First time..but not our last! 12/15-12/23

[kellyg403]

This is my very first trip report so bare with me! I have enjoyed reading the reports so much I hope mine will also help those planning their first trip. I will include all days on the same post!

Cast of Characters:
Me (29 and holding!)
DH (46)
DD - 17
DD - 14
DD- 13
DD-12
DS-11
DS-9

We arrived in Florida after a ten hour trip from NC. We actually left 12/15 around 4 pm after the kids came home from school and stopped and stayed overnight in Savannah. With all the excitement of our very first WDW experience I don't think any of us even remember what the hotel room looked like. We got up around 8, ate breakfast and got on the road arriving around 1pm at CBR. From the moment we drove into WDW my heart was so happy because of the sheer excitement of the children in the backseat. Checkin time was a breeze. Took no longer than 20 min in an out. We got connecting rooms in the Aruba 5600 building. I was a little worried but once we got there and I saw how close we were to everything I realized we actually had a great location for us. After throwing everything in the hotel we caught our first bus to MGM for the rest of the day. I must say from the beginning it would be much better if we broke up into 2 groups...mom and the boys and dh and the girls. They loved all the attractions but were more partial to the rides. The park was hardly busy at all to us..not even close to what we expected. The wait for Aerosmith was 15 minutes and Tot 15 min. They were on in less than 10. After riding both twice we heading over to see if we could find Sci-Fi. I believe the kids did the Star Wars Tour and then we walked along New York Avenue. Got some great pictures and listened to the group playing for a few minutes. We walked back to Sci Fi to check in and around that time THOUSANDS of people it seemed started to show up for the Osbourne Lights. We stayed back and watched them turned on and went in to eat at Sci Fi. Food here was good not great but the kids LOVED this place. We tried to get in two more times but all was booked. Afterwards we walked down the avenue now that it was less crowded and made our way towards the entrance as the park was actually officially closed. It was great to just meander through because earlier it was shoulder to shoulder and I doubt the experience would be as great. Osbourne Lights is definitely a must do! So for our first half day the kids were so excited to ride the TWO rides they wanted to do most TWICE. They loved RR but said it was way to short and ToT was great but all decided you had to have an empty stomach for sure! DH said he wouldnt do ToT again, but just read on to day 7 and see how quickly some people can change their mind! We decided to go back to the hotel because the boys wanted to get in the pool and I wanted to unpack. Before we had left that afternoon I had requested more towels and they were waiting in our room. I forgot to mention that when we first got to the room earlier in the day we had a towel animals, a chick and a rabbit. Too cute! Our mousekeeper was great...not sure if we had different ones throughtout our stay but my interaction most of the week was with the same one. She left little "magical notes" for the kids everyday where we left her tip. So our first day was very exciting and more than we could have hoped for! The weather on Friday was a little chilly towards the end of the evening but it didn't stop the boys as they lounged in the pool until almost 10! We promised to go to the big pool later in the week. Tomorrow will be our Epcot day and CP with dinner at Teppenyaki. For all who are wondering the Dining Plan is Awesome but ALOT of food! We actually ended up the week with about 30 snacks left over. Drinks and snacks for the road since we wouldn't be stopping but more on that later! At the Sci Fi even though burgers weren't on the menu our waiter offered them. I really liked the onion rings and the apple/pecan thing I had for desert. Wasn't really crazy about the burger. The kids loved theirs. DH had the steak and he said it was pretty good as well. The kids all had milkshakes which they said were good but we all walked away wondering how in the world we would get through the week eating this much food. My family has some big eaters in it so I was surprised when even they said they wouldn't be able to eat every meal with an appetizer AND desert. So later we started sharing appetizers because we just couldn't give up on dessert! Around 10 the boys came in from the pool and we all went to bed. We had to get up early for our breakfast with the princesses in Norway and a long day. Just when a mom thinks she knows everything..who would love the princesses and who would love the World Showcase the most, Disney has a way of changing everything!

