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Trip report for our first Kidless vacation
9/16/06 Double Dip
Cast Me-DH, BIL & SIL all late 40s early 50s. This is our 5th cruise, third Disney and our in-laws first.
DH and I started out on 9/12 after a half day of work. We left around 2pm. Stopped for dinner in Tallahassee with our two boys who are students at FSU. They still could not believe we were going on a Disney vacation with out them. I always told them that would be our first vacation with out them so I could watch all the shows and go into every store. Our oldest has an off campus apartment so he used his cooking skills to wow us. We had spaghetti and meat balls. I brought the brownies and the bread. It was very nice. We left there about 7. It was a very rainy trip to Orlando.
We arrived at Shades of Green around 11pm. For those of you who arent familiar with Shades of Green, it is a military hotel on Disney property. It is very nice. The rooms have two queen size beds and a sleeper you can pull out if needed. This time of year the place was dead. We only ran into people in the morning getting on the busses.
Day one.
Had a quick bagel & coffee in the hotel coffee shop and off to our first park. We had two and a half days to door all four parks. We bought three day hopper tickets. So we decided to do Animal Kingdom in the morning and MGM in the afternoon. If you havent been to the parks in September this is the time to go. There was not a line anywhere. Shades of Green have their own buses so we were to the front gate in no time. Straight to Expedition Everest. We rode it twice and walked right on. It was a great ride. The first time was more exciting because you dont know what is going to happen. We rode all the rides except the river rapids- didnt want to have wet shoes all day, and the train to the animal station. We saw Lion King, Bugs life and Pocahontas and were finished by 1. We had a quick lunch at the pizza place and off to MGM.
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Our first stop here was Rocking Roller coaster. I love this ride. We walked right into the room where you watch the little video. I was still in shock over the lack of lines. We also rode this twice then off to Tower of Terror. No matter how many times I ride this I scream my head off. After this we ran into our first Diser of the week, Jeff. It was nice to put a face to a name. So we chatted a few minutes and off we went. Watched the parade with out having to hold a spot for an hour. Went to all the shows had dinner at SCI- FI ( with no reservation and very little wait)and went to wait for Fantasmic. It was raining a little so they warned us it could be cancelled but it wasnt. Dinner was great I had a Reuben and we split some spinach dip. I dont remember what DH had. We also had time to go through the animation exhibit this time. Very nice. I do miss the millionaire; I hope they bring it back. After fantasmic we head back to Shades. The only complaint I have about Shades of Green is everything is shut down when you get back. The stores, the restaurants, there is a sports bar but its a long walk so we said no, so off to sleep.
Day 2.
Breakfast again in the coffee shop. We didnt want to wait for the bus so we walked to the Polynesian and took the monorail. It was only a five minute walk so it wasnt bad. We got in the park early enough to see the little song and dance they do on Main Street. We wanted to ride the Pirates first but that side of the park was not open yet. So off to Space Mountain and Buzz . I won at Buzz. Which is comical since I stink at video games. Then we walked across the park, riding Pooh and watching the 3-D Mickeys Philharmonic. Its a great show. We then went to the haunted house. We missed the downpour while we were inside. Again not a line in sight. Did the bears, splash, mountain, thunder mountain and then made it to the Pirates. That was the only ride with a line. They were having some mechanical problems. It was only about 15 min. It was cute how they added Jack in a few spots. We came outside and there he was playing with a bunch of kids. Its amazing how they can get the CMs to imitate Johnny Depp so well. For lunch here we had some Dole Whip. My favorite thing to eat in the whole park. We walked down Mainstreet, watched the Cinderella show, walked through every store and then off on the monorail to Epcot.
