06/06-06/11 Assault on Disney's Beaches: Update 8/13, Swag Pics on last page

[swwake]

Wow! Your trip is getting really close!

 

[SurfinTX]

I have sprung a little surprise on the family today! I had been working on it for a while now and it all came together after school. Over the last few weeks I have been gathering items from various stores that are Disney or Star Wars related. Then yesterday I went to one of the few remaining Disney Stores in Dallas to grab a gift card for Kyler, a shirt for Dianna, Marie for Madison and Doug for Michael.

At the same time I downloaded a few fonts and printed out a semi-official looking letter from Mickey hoping that they will enjoy their trip and hoping that they enjoy a few select items he picked out for us.

I packed it in a shipping box placing a fairly decent fake shipping lable from Disney and placed it outside just before the kids started arriving home. I come in and Dianna is in the back at the time. After greeting her I settle down and wait. Right on time the kids come home and bring in the box. They obviously didn't check too close because they seem to be dragging a bit.
Me: "Hey! What's that?"
Madison: "A box. Probably something Mom ordered."
They place it on a table and put their backpacks away. I let them go on their way shaking my head. After changing and coming back out I made sure I had the camera ready.
Me: "Can you check to see who the package is for?"
Madison heads over and I think she figures it out.

At this point they run out and get Dianna. At that moment she was a bit put out by being dragged away from yardwork. The kids were beside themselves and Dianna was a bit confused as I gave her a wink.
After she opened it up she read the letter and started pulling things out.

You can tell Michael is a big Star Wars fan with no Doug in sight. He also recieved darth vader socks. He wore them to school this morning if that tells you anything.

A few quotes I heard later on.
Madison: "If Disney is this much fun now how much will it be when we get there?"
Kyler: "Where can I spend this?" Me and Dianna at the same time: "Disney! Duh!"

All in all a pretty sucessful evening. The kids are checking out the coloring and sticker books as I type. It's always nice to spread some magic around.

 

[swwake]

You are a super cool dad!

 

[SurfinTX]

You are a super cool dad!

Why thanks! Heck, this is a once in a lifetime trip and I have no problem spoiling our kids. It's been a long school year and it's almost over now.

 

[SurfinTX]

Remembering '07

Since we are now entering a period that little is happening on the current trip for a while I thought it might be nice to recall my prior trip to Disney World in March of '07. So without further ado, let's jump right in.

Jumping into my Wayback Machine and dredging up a few memories I'm going to try to keep everything in order. You will have to forgive me if I jump around all of a sudden but I will try to keep everything in order. First up, the Cast!

From the Left: Your's Truly, My Mom, My Niece Emily(8), My Dad and my Brother.

Planning: For the most part my Mom did most of the planning for this trip. Emily, being my favorite only niece, was getting old enough to handle all the rides at diney but not too old to think the magic was corny yet. From my point of view I was going to tag along and enjoy watching Emily have fun and then split off from time to time to do whatever comes to mind. In short, I was winging it.

That is not to say that I was flying blindly into the the Most Magical Place on Earth. I had several friends go in the prior years and I still had a few memories of when I went back in 1983 during EPCOT's opening. Still I wasn't too concerned with day to day planning since I saw my mom doing a lot of work getting us ready. My parents were using some saved up miles with Delta so that was a bonus. All I needed was to pay for half a room with my brother, the DDP and 5 days of tickets. I do remember there was some kind of mix-up with our travel agent and my information was all screwed up. Around November we discovered it and had to redo my airline tickets which I handled after a few frustrating phone calls over the next month.

My Mom had decided on 2 rooms at Port Orleans, Riverside. Me and my brother would share one and my mom, dad and Emily the other.

This trip was during Emily's spring break as well as my brother's birthday in March so it was time to celebrate!

Next Up: We are on our way!

 

[SurfinTX]

Remembering '07 cont. - We are on our way!

Packing up Friday(with only one bag for the trip ) I head out to my parents place to stay overnight. The next morning we get up quite early since it's a 60 mile drive to DFW and we have an 8:00 am flight. Everything goes smoothly at bag dropoff and my Dad parks the car in the remote lot.

