heymom32000
Earning My Ears
- Joined
- Mar 21, 2009
- Messages
- 5
The year had not been kind to our family....lost job...new job for hubby but in a different state...house not selling...finally an offer but can't close till later/can we rent....moving during the holidays but to where..... Our first blessing came in the form of a rental home by my husband's boss. Our second blessing was from the same man..."I want you to take your family to Disney like you had talked about doing if they sell of the house happened as planned. Figure out how much you need and let me know". Yikes! within a week I was trying to find a hotel, plan meals, figure out Disney, and pack a house. All this while battling the worst cold I've had in a long time. The movers came, went, and delivered our things. Two days later we were headed to Orlando.
With what little planning time I had we ended up with a good hotel thanks to this site. We stayed at the Buena Vista Caribe suites. The rooms were a great size! I loved having an area outside the bathroom to get ready for the day and it came in handy since we have a teenage daughter. The beds were comfy and we loved the pillows. Breakfast was very good with a nice selection and an area where they made you an egg to order. The only day breakfast was busy was the day we were leaving.
Our first day in Orlando was ticket buying day. My dh is military so we stopped at Shades of Green to get our 4 day hopper tickets for Disney. While there we tried to figure out what to do for dinner that evening. Our decision was made...Sleuth mystery dinner. It was a great dinner, loads of fun, and something we will probably do again.
The next morning was time to get up early and head to Epcot. When we arrived we got in line to have our tickets transferred into our hopper cards then got in line. Thru the gate we went and came to a halt as Mickey and Minnie were there to open the park. Our next stop was the test track followed by mission space. Hmmmm made the mistake of letting hubby go on the more "advanced" mission. I loved the ride and was amazed at how it really felt like you were in space. We were on our way over to get fast passes for Soarin' but dh wasn't sure he could handle another virtual ride. On our way over there we saw the room with Mickey/Minnie/Goofy/etc. There was almost NO line at all!!!! We quickly entered and got our photos with all the characters. Our daughter had written the name of a friend (Philip) on a piece of paper so each of her photos had her holding his name up. He's never been to Disney and wanted his pic with Mickey. Little did he knew she was going to have him in EVERY picture. LOL It will make for interesting stories when she is old and married. By the time we were done with pictures the worlds opened up. We ate our way through most of them. One of the neatest things was "santa" in the different countries telling stories. We only caught the one in France but it was so neat! Our daughter enjoyed checking out the stores in each country. I wanted to do some of the more educational things but was out voted.
After spending most the day at Epcot we jumped on the boat and headed over to Hollywood Studios. Once there we went straight to the Tower of Terror and only had a 10 minute wait. The Rock n roller coaster was a bit longer wait, almost an hour but worth it. Finally my favorite part of the day was about to happen! We found the street, asked a worker where the best spot was, and prepared to be WOWed by the Osbourne light show. WOW WOW WOW!!!! I loved it! Snow falling, music playing, lights dancing...it was cold outside but who cared. We grabbed some warm drinks and headed back by boat to Epcot. We ate dinner at Tangierine Cafe (my daughter really liked the lentil bean salad so much that now I have to try to make it) then headed for a good spot to watch the fireworks. We made friends with the family standing next to us which was a good thing because we started out with "personal space" between us but by the time the show started we were real cozy like. Our spot was not the best just because we couldn't see what was going on over with the big fire burst and world. We were just to the right of the guest relations and boat dock as you entered the showcase plaza closest to Canada. Next time we will be closer to Mexico. We had a wonderful Christmas eve and were worn out. Tomorrow it would be up earlier for the Magic Kingdom.
Merry Christmas! Everyone wake up! Time to go! Off we went to enjoy Christmas at the Magic Kingdom. We chose to drive ourself instead of using the bus from the hotel so that we could get there sooner. Good thing too because I had forgotten that we had to take the monorail over. The line moved pretty quick though and soon we were there! Whoohoo! Our plan of attack changed some because we had done pictures the day prior with characters and our daughter was happy with those. So we headed for rides. First Big Thunder Mountain, next Dumbo, then Space Mountain. We also did the Laugh Floor, Its a Small World, and Haunted Mansion. By this time it was around 1pm or maybe 2pm. Any ways we were hungry so we headed to Tony's to see if by any miracle we could get a table. I wasn't holding my breath since I knew from looking online every ts was booked solid. When we got there we realized it was almost time for a parade. Blessing Three was getting a table with an amazing waiter. We decided to split a bowl of the Butternut Squash soup and zucchini fries as a starter. That soup was amazing!!! When we got ready to leave I asked the waiter if by any miracle would we be able to come back that night and get bowls of it to go. He said they don't normally do that but because it was Christmas he would make it happen for us! Soooooo blessing number 4 happened that night just before the castle lighting. We went back, asked for our waiter, and he bought out soup to go as well as rolls. (yes he received a very nice size tip both times) I was sooo amazed that he did this for us as were other employees there. We went and found good spots for the castle lighting, stayed in those spots for the christmas show, stayed there for the electric parade, and stayed there for the fireworks. Actually once the show started we couldn't have moved even if we wanted to because the crowds were thick. The park was open extra late but we were beyond exhausted. As soon as the fireworks ended we headed out. What a mess! Everyone else had the same idea. It was sooo crowded that it was laughable and laugh I did. While we were being corralled up and into a somewhat line for the monorail dh said "wouldn't it be funny if it started raining". Guess what! Yep! It started to rain. Needless to say I smacked his arm. Off to the hotel we went, into our beds, and sound asleep.
