First Ever Magical Disney Vacation!!

[BrittJ412]

The cast: Me (24) and DH (25), Mom and Dad (both late 40's), sister (17, LOVES disney stuff) and sister (14), brother (12) and brother (9). I hope this doesn't get confusing for everyone with the eight of us. It is everyone's first time except DH who went once in high school and once in college and mom who went once in high school but that was a while ago.

Here we go!

Day 1
We had a 7:00 am flight out of Dallas getting to Orlando at 10:30am. Of course, it took a little longer to get everyone out the door and to the airport than we anticipated. We got to the airport at 5:45 am and then waited in the WRONG LINE for 20 minutes before realizing that we had to get in another even longer line. The lady at the counter was VERY rude to me. When I told her where we were going she said we should have gotten there earlier. I told her, while trying to be very calm and not blow my top, that we were in the wrong line for a long time. She then said we should still have been there earlier and that she would tag the bags but couldn't guarantee that the bags would get to Orlando! I wanted to tell her that she was ruining the start to our magical vacation and that I had a few magical words for her but I held my temper for the sake of my family, and DH...he hates when I get mad at people who we know are stupid anyway. By the time we got through the line, got all our bags tagged (12 total!!!) and into the line for security check, it was 6:55 am!!!!!! We were freaking out. Could we possibly be missing our magical vacation before it even really began???? Luckly, we got through security and me, brother 9 and sister 14 RAN to the gate to hold the plane. It was 7:05 and they were about to close the doors. As we got on the plane we got looks from the other people like "oh, you're the ones we have been waiting on." We didn't care...we were just so HAPPY to have made the flight.
We got to Orlando and to Caribbean Beach Resort with no problems and after checking in and leaving our bags with the concierge, we went straight to the food court (Old Port Royale for those of you who know CBR.) We had planned to grab a bite at the airport before getting on the flight, but obviously that didn't happen. We were up at 4:00am and hadn't eaten so we were starving. We decided that we just had to go to Magic Kingdom first so we caught the bus. We were SO excited when we saw Cinderella's Castle for the first time. I couldn't believe we were actually there!

me and dh in front of the beautiful castle!

It was Dad's birthday so we got him a B-day pin, which I don't think he really wanted to wear but he went along with it. Many people told him Happy Birthday so that was fun. We got there just in time to go through a few shops and get a good seat for the parade. It was so fun to see so many characters right away. I took so many pictures! (that was basically the theme of the trip!)

Mickey in the parade!

We saw so many characters...we just thought it couldn't get any better. We had ADR at 1900 Park Fare at 4:40 (which was good because we were hungry by then) so we took the little boat over to the Grand Floridian (which was so beautiful!) The food was good but we had some picky eaters so they didn't think it was that great. But of course meeting Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Fairy Godmother, Perla and Suzy was so great!

Me, mom, Cinderella, sister 14 and sister 17. Cinderella was very nice and polite. Very soft spoken...just like you would think she would be.

Perla (at least I think it was her) came up behind brother 12 and gave him a kiss on the head! We all thought it was very cute and funny...he didn't really think so though. He was kind of in the too cool for characters mode...teenagers!

Prince Charming was kind of shy so we got a picture with him but he didn't really say too much. We saw the fairy godmother in the lobby as we left. She signed the girls autograph books that we bought earlier at MK and of course wanted a picture with the birthday boy.

She was a GREAT and called all of the girls princesses! We just love that. I think you always know those characters that just stand out and have really great personalities and she was one of them.

That night was extra magic hours at MGM so we headed over there after dinner. Since we had an early dinner we still had plenty of time at MGM. I think we were all starting to feel a bit tired since we had been up sing 4:00 am but we were too excited to go back to the room. We checked some of the show times and realized that we were really too late for most of them but decided we would see Fantasmic when it was time. We wanted to ride Rockin Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror but of course there were no more fast passes until 10pm when the extra hours started. The brothers were dying to ride Star Tours so we did that in about 30 min and then got bracelets to stay in the park for extra hours and went to get a good seat for Fantasmic. IT WAS FABULOUS!!!!! The BEST show there. We just loved it. Afterward we decided to get fast passes for Tower of Terror and just stand in line for Rockin Roller Coaster. We only had to wait about 35 min. What a GREAT ride! WOW! We knew we had to ride that again at some point. Next was Tower of Terror. That was definitely a thrill too. I was surprised but brother 9 rode both! He was definitely shaken after rockin but still rode tower...which I think was worse for him.
We left to go back to CBR around 11:15 pm and were praying our luggage would be there...and it was! I didn't realize how exhausted I was until I took a shower and got in bed. I think we all realized we were gonna have to pace ourselves a little bit better if we were gonna make it through this vacation. I already had three blisters on my toes

More to come on Day 2: Animal Kingdom and more blisters

 

[danalee]

Great so far & loving the pics!