There is quite the line at security as many people are not prepared for all of the requirements. Many items are being thrown out, especially liquids. Luckily for me I'm wearing slip-on shoes and checked my only bag (with no fees ) Arriving at the gate with time to spare a bookstore is right next door selling coffee and scones. Very convenient. While snacking I brows the bookstore and find Wicked. I had heard about the play on Broadway recently and figured what the heck and picked it up as well. On a related note I will be seeing it for the first time in Dallas in mid-June.

By now my dad arrives and we get our boarding passes but something doesn't seem right. The four passes for my mom, dad, bro and Emily are handed to them. I walk up and the lady at the counter and she said my confirmation was separate from theirs (remember the ticket troubles I had earlier?) Oh great, I think, I'm going to be separated from the rest of the party. I was relying on my mom to get this handled and maybe I should have taken a greater roll. A bit worried a move up to the counter. She smiles and said there is no problem and hands me the pass.

"You have been upgraded to first class, Mr. SurfinTX."

Well, alrighty then! Bemused I walked back to everyone and showed them my pass. I guess it was worth all the trouble I had getting it set up then. Eventually boarding is started and I got to go on first. My seat is on the first row of an MD-80 with plenty of leg room. Right off the bat a stewardess asks if I need anything which I say no since I had no coat or bag.

Back in the late 80's and early 90's my mom used to work for Delta as a reservationist. I took advantage of flying standby at that time and more often than not flew first class. When you flew on these tickets you had to dress up nicely and often had to wear a coat and tie. Not this time since it was a reward flight.

This flight was not very full in first and it looked to be packed in coach so my typical domestic first class experience was much different this time. The stewardess was persistant and asked if I was sure I didn't want a drink at the moment. Well I certainly can't refuse! I order an orange juice and then stretch out. A few minutes later, drink in hand, the rest of my family boards.

This would be Emily's first flight and naturaly she was excited.

I head back to first and wait for departure. The stewardess takes the drink and takeoff is uneventful. About 15 minutes later the stewardess asks do I want a hot or cold breakfast today? Why not a hot one since I have eaten cereal at home and a scone at the airport already. I think it was a cheese egg with biscuit. Nothing to write home about but it's not often anything is served on domestic routes these days. The flight was very nice but I avoided any alcoholic drinks since it was so early.

Relaxed and well hydrated we arrive at MCO and deplane. Making our way to Magical Express sign-in we sit and wait. It was about 10:30 am now and there was quite a line. We sit as mom waits in line for us.

...and we waited. It took about 30 minutes for mom to get through that line. Obviously the Spring Breakers were flooding into town. We get in the line for the bus and just miss one leaving for our resort. About 20 mins later we board and wait for only a bit since it filled fast. The driver starts a video for us and we happen to be the second stop after POFQ.

Now for the next line. Our room is not ready but that is no problem at all since we were looking forward to heading right out.

Next Up: Let the Magic Start

 

[SurfinTX]

Remembering '07: Let the Magic Begin!

Off to the bus stop we go which was right next to to the exit thankfully. While waiting we saw several ducks transiting from one waterway to another as well.

It was a ten minute or so wait for the bus to Magic Kingdom. On the way our bus driver had all kinds of tidbits to say. He kept the kids pretty entertained. We had to stop at all the other pickup points around POR and so the trip lasted about 20 minutes. Finally we arrived at Magic Kingdom around 12:30 pm and boy we were starving. We quickly get a picture taken at the gate and then it was off to Frontierland to eat at Pecos Bills. I managed to snap one pic on main street and a pic of Emmy next to the castle as we bustled our way to some food.

It turned out that that picture of Emily was probably the best I took during the trip. My parents printed an 8x10 for themselves.

At Pecos Bills I wasn't really feeling up for anything too heavy so I picked a chicken wrap and fruit. Feeling better now we look around and have pretty much only one choice. If you couldn't tell by the clothes we were wearing it was a bit unseasonably cool for mid-march and so Splash Mountain was out of the question. Over to BTMRR it is. At this point we didn't quite have the system of how to use fastpass figured out yet. It didn't really matter since the FP return was already quite late and we were planning to head over to MGM in the evening. Standby was about 30 minutes and it was a cool day.

