July 16-July 31 Trip Report- Better late than never!

[MelanieC]

Here are the Cast of Characters:

Me- 36 years old

DH - 41 years old

DD13

DS-7


I wanted to get this typed up after our trip last year but I never got around to it. I pulled out all my notes this week and thought I should type them up before our next trip. Once we go on this years trip I will never remember anything from last years trip.

I must say that this trip turned out to be our best vacation ever. I was very apprehensive about going in July. It was our first summer trip ever. Usually we go in Nov/December, and usually over Thanksgiving. We've been twice in September and I've also been in January.

What we loved about a July Summer vacation. We only had to bring warm clothes. No worrying about bringing sweats and shorts. We normally go 1 1/2 weeks - 2 weeks and that is a lot of clothes for a family of 4 when you have to bring warm and cold clothes. It worked out great. When it gets hot you go into a ride or restaurant and cool off. After you are nice and cold your actually happy to go back out into the heat and thaw out. The only time the heat was too much was at Busch Gardens in Tampa. I was miserable and uncomfortable there.

We lucked out with weather. It barely rained the two weeks we were there and we tended to be at the right place at the right time when it did rain.

We got to see the space shuttle, so that made our vacation extra special.


Here goes. It's not super detail oriented because I wrote it this weekend and it happened last year. I used my notes I had and I remembered a lot more once I started reading my notes. Some days I was more detailed than others.

 

[MelanieC]

Friday 7/15/05

Left for WDW from Pennsylvania around 3:00pm. Had Burger King for Dinner. Stopped in Georgia sometime in the middle of the night and stayed in a hotel for a few hours.

Saturday 7/16/05

Breakfast at McDonalds in Georgia near hotel. Drove to Orlando. We ate lunch at Chik-Fil-A when we were in Orlando. Very yummy! We arrived at 4:00pm. There was a 20 minute wait to check in. Once we checked in we got our package of materials and headed to our room. Unfortunately we realized they forgot to give us our room keys once we drove over to the 70’s parking lot and walked up to our room. I went back to get our keys and DH and kids took all the luggage up to the room to wait for me. Luckily I didn’t have to wait in the longer line. I was able to go up to guest services where the guy who checked us in was. We got everything into the room. Called and ordered more pillows, hangers and towels for swimming that evening. We then headed over to Shades of Green to pick up our Annual passes.

We went swimming at the hippy dippy pool for about an hour. The kids had a great time and it was very relaxing. There is something great about the first day of vacation. Especially when you have 2 weeks ahead of you.

We ate at the food court this evening.

Everything POP-Bagel Chips, Hummus dip, Chicken strip basket, Flatwich Chicken sandwich, meatball sub, shrimp lo Mein & Side fries. With DDE discount $27.13.
The Flatwich sandwich was not good. It seemed like everyone else liked what they ordered. DS loved his Shrimp lo mein!!

 

[MelanieC]

Sunday 7/17/05 - Epcot
Got FP for Soarin , and also rode Soarin (15 minute wait), Living with the Land (10 minute wait), used FP for Soarin (5 min wait). Got FP for Test Track. Headed to Norway and it was opening in 5 minutes so we waited (2 minute wait once inside).

It was now time for lunch at Mexico. I thought it was at 11am and realized it was 11:30am. We rode the Mexico ride with no wait. We got a table right by the water. We ordered 2 Sopa Azteca’s, 2 kids Quesadillas and 2 plato mexicano’s. DH and the kids ordered a Coke and I had water. With the DDE discount and before tip the total was $45.99.

Went to mission space and the sign said 50 minutes and 25 minute single rider. We decided to try Spaceship Earth and got FP’s for Mission Space instead. The sign said 30 minutes for Spaceship Earth but it was only a 10 minute wait. Went to Mouseworks to shop. It started raining so we stopped in front of Electric Umbrella. We waited for a few minutes and decided to use umbrella’s to get over to the Land. We ran in the rain with the umbrella’s. It wasn’t bad. Rode Test track using FP’s (7 minute wait). Rode Mission Space using FP’s (5 minute wait). Went to Land to do Nestle Cookie baking. Last one was at 4:30pm (12:30, 1:30p, 2:30p, 3:30p, & 4:30pm). We missed the last one. Did Circle of life (we had just missed one so we waited 15 minutes for the next one). It was done raining when we were done.

Went to living seas and skipped the movie. Did Crush Turtle Talk. My DS7 Ryan had Crush talk to him. He did one of those swimming presentations for him where he ran into the screen. It was great that it was personalized for him and we have this on video.

Went to Germany for our 6:30pm ADR’s. Got in early and saw the show at 7pm. 3 adult dinners, 1 kids meal dinner & 4 drinks. With DDE Discount and before tip the total was $68.78.

