopped in Arribas Bros. so Scott could pick me out a belated birthday present, I fumbled just a tiny bit with the clasp on a necklace I was trying on. I joked to the salesman, “I had a little too much fun at Raglan Road” and he said “story of my life” which struck me as really funny at the time. I got a pretty silver necklace, picked up the custom t-shirts, and spent a bit more time browsing before we headed back for the night.

Up Next:
Even MORE Magic Kingdom

[FlightlessDuck]

Once in a great while, a life-changing event occurs that you don’t realize is a life-changer at the time. We were about to have one of those moments. As we walked, Scott suddenly turned a horrible shade of red with grey undertones. He sat down on the curb in Camp Minnie-Mickey, breathing heavily. He had chest pains. I was genuinely terrified.

This was actually the third time this trip I ended up with chest pains. The previous two were not nearly as bad, but this one was scary. I think part of it was the heat, too, since sitting in the cool theatre helped a lot.

“Fine. We’ll stay. But we are NOT coming back to Disney until you lose 50 lbs, Mister!”

And, as you can see from what Jenn said later on, I took her word for it.

I really, really liked the show. I was glad Cyndy and Barry had insisted we include it in the day. The acrobatics and music and pyrotechnics were great. Scott didn’t like it as much, but we were seated kind of far back, and he obviously wasn’t feeling his best.

I didn't really like the show. I can't say why for sure. I didn't like the whole concept of having a theatre-in-the-round for this show (one of the princes stood right in our line of sight during the Circle of Life bird dance), I didn't think the costumes looked sufficiently like the animals they were supposed to be, I was already in a bad mood, it was raining, and I had almost dropped dead.

I am willing to try it again next time we go if everybody else wants to, but I'd try to get different seats next time.

I ate some of a fajita platter, and it was tasty.

I had the fajitas, too. They were good. I was thinking of getting the steak originally, but was a bit fuzzy on whether it would be pre-cooked or cooked to order with me standing right there, so I went with Mexican. Besides, I got cheated out of my tacos the day before. Once again, I don't remember my dessert.

Meanwhile, Scott and I were having an absolutely fabulous time in Downtown Disney.

This night was probably my favorite part of the whole trip. The appetizer plate was simply amazing. If anything, the chicken was the weak link. I was surprised how well the Guinness honey reduction worked with the soda bread. And I got to try two new drinks, plus my requisite Guinness. I do like bread pudding, and have harassed Jenn in the past about how she never actually tried any before. I'm glad she liked the Ger's Bread and Butter pudding, and I can say it is my favorite as well, along with being the best dessert in Disney.

The band was great, but loud, which didn't bother either of us. I wouldn't recommend the place if you have small children. Otherwise, it's a great place to have some fun.

We were both a bit buzzed, but not incapacitated by any means. We had a nice, relaxing stroll and browsed around the shops before getting her necklace and picking up the shirts and heading back to the hotel. We decided next trip that we will have a full dinner at Raglan Road, with the kids.

[MouseEarsJenny]

"That’s the real trouble with the world, too many people grow up." -Walt Disney

After packing up our belongings into our vehicles, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom for our last Disney day. We split up almost immediately. Kairi, Cyndy, Hannah and Barry headed for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

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Grandma and Grandpa went to Liberty Square to try and ride the riverboat, and then wandered around to various favorites. Somewhere along their way that morning, they ran into Pioneer Donald.

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And Scott and I took Juli, Faith and Nick to Dumbo, after waiting in a really long line at Guest Services for Scott to replace his missing KTTW card.

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Nick didn't want to ride, as usual, so we took the girls on by ourselves. Cyndy and Kai were back before we got off the ride. Hannah and Barry had headed to Adventureland in the hopes of finding Jasmine. Our new group went to Mickey's Philharmagic, which was much more fun the second time around now that we weren't worried that Grandma had broken a toe. We then headed over to meet Hannah and Barry in Adventureland. They had been meeting characters and riding on the Magic Carpets of Aladdin.

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We rode on Pirates one more time, cause we loves it.

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Finally, Hannah's big moment came. She was the only girl who hadn't met her "matching" princess at Akershus when they all wore their costumes. She wanted to meet Jasmine in the worst way. Later on, we saw her in EPCOT but her line wasn't taking any more families. So this time, when the line was full, we waited the 20 minutes for the next time she came out. Finally, Hannah got her wish.

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My two wouldn't even get their pictures taken, which surprised me. But when I thought about it, it kind of made sense. All of our character pictures have always been taken when we've bumped into characters with no line at all (like in the Animation building at HS before everyone found out it was a character meet and greet) or at meals. We're not really wait-in-line to see a character types. And I guess they are getting a bit older.

At this point, our group broke off again. Grandma and Grandpa were still off somewhere, and Cyndy and Barry wanted to take the girls on Magic Carpets since only Hannah had ridden. My two would rather have their eyes poked out with pointy sticks, so we headed to Tomorrowland. We rode Buzz with no line twice in a row. The first time Kai won, the next time Nick won, much to my chagrin. Then we bumped into Barry and Cyndy's group and rode Carousel of Progress together. We texted Grandma to find out where she was - turns out, on the CoP! So we all got back together.

At this point, I need to explain what our family was wearing. Grandma runs a quilting business, and she gave us all shirts that say "Custom Quilts By Marybeth". Now, honestly, we really don't like the shirts too much. They're not flattering, and especially for Scott, they're a bit girly. But Grandma said we'd ALL be wearing them one day, and we wanted to humor her, especially after she watched the kids so we could go to Raglan Road. But when we got the group together that morning, turns out we were the only ones who followed Grandma's directions. Scott was really upset by this. He didn't want to be in any pictures wearing the awful shirt. Plus, he hates the whole "matchy matchy" shirt thing, even if they had been great shirts. But this was our LAST day at Disney, and the sky was FINALLY blue, and we kept running into Photopass photographers.

This picture gives a pretty big clue what was going on by this point of the trip. Grandma was trying to get everyone to be in pictures - see how she's trying to shoo Juli to the right pose? Barry was distracted and already thinking about his half of the vacation. Scott was annoyed and ignoring all of us. Cyndy was off in her own world, probably on her cell.

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Nevertheless, everyone was cajoled into cooperation, and the photographer (who was really lacking for customers at that moment) took a whole bunch of shots.

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Our next stop was Main Street to blow all of our remaining snack credits. We had used some for breakfast on our way into the park (orange juice, croissants, cinnamon rolls, etc - all very delicious), and now we bought mountains of candy and treats to take with us. We really did have more snack credits than we needed. I don't have receipts for this last flurry of spending, but by the time we were done, everyone had used up all their snack credits. Some may have been used for drinks they didn't report earlier in the week, too, but I know I had all of my snack credits at this point. Mine went mostly toward buying candy for the kids and picking up some chocolate croissants to take with us for the second half of the trip.

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While we were in Main Street, the parade went by again. So we stepped outside to watch.

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The kids used some snack credits on ice cream, and I think Scott got a frozen cappucino, which he didn't like.

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I think next time, instead of waiting for the "perfect" snack to buy with our snack credits, I will use them for more breakfasts and drinks. Not that we bought those things out of pocket, but we just ended up spending snack credits like crazy on this last day. Anyway, assuming that our remaining credits were spent on at least a $2.50 bottle of water (and many were more expensive) we would have spent about $112.50 on whatever we bought with the credits.

FINAL DINING PLAN TOTALS:

This brings us, (drumroll please) to our final totals for food for the week. We used all 70 of our TS, CS, and Snack Credits.

We spent $122.37 out of pocket, mostly on alcoholic drinks and appetizers.

We spent $456.10 on tips.

We spent $2190 on the dining plan. If we hadn't been on the dining plan, we would have spent $3261.89. Now, it could be argued that we wouldn't have gotten desserts everywhere if they weren't included. It could definitely be argued that we wouldn't have gone on that last $100 snack shopping spree. But saving $1071.89 still feels like a big deal to me!

At this point, we were content to sit on the curb on Main Street and soak up atmosphere. But Barry really wanted a picture of the family by the Partners statue.

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Scott was already more than done with photographers, and didn't see why we needed to go back for yet another picture. Cyndy said this was the ONLY thing Barry wanted all week, and couldn't we just get the picture so she could "get the hell out of here". I have to confess, at this point, I was really, really hurt. I had planned this vacation for months. I had tried to include everything that everyone wanted to do. I had been tour guide, concierge, maitre d', and general dogsbody, all on my vacation. And here we were, in my personal happy place, with balloons and barbershop quartets and blue skies and DISNEY everywhere you looked, and she wanted to "get the hell out of here"?? But we went down for the picture, and they left to go to their timeshare. Grandma and Gordi also left to head to our hotel, where our Florida friends were going to meet them and pick them up for their second week.

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Up Next:
Just a Few More Minutes, Please

[FlightlessDuck]

And Scott and I took Juli, Faith and Nick to Dumbo, after waiting in a really long line at Guest Services for Scott to replace his missing KTTW card.

When we first arrived at Coronado Springs, there was a martial arts competition going on and we had to park our cars no where near our building, so this morning Cyndy and I moved the cars closer to our building. It turns out my KTTW card fell out of my pocket and slid between the driver's seat and door. At this point, though, I had no idea what I did with it.

We rode on Pirates one more time, cause we loves it.

Also, when we were in WDW in 2006, Pirates was closed for the refurb, so we were making up for lost time :thumbsup2

We rode Buzz with no line twice in a row. The first time Kai won, the next time Nick won, much to my chagrin. Then we bumped into Barry and Cyndy's group and rode Carousel of Progress together. We texted Grandma to find out where she was - turns out, on the CoP! So we all got back together.

Tomorrowland is my favorite area of Magic Kingdom, but it sucks Space Mountain and TTA weren't open. Still, I liked being able to get on Buzz twice with no wait. I think it lost some of its hoopla now that Midway Mania is open.

At this point, I need to explain what our family was wearing.

I really didn't like the shirt.

Our next stop was Main Street to blow all of our remaining snack credits.

The kids used some snack credits on ice cream, and I think Scott got a frozen cappucino, which he didn't like.

At this point, it was relaxing to be able to just "hang out". We got on all the rides we wanted to for the day. I didn't remember when I got the cappuccino though. It might have been that morning, or on another day entirely. I do remember not liking it. I also remember having gotten it last time, and not liking it then, either. When the kids got their ice cream, though, I got a coke float.

I think next time, instead of waiting for the "perfect" snack to buy with our snack credits, I will use them for more breakfasts and drinks.