Emily enjoyed this rollercoaster immensly. It wasn't too high or extreme but fast enough to get a some screams. Afterwards we said we would come back to this at a later date. Finishing that we headed down to Adventureland. POTC had a very long wait so passed that by. We got lucky at the next ride it seems because the Magic Carpet Ride was coming back from some down time. In no time we get on and enjoy the ride.

Close by is the Jungle Cruise and for some reason there was only a small wait time for this as well. I have some fond memories of this ride as a child and thought it would be fun to give it a go. As promised the wait was less than 10 minutes and our boat departed. Our captain seemed to really enjoy her job. Whithin minutes she had the adults winking at the corniness and the kids laughing at the silly lines. Emmy volunteered to pilot the boat and she really got into it. Later she received a card saying that she was an honorary boat captain. What stood out from this ride was we all started to sing It's a Small World as we went through the tunnel. Even the captain said it was a very unusual ride with all the families really getting into the spirit of the ride.

Around this time my Dad recieves a text saying that our rooms are ready. We all agreed to head back and unpack and plan the rest of the day.


Next Up: 'Ole Swimmin' Hole and Tidings of Things to Come.

 

[SurfinTX]

Remembering Dis '07: Ole' Swimmin' Hole and Tidings of Things to Come.

It's now mid-afternoon on Saturday and we are heading back to the PO: Riverside resort. We have adjoining rooms on the second floor of building 14 in Alligator Bayou and the closest building to Boatwrights and Riverside Mill.

Me and my brother get settled which took about 5 minutes. Of course when I go over to my parent's room they are taking a lot longer. On top of that Emily really wants to go swimming. Everyone else was looking a bit run down but I was game. Two minutes later I had changed and then had to wait for Emily. Talking with my mom and dad I asked about what dining plans they had? At this point they said they were not sure and that we were going to MGM to see Fantasmic. I figured we could get a reservation for a sit down meal in that park after the show. Me and Emily head over to the reservations desk on the to the pool to get things handled for tonight.

So I'm just a strollin' on into the lobby and see the sign for setting up dining reservations. I grab a map of MGM and check out what restaraunts are located in the park. One location catches my eye. With a smile I ask the nice lady could I make a reservation for the Sci-Fi Theater? Well. I don't know how often she has to do this in a day but you could tell she really didn't want to shatter my hopes and dreams for the rest of the trip. I must have had a really sincere smile as the Disney aura was settling upon me over the last few hours. So, after a few blinks, she smiles apologetically and says that will most likely not be possible. At this point I learn that most ADRs are made months in advance and that many popular restaraunts are booked solid.
The concierge did make some recomendations and said to try a walk-up to 50's Prime Time. Nodding I headed off with Emily to the pool. In my mind at this point I was still thinking no big deal. It would require some flexability but that's my middle name.

Making our way across the bayou to the pool I was impressed by the landscaping. The pool felt like it was really snuggled away from the resort. It was heated thankfully as what little warmth was fading in the long shadows of early evening. Emily was a decent swimmer but didn't feel confident with the amount of water coming off the slide. I promised to stay at the bottom and she worked up her courage. Even heated I found the water to be a bit cool but I'm used to pools and the ocean being over 83 degrees. After a bit I bee line it over to the hot tub. Now that hits the spot. Sorry but I have no pictures. After a bit mom comes up and watches Emily for a while. I let her know what I found out about dining and then get ready.

Back on the bus and we are off to MGM which will be a first for all of us. Arriving at the park we make the right turn and get in line for the 7:00 pm showing of Fantasmic. The line was already forming but they let us feed into the seating area well before the show started.

Emily getting a bit annoyed at the wait.

The show was amazing! Well, I have to admit I was limited to Six Flags as far as other park experiences so this raised the bar considerably.

Sorry about the quality of the images but most of the show is quite dark or has high contrast between the flames and characters. I switched over to video recorder mode early on. We all loved the show but now we were getting quite hungry again as it was now approaching 8:00pm. Off we go to 50's Prime Time to check in. They say we had an ADR for 8:30 for us. I suppose the concierge did find something after all! So we sit and watch a few clips on the vintage tv in the waiting area. Then we wait some more. The video repeats. We go outside. We look at things in the area. More time passes. Finally, right before 9:00 pm, we get called. Emily is definantly not happy and the bellies are rumbling.