The next morning we awoke, ate a good breakfast, and noticed people all bundled up in heavy coats/scarves/gloves waiting to get on the bus for MK. When we loaded our suitcases into our vehicle we found out why. It was almost freezing and 25 mph winds. Brrrrrr
We have 2 more days to use for Disney. When we go this next time I will have more time to plan/research/prepare. For a spur of the moment vacation to Disney this one went really well though.
With what little planning time I had we ended up with a good hotel thanks to this site. We stayed at the Buena Vista Caribe suites. The rooms were a great size! I loved having an area outside the bathroom to get ready for the day and it came in handy since we have a teenage daughter. The beds were comfy and we loved the pillows. Breakfast was very good with a nice selection and an area where they made you an egg to order. The only day breakfast was busy was the day we were leaving.
Our first day in Orlando was ticket buying day. My dh is military so we stopped at Shades of Green to get our 4 day hopper tickets for Disney. While there we tried to figure out what to do for dinner that evening. Our decision was made...Sleuth mystery dinner. It was a great dinner, loads of fun, and something we will probably do again.
The next morning was time to get up early and head to Epcot. When we arrived we got in line to have our tickets transferred into our hopper cards then got in line. Thru the gate we went and came to a halt as Mickey and Minnie were there to open the park. Our next stop was the test track followed by mission space. Hmmmm made the mistake of letting hubby go on the more "advanced" mission. I loved the ride and was amazed at how it really felt like you were in space. We were on our way over to get fast passes for Soarin' but dh wasn't sure he could handle another virtual ride. On our way over there we saw the room with Mickey/Minnie/Goofy/etc. There was almost NO line at all!!!! We quickly entered and got our photos with all the characters. Our daughter had written the name of a friend (Philip) on a piece of paper so each of her photos had her holding his name up. He's never been to Disney and wanted his pic with Mickey. Little did he knew she was going to have him in EVERY picture. LOL It will make for interesting stories when she is old and married. By the time we were done with pictures the worlds opened up. We ate our way through most of them. One of the neatest things was "santa" in the different countries telling stories. We only caught the one in France but it was so neat! Our daughter enjoyed checking out the stores in each country. I wanted to do some of the more educational things but was out voted.
After spending most the day at Epcot we jumped on the boat and headed over to Hollywood Studios. Once there we went straight to the Tower of Terror and only had a 10 minute wait. The Rock n roller coaster was a bit longer wait, almost an hour but worth it. Finally my favorite part of the day was about to happen! We found the street, asked a worker where the best spot was, and prepared to be WOWed by the Osbourne light show. WOW WOW WOW!!!! I loved it! Snow falling, music playing, lights dancing...it was cold outside but who cared. We grabbed some warm drinks and headed back by boat to Epcot. We ate dinner at Tangierine Cafe (my daughter really liked the lentil bean salad so much that now I have to try to make it) then headed for a good spot to watch the fireworks. We made friends with the family standing next to us which was a good thing because we started out with "personal space" between us but by the time the show started we were real cozy like. Our spot was not the best just because we couldn't see what was going on over with the big fire burst and world. We were just to the right of the guest relations and boat dock as you entered the showcase plaza closest to Canada. Next time we will be closer to Mexico. We had a wonderful Christmas eve and were worn out. Tomorrow it would be up earlier for the Magic Kingdom.
Merry Christmas! Everyone wake up! Time to go! Off we went to enjoy Christmas at the Magic Kingdom. We chose to drive ourself instead of using the bus from the hotel so that we could get there sooner. Good thing too because I had forgotten that we had to take the monorail over. The line moved pretty quick though and soon we were there! Whoohoo! Our plan of attack changed some because we had done pictures the day prior with characters and our daughter was happy with those. So we headed for rides. First Big Thunder Mountain, next Dumbo, then Space Mountain. We also did the Laugh Floor, Its a Small World, and Haunted Mansion. By this time it was around 1pm or maybe 2pm. Any ways we were hungry so we headed to Tony's to see if by any miracle we could get a table. I wasn't holding my breath since I knew from looking online every ts was booked solid. When we got there we realized it was almost time for a parade. Blessing Three was getting a table with an amazing waiter. We decided to split a bowl of the Butternut Squash soup and zucchini fries as a starter. That soup was amazing!!! When we got ready to leave I asked the waiter if by any miracle would we be able to come back that night and get bowls of it to go. He said they don't normally do that but because it was Christmas he would make it happen for us! Soooooo blessing number 4 happened that night just before the castle lighting. We went back, asked for our waiter, and he bought out soup to go as well as rolls. (yes he received a very nice size tip both times) I was sooo amazed that he did this for us as were other employees there. We went and found good spots for the castle lighting, stayed in those spots for the christmas show, stayed there for the electric parade, and stayed there for the fireworks. Actually once the show started we couldn't have moved even if we wanted to because the crowds were thick. The park was open extra late but we were beyond exhausted. As soon as the fireworks ended we headed out. What a mess! Everyone else had the same idea. It was sooo crowded that it was laughable and laugh I did. While we were being corralled up and into a somewhat line for the monorail dh said "wouldn't it be funny if it started raining". Guess what! Yep! It started to rain. Needless to say I smacked his arm. Off to the hotel we went, into our beds, and sound asleep.
The next morning we awoke, ate a good breakfast, and noticed people all bundled up in heavy coats/scarves/gloves waiting to get on the bus for MK. When we loaded our suitcases into our vehicle we found out why. It was almost freezing and 25 mph winds. Brrrrrr
We have 2 more days to use for Disney. When we go this next time I will have more time to plan/research/prepare. For a spur of the moment vacation to Disney this one went really well though.
