Our Clan from Chelsea, AL do WDW 1 more time

[bubba73]

The time is here. It is Friday, 6-16 around 6 pm and I am trying to get a nap before we leave. (We always drive during the night to avoid lots of traffic.) But in true Disney Fan form, I was literally too excited to sleep. (Cliche, I know.) I keep laying there hoping that I would eventually go to sleep but I never could. Oh, well. It's hopeless. Just go ahead and get up. Make sure everything is packed one more time, load everyone up and let's begin this trip.
We finally leave the house around 12:30 am on Saturday morning. We have 525 miles ahead of us to help and build onto the anticipation and excitement. My DD and DW sleep most of the night as I am listening to different CDs and radio stations. By the time we reach the Florida State Line, I am ready for a nap and we are all ready for a quick bite to eat. We see an exit that has a Bob Evan's Restaurant and we pull in. We have eaten at this place before and they have good food. (Thanks Dad for introducing me to this place.) After we get out, my DW takes over the driving for a while and I take a nap. We reach Pop Century right around 11:00 am which means it took us 9.5 hours to drive there since FL is a hour ahead of us. We go up to the check in counter and walk right up to a CM. No waiting! I was getting very good vibes about this trip with the way it was starting. Now, when I made me ressie's, I made the request for the 50's resort so we could possibly watch Illuminations from the room. Then I also said, I would take anything but the 70's. (I just didn't like the decade. Please no flames.) Well, we were told that our room was in Building 10 in the 70's section on the first floor. I wasn't very happy about that. But I couldn't do anything about it then so onto the room. We go ahead and unpack and I take DD on a little tour of the resort while DW was resting and freshening up a little. We then headed off to DTD for some shopping. I love DTD. We even saw the Boutique. (That was neat but some of the hair that was coming out of there, I would have demanded a refund.) We bought some gifts. Including me and DW a matching watch set.
We got finished with a lot of shopping and had time before our dinner reservations over at WL so we thought we would see if we could go see a movie. We got over to the theater right as "Cars" was about to start. We couldn't believe our luck so we went in. GREAT MOVIE! We came out of there and I had to call my Mom and Dad to tell them to go see it as soon as they can. They asked me how I liked it. I told them I had to have that movie when it comes out on DVD. Home Run, Disney and Pixar.
We then headed over to WL for dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe. We were still about an hour early for our ressies but we didn't really mind as we had never been to that resort and wanted to walk around. WOW!! This place is beautiful! I think I took about 50 pictures just of the resort alone. Then we got to sit down to eat. Fun place. My DD got out there and rode one of the play horsies around the dining room. Food was good. My DW's food was a little too spicy for her so she really couldn't eat much of it. She said something to the waitress and they fixed her a new plate without all of the seasoning that she couldn't handle. Everything was starting off really well on our trip. Now back to our room to get ready for our first day in the parks.

 

[FSUMARCHIEF]

Thanks for your report! I'll be looking forwaqrd to the rest. We love the WL too, and I'm curious to hear your response to Whispering Canyon. I like it there, but then again, I am a BBQ nut!

Thanks agani!

Blessings!
Mark

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your report ~ Thanx for sharing.

 

[bubba73]

Here it is, Father's Day and I am at WDW with my DD. Is there anything better? We decided to start off the tour by going to AK first. DW and I are roller coaster buffs and wanted to ride EE. DD wouldn't get caught dead on a roller coaster so this did present some problems. We got there about the same time the park opened and we headed over for the first showing of the FOTLK. Now, I was going on last years schedule and was under the impression they would have a show around 9:30. Not this year. The first show wasn't until 10:30. So to kill some time, we decided to go ahead and do the first show of Pocahontas(?). Not my favorite but we were there more for my DD then for me so off we went. We stayed in line and got in. We had pretty good seats. But because there was a little bad weather in the area, they cancelled the show. (It didn't rain at all afterwards.) Well, we had killed enough time to go get in the line for FOTLK. This is one of the best shows in all of Disney, IMHO. We really enjoyed this. I believe this was the first time for my DD to see the show. She got into it.
When we go tout of the show, there was a few of the characters outside taking pictures and signing books. DD decided she wanted to go see Minnie. I said this would be the perfect time for me to go ride EE and we would meet over at The Tree of Life. I was able to go through the Single Rider line and got on the ride in less than 10 minutes. Got back over to the Tree and waited for the others to show up. When they got there, DW was a little upset with my DD. Apparently, after standing in line for almost 10 minutes, my DD decided she was too big to have her picture taken with any of the characters, including Minnie. To me, that is half of the fun, as a fan and a parent. Well, it was too late to do anything about it right now so we went on into the Tree for that show. It's a good show but my DD is afraid of just about everything that you can imagine so she wouldn't put on her glasses to get the effect of the show.
About this time, I was done with AK for the day. I know we didn't do a whole lot but there isn't a lot that DD will do and not a lot there that I like to do so we headed over to MGM. I love MGM. We got there and headed towards the Star Tours area. I was hoping that there would be something leftover from Star Wars Weekends but all of that had been taken down. There was a Storm Trooper and Darth Vader out front taking pictures. I really wanted to have my picture taken but I didn't. I don't know if it was because of embarrassment of my age or I just didn't want to wait in line. I later kicked myself about that one. While at MGM, we made it a point to do The Great Movie Ride (3xs), RNR(3Xs), TOT(2X) and the Muppets. DD and DW did Beauty and the Beast and we all did the Little Mermaid. By this time, we went to see Fantasmic. Great show but since we didn't get in line, we didn't get real good seats. We were all the way over on the far side where it is really hard to see Mickey do his stuff.
Now, this day was one of the days that MK had the EMH at night so we headed over there. It was a lot more crowded than I anticapated. Lots of lines for most of the stuff there. We made sure we did Buzz. I won. We also did most of FantasyLand that night. We didn't stay til 2am but real close. We calculated a total of 16 hours in the parks for that one day. DW and DD were done. They were ready to go back to the room and get some sleep. So we headed back and they didn't even make it out of the parking lot before they were snoozing right beside me. Oh well. I didn't mean to wear them out. On to Monday and EPCOT!!