Kelly

 

[kellyg403]

We arrived at Epcot around 8 for our 8:30 appointment with the Princesses in Norway. Our first sight of the World Showcase caught us all off guard. We just kind of stood in awe for a few minutes before we remembered we had somewhere to be. I knew that DD12 would love this place. Even at 12 she loves all things Princess, right down to her Snow White socks. We did have to wait about 30 min to be called. DH wanted his picture taken with Belle...who would have guessed? It actually was pretty funny! We were led in and we saw Snow White, Mulan, Jasmine and Aurora making the rounds. As soon as Jasmine came over DD17 practically broke her brother's neck trying to get into get a picture with her. Again who would have guessed? DD12 seemed a little shy and was upset that she forgot her autograph book. The food here was just o.k for us but when you have Snow White who cares about the rest. I have a great pic of Snow White kissing DS9 (the girl hater) and the look on his face IS priceless. We didn't buy the photos they took here. They cost somewhere around 30 dollars if I remember correctly but we decided to wait. They were fine pictures but I didn't really want them. We probably won't do this again simply because we went for the atmosphere more than the food. In next trips unless DD17 is with us, I think the boys will be glad to go without the Princesses. We broke up into groups again and the boys and I meandered around waiting for the WS to open up. We did Ice Station Cool and boy did I have fun waiting patiently for the boys to try Beverly! IT WAS HYSTERICAL. You would have thought it tasted like spinach. Every day after that whenever we went to Epcot the boys would be like "Mom, lets go have some Beverly!" No thanks, I am sure not telling you beforehand was to get even for all those bad things I didn't know about. We probably are even now. Anyway, the boys and I had a blast walking around the Showcase. We stopped in every country and enjoyed the sites, bought some candy in Germany because they have the BEST gummi candy you know. We met up with the rest of the group who were wild about Soarin'. DD17 said the second time kinda made her feel queasy but Test Track cured it. We walked over and checked in for Teppenyaki as we were to see the Candlelight Processional at 6:45 with Harry Hamlin. We enjoyed this place but will not do again. The food was fine, the Chef interacted with us fine but we go to a Habachi house here at home that has spoiled us I think. The CP was absolutely BEAUTIFUL. Well, the kids say it was o.k. but for grownups a must. DD17 saw Harry Hamlin and said hey...he plays in all those Lifetime movies...really really loud. At least 3 rows of people stared at us. I started laughing because who knew Lifetime would come in handy someday. I have been telling DH this for years and I was finally proved right!
After the CP we headed back home so the boys could do the pool. The day was warmer but drizziling most of the day so hey, why not. They all decided to go to the main pool and I decided to shower and figure out a way to fix my tired feet. DH thought I was crazy because I made everyone check their feet for blisters. But more on that later. Anyway, I figured out that if I put the shower on and plugged the drain my feet stayed in hot water. It became a ritual throughout the week, my shower/baths. For anyone going with a crowd the best thing in world is splitting up. Everyone was happy. DH caught up with me and the boys at one point and the girls continued to explore the land. There is no way possible in 10 hours to even explore World Showcase and see everything and do the other attractions. We just kinda went with the flow and enjoyed the atmosphere alot. DS9 is alot like is mom and prefers two feet on the ground at all times and if I am sitting it better be on a stationary object. DS11 knows which side his bread is buttered on and went with the money. Soarin' or Candy??? Test Track or free Mickey Bars??? No much of a choice when you are 11. But by Thurs he was riding with the girls because even he can only take so much. Somehow DS9 came home with 60 dollars of his 150.00 spending money but somehow had two more bags than everyone else. With a very guilty look I hid one of the bags when I was packing...guess they should have chosen mom too! We had a wonderful day and went home to another towel animal and nice note from Lucinda. So after a day of the Princesses DD17 went to sleep with a smile..and I think DH was dreaming of catching a girl like Belle. DS9 was stashing his candy and the DS11 was watching Sports Center...it was Saturday and all the College scores were important! The other 3 DD's were fast asleep wondering what rides were next and I was laying in bed wondering how in the world I was going to get through the week without anyone knowing my FEET WERE KILLING ME!

