scanne
<font color=blue>OK, I must have really small ears
- Joined
- May 13, 2000
- Messages
- 5,365
Trip Report Day 1 July 25, 2005
Cast:
Me 31
DH 35
DS 2
DD 1
My parents (Ill refer to as M&D for Mom and Dad)
My grandmother (MM for MomMom thats what my kids call her)
My aunt (AK for Aunt Karen)
My in-laws (ILS)
We left on a warm summer morning, July 25, 2005. We had a very early flight on Southwest that was set to leave Philadelphia at 6.50am. As we were driving to the airport there was lightening in the sky and some light showers and we were worried that they flight would be delayed. But thankfully the weather cooperated and we were set for an on-time departure. We checked our bags curbside and had the first glitch of the trip. Our one suitcase was over 50 lbs., so we had to pay an additional $25.00. (I was worried about the return trip, but didnt say anything). We got through security just fine, found our gate and waited about 30 minutes before we were able to board the aircraft. When they began pre-boarding, there were only 2 other families with little ones ahead of us, and my ILS, of course . So we boarded the plane, got DDs car seat in, got DS settled and managed to save seats for M&D, MM and AK. I was relieved to be on the plane. Only another hour and 51 minutes until we were in Orlando.
The flight was ok, a bit bumpy for my liking, but I kept my thoughts on WDW and the next 10 days. I was going to my favorite place in the world with my family (what was I thinking!?) AND I was staying at my favorite resort! The Polynesian! Oh, and we would be celebrating my birthday on the trip as well.
I could feel the plane beginning its descent. My DS was having a hard time with his ears, so we kept giving him water to sip. Luckily I put him in an overnight diaper. Leaks would not be an issue on this flight! DD slept through the flight up until landing, but didnt cry at all as the pressure in the aircraft changed. I looked out the window as we touched down and was happy to see palm trees! I knew I was at MCO only another hour or so until I was actually on WDW property!
We waited until the plane emptied out before gathering our belongings, then picked up our stroller, plopped the kids in, made a pit stop then headed over to baggage claim. When we got to baggage claim our FL Tours driver was waiting for us, as was our luggage. How nice! We loaded up the 10-passenger van to the hilt and headed to WDW. Its a good thing the driver double-checked our resort. He was all set to take us to the Contemporary. I guess the change never made it to our reservation. (BTW, when our driver called to confirm for the return trip to the airport, he thought we were at the Contemporary, too).
So we get to the Polynesian and I notice that a DME bus pulls up at the same time. I guess we could have used DME and not waited hours and hours. Now I know. So I try to beat the rush into the GCH to check in. I was about 3rd in line and only waited 10 minutes before I was called over. Check in went very smoothly. I got the building I requested (Tokelau) room 1903, facing the quiet pool. And a nice extra was that my room was connected to my parents, so it felt like we had a suite b/c we kept the doors open most of the time. This worked out great because my mom liked taking my DS to Captain Cooks in the morning for fruit and coffee.
Now even though it was only 10:30am (a full hour earlier than I had allotted for!) 2 of the 4 rooms we booked were ready. So we were able to get our luggage to the room, unwind for a bit, have lunch at Captain Cooks then head over to the MK. Lunch was light I had an uncrustable PB&J, DD had a banana, DS had Froot Loops and everyone else had turkey sandwiches except my ILS. They had cheeseburgers.
So after lunch we went over to the MK. Now, my DS had been talking of nothing but the Haunted Mansion since our WDW trip in October 2004. He loved the HM and the song Grim Grinning Ghosts. So we were like, Chase, what do you want to go on first? and hed say, The Haunted Mansion. Well, I bet you know where Im going with this DH takes him on the HM and DS freaks out in the room with the fireplace and the changing portrait of Master Gracey. Poor DS. He had been looking forward to this for months and now he was too scared. I felt so bad for him, but didnt let it show. I wanted him to still enjoy the trip. So we went over to Fantasyland and got FastPasses for Mickeys Philharmagic, then took the kids on Its a Small World. DD loved this ride. She was dancing and bopping along with a big smile plastered on her face the whole time. What a pure Disney magic moment! Everyone loved Philharmagic, too. DS wore the 3D glasses and thought it was so cool. He didnt like the loud volume, but still enjoyed the show.
