My First Trip Report, 7 days of dreams come true!! WDW2009

[Later_Mater2009]

we went to Small world, which LJ loved and i must admit it is one of my fav rides too.. and i remember this very well because I had a mini meltdown on this particular evening.. they canceled the Spectromagic parade due to lightning, Lj was cranky and tired and we didnt know what to do, stay for the fireworks or go back to hotel and do some swimming we had another day to catch the parade and fireworks but the stresses of the hot day just got to me, well my baby brother stepped into action, we found a spot to sit on the bridge and he and hubby headed to get some Casey's !! they came back with yummies and its funny how it made me feel sooo much better I guess we just needed a break!!! the fireworks started and I got the following shots some are blurry but that makes em look so spooky to me

 

[Later_Mater2009]

day 5 was animal kingdom, we only planned one day for this park and then we had reservations at Boma for dinner (fabulous)

walking in saw the Tree of Life, amazing to look at, lots of detail

first thing we did was the safari, LJ loved this, we did get some great pics of some great animals...

 

[Later_Mater2009]

after safari we went and got fastpasses for the Yeti ride and Kali River rapids

while we did that hubby spotted Flik and took the kids to see him

Festival of the Lion King, LJ slept thru most of it, the other kids and hubby went to see Bugs Life

then we met back up at Nemo the Musical which was my FAVORITE SHOW

then we went to find the ride DINOSAUR and saw lots of dinosaurs lol

we headed out of Animal Kingdom and back to hotel for showers and then off to dinner at the lovely BOMA

 

[Later_Mater2009]

here is a picture of Boma from above, I must say I love it here, my husband who rarely steps out of the normal food category loved it too he said it was the best meal yet, but then again he said that after every meal on this trip lol
the kids loved the variety and they got stuff that wasnt on the "kid section" of the food bar. I wanted to take pics but I honestly was enjoying the meal so much I didnt lol, we did venture out to take pics of the property after dinner, I planned a lot of our meals at deluxe resorts so hubby could see their beauty and grandeur. When we at on the boardwalk we went through the Boardwalk hotel and he loved that one, you really feel like you are ON THE BOARDWALK, I love that about disney no matter what the theme they do it right, the Animal Kingdom Lodge was amazing, both inside and out here are some of the pics I took walking around after dinner

 

[Later_Mater2009]

so after Boma, we went back to hotel to swim since this was the only night we had no activities planned swimming is always a winner around our house so I could get some laundry done and the kids swam with dad I also appriciated the kiddie pool at the Movies resort, it was perfect for lil LJ

the next morning we had character bfast planned at Ohana, which I went to back in the 90's on a babysitting trip, and it was soooooo nice I knew it would be a great chance to meet Mickey and the bfast was GREAT!!

here are some pics from that, we had a pressed pot of Kona coffee which was COFFEE WOW!!! and the food and characters were awesome I must say Mickey flies around but Lilo and Goofy spent a lot of time with the baby, they were so sweet and Stitch is very funny here are some pics from inside MY FAVORITE RESORT!!!

 

[Later_Mater2009]

THIS was the best character dinner we had, and we had Crystals Palace to compare it to and it was the BEST of the two...

 

[Later_Mater2009]

at this point in the trip report I had to go back over my notes because the date stamp on the pics were driving me mad... but i guess my camera switches time at noon rather than midnight.. LOL.. sorry if that confused anyone it sure confused me .. LOL

 

[*Meagan*]

Loveeee your TR so far!

And I know exactly what you mean about people sending their kids to stand with other families during firework shows.. so frustrating. And I can not stand.... when you scout out your area for two hours and then people show up 5 mins before and expect to stand right where you are.. sorry but such a huge pet peeve of mine! and sorry but Im not moving over!

 

[Later_Mater2009]

Loveeee your TR so far!

And I know exactly what you mean about people sending their kids to stand with other families during firework shows.. so frustrating. And I can not stand.... when you scout out your area for two hours and then people show up 5 mins before and expect to stand right where you are.. sorry but such a huge pet peeve of mine! and sorry but Im not moving over!

thank you for reading!! its a huge pet peeve of mine as well i try to be nice if its kids but.... lol

 

[Later_Mater2009]

so after the best breakfast ever we headed over to our second day at Epcot, our first day we attempted to do all of Future World then the second day was to explore the countries, I knew we were going to get out withoutdoing the Nemo ride again LJ loved it and I have to admit I did too. Adam and J and S went to see Honey I shrunk the Audience and LJ and I did NEMO and later on this day we had rezzies at LeCellier, YUMO

