A January 4-12 trip report written in July

[heartofdisney]

I've been reading trip reports for a few years now,but pretty much was a lurker.Not sure why I didn't introduce myself sooner,but in my defense,I was really busy reading up on all the tips and trip reports on the DIS. Anyway,I discovered the DIS in 2004 when my family was getting ready to go on vacation in Disney World.Up to that point,we pretty much winged our vacations .
I actually did write a trip report from that visit,but just never got around to posting it...lol. But I swore that on our next trip,I was going to write..and post a trip report.Well.....we went this past January,and here it is already the middle of July,and I decided I have procrastinated enough.I also decided that it was finally time to stop lurking and make myself known.

I am the mother of two daughters.My oldest,who I will call Princess,because that is actually her real nickname,given to her by her dad ,is 19 years old,and was a sophmore in college when this trip was taken.This was her birthday trip,as she was turning 19.Our youngest,we will call Tink,is 14 years old,and is obsessed with her nickname namesake.Then there is Grumpy,who always pretends he isn't into Disney as much as the rest of us,but always has a great time once we are there.And as for me,I will just be I or me.

The planning for this trip began last August.My daughters and I had that yearning again,and it was intense,but we still hadn't convinced Grumpy yet that we needed to take another trip.So one day Princess got an invitation in the mail for her to attend an honor society meeting down at Coronado Springs in January.Well,that was exactly the excuse we needed! So we decided to tell Grumpy he had no choice..we were going,with or without him.I did some research on the DIS and discovered Disney was offering a package where you can get free parkhopper upgrades! So I called and before I knew it,I had booked us a week at POR.And so our planning began. It is sort of embarrassing though to admit that in all the planning,we lost sight of the reason we were even going...so my daughter could attend her honor society meeting....lol.The timing I had originally booked didn't end up working out for me getting time off from work and I ended up rebooking it for 2 days later,not thinking of my daughters meeting,and so she ended up having to miss it after all.But oh well..it wasn't that big a deal,and it gave us an excuse to go to Disney!

So as the months rolled along,everything was going smoothly.PR's were made,and shopping was done,arrangements made for our pets,permission granted from Tinks school for her to miss 6 days....everything was coming along so well,and time seemed to fly quickly by because of school starting and the holidays and Tinks 14th birthday....before we knew it,it was Christmas day already! I made our Chistmas a Disney Christmas.We had Disney decorations,Disney gifts,ect.It was all suppossed to be fun,but on Christmas eve and Christmas morning,we all came down sick with the flu and that pretty much took away most of the excitement I planned on.Still,we were pretty happy and excited,and we all kept saying well at least we are sick before we go and not while we are there.

While the girls and I began to feel better ,my husband seemed to be getting worse. He just had a cough that would not go away.He is also diabetic,and so he was taking alot of over the counter cough syrup,which he didn't know you shouldnt do.It ended up making his blood sugar levels really high and he got really sick.So on Saturday morning,the day before New Years eve,I took him to the hospital,and they decided to keep him in there for a few days. to get his sugar levels back to normal and give him medicine to get over his bronchitis.I was really worried about him,and didn't know what to do for the trip..should I call up and cancel? We were due to leave on January 4th.I didn't want to push my husband,but I had also made the horrible mistake of deciding not to buy the trip insurance this time.For every other trip,I always have,and we have never needed it.So me thinking I was being practical and thrifty,decided to forgo it this time and save some money. Yeah,right....what was I thinking?!
So I will admit,besides being worried for my husband,I was also worried about all that money I had paid for this trip and how horrible it would be if we lost it all and couldnt even apply it on another trip! My husband must have been thinking the same thing too,because he told me not to cancle the trip.He talked to his doctor and his doctor told him he would be out of the hospital in 2 or 3 days. Still,I was worried.We were planning to drive down,and would my husband be alright to do that? Would he be alright to enjoy himself while we were there?
As luck would have it,everything worked out well. Grumpy was released on New Years day,which was a Monday.We didn't leave until Thursday.So he was able to rest up a few days and the doctor even gave him the right kind of medicine for his cough,and told him going to Florida and being in the sun would be good for him. Disney magic was working already!

Which brings us to Thursday,January 4th. I had to work that Wednesday night yet. I work from 12-8am. It was the longest night of my life! So finally it was time to go home.Tink was already at school....just 4 days back from Christmas vacation and she would be out another 6 days again. She is a great student though and her teachers gave her work to do during Christmas vacation,so there was no problems with missing school.{I know some people dont like to take kids out of school for these sort of trips,but this is the only time our family can take vacations and be all together.My husbands busiest time at work is in the summer...he absolutely can not get time off during the summer. On top of that,Princess is in college and we have to work around her schedule as well. Sometimes you just have to do the best you can.We are lucky in that her school always understands this and that the time away does not set our daughter back in any way.We did this for our oldest daughter too,and apparently it didnt affect her too much,as she always makes the deans list at her university.}