Kelly

 

[kellyg403]

Before I start, just let me say the best advice I got here on the DIS, though it is hard to determine what was the BEST was taking our time, listening to the kids and enjoying the surroundings. We definitely did not do a commando type of vacation and really think we enjoyed it so much more because we didn't. Of course that is our family and in no way means that it is the better way to see the World. That being said, lets go to the AK! We decided to stay together for most of today. We got to Africa and got a fast pass for the Safari and wondered over to the Pagani Trail. The boys were in heaven. The girls thought it was fun but kinda like the zoo. This is the day that I really discovered how diverse Disney attractions can be. We did the first showing of ITTBAB and it was fabulous. I think of all the parks, AK was definitely my boy's favorite. I enjoyed the show as well and thought the 3D effects were just awesome. There were several people with smaller children having to leave because right from the beginning the sounds, sights and smells are very loud, bright and smelly! It got really dark in the beginning and then very loud so I can understand why the smaller children would be scared. My DS9 would not have been able to handle it when he was even 4 or 5 but was fine at 9. My DD 13 could have handled it anytime. Go with the flow of the kids! Safari was great. We had an awesome CM who just really played the parts. He had us laughing most of the day. We went down to dinoland and on the way saw the new Everest ride. The kids were bummed it was not ready yet but found the loophole to start talking about our next trip. We had planned a short day here with intentions of coming back because we had the Party that evening and big plans to get there around 5. The kids rode Primevil Whirl and Triceratop ride. Again, the crowds this day were quite manageable at AK. I think the most we waited was 20 minutes in Dinoland. We got Fastpass for the Safari simply because we knew we had limited time and much to explore but even then the posted wait was 30 minutes. This was also the day that I found that fastpass is a great concept and should be used as much as possible to see and do as much as possible. Around 1 we headed over to Epcot for our 2:30 dinner/lunch at Garden Grill. This proved to be the best place we ate at all week, food, atmosphere everthing. I am glad we went over when we did because Epcot was a madhouse. Soaring was already out of fastpasses when we got there at 1:30. Again, so far we had great luck with the busses. Very little waits and maybe 3 times crowded enough where people were standing. Remember my feet? Well, much better today..something about those shower/baths really worked for me. Anyway, back to GG. and before I forget...MAKE THOSE ADRS! I can't tell you how many times we saw people turned away. It really made me feel bad for those with the smaller children looking for a place to sit and eat. Our CM was great and when he saw the kids eating like they had never eaten before he just would bring around more food. Dessert was AWESOME! There were 3 or 4 different things, a cheesecake, brownie, lemon bar type thing. The kids loved it. DD14 and DD13 loved that we were revolving just wished it was faster and maybe we could go a little higher here and there. All in all a very successful meal. Afterwards we decided to go back to CBR and you guessed it the pool. We made it to the party around 6:30 because the boys were like fish. Let me say this about the party...it was packed but the crowds were very manageable. The group split up again and the girls and dh rode all the rides twice before we met up again at 11:30. Tonight was also our first taste of pixie dust and as a mom I can only tell you I will never forget it! The boys and I headed over to the teacups and the wait was less than 10 minutes. Alice, Queen of Hearts and the Madhatter were all out. When the boys got in their teacup the Madhatter decided to ride and got in with the boys. He had them laughing and singing the whole ride. I stood there watching with my camera in my hand just amazed at the pure FUN they were having. This ride was something they are still talking about. DS11 can mimick the MadHatter perfectly and does so often. After the ride was over and I wiped the water from my eyes I realized the whole time I was standing there I didn't take even ONE picture. So the memory has to remain in our hearts and believe me it does. We went over to Speedway and to Astro Orbitor and DS9 chickened out after we got upstairs. DS11 swore he would never ride another ride with me because the whole time I kept saying please don't go anyhigher. He was so mad at me because we were the lowest orbitor. Hey, I hate flying in the air let alone with an 11 year old driver. We went down and got the free cookies and hot chocolate and about that time Wishes started. Afterwards we walked around, caught the 2nd parade and then went shopping. We got the pin at the Emporium and waited for the others. We really enjoyed this evening but were REALLY tired. Good thing we didn't have anything really planned for the next day. I wasn't sure how we would feel so I didn't make any dinner plans and used the TS for the Norway breakfast on Saturday. I did make an ADR for Rainforest in AK for Monday at 1 just in case. That was an OOP meal and figured we would cancel if we chose to do something else. So at midnight we were headed home to CBR and all of us smiling that night. The girls loved the rides but actually liked Big Thunder Mountain much better than Space Mountain. Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin was a big hit with everybody and we all agreed we would make time to come back just for that. So again another magical day in the World for us. The weather was a little cooler but no rain as forecast...so pixie dust was all over the Magic Kingdom. We wore sweatshirts with t-shirts underneath and the weenie of the group...ok..me.....wore gloves on my hands. Seemed like if my hands were warm I was warm. The show at the Castle was awesome and I got some great pictures of the castle and characters. I was a little disappointed because we never did find Peter and Wendy. But I figured, hey they coulda been on the tea cups and I never would have seen them!

