My kids knew that we were going to Chicago last Thursday (8/25/05), they just didn't know what we were going to do once we got there. They asked several times "are we going to Sears Tower?" "We'll see where we go when we get there", "are we going to the zoo?" "We'll see where we go when we get there" "can we stay in a hotel with a pool" "not in Chicago, the hotels in the city are too expensive". Little did they know when they woke up at 3:30 am to go to the city what plans I had in store for them!
It started with a game: a picture of a cow with the words "question word that rhymes with...(cow)" It ended up spelling out "How would you like to go to the happiest place on Earth" and then I held up a paper that said "TODAY" and had a Mickey sticker on it. Ok so it was pretty early in the morning, they knew the clue meant WDW but they just couldn't grasp it. "We're going to WDW? When?" "Today!" "What?" "Huh?" "When?" "We are going to WDW TODAY!" "Are you kidding?" "No I'm not kidding, here are the hotel reservations and the airplane boarding passes, now get upstairs and get dressed the cab will be here in an hour!"
Arrival:
I thought ME was very cool! We had only carry on luggage because our trip was only 3 nights/4 days. What I really thought was cool was that we got to see all these resorts we'd never been too. Like a tour. I guess if you're a glass half full kinda person this would be annoying but to us, it was fun. We got to All Star Movies by about 1-1:30pm or so. I only had to wait a couple of minutes to check in. The CM originally gave us a Mighty Ducks room on the first floor. I asked if it was at all possible to have a 3rd floor non smoking room in Dalmations, if not then any non smoking 3rd floor room. She said she'd check and after a phone call she was able to give me exactly what I wanted AND bonus it was ready right then! All that and a bright red balloon covered in stars for my DD7 (DS11 is "too old" for balloons). Just as I stepped up to check in a downpour started but in the 5 mins it took to get a room, the rain stopped, gotta love Florida!
Epcot:
After a quick and tasty lunch in the food court at ASMo, we took off for Epcot. We started at the Disney Visa Meet N Greet. It was nice to have some free alone time with the characters and a free picture. It turned out nice. Mickey and Pluto were there. We then went to Soarin' because we had that as a must do on all of our lists. The Fastpasses were gone for the day so we waited in line. It said 70 mins, but it was more like 45 mins. Keep in mind it's inside and pleasantly air conditioned. We live near Six Flags Great America and NO ride line is air conditioned, many are not even shaded. Also lots of the rides have long waits, some coasters up to 2 hours. This ride would have been worth a 2 hour wait outside, it's that fantastic! We also really enjoyed the Living with the Land ride, especially my DS the future scientist. We watched the Cirlce of Life, poked around in the Innoventions bldgs and rode El Rio del Tiempo. The food was disappointing, I don't know what happened there. We found a good spot to watch Illuminations near the American Pavilion, where we met up with a nice English family with a son about my son's age, they became fast friends, at least for that 30 mins. The busses came very quickly to whisk the large crowds to the hotel rooms.
Day 2:
Magic Kingdom
We rode IASW (2xs), Peter Pan, saw Philharmagic, rode the Jungle Cruise, the carpets, saw the Tiki Room (how cute) and then had lunch. We went back to the room to rest and swim awhile. Then we had dinner at the GF Park Fare 1900. Beautiful resort, but I don't know how they manage to keep the walls and rails SO WHITE. It was a very nice dining experience. We then headed back to the MK to ride Buzz, see Spectro and Wishes. (Post fireworks tip...Casey's is a nice place to wait out the crowds down mainstreet, grab a coke and watch ole timey cartoons. Then we walked through the air conditioned stores to the end of main st).
Day 3:
MGM
We started off with Indiana Jones, loved it again! Then the kids played in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. It's one of their fav places. By this time it was time to head to the MK for CRT Lunch (fabulous experience!). We rode the carrousel after lunch and went back to MGM. We saw Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage for the first time. It was beautiful! Then we went on the Great Movie Ride for the first time, that was pretty cool too. A bit of shopping and it was time for our Prime Time ADR. Dinner took a long time, almost 2 hrs, but it was lots of fun. Got 3rd row seats at Fantasmic and loved the show as usual. After we got back to the hotel, the kids swam for a bit, they loved the Fantasmic pool most.