 

[OK GRUMPY]

Enjoying your trip!! Thanks

 

[BrittJ412]

Day 2: Animal Kingdom and back to MK

We started the day with breakfast at Donald's Breakfastasaurus in AK at 9:10. When the park opened dh and I ran (as best we could amongst the heard of people) to Expedition Everest to get fast passes for everyone, then met up at the restaurant. This was probably my favorite meal all around. The food was great and the characters were wonderful...very lively and friendly. Goofy and Donald were kind of squabbling which was fun to watch. The CM was very nice and took some pictures for us. There was a large variety of food and it was all really good...no complaints from the picky eaters either. Here are some pictures...

I think mom just can't believe she is standing next to Micky! We love the safari outfits that the characters wear in AK...so fun.

Everyone with Donald, except dh who was taking the picture.

Goofy cutting up with brother 9. Mom and sister 14 watching.

Everyone with Pluto except, again, dh.

When breakfast was over, we got fast passes for the dino ride and headed to Everest...almost no wait with our fast passes. Great ride...I could have used more big drops, but still great. I won't spoil it for those who haven't been on it yet but there are a few surprises that are really cool. Both brothers rode this and liked it, although it took brother 9 a few minutes to come around after riding it. After the initial shock, he was ok and wanted to ride it again. Unfortunately, we never got the chance to do this one again.

Next we headed over to the dino ride. I'm sorry I can't remember the exact name but it's the one where you ride in this big Jeep like car and go through a dark jungle with dinosaurs. We were VERY pleasantly surprised with this ride. We didn't even really know what the ride was (or if it was even a ride...thought it might be a movie) but definitely wanted to do it because brother 9 loves dinosaurs. It was so fun! Since we all got to ride in the same car, mom got the picture of us on the ride...which is hilarious! I wish I could put it on here. Anyway, this is a must do if you have older children and we wish we could have done it again.

After that, everyone was ready for something a little calmer so dh and brother 12 ran to get fast passes for the safari. While waiting, we saw It's Tough To Be A Bug. We hadn't heard a lot about this so didn't really have any expectations, but it was great too. This was my favorite 3-D show that we saw. While waiting in line, we got to look at the Tree of Life which was cool. Here are some pictures of us waiting in line.

Mom and sister 14 next to a giant Gorilla head carved into the Tree of Life.

Me and DH with our 3-D glasses on waiting to go into the theatre.

Brothers really wanted to do the safari ride so we did, but I wasn't all that impressed. We got to see some animals but not very many. I think it was just too hot for them. Even when we did see an animal, the driver didn't slow down so between the bumps and the speed, I couldn't really get any pictures (which really frustrated me.) We have a really good zoo in Fort Worth so I think I've been spoiled by that.

We had to run to catch the Lion King show. Everyone was ready for something inside and air conditioned by that point. I heard this was really good and it was. The music, actors, dancers and singers were all really good. It was a fun show to watch. It just made you want to sing along!

The Lion King Show. Most of my pictures from this are a little dark, but not terrible.

By this time, it was about 3:30 and we decided that was about all the AK we could take. It was extremely humid with all those plants everywhere and we just wanted a little rest. We had done everything we really wanted to do there so back to CBR we went. On the way to the bus, we passed Baloo (sp?) Brother 9 used to watch The Jungle Book over and over and over again when he was little so he had to meet the bear.

Brother 9 giving Baloo the thumbs up

Side note: There were only about 3 kids in line for Baloo but a little girl and her mom walked up right as one kid walked away and another was about to go up. This mom told her daughter to go up there and she was going to get a picture. Since the little girl hadn't been in line, Baloo held his hand out for her to stop. When she didn't, her head ran right in Baloo's hand which knocked her back a bit. She kind of thought it was funny, like he was playing with her or something, but he kept pointing her back to the line. Neither mother nor daughter was understanding what he was trying to say so they eventually walked off. I just thought it was funny.

