We are back
.
We had a great trip. It was at times trying with a 3 yr old and 16 month old but worth it in every way.
04/27/05: Arrived in Orlando. My mom met us at the airport in order to surprise Duncan, for his 3rd birthday. Both boys were very happy to see her as she lives in AZ and we are in MN. We went and got our van at Avis..great service and drove to AKL. I ran into check us and and much to my surprise we had received complimentary upgrades for our room and my moms room. Guess it helps to have your reservations noted that you are celebrating 2 b-days while there (ds and dh)!! I almost broke into tears I was sooo happy. Our room was a second floor savannah room .beautiful animals lots of them too. Gotta love the giraffes! After checking in we headed to the Polynesian for the Ohana dinner. YUMMY! I cant say enough about how delicious this was. The cast members were great too. We decided to take the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. We only intended to ride there and back but decided to go over to guest services to activate my Annual Pass. We arrived 5 minutes before the SpectroMagic Parade we decided to go in and see if we could see anything. Well we were right up near the parade. There was only one person in front of us and with Duncan on my shoulders and DH holding Iain we could see great. What a wonderful way to start our trip. Duncan was in total awe. We headed back to the AKL afterwards and settled down for the night. After Duncan was asleep I decorated the bedroom with streamers for his bday.
04/28/05: Duncans bday. We headed to MK right away. We arrived shortly after opening and got Duncans bday button from City Hall. His 1st ride (which he did a couple times) was Dumbo..and he loved it. We then did Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan and Small World. He didnt care for Peter Pan - too scarey he said. We grabbed lunch at Pecos Bill and bummed around the park a bit. We then headed back to the room for naps. We went back to MK in order to have Duncans bday dinner at Crystal Palace. Both the boys loved the characters. Iain was a little hesitant but as long as they didnt get too close to him, he was ok. Duncan was hugging the characters like crazy. We had a great cast member as our server too! Took lots of great pics! Earlier in the day they got to meet other charcters too..including Woody and Jesse from Toy Story. Duncan kept asking where Bulls Eye was the horse.
04/29/05: Went to AK. We met Lucky the Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro Safari, Lion King, and Triceratops Spin(again several times). Poor Iain fell asleep on the safari..figured out days later he was teething hence his crankiness at times. We did a few other things, and then had lunch at Pizzafari. DH took Iain back to the room and mom, Duncan and I did some shopping. The boys got the see Pooh and the gang again while at AKL.
That night we went to Mc Donalds (near AKL) for dinner that is what the boys wanted. My cousin who is in the Air Force in Tampa showed up there to surprise my mom. He brought his wife and 2 kids (ages 4 and 2.5). That night we all went swimming and hung out. They stayed at AKL as Shades of Green was booked. It was great to see the kids all play together.
04/30/05: Off to MGM after a yummy breakfast at Boma!! Saw Playhouse Disney and loved it. Met Minnie Mouse too! Iain was having a horrible time so I took him back to the room and everyone else stayed. It was a bit of a bummer b/c it was the last day with my mom and only full day with my cousin and his family but Iain was so unhappy. I think the heat and his teeth hurting made him a sad little guy. They all stayed and did Little Mermaid, met Buzz Lightyear and did a few other things too. Duncan and Dh took mom back to the airport. Later that evening we went back to MGM and had dinner at Pizza Planet, did the Muppets 3D and walked around and had some fun just the 4 of us.
05/01/05: This was our relax day. We slept in, headed to Ohana character breakfast (yummy pineapple bread), went to Downtown Disney and shopped. I know own more Mr Potato Head pieces then I know what to do with hehehe! Went swimming again that night.
05/02/05: Today it was back to MK (slight chg in plans had thought we would do Epcot but was concerned about the weather and wanted to get the boys back to MK). Did all the usual rides from last time but also Mickeys Philharmonic. We ate lunch ate Liberty Tree tavern..great food and service! We had a PS for Whispering Canyons, but was not able to back it for dinner. Will have to try for that one next time.
05/03/05: DHs bday. We went to Epcot this day and the weather was great. Living Seas was incredible and Crush was a hoot! Chance encounter with the character bus..met Pinocchio, Donald Duck and others. We walked around and took in all the flower sculptures, visited the countries. Duncan got several stamps in his passport and the charms too. He still has more to get on subsequent visits but he had fun. We ate at Mexico..San Angel Inn. My only disappointment is that in China the bathroom did not have a baby changing table or any spot to change a child. Iain had peed through his diaper and the bathroom had no accommodations what so ever. A very nice person in the bathroom helped me and b/t the 2 of us we were able to change him. Normally I would just put the changing pad on the floor and chg him if I am in a pinch but the floors were nasty. Dinner was at Bomas .
05/04/05:
Had to leave today...Boo hoo. Duncan cried. He didnt want to leave. Had breakfast at Boma one last time.
Lucky for us we get to go again. DH was a business conference in June so we are going with him. The boys and I will spend part of our time at WDW and the rest in Tampa with my cousin. I dont know if I will be able to do the parks alone with the boys on the 2nd trip. We may take advantage of the activities at the resorts and save the parks for the evening with dad. Still have to figure that out.
Best things about this trip: All the characters we got to meet on sheer chance, the food at Ohana, the room upgrade..the smile on my kids faces!!!!
Worst: The bathroom in China and having to see my little guy cry b/c he didnt want to leave.
I am sure there is lots I forgot to write here, but this captures most of the highlights .
Thanks to everyone for all your help in planning such a wonderful trip!!!!
