Our Mother-Daughter Trip to WDW @POFQ- full trip report for your reading pleasure!

[Stef831]

Ok so here goes- after months of planning and mapping things out my daughter and I ventured out on our first vaction without dear hubbie and younger daughter. This was supposed to be a college visit trip initially then once done on to disney for 5 days...Cast of characters:

DD- Sarah age 17
DM- Mom age 43 (soon to be 44 on 8/31)**

Sunday August 13th
DH and younger daughter wanted to see us off so we decided since it was a 2 1/2hr ride to the airport that we would spend the night in Baltimore and head to airport following morning. With the heigtened security we wanted to be sure to be there early enough. We left our house after breakfast and headed to Balto. We checked in at the Emabassy Suites BWI and we had a nice room on the 7th floor. Then we decided to visit Arundal Mills a huge mall where we picked up some last minute items. We were in bed early although couldn't sleep cause we were so exicted.

Monday August 14th
Finally the day is here after months of planning. We arrived at the airport at a lovely 4:30am and it was already very busy with people waiting in line. We met a young family with 2 young daughters on their very first trip ever to WDW.....how exciting is that??? Well, I just had to tell them all about the wonderful and magical experiences that were awaiting them. We were to meet up with them again on Friday as they were also at the Spirit of Aloha Show same as us!! What a small world it is huh?? Anyway....got on the plane and arrived in Pensacola around 9:30am- I didn't realize they are on central time. We checked into the Fairfield Innn early and did some exploring and found the University of West Florida rather easily. The campus was very nice and we met with the admissions counselor who took alot of time with us- I had been in constant converstation with her prior to the trip so it was nice to finally put a name to a face. We toured the campus in a torrential downpour in a golf cart but she made the best out of it for us. Headed back around 4:00pm and rested up before we got a quick bite to eat. After we headed back knowing we had to get up early and drive to Tallahasse the next day. The weather very hot and humid!!!

more to come....

 

[Stef831]

Tuesday August 15, 2006
Again we were up early and headed towards Tallahassee. My DH wanted us to try and stop in Destin - a beautiful area he had heard and read about so we decided this was least we could do since he couldn't come w/us. Got there and it was just beautiful. The sand was so soft and white and the ocean such a georgous tourquiose blue I would have thought we were in the caribbean. We took some pictures there and headed back on the road. We had an appointment at Florida State University @ 1pm so we had to get going. We finally made it there after about 3 hours on the road. We loved FSU- the campus was just beautiful and the buildings architecture very ornate. We got to actually go on the football field and that was quite a thrill. after this we headed back to the hotel to get something to eat andthen off to bed as we were going to get up very early to drive to WDW finally......

Wednesday August 16th, 2006 WDW Here we come!!
We got up around 4am and were on the road by 4:50am heading towards Disney. We made it to POFQ by 9:30am and low and behold our room was ready- a complete shock to us but hey we were so happy to be there and the magic was already at work. We dropped off our stuff and quickly headed to the MK- we were just so excited to finally be in the happiest place on earth! We headed right for our favorites Splash Mtn, Thunder Mtn, Space Mtn....we had 12N ADR for Chef Mickey's so we headed there and enjoyed a nice leisurely lunch. It was good but since lunch was new for them not as much on the buffet as for breakfast or dinner. This was just OK for me. Afterwards, we headed back to the MK for some more magic. It was very hot and we caved in and bought 2 of the squirt water fans! It was a blessing for us. We used it constantly!! We had such a fun time reliving our old favorites and enjoying some new ones as in Stiches Great escape. That was cute I thought. DD- finally tried Space Mtn for 1st time and she really liked it. By afternoon's end we were getting hungry so we headed towards the front and for our ADR for Tony's Town Square- I had the Baked Ziti- very good but the portions were so large just couldn't finish it. DD had the spaghetti and meatballs also very good. We got the tiramasu and the cheesecake for dessert and just couldn't finish it. We were stuffed. We decided we needed to walk it off so we walked up and down Main Street going in and out of shops and doing some fun shopping. We then staked out a place for the parade and fireworks and stayed till both were over. I had tears in my eyes when it was over and my DD leaned over to say- "Mom I really wish Dad and Rachel were here to see this" Wow, she really does miss her sister and dad....It made me feel so good inside!!

More to come.....

 

[Stef831]

Thursday August 17th, 2006- EPCOT
After being up since 4am and not getting in till about 11pm we were so tired but didn't want to miss anything so we were up by 7am and heading to food court for the so talked about beignets---they were so good we made this a daily ritual. We also got the mugs and used these quite a bit too. After a quick bite we headed for EPCOT- the buses were great. We were the first on in the morning and the first stop at end of day. The only down side was we were in building 7 and a ways from bus stop I think but we learned to deal w/that. Our room was 7304 top floor on end. Our room was really nice and very comfortable- ok on w/the review...We headed into EPCOT and headed for Soarin- this was absolutely fantastic and something we definitely wanted to do again...so we got fast passes for it. We then headed to Test track and having never done this either- we absolutely wouldn't leave without doing it. Well the wait took forever and then there was a malfunction and after about 80 minutes we were finally on....it was great but way too short for the time we had to wait. By now it was nearing time for our ADR for Le Cellier so we headed there for our long anticipated lunch and boy was it ever good probably our best meal. We both had the beef tenderloin with garlic mashed potatoes, I had the cheese soup DD had the mussels- and I had the maple creme brulee for dessert- it was also so incredibly delicious!! We walked around world showcase and did some shopping.....ok alot of shopping got some things for DD and DH back home and we decided we were just so tired from being on the go we just couldn't make it for Illuminations- so we headed back to our hotel and room for a rest. After about 2 hours we said - let's go I don't want to waist another minute...we opted to take the boat ride to Dowtown disney and explore there and of course do some more shopping. We window shopped mostly didn't buy all that much. We were back in our room and asleep by 11pm.

