The Prius & The Poly Trip Report **Updated 10/31 What I Learned...**

[Bridora]

"Follow Me to Walt Disney World"--Do they make that in a bumper sticker? I'm sure one of us would have it, need it, want it, if "they" did!

Hi! :flower3: After much back-and-forth, I've decided to jump in and give you all a glimpse into my world via a trip to the "World".

I'm Bridora here, but you can call me 'B' if you'd rather. I have just turned 29 and may possibly stay that age for the near future. :rotfl:

I am absolutely overtaken with Disney. My first trip to Disney World was in 2003 with my husband and 2 kids. Oh, about them... :love:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida373.jpg

My husband, Max, is about to turn 39. He is also a DISer, Jundland. I introduced him to this wonderful place not long after I joined. We have spent many a night wandering around here, reading all sorts of things! He could quite possibly become more addicted than I am, given the right amount of free time. :rolleyes1

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida320.jpg

We have two really awesome (no lie) kiddos who Love Disney just as much as we do. Fancy that! It may all come back to kick us in the rear in the form of a Fairytale Wedding or two in quite a few years, however. Allison is our oldest. She will turn 9 just a few weeks before our trip. We should appreciate this now, as next time she will no longer be a child's ticket! :scared1: Luke is 7. He has been going to Disney World since he was one-and-a-half. Crazy, we were!

Ever since that 1st trip, we were hooked. We have found a way to make it back each summer since then. In 2007, when we feared Disney was too common an occurrence, and not the special occasion it should be, for our kids, Max and I took an anniversary trip on our own. :dance3: That year we decided we would only take the kids every other year.

Our first off year was to be this year, 2009. Yet we are going back! Thanks, in part, to that GREAT 4/3 deal. It is enabling us to stay at the Polynesian--somewhere we couldn't justify the cost of staying otherwise.:woohoo:

We are sitting a little over one month away as of right now. The kids do not know we are going. Alli had her suspicions earlier in the year, when we decided to book. We left out a notebook we had jotted down possible ADR selections in, and she read it! We have managed to convince them that we are not going. We torture them by talking about things we might do "if we go back one day" Just this morning the Epcot Entrance Medley came up on shuffle on our way to school. We imagined bypassing Spaceship Earth to get Soarin' tickets while on our way to ride Test Track. Luke asked if we could ride Mission:Space. Allison wanted to make sure it was the "non-spinning" side. No one wanted a Kaki-Gori without Daddy, though, so we decided to wait. Then I said it. That phrase. "one-day" Allison scrunched up her face and quit playing :sick:. "When you say that, it makes me think we are never going back." I hope we can keep this a secret until...I don't know when.

See, we haven't planned this surprise all the way through. We just know we are not telling them we are going. We will pack up the car the night before. I don't think we can pack without them knowing, unless they go to Grandma's. We will leave early in the morning and hopefully make it to Ocala by nightfall. Surely someone will have guessed our destination by that time. :confused3 I need to work on that!

I hope you will join us on this Magical Journey. We have so much fun & excitement ahead of us!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida427.jpg

Links to installments:
ADRs (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2150822) (It's just down the page a tiny bit!)
Disney Mail (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2150822) (It's on this page, too!)
A Post of Pictures from Disney Vacations Past (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2150822) (Again, on this page!)
More Mail! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2150822&page=2)
Big News! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31743666#post31743666)
White Tea & Ginger (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=31994215&posted=1#post31994215)
Sneak Peak! (http://http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32122974&posted=1#post32122974)
Begin Trip Report... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32285963#post32285963)
Leaving Sea World (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32381247&posted=1#post32381247)
Check-in at the Polynesian (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32431031&posted=1#post32431031)
Dinner at T-Rex (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32505569&posted=1#post32505569)
Day 1--Animal Kingdom (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32592011&posted=1#post32592011)
Day 1--DHS in Two Parts (http://http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32650451&posted=1#post32650451)
Magic Kingdom--Day 2 in the parks! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=32838119#post32838119)
Coral Reef!--Day 2 in the Evening... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33034496&posted=1#post33034496)
A Pool Day Picture Post (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33134059#post33134059)
'Ohana! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33397971&posted=1#post33397971)
Boat launch to the Magic Kingdom (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33415264#post33415264)
"I'm walking right down the middle of Main St., USA!" (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33523415&posted=1#post33523415)
A Whole Day in Epcot! (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33525959#post33525959)
An afternoon not fit for a camera... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33597739#post33597739)
Star Wars Weekends (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33861178#post33861178)
Dinner at Crystal Palace (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33861658#post33861658)
Evening in the Magic Kingdom (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=33945685&posted=1#post33945685)
Our Last Day in the Parks (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34045246#post34045246)
The day we checked out of the Polynesian... (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34097775#post34097775)
What I learned during my 1st Trip Reporting Experience (http://http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?p=34151096&posted=1#post34151096)

[shordiebecka]

very exciting surprise you have lined up! can't wait to hear all your plans :goodvibes

[Bridora]

We are normally at Disney World over Memorial Day weekend and that following week. This year we will be going a week later. Our check in day we spend out of the parks. (We have 5 day park hopper tickets with a pool day scheduled for the middle of the week.) We like to arrive around lunch. That way, after checking in, we can head to Downtown Disney to...Earl of Sandwich. It's a tradition I'm sure we will be sticking with this year. We also plan on having dinner at T-Rex. Luke absolutely loves all things dinosaur. Enter vacation food! Does anyone else find themselves eating constantly while in Disney? And not really ever having hunger pangs? I'm guilty of that! Here are our other "scheduled" ADR meals:

Day 3: Dinner at Coral Reef. We have never eaten here. I'm excited about it, but have one tiny problem: I don't know where it is! :confused3 I'm embarrassed to admit that, of course.

Day 4: Our pool day. This is our 1st ever "pool day" I'll get into that more later. We have a dinner at 'Ohana! Woo Hoo! We dined here for the 1st time last summer and enjoyed it very much. Food, atmosphere, service, Poly! Leaving, Max said we'd stay there one day. Little did we know that one day would be so soon!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida370.jpg
(After dinner we explored the resort a bit. This is what happens when you try to stage a lovely picture by telling your 6 & 8 year olds, mainly that 6 year old boy, to "stand normally". :lmao: That's also where the picture above of Max was taken.

Day 6: Dinner at Crystal Palace, another 1st time experience. I've heard great things about the breakfast. We don't normally do "rope drop". We're ones for the Evening EMH, but after reading so much about early mornings, you can bet I've thought about converting us!

We're leaving the rest of the meals up to counter service. Breakfast is usually consumed in our room and consists of things we brought from home.

[Bridora]

shordiebecka--Thanks! I am very excited about my PTR & TR and plan on taking lots of pics for you guys!

[princess_momma]

I seriously LOVE that picture of Luke and Allison. I love the castle in the distance. I might have to go and try to re-create that!! I love it. Of course, when I read about Luke's "standing normal" pose and I looked back and saw how he was standing, I literally laughed out loud! That's so funny!! I love kids!

[Bridora]

I seriously LOVE that picture of Luke and Allison. I love the castle in the distance. I might have to go and try to re-create that!! I love it. Of course, when I read about Luke's "standing normal" pose and I looked back and saw how he was standing, I literally laughed out loud! That's so funny!! I love kids!

:lmao: I KNOW! I guess I should show you the picture I took right before I said that:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida369.jpg

It really is a beautiful resort. You should definitely re-create that! It would be fun to hop on the resort Monorail for a quick trip. We took it for our 'Ohana ADR last year, when we fell in love with the Polynesian.

[disneyaddicted]

Hi I love surprises! Can't wait to read about the big reveal.

I really enjoyed Coral Reef, I think they have a better selection for dinner than they offer at lunch though, and by the way, Coral Reef is in Epcot, right next to the Living Seas with Nemo.

Crystal Palace has a great breakfast, lots to choose from.

I've never eaten at T-Rex, that's something I'd like to do.

[princess_momma]

:lmao: your son cracks me up!! he just got me all excited to see what things he'll do for pictures this trip!! your plans all sound divine!! yay for the poly too! i'm envious!!

[Bridora]

Hi I love surprises! Can't wait to read about the big reveal.

I really enjoyed Coral Reef, I think they have a better selection for dinner than they offer at lunch though, and by the way, Coral Reef is in Epcot, right next to the Living Seas with Nemo.

Crystal Palace has a great breakfast, lots to choose from.

I've never eaten at T-Rex, that's something I'd like to do.

Thanks! I'm sure we've passed Coral Reef before, but I've just never seen it! Is it inside another building, or do you walk right in?

princess momma-I'm sure there will be lots of funny pics when we get back!

[Bridora]

Don't you just love when you have one of these waiting for you in your mailbox?

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/IMG_2802.jpg

I do!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/IMG_2800.jpg

Oh, we are so happy we are going back as well! There were a couple brochures in here besides the welcome letter. One was all about Disney Resort Guest Benefits. Another was a fold out with maps of each of the 4 parks, and one of the entire Walt Disney World Resort including the water parks and hotels. The 3rd brochure in the package was one I thought would come in really handy:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/IMG_2824.jpg

That's right, the Vacation Planning Checklist. I usually make one of these for each person, but in more detail. The one I make lists everything from outfits to to band-aids. There's a lot to remember when you get ready to go!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/IMG_2809.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/IMG_2810.jpg

This is the time of year it gets busy around our house. Both kids will have end of year school and extracurricular activities coming up. There is something going almost every weekend until we leave! Which, in all honesty, only helps the time pass more quickly. We'll also have to throw in a shopping trip for new Summer clothes before we can leave. Kids sure grow fast. :)

[ThePin Princess]

Hi I'm joining the fun. My parents surprised me with a trip to Disney back in August only I can only wish I was 7 or 9 :rotfl:. And yes I too always love getting those in the mail. That's how my mom surprised me, we were supposed to go to the melting pot but my dad wasn't feeling good and I was really mad, cause it was my night for having to had babysit my niece, for free, all summer. So I was pouting on the couch and she walked over to me with the unopened Disney envelope and said,
Mom - "This came in the mail for you."
Me - " What is it?"
I proceed to open the envelope.
"Read it out loud"
"Okay. Welcome Family. We're so happt your coming back in AUGUST!! Here's something special for your trip. Wait August? But it's August now, huh? Wait THIS August?"

I was so confused an excited and by that point she was already video taping it! 5 days later we were in Disney World!

Can't wait to hear more.

[shellywalker]

I hopped over from my TR! I can't wait to read more! When we went in October, I made a packing list for everyone...right down to bandaids too! We're not nuts at all! :rotfl2:

[Bridora]

Hi I'm joining the fun. My parents surprised me with a trip to Disney back in August only I can only wish I was 7 or 9 :rotfl:.

I was so confused an excited and by that point she was already video taping it! 5 days later we were in Disney World!

Can't wait to hear more.

Wow! That must have been so so exciting. I've never been surprised with a trip, but I can imagine it would be awesome--and then to leave within 5 days...:woohoo:

I hopped over from my TR! I can't wait to read more! When we went in October, I made a packing list for everyone...right down to bandaids too! We're not nuts at all! :rotfl2:

Nah, no one here is nuts!

[Bridora]

Happy Wednesday! It is, really, even though this is my 2nd time typing this up! I was just about finished up when, suddenly, Firefox decided to close down & update. :confused: I must have been trying to do too many things at once, because I never saw the warning box pop up! Ah well, maybe this time will be better...

I am currently out of ideas for Pre-Trip Reporting posts. Maybe since I'm not doing anything right now to prepare for our trip. Even though we are about 39 days away from our departure date! :woohoo: In the next couple of weeks I will start picking up some non-perishable snack/breakfast items on my regular grocery trips. Purchasing them that way saves time. It's also a little easier on the pocketbook. Or, just not all at once, at any rate! But, I haven't done any of that yet! So...on with the pictures!

These are all from our stay in May 2008. We stayed at Port Orleans Riverside in Alligator Bayou. It was our first time to stay here and we loved it!

Building 28:
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida121.jpg

Max & the kids going in!
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida122.jpg

Before we attacked...
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida102.jpg

Such a beautiful resort!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida252.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida251.jpg


These next shots were taken on the pathway that winds through the resort. It's a beautiful little stroll along this path. It will take you anywhere you want to go!

Which way?
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida111.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida108.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida109.jpg

Allison getting her hair-wrap for the trip!
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida254.jpg

I don't have pictures from this, but we took the boat launch from our resort to Downtown Disney. I definitely recommend doing this. I was nice to ride along the River and see things you haven't seen before. Once was enough for me, though, because it was a rather long, slow ride. I have to watch myself at times, though, and tell myself to, "slow down! You're in Disney...on Vacation!"

Last year we also checked out Fantasia Gardens Mini-Golf. We love to play some putt-putt! We try to find a place to play every time we go on a trip.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida114.jpg

You could see the Tower of Terror!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida077.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida118.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/PTR%20TR/2008disneyvacationflorida120.jpg

Max & I played at Winter Summerland in 2007 on our trip without the kids.

*2007*

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/disney071-1.jpg

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/disney074-1.jpg

I liked both courses, but we are going back to Winter Summerland this year. I think the kids will get a kick out of the place. Maybe we'll do the "summer" side this year, since that's one we haven't done yet.

We're getting closer! :cool1:

[ThePin Princess]

Cute pictures. Did you decide how you are going to surprise them yet?

[princess_momma]

Don't you just love when you have one of these waiting for you in your mailbox?

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/IMG_2802.jpg


Oh I want one of these in my mail!! Do you get them after a certain amount of time passes since you've reserved or a certain amount of time before you arrive? (hopefully that wording makes sense!!)

And kids certainly do grow fast I am learning...my 5 and a half month old baby boy wears 9 month clothes. :sad2: I can't believe the stuff he's outgrown already!

[Bridora]

Cute pictures. Did you decide how you are going to surprise them yet?

Thanks! Um, no, not yet...:confused:

Oh I want one of these in my mail!! Do you get them after a certain amount of time passes since you've reserved or a certain amount of time before you arrive? (hopefully that wording makes sense!!)

And kids certainly do grow fast I am learning...my 5 and a half month old baby boy wears 9 month clothes. :sad2: I can't believe the stuff he's outgrown already!

You know, I'm not really sure when they send those out! We've had that hidden for a while now, though...We booked back in December or January.

[Bridora]

I am still here, and still planning our trip! It's getting closer, we're under a month now! We just received our luggage tags and vouchers in the mail Monday. I'll take some pictures tonite, hopefully, and be back with an update soon!

[Bridora]

Yay! Monday we had another envelope in our mailbox. Luckily Max had just put it back up that morning so we were able to get it. You see, last Thursday someone missed the curve right in front our house. They went off the Highway just before our driveway, crossed it, then took out our mailbox with their driver's side while demolishing our garbage can. From the tire tracks across the grass it appears that they regained the road just past our property line without ever stopping. They did leave behind a spark plug and a small piece of trim, however!

Here is what was in our envelope:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/IMG_2906.jpg
Luggage Tags!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/IMG_2907.jpg
A luggage tag close-up, and a reflection of me!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/IMG_2910.jpg

An arcade card! Something for Max to do on our pool day?

A little booklet was included. The first pages list our itinerary including hotel details and ticket info. The next page is a $15 meal voucher to Planet Hollywood, then a Planet Hollywood souvenir voucher. We have a Sea Raycer Offer enabling us to get 90 minutes for the price of 60 minutes. Sounds like a good deal, but we won't use it. We will be using the Mini-Golf voucher, however, entitling 1 guest to 1 round of golf. :woohoo: There is also a voucher for a complimentary PhotoPass 5x7 photo!

