Mike n Lindas wed/dismoon 10 nights @ WDW w/ds5 UPDATED PIXnFINALE

[Credit Man]

Congratulations! Really enjoying your report. Your pics are beautiful. The best lion shot I have ever seen.

 

[lindakmonty]

Just have to add more pictures... I love to take pictures... of coarse, since I took over 600! I learned from my mistake a few years ago... My son's first trip to WDW... well, we went on the 7 night western cruise first and took all kinds of pictures... then after the cruise we were going to WDW for 3 days. The first park we went to was Animal Kingdom. I took maybe 5 or 6 pictures and my battery went dead. I had no spare, no cables to charge it!! So this time... I was prepared! I bought a 6 gig card... I can take over 1800 pictures high res. on that card I love it!!! I also have a few other cards from before.... 2 256 mg, 1 128 and a 32 that came with it. My sister has an incredible camera she paid a few grand for for high speed action since my neices are in gymnastics... but mine does just fine for me...

 

[lindakmonty]

May 1st we were off to MGM... we had planned on going to MGM on Sat. instead of a Monday but Kenny was sick. According to TGM Sat would have been busy anyway...so it all worked out well. We entered the park at opening as usual. Maybe I should say...we're always up early. My dh is awake anywhere from 2:30am on... usually tries to lay quietly until at least 5:30. He has to give me "crap" since he is a big coffee drinker and the room had no coffee maker. He brings his own creamer and everything in the cooler. I told him I'm sure next time at the Poly we'll have a coffee maker ! So, he always heads down to the food court bright and early for his coffee. I don't think of those things since I've never drank coffee. Guess I'm boring. I very rarely have a drink, don't smoke, rarely curse, no tattoos, ears only pierced once and rarely wear them.... maybe you could say... low maintenance? I would like to think so...I just really like my WDW and DCL !!! Plus my Disney stuff all over the house. He had no idea how big Disney was or how extreme it can get...

Anyway...we were going to MGM. We head straight for RNR and TOT... I was riding solo on these. That was fine. Believe it or not, this trip was the first time I had ever ridden RNR!! OH... that is so awesome. I rode it over and over. The line was only 10 minutes standby and same for TOT but didn't feel the urge to do TOT over and over again. We got our maps and schedule. We did everything our hearts desired. It was so nice. Our entire trip had light crowds and beautiful weather. Couldn't have asked for it to be any better! We watched Little Mermaid, Playhouse Disney, Beauty and the Beast, Indiana Jones, and the Lights and Motor car stunt show... Was our first time seeing Beauty and the Beast and the Lights and Motor car show.. they were all very enjoyable.

My son is a Power Ranger fanatic!!

He was absolutely giddy after seeing the power rangers

We ate lunch and dh noticed that across the walkway was a shop w/all kinds of power rangers stuff and maybe I should sneak over and do some shopping. Great idea, like I will ever turn that down!

I bought him some cool new gear for a surprise later...

While I was riding RNR a few more times ds and dh were taking a break at the exit and he saw them passing out bracelets. He had to see what that was about and the were for the emh... so he got us all one. We had adr's for Narcooses but thought we could come back after dinner since they would be showing fantasmic a second time ! COOL. We won't miss it. That is great news. We leave for a break and get ready for dinner.

We get to GF..and dh thinks its too fancy for his taste... but I love it there. We head back to Narcooses for a wonderful meal. Our food was good... but the service was excellent. Our waiter was very nice.

We headed back to MGM after our bellies were so full I thought I'd need a wheelbarrel to get out of my chair. LeCellier was still our favorite though. We get back to MGM of coarse I ride RNR again!!!! There are only a few things open since its emh. We watched Fantasmic and really enjoyed it. Mike said it was his favorite of all the night time productions ... I have to get some work done but I'll be back w/ more pictures and much more fun to come...