Went to America and watched the American Adventure at 8:15pm. We had 25 minutes till the show. We walked around the new African Exhibit inside the American Adventure. We got out 10 minutes before Illumations was going to begin. We had a decent view next to the stage for American Vibe right by the water fountain. There were not a lot of people in WS. Not crowded at all. Dinner and lunch were not crowded either. FW was the most crowded in the morning. There were a few large tours from Brazil here, but we only saw them in the morning.

 

[MelanieC]

Monday 7/18/05 MGM

DH ran to get FP for stun show. I got FP’s for Tower of Terror. We rode Rock & Roll Roller Coaster (15 minute wait- Standby sign said 25 minutes). Used FP on Tower of Terror (waited 5 minutes using FP’s). Got Smoothies near Rock & Roll Roller Coaster and shopped as we walked down Sunset Blvd. Got Eeyore’s autograph near the hat and rode the Great Movie Ride at 11:00am – 20 minute wait. We

Ate lunch at 11:45am at the ABC commissary. DH got hamburger, kids got kids Fish & Chips and I got an adult Fish & Chips plus 4 drinks. Total 27.31 (no DDE discount). Food was just ok. Not too bad and not great.

We went to use the fast passes for the stunt show. It was a 15-20 minute wait to get in and another 15 minutes until the show. It was very hot but once we sat down it wasn’t bad. We had really great seats in the upper section so it was shaded. Next we did the Muppets. We waited 5 minutes at the most for the pre-show to start. Did Millionaire (of course- as usual we don’t get anywhere close enough to get onstage! Got FP for Indy at 4pm and did Star Tours (15 minute wait). We saw Darth Vader as we were leaving Star Tours. We followed him and a CM even let us go down a hallway to see if we could find him, but he was gone. We were so excited to see a glimpse of Darth Vader. This became a mission during our trip, but we never saw him again. We went and watched Indiana Jones and used our FP’s.

We went to verify the time for our Dinner ADR’s at Mama Melrose. I wasn’t sure what time they were for. I had Pipette noodles with Shrimp, field green salad. DH had chicken pizza and field green salad, The kids both had the kids pasta your way, plus drinks all around. Total after DDE discount and before tip was $45.95. Dinner was great. I love the salad here and the shrimp with noodles is great. DH loved his pizza and the kids loved the pasta.

Went to see Monster Sound show. Hardly anyone there. We almost had the place to ourselves. Stopped and shopped for pins at the Sorcerers hat. We went to do Animation Courtyard but didn’t get to see Chicken Little because he was only there from 12pm-5pm. We drew stitch in the animation classes. We went to 9pm Fantasmic show instead of the 10:30pm show. We were getting tired and wanted to get back to the hotel earlier. We had perfect seats. Probably the best we had ever had. There was no rain today. The weather was great. We rode Rock and roll Roller coaster as our last ride (the wait wasn’t too long).

At Everything POP the kids and I got chocolate Ice cream 2 single cones & 1 single cup – Total with DDE discount $6.63.

 

[MelanieC]

Tuesday 7/19/05 MK

We waited a long time for the bus to go to MK. We got to the bus stop at 8:30am and got to MK at 9:20am.

We immediately headed for Tomorrowland and got FP’s for Space Mountain. Got in line for the Tomorrowland Speedway and waited 10 minutes. Rode Buzz light year it was only a 5 or 10 minute wait.

We got two smoothies at Auntie Gravity’s. My favorite is the Cappuccino and the other was Tropical.

Got autographs of Pluto in his Space costume. Did Carousel of Progress with no wait. Used FP for Space Mountain. When we got to the ride entrance inside we realized there was really no line inside. Technically we wasted our FP. We should have saved them for later in the day. Oh well, we are having a ball and hardly waiting on anything. Went on Space Mountain again. The Standby line said 15 minutes so we hoped there would again be no line. We waited about 10 minutes. There was definitely more of a line this time, but still not bad by any means.

By this time it was getting close to time for our Liberty Tree Tavern ADR at 11:30am. We started to walk over to LTT. DH went and got Fast passes for Splash Mountain. The kids have always wanted to ring the bell. We did not get picked. We will try next time as we have LTT booked for another lunch later in our trip. DH ordered the Pilgrims Feast, I ordered the Fresh From the Harbor, DS7 ordered the Kids Mac & Cheese and DD13 ordered the kids Pilgrims Feast. We got sweet Iced Tea’s all around. With our DDE discount (before tip) our total was $39.05. They did charge DD14 for her drink which is fine with us. Our food was very good. We were next to a really nice window and our waitress was really nice and attentive. The bread and honeybutter as usual was great! You have to ask for it.

