Happy Days Are Here Again!....April 29th to May 6th

[Blue Skies]

Cast of Characters
Me - Missy (30 yrs)
DH - Rob (33 yrs)
DS – Alex (turned 5 the week we returned)

April 29th – May 6th

Before I start I have a warning. I tend to write looooong trip reports. If you want the cliff notes version, you will be disappointed. This is the unabridged version.

I will post all parts of my trip report as separate replies to this posting. This way, if you are not scared off by my pre-trip report, you don’t have to search for the other installments.

Well…here we go!

Pre-Trip Report:

Our last trip was in December of 2000, and we had been looking forward to returning ever since. The trip back then wasn’t very magical. The trip report was titled “The Agony and the Ecstasy”. Our hopes were very high for this trip and we were not disappointed!

We started the planning of this trip about a year ago. We tried to plan it around our son’s 5th birthday. As it turned out, we were able to get cheaper airfare by traveling a little earlier than we would have liked, but as a bargain hunter extraordinaire, we adjusted our travel dates.

This ended up being more of a budget trip. We moved into a new house last year and decided to economize (I want to decorate!). We started out with reservations for WL, then POFQ, then Coronado, and then finally All Start Music. I was a little nervous staying at an All Start resort, but as you will read, we loved the resort. (I posted a resort report on the resort page)

When we started to make the plans, we decided that we would make this trip a surprise for our son. I have read some trip reports before where they were able to surprise their kids with a trip to WDW. I always thought, “Wow, I would love to surprise our DS with a trip!” I thought that this would be a perfect time to do this, as he is young enough that he can still be pretty clueless of what goes on around him on a certain level, plus I didn’t think he would feel left out be not being part of the trip planning. The hard part was deciding how to carry this all off.

Our DS loves puzzles, I Spy and treasure hunts. I finally came up with an idea around a treasure hunt. I went to the store and bought parchment paper I could use in our computer printer and a spool of red ribbon. I created “scrolls” with three clues/riddles on each tied by the ribbon. For example, the first clues led Alex to find the suitcases I had hid. This then would lead to the next clue and so on. Alex had to find the suitcases, the car, the hotel, airport bus, airport, gate and the final scroll was a picture of Mickey I created by using clip art inviting Alex to visit him at his home, WDW! DS was so surprised and happy!

Where we live is a good 30 miles from the airport in our city (Minneapolis). This time we used a park and fly package at a local hotel next to the airport (Thunderbird Hotel in Bloomington, MN). We paid $89 for the room, which included a week of parking and shuttle service to and from the airport. The room/hotel is older and dated, but was clean. I would recommend it would use this service in the future.

 

[Blue Skies]

Day 1: Tuesday April 29th

The day we leave for WDW!! Yahoo!!

I woke with a start at 2:00 am, and couldn’t fall back asleep. I was too excited! I got up at 5:00 and got ready for our day. I woke up DH and DS at 6:00 and we were all in the hotel lobby by 6:50 am. We were on the airport shuttle with all our bags and booster seat at 7:00 am.

We arrived at the airport, had our bags checked, got through security and was at the gate very quickly. We had had a blast giving our DS the clues and seeing his face when he understood where we are going! Our DS had been asking for 6 months to go back to WDW not realizing that’s exactly what we had planned!

We grabbed a quick breakfast at the McDonald’s in the airport and relaxed for a while at the gate. Before we knew it, we were off! We flew Northwest airlines and the flight was okay…we did experience quite a bit of turbulence though (some white knuckle moments for me – I’m not a great flyer). We arrived in Orlando safe and sound at about 2:20 pm.

Ahhhh…Florida, the sweet smell of dampness! I always think many Florida buildings (especially the airport) have a certain musty smell.

I always enjoy the monorail to the main terminal. I always know I am close to Disney when I ride it.

We headed to baggage claim and our bags where ones of the first ones of the carousel. Whew!! That’s always a relief…to have all bags safely in hand!

We were then off to the “Emerald Isle” at National. There were no full size cars in the isle (which we had reserved). Luckily, there were some full size cars in the next isle over. We chose a 4-door Buick Century that was a very pretty cold/tan color. It rode well and we enjoyed it for our trip. We got the air going and then we were off!

