"I've got a WICKED magic hangover." Trip Report ***FINISHED 12/7***

Really enjoying reading your TR :thumbsup2

Your kids are so cute and look like they are having a great time :cloud9: .

There nothing that beats the first visit to WDW :dance3: :dance3: :dance3: .
 
Hope you and your family had a wonderful halloween, make sure to post some pictures soon! :goodvibes
 
Julia, I really love reading your report. You really capture the hapiness, and still have those moments of aggrivation that we all have. Too bad you couldn't get Sara's attention. That would have been fun for you guys to meet. I can tell you from experience she's a great gal! You guys really had a magical trip it seems. Can't wait to read more!
 
Ok, it's been tooo long since the last update and I am very sorry!

Ok, so....those of you that guessed that we did NOT make our 7:45 ADR for Cape May Cafe were......

yea. SO RIGHT. There was just no way. We were so exhausted. My internal clock woke me up at 7:20 and I had enough of a mind to call the ressie line and cancel our ressie for 4- hopefully tha was enough time to satisfy any walk-up that was crazy enough to try for that morning. The CM was laughing at me because my voice was like a frog and I said, "The halloween party is a lot of fun. A lot." and told me to get some sleep! :rotfl:

Which I did. We all slept in until 9:30!!

DH said, with a groan, "I've got a WICKED magic hangover."

So the plan for this day was to hit up the infamous Wal-mart that I've heard about on the DIS. The one with the "huge" WDW merchandise section that trumps any Disney apparel and merchandise of any Wal-mart in the US.

Also to hit up Character Outlet at Lake Buena Vista Factory Shops. The discontinued and hugely underpriced authentic WDW merchandise.

Next, was Gatorland. Good for a couple hours of entertainment. Hoping to let the kids wrestle an alligator.

Dinner was Arabian Nights. A dinner show spectacular highlighting horses, magic, romance, and a 3-course meal. Better reviews than the Pirate Show in Orlando and I get to use utensils!



So how close did we follow this schedule? Well, with the dropping of Cape May right off the bat, we got a pretty late start. After a breakfast of cereal in the room, coffee in hand, we headed out to the Kissimmee Wal-mart about 11. I'm thinking we got the wrong Wal-mart. Either that- or these other DIS-ers are easily pleased. I picked up two kitchen towels and the kids got 1 tee shirt each. I didn't see anything that said WDW '08 that I liked enough to buy. I didn't see any Disney apparel that was any better than what I can find in my local Wal-mart, or on Clearance at the local Hot Topic.

Disappointed, and pinching myself as I viewed the 88cent Mickey & Minnie ponchos on our way through check-out, we headed to LBVFS for the Character Outlet! Yay! I picked this particular Disney outlet due to the fact that there was a Character Outlet near DisneyLAND that I'd planned on hitting when our original plans were to go to CA. So, I wanted to preserve something of our original trip, y'know?

LBVFS was a decent stop. First we went to the Food Court. They had AWESOME pizza that was HUGE. Jim and I each got a slice and got the kids one to split. We all got small refillable fountain drinks. I think we spent $13 for the four of us. It was nice to see non-Disney prices for the first time in 2 days.

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We got ice cream after we ate from there. It was awful. If you go there- DON"T GET THE ICE CREAM! The texture was like sandpaper. Ugh.

We went to the KB-Toy outlet. I don't remember what Ebin got. Rachael got a bear that you stuff yourself. "Annika Bear" would stay with us the rest of the day after I put her together in the car.

The Hard Rock outlet store had AWESOME prices. Unfortuneately, I'm not into that stuff. The pins were like, $1.50. Worth a stop if you're a fan of Hard Rock.

We stopped into the Ecko outlet 'cuz DH wanted to look at hats. He didn't like the choices but they had great prices as well. And a giant rhino in the window. The kids wanted to take it home. It WAS pretty cool. Rhino's are Rachael's favorite zoo animal.

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And Rach w/her bear, after I spent, like, 20 minutes stuffing the dang thing:

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On to my destination! Character Outlet! Right away Rachael spotted a Mickey Mouse umbrella she wanted. She's been needing an umbrella back home so SCORE! $4.00. I picked up two "Studio 28" by Disney shirts. A long-sleeve Alice in wonderland for $3.99. A Mary Poppins hoodie zip-up for $12.99 (reg. price was formerly $29.99) Picked up some cute bowls, a souvenir book from WDW circa 2001 or 2001-ish (I love that kinda stuff- I'm uber dork) for $5.99, some scrapbooking stickers for less than anyplace back home (wish I'd bought more!) In total I spent $50. I kicked myself for forgetting my $5 off coupon w/every purchase over $45 in the car.

