A Perfect Trip: A Timeline Approach

[JamesMom]

A Perfect Trip: A Timeline Approach

This trip report will be written in a timeline fashion which may or may not be helpful to some of ya'll. I am writing it this way because when I was planning my trip I would have loved a report organized like this. Be warned – it is insanely detailed. Hopefully ya'll will like it.

The Cast
Me: 41 yo stay-at-home-mom who loves Disney World. Hubby and I were married here in May 2001 and while this will be my 8th trip, I haven't been back since the wedding.
DS: 5yo soon to be 6yo (Jan B-day). This is his first trip and he love Pixar movies and few classic Disney films. Classmates have been been so he has an idea of what's to come.

At Home:
DH: 39 yo programmer who is taking the week off to care for....
DS: 3yo cutie who has special needs and a trip to Disney is not in the cards at the moment.

The Plan
Here is a basic outline of what we did so you can decide if you want to read further
Sunday, Dec 14: flight, check-in Contemporary, Downtown Disney (T-Rex, DisneyQuest, Shop)
Monday, Dec 15: Crystal Palace, Fantasyland Rope Drop, Frontierland, rest break, Liberty Tree Tavern and nighttime events at MK
Tuesday, Dec 16: Rope Drop Studios thru Parade, rest, DS to Neverland Club, Me to Studios for 'big kid' rides
Wednesday, Dec 17: Chef Mickeys, Pirate Cruise and GF spa, Neverland club again, Me to AK for 'big kid rides'
Thursday, Dec 18: Epcot rope drop, Coral Reef, rest break, back to Epcot illuminations (no pics of this). Had planned for Rose & Crown for dinner, but canceled.
Friday, Dec 19: Rope Drop MK - Tomorrowland and Adventureland, rest, Epcot EMH- World Showcase (just kidCot and food pics)
Sat Dec 20: Rope Drop MK - Favorite Repeats, Ohana's, shop and home

Details
Hotel: Contemporary Garden Wing room, standard View
Dinning: Basic Plan FREE with package
Restuarant list:
T-Rex (DTD)
Crystal Palace (MK)
Casey's Corner (MK)
Liberty Tree Tavern (MK)
Room Service (Contemporary)
Pizza Planet (DS)
Contempo Cafe (Contemporary)
Mintzers Lounge (Drinks only, Grand Flor)
Chef Mickeys (Contemporary)
Coral Reef (EP)
McDonalds (EP - Canada)
'Ohanas
Snacks & Drinks:
Dole whip (MK)
Popcorn (MK)
Mickey Bar (MK)
Dipped Rice Crispy treat (DTD)
Mudslide Martini (GF)
Pina Coloda (Contemporary)
Cannoli & Asti (EP - Italy)
Royal Kir (EP - France)
School Bread (EP - Norway)
Budget:
Took advantage of e-mailed pincode offer for merchandise card: $600 credit = $445
6 nights Hotel, FREE dinning, 7 day park hopper tickets, insurance = $2400
Airfare [Airtran DFW/MCO]= $450
Transportation: RT Towncar to DFW $140, RT to WDW $0 Magical Express
Additional room charges (room service, tips, kids club, pirate cruise, spa and "stuff") = $700
PhotoPass CD and Book Prepurchase: $150
You add it up, I don't want to
Leftovers:
Park Days: 1
Merchandise Credit: $25 (never expires)
Table Service Meals: 2
Quick Service Meals: 1
Snacks: 0
Rice Crispy treats brought home: 4
Pictures:
Camera used: Canon Digital Elf 1100S
Memory cards brought: 2 8MB
Memory Card space used: 9 MB (!!)
Pictures taken: aprox 1300 (!!)
Pictures worth looking at: aprox 400
Photopass Pics taken: 53
Ride Pictures sneaked (took pic w/ camera): 12
Ride Pictures purchased: 2 + test track on photopass
Buffet Picture packages purchased: 2
Other:
Parades viewed: 4
Fireworks viewed: 2
Character Meals: 4
Almost Meltdowns: 3
Actual Full-blown Meltdowns: 1
Goofy Burger Bribes: 5
Wall-E toys lost: 1
Underwear Soiled: 1
Massages Needed: 7
Massages Received: 1
Alcoholic Drinks Consumed: 9

So that should be a good start.