We got to All Start Music by about 3:45. We where checked in and sent to Calypso room #557. Nice room! I had requested on our reservation a room location of 1st floor with a pool view. We received a 2nd floor pool view room. Our room was in building 10 three rooms from the end of the building closest to Melody Hall. My first impression of the resort: Why haven’t we stayed here sooner! I had always said, “I’ll never stay at an All Star”. I now take it all back. For the $$$ (or the lack there of) this is a great value! For the three of us, there was plenty of room. Our last trip we had stayed at the Beach Club, which is a very nice hotel, but not worth the money you pay (IMHO). Sure it has Storm A Long Bay, but during our visit in Dec, it was too cold outside to swim!

After we dropped off our bags, we headed out to the Winn Dixie to get snacks and stuff. We found reasonable prices compared to Gooding’s. We bought soda, beer, chips, crackers, cereal, pop tarts and water. Our total was $41. Our plan was to eat breakfast in the room. I never eat breakfast, and DH and DS usually only have dry cereal anyways.

When we got back to the room we could see a storm was brewing. By the time we left the room at 5:15 to go to Chef Mickey’s, it was pouring! For half the way to the Contemporary we were in a deluge of epic proportions! Then, as quickly as it started, it had stopped completely by the time we got to the CR.

Our PS for Chef Mickey’s was at 6:15. We arrived a little early and were seated by a little after 6:00. We were seated in the main area by the monorail. The last time we ate there we were stuck in a back room. This was a MUCH better location.

The food was wonderful! We ate and ate…then ate some more. The character interaction was great. Our server was less than attentive and it killed me to give her a “recommended tip of 15-20%”. But hey, were on vacation!

While at the CR, we decided to take a spin on the monorail. We made the loop. Seeing Main Street again makes me feel like I’ve come “home”.

We then went back to ASMu and took a stroll around the resort. I checked out the offerings in the gift shop and food court. When we got back to our room we called mousekeeping to request and iron and ironing board. They brought one within 15 min. I unpacked and ironed our clothes for the next day. We were in bed by 9:00.

It’s a Zip A Dee Do Dah…Tip for today! : Get snacks/soda/beer from Winn Dixie. We saved mucho $$$.

 

[Blue Skies]

Day 2: Wednesday April 30th Magic Kingdom & EPCOT

Our wakeup call was for 6:00 am. I hadn’t slept this long in quite a while. Very nice, especially since I was awake so early the night before. It took me until 7:00 to get myself together. I woke the boys up at and they got ready and we ate powdered donuts for breakfast…Yum!

We were at the bus by 7:50. The Magic Kingdom bus arrived promptly at 8:00. We’re off! While en route there apparently had been a car/tree miss-hap the night before. DH claims there was a car in the palm trees…okaaaay.

We were soon at the MK. We got through security and waited at the rope by the train station entrance. We really enjoyed the new (at least since our last visit) way they open the park. It was a dramatic buildup, the train arriving with the characters, and the family throwing the pixie dust.

Next we dashed over to the stroller rental counter. $8 a day. Ouch. But the strollers were nice. Some days we were at the MK we noticed they had an express stroller rental outside the gates. I recommend this is possible. It does speed the rental process up.

Once we made it to Main Street we had our picture taken. DS wasn’t smiling, but we ended up buying one anyway…

Our first mission – Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin! We rode twice with no wait. DS would have ridden all day, but we told him he needed to try the other rides. After Buzz, DH and DS rode the Speedway. I was able to get some really goods pictures of DS “driving”. Next was Snow White, Peter Pan, It’s a Small World, Haunted Mansion and Splash Mountain (DS did better than I thought he would!). We then ran into Captain Hook and Mr. Smee by Pirates and snagged some autographs.

Next we had 11:35 Crystal Palace PS. The food was again excellent. We saw Tigger, Pooh, Piglet & Eyore. Fun was had by all!

After lunch we backtracked to Pirates of the Caribbean (my favorite!). Before Pirates we had grabbed fast passes for Jungle Cruise. After Pirates we used our fast passes. This was the longest line for us of the day. By lunch you could notice the increase in the crowds.

We headed to pick up our picture on Main Street. The clouds were looking ominous and we headed back to ASMu. We were back by 2:30. DH & DS took a quick nap until 5:15.

On to EPCOT! We had dinner at Sunshine Season Food Fair at the Land. I had a BBQ sandwich and fries. DS had fries and DH had a salad. Three thumbs up!

Next we headed to Canada and saw O Canada! We then made our way to France and saw Impressions de France. Afterward we stopped for pastries (we always stop at least once each trip at Patisserie Boulangerie). DH had a Napoleon, and DS and I shared a scrumptious piece of chocolate cake. Yummy!