 

[Disney owl]

Great start

What a long drive!

 

[CJK]

What a great first day of park touring! I agree - FOTLK is the best show in Disney!!

 

[heaven2dc]

"There was a Storm Trooper and Darth Vader out front taking pictures. I really wanted to have my picture taken but I didn't. I don't know if it was because of embarrassment of my age or I just didn't want to wait in line. I later kicked myself about that one."

I can relate to this - however, my nephew (age 22 at the time in '97) talked me into getting in line and I got a pic taken w/Darth. Well, needless to say, Darth wouldn't let me leave The CM came over and kindly told Darth that this young lady might want to go into the Star Tours and he let me leave. Well, when I was standing in line he came over, motioned me to come with him, a Storm Trooper guided me along with them and we went back behind the scenes to where they "placed" me beside R2D2. My family was all waiting in line laughing hysterically mostly because I was stuck. A CM came over and got me out. On and off that day in MGM I'd see Darth and dart away lol. My brother-in-law tried hard to get a Darth mask to put in my room so I "woudn't miss Darth's sweet voice" the rest of the trip.

Hope you got to get your picture taken sometime later in the trip! Really enjoying it so far!

 

[bubba73]

It's Monday morning and I am very excited. I absolutely love EPCOT. It is my favorite park in all of WDW. So we had called the night before to have a "wake up" call and I was going to let DD answer it. POP is having Mickey and Stitch do the wake up calls so I thought she would enjoy that. The phone rings that morning. And rings. And rings. She didn't wake up to answer it. About a minute later, the phone rings again. This time I nudge her a little so she can answer the phone. After she hears the message, she angs up the phone and rolls over to go back to sleep. Did I do too much on the first day? Could it be possible that she doesn't want to go to the parks? Luckily, I was awake so I got up to get my shower and then I got DD and DW up for the same reasons. We didn't get to the park at opening (which I really prefer to do) but we made it by 10am. I kept thinking about our trip last year with my DS. We were up and at the parks just about everyday of the trip at opening or during the early hours in the morning. Then, I had to remind myself that DS has ADHD and doesn't require all of the rest that the others do.
We get to EPCOT's gate. Pretty long line to get in. I was a little worried. Monday is supposed to be a slow day for EPCOT as everyone is at the MK. Nevertheless, we had done the other 3 parks so press onward we go. We get inside and I am taking pictures of everything. It doesn't matter that I have taken pictures of it a 100 times before, I had to have it on this trip as well. We walked by Spaceship Earth and it looked like it had a very long line so we headed over to TT and Mission Space. TT had about an hour long wait and MS had about a 15 minute wait so we get the FP for TT and head over to MS. Note: My DD had been saying for months that she wanted to ride MS. She said that she could handle it. My DW can't handle it. It is the only ride that we have ever been on that makes her sick. So DW sat in the "Waiting Room" while D and I got on the ride. I love MS but you have to remember that one of my Dreams would be to be an Astronaut. We get on the ride and I am having a great time. DD is holding on for dear life. When we get off of the ride, I asked her how she liked it. She had that "quesy" look about her and asked to never to have to ride it again. I reminded her that I didn't make her ride it, she asked too. She said, "I will never do that again!". After we get out of MS, we sent a couple of free emails to my parents and my DS letting them know we are having a great time. Then we head over to Universe of Energy. This is a real neat show and even though I am not the biggest Ellen fan, she is funny and we always do the ride. What a stroke of luck! We walked over there right in time for the show. No line. No waiting. So we went on in and it wasn't really crowded at all. We had the whole row to ourselves. But you know, I had forgotten that this attraction is 45 minutes long. It seems like more people would get on it so they could get out of the hot sun and cool off. Well, we get done there and walk back past Wonders of Life. (How I miss that place.) Oh well. We went on to TT. We basically