June 4, 2005 (Saturday)
Originally we planned to go to AK today, but with all of the rain
we werent sure if the animals would be out to see. Plus we just felt like hanging around and relaxing so after sleeping in until about 10am, we managed to head over to Olivias at HH for lunch around noon. This was one of our nicest meals; simple, tasty and enjoyable. Afterward, DS realized that his teenager image of only wearing cool shorts (in this case khaki cargos) was in jeopardy and we needed to head to the laundry. I think this is going to be one of the most appreciated perks of being a DVC member - free laundry. Since we were in a studio we didnt have a washer/dryer in the room, but one was close to our location. So, this trip ended up being an educational trip for DS. He and I headed off to the laundry while DH stayed in the room, reading the book he brought along. When DS realized the laundry was at the pool, he (using logic) said, Mom, we should go swimming while we wait on the laundry. Smart kid! So he walked back to the room, grabbed the swim gear while I waited for the washers to become available. While waiting on DS I found a table and chairs for us where I plopped my behind and started to enjoy the quiet breeze around me. 
Upon his return, I showed him how to load the washer and get it started then he changed clothes so he could get in the pool, which he now would have all to himself - a little bit of Heaven in his mind. 
Well, needless to say DS never followed up on his laundry lesson preferring to stay in the pool even as the rain drizzled down upon him. This was what the trip was all about, relaxing and taking care of our familys needs instead of everyone else.
We did have a 5:40pm PS/ADR at Boma and headed out in plenty of time so we could check out any changes in the AKL since we stayed there in 2003. I guess the biggest change was the lobby didnt have any of the beautiful African influenced Christmas decorations that were there last time. While we waited to be seated, DH and DS stood near Jiko and drooled, remembering our fantastic meal there on Thanksgiving evening in 2003. Once seated, we enjoyed the variety of foods available on the buffet and met a lovely couple who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary at WDW, a gift given by their children. We told DS that was a gift he could give us, especially since our room would be paid for with the DVC membership.
After dinner we headed over to MK, hoping the rains earlier in the day scared away the park guests, which it must have because the place felt deserted and we loved it!
We decided to head left into Adventureland since we hadnt even seen it yet this trip. As if we hadnt eaten enough dessert at Boma, I had to stop at the Aloha Isle after reading all of the posts about Dole Whip on the DIS boards. DH and I shared one and decided those DISsers sure know what they are talking about. Dole Whip (pineapple of course) will now be a part of each trip to the MK. 
Thanks to the small crowds we walked onto Jungle Cruise, then headed over to Frontierland and a 10 minutes wait to get onto BTMR, which was a dicey adventure, given they announced a storm outside of WDW, which could (if lightning was close enough) close down the attraction. It was a great ride with the sky all black in the distance as the sun was setting and the lights in the park were coming on for the night. Then a quick walk over the Haunted Mansion, where we walked right in and had a fantastic ride thanks to the Asian girls in front of us. I am certain it was their first time on the attraction, because they jumped at everything the CM did in the pre-show area. It was like experiencing the attraction for the first time through their eyes. Ah, Disney magic!!!
Well, after some more shopping, we left the MK and headed to DD for the rest of the night. We arrived at DD Marketplace and a walk through the Once Upon A Toy store, where we found lots of great Disney themed twists on our old favorites. DS really wanted to go to the
Comedy Warehouse since hes a big fan of improv so off we went. As soon as we walked outside the rain started coming down and we contemplated donning the ponchos. DH really didnt feel like traipsing around in a poncho, so he chose to head back to the room while DS and I braved the elements without ponchos and headed for Comedy Warehouse.
I think this was one of the best nights for DS and I with my taking care of my dad and sis the last several months I hadnt been able to be home with him as much as normal so he had expressed the desire to spend some time with just mom ah, hes still my baby.
So, here we were, sans ponchos, walking around DD. DS got a good laugh at his dear ol mom
Ive lost about 20 pounds (yeah!!) since I was diagnosed diabetic in November and didnt have time to replace all of my summer clothes before this trip, so the pair of shorts I was wearing were on the big side. I just hadnt noticed how big until that night because Id been wearing my camera bag around my waist as a belt, but gave it to DH so it didnt get soaked that night. Here I was in my CROCS, t-shirt, and jean shorts that I had to pull up every 5 steps
finally I just grabbed the back belt loop while I walked so they didnt keep falling down. 
Im sure I looked ridiculous, but no more so than the hoards of party goers on Pleasure Island wearing club attire, including spiked heels all covered by their designer Disney ponchos. When we arrived at the Comedy Warehouse, we had just missed a show 
and the next wasnt until midnight, so we decided to skip it all together and head down to House of Blues so DS could buy the couple of things he had forgotten on our previous visit. It was weird, as we crossed the bridge onto the West Side, the rain just stopped, but looking back onto PI, we could see the rain coming down. DS, who surely has a straight gut and a hollow leg, was hungry, but didnt feel like anything from the variety of eateries on the West Side, so back through PI and into the MarketPlace and the no fail teenagers favorite, McDonalds, and shared a Mom and son midnight snack. It could have been a commercial
Bellies full, we headed for the bus stop and back to OKW. We were so glad we werent staying at Port Orleans as that resort had 3 bus loads of people waiting at the DD MarketPlace stop in the rain
aargh!
Well, for most this days events were probably too boring, but for us, it was just was just what we needed a whole lot of nothing much and real relaxing.