We headed out to Norway and were disappointed that Maelstrom was not running – not sure why. We went to Mexico and rode Rio del Tempo.

We made our way to Test Track. This was the new longest line of the day (about 15 minutes). This is always a favorite and it became DS’s favorite ride of the trip.

We felt we had done and seen enough for one day and headed back to ASMu. Ahhh Sleep!

It’s a Zip A Dee Do Dah…Tip for today! : Pal Mickey. They had these stuffed Mickey’s in the gift shops. I wish I had known early in our trip what they were. I would have bought one! A lot of adults (w/o kids) as well as kids had them. These are activated automatically when you enter the park. It tells you tips/facts/etc. for different attractions.

 

[Blue Skies]

Day 3: Thursday May 1st Studios

Today the plan was to go to the Studios. It was already raining when we left the All Stars. We were there for opening and made our Fantasmic! reservations for the evening at Guest Services. We ended up not using them though. We were too tuckered out and hot by the end of the day.

Our first task was to get a fast pass for Rockn’ Roller Coaster. We then went to Tower of Terror. We decided to do a baby swap with Alex. Maybe our next trip I’ll feel more comfortable letting him ride. We next went back to RnRC. They would not let us baby swap – not sure why. We wasted A LOT of time riding separately – even with fast passes. DH was on the last car before they shut the ride down for technical problems. He said there had been no music paying while they rode – so maybe that was the issue.

Next we went to A Man and His Dream. I would have liked to have spent more time, but we had 11:00 PS at Sci-Fi Dine In. Our waitress was terrible!! It killed me to give her a tip. I ended up giving her half of what I usually tip. The food was just okay. This is always a “must do” for us, but we will skip this next time. The one thing that was cool was we bought DS a “Lilo & Stitch” drink. It was soda in a Sci-Fi Dine In cup. They put a green glow cube inside. Very clever!

Next we headed to Al’s Toy Barn and DS was able to get Woody and Buzz Lightyear’s autographs. They use a stamp instead of writing. Different.

We then headed for Muppet Vision 3-D. DS loved it! It was his first real experience with 3-D.

We next went on the Back Lot Tour and Voyage of the Little Mermaid (used fast pass). We got out of VotLM at 3:00, which was the start of the next to last show of Playhouse Disney. They were filled up. The next show wasn’t until 4:30. I wasn’t going to wait in line an hour and half, and if I didn’t, there was no guarantee we would get in at 4:30. We decided to call it a day and head back to ASMu. We stopped by Hollywood and Vine to cancel our reservations. We then hit a few shops on the way out. At Celebrity 5 & 10 we were able to get DS Mickey ears with his name embroidered on back. We were able to choose the thread color and the style of lettering. DS chose green of course (his fav color). It was nice to be able to customize this. No one we saw had one like his.

When we got back to ASMu, we decided to hit the pool. Even though DS has been taking swim lessons for a year, he was struggling in the pool, which was very large. We ended up getting a life vest to use for the week. There is no cost and this turned out to be wonderful to have. We enjoyed the swim and then sitting in the lounge chairs. The weather by now was just beautiful. After the long winter it was soooo nice to feel the warm sun on my face. I was in heaven!

We decided to eat dinner at the hotel in the food court. The food was expensive and not very good. We skipped eating here the rest of the trip. The place was a ghost town. There are TONS of tables in the place, and only the ones up by the cashiers were being used. We were there around 6:30 too. Oh well… go figure.

We went back to the room and got ready for the next day, plus I was able to watch survivor!!

It’s a Zip A Dee Do Dah…Tip for today! : Guest Services has a 4 page (double sided) printout listing all penny/quarter press locations and what the designs are. I know you can find these on line too. DH and DS had a blast filling coin press books with their finds.

 

[Blue Skies]

Day 4: Friday May 2nd Magic Kingdom and EPCOT

Wow! Sun glorious sun! No rain! Yipeee!

We were on the first bus for the MK. At 7:50. DH & DS had eaten breakfast in the room. We were at the rope drop at the start of the opening of the park. I love when they sing “Casey Jr.’s coming ‘round the track!”.

We made it to Tomorrowland for the official opening at 9:00. We rode Buzz 3 times. I had the largest score each time!

We then crossed the park over to Frontierland. I got fast passes for Splash Mountain. We headed to BTMR. DS loved this ride! We rode 3 times – once we didn’t even have to get off the ride. We then went back to Splash Mountain to ride.