Kelly

 

[Minerva]

Great start, I can't wait to read the rest!

 

[tubachick]

GREAT START for a fist timer Thanks for sharing and I look forward to reading the rest of the story.

Happy Holidays.

 

[kellyg403]

We were all crazy tired and it was starting to show in all of our attitudes. I was even guilty today. This, of course, I will only admit to you my DISer friends. We slept in today and decided to go to AK for our lunch after all. We got to AK around 10 and I was surprised at how crowded it was and then someone mentioned EMH...should have figured! I am a faithful boardie and I know better than to go anywhere near an EMH park! But we did anyway. The groups went their ways, one group to take in Dinoland again and the Dinosaur ride we missed on Sunday. The boys and I fastpassed the Safari which already had a 60 minute wait. We then went over and decided to do Rafiki's Planet Watch. When we got there, Pocohantas, Stanley and Rafiki were in attendance. The boys watched the Vets doing surgery on a bat while we were there and DS 11 was totally enthralled. But the time we were finished exploring it was already time to head to Rainforest Cafe! 2 hours had gone by in a flash. We all met up at Rainforest. We really enjoyed the meal but DS11 was starting to get a headcold and wasn't feeling up to par. So afterwards we made the decision go back to CBR. There was laundry already and I wanted to make sure I kept up. About 7 we decided to go to OPR and check out the food court. The kids enjoyed the game room for awhile and checkers. DH and I just kind of sat at the table looking at each other. I was so tired I couldn't even find the stamina to spend money. Definitely time to go to bed! We took the long way around to our room and again the ds11 and dh watched the game. I really couldn't even tell you who was playing I was sawing logs long before I could pay attention. It was on this day that crazy mom who was doing blister checks on the kids was informed that dad..who never gets a blister you know..was indeed in need of some help. So a bandaid later with some neosporin and a promise that I did bring the moleskin he swore we didn't need would be his in the morning. Noone was the wiser to my feet problems because I was smart enough not mention it. Figured mom is the nurse I only had to mention it to myself! However, I did notice that my feet were not hurting as much. Even in trying to remember this day about all I can muster is that we would do the Rainforest again because the kids really liked it and that OPR food court is o.k. The CM's there were soso and not really forthcoming with information about the dining plan and what a CS included. We realized on this day we had been here 3 days and not used a single counter service yet. I do remember that I had a cheesesteak and for desert I had a slice of cheesecake. I also believe that the kids had chicken nuggets and DD 17 had some type of salad that she only finished half of. I was really glad when this day was over. DS9 had a bit of a meltdown when it was a no pool day and it was the most AGGRAVATING thing. DD12 wanted to go ride rides and noone else wanted to so she ceased talking to the rest of us around 8..thank goodness. We were all in need of an excellent nights sleep and a little hope that Disney magic would return. We just could not stand each other at this point. DD17 kept muttering over and over again "this is why I do not believe in family bonding". Too bad there was no swimming in the lake because I could easily envision myself allowing her to take a dip if you know what I mean. Hopefully tomorrow will be better...it has to be..its Disney World!

