April 2005 (just a little late in posting)

[DisneyGirl4188]

A little background...

Cast: Me, Amber (23) & DH, Mike (26)

I love all things Disney and my house (aka "The Shrine") shows it. Prior to 2004 I had never set foot into WDW, but dreamed that I would someday.

Well in 2002, Mike and I decided that we would get married on on April 18, 2003 (our 5th anniversary of when we started dating.) I really wanted to get married at WDW, but plans changed and we ended up on a private beach in New Port Ritchie, FL (gulf coast). The wedding sucked (and if you care to find out, let me know; it was interesting to say the least.) Anyway, we didn't have a real honeymoon, because our wedding trip was also a trip to visit his family (we live in WV not too far from DC. They moved to FL a year before.) There also wasn't time to visit WDW, so Mike promised that we could go the next year.

Well, in June 2004 we went back to FL to visit his family. I was given one day to go to WDW, so I chose to visit MK. I researched long and hard, since I knew that I wanted to do a lot with minimal time. This was before learing of Disboards and so much of my research was done via Allearsnet.com and disney.com. Finally, the big day arrived. Going on this adventure was myself, Mike, his mom (Debbie) and my little bro (Tyler, age 6.) If you have ever been to FL in June you will know it's HOT. Not just hot, but melt your skin, burn in Hell hot. It was also crowded; ok packed full of sweaty, angry people. We were able to do many rides (surprisingly) but at some point Mike hurt his knee and had trouble walking. We left before the fireworks and there may have been a huge fight in the car (I admit it may have been my fault just a little.)

You would think that after a trip like that we would never want to go back, right? WRONG! Mike said that we could go the following year, stay a week, and not tell his family.

I then started my planning. Mike first said that he didn't care where we stayed or what we did as long as I was happy. Unfortunately, he changed his mind about this just a little. He was worried about spending a whole week at WDW. What if there isn't enough to do? There's other things in FL to see. (How little did he know.) So, we shortened the trip to 4 days (oh, the humanity!) Then we both began to feel guilty about not telling his family. So not only did we tell them we were going to WDW, but we invited them along! (What were we thinking?)

So, I decided to accomodated everyone's budget and stay at ASMo (plus, this gave me more souviner money!!!) I also decided upon the basic MYW package (during this time Disney was switching from their Dream Maker packages to the MYW. I didn't know which was better, but the MYW was cheaper, so I went with that.) Mike and his family told me to pick where to go and what to eat (They said it was MY vacation and they would do what I wanted. They are VERY smart people you know.)

Well, everything was set. I had made our hotel reservations, dining choices, reserved the rental car (I hate flying, so we were driving down.) A couple of weeks before our trip, that's when it happened. Something so terrible that it threatened our trip. (Let's just say it was a HORRIBLE ordeal). Mike said that we were still going regardless, but I was a nervous wreck.

The day we were to leave finally came...

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Day One 04/21-04/22: Traveling, Check In, and DTD

Cast of Characters: Me, Amber (23) DH, Mike (26)


The original plan was to leave 04/22/05 at midnight and arrive sometime Friday afternoon, but that changed. Both of us worked on Thursday, but left early so we would have time to pick up the rental car. We got the car and then went home to start loading it up. We finished everything by about 6:30pm and then tried to go to sleep. Well, at 7:30pm neither of us had fallen asleep, so Mike suggested we just go. We drove for a few hours and then pulled over to get some rest.

Mike found a rest area just past Kings Dominion (VA). It was more of a truck stop, but they did have a KFC. We pulled into the KFC and parked by some trees. The KFC proceeded to close right as we parked. I got worried that we were now parked in an empty lot (although on the other side of the trees were your friendly neighborhood truck drivers.) Mike fell asleep and I tried. However, my sleep was interrupted by my new duty as "Patrolman for Crazed Killers". Everytime I would see a car, I would jump up and look around scared that someone was going to murder us (you guys have seen the movies right?) Anyway, Mike finally woke up and we were on the road again. We stopped to get gas, but he was tired and let the tank overflow. I was not happy about that and we decided he was too tired to drive anymore. We then decided to pull over again and try to sleep. Again, he slept; I was on the lookout for killers.