After lunch we got a FP for Big Thunder Mountains. We were able to walk on to Splash Mountain with our FP’s. Got autographs of Brer Fox & Brer Rabbit. Got autographs with Captain Hook & Mr. Smee. We went on Pirates at 1:10pm with basically no wait. Shopped in the Pirates store for a few minutes. We then headed to the Pin Trader shop in Frontierland. DH went to get a FP for Peter Pan. We did Hall of Presidents at 2:30pm (walked in at 2:28p – How cool is that). Next we did Haunted Mansion which was a 30 minute wait. We used or FP’s for Big Thunder Mountain.

The Parade was just finishing when we got off Big Thunder Mountain so there were people everywhere. We decided that the Liberty Boat was the best way to get away from the crowds and let the people disburse. Next we went to get FP’s for Pooh, but the time was during our dinner so we held off. The line actually said 30 minutes for It’s a Small World and the line did look long so we waited in line for Mickey’s Philharmagic. The next show was in 20 minutes. Unfortunately it was super hot and we were out in the sun. DH went to go get a drink and take DS to the bathroom. By the time he got back the line had started to move. He was able to find us as we were just getting inside the building. I hate doing that because it feels like we were cheating. It was unbearable though and the kids needed the drink. It was nice to be in the air-conditioning. It felt so good! We just love this show.

After Mickey’s Philharmagic we went to ToonTown. DH and DS7 went on Barnstormer and me and DD13 went to get autographs with the Princesses. DD got to see Cinderella, Snow White and the guest appearance was Belle. It was a 30 minute wait for Barnstormer. It took 1 hour in that line for the princesses. We thought about leaving but I convinced DD that if she really wanted to see them to stay. Plus we had heard that it was pouring outside. At least we were dry. We would have to wait for DS7 & DH anyway. I still can’t believe we waited that long and the pictures weren’t that great because it was so dark in there. Next we got FP for Pooh and rode Peter Pan. It rained for a few minutes on the way to Peter Pan but it wasn’t bad. It was spritzing, but not enough to warrant poncho’s or umbrellas. We waited 10-15 minutes for Peter Pan because no one was working the Fast Pass Line. We always seem to have that kind of luck!!

It was time to head over to the Contemporary for dinner at Chef Mickey’s. It was very crowded at Chef Mickey’s. We arrived at Chef Mickey’s at 6:25pm and we finished dinner at little after 8pm. The bill was for 3 adults and 1 child. After our DDE discount, and before tip our total was $79.21. Dinner here was good as usual. Nothing spectacular but definitely decent. Our waiter was slow at coming back with drinks.

We took the Monorail back to MK. When we walked in, Spectromagic was going down Main Street. We decided to take the train to Toontown to avoid the crowds. We sat in the back of the train. We used our FP’s for Pooh. DH & DS7 went back to the hotel on the bus. They got back at 11pm. DD13 and I decided to hit a few shops before going back to the hotel. Wishes was in 10 minutes so we also hoped to see some of that. We saw Tinkerbelle fly over top of us. We were on the bridge. It took over an hour for a bus to come for the Pop Century. It was a horrible wait and everyone was getting extremely angry that no buses were coming for POP, but multiple buses were coming for all the other parks. We did not get back to the hotel till Midnight. It was a very long tiring trip back.

After today we have decided that we will only drive to the parks. We had decided to only take the buses to MK, but after how long it took we decided that dealing with taking the Monorail to the Ticket and Transportation center was better than dealing with the buses.

 

[MelanieC]

Wednesday 7/20/05 AK

Got to park at 9:10am. Immediately went to get FP for Kilimanjaro Safari. Rode Triceratops Spin with 0 minute wait. Rode Primeval Whirl twice with 0 wait. Next we headed to Dinosaur (sign said 10 minute wait, but it was only 5 minutes). Got to see Lucky the Dinosaur. We saw the 10:45am Tarzan Rocks show. Got FP to Kali River Rapids on the way to Pizzafari for lunch.

Pizzafari- DD13 got Pepporoni Pizza, DH and I got 2 Hot Deli Sandwiches, 3 side salads, DS7 got Kids meal PB& J sandwich with an orange soda and 2 large cokes. With DDE discount it was $27.62.

After lunch we went to Kilimanjaro Safari and used FP’s. (2 min FP wait – Standby sign said 60 minutes). Did Maharaja Jungle Trek. It was very hot so we got 1 water, 1 soda and 1 pink Frozen lemonade. Went to get FP for It’s Tough to be a bug but there was no wait and walked right on. We had to drink our drinks really fast. The lemonade gave us head freeze drinking it so fast in the heat! Next it was off to Camp Minnie & Mickey. We got Kenai’s autograph. It was now 3:33pm and the Pocahontas show started at 3:40pm. At 4:30pm we saw the Lion King Show. Got into the theatre at 4:00pm. We decided to ride Dinosaur again. The sign said 30 minutes but we only had a 5 minute wait. Dinner was at 6:30pm so we went ahead and headed over to Boma.