I have been thinking about that too, if we do the dining plan next time (probably, although Nick will also be considered an adult by then). I know I'll want a ice cream Mickey head at some point, but besides that, I'd probably just use credits on water or soda.

We spent $2190 on the dining plan. If we hadn't been on the dining plan, we would have spent $3261.89.

Having paid for the dining plan up front was a stress reliever. We didn't have to worry about what we spent when we went out to eat, especially with 11 people. I am pretty sure we will get the dining plan next time, too, but you never can tell.

I have to confess, at this point, I was really, really hurt. I had planned this vacation for months. I had tried to include everything that everyone wanted to do. I had been tour guide, concierge, maitre d', and general dogsbody, all on my vacation.

Not to mention the fact that we paid for the rooms, tickets, and dining plan. It was the most money we ever spent on a vacation (duh, there were 11 of us!). In the end, I think we should have given ourselves more "split up" time.

Just a Few More Minutes, Please

Do we really have to LEAVE???

[MouseEarsJenny]

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

We didn't want to leave. We really, really didn't want to leave. We were supposed to meet Grandma and Grandpa and our Florida friends Phil and Janel at Cyndy and Barry's timeshare. But we really, really didn't want to leave.

We headed dutifully toward the exit, but ended up climbing the stairs to the train station instead.

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We dawdled. Watched more parade. Dawdled. Played with the old school stereoscopes. Dawdled. And decided to ride the train around.

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It's probably a good thing we had no idea Disney was going to completely refurb the Magic Kingdom before we came back. We never would have left, and we definitely would have gotten off the train in Toontown to see things we'd always skipped.

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Finally, we steeled ourselves and walked under the station and to the bus, since the kids wanted one more dip in the Dig Site at CSR.

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We seriously contemplated adding the no expire option to our passes, sticking on two more days, and booking a bounce-back rate for October sometime. Still not exactly sure why we didn't - it seemed too impulsive, I guess. On the bus, I took a picture of this road sign that had amused the adults all week because we're perverts.

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We headed to our car, dropped off all the snacks we had bought, and grabbed the beach bags we had packed to take to the pool. Grandma and Grandpa were still there waiting for their ride, so we hung out with them awhile and swam and ate some nachos for lunch. Then the kids tried out the playground, but it was so hot they didn't play for long.

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Goodbye pool...
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Goodbye CSR...
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Goodbye amazing Disney landscaping...
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Goodbye Ranchos...
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Adios Amigos... We drove out of CSR.
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And to our very great chagrin, goodbye Disney. (If you are thinking of bailing on our trip report now that we're moving on to Orlando and Universal, be aware that we sneak back to Disney later. But we didn't know that at the time.)
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We drove to Barry and Cyndy's timeshare in the Westgate Vacation Villas, getting lost on the way. It's a nice enough place, and we were grateful for the extra week of vacation, but it's not Disney. There was a nice, reassuring rainbow over the roof when we arrived, though.

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The timeshare room was spacious. The decor was really kind of early eighties, and it was covered in mirrors everywhere you looked. But it did have two bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining room, a living room, and a screen porch that looked out over a little pool. The kids seemed to like it.

We spent the rest of the evening visiting with Phil and Janel before they took Grandma and Grandpa to their house for the week. Then we had some pizza and the girls ate their Disney lollipops.

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We headed to bed with the intention of getting up early to visit Universal Studios.

Up Next:
Why Are We In Florida, And Not At Disney World?

[FlightlessDuck]

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened." - Dr. Seuss

It's my party, and I'll cry if I want to!

We dawdled. Watched more parade. Dawdled. Played with the old school stereoscopes. Dawdled. And decided to ride the train around.

I don't have that much to add at this point. I liked riding the train and seeing everything. Like Jenn says, I think we would have spent time in Toontown if we knew it wasn't going to be there the next time.

I decided to turn my shirt inside out when we got to the Dig Site. The nachos were good. In the end, I think we decided against coming back in October because it would have been rude to everybody else (basically saying "you suck, we are going back by ourselves").

I took a picture of this road sign that had amused the adults all week because we're perverts.

I think this was originally at Pleasure Island. :laughing:

We drove to Barry and Cyndy's timeshare in the Westgate Vacation Villas, getting lost on the way.

It was off 192, but when we got from Disney property to the highway we turned East instead of West. But we figured it out eventually.

The timeshare room was spacious. The decor was really kind of early eighties, and it was covered in mirrors everywhere you looked.

It was comfortable enough, but a little cheesy. It was definitely not modern. Barry said there were newer buildings with refurbished rooms, but obviously we didn't get one of those.

We spent the rest of the evening visiting with Phil and Janel before they took Grandma and Grandpa to their house for the week. Then we had some pizza and the girls ate their Disney lollipops.

It was nice to see Phil and Janel. This was the first time we got to spend time with them since our 2002 trip. I think they were actually out of the state in 2006 when we were down for our second trip together. It was nice to just hang out with no major plans for the rest of the day.

Why Are We In Florida, And Not At Disney World?

That's what I want to know :confused3

[MouseEarsJenny]

"When I started on Disneyland, my wife used to say, ‘But why do you want to build an amusement park? They’re so dirty.’ I told her that was just the point–mine wouldn’t be." - Walt Disney

Yes. I admit it. I had a negative attitude about going to Universal on Sunday morning. I think it might have been better to take a week at Universal and then go to Disney afterward. But that would have meant spending my birthday and the Fourth of July at Universal, and that just wasn't happening. Still, I had never been to Universal, and negative attitude or no, I was planning on giving it a fair trial. Unfortunately, the most negative aspects of Universal started hitting me in the face the moment we arrived.

We got up and I ate a leftover croissant from Disney, which I would later refer to as the best part of the day. :rolleyes1

Our first experience with Universal was their filthy, nasty, disgusting parking garage. There were cigarette butts and moldy looking articles of clothing and grease and dirt and FILTH everywhere we looked. Plus, it looked confusing as heck. So I took a picture of our parking section so I'd remember where we were.

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All of the running engines in a confined space gave Nick a coughing fit. He couldn't stop coughing and wheezing and hacking as we made our way to our second Universal experience - the pushy salespeople trying to sell us the food plan, stays at the hotels, and front of the line passes. Along with kiosks and carts selling merchandise. And this was all in the parking garage complex, before we even set foot into a park or CityWalk.

It felt like we were hiking from Outer Mongolia as we made our way through the tacky Vegas-like City Walk. I know, you're probably thinking that I didn't want to like Universal. That's not true. I DID want to like Universal. After all, my ticket had been a free gift from Universal (I scored one of the Super Bowl freebies). And my favorite book series is getting installed at Universal, so I know I'll make my way back here in the future. I wanted to find fun and the adventure of doing something totally new. But when my first three experiences were filth, money-grubbing, and tacky, it really didn't start me off on the right foot. And again, doing it AFTER Disney set the whole thing up to be a comparison.

Still, I tried to get into the right frame of mind by taking pictures of the iconic logo and entranceway.

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Next, we got through the turnstiles, a complicated process involving too few employees, poorly functioning machines, and too many steps (scan this, sign this, poke this, do it again, poke this other thing, let me SHOVE your hand where it needs to go, no I've never heard of a smile...). Nick was still coughing up a storm. We stood around for about 15 minutes discussing where we should go. We finally decided to head toward the Mummy.

The decor at Universal Studios is interesting. I think what they are going for is a movie backlot, so that you'll have a tiny really dressed area and then huge blank concrete walls with billboards and posters interspersed with palm trees. I'm sure it's more authentic than the 40's art deco inspired Hollywood Studios, but it feels like a cop out - if we make it look like a real movie lot, we don't actually have to decorate as much. Not to mention, all that concrete is brutally hot.

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At any rate, we got to the Mummy. Going through the queue, every single child but Hannah either chickened out or didn't want to ride anyway. So I volunteered to stay with the kids so that we didn't have to bother with child swap. I didn't really want to ride anyway, because I'm not much of a roller coaster in the dark fan. (Heck, I don't even ride Space Mountain.) Plus, Nick was STILL coughing and wheezing, and I was worried about him. But Cyndy decided that I had a bad attitude and was determined to ruin her half of the vacation. (Um... and her "I want to get the hell out of here" yesterday wasn't at all a bad attitude. *sigh*) I tried to explain that I just didn't want everyone else to have to wait while I went back to do the Child Swap thing, but she didn't want to hear it. I waited with the kids in a dingy little room where they were showing the Mummy cartoon and soon enough, we were all back together. I insisted on a quick stop at a gift shop for some cough drops for Nick. They didn't have any, but directed me very nicely to another shop that did. (Points for Universal.) After another 10 minutes of "what are we going to do next", we went to Shrek. The queue was brutally hot. This would become a recurring theme over the next few days. Many Universal queues are outdoors, with just a fan or two to cool off the mob. I hadn't even realized how many Disney queues were air conditioned until we experienced the opposite. Our two kids started reading the posters while they waited. Unfortunately, Universal's sense of humor seems to revolve mostly around insulting Disney. All of the posters were insulting toward Disney rides and characters. :eek: Our two raised-on-Disney kids started getting their own negative attitude.

Unfortunately, the impression created by the queue was not improved by the ride itself. The pre-show revolved around being insulted and yelled at by employees dressed in Shrek clothes. The actual movie, after all that, was the biggest rip off. The theater was dingy and filthy, the chairs were ripped, and you could hear all the machinery grinding and squeaking as the various effects were implemented. Worst, the movie was the same 3-D movie that came as a bonus with the first Shrek DVD, so we had all seen it before!

When we left, Shrek was doing a meet and greet. But after their experience in the ride, the kids were not even a LITTLE interested in meeting Shrek. So we leaned against a concrete wall and waited while the little girls had their turn.

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After a bathroom break, we went to ET. I remember Cyndy and Barry were arguing over where to go next, and having a hard time remembering which rides and areas were in the Studios and which were in Islands of Adventure. We spent an awful lot of time backtracking and trying to find our bearings. But once we got to ET, we all enjoyed it very much. The queue was long, but it was indoors and beautifully themed. The ride itself was sweet and well designed, although some of the human animatronics were a bit plastic-y. When Steven Spielberg was talking on the monitors in the lobby about creating the ride, we knew we were in good hands, and we were right. This was easily the best ride of the day.

