First Trip Report Ever-here Goes

[retiredkid]

First Trip Report Ever…Here Goes
THE CAST
We all hail from Toronto, Canada.
Myself, Cathy, 57
DH, Lorne, 64
(our last trip to WDW was in 2000. We always have gone without a ‘plan’)
DD, Allison, 33 Her last trip was when she was about 10 yrs old
DSIL, Angelo, 35 First timer.

Lorne and I are celebrating our 17th Anniversary on Tuesday the 18th, and Allie and Ang have never been on any kind of trip together (except weekends in Niagara Falls) and they are married 5 ½ years.

We met at Toronto airport around 7:30 on Saturday morning. We were all excited.

Lorne and I

Allie and Ang
The flight was great, slightly over 2 hours in the air and problem free.
We arrived and took the empty shuttle to the baggage claim, where our driver from Sunray, Rick was waiting. When we checked in at POP, we had to leave our luggage. The rooms were ready, but there was nobody available and no luggage carts to help us with everything. We had also ordered a fridge from A Baby’s best friend. It was $50 for the week and we used it every day to keep water, juice etc cold. Well worth the price IMO. We did get our Anniversary buttons and Ang got one for “First visit”, though.


Then I made our mark.

This little guy greeted us in each of the rooms.

I was so looking forward to the things that mousekeeping would do with the towels and such, that I brought down about 20 little stuffed animals that I bought (dollar store) just for the sake of mousekeeping doing something. I was anxious for my daughter to see it.
We unpacked, freshened up, then looked over the menus that I had printed off . I did this for each of our chosen restaurants, so that we could have an idea of what was offered and order the alternate meal of the day accordingly. None of us wanted seafood twice in the same day, for example.
We left for DTD for the atmosphere and our ADR at Wolfgang Pucks Grand Café. It seemed to take forever for a bus to come and when it did, we were going the circuitous route to drop off cast members at the CBR. I had thought that it was a direct bus. Consequently, we were about 10 minutes late for our first ADR. I will have to plan THAT better, that’s for sure. We were given a wonderful corner table, overlooking the water.
That made us feel better. I must tell you that the menu offered was NOT the same as I had printed off the ALL EARS site. For example, there were no steaks offered on the meal plan. ( I see now that they just updated the menus in September to reflect that) Having said that, we all had a WONDERFUL meal. Sorry, but my party would not let me take photos of the food. But here is what we had:
APPS:
Artichoke and Five Cheese Dip - crispy Parmesan flatbread. The flatbread was especially tasty.
Asian Style Vegetable Spring Rolls - plum and Japanese mustard dipping sauce, a little gingery.
Classic Caesar Salad - hearts of Romaine, croutons and freshly grated parmesan. Enjoyed by both guys.
ENTREES
Pepperoni - roasted garlic, roma tomatoes, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses – Typical.
Wolf-fredo Fettuccine - Pan roasted chicken and pancetta in a parmesan cream sauce -Delicious
Pumpkin Ravioli - Brown butter sauce with fried sage, port wine glaze, toasted pine nuts and aged parmesan – Outstanding!!!
Three Cheese Ravioli - Shaved garlic with a smooth tomato sauce . Yummy.
DESSERTS
Vanilla Crème Brulee
Chocolate Souffle Cake 2x
One of us (not me) passed on dessert.

After dinner, we walked around the shops a while, then it started to rain. We headed back to crash after a long day.

This is my first TR, and it seems to be WAAAAY TOO LONG. Sorry if I bored you all. I will try to keep it shorter from this point on.

 

[retiredkid]

I must mention that my DD had two surprises for me. One was a Halloween tote bag FULL of snacks, cookies, candies etc, with a thank you note for this trip. There was also a beautiful arrangement with a lovely tray with Champagne, cheese, crackers, mickey champagne glasses, an autographed picture of the “Big 5” and a vase with a beautiful red rose that lasted the entire week. These were both from the Disney florist, I believe. SHE’S A KEEPER !!