walked right into the lobby area where they show what they are going to do to you. Then we get out in the loading area and are within 5 minutes of getting on the ride. Guess what?! The ride breaks down. Well, I am too close to getting on to the ride to get out of the line now. Plus, I had already given them our FPs so I would have to go get another set and wait even longer. No way! I am staying. DD and Dw just sat down and waited. I think it was about 30 minutes later when a couple ahead of us got out of line and said they were not going to wait any longer. Less than 2 minutes later, the ride started back up. Yeah!!! So we ride this and again, my DD got very scared because of the speed. I don't know where she gets this from. My parents won't ride anything either but they love TT. Well, it's getting on into the afternoon. We have to get to the Land to get FPs for Soarin. We get over there around 1:30 pm and the time for us to come back is 5:30 pm. 4 hours! WOW! While we were in here, we thought we would see if we could geta table at the Garden Grill. They were all booked up for that day so I asked if there were any openings for lunch on Friday. I got lucky and was able to make a reservation for that Friday at 1:20 pm. Yeah! We are going to do a Character luch. (Even though we had done this before at the same restaurant, it was nearly 7 years ago when my DD was only 3 and she really don't remember that much of it. So let's do ti again.) So we go over to the Living Seas and let DD do Turtle Talk with Crush. I love Crush. He is cool. We go from here to Journey Into Imagination and we walked right on. (I know that a lot of people are upset with the way this ride has been changed but I still love Figment. I shutter to think that one day WDW will close down Figment if the popularity don't pick back up soon.) We then head off to WS. We didn't stop at all of the Countries but we did take a lot of pictures. I believe the first thing we did was to stop at the UK to get some Fish and Chips. We had never stopped here before and we were all about trying new stuff on this trip so we did. It was good but a little too greasy for my taste. What was really neat was in the outside area where we were eating was a couple of bunnies and ducks looking for some food. I tried to throw one of the ducks a carrot but they didn't want that at all. So my DD threw them some pieces of the fries. That's what they wanted. She started to get really brave and tried to hand feed them but we had to pull her away knowing that they could turn on her and then make her scared of everything else. We headed over to China to see the acrobats. What a great show!! It has been years since I have seen this show and I was mesmerized by what they were doing. WOW!! We went by American Adventure but didn't stop for the concert series that they were having. We did stop and bought a few souvys from the stand out in front and had that shipped back to the room. Onward we go. We made our way to Norway and Mexico. We did both of the boat rides there. At Norway, we were trying to find all of the Hidden Mickeys in the mural in the loading room in the mural. I have found 5 out of 6. That last one will be the death of me. We then got on El Rio Del Tiempo. Somewhat cheesy but it's my DD's speed. When we got off of here, we headed back to Soarin. It was our time. Now, DW and I had ridden this before but DD hadn't. When we got in there, she started to get a little nervous about how high up she was going to be. I tried to calm her down by telling her to take a deep breath and relax. It seemed to help. Then came the lift. She held on to Mom and me for a brief moment but then she calmed down and really enjoyed the ride. I think if you asked her right now what her favorite attraction was, she would say Soarin. I know she wouldn't say MS. We went from here to Mouse Gears for some shopping and Spaceship Earth. By now, there was no line. We walked right onto the ride. It hs been several years since I had been on this ride and I had missed it. Yes, it could use some updating but it is still a good ride. Well, we did just about everything we wanted to do at EPCOT in less than a day. We were tired and hungry for dinner so we left the park to go get something to eat. Don't worry. We will be back here later in the week to see Illuminations. Time to get a bite to eat, head back to the room and get some sleep. Tomorrow, we will do AK and MGM one more time.

 

[bubba73]

