A Look Back, My First Trip Report ~complete~

[jaycns]

Okay, one might ask, why now...why not back when you first got back from the trip? Well, that answer is easy, it's almost time to scrapbook my trip pictures and I figured since I have to "get it all down" to have something to work from, I might as well share the Disney memories...

The troops:
DH- a "30 something" who although not a Disney lover by any means, loves us so he sallies forth into all things Disney for his family. If he had a favorite Disney character I am sure it would be Grumpy!

Me- another "30 something" but unlike my DH, I LOVE all things Disney. I have been addicted since I was a child and I am hoping my kids follow in my footsteps! Favorite Disney characters: Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, Figment, Abu, Aladdin, Beast, Sebastian, Jiminy Cricket, Donald Duck, the Toy Story Crew and more...

"Aladdin"- He had just turned 9 at the time of travel. He is my partner in Disney planning! He really does enjoy thinking about where we are going to eat, sleep and play months in advance (unlike his dad). His favorite Disney characters are: Mickey Mouse, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Hercules, Tigger, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch and Tigger.

"Goofy"-At travel time he was getting ready to celebrate his 6th birthday...which we did do Disney style (more details to come). His favorite Disney characters are: Squirt, Goofy, Pluto, Figment, Piglet, Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh and the Toy Story crew.

"Stitch"-Age 4 and 1/2 at trip time. Grumpy by nature, but also way cute and loveable...Stitch is not only a favorite character but the way of life he follows. Other favorite Disney characters: Crush, ALL THINGS TOY STORY especially Buzz Lightyear, Donald Duck, Figment, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Goofy and Pluto.

The purpose of the trip? To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary AND our "Goofy's" 6th birthday. Also, it was what is fast becoming an annual trip and the first time we enjoyed Disney's dining plan for FREE!! The dates of our trip? September 4-September 14 2005.



To the mouse we go!! Okay, keep in mind hurricane Katrina had just hit, gas prices were soaring, there were rumors that gas might not be available in certain areas and a tropical storm/could be hurricane was brewing that might have Orlando in it's path...some sane people would have canceled their travel plans and stayed put but we had been looking forward to this trip and we figured we would just look for the cheapest gas stations and always keep our gas tank at least half full... So on September 1 we left our worries behind and started out toward WDW!

September 4: Disney Day 1:DISNEY WORLD HERE WE COME!! At departure time we were about six hours from WDW's welcome sign. We are a family who doesn't mind driving. Even our DS's are great passengers. But all of us were more than just a little antsy knowing that at the end of this drive we would be at the happiest place on earth (and ready to make our very own happy memories). The ride was the LONGEST ride ever.

The hours seemed to stretch out to impossible length and we had almost given up hope when we glanced the beloved Welcome to Florida sign. A family tradition of ours is to stop at the Florida Welcome Center. As a little girl whenever my family came to WDW this was something we did as well...stopped for that glass of orange juice. It may be corny but I get a real kick out of doing the same thing with my boys. This is also the point our Disney vacation seems "real" for the first time. We pick up the current Disney park guides at the visitor's center. The one's with the current operating hours listed in them, the glossy pictures, the descriptions of the new attractions...we devour these over the last few hours of the trip, for some reason, this really gets us in a Disney mood.

Buckled back up and finally in the right state we set off. For a while now we have been seeing the "Buy Discount Tickets for Disney World this Exit" signs. But now we get our first glimpse of a real Disney sign. This time it was for Soarin'. As the Disney signs started getting more frequent we knew we were getting closer and closer...if possible we got even more excited. By the time we got to the greater Orlando area we were all (excepting my dh) just about ready to burst. FINALLY we start seeing freeway exit signs with Disney written on them!! And then we drive under the Welcome to Walt Disney World sign and all of the worries we had about getting stuck with no gas or having to pay triple what we had planned for gas or any other care in the world evaporated...we were finally and oh so happily at Disney World!

This time we chose to stay at the All Stars Movies resort. This was our second trip to that resort. Along with AKL it is a family favorite. The reason it was chosen for this trip...our little "Stitch" is a HUGE (and when I say huge I mean as big as Buzz Lightyear in the hotel courtyard) Toy Story fan. We wanted this trip to be enchanting for him since it was likely to be the first one that he would really remember.

We drive up to the guard booth and my husband flashes his driver's license and says we will be staying at ASM and our very last hurdle is cleared...we drive up to our home for the next two weeks. After parking our car we all scramble into the lobby and we hear the familiar music "da da da na da da na na" and our smiles get so big we feel like we might float away. We send our sons to the area where the cartoons are rolling and stand in line to get checked in. The line passed quickly and we took our turn at the check in desk **minor complaint: We could barely understand the woman checking us in, she was nice but earning her ears (read new) and had a thick accent of some sort that my DH and I couldn't place or decipher. Lucky for us we had been there before and she drew out where our rooms were so things did work out but not as smooth as we would have liked.** We were staying in the 101 Dalmatians building. We would have rather stayed in the Toy Story building (and had requested that when we booked) but the communication was so poor at check in that we didn't realize until we walked over to our room that we weren't in the Toy Story building. At that point, we didn't want to go back and switch it...we also love the 101 Dalmatians movie and we were itching to get into our rooms and get settled. For this trip we chose to have two connecting rooms. We were able to spread out by doing this and I (the only female in the family) was able to claim my own bathroom!! This really did make getting ready in the morning a lot easier!

After taking our bags up to our rooms we did a quick unpack and then headed out to take stock of the resort (even though we had been there before it was fun to do). We took photos of the pools and of course we took TONS of photos of the Toy Story building courtyard (we did stop in the other areas as well for photo ops).

We were not disappointed in "our Stitch's" reaction to the Toy Story courtyard. He didn't speak as he reverently approached the huge Buzz Lightyear and rubbed the tip of his foot, he just gasped for air and smiled from ear to ear. I think we spent about an hour and a half total exploring (with a good bit of that time being in the Toy Story courtyard). Finally we returned to our room, grabbed our pins (dh doesn't have any) headed out to downtown Disney.

**more on our first Disney night in the next post**

Best Moment of the Day so far: Seeing the Disney signs along the side of the freeway and knowing we were getting closer! Driving under the WDW sign and knowing we were there! Having a cup of OJ at the FL welcome center. Seeing "Stitch" see big Buzz.

Worst Moment of the Day so far: Having trouble communicating with the check in desk CM.

 

[pumba]

I love it.......I can just imagine seeing your son and Buzz ....I love this resort too and we returned the beginning of May and I have yet had time to write a report too.......thanks for your beginning of your trip

 

[jaycns]

The troops:
DH- a "30 something" who although not a Disney lover by any means, loves us so he sallies forth into all things Disney for his family. If he had a favorite Disney character I am sure it would be Grumpy!

Me- another "30 something" but unlike my DH, I LOVE all things Disney. I have been addicted since I was a child and I am hoping my kids follow in my footsteps! Favorite Disney characters: Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, Figment, Abu, Aladdin, Beast, Sebastian, Jiminy Cricket, Donald Duck, the Toy Story Crew and more...

"Aladdin"- He had just turned 9 at the time of travel. He is my partner in Disney planning! He really does enjoy thinking about where we are going to eat, sleep and play months in advance (unlike his dad). His favorite Disney characters are: Mickey Mouse, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Hercules, Tigger, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch and Tigger.