We headed to AKL and checked in. We checked out the animals there were 5 zebra’s and 3 giraffes plus a few other animals. Dinner here was EXCELLENT as usual. This is my favorite place to eat. Since This is where I wanted to eat for my Birthday dinner (my Birthday was on July 14) this is where I picked for us to celebrate. At the end of the meal I got a card signed by the staff and a little Mickey head dessert. It was cute, but we were really stuffed to enjoy it! This is my favorite place to eat and it didn’t disappoint. 3 adult dinners & 1 kid meal dinner after DDE discount and before tip was $73.25.

We headed back to the hotel and went to the hippy dippy pool for about 30 minutes. We all played Twister (DS7 won). Went to the arcade. DD13 won 638 tickets!! Today was a great day. No rain although we could see lightening and dark sky in the distance at hotel. It was very not and not crowded at all. No lines!

 

[MelanieC]

Thursday 7/21/05 MK

Got FP for Space Mountain – DD13 and I rode Space Mountain while DH & DS7 rode Tomorrowland Speedway & Astro Orbiter. We all rode Buzz (no wait), Tomorrowland Transit Authority and used FP’s for Space Mountain. Got Fp’s for Jungle cruise and went to lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern.

Liberty Tree Tavern- DS got Kids pilgrim’s feast, DD13 got Kids pilgrims feast and clam chowder, DH and I both got Tri corner sandwich and Clam chowder plus drinks all around. With DDE discount and before tip $41.68. The kids loved the pilgrims feast as usual. DH and both thought the sandwich was not worth ordering again. It wasn’t great. The bread and honeybutter as usual was great! You have to ask for it.

Got FP’s for Splash Mountain after lunch. Used the FP’s for Jungle cuise (no wait), did Aladdin’s Magic Carpet ride (10 minute wait), Wiss Family Treehouse, Tiki Room and bathroom break. Got Dole Whips – Good as usual (I like them but I don’t think they are as great as everyone makes them out to be).

Got FP’s for Big Thunder Mountain. Use FP’s for Splash Mountain and went to Tom Sawyers Island. We got Lemonade at Aunt Polly’s. They were out of ice. We waited in a line that didn’t move and I had to wait again to get any ice. Got FP’s for Peter Pan and then used FP’s for Big Thunder Mountain. Country Bear (10 minute wait). We did the shooting gallery. For those who have never done this you must try it. It’s now a family tradition. It’s like 50 cents for a lot of shots. It’s fun for the entire family and for $2.00 we have a ball! One didn’t work so the girl loaded us up with credits. We got to play for about 30 minutes with these credits. We had so much fun! We walked right on Pirates of the Caribbean and decided to do it a second time. Went to Mickey’s Philharmagic (went in at 5:50pm). It was time to head to the Plaza Restaurant for dinner.

Our ADR was at 6:20pm and we waited about 20-30 minutes.
Plaza Restaurant- DH had a Reuben, I had a hamburger with onions, cheese & bacon. The kids had kids grilled cheese, plus drinks all around. After DDE discount and before tip the total was 30.11 (can’t beat this for a sit down dinner). Dinner was awesome as usual. We first tried the Plaza last year on our 2004 November vacation.

After dinner we rode Snow White (sign said 25 minutes but it was only a 10 minute wait). Rode Cinderella’s Carousel. We rode It’s a Small World and used our FP’s for Peter Pan. Next we watched Spectro Magic. We took the Monorail back to the Ticket and Transportation center and went back to the hotel. This is so much better than taking the bus! Never again. The kids went to the arcade again. DD13 has over 1200 tickets now.

 

[MelanieC]

Friday 7/22/05 MGM

It was very hot today at the Parks!

Got FP’s for Tower of Terror. The Standby line for Rock & Roll Roller Coaster said 20 minutes but it only took 5 minutes. We then rode R&RRC again and it only took 10 minutes. Used Tower of Terror FP’s.

Went to Animation Courtyard to get Chicken Little’s autograph. He wasn’t there last time because it was about to close. Next we did One Man’s Dream.

By this time it was time for our 12pm lunch at Prime Time. The kids split an adult Chicken meal. DH and I both got the Chicken meal as well. We ordered 4 drinks. With our DDE discount the total after discount but before tip was $40.67.

After lunch we did Little Mermaid and Millionaire. We then went to go wait for Power Rangers. We were able to get 2 autographs. We then got FP’s for the Stunt Show. Did the Back Lot tour. DH and I were the Deck Crew. DH has done it once before. It was fun to get to do it together. It was so HOT in those blue suits and boots. The water got in my contacts and I could barely see anything for a while!! We also got to see the Stunt show go on while we were on the tour. That was pretty neat.

