lime green shirts trip 2006

[mom2cookies]

Ok this is my first trip report so it might be a bit disjointed and rambling. I apologize ahead of time. lol

Here is a list of who all went Sept 2 - 10
Dh 50
me 35
DD 15
DD friend ( boy - cousin ) 14
DD 13
DD friend ( girl ) 13
DD 12
DS 10

Staying at the POP with the DDP.

Explaination of title.... I bought lime green t-shirts and wrote with cloth marker Disney World 2006 with each persons name underneath. On DDs' and mine and DS's i also wrote our DIs nams and our VMK names.

So we left sept 2 by Amtrak. We don't fly. This was a first for all of us as our other we drove down ( from PHila). Our train was late and by the time we got to Orlando station it was a whole hour late, but not a problem as we had called our shuttle service ( Sunray $82 round trip + tip ) and let then know we would be an hour late. We didn't have to wait for our driver at all.
So he and Dh talked during the trip and we arrived at POP happy with anticipation.

This is our first time staying at POP as we have the high hope of eventually staying at all the Resorts before our time on earth is done. So i lead the kids to the sitting area with our bags and tell them to wait here while i get in line to check in. Dh is finishes up with the driver then he joined me in line. Everything went well. Picked up our tickets for HOop de du at the same time for Monday. So after we get checked in and unpacked. Girls in 1 room & me and the boys in the other. Got connecting rooms of course. We go to Planet Hollywood to use the 2 free dinner vouchers we received with the package ( + my sister's voucher as she wasn't planning on going to PH).
Other then being WAY to loud and some of the kids being mortified with the video subject matter, it was good. We bought the photo package for $20 they took before we went in to the restaurant. Dh paid OOP and was a bit unsure as it cost nearly $100 and it didn't seem like we got the free meals. But he didn't mention this to me until later and i didn't get to check out the receipt/ bill ahead of time. Oh well. live and learn i guess.
So after dinner we walked around DTD in the rain then went back to POP.
Next morning we have Typhoon lagoon scheduled along with HOOp De du and a surprise WIshes fireworks cruise. But i will write about that tomorrow or later today depending on how time permits.

 

[pumba]

thanks for the report.....sounds like your amtrack went well and your limo too......thanks for the beginning

 

[mom2cookies]

ok so we're onto Monday, day 2. A big day planned with Typhoon lagoon, Hoop de du for dinner then Wishes cruise afterwards.

We start out with breakfast in the food court. Dh got the western omelet along with two pieces of sauages he had to pay extra for. ** LET ME INTERJECT HERE SOME ADVICE FOR THOSE ON THE DDP. GET A 2ND OPINION IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS. DD asked 1 cm in the food court what came with the CS and was told and entree and 2 sides. So when dh asked for the sauage he was surprised to have to pay for them. So apparently, you only get what comes with the entree, no sides. **
I had the adult breakfst platter, the kids had breakfst burrito, waffles, choc. chip pancakes, reg. pancakes. Half did not get eaten for various reasons.