It was totally worth the stop. There were a TON of Minnie/Mickey golf polo shirts, if that's your thing. $10. Lots more menswear then womens. Lots more infants then children clothing. Next trip, I'll try a different outlet. There's 3 and I think the one in Orlando Premium is the one highly recommended by Froders? Also the guidebooks all say the flea markets are AWESOME to get current or recent park items.

By this time, it was about 2:30, I think. Arabian Nights check in started at 4:30. Pre-show at 5. Dinner at 6.

With 2 hours to kill, DH suggested finding the Lego store! We'd stayed mostly toward one end of DtD when we'd gone two nights earlier, so we hadn't seen it. We saw the T-Rex Cafe and rued the fact it wouldn't be open for a couple days, our arrival-to-home day, in fact.

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The kids loved the 'sculptures' made of Legos. They played just a little bit with the outdoor station, but not very long. They liked looking in all the little windows w/the Legos inside. The guy w/the TV in his torso was pretty cool. Rach didn't get anything- she couldn't care less about Legos- even the pink ones. Ebin got a teeny character keychain. Somebody's girlfriend? From Star Wars maybe? I have no idea. I'm totally unhip to that stuff.

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I do have to say though- how the heck did someone build the Taj Mahal? Seriously?

With a pose w/the bronze Hamburgler outside McD's, we bid farewell to DtD for the final time this trip. The kids dont' even know who that is but they just had to have a pic w/the guy. :confused3

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Next Up: Are Arabian Nights like Arabian Days?
 


Glad you got some good stuff at the outlet! The kids are, as always, so cute and apparently very well behaved too. They seem to be easily pleased and go with the flow. Score for you and DH! :goodvibes
 
Too bad you couldn't get Sara's attention. That would have been fun for you guys to meet. I can tell you from experience she's a great gal!

Awww....thanks Monica! :hug:


Julia, great update! Not surprised you didn't make that ADR! :lmao: I can't tell you how late we slept that morning - have to wait till I get to that day in my report...I've got to pick up the pace I think! Sounds like you found some great bargains at the outlets. Yuck on the sandpaper ice cream though!

Those Lego displays always amaze me! I think I would rather drive toothpicks under my fingernails than build something like that! I just don't have the patience! T-rex looks cool and I've heard good things from some about the atmosphere and food (and cotton-tinis)!

Can't wait for Arabian Nights! :goodvibes

Sara
 
Another great update!

I am interested to hear how you liked Arabian Nights. I went back in 2005.
 


Too funny about the Hamburglar! Haven't thought about him in YEARS!

We have got to get to the character outlet on our next trip!

Can't wait to hear about Arabian Nights!
 
Hi julez! I hope you had a great Halloween! :)

The CM was laughing at me because my voice was like a frog and I said, "The halloween party is a lot of fun. A lot." and told me to get some sleep! :rotfl:

:rotfl:


So the plan for this day was to hit up the infamous Wal-mart that I've heard about on the DIS. The one with the "huge" WDW merchandise section that trumps any Disney apparel and merchandise of any Wal-mart in the US.

Also to hit up Character Outlet at Lake Buena Vista Factory Shops. The discontinued and hugely underpriced authentic WDW merchandise.


I HAVE to visit these places!! I could use some more Tigger stuff! :hyper: That Lego place looks really cool, too.
 
Looks like fun! We went to Legoland in So Cal last year... I thought it would be a dud but it turned out to be a really fun place! Who knew? :confused3

I love seeing your family all wrapped up around WDW and seeing all those new sites. :) I'm so happy for you guys!
 
Julia, I really love reading your report. You really capture the hapiness, and still have those moments of aggrivation that we all have. Too bad you couldn't get Sara's attention. That would have been fun for you guys to meet. I can tell you from experience she's a great gal! You guys really had a magical trip it seems. Can't wait to read more!

I know, Monica, that would've been fun. It WAS a magical trip. Even w/those aggravating moments- I take them as learning experiences.....

Hope you and your family had a wonderful halloween, make sure to post some pictures soon! :goodvibes

I was a bad mom. Again. No pix of Halloween this year. Actually, I did the best on our Disney vacation than I ever have. I'm horrible about taking pictures. As in- I don't. :laughing:

Really enjoying reading your TR :thumbsup2
Your kids are so cute and look like they are having a great time :cloud9: .
There nothing that beats the first visit to WDW :dance3: :dance3: :dance3: .

