Our Maiden Voyage to the World! warning, bad humor ahead! Day 1-7!

[vital]

Day 1-Arrival day! We, exMIL 50, DS61/2, Me35, get up at 430 to catch our
plane for WDW! YIPEE!!! Uneventful flight from Jackson, MS to Atlanta.
The actual flight from Atlanta to Orlando was fine, until the landing! I
felt like I was riding with my grandmother! You know the gas/stomp on
brake type. When we touched down it was apparent, at least to the
pilot in me, that we were going a little too fast so the pilot stomps the
brakes and we all lurch forward. Then as if he realized how hard he was
stomping, lets off so we all go back to our seats. I swear I thought we
were going to go sideways at the end of the runway like the movie
Fast and Furious! We finally make it to the gate and off we go to find
our towncar driver. I used a service that you can't name here so we'll
just leave it at that. He was holding a sign up that had my son's name
on it. He was grinning ear to ear when he saw it. Off to the POFQ we
go!
We arrive at POFQ and I immediately knew I'd like the place. Having
grown up so close to New Orleans it was familiar to me. Check in was a
breeze. Off to our room we go. WOW! A preferred room when we didn't
pay for one? Corner room by the pool and a view of the river also in
building 5! Key didn't work. Check number again, yep it says 5217. Try
all 3 keys, none work. Off to the desk we go. Get cards "re-keyed" and
back to room. Nothing, notta. Back to front desk. I ask, "Are you sure
that's the right room?" OOOOPS! The poor girl in training had written
the room number down wrong. Not 5217, 5127 was ours. She looked
like she could've died right there. No problem I say, just glad to be in
building 5. Now, about bldg 5, it's bordered on one side by pool, other
side by river and is diagonal to food court. I think it's the best bldg
there. We saw baby rabbits every day in the courtyard area right
outside our door. Finally we get to the room and check it out. The beds
were comfy, great pillows, 2 (yes 2) sinks in the dressing area that can
be closed off with curtain which was great for mornings when one
person was up early, the others could still sleep. The fridge had it's
moments but eventually stayed cold. So cold in fact I had ice in my
Coke bottles! We decide to drop everything and head to Epcot! The
bus stop was just across the courtyard and through another bldg. Very
close and convienient for us.
OK, so we head to Epcot for our character dinner. The bus pulled up
right when we did, yay! We round a curve and there it was, the ball.
I don't know who was more excited, the adults or my son! We jump off
the bus and are off for our first adventure! We check out the flowers,
exMIL is florist, and take some pics. Then we find our way over to the
Land for our dinner at Garden Grill. DS didn't know about characters so
we had him sit at the little kidcot coloring station with his back to the
restaraunt to keep him occupied. Finally after only about 20min, our
lights come on and we are seated. He still doesn't have a clue! We are
eating and it couldn't have been more perfect when the characters
came from behind him and surprised him! He saw Mickey, Chip, Dale
and Pluto! I thought he was going to burst with excitement. We did our
pics and got down to eating. It was very good. I know some ppl don't
like it there, but we were pleased. He liked being able to decorate his
cupcake. We said goodbye and headed out to the park.
What's this? Rain? We see ppl soaking, dripping wet and stupid me in all
the excitement forgot to bring the rain ponchos. Well, let's just see
what's downstairs. Soarin'! Wait time-80 minutes! We decide to just
wait. Ppl were SOAKED, not wet, SOAKED! We didn't want another
shower just then so we waited in line. It really didn't seem like that
long since you could read all the trivia questions about the environment
on the walkway. It only took about an hour. Finally we get there and
strap ourselves in. I put my flip-flops in the bag under the seat just in
case I got a little wild with the foot flinging in the air. Didn't want to
ruin someone's ride with a shoe to the head. OH MY GOSH! This ride
rocked! It was refreshing to see all the age differences on the ride and
it was being enjoyed by all! In line there was the typical punk saying
this wasn't really a ride and he wanted to do a real ride. I'll just tell you
we were behind them on the way out and he was saying that it was a
lot cooler than he thought and he wanted to do it again. I don't want
to say more than that about this ride b/c you have to do it yourself. I
will admit, if it wasn't raining, I probably wouldn't have done it myself.
The rain had stopped so outside we went. I wanted to go inside the big
ball. We just walked right on that ride. I must tell you that it was the
scariest ride in all of WDW! We were the ONLY one's on there and it
was really creepy the way those things looked at you. The hair on my
neck stood up a few times and I felt like someone was behind me. My
DS thinks I'm weird b/c I was creeped out on this ride. I'm telling you
those little people are some sort of species that work in WDW in some
of the attractions! They look real I tell you. Now, I know many of you
are thinking I'm on crack or something, I'm really not. Those little ppl
combined with being the only ones in sight on the ride was just creepy.
OK, enough about the ball. We venture out and take it all in. The lights
on the sidewalk are really neat. I have a GREAT idea! Let's ride the
monorail and see where it goes!
So off on the monorail we go! Illuminations is starting and we see some
fireworks. WHAT! Illuminations! Crap! We need to get off this thing and
back to the bus stop before the crowd does! So we stop at the station
and stay on for the return trip to Epcot to catch our bus. Where are all
those ppl going? To the busses? We decide to stay on the monorail and
catch the bus from MK. Back to the MK station we go. We get off and
what? this isn't MK? We have to take another monorail to MK to catch
the bus back to POFQ? Ok, we get on that monorail and son catches a
glimpse of the castle. He wants to go in. Being the mean mother I am I
had to say no. It was nearing 10pm and we had to go to bed soon for
our first day at MGM. We finally got on the bus and made it back to
room. Needless to say, we didn't get back on the monorail the rest of
our stay.
Stay tuned for our Day 2 at MGM studios and learn about what a mean
mom I am!