Back at CBR, dh needed to use the internet. He is getting his masters right now and is taking an internet based class. We thought you could get wireless internet in the lobby of CBR but that isn't the case. Since his ethernet port is messed up, he couldn't use the high speed internet. After talking to the front desk, he realized that he was going to have to go to Coronado Springs Resort to use the internet. What a BEATING this turned out to be. He had to get on a bus to MGM, then on a bus to Coronado, hook up to the internet and do his work, get back on a bus to MGM, then on a bus to CBR. Needless to say, he kind of felt like this... He had to do this several more times before the trip was over.
The rest of us went to Old Port Royale for a snack. Mom and Dad wanted to take a nap and the rest of us had intentions of going for a swim but our beds called to us once we got back to the rooms.
Back at MK that night, dh and I got fast passes for Thunder Mountain and met everyone for dinner at Pecos Bills. I thought it was ok, the others were not real impressed. I'm not a fan of peanut butter desserts and since that is what they had, I was excited when the CM said I could get applesauce instead. I was later disappointed to find that it was the natural applesauce instead of the good stuff with sugar. Yuck!
By the time we were done with dinner it was time to ride Thunder Mountain. We had no wait with the fast passes. Not quite thrilling enough for me but everyone liked it. When we came back over the bridge by Splash Mountain, we could see that SpectroMagic had already started and there didn't seem to be any good spots left. We decided we would try to ride some other rides while everyone was at the parade. We walked right on the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. We love the Pirates movies so it was fun to see the new stuff on the ride. The fireworks for Wishes started right as we finished so getting out of the park was a nightmare...as was getting on a bus. We all crashed...exhausted! My poor blisters grew in size and numbers that day. I doctored them up and went to bed knowing that it didn't matter how many blisters I got...I had to push on.

Day 3 to come: Magic Kingdom (yes, again) and Pooh

 

[Stef831]

Great trip report- and I love the pictures that go along w/it- very cool! Seems like a great family vacation- can't wait for more!! Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

 

[jmskinner]

Had to say hello to a fellow Texan. Enjoying your report and look forward to the rest.

 

[3princesses+aprince]

Yes, your report is great! Isn't it fun to be in Disney with your entire family, when we go it is Dh and I, our 4 kids, my mom and brother. that is our group of 8. Isn't it so special.

 

[DisneyNutMary]

Great Report You have a beautiful family and you and your DH are an adorable couple. Thanks for sharing

 

[Tanya90210]

Sounds like a great time so far!! Love the pics Can't wait to read more

 

[BrittJ412]

Day three, part 1: More Magic Kingdom...if we can get there.

Before I start, I have to make a correction. My mother pointed out that although sister 17 and dh were not thrilled with Pecos Bills, everyone else seemed to like it. I guess since I was sitting at a table with those two and sister 12, it seemed like the majority did not like the food. Just wanted to make sure I didn't do Pecos Bills an injustice by telling everyone that it stunk when in fact, it did not.

Day three started off with breakfast at Old Port Royale, which I really enojoyed because I got a Mickey waffel and bacon. DH got something with potatoes which he wasn't a fan of but overall everyone seemed to enjoy the breakfast there.

Love the Mickey Waffles! Basically, I love any food that looks like Mickey.

After breakfast, dh and I had to go back to the room. I can't even remember now why we had to go back...maybe we had mugs we needed to put up or something, who knows. All I know is the plan became for dh and I to go back to the room and go to the bus stop at Trinidad North, while the rest of the family was going to go to the bus stop at Old Port Royale. After they got on, dh and I would get on the same bus when it stopped at Trinidad North, which was one stop later. Obviously, since I am discussing this at length, everything did not go according to plan. Mom, Dad, sisters and brothers got on a bus almost right away. DH and I get out to our bus stop pretty quickly and sit down to wait for the bus. We see a bus come by for Epcot, MGM, Animal Kindom & Blizzard Beach and the internal CBR bus. We then start to see each of these busses come by a second time. Then a third. A crowd starts to gather at our bus stop of people we assume are all waiting for the Magic Kingdom bus like us. We wait for about 30 minutes without seeing a MK bus and then....finally....we see one coming. By this time, dh and I are standing close to the street waiting to see the MK sign coming down the street. When we see the MK bus coming, we are all relieved and ready to get on the bus. People start walking up to the street to get in line. Then, as the MK bus approaches, we see that it isn't exactly slowing down. As we all stand waiting anxiously on the curb, the MK bus zooms right past us as we watch in silence. It took a minute to register that the bus actually passed right by us. At this point, dh and I are wondering if my family was on that bus or not. We hike it over to the station at Old Port Royale and see that they aren't there. After talking to a few people we discover that the previous bus had stopped there but it was already pretty full and only a few people were able to get on. When it was all said and done, we waited about an hour for a bus. This was the one and only bad experience we had with a bus...and it happened to be the one time we split up. The rest of the family had to wait at the gate to MK for us because we had both sisters room keys. When we were on the bus, I asked dh if he thought I should tell the bus driver that we weren't having a very magical morning. DH said no.
The rest of the day was MUCH better.

Computer battery is dying so part 2 will come tomorrow.