ANIMAL KINGDOM DAY

After breakfast at the POP, we took the bus to AK. No wait at all, and bus was ½ empty. We, of course, used the RC entrance. There was a bit of a lineup in the store by the glass doors. The CM there said that the store wants to close this entrance off in the near future. Don’t know if that’s true or not, but that’s what he said.

Now, again, we are 4 adults who have very different tastes and it was totally agreed on that if and when anyone wanted to split, they could.
I was the FPV for almost the whole trip. It was already really hot and humid, but I ran ahead for FP for EE and then met with the group to ride. What a WAKER-UPPER!!!!!! DD and I did PW while the guys took pics. We then all rode Dinosaur together. This one was a big surprise, because we had it confused with the one with Ellen Degeneres!!! We were preparing DSIL for these rides and told him that this is a nice seat in a moving theatre and we could relax a bit. NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!! A lot of fun, though. I scooted ahead for FP for Kali, but the machines were covered, so when I found the group again, we dallied back along to ride Kali twice !! We got a little wet the first time and completely soaked the second…dispite wearing ponchos. We did Maharajah Trek, saw the tigers (sleeping as usual) and a lot of the gorillas. Some more playful than others. We then took in ITTBAB. Still funny.
We had lunch at Pizzafari. Two of us had Chicken Caesars, DD the Chicken Parm Sandwich, DH had the pepperoni pizza. All of these were delicious. None of us were up for dessert. Too hot, I guess.
We then rode Kilamanjaro Safaris. Another walk-on. We asked for the back seats, so that we could turn around and video out the rear of the vehicle. Our guide, (whose name I forget, sorry) was soooooooooo into his role, and obviously wanted to give everyone the maximum experience, that he actually drove like we were being shot at, actually drove like the bridge was falling, actually drove like a MANIAC. We nearly bounced out a couple of times. And forget the video. DSIL kept it going throughout the entire ride, and a lot of it is just crazy movement. We are keeping it in for the effect though. Because of the timing, DD was worried we would not see a lot of animals. We saw TONS!! We saw hippos above and under the water, Rhinos, Giraffes, all kinds of them. I was pleased at the number of them.

We almost kissed the ground when we got off. I had to take Robaxacet and DH had a sore neck. But we are old enough (57/64) to know better. Next time, we will ride up front, and if we have the same driver, “WE’LL WALK, TYVM”
We were able to catch the 3:00 FOTLK show with about a 5 minute wait. They were actually walking in after the start, as well.

We had a 5:30 ADR at Coral Reef, so we took the bus from AK to EPCOT.
We then did Test Track, Soarin’ and then spent a lot of time in Nemo & Friends. DD took a million pics.
We then headed to Coral Reef.
When they sat us down, they had a specially printed ‘Anniversary Menu’ for DH and I. The food, of course is the same, just mentioning an Anniversary on the printed paper souvenir menu. Very nice touch.
They also gave the two of us a glass of champagne. Also very nice touch. Holli was our server, and she was FABULOUS.
Here is what we had:
Appetizers
Sea and Land - Grilled shrimp with cucumber salad and BBQ beef skewer with creamy polenta - DELICIOUS
Chilled Shrimp - served with seaweed salad - OKAY
Mixed Greens Salad with blue cheese dressing or Key Lime herb vinaigrette – DD FOUND THIS TOO SPICY?
Caesar Salad with shredded parmesan cheese and croutons – TYPICAL, BUT NICE PRESENTATION.
Entrees
Grilled NY Strip Steak - served with potatoes au gratin, and broccolini –THREE OF US ORDERED THIS, ALL DIFFERENT DEGREES OF DONENESS-ALL PERFECTLY COOKED.
Grilled Chicken Breast - with roasted Yukon potatoes, caramelized leeks, and pancetta vinaigrette –WONDERFUL
Desserts
The Chocolate Wave - with brandied cherries- SINFUL
Bacarian Cheesecake with berry sauce -YUMMY
Citrus Creme Brulee (2X)- with Berries and citrus zest – BOTH AGREED- VERY LIGHT AND REFRESHING

After the meal, we moseyed around Epcot a bit and then took the bus back to POP. I was looking forward to the towel animals, or the stuffed animals being arranged. The only thing was that the original had been moved from the window to the sink.