I can feel the Magic already!

My next post, coming soon, will include a very exciting new development in our vacation plans!

[princess_momma]

My next post, coming soon, will include a very exciting new development in our vacation plans!



First....:scared1: about your mail box!! Thats seriously nuts. Are there lots of accidents on your roads or something or was it like an alcohol involved thing?

Secondly...what is this exciting new development?! I'm on the edge of my seat!!!! And I can't wait for my Disney mail...I'm uberjealous!!

[Bridora]

Our house is at the top of a small hill in a curve--it's easy to drive right past it and not notice it, if you are paying attention to the road. If you are not paying attention, it's easy to miss the curve apparently! Luckily, our house sits back quite a bit, so we are not in danger. I don't think it was a drunk-driving thing. And now, to update...

[Bridora]

What's the big news?


Sea World!!!

Am I allowed to say that here? :rotfl:

As it turns out, we are going to be able to go down a day earlier than we had planned. Originally, we were going to leave on Saturday, but now we are going to be heading out Friday morning. Instead of adding a day at Disney, we decided to do a day at Sea World. We'll arrive, hopefully, at opening on Saturday and squeeze out all the fun we possibly can. Sometime that afternoon we will leave to check in at our Downtown Disney Resort for that night. Surely they have re-entry? :confused3 I should check on that, huh? :) The tickets we have also enable us to go back for the 2nd day free! If we don't see/do everything we want on Saturday, we can just go back before we check in at the Polynesian, since we use our Disney check-in day for Downtown Disney, anyway. :woohoo:

The Disney fever has struck. All day yesterday, I was ready to head out-of-town! It's getting down to it, where it's absolutely unbearable to not be there yet!!!

I do think this post needs at least one picture. The Sea World tickets are not very pretty. I'm thinking about taking an extra someone along on our vacation. He'd just love to pose for pictures, I'm sure. Here is a pic of him at his current residence in my kitchen:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/20090509_158.jpg

What do you think? Should we take him, too? He lives up there near the ceiling. His neighbors are Mickey Hot Cocoa and Mickey Coffee. Unfortunately, he doesn't have a name. We should definitely name him if he goes with us. :laughing:

[ThePin Princess]

great updates :thumbsup2

[AGPrincess]

Sounds like you've got a really fun trip planned! I LOVE that you're staying at the Polynesian...it's so wonderful there! :lovestruc

Not sure if somebody answered your question, but Coral Reef is in Epcot by the Living Seas. Basically, if you're standing right in front of the Seas and follow the building around to your right, you'll end up right in front of the Coral Reef entrance! It is a little hidden away -- I think we were late for our first ADR there b/c we couldn't find it! lol!

[princess_momma]

Yay for Sea World!! I wish we had time for Sea World...I love that place and am excited for the TR for here!! Sea World doesn't have pixie dust, but it still is completely awesome. Seriously, when I was younger I wanted to be one of the killer whale trainers!! I'm so happy for you!! Will this be a surprise or do your children know? Oh quick random question...are you one of those parents who leaves your kids notes from whichever character inviting them to do whatever you have planned for the day? :laughing: That sounds funny when I ask it...I don't know if I'll do it in the future, but its a little too early for me to put forth that effort now!

[Bridora]

great updates :thumbsup2

Thanks! :)

Sounds like you've got a really fun trip planned! I LOVE that you're staying at the Polynesian...it's so wonderful there! :lovestruc

Not sure if somebody answered your question, but Coral Reef is in Epcot by the Living Seas. Basically, if you're standing right in front of the Seas and follow the building around to your right, you'll end up right in front of the Coral Reef entrance! It is a little hidden away -- I think we were late for our first ADR there b/c we couldn't find it! lol!

After reading your Trip Reports, I'm definitely ready to be on that beach in a hammock! :cloud9: Thanks for the directions! Maybe we'll scope it out early.

Yay for Sea World!! I wish we had time for Sea World...I love that place and am excited for the TR for here!! Sea World doesn't have pixie dust, but it still is completely awesome. Seriously, when I was younger I wanted to be one of the killer whale trainers!! I'm so happy for you!! Will this be a surprise or do your children know? Oh quick random question...are you one of those parents who leaves your kids notes from whichever character inviting them to do whatever you have planned for the day? :laughing: That sounds funny when I ask it...I don't know if I'll do it in the future, but its a little too early for me to put forth that effort now!

They don't know about Sea World either. ;) Still no clue what we'll do...I'm, almost ready to just tell them, since the anticipation is part of the fun. And we don't have much time left for anticipating!! :banana:

No, we don't leave notes for the kids. We do get the wake-up call from Mickey/Stitch, though.

[princess_momma]

They don't know about Sea World either. ;) Still no clue what we'll do...I'm, almost ready to just tell them, since the anticipation is part of the fun. And we don't have much time left for anticipating!! :banana:

No, we don't leave notes for the kids. We do get the wake-up call from Mickey/Stitch, though.

They will be SO EXCITED!! Anticipation is part of the fun, I completely agree!! Any fun ways you have planned to let them know or are you just going to tell them??

How are the wake up calls? Are they cute, loud, silly? All of the above? Lol

[Bridora]

They will be SO EXCITED!! Anticipation is part of the fun, I completely agree!! Any fun ways you have planned to let them know or are you just going to tell them??

How are the wake up calls? Are they cute, loud, silly? All of the above? Lol

Right now, the game plan is to hop in the car and drive away! Any more than that :confused3

The last 2 or so years that we've gotten the wake up call, it's been Mickey, then gets "hijacked" by Stitch--"no sleeping!" I think they're great!

[Bridora]

That, dear friends, is my Disney scent. I don't remember how many years ago the tradition started. I had taken Bath & Body Works White Tea & Ginger products with me. I used them the whole trip. Later, in the real world, when I used that scent, it smelled like Disney World. I have since stocked up on body wash and lotion and only use it at Disney. I pulled it out of the cabinet for packing this weekend and decided to use some of it to get me in the Disney spirit. It smells just like Disney World!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/P5190043.jpg

You can just make it out there in the bottom left corner. This is a handy little box Max purchased at Wal-Mart to hold such toiletries. We also have one filled with snacks. They fit quite nicely in a little storage compartment in our car.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/P5190045.jpg

That is the compartment. We will also be able to fit something else it there! Nice! Here is the rest of our "cargo space":

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/P5190044.jpg

Hope this all fits!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/P5190049.jpg


And yes, those bags are mostly full! I think this is the earliest we've ever begun packing. Can you tell we're ready to leave?

[princess_momma]

Wow I'm so excited for you!! You leave so soon!! Yay!!!

[princess_momma]

I'M READY TO HEAR SOME STUFF!! LOL

Have you already booked your next trip? I was looking at your ticker...!!!

[Bridora]

I'M READY TO HEAR SOME STUFF!! LOL

Have you already booked your next trip? I was looking at your ticker...!!!

Ok, Princess-momma: I'm going to upload a few pics to photobucket and give you a sneak peak!!

I don't know what's up with my ticker?!? :confused3 I'll have to fix that, because we have not booked another trip already! :laughing:

[princess_momma]

Ok, Princess-momma: I'm going to upload a few pics to photobucket and give you a sneak peak!!

I don't know what's up with my ticker?!? :confused3 I'll have to fix that, because we have not booked another trip already! :laughing:

Ooooh I can't wait for my sneak peek!! And thats too bad about your ticker...I think its a sign that you should just book another trip!! ;)

[Bridora]

Ooooh I can't wait for my sneak peek!! And thats too bad about your ticker...I think its a sign that you should just book another trip!! ;)

A little delayed, but here's your sneak peak!! (Photobucket & Firefox don't get along on Max's computer)

Sea World!
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/seaworld061.jpg

We're here!!
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Yahoo!
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We used this...
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis2136.jpg

Got our room!
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis2137.jpg

Beautiful, as always!
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/095.jpg

Our first stop at the Magic Kingdom!
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/047.jpg[

[princess_momma]

Oh I love! I love!! More please!!!

[Bridora]

Well, I'm back! Boo...we had so much fun and I am ready to start my Official Trip Report! I just have to upload the photos to photobucket...hopefully I won't take forever! haHa

[princess_momma]

YAY!!! I can't wait!! :cool1:

[AGPrincess]

Welcome back!! Loved the sneak peek, can't wait for the trippie!

[shellywalker]

Welcome Back! I can't wait to read your report and see all your pictures! Hurry!

[stacikristine]

YAY! What a great sneak peak! I'm subbing and can't wait to read more :goodvibes

[Bridora]

Trip Report time!:banana: When last I wrote we had packed most of our clothes. Allison & Luke (kiddos) had no idea we were even going anywhere. Max & I successfully packed the bags into the Prius on Thursday night. We loaded the kids & ourselves in on Friday morning and pulled out of the driveway just a few minutes behind schedule at 7:15 am.

Can you spot our hidden Mickey?
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/061.jpg

We drove from Arkansas to Alabama before Allison & Luke knew where we were going. Screams of delight ensued.

We stopped for the night in Ocala, FL. It has become our pit-stop. We don't make the whole drive in one day, but we do get pretty close! It is so close that we don't have to drive far the next day!

And the next day was SeaWorld! It was everyone's first trip to SeaWorld and we were all so excited. We drove straight there on Saturday morning. The park opened at 9am and I think we were there by 9:30.

Here is my (too slow) attempt at a drive-by shot of the sign:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/seaworld007.jpg

Here is my shot of the roller coaster I chickened out of riding:

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/seaworld008.jpg

Our first ride was Journey to Atlantis, which I unfortunately have no pictures of...:confused3 It was a fun "boat" coaster ride which took you through the lost city of Atlantis, complete with mermaids to lure you there, and several drops. I so wish I had a shot of the video they showed you while in the queue. They had a mime acting out the ride to warn you that it was "Dark, Scary, Wet!" and later got, "Darker, Scarier, Wetter!" It was quite funny and that became our slogan for the day. We opted out of Kraken, which was right next door. I think we wandered around for a bit before going to the Stingray Lagoon. The Stingrays swim around and you can put your hand in the water to touch them as they go by. They feel neat!

I'm at SeaWorld!

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Next we went to the Dolphin Cove "petting" area. You could also feed them, but we weren't there at feeding time, so we just waited around for a dolphin to swim by under our hands:

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Around the corner was the area where you could view those dolphins from underwater:

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The Penguin Encounter was really cool, too. You stepped onto a conveyor belt and were taken past the penguin habitat. There were so many penguins in there, swimming, standing, walking around! It was neat to see them all in there.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/seaworld034.jpg

We also did the Shark Encounter. They had a big "tank" that you actually walked through, the water was on both sides & around you. Luke really liked that!

Somewhere in here we visited the Dolphin Nursery. We also found time for lunch at Seaport Pizza. Guess what we ate?

We went to the 3:00 Shamu Believe! show:

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You could definitely tell the difference in the themeing and in the feel of Sea World vs. Disney World. I did really like the Waterfront area, however. It was very beautiful:

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The walk took us to Shamu Stadium, where sitting in the Soak Zone did not get us wet. Oh well, we were up pretty high in the "Zone"

We left after that to check-in to our Downtown Disney hotel for that night, with plans to return to Sea World that evening.

[Bridora]

YAY!!! I can't wait!! :cool1:

Thanks! I am learning a lot--and I've only posted one installment!!

Welcome back!! Loved the sneak peek, can't wait for the trippie!

Thanks! I am excited to start on my trippie!

Welcome Back! I can't wait to read your report and see all your pictures! Hurry!

Thank you! I took lots of pictures, but I'm finding out that there are lots of things I didn't get a picture of, either...

YAY! What a great sneak peak! I'm subbing and can't wait to read more :goodvibes

Thanks! :)

[shellywalker]

Love the pictures of Shamu! My favortie! I wonder how much that show has changed over the years? I was there when I was 5...and again after I graduated high school and it seemed the same! But still very awesome! My DD has been begging me to go there when we go to Disney in December...I'm thinking we'll have to squeeze it in!

[princess_momma]

Oh man!! How exciting!!! I LOVE Sea World!! Your pictures look great! I can't wait for more!!

[stacikristine]

How great! I can't believe the kids didn't know you were going to Disney World until the day you started driving! :thumbsup2 I haven't been to Sea World in a long time. I love Shamu! :love: Can't wait to hear more!

[Bridora]

Love the pictures of Shamu! My favortie! I wonder how much that show has changed over the years? I was there when I was 5...and again after I graduated high school and it seemed the same! But still very awesome! My DD has been begging me to go there when we go to Disney in December...I'm thinking we'll have to squeeze it in!

It's definitely worth the squeeze! We really enjoyed Shamu, too!

Oh man!! How exciting!!! I LOVE Sea World!! Your pictures look great! I can't wait for more!!

Thanks--I'm just about to post another one!

How great! I can't believe the kids didn't know you were going to Disney World until the day you started driving! :thumbsup2 I haven't been to Sea World in a long time. I love Shamu! :love: Can't wait to hear more!

I don't know how we pulled that off as well as we did! :confused3 They weren't asking many questions at all! I'm sure it helped that they had Nintendo DS & DVDs!

[Bridora]

We had our hands stamped as we left Sea World (without even a picture of the sign!) for our return that evening. We had the handy-dandy navigation system to guide us the short distance to the Best Western Lake Buena Vista. I failed to get a picture of the building. Here is a shot from their website.:

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Now, before we left I tried to find some DISer reviews of this hotel. I could not find much. That did not deter me, however. While I do read others’ reviews and take them into consideration, I mainly subscribe to the mantra “you never know until you go”. It was a very nice-looking hotel. Until you looked a little closer. Maybe it was just little nit-picky things, but the bathroom was scary! I should have had a picture of that. Overall, it was an enjoyable place, but I’m glad we only stayed there one night. We did have a balcony with an awesome view.

On the balcony, looking to the left:
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis409005.jpg

On the balcony, looking straight ahead:
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On the balcony, looking to the right:
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I like the addition of the “Characters in Flight” balloon at Downtown Disney. We didn’t ride, but I think it looks spectacular in pictures. Plus, every time we headed to Downtown Disney and spotted the balloon, Luke would point it out and say, “we’re goin’ the right way”!

We got settled in the room, cleaned up a bit, and changed clothes. Max and I decided we had done most everything in Sea World that we wanted to do. Secretly, though, we were just dying to get a taste of the Disney magic. It seemed like the perfect time for a round of mini golf. After dinner, of course! By this time we were getting pretty hungry. Downtown Disney was so close we could hear it calling. We had “reservations” for T-Rex the next night. Earl of Sandwich is our traditional check in day lunch, but we had not “officially” checked in until we were at the Polynesian! So, we narrowed our choices down to either Bongo’s Cuban Café or Raglan Road.


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(Sorry that one was blurry.)
Bongo’s it was! Now, I hope you were not expecting glorious food pictures from me…It seems that taking pictures of your food…every course…is not something that comes naturally for me. I planned on it. I took my camera in. I even took the little Olympus camera so it would be able to sit right beside me on the table without taking up huge amounts of space. I only got a picture of the appetizer. I know. It’s bad. I’m so sorry.

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These were very good though. They are the Masitas de Puerco - Fried pork cubes marinated with garlic sauce served with grilled onions. And can’t you see that I almost missed that picture too? Max had already grabbed a pork cube from the plate! The rest of the food was good here, but nothing really stood out. Next time, it’s Raglan Road!

We stepped out to a beautiful night!