We ended up at ASMo at about 3:30pm. The actual drive time was about 12 ½ hours (we were coming from WV, about an hour and half outside of DC). We went to check and I joked with DH that I would tell them it was our anniversary (which it was) and our birthdays (which it wasn't) so we would get the room I wanted. Well, I didn't tell them any of that (I knew it would be wrong to lie just to get a room) but we did end up with a king size bed in Mighty Ducks (I wanted Toy Story.) We quickly found our room, which had a view of the pool. The room was adequate size for the two of us. DH didn't like it at first (I later found out he doesn't like the Mighty Ducks so that tainted his opinion.) We had a king size bed room which was also handicap accessible. This meant that there was no real shower /tub (there was a curtain separating the "shower" from the toilet, but the whole bathroom floor was the shower floor) and the door slide shut instead of closing normal. None of this was a big deal, in fact I liked it better than a normal bathroom (which are very small.) The only problem was that I had to hold the shower head; there was not a way to make it stand by itself. Mike however, didn't like that the toilet was so high up. He said it made him feel weird.

We rested for a few moments and then it was off to DTD! We drove to DTD and started off our shopping spree at the World of Disney. From there, I went into just about every store in DTD.

We started to get hungry, and decided on Rainforest Café. When we got there, the wait was very long (even with our Safari Club membership) so we decided to go back to the hotel. DH wanted pizza, and we were going to have it delivered until he found out there was an 18% gratuity and $1.00 delivery charge, so he decided we should just go get it ourselves. We got the pizza and went back to the room. We ate and I got everything ready for the next day at Animal Kingdom!

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Day Two 04/23/05: Animal Kingdom

Cast: Me, Amber (23) & DH, Mike (26)

This was EMH so we got up and were out the door by 7:15am. We drove to AK, and were there in less than 5 minutes. The toll booths weren't opened yet, so we sat and talked about things we were going to do that day. At about 7:45am they opened the booths and we were through. We went through the bag check line and turnstiles before heading straight for Kilimanjaro Safari. We waited for about 2 minutes and then were off. Actually, we had to sit for several minutes because a Bongo was in the road. We saw lots of animals, including a lion and the baby elephants. After that we headed to Kali River Rapids. This ride was suppose to be open for EMH but was not. I stood in line while Mike went to find socks. Before our trip we each got Land and Water shoes from Land's End and in my infinite wisdom decided that we should not wear socks (or even bring them to AK for that matter.) Well, after only a short time of walking, our feet were killing us. He returned with two pair of Mickey socks (for $14.00 that I would hear about several times during the trip.) Kali River Rapids then opened and we were off. Our boat (or whatever that thing is called) only had two other people on it, so we each got our own seat. I began to tell Mike that I read if you go backwards down the hill you get soaked, and guess what, we went down backwards! We were soaked! After the ride we sat to put on our new Mickey socks (again I was told that they cost $14.00). We then rode Primeval Whirl (just OK), Dinosaur (loved it, although I scream everytime) and It's Tough to Be a Bug (very cute). We finished the rides by noon and decided to try Rainforest Café.

The line to check in was very long and we had to wait 20 minutes for a seat. During this time, several people got really mad that they had to wait in line just to check in. They started yelling and demanded a seat right away stating that they had made PS's months in advance and this wasn't fair. Some even walked out. We were finally seated and the food was great and the server excellent.

After our meal we ran to catch the next showing of The Festival of the Lion King. All I can say about that is WOW. Mike loved it and he isn't a big show person. After that we rode Dinosaur and It's Tough to be a Bug again. It started to rain and they cancelled the parade so we left.

When we opened the door to out room, we saw two balloons and a card sitting on the bed. They said Happy Anniversary and the card was signed by Mickey and Minnie! We have no idea how they knew it was our anniversary (especially since I didn't tell them at check in.) This was the start of the most magical vacation ever.