:wave2: Thanks! It was a blast!

Glad you got some good stuff at the outlet! The kids are, as always, so cute and apparently very well behaved too. They seem to be easily pleased and go with the flow. Score for you and DH! :goodvibes

DH and I tend to think they aren't well-behaved. Until we are around other people's kids. Then we're like- "Wow, we have angels."

Awww....thanks Monica! :hug:


Julia, great update! Not surprised you didn't make that ADR! :lmao: I can't tell you how late we slept that morning - have to wait till I get to that day in my report...I've got to pick up the pace I think! Sounds like you found some great bargains at the outlets. Yuck on the sandpaper ice cream though!

Those Lego displays always amaze me! I think I would rather drive toothpicks under my fingernails than build something like that! I just don't have the patience! T-rex looks cool and I've heard good things from some about the atmosphere and food (and cotton-tinis)!

Can't wait for Arabian Nights! :goodvibes

Sara

Yea, toothpicks and fingernails sound good to me to. I personally hate Legos. I mean, c'mon. Unless your kid is a future engineer- probably mom & dad are stuck putting the dang things together. T-rex looks cool but the DIS podcast crew's review was SCATHING! Don't know if I'd want to try it. We have a Rainforest Cafe out this way too so we'll probably never go to the ones out there.

Another great update!

I am interested to hear how you liked Arabian Nights. I went back in 2005.

How did you like it?

Too funny about the Hamburglar! Haven't thought about him in YEARS!

We have got to get to the character outlet on our next trip!

Can't wait to hear about Arabian Nights!

I'd try one of the other outlets or a flea market. It was good, but I'll bet there's better.

Hi julez! I hope you had a great Halloween! :)
:rotfl:
I HAVE to visit these places!! I could use some more Tigger stuff! :hyper: That Lego place looks really cool, too.

The Lego place is fun- but so crowded!

Looks like fun! We went to Legoland in So Cal last year... I thought it would be a dud but it turned out to be a really fun place! Who knew? :confused3

I love seeing your family all wrapped up around WDW and seeing all those new sites. :) I'm so happy for you guys!

They actually just opened "The Legoland Discovery Center" in Chicago-land this summer. I'm hoping to plan a trip there in the coming winter or spring. Take away our winter-away-from-Disney blues. They got a little Lego coaster through a land of Lego people or something, and a 4-D movie. Should be fun. :goodvibes
 
I was a bit disapointed in Arabian Nights. I had been to the Medieval Dinner when I was 13 and I liked that one much much better. I thought Arabian Nights was lacking. :confused3
 
I was a bad mom. Again. No pix of Halloween this year. Actually, I did the best on our Disney vacation than I ever have. I'm horrible about taking pictures. As in- I don't. :laughing:

Haha, thats ok we'll let it slide this time :laughing: You did a great job at WDW so it's forgiven :)
 
Ok...I have now caught back up after being on our trip...I have to tell you...the T-Rex place in DTD scared the briches off my daughter and almost nothing scares her. She was screaming and throwing a fit when we went to go inside...There was no way she was getting near that T-Rex and she would not believe us when we told her it was not real but a robot...Poor thing..scared her for life i think...Anyway great updates...keep em coming..:cool1:
 
I was a bit disapointed in Arabian Nights. I had been to the Medieval Dinner when I was 13 and I liked that one much much better. I thought Arabian Nights was lacking. :confused3

Really?! Gosh... I'm sad about that! On the other hand, Medieval Times and the idea of eating with my hands is so disgusting I could never go there. :crazy2:

Haha, thats ok we'll let it slide this time :laughing: You did a great job at WDW so it's forgiven :)

I tried! :thumbsup2

Ok...I have now caught back up after being on our trip...I have to tell you...the T-Rex place in DTD scared the briches off my daughter and almost nothing scares her. She was screaming and throwing a fit when we went to go inside...There was no way she was getting near that T-Rex and she would not believe us when we told her it was not real but a robot...Poor thing..scared her for life i think...Anyway great updates...keep em coming..:cool1:

That's so bad! Oh no! LOL. I'm not sure if we'll ever do that or not. The podcast's review was so bad. But I don't imagine we'll get out of Orlando WITHOUT the experience next time so it probably IS in our cards in the future... :rolleyes:
 
After leaving Downtown Disney for the last time this trip, and the Lego store, we headed to our reservation at Arabian Nights. "Rated Orlando's #1 Dinner attraction".... whether that's true or not is up to debate. I chose this dinner show over Medieval Times because we have a MT near us, and even though we have never gone- we have the choice to at any time. Also- I DESPISE eating with my hands and the idea of hundreds of people eating with their hands and licking their fingers is so disgusting to me I can't even tell you. :scared:

I'd pre-purchased our tickets through ebay for $50 for the DH and I. I purchased the kids tickets at the gate w/$10 off per our Orlando Discounts card that I recieved through the Orlando Visitor's Bureau website. Their tickets came to about $42 w/tax.