"Goofy"-At travel time he was getting ready to celebrate his 6th birthday...which we did do Disney style (more details to come). His favorite Disney characters are: Squirt, Goofy, Pluto, Figment, Piglet, Winnie the Pooh and the Toy Story crew.

"Stitch"-Age 4 and 1/2 at trip time. Grumpy by nature, but also way cute and loveable...Stitch is not only a favorite character but the way of life he follows. Other favorite Disney characters: Crush, ALL THINGS TOY STORY especially Buzz Lightyear, Donald Duck, Figment, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Goofy and Pluto.

The purpose of the trip? To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary AND our Goofy's 6th birthday. Also, it was what is fast becoming an annual trip and the first time we enjoyed Disney's dining plan for FREE!! The dates of our trip? September 4-September 14 2005.

September 4, Disney Day 1 (continued): Pin lanyards hanging around our necks, key to the world cards in our pockets and we were off to Downtown Disney. This is another one of our family traditions. We go to DTD on our first evening. It's a great way to feel like you are at Disney without wasting a park admission the first night. We like to get most of our shopping "must haves" taken care of and our ds's get to pick out their Disney hat of choice to wear throughout the coming week. They can pick any hat they want as long as it will help them stay out of the sun and not be too hot to wear all week long (which eliminates almost everything but the Mickey ears and baseball cap type hats). This trip "Aladdin" chose to wear a white with red and black trim Mickey Mouse Club cap. "Goofy" chose to wear a Pluto cap with long ears flapping down the sides. "Stitch" chose to get a glow in the dark Buzz Lightyear cap.

We also got three boxes worth of Mr. Potato Head parts. We had brought three bare Mr. Potato Head's with us to WDW (we didn't want to waste the space in the box with empty bodies that you could get anywhere, we wanted the WDW only accessories and parts). That was a LOT of fun to pick out and the boys still have the parts and play with them every so often. We worked on getting as many parts as humanly possible into each box while still being able to close them.

Another big thing I was looking for was to get picture frames/scrapbook stuff to display all of the many photos we knew we would be taken (and we did take TONS of them).

The only thing we did not find that was on our "must have" list was the GI Joe Indiana Jones figure. "Aladdin" had seen him on our last trip and saved up his own money to get him...we were not about to spend that much money on an action figure ourselves (I think it was $34.99). Our "Aladdin" was disappointed but we told him we would keep looking and we were sure to find it before the week was out.

After shopping we headed over to the Earl of Sandwich for our favorite DTD meal. We LOVE almost everything on the menu! And this was our first time trying out the free Disney Dining Plan. What fun it was to hand them our card and be able to get full meals for nothing (did I mention yet that we LOVED free dining?!). I got my all time favorite sandwich, The Caprese - sliced fresh mozzarella, roma tomatoes, fresh basil and drizzled virgin olive oil, an Earl's Grey Lemonade and an oatmeal cookie. DH got his favorite, The Full Montague - roast beef and turkey with cheddar and swiss cheese, romaine lettuce, tomato and mustard sauce, a soda and a chocolate chip cookie. Our ds's all picked the grilled cheese and loved it (they also like the peanut butter and jelly), bottled water and cupcakes.

After dinner we headed over to the pin trading store. Each child had been given 15 pins before we left home (I bought them on eBay for about $2.50 a pin). We would buy each of them only one special pin and after that they had to trade for what they wanted. We loved wandering around looking at the pins, trading with the CMs and buying four special pins (I ended up with one too) that we didn't even add to our lanyards (they weren't for trade and we didn't want to lose them).

Upon heading out of the pin emporium we saw a silhouette artist and had the boys' silhouette's made(we have 3 done of each ds so far and hope to continue to add more to our collection).

We then took to exploring the other stores and taking pictures. "Stitch" was posing by the window of Disney's Days of Christmas when he was BURNED by a light bulb from the strand of Christmas lights. One second he was standing next to the window smiling and the next second he was screaming and swatting at his leg. I thought he must have been stung by something or other until I looked...there on his leg was a burn the same size as the round bulb he had backed up into. BE CAREFUL when posing near the windows. The light bulbs get HOT!! I was really upset that Disney would put something that could burn you where it could come in contact with a young child (or any guest for that matter). Our ds was burned about half way down on the back of his calf. I was unimpressed with the reaction of the CMs...at first I sent my husband in to get a band aid from Mickey's Mart(I was going to inform them in order that someone else not get hurt AFTER we calmed our son who had a huge blister and had lost a layer of skin about the size of a dime). We had to walk a bit away from the Christmas store as my son was screaming and terrified of that building at this point since he was too young to know what was really going on, he kept saying that Mickey's Christmas stung him. My husband returns and tells me that they directed us over to the first aid station...I was furious (my son is one of those kids who will calm down instantly once a band aid is placed on whatever boo boo he has. It doesn't matter how serious, he firmly believes a band aid cures all). But he was screaming and in a LOT of pain and I wanted a band aid then and there, I didn't want to have to walk holding him, pushing a stroller, keeping track of two other kids, trying to keep up with all the rest of the stuff we had and him screaming bloody murder the entire time. So I went into Mickey Mart myself and told them I wanted to speak to a manager and I needed a band-aid NOW. Well, we got a band-aid and the manager was apologetic after we told HOW my son got hurt. I know Disney directs you to the first aid station for a reason. I get that. I just knew they had a band aid and I needed it to calm my son down enough to get him over to the first aid area *this may be a good time to interject that my son has sensory integration disorder, basically he flips out with change and has certain safe/comfort things that help him deal with new things...I was the bad mom that forgot the band aids in the hotel room that night, we usually do carry them with us but it truly was a case of "needing" a band aid or I wouldn't have been so pushy** Well, after hearing WHY I wanted the band aid, the CM couldn't have been nicer (which in itself irked me, as if my ds had scraped his knee they wouldn't have given us one but since Disney caused a burn they could cough one up?!!). Not only did band aids and burn ointment appear as if by magic, but my son was given two pins and his brothers were each given one and we were walked over to the first aid station. Hopefully they have rectified the situation and use cooler burning bulbs on the windows where a guest could brush up against one. YES, this was upsetting but things like this do happen everywhere and although he still has a scar about the size of a dime on the back of his leg, he wasn't really seriously injured. This one bad experience didn't dampen our Disney spirit for long. It just got me very upset at the time and even thinking about it now, I get "" ...but this was Disney and my son was going to be fine in the long run and although our first night ended on that sour note we would have many many better days yet to come!!

Best Moments of the Day: Actually getting to WDW AND watching my son see the huge Buzz Lightyear at ASM for the first time.

Worst Moment of the Day (and of the trip): When "Stitch" got a burn from the Christmas lights around the window at the DTD Christmas store.

 

[jaycns]

The troops:
DH- a "30 something" who although not a Disney lover by any means, loves us so he sallies forth into all things Disney for his family. If he had a favorite Disney character I am sure it would be Grumpy!

Me- another "30 something" but unlike my DH, I LOVE all things Disney. I have been addicted since I was a child and I am hoping my kids follow in my footsteps! Favorite Disney characters: Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, Figment, Abu, Aladdin, Beast, Sebastian, Jiminy Cricket, Donald Duck, the Toy Story Crew and more...