We saw the 4:30pm Beauty and the Beast Show. Got 2 smoothies from the area over by Rock & Roll Roller Coaster while waiting. It was really hot this afternoon. Afterwards we decide to try R&R RC again. We waited 40 minutes and then the ride broke down. I hate when that happens. What a waste of time. Headed over to the stunt show. Did Star Tours and then the stunt show. We were too late to use the fast passes. We still didn’t have that bad of seats. We watched the Parade from the gift shop on main street. This was actually a good place to watch for Ryan because he could see.

We had a very late dinner at Sci Fi this evening. My receipt says 22:10 so it was probably 9:00pm when we were seated. I had Catfish, DD had a Chicken Sandwich, DS7 had a Kids cheeseburger. DH had a Hamburger with Bacon and mushrooms. The food was good, but our wait was very long. We were tired this night. After our DDE discount and before tip the total was 43.98.

 

[MelanieC]

Saturday 7/23/05

Today is our beach day. We slept in till about 9 or 9:30am and then got ready to head to the beach. We were going to Cocoa Beach to swim. I thought I saw signs for Cocoa Beach the way we had come when we drove to Orlando. We headed down the rode we use when we drive home. We stopped at a McDonalds for lunch. Then we stopped at a rest stop to see if they had maps. We determined that we should have taken the Bee Line Express instead. So we back tracked and headed back to the Bee Line. By the time we got to the beach it was around 2 in the afternoon. We stopped at Ron Jon’s Surf Shop and got boogie boards, more sunscreen and shirts. We finally got over to the beach and we were enjoying ourselves when a storm started to come in. Then all the sudden people were getting stung by Jelly Fish, including my DD13. I felt so sorry for her. The wind was starting to Whip and the sand was blowing. People were running in all directions. The lifeguards were trying to help the people with Jellyfish Stings. We ran to the car, poor DD was in so much pain. We ran over to the Rite Aid and I got some Benydryl for skin. We drove back to the hotel and got cleaned up. We had ADR’s for Boma and DD wanted to still go.

Boma- 3 Adult Dinners, 1 Kids dinner- with DDE discount and before Tax the total was $73.25. Dinner was awesome as usual.

By the time we got back to the hotel DD’s leg was getting a little swollen.

 

[MelanieC]

Sunday 7/24/05 Epcot

This and the last day are the only day’s I don’t have notes for what happened this day. Being almost a year later I really don’t remember. I do know that we went to Soarin first as this is just what we do. I believe we spent some time at Innoventions East & West, Journey into imagination, Honey I shrunk the audience and Universe of Energy.

Here is where we ate. Le Cellier For lunch and Rose & Crown for dinner-

Le Cellier – I got a Cappuccino Shake ( I love these), a Blue Cheese burger and Cheddar cheese soup, DH got the Sirloin Sandwich and Cheese soup with coke, DD13 had the kids cheeseburger & Coke and DS7 ahd the Kids hot dog and coke. Lunch here was good as usual, but my hamburger was not as good as it was in January 05 when I was here for the Disney Marathon. Maybe it was running the race that made this meal so good! The breadsticks and soup were great as usual and so was the Cappuccino drink.

Rose & Crown- This is our first time eating here so we were excited. I can’t believe we have never eaten here since we have been to WDW almost yearly since 1995. DH had the Guiness Stew, Lamb and Barley soup and coke, I had the Potato Leek Soup, Bangers and Mash and Iced Tea. Both of the kids had the Kids fish and chips. This meal was spectacular. The soup was good (I tried DH’s soup too!) The Bangers and Mash was out of this world. I still think about how good this meal was to this day. I can’t wait ill my trip next month just to have the Bangers and Mash. We are eating here again this trip (we also have plans to eat here twice during our 2006 trip). I highly recommend Rose & Crown.

 

[MelanieC]

Monday 7/25/05 Busch Gardens Tampa

We got free tickets to a Busch Garden park for DH being in the Military so we decided to us it at Busch Gardens in Tampa this year. We got up at 6:00am (well at least I did) and we left at 7:30am. We arrived at Busch Gardens at 9am. That wasn’t too bad of a drive. Took the tram over to the entrance. Our first ride was the wooden rollercoaster. Someone threw up on the car we were about to get in. They had to close the ride down to clean it up. Luckily they put a new car in so we didn’t have to ride the same one! The No wait ride turned into a 45 minute ride. This would turn out to be the theme for the day. We went to Sheikra next and did a child Swap with DS7. He was sad he couldn’t ride it! This ride was great but we didn’t get to ride up in the front. DD13 & DH got to ride in the second row and when I went back on with DD13 for the child swap we got the 3rd row. This roller coaster has a 45 degree vertical drop!! It was about a 25 minute wait. Next we waited 40 minutes on the flume ride. It was hot and humid even though there was a covering over the waiting area. It felt very claustrophobic in there. We rode the cable cars over to the King tut Roller Coaster. We did a baby swap and when it was me and DD13’s turn we got stuck on the ride right as we were starting to go up the big hill. It was very hot out there and we basically were baking in the sun.