Anyway,we live in Allentown,Pa and only once have we taken a plane down to Florida.We actually like to drive down better. It is easier for us though since our daughters are older .We always leave at night time then drive through the entire night when thier is less traffic.It is about an 18 hour trip..give or take some.Grumpy was feeling better and planned to do most of the driving down,so he took a long nap while Princess helped me to get everything packed up and ready to go. We also went out to do some last minute shopping for the trip,more so to just pass time in a more pleasant way then just waiting for Grumpy to wake up .When we got back from the store,Tink was home from school and getting ready for her dance class.We took her to her dance class,and then stopped at AAA to get some travelers checks.When we got home,my sister stopped by to give the girls some money for thier trip and we ordered some pizza for dinner.By this time it was around 7 and we were really getting anxious to leave.Grumpy woke up and we ate and then he and I worked on signing the travelers checks and tying up some loose ends.Before we knew it,it was 9 pm and time to leave. We were FINALLY on our way.We made a quick stop at the store so I could pick up some water and batteries for my camera,and to get gas.We drove through the night until a little after 12 ,when I insisted Grumpy make a rest stop! He is a typical man and hates stopping for us females..lol. He waited until he needed gas...uggg!

We continued on,and by this time I was exhuasted as I had not slept all day and had worked the night before.But I dont sleep too well in a car,so it was a long night..lol. We stopped a few times for gas and rest breaks,while in between I tried to sleep. Finally we made it to Georgia and stopped for breakfast at a Waffle House .We drove on until we reached the Florida welcome center and made our traditional stop for oj and picked up some reading material about Disney World.We just love to read over all the brochures and get excited because we are almost there. We drove the rest of the way,stopping only one more time I think for gas,but not lunch as we just munched on some snacks we had with us.Finally around 2;30 pm,we reach The Palms Hotel and Villas and realize we can't check in just yet,so we decided to go get some lunch at a nearby Wendys. We ate and then went back to check in.It was a one bedroom villa and it was pretty nice. We were only staying there for the night though.While the girls went around to explore the resort, and swim, Grumpy and I crashed for a nap.I had promised the girls I would take them to downtown Disney later that night,so I only slept for about 3 hours and then we drove to Downtown Disney.I was actually proud of myself for this as I had never driven around Orlando myself.The Palms hotel was very close by though.Anyway,we walked around there for awhile and I bought Grumpy a Goonie t-shirt from the Virgin store,because he loves that movie.We took a few pictures and the girls bought a few pins already,but we soon realized we were all pretty tired and so we decided to go back to the resort again.Grumpy had been sleeping the whole time...lol.We woke him up and ordered pizza since everyone was hungry but no one felt like going out for dinner. Pizza two nights in a row...but it did the trick and filled us up and we watched tv while we ate.Soon though we all went to bed with visions of checking into POR in the morning and heading over to MGM!
I will continue the day 2 tomorrow and add pictures because they are at home and I am writting this on the computer at work right now. Thanks to al lwho take time to read my trip report!

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Hey there

I am also working a 12-8 shift tonight and working on my trip report You have made a great start to your report and I can't wait to hear more about your trip and see all your pictures

 

[heartofdisney]

Thanks Lifelong Dreamer. I was editing my report to ad a few things and fix up some typos...hope you read the corrected one...lol. So you work a 12-8 shift also? It is a difficult shift to get used to,but once you do it is great...at least I like it.But I like my job too.
I see we share the same name also...almost. Mine is Lisa.
I look forward to reading your trip report.Thanks for reading and being the first to comment. I was nervous no one would read it..lol.

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Thanks Lifelong Dreamer. I was editing my report to ad a few things and fix up some typos...hope you read the corrected one...lol. So you work a 12-8 shift also? It is a difficult shift to get used to,but once you do it is great...at least I like it.But I like my job too.
I see we share the same name also...almost. Mine is Lisa.
I look forward to reading your trip report.Thanks for reading and being the first to comment. I was nervous no one would read it..lol.

I must have read the corrected one as it looked good to me I wrk a variety of shifts 12-8, 4-12 or 8-4 on the weekend but I enjoy the midnight shifts. They are quite and allow me to get lots off stuff done and leave plenty of time to spend on the Dis Boards

My name is actually pronounced Less-ah. Lots of people think it is pronounced Lisa though. I had a gym teacher way back in grade 10 who just could not get it right. I would correct him for the first month but then just let if go and let him call me Lisa

I think everybody fears that nobody will read their report. I know I certainly did. You should write it for yourself though and have fun doing it and not worry so much about people reading it. I think a lot of people read the reports but don't post on them so it is sometimes hard to tell if people are enjoying a report.

 

[heartofdisney]

I am working on trying to get pictures uploaded,but I was having some problems.I will try to work on it tomorrow when I am home again.In the meantime,I will continue with day 2 of my trip report.