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Preface: This trip report is written in a timeline fashion. I took pictures as we were going along and am using the recorded timestamp to recreate the trip. Enjoy!

Sunday, December 14 - Arrival and Downtown Disney

6:00 am Alarm
Hubby gets McD breakfast
6:30 am Wake DS6 & eat
7:00 am Towncar arrives
7:30 am Security check at Airport
8:30 am Board Plane
9:00 am Take off
watch Wall-E
12:00 noon Land 25 minutes early
12:30 pm Finally find and wait in ME line

1:00 pm On ME Bus
1:36 pm Arrive Contemporary
1:38 pm Check-in, get Magical Gathering button, lose DS and find him at TV
1:53 pm In Room, pictures, unpack. Room is clean and nice. Internet doesn't work - call front desk - will be handled. Low ceilings.

2:28 pm Bus to Downtown Disney
3:15 pm Check-in at T-Rex restuarant. No waiting

3:24 pm Seated
3:49 pm Food Arrives - I order burger w/ chips, DS got corn dog nuggets, chips and jello

4:10 pm leave
4:24 pm Arrive DisneyQuest - computer system down, can't buy ticket
[insert DisneyQuest pic]
4:50 pm Admitted to DisneyQuest - got in on twilight ticket $20 each instead of $42 yeah!!
did the virtual reality rides: Jungle, Alladin (x2), ride comics, space?, played with build a toy and digital easels. Waited for karaoke booth (only 2 of 4 working) but gave up. Pirates line was too long.
6:00 pm Animation Studio class

7:10 pm At Lego Store
Played a few minutes outside, bought a 'fill a container' a pint of legos for $7 and other small stuff for ~$20 total. Merchandise card NOT accepted here. Took pics of displays.
7:42 pm At Once Upon a Toy Store
Built a LightSaber and filled a PotatoHead box
Thanks Dissers for letting us know about this place!

8:10 pm Check out ~$50 total (add a Wall-E toy) on Merchandise card
8:20 pm Goofy Candy Co - get in line for Dipped Rice Crispy $3 each - what a bargin!!!
DS - Milk chocolate Dipped w/ Rainbow sprinkles & mini M&Ms
Me - white chocolate dippeed w/ rainbow spinkles and caramel drizzle
We ate off these things for three days!!
Thanks Dissers for letting us know about this place!
8:40 pm Check out

8:50 pm Bus to Contemporary
Developed evening routine. DS dress for bed, teeth and prayer, then I go take a bath. Everytime came out and DS was asleep. yes! And the internet works! But can’t view or download pics.
End of First Day

 

[JamesMom]

Preface: This trip report is written in a timeline fashion. I took pictures as we were going along and am using the recorded timestamp to recreate the trip. Enjoy!

Monday, December 15 - Magic Kingdom

6:26 am Wake up call from Stitch & Mickey (4 minutes early ...ugh)
7:43 am Off to monorail
7:46 am First Monorail Ride
8:08 am Inside Magic Kingdom
get First Visit button, first photopass pics

8:16 am Arrive Crystal Palace
8:30 am Seated and Piglet visit
8:33 am Eyeore
8:40 am Pooh parade
8:51 am find and snap Pooh and Tiger pics

8:58 am Rope Drop Fantasyland

9:01 am Dumbo: First flight! - DS LOVED this

9:06 am Pooh - closed "honey on the track"
9:08 am Peter Pan - in line
9:11 am Peter Pan - on board
9:18 am Carousel