We headed next to Liberty Square. We rode Haunted Mansion with no wait. DS was scared when the “ghouls” popped up out of the graves. He still has a hard time separating fantasy from reality with this ride. Next we checked out the Christmas shop to pick out our ornament. Each year we get one special ornament to remember something special from the year. We bought a porcelain ornament with Minnie & Mickey on it.

Well, by now it was 11:00 and time for lunch! We headed for one of our favorite spots, Pinocchio Village Haus. We took a table overlooking the It’s a Small World ride. It was so humid in the ride, the windows were all wet and running and you couldn’t see through them.

Next we went to Mickey’s Toontown. We walked through Minnie and Mickey’s houses. We had our picture taken with Mickey in the Judges Tent. We then rode the railroad around the whole park back to Toontown. We always ride a full loop at least once every trip.

As we walked back towards Main Street, DH & DS did some pressed coins and we picked up our picture with Mickey and headed for the monorail. At the monorail I asked the CM if we waited for the next train, could we sit in front? He said, “Yes!” You can picture me doing the happy, happy, joy, joy dance now! We were able to take some awesome pictures while we rode in front.

We had intended to take the monorail to EPCOT, but once we boarded at the TTC, they announced mechanical difficulties on the track. We all disembarked and schlepped over to the buses. We got on the second bus. It ended up taking an hour to get from MK to EPCOT. DS started to whine. It was hot by now and everyone’s engine was starting to feel the effects.

Once at EPCOT we got our stroller and headed for HISTA. We walked right in. Great timing! DS did really well, but he didn’t like the snake! After we rode the “new” JITI. It was better than the last version, but nowhere like the original. Gotta love Figment!

We headed over to the Land. We got fast passes for Living With the Land. While we were waiting, we decided to get some dessert (choc cake, straw cheesecake and choc chip cookies) for a snack. Yummy! We still had time before our fast pass return time, so we headed to Spaceship Earth. This is always a favorite – and of course – no line! We walked back to the Land and rode LWTL. Our “guide” has problems remembering the spiel. Oh well.

We headed over to Test Track to grab a fast pass and then headed on to dinner (I know, I know….we ate dessert before dinner. My excuse was – “Hey, we’re on vacation!”). We still had some time to kill, so we went to Norway and rode Maelstrom (which was closed the other night). We walked to Germany and looked in the shops. Next we headed to Mexico for our 5:30 PS at San Angel Inn. We were still a little early, but were seated immediately. They did not have any waterside table available. If we wanted to wait for one it would be ½ hour, so we decided not to wait. The food was okay. Our last trip the best meal was here. This time if was mediocre at best. We will skip it on the next trip.

Since we had time before our fast pass for Test Track, we rode the Rio Del Tempo again. We then headed to Mousegear to check out the neat stuff. Soon it was time to head over to Test Track. Someone had dropped their glasses on the track, then they had technical difficulties, so even with a fast pass we ended up waiting 20 to 30 minutes.

We were all very tired by now, so we called it a day and headed back to ASMu. We had no wait for the bus (good), but had to stand (bad). We had a GREAT bus driver though…Roger Dodger the Old Codger. He was a hoot! We noticed this trip that many CM’s just didn’t seem like they liked their jobs. It was kinda weird. I would LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to work at Disney, so I didn’t understand how so many people can be surrounded by magic, and be so unhappy. That’s why Roger was a breath of fresh air (I did let Disney know how our family appreciated him).

Well, we were back at the hotel by 8:00. We really enjoyed getting to bed so early. All that walking and having fun takes a lot out of a person!

It’s a Zip A Dee Do Dah…Tip for today! : Ask to ride on the front of the monorail. It can’t be beat!

 

[Blue Skies]

Day 5: Saturday May 3rd Animal Kingdom

Wake up was at 6:00 and we were at the bus stop by 7:45. Our destination today is…Animal Kingdom!

We arrive and wait in line. We were let in at 8:45. We made it to Dinoland and waited for the rope drop at 9:00. The first ride of the day was Dinosaur! DS wanted to ride, so we all made the trek together. DS was sort of scared, but he did better than expected. Through out the trip we noticed he took his cues from us. If we were lighthearted, he seemed to do better. This was the first time I had rode on this one, and it was quite good. Intense, but good. After the ride DS asked if he could have a prize. He seemed to think all the gift shops after a ride meant that if you rode the ride, you were entitled to a prize! Since DS’s birthday is the next week, we told him he could pick something out. He picked a plastic dinosaur that had a finger trigger by its belly. When you pulled it, the head would move forward and its mouth would open. Very cool!