A quick recap....My family drove non stop to Orlando the previous day and night before.We checked in to the Palms Hotel and Villas,a nice resort not too far away from the main gate to Disney World. After a short nap,I took my daughters,Princess,19,and Tink,14 to Downtown Disney while my husband,Grumpy slept,as he had been the solo driver on our trip and he was also getting over being sick.When we got back,we ordered in pizza ,ate and went to sleep.Day two follows.........

I woke early the next morning when I realized Grumpy was awake and headed to the main room of our villa. I asked him what was wrong,and he said he had slept so much from the evening before and then all night that he just couldnt sleep anymore.I looked at the clock and saw that it was 5:30 am.I tried to fall back to sleep again,but was having no luck as I laid there thinking about all that the day was going to bring.I decided to get up then myself,so I showered and joined Grumpy in the room.I made some coffee and we sat and watched the news and then the Disney commercial for all the attractions.At 7 am the hotel offered a free breakfast,so we decided to head over and check it out.We walked over and were pretty surprised at how much they offered! There was waffles and pancakes,bacon,sausage,eggs and a variety of ceral and pastries and drinks.It wasn't bad. So we filled up our plates and ate.Soon a man came to announce that a bus to Disney World was there for anyone who wanted to take it. We got pretty anxious over that,and decided to go wake the girls and have them come over for breakfast so we could get packed up and going.I went across the walkway,to our room and Princess was already awake.We woke up Tink and they both got ready and came over to eat.Afterwards,we quickly packed up the little we had brought in for the one night and were soon headed to POR.When we reached the security gate,the guard said "welcome home" to us.That made me happy to hear it because I thought that was something only DVC members heard.Anyway,we pulled up and I went to check in.No line or wait! I knew we weren't going to get a room yet,but we wanted our passes so we could make the most of our first day. I had asked for Magnolia Terrace,second floor, and they said my request was going to be granted,so I was pleased.We parked our car over in the parking lot by Magnolia Terrace then and decided to walk around the resort and check it out. I fell in love with it right then and there..it was so beautiful.
After walking around a little and checking out Fultons Store,we caught a bus to head over to MGM.As soon as we got there we grabbed fastpasses for later and went to stand in line for TOT.We had a ten minute wait at the most.We lucked out and got a front row seat,as the girls were hoping for.When we got off we walked by Rock and Roller coaster,looking longinly at it,but knowing it was closed for refurbishment.Oh well..we were still in Disney! It was so strange walking around the park,because they were playing Christmas carols and had all the Christmas decorations up yet,but it was in the 80's! It was really strange for my family coming from the north east.LOL.
We checked out Voyager of the Little Mermaid,the Muppets show,saw the One Mans Dream exhibit and watched the movie.We did a few other attractions,but I dont recall what order,and then we went back to TOT for our second ride with our fast passes.We couldnt believe how much we got done in so little time.It was pretty slow and there were no crowds.We had always gone to Disney in May before,and this was out first trip in January.We knew we really liked going at this time of the year.It was awesome. So around 1;30,Grumpy started living up to his name..the heat was getting to him,and he was feeling tired and not feeling too well.So I called POR to check on our room with the hopes it would be ready.I explained the situation,and they said they had a nice room ready if we were willing to stay in another mansion instead. I said that was fine..it really didnt matter that much,I just wanted a place for my dh to rest a bit. So the castmember gave me our room number,and told us to go to the Acadian House instead. Since we had PR'S at Prime Time for a late lunch,I decided to cancel it and try for it again later in the week.So we headed back to POR and ate at Boatwrights instead.It was a pretty decent meal,not bad,and it was nice to know we could just go back to our room when we were finished eating. After we ate,we went to find our room,and we were very impressed with what they had given us.We had a corner room on the second floor of Acadian House,and one of the windows had a water view.We really had a nice view from the window by the table.
The girls decided to go swimming ,and I unpacked while Grumy rested and watched tv.Afterwards,I got a little rest too,since I had gotten up pretty early that morning,and hadn't had any sleep the night before that. A little while later the girls came back from swimming and told us they had taken the boat to go check out the pool at POFQ TOO. The plan for the night was to go to Fantasmic and then head on over to watch the Osbourne Lights since that would be the last night. .The girls and I got ready,and Grumpy decided he was going to walk over to POFQ and get his dinner and watch sports on tv. As I said,he really isnt as into Disney as we are,and he was also recovering from being sick and was taking it easy yet.So we all walked over across the bridge and split up so the girls and I could catch the bus back to MGM. When we got there ,it was time to go find our seat for Fantasmic,and we did with no problems at all.We didn't even have to wait in a line. We got some good seats,and then the girls went to find thier first Mickey bars of the trip.While they were gone,I overheard the guy behind me talking on his cell phone telling someone that it was his families last night there.I felt bad for them,but all tingly thinking how happy I was it was just our first night. lol. The girls came back with our Mickey bars and we enjoyed them while watching everyone do the wave.Soon after,the show started and we were memorized once again by how spectacular it is.Fantasmic is our favorite night time show.After the show was over,we quickly made our way over to watch the Osborne Lights.They were so beautiful and I was glad we got a chance to finally see them.
When we finished watching the lights,we went to do the Great Movie ride,and walked around,taking pictures and shopping some .Tink bought some fairy princess Minnie ears,and a stuffed Minnie.The park was closing earlier then we were used to,as we had always gone in May,but we had done alot that day,and we looked forward to going back to our resort and spending some down time there. We caught a bus back ,and as we were riding home,we all relaized we hadn't eaten dinner yet,and we were all starving.We knew that POR was renovating the food court,so we decided to get off at POFQ and eat there.We enjoyed our food,and then went exploring thier resort,and while it was nice,I really did prefer POR so much more...even if there was more walking involved. It was such a beautiful walk you honestly didnt mind it,and really,it didnt take that long anyway.Then we took the boat back to our resort.The girls decided to go swimming again ,and I relaxed some with Grumpy watching tv. When the girls got back,we all got ready for bed,and just laid in bed watching tv until we were all asleep,and I woke up to turn off the tv.It was a great first day,despite Grumpy not feeling so well.What was nice is that he was able to enjoy the resort and get some downtime,which is what he considers a vacation should be,while the girls and I were able to do what we wanted.That is what is great about a Disney vacation for my family. Next up....day 3 at The Magic Kingdom,and Princess's birthday celebration.