9:22 am Snow White - in line
9:23 am Snow White - on board
9:28 am Pooh - in line
9:32 am Pooh - on board
9:36 am Pooh's Thoughtful Spot - kind of boring for a 6 year old
9:40 am Mad Hatter Tea Cups - line
9:41 am Mad Hatter Tea Cups - on board
9:47 am PhilharMagic - line
10:02 am PhilharMagic - in theatre - DS loved this
10:15 am Walk by Peter Pan - stand-by line = 20 minutes
10:16 am Small World - line
10:18 am Small World - on board
walk to ToonTown
10:37 am Barnstormer - line
10:48 am Barnstormer - on board
10:53 am ToonTown Train Station - in line
10:55 am ToonTown Train Station - on board
11:05 am Splash Mountain - get FP return = 11:50
11:08 am Big Thunder - line
11:17 am Big Thunder - on board - DS did great on his 1st real coaster
11:24 am Tom Sawyer island - on boat - DS loved this, too - good break from the 'plan'
11:57 am Tom Saywer island - boat back
Crowds are starting to really build

12:02 noon Walk by Big Thunder, stand-by = 40 minutes, FP return 3:00
12:06 pm Splash Mountain - ride FP , stand-by = 20 minutes, FP return 12:40
Buy Picture, play at Splash playground
12:44 pm Walk by Peter Pan - standby = 40 minutes
Get in line for Haunted Mansion, but DS chickened out - stand-by 20 minutes

--Continued in next post

 

[JamesMom]

Monday Continued


12:49 pm Casey Corner - lunch
2 hot dog baskets - ok food, saved cracker jacks for later

12:58 pm seated with food
1:13 pm buy balloon ($10 and still floating when we left Saturday)
watch few minutes of Dapper Dan Show

1:22 pm back on Monorail
1:31 pm Back at Contemporary
pool time and rest
First of many Pina Coladas.

DS went down slide for the first time and nearly drowned! The depth marked on the pool was 3 feet 4 inches - shallow enough for my 47" son to stand in, but the water is actually 4 feet at the slide dump with a current, so my son splashed around trying to get purchase. Well, no more slide for him the rest of the trip even when I offered to catch him or get a lifevest. Poor kid
3:45 pm leave room for MK - Monorail
more Photopass pics
4:34 pm check-in at Liberty Tree Tavern
4:44 pm seated and salad
4:46 pm Dale
4:52 pm Pluto
4:56 pm Minnie
5:03 pm Goofy
5:05 pm Food

5:20 pm Chip - first character DS hugs

5:30 pm Minnie again
5:31 pm Dessert

5:35 pm Dale again
5:37 pm Goofy again
6:09 pm park on sidewalk for evening stuff. right side of central hub.
Popcorn and buy Stitch Light up toy $15

6:35 pm Castle Lighting show ends - incredible! LOVE the castle

7:08 pm Spectro Parade appears - pictures didn't turn out too good - flash wipes out lights and no flash blurs - sigh
7:28 pm Spectro done
8:00 pm Wishes - absolutely wonderful

8:14 pm Time to leave

 

[JamesMom]

Preface: This trip report is written in a timeline fashion. I took pictures as we were going along and am using the recorded timestamp to recreate the trip. Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 16 - Disney Studios

6:47 am Room Service Breakfast – nice to let DS sleep. Room charge $45 w/tip

7:53 am At Bus Stop
8:04 am On Bus to Disney Studios
8:26 am Arrive DS - thanks to fellow Disser, Maggie for the pics!

8:40 am Line to enter DS

8:50 am Rope Drop Show Starts

8:57 am And they're off!

9:00 am In line for TSM FP

9:03 am Got FP - return time 9:50.