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After ET, we headed to MIB. The line was long and hot. When we finally got inside, the "pre-show" had the same problem as the one at Shrek. Maybe it DOES go with the theme to have the employees yelling at you and calling you names (since you're supposed to be new recruits) but I don't come on vacation to have people be rude to me. The ride itself was pretty fun, although it was hard to tell whether you were hitting targets, and the spinning was a bit vomit inducing. Still, I listened to the directions and managed to beat everyone else's score by quite a lot. It had something to do with the last alien and a certain color of light or some such thing - anyway, I got a 100,000 point bonus that annoyed everyone else because I had been losing badly up to that point. The storyline was hard to follow, though, so I have no idea what I did.

After leaving MIB, Barry decided we should go see an Animal Actors show. By now, I was completely dying of the heat. I wanted to stop and get a drink, but the show was already starting. Once we got there, I found out that in order to get into the ampitheater, we had to climb what felt like about 800 stairs. So we sat very close to the back of the theater while I tried not to die. I was dizzy, hot, and very tired after a week of constant on-the-go. Again, this was interpreted as a negative attitude, and I do understand why they felt that way, but I really didn't intend to be negative. The animal show was cute, but it was hard to see what the animals were doing from the top of the auditorium. Plus, they pulled a kid on stage who didn't speak English and the show started really dragging as they tried to get him to give commands to the animals, who didn't speak Ukrainian.

Next we went to the Jaws ride. I had really wanted to ride this, but when we got in the line, the sign said that we would get wet. I hadn't realized that you could actually get wet on the ride, and I was wearing a white shirt. So I left the line, which annoyed Cyndy and Barry even more. The ride seemed short. I waited in line until it was time for them to board and then got out. I only had time to get a cup of ice water before they were back off the boat.

We started heading back to the timeshare for lunch. On our way, we were stopped by someone who was showing a pilot for a new show. We would have loved to stay, but the kids weren't invited, and we didn't have time, since we were already having a very late lunch. We were also stopped by someone selling timeshares, which REALLY annoyed us because how rude is it that Universal lets salespeople in to accost you when you've already paid to be in the park?

We walked back to Outer Mongolia to find our car. The sign we saw on the way out sums up the morning.

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When we got back to Westgate, we made some lunch and I crashed for a nap. I had a wicked headache. The kids and Scott went to one of the timeshare pools - not the one right out the door but an "Endless" pool that Barry is fond of somewhere else on the property.

After my nap, Cyndy, Barry, and their girls went to the Westgate theater to see Finding Nemo. I was feeling better at this point, but apparently I was still a bit snarky because I wrote in my trip journal: "I know where he is - eight miles from here." Scott read, I wrote, and the kids watched TV. When the rest of the crew returned, we cooked dinner and went out to a Wal-mart to grab a new book for me and a few sundries.

Up Next:
Oh. That's Why People Like This Place.

[FlightlessDuck]

"When I started on Disneyland, my wife used to say, ‘But why do you want to build an amusement park? They’re so dirty.’ I told her that was just the point–mine wouldn’t be." - Walt Disney

Oh, snap!

Our first experience with Universal was their filthy, nasty, disgusting parking garage.

It didn't seem that bad compared to most parking garages, but it wasn't Disney quality. Then again, Disney wouldn't use a parking garage for parking, at least not in Florida. But I guess Universal had limited space. :confused3

the pushy salespeople trying to sell us the food plan, stays at the hotels, and front of the line passes. Along with kiosks and carts selling merchandise. And this was all in the parking garage complex, before we even set foot into a park or CityWalk.

I found this really irritating. It reminded me of going to an NFL training camp or walking through a carnival. Once again, we couldn't help but comparing it with Disney, who doesn't allow such things in their parking lots.

It felt like we were hiking from Outer Mongolia as we made our way through the tacky Vegas-like City Walk.

City Walk didn't bother me. I didn't enjoy it or anything, but I didn't hate it, either. If anything, it just felt like it was in the way.

Next, we got through the turnstiles, a complicated process involving too few employees, poorly functioning machines, and too many steps.

This was really irritating. It took several times for most of the cards to work correctly. The whole process seemed really incompetent. You'd think they'd have gotten at least this working well.

The decor at Universal Studios is interesting.

I didn't really like it at all. It seemed too hodgepodge and you could see one area from the next. Again, I'm comparing to Disney. So sue.

I didn't really want to ride anyway, because I'm not much of a roller coaster in the dark fan.

I did ride it, and probably would have had more fun if I went with Jenn. Cyndy had said something about keeping a hold of my glasses, and in my stupidity, I took them off. So for me it really felt like a roller-coaster in dark. I would like to describe it, but I couldn't see ANYTHING. :sad2:

I did like it, though. At least, I think I did.

After another 10 minutes of "what are we going to do next", we went to Shrek.

This irked me. Maybe Jenn and I overplan, but this felt like underplanning. We were in a theme park in Florida in July wasting time trying to figure out where to go next. Why didn't we follow the Unofficial Guide or something?

I hated Shrek. I hated the ride line. I hated the pre-show. I know the employee was trying to play a part, but I hated that too. And worst of all, we saw the show once already, sans shaky seat. And the entire ride felt like it was falling apart.

After a bathroom break, we went to ET.

My favorite ride of the day, also. I probably would have said I liked the Mummy better, but again, I couldn't see. Although it did feel a little like Peter Pan on bikes.

After ET, we headed to MIB. Still, I listened to the directions and managed to beat everyone else's score by quite a lot.

I was having fun in this ride, mostly, up to the end. Again, I couldn't tell if I was actually hitting stuff or not, but I racked up a score over 100,000. Will Smith's face showed up on a big screen and said something about "you know what to do" and I was thinking "shoot the alien?". I look at Jenn and saw her score all of a sudden higher than mine and I was really confused. What did she do? Push a button? When were we supposed to do that? Turns out when Will Smith told us to. Well, that sucked.

After leaving MIB, Barry decided we should go see an Animal Actors show.

Boring. And a lot of stairs. Plus, this was right next to what USED to be the Back to the Future ride.

When I went to Disney World as a kid, I wanted to come to Universal just to ride on the Back to the Future ride, but we never made it over. When I found out we were going to visit this time, I was excited because I was finally going to get on this ride. Only.it.isn't.there.

They closed Back to the Future and replaced it with the Simpsons, a show that nobody in our group have watched since the late 90's. Plus we didn't think it was an appropriate show for the kids, so we skipped it.

Next we went to the Jaws ride.

I wanted to like this ride. I like the movie. The ride seemed run down and cheap. And lame. And only a little water came up in the boat, getting my shoes a little wet, so Jenn could have gone anyway.

We started heading back to the timeshare for lunch. On our way, we were stopped by someone who was showing a pilot for a new show.

This would have been fun, but we couldn't stay and watch it.

We were also stopped by someone selling timeshares, which REALLY annoyed us because how rude is it that Universal lets salespeople in to accost you when you've already paid to be in the park?

I believe these were people from Hilton. I don't know if they had a deal with Universal or snuck in or what, but once again we couldn't help comparing to Disney. I know Disney has kiosks for DVC, but I haven't had an experience where I was stopped by someone and given a sales pitch.

When we got back to Westgate, we made some lunch and I crashed for a nap. I had a wicked headache. The kids and Scott went to one of the timeshare pools - not the one right out the door but an "Endless" pool that Barry is fond of somewhere else on the property.

The pool was by one of the new towers in the complex. I felt weird about getting in the car and driving to a different section to go in another pool. It seemed cheating to me, especially when we had our own pool right out our back door. One of the edges didn't have a lip on it, and you could see a man made lake with swan boats in it, so the pool seemed like it could continue right into the lake. I wasn't that impressed. It was a much bigger pool than ours, so that was nice. And I was able to relax and swim, so it all worked out.

When the rest of the crew returned, we cooked dinner and went out to a Wal-mart to grab a new book for me and a few sundries.

After dinner, Barry wanted to talk about a plan for the next day. I had been reading the Universal section of the Unofficial Guide, so I was able to push that a little ("maybe we should go to Spider-Man first, and then...blah blah blah"). We decided to walk clockwise around the park. Cyndy didn't want to be part of the conversation, but wanted to make sure the two little girls got something fun to do early. There was a kid's play area in the Lost World section, so the rest of us thought that it would work. Unfortunately, we forgot about Faith's incident with the Boneyard a few days before. More on that later...

[MouseEarsJenny]

"There is no good in arguing with the inevitable The only argument available with an east wind is to put on your overcoat." -James Russell Lowell

We headed back out to Universal, this time with the intention of visiting Islands of Adventure. Mindful of my role in yesterday's disaster, I was determined to avoid causing problems. Yesterday, I had tried to help by staying with the kids instead of riding Mummy, and upset Cyndy. So I was determined to do whatever she wanted me to do on the second day. Yesterday, I had worn inappropriate clothes for getting wet, and since we were planning early visits to Ripsaw Falls and the Bilge Rat Barges, I wore my swimsuit. Yesterday, I didn't even take many pictures because I was spending too much time comparing with Disney - no more! I was going to be a good little tourist. At least, that was the plan.

I was a little flummoxed, though, when I saw that Cyndy had dressed her whole family in our "thing" shirts. She had wanted all of us to wear Thing 1-9 shirts to the park, and I had helped her make all of the shirts before we left home. But I was carrying our shirts in a bag so that they wouldn't get wet, and we were all wearing bathing suits and shorts. I figured she'd just decided that the girls could get the thing shirts wet, and we left for the park.

Once we got inside, we headed straight for Spider-man. I had already started to like Islands of Adventure better than Universal Studios. The decor was fun and creative, and I liked the comic style look of the Marvel section. We actually talked Nick, ride chicken boy, on to Spider-man. Even more amazing: he liked it! Hey! Nicky likes it!

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I have to agree with Nick here. This ride was fun, high-tech, intense and well-designed. It was really thrilling - more so because you didn't know what to expect next - moving on a track? dropping? virtually dropping? fire? noise? 3-D effects? It was amazing.

We had done the Child Swap and we waited for the second group, and then went back to ride again. I caught a lot more of the story the second time when I wasn't constantly panicked about the "drop" that's not a drop. Cyndy decided she didn't want us to wait for another Child Swap, so she stayed in the gift shop with the girls. Juli apparently enjoyed herself here by playing with a Spidey spin toy.