A nice woman saw me trying to photgraph DH and the kids and offered to take our picture:

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Once you're ushered in, you are taken to a photo area. During the dinner, we were shown the finished product and given an offer to purchase for $21. It included an 8x10 that comes in a commemorative photo-frame and two wallets, as well as a wallet-sized photo-frame that has a magnet. YES, I bought it. I had to- we looked great! If I can get it scanned, I'll include in at the end of this TR. They put in images of horses behind us and of an arabian-looking castle behind us. Really pretty.

You actually ENTER through a gift shop, and the kids & DH had to use the restroom so we all headed out and towards that area. After that, we took our seats in the pre-show area. There was a magician, I wish I remembered his name because that guy's got a future. He was WONDERFUL. Young, I think he said he's 23-25ish or something, and just amazing. Said he's had the oppurtunity to study and work with some of the 'great magicians' of the world. I believe it because some of the things he did were amazing! But I've never seen a magic show at all so maybe I'm easily pleased.

Here's the kids being amazed by something he's doing:

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I could NOT get a picture of the seating and the arena w/my crappola camera. Here are just a few pictures of the show and of my family enjoying themselves:

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Here's some food porn for ya:

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Now, the food. You had free-flowing beer, wine, and soft drinks. I don't remember the brand. Dinner choices for kids were chicken strips or pasta. Adults had a pasta choice, a grilled chicken choice, or a steak. I chose chicken. DH chose steak. Entree's came with mashed potatos, steamed vegetables, and unlimited rolls and butter. Dessert was a creamy, tasty ice-cream pie-type of sliced something. (Yes, I'll never be a food critique, ok?) It was good, whatever it was.

I LOVED my food and ate almost all of it. Decent portions, juicy flavorful chicken, tasty veggies. Jim liked his steak and cleaned his plate! Rachael ate both her AND her brother's salad, as DS doesn't like salad. They both ordered the chicken strips, and I think they each got 5 nice-sized ones. They each ate about 3. I tried them and they were good! ::yes::

Overall, Arabian Nights was an excellent experience. Our server was wonderful, although we'd completely forgotten about tip and had to use the ATM in the lobby to get his tip money. We tipped him $20 for our family of 4. Those waiters don't just serve. Your server also busses. He has an entire ROW of about 12-15 people and depending on what row of seating you have- has a lot of climbing with trays of food and dishes to deal with. He was attentive and happy and very Disney-like! Ray should work at Disney!

We got out about 8 and Jim suggested we go over to the Boardwalk! :yay: I had thought we were going straight home so I was quite excited about this! AND we had time to catch the fireworks @ Epcot from the position next to Jellyrolls that I'd read about!

Up next: On the Boardwalk......where we're havin' some fun! :wizard:
 
Julia, it sounds like you guys had a great time! Those horses look beautiful! I just never think about some of the outside-of-Disney entertainment when I'm there - I think I should! Great update and YAY on the Boardwalk! I've never been over there, but it sounds like a fun place to hang out after night falls! :goodvibes


Sara
 
Arabian Nights seems to be a lot like Dixie Stamped. We went to Pigeon Fordge in June and saw it but we did not realize we were gonna have to eat with our hands...We are not hand eating people, well us adults are not....The kids just shove it in anyway they can..:rotfl: But they have the pic area and preshows and stuff. It was fun and the food was great but now that we have done it not sure we will need to do it again for a while. I have always wondered about Arabian Nights and now I know....Thanks great TR..:thumbsup2
 
Glad you guys had fun! That was a good pic of the black horse in the fog... nice.

I have always wanted to do the hand eating thing.. I am totally in favor of that. Just FYI, if you have a eating with hands phobia make SURE you avoid Ethiopian food. The custom in those restaraunts is to pick up the food with your finger then feed it to the person seated next to you. Stranger or not. :lmao:
 
Great update! I am glad you guys enjoyed it. I don't remember eating with my hands at Medieval Times but it was years ago. :lmao:
 

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