 

[Bev J]

It really sucks when you have to play the meanie on vacation...LOL I've done it plenty of times myself.....

Good report so far, looking forward to reading more!

Bev

 

[BamaGirl]

Great start! I can't wait to hear more. That was a great idea to surprise your ds with the characters.

 

[GADISNEYGIRL]

Mean moms seem to be well liked around here! Can't wait to hear your stories!

 

[vital]

DAY-2/MGM STUDIOS

Up early so we can be at MGM at opening. Cereal bar and green tea was the breakfast today. We didn't want to eat too much since DS's only demand of the day was to ride TOT first! We got to MGM around 830 to wait in line with all of the others who decided to be there first. Finally around 855 they opened the gates to let the rush begin. We thought we were home free when all of a sudden we had to stop to wait in another crush of ppl. They would only let you in so far and you had to stop and wait again! The show would've been cute if it was done at the gates and not when you thought you were home free! My DS is only 6 and couldn't see. He let EVERYONE know he couldn't see. I finally said, "Honey, I'm not much taller than you and I still can't see." All we could do was hear how they were supposed to be making a movie and we were the extras. I was wondering what kind of movie they were "making" with a bunch of already sweaty, hot and fussing ppl. Then I figured it was some sort of mob scene they must be planning. LOL! Sorry, sometimes I crack myself up. Anywho, we finally turn the corner, and there it was in all it's glory, TOT! We grabbed some FP for this ride b/c surely it would be his favorite. We actually didn't have to wait in line and were ushered right in. My exMIL has had neck surgery and wanted us to ride it first to see how bad it really is (remember this statement as it is done all during our stay). DS and I were on the front row on the left elevator. I just kept thinking about how he was going to laugh with glee after the first drop. We made it through all of the scenes before the first drop perfectly fine and then WHAM! the first drop. I just remember seeing a glimpse of daylight and trying to keep DS from climbing out of his seat. I was laughing, he was screaming and the photo was horrible! He was terrified of this, his first thrill ride. I didn't get to enjoy it much due to the fact I had to hold on to DS. Ride was over, not soon enough mind you, and off to RNR. I know what you are thinking, she didn't, and yes, I did. He had this ride on his list also so we went right on over. Line was short so we waited only about 15min in standby line. He was excited all the way up until it was time to get in the car. I had to "help" him in the car. Before you think I'm too horrible, I knew he'd like it or I wouldn't have forced the issue. I'm the one who had to deal with the nightmares and emotional scarring, right? Anyway, I keep my hand on his leg since we can't see each other as we sit and wait for light. And we sit and we sit and finally WOOOOOSH! off we go. (This is hands down the best ride I've ever been on in my entire life. I went on it a few more times throughout our stay.) When the car stops, I still can't see him, but he moved his leg which is a good sign. I was the first one out of the car and I finally was able to look at him getting out. He had one foot on the seat and one on the platform. I wish I had a film of what he did next. He pounded his chest like a gorilla and screamed, "That was awesome! Thanks Mom!". The picture of his face on takeoff was one of pure adrenaline and joy. I'm afraid he's had his first taste of adrenaline. We sit with MIL to decide what to do next. I think she could do both rides b/c they aren't the jerky type. She decideds to do TOT with our FP's. I thought I may be able to get DS on TOT again but he said NO. OK, she went and rode it alone. She was glad she rode but didn't want to do it again so we gave FP's to a couple in line. We went back to RNR to get some FP's b/c son would surely want to do it again! As we were sitting and drinking some water, DS announced that he wouldn't be riding RNR again. MIL didn't want to do it alone so I was trying to find out why DS didn't want to ride again if it was "awesome". All he would say was, "I already rode it". Had he just said he didn't like it or was scared it would've been fine. But he wouldn't and I kept pressing trying to find out why. He finally had a meltdown and freaked out crying and all. It was only 1030 and we had a long day ahead of us. I don't know if he was overstimulated or what but I almost had a meltdown of my own. Well, I did have a meltdown. For anyone who saw a lady in a Mississippi State visor with green mickey head on it telling her child to stop crying very loudly, I'm sorry. I could've murdered him (you know figure of speech, right? I love my DS dearly). I started to wonder what a Disney jail would be like. Would they put you in a caged boat and send you through It's a Small World over and over? Anyway, I finally got it out of him that he just wanted to do something else. For the love of Pete! Why didn't he just say that in the first place? OK, so we left that area of the park and headed over to the giant hat for pictures. We walked around and looked at various things and came upon Star Tours. Motion rides like this make me ill, but since I had contemplated murdering my son earlier, I would do anything for him now. We were in line and a CM noticed our Mississippi State hats. His hometown is where the college is so we talked with him for a while. Was nice to hear someone say "y'all". On to the ride. I had to close my eyes so I wouldn't puke and embarrass my son. Once the ride was over we headed out. Those evil marketing ppl at Disney put a gift shop at every exit of every ride. I was contemplating the jail again as my son flitted from display to display. He had $130 of his own money to spend and he took his time deciding on what to buy. Then I spotted it. The pictures you can buy and have your face put on the characters body. I had to have one with DS. We chose the Obi Wan and Padme pose. I knew it was going to be expensive since there were no prices to be seen. I didn't care. Finally we get our turn at the register. 34.95 for an 8x10 with frame or same price for 2 smaller pics with frame. I opted for the larger one. We laughed all day about that thing. I have it on mantel now. Maybe it will inspire me to exercise more since I know I can look good in a tight white leotard with a gun holstered to my leg! Oh, if you are staying at a Disney resort, please take advantage of the shipping to your resort offer. Best thing ever since you don't have to carry around purchases. After Star Tours and shopping, FP for RNR was up. We made our way back over to that side of park and DS started getting upset at the thought of riding again. He said it was awesome but didn't want to do it again. I wasn't going to argue with him. He was brave once and I wasn't going to push it again. We decided to let him stay with MIL and let me ride ALONE! Fantastic! A break! I gave the other 2 FP to a mother and son from Colorado who had just gotten to park and were about to wait in a 70 minute line. The other members of their party were chicken and were going to have to wait and all were relieved when I gave them the FP's. I had done my good deed for the day, not that I don't do more than one mind you, this one just made me feel good. After I rode RNR we decided to go back to POFQ to swim and hang out. We didn't have any dinner plans so we could take it easy.
For dinner, we decided to take boat to DTD from resort. We went shopping and ate at Earl of Sandwich. Great food! Have I mentioned we are on the DDP? It's only a Counter Service there so it fit nicely into our plans. The Lego statues are unbelievable. I especially liked the one out front with the girl walking all of the different dogs. After an eventful day we headed home for day 3, the Magic Kingdom!