It is only Tuesday of our trip and already the family is exhausted from all of the running around we have done. So yet again, I have to lead the way as far as energy and the enthusiasm goes. (You know it is bad when your 10 year old DD says she would rather stay in the room instead of going to the parks. She wants to rest.) Well, we have an itinerary(?) to stay with so we forge on. Before we leave the resort, I go up to the Conceirge at POP and see if I can make a lunch reservation at MGM. I wanted Sci-Fi because I just like the way it looks in the pictures. We haven't been there before. Well, that place was booked for the day so I asked about Mama Melrose. (DW loves pasta so I figured "Why not?") We were able to get in there so now I can go back to the room and give DW a surprise. We leave the room a little late but since we have already been to the parks that we were going too today, it wasn't too terribly important for us to get to the parks at open. We started the day by going back to AK. The first thing on the agenda was to let DW head over to EE so she could have the chance to ride the new ride. DD and I went over to the playground in Dinoland. She got bored with it pretty quickly so we headed outside of that area to one of the benches so we could stay in the area so DW could find us. Well, it was hot and we got thirsty so we headed over to the area right across from Primevil Whirl to get something to drink. They had some guys out there putting on a skit acting like they were painters climbing up and down a ladder but the ladder wasn't leaning against anything. It was quite impressive. But we had to get back over to our seat so we wouldn't miss DW. We sat and sat and she never saw her so we headed over to EE to see if we could see her get off the ride. We waited there for about 15 minutes and we didn't see her there either. Now, I was starting to get worried so we headed back over to DinoLand. DD was getting restless not doing anything so I thought it would be ok to let her ride Triceratop Spin. I stayed where I could see her and also keep an eye out on DW. Shortly afterwards, DW walks up a little upset with the fact that we were not in the same location until she got back. I tried to explain it but she was still upset. Afterwards, she got in line with DD and rode TS and I asked both of them if there was anything else they wanted to do at AK and they both said no. So we headed out. We were all a little tired and cranky from the escapade so we headed back to the room for a little while to rest and relax.

Rise and shine. It is time to head over to MGM. I was still trying to get up the courage or whatever you need to call it to have my picture taken with Darth Vader. Remember, I am a big SW fan. We get over there and Darth is out but I still couldn't go over there. What's wrong with me? Instead, I get a FP for Star Tours and we head over towards MM to make sure we know where it is. We find it about 20 minutes before our reservation so we go into a gift shop near there to waste some time. Shortly, there after, we go in to the restaurant and have to wait an additional 15 minutes before our table is ready. No big deal. The place looked real nice and it was air conditioned so we were fine. We got our table and ordered pretty quickly. I ordered what in laymans terms would be a Chicken Pizza. It was ok but I would have liked more meat on it but I am a big meat eater. DW and DD liked what they had also so it was a good experience. We headed out and went on to Star Tours for our FP. We were halfway throught the line when DD started to complain about her stomach. DW took her to the restroom and I, selfishly, went on and rode the ride. I did ask them to wait on me when I got off the ride. I wanted to make sure that DD was ok. I got off and I found some things in the Tatooine Trader that I just "had" to have. I found them afterwards over at the Commissary. I asked if they felt like going on and riding ST but DD was still under the weather. It was suggested that she needed to go back to the room. Again, I was selfish. I suggested that DW could either take the car or the bus and I would stay at the park a little longer so I could ride a couple of the thrill rides that DD can't stand. DW didn't feel like she could drive so they took the bus. I rode TOT and RNR a couple of times and also GMR ( I really enjoy that ride.) After that, I had this rush of guilt come across and I had to get abck to the room to see how the family was doing. Luckily, she was feeling better. Both of them had taken a nap and gotten the rest that they needed to get energized for the rest of the week.

This wasn't one of the more active days but we did accomplish some things that we hadn't done yet so it was still good. I am sooo excited about tomorrow. I am a total Space nut and tomorrow we are going to Kennedy Space Center and they have a Rocket Launch scheduled.

 

[TLinden16]

What a wonderful trip! So, did you and your DW love EE?

 

[bubba73]

What a wonderful trip! So, did you and your DW love EE?

We did have a great time on EE. It started off a little slow but it had a great finish.