There was a message from Mike's sister, Michelle (36). (Remember how I said that at first we weren't going to tell his family we were going to WDW? Well, we decided not to tell them we were arriving early; they thought we were coming in on Saturday night.) Well, she had tired calling us starting on Thursday night and when she hadn't heard from us deduced that we were already in WDW. She said that they were already in town and wanted to have dinner with us.

We then changed and went to meet his family. His mom, dad, and older sister live just outside of Tampa and were going to be staying at ASMo beginning the following day, but they decided to stay at Nikki Bird for the night so they wouldn't have to get up early and drive to Disney. We had a horrible time trying to find their room. They told us they were staying in room 823, so we went to building 8. Well, at Nikki Bird their room numbers do not coincide with the building numbers, so we had to keep driving around until we saw rooms in the 800's. We finally found them and went in to their room. The room was bigger than ours, but didn't have any theming at all. Mike began saying that we should have stayed there instead (it cost the same as our room.) Later, he would come to his senses and realized how great a Disney hotel really is. We went to the restaurant in the hotel (I don't remember the name). It was a buffet and had lobster and crab legs. The food was just OK, as the seafood was really salty. We finished and decided to meet at 6:45am in the lobby of ASMo.

Mike and I then began our drive back to the resort. There was traffic and I asked him to imagine driving in the same route to get from hotel to parks and back. He agreed that it was much nicer to drive around Disney property than off (not as much traffic and everything is clearly labeled.) This was the beginning of Mike's love of ASMo.

 

[OhMari]

Backtrack and tell the story of your wedding day. You'll get lots of DIS hugs. And you never told us how your vacation might not have happened.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

There was some personal problems that arose right before the trip. I don't want to go into too much detail about, but it is almost over. (yeah!!)

Now, onto the story of my wedding.

Both Mike and I decided that we wanted a smaller wedding. As I said I wanted to get married at WDW, but that changed with a visit from his mom. His mom, sister, and their friend came to visit us right after we got engaged. We told them our plans of a Disney wedding, but they suggested that we get married on their friends private beach. Now, my parents weren't paying for the wedding and his mom offered to pay for everything if we got married on the beach. We decided to do that as we didn't have a great deal of money.

So, they sent us pictures of the beach (beautiful) and we began discussing the details. The only people that were suppose to attend were my mom, stepdad, and a brother, Mike's mom, dad, sister and her husband. Another of his mom's friends was to perform the ceremony and was going to bring her daughter. Finally, the friend that owned the beach was also to attend (her and her only. She did have a husband and daughter, but apparently no one liked them. I would later find out why.)

Anyway, I said that I would be wearing a white dress (nothing fancy) and wanted pink flowers. The plan was that his mom would find the flowers and send me pictures before buying. Well, that didn't happen. She proceeded to purchase flowers, cake, and such. I didn't see anything until two days before the wedding.

She also bought us plane tickets down. I hate flying, but decided to go along with it. Well, she didn't get us seats near each other on ANY of the flights. Luckily, I was able to have that changed when we arrived at the airport (that's the first time I saw the tickets.) After being searched (I always am) and then having a delayed flight, we finally arrived in Tampa. The days leading up to the wedding were ok. It was my first time in FL, so they showed us around a little and then we just relaxed.

Now, the day of my wedding. We were going to be married at sunset so that day we did some shopping and visiting (my family had driven down and arrived that morning.) We then got dressed and proceeded to drive to the beach. When we arrived, the security guard didn't want to let us through and was very rude. He finally let us through and we had to wait for the person performing the ceremony. She was late because she had to go to the restaurant (where the "reception" was going to be held) to deliver the cake (she made it and it was lovely.)

While we waited the owner of the beach came down, along with her husband and daughter! No one knew they were coming, so it made it a bit akward. I finally got to see why they weren't liked. The girl was about 14 and wearing a very revealing dress and was obnoxious. She wanted everyone to know that she had a nice figure and was very obvious at showing it off. I would have taken four of her over her dad though. He wanted everyone to know he had money. He had on a UGLY shirt, that he told us was a Versace and cost $1000. His said his boots were also $1000, but forgive me I forgot what kind they were. He was also wearing several gold chains (think Mr. T, seriously) and rings (including a nasty looking pinky ring. Personal preference, but I don't like pinky rings.) The only reason I bring his outfit up I because I hated it and he is in all but TWO of my wedding pictures (although I did cut him out of most of the.) The whole time we waited he told us how much money he had and how much all his stuff cost.