Day 4:
We checked out and went to AK
I made check out more complicated than it had to be, I could've just dropped my bags with the bell services and headed out because I was paid in full, but I didn't see their stand and waited in line a few minutes to get that sorted out. We waited about 30 mins for a bus to AK and were late to our ADR at Donald's. Donald's was a ghost town though, nowhere near filled up so it was no prob. The atmosphere was fun, but the price still seems high to me for breakfast foods. The kids played a game (they played each other twice and each got a prize). Normally they would play in the boneyard, but even they thought it was TOO HOT. We went to Festival of the Lion King and boy did the kids get the royal treatment there! We sat in the front row and chatted with a CM. She asked the kids to help teach the other sections the hand jive and they were so excited. After that, my DD7 was chosen to help make the giraffe sound, very cute! The tumble monkeys came by to "pick n eat" bugs outta my kids hair. They were also both chosen to be in the ending parade with the shakers. They were so happy, then they were moved almost up on the stage and Timon said "you were PERFECT...especially you!" and point at my kids who were right by him and kissed my DD on the head! They felt like they were really part of the show. After that we decided to cool off on the Kali River Rapids and the line wasn't too long. There were no fast passes, actually the whole trip we didn't get or use any. The line moved quickly, but I slammed my toe into the back of my son's shoe and my toenail started bleeding. I noticed it after the ride and my son insisted I go to first aid. While I was there, a little girl came in with a squirrel bite. Watch those squirrel!!! We walked right on to the Safari ride and because my toe was starting to really throb, we headed back to the hotel to have lunch and get to ME for our flight.
Other info:
It was HOT....holy cow was it HOT HOT HOT. Walking through air conditioned stores helps, all coke stands have free ice water in cups. I know lots of people here have complained about the water at WDW, and I don't know if it was just SO HOT there or I was SO THIRSTY, but it tasted fabulous to me and there are even bottled waters I'm not crazy about.
It started with a game: a picture of a cow with the words "question word that rhymes with...(cow)" It ended up spelling out "How would you like to go to the happiest place on Earth" and then I held up a paper that said "TODAY" and had a Mickey sticker on it. Ok so it was pretty early in the morning, they knew the clue meant WDW but they just couldn't grasp it. "We're going to WDW? When?" "Today!" "What?" "Huh?" "When?" "We are going to WDW TODAY!" "Are you kidding?" "No I'm not kidding, here are the hotel reservations and the airplane boarding passes, now get upstairs and get dressed the cab will be here in an hour!"
Arrival:
I thought ME was very cool! We had only carry on luggage because our trip was only 3 nights/4 days. What I really thought was cool was that we got to see all these resorts we'd never been too. Like a tour. I guess if you're a glass half full kinda person this would be annoying but to us, it was fun. We got to All Star Movies by about 1-1:30pm or so. I only had to wait a couple of minutes to check in. The CM originally gave us a Mighty Ducks room on the first floor. I asked if it was at all possible to have a 3rd floor non smoking room in Dalmations, if not then any non smoking 3rd floor room. She said she'd check and after a phone call she was able to give me exactly what I wanted AND bonus it was ready right then! All that and a bright red balloon covered in stars for my DD7 (DS11 is "too old" for balloons). Just as I stepped up to check in a downpour started but in the 5 mins it took to get a room, the rain stopped, gotta love Florida!