So we make out it to the bus and were able to get a seat. Since it was extra magic morning hour, we were able to get extra time at typhoon Lagoon.
We loved the wave pool, the lazy river ( where i introduced a new friend to the Dis after finding out all that she was not informed of ). The kids went on the body slides and all were terrified. They loved the Crush-n- Gusher ( mom is too chicken )Three of the bravest went across the Shark Reef. They all received their certificates and the rest received a Magical Moments certificate ....lol they weren't sure why though. Mom got into the day with body surfing in the wave pool with the kids. That was fun, although we ended up with skinned up knees and toes. We changed to dry clothes in the shower rooms and then headed over to the Ft. Wilderness. We got there way too early so we hopped the boat to the Lodge and looked around there and rested in the cool lobby. Then we went back to wait for the HDDR where we met our 2nd DISser!!!! woo hoo! Hi Mousekamaddie! Sorry, folks, no pictures as i didn't know how to up load pictures then. Learned since.
Hoop De Du was great.
We were seated at the same table as last year. Imagine that! Right where the steps come off the stage on the left hand side. "Dolly" picked my Dh to have fun with which resulted in a gales of laughter from the kids and I. The 14 year old loved the whole show and that just topped it for him. The ribs were absolutely divine as well as the corn bread. The kids were glad they replaced the corn with the red peppers with corn on the cob although in my opinion it seemed kinda old. We just crack up at the whole thing and really enjoy the show.
Afterwards, we hurried back to the boat and went to the Contemporary as that is where we had to go for the Wishes cruise.
It was raining pretty steady by this time so we were concerned what kind of boat would be used etc. We find our way up to the ball room where we have to check in, but we are early and they aren't ready yet. Finally a CM said they wouldn't be ready for about 45 minutes so we decide to do some shopping.... successfully i might add. lol Back in the ballroom there is alot of POTC stuff so we wonderred if Cap't sparrow would show up. But nope, just Hook and Smee. All the guests were offerred an assortment of snacks and drinks to have then or to take on the boat. Hook and Smee entertained for awhile and posed for photographs etc. They divided everyone into two boats and we sailed off. The boats btw did have roofs so the rain was a concern. On each boat was a pirate host ( both named Patch ) who led us in songs, games, a told jokes. It was tons of fun. We really had a blast. When wishes started we of course had a perfect view. We could even see Tink take her flight. After the fireworks, Patch did a few trivia questions and awarded prizes such as a toy telescope, pirate hook, sword, etc to some of the kids. The he read a very abridged version of Peter Pan timing it so that when we came back to the dock Peter Pan was waitting for us ready to sign autographs etc. None of our kids were interested so we by passed the line and headed for home. Over all it was a great day and we decided we loved typhoon Lagoon to do it again.

 

[jekclk]

Hello! Your trip sounds great so far! We will be taking the amtrak auto train for the first time in nov.We also do not fly.How was the train trip overall? Is it comfy? Can u easily get up and move around? Wondering since we will have 2 -16 years olds, 1-12 and 1-13 with us. Glad to here you liked HDDR! We will be trying it for the first time this trip!

 

[mom2cookies]

hi, yes, we were quite comfortable on the Amtrak train. We did not go on the Auto-train though. The only complaints are 1: going both ways, there was one seat out of eight that had a foot rest that didn't work. and 2: the breakfast food is terrible and the lunch / snack counter food is not so great either. Everything that is heated is done so in a microwave. Other then that, it was very comfortable and yes you could easily move around. Also, coming home most of us slept very well. Going down, not so much but i think that was partially due to excitement. I would suggest taking snacks to off set boredom and save a little cash. They do allow you to bring and eat food and at the end of each car is a water dispenser with paper cups. Good cold water at that!


Our home computer is down, and i am at the library, so my report such as it is will be on hold until our computer comes back from repairs.

Thanks for those that are reading.

 

[KathyRN137]

Glad your cruise wasn't cancelled! Looking forward to more.....

Kathy

 

[mom2cookies]

Tuesday, Day 4

Animal Kingdom Day!
Day started out about the same... eatting breakfast at the POP food court. After arriving we headed straight for Tree OF LIfe as we had some first-timers with us. DD's friend of course didn't disappoint when the bees struck ..or should i say stung. She screamed of course. It still amazes me to see all those animals carved so wonderfully. Everytime I find a carving I hadn't seen before. After the TOL we went for the big one.... EVEREST! I of course just meanderred through the queue..weighed down with backpacks and cameras and hats...taking photos and reading all that is displayed in the "museum". Very interesting btw And they all jumped on. NO WAIT other then for the next car to empty out. I went out to the place where the big drop is and took some video and some photos as i waitted for them

. Yes mom is a big chicken... and doesn't do rollercoasters. They all loved it. Dh said he did it once and that was enough for a lifetime. lol All the kids decided to ride it again two more times. DD15 was deciding after each ride whether to get that photo or to try again. After the 3rd ride she was feeling quesy and said we had to take that one or lose the photo oppurtunity as she wasn't riding it again.