We got to Epcot around 2. Went off to ride Soar first. What a great ride. The views and the smells are amazing. We skipped Mission space, It made us both nauseous last time but rode it with the kids and it was new so we wanted to give it a try. Its an amazing ride but once was enough. We went and walked the world the rest of the day. Watched all the movies they kids usually wont let us do. Had dinner in Japan, we love the hibachi meals. We had very nice table mates. After dinner we watched the American show. The singers in the lobby had great voices. I dont think we ever watched that show in all our trips to WDW. So around 8:30 we made our way to find a seat for the fireworks. We sat in front of Canada. They had a band playing in kilts. They were very good. Made the time pass quickly. We love the laser light show, so after it was over off to bed.
Day 3.
Today we only have half a day in the parks. We are picking up BIL & SIL at the airport at noon. They are flying in from Montreal. So again after a quick breakfast we drive over to Epcot. We are going to do the front part of epcot since the world doesnt open until 11. We went into Spaceship earth. We have never done that before. We went through all the innovations and rode Soar again!! Hit all the shops and rode test track. We were out of there by 11:45. Its amazing what you can do when you are a group of two instead of 12, 16 or 6, which is what we usually are. There are a lot of older couples in WDW this time of year. Lots of electric scooters.
Off to the airport we go. We park and go in and wait. They were only about 45 minutes late so not bad. Then back to Downtown Disney. We had lunch at Rainforest, and then in and out of every store. I was looking for some plastic glasses that I had bought a few trips ago, but I guess they dont make them any more. They are great. They are a soft plastic so they dont crack and are great out in the pool. So around 4 we head for the port!!!!!!!!
We are staying at Residence Inn $149.00 for a two bedroom suite with a great breakfast bar included. It is a very nice hotel, very clean and nice staff. The pool isnt the Radisson, but with out the kids along we didnt care. We went to Grills for dinner. Great food and the band was good, and my Pina Colada was even better.SIL & I had shrimp scampi and the boys had some grilled fish. We went back to the hotel to sleep up for tomorrow. The inlaws had been up since 3am to get to the airport in Montreal.
Dinner at Grills:
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Day 4. The big one the cruise is almost here!!!!!!
I am an early riser, So up I am looking out the window to see if I can see the Magic. I cant only the Carnival ship can be seen. So I shower and go down to breakfast. They have so much for a continental breakfast, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, biscuits & gravy, waffles. They have all sorts of breads, bagels & muffins. Lots of fruit and yogurt. I was very impressed for a breakfast that was included. So I ate, checked out weather channel, hoping all hurricanes were staying away and then back upstairs to wake every one else. After breakfast for the rest we were off to the port.
We arrived at the port around 10:30. Got a number 5 boarding pass, then the computers died. We stood in line with every one else for about an hour. You would think they would have brought out the characters or something to keep every one occupied, no we just stood in line. So we finally get all checked in and its time to board. We only waited about 15 after that. We ran into Jeff again and he introduced us to Thea and her lovely daughter.
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Then on to the ship. We had our matching twice the magic shirts on. After seeing all the families in WDW dressed alike, we almost didnt do it. I thought we looked like idiots. But every one wanted to so there we were. Washed our hands for the first of many and on the ship we went. It is amazing the view when you first step on, no matter how many times we have done this. We went to Parrots Cay for lunch. I like eating inside in the A/C. The shrimp was good, nothing else stood out. The desserts were nice, but nothing outstanding. Then we met Amanda & Amanda, they sat them at the table right next to us. It was nice to put more names and faces together.
We walked around the ship for a while and then met up with Doug for the walking tour of the ship. It was nice to do with first timers. The ship is really beautiful. Then we went to see our rooms. We were in 6100 and they had 2544. Both were very nice. No luggage so we went off to have our first drink of the day before the lifeboat drill. Its my favorite drink half pina colada and half strawberry daquari. Then off to the lifeboat drill. When we arrived back in our cabins we had luggage. So we changed into our swim suits and off to the sail away party.
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This was our third and it was still fun. I love hearing the horn. We then went up to deck 10 to watch us leave port. We saw some dolphins as we followed the Carnival ship out.