Finally, we were able to have the ceremony. It was OK, but the "Versace guy" was filming the wedding and kept running all over the place getting shots at different angles (that's how he ended up in all my pictures.) Afterward, we all drove over to the "reception."

It was in a nice little Greek place. The food was good (again this was not picked by me.) However, "Versace guy" and his daughter were rude to the wait staff. The also started drinking (a lot). Why the 14 yr old was drinking is beyond me, but I didn't want to make a scene trying to get her to stop. They started getting so loud and rude that Mike and I had enough. We said we were leaving, so instead of cutting the cake, dancing, or any of that, we all left.

In the car, Mike's mom said that her friend said that we would be getting a very special gift in the mail. She (Mike's mom) said that she thought the gift would be really nice since they were rich. I didn't expect anything, because I hardly knew them and they had let us use their beach. A few weeks after we returned home, we received a package.

In the package was a photo album filled with pictures (all with "Versace guy" in them.) There was also a video. Now, my stepdad had filmed the wedding, but I thought it would be a more professional quality (since that's how "Versace guy" made some of his money.) Well, the video is quite strange. It starts off like the Star Wars movies (you know with the stars and writing.) Then it splits into three sections. The first is "Our Song" It's the whoel wedding, shot in red, with some song I never heard of (but is suppose to be our song) The next section is a slide show of the photos from the album. The last section is the wedding ceremony. However, you can barely hear what's going on, because "Versace guy" is giving commentary over the whole thing. It's laughable.

Due to their behavior, Mike's mom is no longer friends with this woman. Now, I know there wasn't natural disasters or anything, but this was suppose to be my day and it just wasn't. Luckily, Mike said that we could renew our vowels on our 5th anniversary (we'll have been together for 10 years total.)

So, thats my story. Hopefully, I can find a scanner to show some of the wedding pictures.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Day Three 04/24/05: Magic Kingdom

Cast of Characters: Me, Amber (23), DH, Mike (26), MIL, Debbie (53), FIL, Chick (???), and SIL, Michelle (36?)

Today Mike and I woke up a little after 6:00am. His family was going to check in to ASMo before we went to Magic Kingdom. We got dressed and met them around 6:45am in the lobby. We then went to the food court for breakfast. We all choose pre-made wraps and sandwiches. We ate outside near the pool and enjoyed the nice weather (breezy and not humid at all). We then loaded in to the car and were off.

Since Mike's family did not have tickets yet, I wanted to make sure we were to the TTC in plenty of time to purchase them then line up at MK's gates. Now, I had alotted PLENTY of time to get to MK because this group can be SLOOOW. (We were actually the 2nd car in the parking lot.) The ticket booths weren't quite open yet, but we only waited a few minutes. Then, they all purchase the Florida resident 3 day tickets (for the price of a 2 day ticket) and we ran to the monorail.

We got on the resort monorail and were able to see the Poly and GF. We then waited at the turnstiles (we were second in line) for about half an hour until we were allowed to go up to the train station. At first there were some complaints about having to wait, but I kept telling them that it would be worth it. More and more people started arriving and everyone finally congratulated me on making them get there early. As we were waiting for the opening ceremony, I took out my plans for the day. (Before I left, I laminated the touring plans I wanted to use from the Unofficial Guide.) People around us started asking where I got them and wished they had thought of it. We saw the opening celebration; then they opened the park.

The crowd went crazy running and pushing others. As I said, Mike's family can be very slow and they nearly got trampled with all the running people. The original plan was to ride Space Mountain first, but I got worried that the wait would be bad (since it was taking awhile to get there) so we got on Stitch first (with no wait.) It was a cute ride, but I wouldn't wait longer than 5 minutes to ride it. The plan was to go get Fastpasses for Space Mountain, but there was no wait so Mike, Chick, and I walked right on. It was my first time on the ride and I loved it!