We ate lunch at . The food was very expensive compared to Disney and it was very mediocre!! We ate at Lakirah. We ordered 1 kids hot dog w/ BKT (not sure what BKT is), 1 Chicken alfredo adult meal, 1 adult chicken parmesan & 1 Italian Sausage sandwich. 3 iced teas and 1 soda. The total was $43.68. The food was horrible and it was fast food sitting at tables with no backs.

Next we rode the Scorpion roller coaster and Phoenix. We were so hot that we decided this would be a good time to watch The Haunted Lighthouse in the theatre. Next we did the Cheeta, Rhino Rally (this was fun, but we waited about 1 ½ hours and it was so hot. We did the Rapids next and there was a long wait for this as well. The wait was 45 minutes and unfortunately we should have done this earlier in the day. We were soaked and it was getting late in the day. We were already thinking about going home. We did the Kumba Roller coaster (15 minute wait), Train and then re-rode Sheikra. This time we all got to ride in the front. This was the most fun we had all day. We did the single rider line with a baby swap, the wait wasn’t long and the front rocks!! That drop where they hold you over the edge was great! We decided to go ahead and head home around 7pm and get dinner at Cracker Barrel on the ride back to the hotel. We were still wet and getting tired. Dinner at Cracker Barrel was fairly good. Since it was the end of the day, we got an entire pitcher of sweet tea! We ran into construction traffic and we sat in traffic for at least an hour. It was so late and we were so tired. We also had to decide if we were going to go see the shuttle launch in the morning. I’ve always wanted to see a shuttle launch so I felt we had to. It was hard to know if it would be worth it since it could be scrubbed and we would have to give up a day at a park. We got home at 12pm and got to bed by 12:30pm.

 

[MelanieC]

Tuesday 7/26/05 - Shuttle Launch & Cocoa Beach

We decided that it was worth it to take a risk. I think if it wasn’t so important to me, DH would have decided not to do it. We got up at 4am and drove to Titusville. We got there before 6am (almost ran out of gas because there wasn’t a gas station on the Bee Line Express). We found a spot where a lot of the news people were set up. It was at a restaurant and they allowed you to use their restrooms. We paid $10 to park there. It was worth it for the bathroom. We had a nice spot and we could see the shuttle on the launchpad although it was pretty far across the water. DH & DD13 sat and slept in the car. Me and DS7 sat on our blankets and enjoyed the sunrise. It was absolutely beautiful and I was so excited. DS7 got filmed by the news reporters. He was patiently waiting with me playing his gameboy. At 10:39am the shuttle went off. I was trying to take pictures and almost missed it. It all happened so fast once we started counting down. I couldn’t believe I was actually getting to see the shuttle. It was such a great day already and now it was still so early. Afterwards it took forever to get off the main street in Titusville. We were going to head to Cocoa Beach and spend a day at the beach. We tried to eat at McDonalds and it was too crowded. We waited till Cocoa Beach and tried KFC. It was very crowded too and decided to just eat there. It was terribly dirty and tough to get a table. We got to the beach at 2pm and stayed till 5:30pm. Unfortunately we all got burnt pretty bad. I guess the sunscreen didn’t work too well once we got in the ocean. This time there were no Jelly fish stings. Thank goodness. We had an absolute ball at the beach this time. I’m glad we tried it again. I did however get hit in the nose with a boogie board. OUCH!!! We were supposed to eat at Ohana’s tonight. I tried to call Disney Dining and change the date, but there was no availability except really late at night for the rest of our trip. As sad as I was we decided to just cancel it. I guess seeing the shuttle was a good trade!

We did laundry at the room this evening and got food at the Pop food court. We ordered a personal cheese pizza, chicken Caesar w/ bread, 2 dumbo peanut bars, flatwich beef sandwich, shrimp lo mein, side of fries. With DDE discount it was 26.31 (originally 30.25 before discount) I did not like the flatwich beef sandwich at all!

This was a great day.

 

[MelanieC]

Wednesday 7/27/05 AK

Got FP’s for Kilimanjaro Safari plus we rode it then as well with only a few minute wait. Next we headed to Dino Land to Chester & Hester’s Dino Rama. We rode Primeval Whirl with a 5 minute wait, Triceratops Spin with a 5 minute wait and Dinosaur with no wait. Next we walked over to the Safari and saw Devine! We’ve never seen her and have seen her twice this trip. Rode Kilimanjaro Safari with our FP’s (10 minute wait).