 

[retiredkid]

DAY 3 – MGM DAY

We had all pretty much decided that from this point on, we would eat breakfast at POP. Be it a counter service or snack, whatever. We also decided that would meet up in the food court, and after breakfast one volunteer could scoot back with the mugs, while the others stood in line for the bus. This worked out great for us the whole trip. I must say that the food court at POP was actually pretty good. My only complaint is that it is crazy-busy and not enough cashiers. Sometimes the hot food was cold by the time we made it through the line. Pretty decent grub, though.

We were at rope drop for MGM. Then went with TGM to TOT for FP and to ride. We actually rode twice without any wait at all. We then rode Great Movie Ride, Star Tours, where a Storm Trooper and Darth Vader were walking about the boarding area.

After ST, we did Muppet Vision then Backlot Express. We had early ADR for 50s Prime Time and were really looking forward to it. As everyone knows, the food is not fantastic, but the atmosphere and interaction can be fabulous. I say CAN because we had a real DUD of a waitress. Sorry, I can’t help myself. Again, I know that you can get good ones and ‘not so good’ ones. But this was a real bust. I had told DD about the previous experiences we’ve had (all fantastic), but wanted to surprise DSIL. She even took our entire orders from appies to desserts right up front. The only fun we had here was watching the action all around us from cousin MARK. He was OUTSTANDING. He even had the tables interacting with each other in his entire section. So do yourself a favor and ask for cousin Mark or at the very least tell them you’re not speaking to cousin Heather and don’t want to see her at all. The bill for DH and I would have been $75.97.
Thank God for free dining. If we had to pay for this, we would have been livid. DH complimented Mark at the front desk and said that he deserves a medal for his efforts.

We had all decided that none of us wanted to do either of the Stunt shows, so we took in the Magic of Disney Animation. We all enjoyed this very much and played around the area that they spit you out into after the show.

We had all had enough of this park, so headed back to POP for a little nap. This turned out to be a B-I-G nap. Our little towel friend had again moved. Now he is on the bed. All the stuffed animals I brought were in exactly the same place I had left them.
We met up at the food court and had CS dinners.
Burgers, Chili Dog, Chicken Strips, TyeDye Cheesecake, carrot cake, chocolate cake.
Enjoyed by all. Spent time rehashing the day and then browsed in the gift shop. Turned in a little early, MK day tomorrow.

 

[retiredkid]

DAY 4 – MK DAY

After our normal breakfast routine at the food court, we made it for rope drop at MK. Even caught some streamers and confetti from opening for our scrapbooking.
This was a very full day.
First, of course was Space Mountain. When I got FP to ride later, I also got ‘surprise fast passes’ for Carousel of Progress. Never knew such a thing existed

We rode SM, Buzz twice, Carosel of Progress, Mad Tea Party, Philharmagic, Peter Pan’s Flight, Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad. Our counter service was at Pecos Bill’s and was not too bad at all. We had burgers and chicken wraps, and we were stuffed, so we gave away our desserts to a family with a whole ‘gaggle’ of kids.