 

[pumba]

I enjoyed your day in mgm too.......sounds like you are a good mommy ...so dont' worry. I told my grandson that TOT was a piece of cake......soooooo bad gramma...
I love Earl of Sandwich and wish we could have one up here in New England....i would travel for one of there sandwiches.....
Thanks for your report too

 

[vital]

DAY 3 MAGIC KINGDOM!

Could today really be the day? Yes it is! We arrive at MK and are first to the tunnel under the railroad tracks. Little did we know there was going to be a show above us that we couldn't see. The CM guarding the tunnel was making balloon animals to try to keep the little ones occupied until they let the masses in. Finally, entrance to the kingdom! I was as amazed as DS at the castle and darn if I didn't get that pic of him seeing it the first time. I missed a lot of pics, oh well. We rushed to the partners statue and took a pic of him standing on the planter with the castle in the background, and get this, no people were in it! Get out you say? No really, he was alone in the pic! I know some of you are thinking we should've ran to the entrance to the land we were going to but I couldn't pass up that opportunity. Anyway, some pixie dust was sprinkled on us and we "came across" some FP's for the MK without a date and time so we were set for the day. We went straight to Buzz and rode it 2 times without FP. That ride is one of my favs. We took turns driving and shooting. DS is a huge Buzz fan and he just smiled as we were shooting targets. Now, I had wanted to get DS on Space Mountain but RNR ruined that chance. A coaster in the dark and single file? NO WAY! Ok, so I skipped one of my must do's and off to Fantasyland we went. We spot Pooh first and ride it. No FP needed. Then we head on over to the Pooh playground and take some pics there. What next? He wants to do Peter Pan. No problem there either. No FP needed. It's only 1045 and look at all we've done! He sees It's A Small World and we go ahead and knock that out. He thought it was "cool" and I all could imagine was it being the Disney jail! We get out of that ride with our sanity intact (don't get me wrong, it's a classic ride, just annoying song) and he wants to do Pooh again. OK, so back to Pooh it was. I finally put an end to the criss-crossing madness and sat down to look at the map. By this time we are hungry so we stumble upon Pecos Bill Cafe. Boy did it look empty from the street! WOW! There were a lot of ppl and no seats! I don't know about you, but where I'm from if we see someone with a tray full of food walking down the aisle, we let them go first and not hit their ankles with an empty stroller while our screaming kid is running wild. I was contemplating the Disney jail once again. This time I think it would've been worth it. Finally we made our way outside and found a table. The burgers were good but the fries hit the spot! I was craving something fried and salty! Now refueled and ready to go we hit The Haunted Mansion. Yes, it really was his idea to go on this ride. He changed his mind once we were in the growing room until he got a better look at the pics and what was going on under the frame! He sat in the middle and was freaked out as I was by the screaming heads in the graveyard. Finally we reach the mirrors with the hitchhikers. Guess where the hitchhiker sat? You guessed it, on DS. He thought that was the coolest thing ever and was satisfied with the ride. Off to Frontierland we go. Who is that on the sidewalk? Woody and Jessie! I wish I could read the minds of the ppl in those coustumes! There was a group of 7 kids in front of us all demanding autographs and pics. Some were a little older and acted like they were still in diapers. We waited in line for autographs and pics and once again on our way. I take a few pics of a family in the stockades while we waited for our photo op. I felt like the paparazzi at times. Then DS sees Big Thunder Mountain Railroad! "I want to do that!" he says. I tell him it's still a roller coaster and he seems OK. We FP this one and go to the top. Lucky us, we get the front car! Not only the front car, the first seat on the front car! Good grief, I hope he can survive this ride! He liked it, but as the recurring theme goes, he didn't want to do it again. Next he spots Splash Mountain. "Why don't you go first and let us know how it is". OK! I FP it and up to the top I go. Have you ever noticed the looks you get when you pass ppl in the standby line? Anyway, off on Splash I go. I'm lucky to get the 3rd seat, I think. Well, just so happens the timing was just right for us to be where the splash comes off the log going down the big drop. Whooh, that felt good. We go through the ride and have to stop a few times due to some commotion downstream. Finally we reach the "big one". As we sit at the bottom of the hill, I'm thinking my DS could do this. As we go over the big hill, I put my hands up in the air and scream like a wild animal and get soaked. Now I know my DS must do this! I get off the ride and tell him that it's like It's A Small World with a few drops and one big one. Hey, it IS like that other ride. I talk him and MIL into it and off we go back up the hill. If you think you get dirty looks passing ppl once in the FP line, try doing it twice. I felt bad for a second and then concentrated on DS and what a good time he was going to have. I forgot about the dark drop in the middle until I see it. He was thoroughly enjoying the ride up until this point. I had to convince him it was a small drop into another tunnel. I don't think he trusted me b/c he almost broke my arm durning the drop. At the end, he laughed and said, "I knew it wasn't going to be the big one". Speaking of the big one, as we sat at the bottom of the hill for the big one, he decided he didn't want to do it. I told him he could swim upstream like a salmon or he could go down the drop with us and have the time of his life. As I was finishing my sentence, the log started to move. Too late I tell him and off we go. Did I mention that we were suppposed to be in front but I managed to talk the teenagers in the second row to change with us? So, here we are in the second row going Mach 1 down the hill and he's laughing! LAUGHTER! Success! We got drenched and he loved it. We even had to buy a Tshirt at the evil gift shop at the end of the ride. We are tired and ready to go back to resort. Wait, is that an infamous Dole Whip sign? I have GOT to try one of those. It is as good as ppl say. I forgot the order, but somewhere along the way we did the jungle cruise. Jerry was our captain and did a fantastic job. Not too corny, not too serious. We were worn out and ready to head back to the resort to freshen up for our dinner at Artist Point in Wilderness Lodge.
We take the boat to WL and are in awe at the resort. Very pretty. All I can say about Artist Point is WOWZA! Fantastic food and the presentation was like you see on food channel! We had a wonderful server and had a great time. We head back to the resort and call it a night.

Next up, animal kingdom

 

[vital]