Got FP’s for Kali River Rapids before heading to lunch at Pizzafari.
We ordered 3 Hot Italian Deli Sandwiches, 3 side salads, kids PB& J, 2 large bottled waters, 1 large coke. With DDE discount the total was $29.72. (saved $7.02)

After lunch we headed to the rapids and used FP’s. It was only a 5 minute wait. Did Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Rode Safari again- Boy do I love this ride. We took the train over to Conservation station. Petted a baby alligator. We were finished with everything here so we decided to go ahead and leave AK and head to the Boardwalk. First we went to AKL to get items at Gift shop. Once on the boardwalk we shopped at ESPN. We were going to go to WS at Epcot but decided to tour DVC instead. We went over to Saratoga Springs for a tour. We had a hard time finding the area where the tours were held. We thought about buying, but we go for two weeks and stay at value resorts with a SOG discount. We felt it wasn’t worth it for the fact that we usually like to go for about two weeks at time. It was cheaper for us just to buy individually.

We were running late for our ADR’s at Whispering Canyon Café at Wilderness Lodge. DVC called over for us to have them hold our spot. I had a terrible headache by this time. We ended up getting a table in the very back of the restaurant. This really takes away from the fun of the restaurant. We couldn’t see anything that was going on. We will definitely make sure to ask NOT to be put there this year. The food was great and we had a ball. We all had hats that our waiter made for us. I asked for more tea and got a tiny cup to drink out of. DD13 & DH asked for more soda and got 2 huge glasses. Even though we were in the back we still had fun, but I prefer to be with the rest of the restaurant. All 4 of us got the Skillet Dinner and tea and soda’s. Total after DDE discount and before tip was $71.17. Once we got back to the hotel the kids went to the arcade to play games for a little while.

 

[MelanieC]

Thursday 7/28/05 MGM

We got FP’s for Tower of Terror, Rode Rock & Roll Roller coaster (20 minute wait), Got smoothies while we waited for 8 minutes for our FP time at Tower of Terror. Lunch was at 11:00am at Sci Fi so we went over at 10:45am to check in. We got FP’s for Star Tours prior to lunch.

Sci Fi- DH and I got Flat Iron Steak Sandwich, kids got kids meal cheeseburgers and we all had ice tea’s and cokes. After DDE discount and before tip the total was $37.78. The service, food and every thing here was excellent. We had a great meal.

DH & DS7 didn’t feel like riding Star Tours after lunch so DD13 and I rode it twice using the FP’s. The line was very long for Star Tours. We were hoping we would see Darth Vader again, but it’s almost the end of our vacation and no Darth! At least we got a glimpse of him, even if it was from behind.

Next we got Monster Inc’s pictures and autograph stamps, Got autographs and pictures for Buzz, Woody and Jessie – All separate lines now. I like it better when they are all one line. Next off to ride the Great movie ride. We went to draw at Animation courtyard. It was 45 minutes to the next show so we went to one mans dream. Ran to Who wants to be a millionaire. Then we headed off to draw at the animation courtyard. This time it was only 15 minutes till the next show.

Dinner was at Mama Melrose – We got 3 chicken pizza’s, 2 soups and 1 Caesar salad. The kids split one pizza. Dh and I each had 1. After DDE discount and before tip the total was $49.86. Dinner was again great here. I love the pesto dip with the bread.

 

[MelanieC]

Friday 7/29/05 EPCOT

It was horrible getting here today. For some reason it took 30 minutes. We got there at 9:1

It was horrible getting here today. For some reason it took 30 minutes. We got there at 9:15am. We got autographs from Pinocchio & Gippeto. Then we got FP’s for Soarin. It was a 20 minute wait for Soarin so we didn’t do the standby line. We went and did single rider for Test Track with no line. There was only one other person in the pre-show room. Next Mission Space with a 5 minute wait (Sign said 10 minute wait). Went back to do Spaceship Earth. We saw Balu from Jungle book and got his autograph with the van of Characters. We caught the tail end of it so he was the only one we got. We got to watch them all leave. Went back to Soarin and the Standby line was now 50 minutes. We used our FP’s.

It was time to head to lunch at Teppanyaki in Japan at 12pm. DH & I ordered the shrimp & scallops meal with Miso Soup. DD13 & DS7 ordered the kids Shrimp meal. We also split a Sushi Maki roll appetizer. I had green tea and DH & Kids had coke. After 10% AP discount our total before tip was $70.70. As always this meal was great. The service was great, the food was great!