Sunday would bring a full day at MGM
Originally we planned to go to AK today, but with all of the rain
we werent sure if the animals would be out to see. Plus we just felt like hanging around and relaxing so after sleeping in until about 10am, we managed to head over to Olivias at HH for lunch around noon. This was one of our nicest meals; simple, tasty and enjoyable. Afterward, DS realized that his teenager image of only wearing cool shorts (in this case khaki cargos) was in jeopardy and we needed to head to the laundry. I think this is going to be one of the most appreciated perks of being a DVC member - free laundry. Since we were in a studio we didnt have a washer/dryer in the room, but one was close to our location. So, this trip ended up being an educational trip for DS. He and I headed off to the laundry while DH stayed in the room, reading the book he brought along. When DS realized the laundry was at the pool, he (using logic) said, Mom, we should go swimming while we wait on the laundry. Smart kid! So he walked back to the room, grabbed the swim gear while I waited for the washers to become available. While waiting on DS I found a table and chairs for us where I plopped my behind and started to enjoy the quiet breeze around me. Upon his return, I showed him how to load the washer and get it started then he changed clothes so he could get in the pool, which he now would have all to himself - a little bit of Heaven in his mind. Well, needless to say DS never followed up on his laundry lesson preferring to stay in the pool even as the rain drizzled down upon him. This was what the trip was all about, relaxing and taking care of our familys needs instead of everyone else. We did have a 5:40pm PS/ADR at Boma and headed out in plenty of time so we could check out any changes in the AKL since we stayed there in 2003. I guess the biggest change was the lobby didnt have any of the beautiful African influenced Christmas decorations that were there last time. While we waited to be seated, DH and DS stood near Jiko and drooled, remembering our fantastic meal there on Thanksgiving evening in 2003. Once seated, we enjoyed the variety of foods available on the buffet and met a lovely couple who were celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary at WDW, a gift given by their children. We told DS that was a gift he could give us, especially since our room would be paid for with the DVC membership.
After dinner we headed over to MK, hoping the rains earlier in the day scared away the park guests, which it must have because the place felt deserted and we loved it!
We decided to head left into Adventureland since we hadnt even seen it yet this trip. As if we hadnt eaten enough dessert at Boma, I had to stop at the Aloha Isle after reading all of the posts about Dole Whip on the DIS boards. DH and I shared one and decided those DISsers sure know what they are talking about. Dole Whip (pineapple of course) will now be a part of each trip to the MK. Thanks to the small crowds we walked onto Jungle Cruise, then headed over to Frontierland and a 10 minutes wait to get onto BTMR, which was a dicey adventure, given they announced a storm outside of WDW, which could (if lightning was close enough) close down the attraction. It was a great ride with the sky all black in the distance as the sun was setting and the lights in the park were coming on for the night. Then a quick walk over the Haunted Mansion, where we walked right in and had a fantastic ride thanks to the Asian girls in front of us. I am certain it was their first time on the attraction, because they jumped at everything the CM did in the pre-show area. It was like experiencing the attraction for the first time through their eyes. Ah, Disney magic!!!
Well, after some more shopping, we left the MK and headed to DD for the rest of the night. We arrived at DD Marketplace and a walk through the Once Upon A Toy store, where we found lots of great Disney themed twists on our old favorites. DS really wanted to go to the
Comedy Warehouse since hes a big fan of improv so off we went. As soon as we walked outside the rain started coming down and we contemplated donning the ponchos. DH really didnt feel like traipsing around in a poncho, so he chose to head back to the room while DS and I braved the elements without ponchos and headed for Comedy Warehouse. I think this was one of the best nights for DS and I with my taking care of my dad and sis the last several months I hadnt been able to be home with him as much as normal so he had expressed the desire to spend some time with just mom ah, hes still my baby.
So, here we were, sans ponchos, walking around DD. DS got a good laugh at his dear ol mom
Ive lost about 20 pounds (yeah!!) since I was diagnosed diabetic in November and didnt have time to replace all of my summer clothes before this trip, so the pair of shorts I was wearing were on the big side. I just hadnt noticed how big until that night because Id been wearing my camera bag around my waist as a belt, but gave it to DH so it didnt get soaked that night. Here I was in my CROCS, t-shirt, and jean shorts that I had to pull up every 5 steps
finally I just grabbed the back belt loop while I walked so they didnt keep falling down. Im sure I looked ridiculous, but no more so than the hoards of party goers on Pleasure Island wearing club attire, including spiked heels all covered by their designer Disney ponchos. When we arrived at the Comedy Warehouse, we had just missed a show and the next wasnt until midnight, so we decided to skip it all together and head down to House of Blues so DS could buy the couple of things he had forgotten on our previous visit. It was weird, as we crossed the bridge onto the West Side, the rain just stopped, but looking back onto PI, we could see the rain coming down. DS, who surely has a straight gut and a hollow leg, was hungry, but didnt feel like anything from the variety of eateries on the West Side, so back through PI and into the MarketPlace and the no fail teenagers favorite, McDonalds, and shared a Mom and son midnight snack. It could have been a commercial
Bellies full, we headed for the bus stop and back to OKW. We were so glad we werent staying at Port Orleans as that resort had 3 bus loads of people waiting at the DD MarketPlace stop in the rain
aargh!Well, for most this days events were probably too boring, but for us, it was just was just what we needed a whole lot of nothing much and real relaxing.
Sunday would bring a full day at MGM
