No Plans and a Little Pixie Dust, updated 1/22 our trip is over

[tazdev3225]

I know it has been a few days and I didn't get this started as fast as I had hoped. My computer has been down with a virus and now won't let me online. I have been using my DD's or DH's computers and just managed to upload all of my pics into my photobucket account.
DAY 1: We started out really early. Our flight was on Southwestern's 7 AM flight out of Philadelphia International airport. DH was up first at 4 AM. I followed at 4:30. While I showered DH got up our DGS and then got the luggage downstairs. Our future SIL got to the house at 5 and we were on our way. We got to the airport by 5:30 and after doing curbside check-in with the luggage we breeze through security. The only minor glitch was when i spilled $6.00 worth of change all over the floor. We ate a breakfast of cini-minis, DGS and I shared them, and DH got a breakfast sandwich. We had preboarding as I have a really bad knee and back problems and DGS took my window seat so he could look out of the window.I am stopping here and will continue the flight and the rest of DAY 1 tomorrow. I am hoping that the picture will be on here when I post this. If I have figured this out more pics will follow.

Until tomorrow enjoy the start and I leave you with a few teasers. Did DGS enjoy the window, did the flight encounter any problems and did we have a room when we landed?

 

[tazdev3225]

Picture problem solved. So now I will be on with the report tonight. I now have to get them a little smaller,

 

[tazdev3225]

DAY 1 continued.
As I said we had a really early flight and got to the airport at an indecent time of 5:30 AM. This gave us some time to kill in the airport but at that time not much is open. We did have Burger King for breakfast so we were a little fortified while we waited. This is my DGS Jay waiting for the plane to board.

Here is a picture of our plane getting ready for us. Notice how dark it is.

We were preboarded because as much as I hate to admit that I have a disability, I do. We got pretty decent seats and I was kind of glad that I didn't have to worry about Southwest's boarding policy. Our flight was completely packed so it was nice to know we were together. I did have A 15-17 boarding anyway so I didn't feel to bad about it. I never flew Southwest before and had originally booked with AirTran but they kept changing my flights. I cancelled AirTran and got the same flights I had originally wanted and save $100, Win/win situation for me, more money to spend. I have to say the flight crew we had kept us laughing all the way down. We even had to sing Happy Birthday, twice, because we didn't sing loud enough the first time. DGS Jay had to have the window seat and this is what he did.

Yep, he slept all the way down. Here is where some of our Pixie Dust came in, there was a Hidden Mickey in the clouds.

I considered that to be a good omen for the start of our trip. We also landed in Orlando about 15 minutes early. Instead of landing at 9:30 am we were in line for the Magical Express. By 10:00 we were seeing the this:

We stayed at the All-Star Movies, in the Dalmation building because that is the only place Jay will stay. We were checked in by 10:15 and received some more Pixie Dust, our room was ready for us already. After a dyslexic moment on my part, I misread the room number, we were in our room. So to end this part, DGS did not enjoy the window because he slept on the flight down, the flight not only didn't encounter any problems we got there early and the biggest surprise was that our room was ready even though we were there so early. DAY 1 will continue.

 

[tazdev3225]

DAY 1 -continued

We were at the desk for my scooter and in line for the bus to the MK by 11:30. Here some more pixie dust happened although I have to say this dust could have stayed away. While I was sitting in my scooter waiting for the bus a sweet older woman, than I am anyway, came up to me and proceeded to place a hat on my head. I am not a hat person and I tried to decline the kind gesture but she insisted that I had to keep the hat. There are no pictures, thankfully, because I am the camera person. Let us just say it was a straw type hat, covered in purple netting with a big purple bow. The hat did not stay on my head but if she was a fellow DISer I really did appreciate the gesture.
The bus came and the nice bus driver lowered the ramp for me to get on the bus with my scooter. My DH and DGS were hysterical watching me try to maneuver into my spot. I almost never parallel park, we have driveways so it took a few tries. Scooter secured, bus loaded and we were on our way. The anticipation building until we were finally there. Here is a picture of DH, DGS and I right after we entered the park.