 

[VanniGirl]

Looking forward to reading the rest.

 

[heartofdisney]

Day 3,Sunday,January 7

I woke up earlier then everyone else this morning.Because I work the 12-8 am shift,I sleep during the day usually,and there are times where I will wake up and be confused for a few seconds,trying to figure out what time it is and what's going on. So as I woke up that morning,I had that same experience.I was laying there looking around the room and really confused and wondering where I was and why. .Now this only lasted a few seconds,but it is a strange feeling.And then all of a sudden,I realized where I was! I was at Disney World,sleeping in a bed in the POR resort.So from the moment on,I was wide awake,because I knew that the plan for the day was to go to the Magic Kingdom.I got out of bed and took my shower,then got dressed and made some coffee.Everyone was still sleeping,so I poured myself some cheerios for breakfast. We usually bring cereal ,disposable bowls and plastic wear,and buy milk at the resorts store and eat our breakfast in the room.I opened the blinds for the window facing the river,and enjoyed the scenery as I ate my breakfast.It was such a wonderful feeling,having that quiet time to myself and just being where I was.It didn't last too long however,as soon everyone else began to wake up and get ready for the day too.It didnt take us long,and we were soon out the door and walking over to the bus stop.Princess was wearing a birthday button she had picked up when we went to downtown disney our first night in Orlando.The bus driver must have seen her wearing it as she got on,because when I got on,he asked me what her name was and how old she was turning.I kept that conversation to myself and Grumpy,and after we had picked up people from the other stops,the bus driver made an announcement to everyone that it was Alyssa's (Princess) birthday,and he had everyone sing to her.In reality,it wasn't her real birthday,as she wasn't turning 19 until the 16th,when we were back home again,but it was her wish to celebrate her birthday in Disney World,and it was so close,that I granted her wish.The bus driver started the day off special for her.
We had to go to the ticket and transportation center to be left off because the marathon was going on that day.So we took the ferry over and I took pictures.Grumpy was a little annoyed about being left off here,and I told him it wasn't going to be that way for the whole week,just for that day,so that made him feel better.Once we got to main street,I was so happy again to be there.I love the feeling of walking in and seeing th castle for the first time of your trip....each and every trip...