So I went in and got the single 5 X 7 free with the voucher I was awarded throught the YETI VISION game. It had only our kids and their friends and no strangers so it turned out to be a good shot after all.
After all of that we went to my favorite Kali River Rapids. DD15 still wasn't feeling all that great so she and dh planned next place to go. Rode the rapids 2 times and got sufficiently soaked. Mom went down the hill backwards both times.. kids thought that was funny.. not sure why. We find Dh and DD and decide to go through the Maharaji Jungle Trek to let DD's stomach settle some more.
After the trek we got in to see the Festival of the Lion King with minimal wait. We love to watch that show and are lucky enough so far to sit in Lion section most of the time. We feel that is the best view. The one time we sat in the warthog section DS was bothered by the artificial smoke. How those performers on the stilts can do all that is amazing. IMG]http://i92.photobucket.com/albums/l39/mom2cookies/wdwphotos007 Our first-timers watched with eyes and mouths wide open just like we did the first time we saw it. We had a bit of laughter as one of the monkeys ran behind the row in front of us and tapped those sitting there on their shoulders. One poor guy turned and looked at his companion and couldn't understand why everyone was laughing and and looking at him. It was a funny moment.
Next we went over to DinoLand so those that wanted to could ride Dinosaur. I did not ride... and took that time to call home and see how MIL and cousin was making out at home. From there we moved on to Triceratops Spin and ate some fries while the kids ( minus DD15) rode and spun to their hearts content. Again no wait for anything.

By this point we had done all that we wanted so we asked if anyone wanted to do any repeats. Everest was picked so away we went. We saw my niece coming off by herself so the kids got on again with her and I purchased a post card and an anklet from the gift shop.
Since we had plenty of time we went over to the Kilamanjaro Safari. I think the most fun is in the last seat of the jeep. We were able to see plenty of animals and the kids seemed to like it. They were taking pictures of different animals we saw.
DD15 was feeling better by this point so we all decided to ride Kali River Rapids again as we were way ahead of schedule and would have time to go back to the POP and change. So all but Dh went back on the rapids for a double ride before sloshed out to the bus.
After changing we jumped on the bus to MK and the monorail to get to the Grand Floridian for our dinner at 1900 Park Fair. We got our first glimpse at the Poly and can't wait to stay there at some point. The food at 1900 PF is absolutely my all time favorite! The desserts were kind of boring IMHO and not all that good. But I did get to try Banana's Foster for the first time and the dinner choices were wonderful. Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the girl mice all stopped by our table at some point. And provided the photo opportunity and some small talk.

We finished up the day back at the resort swimming and finally getting to meet up with my sister and her family. They were also having a magical vacation.

 

[mom2cookies]

Before this part of my report let me apologize for having such big photos in the last installment. New at this still....

We are up to wed. Day 5

Magic Kingdom

Today we did something different for breakfast.... since so much of the breakfast food wasn't getting eatten..we decided to just use our snack option for drinks and pick up a couple of boxes of doughnuts. You can get a whole box of 8 doughnuts with 1 snack credit btw.
Today I am taking DS to his Pirate Adventure Cruise at the Grand Floridian. So after snarfing down his milk and pastry we leave the rest and head out to the bus line. It comes right away! We get to the GF and wander around looking for the marina. We follow the map and get to where we need to go. After awhile a few other parents and tots show up and we all start talking etc. Finally, things start happening and we have to sign up the kids and get out beepers ( incase they have to contact us ) and tell us when to be back. They tell the kids to don life vests and start doling out piratey bandana hats with mickey ears ( that won't stay up ). The CM asks if they are ready and she gets a few mumbled yeahs. She is like what? Eventually she gets the kids " ARG'ING" with all their might and getting into the whole pirate thing. So off they go YOHO ing and ARG ing with great anticipation. Oh, and before they board after passing out the bandana's the kids are told to pick a partner and line up.