9:05 am Toy Story Mania - stand by Line – Yes that is 35 min stand by

9:21 am At Potato Head
9:31 am TSM - on board
9:37 am our Score

9:43 am Little Mermaid
10:10 am Tower of Terror - Get FastPass, return 10:50, Stand-by = 30 minutes
10:21 am Playhouse Disney - in line
10:26 am Playhouse Disney - in theatre
10:55 am Animation Theater - in line for Bolt, not the tour
10:56 am DreamMaker gives us Dream Fast Pass

leave animation area - DS isn't willing to sit through show to see Bolt
11:05 am Walk by Jedi Training Academy show
11:06 am Star Tours using FP - stand-by 20 minutes
11:14 am Star Tours - on board
check out gift shop
11:49 am Pizza Planet - enter
11:56 am Seated with Food

2 games of air hockey
12:28 pm Muppets - in line
12:37 pm Muppets - in theatre
1:09 pm Light, Motor, Action with FP- line
1:19 pm Seated and show Starts
1:58 pm Honey, shrunk playground
2:30 pm leave playground
2:42 pm Walk by Star Tours: Stand by = 30 minutes, FP return = 3:25
2:48 pm line up for Parade by Crossroads (50 yards of park entrance)
3:00 pm Block Party
3:16 pm Play with hats at shop and bus to Polynesian
3:55 pm Neverland Club - check in DS

4:31 pm Back at Disney Studios
4:33 pm Tower of Terror with FP - stand-by = 20 minutes
4:36 pm Tower of Terror - in TV room
4:51 pm Rockin' Roller Coaster with FP (didn't check standby time , sorry)
PhotoPass pics
5:14 pm Streetmosphere Show - comedy contest
5:28 pm Walk by tip board:
Toy Story = 80 min RnR = 35 min
Tower of Terror = 13 min Star tours = 15 min
Movie Ride = 10 min
5:32 pm Give away 2-TSM FP to Newly Weds, Get in FP Line
Stand by = 70 min
6:01 pm Great Movie Ride - no wait
Gave away pair of Tower FP to couple on way out of park
Still had Dream FP for ToT, TSM, and RnR, but didn't want to ride or give away DFP card. Call me selfish
Ride bus to Grand Floridian

7:09 pm Grand Floridian

7:26 pm Drinks at Mintzers Lounge - Mudslide martini $20 for 2 with tip

7:48 pm Orchestra Starts
8:40 pm Get DS at Neverland Club, more hats at store and heading home. DS liked club but thought I was gone too long

 

[JamesMom]

Wednesday, December 17 - Pirate Day

7:06 am Arrive at Chef Mickey's
7:11 am Pic taken and seated

7:31 am Goofy
7:36 am Mickey
7:41 am napkin parade
7:51 am Donald
7:54 am Minnie
8:01 am Pluto
leave restuarant, check out resort shops
8:45 am Monorail to Grand Floridian
8:57 am Grand Floridian Lobby

9:04 am GF Marina
9:12 am Pirate Cruise Sign-in

9:32 am Orders from Captain, board
9:39 am Set sail

10:02 am Ready for Massage at GF Spa - wonderful!!! Loved the shower gel so much I bought the set $60 (gel, lotion, scrub) total here with tip $211 (ouch!!). Had to charge to room - merchandise card was not accepted here.

11:16 am Visit Wedding Pavillion - sent picMail to Hubby - we were married here May 2001

11:29 am Back at GF Marina, ship arrives
11:33 am Disembark - DS talked about this cruise for the next 10 minutes and for the rest of the trip pointed out the places they visited. They visited 3 islands (contemp beach, TTC beach and I think Wilderness Lodge beach), had to find map pieces and find the treasure. Lunch was PB&J crustable with goldfish and juice box. Loot was Oriental trading pirate stuff. Definitely worth it!

12:21 pm Original plan was to go to AK for a couple of hours, but DS wanted to relax.
I get lunch at Contempo Cafe - Turkey BLT w/ chips, Pina colada cupcake & water

1:00 pm In room, video games (brought playstation), pool time

3:30 pm Monorail Station - Got to ride in Front to TTC! Didn't even ask! We were the only ones waiting for monorail.

3:40 pm Neverland Club check-in - they let me drop him off early. Got to look around – big screen theatre, dress up area, classic arcade room, video game area, pretend play areas – large space.