Here's a good shot of DGS

We had been up since about 4 am and except for the mini breakfast at the airport we hadn't eaten anything so FOOD was the first thing on our agenda. I know others may disagree but we love PECOS BILL'S, or I do anyway DH and DGS follow along for the ride. I have to upload more pics to my photobucket account it seems. We all had the Double Bacon Cheeseburgers with fries. DGS is such a good kid he had milk, DH and I had Iced Tea. We also had a few friends join us for lunch. I am terrified of birds and fortunately was in a corner so they stayed away from me. I do have a passion for taking pictures of them however, and as soon as I find the pics I will edit this.
Finally full we decided to take on MK. We went on It's a Small World with a few grumbles from DGS, he's 10 what can I say. He does know that this is a tradition and I will concede to only one ride but it is a huge must for me. I got to ride the prototype at the 1964 World's Fair in NYC and it brings back a very happy memory of my mom and I, so he goes on it to make me happy. We then went over to ride POC and if I recall correctly we went on it several times. There weren't any huge waits. We also rode the the Jungle Cruise and then BTMRR.
DGS on the ride.

one of my favorite pictures

Then we were onto Splash Mountain, another first day must ride. Here's a good view of the drop.

And yet another redneck photo of me taking the previous photo.

They may not be the same day but they are what I have right now.
By this time it was close to 4:15 and we had 4:25 reservations at the Liberty Tree Tavern so off to dinner we headed.

 

[tazdev3225]

DAY 1: DINNER

We got to the Liberty Tree Tavern and only waited about 5 minutes to be seated. I was really looking forward to this dinner because we had eaten here in Dec. '06. I was soaking wet that day and shivering so badly that I really didn't enjoy myself. This was not the case this day. The food was great and I really loved the rolls and butter. Jay had a ball with all of the characters, he may be 10 and a little weird sometimes, but he does love the attention.
The only food I remembered to take a picture of. The salad:

Jay with Chip and Dale:

We did see Pluto, Goofy and Minnie also as they made the rounds. I am truly sorry the characters will no longer be there after this year. The food is good but not fantastic, we go there for the entertainment. Sadly this was probably my last meal at the Liberty Tree Tavern. We finished dinner just in time for MNSSHP.

 

[tazdev3225]

MNSSHP:
I had been looking forward to this event since I had booked the trip and started planning it. I did this 7 years ago with my aunt and her girlfriend. I had fun but it rained and they are real party poopers.
We had gotten our wristbands on the way to dinner so we were all set. DH and I had matching T-shirts that I had made for us, thanks Taekwondomom, and Jay refused to be seen in anything that matched us. I made him a shirt with the Jersey Devil on the front complete with glow-in-the-dark fangs and claws. On the back in glow-in-the-dark paint it said, "This is my costume, get over it". I think he wanted that on there for me because he would not get a costume no matter how much I begged him. I of course being the fantastic grandmom that I am wore a headband that had a light up pumpkin and bat and a twinkling ghost necklace. He really pretended not to know me.
One of the things that I really wanted to see was Cinderella's carriage. Here I am in front of it all decked out:

We started to Trick-or-Treat through the park when it started to rain. Not a little rain, a heavy soaking rain. I am now 3 for 3 when it comes to hard ticket events. I promise to warn everyone next year when I get my tickets to MVMCCP. We did manage to get a lot of candy and I do believe we hit every stop but I didn't get a lot of pictures because I didn't want to ruin my camera. We went back to Fantasyland to check out the dance party and I didn't want to leave, my guy was there. I am a huge Grumpy fan. I own almost exclusively Grumpy T-shirts, I drive with a Grumpy magnet on the back of my van (my grandkids call it the Grumpymobile), I live to catch a glimpse of Grumpy in the parks. I got to dance with Grumpy. I was one very happy, although soggy, person. I gave DH the camera with orders not to mess up the pictures and he got this.