"Aladdin"- He had just turned 9 at the time of travel. He is my partner in Disney planning! He really does enjoy thinking about where we are going to eat, sleep and play months in advance (unlike his dad). His favorite Disney characters are: Mickey Mouse, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Hercules, Tigger, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch and Tigger.

"Goofy"-At travel time he was getting ready to celebrate his 6th birthday...which we did do Disney style (more details to come). His favorite Disney characters are: Squirt, Goofy, Pluto, Figment, Piglet, Winnie the Pooh and the Toy Story crew.

"Stitch"-Age 4 and 1/2 at trip time. Grumpy by nature, but also way cute and loveable...Stitch is not only a favorite character but the way of life he follows. Other favorite Disney characters: Crush, ALL THINGS TOY STORY, Donald Duck, Figment, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Goofy and Pluto.

The purpose of the trip? To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary AND our Goofy's 6th birthday. Also, it was what is fast becoming an annual trip and the first time we enjoyed Disney's dining plan for FREE!! The dates of our trip? September 4-September 14 2005.

September 5, Discovery Cove/Chef Mickey's: This day dawned bright and beautiful and we were at Disney!! The upset of last night was long forgotten by "Stitch" and we were all excited about what the day had in store! Today was the day my dh and I were treating ourselves to a return trip to Discovery Cove. We L-O-V-E-D Discovery Cove the last time we went (two years prior to this visit) and for our 10th anniversary we wanted another laid back, romantic day all to ourselves.

We let the boys sleep in and got ready while waiting for their sitter from All About Kids (we had used them two years ago when we ventured to Discovery Cove for the first time and were very pleased with their service and felt good about leaving our children with them...something I don't do lightly so when we were thinking of doing it again, it was only natural to once again use such a great agency). The sitter this time was a grandma who had a LOT of energy. We left our "old" digital camera with her and asked if she would mind taking of pictures of the kids further exploring the courtyards. Not only did she not mind but she took tons of them!! When we got back that night we saw what they did all day long!! That was a lot of fun for us (and eased our worried little minds).

The boys spent the day splashing in the kiddie pool, playing in the arcade, exploring the courtyards, playing on the playground and from the looks of the pictures they had a TON of fun. One of my favorite pictures that the sitter took had all of the boys posed with RC (the rc car from TS) with "Stitch" actually kissing RC!! Another favorite was them in the tv outside of our building with the Dalmatians. When we returned the boys were playing Trouble with the sitter (we had asked her to have them in the room at that time and dressed so that when we returned we could get going to Chef Mickey's for dinner).

Our day at Discovery Cove was pure bliss. I know, I know, it's not Disney...but it is magic of a different sort and if you are at all interested in snorkeling, dolphins, sting rays (my personal favorite) or lush sandy beaches then Discovery Cove is a theme park must. We did the dolphin swim on a previous trip so this time we skipped it and spent most of our time snorkeling in the tropical lagoon and wading among the sting rays. We also enjoyed floating around the lazy river that circles the park. The day was really romantic and wonderful. In fact, we are debating doing it again this coming September (so much for a once in a lifetime treat, it's just so wonderful we want to go back again and again). We left refreshed and relaxed and ready to take Disney by storm over the next 12 days!

After our return we quickly got ready and headed over to the Contemporary. This is one Disney resort we had never stayed at before. We enjoyed our night there so much that we will be staying there for a week this September. We arrived at Chef Mickey's about an hour before our ADR. We took the time to explore the shops and the rest of the resort and loved what we saw. After eating at Chef Mickey's which is a whole lot of wonderful mixed in with some decent food, fun characters and a great atmosphere we took a quick trip on the monorail. Just a quick round trip ride (suggested by our server who told us it was just about time for the water parade and that the monorail waiting area had a great view). We watched the water parade go by and then took a quick zip in the front of the monorail (my dh rode in back with the "regular guests" but the boys and I enjoyed being up front). We had a great conversation with the monorail operator and it was one of the best memories for me of our trip. My boys were so excited to be "helping drive" that they were all smiles and when they were given their "monorail license" they each about went through the roof with happiness. .

We enjoyed Chef Mickey's so much that we have now added it to our "must do each trip" list. All in all we spent about three hours enjoying the CR and enjoyed every minute of it (once again, YIPPEE for the Disney Dining Plan)!!

Best Moments of the Day: ALL day long at Discovery Cove AND "driving" the monorail with my sons.

Worst Moments of the Day: NONE!

 

[jaycns]

The troops:
DH- a "30 something" who although not a Disney lover by any means, loves us so he sallies forth into all things Disney for his family. If he had a favorite Disney character I am sure it would be Grumpy!

Me- another "30 something" but unlike my DH, I LOVE all things Disney. I have been addicted since I was a child and I am hoping my kids follow in my footsteps! Favorite Disney characters: Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, Figment, Abu, Aladdin, Beast, Sebastian, Jiminy Cricket, Donald Duck, the Toy Story Crew and more...

"Aladdin"- He had just turned 9 at the time of travel. He is my partner in Disney planning! He really does enjoy thinking about where we are going to eat, sleep and play months in advance (unlike his dad). His favorite Disney characters are: Mickey Mouse, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Hercules, Tigger, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch and Tigger.

"Goofy"-At travel time he was getting ready to celebrate his 6th birthday...which we did do Disney style (more details to come). His favorite Disney characters are: Squirt, Goofy, Pluto, Figment, Piglet, Winnie the Pooh and the Toy Story crew.

"Stitch"-Age 4 and 1/2 at trip time. Grumpy by nature, but also way cute and loveable...Stitch is not only a favorite character but the way of life he follows. Other favorite Disney characters: Crush, ALL THINGS TOY STORY, Donald Duck, Figment, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Goofy and Pluto.

The purpose of the trip? To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary AND our Goofy's 6th birthday. Also, it was what is fast becoming an annual trip and the first time we enjoyed Disney's dining plan for FREE!! The dates of our trip? September 4-September 14 2005.

September 6, Epcot: Another bright and sunny morning at the ASM. After having a delicious breakfast of mushed bananas Skittles (um...it's vacation so uh...if my boys eat candy for breakfast that should be okay, right? ), and breakfast bars we were off to our first "real" Disney day. We hopped in our van and took off for Epcot. Being one of the first to arrive we lined up like good little guests and waited for the rope drop. As we were let into the park, the CM announced, enjoy having the park to yourselves today, this is predicted to be one of the lowest crowd days all year long. I love Disney without lines/crowds/more lines!! The first thing we did was head over to Test Track. This is a family favorite. After being tested to the extreme (and grabbing a fast pass for later) we headed over to Soarin'.

When we got to the Land, we were lucky enough to walk right on to Soarin'(other than the short wait once you are divided into rows)! The preshow on the tv monitors had us laughing. By the last time we went on Soarin' this trip we could all recite it line for line and we loved laughing when the "big kid" takes off his Mickey ears! I have to admit, I am chicken when it comes to heights...so I was a bit apprehensive about riding on Soarin'. Well, that worry was unfounded. Not only did it not make me sick/run screaming with terror afterward/cry like a baby it was so amazing and wonderful it quickly became one of my all time favorite rides. About half of the time we rode Soarin' this trip people started clapping when the ride was done. I love flying over the forest and smelling the pine trees! And coming up over the edge of the mountain is amazing too!

