Myself - 38 Researcher and neurotic planner of all things
DH - 38 Definitely not a planner, but willing to go along with just about anything
DD - 16 We surprised her by celebrating her 16th birthday during this trip. Her birthday was actually July 1st, but due to younger DDs softball schedule, the trip had to be postponed until now. She didnt know that this would still be considered her birthday trip.
DD - 11 (will be 12 in September and already considers herself a teenager)
Friday, August 9, 2002 - Our last day. Boo!Hoo! This day was reserved for favorites. We got up and had breakfast at the food court. We then drove on over to EPCOT for a few spins on Test Track (DHs favorite). We got FPs then got in the standby line (said 45 minutes, but was actually 10). After we finished our first ride, we did the GM Dreamscape (waited in line for about 20 mins.) virtual reality thing when you come off of Test Track. Earlier in the week, the kids had wanted to do this, but the wait
was 1 hour, so we blew it off. I wouldnt waste my time waiting around for this attraction. In all fairness, they tell you ahead of time that its an advertisement for GM - and theyre right - its nothing more than a 5 minute commercial. Oh well, at least we
got that done...
We then walked over to The Land because we had been unable to get on the ride earlier in the week. We waited in line for about 5 minutes and we were on. I always enjoy this one, since I like to garden. After the Land, we decided to go on over to see what the Leave a Legacy thing was all about. Basically, for $25.00 you can have a photograph of up to 2 people taken (or write a caption) and then its etched into metal and put on display on large granite monuments at the entrance to EPCOT. I was
told that these will be in place for 20 years. We decided to have the girls photos taken. I thought it would be kind of special for them to return with their friends, husbands and/or children over the next 20 years and show them their photo. I should be getting
something in the mail in the next few weeks to tell me exactly what row and line their picture will be displayed on.
After EPCOT, we ran to Downtown Disney for some last minute shopping and had lunch at the Rainforest Café. We had eaten here before on previous trips and I dont think the food is anything special, but the atmosphere is nice. I figured there
would be a long wait and wed move on, but they seated us immediately in the gorilla room. After lunch, we ran over to the guitar store near Disney Quest for DD16 to look around (she plays both electric and acoustic guitar). She bought a shirt and we decided to stop by the hotel to change and then head on over to Blizzard Beach.
By the time we got to Blizzard Beach it was about 4:00 p.m. and the skies were overcast. We found a few beach chairs, dropped our stuff and then proceeded to do a few of the slides. We then went in the wave pool (we all liked the one at Typhoon
Lagoon MUCH better). The water was freezing and it was a little breezy for me. DH and DDs decided to go do more slides, while I decided to lounge around a bit. Before long it began to drizzle and I moved our stuff to a covered area. DD 16 came to lounge
with me while DH and DD 11 continued to do slides. At about 7:00 p.m., we had all had enough and we decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for our last night at the parks - E night!
We got to MK at about 8:30 p.m. and got our wristbands. We then headed over to the Plaza Pavillion for dinner so DH could get the Italian stack sandwich one last time (all I can say is yuck, I dont understand his fascination with this one). The girls and I
split 2 pizzas and breadsticks. As we were leaving Plaza we could see Spectromagic from the walkway and we headed to Tomorrowland where we walked onto Buzz. Im frustrated because I still cant manage to score big, but Im a big girl so, I do what any mature person would do...I act like its no big deal, its just a silly ride. Ha!! After Buzz we did Space Mountain twice, with about a 10 minute wait each time. The girls still didnt want to do Alien Encounter (chickens), so we decided to head on over to the Haunted Mansion (one of their favorites). On our way over, we stopped and watched the fireworks and then onto Haunted Mansion. The CMs were really in character tonight and we had a lot of fun. I find that the E-night crowds really get into the Haunted Mansion, i.e. screaming, etc. We decided to head over towards BTMR and stopped at the Frontierland shooting galary for a while. Just as we approached the entrance for BTMR, DD 16 noticed that the sleeve which held her ticket and room key/charge card had fallen off of her lanyard. We tried to retrace some of our steps, but no luck. I used a phone to call and cancel her room key and then headed over to City Hall for lost and found. We waited for a few minutes, because someone had lost a
child, and of course, that takes priority. Other people in line were asking about e-night (they were told that tickets are only for resort guests - I know this policy has been questioned in the past) and extending their tickets. Finally, it was our turn and I
explained our situation and that the ticket really only had one plus feature left on it, but that if it were found, could somebody please mail it to us. The CM took our remaining tickets and ran them through the computer (I assume to confirm that I was telling the truth) and immediately gave us a new ticket with the remaining plus feature. We thanked him, and were on our way. We decided to do Splash and were able to walk on the ride. We then did BTMR with about a 5 minute wait. We had the rear two cars and they were absolutely the best. By this time, it was almost 1:00 a.m. and we decided to end our trip with our customary ice cream. The line for ice cream actually took about 10
minutes or so, but we got our seats and watched droves of people exiting the park. We were able to see the kiss goodnight and say our own goodbyes to MK (always sad)
and returned to the hotel. Tomorrow we leave for home...