We then rode Pirates, took the Jungle Cruise, saw Tiki Birds, rode the railroad all the way around (relaxing) We happened to be on Main St and we got a great viewing spot for the Dreams parade. We went back to Tommorowland to ride Buzz two more times. We girls kicked *** !!! We rode the TTA….Is it my imagination or did they speed this thing up? I always thought it was a r-e-a-l-l-y s-l-o-w ride. Anyway, it was a rest for a few minutes then Stitch. (I liked Alien Encounter much better) We did not need to use any of the FP that we got here either. All the more for scrapbooking. We dallied around Main Street, saw the Flag ceremony and then went for our ADR at Tony’s Town Square.
They sat us at a table near the fountain. The table was decorated for our anniversary with streamers and confetti. Very nice. Consuela was our server and she was very good.
Here is what we ordered:
Appetizers
Spinach and Artichoke Dip - three cheese blend, tomatoes, and served with grilled bread
Mixed Greens - salad mix tossed in house dressing with Feta cheese and croutons
Caesar Salad
Garlic Breadsticks with Marinara Sauce
Entrees
Spaghetti with sweet Italian sausage in Tony's own tomato sauce
Chicken Florentine - topped with prosciutto, spinach, melted cheese, served with fennel mashed potatoes, and marsala mushroom sauce
NY Strip Steak with roasted potatoes, mushrooms, caramelized onions, and spinach tossed in a warm pancetta vinaigrette, topped with red wine gorgonzola butter?Dessert
Dessert was already selected for us. Miniatures of all three of the below were presented on a pretty white plate.
Lemon Walnut Layer Cake - layered vanilla cake filled with lemon curd
Tiramisu - espresso soaked lady fingers, whipped mascarpone and dark chocolate shavings
Amaretto Cheesecake - with whipped cream
We all really enjoyed everything at this restaurant.
Now it was time to split up. DH and I were lucky enough to find someone on 'the other' board that was willing to share a Wishes Cruise that was for their 25th Anniversary. He was really whacked out after the long day, so my daughter decided that she would come along with me. We took the boat over to the Grand Floridian and we going to meet the others at the dock at 8:00. As I mentioned before, it rained (POURED) every day around that time and tonight was no exception. This didn't look good. The thunder and lightning and the rain, oh dear. We finally all got together and found out that the cruise had been cancelled due to inclement weather. We were able to rebook for the next night, though.....so that made us feel a bit better. Everyone was so nice. The happy (but saddened) couple even drove us all home. We're so looking forward to meeting again for the cruise 'tomorrow'.

 

[retiredkid]

DAY 5 – NICE, EASY, RESTFUL DAY-----NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!

This had been as a day to sleep in, hang out at the pool, go shopping at DTD, revisit something, whatever anyone felt like doing. The only thing we HAD to do was ADR at Whispering Canyon.

Here’s the thing. DD has extremely fair skin. Tons and tons of sunscreen, keeping covered, etc. She did a good job. The exposed part of her legs, though began to get a rash the second day we were here. We spoke to a lady who had it herself on her previous trip and she told us that her nurse practitioner daughter advised to take Ibuprofen and put a thin coat of hydrocortisone cream on the affected area. DD did do that and it seemed to be a bit better. Then on MK day, it got worse, so we had to go to the first aid station. They told us that they see it often and it is a heat rash. They told her NOT to put anything greasy on it as it would hold the heat it. They gave her a gel. However, this morning, her legs from the tops of her socks to the bottoms of her cropped pants turned bright purple and were very swollen.

The front desk at POP gave us information about a clinic close by that will pick us up and deliver us back. So off we went to the clinic… So, a few hours later, she had three prescriptions. Two of them, steroids. They told her that we were right in using the cream. They actually called it the ‘DISNEY RASH’ It is apparently from the heat reflecting off the concrete as well as the concrete dust stirred up by everyone walking on it. It is usually seen in sensitive skin. She was told that it should be gone in 10-14 days.
SHEESH!!!!!!!!!!! (As of today, 8 days later, the swelling is down, the color is lessened to look like a sunburn, but the itching is still there) So anyways, now we are back at POP, DD wants to rest before going to WCC, but DH and I want to explore WL. So off we go a little bit ahead of them. WL is somewhere I want to stay sometime. It looks great. We met for our ADR and our server was Ken B Krassey.
He was excellent. Really quite droll at times. When he saw our Anniversary buttons, he asked how many years? When we told him 17, he yelled out for everyone ON THE COUNT OF SEVENTEEN to yell out happy Anniversary”. He really was a lot of fun. Makes a mean Strawberry Daquiri too! Heres our order:
Appetizers
Nachos - corn chips smothered with hearty beef chili, cheddar cheese, sour cream and diced tomatoes and green onions (x3)
Southwestern Chicken Soup
Entrees
Slow-smoked pulled Pork Sandwich - with beans, choice of grilled vegetable pasta salad or french fries, and BBQ sauce (x2)
Smoke House Stack Sandwich- turkey, ham, bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, with shallot mayonnaise, on focaccia roll, served with grilled vegetable pasta salad or potato chips
Angus Chuck CheeseBurger - with cheddar, lettuce and tomato, served with choice of grilled vegetable pasta salad or french fries