 

[BrittJ412]

It was around noon, maybe a little bit later, by the time we finally go to MK. We hadn't been anywhere in Tomorrowland yet so we decided to go there first. DH ran to get us fast passes for Space Mountain then met everyone at Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. Cute ride with a short wait.

We saw Buzz afterward, who kissed the hand of sister 14.

We still had some time to kill before Space Mountain so we did the Indy Speedway. The wait was a little bit long and all outside, most of it in the sun. That combined with the fact that the cars didn't go very fast and you had to hold the pedal down with your entire body weight made it my lease favorite ride for the whole trip.

Next was Space Mountain. With the fast passes we had no wait. Great ride. I love that it is in the dark. That does make it harder to lean with the twists and turns though which means you slam into the side more. I think I am getting old. After that we got ice cream at Auntie Gravity's Galactic Goodies. I got soft serve swirl, which was good, but wish I had gotten the sundae (had a bite of mom's and it was fantastic!)

The half of our group that doesn't get motion sick easily wanted to ride the tea cups so off we went. DH, both sisters and both brothers waited in line for the tea cups while I checked out the situation with fast passes for Peter Pan's Flight and Philarmagic. Peter Pan's line was longer so I got fast passes for that. When I got back, they were getting in their tea cups so I took some pictures, then I took video of them going around and around. I didn't even ride it and it makes me sick just to watch the video!

Sister 17, Sister 14 and DH in their tea cup, which he made sure spun around the whole time.

As they were getting off, we saw Tweedledee and Tweedledum. What great characters!! They were so playful and fun.

Brother 12, mom, one of the tweedles, me, sister 17, brother 9, sister 14 and the other tweedle. As you can see, they were playing with us during the pictures too.

Off we went to Philarmagic. We had to wait about 10 minutes for this one but at least it was inside. My poor blisters were getting pretty bad by day three so I sat down while we were in line. We all loved the show! Great thing to do if you just want to sit down in the AC for a little while.

Even though we don't have any small children, we wanted to do a few of the smaller rides. We waited for about 20 min to ride Snow White. The wait was outside and the ride wasn't very long so I didn't really think it was worth it. Of course, after all of these rides, in between the rides, and before we left the park we ALWAYS looked in the shops. That also gave us a little bit of air conditioner time.

Sister 14 and Sister 17 with princess minnie in the gift shop after Snow White.

By now it was time for dinner with Pooh! This meal was great! I think it was DH's favorite. He and dad always liked that they could get some type of seafood (DH loves shrimp, dad loves salmon.) Most of the characters here were pretty lively. Piglet was a little tired that day I think but the others were good. Especially Eeyore!

Piglet came over first.

Then Pooh

Eeyore played with sister 12 sunglasses when he came over...kind of snuck up on us.

Tigger was last, but playful too.

Pooh came back a second time and scared brother 12 and me.

Eeyore also came back to our table a second time. I'm not sure if the characters don't remember what tables they have been to or if we just take a really long time to eat. haha

After dinner, we went back to ride Peter Pan with our fast passes. No wait, short ride. Cute for younger kids. Then we got a spot for SpectroMagic. I took a lot of pictures but none of them really turned out. It was a really great parade though. We got to see a lot of characters there that we hadn't seen anywhere else.

Cinderella's castle at night!

We went back to the hotel and mom, me, sisters and brother 9 went for a quick swim. We were too tired to stay for long but it was nice to get a drink with our mugs and sit by the pool for a little while.

Day 4: MGM and Chef Mickey's!

 

[heaven2dc]

What fun you all are having (despite blisters and a missed bus) - enjoying your pics alot - thanks for sharing!

will wait patiently for more....

 

[JAA'smom]

I am enjoying reading your report.

 

[sharonW]

Great Report..Can't wait for more!!

 

[shellbelle]

Really enjoying your report. Love your pics!

 

[Busy B]

What a wonderful report! Looks like you had a great time. LOVE the pictures!!

B

 

[BrittJ412]

Thanks for all of the nice notes everyone! I am using my work computer right now and realized that my husband took our personal computer (with all of the pictures on it) with him to a conference in Austin. He will be back Friday night and I promise I will finish the rest this weekend. Writing these has taken me longer than I thought it would so I'm sorry for the posts being so far apart. Since it was my first trip to WDW this is also my first trip report so I appreciate your patience and hope you will read the rest of my report this weekend. Thanks!!

 

[northcapemaymom]

What a cool trip report! It looks as if you guys really got into the fun by the smiles in your lovely pictures, and you picked some neat restaurants to experience. When you look back at your WDW trip with your loved ones I'm sure your heart will always smile!

 

[jaxntigger]

Sic'em Bears! Baylor

 

[disneycutie84]

Great report! Lots of fun & your pictures are really cute! Can't wait to read more.