My mother has a convention in Orlando over the 4th of July weekend, and my dad is accompanying her. They called me up not too long ago and said "Hey, we are going to Orlando for 4th of July - do you want to come? We'll give you a free place to stay."
Do I want to come? YES.I.DO!

My parents and I have not been to WDW together since winter of 2002, when I was a CP at Epcot - I worked there for four months. It was a fabulous time, and my parents came to visit me for Christmas. We spent the holiday wandering around Epcot with our holiday meal at Epcot France....ah, memories!
We are staying offsite at the hotel my mom’s convention is at, and I am a bit wary of the crowds & the heat - I haven’t been to WDW in July in 18 years! So I am setting just a few goals for this trip:
-get to the Disney Visa character Meet N’ Greet on our Epcot day
-hit my absolute favorite rides and shows: Rock N’ Roller Coaster, Festival of the Lion King, Splash Mountain, Kali River Rapids, Soarin’, Spaceship Earth, and the king of all rides, TTA!
-eat at least one mickey bar

-find a wedding present for my best friend from middle school - I am going to her shower the following week!
-consume no fewer than one fancy alcoholic drink per day.
I am quite delighted about the food I’ll be eating this trip - we’re hitting Cali Grill, Boma, Coral Reef, and Sci-Fi Dine In. I’ve never been to CG or CR before, only had Boma for breakfast (this time it’s dinner) and well, I just love those Sci-Fi milkshakes. They will help me fulfil my above goal for sure.
Plus, I will have a traveling companion to accompany me around the World - Mr. Vacuum, the stuffed chicken that has joined me on my last two trips to WDW, as well as many other vacations over the past five years!
So here we are at 5 days out, and I have to tell you a secret.....I’m kinda not quite maybe as excited as I should be. Last time I went to WDW I came back and had my heart stomped on.

(pretend the computer is my heart). I am nervous that when I get there, I’ll take one look around and get all weepy and cry, "oh, but this is the monorail that WE rode on TOGETHER! And here is the CS where WE stood in line for 25 minutes just to eat mediocre chicken, TOGETHER! And here is the ride that broke down for fifteen minutes in front of the frog that sang us the "How Do You Do" song repeatedly to the point where WE became convinced that we were going absolutely insane....TOGETHER!"
So seriously, enough moping around! Bring on the Disney magic!
A Quick Introduction: Page 2, Post 22
Live from Orlando!: Page 2, Post 25
Day 1 - MK! and Ducks!: Page 3, Posts 31 & 32
Day 2 - DTD and Disney-MGM Studios!: Page 3, Post 34
Day 3 - Animal Kingdom!: Page 3, Post 38
Day 4 - Epcot!: Page 3, Post 43