Desserts
Apple Caramel Pie - crumb-topped deep dish apple pie with vanilla ice cream –the deepest pie I have ever seen DSIL could not finish it
Cinnamon Tortilla with Vanilla Ice Cream - topped with fresh bananas and banana-caramel sauce (x3) m-m-m-m-m-m-m

This was a great experience. The food, the atmosphere and the service were all top-notch!!! For sure a repeat!!!!!!!!

We then all went over to Epcot to see what we could see. We finally got to ride the ‘Dinosaur with Ellen Degeneres’ ride!! Except it’s called Ellen’s energy Adventure. Something for me to remember for next time.

We rode MS twice, both walk on, first Green, then Orange. It was hilarious, when we were waiting to board the orange ride, a kid probably about 9-10 yrs came SCREEEEEEMIN’ out, running as fast as he could, arms flailing, like the banshees of h*ll were chasing him. We all cracked up at that, poor child.

Guess what???? Thunder, lightning, pouring rain…oh dear, AGAIN. Called our new friends about the cruise and was sure that it would be cancelled again. Pooh-p. So-o-o-o-o disappointing.

Made very tentative arrangements to try and meet with them at MNSSHP on Friday. I really hoped that it would work out.

Back to POP and another CS meal later than usual. But always fun to recap the days fun. And as usual, the towel animal and all the stuffed animals that I brought did not move.

 

[Minnie&Nana]

Sounds like a fun trip! which section of POP were you in? It's always a disappointment when we go excited and get some dud experiences, but like you, making the best of it and finding humor and fun makes all the difference

What wonderful anniversary surprises ~ and in so many places!!

Understand the heat rash - only long lightweight cotton pants for me at Disney or the same thing happens. Glad your DD got some meds to help.

Thanks for sharing ~ looking forward to more

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Great report! Never heard of a surprise FP for CoP - pretty cool!

Looking forward to more.

 

[retiredkid]

Christine, we had requested adjoining rooms, high floor, fireworks view. They put us in the 70s, third floor, no fireworks view and adjacent, not connecting rooms. Actually, we couldn't even see the lake because of a humongous bush. LOL. We were right behind the elevators, in a corner. However, we were hardly in the rooms, so no biggie.
BTW, thanks for the nice comments, guys. Writing is not my forte.

 

[retiredkid]

DAY 6 – EPCOT

We had decided that because we were always at rope drop and that out of all the FP that we got, we never had to use a single one, we decided that we would just go with the flow and whenever we were all ready in the morning, we would just leave. As it happened, we got to EPCOT around 9:40, and man, it was empty. Here are some shots from the monorail. This was about 9:45 or so. The empty parking lot and the low crowds. What a pleasure.

It was at this point that my DH realized that he left the safe key in the safe back at POP. DUH !! (2nd time this trip). He was ticked!!
So, while he went back to the hotel, the three of us carried on. We did the Character Connection, which DH has no time for. What fun that was, although it did take a little bit of time. Then, while DD&DSIL did the Seas over again, I did Turtle Talk. How funny !!! What a sense of humor LOL … and how in the world Crush can have facial expressions that you actually know what he is thinking… (I don’t believe I just wrote that). Those of you who have see this, know what I mean. I will surely do this one over.

We met back up with Lorne and then did Imagination with Figment and the rest of the pavilion. I was disappointed that HISTA was closed for refurbishment. Oh well, next time.

We had lunch at Le Cellier, at 12:00 which was wonderful, if not a bit rushed.