Once seated though the service was nice. I ordered the meatloaf and found it to be very nice (from what I remember). I loved the decorations and the server ribbed Emily a few times for eating so fast. Again no pictures I'm sorry. I think we just wanted to get in and out as fast as we could to get to bed...which we did. Tomorrow would be a full day with plans on going to a Sunday revival brunch at House of Blues, Animal Kingdom during the day with Spectro and Wishes to finish it off. Can it be done? Should it be done? Tune in to find out.

 

[SurfinTX]

Remembering Dis '07: Day 2, Meltdowns, Mistiming and some Magic.

After faling asleep around 10:30 last night I found myself waking up very early Sunday. This would become a pattern for the whole trip. I take my time getting ready and still had time to spare. I decided to take a walk around the resort and check things out. I walked over to POFQ and found I really liked the landscaping and building design. Again no pictures.

Arriving back at my room later I found that everyone else was getting ready to head over to DTD. My parents had some snacks in thier room to tide us over since it would still be some time before we ate this morning. My memory is dim but I believe we took the boat up the Sassagoula River. When we arrived it was a fair walk all the way around the lake. Very little was open and only a few walkers were about. Passing by the Lego Store I had to get a picture of Nessie of course.

Finaly we end up at the House of Blues only to see that it wasn't open yet as well. It was about 9:30 and the Gospel Brunch was at 10:30... We all turned to my mom and wondered what was going on here. Well, I won't go into any details but we were disapointed and very hungry. It was decided that we should push on to Animal Kingdom and eat there and not lose any more park time. However, our trials were not over yet. Arriving at the bus stops we find a bus heading to Pop Century. We ask the driver are there any scheduled for Animal Kingdom on the way? Of course not. We would have to connect with a resort. Nerves are really getting frayed now. With little choice we hop on the bus and ride over to be dropped off at Pop Century. Getting off the bus all we see are lines everywhere for park busses. I mean huge lines. That in of itself left me with a very negative impression of value resorts. At this point my dad gave up since he was so hungry. He decided to eat at the food court and split off from us. Boy this day is turning out to be a doozy.

Time passes and we finaly the four of us board the bus to AK. Arriving at AK somwhere around 10:30 am. Rushing quickly into the park we puse for nothing looking quickly for something to eat. My brother sees Flametree BBQ and beelines it over there. Not really in the mood for BBQ so early I look at the map and see that Pizzafari is the only other option that's close. It's a far cry from brunch but Emily was far happier with pizza in her tummy. At Pizzafari I happen to make a lucky find, though. I didn't really want to use another CS credit yet knowing I had basicaly 2 meals a day and a snack. At Pizzafari I noticed they had breadsticks with marinara sauce as a snack credit. It was just enough to keep me going. BTW my brother said that his BBQ sandwhich was really nice for a CS meal.

With that out of the way it's finally time to see the park! Emily had to see the dinosaurs so it's off to Dinoland. First up is Dinosaur! We still haven't figured out the fastpass strategy so in line we go.

So here is the before picture as we are loading up.

I wish I had got a ride photo. Emily is sitting between me and my brother as we settle in. Then the load noises start. It gets very dark. It gets very bumpy. Dinosaurs are doing bad things. Emily steadily sinks lower and lower into her seat. We tell her it's OK but she is having none of it. No tears or anything but she was not going to watch any more. I personaly found the ride to be a great bit of fun but no need to repeat. About this time my dad calls and says he is the way. We let him know we will stay in Dinoland and decide to ride the Primeval Whirl. Now this ride is right up Emmy's alley. It's not too high. It spins. And nothing jumping out at you. Big thumbs up from her.

My Dad arrives and we meet up with him near the Oasis and take this pic of the Tree of Life.

We then make our way over to Africa and make our first effective use of Fastpass by grabbing them for Kilimanjaro Safaris. As we wait for the time window we enter the Pangani Forest Trail.

Oh I had forgotten we picked up those antenna over at Chester and Hester's.


Day 2 to be Continued...

 

[SurfinTX]

Remembering Dis '07: Day2 Cont.