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At this point, I was thinking that this might just be fun after all. I really, really liked this park so far. But you know what they say about the best laid plans. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Cyndy had a huge temper tantrum. She realized that we were planning to walk around Toon Lagoon and let the kids play on Me Ship, The Olive while we rode Bilge Rat Barges and Ripsaw Falls. She was really, really angry. Apparently, when she had said the night before that she wanted us to give Faith and Juli something to do early on, she specifically meant she wanted to go to Seuss Landing second. And that was the ONLY thing she wanted to do, and she wanted to do it RIGHT then. Scott pointed out that we were all wearing our bathing suits so that we could get wet, and that Seuss Landing was in the other direction. She blew up that no one cared about "her" kids. Now, I had vowed that I would do whatever Cyndy wanted. So I said, fine, okay, we'll go to Dr. Seuss. She stormed off. We followed her, assuming she was going to Seuss Landing. But she was walking the long way around - all the way past Toon Lagoon, and Jurassic Park, and etc. and we were confused. If she wanted to go to Seuss Landing, why not just turn around and go back past the entrance? It was a much shorter walk. She was also nearly running with the stroller, so we were hustling to try and keep up as she kept weaving through the crowd and leaving us behind. When we finally caught up near Dueling Dragons, we weren't sure she was even still heading to Seuss Landing. So, out of breath, we asked, "Where are you going?" to which she replied, "I'm trying to get away from YOU."

Well, dear readers, I'm afraid that was the last straw. We were trying our very best to have a very nice day and do what she wanted, and she told us that she wanted to get rid of us. Okay, fine. Barry and Hannah were still trying to catch up because he kept stopping to take pictures. I took Scott, Kairi, and Nicky and we turned around and walked away.

Just the four of us now, we walked to Toon Lagoon. I was still a bit hurt by my sister's attitude, but I was determined to enjoy what Islands of Adventure had to offer after the travesty at Universal Studios the day before. We went back to Bilge Rat Barges. We knew we would need to rent a locker to store our "Thing" shirts and my camera and bag. So we rented a locker and put our belongings inside.

I'm still not sure exactly how the following confusion happened, and I don't want to be an evil guest who doesn't follow the rules and expects special treatment. But I could have sworn there was no sign that stated that guys had to wear shirts on the ride. In the exact same ride (eight seat circle boat, rapids, yada) at home, no shirts are required for guys. So we put Nick's Thing shirt in the locker. Also, I'm sure I had read that $8 lockers had in/out privileges. But when we got halfway down the line queue, the employee said that Nick needed a shirt. We left the line, went all the way back to the locker, and opened it up. Once we opened it, it would no longer lock - it was an all day rental until you opened it. Which didn't even make sense. $8 locker for a 15 minute ride?? So we had to pay another $8 to lock back up again. We went back in the line and when we got to the employee who had kicked us out of line, I asked for a refund of one of the two locker fees because I STILL couldn't find a sign that indicated guys needed shirts. She called over a manager, who took us out of line again and said that he would happily refund our money at the end of the ride. We go to get back in line again, but the employee sees us, and waves us over to the Universal Express line. We said no, she didn't have to do that, but she said we would be on the ride by now without all the hassle. So we went straight down to a boat.

Well, we LOVED it. Adored it. Laughed like loons. Had an absolutely fabulous, amazing, wonderful time. It was crazy and bouncy and splashy and all manner of fun. The kids wanted to do it again. When we got off, the manager saw us and came over to deal with the refund. We said forget about it - not only did we get to skip the line, but it was worth the $16. We were laughing and having genuine fun, and suddenly it felt like a vacation again. Thank you, Bilge Rat Barges!

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We retrieved our locker stuff and Kai put on her Thing shirt. By this time, Nick's was already soaking wet, so we figured it didn't much matter. After a pause to take a picture of the kids by their new favorite Universal ride, we went over to Me Ship, The Olive and let the kids explore. Kai played the notes on the sheet music in a band geek reflex and was rewarded with the piano playing the Popeye song.

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Nick liked using the water cannons to blast people on the Bilge Rat Barges. The only drawback was that from the top of the Olive, we could see the overflow pool from the barges. EWWWW!!!!!! Double, triple, quadruple yuck. The water we had been happily doused with was filthy and covered in foamy scum. Nasty!

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We considered Ripsaw Falls, but Nicky wasn't feeling quite that brave. So we ended up just letting the two of them get soaked in a fountain near the Toon Lagoon sign.

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Our next stop was Jurassic Park. We knew there was a drop at the end of the ride, but we really wanted to see all the dinosaurs and we thought Nick would like it if we could just somehow get him on it.

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I'm still not sure how we did it. But we got him on the ride. We didn't even believe it. The wait was horrific, but at least they got dry waiting.

When we got to the turnstile, someone ahead of us was wearing a Mickey Mouse poncho. The employee said "Ack! You've got a rat on your back!" *sigh* Compensating, much?

The ride itself was AWESOME. We loved the movie-like gates opening to John Williams' great theme music.

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And unlike Dinosaur at Animal Kingdom, here you could really see the dinosaurs.

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The final climb through the raptors was just creepy enough, and the T-Rex was awesome. Get this... Nicky LOVED it! The drop and all! Completely adored it. We stopped to get him an "I Survived" kind of shirt. And then of course, we had to pose for the classic "There's a dinosaur behind me, isn't there?" picture.

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We continued our walk around the park, and ran into the construction area for Harry Potter. With three fabulous rides under our belts, we were feeling much better about the whole coming back to check out the Wizarding World thing. In fact, we were downright excited about coming back when Harry Potter was here.

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We decided againsts Dueling Dragons because Nick wouldn't ride and we didn't feel safe leaving him. We thought about lunch at Mythos, but didn't want to take the time to sit down and eat.

That brought us to the entrance to Seuss Landing. We loved the theming, but again, it threw us off a bit that you could look and see other areas. Still, the architecture was oh-so-Seuss and it seemed like a lot of fun. I went to the bathroom to change into my thing shirt and ran into the rest of our group, so I knew they were there. Later, we found out they had been on pretty much every ride in the place.

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I didn't know if Cyndy still wanted us to stay away from her, so we went into Circus Mcgurkus Cafe Stoo-pendous for lunch. That's where Cyndy found us in line and apologized for saying she wanted to get rid of us. We remerged our group and ate lunch.

The Cafe was, in my opinion, overpriced and not very good. Probably about the same as your standard cafeteria. But the atmosphere was great, with lots of fun decorations moving and swinging around the room.

We left lunch and went to the Cat in the Hat. It was very cute and Winnie-the-Pooh like. I really liked it.

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We were trying to find the perfect place to take a group photo of our Thing shirts, so we tried posing under the giant red and white hat. Unfortunately, the nice stranger who offered to take our picture couldn't get the hat in the shot.

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Up Next:
Searching for Seuss

[MouseEarsJenny]

"We looked and we saw him, the Cat in the Hat." - Dr. Seuss

We had a specific goal in mind now that we were all together and wearing the red shirts. We tried taking the picture under the Cat's hat - no dice. So now we must find the actual Cat in the Hat for the perfect shot. We started by exploring the Seuss themed shops in the area, starting with the exit shop for the Cat in the Hat. Which meant all the little girls had to try on Thing hats.

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And one of the big girls, too.

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I have to again praise the theming of the area as we walked from shop to shop. I really liked this little topiary critter.

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We read on our map that the Cat in the Hat appeared near the bookshop, so we headed there hoping to get the picture. We found out that the Cat wouldn't be appearing for awhile since he was in an afternoon storytelling show. So we browsed around the bookstore.

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When we spied this tiny door, we knew just who must live there!

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We headed over to the afternoon story telling show still chasing the elusive picture. The little girls really liked it.

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It was cute, although it was a bit cheesy. Reminded me of the Peanuts show at our home amusement park.

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Finally, the show was over. And the Cat in the Hat turned around and went backstage while everyone else came out for pictures. Oh, no! We asked an employee and they said he would be right out, so we waited by the entrance. Sure enough, we finally got the picture.

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And a bonus one with Sam I Am.

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We rode on the Caro-Seuss-al (or rode it again in the case of Cyndy and crew) and headed for the exit. Everyone was happy, which was a wonderful thing after all of the earlier stress.

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We headed right for our car, but we found out when the rest of the group got home that they had been distracted in City Walk by a play fountain and had gotten completely soaked. Barry took lots of pictures, and believes that this was the happiest any of the girls were all vacation long.

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After everyone had changed, we went back out to T.G.I. Friday's for dinner. Hannah had put on a light-colored pair of shorts, and she sat in the same seat as she did on the way home from Universal. Ut-oh! When we got in the restaurant, Cyndy noticed a big muddy brown patch on the back of Hannah's shorts and decided it looked embarrassingly nasty. Trying to diffuse the situation before it became a SITUATION, I quickly took Hannah next door to one of those souvenir shops that's EVERYwhere and bought her a shirt long enough to cover the shorts. Cyndy came along, and we giggled about "wardrobe malfunctions" to help make Hannah feel less mortified.

We couldn't have been gone too long, because we beat our food to the table. It was okay, your basic Friday's food. Juli REALLY loved her ribs, though!

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We headed back to Westgate and again crashed directly into bed.

Up Next:
Transportation Blues

[MouseEarsJenny]

So glad you started this back up! I just started planning my own grand gathering for this June. We are debating whether to do the dining plan or not, so having those tallies helps too. Glad to see that you are able to overcome the "emotional rollercoaster" moments. I have to admit that has me a little concerned as well.

Glad it's useful to you! We're actually a very loving and tight family, but travelling together definitely brought out a bit of tension. But it was a great trip, and I was showing Juli (the littlest one) pictures of the trip just tonight and she was telling me all about it. So it was more than worth any little rollercoaster moments.

The tallies surprised me - I didn't realize we saved so much! But I was glad I took the time to grab all those reciepts.

Thanks for reading! Hope your gathering is wonderful!

[FlightlessDuck]

I was a little flummoxed, though, when I saw that Cyndy had dressed her whole family in our "thing" shirts.

At this point we forgot that Cyndy didn't actually bother to get herself involved in the conversation the previous night on how we were going to walk clockwise today.

Once we got inside, we headed straight for Spider-man. I had already started to like Islands of Adventure better than Universal Studios. The decor was fun and creative, and I liked the comic style look of the Marvel section. We actually talked Nick, ride chicken boy, on to Spider-man. Even more amazing: he liked it! Hey! Nicky likes it!

I am an old-school comic junkie, so I loved the theming of this year. I am more of a DC (Batman and Superman) kind of guy than a Marvel kind of guy, but that's OK. Spider-Man was by far my favorite ride in Universal. I might also be willing to say it was my favorite the whole trip, but I'm still not sure about that.