Day 4, Animal Kingdom

Ok, after eating our ceral bars and tea, off to AK we go. I HAVE to ride Expedition Everest first I tell them. Our bus was late and we had to actually wait in line to get in. UGH! Look at all those ppl! I just know that EVERY ONE of them were going to beat me to EE. We talk to Wes Palm while waiting to get in. Yeah, yeah, let me in already. We finally get in and take a right. What's this? They've stopped ppl on the bridge? HA! Now I have a chance to get to EE! After pushing some ppl down and trampling some kids (jk) we finally see it, EE! What? The FP line is longer than the standby line? Hmph, just get in the standby line. It actually moved really quickly considering this is the "best" ride in all of WDW. I met another DIS'r in line as he's the only one who acknowledged my green mickey. The rest of my party took the chicken exit and at last, I was on the ride. Maybe I watched too many spoilers, but in comparison to RNR, EE was just good. Not great, and I would ride it again, but I think my expectations were a little too high. The theatrics were awesome, but the ride itself could've been longer and faster. I catch up with my party in the *gasp* gift shop! DS had to get some Yeti hands. I told him he had to ride it first but when tears came to his eyes, I gave in and let the kid have the gloves. Shipped them to the resort. Next up, Kali River Rapids! It opens at 0930 and it's 0945. Perfect timing. After a short wait we were ready to go. This is a great ride, but could stand to be longer. Just beware if you are the ones going backwards. That's all I'm going to say. What next? Let's do safari! Ugh, too long of a line so we decided to FP it. We had a couple of hours to kill so we take in the sights. I'm feeling weak so we get some fresh fruit and cheese and sit down. Now, I hear some whistles and drums. Let's go see! I love watching other ppl make a fool out of themselves while on vacation. They looked like they were having a good time dancing and pulsating to african drums, but some ppl shouldn't move like that, they may hurt themselves. I enjoyed watching them though. My DS loves gorillas since seeing King Kong so off we go on the Panigini Trail to see us some gorillas. We wind down the trail and finally spot them in the viewing area. Another note, where I'm from if we see a line forming, we get in it if we want to do what the others are doing. We finally get our chance to get up close with the gorillas sleeping and get our pics. On the other side we see a crowd and head over to it. There on the hill was a great view of a gorilla butt! She was showing us what she was thinking of us. I notice our FP for the safari was up so we headed on over. Our driver was Linnox (sp). Fantastic attraction, the ride, not the driver. Linnox was good to. I loved seeing all the animals and the surprise part. After the ride, we were walking and noticed a viewing area on the right. WOW! A silverback gorilla sitting in a waterfall all alone! There were just a few ppl there as the others were rushing off to do something else. We spend a few moments alone with the gorilla taking some awesome pics and show a man and his son the secret behind the bushes.
Now we just walk along taking it all in. We've done all we set out to do and the rest will be spur of the moment. Well what the %&^$ is that? Could it be the elusive Devine? It IS! All I can say is that is one cool looking thing. She wrapped herself around a tree and you honestly couldn't tell what it was if you didn't watch it get there. I took some pics and off we went. We FP It's Tough to be a Bug and found a Mickey ice cream bar and sat in a nice area to eat it. This nice area turned out to be the smoking area, but so be it. It was shady and we were taking in the sights. As we sat we noticed others from Mississippi. Time to go to the show. As we were hearded into the roped off section after getting our glasses I noticed a stench. My DS did at the same time and yelled, "Mom, the stink bug is here already!". I turned around to see where the offensive odor was coming from and it was easy to pinpoint. This man had cleard