Grumpy went right into the lens for his picture. Then DH got me and my guy:

The rain let up so we ventured outside again where we got a lousy view of Hallowishes, from behind the castle in Fantasyland. I did get a couple of good shots however:

We made our way to the front of the castle for the parade and got a pretty good spot. We were in the wheelchair spot and a family pushed up right against us outside of the ropes. DH, sweetheart that he is, made them move over a little bit. The grandfather was practically sitting in my lap.
Here's a good shot of the castle:

Soggy DH and DGS waiting for the parade:

Jay loves to take pictures of the parades and he got the headless horseman:

Main Street as we were leaving:

I loved the party, rain and all. DH likes anything that makes me happy and even DGS had a great time. We left after the parade. It was close to 11 at night and we had been up for about 19 hours at that point. It was a long day but a great start to our week. So we were back to All-Star Movies for a little rest to get ready for DAY 2. Which we will be coming up in a day or two if I can get on-line at home. I'm still having major computer issues. Hope everyone has enjoyed Day 1.

 

[onebright1]

Hi,
Just wanted to let u know I am still reading We just got back from WDW So I am catching up.
Day 1 sounds busy busy, Did I miss the dates you were there?

 

[tazdev3225]

Hi,
Just wanted to let u know I am still reading We just got back from WDW So I am catching up.
Day 1 sounds busy busy, Did I miss the dates you were there?

Day 1 was really exhausting. I don't think I'll book a party on a travel day again. I think i mentioned the dates, but to refresh everyone's memories we were there from October 9th to the 14th. DGS Jay only missed 2 days of school that way.
I know how sad it is coming back from WDW. That is why we decided to go again next year without any kids. That will be a totally new exerience for us.

 

[themilesfamily]

I'm reading along! GREAT trip report so far! I love the pics -- what cool firework & headless horseman pics.

Your GS is adorable. What a handsome kid.

Can't wait to read more...

 

[tazdev3225]

Your GS is adorable. What a handsome kid.

Can't wait to read more...

Thank you I think he's pretty special too. It's like having my son at that age again because he's a lot like his dad. I am hoping to move on to Day 2 today if my daughter co-operates. She was due yesterday and we're hoping the baby comes soon. I also get a small vacation since I won't have to watch the other kids for a little while. More time to spend here on the boards.

 

[onebright1]

I know how sad it is coming back from WDW. That is why we decided to go again next year without any kids. That will be a totally new exerience for us.

Yay! For you'uns My best gf and I are trying to plan a trip for 2009. Just the 2 of us Dont get me wrong, I love taking the younguns, but I am ready for some Adult Disney

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

Great trip report! I know how you feel, when we went to the Halloween party, my son took one look at my costume and said "if you're wearing that, I don't know you", LOL!!! Of course, I wore it anyways

 

[tazdev3225]

Sorry everyone for the long delay. I have an over pregnant daughter and photobucket would not cooperate but I am back and on to DAY 2.

I woke up early despite the length of Day 1. I showered and then got my DH and DGS up. While they showered and dressed I went to the hotel cafeteria for coffee. Yes I know many people consider it to be hot brown water but as long as there is caffeine in it I am good. I am not a coffee snob. I also picked up some drinks for DH and DGS with my new resort mugs. By the time I got back to the room the guys were ready and we were off to EPCOT. We were actually on our way by 9 AM. By 9:30 we were seeing this:

Spaceship Earth is always our first ride in EPCOT. This was our first time on it since they rehabbed the ride. I really didn't notice many differences until the end. I managed to get a couple of good pictures there. Here is DH and I in the future.

From there I steered our way over to Club Cool. This was a first for us as I never really looked for it before. After reading about Beverly here on the boards I had to get my guys to try it. My DH is a very strange guy, he LOVED it. He even went back for seconds. DGS's face shows his reaction:

While we were at Club Cool my DD called me and was absolutely frantic. She was watching my 1 y/o DGS. Her 2 y/o pushed the little guy and he cut his head. The two boys were both crying and there was a lot of blood and she didn't know what to do. Of course I am 2 1/2 hours away by plane so other than worry I don't know what she wanted me to do. I told her how to deal with it and called my other DD to make sure she was able to leave work if her baby needed stitches. DD1 called back at that point to tell me she over-reacted the cut was really tiny and the baby was fine. Crisis averted I tried a couple of sodas and we were off. We went through Innoventions and then headed to Journey Into the Imagination. There was a 5 minute wait on the sign but we walked right on. This was always one of my DS's favorite rides and DGS gets annoyed when I tell him this every time we go on it. I got a semi-decent shot of figment.