After some time in Fantasyland, we ended up back on Main Street just in time to see the Share A Dream Come True parade. As usual, the parade was lovely. DD and DS loved the snow globes, characters and music. They know the music because we listen to it in the car when driving to day care, so the music is part of their lives already. After the parade we were feeling very tired from our early start to the day, but we knew we had a 6.35pm ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern. We made our way over to LTT and I went to see if they could accommodate us a little earlier. They said yes, but it would still be about a 20-minute wait. This was not a problem since 1.; it would still end up being about an hour earlier than our original ressie and 2., we were able to sit in the cool air-conditioned building while waiting. Now the wait ended up being way less than 20 minutes I would say it was about 7 minutes. We were split into two tables, but I expected that being a party of 10.
I love LTT and it is one of my must-do character dinners. The food was excellent and the characters were friendly. The service was spotty, but I overlooked that since I was really hungry and tired and wanted to thoroughly enjoy my LTT experience! DS loved all the characters except Goofy. He eventually warmed up to him, but that was after a bit of coaxing from mom and dad.
After dinner we headed back to the Polynesian via monorail. DS loved the monorail and was excited as ever each time he rode it. When we got back to our room, I had a few surprises waiting for DS, DH and my mom. For DS I had the birthday party package set up in the room. This was a cake, birthday hats, a birthday card and noisemakers. We sang Happy Birthday to him and he was in his glory!
(His birthday was 8/8, but I wanted to celebrate early in WDW). For DH I had a white chocolate Mickey and Minnie bride and groom sculpture plus chocolate truffles.
Very pretty and very tasty (although I havent even eaten the Mickey and Minnie yet dont know if I will, either. Its in my fridge). DH was very touched. This was for our 5-year anniversary, which we celebrated on 6/25/05. Then for my mom, who is an amazing help to us all year round, I sent her a birthday cake made up of Mickeys chocolate bars. I ordered this from WDW florist and it was just beautiful! Her birthday was 7/8, but I wanted to show her my appreciation, so I thought it would be nice to send a birthday gift to her while on our trip.
The weather was great today. Hot and sunny, but no rain and no pop-up thunderstorms. We went to bed early to try and catch up on lost sleep. It was nice settling into my bed at the Polynesian. I could hear the fireworks booming over Seven Seas Lagoon and made a note to myself to be sure and watch them from the beach one night. As I drifted off to sleep I think I was smiling as widely as the Cheshire Cat.
Cast:
Me 31
DH 35
DS 2
DD 1
My parents (Ill refer to as M&D for Mom and Dad)
My grandmother (MM for MomMom thats what my kids call her)
My aunt (AK for Aunt Karen)
My in-laws (ILS)
We left on a warm summer morning, July 25, 2005. We had a very early flight on Southwest that was set to leave Philadelphia at 6.50am. As we were driving to the airport there was lightening in the sky and some light showers and we were worried that they flight would be delayed. But thankfully the weather cooperated and we were set for an on-time departure. We checked our bags curbside and had the first glitch of the trip. Our one suitcase was over 50 lbs., so we had to pay an additional $25.00. (I was worried about the return trip, but didnt say anything). We got through security just fine, found our gate and waited about 30 minutes before we were able to board the aircraft. When they began pre-boarding, there were only 2 other families with little ones ahead of us, and my ILS, of course . So we boarded the plane, got DDs car seat in, got DS settled and managed to save seats for M&D, MM and AK. I was relieved to be on the plane. Only another hour and 51 minutes until we were in Orlando.
The flight was ok, a bit bumpy for my liking, but I kept my thoughts on WDW and the next 10 days. I was going to my favorite place in the world with my family (what was I thinking!?) AND I was staying at my favorite resort! The Polynesian! Oh, and we would be celebrating my birthday on the trip as well.
I could feel the plane beginning its descent. My DS was having a hard time with his ears, so we kept giving him water to sip. Luckily I put him in an overnight diaper. Leaks would not be an issue on this flight! DD slept through the flight up until landing, but didnt cry at all as the pressure in the aircraft changed. I looked out the window as we touched down and was happy to see palm trees! I knew I was at MCO only another hour or so until I was actually on WDW property!
We waited until the plane emptied out before gathering our belongings, then picked up our stroller, plopped the kids in, made a pit stop then headed over to baggage claim. When we got to baggage claim our FL Tours driver was waiting for us, as was our luggage. How nice! We loaded up the 10-passenger van to the hilt and headed to WDW. Its a good thing the driver double-checked our resort. He was all set to take us to the Contemporary. I guess the change never made it to our reservation. (BTW, when our driver called to confirm for the return trip to the airport, he thought we were at the Contemporary, too).