After riding Soarin' THREE times in a row with no waits to speak of in between we grabbed a fast pass for a later ride on Soarin' and went back to Test Track for another ride. After this we took some time working our way through both Innovations plazas. We raced robots (and built some of our own to take home), we made paper and we watched the boys race through Toontown collecting ice cream cones (I think that's what it was) via a computer game.

Back to Soarin' we went (this was SO amazing we just had to ride again) and we were happy to have a fast pass at that point, the stand by wait was 25 minutes long. So we grabbed yet another fast past for Soarin', went on and then rode Living with the Land. Still a great ride. I loved seeing them growing the hanging veggies!! Surprisingly this was the longest wait of the day for us at 10 minutes in line!!

By this time it was about time for lunch so we grabbed a bite to eat at the Sunshine Seasons (still in the Land Pavilion). I had a really good buffalo mozzarella tomato basil salad there! Although the rest of our meal was nothing to write home about, it was nothing to complain about either. After eating we noticed that that Nestle Junior Chef cookie baking was about to start (something we had always wanted to do but never found time for on previous trips). "Aladdin" and "Goofy" took part in it (again "Stitch" doesn't love "new things" and he just didn't want to do it). They had a lot of fun baking cookies and were amazed by the magic of them just popping out right after they went into the oven (only at Disney ). I got some great pictures of my little chefs and highly enjoyed tasting the fruits of their labors after they were done (or should I say the baked goods of their labors?).

We then noticed our fast pass was almost expired (I have heard that they don't expire but we didn't want to chance it) so we hurried over to Soarin' again and rode it yet another time!! **WE LOVE SOARIN'** It was our Goofy's very favorite ride ever!! *Soarin' ride count #5*

On to Journey Into Your Imagination...here we first rode Figment's ride...this was "Stitch's" favorite Epcot ride. Being 4 and 1/2 years old it was right up his alley! We rode this one twice. After our second ride we stopped and played around in the Kodak What If Labs. We emailed pictures of ourselves home morphed with animals (this is SO FUNNY and FREE, it is a must do if you have any sort of interest in it at all). Then we took a long look at getting our picture laser cut into crystal (not real crystal but that's what it looked like)...but we ended up skipping it. NOT that I didn't dearly want one but the price tag seemed a bit much. This is one of the things I am kicking myself about not doing. This coming September I will be getting one! It will be a magical one of a kind remembrance of our Disney trip and our family's adventures there! After buying the cutest little stuffed Figment (which accompanied us everywhere from then on due to "Stitch" being in love with it) we went on to snap a few pictures with the Figment himself before venturing back to Test Track for another ride.

Again, no wait time other than for one pre-show to end so we could get into the next one. We got very lucky indeed, a CM noticed our Aladdin laughing his head off we pulled back up after a riding so she asked him if he would like to come and take a look behind the scenes at TT. Well, we were all then able to walk back and see the banks of camera monitors (they can see you just about everywhere on that ride) and computers and take a very quick (less than 5 minute) tour of the backstage area. Then she took us to the front of the line (skipping the pre-show area all together) and we got to ride again! That right there was the highlight of "Aladdin's" day! He loves TT!

After this we tried to grab another FP for TT but Disney had turned off the machines as their were so few guests in the park and such short lines that they were not needed. So we sent my dh over to grab us Soarin' fast passes to use before dinner at the Garden Grill.

Sadly The Living Seas Pavilion (including Turtle Talk with Crush **a must do since our previous trip so we were sad not to see that one**) was closed. Also closed was the Wonders of Life Pavilion. Our family has yet to enjoy that one. Every time we go to Disney it is the off season...being as it is only open during the peak season we never get to enjoy it. I am sure it is a great pavilion but I will take no lines and no Body Wars/Making of Me any day over long lines and lots of people!!

Fast passes in hand ,we headed over to Ellen's Energy Adventure and had a good time cooling down in the afternoon. We didn't realize just how long this attraction was. By the time we got done (45 minutes later) we had to run to the bathroom or "Stitch" would have been in need of some new shorts. After Ellen we had just enough time to fit in one more Soarin' flight and then we checked in for our Garden Grill dinner seating. We ate a nice leisurely dinner and really enjoyed Chip and Dale, Mickey and Pluto! We love how the restaurant spins and we enjoyed taking another break from the hustle and bustle of the park. We had done more in one morning/afternoon then we ever imagined possible! We had planned on spending an entire day at the front of the park and doing the World Showcase on a second day but we had done everything we wanted at least once so we headed back to the World Showcase after using our last Soarin' fast pass of the day *Soarin' count #6*. On our way over to the World Showcase we did one last Figment ride. " One spark of light..." That song stayed in my head far longer than even It's A Small World After All! Not that I minded in the least, it was a Disney song for a Disney day!!

The World Showcase was just like we remembered it...wonderful and a LONG walk! We spent time in the Mexico and Norway areas. After exploring both Mexico and Norway, we were all getting a bit tired. I wanted to see Illuminations but I knew we would be back another day so we headed back to the other side of the park to work our way out of Epcot and back to the resort.

Who should await our arrival back to our room but our very own Mr. Potato Head's who had been posed by mouse keeping and were waiting in the window to welcome us home! After returning to our resort that night (we got back at about 8:00 PM we were struck with the fact that we had forgotten to ride an all time family favorite, Spaceship Earth...so promising each other we wouldn't forget again we settled in for the night. My dh went to grab drinks in our refillable mugs. I bathed the boys and took a shower myself and then we set everything out for the next day. Sorted out the pins we wanted to keep from those we were still willing to trade and went to sleep...it wasn't long before we were waking up to another beautiful Disney day!

Best moment of the day? Our first ride on Soarin' AND our backstage peek at Test Track.

Worst moment of the day? Realizing that we forgot to ride Spaceship Earth.

 

[dismom9761]

I love the trip report and look forward to more.We were there at the same time and the lines were GREAT!!

 

[glass- slippers]

Enjoying your report!

 

[jaycns]

Good to know people are reading the trip report. Thanks for the supportive comments! Part 4 is coming up!

 

[jaycns]

The troops:
DH- a "30 something" who although not a Disney lover by any means, loves us so he sallies forth into all things Disney for his family. If he had a favorite Disney character I am sure it would be Grumpy!

Me- another "30 something" but unlike my DH, I LOVE all things Disney. I have been addicted since I was a child and I am hoping my kids follow in my footsteps! Favorite Disney characters: Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, Figment, Abu, Aladdin, Beast, Sebastian, Jiminy Cricket, Donald Duck, the Toy Story Crew and more...

"Aladdin"- He had just turned 9 at the time of travel. He is my partner in Disney planning! He really does enjoy thinking about where we are going to eat, sleep and play months in advance (unlike his dad). His favorite Disney characters are: Mickey Mouse, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Hercules, Tigger, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch and Tigger.

"Goofy"-At travel time he was getting ready to celebrate his 6th birthday...which we did do Disney style (more details to come). His favorite Disney characters are: Squirt, Goofy, Pluto, Figment, Piglet, Winnie the Pooh and the Toy Story crew.

"Stitch"-Age 4 and 1/2 at trip time. Grumpy by nature, but also way cute and loveable...Stitch is not only a favorite character but the way of life he follows. Other favorite Disney characters: Crush, ALL THINGS TOY STORY, Donald Duck, Figment, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Goofy and Pluto.