IN Epcot out of the two days we spent in there, I have to say Test Track, Soarin, and Nemo were the ones most talked about We also did Livin with the Land and we really enjoyed that it was calm and quiet and very educational something you wouldnt think about at a theme park but Disney isnt just a theme park guess thats why we love it so much.
We ate at Coral Reef and LeCellier, both were fantastic, we printed out envelopes that I found here on the DIS and our waitress was very impressed and I did catch her name. LeCellier was nice, we enjoyed the service and food from both places.. We did plan both dinners early so we could get a reservation and left more time to explore the parks while everyone else was eating... worked great for us

the ONLY ride where my two year old just couldnt do was Turtle Talk with Crush, he couldnt be quiet and kept talking loud about Nemo so that was the ONLY attraction during our whole trip we had to find the EXIT... it was ok tho, we went and looked at the fish while the rest of the guys talked it up with Crush lol

at this point LJ took a cat nap and we decided to take turns riding Malestrom while I waited I had a BEER, yumo yumo... and just sitting by the lake and the breeze was blowing, albeit it WAS July but this was a beautiful day and I will always remember just sitting in the shade and relaxing, not many can say that being its disney and I personally felt like a drill sergeant most days but having two days to do Epcot and MK was a blessing and WAY more relaxing

under the tree SO PEACEFUL

of course my Lil Stitch was asleep so that helps.. LOL

then we did the Fiesta tour with the Three Cabieros and found the bathrooms then some ducks, they were a GREAT distraction for the kids

Next was our early rezzies at LeCellier, would a two year old make it through a nice dinner like that ??? we shall see... LOVED CANADA..

 

[Later_Mater2009]

ok rezzies at LeCellier, waits were NEVER long anywhere and we were lucky and had no issues with any of them.
here are some pics of us, inspecting Canada before we went to eat. The gift shop smelled like my Grandma's house which is a good thing cause she lives in Maine so Disney has it right with the smells EVEN!!!

btw, this is a working pay phone

ok maybe Canada is my favorite, OH I DUNNO I love Norway too, I love all the countries but these two were awesome, we spent a lot of time in Germany too my mom was born there so we were looking for a present for her from "Germany" lol

these ARE my favorite pics..

LJ sat right in the stroller I just pushed him right up to the hole.. LOL

We used the Take and toss cups for all you parents with toddlers, we kept one for water, and one clean one for as many meals as we had. LJ and S had kids pizza, and we all got steaks which were awesome brother J had one that was presented standing on its side, the server slowly walked from the kitchen and slowly set down the plate, then announced " phew, the chef would have been so mad if I dropped that" we laughed but he looked serious. everything was great!!

Chocolate Moose

 

[Later_Mater2009]

one more dessert from LeCellier I dont remember the name of it but brother J was happy.. then here are some pics from around the Movies Resort that night LJ and S were SO amazed by the size of some of their favorite characters ESP Buzz and the gang from Toy Story and we are SUCH TS fans we just took LJ to his first movie TS3 and it was SOOO great he loved it and knew most of the characters already. S was born in the late 90's so we have been fans since the beginning.

we then after dinner and lots of playing in Epcot headed back to our room for laundry and pool and just plain relaxing because our biggest bestest and final day was coming soon, sad to leave, amazed we DID what we did and honestly had the VERY BEST time ever, since this trip one year ago, Im planning another one, I got laid off my job a couple years ago, and have come to the realization if I ever wanna go back to Disney Im gonna have to get a JOB.. LOL so plans are in the making and resumes are out and Im looking, we are putting LJ in a pre school half days so something part time to support me and my kids DISNEY HABITS.. is fine with me, Walt Disney World, is truly my favorite place to go, and my kids love it so what more could you ask for? we Love adventure and we look to find more and more of them along this life we share. So onto the LAST DAY of our FIRST EVER DREAMS COME TRUE HOLIDAY

Now I do believe magic Kingdom is my favorite park, I know I have a lot of favorites BUT from the opening to the ending this park offers more to me and it was my first park I visited as a teenager so it holds many fond memories of times spent with my friends and it was the most peaceful time in my life and then I went through a lot of LIFE changes and hardships so the next time I went back was when I met my husband and since then Life has been good. here is a pic of me and my bff riding Dumbo back in 1998 i believe

MK holds a lot of wonderful "first times" for me on food, rides, and spending time away from home in a different place away from my family with my friends.