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We wanted to drive to Winter Summerland to play Mini-Golf. We could not find it for the longest time! It was very funny, but also a bit frustrating! Last time (our first time!) we had no problems getting there…We didn’t mind, though, we were just happy to be in Disney World, following those purple signs no matter what!

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Hey, that sign says, “NO Diving”

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Luke spotted this little guy on a tree:

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We took a break afterwards. We were having so much fun, and the kids were not acting up too much…so we decided to play a round on the Winter Course!

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We each got a hole in one!

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I don’t have many pictures from the Winter Course, for whatever reason. Maybe I was concentrating more!

It was getting late, and we could not wait for the next day: Check-in at the Polynesian!!

A few parting night shots from our balcony:

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[stacikristine]

Your mini golf pictures look like so much fun! I played on the Fantasia course when I was with my family in High School. It was sooo fun! Maybe DH and I will have to golf when we go :upsidedow

[princess_momma]

OH I can't wait to hear about your Disney magic!! Thats what I'm waiting for too!! The characters in flight looks cool from your window...if I did that, I'd do it at night because it has got to be just an awesome view!! Which side of the mini golf course did you like more?? We are going mini golfing one day and thats the course we're going to!!

[Bridora]

Your mini golf pictures look like so much fun! I played on the Fantasia course when I was with my family in High School. It was sooo fun! Maybe DH and I will have to golf when we go :upsidedow

It was fun! We looove some mini-golf. :) And you should definitely play when you go.

OH I can't wait to hear about your Disney magic!! Thats what I'm waiting for too!! The characters in flight looks cool from your window...if I did that, I'd do it at night because it has got to be just an awesome view!! Which side of the mini golf course did you like more?? We are going mini golfing one day and thats the course we're going to!!

I don't know which one I liked better...Maybe the Summer one. Or maybe that's just because we played 2 back to back and Summer was the first!?! You will have so much fun!

[Bridora]

Good morning Florida! Sunday, May 31, was finally here! Polynesian, here we come!
Good-bye Downtown Disney offsite hotel…

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Hello paradise…
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Now, around about, oh 10 days ago (from then), Max got an email inviting us to use the online check in service. I’d heard things about it, but didn’t know if we wanted to try it, or not. We put in a request for a “longhouse” and a floor, I believe, when we originally made our reservations. I wasn’t sure how your requests might work out with online check in. It was just too exciting, 10 days before your Disney trip, to resist doing it right then! So, we did it…

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There was one couple at the desk when we walked in the lobby. There were about 4 groups at the ‘old-timey’ check in desk. Luckily for us, the one couple finished up just as we were walking up! They had our welcome folder with everything inside. Max just had to show his ID. They got my cell phone number and said they could send a text when our room was ready. We had counted on it not being ready yet, seeing as how we were there so early! I ended up wearing everyone’s leis around while we explored the grounds just a bit. I think we had actually skipped breakfast that morning. I don’t know how that happened, because honestly, Allison and Luke NEVER skip breakfast. Which is good, of course, because breakfast is the most important meal of the day, right? All that to say, ‘we were hungry’. And it was back to Downtown Disney. Earl of Sandwich was on the horizon.

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This is our traditional check-in day lunch. I do believe Max & I started this in 2006 on our anniversary-trip-with-no-kiddos! Very good sandwiches. No pictures. Will I ever learn? Max & I had Caribbean Jerk Chicken sandwiches. Allison had trouble finding something she wanted and ordered a salad. Luke had the Pizza Sandwich. Now, if you don’t like cucumbers don’t get a salad! Or at least ask for one made without cucumbers. Even after we took them off Allison’s salad you could still taste them. We ended up trading half my sandwich for the rest of her salad. It was a great sandwich and only an Ok salad. But that did not spoil my mood! I had my cup full of root-beer (a taste I had only JUST acquired) and I was walking around Downtown Disney!

Darn! Another place I need a picture I did not take. Let me insert a picture I took later on in the week. It is at an entirely different place, but it will give you the idea.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis409079.jpg

It was one of those little booths, not far from Earl of Sandwich, and it beckoned us, once again. For the last, oh, 4-5 years Max has been interested in the Disney Vacation Club. I was interested, too, but I didn’t think it was something we could handle at the time. Max was already planning to use part of the day on Wednesday (our pool day) to visit a DVC booth. I insisted we go ahead and stop now, to check it out. After all, we had all day! We talked to the Cast Member at the booth and decided to schedule a tour. He called in on his little walkie-talkie and within 10 minutes we were being whisked away in a golf cart to Saratoga Springs!

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Allison I & rode on the back, so that was our view leaving Downtown Disney! It was a very quick ride. Here, again, I have let you all down. I have no pictures of Saratoga Springs. I have no pictures of the cool little kids room where Allison & Luke waited while Max & I toured. I have no pictures of the rooms we toured. I have no pictures of the cool little ice cream parlor where we had (free!) ice cream on our way out. Kick me now!

They greeted us with a “Welcome Home” when we walked in. They gave us name tag stickers and directed us over to a waiting area. After I checked Allison & Luke into the kids’ room, we grabbed a cookie & cup of water and waited. Very shortly someone came to talk with us about DVC & our vacation needs/habits/wants, etc. After that we walked over to another building where they had ‘rooms’ from Kidani Village and Bay Lake Towers. We took a tour of those. Our guide showed them like a realtor would show a house. She would show the ‘studio’ first, then open the door to expand into the 1 bedroom, then show how it became the 2 bedroom if you opened another door. They were pretty neat! They even had a mock balcony off the living area. There was a nice-sized model of the Treehouse Villas we viewed as well. Next, we walked back over to the first building, going in different door, more toward the back. We got a little conference room where we were to discuss further. The whole time Disney had been showing us what they have to offer. They said up front to throw away any concepts we had of “timeshares”. They said they were no-pressure. DVC would sell itself. They didn’t mind if we didn’t make a decision until we were back home. They were right! We did make our decision that day, though, right in that little room. We became DVC owners! Bay Lake Towers, we now call you home!

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I cannot even tell you how excited I am. To this day, on the other side of vacation, I can still just think about that day, that decision, that moment, that building, and SMILE. After some necessary papers, signatures, etc. we went back to collect (rescue) Allison & Luke. It seemed we had been gone for almost 3 hours! Yikes! The kids had gotten bored & wondered if we would ever return. After some apologies and failed attempts to explain DVC to Allison while eating free ice cream, we took a van straight back to the Prius in the Downtown Disney parking lot. Our driver was very helpful with some advice on DVC. He told us all the insider info…:)


Keep in mind, all day long I had been checking my phone for that magical sound that would mean I had a text from Disney and that we had a ready room. It was now about 4:30 or 5:00. We drove back to the Polynesian. We went back to the online check-in desk (why wait, right?). Our room was ready! Turns out, that texting thing is a new feature. I’m just going to say they didn’t have all the bugs worked out yet! And, our request was granted! Samoa…1st floor! (we wanted a patio or balcony ‘1st or 3rd floor’ close to the pool/Grand Ceremonial House) We raced off to check out our room!

This was a great room! I don’t know if there is a better one out there. It was at the very end of the building, closest to Hawaii. The patio doors opened onto our balcony overlooking the Volcano Pool. It was nice to only have ‘neighbors’ on one side. Our balcony was kind of hidden, too, in the landscaping!

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We played around at the Polynesian for a bit. We met this Duck Family:

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We would run into them frequently all week! Then we cleaned up for our dinner at T-Rex. And it was back again to Downtown Disney for us…

[AGPrincess]

Yay!! You checked in at the Polynesian!! :cool1: I love Earl of Sandwich...I wish I could have some right now. ;) And that's so neat that you joined DVC -- the Bay Lake Towers look so pretty!

[princess_momma]

OH MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited and uberly jealous of you! I want to join DVC SO BAD and I would buy into BLT!!! Maybe one day I will have to rent points from you ;) But goodness...your room at the Poly is GORGEOUS!! I freakin love it. You already seem to be having an AMAZING trip and you just barely got your room! LOL

[dallastxcpa]

Great trip report! I am sooo enjoying it. :cool1:

Also, I wanted to say:

:welcome: HOME

[duckybelle]

JHust found your tr, and am along for the ride! Thought I'd say HI from another Arkansas girl!

[Bridora]

Yay!! You checked in at the Polynesian!! :cool1: I love Earl of Sandwich...I wish I could have some right now. ;) And that's so neat that you joined DVC -- the Bay Lake Towers look so pretty!

I wish I was having some Earl of Sandwich, too! :)

OH MAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm so excited and uberly jealous of you! I want to join DVC SO BAD and I would buy into BLT!!! Maybe one day I will have to rent points from you ;) But goodness...your room at the Poly is GORGEOUS!! I freakin love it. You already seem to be having an AMAZING trip and you just barely got your room! LOL

Girl, sounds like a plan! ;) I loved our room--especially the patio.

Great trip report! I am sooo enjoying it. :cool1:

Also, I wanted to say:

:welcome: HOME

Thanks! :woohoo:

[Bridora]

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis2151.jpg

T-Rex here we come!

Luke has been so excited about eating at T-Rex--he absolutely loves all things dinosaur. We usually hit up Rainforest Café, but we had never dined at T-Rex before. Just a side note: We are Safari Club members. If you are not, I highly recommend it. Eek, can’t remember, though if we had to pay for the initial membership. I’m thinking we didn’t. The card gets you a discount on your meal, and gets you seated quicker. You must use it once a year (at any Landry’s restaurant) to keep it active.

And, here we are!

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We had ADRs for T-Rex. You can’t book this through Disney Dining, though, you have to call T-Rex directly.

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There were lots of dinos in there! Every 20-30 minutes a meteor shower would occur. Along the lines of the thunderstorms at Rainforest Café. No food pictures, but, hey I did get a shot of the menu, right? We had the nachos off the appetizer menu on recommendation from our server. They were fabulous! I ordered a salad as my meal to accompany them because they were so huge.

But what trip to T-Rex could be complete without a browse through the gift shop? Not ours! Allison & Luke found the Build-A-Dino section and got to work!

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Very fun! The dinos were not too bad in price. The $6.00 T-Rex Café dino sized T-Shirts were almost too hard to resist, though.

Afterwards--chocolate!

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I love that place! And the free samples, of course!

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On our way back through, heading to the car. I just love the look of this area at night.

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We got back to the room in time to catch the Electrical Water Pageant at the same time as Wishes! Amazing! What a treat for our 1st night!

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Luke & Allison also took advantage of this time to try out the Volcano Pool:

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It wasn’t even too crowded. The slide was so much fun--I didn’t go this night, but I will later in the week…

Then it was time for bed. We had to rest up for our 1st day in the parks!

[shannon47142]

just read through your repoert---WOW!!! So much happened that first day in Disney for you guys!!!BLT owners, a great room at Poly and a cool dinner place:banana:

[carri5317]

Great report so far, can't wait to hear more. Congrats on DVC!

[princess_momma]

I want to try T-Rex so bad!! But will probably be waiting until my son is older. Do you have pictures of their finished products of the Build-A-Dino. I didn't realize it was like Build-A-Bear type of thing! How fun!! I may have to stop in there just to do that!! (I love dinosaurs....lol)

Oh and that picture you got of the electrical water pagent and the fireworks is really superb!! thats a great shot!!! I always hear people talk about how hard it is to get good fireworks shots but yours is awesome!

[stacikristine]

:cheer2: Congrats on being DVC owners!!!! That is sooo exciting. And I'm glad you were able to get such a perfect room at the Poly. T-Rex looks like it is so much fun! What a fun day!!! :thumbsup2

[Disneychix]

Just finding this great TR now. I really wanna know how you fit all that luggage (and kids) into a prius??!! :)

Congrat's on the DVC membership!

[Bridora]

just read through your repoert---WOW!!! So much happened that first day in Disney for you guys!!!BLT owners, a great room at Poly and a cool dinner place:banana:

Ahhh, it was such a nice vacation. We are truly blessed!

Great report so far, can't wait to hear more. Congrats on DVC!

Thank you & Thank you! :)

I want to try T-Rex so bad!! But will probably be waiting until my son is older. Do you have pictures of their finished products of the Build-A-Dino. I didn't realize it was like Build-A-Bear type of thing! How fun!! I may have to stop in there just to do that!! (I love dinosaurs....lol)

Oh and that picture you got of the electrical water pagent and the fireworks is really superb!! thats a great shot!!! I always hear people talk about how hard it is to get good fireworks shots but yours is awesome!

I'm sure he will like it better when he gets older! I will have to take a picture of the dinos tonight and post it here for you...
Awww, thanks! It was trial and error on those fireworks shots, plus some good timing! :goodvibes



:cheer2: Congrats on being DVC owners!!!! That is sooo exciting. And I'm glad you were able to get such a perfect room at the Poly. T-Rex looks like it is so much fun! What a fun day!!! :thumbsup2

Thanks! It really was a fun day!

[Bridora]

Just finding this great TR now. I really wanna know how you fit all that luggage (and kids) into a prius??!! :)

Congrat's on the DVC membership!

Tee Hee! :lmao: I should have taken a picture of us all loaded up! We are about to embark on a family reunion weekend + trip...if we're anywhere near as loaded as we were then, I'll get a shot for you! I will say my DH is great at puzzles...

[Bridora]

Here are the results from tonight's dinosaur photo shoot:

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Minnie

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Rex

[Bridora]

JHust found your tr, and am along for the ride! Thought I'd say HI from another Arkansas girl!

Goodness!--I don't know how I missed your comments! Maybe I was typing up one of my own...:confused3 I surely didn't mean to ignore you! Welcome aboard....it's nice to have another Arkansas gal here!

[shannon47142]

the dinos turned out great!!!

[princess_momma]

LOVE the dinosaurs!! Will DEFINITELY be stopping there for at least that. They are so cute. I love how the boxes say "where best friendosaurs are made". Love them!

[Bridora]

the dinos turned out great!!!

Thanks! I thought so too...:goodvibes

LOVE the dinosaurs!! Will DEFINITELY be stopping there for at least that. They are so cute. I love how the boxes say "where best friendosaurs are made". Love them!

You should go! Landon will love it!

[Bridora]

June 1, 2009: our first Park Day! :woohoo:

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Good morning! There’s my coffee mug! And you can just make out Allison’s leg sticking out from under the covers. I forgot to mention that the couch in the room folded down into a bed. Allison & Luke were happy to have their ‘own beds’! They traded out nights on the fold-out. It was quite an adventure, I think.

Today’s plan:
Animal Kingdom & Hollywood Studios

After we all woke up and had breakfast (Pop-Tarts for the kids & Special K bars for the adults) we headed out to the bus stop. **A quick explanation: We don’t do rope-drop. We much prefer the late nights at the park. We usually keep breakfast light and eat lunch in the parks a couple hours later.**

All seemed well when we arrived at Animal Kingdom. Kilimanjaro Safari was where we headed. We ran smack into a sea of people that we did not expect. The park had not been open for more than an hour. We are not used to these crowds! Imagine that I took a picture of this for you. Imagine crowds more typical of a July morning. Not ones to be brought down by this, we quickly changed course and got Fast Passes for later in the day. We decided a trip to Rafiki’s Planet Watch was in order. We hopped aboard the Wilderness Train which was also crowded. We grabbed a seat on the top row and were off! There were several characters out that morning. We met Jiminy Cricket, Pocahontas, and Rafiki.

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We stopped at one of the little sound booths to listen to the “Rainforest”. I think that is one of my favorite things to do there! Skipping Affection Section, which the Times Guide said was closed but was actually open, we hopped a train back to the mainland.

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Just about then we decided to get lunch. I do miss the old Tusker House. I admit that I have not been back since they refurbished it, however.

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Strolling through Asia.