 

[lindakmonty]

May 2nd... its now Tuesday and we're headed to Magic Kingdom for a second time this trip. We only did about 1/2 the park the first time so we'll now hit the other 1/2. We have adrs for lunch at Liberty Tree and dinner resv. for Cinderellas Royal Table. I had read so many bad reviews for CRT I almost called and cancelled. I am so glad I didn't!!! You'll see why
So, were at the gate at opening as usual. I couldn't believe that there were so many things at the MK I had never done. So we head off toward Adventureland. We ride The Magic Carpets of Aladdin for the first time. That was cute and fun. We managed to miss the spitting camel... Then we headed to the Jungle Cruise, which I had also never done. That was cute and fun. I really like water... water falls, creeks..whatever.. I just love to take pictures of water like that. Well of coarse Pirates of the Caribbean is being renovated... darn it. I like that ride. I did that at DL a few years ago. We went and did the Enchanted Tiki room for the first time. That was really cute. Blonde moment too... I was thinking Zazu was in it... my disney fanatic boss informed me it was the one from Aladdin... duh! That was embarassing. We're both disney nuts... but he makes twice what I do and his wife gets a travel agent discount so they go twice a year! Oh... I would love that! We head to Frontierland and ride Splash mountain. I forgot just how cute and fun this ride really is. My son really enjoyed it. Kept telling everyone "I didn't even get wet" in that rotten voice like haha ha ha ha ha.. so Mike dipped his hand in the water and flicked on him. We went to check out Tom Sawyers Island. Another thing I had never checked out. That was more fun than I expected. Kenny was scared walking through the dark cool mines and things. Mike starts telling him this story that he knows engine Joe and how ugly he is... and Kenny forgets all about being scared. It is so cute. You can distract them and they forget all about being scared. When we make it to the end, he wants to go through again. It was a fun little Island to go explore. I rode Big Thunder Mountain to see if Kenny would be too scared on it. I really enjoyed it. We went to Yellowstone last year for 2 weeks and that was really neat that at the end of the ride on the right. Those white mineral springs... or whatever they're technically called... DH would have liked that, but he don't do coasters... Well, anyway... I go back to see if Kenny would like to ride it. It wasn't too bad and thought he'd really like it...but he didn't want to go. Oh well, I won't make him if he don't want to. We watched the country bear jamboree...that was cuter than I expected. Was a nice rest. We headed to Liberty Square. Went in the Hall of Pres. Kenny and I went on the Haunted Mansion. He says it was scary, but liked it. We head to Liberty Tree Tavern to check in. We're too early so we go to the christmas shoppe and do some shopping. That was fun! I got a personalized ornament "Just Married" with "Mike and Linda April 27,2006" on the back. That turned out really nice. I got the storybook ornaments that have the icons from each park and Mickey... I got a snowglobe of Mickey kissing Minnie w/a mistletoe in his hand, a cute display that has goofy, Mickey and Minnie twirling around ice skating...and I think that is it... I have a ton of disney christmas stuff... we put up 2 trees, one ALL disney ornaments so cute! We go back to the restaurant for some lunch. We had the penne pasta and I have to admit neither of us liked it at all... we picked out the chicken and was glad we had an appetizer and dessert to eat that day. Just not a sauce we cared for. I ordered the apple tart... WOW that was delicious!!! I'm not much for eating desserts... but that was so good. The warm delicious apples, with the glaze and cinnamon ice cream on top.... oh... that was so good!!! All 3 of us enjoyed some of that. We grab our shopping bags. Yeah, I know they'll deliver it to our hotel. DH says no, he don't trust that system...I've used it in the past no big deal. Oh well... we'll take it with us. We head back for a nap. We get up all refreshed and head to MGM. Of coarse I head for RNR again! We go watch One mans dream. That was nice for Mike to get a little background. Then we go next door to Narnia. I have to say, I expected more out of that. The witch comes out for 30 seconds, and it was basically like watching a preview clip of the movie. but you're standing in cold and surrounded by fake trees. I was disappointed by that for sure. So, we head to the backlot tour. Another thing I had never taken the time to check out. Glad we did. Kenny really enjoyed that. The semi part of coarse and the flood! We leave and head back to MK. We just went through the shops... dh grabbed a few more shirts. My neice loves Tink so I'm trying to see what I should get for her... We check in at CRT. It is 8pm. Cinderella comes out and they take the pictures. They call our name and we head upstairs for dinner. I see why it gets bad reviews because the food was definitely just so-so. I wasn't there really for the food and went in with low expectations after reading other peoples reviews. The fairy god mother comes out and the show starts. That was really cute and enjoyable. They ask who is there on their honeymoon we were the only ones... she came over and asked me when we got married and everyone clapped of us... that was nice. The fireworks start and the kids go crazy. I am really glad we got that view as well. That was a good time for sure. We head out of the park for the day and it is CROWDED. Everyone trying to get out of the park all at once. It went very fast and very smooth. We get back and get some rest so we can head to Typhoon Lagoon for the first time in the morning... also dinner @ Chef Mickeys, Blizzard Beach and more about the ddp. OOPs... I had something confused about that...