Pinocchio Village Haus for lunch was good.. decent.. lunch no complaints especially out of the 17 year old this is his type of food i was proud he got a salad too.. LOL

 

[Later_Mater2009]

headed over tomorrowland and NO MATTER how many times I see this dragon I love it and wish it was in my front yard.... maybe I would win garden of the month.. LOL
Now, I was a fan of Alien Encounter and Im NOT a fan of the Stitch ride that now takes its place... Its fun but doesnt compare to the fear enduced by ALIEN... not that that was what they were going for.. LOL.. and it makes sense since Disney now has its own alien to make the ride about HIM I LOVE STITCH dont get me wrong but the ride was ok to me.. they did good... but i kinda knew it was gonna be less scarry

after riding Buzz Lightyear like a bazillion times and Luke loved the Barnstormer I was so nervous because I didnt know how he would do and when the ride was over we had to coax him out he didnt wanna leave and he didnt understand getting out he just wanted to go again and again .. I knew we would have to get a balloon before we left and seriously it lasted a couple weeks after we got home

Shane and I wanted to make one of the "make your own mickey ears" since we saw it on travel channel. so WE DID!! after all its dreams come true..

we settled in for a parade we had a good spot so we said what the heck and it was one of the best ones we have seen beside Spectromagic...

I love it when you can get a spot right in front of a store so the air conditioning blows on you once in awhile.. LOL.. overcast and warm but a great spot

MICKEY

 

[Later_Mater2009]

we had a great last day so far, dinner at WHISPERING CANYON, then back to MK for the fireworks and Spectromagic.. life is good

 

[Later_Mater2009]

Well, after the parade, we decided it was time to catch the boat over to the Wilderness Lodge for our reservations at Whispering Canyon which S decided was his favorite ..we DID have a lot of fun here are some pics from the boat ride over, we hadnt got to ride any Disney boats yet so this was a first.

we did some exploring and LJ fell asleep, I love this resort but I havent found one yet that i DONT like so....

I do not remember what happened to LJ shirt but for some reason it got soaked I dont know if he spilled something honestly with a toddler there is no telling but I had to visit the gift shop to get him a clean shirt which was cool he loves it, and when he woke up, we put it on him. I knew as soon as we got into the restaurant LJ would wake up I mean it is the LOUDEST PLACE to eat... lol..

OF COURSE they had to ask for a "large"

then they did the hokey pokey, and hubby even stood up in front of the whole restaurant and sang happy birthday to LJ I felt bad he did it alone so I chimed in half way, he was such a sport, I was happy he did it..

S did the horse races, he liked that a lot

THe food was great, we love this kinda food, so we enjoyed it very much

then we had to leave, back to the boat, and off to MK for the Spectromagic, Dole Whips, and Fireworks... last time kinda sad

 

[Later_Mater2009]

it was amazing at how much ppl DONT about Disney, I guess some ppl just dont plan things out, me I LOVE TO, so I knew a lot of what to do where to go and how to get the best out of it, I have A LOT left to learn I know but some ppl are just CLUELESS, I mean even in a map, it tells you the times for the parades etc.. LOL.. just a observation while holding down the spot in front of the castle, Hubby took the kids to ride Pooh and some other rides we missed earlier, Brother J and I held down the spots and enjoyed our Dole Whips... and I think a DOZEN ppl asked me what they were and where to get em..

MORE OF THE Parade and the Fireworks to come

 

[Later_Mater2009]

After our first day at Magic Kingdom I realized that if lightning interfered with the Spectromagic Parade this time we would never see it this trip, so we crossed our fingers and no storms this night.. here are some pics of us waiting and Spectromagic in all its glory, it is ONE if not my ONLY parade I HAVE TO SEE.. I love it mui mucho..

he was STOKED, he didnt know what was coming but he knew it was a big deal.. LOL

 

[Later_Mater2009]

we DID get some popcorn to wash down the dole whips.. LOL.. in the fancy buzz lightyear buckets. which now holds all the potatohead pieces we got at DTD.. worked out well..

 

[Later_Mater2009]

 

[Later_Mater2009]

I look back now, and there were times during this trip that I thought to myself "magical" and im almost 30 so to a kid this must be the most amazing thing they had ever seen. No matter how many times I see Wishes, or any other variation Disney uses or has used for this fireworks display I tear up everytime, because it really is a wish for some and a dream for others, Im so happy I have blessed with the time, dedication and money to be able to make sure my children get to see this. Not just Wishes but all that is Disney World, the characters, the cast, the special little things they will always remember. I grew up very poor and didnt get to see the disney MAGIC till I was a teenager and fell in love with all of this world that I didnt know as a child. I didnt know such happy places existed. I heard stories but never believed. I never even believed in Santa Claus, SO I want to make sure my children never have a dark cloud over their ideas and thoughts, and that they are allowed to think and believe whatever their little hearts desire. Imagination, and Dreams thats where GREATNESS comes from, and Disney is my/our magic place, our home away from home and truly to US, the HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH, somewhere where rules and limitations dont exist, whimsy and delight, at every corner, unlimited possibilities and the amazing idea that this place was made just for THEM, and the young at heart, US.