Then we walked right onto Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Before the trip I started buying a lot of pins for DGS to trade. This slowed us down a little but Jay loved doing it every chance he got.

Here are my two guys taking a break. They look so happy.

We headed up to the World Showcase at this point because I was really looking forward to doing some tasting. The first stop for food was Poland. My Gram was 100% Polish so this one was a must. Pierogies and Kielbasa, you can't go wrong with that.

We shared everything to make our budget stretch. Just as we finished the pierogie my DGS told me he was stung by a bee. That put me into panic mode. My mom and I are both severely allergic to bees, we even carry an epi-pen at all times because of it. Of course I immediately think that Jay is allergic too and we are off to first-aid. He keeps saying he's fine and DH is trailing behind telling me he's fine but I turned into a grandmom with a mission. I'm driving my scooter at full throttle and calling my DS to tell him. He of course agrees with the other two. We spent half an hour at the first aid station and my Jay was fine but I still feel I did the right thing.
When we were done with the excitement we were all starving so it was off to eat. We are hamburger people so we went to the America's pavillion for lunch. This was where some more of our pixie dust occurred. Jay and I went to get the food. When we got in line there was a man there trying to give away 4 counter service meals. He had the Dining Plan and was leaving that day. His whole family had been sick while they were there. He offered us the meals and we jumped on it. Cheeseburgers and chicken tenders, a little extra food but also an extra drink so it was good.

DAY 2 AFTERNOON up next.

 

[onebright1]

When we got in line there was a man there trying to give away 4 counter service meals. He had the Dining Plan and was leaving that day. His whole family had been sick while they were there. He offered us the meals and we jumped on it. Cheeseburgers and chicken tenders, a little extra food but also an extra drink so it was good.

How great is that
Lovin your report. Keep it coming

 

[scottny]

hi,
Great update and pics.

 

[tazdev3225]

When we got in line there was a man there trying to give away 4 counter service meals. He had the Dining Plan and was leaving that day. His whole family had been sick while they were there. He offered us the meals and we jumped on it. Cheeseburgers and chicken tenders, a little extra food but also an extra drink so it was good.

How great is that
Lovin your report. Keep it coming

hi,
Great update and pics.

Thank you both. Knowing that someone is reading and enjoying my report makes me want to share more. I will be back with more but I became a grandmom again today and was a little busy with that. More will be coming tomorrow before I am off to visit my new granddaughter.

 

[tazdev3225]

DAY 2 continued.

The food was good and we were now energized to continue on in Epcot. One of the things I wanted to see was Miyuki. As we were finishing our meal I noticed that she was due to have a show. We headed over there to get a front row spot for my DGS. I sometimes am amazed at the rudeness I encounter in Disney World. We had a great spot and Jay had learned a few Japanese phrases from his aunt's BFF who is from Japan. I was banged and pushed around as if though I didn't exist so people that arrived late could push their kids in front of me and Jay. She is amazing when it comes to crafting the candy. Jay wasn't picked so wwhen the show was over we headed to Norway for Maelstrom. Along the way we stopped to look at the trains in germany. Jay was happier to see these:

This became a recurring theme as earlier in the day he was trying to catch one.

Maelstrom was one of the longest waits we had the whole time we were in Disney. I think it was a half hour wait. When we got off the ride we skipped the movie and realized that Miyuki was going to have another show in 15 minutes. We headed back to Japan and on the way we saw Snow White and Dopey. Jay had to get a picture so my DH ran ahead to save us a spot and I got this:

We got back in time for the show and Jay wasn't picked again. We were leaving Epcot soon so I managed to get Miyuki's attention and asked her if she would be there any other time over the weekend. This was where some more pixie dust occurred. Even though she was finished that show she remembered my DGS from the last show and that he was a polite boy. She made him a dragon.