So we get to the Polynesian and I notice that a DME bus pulls up at the same time. I guess we could have used DME and not waited hours and hours. Now I know. So I try to beat the rush into the GCH to check in. I was about 3rd in line and only waited 10 minutes before I was called over. Check in went very smoothly. I got the building I requested (Tokelau) room 1903, facing the quiet pool. And a nice extra was that my room was connected to my parents, so it felt like we had a suite b/c we kept the doors open most of the time. This worked out great because my mom liked taking my DS to Captain Cooks in the morning for fruit and coffee.
Now even though it was only 10:30am (a full hour earlier than I had allotted for!) 2 of the 4 rooms we booked were ready. So we were able to get our luggage to the room, unwind for a bit, have lunch at Captain Cooks then head over to the MK. Lunch was light I had an uncrustable PB&J, DD had a banana, DS had Froot Loops and everyone else had turkey sandwiches except my ILS. They had cheeseburgers.
So after lunch we went over to the MK. Now, my DS had been talking of nothing but the Haunted Mansion since our WDW trip in October 2004. He loved the HM and the song Grim Grinning Ghosts. So we were like, Chase, what do you want to go on first? and hed say, The Haunted Mansion. Well, I bet you know where Im going with this DH takes him on the HM and DS freaks out in the room with the fireplace and the changing portrait of Master Gracey. Poor DS. He had been looking forward to this for months and now he was too scared. I felt so bad for him, but didnt let it show. I wanted him to still enjoy the trip. So we went over to Fantasyland and got FastPasses for Mickeys Philharmagic, then took the kids on Its a Small World. DD loved this ride. She was dancing and bopping along with a big smile plastered on her face the whole time. What a pure Disney magic moment! Everyone loved Philharmagic, too. DS wore the 3D glasses and thought it was so cool. He didnt like the loud volume, but still enjoyed the show.
After some time in Fantasyland, we ended up back on Main Street just in time to see the Share A Dream Come True parade. As usual, the parade was lovely. DD and DS loved the snow globes, characters and music. They know the music because we listen to it in the car when driving to day care, so the music is part of their lives already. After the parade we were feeling very tired from our early start to the day, but we knew we had a 6.35pm ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern. We made our way over to LTT and I went to see if they could accommodate us a little earlier. They said yes, but it would still be about a 20-minute wait. This was not a problem since 1.; it would still end up being about an hour earlier than our original ressie and 2., we were able to sit in the cool air-conditioned building while waiting. Now the wait ended up being way less than 20 minutes I would say it was about 7 minutes. We were split into two tables, but I expected that being a party of 10.
I love LTT and it is one of my must-do character dinners. The food was excellent and the characters were friendly. The service was spotty, but I overlooked that since I was really hungry and tired and wanted to thoroughly enjoy my LTT experience! DS loved all the characters except Goofy. He eventually warmed up to him, but that was after a bit of coaxing from mom and dad.
After dinner we headed back to the Polynesian via monorail. DS loved the monorail and was excited as ever each time he rode it. When we got back to our room, I had a few surprises waiting for DS, DH and my mom. For DS I had the birthday party package set up in the room. This was a cake, birthday hats, a birthday card and noisemakers. We sang Happy Birthday to him and he was in his glory!
(His birthday was 8/8, but I wanted to celebrate early in WDW). For DH I had a white chocolate Mickey and Minnie bride and groom sculpture plus chocolate truffles.
Very pretty and very tasty (although I havent even eaten the Mickey and Minnie yet dont know if I will, either. Its in my fridge). DH was very touched. This was for our 5-year anniversary, which we celebrated on 6/25/05. Then for my mom, who is an amazing help to us all year round, I sent her a birthday cake made up of Mickeys chocolate bars. I ordered this from WDW florist and it was just beautiful! Her birthday was 7/8, but I wanted to show her my appreciation, so I thought it would be nice to send a birthday gift to her while on our trip.
The weather was great today. Hot and sunny, but no rain and no pop-up thunderstorms. We went to bed early to try and catch up on lost sleep. It was nice settling into my bed at the Polynesian. I could hear the fireworks booming over Seven Seas Lagoon and made a note to myself to be sure and watch them from the beach one night. As I drifted off to sleep I think I was smiling as widely as the Cheshire Cat.