The purpose of the trip? To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary AND our Goofy's 6th birthday. Also, it was what is fast becoming an annual trip and the first time we enjoyed Disney's dining plan for FREE!! The dates of our trip? September 4-September 14 2005.

September 7, Animal Kingdom/ Magic Kingdom: The day started VERY early. We were out the door by 7:15 AM. We had an 8:00 AM breakfast with Donald Duck that we did not want to be late for. I promise that the breakfast we had at Donald's Breakfastasaurus was more nutritious than the Skittles I let me kids dig into the morning before!! As we approached the admission gates I was so happy that we had gotten up and out the door that early. We were almost the only people in sight. Taking our time once inside the AK was fun. We took the time to take pictures of the Tree of Life and lots of other stuff we passed with nobody else in the background. Those pictures are some of our favorites from the entire trip!

We really enjoyed seeing Donald Duck and the rest of the gang. A highlight of the meal (for everyone but me at the time) was when the waitress came over and pretended to squirt mustard on me...boy, did she get me good, I must have jumped a foot! She had a small yarn that would "squirt" out of the mustard bottle when she squeezed it. To this day if someone in our family asks for mustard me jumping in my seat is bound to come up!

Although we didn't at all feel rushed we were done with breakfast and out the door by 8:50 AM. "Aladdin" and myself headed over to Dinosaur for our first ride of the day. We were the very first people to ride once the park opened! That always makes for a great time! After riding we headed over to Primeval Whirl. This is my favorite ride at AK (I will have to revisit that claim after riding EE which I sadly have yet to do). While "Aladdin" and I again took a ride "Goofy/Stitch" and dh watched a great act featuring "painters" who did physical comedy stuff. My dh didn't catch the name of the act but he said they were really good. You might wonder how "Aladdin" and I missed an entire act riding only one ride that had NO LINE at all...well, it is because we rode it 4 times in a row without ever getting off of the ride. That was a WHOLE lot of fun for both of us!! THANK YOU CM's at Primeval Whirl. We had so much fun riding over and over and over again!

Triceratops Spin was next on our list. Again, the lines were no problem (in fact, not a line was to be seen). We rode this three times and then started to head over to take a look at the construction for the then soon to be ride Expedition Everest.

On our way to see the progress they were making at the work site we stopped to visit with a friendly CM outside of the Tarzan show. She told us to be sure to come back and see the Tarzan show which started in about 45 minutes. My boys responded to that with an "ahhh ahhhh ahhhh ahhhh ahhhh" and a good old fashioned chest pounding!! As soon as they did that the CM asked them if they would mind doing her a favor and helping Tarzan kick off his show. She told "Aladdin" that he would be the king of the jungle and "Goofy" and "Stitch" would be the princes of the jungle. Of course we were more than happy to oblige! As soon as the theater opened we were taken down to a VIP seating area (center stage half way back right behind the walkway where they roller blade and right in front of the center part of the stage that juts out into the audience). The boys were then given Lemon Ices to enjoy during the show, McDonald's gift cards to use later and each of them received a Magical Moments certificate from the Tarzan Rocks cast. To kick off the show our little princes were announced and then gave a great big Tarzan yell (and if I do say so myself a very good chest pounding). It was just about the cutest thing ever for a parent to watch! Then the show started and it was just as amazing as the first time we saw it. I loved the high energy, the music, the in-line skaters, the aerial acrobatics and of course Terk! My boys were in seventh heaven when they got to give Terk a high five during the show!! All in all Tarzan really did rock!! This is one show I am sad to see gone. Thankfully my boys now have a priceless memory of a great show before it closed it's doors for good. "AHHHH AHHH AHHH AHHH AHHHHHHHHHHH"

After the Tarzan show we headed straight to It's Tough to be a Bug. This attraction is so well themed. Heading down the path one could really imagine being an ant crawling back to the anthill at the base of a tree. When the bugs are allowed to leave first at the end of the show, it always makes me laugh so hard it hurts. I love watching the reactions of others in the show to that one!! This year was the first time we convinced all three of our sons to wear the 3-D glasses at once. Previously at least one (if not more) of our boys was always afraid to watch the shows with the glasses on. It was nice to watch the show with everyone in our family enjoying at the same time.

Next we went over to Asia and for the first time did Kali River Rapids (before this trip our youngest ds had been too short to ride so we all skipped it). It was a fun ride but way too short. Lucky for us once again we found no wait to ride. We donned our ponchos, stored our camera bag in a grocery bag and tied it shut and made our way to the boarding area. We must have looked strange in full rain gear since the sky was blue and the clouds were fluffy and few. However, after exiting the ride dry while we saw others wringing out the clothes they were wearing we didn't feel so strange any more!! THANK YOU DIS BOARD for the great tip!!

After we rode Kali a few times with no wait we thought it just might be time to dry out and there was a Flights of Wonder show starting soon. This show is always entertaining and was a good way to give our feet a rest after a whole lot of walking.

Next we headed over to Africa and took a ride on Kilimanjaro Safari. We rode it twice in a row. The first time we didn't see a whole lot of animal activity. Honestly, we wouldn't have gone again right then other than "Aladdin" insisted (he is a real animal lover). However, it was well worth the second trip. Amazingly it seemed that every animal that had remained hidden five minutes earlier was now out and about and seemingly waiting to have a picture taken. It was the best ride on KS we ever had.

By the time we had done all of this it was almost 1:30 and we were getting MIGHTY hungry!! We started to walk over to Pizzafari for a late lunch (we had been snacking on popcorn all morning long...LOVE the Disney Dining Plan). Upon entering the restaurant though we found the first hitch to the DDP...the kids had to order off of the kids menu...what "genius" thought up the great idea that at a pizza place kids don't have PIZZA on the kid's menu...AHHHHH!! Well, my boys were not in the mood for PB-n-J or cheese quesadilla at a pizza place. Seriously, this has to be one of the worst menu choices anywhere. GRRR...kids love pizza. Why wouldn't you have a pizza offering for them in a pizza restaurant. Well, we figured we might as well leave rather than stay and pay for food (hee hee hee...we did get spoiled by the then free DDP). We had hit everything we wanted to other than The Festival of the Lion King and the parade. But we had a whole other park to visit later that evening so we figured going back to ASM and taking a quick nap wouldn't hurt.

We returned to ASM and my dh went down to the food court. He got the desired pizza, cookies and salads, filled our ASM mugs and returned to our room bearing a very late but tasty lunch. We all enjoyed our lunch and then set the alarm and slept for a good three hours. We woke up refreshed and ready to take on the second half of our day...we were going to be hopping over to the Magic Kingdom for a very late night (EMH night at MK).

**to be continued**

Best Moment of the Day (so far): The boys being chosen as princes of the jungle at the Tarzan show AND having AK all to ourselves on our way to an early breakfast at DB.

Worst Moment of the Day (so far): Learning that Pizzasafari did not serve pizza as a kid's meal choice. Once again...DUH...kids love pizza...what on earth is up with that??!!

 

[jaycns]

I am tired tonight. I will continue with a bit more tomorrow. Have Disney dreams!! Teaser...next up... Sept. 7 continued, our EMH night at MK.

 

[fancythemouse]

great TR, loving it!