Kelly

 

[kellyg403]

Today started much better than yesterday started. No wake up call for us and I woke up first and took my shower and dawdled around with a cup of Disney coffee. I let everyone but DH wake up on their own and we were on our way to the food court for breakfast sometime around 10. Mickey waffles put us back in the Disney spirit and off we went to enjoy a day at DTD. We had tickets for Disneyquest and the kids really enjoyed themselves here. We got there at opening and didn't leave until about 2. We walked all around DTD and went through the Christmas shop and DS11 found a stand where they were doing charactures. So with some of his spending money he had one done of himself. We went through Goofy's Candy store and DS9 bought some more candy..yes his eyes were wide open this whole trip! Everytime I tried to suggest something other than junk DH would remind me that boys need sugar and until he has a sugar seizure we would live. I will remind DH of this at around 2 a.m. because he seems to forget we are sharing a room. DD's got some candy as well and we headed over to Earl of Sandwich. It was super crowded but we were in and out in about 20 minutes. We sat outside and ate. I had the Americana sandwich and it was pretty good. I don't know if it was the crowds or leftover blahs from the day before but none of us really thought our sandwiches were anything special. The staff seemed to be scurrying around trying to help all the customers. The weather wasn't too bad, a little chilly. I think as the week wore on it remained in the high 60's. A little chilly when the wind was blowing but great in the sun! Around 4/5 we headed back to CBR for more pool time. We had an 8:25 dinner at Ohanas this evening. Around 7:30 we headed to the bus stop and Magic Kingdom. We didn't even realize it was the last day of the party and the buses were packed even though it was after 7. After that we took the ferry and walked on the path to the Polynesian. What a beautiful resort. The kids simply loved it and wanted to cross out dinner and just walk around the resort! We finally made it to Ohana and were given a seat close to the windows. What a treat this place was for us! DH just loved the food and there was something everyone liked. Other than GG I think this was about the only place where DS9 ate alot. He is normally a kid who isn't picky at all so I was surprised when he wasn't really eating alot at the restaurants. No need to fear, he was hungry tonight. DD12 and DD13 enjoyed the limbo and the boys did the coconut races. This is definitely not the place for a quiet dinner but great for families. No stress of worrying about the kids being too loud or obnoxious. There was plenty of activity. My only complaint would have to be that they cram so many tables in the place that we had a hard time getting up and down so the kids could enjoy things. We were at a round table as opposed to oblong and it seemed like everyone had to get up to let someone out. I will also mention here that if anyone is curious as to what every single bathroom in WDW looks like, the color of the soap etc. just pm me and I will refer you to ds9. My goodness that boy did not let a restroom sign escape his vision. I really don't know if he used them when he went in or was hoping that finally he would find one with writing on the stalls like back home in kmart but we were ALWAYS waiting for him somewhere. At first I thought maybe he was in awe of the fact they flushed without his help but after the 10th stop of the day I knew the child had to know something very important about WDW restrooms the rest of us didn't. It got to the point the DS11 was also going into the restroom right behind him while the rest of us waited patiently outside hoping some light bulb would come on and we would finally figure out what the deal was. We girls discussed the fact it had to only be men's rooms because we sure didn't see the draw inthe girl's rooms. Anyway, back to Ohana...the food here was good and plentiful. As I said something for everyone. The steak we had was a little too rare for me but perfect for DH. The girls loved the shrimp. DS11 ate his weight in wings and DS9 was all about the sausage and veggies believe it or not. Our cousin was great and did the best he could in keeping our large groups drinks refilled. It did seem that there weren't enough cousins for tables because we waited about 15 minutes after we were seated for anyone to come over and get our drink orders. DH had a Lapu Lapu and I can't remember the name of the drink I got but I was sure glad I didn't have to drive anywhere after the second one. I did manage to get us back to CBR. It is amazing in my family that I am the only one who understands that you only have to go back the opposite way you came...you know bus to ferry to Ohana...ferry to bus to CBR. Anyway, after finally leaving and waiting for DS9 to check out the men's room we headed home. It was a good time had by all and I think it will be something we do again. We also got to see Wishes this night through the windows and they were as breathtaking as the night we saw them in person at MK. They piped in the music and everything. The whole place was absolutely silent throughout the show. So Ohana was a big thumbs up for us. Did I mention that the dining plan was great? And I almost forgot the bread pudding here with the banana foster sauce was to die for. Even the kids who thought bread pudding was terrible ate it and loved it. Of course the boys were curious to know if by chance it wasn't too late when we got back if they could go to the pool but as luck would have it it was too late. I think next time I will bring a sitter and just leave the boys at the pool for 7 days!