----Continued

 

[JamesMom]

Wednesday continued

4:11 pm Arrive Animal Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours

4:27 pm Parade was going on in Africa so had to wait for it to end to make it to Safari. Last safari departs 4:45. EVERYBODY went there!
4:34 pm Safari - on board - stand by 15 minutes
5:04 pm Kali River Rapids - stand by 10 min - got totally drenched , walked around in wet jeans for rest of night, but wanted to ride it in the daylight. Room Keys were checked at each ride entrance

5:22 pm Expedition Everest - stand-by 15 min. It was ok - the disorientation (switch direction, tracks) was cool effect, but too many corksrews. Like RnR better.
5:46 pm Dinosaur - stand-by 20 min
6:23 pm Tough to be a Bug
6:47 pm Head to Grand Floridan
AK is DARK at night - EMH crowd was very low
Another Mudslide Martini and listen to music - lovely
Pick up DS and head home. While DS liked the Neverland club, he didn't want to be away from me anymore on this trip. So canceled plans for club on Friday night. DS will come with me to Epcot EMH.


Preface: This trip report is written in a timeline fashion. I took pictures as we were going along and am using the recorded timestamp to recreate the trip. Enjoy!

 

[JamesMom]

Preface: This trip report is written in a timeline fashion. I took pictures as we were going along and am using the recorded timestamp to recreate the trip. Enjoy!

Thursday, December 18 - Epcot

7:48 am Contempo Cafe Breakfast - kids waffle plate and adult egg plate. 2 drinks for adults so saved water for later.

8:05 am Monorail to TTC (Ticket and Transportation Center)
8:12 am Transfer to Epcot Monorail
8:30 am In line to enter Epcot
[pic]
8:47 am Admitted to Epcot
9:01 am Rent Stroller - single $15 - accepted on Merchandise card and bought baseball hats for 40% off!
9:05 am Arrive at the Land for Soarin' - stand-by 10min - Ride stand-by. First time riders - very, very cool! DS loved this! Pic of Welcoming committee

9:40 am Get Soarin' FastPasses - return 10:45
9:44 am Seas w/Nemo - stand-by = 5 minC
9:47 am Seas - on board
9:54 am Turtle Talk with Crush - in line
9:57 am Turtle Tallk - in theatre
Visit exhibits and KidCot station
10:31 am Journey to Imagination - walk on - stand-by 5 min
10:42 am Imagination play area
10:46 am Honey, I shrunk the audience
11:30 am Jaminators show - watch just a few minutes - got an ADR to make

11:40 am Get Test Track FastPass return = 1:50
Glad i got the stroller - lots of walking!
11:45 am Check-in Coral Reef Restuarant (only 5 minutes late)

12:00 noon Seated
12:08 pm Appetizers delivered (fruit cup & tomatos for DS, lobster bisque soup for me - paid for that and wine) Ds was picky this trip and waitress gave him bowl of cherry tomatoes to eat.

12:20 pm Main course: pasta he didn't eat, NY strip steak (not good), yummy potatos and greens. DS didn’t even touch his pasta.

Dessert was creme brule for me and yogurt for DS - fogot to take a pic, sorry
1:00 pm checked out Innoventions exhibits. DS only wanted to play Bolt on Playstation
1:11 pm Walked by Tip board:
Journey to Imag = no wait Shrunk Aud = no FP avail
Seas = 10 min Circle of Life = no wait
Living with Land = 10 min no FP avail Soarin' = standby 55 min, FP return 5p
Spaceship = 30 min Ellen = 10 min
Mission Space = 30 min, FP return = 2:51
Test Track = 30 min, FP return 3:40
1:13 pm Mission Space - Stand-by green 15 min, Orange = 30 min.
We're going Green
1:36 pm Mission space play area
2:00 pm Test Track with FastPass
2:30 pm Get more Test Track Fast Pass, return 5:30p
2:33 pm Pass by Jaminators again
2:39 pm Spaceship Earth - walk on
DS LOVED the ending movie - we rode this 3x our trip and video-taped the movie on the last ride.