 

[nicolemarie]

The hours seemed to stretch out to impossible length and we had almost given up hope when we glanced the beloved Welcome to Florida sign. A family tradition of ours is to stop at the Florida Welcome Center. As a little girl whenever my family came to WDW this was something we did as well...stopped for that glass of orange juice. It may be corny but I get a real kick out of doing the same thing with my boys. This is also the point our Disney vacation seems "real" for the first time. We pick up the current Disney park guides at the visitor's center. The one's with the current operating hours listed in them, the glossy pictures, the descriptions of the new attractions...we devour these over the last few hours of the trip, for some reason, this really gets us in a Disney mood.

We drive from Central Georgia and we do the EXACT same thing!!!

I even have pictures of it on the last page of my trip report! I'd link it for you if I knew how - this is not a shameless request for you to read the report, but check out the last page where the pics are...you'll get a kick out of it!!

Great report...I haven't gotten all the way through, but I'm going to soon.

Thanks for sharing this with us!

 

[jaycns]

We drive from Central Georgia and we do the EXACT same thing!!!

I even have pictures of it on the last page of my trip report! I'd link it for you if I knew how - this is not a shameless request for you to read the report, but check out the last page where the pics are...you'll get a kick out of it!!

Great report...I haven't gotten all the way through, but I'm going to soon.

Thanks for sharing this with us!

It's good to know that we aren't the only ones who do that! I just love that I did it as a girl and now my kids are getting to do it too! And it's something I missed when we flew down. Funny how little things grow to mean a lot! And as far as the shameless request, I L-O-V-E reading trip reports!! It's my newest addiction. I will be sure to read the trip report, it seems that they are the only things between me and going crazy waiting for our next trip this coming September!!

Thanks for reading and I will be adding more very very soon.

 

[jaycns]

The troops:
DH- a "30 something" who although not a Disney lover by any means, loves us so he sallies forth into all things Disney for his family. If he had a favorite Disney character I am sure it would be Grumpy!

Me- another "30 something" but unlike my DH, I LOVE all things Disney. I have been addicted since I was a child and I am hoping my kids follow in my footsteps! Favorite Disney characters: Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, Figment, Abu, Aladdin, Beast, Sebastian, Jiminy Cricket, Donald Duck, the Toy Story Crew and more...

"Aladdin"- He had just turned 9 at the time of travel. He is my partner in Disney planning! He really does enjoy thinking about where we are going to eat, sleep and play months in advance (unlike his dad). His favorite Disney characters are: Mickey Mouse, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Hercules, Tigger, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch and Tigger.

"Goofy"-At travel time he was getting ready to celebrate his 6th birthday...which we did do Disney style (more details to come). His favorite Disney characters are: Squirt, Goofy, Pluto, Figment, Piglet, Winnie the Pooh, Winnie the Pooh and the Toy Story crew.

"Stitch"-Age 4 and 1/2 at trip time. Grumpy by nature, but also way cute and loveable...Stitch is not only a favorite character but the way of life he follows. Other favorite Disney characters: Crush, ALL THINGS TOY STORY, Donald Duck, Figment, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Goofy and Pluto.

The purpose of the trip? To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary AND our Goofy's 6th birthday. Also, it was what is fast becoming an annual trip and the first time we enjoyed Disney's dining plan for FREE!! The dates of our trip? September 4-September 14 2005.


September 7, Animal Kingdom/Magic Kingdom (continued):We woke up refreshed and ready to take on our second park of the day. This was the Extra Magic Hour night for the Magic Kingdom. So after our siesta we hopped in our car and drove over to the Magic Kingdom. We were so happy to be there!! We knew this would be the first of three visits we would make to MK this trip and that in itself was so very exciting. We started out by seeing Mickey's Philharmagic, taking two different boat rides...one to the jungle and one with pirates!! And then it was just about time for a late dinner at the Crystal Palace. The food was great. Fresh, hot, and oh so tasty ( we LOVE the Disney Dining Plan). Tigger made it really special for "Goofy". Tigger took his hat and placed it up on top of one of the lamps. Then he proceeded to show "Goofy" that he should bounce to get it. He played with him for about three minutes before finally moving on. It was such a happy time for our son! He thought Tigger was so naughty yet so funny. The rest of our vacation whenever he saw Tigger he made sure that he held on to his hat!!

Just as we were finishing up dinner our eldest son told us he was getting a headache. With him that means migraine (when he says it in a panic and his eyes start to glaze over). Although we didn't want to leave, we knew it was time to make our way out of the park...however, upon exiting the Crystal Palace we realized that Wishes was about to start, which...you guessed it...meant that Main Street (our way out) was TOTALLY packed. As Wishes started I noted what a PERFECT viewing spot we would have had from the porch of the Crystal Palace if we wouldn't have had to walk away. But alas, the noise was not mixing well with my son's "pre"-migraine. Being it was packed I figured we needed to find a quiet place to ride out the fireworks/his "pre"-migraine and either he would be better (we had given him the med. we carry as soon as he mentioned he was getting one and were hopeful we had gotten him his meds in time so the migraine itself would be averted and we would be able to enjoy the rest of the night) OR the way out would clear and we could get him to the car without having to fight the way through with him barely able to walk (the way he gets during a full blown migraine).

So, we walked over toward Adventureland. We found a dark bench and sat down. Still the fireworks and Wishes soundtrack being pumped out on the speakers was too loud. We purchased a Coke (caffeine helps him recover more quickly) and I took him into the women's bathroom (sorry if this offends anyone but he needed the quietest place, he wanted me to be the one helping him and I happen to be a grown woman who could not enter the men's room with him). I took him in, popped in the earplugs (we carry them because "Stitch" doesn't like loud rides) to mute the music in the restroom, got him a cool paper towel to put over his eyes and had him take a seat on a porcelain throne until he was doing well enough to retire back to our darkened bench. We were sitting near PO TC and the park seemed almost totally empty. A sweet CM came over to check on us, but thankfully after about 15 minutes (and just about the time the CM came over) "Aladdin" started to say he felt a whole lot better. It was one of the few times he bounced back that quickly, but he insisted that he felt lots better and didn't want to leave. His eyes were once again clear and thanks to getting him the pill before it really took hold (and the caffeine) I think he averted it in the early warning stages...

That medical drama aside, and "Aladdin" swearing that not only did he not want to leave but he would be "sad as anything" if we left we figured, might as well stay. So we went on to an empty POTC ride and took our second trip through pirate infested waters. Then we headed over to Fantasyland. In Fantasyland we had our longest wait at Peter Pan (about 10 minutes). Then we grabbed a fast pass for Pooh and did IASM and Snow White. After that we insisted my son sit down and rest for a bit (he was ready to go 100 mph but we weren't quite ready to let him yet). After just taking it all in for a bit we went over and took a ride through the Haunted Mansion. All three of my boys have never been scared of this ride (or any other ride with "spook factor" at WDW). "Aladdin" came up with what has turned into a family motto "Mickey won't let anything bad really happen to you on a ride, it's all pretend cause Mickey knows how it's fun to get "good scared" sometimes".

We then went back and rode on Pooh, took in Mickey's Philharmagic again (yes, we do LOVE this show ). I love the smells!! It's beyond magical for me to look over and see my little ones reaching out for the floating jewels with awe on their faces. As long as I live that memory will always bring me a smile. No matter what life brings, I will have sweet Disney memories to help me get through...that really is priceless. And toward the top of all of the memories I put the one of my three little boys awestruck reaching for the shimmering jewels that weren't really there.