We went to the Yak & Yeti’s counter service establishment. Can you guess? That’s right, no pictures. Allison & Luke each had a hamburger. Max & I both had the Honey Chicken. Let me set this next part up for you: It’s noon, give or take 15 minutes. It’s HOT and the sun is shining brightly. It’s way crowded. I’m talking middle of the summer, table sharking going on like you can’t believe crowded. The only table in sight has, of course, no umbrella. But we are in Disney World and it is our first day, after all. Still smiling through the sweat, we sit down to enjoy our lunch. Have you even eaten just prepared, hot food on a hot summer’s day while sweating in the direct sunlight? I don’t recommend it. This day is going downhill too quickly. Allison & Luke have taken maybe 2 bites and declared themselves full. Max is scouting the area for an empty table with an umbrella. My food is steaming hot and does not mix with this heat all around me. I had to put a stop to this. This is not us. We are not here to not enjoy ourselves. We will not be those people! Acting quickly, I begin to gather our food back onto the tray. I had spotted some tables on our walk over off to the side, in the shade of trees. We set off in search of those tables, never to find them again. They must have gone the way of Atlantis. We did find a nice little area down some stairs that overlooks the river. I think it was a smoking area, but we had a little relief there. Max & I were able to finish our meals. The kids nibbled a bit more on their lunches, but did not even near eating half. I hated to throw that food away. We decided then, that they could share a lunch for the rest of the trip.

On the bright side, our Fast Pass time we here! Back to Africa!!

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No animal pictures. I was manning the video camera at this point and Max was in charge of the still shots. Finally! This time ‘no pictures’ is all on him! I had wanted to go in the morning in hopes of seeing more animals, but we actually saw a lot anyway.

After the Safari we were going to ride Kali River Rapids, but the wait was too long and the Fast Passes were all distributed, darn it! On to Dinoland, USA!

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We could not talk the kids into Everest. I have only ridden this ONE time…once…ah, well, maybe next time!

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We took a ride on Primeval Whirl. Luke was just shy of the height requirement last year, so he was excited for his 1st ride! I like this one, only those spins are a bit jarring! And the wait wasn’t so bad, 20 minutes. We walked over to Dinosaur after that. I think it was more like a 40 minute wait. The line was outside the building. Really, I have never seen it outside--snaked through those rails like that, really.

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I love Dinosaur!

Luke wanted to stop by the Dig Site, but we opted to head to the front of the park instead. I think we were done with Animal Kingdom, although I would not admit it. We wandered around, looking at things here and there. We snaked around the Tree of Life. Looked at some animals. Found our way back through the caves, across that swinging bridge, and back to the entrance.

A parting shot, and perhaps a reminder:

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We all got some frozen drinks from a little cart on our way back to the bus stop. We were going to hop a bus straight to Hollywood Studios. While finishing our drinks, a bus came & went, but we didn’t mind. It was rather relaxing, sitting on the pavement, sipping those cold, cold drinks. The next bus wasn’t far behind. We finished up our drinks and hopped aboard, hoping some freak occurrence had made just Animal Kingdom wildly popular that day.

[princess_momma]

Did you end up using your Kali River Rapids FPs to finally cool off??!! It sounds like it was dreadfully hot!! Good thing you didn't let it get you down!

[stacikristine]

So sorry it wasn't the greatest start to your first park day! I hope things are better at DHS! :goodvibes

[Bridora]

Did you end up using your Kali River Rapids FPs to finally cool off??!! It sounds like it was dreadfully hot!! Good thing you didn't let it get you down!

We never did ride!

So sorry it wasn't the greatest start to your first park day! I hope things are better at DHS! :goodvibes

Thanks! I'm just about to post about it!

[Bridora]

I am craning my neck, scoping out the crowds as we arrive:

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Ok, so I took that picture as we were leaving, but I wanted it to go here.

Through the turnstiles, and so far, so good! No unruly crowds in sight! :woohoo:

Being the big Star Wars fans that we are, we head straight to Star Tours. On the way, though I want to find that rope near the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular that I have heard so much about over here on the DIS.

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We are waiting. We pulled the rope. What is supposed to happen next? We never found out. We waited, nothing happened. :confused3

Oh well, off to Star Tours!

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Just look at that gloriously un-crowded street! Now that is more like it!!!

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One of my favorite sights!

This was posted as a 5 minute wait. Luke catch-phrase of the week? “5 minute wait means NO wait!” We loves it! Max even had to slow the kids down so he could snap a few pictures:

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We walked right up to the gates and only waited about 2 minutes for our Starspeeder to come in. Great ride! We browsed through the shop for a bit. There are always lots of things we want in this store! They have awesome T-shirts and bumper stickers. We spent a lot of time in here late one night a few years back turning the kids into Star Wars characters in photos. I think we ended up buying 2 or 3!

We cut through Pixar Place and spotted several Green Army Men! I don’t think we’ve even seen these guys out for meet & greets before.

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He made Allison do jumping jacks and Luke run in place! It was soooo cute! And his signature? - Green Army Man.

Where did we go next?

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Are you guessing yet?

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Was that overload? I just looooove the whole area…it’s beautiful there!

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Luke attempted Tower of Terror last year. We ended up taking the “chicken elevator” down. I got a real kick out of that. Imagine being too scared for Tower of Terror and having to take an elevator to safety! Luke loved it this year--we were glad! I enjoy Tower of Terror sooooo much! I love how, even though I’ve ridden it countless times, it still makes me nervous. It gives me the sweaty palms and everything, just as soon as I buckle that seatbelt! And the drops!!!! It that too many !!!’s? How else can I tell you how much I :love: that ride?

We tried to fake the kids out by going under this:

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But they knew it went upside down. And we had promised we wouldn’t make them ride anything that went upside down. We did go in their store, though.

Then we trekked back to Pixar Place for Toy Story Mid-Way Mania.

…Continued Next Post…

[Bridora]

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I’m on the left, Allison is on the right!

Oh, I love that ride, too! :goodvibes

It was right about park closing time, but we wanted to try to make to The Great Movie Ride if we could. We made it! Just in time, too. No one was in line in front of us. No one came in after us. We had the entire car to ourselves. Max tried to tell them we didn’t have to ride, there was no use running it just for us, but they assured us we could stay! I’ve never sat up front with the drive before!

By the time we got finished there, the park was closed and emptying.

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We took a couple of pictures next to the Star Wars Weekends big sign out front. I said we’d better do it now, while it was Monday and deserted. We’d be coming back on Friday for Star Wars Weekends, and you it’ll be covered with Star Wars people then. :lmao: (Please know that Max has a whole room in our house devoted to Star Wars. Our kids have dressed Jedi and Darth Vader costumes and light sabers. We attended Star Wars Celebrations II and III. We are those people!)

The Polynesian was still beautiful upon our return.

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We ended up here, for dinner:

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We bought 2 reusable mugs and reused the heck out of them! :) Luke really enjoyed ordering from the touch screens here. I had the Polynesian Tossed Salad. Max had the Aloha Pork Sandwich. I can’t remember what the kids had, but we all enjoyed our choices. Can you guess that I took no pictures of this food, either? Something I thought was different at Captain Cook’s was their assortment of Twining’s teas. There were about 6 or 7 different flavors in a wooden crate, all lined up and ready to be chosen. A picture would have been nice, huh? The Peppermint Green Tea is my favorite. I don’t normally do mint mixed with other things, but this was such a tiny taste of mint and it was wonderful!

We went swimming again that night. Well, the kids went swimming again. I went swimming for the 1st time! It was very nice. They didn’t have Wishes at the same time as the Electrical Water Pageant that night. Who knew the Water Pageant had it’s own sound track? I was nice to watch the show with it’s own music.

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Up next: Tuesday at the Magic Kingdom & Epcot, with dinner at Coral Reef. And finally (!), some food pics.

[princess_momma]

You take awesome pictures!! DHS looks like it went a lot better than AK!! I can't believe how short wait times were!! How short was it for TSM? You just got me all extra excited!! I can't wait for some food pics finally!! Geez!! ;)

[princess_momma]

Hope everything's going okay!!! I miss your updates!!

[TinkLovinMomma]

Hi! I just came across your trip report!! Congrats on the DVC ownership! I just became an owner in July but over at the AKV! Have you started planning a trip home yet? We are going for 4 days in January and I cant wait. I loved all your pictures of the Electrical Water Pageant! I saw it just by happenstance when we were on the ferry in July. It was my first time in WDW and I had no idea what it was lol in fact I thought it was just something special they did for the 4th of July.. Shows how little I know! I am looking forward to reading more about your trip!

[penguingirlie]

I am loving your trip report! How far of a drive is it from Ocala to Orlando? We are looking for somewhere to stay for a night on the way down.

[Bridora]

You take awesome pictures!! DHS looks like it went a lot better than AK!! I can't believe how short wait times were!! How short was it for TSM? You just got me all extra excited!! I can't wait for some food pics finally!! Geez!! ;)

Thanks! I'm thinking TSM was around 40 minutes. There are so many things to look at, though, it goes by fairly quickly!

Hope everything's going okay!!! I miss your updates!!

Girl, we returned from a family reunion recently and it's been 'catch-up' on everything around here! I am working on an update now....

Hi! I just came across your trip report!! Congrats on the DVC ownership! I just became an owner in July but over at the AKV! Have you started planning a trip home yet? We are going for 4 days in January and I cant wait. I loved all your pictures of the Electrical Water Pageant! I saw it just by happenstance when we were on the ferry in July. It was my first time in WDW and I had no idea what it was lol in fact I thought it was just something special they did for the 4th of July.. Shows how little I know! I am looking forward to reading more about your trip!

Congrats to you, too! It was a hard decision between AKV & BLT, actually. We plan to go back next May, but don't have any specifics yet. I think once our kids are out of school we'll do a January trip. (Looooong time from now, though!)

I am loving your trip report! How far of a drive is it from Ocala to Orlando? We are looking for somewhere to stay for a night on the way down.

Ocala to Orlando is close to an hour drive. It's not far, which may seem silly to stop so close by, but that's the way we do it! It's around a 14 hour drive from our house, so we are ready to stop by then. Plus, we can wake up not too early, have a quick drive down, & be in WDW before lunch!

[Bridora]

I really wanna know how you fit all that luggage (and kids) into a prius??!! :)



Only I can't find the actual 'loaded Prius' pic. It must be on Max's computer. I'll check for it at home...:)

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One has snacks/breakfast items, the other has big toiletries, shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, etc.

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They fit perfectly down here, and get all closed up...and it's like they're not even there!

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This is our 'on the road' snack bag.

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It goes here, in the passenger side floor. Easy access!

And when I get the luggage picture, I'll add it, too!

[Bridora]

When last I wrote I promised food pictures. Not that they are not on the way, but it seems I got ahead of myself. Apparently, before we had DINNER at Coral Reef, we had a full day of the Magic Kingdom. And I cannot trip report out of order!

Day 2 in the parks had dawned. The plan: head to Magic Kingdom until mid to late afternoon. Return to our room to freshen up, then on to Epcot for that Coral Reef dinner.

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The Duck Family was out and about early. I took several more pictures of them, but I will spare you!

After our in-room breakfast we hopped aboard the Monorail and arrived at the Magic Kingdom.

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Ahhhhhhhh, now that is what I call ‘Disney World’!

This year, our first ride in the Magic Kingdom was:

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Allison & Luke: ready to ride!

We don’t do specific Touring Plans. We just kind of go with the flow, see what wait times are, and make our decisions that way. Therefore, Mickey’s PhilharMagic was next!

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I love this show! It’s really one of my favorites. We see it every trip.

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After that it was Cinderella’s Golden Carousel time…Allison got to ride Cinderella’s horse. It is the one with the golden ribbon on it’s tail.

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We were getting hungry by this point. It was up to Max to choose between Columbia Harbor House and Cosmic Ray’s Starlight Café. His choice?

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Which was mine, too! Good thinking, eh?

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We sat in the area that is above the walkway between Fantasyland and Liberty Square. We found this place a year or two ago. It is so much fun to sit up there and people watch! I had the Lighthouse Sandwich. I ALWAYS have the Lighthouse Sandwich--hummus & broccoli slaw--very yummy. No picture! Max had the Fried Fish Basket. He loves to drown his fish sticks in malt vinegar! I’m not sure what Allison & Luke had. They may not have had anything here…they were on a ‘not hungry at lunch’ kick.

When we left Columbia Harbor House we headed straight to the Haunted Mansion! Love that place! When we came out, we spied Donald Duck in his Frontier Garb. We just had to say hello!

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According to my pictures we took a ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad then.

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After that, we hoofed it over to ride Pirates of the Caribbean. Oh yeah, I love that one, too!

The kids stopped to play in the Tiki Zone (does it have a real name?) while Max purchased us some water.

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We decided to drop in on the Robinsons while passing through. The Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse is yet another favorite of mine. Can one have too many favorites? Please tell me if so…

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I stopped to watch this guy, soarin’ past.

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It always seems that we move too fast through this place. Allison & Luke just love all the stairs, twists, & turns. They just keep going. They never want to stop to look or read anything!! I am taking almost all of these pictures on the run!

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We hit the hub, then, heading for Tomorrowland. But this is going on and so we stop to watch:

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It was a cute show, but we missed the beginning.

Heading straight for Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, we were!

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Max’s score. We were paused for a bit & I snapped a picture!

On our way to the Carousel of Progress we got to meet Buzz himself!

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Allison & Luke don’t even mind this one!

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I like to embarrass them and wave goodbye at the end of each scene! “Stop it, Mommy!”

Continued Next Post…..

[Bridora]

Then, it is time. We must face the reality.

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While facing reality, and being generally sad, we heard a commotion. It turned out to be the ill-fated Stitch Stage Show. We stopped to watch for a moment under the TTA tracks.

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Allison & Luke weren’t too interested, however. We ended up leaving just before Stitch-as-Elvis showed up. Oh well….but there won’t be a next time for that one.

We took the super secret walkway between Tomorrowland and Mickey’s Toontown Fair. It was even more secretive, I think, because of the Space Mountain refurb. We hopped on the Train and rode around to Frontierland.

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We had Fastpasses for Splash Mountain, baby!

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We had timed that just right. It was then time to go back to our room to get ready for Epcot and the Coral Reef!

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[shannon47142]

what a fun day at Magic Kingdom!!:cool1:

[princess_momma]

Yay!! I love your updates again!! So glad to see you back! I can only imagine how much catch up you are having to play!!

I loved the first picture you posted of MK...the clouds look so perfect they almost look fake. The monorail shot is AWESOME!! I love it! i don't think I've seen any from that perspective!! And once again Luke cracked me up when he was showing how wet he got on Splash Mountain! :lmao:

How was the family reunion too? If you have any good pictures from that perhaps you could do a mini TR of it within a TR?

[stacikristine]

How fun!! It sounds like you had a great first MK day!! :thumbsup2 Your kids are really cute! And I really like the pic of you on the carousel! I can't wait to hear about Coral Reef--we're eating there in Sept :goodvibes

[Bridora]

what a fun day at Magic Kingdom!!:cool1:

Thanks! It was fun! :goodvibes

Yay!! I love your updates again!! So glad to see you back! I can only imagine how much catch up you are having to play!!

I loved the first picture you posted of MK...the clouds look so perfect they almost look fake. The monorail shot is AWESOME!! I love it! i don't think I've seen any from that perspective!! And once again Luke cracked me up when he was showing how wet he got on Splash Mountain! :lmao:

How was the family reunion too? If you have any good pictures from that perhaps you could do a mini TR of it within a TR?