 

[sara74]

Very sweet trip report. Your pictures look so much like mine! We were there the week before you. I know what you mean about taking a ton of pictures, we took 975 of them! (our first trip, you see)

Could you PM me and tell me how to put a picture in the post?

Congrats on the wedding! Waiting for more of your trip!

 

[lindakmonty]

I sent you a pm sara74. If you have any problems, just let me know.

 

[lindakmonty]

So we're up and out early as usual. We head down to the food court for a good breakfast before we head for some fun in the sun. I normally never eat breakfast. Since its day 8 and we have 24 counter service's left out of 30...its time to start using them up!! I hate to waste things like that. So, we fill our bellies and head off to Typhoon Lagoon. I have never been to this waterpark yet. Always loved Blizzard Beach so never bothered going here yet... I wanted to go to shark reef. All 3 of us were getting ready. Yes, even ds5. He had practiced in the bath tub for a month or so already We get in the COLD water. We have to put our bodies in and float before you can head out. Right then, ds decides he doesn't want to do it after all. I was going to get out w/him but dh says no... I will, you go ahead. So, I did... Now, I've snorkeled in the Bahamas, in Cozumel.... and swam with the sting rays in the Cayman Islands and this is nothing like any of those. You just get this weird feeling!! They arent far from you at all... they're right there. I wasn't scared... they're bottom feeders and all that... but I just didn't feel like poking along either! I made my way across pretty quickly Yes, I'm a chicken! I admit it But, I can say I did it!! Now get me out of here! Lets hit the lazy river. Since we get in an hour early... it was so great. We had the lazy river to ourselves!! We made the whole loop around just relaxing and taking in the view. dh tells me to go hit the big attractions before the crowds come. I go do the water coaster and a few big slides they were fun. Then I took Kenny to the kiddie area. He had such a blast in this area. He had so much fun grabbing his little tube and making his way to the top by himself. He went down that slide probably 20 times. We played in the big wave pool. Headed back for lunch and a nap...

We had dinner reservations at Chef Mickeys I knew ds would love this. You hear so much about this one. We go early and do some shopping in the gift shops right there in the lobby. I had to get some chocolate truffles. tradition I've created for myself. We get seated and Donald is right there taking photos and giving autographs...

We get some drinks and get some food up at the buffet... I'm not big on buffets but I'll make the sacrifice for ds5 to enjoy the characters anyday. It was so nice to see dh enjoying himself as well. Hes not a disney nut like me... but he's coming around!!

We really enjoyed this dinner and will definitely do again!