I was so happy for him. He had really hoped to get picked and the smile on his face was worth it. I have always tried to teach him that being polite pays off and it did this time. Jay always thinks of others before himself so I was thrilled to see him get something he really wanted.
We were then in a race to the exit as we had reservations for the Spirit of Aloha luau and had to be at the Polynesian by 5:15 and it was almost 5:00. Did we make it on time? That installment coming up next.

 

[tazdev3225]

DAY 2 SPIRIT of ALOHA

I know this isn't a very popular show here on the boards but when I offered DGS a choice between this and Hoop De Doo the luau won hands down. So when I left off we were in a race for the exit and monorail to the Polynesian. Jay and I made it but my DH was developing a blister on his foot and couldn't keep up. We decided that Jay and I would go over and check in and DH could just catch up. Here's Jay chilling on the monorail:

We did get to the check-in desk on time and were taken to our seats. I paid for the Tier 1 seating and it was really worth the money. We were slightly to the left of the stage and right in front closest to the stage. My DH caught up to us in plenty of time but we never managed to get the check-in picture. The food was bought out and I don't normally eat pineapple but this was so sweet I ate almost all of it. The food was good. I ate mostly rice and the vegetables and DH loved the ribs. Jay was happy with the food too. I am not much of a drinker but I had to order this:

Pina Colada

It became a running joke for the rest of the trip that I should get another one every time I had trouble with my scooter. My DGS swore I drove better after the drink. The show itself was not as corny as I expected based on other opinions I had read here and in face a friend said the pictures looked like the luau she saw in Hawaii last year.

After the luau we took some time to stroll aroung the Polynesian. These flowers smelled wonderful and looked so nice I had to snap a picture of them.

My grandson is a 10 year old boy so when he saw this statue he wanted a picture of it. If you look closely you can see why. He stuck his hand up its nose and made a face.

We decided to head back to EPCOT because it was Extra Magic Hours and we weren't quite ready to call it a day. We took the Monorail back and headed over towards Test Track. This is one ride we absolutely love doing. The lines weren't really long so we decided to wait rather than take the single rider line. My DH and I tend to drive fast so we don't look as enthused as the people behind us.

We went to Mission Space next and practically walked on it. I knew how much my DH wanted to ride the Orange side so I gave in and that was where we headed. I can't tell you how it looked as I suffer from severe motion sickness and kept my eyes closed the whole time. We then went on the Green side so I could enjoy it. I wanted to do the Living With the Land ride so that was our next stop. When we got there my KTTW was gone. I began to panic because it was getting late and didn't know what to do. My DH took my camera bag to check it and there was my KTTW lying on the scooter under my foot. Crisis averted we went went in the building and right on the ride. While we were cruising the greenhouse I got another phone call from home about my dog. My DS and DD were taking care of her and she managed to get off of her leash while my DS was walking her. She wasn't lost or injured so I told my son to handle it and we hung up. I did call later to make sure everything was OK. After this we decided we were all a little tired and headed back to the hotel for a little sleep.

DAY 3 to follow.

 

[scottny]

I will be back with more but I became a grandmom again today and was a little busy with that. More will be coming tomorrow before I am off to visit my new granddaughter.

congrats!!!!

great update and pics. glad you made it to the luau in time. I like the glass the pina colada came in. I was going to go in 2 weeks but only level 3 available so I figured another time.

TT is a great ride.

 

[tazdev3225]

congrats!!!!

great update and pics. glad you made it to the luau in time. I like the glass the pina colada came in. I was going to go in 2 weeks but only level 3 available so I figured another time.

TT is a great ride.

Thank you.
The glass was a great souvenir to bring home. If you get the chance, go to the luau, parts of it are a little corny but it it is a great show for the most part. We are definitely doing it again next year. I agree TT is a great ride, in fact it's one of my favorites. Have fun in 2 weeks.