After finishing the Pangani Trail we hop the train over to Rafiki's Planet Watch. From what I remember we didn't see a whole lot during this part of tour. No animals to be seen from the train and only a handful around the petting areas. I do remember a CM showing a large snake and allowing children to touch it. Again, Emily was having none of that. After about 40 minutes we hopped on the train and headed back.

About this time our FP for Kilimanjaro Safaris had come up and it was only a short wait to board our transport. It was quite late in the afternoon and many of the animals were snoozing at this time. It was a nice trip and I did get a few good pictures but I found the back story to be very underwhelming.

The afternoon was wearing on when we finally entered Asia. The park was starting to get very crowded. Discussing what to do next my brother, mom and Emily decide to head back to the room to relax and swim. Me and my Dad decide to push on to Expedition Everest and then leave after that.

As you can see from that last picture the area around EE was jumping! FP was gone and standby was about 45 minutes. Still, both me and my dad are thrill seekers so we jumped in line. Time passes and enjoy the line theming. The teenagesrs certainly did like ringing the bells as often as they could though. So we get into the buildings and start seeing the loading gates getting close when... uh, oh. EE is shut down. They offered FP but we were leaving the park after this ride anyway.

Well, a bit dejected me and my dad head back to the resort as well and catch up with the rest of the family. The day isn't over yet since we have an evening planned at the Magic Kingdom next.

 

[SurfinTX]

Remembering Dis '07: Day 2 Yet More!

Having left Animal Kingdom me and my dad bussed back to POR to clean up a bit. The plan was to head to Magic Kingdom to watch Spectro and Wishes and then maybe catch a few rides. If you remember earlier all I had eaten today was some breadsticks from Pizzafari earlier and my stomach was giving me a stern reminder by this time. I quickly find the rest of the family preparing to go swimming. Emily loves the pool and my mom and brother are about to head there. I told everyone that I'm going ahead to the park to get something to eat and that they could catch up when they were done.

So off I go and hop on the bus again to make my way to Magic Kingdom. By now I was starting to think I was really getting my money's worth from Disney Transportation. Arriving around 5 pm I head in and try to figure out where I'm going to eat. Looking at my map I decide to start at the beginning and work my way deeper into the park and see if any TS places have an opening. First up was Tony's right on Main Street. Keeping my expectations low I walk up to the maître d’ and inquire. After quickly checking she said yes if I don't mind eating outside on the terrace and could seat right now. I said that would be no problem at all. I was led to a table for two right next to the railing with a view of the entrance and Main Street. the temperature was about 65 as the sun was setting and I had to say it was a very nice place to people watch.

As soon as I was seated I called my dad. He answered and said that everyone else was just getting back from the pool but he was just leaving to eat as well. I told him to haul butt over here as fast as he could. After the server arrived with the water I told him that I would have someone joining me soon. Would that be a problem? They said it wouldn't be and took my order. Back in '07 the DDP included apps as well as no tipping required. I was going to make sure to tip a little extra afterwards with how well the servers were handling this impromptu situation. Just after my drink and app arrive my Dad shows up and sees me over the rail. I wave him over to the entrance and he soon joins me.

I had the chicken alfredo and found it be easy on a very hungry tummy. I can't remember exactly what I had for desert. Overall I came away with a feeling of satisfaction and being very relaxed as I watched people hustle and bustle nearby. Just as we were finishing up the rest of the family arrives and sees us. I tell them they can try to get in but by this time the restaraunt as well as all of Main Street was filling up in preparation for Spectro. My poor mom. This hasn't been her day at all. Me and my dad head down and try to get a spot to watch the parade while my mom quickly decides to go to the deli nearby. After a few sandwiches and time to settle down several CMs invited the children in the area to play a few games like duck, duck, goose! and red light green light helped the time to pass.

As dusk finally settled in the lights go out all along Main Street and the ooo's and ahh's start.

After the end of the parade passed by we decided to try to ride the Haunted Mansion. I had been looking forward to this since this ride was one of the few memories I had of the '83 trip. However, it took forever to get over there since we had to follow the parade route to get there. Still, I got a few pics of the castle on the way by. Part of this next pic is in my avatar.