Friday August 18, 2006 - Typhoon Lagoon/Polynesian for Spirit of Aloha.
We really needed a day to kick back and relax so we headed for Typhoon lagoon and spent a good part of the day here just relaxing, cruising down the lazy river, and going to the wave pool- alot of fun and our favorite of the water parks!! About 3pm we headed back to resort to shower and change for Spirit of Aloha Show.- We met up with the family we met at the airport and they looked like they were just having a ball and the times of their lives. It was so neat to see how magical this place makes everyone feel no matter how big or small. It made me think of my first time ever to disney and it brought back many special memories for me! The meal was fantastic- I just loved the pineapple cocunut bread- it was so good I could have made a meal on the bread alone. The show itself was very good and we really enjoyed it alot. Headed back to resort and were in bed early. Our legs and feet- esp. mine had all they could take......

More to come, stayed tuned!!

 

[lookingforward]

Great reports! I am really enjoying them. My daughter is 7 and we started going for an annual mom/daughter weekend two years ago. I hope she still wants to hang with me when she is 17. Quite honestly, I hope she still wants to have our "weekend" when she is 35! Looking forward to reading more!

 

[DeterminedOne]

I am sure your DD will have fond memories of this trip for the rest of her life. Keep it coming, I'm looking forward to reading more.

 

[Stef831]

Saturday August 19, 2006- Animal Kingdom/ EPCOT- Eve. @ Illuminations
Ok we were up by 7am and headed back to food court for our daily course of morning coffee and beignets. We were on the bus headed to AK by 8:30. Once in- we headed right for Expedition Everest- wow! what a thrill and intense ride--it was awesome but it kind of did make my stomach kind of queasy. DD wanted to fast pass it again so once we did that we went to dinasour but it was closed temporarily so we headed for Kilamanjaro Safari and by the end of that and the motion I was starting to not feel so good. And it was getting very very hot and humid. DD said it was time for our fast pass by now so we headed back to Exp Everest and I made the mistake of going on it again- and by time I got off I thought I was going to be sick and headed right for the bathroom. I also made the mistake of not really drinking enough either and the combination of all that had me feeling really bad. Didn't know if I could make it as I was starting to feel quite dizzy and faint. I bailed out the line for Kali River Rapids and DD did that. I was down for about a good hour or more- went to get some air and some water even though I didn't feel like it and after awhile I did start to feel better- By like 1pm I was ready to try and eat something although very little- it stayed down and I felt alot better. So, a big word to the wise......when it's hot like that please remember to drink plenty of fluids no matter what....it will save you and I think I would have been alright if I had done this. We enjoyed the rest of the day in the park and headed back to hotel about 5pm. The sky darted to look threatenting out but we really wanted to go back to EPCOT and see Illuminations so we showered and changed and as soon as we got through the gates the heavens opened and it poured and poured and poured. We brought our ponchos so we donned them on and headed to Morrocco and we ate the Tangerine Cafe- the food there was excellent and I highly recommend it for their counter service meal. I had the meatballs and rice and DD had the lamb, huummus and bread etc. It continued to rain just up until about 1 hour before Illuminations - but we got to see it and it was worth it. It was terrific. After- we headed back and to resort. We were in bed again by 11pm.

Sunday August 20, 2006- MGM Studios
Again we were up by 7am showered, dressed and were on bus headed to MGM by 8:30am- We spent the day here enjoying our favorite rides- Star Tours, RR, and seeing some of new shows like the Car Stunts Show among others- excellent. We had lunch at the Sci-Fi and it was great as always. We both had the burgers, fries, beer fried onion rings and dessert - for dinner we ate at Hollywood and Vine as we had the fantasmic dinner package it was just ok for me- not worth the extra money we spent and as far as the fantasmic show- we ended up sitting in the middle section (which was not even in the preferred section) as the view was better. We were back in our bed by 10pm.

Monday August 21, 2006- Citywalk @ Universal and home....boo hooo!!
Today was time to pack up and get ready for home. We finished that early and headed down one last time for those yummy beignets and some coffee. We headed over to citywalk as we had been there before and really liked it. We ended up having lunch @ Jimmy Buffets and then headed to the airport. Check in wasn't bad at all and we were through in no time. We waited awhile for our flight then we got delayed on the runway for about an hour and once the storm cleared we were on our way home. Once at BWI my youngest daughter ran up to me threw her loving arms around me and gave me the biggest kiss- it was so nice. And of course a big kiss from DH.....next year it will be the whole family and I already can't wait.....thanks for tuning in. Hope you enjoyed reading it. I would be happy to take any questions....thanks again!!

 

[PoohGal05]

Wonderful trip report! THANKS for sharing!