We did a little shopping; I got an antenna topper with gold ears and two charms. We then rode Winnie the Pooh and Snow White's Scary Adventures. Next was lunch at Pinocchio's Village Haus (very good); it was still early so it was not crowded and we were able to sit by the It's a Small World loading dock.

At this point I should say that Chick smokes and Michelle LOVES to talk on her cell phone. So, many times one or both of them would wander off to do their respective activities. Sometimes we would wait, other times we would not. So, during the times that I do not mention one of them riding, it's because they were smoking/talking on the phone (however, if Debbie is not metioned it's because she is sort of a ride weenie.)

Now, onto the rest of the story.

After lunch Mike, Debbie, and I rode Peter Pan and IASM. We then headed off for Haunted mansion, but the line was very long so we rode the Liberty Bell. Then it was off to Splash Mountain! I thought that everyone was going to be riding, so Mike and I got in line with the others following closely behind. Well, only Chick got in line. There was only suppose to be a 30 minute wait, but it ended up being much longer. I told Mike that had I known not everyone would be riding the others could have gotten Fastpasses for BTMRR. We agreed that in the future we would make sure that if someone wasn't going to riding something, they would get Fastpasses for the rest of us.

We were very excited about riding this (everyone's first time) however our joy turned into annoyance due to three children. During the wait, three children behind us kept spinning and running into us. The father did nothing. I do understand that it is hard to wait in line, but there is no excuse to continually run into people ahead of you. All bad feelings went away on the ride. This was the best water ride I have ever ridden; it lasted a long time and was so adorable. We were going to try BTMRR, but the line was long, so we headed back towards Liberty Square. There was a short wait for Haunted Mansion so we got on that.

After the Haunted Mansion we saw the parade was coming through so we got pretzels (and a churro for me) and stood to watch it. We hadn't planned on seeing this, so it was a pleasant surprise (can you say pixie dust?). I really wanted to see Toontown (another thing I hadn't seen yet) so off we went.

Everyone but Chick walked through Minnie's house. It was very cute (I have some great pictures) but very crowded. I wasn't going to go through Mickey's house, but Mike said no one was in there, so I ran off to get pictures. We then took to train around to Main Street and walked up to the castle (I needed more pictures). Chick noticed that Cinderellabration was going to start in 15 minutes, so we decided to watch it (more pixie dust!) It was a nice show, but I doubt I would wait around to see it. It was almost 6:00pm, so we decided to head to the Poly for our 7:10p, PS at O'hana's.

I wanted to get to O'hana's early because I read that it can be a long wait (and I wanted to try for a window seat.) We then sat in the lounge and enjoyed the rest. We enjoyed a few drinks; I think I had an Island Sunset, and Mike had Long Island ice teas. Chick and Michelle had beer, and I believe Debbie had a pina colada. At 7:30pm we were seated by the window, with a perfect view of the castle! The food was AMAZING!! Everyone enjoyed it and congratulated me on picking such a good restaurant. My plan was to get a window seat in case dinner ran long so that I wouldn't miss the Electric Light Pageant (then we would go back to MK for Spectro and Wishes). Well, everyone misunderstood what I was saying and thought that we were going to watch Wishes from the restaurant, so they were eating VERY slowly. At 9:00pm I started seeing the ELP and quickly explained that I wanted to see that and go back to MK for Wishes. We hurried and paid the bill and hopped on the monorail.

The driver stopped it over the water so we could view ELP (pixie dust!!) I got some great pictures, and then it was off to MK. Just as we entered Main Street, we saw the end of Spectro. We followed the parade all the way up to the castle (it was like being IN the parade- we waved to everyone on the street like we were). We stopped to the right of the castle (near the Plaza Restaurant) and waited for Wishes. We met a few very nice CM's and then Wishes began. It was the most spectacular fireworks show I have ever seen! We had a perfect spot; we were able to see Tink fly by and were straight on with the castle. After the fireworks the park cleared out. We stayed (and froze. It was so cold and all we had on were short sleeves and shorts.) I have great shots of the castle and Tomorrowland with no one in them. Spectro came by again (this is so much better than the Share a Dream Parade, in my opinion.) We left MK around midnight (a benefit of being the second family to the park was our car was right outside the TTC.) The next day was supposed to be MK, but we decided to go to AK instead (we thought that we go slower there and not get up as early.)