Well, I have no more pictures of this night for two reasons. First, none of mine turned out in the Haunted Mansion which is no surprise. Secondly, after we finished this ride (which was a blast from the past!) Wishes was about to start. Unfortunately, not knowing where the fireworks would be going off we plunked down near where Liberty Square and Frontierland meet. From here we could only catch the upper parts of the show. Afterwards I thought it was nice but really no big deal. Of course after seeing pics on the Disboards I knew how much I had missed. Back then though I was blissfully unaware. From there we decide to ride the teacups before finally leaving the park at around 10:30 pm.

By the time we arrived back at the resort both me and my brother had looked at each other and realized we had been to three parks and have yet to ride any of the big attractions yet. It was time to correct that situation.

 

[SurfinTX]

Remembering Dis '07: Day 3 Now we're getting serious.

After (from what I remember) a fitfull night rest me and my brother were up and ready at the crack of dawn. We began discussing what we were going to do and fugured a CS breakfast here would be convenient and then we can go back to AK to do what we missed. AK was also the early EMH that day as well.

Breakfast at the Sassagoula was buffet style and had several choices of both hot and cold foods with a southern touch. I dug into some scrambled eggs, bacon, biscuits and some pancakes. Everything was fair tasting, nothing spectacular but I'm not expecting that from a buffet. At 7:30 we were on the bus and we arrived just minutes before rope drop. As we passed through the gates we noticed there were not all that many people waiting and as the CMs started to allow the guests in we had clear sailing all the way out to EE. The ride was a power walk on and we found ourselves on the first train of the day. This coaster is a unique experience. It mixed a mine train ride with a dark ride as well as a change in directions, twice! Overall I would say it was a great first time ride but not overly thrilling for a big coaster junkie like me.

After getting off me and my brother realized that there really wasn't anything left at AK that we really wanted to do. Shrugging at each other we march our way out of the park and hitch a bus to...MGM. The timing couldn't have been better and we arrived again just as rope drop started. If my memory serves the couple of the day were two newlyweds who were sped off to Tower of Terror ahead of the crowd. We made the right turn as well and first grabbed Fast Passes for Tower of Terror and then got in standby for Rockin' Rollercoaster which had about a 20 minute wait. Finally I had a chance to pull out my camera and take a few pics.

Not having done any research about this ride either I quickly saw that it was a powered launch coaster. This was also a first for me as all the other rides with some kind of launch system are usualy out and back rides. This one was entirely a dark ride as well with a few inversions that caught me off guard. I found that a lot of the thrills were front loaded on this ride and it petered out by the end. Many coasters have this problem so I'm not holding anything against it. The music playing while onboard really added to the thrills as well.

After that we took on the Tower of Terror. Our FPs time window was not quite up but standby wasn't too bad.

I loved the theming of an old Hollywood hotel with all kinds of authentic touches.

After the introduction we were escorted onto the elevator and off we went. Again I loved the theming and some of the special effects along the way. Now I was looking forward to the final part...the drop. My friend had gone to Disney several years earlier and was raving about that part of the ride. We reached the shaft and then... had a few small drops. I didn't know it at the time but sometime earlier someone with a heart condition had died shortly after they had rode this. Since then the drop routine had been set to run slower and not as far. I found it to be...mildly stimulating. Now this is from a person who rode the Cliffhanger at Six Flags in Arlington where you went from wieghtless to 9 instantaneous gravities. The tower of Terror felt like about 1/4 g to about 3 Gravities. Still a great ride but not quite what I was expecting.

Me and my brother then make a dash across the park to see Star Tours. Both of us are big Star Wars fans and had seen all the movies together over the years. The standby was building but still less than 30 minutes so right in we go.

Again, a fun little motion simulator ride, but you could tell the ride is a bit dated. By this time it was getting to be about 11 am and my brother wanted to head back to the room to rest. I figured this was a good time to find out where everyone else was at and meet up with them. Parting ways my brother heads for the bus and I pull out my cell phone.

 

[SurfinTX]

Remembering Dis '07: Day 3 Cont.

While me and my brother were hopping all over AK and MGM my mom, dad and Emily made it to the opening of Magic Kingdom. They also had a reservation for a tea service with Cinderella in her castle. They said they enjoyed this but I'm leaving this part vague and try to get more information from them next chance I get to talk.