We had a great trip. It was at times trying with a 3 yr old and 16 month old but worth it in every way.
04/27/05: Arrived in Orlando. My mom met us at the airport in order to surprise Duncan, for his 3rd birthday. Both boys were very happy to see her as she lives in AZ and we are in MN. We went and got our van at Avis..great service and drove to AKL. I ran into check us and and much to my surprise we had received complimentary upgrades for our room and my moms room. Guess it helps to have your reservations noted that you are celebrating 2 b-days while there (ds and dh)!! I almost broke into tears I was sooo happy. Our room was a second floor savannah room .beautiful animals lots of them too. Gotta love the giraffes! After checking in we headed to the Polynesian for the Ohana dinner. YUMMY! I cant say enough about how delicious this was. The cast members were great too. We decided to take the monorail over to Magic Kingdom. We only intended to ride there and back but decided to go over to guest services to activate my Annual Pass. We arrived 5 minutes before the SpectroMagic Parade we decided to go in and see if we could see anything. Well we were right up near the parade. There was only one person in front of us and with Duncan on my shoulders and DH holding Iain we could see great. What a wonderful way to start our trip. Duncan was in total awe. We headed back to the AKL afterwards and settled down for the night. After Duncan was asleep I decorated the bedroom with streamers for his bday.
04/28/05: Duncans bday. We headed to MK right away. We arrived shortly after opening and got Duncans bday button from City Hall. His 1st ride (which he did a couple times) was Dumbo..and he loved it. We then did Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan and Small World. He didnt care for Peter Pan - too scarey he said. We grabbed lunch at Pecos Bill and bummed around the park a bit. We then headed back to the room for naps. We went back to MK in order to have Duncans bday dinner at Crystal Palace. Both the boys loved the characters. Iain was a little hesitant but as long as they didnt get too close to him, he was ok. Duncan was hugging the characters like crazy. We had a great cast member as our server too! Took lots of great pics! Earlier in the day they got to meet other charcters too..including Woody and Jesse from Toy Story. Duncan kept asking where Bulls Eye was the horse.
04/29/05: Went to AK. We met Lucky the Dinosaur, Kilimanjaro Safari, Lion King, and Triceratops Spin(again several times). Poor Iain fell asleep on the safari..figured out days later he was teething hence his crankiness at times. We did a few other things, and then had lunch at Pizzafari. DH took Iain back to the room and mom, Duncan and I did some shopping. The boys got the see Pooh and the gang again while at AKL.
That night we went to Mc Donalds (near AKL) for dinner that is what the boys wanted. My cousin who is in the Air Force in Tampa showed up there to surprise my mom. He brought his wife and 2 kids (ages 4 and 2.5). That night we all went swimming and hung out. They stayed at AKL as Shades of Green was booked. It was great to see the kids all play together.
04/30/05: Off to MGM after a yummy breakfast at Boma!! Saw Playhouse Disney and loved it. Met Minnie Mouse too! Iain was having a horrible time so I took him back to the room and everyone else stayed. It was a bit of a bummer b/c it was the last day with my mom and only full day with my cousin and his family but Iain was so unhappy. I think the heat and his teeth hurting made him a sad little guy. They all stayed and did Little Mermaid, met Buzz Lightyear and did a few other things too. Duncan and Dh took mom back to the airport. Later that evening we went back to MGM and had dinner at Pizza Planet, did the Muppets 3D and walked around and had some fun just the 4 of us.
05/01/05: This was our relax day. We slept in, headed to Ohana character breakfast (yummy pineapple bread), went to Downtown Disney and shopped. I know own more Mr Potato Head pieces then I know what to do with hehehe! Went swimming again that night.
05/02/05: Today it was back to MK (slight chg in plans had thought we would do Epcot but was concerned about the weather and wanted to get the boys back to MK). Did all the usual rides from last time but also Mickeys Philharmonic. We ate lunch ate Liberty Tree tavern..great food and service! We had a PS for Whispering Canyons, but was not able to back it for dinner. Will have to try for that one next time.
05/03/05: DHs bday. We went to Epcot this day and the weather was great. Living Seas was incredible and Crush was a hoot! Chance encounter with the character bus..met Pinocchio, Donald Duck and others. We walked around and took in all the flower sculptures, visited the countries. Duncan got several stamps in his passport and the charms too. He still has more to get on subsequent visits but he had fun. We ate at Mexico..San Angel Inn. My only disappointment is that in China the bathroom did not have a baby changing table or any spot to change a child. Iain had peed through his diaper and the bathroom had no accommodations what so ever. A very nice person in the bathroom helped me and b/t the 2 of us we were able to change him. Normally I would just put the changing pad on the floor and chg him if I am in a pinch but the floors were nasty. Dinner was at Bomas .
05/04/05:
Had to leave today...Boo hoo. Duncan cried. He didnt want to leave. Had breakfast at Boma one last time.
Lucky for us we get to go again. DH was a business conference in June so we are going with him. The boys and I will spend part of our time at WDW and the rest in Tampa with my cousin. I dont know if I will be able to do the parks alone with the boys on the 2nd trip. We may take advantage of the activities at the resorts and save the parks for the evening with dad. Still have to figure that out.
Best things about this trip: All the characters we got to meet on sheer chance, the food at Ohana, the room upgrade..the smile on my kids faces!!!!
Worst: The bathroom in China and having to see my little guy cry b/c he didnt want to leave.
I am sure there is lots I forgot to write here, but this captures most of the highlights .
Thanks to everyone for all your help in planning such a wonderful trip!!!!
