Trip report time
Wednesday June 30
FINALLY! It was time to get this trip started. Our flight was at 7am so I was up and ready early. We got to the airport around 5:30 and checked in. As we got to our gate, we saw the bride, groom, and her family. We were on the same flight! As it got closer to our 7am take off, they started announcing delays..then they started talking about possible cancellations…then it just got crazy! They told us they would not/could not help us and we were on our own to find alternate flights (even with the same airline!) This caused everyone to be calling airlines, going around the airport, and everything! At this time, the bride/groom/family got on a flight on another airline but had to go get their luggage at baggage claim then recheck in. My friend (the bride) called me and said MY luggage was the only one going around and around on the carousel! I couldn’t get any answers so I called airtran’s number and they got us on another airtran flight and she told me who to talk to about the luggage. Jess and I were finally breathing a bit..We got to the gate and they told us we didn’t have a reservation—even though we confirmed it on the phone. By now, we were really worrying. This representative we were dealing with was SO rude—she told us that if we wanted confirmed seats, we had to upgrade to business class. At this point, we just wanted seats so we did it..but it was so frustrating!
After all that, we finally got on the flight and we were on our way. We had an uneventful (thankfully!) flight and got to Orlando on time. We were on the Magical Express bus in 10 minutes and on our way to the All Star Sports. This was not our first choice, but it was one of the picks with the wedding discount so we went with it. We checked in and the room was ready! We were in building 4 on the first floor. The room was perfect for 2 of us. We grabbed lunch and just relaxed til the luggage came. We were really nervous with all the craziness at the airport so we were thrilled when both suitcases showed up! Now that all that is over, we are off to Magic Kingdom! We had reservations at Crystal Palace since we thought that was a good way to start the trip! Dinner was fun as always! Then we went straight to Space Mountain to get fast passes. As we were doing so, the cast member started chatting with us and asked how our stay has been. We told him about the crazy airport story and he asked how many of us there were. We said 2 and he gave us TEN anytime fastpasses for any ride in Magic Kingdom! We were thrilled. We just spent tonight having fun, riding rides, and checking out the new nighttime parade. It was a great way to start the trip!
Thursday July 1
We woke up early and went right to Animal Kingdom! We were really prepared for it to be SO hot and SO crowded. We decided we would just be happy with whatever we could get done and enjoy whatever we could do. I have to say , we were surprised that the entire visit was not super crowded or hot…rainy yes, but not hot! So that said, lets get back to Animal Kingdom. We rode everything we wanted to get done and even got to see some shows! We went back to the hotel to relax and decided to go to Downtown Disney for a bit to get some shopping done. As we got off the bus at DTD, the skies opened up like you wouldn’t believe. It was raining so hard and it was like we were surrounded by thunder and lightning. We had gotten changed for dinner so we didn’t want to get soaked so we waited a bit. As soon as it lightened up, we went put on our ponchos and went running for the shops. We did some shopping for a bit and then headed to Whispering canyon. It was my first time there and I had heard so many great things about it. The food was good and it was fun, it just was not what I expected.
When dinner was over, we went to EPCOT and said until almost 2am—we got so much done and had a great time just walking around and enjoying the low crowds…then off to sleep !