So we all got the customary picture in from of the castle,as I wanted one from each park. Then we headed over to Buzz Lightyear.We walked right on and rode twice.From there I believe we went over to Space Mountain,and got fast passes for later as well. I didn't realize why my daughters were laughing at me while we were rding,,but after the ride,they told me every time I ride Space Mountain,I not only am screaming,but I also duck. I guess I somehow think I am going to bang my head on the beams or something...lol.
After Space Mountain,we saw Stitiches Great Escape,which I didn't care one way or another about,and then the girls raced over to go back on Space Mountain while Grumpy and I waited for them in a near by shade.Grumpy bought some popcorn and soda,and as we sat there this adorable little bird came up to us. I know people complain about the birds,but we enjoyed this little guy.Grumpy tossed a little peice of popcorn to him and he ate it.So they both shared a snack and soon there were three other birds joing them.They were small and weren't obnoxious ,so it was enjoyable to watch them.
When the girls came back we headed over to the Haunted Mansion,first stopping so the girls could get another Mickey bar.They had to have a Mickey bar every day we were there.We sat for a little so they could eat it,and people watched,which is always fun to do,and then we headed over to the haunted mansion.I love this ride,and would go on it over and over gain,because I seem to see something new each time.After wards,we decided to take a ride on the Liberty Bell.From there we made our way over to the treehouse and explored that for a bit,and then rode Aladdins Magic carpets.I wanted to go on the Jungle Cruise but the line was too long.I dont know why we didn't get a fastpass.
We went on a few other attraction,then hit Pirates of the Carribbean.Both my daughters love these movies and Johnny Depp,so that was a must to do.After that it was time for our PR at Chrystal Palace for Princess's birthday lunch.We would eat there and then Grumpy was planning to go back to the resort and watch the Eagles game on tv.It was his vacation too,and we didn't mind.So we ate lunch and got pictures with the characters.While we were there,I was annoyed by this family with a small toddler that was sitting at the table next to us.I could see this poor baby wasn't even 2 yet,and was afraid of the characters when they came by thier table. He was non stop crying,and quite loudly.That enough made our lunch alot less enjoyable,but then whenever a character came to our table,the baby would shriek,and the mother would tell the characters not to get too close to thier table! Okay,that was fine for them,but she seemed to have a fit that they would stop at our table then,because we were so close together. Then I heard a comment about how she couldnt understand why the girls at the table next to them(my dd's) were even bothering wanting to have thier pictures taken with the characters,because they were too old! Well excuse us! We were there to celebrate my daughters birthday because that was where she chose ,and she has grown up always loving Winnie the Pooh and friends. She collects everything Pooh,and every time we go there,we get pictures of the girls with these characters ..it is a nice way to see how they grow up,and anyway,we like eating there.We paid for our time there,and it shouldnt matter to her why we were there anyway.What I wonderded about was why she was there ,with a small child who was so afraid of the characters and screaming. If that had been me,even if I was at McDonalds,I would have taken my child out of there if he was that afraid.He was probaly tired and needed a nap anyway. I am not against families..I have been there and experienced those moments myself...but I handled them alot better.When my daughters cried in a restraunt,I would take them to the bathroom,or to the car and calm them down so I wouldnt ruin everyone elses dinner. But most of all,I wouldnt have put them in that position of being so tired and afraid to begin with.I hope I dont offend anyone...but I was just so annoyed at this mother. Why didn't they just leave the place rather then get annoyed when the characters would do thier jobs and visit the other tables close by to them..and why criticize my daughters just because they were enjoying themselves.Didn't we have that right?

Okay,I am off the soapbox now...had to get that out of me as it really did frustrate me.
So anyway,after our birthday celebration there,Grumpy kissed us all goodbye and headed back for his football game while the girls and I took some more pictures in front of the castle and then headed over to Fantasy Land. We watched Philharmagic and had tog o into Tinkbelles Treasures so Tink could shop.Then we went on alot of rides...spent the entire afternnon riding rides and exploring Toon Town,taking lots of pictures.We also had to go to the shop after the Pooh ride where we bought a few things.Princess got a stuffed Pooh with a birthday cake..it was very cute,and we bought some souveniers for her aunt who got her started on her Pooh obsession.
Then we decided to get some frozen drinks,and when I was standing in line for them,the castmember saw my daughter was wearing the birthday badge so he gave her drink to her for free! That was really nice! We also were talking to a guy who was in line behind us and saw she was having a birthday too.He told us his son was celebrating his 5th birthday ,and asked us if we could go over to him and say happy birthday to him. So we said of course,and went over and talked to him and his mom for a few minutes. Then a dreamteam guy came over and was talking to him too.I dont know if he won anything or what came of it,but I hope that little guy had a special 5th birthday! He was so cute.

After we drank our drinks we rode a few more rides and then took the train over to get some dinner.By this time though extra magic hours were soon going to start and we decided to get our wrist bands first.We didn't realize that some of the fast food places were closing already,so we couldnt eat where we hoped to,and ended up making our way back over to Cosmic Rays.We got our food and found a table and watch Wishes ,although it was from the back,we still enjoyed what we could see.Then we rode a few more rides in Fantasy Land,and I finally got to ride on Peter Pan! I loved it. We did a little more shopping,and Princess bought herself some Princess ears.It began to sprinkle a little and we decided that we would just go back to our room.We had been there all day and did almost everything,andwe had even stayed for half of the extra magic hours.We were pooped!

We caught a bus back to the POFQ resort and stopped off to fill up our mugs and get a snack for the room,then took the boat back to our resort.It had been another long but enjoyable day,and it didnt take us long to fall asleep at all.
Next up...Day 4 at Epcot

 

[Lifelong_Dreamer]

Great update. Glad to hear that your DD had a great birthday. That mother at the restaurant sounds really rude, I would have been annoyed as well. There is absolutely nothing wrong with adults and older kids getting their pictures taken with characters, my brothers and I got our picture taken with tons of characters on our recent trip and I am 23 and my youngest brother is 18!