Well, dear readers, I'm afraid that was the last straw.

I don't really have anything more to add about Cyndy's temper tantrum. It sucked, and then we have fun just the four of us. Bilgerat Barges was great, and so was Jurassic Park. I will definitely come back to this park again. Universal Studios can go soak it's head, but Island of Adventure is fun.

We considered Ripsaw Falls, but Nicky wasn't feeling quite that brave.

I think if he tried it after Jurassic Park, he would have been OK.

We continued our walk around the park, and ran into the construction area for Harry Potter. With three fabulous rides under our belts, we were feeling much better about the whole coming back to check out the Wizarding World thing. In fact, we were downright excited about coming back when Harry Potter was here.

Even if nothing else, I will be willing to come back to this park just to go to the Harry Potter section. Disney missed out a lot by not snagging the rights to this.

That brought us to the entrance to Seuss Landing.

A little bit about the Thing shirts: while I didn't like the Custom Quilt shirts, I didn't mind these. 1: Mine fit better. 2: We all had them. 3: Everyone commented on how cute it was (as opposed to get snickered at in Disney).

The Cafe was, in my opinion, overpriced and not very good.

I didn't hate the food, but didn't like it either. I found the Seuss training running around above us to be distracting.

We left lunch and went to the Cat in the Hat. It was very cute and Winnie-the-Pooh like. I really liked it.

I mostly liked it, but you could see some of the machinery and how things moved. Again, comparing to Disney. But still it was a good ride.

We were trying to find the perfect place to take a group photo of our Thing shirts.

At this point, things slowed down and there was a lot of waiting. We killed a lot of time waiting for that cat. In the bookstore, during the storytime, after the story time...

[FlightlessDuck]

So now we must find the actual Cat in the Hat for the perfect shot.

This entire adventure seemed like such a waste of time for me. The two little girls liked seeing the showing and meeting the Cat in the Hat, so I guess that is OK.

The Caro-Seuss-al was pretty fun, for a little kid carousel.

After everyone had changed, we went back out to T.G.I. Friday's for dinner.

I don't remember what I had, probably a steak. Dinner was good. Barry was talking about how it was the biggest TGI Friday's in the country, but it didn't seem like that big of a deal. I was annoyed Jenn and Cyndy BOTH left to tend to Hannah, leaving two adults to deal with four children in a restaurant.

[MouseEarsJenny]

Not only were our feet tired after this many days of so-called vacation, apparently the van was tired too. Cyndy and Barry’s vehicle had issues this morning – I don’t remember what was wrong with it, but it was out of commission. That put a pretty big damper on any possible plans for the day because we had no way to transport 9 people in our 5 passenger vehicle. We were all pretty tired by this point, though, so it was no big deal to hang around and relax in the room.

We started off the day with a quick waffle run. Faith decided that’s what she wanted for breakfast, so we went to a Publix and picked her up some waffles and a bowl of fruit salad for all of us. After breakfast, the girls used the big whirlpool tub in our room to take a bubble bath.

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The kids spent much of the day just watching TV and playing with the toys they had brought from home or bought in Florida. At some point, Barry limped the car over to a mechanic with Scott following for safety and to give him a ride home.

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We made some pasta salad for lunch, and then went to the Westgate Center to see Toy Story in their movie theater. Unfortunately, the schedule was wrong and they were showing Cars (not that we dislike Cars, but it’s probably our least favorite Pixar movie).

After the movie, we walked to the Sizzler. It was a long, hot walk, and the restaurant was not worth it. The buffet was swarmed with bugs. Tiny little clouds of gnats. I am seriously phobic about bugs and could not eat a bite.

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We went to Wal-Mart after dinner to return a movie. While we were out, I got some dinner at a drive thru. The kids colored, we read, and that was the end of our not very exciting day.

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Up Next:
So What Else Is In Orlando?

[FlightlessDuck]

We started off the day with a quick waffle run. Faith decided that’s what she wanted for breakfast, so we went to a Publix and picked her up some waffles and a bowl of fruit salad for all of us. After breakfast, the girls used the big whirlpool tub in our room to take a bubble bath.

One of the nice things about having a week in the timeshare is now we know how to get to a Publix and a Wal-Mart if necessary.

I was really impressed by the amount of bubbles in the tub. Must have been because it had all those jets. It looked like snow. The two little girls had a blast in it.

The kids spent much of the day just watching TV and playing with the toys they had brought from home or bought in Florida.

Jenn and I read and napped most of the morning, I think.

We made some pasta salad for lunch, and then went to the Westgate Center to see Toy Story in their movie theater. Unfortunately, the schedule was wrong and they were showing Cars

And the movie didn't start on time, so we have suffer through 10 minutes of Little Einsteins, first. And Jenn and I were both pretty sure that Westgate was breaking some copyright law, because this looked like a standard DVD version of the movie (with the FBI warning and everything).

After the movie, we walked to the Sizzler.

Meh. I'm sorry Jenn got freaked out by the bugs. I didn't actually see them. But it wasn't great food, anyway.

[kate_wdw]

I wanted to say that I'm really enjoying your trip report.

Also your weight loss story is very inspirational! Any chance we could get an "after" picture?

[MouseEarsJenny]

I wanted to say that I'm really enjoying your trip report.

Thanks!

Also your weight loss story is very inspirational! Any chance we could get an "after" picture?

Sure, but you need to overlook the dazed expression on my face in the after shot - I've got the flu, which is why I'm sitting around updating my trip report. :sick:

Before:
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After:
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Scott has done much better than I have, and is nearly to his healthy weight range - only about 14 pounds to go. (He's lost 93 pounds.) I'm still about 28lbs. over my healthy weight range, but I have lost 65 pounds according to the scale. I can never see it in a picture, but such is life.

As you can see, the we're not going back to Disney until threat really worked, cause now we're planning two Disney trips.

[MouseEarsJenny]

"A man of wisdom delights in water." -Confucius

We woke up on Wednesday to a beautiful, clear day. We were greeted with this sky writing as we left the condo.
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We'd never seen actual skywriting before and we were impressed. Westgate was offering a free breakfast poolside for their owners, and Cyndy and Barry wanted to take advantage of it. So we headed to one of the main pools.
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Breakfast was okay. Continental style with muffins and what not. Our next stop was another Orlando destination we'd never visited - the Wet and Wild water park.

I am not a water park fan, generally speaking, and I had gotten more than enough swimming during the week. So I had tried to explain that buying me a water park ticket was a complete waste of money. The rest of the group thought I should come along anyway, if only to hold towels and take pictures and so forth.

We got to the park and realized that the park is basically in the center of a highly developed area and that the parking lot was across the street. It was a long hot walk from our car (in a parking lot that was already very full) to the entrance.

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Cyndy volunteered to stay with the two little ones while Barry took Hannah on some of the slides. They both wanted to try out the "Bomb Bay" slide that dropped you out of a chute.

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My kids aren't much for big water slides, so they headed straight for the Bubble, an inflated dome doused by a water fountain at the top. The idea is that you grab a rope, climb up the slippery dome, and then slide down into the water.

Every time Nick tried to climb to the top, his feet would slide out from under him and he'd land back in the water.
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The same thing happened to Kai, but she finally got the hang of it and slid into the pool from the top.
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As they got out of the Bubble pool (it was on a timer), Hannah showed up wanting to go in. So they got back in line. The line took at least 15 or 20 minutes this time. This particular attraction was for ages 12 and under only, and the employee gave Kai a hard time the second time through the line and accused her of being older. He did eventually let her go, though.

Hannah was a natural at climbing the dome.
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And even Nicky figured it out the second time around.
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At this point, Hannah and Barry went off to ride on the slides. Turns out they hadn't actually gotten on any slides yet because they were spending time renting a locker. I told them I could carry their stuff, but they kept insisting that I would want to go in the water. Scott, Kai and Nick went in the wave pool. To me, it looked far to crowded to be any fun.

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I went over to check on Cyndy and make sure she was okay with the two little ones. They had found a really cute tube slide for the 5 and under set, and were having a great time climbing up and splashing down.

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However, Cyndy wanted to leave because she thought Faith might be coming down with something. And she was bored. And she had expected Barry back to take over with the girls 40 minutes ago. So I went to round up my own family and see if I could see Barry.

Once Nick and Kai got to the kids section, they took Juli and Faith around the various water features to play while Cyndy tried to find Barry. When we were all together again, the kids played for a few minutes while Cyndy and Barry changed.

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Less than 2 hours after we had arrived, we left. I'm really not sure that a waterpark was the best investment for this mixed group. Also, I was a bit annoyed that all of the chairs were covered in towels and flipflops and other belongings to "save" them while pretty much no actual people were sitting anywhere. So I had to sit on the corner of walls or the concrete while I was waiting for my group. The garbage cans were overflowing everywhere, and the music they were playing was crazy loud. If you're the type who will go on slide after slide and wait in line after line, it's not a bad place. But it's nothing special as waterparks go, either. Basically, concrete and water. I don't see us ever returning.

After fending for ourselves for lunch, Barry and Hannah wanted to go back to the waterpark. Cyndy wanted to nap with the little girls. So we decided to go back to Disney! Well, Downtown Disney, anyway. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had come out while we were in Florida, and our whole family are HP freaks. So we headed to the AMC at Downtown Disney.

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Just being back on Disney property would have put a smile on our faces, but the AMC was very nice all by itself. We enjoyed the movie. It wasn't our least favorite Harry Potter movie, but it wasn't the best either. I think they are trying to fit too much book into too little movie.

We tried to hurry back to the condo in time to see the launch of the space shuttle, but we missed it by a few minutes, and we weren't sure which direction to look while driving. Scott was a bit bummed about this, since we had thought about taking a day to go to the Kennedy Space Center, but didn't want to interfere with Cyndy and Barry's schedule. As it turned out, the past two days we hadn't even really done anything, so we could have gone. Oh well!

We got dressed up to head to B.B. King's. We had a certificate from Restaurant.com for this restaurant. It was good for $75 off an order of $150 or more.

On the way, we saw some pretty amazing weather patterns - this rainbow...

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...and an actual funnel cloud! There was a tornado watch for the evening, but I was shocked to look up and see a finger of cloud spinning and spinning and pulling towards earth. I tried to take pictures, but they just look like a finger of cloud because you can't see the spinning motion. It was both amazing and vaguely scary, but as the kids and I watched, it disappated again. Scott was driving, so I'm not sure he saw it.

