Me (age 37)
DH (age 45)
DS (age 11)
DS (age 9)
DS (age 6)
Day 1 -- Saturday.
Left the house at 9AM. Someone (me) overpacked the suitcase so it exceeded the maximum allowable 70lbs by 8lbs. DH quite p*ssed off (already?). Depart Dulles / Washington DC 11:30 AM United, late departing. DH upgraded DS-6 and me to First Class. Yippee! Arrive Orlando 1:30 PM. Picked up mini-van from Avis. Didn't run right, had to return it. Cheerfully exchanged by Avis. Back on the road by 2:30. Drove straight to Epcot. (MISTAKE: Assuming family would not be too worn out from travel to tour a park on Day 1.)
Arrive Epcot main gate about 3:15. (Family: "We're hot and tired, can't we go to the hotel instead?") DH checked on AT&T privileges at Spaceship Earth. (LESSON: AT&T Lounge only open during business hours, M-F.) Walked on to Spaceship Earth. (DS-6: "That was my favorite ride, can we do it again?") Stopped for Coke and snack (ME: "I've waited over a year to get here, we've been traveling since 9AM, do we REALLY have to stop for a snack NOW????!!!!") Went through Ice Station Cool. Zoomed video camera in on family's faces as they tried Beverly ........ no big deal. Kinda lemony-spicy. They didn't hate it; ME: disappointed. Tried for Test Track FP--return time 8:50-9:50 PM. (Curious why FP time was AFTER official closing time). Standby line 1 hour, didn't wait. DS-11, DS-9: disappointed.
My "new" camera broke; ME: starting to crack. Walked on to Cranium Command, a few mildly startling moments. No wait time posted for Universe of Energy so DH would not wait (uh-OK?). Waited 25 minutes for Living with the Land in the 6PM timeframe. Another snack at Electric Umbrella (uncrowded at about 7:00 PM). Family too worn out to stay for 7:20 PS at Rose & Crown and Illuminations, so we left.
Checked in at Holiday Inn Family Suites (HIFS). Everyone but DH loved it. He is used to traveling like an executive and this place was totally family/kid oriented. DH complained about 20 minute wait for inhouse buffet ("I'm not waiting 20 minutes to eat at this dump.") Sent DH to arcade with kids, I hit the bar (hard!). Ate unplanned meal at inhouse buffet (kids ate free).
DH (age 45)
DS (age 11)
DS (age 9)
DS (age 6)
Day 1 -- Saturday.
Left the house at 9AM. Someone (me) overpacked the suitcase so it exceeded the maximum allowable 70lbs by 8lbs. DH quite p*ssed off (already?). Depart Dulles / Washington DC 11:30 AM United, late departing. DH upgraded DS-6 and me to First Class. Yippee! Arrive Orlando 1:30 PM. Picked up mini-van from Avis. Didn't run right, had to return it. Cheerfully exchanged by Avis. Back on the road by 2:30. Drove straight to Epcot. (MISTAKE: Assuming family would not be too worn out from travel to tour a park on Day 1.)
Arrive Epcot main gate about 3:15. (Family: "We're hot and tired, can't we go to the hotel instead?") DH checked on AT&T privileges at Spaceship Earth. (LESSON: AT&T Lounge only open during business hours, M-F.) Walked on to Spaceship Earth. (DS-6: "That was my favorite ride, can we do it again?") Stopped for Coke and snack (ME: "I've waited over a year to get here, we've been traveling since 9AM, do we REALLY have to stop for a snack NOW????!!!!") Went through Ice Station Cool. Zoomed video camera in on family's faces as they tried Beverly ........ no big deal. Kinda lemony-spicy. They didn't hate it; ME: disappointed. Tried for Test Track FP--return time 8:50-9:50 PM. (Curious why FP time was AFTER official closing time). Standby line 1 hour, didn't wait. DS-11, DS-9: disappointed.
My "new" camera broke; ME: starting to crack. Walked on to Cranium Command, a few mildly startling moments. No wait time posted for Universe of Energy so DH would not wait (uh-OK?). Waited 25 minutes for Living with the Land in the 6PM timeframe. Another snack at Electric Umbrella (uncrowded at about 7:00 PM). Family too worn out to stay for 7:20 PS at Rose & Crown and Illuminations, so we left.
Checked in at Holiday Inn Family Suites (HIFS). Everyone but DH loved it. He is used to traveling like an executive and this place was totally family/kid oriented. DH complained about 20 minute wait for inhouse buffet ("I'm not waiting 20 minutes to eat at this dump.") Sent DH to arcade with kids, I hit the bar (hard!). Ate unplanned meal at inhouse buffet (kids ate free).
