Disney or Die: One Woman's Quest for the Perfect Trip (Finally completed)

[javamom]

subbing so I can read the rest

 

[NAB]

I just read all of your trip report so far. You mentioned that no one told you about the BB boutique. I didn't know about it either until we went at the end of August. We were there in January and it wasn't there then. Not sure when they opened it.

Love all your pictures too thanks for sharing.

 

[LPNmom]

What a great trip report, I am also new to this board and I am loving all the great ideas. My family thinks that I am crazy with all the trip planning, and shopping. I just found out about the BB boutique from other dis boards, and made reservations for my two girls during our Oct. trip (It will be a surprise!) I was so sad to hear that you daughter didn't like the glow sticks ( I have 3 packages packed for our trip), but lucky I did purchase a few light up disney toys on ebay, but I am sure that they will want something else when we get there. I have loved all of your pictures, and I also cried when reading about your daughter and how much fun she had. I know that all of this planning will be worth it when I get to WDW (I to will cry when I see my girls having so much fun!). I can't wait to read about Ohana's I have ADR there!

 

[abbyjoysmom]

Day 6 and another fun filled day of Disney planned! We get up at the crack of dawn once again. Today we plan to do everything we had wanted to do but had not yet had a chance. First stop Mt. Everest. If you remember, we tried to do it on the first day but it was definitely the line that time forgot. We still have the rental car so drive to the Magic Kingdom, okay this is the first real stop, to pick up our tickets from the Uncle and big shocker he is once again late. The ability to go and do when you want to is worth all the money in the world! By this time, I am now aware of his inability to arrive on time and have resigned myself to wait patiently. At this point, I think it is worth mentioning that a rental car is the way to go. Even though we had excellent bus service on our entire trip, I will NEVER again not rent a car.

We grab our tickets and make a dash back to the car so that we can get to Animal Kingdom in time for the opening. Of course, since the Uncle was running late so are we and we barely miss the opening. We are once again on a run walk mission to get to Mt. Everest, unfortunately so is everyone else. I decide to leave the dead weight (i.e. DD and DH) behind. I start weaving my way through the crows as only a true New Yorker, or at least at heart, can do. I successfully made it to the Fast Pass line only to find 50 other people there as well. I wait patiently, okay that is a lie, for my turn at the Fast Pass and upon receiving it am shocked that we have an hour and a half weight 3 minutes after the park is open. On our entire trip, this was the only ride with a line and it was shocking. So now, we had an hour and a half to kill which thrilled me because it meant I got to see the Festival of the Lion King again. This time there was almost no one in the show and we got to sit right up front. That is the most amazing show ever!!!

After the show, we leisurely make our way back to Everest and jump in the Fast Pass line. The line goes very fast and soon we are being told which car to get in. We are directed to the front car. I am terrified of the front car but DD and DH can’t believe their good luck, so I suck it up and get on. Everest was great. We really enjoyed it. I could not believe that DD loved it so much; she is truly one of us, roller coaster lover. Once Everest was over it was time to head over to Epcot, but first we had to stop and see if we could find some friends from the 100-acre woods. I was so excited when we turned the corner and right in front of us was Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore, and there was no wait!! DD jumped in line and soon we had three more pictures and signatures for the collection and we were really headed off for Epcot.

DD with Pooh, he was not very friendly.

DD with Eeyore, DD and I love him

DD with Tigger, he was very excited to see us

We made it over to Epcot so DH could ride Mission Space. While he went on his space adventure, DD and I browsed around. Amazingly, 10 minutes later DH was back, there was almost no line. DH looked quite green; he said the ride was good. I think he was lying to save face since he always makes fun of me for getting sick, but I dropped it, as any woman would do. Next stop Turtle Talk with Crush. This was such a cute show. I was impressed. It was really funny and Crush talked with a British child who was very intelligent and had everyone laughing hysterically. Once the ride was over, I looked at DD and DH and said, “I don’t know about you but I miss the beach.” I was immediately met with screaming and cheering, DD and DH were feeling the same way. As much as we loved Disney, we are also major beach lovers and the ocean was just calling our names. We decided to hit Daytona Beach this time but first we needed some nourishment. We found ourselves once again in front of Earl of Sandwich, man are those sandwiches good!