Thanks, I love taking pictures! Max does, too. We usually end up with some pretty neat shots between the two of us! Family reunion was great...AND i found the shot of the loaded Prius, I just have to load it up! I will surely post some pics for you, but I am going to wait on that a bit! :laughing:

How fun!! It sounds like you had a great first MK day!! :thumbsup2 Your kids are really cute! And I really like the pic of you on the carousel! I can't wait to hear about Coral Reef--we're eating there in Sept :goodvibes

Thank you, thank you! The food was very good at Coral Reef. I've got pictures coming right up! :thumbsup2

[Bridora]

Tuesday evening we headed out to Epcot for dinner at Coral Reef. We had never been here before. We had never even seen the restaurant. We had only heard tale. As it turns out, it was very easy to find.

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When you get to the Seas with Nemo and Friends, turn right. You’ll end up right there at Coral Reef. Which explains why we’ve never passed it before: we thought it was a dead end!

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Man, this place was crazy when we entered. It was just starting to rain as we arrived to Epcot. By the time we were giving our name at the booth, it was pouring! No one wanted to leave in that mess, so people were huddled around the entrance. It also seemed to be a popular time to eat. And, at 7:10 pm, it was no wonder!

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The crowded, but cool lobby.



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I can't quite recall what this is a shot of...At first I though floor, but I don't think that orange thing would be on the floor...maybe wall or ceiling?



We waited about 15 minutes for our table. At least the lobby was cute!

We were seated on the upper level, next to the wall. Not quite as far away from the aquarium as you can be seated, but pretty darn close! We still had a great view of everything swimming past, however. We saw sharks, rays, sea turtles, and even scuba divers! It was so entertaining to watch everything that was going on in there! Groups of two or three divers would go by in the distance. Then they would come past the windows…sometimes they would just keep going, but sometimes they would stop for a wave. Twice a diver came and ‘put on a show’ for us. He was trying to communicate to a group of people at a table, motioning to them. He did some tricks and got applause. It was great fun! Unfortunately, we were too far away for any pictures to show up. Boo!

Fortunately, I did take pictures of our food! But, since it was rainy, I only took the small camera. It didn’t take pictures as well as I’d hoped. Only later did I find out it actually has a ‘food’ setting on it! And now, without further ado, our meals:

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I love places that bring you bread! I’m pretty sure the dipping sauce was olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette. Yum!


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Allison had the cheese pizza with corn chowder. I was to proud of her for trying the chowder--and she loved it! She also chose to have dessert. (They could choose an entrée and two sides.)


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Here is Luke’s cheese pizza with sliced apples. He also chose a dessert.


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Max ordered something that escapes me. I will ask him later if he remembers! I do remember it was very tasty!


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Mine was even better! It was chicken, of some sort, nicely described in the menu. Oops! Next time I am keeping a little notebook handy, or maybe a voice recorder, you know like the kind doctors dictate into?


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Allison chose the fruit bowl for dessert.


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Luke had the build your own sundae. Fun!


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A parting shot of the doors on the way out!



When we passed Nemo with a 5 minute wait, we had to go on!

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Seriously, we didn’t even have time to admire all the stuff in the queue!



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It was Extra Magic Hours that night, so we wandered around the World Showcase, taking in all the beauty. :cloud9:

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Here I used the setting for taking pictures of objects behind glass…pretty cool, I thought!


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Of course, no trip to Epcot is complete without a spin on Test Track!


And that pretty much was the evening half of our 2nd day in the parks…

Up next: our very first scheduled ‘pool day’!

[shannon47142]

great review of Coral Reef--your food looked yummy:goodvibes

[stacikristine]

Yay! Your food looked so yummy at Coral Reef! I was getting kinda nervous about our ADR there because I'd heard that someone had a horrible experience when they were there. But yours looks good! :thumbsup2 I can't believe Nemo only had a 5 minute wait! Great update :)

[princess_momma]

Oh and I read somewhere that the tiki zone where your kids play DOES have a name...the Liki Tiki's. lol Isn't that cute?

[skywaywaver]

I've gotten up to the end of what you've posted and wanted to thank and commend you. BIG thanks on the plastic box idea for toiletries. We usually wind up lugging around a HUGE duffle bag where everything gets lost, but your's is a great idea. :)

[Bridora]

great review of Coral Reef--your food looked yummy:goodvibes

It was yummy! :cutie:

Yay! Your food looked so yummy at Coral Reef! I was getting kinda nervous about our ADR there because I'd heard that someone had a horrible experience when they were there. But yours looks good! :thumbsup2 I can't believe Nemo only had a 5 minute wait! Great update :)

I was a little nervous before we went, too...I think it's something you should definitely do! We were excited about Nemo, too...that's why I love Evening Extra Magic Hours!

Oh and I read somewhere that the tiki zone where your kids play DOES have a name...the Liki Tiki's. lol Isn't that cute?

:) That is too cute!

I've gotten up to the end of what you've posted and wanted to thank and commend you. BIG thanks on the plastic box idea for toiletries. We usually wind up lugging around a HUGE duffle bag where everything gets lost, but your's is a great idea. :)

Awww, thanks so much! I liked the boxes very much...the only drawback we had was actually taking them to & from the car...just a little hard to juggle them & carry other things. Next time I may stick them in a bag...but then, does that defeat the purpose of having them? :laughing:

[Bridora]

…….Rewind to May 2008.……..

Our family is on our Disney Vacation. We have just checked in at Port Orleans Riverside. We also have tickets to the Pirate & Princess Party. Those tickets were an addition after we had our trip paid, so we decided we needed to add on another park day. The cast member at the concierge desk suggested we NOT purchase an additional day’s ticket, but just use our Pirate & Princess Party tickets to get into the Magic Kingdom at 4pm and use the morning of that day as a ‘pool day’. Max and I just looked at each other and said, “Nope! We want another full day at the Parks. We don’t need a pool day.” :lmao:


Sometime in there we decided a pool day wouldn’t be so bad after all. Because, of course, the kids are all about swimming, even if you ARE in Disney World. And, sometimes, it is nice to sleep in and not have to rush anywhere while you are on VACATION!


Which brings us back up to present Trip Report day. Wednesday, June 3, 2009: POOL DAY!


We slept in a bit and had a quick breakfast in the room. Allison, Luke & I dressed in our bathing suits, and strolled out our back door, headed to the pool. Max stayed behind with plans to play on his laptop and then wander around the resort taking lots of pictures. We all met up later and just walked around the resort together, exploring for a bit.


After lunch, Max & the kids went to the Guest Laundry to wash a load of clothes. They gave me some time to relax in a hammock (I think I tried out at least 3) and take a few pictures of my own. Eventually some storm clouds rolled in and I made my way to the Guest Laundry just in time to miss the downpour. We hung out there until the clothes dried. Then it was back to our room to get ready for our dinner at ‘Ohana!


That was our day in words.


Now, our day in pictures:


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The Duck Family, out for a morning swim!


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The kids liked this 'baby-tiki'.


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……………..Continued Below………………..

[Bridora]

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We took these next few pictures on our exploration trip. We ended up down at Luau Cove.


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We also had to stop in at the arcade and spend that 30 minutes!


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And it was Captain Cook's for lunch.


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I took the small camera with me on my solo trip--these next few shots are from then.


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[stacikristine]

What a great, relaxing day! The Poly is just gorgeous. I would LOVE to stay there someday! :goodvibes

[princess_momma]

Oh man!! That day looks so nice and relaxing!! I wish I was lying in a hammock in the sun right about now!! OH and I love the pic that says "2009 Polynesian" in the sand. Its so cute!!

[AGPrincess]

Sigh...I could look at Polynesian photos all day! :goodvibes Love all your shots... Can't wait to hear about Ohana's! :thumbsup2

[princess_momma]

Where have you been?! Hope everything is alright and you are just busy with life! :goodvibes I leave soon!! Only 9 days now!

[Bridora]

What a great, relaxing day! The Poly is just gorgeous. I would LOVE to stay there someday! :goodvibes

I hope you do get to stay there--it was lovely!

Oh man!! That day looks so nice and relaxing!! I wish I was lying in a hammock in the sun right about now!! OH and I love the pic that says "2009 Polynesian" in the sand. Its so cute!!

Thanks! You will be there so soon! :banana:

Sigh...I could look at Polynesian photos all day! :goodvibes Love all your shots... Can't wait to hear about Ohana's! :thumbsup2

Thanks! That's about all I did before our trip--look at Polynesian photos all day! ;)

[DisBride2009]

Hey great trip report so far. I love the Polynesian hotel its so beautiful. I could live there with all the accomadations, transportation, hospitality, and anything else I can think of. I can't wait to read more of your TR :)

[Bridora]

It rained while we were in our room...buckets...Luckliy, we had time before our ADR, so we just relaxed in the room. Max played on his laptop, the kiddos watched some Disney Channel, and I fell asleep in the chair! :lmao: Also, luckily, the rain let up in time for our walk to 'Ohana to be a dry one!

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This was to be our second time to enjoy 'Ohana. We had to wait an hour past our ADR time to get in. It was pretty crazy. We weren't the only ones waiting a loong time, though. It must have been an overwhelmingly busy night! Max got the kids a Cherry Sprite (I think) from the bar. I liked they way they served them!

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This helped the wait a bit, for the kiddos. We also took pictures of each other, and snapped one of Luke in front of a 'tiki-booty'! He really thought that was funny...

We got our table, which had a wonderful view out over the pool area and on to the castle. We were not right by the window, but it was still a good view.

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Not the best picture, however!

And here comes that yummy bread!

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It did take me a minute to remember the coconut flavor of the bread, but we still finished both loaves! Next up was the salad:

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Once again, not a great picture. The picture where I used the flash was even worse! :rotfl:

Don't get too excited about all these food pictures, they stop here and don't pick back up until dessert. But I can tell you the appetizers were good and the main course was better! They bring around a big dish of each type of meat and serve you any or all of them you want! The dipping sauces are amazing, too! For dessert, the kids were brought ice cream with Mickey sprinkles:

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(We'll call this 'the day of bad pictures'. Each one is worse than the one before, it seems to me...!)

And Max and I ate all of the Bread Pudding!

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Now, while we were eating, there were lots of festivities going on around us! A big wedding party was there at the same time as we were (maybe the reason they were a bit behind earlier) Our cousin (I can't remember her name!) with the microphone led the festivities. She kept having us clap for the bride & groom, or drawing attention to them in some way. I think they had a great time! It is a really fun atmosphere there, although loud! There were hula lessons, a limbo contest, and a parade. She gave all participants a lei and Luke had 3 by the time we left!

We walked outside just as Wishes was beginning. The Electrical Water Pageant was also sitting right there in front of the beach!

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(that's Luke & Allison)


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After this, we hiked over to the Grand Floridian, just for a look around. It was a nice night, and a nice walk! We really enjoyed our 'pool day'. I am glad we incorporated it into our vacation, and think this is something we'll do every time from now on.

[Bridora]

Hey great trip report so far. I love the Polynesian hotel its so beautiful. I could live there with all the accomadations, transportation, hospitality, and anything else I can think of. I can't wait to read more of your TR :)

Hi! I agree, living there would be very awesome! :goodvibes

[stacikristine]

'Ohana looks wonderful! We tried to get in there...but they were all booked up. Maybe next time! :thumbsup2

[TiggerCL]

I am enjoying your trip report! Thanks for posting! We'll be at the Poly one month from today : )

[princess_momma]

'Ohanas does look so yummy!! They were all booked for my trip too! Maybe next time!!

[Bridora]

Where have you been?! Hope everything is alright and you are just busy with life! :goodvibes I leave soon!! Only 9 days now!

:goodvibes We must have been on here at the same time!--I was probably typing away on my TR when you posted this! I am going to try and get some more updates on here today! AND I have been busy with life, but I feel like such a slacker...always apologizing to you guys! I wasn't even going to mention it again...:lmao:

'Ohana looks wonderful! We tried to get in there...but they were all booked up. Maybe next time! :thumbsup2

I hope you do get to go! The food is good and it's a really a fun atmosphere, too. You don't have to worry about ordering off the menu, and you don't have to go back up to the buffet line--perfect!

I am enjoying your trip report! Thanks for posting! We'll be at the Poly one month from today : )

I'm glad you are enjoying it! I bet October is a good time to go--have fun!

'Ohanas does look so yummy!! They were all booked for my trip too! Maybe next time!!

That's too bad they were booked up...But there's a reason to start planning your next trip! :wizard:

[Bridora]

The date: Thursday, June 4, 2009. That day, Epcot was up for Evening Extra Magic Hours. We had no ADRs and our only plans for the day were: Magic Kingdom in the morning and Epcot in the evening. Sounds good to me! We decided to take the boat launch from the dock at the Polynesian over to the Magic Kingdom since we had not yet done this.


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It was a beautiful morning! I tried to capture the way the sunlight glistened on the water.


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Some more views from the boat dock:


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There were plenty of benches to relax on while waiting for your boat:


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A look back at the beach from one of those benches:


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Pretty soon, our boat pulled in!



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We all went aboard, waited while one other family boarded as well, and then we were off to the Magic Kingdom!


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There was a lifejacket demonstration by Mickey. Well, it was just a poster, but it did illustrate!


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In the distance, we could see Cinderella’s Castle!



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Looking around:


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We were in a race!


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Getting close now:


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How many forms of transportation can you spot in this picture?



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We’re getting closer still!:



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Zoomed up



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Thanks for the ride!

We all enjoyed the ride over. I don’t suppose it’s the quickest form of transportation, but it’s worth doing at least once.

**We ended up using it again to leave the Magic Kingdom. (maybe Friday night after EEMH) That surely wasn’t the quickest way out. Even though the Monorail lines looked horrendous they cleared out long before our boat came back for us. I think we waited through 3 trips, but I’m not sure how many boats were launching. We always say we’ll sit on a bench and watch the mass exodus at night, but we’re usually still exiting with lots of other folks. Maybe we just need to park it a while longer!**

**caution!--Rambling, slightly off topic sentences follow.

[princess_momma]

:goodvibes We must have been on here at the same time!--I was probably typing away on my TR when you posted this! I am going to try and get some more updates on here today! AND I have been busy with life, but I feel like such a slacker...always apologizing to you guys! I wasn't even going to mention it again...:lmao:

I understand!! The only reason I'm on so much is that all I do is answer phones at my job and it can get quite slow and the Dis isn't blocked...so yeah I get paid to Dis. Its nice.

I may have to give you a hard time if I finish my TR before you do. :laughing: Kidding of course...I mean I get paid to do this :surfweb: while you have to :laundy: take the kids to :teacher: and :drive: around doing a bunch of errands. There there's :stir: (thats symbolizing cooking, I'm not saying you're a witch!! :laughing:) and dealing with the kids :chat: And I KNOW that you probably have to :drinking1 a little to keep from going :crazy2:

Hahaha...I probably just amused myself way too much with all the smilies.


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I love these!! Is it bad that I have the headband bride ears? Because they discontinued them and have ugly bride ones now and I didn't want to miss out!! HAHA I hope I didn't jinx myself though!!!

[stacikristine]

I love your DD's headband ears!!! SOO cute :thumbsup2 And it looks like a very peaceful ride to the MK! We stayed at Fort Wilderness one year and LOVED taking the boat back and forth :goodvibes

[Bridora]

I understand!! The only reason I'm on so much is that all I do is answer phones at my job and it can get quite slow and the Dis isn't blocked...so yeah I get paid to Dis. Its nice.