 

[heartofdisney]

Thanks you to everyone who is reading. Lessa..that woman was unbelievable. I think she just wanted the characters to stay away from her table because her son was so upset,but the problem was that are tables were close and we wanted the characters at our table! And for her to get all snotty because she thought my daughters were too old to want the characters there just made me so mad.I know I am always seeing lots of adults get thier picture taken with the characters,so all she had to do was take a lok around..lol. Oh well,we didn't let that ruin anything.We still enjoyed ourselves.How could we not? We were in the happiest place on earth,right?

 

[heartofdisney]

Day 4,Monday,Epcot

I awoke this morning to Tink slamming the phone down upon hearing Stitch screaming.She was not ready to wake up apparently. But I was! And so I got up and showered and got ready for the day.I made myself some instant oatmeal and some hot tea for breakfast,and soon the others began to get up slowly tour plan was to take on as much as Epcot as we could that day...all day.So we caught the bus over and first thing we did was race to Soarin. I had been looking forward to going on this ride since Princess had come home from her high school graduation trip and bragged all about it to me.We grabbed some fast passes ,and went to stand in the stand by line which was posted as 20 minutes.While we waited we read the trivia and goofed off some.Finally it was our turn,but we were put into the second row,and I had read so much about how the second row just wasn't as great as the first,so I was a little dissapointed at first. But the ride was still awesome,and I loved it,but yes,I did see everyones feet hanging from the front row. I really wanted to try for the front row for our second time. So as soon as we finished our first ride,it was time to use our fast passes for the second ride again,and this time my daughter asked the guy running it if we could have the first row in the middle section.He saw her birthday badge on and said of course and told her Happy birthday,and then took us all over to that section before anyone else got there.How cool was that! I just loved that ride.Especially the ending over Disney Land with all the fireworks.

After our rides on Soarin,we headed over to the new Nemo ride.We practically walked right on this ride.I love going to Disney in January! It was ok,especially for a nice break to relax,and I was impressed with it the part at the end,but this is not one I would stand in line for any other time,although I think it younger kids would love it. I think my daughters and I enjoyed taking pictures inside Bruces mouth more.We had some fun with that,and then we explore some of the sealife there,and Tink bought a stuffed dolphin there.Then we walked over to Test Track. The line was pretty long there,and there were no fast passes at the time.I dont understand the pull this attraction has for some poeple.I liked it well enough,yes,but after driving down to Florida with my husband driving more then 60 miles an hour quite often,I guess I just dont get as much from this ride as others do.So we decided to put it off and went to Mission Space.Grumpy,Tink and Princess love this ride. I don't do well on it,so I decided I would rather avoid it and the nausea that would follow me for the next hour or so if I went on.Instead I sent video emails to my family and friends,and I enjoyed that much more. After I was done,I went over to a snack stand and bought a bag of chips and a soda and sat down to watch some a show that was going on outside of Mission Space. Soona fterwards,my family joined me and we finished watching ,then went back over to the snack stand because the girls wanted thier Mickey bar for the day,while Grumpy wanted his daily popcorn ration.
So we sat and relaxed while they enjoyed thier snacks,and then we decided to go to Honey I shrunk the Kids.If it had been up to me,I would have avoided that one too,but the girls wanted to see it again.I dont necessarily mind the seeing the show itself over and over again,but that waiting time in the preshow really freaks me out. I feel so claustrophobic when they squeeze everyone inside like that.And we stood there for such a long time that way,it just was not enjoyable.Which causes everyone to be cranky and annoyed by each other.I made a pledge to myself that I would avoid that attraction in any future trips for awhile.
After HISTK,we headed over to try the different coke beverages from around the world.Tink still had not tasted the Beverly,but this time she wasn't thinking about it ,and Princess tricked her into drinking it.I have never seen a face like the one she made after tasting it.I did take a picture,but for some reason I am having a hard time adding pictures to my report and I don't have too much time to figure it all out.