DD in front of the Finding Nemo statue

It took just about the same amount of time to get to Daytona as Cocoa Beach but they could have not been anymore different. Cocoa was very laid back and Daytona was crazy. Daytona was a big party. We parked on the sand, which was very cool, and hit the beach. The sand was awesome. It was real sand and didn’t scald the feet. I was getting excited. DD, DH, and I ran for the water and then it hit us like a block of ice. THE WATER WAS FREEZING!!! I cannot believe that only 60 miles up the coast, the water was that much colder; it was numbing. We eventually got use to it and still had a blast. In fact, we decided we liked Daytona more than Cocoa when it was all said in done. We stopped in the Harley store to get DH’s best friend a Harley shirt. DH’s best friend loves Harley shirts I bet he has more than a hundred and he loves to get them from obscure towns. DH and I have been known to drive over fifty miles out of our way to try to find some tiny town with a Harley dealership. It was getting late so we piled in the car to head back to our home away from home and some dinner. We had reservations at House of Blues for dinner. This was our favorite dinner of the entire trip. We had an amazing shrimp appetizer and DH had a great steak. It was also the most expensive topping out at $130.00 ouch! Finally, we headed back to the hotel for some much-needed sleep in anticipation of our last day in Disney.

Daytona Beach entrance

Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach Harley Store

Shocking gas price is Daytona. I paid $2.39 today and sadly was excited about it. Man I miss the good old $1.50 days!!

http://i89.photobucket.com/albums/k219/flowerblf/shocking-gas-prices-in-Daytona-Beac.jpg[/img]

Returning to the World after a long day at the beach

Day 7…The last day

 

[I heart the mouse]

I can't believe how much you pack in a day! What time are you guys having dinner? Sounds like your DD is a trooper! I love your reports!

 

[Disneygrl36]

Great report........don't want to miss the rest.

 

[abbyjoysmom]

I am sorry it took me 3 momths to finish the final day. Life as a way of taking over. If it wasn't for my mother-in-law, I probably would never have gotten it finished.

Happy Holidays!!

It is the last day of our wonderful trip and we plan to make the most of it. As usual we get up at the crack of dawn and start the final day’s adventures and as usual my uncle is nowhere to be seen. Finally my uncle shows and we are on our way. We do a little shopping and enjoy some of our favorite rides again and then we realize, we are EXHAUSTED! One non stop week of Disney and ocean fun and we are spent. We all elected to hop back on the bus and headed back to our home away from home. Once we were back at the hotel we threw on our bathing suits and headed for the pool and maybe just a little more shopping. DH and I decided to try out the cabana bar. Why oh why did we not discover this sooner! This bar made the strongest and one of the best pina coladas I have ever had. It definitely gets two thumbs up. Needless to say a few drinks and a few hours later DH and I were feeling pretty good and DD was just excited she got to swim all afternoon. Once we sobered up, we headed for the gift shop. I found better souvenirs in our hotel gift shop then in all of the theme parks or Downtown Disney. I found the best scrap book ever, now if I can just get around to actually completing it.

The sun was setting and we had reservations at Ohanas so we made it back to our room to clean up. We were ready shortly and headed back toward the magic kingdom. We then caught the “small” boat to the “islands” We made our way to check in and surprise surpise they stated it would be a few minutes. Not to worry, there was a bar just steps away!! DH and I were drawn to the bar as if in a trance, but no sooner did I have another pina colada in my hand our name was called. We were seated very near the grill which was okay but a bit warm. I have never had so much food in my entire life it just kept coming and coming. Overall I thought Ohanas was okay. I loved the potatoes and the bread pudding but the rest of the food was just mediocre at best. The best part of the entire meal was that DD got to play limbo and dance around the restaurant, which she really enjoyed. This was a great place to pick for our last night in the “world.” We made it back to our room to crash as our bus to go home was leaving at 3:30 the next morning.

From the moment we arrived to the moment we left every experience was amazing. To see my daughter’s love for the characters and the beach, two of my favorite things in the world, was to say the least thrilling. For me this was a trip of a lifetime; a trip I had been dreaming of since I was my daughter’s age. This trip was truly magical!

Now as I am sitting at home finishing this trip journal, the only thought that is going through my mind is….time to start planning the next one!!!!

 

[Wilsonfamily4]

Your trip report was just what I needed. I started planning MONTHS ago and then took a break from the planning part of the boards. Now that my trip is just around the corner I came back to the planning and read your trip report. Perfect way to get me excited again!!!! I so badly want to get a day in at the beach but cannot convince my husband. reading how much fun you had I am going to try harder to convince him. What a trip you three had!

 

[mouseketeer_mom]

Okay, I was a little late in coming to your trip report but as soon as I read this, I knew you are me! We are one. We live the same life.

"oh, I absolutley agree and I think that it's probably doable but let me take a glance at my schedule. Hold on for just a moment while I pull that week"

"no honey, please don't feed the dog playdoh and don't cut your sisters hair, mommy will be just a second"

"unfortunately, I'm booked with an elementary education conference that day but the entire next week is open" (the first grade teacher wants to discuss my sons grasp of graphing)

Yup! that's my conference call too!