I may have to give you a hard time if I finish my TR before you do. :laughing: Kidding of course...I mean I get paid to do this :surfweb: while you have to :laundy: take the kids to :teacher: and :drive: around doing a bunch of errands. There there's :stir: (thats symbolizing cooking, I'm not saying you're a witch!! :laughing:) and dealing with the kids :chat: And I KNOW that you probably have to :drinking1 a little to keep from going :crazy2:

Hahaha...I probably just amused myself way too much with all the smilies.



I love these!! Is it bad that I have the headband bride ears? Because they discontinued them and have ugly bride ones now and I didn't want to miss out!! HAHA I hope I didn't jinx myself though!!!

:goodvibes I love the smiley story! That's just about right, only I do work during the day until 3. I used to have more free time there, but I used to work until 5; so with 2 less hours at work I don't have the extra time I used to. I do love getting off work in time to pick the kids up every day and then go home (or after school activities). My new mission is to finish my TR before you get back! :lmao: I don't have too too much left, though. Hopefully I will use the long weekend to do some TRing, but right now What Not to Wear is on....and I don't know if I can concentrate enough to doth both at the same time! :rotfl:

I love her headband ears, too! I think that's a great thing that you already have your bride ones. You wouldn't want ugly ones! :scared1:

Less than one week for you!


I love your DD's headband ears!!! SOO cute :thumbsup2 And it looks like a very peaceful ride to the MK! We stayed at Fort Wilderness one year and LOVED taking the boat back and forth :goodvibes

I love them too! She bought them last year when we went and actually brought them back, well, I brought them back becuase we sneakily packed the kids up one night...but she wore them again! They also had some with black sequins and a red bow that she had a hard time passing up. We did enjoy the boat ride!

[princess_momma]

:goodvibes I love the smiley story! That's just about right, only I do work during the day until 3. I used to have more free time there, but I used to work until 5; so with 2 less hours at work I don't have the extra time I used to. I do love getting off work in time to pick the kids up every day and then go home (or after school activities). My new mission is to finish my TR before you get back! :lmao: I don't have too too much left, though. Hopefully I will use the long weekend to do some TRing, but right now What Not to Wear is on....and I don't know if I can concentrate enough to doth both at the same time! :rotfl:

I love her headband ears, too! I think that's a great thing that you already have your bride ones. You wouldn't want ugly ones! :scared1:

Less than one week for you!


I'm glad you liked my story!! I work until 3 too. Its a nice time to get off, because you still have time to get stuff before dinner and stuff! What do you do?

And I leave on Thursday!!!! AHHHHHH!!! Hopefully that puts some pressure on you for your new mission!! ;)

Oh and PS I had to work today on Labor Day :sad2: hopefully you are indeed taking advantage of this long to write!! Although I'm sad your trip is coming to an end!! Do you know when you guys are going back? These guys from my work are going to a Nascar race in I think February and they're staying at AKL and I think ONLY going to Epcot. Its killing me! I'm like "let me go and stay at AKL and do the parks myself while you guys are at Nascar!"

[Bridora]

I'm glad you liked my story!! I work until 3 too. Its a nice time to get off, because you still have time to get stuff before dinner and stuff! What do you do?

And I leave on Thursday!!!! AHHHHHH!!! Hopefully that puts some pressure on you for your new mission!! ;)

Oh and PS I had to work today on Labor Day :sad2: hopefully you are indeed taking advantage of this long to write!! Although I'm sad your trip is coming to an end!! Do you know when you guys are going back? These guys from my work are going to a Nascar race in I think February and they're staying at AKL and I think ONLY going to Epcot. Its killing me! I'm like "let me go and stay at AKL and do the parks myself while you guys are at Nascar!"

I work in the office for a company that manufactures and sells automotive products and janitorial supplies. I love getting off at 3! :lovestruc

As I type this, you are either on your way or ALREADY THERE! :banana: Pressure is on!

Looks like I used Labor Day Weekend for other things, namely spending Saturday putting in a new storm door with Max, and the evening learning a new card game with friends...Sunday touring caverns after lunch...and Monday catching up on all that housekeeping that had been neglected. :sad2:

We have some plans in the works for the end of May 2010...I will let you know when I know some more for sure. I cannot imagine being that close and ONLY going to Epcot, although it is a nice choice for a 1 day trip....but still! :eek:

[Bridora]

If only I could be a performer in that show! I would love to spend my day singing and dancing to that song...

Our 1st boat trip to Magic Kingdom was successful, and now...


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We have arrived!


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That is how we all felt, I think!


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There is just something about walking down Main St., you know?


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The 'Move it, Shake it, Celebrate it!' street party/parade was just beginning as we made our way toward Cinderella Castle, so we stopped to watch. We were in a horrible spot due to our 'spontaneous decision' to stop (in which I pretty much just stopped!) right where we were, right in the sun!


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But we got a pretty rainbow out of it!


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I am sure this girl in teal would just love her expression in this one!

It was a pretty loud affair, with a looped soundtrack. We made our way up Main St. behind it. The parade pulled itself around the hub, then stopped for the street party portion. We walked up to the Bakery, then crossed Main St. to head toward Adventureland, walking in front of Crystal Palace....we heard the music the entire way and Max was quite tired of it by then.


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Ah, safely in Adventureland!


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Shadow family in Adventureland!

To be continued...

[Bridora]

...with embarassment. :blush:

I was just loading up the photos to continue my above post, when something just wasn't feeling right. I then realized the next pictures were from Crystal Palace, which we did not go to until the NEXT day, Friday, for dinner! Oops!!! :rotfl:

So, just pretend I gave you a little glimpse into Friday afternoon...(which explains the parade and afternoon sun in those 'Thursday morning photos'!)

That's what I get for working under pressure. (Kimmy!) :goodvibes

Thursday was Evening Extra Magic Hours at Epcot, and we were there! Coming up, our Monorail ride and our June 4 day in Epcot....

[Bridora]

Didn't you just love that sneak peak into our Friday at the Magic Kingdom? So, to pick up where we left off, chronologically, that is...

Thursday morning, June 4, 2009.


Epcot has Evening Extra Magic Hours and we have decided the spend the whole day there. We really want to check out the Kim Possible missions over in the World Showcase. The threat of thunderstorms is looming in the distance.

Just a side note: Apparently just before we got there the rain was never-ending. I mean, for the previous 2 weeks it seemed. I can remember checking the weather and worrying about rain, but so far, it had not messed with our plans. Several cast members remarked about all the rain they had gotten and how we came at a good time!

We made our way to the Monorail station to begin our journey to Epcot. At the Ticket & Transportation we transferred to the Epcot Monorail--and got to ride in the front!


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We each got a Monorail Co-Pilot's License:


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front


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back


Here are some shots of our ride to Epcot:



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notice those clouds?


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At this point, I am little fuzzy on what we did next. *note to self: take small flip notebook into the parks. this will come in handy later on, especially if you use it to write down what you did, what you ate, etc.*

From our pictures it looks like we headed straight over to ride Figment. Now, we do love us some Figment, but doing that first? I don't know about that. More than likely, we got fast passes for Soarin' and then headed over to ride Journey into Imagination with Figment.

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ominous looking clouds, no?

I do remember that the kids were hungry by that time, from looking at some other pictures we took. We headed over to World Showcase with some counter service food in mind. We wanted to try a new place, but weren't sure where. On our way over to World Showcase we stopped by a Kim Possible Recruitment center and got a mission time for later in the afternoon.

A few zoomed shots from our walk over:

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Don't forget about those clouds...By the time we crossed over and passed through Canada the sprinkles began. They picked up quickly, so we stopped in the United Kingdom to don our ponchos. (Max gets so excited when he has prepared us all by packing the ponchos, and we actually have to use them. He acts like I make fun of him and get embarrassed when he packs them!) I though it would be fun to pack into one of those red telephone booths and change, Superman style, you know? There wasn't much room for 4 people. Max and Luke ended up just putting their ponchos on in the rain. Allison and I, however, managed the superhero thing might well. We continued on, after an unsuccessful attempt to get into the Rose & Crown Pub. Rounding the corner coming out of the United Kingdom Max made the game-time decision that we should eat somewhere on the Boardwalk. We hopped aboard one of the Friendship boats to avoid the rain.

After arriving, we looked around and decided we should try out:


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Their menu sounded yummy! We got there at just the right time, because we had no wait. Shortly after we were seated and before our meals arrived there was a line waiting to get in! I so do not even remember what we had, but I do remember it was yummy...including the beer! It was a nice place to stumble upon.


We took a tour of the units at the Boardwalk since they had an 'open house'. It was nice, too, but we were still very pleased with Bay Lake Towers (still are!) We walked back to Epcot this time since the rain had let up.

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...to be continued...

[stacikristine]

YAY for the two updates! :thumbsup2 Sorry you got all mixed up, but I must say, I REALLY like the picture of your shadow family!! So great. Sorry it's started raining in Epcot....I hope it lets up for your KP mission! Oh--and very cool that your changed Superman Style! :thumbsup2

[Bridora]

YAY for the two updates! :thumbsup2 Sorry you got all mixed up, but I must say, I REALLY like the picture of your shadow family!! So great. Sorry it's started raining in Epcot....I hope it lets up for your KP mission! Oh--and very cool that your changed Superman Style! :thumbsup2

Thanks! We were just walking along when I looked down and noticed them! It was too cool to not snap a picture!

[Bridora]

I found it! It was hiding on another camera...


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The big suitcase on the left of the photo holds Max and my clothes. The smaller blue one on the right holds Allison's and behind it, under the other bags, is it's twin (only in black), holding Luke's things. The bag in the back of the 2nd level on the right has shoes and some other loose odds & ends. The blue duffel bag is our 1st night overnight bag. That way, when we stop in Ocala we only have to grab that bag plus my cosmetics bag. It's much better than unloading all the bags. We each have pajamas and clothes for the next day in that one. That's pretty much it! You can see Allison's hoodie and travel pillow in the picture, too!

[Bridora]

I'm just going to go ahead and warn you now: I don't have many pictures from Thursday afternoon/evening. It was too wet to get the cameras out. Don't feel bad for us, though, we all know what rain in Disney World means--fewer crowds! :goodvibes

.....So, we had walked back into Epcot and down into the UK pavilion, where we spied Alice, of Wonderland fame. This was very exciting for Allison, who had just finished up a children's theatre program. The play? Alice in Wonderland! Alice was surprised to find out that Allison did not play the role of Alice. They chatted for a bit--it was very fun!

Have I mentioned the book we bought for the Allison before our trip? It was an absolutely wonderful purchase. It is Walt Disney World's Guide to the Magic For Kids by Tim Foster. Google it. It's a spiral bound book full of things for kids to do. We took it with us in the parks and Allison could write in it while in line, at lunch, whenever! It has sections for each park, giving descriptions of each attraction, complete with stickers to place when you've 'done' an attraction. There are journal pages for each day of your vacation with sections for the weather, where you went, what you ate, ect. In the Epcot section, there is even a space for a cast member from each country to write something in their native language! It is awesome! Seriously, I feel like an infomercial! :lmao: Plus, there are plenty of pages for autographs. I highly recommend you check it out!

We walked back through toward Canada, headed to Innoventions in Future World. Max really has been wanting to see the House of the Future exhibit. On the way we had to stop by Club Cool. We were thirsty! (And we wanted to make the kids drink Beverly at least one last time when they didn't remember it from the time before!)


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It worked! They tried it andmade some awful faces. The pictures were too blurry. Inside. No flash. :confused:

We continued on to Innoventions and took that tour. Allison found a bed she thought was cool! Max also found lots of things (everything) he wanted!


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After that, it was Spaceship Earth. We love that thing!

I'm sure by that time it was close to 3:00. Time to report for our Kim Possible mission! Time for the rain to begin again just as we approached the wagon over at the International Gateway. The good news?: the Kimmunicators still operate in the rain! Mission:on! Our mission was in the United Kingdom. It was one of the most fun things we've done! I think everyone needs to do at least one of these missions! Even if you do not have kids with you--seriously! You go through some training on how to use the Kimmunicator. Then, you find out Kim & Ron need your help to save Disney World! It's great fun using the Kimmunicator, and searching around the country for your next clue/instruction. We had our ponchos on and off during our whole UK mission. They have incorporated your Kimmunicator's return at the end of the mission into your mission, as well. We finished up and said we had to make time to do it again before we left. :thumbsup2

We moseyed along through the other countries, riding Malestrom in Norway and the Gran Fiesta Tour in Mexico. I still miss El Rio del Tiempo, no matter how cute Donald Duck is.

We were leaving the World Showcase, heading back to Future World when the thunderstorm hit. People were soaking wet. People were running. Out came everyone's ponchos. We saw streams of people all going toward the exit. Lots of people went into Mouse Gear (that big big souvenir shop in Future World, next to the fountain). We were headed in that direction when Max noticed another set of door, unused, off to our right, just before Mouse Gear. There was quite an overhang, so we headed that way to get out of the downpour. There was cardboard and window tint over all the glass, and the doors. But we peered into a crack and found lots of boxes, must be used for warehouse space for the store. Anyway, it was a good place to stand while the rain came down. It was a great place to people watch, too. We even saw people go by without their shoes! A couple of times, it seemed we were about to be joined by more people, but they always defected for Mouse Gear at the last minute. There were some loud claps of thunder and even some lightning. It was a bit scary for Allison for a little while. (she hates lightning) But, the rain did let up. So we ventured back out. I don't know how long we were there, maybe 20 - 30 minutes. It was still sprinkling when we left our shelter, but we still had on our ponchos, so we were good to go!--Straight to the Electric Umbrella for dinner!

We did ride Soarin' some time that day. That night, we headed over and did Mission:Space and Test Track. It was Evening Extra Magic Hours, so I'm sure we did Nemo and Figment again, as well. We love those Evening Extra Magic Hours! :lovestruc

I'm sorry the details are fuzzy now. I'll end our Thursday here. Plans for Friday are Hollywood Studios for Star Wars Weekends in the morning, then to the Magic Kingdom for dinner at Crystal Palace and more Evening Extra Magic Hours!!! (and you've already seen some of that!) :rotfl:

[stacikristine]

Wow! That rain sounds brutal! :eek: It's supposed to storm all next week...I'm sure we'll be getting LOTS of great use out of our ponchos :upsidedow

[princess_momma]

Wow!! You were a posting fool!!! I really want to go on a mission next time!! My parents didn't want to! Oh well, there's always next time!! And we didn't end up making it to Big River!! We went to ESPN Club and had the BEST time!! You'll have to read about it in my tr!! ;)

[princess_momma]

Maybe I need to leave again so you'll post more! You did much better while I was gone!! :lmao:

I'm just giving you a hard time!! :hug: I would much rather be busy like you than have all the free time I do at my job!

[Bridora]

Maybe...I'm sure you wouldn't mind going back to Disney so I could post more, right? It's funny how it goes around here. Some days I have enough free time, but lately I haven't. It's just dragging out now, too! I can't seem to fit the pictures in one post without making the day be 3 posts long! :lmao: I'm glad you had a good time, I've been reading your TR on & off all day!

[princess_momma]

You could just go back with me and then I wouldn't have to read a report, cuz we could just share there! :wizard:

Feel free to drag out the days!! I have only halfway through my 2nd full day and have eleven posts! :scared1: I think I may be the dragging it out queen! (Not to be confused with drag queen! :laughing:)

[Bridora]

Wow! That rain sounds brutal! :eek: It's supposed to storm all next week...I'm sure we'll be getting LOTS of great use out of our ponchos :upsidedow

It was pretty serious rain! I'm just glad it didn't do that our whole vacation.:goodvibes

You could just go back with me and then I wouldn't have to read a report, cuz we could just share there! :wizard:

Feel free to drag out the days!! I have only halfway through my 2nd full day and have eleven posts! :scared1: I think I may be the dragging it out queen! (Not to be confused with drag queen! :laughing:)

Oh yeah! And I'd even let you go to Epcot and do a KimPossible Mission.