So after trying to poison Tink,we decided to start our tour around the world.I was really looking forward to this part because every time we had come to Epcot,it was mostly for the rides and then we would do a little of the world and get tired and hot and decided to call it a day.Not this time. I was determined to see the other side of the world.Usually we start on the left side,where Mexico was.So this time,just in case we couldnt finish it ,we decided to start on the right.So we explored Canada,and I just fell in love with how beautiful they had it set up. I never even knew they had a water fall there before.And the gardens were so pretty.I took lots of pictures and really enjoyed checking Canada out,but we didnt see the movie because I didnt want to waste time.I wanted to go all the way around the world that day. We continued on and saw Mary Poppins and Winnie the Pooh in England.We took time to explore the stores and take pictures,but we continued on at a steady pace to each country.In France we stopped to watch a show with a guy climbing on chairs while the other would balance them all,and Tink was fascinated with this show.We finished exploring France then and continued on until we realized we were all famished. My crew is very picky.Princess and Tink dont eat any meat at all,there saying is if it had a face,they dont eat it.And Grumpy is pretty much a boring meat and potatoes guy,so we decided to eat at the American plaza,which was still awhile aways.To hold us over we got ourselves some pastries.We sat inside ,at a section of tables that was next to the store ,and enjoyed them while resting. Soon we continued on though,as we were spurred on by hunger. When we reached Japan,Princess did the pick a pearl as part of her birthday gift from her dad and I,and she got twins.She didnt want earrings ,so she chose to have a necklace and a ring made. They gave us a time to come back,so we decided to go eat some lunch awhile and headed over to America. We ate the boring food there while I longed to eat someplace else ,any other place.I could have gotten something from China or Mexico,but I needed a break too,so I resigned myself to a hambuger,and it did the trick at least.After we finished eating we headed back to Japan and picked up Princess's jewelry which really turned out pretty.Then we continued our tour of the world. We checked out Italy where I almost spent a fortune on some Christmas decorations,and in Italy Princess lost her camera there,but thankfully soon found it again,where she had set it down to check out some merchandise.We played around in China and spent alot of time there,and we went to Norway and rode the Malestrom,which had a line with half an hour wait.Everyone was up to waiting,so we did,although my feet were really killing me by this time.We played in Norway too,posing for some interesting pictures there. We checked out the indoor flea market in Mexico and by this time it was dinnertime. We had eaten a really late lunch and the girls really hadnt had too much to eat at the American Plaza,just some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,so they were starving by this time and we stopped at Mexico for them to get something to eat for them. It was dark by this time ,which just made Grumpy and I feel even more tired.We decided to head on back to the resort,but not Princess and Tink. They finished eating thier cheese quesadea(however you spell it) and decided they wanted to go to Downtown Disney.So they split up with us,and Grumpy and I slowly made our way to the busses.We stopped for a picture of just the two of us in front of the Epcot sphere,and then we decided to ride Spaceship Earth,which was an easy walk on.Afterwards we headed to the bussed and once again stopped off at the french quarter to get something for dinner as we hadnt eaten in Mexico with the girls.Then we caught a boat back to our resort,and I really enjoyed that boat ride.It was so nice,and almost romantic with just Grumpy and I.We then went into the lobby of POR and went to look around inside Fultons again because I needed to pick up some milk for the next morning and I was looking for a treat as well.I decided to skip the treat though because nothing caught my eye.We then walked backed to our room,where Grumpy watched some tv,and I soaked in the tub to some music from my mp3 player.Then I checked my email from my cell phone and read for awhile.The girls soon returned to the room with tales of thier adventure that evening and then they took thier showers and gotready for bed.I dont think any of us were awake even 30 seconds after our heads hit the pillow.It had been a wonderful day,and we had finally explored all the countires in Epcot.I was happy.I had taken some really great pictures and we had a wonderful day together and the next morning we were heading to the Animal Kingdom.

 

[heartofdisney]

Day 4,Monday,Epcot

I awoke this morning to Tink slamming the phone down upon hearing Stitch screaming.She was not ready to wake up apparently. But I was! And so I got up and showered and got ready for the day.I made myself some instant oatmeal and some hot tea for breakfast,and soon the others began to get up slowly tour plan was to take on as much as Epcot as we could that day...all day.So we caught the bus over and first thing we did was race to Soarin. I had been looking forward to going on this ride since Princess had come home from her high school graduation trip and bragged all about it to me.We grabbed some fast passes ,and went to stand in the stand by line which was posted as 20 minutes.While we waited we read the trivia and goofed off some.Finally it was our turn,but we were put into the second row,and I had read so much about how the second row just wasn't as great as the first,so I was a little dissapointed at first. But the ride was still awesome,and I loved it,but yes,I did see everyones feet hanging from the front row. I really wanted to try for the front row for our second time. So as soon as we finished our first ride,it was time to use our fast passes for the second ride again,and this time my daughter asked the guy running it if we could have the first row in the middle section.He saw her birthday badge on and said of course and told her Happy birthday,and then took us all over to that section before anyone else got there.How cool was that! I just loved that ride.Especially the ending over Disney Land with all the fireworks.

After our rides on Soarin,we headed over to the new Nemo ride.We practically walked right on this ride.I love going to Disney in January! It was ok,especially for a nice break to relax,and I was impressed with it the part at the end,but this is not one I would stand in line for any other time,although I think it younger kids would love it. I think my daughters and I enjoyed taking pictures inside Bruces mouth more.We had some fun with that,and then we explore some of the sealife there,and Tink bought a stuffed dolphin there.Then we walked over to Test Track. The line was pretty long there,and there were no fast passes at the time.I dont understand the pull this attraction has for some poeple.I liked it well enough,yes,but after driving down to Florida with my husband driving more then 60 miles an hour quite often,I guess I just dont get as much from this ride as others do.So we decided to put it off and went to Mission Space.Grumpy,Tink and Princess love this ride. I don't do well on it,so I decided I would rather avoid it and the nausea that would follow me for the next hour or so if I went on.Instead I sent video emails to my family and friends,and I enjoyed that much more. After I was done,I went over to a snack stand and bought a bag of chips and a soda and sat down to watch some a show that was going on outside of Mission Space. Soona fterwards,my family joined me and we finished watching ,then went back over to the snack stand because the girls wanted thier Mickey bar for the day,while Grumpy wanted his daily popcorn ration.
So we sat and relaxed while they enjoyed thier snacks,and then we decided to go to Honey I shrunk the Kids.If it had been up to me,I would have avoided that one too,but the girls wanted to see it again.I dont necessarily mind the seeing the show itself over and over again,but that waiting time in the preshow really freaks me out. I feel so claustrophobic when they squeeze everyone inside like that.And we stood there for such a long time that way,it just was not enjoyable.Which causes everyone to be cranky and annoyed by each other.I made a pledge to myself that I would avoid that attraction in any future trips for awhile.
After HISTK,we headed over to try the different coke beverages from around the world.Tink still had not tasted the Beverly,but this time she wasn't thinking about it ,and Princess tricked her into drinking it.I have never seen a face like the one she made after tasting it.I did take a picture,but for some reason I am having a hard time adding pictures to my report and I don't have too much time to figure it all out.