We next headed to ITTBAB. We were able to walk right in. Good timing! DS was scared and took his glasses off a few times. I made sure he sat forward during the bee stinging.

We headed to Africa and got fast passes for the Safari. While we were waiting for our return time, we walked the Pangetti trail. Interesting, but not too many animals. We did see some monkeys and bats.

By now it was time for our fast pass return. It was starting to get hot outside (10:30) and not all the animals were out. We did see some elephants, giraffes and pink flamingos (my favorite).

Next we decided to have lunch at Tusker House. DH had the ½ rotisserie chicken, he liked it a lot. I had the fried chicken sandwich. Yuck!…eat at own risk! I couldn’t even finish it! After lunch DH hit some of the coin press machines.

The shows we still wanted to see where later and we would have to stay till closing (5pm) to see them. We were getting tired (are you noticing this is a common theme to our trip?), so we decided to start heading out. But first we went to Asia and walked the Jungle trek. Very pretty walk, but very few animals. We walked through some of the shops looking for penny press machines.

On the way out of the park (outside the ticket gates) there were a slew of characters. DS got autographs and pictures with Baloo, Meeko, Terk, Rafikki and Timon. Cool!

We took the bus back to ASMu. We then took the car and headed to Downtown Disney. We walked through the stores and bought some souvenirs in World of Disney.

We headed back to ASMu and enjoyed some snacks in the room. Afterwards we walked over to ASMo to check it out and take some pictures. I was surprised, I had been disappointed not to stay here, but after seeing it, I like ASMu better.

When we got back to our room, we got our swimsuits on and hit the pool. We spent about an hour in the pool. The pool water temperature is on the cool side, but it felt oh so good after a long day walking in the heat in the parks. By now I was starting to get a stubborn blister on my toe. Ouch!

After the pool time we went back to the room to relax and have more snacks. We watched the bedtime stories on the TV (Monsters Inc, Toy Story 2 and the Little Mermaid.) Cool.

It’s a Zip A Dee Do Dah…Tip for today! : Buy a Guest of Honor Badge. We had ours from our last trip. You can buy them in the park, but we ordered ours from Gifts of a Lifetime. The characters will sometimes address autographs to you by name. I also had CM’s say to me as I walked by, “How are you Missy”, etc.

 

[Blue Skies]

Day 6: Sunday May 4th EPCOT

Today was an early day, up at 5:00. We attended Mass at Mary, Queen of the Universe Shrine at 7:30. We always enjoy visiting the Shrine. It is so peaceful and beautiful. They have a nice gift shop/book store on the premises too. Always a great way to start the day…

Right after church we headed for EPCOT. We arrived by the opening ay 9:00. We headed for Test Track first (like everyone else), and they were experiencing technical difficulties. When we got our fast passes, the return time was 11:27 am to 11:27 pm. Cool. It was nice to have such a large window of time to come back and ride.

We headed over to Universe of Energy. The ride was also having technical difficulties, so we headed on to Body Wars. I had not ridden this ride in quite a few years. It wasn’t as “intense” as I remembered. DS’s comment after the ride was “wow, I didn’t throw up!” I guess DH warned him ahead of time that it could be a possibility.

We next headed towards Test Track, stopping on the way to check out the new Space pavilion. I can’t wait! It’s something to look forward to for next time. We decided to get another fast pass for Test Track and headed to Ice Station Cool. DH liked the Japanese soda, while DS liked the Chinese one.

Next we went to Living Seas, and then we rode the Imagination ride again. We backtracked to the Land where we grabbed fast passed for Living with the land and then had a lunch PS at the Garden Grille. Our waiter was terrible (I noticed this was a theme this trip), he was sloooow and inattentive, but the character interaction was great. Chip wanted to take DS home with him, but I wouldn’t let him! J DS is ours! J

We headed downstairs to Living with the Land. The fast pass line was very backed up and not moving. They kept loading the boats from the stand by line. We decided to get out of line and head to Test Track. We made it with 2 minutes to spare on the return time window for our fast passes. After Test Track we went back to Living with the Land and used our new fast passes we had grabbed before we went to Test Track. This is one of my favorite rides. Our next trip I would love to take the behind the scenes tour.