out a 2 foot area around him and we were crammed in like sardines. He smelled of stale cigarettes, urine, alcohol and body odor. I used to work in an inner city ER and new the smell well. After gagging for a few LONG minutes, we were allowed into the theater. I will not sit anywhere near that man was my mantra and he sat right in front of us until someone yelled at him not to stop in the middle. Whew, dodged a bullet. This is a great show, but is a little intense for the children when they declare war on humans. I couldn't see my hand in front of my face and DS was freaking out at some of the things happening. I don't want to spoil it for anyone. Finally the show was over and we were back in the daylight. We opted to take the next day off from the parks b/c we did all we wanted to do in Epcot the first night. Back to the resort for a shower and change of clothes and off to MK for wishes.
Stay tuned for Wishes

 

[vital]

Day 4 con't, Wishes

We leave the hotel after grabbing a bite to eat and head to Buzz. We still have the FP's from the day before so we are able to do some rides without a wait. Buzz is having complications so we rack up on the points while we were stuck. After Buzz, we hop on the TTA. I kinda liked riding around and looking at the rides from a birds eye view! As we go in Space Mountain, DS thinks we are about to ride it and starts getting nervous. After I reassure him we aren't riding he relaxes somewhat. He sees the Indy cars from TTA and begs to ride. I "let" him and MIL go alone so I can relax a little myself. They don't need FP for this ride as the line is moving pretty quickly. After the race, he wants to go on Astro Orbiter. OK. I'm up for it, we have some FP's left. HUH? Ride doesn't take FP? SOOOO, we wait in line to go up the elevator. I notice we are going to be able to see the sunset and the lights of MK. Awesome! We get on the ride and DS takes our rocket to the top. Holy cow! I didn't know this thing would get so high! I try not to think about it and enjoy the view. By the time we get back to earth, it's 900pm and time to head over to the rose garden to stake out our Wishes spot. I read all the advice about where the best viewing spot is and since MIL is a Tinkerbell fan, we decided on the sidewalk to the right of the bridge to Tomorrowland if you are going into Tomorrowland. The sidewalk has an indention in it so we pick that spot. I had no idea we would be able to see Spectromagic from this area also. Now, we could see the floats but not the ppl walking. Fine with us, at least we weren't in the crush. After the parade, ppl started staking claim to spots around us. What is that kid doing in the fenced in area? I know he's not! Yes, he was until everyone started yelling at him and he ran away. I'd love to hear what he told his parents or if they even knew. Wishes finally starts! Incredible! I am a huge fireworks fan and this is right up my alley. Who is that? Tinkerbell! Is it a real person? I think so, but not sure. I agree that the show wouldn't have been the same without the music and narration. Unbelievable. We sit tight and wait for the ppl to clear out somewhat. MIL wanted to see what was inside the castle. No time like the present! We walk through the castle and take in the sights. Off to the POTC gift shop we forgot to do yesterday. My DS loves Jack Sparrow, as we ALL do. I find a sticker of him that I plan on putting on my rear window of my car. Anyway, we walk through an almost deserted Frontierland on our way out. What the ?
Another Spectromagic parade? We really need to get out of here. We manage to make it to the entrance and had to wait for a break in the floats before we got to exit the park. I think this is the most exhausting and exciting day yet! I checked my pedometer, a little over 10 miles between the 2 parks. I never thought everything would look so cool at night in the MK. I tried to get my ppl to ride Splash Mountain in the dark but they opted out and I would've felt bad making them wait. We catch an almost empty bus back to resort and crash. We don't have any plans for the next day except to sleep and swim.