Appetizers
Canadian Cheddar Cheese Soup - smoked bacon and Moosehead beer - I LOVED this
Even though not on the menu, the other three ordered Caesar salad.
Sandwiches??Served with your choice of potato salad or french fries.?
Calgary Barbecue Sliced Prime Rib on garlic buttered sourdough with our house-made maple barbecue sauce and finished with celery root slaw x2
Grilled Steak Burger topped with your choice of cheddar or blue cheese.
5-Oz. Filet Mignon - served over cream cheese mashed potatoes, finished with a roasted garlic demi glace

Desserts
Cherry "Shortcake"
Chocolate "Moose"
?Creme Brulee Sampler
Campfire S'mores
The food was delicious and the server very friendly and very polite. However, we had our entrees served before finishing our appies. This was happening all around us. I guess because they are so popular, they have to turn tables quickly.
Worth a return visit? Absolutely!!!!!

We then did the entire World Showcase, counter-clockwise, of course. We happened to catch a few of the entertainers as well. What a day!

We finished our day by doing Norway, Mexico, Test Track 2x, and then finally, Soarin again. Whew.

Back to POP and resting to rehash the days fun. Again a later CS meal. I recommend the Parmesan chicken. M-m-m-m-m-m.

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Another great update - thanks for posting! The Parmesan Chicken is my favorite at POP too!

 

[Donald is #1]

Great report! I am really enjoying reading it.

 

[retiredkid]

thanks guys, i'm glad you're enjoying it.

 

[retiredkid]

DAY 7 MK

Today is our last park day, so of course it’s the MK for us. And tonight, MNSSHP for all but DH. He just isn’t ‘into it’ like we are.
As you know, I had brought about 30 little stuffed animals down from Canada with the hopes that Mousekeeping would do something cute. I thought my DD and DSIL would get a great kick out of it. Well, I had been leaving $3 per day (two clean adults in the room) plus a little souvenir type thing with the Canada theme. Pack of cards, key chain, pen & pencil etc. I was going to leave a larger tip with a bit bigger trinket, but husband talked me into leaving nothing for the last day. I felt guilty because I knew that its not mandatory for towel animals or anything with the stuffed animals. It was just still disappointing.
Yesterday, I took a pile of the animals to Epcot and at the park, gave them to some little ones. I learned something from that. A couple of the parents were suspicious of a stranger coming up and offering a toy. I always approached the parents first and explained that I was staying at a Disney resort …..mousekeeping……..they didn’t…..not taking toys back home…..may I? It got kinda tiring. So I brought them back to POP.
This morning, the explanation was much shorter, “I’m going home tomorrow, and I’m finished with these. May I?” Much easier, and much more readily accepted. People knew what they had been for and were not suspicious at all, it seemed. So, between the food court at breakfast, and on the bus I was able to give them all away. One lovely family had four kids, so I just had them pick out whatever they wanted. The last little girl grabbed one out of the bag and just hugged the bejeebers out of it. It was multicolored, like confetti, and she thanked me over and over and told me HER name was sprinkles.
That just made me feel warm and fuzzy all over. YAY!!!

ANYWAYS….We split up into couples to do our own thing. Lorne and I did Tom Sawyer Island, Country Bear Jamboree, the Riverboat, HOP, Pooh, Snow White, and all of Toontown. We had an early ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern, so we met up there. Even though we had an ADR, we had to wait in a long lineup outside to check in. There were tons of people in the waiting area inside too. But once we checked in, it only took a couple of minutes. Christi was our server, and she was very nice. Here’s what we had:
Appetizers
Declaration Salad - field greens and vegetables tossed with your choice of our tavern strawberry vinaigrette or roasted garlic buttermilk dressing
Maryland Crab Cake - pan-seared blue crab cake on fire-roasted corn succotash with tartar sauce
Tavern Fried Cheese - with marinara sauce
New England Clam Chowder –
Entrees
Pilgrims' Feast - traditional roast turkey with herb bread dressing, mashed potatoes and a garden vegetable
Two of us had this. It was a lot of food. Delicious!!!
Sandwiches
Angus Chuck Cheeseburger topped with bacon and cheddar or mushrooms and provolone, served with Tavern fries
The Sandwich Heard Around the World - Grilled turkey panini with provolone cheese, Applewood smoked bacon, and cranberry spread on multi grain bread with lightly dressed field greens or tavern fries Desserts
Caramel Apple Tart -- shortbread crust, sugared apples, and cinnamon ice cream ?Butter Griddled Pound Cake -- served with warm pecan caramel sauce and vanilla bean ice cream ?Chocolate Liberation Cake -- warm chocolate lava cake with raspberry sauce and cherry Chambord ice cream
It was all go-o-o-o-o-o-d. But just like a Thanksgiving feast, we were all overstuffed.