We next rode Spaceship Earth and then Universe of Energy. We then headed AGAIN to Test Track to use our fast passes from this morning. (Yes….we did a LOT of walking) As we rode the ride we were able to sit in front. We all waved and smiled at the camera. We couldn’t resist buying a copy of the picture (our DS has it on his bedroom wall!). While in the shop after the ride, DS decided he deserved a “prize”, so we bought him the test track play set. He wanted to play with it in the room, and it was too late to send it to the entrance to pick up on the way out, so DH schlepped this thing around the park the rest of the day. What fathers do for their sons.

By now it was getting close to our PS seating time at Rose & Crown. When we arrived they seated us outside. We gave it a try, but it was too, too hot. We asked to be moved inside. They seemed a little put out by this request. DS’s face was flushed. It was about 93 degrees outside. I didn’t think we were asking for something unreasonable. The whole dinning experience (this was the first time we have eaten here) was very weird, it was in some ways the best experience of the trip, but in others it was terrible. Let me explain. DS was chosen as the Junior Chef of the day (I have no idea why he was chosen for this). DS got to wear a chef jacket and after our meal (which was so bad we could not eat it), the head chef (Chef Terry) brought out a sundae that they decorated and created together, We were able to take many great pictures and DS received a Magic Moment certificate signed by Chef Terry. This was very, very cool, and a memory we will have for a long time!

As we walked around the World Showcase after dinner, DH & DS looked for more penny press machines. While in Morocco, DS was able to meet Aladdin and the Genie. We then stopped for the American Adventure (another favorite). By now my poor blistered footsies cried for mercy, so we headed back to ASMu.

Sleep. Ahhhhh….


It’s a Zip A Dee Do Dah…Tip for today! : I still can’t believe that some people are still clueless when it comes to fast passes. Use it!

 

[Blue Skies]

Day 7: Monday May 5th Magic Kingdom

6:00 am wake up again. Today was the first day we got a “Mickey” wake up. I had tried the tip I read on these boards to make the wake up time for an “odd” time. We tried 6:00, 6:03, 5:57, etc. and NO Mickey! My DH thought that if I had listened a little while longer with the other wake up calls, Mickey would have come on the line. I guess this will remain a mystery for me…

We were at the MK for opening again. We headed to Buzz and rode twice. We then headed to BTMRR and rode twice. We next went on Splash Mountain. The picture still didn’t turn out. DS is so short; you can never see him in the picture. So again we passed on buying one.

We headed to Adventureland and rode POTC after getting fast passes for Jungle Cruise. We decided it was time for lunch. We made the trek to Columbia Harbor House by 11:00. After lunch we went back to Adventureland. We walked through the Swiss Family Tree House and then used our fast passes for Jungle Cruise. Next we rode Aladdin. DH and DS sat in front and moved us up & down, while I moved us back & forth.

Next we headed to Haunted Mansion. By now it was getting hot (90+) and my blistered foot was hurting, so we decided to head back to ASMu. On the way I took some more pictures and the boys found some last penny press machines.

In the front of the Main Street Station, there were many characters doing meet and greets. DS had pictures and autographs with Captain Radcliff, King Louie (Jungle Book), Max, Donald Duck and Dopey.

We headed for the bus stop and only had a 5-minute wait until the ASMu bus arrived. Back at the resort (2:00) we headed for the pool. Surprisingly with the heat it wasn’t very busy. We scored lounge chairs in the shade and swam and relaxed for a few hours. We decided to eat dinner in the room and finish off the last of the snacks for the week. We relaxed the rest of the evening, packed, and went to be early. Tomorrow we go home L.

It’s a Zip A Dee Do Dah…Tip for today! : Take the time each trip to stop and smell the roses. Stop and make conversation with a CM. Enjoy some time at the hotel. Remember, you are on vacation! Your trip will seem better in the same proportion that you are happy!

 

[Blue Skies]

Day 8: Tuesday May 6th Going Home

It’s always sad to be heading home after a great vacation. We are already looking forward to our next trip, and we haven’t even checked out yet!

We have a mid-morning flight so we are back at the airport by 8:00. We ate some breakfast and sat at the gate. The flight back to Mpls was terrible! I had thought the flight down was bad, but I was proven wrong. We had so much turbulence, that the fasten seat belt sign was off for maybe 10 minutes total of a 3 hour flight. The plane pitched back and forth and the passengers would gasp. Luckily DS didn’t seem to mind, but I was praying the whole way home.