Today is the day that I have been looking forward too during this whole trip. I am sooo excited that yet again, I couldn't sleep. I am noticing a pattern here with insomnia. Is it going on vacation or going to WDW that causes this disease? No wonder we are always so tired when we come home. Oh well! I am still having fun. This morning I actually woke up before the alarm clock and did everything I could to get DW and DD as excited so they would put a little pep in their step to get ready. I knew that we had an hour drive a head of us and I was ready to get there. So what if the launch that they were scheduled to have wasn't until after 5 pm. I am a space nut. This may be the only thing that I really enjoy more than WDW. (Please, no flames.) Anyway, we get on the road and head over there and all the way there, we were listening to our Disney Greatest Hits CDs.
We get there and get the tickets so we can also go over to the Hall of Fame. I wanted to go there last time but we ran out of time so I wasn't going to miss out. This place was amazing. They had way more things there than what I was expecting. While we were there, I was able to do the G-Force simulator (a lot like MS. It got up to 4 G's.) I was able to learn more about our Astronauts of the past and just so much more. But I knew we had to get back over to the Welcome Center. I was hoping to be able to go on the bus tour again but that was before I found out that they had the Liberty Bell Exhibit. I have just about memorized the movie The Right Stuff and I know just about all you would ever need to know about that flight and the explosion of the hatch after Gus Grissom landed in the ocean. By this time, DD and DW was somewhat tired of all the walking so they waited by the line for the IMAX movie while I went in there to look at the exhibit. I was mesmerized but I had to keep an eye on the time so we wouldn't miss the movie. I got back over there about 10 minutes before the movie and it was a good thing. Right after I got in line, there was a ton of people that came in right behind me. Magneficiant Desolation by Tom Hanks was the movie. Great movie. When we got out of there, we headed outside and we had just missed the talk under the pavillion by a real Astronaut. I wasn't sure if he would be back out later or not and I saw the opportunity, so I got in line to get my picture made with him. Super nice guy and obviously smart as a whip. He did come back out a little later for another talk and I made it for that one. Actually, I was on the second row. This guy had been on 6 different launches but he had been on 7 different spacecraft. On one of his missions, he was transferred over to the Russian MIR Space Station where he stayed for several months.
Now the talk is over and it is time for the launch. Everyone is making a bee-line dash for the area where you load up to get on the tour bus. This is the area that they reccommended for the best viewing. We still had about 15 minutes before the scheduled launch so we were all just sitting around waiting. Well, the time came. Everyone stood up with cameras and video cameras armed and ready to get whatever we could from nearly 10 miles away. It is lift-off time but there is no lift-off. Houston, we have a delay. No big deal. The launch wasn't scrubbed just delayed. About 35 minutes later, everyone stood up again and started to do the countdown with the CAPCOM. 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. We have liftoff!! Where is it? And then, there it was. Rising from behind the trees accelarating rapidly towards the brilliant blue sky. Everyone was applauding and cheering as they watched that faint outline of a rocket. Distance was non-existant at this moment. You had the feeling that you were watching something special. I know that sounds a little exaggerated since it wasn't a shuttle launch but for me that's the way I felt. I was elated. We stayed and followed the trail until we couldn't see it anymore. It was so cute when DD looked at me and said "Daddy, what's wrong? Why are they coming back?" She couldn't understand why the rocket was going in an arch instead of straight. She didn't know how to take in account the rotation of the Earth. After we watched the lauch, we went into the Space Shop. If only I could have just won the lottery. Well, I didn't win the lottery but I still spent almost $150 in there before I got out of there. But I got my Dad a hat in there that as soon as I gave it to him, he was literally speechless. Made my day even better even though I had to wait until I got back to give it to him.
Well, that was my day. This was the one day that I really had set aside for me on this trip. But I was trying to share my love for the Space Program with my DD wanting to inspire her. Even though she may never desire to become an Astronaut, that's fine. I will be happy if it would just give her an understanding and respect for the people that do.
Now, I had my day. Tomorrow is all about DD. We are headed to the MK for the whole day.

 

[CJK]

I can literally feel your excitement!!! What a magical day!

 

[thelionqueen]

Bubba, GREAT trip report, I feel like I am living each day with you and your family. The magic and excitement really comes through in your words..keep it coming!!

 

[momrek06]

WOW, BUBBA: Just found your Trippie. Loving your Report!!! What a fabulous time all of you are having!!!

Waiting for more.......

 

[bubba73]

Today is the day that I think my DD has been looking forward to all week. We are finally going to spend the whole day at MK. Now, believe it or not, there was a reason why we saved the MK until the end of the week. Most of the time, when kids go to the MK first they don't like the other parks so therefore they don't have as much fun as they could. Most kids just set MK to such a high standard that nothing else can measure up. So if we do everything else first and then save MK for the end of the week, the kids have more fun. (Sounds weird or overly simplistic I know but it has worked for our family.)