The 3 of us that were going to MNSSHP later decided to take a rest back at POP. Lorne went to his favorite park, Epcot to finish off his day.
We had a nice rest, Lorne arrived from Epcot just as we were leaving. He was just gonna ‘hang’ and maybe walk around the grounds, do some packing and just chill watching tv.
Sounds like home

We arrived back at MK, and it was busier than we had seen any of the parks all week. We began trick or treating in Tomorrowland. We tried the ‘special path’ but forgot that it was only one-way, so we walked towards Toontown. By the time we got there, it was THUNDER, LIGHTNING AND RAINING like you wouldn’t believe. We were wearing ponchos, but still got wet. We took shelter in Minnie’s house. We were there for over an hour. The rain was terrible. The heat inside was terrible. Our ponchos were even steaming up inside. I know lots of people were still walking around, but not us. What made it worthwhile was all the little ones in their costumes. They were so cute. At one time, there were six or seven little Tinkerbells in the house. It was like a TINK CONVENTION!! The smallest one was only six months old. TOO CUTE!!!!!!!

When the rain eased a bit, we checked the path again, but it was closed. Oh well.
I said that I really wanted to see HALLOWISHES, but they kept postponing it. DD figured it would be cancelled outright, so we all went on the TTA. Of course, as soon as we were on it, the fireworks started. This was about 10:10. NOW the ride seems really slow….. we finally got off and hightailed it towards the castle and Main St. We did catch the last few minutes of the fireworks. A CM told us the parade was a “GO” and would be starting in the next few minutes. COOL!! We were able to secure some not-too-bad spots on Main St for the parade. We were already wet, so I said that I was going to sit on my poncho the sidewalk. NOTE TO SELF: Sidewalks can have puddles too!!!!! and Ponchos don't help with puddles!!! Yep, I sat in a puddle. Well, the damage was done, so I stayed LOL… Hopefully people just thought I got off Splash Mtn. The parade was great. After the parade, we booted it to the bus stop with the masses and waited about 30 minutes before we got on one.
All in all, we got a little bit of soggy candy, soggy bums, not many rides, but a lot of wonderful memories. Would I do it again? Probably not… but you never know.

 

[mkluvsmickey]

How nice of you to give your stuffed animals away! I'm sure you made the day of many children! Too bad about mousekeeping though - really seems to be hit or miss.

 

[retiredkid]

DAY 8 – DEPARTURE DAY

Not much to tell about today, just packing, breakfast, Sunray to the airport and an uneventful flight home.

HOWEVER, when I got home, I added up our receipts for the dining plan, and for DH and I, we saved $612.00 WOW!! What a deal!! Do they have free dining at any other time, other than September?

The entire week, we never saw the Dream Team, although we did see a few people with Dream Fastpasses.

I learned that I will not make the effort of bringing stuffed toys for Mousekeeping again.

While writing this TR, it hit me like a ton of bricks!!!! For my DH’s 65th in March, I just may take him on a Disney Cruise as a surprise. Yeah, that’s the ticket!!!!!!!!!

Now I can catch up reading others’ TRs.
It’s been a slice.

 

[mkluvsmickey]

Love the cruise idea! Have you been before? We did a 3 night trip in 2000 and in February of this year - both were wonderful!

 

[retiredkid]

Michelle, we've never been on a disney cruise.
now I have to think....do I want a 7 day cruise or a land & sea?
decisions, decisions. I can't believe I never thought of that until now.