Our last stop for the night was Tommorrowland. We rode Buzz about 4 times in a row with wait times of less than a minute each time. Then we walked over to one of our all time favorites (don't ask me why, but we really love this one), the TTA. After riding twice without getting off we took a look at our watches and realized that it was almost closing time. So we asked if we could take one final ride (thank you sweet CM for letting us stay on again) and rode right up until closing time. As we slowly made our way out of the park we were on cloud nine. We had just spent a good bit of time riding and riding again lots of our favorite rides. We did skip anything "rough" because of "Aladdin's" headache but we were more than happy with what we did get to do. And we were happy in the knowledge that we would be back after a quick "sleep". MK was the park on the schedule for the very next day.

We waited for the parking lot tram to come for about 15 minutes...us and about 40 other people...but NO TRAM ever came. Finally we just gave up and walked back to our car. Consider yourself warned...when Disney opens up the park for EMH they don't expect you to take anything but Disney transportation...or at least they won't make it easy on you by keeping the tram running for EMH evenings. Walking back to our car late at night with three VERY tired kids in tow was NOT fun. As you can see from my ticker, we will never let that happen again and are now going to try both the CR and the Poly in order to have monorail transport for our late nights!
The fact that Disney didn't even put out a sign telling us that they had stopped running trams was pretty annoying...but again...this is Disney and the magic is WAY harder to squash than that!!

We finally made it back to our rooms and although we took a quick minute to smile at our Crush and Squirt dolls "watching tv" (they were posed with remote in flipper and the tv on) we were asleep even before our heads hit the pillows. Tomorrow would bring a full day at MK and we felt like we already had a head start!!

Best Moment of the Day (continued): Seeing my boys reach out for the jewels during Mickey's Philharmagic AND "Goofy" having Tigger steal his hat.

Worst Moment of the Day (continued): "Aladdin" getting a "pre"-migraine AND having to walk back to our car at midnight with three tired kids in tow.

 

[jaycns]

Up next...our first full day at MK!! **to be posted when I have more energy to move my fingers over the keys!!**

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[OhMari]

It's never to late for a Trip Report. Glad your son got over his migraine quickly. My oldest always had migraines. Thank goodness for the new meds, well maybe not new anymore that can combat those things.

How did you get tickets for Discovery Cove. You can PM if you want. Thanks for sharing your report with us.

 

[momoftriplets]

Loving your report. I still need to write mine from October. It's so fun to "relive" the magic, isn't it?

 

[jaycns]

The troops:
DH- a "30 something" who although not a Disney lover by any means, loves us so he sallies forth into all things Disney for his family. If he had a favorite Disney character I am sure it would be Grumpy!

Me- another "30 something" but unlike my DH, I LOVE all things Disney. I have been addicted since I was a child and I am hoping my kids follow in my footsteps! Favorite Disney characters: Winnie the Pooh, Stitch, Figment, Abu, Aladdin, Beast, Sebastian, Jiminy Cricket, Donald Duck, the Toy Story Crew and more...

"Aladdin"- He had just turned 9 at the time of travel. He is my partner in Disney planning! He really does enjoy thinking about where we are going to eat, sleep and play months in advance (unlike his dad). His favorite Disney characters are: Mickey Mouse, Aladdin, Peter Pan, Hercules, Tigger, Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Stitch and Tigger.

"Goofy"-At travel time he was getting ready to celebrate his 6th birthday...which we did do Disney style (more details to come). His favorite Disney characters are: Squirt, Goofy, Pluto, Figment, Piglet, Winnie the Pooh and the Toy Story crew.

"Stitch"-Age 4 and 1/2 at trip time. Grumpy by nature, but also way cute and loveable...Stitch is not only a favorite character but the way of life he follows. Other favorite Disney characters: Crush, ALL THINGS TOY STORY, Donald Duck, Figment, Winnie the Pooh, Tigger, Goofy and Pluto.

The purpose of the trip? To celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary AND our Goofy's 6th birthday. Also, it was what is fast becoming an annual trip and the first time we enjoyed Disney's dining plan for FREE!! The dates of our trip? September 4-September 14 2005.

September 8, Magic Kingdom: Morning came way too soon this morning. Having crawled into bed only 7 hours earlier we woke still sleepy...this feeling left the instant I actually opened my eyes and remembered where I was! Something about being at Disney allows me to be ready to go at a moment's notice! After waking the little sleepyheads and feeding them some fruit and cereal we were off to our first full day at MK. We love the Magic Kingdom. It's the first park we think of when we think of Walt Disney World. This morning was especially exciting as we had done a "preview" the night before.

We entered the park at about 9:15 AM (we tried to make the rope drop but the night before had made our morning a bit sluggish and this is vacation...so we took the time to be a bit relaxed). Our first stop, where else!!?? Fantasyland!! We rode Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan and saw Mickey's Philharmagic (which we still hadn't had enough of). Then we headed out and over to see the spooks at the Haunted Mansion We enjoyed this one so much we did it twice. We only had to wait behind about 20 people for the door to open. As soon as it did, we made it right back inside!

Moving on to the "big stuff" we headed over to Frontier Land. This was the first year that our youngest ds was tall enough to ride BTMR and SM. We were so excited for him (he is one daring little guy). Along with being our Stitch's first time it was to be our Goofy's first time as well, he was tall enough on previous trips but not brave enough. As we approached BTMR "Goofy" started to chicken out...but after a short talk he figured he would try it. Well, he was ear to ear smiles when we got off! He was so happy to have tried it he dragged us back to the loading area right away. After our second trip on BTMR we headed over to SPLASH MOUNTAIN!! I L-O-V-E this ride. I would argue that it is the best ride in any Disney park ever. I really enjoy this one. It has everything I need in a ride. We once again had to have a talk with "Goofy" (who was almost 6 at the time) to get him on the ride...and once again, after the ride we had trouble getting ALL three of our boys off!! We rode SM FIVE times in a row (just got off and got right back on). We rode it so much that the CM's in the loading area learned our sons' names!

Finally my dh and I tried to regain control of the SM/BTMR monsters we had created and get them to move on to another land. So we headed off to PotC and the Jungle Cruise. Our longest line of the day came here in Adventureland. Our "Aladdin" is a die hard Aladdin fan. We had to stop and ride the carpets for him. The line was 10 minutes long. And no matter how cute the camels are or how neat the view is, it's still nothing more than a dressed up carnival ride (Dumbo minus the elephant plus a carpet and some camels that spit). It's a fine ride without a wait, but with a wait it's not worth it to me. My sons, however, disagree and since this was a family vacation we all got a say and I was outvoted. Being as nobody had a headache of any sort this morning we went to see the most sarcastic birds we know of in the Tiki Room. I don't care if others think it's a bad show, it never fails to make me smile.

While we were making our way out of the Tiki Room my dh looked down at his watch...UH OH...we were almost late for our ADR at Cinderella's Royal Table. This was our 10th wedding anniversary trip and this day in specific was the day we chose to celebrate it. Being as I live in a home with four males...nobody else really "needed" to eat a princess meal...but my dh was sweet as ever to let me steer our family there. I had always imagined what it would be like to eat in the castle and never been able to do it. So since we were celebrating our anniversary and I did a lot of fast talking my dh agreed it should be done in the castle. We had our anniversary noted on our ADR. It was awesome to take the boys INTO the castle and we even loved using the restrooms there(the theme carries into the restrooms...how about that for some Disney magic)!