Went to Morocco and started the Kidcot masks. Got Jasmine & Aladdin’s Autographs. They were outside this time. Jasmine pulled my DS7 over to take a picture. He was not having anything to do with taking pictures with the Princesses this trip. I even have this on video with Jasmine and Aladdin talking to him. It was great! It’s this kind of magic that makes Disney vacations one of a kind! Shopped at Morocco, DS found two hidden mickeys on a mural where Jasmine and Aladdin are.

Next we shopped at Japan, then did the American Adventure in America. We shopped in Italy. In Germany we shopped. We bought engraved character glasses. DS got Dopey, DD got Cinderella, DH got Goofy and I got Tinkerbelle. They turned out great. I also got a pair of Mickey shaped Swarovski Crystal earings.

We saw Dopey in the Africa Marketplace. Snow White & Rafiki were there too. We stopped and plaid drums with the drummers in the Africa Marketplace. That was a lot of fun. Next was China. We saw the movie and got autographs with Mushu and Mulan. Next we did the ride in Norway and shopped and headed to Mexico for the ride and some more shopping. It started to look like rain before going into Mexico. When we came out of Mexico it no longer looked like rain. Yeah we dodged a potential rain bullet. We head over to Canada and see Kenai (From Brother Bear) outside. He was going inside so we didn’t get his autograph. DS7 wanted to buy a toy hummer he saw at Test Track earlier today so DH & DS7 head over to Test Track to buy. He ended up getting another car instead. DD14 & I got Alice in Wonderland, Pooh, Piglet, Eeyore & Tigger’s autograph in London.

We checked in for dinner at Rose & Crown. She immediately took us to an outdoor seat. Since it was so hot and humid I asked if we could wait for a table indoors. Not a problem and it was only about a 5 minute wait. Just as we were about to get seated DS7 & DH got back from buying the car. About 5 minutes after we were seated I noticed that it was pouring outside. People were everywhere inside the bar of Rose & Crown with Poncho’s on. The bathrooms were wet too. It stopped raining about the time we were done with dinner.

At Rose & Crown I ordered the Potato Leek Soup, Bangers & Mash & Iced Tea. DH ordered the Cottage Pie, Lamb & Barley Soup and Coke. DD13 ordered the Kids Fish & Chips and Potato Leek Soup with a coke. DS7 Ordered the kids Mac & Cheese. Total after DDE discount but before tip was $54.62.

The meal here was as fabulous as the first time we ate here last week. This is a new favorite of ours.

We then caught the last two songs of British Invasion. We went Impressions of Frances at 8:30pm. We went back to Canada on Stairs for illuminations. Great view!

 

[MelanieC]

Saturday 7/30/05 MK

Today is our last day here. It’s always so sad to go. DH actually said to me “I can get off another week, can you?” I love that he is now such a Disney fan. He used to say we are not going every year. We pretty much have gone every year since we first went in 1995. At first I had to convince him each year, then we took off a year and ½ when DS7 was born. Now we are back to going yearly PLUS we now go for 2 full weeks at a time. The annual pass was the best thing we ever learned about. It’s funny we had a originally booked a Disney Cruise for 2006. DH kept saying how sad he was that he wasn’t going back to Disney. I really feel like it’s the two week vacations that have really made us learn to enjoy Disney. Our vacations here get better every year.

I don’t have detailed notes for this day either. I know we went to MK and I know we rode our usual morning rides like Space Mountain, Buzz, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain. I’m sure we made it to Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean too.

We decided to eat at Liberty Tree Tavern again for lunch instead of doing fast food. We love eating here at the food is always good. I don’t have the receipt for this meal. The total was $51.40 that was after the DDE discount and with tip. I believe I ordered the Fresh From the Harbor. It’s my favorite thing to eat there and since I ate the sandwich last time and didn’t care for it too much I’m sure I ordered the Salmon!!

I remember that we were going to Toontown to take the train to Mainstreet. DH was saying that we should take the walkway and go through Tommorrowland. DD was insisting on riding the train. When we got to the overhang for the train the sky opened up. If we had listened to him we would have been soaked because it poured. We got on a train and it splashed a little on us but not too bad. We then walked through all the shops till we got to the Plaza Restaurant. Thank goodness we didn’t get wet. By this time it was only barely misting.


For Dinner we ate at the Plaza Restaurant – DS7 had the kids grilled cheese and coke, DD had the mini cheeseburgers and Root Beer. DH had the Reuben and coke. I had a hamburger and a Root Beer. After the DDE discount and before tip the total was $31.97. I still am amazed that we can have such a great sit down meal for so cheap.




Sunday 7/31/05

Got up and we were on the rode by 8am. We arrived home in Pa by 2am or so.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading ~ Thanx for sharing.