"drag queen" :lmao:

[princess_momma]

OH PLEASE Let me do a KimPossible mission!! That'd be great!! We even have the same name...trust me, EVERYONE let me know when that show came out!! :laughing:

My parents didn't want to. I think they were PROBABLY secretly thinking, "why can't our daughter just stick with being a princess? She has to save the world now too?!"

[Bridora]

I am working on an update right now! Don't give up on me, guys...!

[princess_momma]

I'm still here, don't even worry!

:hug:

[Bridora]

Our Friday began at the bus stop. We soon hopped a bus over to Hollywood Studios, for Star Wars Weekends!

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Looking up at the Monorail track from the bus stop bench.


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A little less bus stop, a little more track...a whole lot less crooked!


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Just for us, on the bus!

Max is a huge fan of Star Wars. We've got pictures of the kids with Star Wars Characters since Allison was a wee baby posed on the back of a dewback toy in her Daddy's toy room. They've both been Star Wars characters for Halloween. And, seriously, the amount of action figures in our house in innumerable. So, of course, we had to make an appearance at Star Wars Weekends!

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I only wish we could have gotten there at rope drop to see all the Stormtroopers guarding the Studios. Will I ever make it to a rope drop?!?

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Looks like the 1st thing we did was stop and take a picture of Allison! :goodvibes

I am really kicking myself for not keeping better track of things. :rolleyes1

One thing that I really wanted to do in the Studios, that I have never done before, was the Animation Academy. I never even knew this thing existed before I became a DISer! We had been to the Animation Theater before, just to meet the Incredibles at the end. So, this time, I drug my family back, for the Academy.

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Max, looking so enthusiastic!

Buuut, when we got finished the class had just gone inside. The next one was not for 30 minutes. Now, I know, 30 minutes at Disney, not a long wait. If you have a nice and interesting queue to move through. Sitting on a little bench? Not fun. I guess I could have sat there and waited while they did other things, but I guess I also did not think of that then! :confused3

So, instead, we got in line to meet characters from Up.

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(loved this movie!)


Then we spotted Frozone! Never met him before!
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By this time, of course, another class had waited and gone in, and it was another 30 minutes until the next class. So, I gave up on my dream of the Animation Academy for another year, and we headed back out into Hollywood Studios.

They had a special place set up for the Star Wars Weekends store. The place that sold all the exclusive to the weekends merchandise, so we went over there to take a look.

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Stormtroopers were wandering around!


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These guys are so much fun!


Luke also got to meet Darth Maul before we left. Luke tried to get into the Jedi Training Academy, but we got there a little late (we just happened to be walking by). Hopefully, next time we can plan on being there for a spot closer to the stage!

We walked around some more, taking in all the Star Wars sights, and then headed back to the Polynesian with our souvenirs.

[Bridora]

I think we had eaten lunch at the Backlot Express before we left the Studios. If not, we had lunch at Captain Cook's. The kids loved the touch screen ordering system!

After we dropped a few things off in our room, we headed out to the Magic Kingdom. If you will recall, back on page 8, the post entitled "Boat Launch to the Magic Kingdom" followed by "I'm Walking Right Down the Middle of Main St., USA!" Those should chronologically go here.

We arrived in time for the afternoon parade, then headed into Adventureland for some of adventure, of course!

We had 7:00 ADRs at Crystal Palace. We had never been there before, so we were excited! The kids prefer a buffet. Luke strongly dislikes waiting for his food! :lmao:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6155.jpg
Crystal Palace from the bridge.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6161.jpg


I used our wait time to take some shots of Cinderella's Castle.

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6162.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6166.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6170.jpg


And some of the waiting area!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6171.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6176.jpg


Sorry, I once again again have no food pics! We had a great time at Crystal Palace. We got to meet Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, and Piglet. They even had a parade through the restaurant that the kids could join in! The food was good, too!

http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6178.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6186.jpg

Next up: The rest of the evening in the Magic Kingdom. I was definitely in a picture-taking mood that night!

[princess_momma]

Oh I am loving your updates!! I bet Star Wars Weekend was perfect for your family! It sounds like you guys kinda like Star Wars a little...;)

That's too bad that you didn't get to the Animation Academy! I went in through the gift shop (where all those amazing sculptures and stuff are) and then snuck in. I didn't do the whole tour/movie thing. I was the last person they let in too! (Maybe it helped that I was a singleton? :confused3) But I am jealous that you got to meet characters...I so desperately wanted to meet the Up! characters. I loved that movie as well! And anyone from the Incredibles. There was such a long wait for everything when I went to the character section though and the Up characters weren't even out! Its like we each did half the fun stuff there...we'll just combine our experiences so we can say we got the whole package! :rotfl:

Oh and I LOVE Allison's sunglasses. Is it weird that I also have a heart-shaped pair? Mine are just plain red and they are so fabulous. She's got some style!!

[Bridora]

Oh I am loving your updates!! I bet Star Wars Weekend was perfect for your family! It sounds like you guys kinda like Star Wars a little...;)

That's too bad that you didn't get to the Animation Academy! I went in through the gift shop (where all those amazing sculptures and stuff are) and then snuck in. I didn't do the whole tour/movie thing. I was the last person they let in too! (Maybe it helped that I was a singleton? :confused3) But I am jealous that you got to meet characters...I so desperately wanted to meet the Up! characters. I loved that movie as well! And anyone from the Incredibles. There was such a long wait for everything when I went to the character section though and the Up characters weren't even out! Its like we each did half the fun stuff there...we'll just combine our experiences so we can say we got the whole package! :rotfl:

Oh and I LOVE Allison's sunglasses. Is it weird that I also have a heart-shaped pair? Mine are just plain red and they are so fabulous. She's got some style!!

Yeah, and just think...before I met Max I had never seen Star Wars! :goodvibes

We did split that whole part pretty evenly, huh?

Thanks! She does enjoy fashion. She loves accessories, the only problem is that they never make it even half the day on her...

[princess_momma]

Yeah, and just think...before I met Max I had never seen Star Wars! :goodvibes

We did split that whole part pretty evenly, huh?

Thanks! She does enjoy fashion. She loves accessories, the only problem is that they never make it even half the day on her...

Aw that's cute!! I haven't seen all of them and don't remember which ones I've seen. :headache: Maybe I'll have to watch some more! Its cute how much you're whole family enjoys it though! :goodvibes

Accessories can be a pain...I have given up on most for now. Landon loves to pull on all my necklaces or grab my sunglasses or anything so I just took a break from them! Because I wasn't even making half the day just like Allison lately! :rotfl:

[stacikristine]

That's so fun that you were there for Star Wars Weekend! I would love to go to that. My dad, brother, and I LOVED watching the old movies when I was little. And of course we love the new ones now! I really like the detail pics you took--especially the ones outside CP. :thumbsup2 Looks like a fun day!

[Bridora]

Aw that's cute!! I haven't seen all of them and don't remember which ones I've seen. :headache: Maybe I'll have to watch some more! Its cute how much you're whole family enjoys it though! :goodvibes

Accessories can be a pain...I have given up on most for now. Landon loves to pull on all my necklaces or grab my sunglasses or anything so I just took a break from them! Because I wasn't even making half the day just like Allison lately! :rotfl:

I remember that little ones and big earrings don't go well together! :thumbsup2

That's so fun that you were there for Star Wars Weekend! I would love to go to that. My dad, brother, and I LOVED watching the old movies when I was little. And of course we love the new ones now! I really like the detail pics you took--especially the ones outside CP. :thumbsup2 Looks like a fun day!

You would enjoy Star Wars Weekends for sure! It's so much fun!

[Bridora]

We left Crystal Palace and headed back out toward Main St. I was taking lots of pictures just then. It makes me want to be there right now, just looking at them again!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6189.jpg


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I wish that room with the light on was ours!!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6193.jpg
The kids found some friendly ducks over in the grass.


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Here are two of my favorite pictures:
http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6203.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6207.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6209.jpg
I just love this area. It's where they do StoryTime with Belle. We have only ever gone to the storytime once, when Allison was probably five. I thought it was cute, but we don't make it to too many shows...


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6210.jpg
Mad Tea Party!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6212.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6214.jpg


Our ultimate destination was ToonTown Fair. We go way back with Goofy's Barnstormer, or as we call it, Goofy's Airplane Rollercoaster! It was a little more crowded over there at the time, put we have great memories of riding over and over (and over!) at times! This was one of the first things the kids were tall enough to ride. They loved measuring themselves against that stick!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6215.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis6217.jpg


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I love these twilight shots!


We hung around here a bit & let the kids play on Donald's Boat. They wanted to go through Minnie & Mickey's houses, so we did that next. It was truly a nightmare in there! It was majorly crowded. I prefer it with a bit less people, thank you. We had to straight bypass the kitchen in Minnie's house...not one more person could fit in front of the stove or refrigerator. And there was a line to sit in the chairs! Luckily, we made it out. Allison wanted to meet either the fairies or the princesses. Luke did not. So we split up. The boys went (I don't remember where, but they came back with two illuminated character pin-on things) in one direction, and the girls went in the other. We decided on princesses, because the wait time was shorter. We only had time for one line, though, because they would be closing soon. I really wish we had met the fairies, though. She hadn't met any of them, and had met all the princesses. Plus, the fairy line ended up moving quicker, oh well! There's one more thing for our 'next time' list.


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Writing in her book while waiting in line. She met Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle.



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We found the boys near the entrance to ToonTown, playing with snails!


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Creepy, isn't it?


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I'm not sure that we did the laugh floor at this point, but we did it sometime! I think those signs at night make pretty pictures, don't you?

We ended up over in Adventureland for the rest of the night. Our last ride was Pirates (have I mentioned it's one of my favorites?) We let the kids look through the store, but when I heard the fireworks I had to rush out to watch! I really can't not watch them. Every single one of our Disney vacation DVDs has at least one mostly full showing of Wishes on it. We were watching one not too long ago and I told Max if he sees me pull out the camera to record Wishes again to just tell me to put it back! We don't watch every show from Main St., though, so at least they are from different vantage points. However, it is worth watching from the Main St. Train Station at least once! It'll bring a tear to your eye.

So that concluded our Friday. Saturday would be our last day in the parks. How sad.

[princess_momma]

WOW!! All your pics just look so peaceful and dreamy. They really make me wish I was there right now too, even more than most pics of the parks usually do. Such a good update! Sometimes splitting up just works!! Glad you guys had fun. Hopefully you can meet the fairies next time without too long of a line. Sneak peek for you: I did end up going to meet the fairies, but only Tink was there! I don't know why none of the others were. :confused3 But I didn't really care, I'm only attached to Tink!

[Bridora]

WOW!! All your pics just look so peaceful and dreamy. They really make me wish I was there right now too, even more than most pics of the parks usually do. Such a good update! Sometimes splitting up just works!! Glad you guys had fun. Hopefully you can meet the fairies next time without too long of a line. Sneak peek for you: I did end up going to meet the fairies, but only Tink was there! I don't know why none of the others were. :confused3 But I didn't really care, I'm only attached to Tink!

Thanks, Kimmy! It's fun going back (after such a long time...:rotfl:) and looking at all the pictures!

[princess_momma]

Thanks, Kimmy! It's fun going back (after such a long time...:rotfl:) and looking at all the pictures!

Understandable! I haven't even been back a full month yet! I think I went too fast...I don't want it to end again! I'll probably keep going back and look at pictures even when I am done! I can't wait to go back!

[stacikristine]

It sounds like a great night! I feel like our list of "things to do next time" just keeps growing! I'm glad we're not the only ones!

[Bridora]

Understandable! I haven't even been back a full month yet! I think I went too fast...I don't want it to end again! I'll probably keep going back and look at pictures even when I am done! I can't wait to go back!

I know! You spend all this time planning, and it seems like your trip is so far off. Then, when you get there, you try to savor every.single.second, but it is still over so quickly! And as soon as you get back you miss it and start planning when you can go back. :lmao:

It sounds like a great night! I feel like our list of "things to do next time" just keeps growing! I'm glad we're not the only ones!

Thanks! Oh yeah, 'next time' we're doing lots of stuff...

[Bridora]

It had finally come--our last day in the parks was upon us. Doesn't it just go by so fast? Our plans for that day were to go back to Epcot and squeeze in a couple more KimPossible missions, and also hit our favorites one more time. After that we planned on heading back to the Magic Kingdom one more time before we left.

When it was time to begin our KimPossible mission we reported for duty and were assigned to France. Loved it! I can't say enough good things about this. I love how you go into the countries and see things you've never even known were there before. For instance, in France, we'd been through the perfume garden & hurried our kids out of the shop (for fear they'd break something!). But we had never been on the otherside of the fountain, around on the left if you are facing France. What a pretty little street setting!

At the end of our France mission we were given the choice of going on another mission in another country or dropping our Kimmunicator off. We chose another mission: China! Let me just say, wow! Another discovery in China! The beautiful building that we though housed only a movie? Nope! I am so glad we were able to explore deeper into some of these places. We will most definitely do some more missions next time.

Some pictures from China:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07001.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07003.jpg


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Each mission we did was different. It wasn't like you did the same thing in another place.

Remember the book Allison had? Well, it had a 2 page spread for each country with a place for you to get a signature from a Cast Member. Allison only had a couple of these, but she had really gotten into filling out her book and wanted to get the ALL! Splitting up the night before had worked out so well we decided to try it again. This time, Max took Allison around the whole WorldShowcase! (they were able to get all the countries in one hour!) Luke (who wanted to ride some rides, which is why we decided to split up) and I took off for Norway. We enjoyed Malestrom and then Luke wanted to sit through the Norway film. We had front row seats! After that, we hit Mexico, and then it was back to Future World. It was getting close to our meeting time, but we still had about 15 minutes. We decided to hop on Space Mountain, which was posted 5 minutes, to which Luke proclaimed: "5 minute wait is no wait!" And we walked on. When we exited, Allison & Max were waiting. We stopped in the Disney Visa Members place in Innoventions (which side?) and met Mickey & Minnie.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07017.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07018.jpg



Then, it was goodbye, Epcot...

On our 1st trip, in 2003, we did a Leave A Legacy tile with the kids' picture. It's our tradition to take their picture by the tile each year. Here is their tile:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07015.jpg


I'm pretty sure we took a Monorail straight to Magic Kingdom, can't waste time today! I don't even know where we ate lunch, either! But I think it was at the Counter Service in China...We went there at some point, and it makes sense that we ate there after we finished our mission. :sad2:


I'm a little spacey on what we did next.


We saw a beautiful sight later...


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07021.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07022.jpg


Here are a few more shots from our last night:


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07025.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07026.jpg


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http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07033.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07041.jpg
I snapped that one while walking. It was a last minute don't stop decision on our way out through the castle. I think that was the only time we had walked through on this trip.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07042.jpg
Then I did stop, for one more glance...


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07045.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07047.jpg


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/dis07049.jpg

I am so sad. I sure don't like leaving Disney World. But, it was time to head back to the Polynesian. Max & I usually start packing up and get the car loaded as much as possible the night before we check out to make it easier on us that next morning. That's what we did that night when we got back.