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Day Four 04/25/05: Animal Kingdom


Cast of Characters: Me, Amber (23), DH, Mike (26), MIL, Debbie (53), FIL, Chick (???), and SIL, Michelle (36?)

Today was supposed to be spent at MK; I had even made PS at LLT. However, everyone wanted to see AK (only Mike and I had been) so we decided to spend the day there. Since we had a late night the day prior, we decided to sleep in a bit (and by this I mean 7:30am). We all met at the food court and again had pre-made wraps and sandwiches. We arrived in AK shortly after it opened and ran to get Fastpasses for the safari. Then we headed over to Festival of the Lion King. Mike and I had told everyone how great a show it was, so everyone was really excited to see it.

We got there just as they were letting people in. We sat in the Warthog section (Mike and I had previously sat in Elephant.) Again the show was amazing. We did have different performers (and I liked the first group better) but they were still great.

We then got in line to ride the Safari. The standby line was 75 minutes, so we were glad we had the Fastpasses since the wait was only about 20 minutes. While standing in line Debbie looks at her Fastpass and asks why it says "not a valid Fastpass." I asked if the same ticket was used to get two Fastpasses, but everyone said no. We hoped that everyone could still ride (we really think it was a problem with the distribution machine). No one even looked at the Fastpass, so were very lucky (another bit of pixie dust.) After the ride we went through the exploration trails. We got to the part with four gorillas and stayed for awhile. At first there were only two, but then two more came running out of the trees. Three of them squared off and then one stole the other's stick. It was quite interesting, and I got great pictures of all of it.

We then went to the Dawa Bar and watched the performers for a bit while Michelle went to get Fastpasses for Dinosaur. When she returned we went to Pizzafari for lunch (yummy!) After lunch we headed for Dinosaur, but saw that It's Tough to be a Bug had no wait so we walked right in. I made sure to tell everyone to keep their backs firmly against the back of the seat (if you have been on this you know what I mean- he he he.). Then it was off to Dinosaur!! Everyone had a good time and it still scared me (this was the 3rd time I had ridden.) After the ride, we were able to see Lucky and got ice cream. We decided to head out since we were all pretty tired.

We went back to the resort and took a nap. Later we went to Lone Star Steakhouse (it was OK). We made plans to meet at the lobby at 7:00am so we could check out and get breakfast before going to the park. When we got back Mike and I walked around the resort and took pictures. He said how much he liked the resort now and he wished we could stay another day. We then went back to the room to pack.

Tomorrow, Epcot and our last day (or is it??)

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Day Five 04/26/05: Epcot

Cast of Characters: Me, Amber (23), DH, Mike (26), MIL, Debbie (53), FIL, Chick (???), and SIL, Michelle (36?)


Today was suppose to be our last day, but the night before Mike started saying how he wished we could stay another day. We had packed everything last night and were loading it into the car. He mentioned to his mom that he wanted to stay, so we decided we would try to get a room for the night (Michelle was going to go home at some point, so we would only need one room.) I checked out and then went with Debbie while she checked out. We asked if they had a room for the night, and they did!! We would be staying in Love Bug. The room was ready, but we just decided to move our things when we arrived back from Epcot.

Now on to Epcot! Mike and I have purchased a package, so we didn't think we would be able to add another day onto our tickets (we did have MYW tickets) but I thought we should at least try. I explained the situation to the CM at the ticket window and she said that we would be able to add an extra day. Well, after an hour of her trying to do so (and in the process voiding my ticket) she got help from her supervisor and Guest Services and upgraded our tickets for only $8.52!! I thought we were going to have to pay the full one day admission but nope (can you say pixie dust??) Then, because it had taken so long, we all (5 of us) got a Fastpass for any ride!