Anyhoo...around 11:00 they had finished with Cinderella and my brother was heading back to the resort. I gave my parents a call to find out what they were doing next. They said it was about time to visit EPCOT and I agreed to meet them there. Leaving MGM I noticed that there were signs for a boat transfer available to EPCOT. Well that sounded like a perfect idea! Lo and behold a boat was right at the dock ready to go as well! After a short transfer over at the Boardwalk I arrived at England just as the World Showcase was showing some life. With a bit of time before the others would arrive I check the area a bit when these people start setting up right in the middle of the road.

It was no other than the World Showcase Players doing the "King Arthur and the Holy Grail" skit. Being so early in the day only 15 of us were watching/interacting and it was quite intimate. After not having done any research it was dumb luck I stumbled upon this performance which made it even entertaining for me.

After the show ended my parents were getting close so I went to see about lunch. I knew my parents had not set anything up yet and figured to check something interesting on the map, the Coral Reef. I arrived at The Seas and stopped for a moment. Looking around it wasn't obvious where the Coral Reef was located. Following the signs around the side I eventually came to set of double doors leading to the restaraunt. Talking with the host I secured an 1:30 pm ADR. My Irish luck is holding for now.

About this time my parents arrive with Emily and we decide to go to The Land as we still had a bit of time before lunch. Soarin' was impossibly long but we took note to try to arrive early another day to try to ride it. Living with the Land was only a short line, however. Again, no pictures but I did enjoy looking at all the hydroponics. Emily, not so much. Oh, well.

Now it was time for Lunch at the Coral Reef. We all pretty much agreed after the trip that it was the best meal of the trip. I had the Creamy Lobster Soup, Salmon and a wonderfull Mousse. Our server was excellent and the place was very quiet while we were dining.

In 2007 you could still request a scuba diver come over with a custom sign.

Well satisfied it was time to do EPCOT properly starting with going to the other side of the park to grab fastpasses for Test Track. Nearby was the World of Energy with Ellen Degeneres. The older version of this ride was not open yet when I had visited EPCOT in 1983 so I was interested. My Dad, however, not so much. He is a bit conservative and also works in the petroleum industry and had all kinds of visions of being shown how bad oil is. Still, we talked him into it. For me the ride was nice and relaxing and I'm a HUGE fan of Bill Nye. Afterwards my dad allowed that it was a fairly balenced presentation if a bit slow and generic. You have to understand that we have been to the East and West Texas oil museums as well as been on site during rig contruction and drilling so we did find it very...elementary.

Next door we jumped in line for Mission: Space! The standby time was not too bad if it's space related you know I'm in! Not knowing much about this ride we are told there are two lines. Green for a less intense experience and orange for more intense with spinning. There wasn't even a question on which one we were going on. Orange it is! Soon we were led to a room and Lt. Dan tells us to get ready for spaceflight. How did I like it?

Well it is now my most favorite ride in Disney! The feeling for me was very realistic with considerable wow factor. This was a must repeat ride for me. Afterwards we went into the gift shop and clicked one picture. Sorry mom and dad.

Finaly it was time for our FP on Test Track.

This ride is an all too common example of raising expectations too high in the presentation and not quite meeting them. I found the ride to be well designed, educational...but not very thrilling. It's definantly a must ride once but with little repeat desireability.

By now it was getting into the late afternoon hours and we needed to figure out what to do with the evening. To be continued...

 

[SurfinTX]

Well it looks like I won't get much further into my Disney '07 memories for now. I have been too busy getting things settled down at work and preparing for the trip. Today I went shopping for food to take along on the drive which includes:

Milk
Chips
Sandwich Meat and Bread
Jello Pudding
Starbucks Coffee
Beef Jerky
Dr Pepper and Sprite
Water
Juice
Mint Oreo Fudge Cookies

I have just finished cleaning the van and checked that everything is tip top. Last night we began the serious packing of clothes and tonight well be the sundries and toiletries. Hopefully by tommorrow evening all we have to do is load up and go.

The kids are starting to get restless. Less than 24 hours until departure!

 

[SurfinTX]

We have made it back!

After a good night sleep the family is starting to return to reality. Dianna is off to work and I'll be going tonight as well.

Now it's time to start the trip report. I'll start editing the pictures today and hopefully have everything organized by tomorrow.