Once we landed in Mpls, we were able to get the shuttle back to the Thunderbird hotel within 5 minutes. We picked up our car and were back in our hometown by 2:00.

Final Thoughts:
We would definitely stay in an All Star resort again, and would recommend it to family and friends.

We loved our digital camera. I ended up with close to 300 pictures!

We had a blast surprising our DS with the trip. I’m glad we went through the effort.

Next time we will try new restaurants.

Next time I will use blister blocker as a preventative measure against blisters. I really slowed us down since I was limping half the trip.

If you can, see if your child can be the Junior Chef of the Day. This was way cool.

Stroller rentals! Sure they’re $8 a day. But not having a whining child say, “I have bubble gum knees”, every two minutes…PRICELESS!

Autograph book. I made DS one before we left. It was a small spiral notebook from Target (from the “Swell” line). I decorated it with stickers of Disney characters. DS loved it and I noticed the characters had an easier time with it than the ones you could buy at the parks.

Well, I think I have summed up our trip pretty accurately. I wrote my trip report for the most part while at Disney. I brought a small notebook and used it as a “dairy” each night to record the day’s highs and lows. Some nights it was a pain to take the time to write, but it helped in remembering what we did each day. We have been home for a few weeks and the details are already getting fuzzy in my brain. That is the main reason I wrote this report, not to post on the DIS, but for me to print out and keep with our trip souvenirs to remember the magic we experienced each day.

If you read this all…wow. I’m impressed! I know it’s a little long, but I have always loved to read peoples trip reports. They have been so valuable in helping me plan our trips. I have always liked the more detailed reports myself. If you have any questions, or just a comment, fire away! I will try to answer them the best I can!

Thanks!

Missy

 

[>>^..^<<]

Originally posted by Blue Skies

If you read this all…wow. I’m impressed! I know it’s a little long, but I have always loved to read peoples trip reports. They have been so valuable in helping me plan our trips.

Hi Missy ~ I read every line! Thanx for such a great trip report - your little guy sure is a trooper - and your husband is too!

What is blister block? I always get one on my heel in hot weather with lots of walking.

Thanx again

>>^..^<<

 

[OhMari]

Hi,
I'm pretty impressed you kept your trip report in one thread.

Wasn't it a shock to your system coming back home to the Midwest and not having summer yet. I'm still trying to get over it, I was down there over Easter.

I'm pretty impressed you got on Buzz so many times. We couldn't get near the place at Easter, boo!

Loved your thread!

 

[Krissalee]

Fantastic report! I loved reading each and evry bit of it! Love the details.

 

[Alice28]

Loved your report! Thanks for sharing with us!

 

[tc]

Thanks for sharing. IMHO, when it comes to trip reports, the longer, the better!!!

 

[Blue Skies]

>>^..^<<,

The blister block is made by Johnson & Johnson. It came four "pads" in a package. One "pad" was large enough to fit under all my toes. These stick a lot better than Moleskin. They were a little pricy, but work great. You can wear one "pad" for more than one day and they do not come off in water.


I'm glad there are others like me who like the more detailed reports.

Hope you are all having a nice Memorial Day. We are lucky, sun and warm temps today! I was watching part of the Today show this morning. The people looked so cold and wet.


Missy

 

[BethC1952]

Great trip report! I, too, read every word, and enjoyed it. It makes me even more excited for my December trip.

was watching part of the Today show this morning. The people looked so cold and wet.

I live very close to New York City, and yes, the weather is awful! It feels like it's been raining for weeks. It's damp (actually it's beyond damp, it's pouring) and gray, and I want to be at WDW!

Beth

 

[DISchick]

Thanks for the great report! Sounds like a fantastic trip....Did you ever try a Pal Mickey? I want to try one when we go June 1-13! Your report makes me even more excited! Thanks!
Jill

 

[deano_uk]

Thanks for the great report I really enjoyed reading them!

 

[Patio]

Thanks for sharing your trip report, it was so nice to read it in one thread. Sounds like you had such a great time. Can you post any of your pictures for us?

 

[BurleyGirl]

Thanks for the great report! We will be going in October with our DS4, and I was wondering about the souvenirs you mentioned, such as the test track and dinosaur--how much did these cost? I would like to know what to expect (my DS4 is doing little jobs to save up Disney Dollars for souvenirs, and it would be helpful to know.)

Thanks again for the trip report!