So i have from 9:30 am until 11:30 am to myself to browse or rest or talk to strangers as i tend to do.
Meanwhile Dh takes the rest of the kids to MK and head to Tomorrowland and plans to stay there and let them ride the things there they want...without lines. We were to meet up for lunch but they kids got hungry early so he went ahead and ate which is what they were doing when DS and I got back to Mk after his cruise. [ DS and I stop by VMK Central to hand in the VMK Quests to get our VMK reward cards/codes ] So with a phone call we were all back together again eatting at the Starlight Cafe'. From there we all rode Buzz again except for DH and kids went on SMt. again so DS could ride. Did a few things in Fantasyland and then went over to Frontierland so they could do BTM

and Splash Mt. They did both a couple of times and then we moved on.
However, while making our way to Frontierland, the parade started so we plopped ourselves down and waitted. Not very long. And wouldn't you know it as we are waitting I hear " Hey DIS... Hey Dis...." it took a couple of shouts before i remembered... I'm Dis! So DD and swivel our necks around and there RIGHT BEHIND us is ........lyzziesmom ? ( or um.. it might have been Mouskamaddi )
I am very sorry but cannot remember which one it was.
Anyway... we enjoyed the parade and a pirate came over to my DD who was wearing her pirate goofy hat and said she was the " Goofiest pirate he'd ever seen "

DD also came across another DISser on BTM but didn't get her name. She ( disser ) asked if she new the " focker sign " she said she did and i think DD mentioned MOM2Cookies was her mom. I of course was waitting for them at
the exit and noone said anything to me. So i didn't meet her.
Next we went over to Adventureland. Did Haunted Mansion.... ( still can't find the ring ) next and DF 14 loved the hitchhiking ghosts at the end. THe POTC came up next. When we got there Cap'n Jack was doing his thing outside but there was such a crowd around him that we just got on the ride. Thinking he would still be there when we got off. HAH... what a bunch of dummies... DS and I were probably most disappointed about that. The new additions to POTC ride were noticeable and the Davy Jones in the water fall is most impressive. We didn't remember seeing the guy on the bridge with the hairy leg this time though. We shouted for GEORGE but uh...kinda forgot which part we were supposed to do it at. I did as the CM if George was present that day and he said " yeah " with a look of surprise. lol
In the gift shop DS was able to purchase the " real looking" pirate hat that he had been saving for. [Unfortunately the rain later caused the glue to dissolve that was holding the flaps up. Luckily i had packed a small sewing kit so when we got back to the resort i stitched them back up for him.]
DH loves the TIKI TIKI Room so we headed there next. It got us all singing and the friends liked it. We still had some time before we were to meet my sister at the Crystal Palace so we quickly did the Jungle Cruise for the first time and while mom was using the restroom the kids went through the Treehouse. I came across my sister in the restroom so we all went together to the Crystal Palace. We of course had ressies but still had to wait for quite awhile. Finally, we get seated just to the right of the entrance so we didn't have far to go to the buffet. My sister's little boy ( age 6) was happy to join the HIP HIP HOORAY parade around the dining room. And of course he just loved the characters.

Since we were all together at last we headed back over to tomorrowland so the kids could do some rides together. That didn't work out so good for various reasons. But we did have a place picked out to watch Wishes so after Dh and I ran back down Main St to VMK central to hand in the rest of the VMK quest cards, the kids rode space mt and buzz again. DH wanted me to ride(?) Stitch's great escape so we hopped on that since we didn't see the rest of the gang anywhere. I wasn't all the impressed as Stitch isn't exactly my favorite character. Sorry stitch lovers i just don't think he's funny or cute....
We were able to get a good view off to the right of the castle for the fireworks.

Tink would have flown right over our heads but she didn't show up that night. Possibly because of the slight rain at the time.
After Wishes we waitted around for the crowd to clear out and then took our time up Main St. Of course there was the bathroom stop and the candy stop. We made it out to the bus stop and after waitting for just a few minutes were told to get on the bus designated to a different resort. There wasn't anyone waitting in that line so the the trans. supervisor ( i'm guessing) instructed that driver to take those of us going to POP instead. yay us...no long wait and a guaranteed seat!
And there you have it... another Disney Day.