Some thoughts...there were several things that we intended to do, but never got around to. I wanted to tour AKL and some other resorts, but no time. I wanted to eat at Beaches and Cream, but we never got around to it. The timing never did work out for us to do COP and I didnt realize it until we were on our way home. Weve done COP before, but I really wanted to do it one more time since it may not be open on our next trip.
On this trip, I made basic plans and strategies, but decided to roll with the punches and do what DH and the kids wanted to do. So...we didnt do a few things, we did some things over and over again and we walked from one end of the parks to the other, but we all had a great time and even the kids got in very few arguments.
The girls really enjoyed the pin trading and being a little more independent on this trip. We had brought along walkie talkies so that they could go off on their own for a little while if they wanted to. They did it once, but never asked to do it again. We
were surprised that they actually wanted to stay with their parents. Whod have thunk it?
As our children get older, we enjoy our vacation time together even more. Every time we go to DW, its a different experience based on their maturity level. We enjoy DW as much now as we did when they were babies, just on a different level. Our oldest
will be in college in 2 years and I dont know how many more family vacations well have together before shes off on her own. Shes thinking about applying to work in DW for the summer through the college program in a few years, so well see if that develops into anything. That would be interesting, visiting my daughter the CM!
We had an absolutely wonderful trip and I thank everyone on the boards for your help and advice throughout the planning and anticipation of our vacation. Shannon
DH - 38 Definitely not a planner, but willing to go along with just about anything
DD - 16 We surprised her by celebrating her 16th birthday during this trip. Her birthday was actually July 1st, but due to younger DDs softball schedule, the trip had to be postponed until now. She didnt know that this would still be considered her birthday trip.
DD - 11 (will be 12 in September and already considers herself a teenager)
Friday, August 9, 2002 - Our last day. Boo!Hoo! This day was reserved for favorites. We got up and had breakfast at the food court. We then drove on over to EPCOT for a few spins on Test Track (DHs favorite). We got FPs then got in the standby line (said 45 minutes, but was actually 10). After we finished our first ride, we did the GM Dreamscape (waited in line for about 20 mins.) virtual reality thing when you come off of Test Track. Earlier in the week, the kids had wanted to do this, but the wait
was 1 hour, so we blew it off. I wouldnt waste my time waiting around for this attraction. In all fairness, they tell you ahead of time that its an advertisement for GM - and theyre right - its nothing more than a 5 minute commercial. Oh well, at least we
got that done...
We then walked over to The Land because we had been unable to get on the ride earlier in the week. We waited in line for about 5 minutes and we were on. I always enjoy this one, since I like to garden. After the Land, we decided to go on over to see what the Leave a Legacy thing was all about. Basically, for $25.00 you can have a photograph of up to 2 people taken (or write a caption) and then its etched into metal and put on display on large granite monuments at the entrance to EPCOT. I was
told that these will be in place for 20 years. We decided to have the girls photos taken. I thought it would be kind of special for them to return with their friends, husbands and/or children over the next 20 years and show them their photo. I should be getting
something in the mail in the next few weeks to tell me exactly what row and line their picture will be displayed on.
After EPCOT, we ran to Downtown Disney for some last minute shopping and had lunch at the Rainforest Café. We had eaten here before on previous trips and I dont think the food is anything special, but the atmosphere is nice. I figured there
would be a long wait and wed move on, but they seated us immediately in the gorilla room. After lunch, we ran over to the guitar store near Disney Quest for DD16 to look around (she plays both electric and acoustic guitar). She bought a shirt and we decided to stop by the hotel to change and then head on over to Blizzard Beach.