took Monorail to TTC
3:38 pm Boat to Magic Kingdom
walk to room
Pool time and rest - watch Lilo and Stitch for first time. bought especially for trip and Char Breakfast on Saturday
Back to Epcot
7:07 pm Spaceship earth for 2nd Ride
7:33 pm Soarin' with FastPass - stand-by = 50 min
8:13 pm Test Track with FastPass (don't know what stand- by was , sorry)
9:00 pm Spot for Illumination in Canada. Get McDonalds nuggest and fries. Son finally ate today - sigh
9:30 pm Illuminations - didn't even try to take picks - great show and had special holiday ending fireworks as encore
long ride back to room

 

[OhMari]

I like your timeline trip report.
I see a small picture in your signature, but can you post a picture of your wedding at WDW?

 

[JamesMom]

Thanks for reading. Here is a link to a whole bunch of wedding pic. Look quick because the site is going down next month I think

http://groups.msn.com/NancyandRobsDisneyWedding/_homepage.msnw

 

[JamesMom]

Preface: This trip report is written in a timeline fashion. I took pictures as we were going along and am using the recorded timestamp to recreate the trip. Enjoy!

Friday, December 19 - Tomorrowland and World Showcase

8:00 am Room Service Breakfast so DS can sleep in a little
I got Continental basket and comes with Coffee - actually a good deal for $13 and got Mickey Waffles for DS - He kept asking for them but never ate one! sigh
They forgot his fruit and after calling had it at the room in 3 minutes!!

8:42 am Walk to Magic Kingdom
8:53 am Opening Ceremony

rented a stroller - kid is getting tired
9:14 am Buzz Lightyear - in line
9:15 am Buzz - on board
Turned out to be DS favorite ride of the trip - we eventually rode it 5 times total. It wasn't until the 3rd ride he actually had a score!
9:22 am Get Buzz FastPasses - return time 10:10
9:23 am Space Mountain - stand-by = 20 min
9:34 am Space Mountian - on board. DS was a little scared of this one, but toughed it out to finish the MK Mountain Range

9:42 am Goofy Burger Stop. DS LOVED these things and used them as bribes quite liberally today and tomorrow. He had a few minor meltdowns today and an offer of Goofy burgers cleared them up quite nicely. Bad Mommy,

9:44 am Tomorrowland Speedway - Stand-by = 20 minutes
9:55 am Speedway - on board. DS liked this too, but during the last turn, didn't want to steer anymore.
10:03 am Saw PUSH - talking trash can, but didnt' try to interact with him
10:05 am WedWay People Mover - oh, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. DS loved this, too. Stayed on to ride again.
10:30 am Ran to catch next Stitch show - but as we got to our seats, DS chickended out.
10:48 am Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor - in line.
11:00 am Monsters, Inc - in theatre. Texted a joke and it was performed - DS liked that
11:20 am Buzz w/FastPass - in line - 2nd ride
11:23 am Buss - on board
11:40 am Pirates - in line , stand-by 5 min
11:52 am First Jack Sparrow sighting - broke no flash photo rule, sorry Bribed DS w/ Goofy burger if he could find all 3 Jacks - he did it

12:04 pm Jungle Cruise line - stand-by 30 minutes. Losing steam. I carried DS the whole wait. Good Mommy
12:22 pm Jungle Cruise - on board. Mommy's arms can rest
12:33 pm Tiki Room for air-conditioned rest. 80 degrees out.
1:02 pm Skipped lunch for snacks. Corn Dog for DS (NOT a Snack credit, cash $4) and Dole Whip for me (is a snack credit - but not a big fan, DS loved it though)

1:10 pm Haunted Mansion - line. Stand-by = 20 min
1:20 pm Haunted Mansion - on board. DS was scared. I held him in my lap with his face in my neck the entire time. But he toughed it out for Mommy. Didn't notice the new stuff, but maybe cause i was distracted.
1:34 pm Walked through Fantasyland
Small World = 20 min
Peter Pan = 45 min
1:39 pm PUSH the trash can again in Tomorrowland
1:42 pm Buzz Lightyear get FastPass return = 2:20
1:43 pm Ride Carousel of Progress "it's a great big beautiful tomorrow". Ride stops 2x, oh well
2:19 pm Buzz Lightyear wait in stand-by line, stand-by = 15 min
2:29 pm Buzz - on board - ride 3
2:35 pm Buzz - ride #4 with Fast Pass

2:51 pm Transit Authority again (3rd ride)
3:10 pm Wait for Parade - again on the right side of central hub. Popcorn and Mickey Bars!