So after trying to poison Tink,we decided to start our tour around the world.I was really looking forward to this part because every time we had come to Epcot,it was mostly for the rides and then we would do a little of the world and get tired and hot and decided to call it a day.Not this time. I was determined to see the other side of the world.Usually we start on the left side,where Mexico was.So this time,just in case we couldnt finish it ,we decided to start on the right.So we explored Canada,and I just fell in love with how beautiful they had it set up. I never even knew they had a water fall there before.And the gardens were so pretty.I took lots of pictures and really enjoyed checking Canada out,but we didnt see the movie because I didnt want to waste time.I wanted to go all the way around the world that day. We continued on and saw Mary Poppins and Winnie the Pooh in England.We took time to explore the stores and take pictures,but we continued on at a steady pace to each country.In France we stopped to watch a show with a guy climbing on chairs while the other would balance them all,and Tink was fascinated with this show.We finished exploring France then and continued on until we realized we were all famished. My crew is very picky.Princess and Tink dont eat any meat at all,there saying is if it had a face,they dont eat it.And Grumpy is pretty much a boring meat and potatoes guy,so we decided to eat at the American plaza,which was still awhile aways.To hold us over we got ourselves some pastries.We sat inside ,at a section of tables that was next to the store ,and enjoyed them while resting. Soon we continued on though,as we were spurred on by hunger. When we reached Japan,Princess did the pick a pearl as part of her birthday gift from her dad and I,and she got twins.She didnt want earrings ,so she chose to have a necklace and a ring made. They gave us a time to come back,so we decided to go eat some lunch awhile and headed over to America. We ate the boring food there while I longed to eat someplace else ,any other place.I could have gotten something from China or Mexico,but I needed a break too,so I resigned myself to a hambuger,and it did the trick at least.After we finished eating we headed back to Japan and picked up Princess's jewelry which really turned out pretty.Then we continued our tour of the world. We checked out Italy where I almost spent a fortune on some Christmas decorations,and in Italy Princess lost her camera there,but thankfully soon found it again,where she had set it down to check out some merchandise.We played around in China and spent alot of time there,and we went to Norway and rode the Malestrom,which had a line with half an hour wait.Everyone was up to waiting,so we did,although my feet were really killing me by this time.We played in Norway too,posing for some interesting pictures there. We checked out the indoor flea market in Mexico and by this time it was dinnertime. We had eaten a really late lunch and the girls really hadnt had too much to eat at the American Plaza,just some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches,so they were starving by this time and we stopped at Mexico for them to get something to eat for them. It was dark by this time ,which just made Grumpy and I feel even more tired.We decided to head on back to the resort,but not Princess and Tink. They finished eating thier cheese quesadea(however you spell it) and decided they wanted to go to Downtown Disney.So they split up with us,and Grumpy and I slowly made our way to the busses.We stopped for a picture of just the two of us in front of the Epcot sphere,and then we decided to ride Spaceship Earth,which was an easy walk on.Afterwards we headed to the bussed and once again stopped off at the french quarter to get something for dinner as we hadnt eaten in Mexico with the girls.Then we caught a boat back to our resort,and I really enjoyed that boat ride.It was so nice,and almost romantic with just Grumpy and I.We then went into the lobby of POR and went to look around inside Fultons again because I needed to pick up some milk for the next morning and I was looking for a treat as well.I decided to skip the treat though because nothing caught my eye.We then walked backed to our room,where Grumpy watched some tv,and I soaked in the tub to some music from my mp3 player.Then I checked my email from my cell phone and read for awhile.The girls soon returned to the room with tales of thier adventure that evening and then they took thier showers and gotready for bed.I dont think any of us were awake even 30 seconds after our heads hit the pillow.It had been a wonderful day,and we had finally explored all the countires in Epcot.I was happy.I had taken some really great pictures and we had a wonderful day together and the next morning we were heading to the Animal Kingdom.