Now, onto the day. What a great day this was going to turn out to be. It also had a few surprises. First surprise was that this was the first time that the family woke up before me. I can only guess that was because I was on such a high from the Space Center that I came back to the room and fell out. We got ready late so the park had already been opened for an hour. But we didn't let that stop us. As we were walking down Main Street, DW got over on the side and propped up on a trash can. She was video taping the Castles on the Castle. She was trying to get all of the different castles on tape before they take it down. Now, if you remember from an earlier post on this report, we had already done most of FantasyLand so that was one thing that we didn't have to worry about on this day. If we had the time after doing the other stuff, then we would go back and do some of it again. Well, we are a family that love Buzz Lightyear so that was the first thing that we did. Yet again, I won but that is my competitive nature. I may not beat you or you but I always have to beat my family. Sick, isn't it? I know it is bad but I can't help it. Anyway, after we got out of there we went over to ride Space Mountain. Well, as I have mentioned before, DD will not get on a coaster for anything in this world, so while I was on SM they were doing the Speedway. DD wanted to say that she finally drove on the Speedway. I got out before they did so I sat down and waited. I was able to get a few pictures of DD as she drove by so she was happy. After she got off, she started complaining about her stomach. I can only guess she had a bad reaction to the smell of the fumes. We got her feeling a little better but she still was quesy. She was saying how she wanted to go back to the room. We have only been on two rides and she wanted to go back to the room. I took her over to get something to drink to try to settle her stomach some more and it seemed to help. At least, it helped enough so we could stay in the park. We made our way towards the backside of the Castle and it happened to be almost time for Belle's Story time so we stopped. Of course she did her story, but it was great how they got people out of the audience to help with the other characters. When Storytime was over, Cinderellabration was starting and DD wanted to go see it. We got as close as we could but we were still over near the entrance of AdventureLand. So since we were so close, we went on over to do the Flying Carpets of Aladdin. DD likes the flying rides. We got off of there and headed onto Liberty Square. We started off at HM and then went and had lunch over at the Columbia Harbor House. It had been a long time since I had seen the Hall of Presidents so went over there for that show. We got there about 15 minutes before hand. While waiting inside, one of the CMs, James, was answering a bunch of questions about all of the Presidents. His knowledge was amazing. I was flabbergasted how he knew so much and then I remembered that I had read about this man on the DIS. Then we saw the show and DD really enjoyed it. That made me very happy. We got out and it was time for the Share a Dream Come True Parade. We had a good spot to be able to see everything over in Liberty Square. I really enjoy this parade but I enjoy anything where I can see all of the characters. Afterwards, we headed over to BTMRR. I had told DD that this was a very easy rollercoaster and I thought she would be able to handle it. I also told her that she would have DW and I on either side of her for her to hold onto if she got scared. She was very nervous while in line and as we were loading onto the ride. But nevertheless, off we go. We go up and down and take the turns and she was a little scared but not bad. When the ride stopped before we went into the unloading area, we told her that was the end of it. She asked "But where was the big drop where we get wet?". She was putting this and Splash Mountain together and that is what was really scaring her. She told us afterwards that the ride wasn't really all that bad but she didn't want to ride it again. We got off and went back over to HM one more time. I asked DD what did she want to do now. She said she wanted to go back to the room so she could go swimming. Well, that was fine. We had done a lot considering how it looked like we were going to have to go back a lot earlier. We went back to the room and I went to the pool with DD and DW went and washed some clothes. Overall, the day wasn't that bad or that taxing on the family which gives us a chance to really do a lot on our last day in the parks on Friday. I talked it over with DD and DW about letting them sleep in and I was going to go back over to MGM to ride RNR and TOT again and hopefully get my picture with Darth. They agreed as they were still worn out. They really tire easily. I guess I am a little to "gung ho" but after all, it's Disney. Tomorrow, I do the impossible. All 4 parks in one day. Heaven help my sanity and my feet.

 

[bubba73]

It is Friday. The last day of our vacation as far as visiting the Happiest Place on Earth. I have had a wonderful trip and really don't want it to end so I decide to attempt something that I have never been able to do before. I get up early this morning and let the girls sleep in. (They were tired and they deserved it.) For the first time, I decide to use the bus to get to the parks. First, I went to MGM. I had my camera with me just in case Darth Vader was out. This time I was going to get in the line no matter how long it was but when I got there Darth Vader wasn't out. I knew this was going to happen. So I then headed over to ride RNR. I was going to get a FP for TOT. The wait for TOT was way to long for what I was attempting to do and I had already ridden it so I choose to forget about it this time. So I get on RNR one last time and then head back over one more time to see if Darth is out now. He wasn't. It was still too early for him. So I headed on out. Second, I head over to AK just to do EE one more time. Within 15 minutes of getting to the bus stop, I am already walking through the gate. Not too bad on time. I walk by the board and see that EE has a 45 minute wait time. That isn't going to apply to me as I am a Single Rider. I walk right up and am on the ride in less than 15 minutes. Then, I go over to see what the line is like for Primevil Whirl. The line was too long so I headed over to the bus. I headed back to POP Century to pick up the girls. This time the bus had a diversion of going to Blizzard Beach. Plus, we got stopped by the same red light twice. The driver was great. He kept talking and telling us stories to try to take our mine off of how long we were waiting. We finally get back to the resort and there is DW headed out from the food court from getting something to drink. So we get DD and head on to EPCOT. Now, we get to EPCOT just a little before 1 pm so we head straight to The Land. We had lunch reservations for The Garden Grill at 1:20 so I had DW and DD go up to the counter to let them know we were here and I went downstairs to get a FP for Soarin. By the time I got back upstairs, the CM said our table was ready. So we went in. We had done this Character lunch back in 1999 and I rememberes how good the food was so I wanted to go back ever since. Plus, I remembered how good the interaction was with the characters. Here is just one of the pictures from that lunch.