 

[wvdislover]

Sounds like you all had a great time! So, were there really no lines while you were there? When I went back in early June, all the big attractions had standby wait times of 40+ minutes. Did you take the kids out of school, or do you homeschool? I think September sounds like a great time to go! Can't wait to hear more!

 

[mom2cookies]

Yeah...for most of the week we didn't have to wait for more then 1 or 2 cars to empty out before we got on any of the rides. Some not even that long. September is a very good time to go as the weather isn't usually too warm and the crowds are very low. Of course you are taking a chance as it is hurricane season... but so far.. that fact hasn't interfered with our vacations yet. As far as my kids, they go to a private school and it doesn't start until the week after Labor Day. So no, we don't have to take them out and no we don't home school them.

 

[mom2cookies]

EPCOT

Thursday Today we skipped breakfast at the resort and headed straight for Epcot. We got here shortly after the opening so it wasn't very busy yet. Headed right to SOARIN'. Again only had to wait a few minutes. We were near the end of the small group so we got second row seats. Which was ok by me as i am afraid of heights. ( i know DIsney says not to ride if you are...but i did anyway... figure i could just close my eyes.) Any way... yay me! i rode with my eyes open. DH and kids were all very proud of their chicken mama. lol Anyway.. the CM said if anyone wanted to ride again to just move over to the other section and find another seat. So we did it again. Some of the kids sat in the front section and really enjoyed it. We stopped at the cafe outside of the Soarin' exit and had some coffee and a light breakfast.
After eatting we went through Innoventions and sent out some email postcards. From there we headed over to Mission Space so the brave ones could ride that. I think they might have went on twice. Not sure. DD15, Dh and I did the mission command game ( or what ever it is called.) We got the highest score of the day so far when we played. I know i'm a grown woman but i really like doing that " game".
When we were done at Mission Space we headed over to Test Track. Walked right up and just had a little bit of a wait. Not long though. Again we all had a great time on that.
Next we went over to the Electric Umbrella and ate lunch while watching the
fountain.
The weather today is wetter then it has been all week. There is pretty much a constant drizzle but not enought to bother with the ponchos.
DD13 wanted to ride Figment so her friend could see the disappearing butterfly. So we did that next.
Since our dinner ressies at the Coral Reef were only a couple hours away and we all were still stuffed from lunch; Dh and I decided to run over
to Coral Reef and see about moving our time to a later seatting. They said
they couldn't do that as there weren't anymore openings but to just come
in late and that she would mark it down that we would be late.
While we along with DD15 were dealling with that the rest of the gang
went into Honey I shrunk the Audience. A fierce storm came through while
we were waitting for them to come out. That was the most rain we had
the whole time we were there.
Once the gang got out of Honey.... we headed over to the World Showcase. The rain had let up quite a bit by then so, again we didn't bother with the
rain ponchos. No one was really interested in watching the movies of the
different countries so we just browsed through the shops.
Picked up a couple of souveniers. Missed the band and street performers in Great Britain.
We made our way around the World stopping and shopping and getting photos and autographs. We rode the boat in Norway

and did the River of Time in Mexico. DD 13 was selected to receive a taffy made by the " candy lady" in Japan. She picked a blue koala. We watched for a few moments the drum performance there as well. Our dinner seatting was coming up so we headed over to CR as the rain started to pick up again. We had to wait for about 1/2 an hour until we got seated.
But eventually we do even with the fish tank. So that was nice. Unfortunately, we could not hear or understand our server poor lady. Must have thought we all were batty. Anyway, we placed our orders. I had the lobster soup for an appetizer... it was soooooo very very good. The df 14 had lobster claws that he wanted to try. I guess he liked them.. he ate'em. The shrimp cocktail with the asian noodles was not liked nor was the salad of mixed greens. Not our usual fair sadly.
Two of the kids orderred pizza off the kids menu, 3 of the girls and i ordered Prime Rib. ( mine was delish) and Dh and DF 14 both ordered the salmon. Our rich chocolate cake was wonderful but most of us were too full to enjoy it completely.