B.B. King's is in an outdoor mall complex near the Wonderworks museum.
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We were seated near stage left. The kids seemed a bit out of place, but they do offer kids' meals and it was certainly loud enough that any noise our kids made wouldn't have been noticed. They were well behaved though, hanging out and feeling like the "cool kids" for being at a "blues club". Juli especially got into the music and did a lot of dancing in her seat.

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We wanted to make sure that we hit the $150 mark to get our $75 off coupon, so we pretty much ordered like we were back on the dining plan. We started with two Soul Samplers for the table to split.

These were worth the price of admission, let me tell you. The fried dill pickles were awesome. The sampler also included BBQ and Hot Wings, Ribs, and Loaded Potato Skins. Everything rocked, but it was the pickles I kept going back to for more.

Scott ordered a Beale Street Bourbon, which was described as Jim Beam, Triple Sec with sour, Sprite and a splash of lime juice. I got the Apple Jazz, which was Vodka, Sour Apple Liquor, Jack Daniels mixed with sour, Sprite and a splash of cranberry juice. We both noticed that the drinks were bigger and considerably less potent than anything we got at Raglan Road. But tasty! And, we got to keep the glasses. I think Scott also had a Sam Adams and a Southern Gentleman shooter. (Southern Comfort with a splash of lime.)

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I had the Chicken Fried Chicken for my entree. The chicken was absolutely delicious. Problem is, I had ordered it more for the side dish than for the chicken - it came with white cheddar macaroni and cheese, which I was really in the mood for. The mac n' cheese was a big disappointment - it was bland and flavorless. Oh, well! Barry and Cyndy had the Cajun Carbonara, which was great (I got a bite from Cyndy). Scott got the Bourbon Strip Steak. He'll have to tell you if he liked it - I don't recall.

At this point, we were all fairly full, but some of the desserts looked interesting, so we decided to share a few, again trying to make sure we hit the $150 mark. The banana bread pudding was not very good at all. (But let's be honest, I'm probably comparing with 'Ohana and Raglan Road.) The Fried Snickers Pie was overwhelmingly rich and very gooey. It tasted good, but it was just too much.

Generally, we were pleased with the place. The band was lively and fun. It will probably be our last visit, though, unless we have a compelling reason to be off Disney property. Our total bill came to $207.56 after tax, and after the 20% gratuity and our $75 off, we ended up paying $171.93.

Up Next:
Oh, The Places We’ll Go

[FlightlessDuck]

Westgate was offering a free breakfast poolside for their owners, and Cyndy and Barry wanted to take advantage of it. So we headed to one of the main pools.

The whole thing seemed more trouble that it was worth, really. The parking by this pool was limited, and the food wasn't that great.

I am not a water park fan, generally speaking, and I had gotten more than enough swimming during the week.

I was feeling pretty much the same way. I like lazy rivers and smaller slides and wave pools, but that's about it. Most of the rides at this place didn't appeal to me.

We got to the park and realized that the park is basically in the center of a highly developed area and that the parking lot was across the street.

I saw this as a bad sign. The street you have to cross is fairly busy. You would think the park would either have put the parking lot somewhere else or would have constructed a pedestrian bridge or something. Since neither were the case, it gave me a bad feeling about the park.

My kids aren't much for big water slides, so they headed straight for the Bubble

This looked like a lot of fun, and I wish I was the right age :P

Scott, Kai and Nick went in the wave pool. To me, it looked far to crowded to be any fun.

It seemed smaller and more crowded than the one at home, but it was still fun.

Once Nick and Kai got to the kids section, they took Juli and Faith around the various water features to play while Cyndy tried to find Barry.

The kids were really sweet about taking their cousins around to the little kids stuff.


Less than 2 hours after we had arrived, we left.

It really did seem pointless. I didn't like the place all that much either. I agree with Jenn, I don't see us stepping foot in here again.

So we decided to go back to Disney! Well, Downtown Disney, anyway. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had come out while we were in Florida, and our whole family are HP freaks. So we headed to the AMC at Downtown Disney.

It was a really nice theatre, and gave the two families some time by themselves. Nick hadn't read Half-Blood Prince yet, so he didn't know what was coming. The rest of us already knew how it was going to end, but it was still traumatic to watch.

We tried to hurry back to the condo in time to see the launch of the space shuttle, but we missed it by a few minutes

Yeah, this sucked a little. Although seeing it from this far away wouldn't have been that cool anyway. Not sure when the shuttles get retired, but maybe next time we are down they will have a launch.

...and an actual funnel cloud!

I wasn't nearly as amused as everyone else was about it. "Oh, look!" they said. "We're gonna die!" I said. Still, looking back at it now, it was neat.

We were seated near stage left.

The band was really loud, but they played well. I think it would have been better if we were farther back.

Scott got the Bourbon Strip Steak. He'll have to tell you if he liked it - I don't recall.

The drinks and steak were pretty good. Not the best I ever had, but not the worst, either. The banana bread pudding was OK. Like Jenn said, I don't see us coming back here, though, especially since we probably won't be spending major time in Orlando outside Disney World on future vacations.

[MouseEarsJenny]

“It's not that bad. I'm not saying I'd like to build a summer home here, but the trees are actually quite lovely.” - Westley in The Princess Bride

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We returned to Islands of Adventure on Thursday. We headed straight to the Seuss High in the Sky Trolley, which had gotten huge lines last time. Okay, technically, we headed straight to the bathroom. But that was sort of routine by this point of the trip. While everyone was in the bathroom, Nick and I took pictures near the Seuss Landing entrance.

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It was a gorgeous day, with a perfect blue sky. The trolley offered great views of the park.

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Nick, with his height phobia, did not like the trolley one little bit. Oh, well, can't win 'em all. After several repeat rides, like The Cat in the Hat...

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...we went into the play area themed around "If I Ran the Zoo". This was very cute and interactive. Kids had to climb on stair machines, turn levers, jump on platforms and other triggers to make different Seuss characters appear.

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One character was labelled with a quarantine sign, but if you got close enough you could hear him talking below the manhole. And sneezing. Which splashed you with water shooting through the manhole. It was cute.

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We got candy at a shop in Seussland, where I had to take a picture of these outlet covers in the floor. Methinks it's in the wrong park...

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One of our primary reasons for coming back was to see Posiedon's Fury, a show that Cyndy and Barry raved about.

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The theming was certainly promising - the temple was beautiful and yet ruined - great stuff.

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The show itself was unfortunately a let-down. You spent a lot of time standing and listening, then standing and walking, then finding a new place to stand after walking from another room and so forth. And the story line made no sense and was poorly and cheesily written. Plus, there were moments where you were in complete blackness - even the exit signs were covered by people with boards on sticks. In a room full of standing people, it caused quite a bit of chaos. It really was a shame because there was some fabulous pyrotechnics and theming - the story was just so pathetic it ruined all the effects.

We had to leave shortly thereafter because Barry and Cyndy were supposed to go to an "owner's meeting" at Westgate. Now, Scott and I are allergic to sales pitches. And we mentioned this, out of worry, several times in the planning for the trip. We didn't want to be exposed to sales pitches by staying at their condo. We told them that this meeting would be a sales pitch, but they scoffed and told us no, it was just a "free lunch" and that they really wanted to meet with management anyway because they had all kinds of concerns. (For one, continually getting put in the old 80's style rooms when they had been promised a beautiful modern condo during their purchase trip, etc.)

Well, when we got there, we were escorted upstairs to a buffet. Surrounding the buffet were tables with suited people selling timeshares to annoyed looking families. (Surprise!) Cyndy and Barry were still insisting that we were just getting lunch and then they would go to the meeting. But when I saw the buffet consisted of hot dogs and salads, I drew the line. Nick is allergic to hot dogs. For real. I mean, probably not the actual hot dogs, but one ingredient. Because whenever he eats hot dogs, he throws up. In projectile, bright red style.

As fun as it would be to have Nick puke on a timeshare salesperson, the four of us left, and grabbed lunch at McDonald's. I know we were not being very considerate, and we probably annoyed Cyndy and Barry. But they were much more annoyed after their lunch when they got roped into an hour and a half consultation that addressed none of their concerns and, you guessed it - tried to sell them an upgrade to their condo. *sigh*

After all that fiasco, we spent the afternoon quietly. I read and napped, the kids and Scott swam.

For dinner, we all headed over to Cici's. If you've ever been to a Cici's, you already know about their food. It's not a favorite for me or Scott, but the kids absolutely love it. So we were all happy.

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On our way home, we swung by Wal-Mart to find the kids something to do, since they were getting a bit bored with the condo. We picked up some swim toys and movies. But, as we left, it started thunderstorming, so an evening swim with the toys was out of the question. (I should probably mention that the lightning and thunder wasn't deterring anyone else from swimming loudly in the pool outside, but I guess I'm just a mean momma.)

The kids ended up watching TV because only one of the TVs had a DVD player. We watched "Knowing", which was quite possibly the worst movie ever made. And really kind of a downer. Meanwhile, Cyndy was packing for herself and the two little girls. Grandma and Grandpa were coming back the next day and they would be leaving with the van, so this was her last night of vacation.

Up Next:
Sneaking Back To Disney

[FlightlessDuck]

We returned to Islands of Adventure on Thursday. We headed straight to the Seuss High in the Sky Trolley, which had gotten huge lines last time.

I didn't really appreciate this ride, either. I'm still a little antsy with heights myself, even though I got over a lot of that with rides this trip. But the way the ride is constructed, you can't actually see the tracks or anything under you. It's quite disconcerting. But it wasn't that high up, so that's OK.


One character was labelled with a quarantine sign, but if you got close enough you could hear him talking below the manhole.

The splashing water was unexpected and funny. The little boy in me thought it was one of the coolest things in the park. :rotfl:

One of our primary reasons for coming back was to see Posiedon's Fury, a show that Cyndy and Barry raved about.

I really didn't understand this at all. Why did we have to keep walking from room to room and standing to see the show? Why didn't we sit in moving cars or something. And the storyline was incomprehensible. It just wasn't any good.


We had to leave shortly thereafter because Barry and Cyndy were supposed to go to an "owner's meeting" at Westgate.

What a scam that was. At first I took their word for it that it wouldn't be a salespitch or anything. Jenn didn't buy it, and fortunately we didn't have to find out since there was nothing there Nick could eat anyway.

But it would have been fun saying to the salesman "If I was ever dumb enough to buy into a timeshare, it would be a Disney time share, not this dump."