Resort day and dinner at Le Cellier next....

 

[vital]

DAY 5, RESORT DAY

In case you forgot, we stayed at the Port Orleans French Quarter. Fabulous resort and I'd recommend it to anyone. Finally, a day to sleep in! AAAAAH, it must be at least 1000. What? 0700? Please let me go back to sleep. NOOOO, I have to pee. Once I'm up, I'm up. Oh well, this is when the curtain to the dressing room comes in handy. Maybe I can shower quickly and get out of here before DS wakes up. I love my son dearly, but I need some quiet time every now and then. I get my bathing suit on and quietly pull the curtain back, and he stirs. Then he sits up and snatches his pillow back to see what the tooth fairy brought. Oh, I think I forgot to mention that waiting on the bus to go to AK, DS pulled out his top front tooth! That is something he will never forget! *sigh* I tell him to be quiet and get his swim trunks on and we head out to the food court. This is the first morning without cereal bars and we dig in. Mickey waffles, bacon, eggs, chocoalte milk, orange juice and fruit. When DS drops some eggs under the chair, a bird sneaks up under us and steals it. A bird eating eggs? Cannibalism? (i told you i crack myself up) Then he "drops" a piece of waffle and another bird follows first one's lead. I make him stop as we aren't supposed to feed them. We finish eating and head to the pool. It's 0825 and we aren't the first ones there. I see some chair hogs and some older folks trying to enjoy the semi-cool morning. DS jumps in and I decide to perch on a chair and make myself comfortable. Some more ppl come and eventually he finds someone to play with after I get in and out of the pool with him more times than I care to count. MIL arrives at the pool around 1100. By this time my nerves are bad from the pool hopping and trying to relax so she treats me to a pina colada. Wowza! This thing has more rum than ice! I think she told them a double! LOL! I bake in the sun until 130 and go in for a nap. I make DS go with me as we are eating at LeCellier tonight and I want to enjoy it. He lays down and fights sleep so I put on the soap operas. Did you know that the entire cast of Days of Our Lives from the 80's is back on that show? Some don't remember the others and so on. I knew that the 80's were becoming popular again, but good grief! Somehow during the nail biting episode, we fall asleep. MIL comes in and showers and wakes us up to get ready. We have ADR's for 630. We head to the park around 5 to make sure we have plenty of time for the bus. Lo and behold, bus arrives at stop same time as we do. Short trip to Epcot and we make our way to LeCellier. We check in and are told they are running little behind. Thank goodness for kid-cot stations. In about 10min the hostess finds us and our table is ready on time. I already know what I'm going to get, steak, medium rare, cheese soup, and that big honkin piece of whiskey chocolate cake. The pretzel bread sticks rock as does the meal. The only thing that was horrible was the drunk man with his wife and 2 kids behind us talking about their family problems so loud that MIL thought he was on a microphone. She had her back to him. It was so bad that his daughter told him to quit fighting and he said it was just a lively conversation. He then announced that at 0700 the next morning they were going to have a family mtg to dicuss the future of the family. Great memories, dad. So, we finish our meal and head out to the world. DS still thinks it's funny that I'm so freaked out by the ball ride that he insists on doing it again. First I make him take pictures in front of Mission Space and some fountains. I sit on the sidewalk while they ride into the big ball, Spaceship Earth. I was admiring the lushness of the vegetation and realize how they keep it that way, manure. I was smelling it strongly from where I was sitting. Finally they emerge from the ball and we head home. We discuss our last full day on the way home and let DS decide which park he wants to do next. MGM he says. Secretly I'm giddy inside b/c I get one more shot at RNR! Hehe. We decide to sleep in and hit the park around 130 or 200 since we have ADR's for Hollywood Brown Derby and Fantasmic Dinner Package.
Stay tuned for Day 6, I'm a star for a moment......

 

[Dizneydaz]

Keep up the reports-I'm enjoying reading them!

 

[Minniespal]

Excellent start ~ Looking forward to reading more.

 

[vital]

DAY 6- BACK TO MGM!