We had a great time here with all of the characters including where Pluto acted like he was going to eat me. (He put his mouth over my head.) We got out of the lunch and headed over to the Circle of Life show. Then went on out to go do Figment's ride one more time. Just my luck. The ride was closed down. We then headed over to Spaceship Earth to ride it. I guess since we hadn't ridden this in several years, it really made us long for the ride. By this time, it was time for us to go on Soarin so that is where we headed. It is always great to be able to ride Soarin but I really wanted DD to experience what this is like on the front row. They were about to put us on the back row of the center aisle. I said to the CM that we really wanted to sit in the front so we got it. As always, this was and is my favorite attraction but this time, I noticed some things on the screen that were not supposed to be there. It was still great but they may need to change the video. We got out of there and went on Living with the Land. Now, DW and I were using today to celebrate our Anniversary and we had bought the Mickey top hat ears and the vail as well. When we got on the boat ride, the CM mentioned something about it to the rest of the group on the boat and they all applauded for us. Then they sang for DD and a belated birthday wish. We head out and go towards the Countries. We went and did Maelstrom once more and I still can't find that last Hidden Mickey. We tried to make our way over to China to get a better view for the Acrobats but they were already finished for the day so we headed towards the American Adventure. I just missed the last show of the Voices of Liberty but we did get there in time for the tribute concert for the Eagles. On the way over there, DD noticed Timon and Rafiki and wanted to have her picture made with them so they stayed behind as I went on to get a good seat for the concert. The concert was great and we all really enjoyed it. There was one time where they asked if they had sang our favorite song. I had to say that they hadn't. My two favorite songs are ballads. They said they would be there for another 2 weeks but this was my last night. That doesn't help me. It's ok as we have the CDs. When the concert was over it was time for Illuminations. We didn't have the greatest spot but we were able to see pretty well. Plus, it was the first time I had seen it in 3 years so I was happy anyway. As always, this was a great show. But as soon as it was over, we headed over to the monorail to head to MK. Tonight is an EMH night for MK. We get over to the MK just as Wishes is starting. Talk about a view. We go inside and I am so excited about seeing and hearing Wishes that I almost forget to get my wristband pass. We get inside and the smell of popcorn overtakes me so for the first time all week, I cave in. We stay by the train station until Wishes is over and then we make our way towards the Castle. This is a mistake as 1000's of people are headed the other way trying to leave. We had to dive into the Emporium to try to wait for the crowd to thin out some. We finally get to a spot where I think would be good to see the 11:00 showing of SpectroMagic. I was wrong. We had to move and we got a great spot near the Christmas Shoppe going into Liberty Square. What a great parade! Now, remember we have the hats still on and the neatest thing happened during this parade. Everytime one of the Princesses went by they would look at us and say "Congratulations!". That was awesome! We even had a CM from the Shoppe beside us and she did the same thing. This CM epitomized what you would expect from a Disney CM. Just so happy and bubbly. After the parade was over, she went back into the shop. I tried to find her just so I could tell her but she was no where to be found. I hated that I couldn't find her but we went on and did HM again along with Buzz Lightyear and the Speedway. We finally ride TTA also.

What a way to end a vacation. 4 parks, One day and a lot of miles of pavement walking. But the story isn't over. We still have Saturday, DTD and the very long trip home. This is not to be missed.

 

[momrek06]

Ahhh...Bubba: Loving the trippie...so NO Darth !!! But what a great idea about hitting the "World" while the girls slept in!!! What a great idea!!!
And so much accomplished as you had your very own agenda!!! And when the day was done = FOUR PARKS in ONE DAY = PRICELESS!!!!
Great picture of DW, you and MICKEY!!!

Oh and as far as favorite rides = SOARIN for sure!!!

Thanks for sharing!!!

 

[CJK]

4 parks in 1 day.........it's like a dream come true! Glad to hear your last full day was so great. What a great way to celebrate your anniversary too! We'll be doing the same in October. Can't wait to hear about your last day adventure!!

 

[bubba73]

It is our last day and we are supposed to check out of POP to start heading home. Have you ever woke up having the feeling that this was not going to be your best day? Well, that is what happened this morning. I had just woke up but I was still laying there watching a little TV. All of sudden, there is a knock at the door. It was Mousekeeping already. I yelled out that we were still in there but she opened the door anyway. When she saw that we were all still in bed, she quickly went back out. So I went up and started getting ready. Even while I was in the shower, they tried to come in again. Before we finally left, they tried to get us out at least 4 times and this was after I had told them twice that we were checking out today and would be out by 11:00 am. This is the only negative comment I have had about POP in the last 2 years that I have stayed there.