We were able to see the opening ceremony with the characters and then we went straight to Soarin. I was so excited that it was going to be open for our visit and I had a Fastpass to boot! Unfortunately, this is where some of the pixie dust wore off- Soarin was closed and they didn't know of it would reopen today. I was crushed. However, I wasn't going to let it ruin my day, so we saw the rest of the Land pavilion. Then it was on to Turtle Talk. It was so cute; how do they do that? We then saw Figment and Honey I Shrunk the Audience. I took a lot of pictures of the displays (it was the Flower & Garden Festival). For lunch, we decided on Fish and Chips (counter service in UK.) They were delicious! Michelle decided that she would return home at this point, and the rest of us went to Mexico.

We went on the boat ride (I though it was very cheesy. I have been to Mexico and it doesn't have a true representation of the country.) I then got a fiesta margarita and split it with Mike (I am not much of a drinker and this thing was strong!) We then saw each country in order stopping at Germany. In Norway we rode the Maelstrom. There was no wait and I wouldn't ride it again if there was more than a 5 minute wait (we all agreed.) We didn't watch the movie in China. We had a PS for Biergarten at 4:00pm, but it was still early. It started to rain, so Debbie bought a poncho. The rest of us said that it was just a little rain and not worth the $7.00 (we would regret this decision later.) Chick wanted to ride Test Track, so we took the boat over to Future World and got a Fastpass (I could have used my one from the CM, but I was holding out hope that Soarin would open.) The return time was for 7:05 to 8:05, so we went to the Universe of Energy. We waited for about 2 minutes before going in. The ride was OK, but I almost fell asleep (this was the only day it was hot and humid so I think it was zapping my energy.) We did a little shopping in Mouse Gear and then took the boat back to Germany.

We still had to wait about 20 minutes to be seated (they were changing over from lunch to dinner.) A word of caution, you are seated with other families so be prepared (we had a nasty man sit at our table.) The food was good (although I had a German great grandmother and her food was better. I could be biased though.) The musicians were OK, but I like the show in Busch Gardens Williamsburg better.

After dinner we went back to Future World. I was going to use my Fastpass that the CM gave me for TT, but we heard a man say that Soarin was open (pixie dust returning!!) He said the wait was about an hour, but well worth it. We ran over and with my Fastpass walked right on. We were in the third row. I think this is my favorite ride ever!! I LOVED it! You really feel like you are flying. Everyone clapped when it ended and Chick suggested we ride again. The wait said 20 minutes, but we were on in fewer than 5 (you have a long way to walk from the front to get seated.) Again we were in the third row. I think we could have ridden this all night, but it was getting closed to our return time for TT. We still had a little time to kill, so we rode Spaceship Earth. We went over to TT and waited about 5 minutes. Originally, Mike and I didn't think this ride sounded fun so that it why we didn't get on earlier in the day, but we were wrong! We all had a blast. Afterwards, we went to get a spot for Illuminations.

I read that a good viewing area was at the Mexican counter service place, so we headed there. It took a bit to find a seat, but we did by the bar area. It was still raining a bit, so we thought that the roof (not completely solid) would provide some cover. Mike and I got nachos and settled in. It started lightning and we were worried that they would cancel the show, but they kept making announcements it would begin at 9:00pm. It was getting cold, so Mike and I went to buy a blanket in the Mexican pavilion. It began raining harder, but Debbie kept saying that it was probably a famous passing Florida shower so we stayed. Illuminations began, but so did the downpour. We tried the best we could to stay dry and warm, but to no avail. We ended up leaving just as Illuminations was ending. Mike and I huddled under the blanket and walked fast. Unfortunately, we lost his parents! We stopped under Spaceship Earth and waited. After about 10 minutes they appeared and we went to the car. I can not begin to describe how wet we were; it was horrible!

We got back to the resort and still had to take our things to the room. The good thing was the rain had eased up. When we got to the room, we discovered that Michelle had taken our spare pair of shoes (we had given her our souvenirs to take, so we could have more room; our shoes apparently were taken also.) Mike and I went to the laundry in hopes of drying our shoes (there wasn't a hairdryer in this room), but saw a sign that forbid drying shoes. We decided we would find a Walmart the next morning and buy shoes.