Lunch was very good. My dh and I both had Major Domo's Favorite Pie, this ended up being one of dh's favorite meals of the trip. And although you wouldn't have guessed it...all three boys (ages just 9, almost 6 and 4) LOVED this meal. They made a special connection with Snow White(this will come into play again later). I didn't think that boys (at the ages my boys were) would be (or even could be) quite so taken with the princess contingent. BUT...I was wrong and they were. All of them made a big deal over having such charming princes eating there and lingered around for extra hugs and chatting long after the pictures and first hugs were given. Also, the atmosphere though crowded was romantic with the windows and the good food (and my dh and I finally got to sit next to each other...something I insisted on since we were celebrating our anniversary). At the end of our meal our Waiter brought us champagne glasses as a gift for our anniversary. Also, we had little Mickey Mouse head confetti sprinkled in the shape of a heart on our table and I brushed it all off of the table and put it in my pocket and took it home with us . Now we display the glasses in our built in dining room cabinets WITH the confetti inside them. When the light catches them just right they seem to sparkle. Walking past them brings a smile! I really felt so happy that we had chosen WDW as the place to celebrate our 10th anniversary after this meal. It was just perfect in every way. Once again, our hats off to the Disney Dining Plan...more so because it was FREE and even more so because CRT was at that time a 1 credit meal.

After lunch we headed over to Tomorrowland and made the rounds. "Stitch" was still too short for SM and "Goofy" was too apprehensive (the little talk didn't work for this ride) so dh and the two youngest went on Stitch's Great Escape and "Aladdin" and I rode Space Mountain. I didn't mind missing SGE at ALL...I am a BIG Stitch fan. I love that little blue terror...but that attraction is a do only once kind of thing in my book. The shoulder straps hurt my shoulders when he is "bouncing" on them and the flicking lights/loud pointless noises just don't do anything for me.

My dh ALWAYS beats me on the Buzz ride. But this time, THANKS TO my friends at here at the DIS boards I knew about the secret "big point" targets to aim for and I beat him three rides in a row (much to his upset and my glee).

About this time of day we were getting a little bit tired and headed over to see the Country Bears...however we noticed that everyone was lining up for the parade (it was to start in about 10 minutes) so we grabbed a bottle of water and a box of popcorn (DDP rocks) and sat down to wait. After seeing the parade we made our way over to see the Country Bears...while it's nothing overly exciting, we like it well enough and find the corny jokes funny (even after all this time).

Upon exiting the Country Bears we were glad to see most of the parade congestion gone. It was back to the ghouls for us and another ride through the Haunted Mansion. After that we bought an ornament from the Christmas shop (a tradition for our family) and did some pin trading with the CM as the cash register. A very nice guest stopped my boys (after watching them pin trade) and gave them each their choice of a pin from her lanyard. She said she was happy to see pin trading making it's way to the "next generation" and loved to see their spunk and excited faces. She was in a wheelchair and had brown hair. I mention her physical description on the off chance she is one of you reading this...THANK YOU!! That random act of kindness was one my boys have never forgotten. If you are the sweet stranger who shared three pins with three little boys right outside of the Christmas Shop in MK on Sept. 8 just know you made a HUGE impact on those boys and they have since taken to doing "random kindness" on their own at the most unexpected times.

Once again we were almost late for an ADR. We had dinner plans at Liberty Tree Tavern. I know some don't "love" the food but to us, that meal is not about the food but about the characters and the setting (and honestly, to us, the food is not half bad). "Aladdin" is a big fan of American history. The colonial period in particular. So this is always one of his favorite meals. We again had confetti on the table in honor of our anniversary and once again that was just a niceness that could have been skipped but was so appreciated when it was not.

Full again and ready to do some more we headed out and went straight over to The Hall of Presidents. My kids love this too. Maybe they are weird. But we all enjoy this show. After letting our food settle during the show it was time to head over and do a few more rounds on SM and BTMR. Again, the lines were NOT THERE!! We just walked on to SM and had less than a 5 minute wait on BTMR. The gift shop at SM called our name and emptied our wallet quite a bit on our way through.

Finally we headed over to Toontown. By this time it was about an hour before the park was to close. We rode Goofy's Barnstormer (no wait) and then did a very quick walk through of Minnie's house. After that we made our way into the large store where you find Toontown Hall of Fame and quite a few items many kids may just consider a must have. After visiting with Pooh and Friends and Pluto/Donald Duck we lined up to see the princess room. Who should be in the room but SNOW WHITE!! She remembered the boys and talked with them like old friends. That was great for them. She went on and on to Sleeping Beauty about how she had enjoyed lunch with these fine young princes. My boys blushed but smiled and couldn't have been more pleased. Since nobody was waiting to enter the room we were allowed extra time. In talking with them we learned that within the next five minutes all of the characters currently greeting people in the hall would stop doing character greeting and make their way into the store (where they would be joined by Mickey Mouse).

The characters came out and besides our three little princes a handful of kids were around. The characters outnumbered the guests!! On came some party music and the dancing began!! Snow White did a LOT of dancing with our "Goofy" (as did Pluto). Our eldest, "Aladdin", made the rounds of the characters and did the limbo with them. Our youngest, "Stitch", spent the ENTIRE time dancing with Donald Duck. They danced, paraded around the store, limboed, hugged, and chatted until the park closed (which was about 20 minutes after it started). At the end of it all as we were leaving Snow White gave each son a kiss on the cheek and told them they would always be her princes! This was one of those times where I smacked myself over the head for not having brought the video camera. Usually I would rather have prints to scrapbook with...but nothing would have captured that magic like a video! This was an awesome reason to miss the fireworks (even though we had already missed them the night before due to the headache). I don't know if this a regular event BUT I hope it is! We would love to enjoy that level of interaction with so many characters all at once again!


We then slowly made our way back to the front and out of the park. We took our time and enjoyed the sights and sounds. YES, it had been a very long day (if you figure in the late night we had the night before it felt even longer) but it was well worth it and much enjoyed.

Back at ASM we noted that we still had yet to swim in our hotel's main pool and made plans to do that the next night. Upon arriving at our room we found the assorted Disney toys we were starting to acquire posed all around the room and waiting in the window for our return. My boys think that Disney is "magic" and that toys that never have the ability to "come alive" any other time "live" at Disney World! THANK YOU MOUSE KEEPING!

After once again sorting our pins, setting out tomorrow's clothing and setting a wake up call we quickly drifted off to do some Disney dreaming!

Best moment of the day (today we had a few): 1. CRT...the good food, the champagne glasses, the way that my boys felt so loved by the princesses, the light shining through the windows 2.All of our trips through the brier patch...Splash Mountain is the ride that makes us all go "" Riding it so many times with no wait for the first time as a "complete family" was just awesome. 3. The night's end dance with the characters in the Toontown Fair store. That was a highlight of the entire trip. 4. The kind stranger who gave each of the boys a pin.

Worst moment of the day: NONE!!!!

 

[jaycns]

Sneak peek...next our family enjoys Blizzard Beach...stay tuned