Epcot:
After a quick and tasty lunch in the food court at ASMo, we took off for Epcot. We started at the Disney Visa Meet N Greet. It was nice to have some free alone time with the characters and a free picture. It turned out nice. Mickey and Pluto were there. We then went to Soarin' because we had that as a must do on all of our lists. The Fastpasses were gone for the day so we waited in line. It said 70 mins, but it was more like 45 mins. Keep in mind it's inside and pleasantly air conditioned. We live near Six Flags Great America and NO ride line is air conditioned, many are not even shaded. Also lots of the rides have long waits, some coasters up to 2 hours. This ride would have been worth a 2 hour wait outside, it's that fantastic! We also really enjoyed the Living with the Land ride, especially my DS the future scientist. We watched the Cirlce of Life, poked around in the Innoventions bldgs and rode El Rio del Tiempo. The food was disappointing, I don't know what happened there. We found a good spot to watch Illuminations near the American Pavilion, where we met up with a nice English family with a son about my son's age, they became fast friends, at least for that 30 mins. The busses came very quickly to whisk the large crowds to the hotel rooms.
Day 2:
Magic Kingdom
We rode IASW (2xs), Peter Pan, saw Philharmagic, rode the Jungle Cruise, the carpets, saw the Tiki Room (how cute) and then had lunch. We went back to the room to rest and swim awhile. Then we had dinner at the GF Park Fare 1900. Beautiful resort, but I don't know how they manage to keep the walls and rails SO WHITE. It was a very nice dining experience. We then headed back to the MK to ride Buzz, see Spectro and Wishes. (Post fireworks tip...Casey's is a nice place to wait out the crowds down mainstreet, grab a coke and watch ole timey cartoons. Then we walked through the air conditioned stores to the end of main st).
Day 3:
MGM
We started off with Indiana Jones, loved it again! Then the kids played in the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. It's one of their fav places. By this time it was time to head to the MK for CRT Lunch (fabulous experience!). We rode the carrousel after lunch and went back to MGM. We saw Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage for the first time. It was beautiful! Then we went on the Great Movie Ride for the first time, that was pretty cool too. A bit of shopping and it was time for our Prime Time ADR. Dinner took a long time, almost 2 hrs, but it was lots of fun. Got 3rd row seats at Fantasmic and loved the show as usual. After we got back to the hotel, the kids swam for a bit, they loved the Fantasmic pool most.
Day 4:
We checked out and went to AK
I made check out more complicated than it had to be, I could've just dropped my bags with the bell services and headed out because I was paid in full, but I didn't see their stand and waited in line a few minutes to get that sorted out. We waited about 30 mins for a bus to AK and were late to our ADR at Donald's. Donald's was a ghost town though, nowhere near filled up so it was no prob. The atmosphere was fun, but the price still seems high to me for breakfast foods. The kids played a game (they played each other twice and each got a prize). Normally they would play in the boneyard, but even they thought it was TOO HOT. We went to Festival of the Lion King and boy did the kids get the royal treatment there! We sat in the front row and chatted with a CM. She asked the kids to help teach the other sections the hand jive and they were so excited. After that, my DD7 was chosen to help make the giraffe sound, very cute! The tumble monkeys came by to "pick n eat" bugs outta my kids hair. They were also both chosen to be in the ending parade with the shakers. They were so happy, then they were moved almost up on the stage and Timon said "you were PERFECT...especially you!" and point at my kids who were right by him and kissed my DD on the head! They felt like they were really part of the show. After that we decided to cool off on the Kali River Rapids and the line wasn't too long. There were no fast passes, actually the whole trip we didn't get or use any. The line moved quickly, but I slammed my toe into the back of my son's shoe and my toenail started bleeding. I noticed it after the ride and my son insisted I go to first aid. While I was there, a little girl came in with a squirrel bite. Watch those squirrel!!! We walked right on to the Safari ride and because my toe was starting to really throb, we headed back to the hotel to have lunch and get to ME for our flight.
Other info:
It was HOT....holy cow was it HOT HOT HOT. Walking through air conditioned stores helps, all coke stands have free ice water in cups. I know lots of people here have complained about the water at WDW, and I don't know if it was just SO HOT there or I was SO THIRSTY, but it tasted fabulous to me and there are even bottled waters I'm not crazy about.