For dinner, we all headed over to Cici's.

Meh, it was OK. It was pretty grubby, and we don't really like CiCi's to begin with. But it worked.

The kids ended up watching TV because only one of the TVs had a DVD player. We watched "Knowing", which was quite possibly the worst movie ever made.

At least the movie only cost us a buck at Redbox.

[MouseEarsJenny]

"Hooray for Hollywood!" -Johnny Mercer

So. We had one day left on our KTTW cards, because we hadn't gone to a theme park on our arrival day. And thanks to the DIS, we had found out that even after our stay was over, that last day was good for 14 days after the first use. Which meant we had admission to a Disney park right in our hot little hands.

Grandma and Cyndy were leaving first thing. Barry wanted to take Hannah to use some of the condo's amenities - bikes, boats, and some of the pools. Grandpa wanted to read and relax. So the four of us did what we wanted to do - went back to Disney! Specifically, we headed to Hollywood Studios. Magic Kingdom is our favorite park by a hair, but we had gotten three days there and only one at Hollywood Studios.

As soon as we arrived, we remembered why we don't go to Disney on the spur of the moment. There was no one at the turnstiles at 8:45. What on earth? Turns out, it was extra magic hours. Ut-oh!

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Lucky for us, Toy Story Midway Mania doesn't actually operate during early entry so by the time we got there, the fastpass machines were still spitting out pretty early return times.

Scott and I then did something slightly crazy. We wanted to ride Tower of Terror, since I had gotten saddled with the Playhouse Disney group on our first day. So, we went to Starring Rolls. We got breakfast. And we left Kai and Nick at Starring Rolls with their cinnamon rolls and strict orders to stay put. It was nerve wracking. But they said they'd be okay, and they really didn't want to ride.

The standby wait said 13 minutes, which, given the number, I assumed meant it was pretty much a walk-on. I was right. As we headed through the queue, I barely had a moment to see all the details that DISers rave about before we were in the preshow. I was a bit nervous, but I really wanted to try this.

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Guess what? LOVED it. LOVED IT LOVED IT. It was amazing! I actually loved the drop part - the flying up out of my seat, the not knowing if you were going up or down. It was terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

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We bought the picture, but the photo CM insisted on cropping it, which I thought made it look a bit off center. Still, you can see by our faces that we're grinning and giggling.

I think this may be my favorite ride now.

Next, we took another flight on Star Tours.

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It's always worth the trip, even just for the theming. We actually waited in a line for a bit, which is a new one for us on this ride - we always have a walk-on or fastpasses. But we were still holding fastpasses for TSM, so too bad! Besides, that meant we got to see more details in the queue.

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We walked around through the backlot area, stopping to admire more skywriting.

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We were having a great time just the four of us. In fact, at that time of day, it felt like we had the park to ourselves. There wasn't another soul in sight as we posed by the "Singin' in the Rain" umbrella.

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We had never been in One Man's Dream, so this was our next item on the mental to-do list.

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The museum exhibits were cool, and Scott would have taken much longer in here if we had let him.

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The movie itself was so sweet. It made me puddle up.

We had often done the Animation Academy drawing class, but never took the actual tour. We were a smidgen disappointed in the tour, which was mostly just a minor theater production, but I'm glad we did it once. Our main goal, however, was to meet Sorcerer Mickey. He was listed as being at the end of the Animation Tour. Well, if we had realized that just meant in the Animation Academy area, we wouldn't have had to go through the tour. But again, no big deal - we were here to see things we missed anyway.

This was definitely the longest Disney line we encountered, but Nick wanted to meet Sorcerer Mickey more than anything. So we waited. And waited. And... you get the idea. And then, finally...

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We let Nick have his moment with Mickey (who teased him about his Phineas and Ferb shirt) and then joined in for a family picture. I got a kiss from Sorcerer Mickey. :love:


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From there, it was back to Animation Academy. Would we be learning to draw Stitch for the third time??

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Nope! The animator gave us a choice. Goofy or Minnie Mouse? Kai wanted Minnie Mouse, so we all voted with her. (The rest of us actually kind of wanted Goofy.)

Here's Kai's drawing:

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And here's Nick's:

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Okay, not really. But he did finally find the sketch of Steamboat Willie that he had been hoping to buy all week. And when we got home, he used it to sketch a pretty passable Steamboat Willie of his own.

Up Next:
Saying Goodbye… With Feeling

[FlightlessDuck]

Grandma and Cyndy were leaving first thing. Barry wanted to take Hannah to use some of the condo's amenities - bikes, boats, and some of the pools. Grandpa wanted to read and relax. So the four of us did what we wanted to do - went back to Disney!

BOOYA! Actually, everybody had one more day left, and we tried to convince Barry to have Hannah come with us, but he wanted some time with her because she was going to have to go back to her Mom's house after the vacation was over.

it was extra magic hours. Ut-oh!

This was a bit of concern, but no worries, we were going to make it work. And it turned out not to be crowded, which was weird.

Scott and I then did something slightly crazy. We wanted to ride Tower of Terror

I had a lot more fun this time because I didn't have anything to be nervous about going in. Last time it took me a little while to get into the ride, but this time I was gung ho. And besides, this time I was going with my Jenn!

Leaving the children alone did make me a little antsy, though. Kai had a cellphone, and as far I know there has never been a reported kidnapping in WDW, so we figured they would be OK.

The standby wait said 13 minutes, which, given the number, I assumed meant it was pretty much a walk-on.

It was weird seeing that number and it took me a minute to figure out the joke. But last time it was posted at 50 minutes when there was no wait, either.

I liked the picture we got this time because my hand wasn't in the way and we both were smiling and laughing. It was a really fun experience.

Next, we took another flight on Star Tours.

I was thinking about how this ride should be refurbed because of the number of times I had been on it before and how the whole "this is my first flight as well" joke just doesn't work. Back then was before the official announcement of the upgrades. By the time we go back, it will be a different ride! This time, the simulator we were in had some weird squeak going on above us, like there was a hatch open in the ceiling or something.

There wasn't another soul in sight as we posed by the "Singin' in the Rain" umbrella.

This is one of my favorite movies, and Kai has seen it, too, but Nick and Jenn haven't. One of these days...

We had never been in One Man's Dream, so this was our next item on the mental to-do list.

The museum exhibits were cool, and Scott would have taken much longer in here if we had let him.

It was cool. I wanted to read through all of the signs, but Jenn and the kids were moving along, so I just caught up and looked at a few things here an there.

The movie itself was so sweet. It made me puddle up.

It doesn't help this was our last part of our vacation. :eek:

We had often done the Animation Academy drawing class, but never took the actual tour.

The tour was a little lame. The CM that hosted the little "sit down with the animator" thing was actually kind of irritating. Either he was doing it a little too sarcastically, or honestly thought he should be a game show host voice or something. The actual presentation was OK, but I was under the impression we were going to see actual animators actually working. But I guess they closed down the real studio here, so that wasn't going to happen.

We let Nick have his moment with Mickey (who teased him about his Phineas and Ferb shirt) and then joined in for a family picture. I got a kiss from Sorcerer Mickey. :love:

Seeing Sorcerer Mickey, going to Fantasmic, and finding something with Steamboat Willy Mickey were Nick's only goals this trip. So he was 3 for 3, which was nice.

From there, it was back to Animation Academy. Would we be learning to draw Stitch for the third time??

No, thank goodness. In fact, my Stitch this time around was worse than my Stitch last time. I wanted Goofy, but I probably would have done a horrible job with him, too. My father and grandfather were good artists, but not me. that's OK, we all had fun.

Saying Goodbye… With Feeling
:scared1: :eek: :scared1:

[MouseEarsJenny]

"Happy trails to you, until we meet again." - Dale Evans Rogers

While we were waiting for Animation Academy, I had made a quick cell call to Disney Dining. Hey, as long as we were here, might as well try to get an ADR, right? Unfortunately, the only places they had available were 50's Prime Time, which had never appealed to us, and Hollywood Brown Derby, which was on the pricey side for an impulse lunch. She suggested I call back in half an hour.

Our time was finally up for Midway Mania, so we headed over to the fastpass line, which turned out to be the slowpass line. Apparently the park was deserted because everyone was at Midway Mania. As we waited, I called Dining back, with the same results. Oh well, we'd find something counter service.

We rode TSM and loved it again. Unfortunately, when our car rounded the last corner, it turned the wrong way and we were unable to play the last two games because we weren't pointing in the right direction. That was a bit of a bummer and we told a CM so that hopefully they'd fix it for someone else. As we left, we noticed Fastpasses were available for 2:30, and it was already nearing noon. So we grabbed another set.

We started walking across the park, and I saw the Sci-Fi Dine In. This was the restaurant I had kind of hoped to get an ADR for, since Scott's always wanted to eat there. So I said, what the heck, it's worth a try, and we went in to ask if they had any cancellations. The CM apologized and said they were all booked up. I thanked her, and she asked how many of us there were. When I replied four, she said that even though they didn't have any cars open, if we wanted to wait about 15 minutes, we could have a flying saucer table. Sounded great to us, so we settled down to wait. It was only about ten minutes later that we were seated. :cool1:

We were at a cafe style table with an umbrella that looked like a flying saucer way in the back of the "drive-in". We were all really entertained by the atmosphere and the sillly movie clips. Our food was served quickly and was really tasty. We had heard some bad reviews of the place, but just for burgers and fries, it's not bad at all.

Scott was distracted from his burger by the attack of the 50 foot woman, though.
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Nick and Kai both had milkshakes, which were really good.
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The whole deal only cost us about as much as a chain restaurant lunch back home. Somewhere in the $50 range I think. (Funny that I keep better track of dining credit reciepts than ones I pay with actual cash, huh?) We're planning another OOP lunch here on our next trip. (Yes, we're picking restaurants for the trip a year and a half away. We're sick, sick, sick people.)

Since the sun was shining, we decided to catch another show of Indy, this time with the complete, non-rain production.

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Nick especially liked the scene with the airplane he had missed before.

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And just like that, it was time for TSM again.

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Again, our car got stuck on the last turn. But it was fun, anyway! We thought about grabbing one more set of Fastpasses, but now the return time was late evening.

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We then committed one of the original Disney newbie mistakes. Cause we thought, well, we've had fun, and we kind of need to pack, so let's get going while we're still in a good mood. Only problem - check out the time on the TSM sign above.

How is that a mistake? Well, it's the classic question: What time is the 3:00 parade? Could it be.... 3:00?