Friday July 2
FINALLY! Wedding day was here. The wedding was not until 2:30 so we had planned on spending the morning by the pool. So we wake up, get ready, go to the door…and MORE RAIN! So we decided to jus have a lazy day and watch tv and read until it was lunch time. We had lunch and then got ready for the wedding. We were to be in the lobby by 1:45. We were there with time to spare and got on the bus with the other guests staying at the same hotel. We went to the Wedding Pavilion and spent some time taking pictures around the area. It was absolutely stunning! We went in and took more pictures while waiting for the bride and groom to make their appearance. The whole ceremony was gorgeous and I loved being a part of it. After the wedding , we went back on the buses and headed to the Atlantic Dace hall (I think that’s what it is called!) on the boardwalk. We were on the 2nd level for the cocktail hour where we had drinks and finger foods which were delicious! After an hour, we headed down to the reception which was so much fun! We had dinner, drinks, dancing, and just enjoying the evening. Donald and Mickey even made an appearance at the reception! The reception went from around 4;30 to 8:30 and it was so much fun. After that, we followed the cast members back to the bus. It was so fun walking on the boardwalk with everyone looking and clapping for our friends—such an amazing experience. We went back to the bus and went the back entrance into EPCOT. It was so neat to see all the thigns backstage and just looking around. We parked in Italy and went through the cast entrance by Italy. We walked right into the area that was roped off for our party. There were SO many desserts and it was amazing. It was so much fun and it felt like we were royalty. When the fireworks started, I feel we had the best view! It was just amazing. After we got back on the buses and headed right to the hotel. We were exhausted! But it was an amazing day. The bride and groom planned such an amazing day and night!
Saturday July 3
We started this day a bit early and went right to MGM (it will ALWAYS be MGM to me!). We went on all the “big rides” and just enjoyed the park. We were able to be on tower of terror (I LOVE the changes in the ride with the picture). It was just fun relaxing and enjoying being there..of course, in the rain! We went back to the hotel for lunch and relaxing again since we knew it would be a late night. We went to Magic Kingdom. We knew how crowded it would be on the 4th of July so we decided to go on the 3rd since they were still doing the fireworks. It was PACKED when we got there! We walked around for a bit, did a few rides, then grabbed some Main street ice cream! We grabbed a spot about 10 minutes before the fireworks. We could still see and we didn’t have to wait around so we were thrilled! The fireworks were amazing and I am so glad we watched them. The crowds stayed for a bit even with the rain so we walked around a bit. We went on the TTA and then went to the dance party with the characters and just people watched for awhile, then did carousel of progress. Around midnight it started to clear out and we were able to go on ride after ride and get pictures with characters. We ended up staying until 2am!
Sunday July 4
Needless to say, we slept in this morning! It was a late night last night. We ended up headed to EPCOT around noon and spent most of the day going around the countries and taking pictures. It was not crowded and it was really nice. We stopped for the 4th of july Voices of Liberty concert. I had chills listening and was so glad we stopped. On the way out, we stopped at the Captain EO Michael Jackson thing—we both thought it was horrible! We went back to the hotel and relaxed for a bit. We headed to MGM and rode tower of terror and the roller coaster a few times. We were going to watch the 2nd showing of Fantasmic but it was so crazy with people lining up before the first showing even went in..So we skipped it. We decided to watch fireworks and go to the hotel. We ended up watching t hem from the bus line and had a great view and didn’t have to rush to get to the bus after. We went to the hotel, packed, and went to sleep.
Monday July 5
We got up early and checked out. We did the airline check in which was so quick and painless! I loved it. We decided to be spontaneous and just get on whatever bus happened to show up. We ended up going to EPCOT and just did a couple of rides, had a snack in Italy and headed out of the park. It was a nice way to end our stay in Disney. We headed back to the hotel, got our carryons and everything was smooth sailing..now im home and unpacking!
Just need a place to vent momentarily. My dear sisters and their complete inability to get off their ***** and help with any meals, cleanup, etc is driving me up the wall right this very minute. Worse, my aunt mentioned something about Phil asking how she got stuck cooking for everyone at breakfast and she said that she guessed she was just like me. Do my sister's take any kind of hint...nope instead they discuss how they are the "sitters" not the "doers". Fine, but doesn't courtesy say to help SOMEWHERE when we've fed you for THREE days now and 2-3 meals each day PLUS only one brought any ingredients for anything and that was only when asked and consisted of one bag of salad and 2 loaves garlic breads. ARGH! ARGH! ARGH! ARGH!
It is going to be miserable in here, but even worse... he has to work outside in this horrible weather. I pulled the hose out so he can drench himself if he needs to. I feel so badly for him. 