3:16 pm Parade arrives

Candy store - more Goofy burgers and leave park after giving stroller away to incoming family who was very appreciative.
pool time and watch Lilo and Stitch Movie again while I pack up all our stuff
7:18 pm leave for monorail - bell choir in shops area
7:40 pm Back in Epcot

8:20 pm KidCot - Mexico - DS Loved the mask idea, he really took to it. Good so Mom could enjoy the scenery while he colored

8:37 pm Mexico ride - in line
8:39 pm Mexico ride - on board If a ride could be more lame, then this is it. I'm almost embarrassed for Mexico - should have left well enough alone.
9:05 pm Norway - Bakery for School Bread. Only got it because I read so much about it on the Dis. It's just a filled donut - not much to write home guys. LOL, it was only $2, DS didn't want any.

9:25 pm China - saw a bit of the Illuminations fireworks from way back in the kidCot station.
9:43 pm Germany KidCot
9:58 pm Italy KidCot - DS colored while I relaxed with a glass of Asti Spumante and a Cannoli

10:30 pm Japan KitCot and watch pearl lady
10:49 pm France KidCot. DS colored and I got a Royal Kir (champagne with Black rasberry or cherry liquor)

reminenced about Paris with castmember (he lives in Paris)
noticed it's getting late and while Epcot closes at 12:30a, KidCot closes at 11:30.
Speed through Morroco, USA and UK didn't have stations, had to get passport validated and mask charms from store register.
11:37 pm finished mask in Canada - again not manned

11:53 pm 3rd and final ride on Spaceship Earth - video the closing video
12:30 pm sleeping on the monorail. The kid was a total trooper. Didnt' really complain about being tired until UK. Thank goodness for the stroller.

 

[JamesMom]

Preface: This trip report is written in a timeline fashion. I took pictures as we were going along and am using the recorded timestamp to recreate the trip. Enjoy!

Saturday, December 20 - Going home

6:30 am Wake up call for me. Take bags to airport check-in and check bag.
Head to convention business center, but not open till 8 on saturday. Want to ship some stuff home - too much to carry on plane and don't want to spend $$$ for more luggage. Bring an empty bag next time!
Get breakfast at Contemp cafe and bring back to room '
7:30 am DS still sleeping. eat Breakfast. sorry no pics. I got egg platters for both of us.
8:15 am Wake DS and ask he was to sleep or go to MK - He gets up
8:40 am On Walkway to Magic Kingdom

8:54 am Another opening Ceremony - video this one
consider a stroller, but will take too long for too short a time. Carry DS to Castle
9:02 am Dumbo - 3rd flight of the day, 2nd of trip

9:18 am Mickey's Philhmagic - 2nd of trip
9:48 am Catch part of the Castle Show
9:58 am Get Buzz FastPass return 10:35
10:00 am Monster Inc show - 2nd of trip
10:35 am Ride Buzz Lightyear via FastPass - 5th ride and last FP of trip
10:42 am Ride TTA for 4th time - last ride of trip
10:58 am leave MK while everyone else is still coming in

11:34 am Check-in at Ohana, picture and seated. DS LOVES POG (pineapple, orange and guava juice) drinks 4 glasses
11:36 am Food arrives