By the time we were done and out our Coral Reef, it was about an hour and 45 minutes until Illuminations. So we shopped a bit more then staked out a spot. The show was fantastic as always.
We waitted for the crowd to disperse before we made our way out of the park. Of course we stopped to watch the lighted sidewalk and enjoy the lights and the lit up Spaceship Earth.

Which we rode on at some point in the day, but i can't remember when. lol We did not however go in to see Turtle Talk with Crush...but we won't get into that.

 

[mom2cookies]

friday MGM-studios

Well today is our last park day. It went well. We skipped breakfast at the resort thinking to eat some counter or something light. We arrived at MGM before it opened and kinda watched the " action" from a distance. But the poor dad standing next to us with two toddlers ( maybe 1 toddler and 1 infant) in a double stroller. He was oblivious to his DD basically bathing herself with her sippy cup contents. It was funny to me as i had been there in that situation 4 times. Poor dad, watching the show..... so i put myself in his shoes and let him know that his DD was washing her legs and filling up the seat of her stroller. Anyway i digress.....
So the ropes drop and everyone goes on their way.. we go to that restaurant.. not sure of the name... that is kinda behind Indy and looks like a warehouse for props. They don't serve anything until 11:30. Dh feels it is his mission to find us food, so we traipse around looking for someplace open.... there isn't any btw. So we head back towards the front gates as Dh remembered a stand there. We get coffee, milk, and lg coffee rolls and eat them here.

Basically, since we just finished eatting, we did all the shows. Didn't have any waits anywhere. We started at Star Wars [as the first Indy show didnt start for a couple of hours yet] and worked our way around. We ate lunch at the ABC Commisary. I had the half cuban sandwich.... blech! Glad it was only a half. Anyway... did Drew Carey for the first-timers and then moved on to Beauty and the Beast. Enough of the tame stuff... on to Rockin Rollercoaster and HTT!

First time riding for everyone that rode..... ahem...sans mom & DD15. All that rode it loved it. The general consensus was that the HTT ( hollywood tower of terror) was kinda boring and that RR was awesome!

I really wanted to see the decor of the HTT so while kids were riding RR i "toured" the tower up to the actual ride elevator. Then another lady and i waitted until someone came up the wheelchair elevator and took us back down to the exit. I ALMOST got brave enough to get on, but was t hinking of DH and kids possibly waitting for me to go to dinner. So i didn't. Maybe next time....
On the way to the SCI-FI we stopped in to see the Indy show ( finally) and for the first time do the GReat Movie Ride. Interesting for the first time but don't care if i don't get on again.
Did a little shopping and then headed to the SCI-FI. There are so many mixed reviews about this restaurant. Because we had so many ppl, of course we were seatted in 2 cars. No Problem. Our server seemed much more " disney friendly " then the other's server. I didn't know whether to be pleased or humbled.... Dh orderred coffee. And if you don't know.. the tables in these cars are not real big. So as the server came to pour Dh coffee, i moved his cup to IMHO a more accessable spot. The server promptly moved it back where it was and said he was the server and something something something... that i was on vacation to sit back and let him do the work. So i don't know if i moved the cup to a less accessable spot or what . I wasn't offended.. but was humbled. At any rate, most of us were satisfied with our food. I had ribs which were good but did not even come close to those at HDDR. Also, the server interacted with our DS 10 and DD12 asking if they wanted their Chicken fingers with beaks and feathers or without. Poor guy... dead pan expressions was all he got for his efforts. I don't know if they couldn't decide if he was serious or not. But i for his efforts and he made my dinner fun.
Afterwards we time for another ride on RR before Fantasmic so away they went. DD15, DD, and I browsed the shops.
There was some problem and after a few false starts and stops, the show finally started. DH thought maybe they were going to see whether the drizzle was going to stop or get heavier. The audience was of course eventually involved in a mostly successfully repeated " WAVE". lol

Taking our time going out , we shopped and upon reaching the bus stop did not have a long wait for our bus. YAY. And that was our last day in the parks. Not overly active but enjoyable none the less.

 

[BeautyNBeast]

Sounds like you had a great time! Thanks for the TR