Kelly

 

[StormTigger]

Thank you for sharing your trip report w/ us! I'm in such a need for a Disney fix it's great to visit the park through your eyes. Glad to see you all managed to re-discover the magic after day 4, I'm sure the kids running themselves ragged in DisneyQuest helped for sure. I can't wait for the rest of this!

 

[swankybeth]

Great report, thanks for sharing.

 

[kellyg403]

Today we had a wake up call for 7 a.m. and by 8:30 we were on our way to the MK. We had reservations at lunch time for the Castle and were excited to check out things we had missed. We planned on doing Its a Small World and The Hall of Presidents. We had done those and Haunted Mansion by 10 and were headed over to the Jungle Cruise when we decided to split up so the girls and DH could do some other things. We decided to meet up at 1 at the Castle as our ADR was for 1:20. Most of the things we did today were things that we thought were traditions for anyone who goes to MK. It seemed everything was pretty cheesy and even ds9 was looking at me strangely. We actually were split 50/50 on the Hall of Presidents. The teens were not really interested until the Presidents showed up but the rest of us thought it was pretty neat. Definitely a one time thing though. DS9 and DD14 really liked Haunted Mansion. The boys checked out Frontierland with a fine tooth comb and by the time I looked we were headed over to the Castle. We stopped by the Philharmagic but the wait time was already 60 minutes and Pirates of the Carribean the same. Fast Passes being issued would be for the time we were having lunch so we passed on those for now. The castle was crazy. We checked in around 1:05 and stood inside for a good 40 minutes. DD17, of course, could not wait to get her picture taken with Cinderella. We did not see the Fairy Godmother but I am assuming she is only at breakfast. Finally we were sent upstairs and seated. Mary Poppins, Belle, and Jasmine were there. I beleive Aurora too. We had a very nice server but it took a LOOONG time to get drinks ordered and served. Then it seemed like everything went TOOO fast. DH had the salmon and thought it was o.k., I had the major domo pie and thought it was o.k., the girls all had a pasta dish..some though it was good, some thought it was terrible! The appetizers had crab things that were really good and the wonton type things were very good. Dessert was great, I had the blueberry buckle with the lemon ice cream and a few of the kids had the vanilla ice cream with the chocolate crown. DD17 finally asked the waitress if there was any chance Mary Poppins could come over and see us (her). She never came by our table but had come to others in our area. She came right out and was very apologetic to DD17. It was actually kinda cute to see Mary march up to DD17 and tell her how sorry she was for not stopping earlier etc. and DD17 looking at her with the proper disgruntled look. So, DD17 got her picture and off we went. I dont think this is a place we will do again. The food was not what we like and the atmosphere was great but again, unless DD17 is with I don't think the boy's will care if we miss it. Its nice to say we been there done that but I wouldn't pay extra or use extra TS to eat here again. We headed out and the parade was starting so we held back and wandered through Tinkerbell's Treasures and went over to check out POC but the wait was still very long. We wanted to go back to Epcot this evening and check out Illuminations so we decided to say our goodbye's to the Magic Kingdom for this trip. The crowds had gotten progressively worse over the week and this is the day we REALLY saw it. I also think it was an evening EMH for the park. So we headed back to CBR and all of us sat around for an hour or so making some plans for the evening and for the next day, which would be our last. We were going to try and cram alot of stuff in. About 5 we headed over the food court and had some dinner and bought a couple of the Mickey Rice crispy treats so that we could see how many CS and snack credits we needed to use in the next few days. Afterwards we headed to Epcot and the crowds were pretty bad here. It was very difficult to walk around we ended up heading over to France and seeing Papa Noel, watched Off Kilter, DH loved them! We got a glass of wine for the grownups and some hot chocolate for the kids