11:37 am Pluto
11:39 am Stitch
11:52 am Lilo
11:54 am Stitch again
11:55 am Mickey
11:59 am parade
12:04 noon Lilo again
leave. Planned to go back to DTD to use up our snack credits on more dipped rice crispy treats, but DS didn't want to go. At this point, you go with his needs.
Monorail to Contemporary. Last minute shopping.
DS has only real meltdown of trip - toy store doesn't have the Wall-E toy he is looking for. Full blown out cryfest on carpet behind Fantasia. I sneak into other store to watch via glass - find if I feed it, tantrums last longer. People look at him, I wave at them through the window. A few minutes later I go to him and after a big hug, we move on.
1:30 pm Visit DVC desk for quick meeting with sales rep,. DS colored while I got the dirt and a cool book. Only took 20 minutes. The new DVC looks great - the 1 bedroom units have 2 pull out sleepers (1 double and 1 single) and TWO bathrooms. Offering $800 off so 160 points for $17K and $550 annual dues = $212 monthly payment + dues. Might consider it. Could go 1 bedroom in 1st week of December for 8 nights every 2 years.
2:15 pm Visit Business center to mail box of clothes and balloon - yes the guy offered to mail the balloon to us for FREE cause DS was about to cry if we had to leave it. *cross fingers* it gets here ok. the box of clothes and DVC goodies was $18 2nd day - not bad.
3:00 pm Board ME Bus
3:30 pm Leave Disney property – so sad…

4:00 pm Arrive airport - last minute shopping for Wall-E toy - Happy kid
Get to gate and realize flight is delayed 1 hour.
DS goes to bathroom, #2 and gets underwear dirty - through away
dinner at airport
Lost new Wall-E toy at airport - of course
Finally on plane
Driver at DFW can't find us
Finally get luggage 40 minutes after landing
10:30 pm CST FINALLY HOME

The trip was perfect, no glitches until we left Disney property Disney magic was everywhere. Cast members greeted us on the streets at all park openings - very helpful and cheerful. I had a huge smile on my face walking around - how can you not?
We did everything we wanted. Paced it well to keep DS happy and rested. Can't wait to come back.

If you possibly need more details or see more pics - please let me know

Hope you enjoyed this report.

 

[OhMari]

Thank you for sharing your WDW Wedding photo's.

Did you get a Tower room or that back stretch at the Contemporary.

We toured the contemporary, or I should say, we spent some time out by the bar pool. We noticed the rooms over by the lake.

 

[DearDaisyinDurham]

What a fantastic TR! Enjoyed it thoroughly, you both look as if you had a blast!!! Thanks for sharing your trip!!

 

[Kurby]

WOW - i LOVE trip reports with tons of pics.

you did not disappoint - thank you

 

[JamesMom]

All I want for Christmas is for people to read my trip report, hint, hint.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

 

[ktcov]

We are planning on going next December the same week as you went... How were the crowd levels?

 

[JamesMom]

We are planning on going next December the same week as you went... How were the crowd levels?

I thought the crowds were fine. As you can tell by the report didn't wait more than 20 minutes for many rides (TSM, Jungle Cruise and Soarin that I can recall). Empty? no, but definitely doable. We did everything we wanted to do in the time we had and we were in no way 'park commandos'. That to me is sign of a sucessful trip
Gotta do TGM or UG and have a plan. I saw lines and crowds build during the day and would have been very disappointed in the waits if I didn't follow 'the plan'. Hitting fantasyland first thing paid off - things we practically walked onto between 9-10 am had 20-40 minutes at 11am. Look at the crowd on Main Street on Saturday as well left at 11am and Frontierland around noon was packed. However, at EMH at Epcot and AK were rather light.

 

[MinnieLove]

Great report. We are taking twin 5 yr boys in March. I know my boys will have siilar interests and dislikes. I will definitely plan for stroller in Epcot - you changed my mind!
Bless you and your family!

 

[mommyofthreeboys]

Loved reading your report! That's exactly how I make my notes in my notebook!!!

Thanks for sharing!

 

[emurray]

Sounds like you had a beautiful trip with your son!! Thanks for posting the report I enjoyed it and loved the pics.

How do you get a twilight ticket for Disney Quest? I can't seem to find any info.

Thanks!