Tomorrow: last day (for real this time)at MK

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

Day Six: 04/26/05: Epcot

Cast of Characters: Me, Amber (23), DH, Mike (26), MIL, Debbie (53), FIL, Chick (???),

The day started off early as we knew we were going to have to find a place to buy shoes (since ours were soaked from the downpour night before.) Mike and I went to find OJ for me (Chick smokes and I get sick from it. My throat had been scratchy all week and today was getting worse.) We couldn't find any in the vending machines, so I decided to wait. We packed up the car and were off.

We didn't know where a Walmart was (I had left directions to that and the outlets at home) so we just started driving. We found a Super Target and went in to get shoes; after that it was a short drive to MK. Since we had not arrived early, we had to park a little far away and catch a tram. Then we still had to purchase tickets for Debbie and Chick (they had decided to wait until today, because Chick wasn't sure if he was going to be coming.) The CM offered them season tickets (with blackout dates) for only $50.00 (give or take a few dollars.) They decided that they would get them, and told us we better visit again before their tickets expire.

We then hopped on the ferry and went over. It took a while to get through bag check and the turnstiles, and I began to fret that there would be crowds all day. We were hungry, so we stopped at the bakery. Mike and I split a ham sandwich (it was more like a thin sub) and a cherry turnover. They were both YUMMY! We ate outside near the water and I took even more pictures of the castle. Then it was off to Tomorrowland. I wanted to ride Space Mountain again, so we were going to get a Fastpass, but there was NO WAIT! Debbie sat this one out. The first time I rode this we sat in the front car. This time we were in the back and it made us all queasy. We then got off and went on CoP. The CM was really funny on this. Mike still remembers his first time on this (he was 2) he thought the dog was looking at him the whole time (when I planned our day trip last year, this was the only ride he really wanted to see.) After that we rode the TTA and then everyone but Chick saw Philharmagic (no wait). We looked around the shops for a bit. It was then on to Haunted Mansion (no wait) and then Splash Mountain. Debbie decided that she would try this ride, but the wait was 30 minutes. We got Fastpasses and got in line for BTMRR. The wait was about 15 minutes. We then headed back to Splash only to find that it was closed. A boat got stuck at the top, so they had to get everyone off and fix it. They said that when it reopened, they would honor Fastpasses the whole day.

We decided to get lunch and headed to Pecos Bills. It was really crowded, but the food was delicious. After lunch we went over to see if Splash had reopened (it had) and we got on in about 5 minutes. Debbie was worried that she would get wet, so she put her jacket on and I told her to duck down when we went down the hill. Well, I was the only one that ducked, and since she was sitting behind me she got wet. She still said she liked the ride though. We then went rode PoC with a 5 minute wait. Then we got on the Jungle Cruise (5 minute wait). The CM Ronda was hysterical! I rode this last year, and didn't think it was funny at all; this year was the exact opposite.) Debbie, Mike, and I then saw the Tiki Birds (it seemed shorter than last year.)

We had seen pretty much everything we wanted to see so we decided to leave. We stopped so I could get some ice cream (to soothe my throat) and a pineapple float for Debbie. The parade was coming up Main Street so I was able to see it one last time.

This trip was the best vacation I had ever had. Mike has always been tolerant of my Disney obsession, but now he loves Disney almost as much as I do. We have been planning to move to Florida (to be closer to his family) and now he wants to work at Disney! He ended up loving the resort and said that he would never stay off-property.

 

[DisneyGirl4188]

This was a wonderful trip. We all had a great time and can't wait to go back. However, Mike and I have decided that we probably won't spend the whole trip next time with his family. They are great people, but are slower than snails. It makes it hard to go from place to place, because we were always losing them.

Next time we are going to stay for a few more days and probably stay at POP. I am leaning towrds the dining plan, because I like not having to worry about what I am ordering and having the money to pay for it. I think it will be easier to have everything paid for in advance.

We are hoping to go the week after Thanksgiving 2006. I'll get to see all the Christmas decorations and attend MVMCP and CP. I also can't wait to see MGM and Expedition Everest.

 

[smilie]

What a wonderful trip report, thanks so much for sharing. I'm glad your DH ended up loving Disney as much as you!!!