Up next: Check out day. :(

[princess_momma]

Oh no! How sad...your last day!! (Side note: we're at the same place in our posting now...I've been waiting for you to post check out day! :rotfl:) The KP missions sound fun! I'm going with you guys next time so I can go!! :laughing: I love the Leave A Legacy tile!! I'm sad I missed that!! How cool though! Do you guys find it every trip? That's so fun! :goodvibes

Luke is so right!! 5 minutes is NO WAIT!! WOOO! What ride did you go on then though? Space Mountain isn't in Epcot...I was so confused! Whatever you did sounds fun though...:goodvibes

Always sad when its the last pics of the castle. :sad2: I hate last nights!!

P.S. Two weeks from Monday!!

[stacikristine]

What a fun last day in Epcot and Magic Kingdom!! We HAVE to try a KP mission next time :thumbsup2 Your China pics are beautiful! So sad it's your last day, though. Oh, and how was the Norway movie? I've never seen it. I don't want you to post your last update--because that means no more! :sad2:

[Bridora]

Oh no! How sad...your last day!! (Side note: we're at the same place in our posting now...I've been waiting for you to post check out day! :rotfl:) The KP missions sound fun! I'm going with you guys next time so I can go!! :laughing: I love the Leave A Legacy tile!! I'm sad I missed that!! How cool though! Do you guys find it every trip? That's so fun! :goodvibes

Luke is so right!! 5 minutes is NO WAIT!! WOOO! What ride did you go on then though? Space Mountain isn't in Epcot...I was so confused! Whatever you did sounds fun though...:goodvibes

Always sad when its the last pics of the castle. :sad2: I hate last nights!!

P.S. Two weeks from Monday!!

Okay Spaceship Earth! :sad2: What is up with me? It's because we didn't get to ride Space Mountain, I guess. That, plus I started writing this Thurs. with about 1 hr left before I got off work, which means things kept popping up to keep me busy (with actual work-work!) And by the time 3:00 rolled around I was just trying to finish up so I could post it! :eek:

What will we do with no TR's to write? Start PTRs? I must say that if I do this trip reporting again, I'll have to be a bit better organized.

KP Missions were so awesome. We'd have so much fun! And Allison would love to 'babysit' Landon for you...

We find the Leave a Legacy tile every year! We normally have to go look up the location, though. :laughing:

It's gonna be a good game!

What a fun last day in Epcot and Magic Kingdom!! We HAVE to try a KP mission next time :thumbsup2 Your China pics are beautiful! So sad it's your last day, though. Oh, and how was the Norway movie? I've never seen it. I don't want you to post your last update--because that means no more! :sad2:

It was a fun day, even though it was the last...

Yes, you do have to do a KP mission next time--they are so fun!

The Norway movie was ok. I don't really remember much about it, but it was only about 5 minutes long. I though it was cute that Luke wanted to stop and watch it!

I'm glad you've enjoyed reading...thanks!

[princess_momma]

Okay Spaceship Earth! :sad2: What is up with me? It's because we didn't get to ride Space Mountain, I guess. That, plus I started writing this Thurs. with about 1 hr left before I got off work, which means things kept popping up to keep me busy (with actual work-work!) And by the time 3:00 rolled around I was just trying to finish up so I could post it! :eek:

What will we do with no TR's to write? Start PTRs? I must say that if I do this trip reporting again, I'll have to be a bit better organized.

KP Missions were so awesome. We'd have so much fun! And Allison would love to 'babysit' Landon for you...

We find the Leave a Legacy tile every year! We normally have to go look up the location, though. :laughing:

It's gonna be a good game!


I understand!! I always get mixed up too. Mine are usually the "park the garage inside the car" kind! :laughing:

We will have to start ptrs!! I forget when you are going again? May? When do you get to make adr's? I'm so excited for you!! I'm not even booked yet. :sad2:

I bet Landon would love Allison...he's SUCH a flirt!! Landon would probably enjoy both of them. He just loves to watch big kids play!

I'm SO excited for the game! And P.S. I'm super glad that you guys beat the Vikings!! :goodvibes

[Bridora]

Well, I haven't exactly said when we are going back yet. I'm keeping you in suspense! :laughing:

I've learned a lot of things doing my 1st Trip Report for sure...

We are also glad we beat the Vikings! It was a bit nerve wracking though. I'm sure it will be like that in two weeks!!!

I'm hoping to finish up this week. Hopefully I can keep it together for that long.:rotfl:

[Bridora]

was a sad day.

We didn't want to leave.

But we had to.

I grabbed the little camera and took some shots on our way out. I had to get the floor & ceiling of the elevator we never rode on because we were on the 1st floor. The kids & I hopped in & took a ride up to the 2nd floor & back down.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/027-1.jpg
floor


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/028-1.jpg
ceiling


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/032-1.jpg
Goodbye Boutiki.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/033-2.jpg
So long, Hidden Mickeys!


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/034-1.jpg
I see you out there!


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Please, don't make me go!


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Somewhere in all this, I realized I had lost my green sunglasses. I was pretty sure the last place I had them was in Epcot. Max & Allison went to situate the car for the trip home while Luke & I hiked over to the Central Lost & Found, where hopefully, my sunglasses would have been turned in. Max & Allison were then going to take one last Monorail ride to meet us there. I snapped pictures the whole way.


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It was hot. We didn't find my sunglasses. I think someone must have wanted them. They were very cute! Luke & I walked back, while Max & Allison rode on the Monorail.


http://i675.photobucket.com/albums/vv119/bridgetlm/043-1.jpg


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Then we left.

Well, we drove over to Downtown Disney to purchase a few things we had been waiting on. We ran into World of Disney for a couple T-Shirts. Then we hit Disney's Days of Christmas. Wolfgang Puck's Express was our choice for lunch. We usually try to make it go that way! Downtown Disney when we arrive, Downtown Disney when we depart. Ah, a Downtown Disney sandwich! After lunch & a quick trip in that Kitchen Store for a Mickey pepper grinder, we were off! We dashed out to the car in hopes of leaving before an ominous rain cloud burst, and we made it. Too bad. That meant there was no more stopping, no more Disney World.

But it is good to get back home. :goodvibes

[Bridora]

I think it's time to debut our Disney plans-in-the-works. We will be going again in May. We will be going home, for the 1st time (!) to Bay Lake Towers! :cool1:

We have our room booked. We can make ADRs at the end of November. We do not have tickets purchased yet. We are excited!

It makes me want to scream with joy & excitement. :wizard:

It's time to get serious about ADRs since the 180 day window will be back in effect in time for ours.

Welcome back, Disney planning!

[stacikristine]

How sad that it was your last day. And sorry you couldn't find your sunglasses! That really stinks. But WOO-HOO for being able to go "home" for the first time!!! :yay: I hear that BLT is incredible! I look forward to hearing about your trip that time around too!

[Bridora]

How sad that it was your last day. And sorry you couldn't find your sunglasses! That really stinks. But WOO-HOO for being able to go "home" for the first time!!! :yay: I hear that BLT is incredible! I look forward to hearing about your trip that time around too!

Yeah, I really liked them, too. I was able to get some more like them, only in yellow, after we got home, but I still miss the green ones!

I know! :cool1: We are excited! I keep looking at pictures of it....

[princess_momma]

Well, I haven't exactly said when we are going back yet. I'm keeping you in suspense! :laughing:

I've learned a lot of things doing my 1st Trip Report for sure...

We are also glad we beat the Vikings! It was a bit nerve wracking though. I'm sure it will be like that in two weeks!!!

I'm hoping to finish up this week. Hopefully I can keep it together for that long.:rotfl:

I swear I knew you were going in May!! I think you may have mentioned it...or I'm just psychic! :laughing: But of course now you told so it doesn't really count. :sad2:

You snapped a TON of pics on your last day. I'm pretty sure on my last day I took like one picture. I was so sad. But now I can do that day because I won't finish before you now! :rotfl:

Can I go with you in May? I promise I don't take up a lot of room usually!! I'll be good! :lmao: You guys are going to have so much fun!! Do you have any plans yet of where you want to make your adr's? As you know I have a couple... :laughing:

That stinks about your sunglasses!! I still haven't gotten my heart-shaped ones back from my friend!! Grr...:mad: Maybe you need to bring ugly ones to Disney World so you can be sure if you lose them, someone will turn them into the lost and found! :rotfl:

Who do you guys play this week? I'll go for the Steelers as long as they aren't playing the Broncos!! :laughing: I'm just so glad you guys won. I want to be the only undefeated team! I was sad about the Dolphins/Saints game! It looked like the Dolphins had it there for a while. :sad2: We play the Ravens this week and I don't even know how they are doing this year! I need to do some research!!

Hope you're having a good day! It snowed at LEAST 6 inches here last night and its still coming down pretty good!! Here is me all day: :surfweb: It's a perfect Starbucks day!! (Hope Luke is feeling better too! :flower3:)

[Bridora]

I don't know...I may have let it slip, but I'm thinking maybe you are psycic!

Yeah, I had the camera out & going crazy--the reality of leaving & not being there & seeing all that everyday anymore...:scared1:

I'm sure we'll have room for you in May! We are thinking of a few places for ADRs. Allison has requested Boma. We'll be going there for sure because we haven't been since 2007 & she hasn't been since 2006. She has got a great memory, that girl!

Yeah, we usually find our things at Lost & Found--I think we've lost a couple hats & sunglasses that we went to find.

We have a bye this week. :mad: But football will still be on all day on Sunday!

I am sooooo jealous about the snow! I want snow so badly! We never get much, enough to get the kids out of school for maybe one day a year. It stinks. We've been having lots of rain, though this year & it's been cooler overall, so we have our fingers crossed! You'll have to put a picture up on your TR. I need to go read that--after lunch! popcorn::

Luke is all better & back at school--thanks!

[princess_momma]

Once, I had this HUGE psychic moment. It's been a few years though, but every once in a while I'll get a real one. So my friend and I were sitting in my car eating ice cream. We were talking to each other and we were both sitting with our backs against the door so that we were facing each other. At one point I say, "we should lock the doors in case anyone tries to open it, so we don't fall out." Don't know why, it just crossed my mind. :confused3 Then not even 10 minutes later, this old lady tries to open my door!! Once she sees me, she says "Oh sorry", then yells "Honey! Where'd we park?" It was hilarious.

Once Landon is older and/or I'm married, I don't know if there will ever be a moment when pictures aren't being taken! :laughing: Right now I'm always either pushing the stroller or holding Landon while someone else is pushing the stroller and my parents just don't get the need to document every second of the trip! :rotfl: Clearly, they don't Dis!

We had a bye last week! That's really the only way I really knew about what happened with the other teams! If you don't happen to watch the Broncos game, you can get all the highlights from my FB because I update my status every time something big happens! :lmao: I love watching games!

You are more than welcome to take our snow!! I'm NOT a snow person, and I've lived here my whole life. Go figure. I'll be sure to have pics so you can live vicariously.

[Bridora]

Thanks! I just looked at your pics--I think they are beautiful!

I know how hard it is to get pictures with older kids & someone else around to help, so I can't imagine you trying to push & take photos. I usually end up walking around with the camera around my neck and the video camera in one hand! :lmao:

[klacey1]

Hi! Can't wait to read this-- I'm subscribing now to read later!

[Bridora]

Hi! Can't wait to read this-- I'm subscribing now to read later!

Hi! Hope you enjoy it! :cutie:

[Bridora]

As much as I don't want this to be finished, I think it's time...

Some things I learned:

* It is necessary to have some method of recording the day's activities. I started out with a journal, planning to write down what we had done that day while back at the hotel that night. That did not work. I need to have a small flip notebook in my backpack. Then I will be able to write down the order we did things, wait times, meals, etc. Sheer memory power cannot be relied on months afterward. Picture order doesn't always work out either, especially when you took more than 1 camera and had pictures in several folders.

* A good trip report is detailed. I felt like such a moron each time I had to write "I don't remember..."

* A good trip report has a many pictures as you can squeeze in.

* A good trip report takes time and attention. If I do another one, I must make time to post more frequently.

* I will have to go all or nothing on food pictures. If I go all out I'll need to remember to take those pictures. And I'll have to be prepared for grumbles and looks of "who is this crazy woman and what is she doing?" from my family and complete strangers! (unless, of course, they DIS) :laughing:



Thank you (however many of you there are left!) for reading. Thanks for keeping up with me and having patience with my long lag between posts. I have really enjoyed talking with you all, recounting our Disney adventures, and making plans for future trips. Let's keep an eye out for each other, eh?

:grouphug:

[princess_momma]

Aw man!! I'm so sad you're done!! Now where's the ptr?! :rotfl:

I actually did write down what we did that day in a journal every night, but I still feel like I was lacking a lot of details. I need to bring a small notebook like you suggested!!

And I need to go all or nothing on food too. I did take quite a few pics of it, but often forgot too!

Guess we both need to go on another trip so we can have a do-over on tr's! :laughing:

[stacikristine]

I've loved reading along! Thanks so much for sharing :thumbsup2 Your family is adorable, and it's awesome that you can enjoy Disney World so much together. I'm looking forward to the next report!

[klacey1]

This was so fun to read! I dream of staying at the Poly, but DBF never wants to:guilty: If we were going to spend the money to do deluxe, he'd much rather do the Contemporary or Grand Floridian. I think the Poly is definitely the best mix of family-friendly and adult-oriented of the three, though.

[webcreatrix]

Thanks for sharing! I thoroughly enjoyed your trip report. We'll be heading to WDW June 2010 for our first stay at the Poly and I am seriously thinking of driving my Prius. The driving is part of the reason we can afford the Poly - that and a great PIN code! '

So I am wondering, how long was your drive? Was everyone comfortable? I drive my car 2 hrs a day and sometimes it bothers my back. Trying to decide if we can manage in the Prius or if we should really consider taking the Pilot - my kids are 4 and 7.

[Bridora]

Aw man!! I'm so sad you're done!! Now where's the ptr?! :rotfl:

I actually did write down what we did that day in a journal every night, but I still feel like I was lacking a lot of details. I need to bring a small notebook like you suggested!!

And I need to go all or nothing on food too. I did take quite a few pics of it, but often forgot too!

Guess we both need to go on another trip so we can have a do-over on tr's! :laughing:

:goodvibes No PTR just yet! I think another trip is in order, too!

I've loved reading along! Thanks so much for sharing :thumbsup2 Your family is adorable, and it's awesome that you can enjoy Disney World so much together. I'm looking forward to the next report!

Thanks! :)

This was so fun to read! I dream of staying at the Poly, but DBF never wants to:guilty: If we were going to spend the money to do deluxe, he'd much rather do the Contemporary or Grand Floridian. I think the Poly is definitely the best mix of family-friendly and adult-oriented of the three, though.

I'm glad you enjoyed! I agree with you about the Poly being the best mix, but I've never stayed at another deluxe, so that's just based on the once or twice I've been in the others' lobbies!:rotfl:

Thanks for sharing! I thoroughly enjoyed your trip report. We'll be heading to WDW June 2010 for our first stay at the Poly and I am seriously thinking of driving my Prius. The driving is part of the reason we can afford the Poly - that and a great PIN code! '

So I am wondering, how long was your drive? Was everyone comfortable? I drive my car 2 hrs a day and sometimes it bothers my back. Trying to decide if we can manage in the Prius or if we should really consider taking the Pilot - my kids are 4 and 7.

You are welcome!

:cool1: for the Poly! I loved it there....I hope you have a great time! Are you doing a trip report?

Our drive was about 14 hours, driving time. We did most of it the first day. Really, I think everyone was pretty comfortable. Before we had the Prius we had a Jeep Liberty. My DH was never comfortable driving it, and he didn't say one bad word about the Prius! Buuut, if it's hurting your back after 2 hrs, and your drive would be longer...:confused3. But maybe you would be able to stretch at bathroom breaks enough.