By the time we got to Blizzard Beach it was about 4:00 p.m. and the skies were overcast. We found a few beach chairs, dropped our stuff and then proceeded to do a few of the slides. We then went in the wave pool (we all liked the one at Typhoon
Lagoon MUCH better). The water was freezing and it was a little breezy for me. DH and DDs decided to go do more slides, while I decided to lounge around a bit. Before long it began to drizzle and I moved our stuff to a covered area. DD 16 came to lounge
with me while DH and DD 11 continued to do slides. At about 7:00 p.m., we had all had enough and we decided to head back to the hotel to get ready for our last night at the parks - E night!
We got to MK at about 8:30 p.m. and got our wristbands. We then headed over to the Plaza Pavillion for dinner so DH could get the Italian stack sandwich one last time (all I can say is yuck, I dont understand his fascination with this one). The girls and I
split 2 pizzas and breadsticks. As we were leaving Plaza we could see Spectromagic from the walkway and we headed to Tomorrowland where we walked onto Buzz. Im frustrated because I still cant manage to score big, but Im a big girl so, I do what any mature person would do...I act like its no big deal, its just a silly ride. Ha!! After Buzz we did Space Mountain twice, with about a 10 minute wait each time. The girls still didnt want to do Alien Encounter (chickens), so we decided to head on over to the Haunted Mansion (one of their favorites). On our way over, we stopped and watched the fireworks and then onto Haunted Mansion. The CMs were really in character tonight and we had a lot of fun. I find that the E-night crowds really get into the Haunted Mansion, i.e. screaming, etc. We decided to head over towards BTMR and stopped at the Frontierland shooting galary for a while. Just as we approached the entrance for BTMR, DD 16 noticed that the sleeve which held her ticket and room key/charge card had fallen off of her lanyard. We tried to retrace some of our steps, but no luck. I used a phone to call and cancel her room key and then headed over to City Hall for lost and found. We waited for a few minutes, because someone had lost a
child, and of course, that takes priority. Other people in line were asking about e-night (they were told that tickets are only for resort guests - I know this policy has been questioned in the past) and extending their tickets. Finally, it was our turn and I
explained our situation and that the ticket really only had one plus feature left on it, but that if it were found, could somebody please mail it to us. The CM took our remaining tickets and ran them through the computer (I assume to confirm that I was telling the truth) and immediately gave us a new ticket with the remaining plus feature. We thanked him, and were on our way. We decided to do Splash and were able to walk on the ride. We then did BTMR with about a 5 minute wait. We had the rear two cars and they were absolutely the best. By this time, it was almost 1:00 a.m. and we decided to end our trip with our customary ice cream. The line for ice cream actually took about 10
minutes or so, but we got our seats and watched droves of people exiting the park. We were able to see the kiss goodnight and say our own goodbyes to MK (always sad)
and returned to the hotel. Tomorrow we leave for home...
Some thoughts...there were several things that we intended to do, but never got around to. I wanted to tour AKL and some other resorts, but no time. I wanted to eat at Beaches and Cream, but we never got around to it. The timing never did work out for us to do COP and I didnt realize it until we were on our way home. Weve done COP before, but I really wanted to do it one more time since it may not be open on our next trip.
On this trip, I made basic plans and strategies, but decided to roll with the punches and do what DH and the kids wanted to do. So...we didnt do a few things, we did some things over and over again and we walked from one end of the parks to the other, but we all had a great time and even the kids got in very few arguments.
The girls really enjoyed the pin trading and being a little more independent on this trip. We had brought along walkie talkies so that they could go off on their own for a little while if they wanted to. They did it once, but never asked to do it again. We
were surprised that they actually wanted to stay with their parents. Whod have thunk it?
As our children get older, we enjoy our vacation time together even more. Every time we go to DW, its a different experience based on their maturity level. We enjoy DW as much now as we did when they were babies, just on a different level. Our oldest
will be in college in 2 years and I dont know how many more family vacations well have together before shes off on her own. Shes thinking about applying to work in DW for the summer through the college program in a few years, so well see if that develops into anything. That would be interesting, visiting my daughter the CM!
We had an absolutely wonderful trip and I thank everyone on the boards for your help and advice throughout the planning and anticipation of our vacation. Shannon
Krissy