So we got stuck in the park by the floats and ropes. Oh well. Time for one more Itzakadoozie!

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And Scott and I still hadn't gotten a Mickey bar.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport548.jpg

We sat in the sun near the hat and watched the parade from afar and ate Mickey bars. It was a bittersweet moment.

We had some photopass photos taken on the way in and out of the park. Here's a few of our favorites:

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport549.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport550.jpg

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport551.jpg

Finally, we pushed ourselves out of the turnstiles and headed home. This time, for real.

Back at the timeshare, we took advantage of the sunny skies to let the kids play in the pool with the toys we had bought the night before. They made a game of trying to find the diving rings first.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport552.jpg

Problem is, Kai has had swim lessons and Nick hasn't. So she kept winning.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport553.jpg

Finally, I told her she had to give him a ten second handicap. I made her close her eyes for 10 seconds.... and handed Nick all the rings. So when she opened her eyes and started to look for rings, this is what she saw.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport554.jpg

Silly little goofballs. We don't have our own pool at home, so I think playing in the pool was as much fun for them as anything we did on the trip.

We tried to finish off various leftovers for dinner, since we couldn't really take anything on the train or plane. Finally, we packed and cleaned and got ready to leave.

Up Next:
Departure Day

[FlightlessDuck]

Our time was finally up for Midway Mania

We've all gotten quite good at the game. Not super good, but better. We should probably get the Wii version to practice at home :happytv:

We were at a cafe style table with an umbrella that looked like a flying saucer way in the back of the "drive-in". We were all really entertained by the atmosphere and the sillly movie clips. Our food was served quickly and was really tasty. We had heard some bad reviews of the place, but just for burgers and fries, it's not bad at all.

I loved watching the movie previews. There were a few previews for movies that I actually watched -- as episodes of MST3K years ago. It was quite odd to see a Tom & Jerry short, though. The burger and fries were quite good.

Since the sun was shining, we decided to catch another show of Indy, this time with the complete, non-rain production.

We'll probably see it again next time since Nick loves it. We made a game this time out of "finding the stunt guy" as they were picking volunteers. We think we found the pattern. It is always going to be a guy in a Hawaiian shirt. ;)


We then committed one of the original Disney newbie mistakes...

We sat in the sun near the hat and watched the parade from afar and ate Mickey bars. It was a bittersweet moment.

At least we didn't get involved in a land war with Asia. Seriously, though, nobody thought of looking at the time. Ah, well. We weren't on a tight schedule or anything, so no big deal.

We had some photopass photos taken on the way in and out of the park.

These were my favorite pictures from the whole trip.

[MouseEarsJenny]

"No man needs a vacation so much as the person who has just had one." -Elbert Hubbard

With the van already on the way back to Pennsylvania, Barry, Grandpa, and Hannah needed transportation to the airport. Unfortunately, Barry needed to turn in his keys at check-out, so we couldn't stay at the condo while Scott took the plane travellers to the airport. Instead, Scott dropped us off at the world's biggest McDonald's (which also has a huge arcade component) while he ran back and provided transportation.

It was certainly an odd place.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport555.jpg

In addition to the usual McDonald's fare, they had all kinds of other food. I tried these breakfast enchiladas, which were pretty tasty.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport556.jpg

The kids played some mini-bowling...
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport557.jpg

...goofed in the arcade...
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport558.jpg

...and played skeeball.
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport559.jpg

They ended up giving their tickets to some other kid because they didn't really want any of the little prizes. Then they crawled around the giant playplace until Scott came back to pick us up.

We headed to the train station in plenty of time and waited in the tents they had set up during the station refurbishment. They had the air conditioning on super artic blast, but the platform was buggy and sticky, so you had to choose your discomfort. Nick was still getting a kick out of his Jurassic Park t-shirt, and we had a lot of good memories to discuss while we waited.

http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport560.jpg

Finally, the train boarded and we were on our way home. Our trip back was uneventful, although we were more than a little tempted to smack the spoiled three year old child behind us who kept kicking our seat and said "Are you kidding me?" about six or seven thousand times on the trip. The train arrived early, but since there were no employees at Lorton to unhook the cars, that just meant that we had to stay in our seats for the last 75 minutes or so with no water or electricity running on the train. By the time we got off, we were pretty much vacationed out. We decided that the train had been a great one time adventure, and that if we ever wanted our car in Florida again, we'd drive.

Up Next:
To Sum Up...

[FlightlessDuck]

Instead, Scott dropped us off at the world's biggest McDonald's (which also has a huge arcade component) while he ran back and provided transportation.

I was a little concerned I would be gone too long and we'd miss getting on the train, or at the very least the three of them would be bored senseless.

The trip to the airport wasn't that long. We got a bit turned around trying to figure out which terminal to go to, but after I dropped off Barry, Hannah, and Gordi, I was able to make it back to the McDonald's with no problem.

Finally, the train boarded and we were on our way home. Our trip back was uneventful, although we were more than a little tempted to smack the spoiled three year old child behind us who kept kicking our seat and said "Are you kidding me?" about six or seven thousand times on the trip.

I think we all picked the same meals for dinner as last time, but the food was decent, so that was OK. There was more pinochle, and Jenn and Nick won again. Also, the annoying 3 year old also SWORE. It was quite unnerving.

[MouseEarsJenny]

Just a few thoughts.

First, I'm REALLY glad I finished my trip report this time! :yay:

Reading back over my report, I'm afraid I might have focused too much on the hassles. There were an awful lot of little hassles that were associated with trying to travel with a group of 11. But there were even more moments that were special and magical. I have magical memories with each person on the trip: riding on Soarin' with Mom and Gordi (Grandma and Grandpa), laughing through Star Tours with Cyndy, taking pictures with Barry, the other family shutterbug, dancing with Hannah down the exit ramp of Small World, meeting the Princesses with Faith, swimming with Juli, riding Tower of Terror with Scott, playing carnival games in Dinoland with Nicky, drawing Minnie Mouse with Kairi, and so very many more.

I'm pretty sure I won't have another Disney trip with a group this large. But if I did, the main lesson I learned was that you don't have to be together all the time to have special times together.

Some random musings:

I think before the trip I would have said my favorite parks were Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Now, my favorite parks are Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Islands of Adventure. While IoA is way down on the list, it's there. Just a little. (And Universal Studios and Wet n' Wild are NOT.) And EPCOT - well, it's a great place to eat, but I keep having bad days there, and it just keeps slidin' on down.

I think my new favorite restaurant at Disney might just be Raglan Road. Sorry, Chef Mickey's and Le Cellier!

There's something to be said for driving to Disney. You get to be on your own timetable, unlike flying. And you don't have to deal with the confined quarters and uncomfortable sleeping arrangements of a train. I'll probably fly at some point. But I think our next vacation will have us back in the car, especially since we'll be sneaking off-property for one day with Harry Potter.

Last, but not least, I LOVE CORONADO SPRINGS. It's going to take quite a lot to get us to stay at another resort. At least while the kids are still travelling with us. Earlier today, we decided on our next vacation dates and hollered downstairs "What hotel do you want to stay at?" The answer was "Coronado Springs, duh!" To which Scott sighed dramatically and said, "Wow. That will be a hardship...." in his best sarcastic voice.

If you read all or part of this trip report, thank you! I hope you enjoyed the ride.

[FlightlessDuck]

Reading back over my report, I'm afraid I might have focused too much on the hassles.

Yeah, me too. Me more so than you, I think. I could try to come up with a list of some good times I had with everybody, but to be honest I can't think of one right now for each person. I know we went through that exercise on the return trip on the train, and I had an item for each person, but I can't think of them all now.

I'm pretty sure I won't have another Disney trip with a group this large. But if I did, the main lesson I learned was that you don't have to be together all the time to have special times together.

Honestly, I don't ever see us doing this again. Maybe if the separate families all end up in Florida at the same time we could meet at one of the parks for a day.

I think before the trip I would have said my favorite parks were Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Now, my favorite parks are Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Islands of Adventure.

I still like Epcot, but some of the rides are getting stale. I don't think we spend enough time in World Showcase, but I know Jenn thinks it is boring. It used to be #2 on my list, and now that's been supplanted by Hollywood Studios. Animal Kingdom still might be #4 for me. We will see next trip.

I have some goals for next trip: Ride on Test Track and Kali River Rapids. Go through the animal areas of Animal Kingdom. Ride on whatever roller coaster is in the Wonderful World of Harry Potter. Get either the flight of beer or flight of whiskey at Raglan Road (maybe both...). Actually have dinner, not just appetizers, at Raglan Road. Eat at Boma. See Le Nouba (even though I didn't like Festival of the Lion King, I think I'd still like Cirque du Soliel).

There's something to be said for driving to Disney.

As much as I hate to admit it, I'd rather drive again than take the train. Flying would be so much shorter, but would be a hassle (having to work around the airline's schedule), and Nick will be scared witless. So I am willing to drive our next trip to Disney. We will fly when we need to get to Orlando for the cruise, though.

Last, but not least, I LOVE CORONADO SPRINGS.

Me, too. Maybe some day we will stay at one of the deluxe resorts, but until then I can see us staying at Coronado Springs each time we come back, at least until the kids are grown.

If you read all or part of this trip report, thank you! I hope you enjoyed the ride.

It has certainly been fun for us :)

[kate_wdw]

Thanks!

Before:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport561.jpg

After:
http://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport563-1.jpghttp://i63.photobucket.com/albums/h156/JKorin/TripReport562-1.jpg

Scott has done much better than I have, and is nearly to his healthy weight range - only about 14 pounds to go. (He's lost 93 pounds.) I'm still about 28lbs. over my healthy weight range, but I have lost 65 pounds according to the scale. I can never see it in a picture, but such is life.

Wow! That's incredibly impressive. Congratulations!

During my last trip to WDW in November, I kept wondering how much less my feet would hurt if they didn't have the extra weight to lug around. Now that you've found out, you'll have to let us know! :)

[sherylcin]

Just finished reading your trip report. Thanks for all the details and especially the dining info. We now have a big group (will be 13 next January) and take our big Disney family trips every other year. I'm seriously thinking we'll try the Dining Plan for the first time next year.

I agree it is a challenge when you've got 3 families. It's always surprised me a little how much we stay together on these trips. It's probably due somewhat to the fact that we don't all live close so it's not often we get to be all together for that long. But there are always THOSE moments.........:confused3

Anyway, loved reading your report! Here's to many more Disney memories for us all!:goodvibes