May 4th day 9

We head to Blizzard Beach... up early again for breakfast. Head to the park at emh... 9am I headed straight for summit plummit... I've done this slide several times. DH and DS5 have to watch.... I was probably the 3rd person in line at opening... I must be getting old... it was great...it was fun.... but boy... MY BUTT HURT!!! I mean... for the next 2 days!!! We hit the lazy river... hit several slides... I took ds5 on the family raft ride. Ok.... we walk up all those steps to the top... just he and I... then once you get all the way up there at the enterance to the family raft ride...it says must be at least party of 4. Oh...come on!! I got in line anyway. Surely someone else will have room. Sure enough, there are two ladies and a little boy about ds's age right in front of us. She asks if we can all ride together...sure! So we did...the boys just laughed and had a good ole time.... it was fun..and we headed off for some more fun. We headed for the big tube slides. We did those over and over and over... no lines at all. It was just killing my legs to walk up those stairs over and over! Shew... I am out of shape for sure!!

Day 10 May 5th

Our final day.. OHHHH this sucks! I hate this part... packing up... getting ready to leave Disney. It is so disappointing. I know we cant stay forever... but I still don't want to leave. We had so much fun!!! We had planned on going to Sea World today.. DH is active duty military so we'd get in free... but like I told him... at Disney not only are we still free to get in... our parking is free and so is our meals!!! So, we head to downtown disney and do some more shopping until Disney Quest is open. Never been to Disney Quest yet either! We eat lunch at Earl of Sandwich... it was really good!!! Much better than I expected... Here are some pic's from legoland...

We really enjoyed Disney Quest. I can just imagine ds a few years from now...

Some info about the ddp... I thought I had read somewhere you could trade 2 cs for a ts... NOT TRUE but you CAN trade 1 ts for 2 cs... basically you can downgrade but not upgrade... We lucked out... our servers only charged us for ds at a few of the places we dined. Not on purpose... ds had gotten sick so we shared and figured we'd have meals left.. I added our receipts. We paid about $800 for the 10 nights ddp and we received about $1200 in food. Good savings but no way would we have ordered that much food if we weren't on the plan. So, for us I wouldn't really care if we were on it or not... It was nice trying new places...new things... but food just isn't real important to me... we ate at LeCellier and our total was $101.71
at Rose and Crown $93.78
Concourse Steakhouse $94.02
Yachtsman Steakhouse $139.92
Ohana $79.64
Narcooses $143
CRT $125
Chef Mickeys $85.87 and that's just our Table services!!! our last day we ended up with 6 cs left and it was time to head to his aunts house 2 hrs north...so I found a family of 4 at the Cheesecake factory express and paid for all their meals..and grabbed some cheesesteak meals for the road. We actually used up ALL our credits! Our snack total for 10 days added up to about $50 and our cs's added up to about $300... so I think we did pretty good. Wish we could have stayed the evening for some cinco de mayo celebration... but it was time to head home...

I really think DH truly enjoyed his first trip to Disney!! And our honeymoon of coarse!! He is pretty conservative...and after we headed out he said... we'll have to check out the DVC! I about fell over. Literally!!! Everyone saw his new Mickey Mouse hat that replaced his Harley Davidson one...and they knew he had a great time! We were watching deal or no deal last night. It was a special where you can win $20k instead of the usual $10... and he says to me...if we win the $20 you can call Disney and book a cruise We have been alternating years on who chooses the vacation destination but now that he's retiring in July.... I'm really hoping that just may change!!

 

[Tinkerbelll]

our last day we ended up with 6 cs left and it was time to head to his aunts house 2 hrs north...so I found a family of 4 at the Cheesecake factory express and paid for all their meals..and grabbed some cheesesteak meals for the road. We actually used up ALL our credits! Our snack total for 10 days added up to about $50 and our cs's added up to about $300... so I think we did pretty good. Wish we could have stayed the evening for some cinco de mayo celebration... but it was time to head home...

How amazing is that! I bet you made that family's vacation so extra special!! Now THAT is what Disney is all about!

Loved your report... Glad you had an amazing time and congrats on getting married!!!!

 

[kathymc]

great report and terrific photos - love the one with both lions!

congratulations!