Well, we finally left out of our room but we still didn't want to let go of the "Magic". So we head to DTD to do a little more shopping. It has become routine for us to start and end our WDW trips at DTD. We get there and haven't had anything to eat so after doing some shopping, we headed over to RainForest Cafe. Now, this is another place that we have never been too so we were looking forward to the experience. We get in there and are seated. DD and DW are commenting on the table tops and I am just noticing how crowded the place is. I had good reason. It ended up being about 30 minutes before we even had our order taken. I knew we had a long way to drive home and DW still had one more thing that she wanted to do. After what seemed like forever, we get our food and get finished eating and head on out. By now, it had started raining just a little. We have been very lucky all week with very little rain so I wasn't too concerned about it raining on our last day. We start to head back to the car and the bottom falls out. None of us have an umbrella and we were worried about the cameras but we figure out a way to keep them dry and make a run for the car. Right about the time that we get to the car, the rain stopped. Figures! Now, it is time for DW to get to do what we have never done but have always talked about. We headed over to DisneyQuest since they are about to close. I really had a big part of me that just wanted to start our trip home as we still had that 9 hour trip ahead of us and I couldn't really validate spending that kind of money for just a couple of hours. But DW had her heart set on it so we did it. We get inside and were fairly impressed by the sheer size of the place. I immediately head over to build my own coaster while DW and DD took the art class to learn how to draw Mickey. The coaster was cool. On a scale of 1-5, I was able to make mine a 5. They even asked me if I was sure I wanted it that intense and I said "Yeah!" The CM takes me up to the simulator and I get strapped in. They again ask if I am sure this is the way that I want it to go. Let's just say the ride was pretty intense but it was missing something for being on a roller coaster. I couldn't feel any air in my little bit of hair. That is a very important part of the feeling you get from a coaster. Afterwards, we do a few other things but honestly get bored with the place pretty quickly. Well, that was a $100 down the drain but we would have never known if we hadn't tried it.

Now we head home. We get out on the Interstate and I am feeling somewhat groggy. I guess the week or the rain is catching up with me. I tell DW to talk to me because that is the best thing that I have found to help keep me awake while driving. Well, I guess I was paying more attention to what DW and I were talking about or I was just too tired too notice because I missed my turn to get on the BeeLine. (Didn't I miss a turn earlier in the week? Yes, coming home from Kennedy. What is happening here?) I really didn't think anything of it as we used to go through Orlando anyway to head home because we were going to see my Cousin and Aunt in Altamont Springs so I thought I was still ok. Honestly, it wasn't until I hit Daytona Beach before I realized that I had really messed up. (Boy, do I feel stupid typing this right now!) We pull off the road and stop at a Burger King to get directions and get DD something to drink. The manager there told me about getting on I-95, heading to Jacksonville and getting on I-10 and let that take us to I-75. I told him how much I appreciated the help and we headed out. The only part that I really hate is that it is dark outside and I can't see any of the Beach. Oh well! We get to Jacksonville and make the turn and get on I-10. While on I-10 (somewhere after 11:00 pm), my Mom calls to see when are we going to get home so we can pick up DS. She reminds me that they are having all of my Aunts and Uncles over the next day and I need to be there before the rest of the family arrives. Then she asked me where I was at that moment. All I could say is that she really didn't want to know. We finally reach I-75 and by this time I am shot. I have to get a little rest. We pull over and I let DW take over the controls. After about 2 hours of rest, I take back over the controls as she starts to get very sleepy. Just to shorten this a little, we finally reach home a little after 5:00 am. It usually takes us 8.5 to 9 hours to drive home. This time it took us over 12 hours to get back. We were all very tired and somewhat cranky but we still went on and unloaded the car before going to bed. My Mom calls us again and wakes us up right about 11:30 and asked when were we going to be there. Well, we got up and started to get ready. We headed outside to get in the car to go pick up DS and we had a very mean surprise. The car was covered in ants. Top to bottom. Front to back. I knew there was bits of food left in the car but I had no idea this would happen. Well, I quickly got some ant spray and killed them all so we could head on out. We got over to my parents just before the others and I still had presents to pass out. But the cutest thing was that as soon as we got there, DD had really missed her big brother so as soon as she saw him, she gave him a great big hug. We then get inside and start showing all of the stuff that we had bought and also gave them their presents. Dad flipped over the hat that I got for him from KSC and Mom loved her T-Shirt.

All in all, we had a fantastic trip. We are both happy and sad about coming home. I have been able to turn my family into a WDW family and we really love it there so we feel like we had to leave one home to come to another home. One home is where MAGIC happens all of the time. The other home is where you make the money to pay for that MAGIC.

 

[thelionqueen]

Great report and great trip Bubba!! I know exactly what you mean about waking up on the last day @ Disney, it is no fun! I would get so depressed, that my husband would do almost anything to cheer me up. Well, he figured as long as we always have a trip planned when one is ending I'll not be upset, he was right!! Every trip for the last 2 years has had another trip already booked before we leave...did I marry well or what??

I'm so glad you have a Disney family (only those of us who really know what you're talking about can appreciate it with you ) it makes life oh so sweet.

And you're not kidding about coming home to pay for the magic..oh well, money well spent imho.

Great report, thanks for sharing!!