How was the trip? Did we get everything done in the plans? Stay tuned to find out!

 

[SurfinTX]

Here We Goooooo!

It's Friday finally and the last day of school for the kids. All of the food has been bought and the Van is ready.

Here is the view as it is fully packed just before pulling out.

We depart at 6:45 pm and steel ourselves for an estimated 18 hours of driving ahead of us. Dianna gets us started behind the wheel. Luckily the video player is available and we can lay down to rest if necissary. Night falls as we pass out of east Texas and turn onto I-49 heading south. We make our first stop at Alexandria to fuel up and change drivers. It's about midnight and I managed about an hour nap. Now it's my turn and as we turn onto I-10 I start to gauge that we are doing really well and are ahead of schedule according to Google Maps. All of the kids are asleep now and we are really eating up some road now. Baton Rouge and the Mississippi River are past us now and our next bathroom break is reached at the Mississippi border rest stop. I'm still feeling good from the nap I had earlier so I continue driving as Dianna lays down. Kyler and me now talk and ride our way through two more states and we reach Mobile and it's tunnel. I'm finaly tiring out as we reach the other side of the bay so it's time to switch again.

I wake Dianna at 6:00 am and I lay down. Almost instantly I fall asleep which is unusual on a road trip. Either I was really tired or I'm getting used to this road driving. The next thing I remember the sun is well up in the sky and we are almost in Tallahassee. It's becoming increasingly obvious that Google Maps estimates are based on daylight driving with heavy traffic. I was expecting to have to eat breakfast just after Pensacola so now we are about two hours ahead of schedule.

Seeing that we were doing so well and everyone needed to take a break we decide to do as Donkey does and get some waffles. We also refill the tank again and after adjusting our watches to eastern time we resume our trip just before 10:00 am. Dianna takes over again as I will drive the last bit since I memorized the layout near Orlando. Kyler lays down again because he stayed up with me for most of the night and on this part of the trip a click a few pictures of our increasingly restless children.

We finally arrive at I-75 and we switch drivers again. Now everyone is awake and the inevitable questions start. Once we reached the Florida Turnpike I heard Michael ask us twice how much longer within 5 minutes. Still, it was only a bit farther and soon we quickly turned onto U.S. 192 and found our Holiday Inn West to end our drive at 2:30 pm. Even with an hour long break in the middle, multiple pit stops and losing an hour we had arrived an hour earlier than expected. The hotel was ready for us and had a roll away with two queen beds reserved.

Soon we were unpacked and after a light lunch we hit the pool to work out the kinks and let the kids burn off some energy.

The first part of the trip is behind us. Now it's time for the real vacation to start!

Plan: To arrive at West Orlando before 3:30 pm. Check!

Next up: Let's do some shopping!

 

[jdd]

Just hopped over from the Poly thread - so excited to read your report! We'll be at the Poly CL from 8/31-9/4, and can't wait to hear more about it.

We're also drivers to Disney (with three kids), and though our trip is only about 15 hours, your report of the drive down seemed very familiar

 

[Tinkermom76]

hey I jumped over from the Poly thread and I can't wait to hear about your stay at the Poly.

We will be there in Dec

 

[bluejasmine]

Cant wait to read the rest! Wow 18 hr drive! Thats 10 hrs more than we do! I do all the driving b/c we normally take my company car..

 

[SurfinTX]

Just hopped over from the Poly thread - so excited to read your report! We'll be at the Poly CL from 8/31-9/4, and can't wait to hear more about it.

We're also drivers to Disney (with three kids), and though our trip is only about 15 hours, your report of the drive down seemed very familiar

Thanks for joining us! The drive on the way is always easier. We are just thankfull that everything went well and so smoothly.

hey I jumped over from the Poly thread and I can't wait to hear about your stay at the Poly.

We will be there in Dec

I'm sure your stay will be a lot cooler than ours. My next update should be tomorrow morning.

Cant wait to read the rest! Wow 18 hr drive! Thats 10 hrs more than we do! I do all the driving b/c we normally take my company car..

For us the van did the job nicely. 18 hours is our limit but we did a 24 hour drive last year. Compared to that this was nothing!

I'll be updating again real soon so hang in there!