9/16/06 Double Dip
Cast Me-DH, BIL & SIL all late 40s early 50s. This is our 5th cruise, third Disney and our in-laws first.
DH and I started out on 9/12 after a half day of work. We left around 2pm. Stopped for dinner in Tallahassee with our two boys who are students at FSU. They still could not believe we were going on a Disney vacation with out them. I always told them that would be our first vacation with out them so I could watch all the shows and go into every store. Our oldest has an off campus apartment so he used his cooking skills to wow us. We had spaghetti and meat balls. I brought the brownies and the bread. It was very nice. We left there about 7. It was a very rainy trip to Orlando.
We arrived at Shades of Green around 11pm. For those of you who arent familiar with Shades of Green, it is a military hotel on Disney property. It is very nice. The rooms have two queen size beds and a sleeper you can pull out if needed. This time of year the place was dead. We only ran into people in the morning getting on the busses.
Day one.
Had a quick bagel & coffee in the hotel coffee shop and off to our first park. We had two and a half days to door all four parks. We bought three day hopper tickets. So we decided to do Animal Kingdom in the morning and MGM in the afternoon. If you havent been to the parks in September this is the time to go. There was not a line anywhere. Shades of Green have their own buses so we were to the front gate in no time. Straight to Expedition Everest. We rode it twice and walked right on. It was a great ride. The first time was more exciting because you dont know what is going to happen. We rode all the rides except the river rapids- didnt want to have wet shoes all day, and the train to the animal station. We saw Lion King, Bugs life and Pocahontas and were finished by 1. We had a quick lunch at the pizza place and off to MGM.
Our first stop here was Rocking Roller coaster. I love this ride. We walked right into the room where you watch the little video. I was still in shock over the lack of lines. We also rode this twice then off to Tower of Terror. No matter how many times I ride this I scream my head off. After this we ran into our first Diser of the week, Jeff. It was nice to put a face to a name. So we chatted a few minutes and off we went. Watched the parade with out having to hold a spot for an hour. Went to all the shows had dinner at SCI- FI ( with no reservation and very little wait)and went to wait for Fantasmic. It was raining a little so they warned us it could be cancelled but it wasnt. Dinner was great I had a Reuben and we split some spinach dip. I dont remember what DH had. We also had time to go through the animation exhibit this time. Very nice. I do miss the millionaire; I hope they bring it back. After fantasmic we head back to Shades. The only complaint I have about Shades of Green is everything is shut down when you get back. The stores, the restaurants, there is a sports bar but its a long walk so we said no, so off to sleep.
Day 2.
Breakfast again in the coffee shop. We didnt want to wait for the bus so we walked to the Polynesian and took the monorail. It was only a five minute walk so it wasnt bad. We got in the park early enough to see the little song and dance they do on Main Street. We wanted to ride the Pirates first but that side of the park was not open yet. So off to Space Mountain and Buzz . I won at Buzz. Which is comical since I stink at video games. Then we walked across the park, riding Pooh and watching the 3-D Mickeys Philharmonic. Its a great show. We then went to the haunted house. We missed the downpour while we were inside. Again not a line in sight. Did the bears, splash, mountain, thunder mountain and then made it to the Pirates. That was the only ride with a line. They were having some mechanical problems. It was only about 15 min. It was cute how they added Jack in a few spots. We came outside and there he was playing with a bunch of kids. Its amazing how they can get the CMs to imitate Johnny Depp so well. For lunch here we had some Dole Whip. My favorite thing to eat in the whole park. We walked down Mainstreet, watched the Cinderella show, walked through every store and then off on the monorail to Epcot.