We sleep in late, if you want to call 730 late. Get up, shower and eat breakfast. We aren't in a hurry to get to park since we will be staying up for Fantasmic that night. We pack some things that we won't be needing anymore since we leave in the morning to go back to reality. I don't even want to think about it at the moment, but we have so much stuff we need to arrange suitcases so we can fit everything in them.
Finally we meander to MGM around 1230. DS really wants to see Indiana Jones but we just missed the start. We head off to RNR to see what's going on. Well it's "down" right now so I get FP's and we head over to Star Tours. We criss cross this park a LOT so I think I know my way around this one the best. Anywhoo, they ride Star Tours while I shop. I decided I still wanted the brown Storm Trooper shirt I saw from the other day so I must have it. I buy it and wait for them to come out. They just missed Darth Vader and are upset. I find out that he comes out every half hour or so and we go to Indiana Jones again. We go ahead and wait in the standby line since I got FP's for RNR later. We didn't have to wait long before we were let in. We were in the front on the center-right area. The girl was asking for ppl who have a lot of patience and I raised my hand thinking no way I'd ever get picked. Well guess what!? "Come on down lady with the hat on" I look around, she says, "Yes you!" Oh no, here we go. I'm going to say something and she's going to make fun of my southern accent. Luckily that didn't happen. If any of you were there, I was the one who had to strike the bodyguard pose and flex my muscle. I'm usually about to pee in my pants when I get in front of a lot of ppl but I was unusually calm. They told us what to do and the guy I was supposed to follow said he had no idea what was going on. I was thinking I was about to get killed by either fire or getting my butt kicked by these tumbling dudes. Fortunately the guy was planted and he knew exactly what to do to keep us alive. It was pretty neat and I'm glad I wasn't shy that day. My son was proud that I got to shake hands with
Indiana Jones. Yes, ladies, he IS as cute as he looks! After my 15 minutes of fame is over we head over to RNR to use our FP's. DS decides he's had enough of the thrill rides this trip and MIL wants to ride it. She must face it alone b/c we can't leave DS by himself. He promises to sit right there and not move, yeah, right. DS and I get a drink and wait for MIL to get off. The look on her face was great! She's glad she rode it but has no desire to do it again. Good, b/c it's my last turn. I LOVE this ride! I get in the first car and have the time of my life in there since I know it's going to be a while before I can do it again. I say goodbye to the RNR and we head over to Muppet Vision 3D. For those of you who haven't seen this show, it is a must do. I grew up with the muppets and enjoyed the show more than DS6. The bubbles are the coolest part and I'll say no more. Just go to it! When we exit the muppet show, who is there?!?!?! Sarge, the army guy from Toy Story! OH MY GOSH MOM! IT'S HHHIIIIMMM! 3 guesses as to who he's talking about. Did you say Buzz Lightyear!? You'd be correct! On the way to get his pic made with Buzz, we get one with Sarge. I don't know if you've seen this costume but it is very cool. On his boots he has these plastic things that look like the part on the army guy's feet to help him stand. Very cool. We get in the line for Buzz and guess what, time to change his battery. So we wait in line and take in the sights. I see thunderstorm clouds in the distance and know it's going to rain. Good thing I brought our ponchos. Buzz comes out and DS poses with him. Thank goodness for PhotoPass b/c I needed to delete some things on my camera and I ran out of memory for his favorite dude! We stroll over to the road with all the facades to check them out and it starts to rain. We grab a porch and sit down. It's just sprinkling a little so we venture out and see Lights, Motors, Action is just ahead of us. We decided to go to get out of the rain. We walk right in and everyone else had the same idea. We are packed in, dry but packed and the show starts. The first car stunt goes off without a hitch but then mother nature's lightening show starts and they have to cancel the show. Now, I'm from an area where we get a lot of storms and don't really get bothered by them. If you've been to LMA, you know that you sit on metal bleachers. HMMM, shouldn't we be evacuated since the lightening is striking literally over our head? It is raining like a freaking hurricane and ppl are running through it like they are running for the ark. I decided that surely, if we were in danger, they'd clear us out. We sit there with a few hundred other ppl and wait for the rain to ease up or at least quit blowing sideways. We put on our ponchos and off we go again. We decide to walk around the back lot and who do we see? GASP! A Power Ranger! The Silver one! Of course as we wait in line I delete some not so good pics to make room for this shot. The lady comes to the ppl behind us to close the line. Sheeew, just made it. We head up one of the streets and come across Mulch, Sweat and Shears. They are great fun! A lot of audience interaction. Since I was already a star that day I decided to hang back. DS got the chance to pluck a guitar string though. After we boogy with them for a while we head back to Star Tours to see if Darth is out. Nope, but we'll wait. So we waited and rested about 15minutes and there he was. Lord Vader himself. Boy is this guy huge! I literally come up to his armpit. I wanted him to say ,"Luke, I am your father" but I knew he couldn't talk so I left it alone. After all 3 of us get our pics, MIL and I decide we'd like a beer. We go back to Indiana Jones b/c we saw the sign earlier. We get our beer and sit and ppl watch sitting on a bench by Echo Lake. Boy, there's a lot of ppl watching to do there. After the beer we decide to head on over to Brown Derby to see if we can check in and be seated a little early. We were in luck, and were seated within 15 minutes! Food here is great and I'd recommend it to anyone. Dinner was awesome except for the screeching kid. I don't mean crying, yelling, sobbing. I mean Screeching! I was checking out other ppl's faces when the noise happened and they were annoyed as well. I don't mind crying children in loud places, but this was an ear piercing, blood curdling noise. Never did see the offender to guess the age, but I think he/she knew it bothered Mom/Dad and did it for attention. Oh well, I'm still at Disney!
MIL decides she's too tired for Fantasmic and we walk her back to bus stop. Now it's DS and I alone. Will we survive? You bet we will! What do we do first? Go shopping! I have some last minute things I need to get so I go ahead and buy them while we have some time to kill. We line up at the entrance for the dinner package ppl. Finally we reach our seats and sit and wait. DS sits and plays with his Star Wars Mickey he just got and I ppl watch. Boy, do I ppl watch. Then here come the evil ppl with the light up things. I fight with DS and finally find out the necklace is only $5. I buy him one and he's set. Finally the show starts and I'm amazed. How do they get the water just right to show a film on it? Magic, I know. After the show we head out to the bus. I'm a little sad as we wait for the bus knowing that tomorrow we'll leave this magical place. I think about all the good times we've had and some of the bad times too. I think about coming back and if it'll be as magical as this first time was. I know it won't be as new, but I'm sure it'll be just as magical. The bus comes and we relax on the way back to the room. The rabbits are out and we watch them for a while. I have to go to bed early so I can finish packing in the morning. Lights out.
Stay tuned for our bump trip home!