and stopped by Germany to look in the Hummel store for a special gift for MIL. We decided at this point to start looking to stake out our spot for the fireworks. We didn't get the greatest spot in the WS but saw enough to "WOW" us. What a great show. Don't miss it if you can help it. This day was probably the coldest we had all week and the next day was supposed to be worse. But still for December not too bad...could have been snowing! Leaving Epcot was almost terrifying for me. I could not believe how people were shoving and pushing to get to the bus stop first. DD14 was practically run over by a lady in an electric cart. Her ankle was sore for the next few days! It was crazy. This was the first day in 6 days we had encountered any type of rudeness or anything. 1 day out of 6 is not too bad! We did happen to witness an exchange in Germany between a man and awoman who appeared to have had a little too much alcohol. We didn't hang around long enough to figure out what the problem was but let me just say that if you have to use the F word every other sentence Disney may not be the place for you. Just my thoughts on the subject. DS9, or course, was trying to intently follow the conversation. It was just about the most exciting thing he had seen in two hours. This was one of those nights were the buses were so packed it seemed like we were standing on top of each other. I also want to mention here that during the week we had met quite a few nice people on the buses riding back and forth from various places. It seemed so easy to strike up conversations and meet new people from around the world. Anyway, we finally made it on to the bus and we were more or less sardines in a can. DS9 chose this time to inform me he had a headache and a stomachache. I really prayed that he didn't get sick on the bus because it would have been a terrible experience for alot of people. We finally made it back to the resort and DS9 went straight to bed with no mention of the pool. He really did not feel well. DS11 went over the girls room and hung out for awhile and DH and I actually had a private conversation..the first in 5 days. I really think that next time DH and I will try and take one night to ourselves. Now that I have been to WDW and I am more familiar I think we need time alone in the hustle and bustle of the week. Just to touch base and be adults. Even if we wander over the Food Court. Maybe it was because we were split up most of the week but even the girls were hanging out with their brothers when we got back to the hotel and I know for sure ,for anyone who might be a doubter, that that alone is an example of Disney Magic! I am not sure what time ds11 wandered back into our room but around 2 I woke up to find Ds11, ds9 and dd13 all sleeping together in the next bed with the tv on. DD14 and DD12 were sound asleep in their room with dd17 finally getting the bed to herself. I can only say that I love, I mean REALLY love the MK. Just going there makes my step a little lighter. I loved Epcot and WS as well but for me, MK is what Disney is about. I also wanted to mention that we also ate at Cosmic Ray's on the night of the Party. I had forgotten in my earlier post. The boys thought this place was great. The girls ate there a little later than we did with DH and dh was all about the fixin's bar. For me, it kinda seemed like the food was normal over the counter burger spots but the kids enjoyed it alot. The boys loved the Alien Lizard lounge singer. Anyway, we have one day left before we head home and I already feel like there are a thousand things I have missed that I want to do. My mom and I have been talking on the phone every night so that she can get updated on our activities and I can hear by the sound of her voice that she was wishing she had been able to come. During our conversation tonight, DH said that I should think about bringing mom on a trip alone next year during the holidays. I really am happy about that. I have already started thinking about what we should do. So my Christmas present to my mom in 2006 will be a mother/daughter trip. Maybe my sister can come. Mom had a stroke a few years ago but has made amazing progress and unless you knew her before you would not know that she ever had one. Just her short term memory seems to be weak. So, I think its time we started to make some longer term memories.

Kelly