We got to Epcot around 2. Went off to ride Soar first. What a great ride. The views and the smells are amazing. We skipped Mission space, It made us both nauseous last time but rode it with the kids and it was new so we wanted to give it a try. Its an amazing ride but once was enough. We went and walked the world the rest of the day. Watched all the movies they kids usually wont let us do. Had dinner in Japan, we love the hibachi meals. We had very nice table mates. After dinner we watched the American show. The singers in the lobby had great voices. I dont think we ever watched that show in all our trips to WDW. So around 8:30 we made our way to find a seat for the fireworks. We sat in front of Canada. They had a band playing in kilts. They were very good. Made the time pass quickly. We love the laser light show, so after it was over off to bed.
Day 3.
Today we only have half a day in the parks. We are picking up BIL & SIL at the airport at noon. They are flying in from Montreal. So again after a quick breakfast we drive over to Epcot. We are going to do the front part of epcot since the world doesnt open until 11. We went into Spaceship earth. We have never done that before. We went through all the innovations and rode Soar again!! Hit all the shops and rode test track. We were out of there by 11:45. Its amazing what you can do when you are a group of two instead of 12, 16 or 6, which is what we usually are. There are a lot of older couples in WDW this time of year. Lots of electric scooters.
Off to the airport we go. We park and go in and wait. They were only about 45 minutes late so not bad. Then back to Downtown Disney. We had lunch at Rainforest, and then in and out of every store. I was looking for some plastic glasses that I had bought a few trips ago, but I guess they dont make them any more. They are great. They are a soft plastic so they dont crack and are great out in the pool. So around 4 we head for the port!!!!!!!!
We are staying at Residence Inn $149.00 for a two bedroom suite with a great breakfast bar included. It is a very nice hotel, very clean and nice staff. The pool isnt the Radisson, but with out the kids along we didnt care. We went to Grills for dinner. Great food and the band was good, and my Pina Colada was even better.SIL & I had shrimp scampi and the boys had some grilled fish. We went back to the hotel to sleep up for tomorrow. The inlaws had been up since 3am to get to the airport in Montreal.
Dinner at Grills:
Day 4. The big one the cruise is almost here!!!!!!
I am an early riser, So up I am looking out the window to see if I can see the Magic. I cant only the Carnival ship can be seen. So I shower and go down to breakfast. They have so much for a continental breakfast, eggs, bacon, sausage, hash browns, biscuits & gravy, waffles. They have all sorts of breads, bagels & muffins. Lots of fruit and yogurt. I was very impressed for a breakfast that was included. So I ate, checked out weather channel, hoping all hurricanes were staying away and then back upstairs to wake every one else. After breakfast for the rest we were off to the port.
We arrived at the port around 10:30. Got a number 5 boarding pass, then the computers died. We stood in line with every one else for about an hour. You would think they would have brought out the characters or something to keep every one occupied, no we just stood in line. So we finally get all checked in and its time to board. We only waited about 15 after that. We ran into Jeff again and he introduced us to Thea and her lovely daughter.
Then on to the ship. We had our matching twice the magic shirts on. After seeing all the families in WDW dressed alike, we almost didnt do it. I thought we looked like idiots. But every one wanted to so there we were. Washed our hands for the first of many and on the ship we went. It is amazing the view when you first step on, no matter how many times we have done this. We went to Parrots Cay for lunch. I like eating inside in the A/C. The shrimp was good, nothing else stood out. The desserts were nice, but nothing outstanding. Then we met Amanda & Amanda, they sat them at the table right next to us. It was nice to put more names and faces together.
We walked around the ship for a while and then met up with Doug for the walking tour of the ship. It was nice to do with first timers. The ship is really beautiful. Then we went to see our rooms. We were in 6100 and they had 2544. Both were very nice. No luggage so we went off to have our first drink of the day before the lifeboat drill. Its my favorite drink half pina colada and half strawberry daquari. Then off to the lifeboat drill. When we arrived back in our cabins we had luggage. So we changed into our swim suits and off to the sail away party.
This was our third and it was still fun. I love hearing the horn. We then went up to deck 10 to watch us leave port. We saw some dolphins as we followed the Carnival ship out.
great report so far....looking forward to reading the rest.
Stop floatin and get typin 