 

[vital]

DAY 7-HOME!

The alarm goes off at 0445 and we get up to shower and pack. We get to the desk to check in and the computer system is down. UGH! Last thing I want to do is deal with checking in bags at the airport. Finally the system comes up and we are good to go. We sit on a bench out front and wait for our towncar service. As we sit, we reflect on our trip. Happy to be going home to our dogs, but sad to leave WDW. I know I'll return, just don't know when. Our ride arrives and off we go.
We get to airport and go through security. Not too bad. We get on the tram to take us to terminal and what do I find? A bag of LUSH products. For those of you who don't know what LUSH is, it's like the crack of girlie products. They have the best bath and body products I've ever used. Only a few select areas have stores and Orlando airport happens to be one. I've heard of ppl flying to the airport, shopping and flying home on the same day. They have a website lush.com that you should go to. Any way, I look in the bag and it's everything I use! I search and find the credit card receipt and it has the owner's name on it. I believe in karma, so I turn the bag in and get the lady to page her. I think it was Linda Montgomery. So, Linda, if you got your bag back, I'm glad. It's time to board our plane and off we go. I thought I'd have a tear in my eye or something, but I was just glad to be going home to my dogs. Uneventful flight from Orlando to Atlanta. We board in Atlanta and have to sit on the runway for weather to clear out. I was talking to the stewardesses before the flight whild DS was in bathroom. They were saying it was going to be a bumpy flight for a while until we get around the weather. I tell MIL that as she is afraid of flying. We take off and the stewardesses were right. We had some turbulance like I haven't had in a while. I thought of the LUSH bag and how my good deed was going to come back to me by not crashing today! We dropped a few feet in a second and DS was laughing and smiling like he was on a ride at WDW! I couldn't believe it! He was freaking out on TOT and here we were 25,000 feet in the air and he was loving it! Made me laugh and not think about it so much. I told MIL after we landed in Jackson that the pilots actually had to fly the plane around the storms. She was trying to read her book and didn't notice. I have to give the pilots credit, I wasn't nervous while we were bumping and rocking. We landed and DS and I get dropped off at home to await time to get our dogs. We look over our souveniers and talk about going back.

He doesn't know this, but I'm planning our next trip already. I'm going to take him on a 7 day Eastern Disney cruise for halloween! I'm going to take him out of school the Friday before our cruise and go back to WDW for the afternoon so he can do the Pirates of the Carribean ride that he missed since it was closed. We are going October of 2007. Early to plan, I know, but I have to have something to look forward to. I also know that when you book early, you get a good deal. Besides, it's a great way to stay connected to Disney and the memories we made while we were there. Now, I can get that tear in my eye.

Thank y'all for reading my report and letting me put my memories into writing. It made the memories more vivid for me. If you have any questions feel free to PM me and I'll get back to you!

 

[zacksmammie]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us. Sounds like you had a wonderful time--but than again it's Disney how could you not? One question, you mentioned using a fastpass from a previous day - I didn't know you could do that.I thought once the time had expired you had to use it or lose it?

 

[averill94]

What an awesome report! Good times, sad times- that poor family having a "conversation" so sad.
You guys were troopers- no rest till day 5?!
Thank you for sharing

 

[fizz13]

Great report Man I would have had a tough time handing in those Lush goodies. It is my very favourite place to go shopping here in the UK, didn't know it had spread to the other side of the pond. Glad your trip went without a major hitch and you got to ride all you wanted, you'll just have to go back and try Space Mtn. thanks for sharing,
Claire xx

 

[benamin]

Great job on the trip report! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Thanks for the effort!

 

[nataliz]

Thanks so much for sharing your report!

We never ran into Sarge or Buzz on our trip. You were lucky ducks!

 

[GreatBiscuit]

I started to wonder what a Disney jail would be like. Would they put you in a caged boat and send you through It's a Small World over and over?

That's great! I needed a good laugh today! Love the report!