Laurabearz
I cant load my bobbin!
- Joined
- Nov 25, 2001
- Messages
- 13,634
Cast...
Me, Laura, planner of trip
Ozo, Husband and newbie to Disney
Cindy, My best friend
Johnny, Ozo good buddy
Vee, Another of Ozo's buddies
Madeline (2 3/4) My daughter
Abigail AKA Juju (15 months)
We stayed at OKW 2 bedroom......This was a great place to stay! The 2 bedroom villa was HUGE and laid out wonderfully. I loved the fact that you park right where you stay..... AND we lucked out with a first floor unit that looked out over the golf course. I cant imagine walking up 3 flights of stairs at the end of the day..... We were in building 27. Close to the main building and the bus stop. I do wish that Disney would have signage on the back of the busses so you could see which bus you just missed. Then we could walk over to the main building and catch it......
The girls loved the kiddie pool. It was nice and toasty! The sand play areas were really nice too.
Airport security..... Was a pain. BUT it didn't take the two hours they claim to get thru it. My advice is to not carry anything in your pockets at all! The guys really dug the army guys with the m-16 riffles. I was amazed at how small their ankles looked! Oh and dont try to joke with them..... They are not happy to be standing there all day and have little to say! LOL
I guess the first place to start is with the security..... They check all bags, purses, strollers, et all thoroughly. Most days they even had us open eye glass cases..... Just as an example. They dont care about food.... Although they only allow Peter Pan brand peanut butter (a joke told by one of the guards) I suggest having all zippers open and ready to go. They are very nice about it...... It is a pain but worth it. I really also think that these searches are more for show.... They dont pat anyone down and it would still be very easy to bring in weapons. JMO
The parks were really slow the first couple of days thanks to rain. We didn't mind a bit. I do recommend buying rain ponchos before you go so your not a part of the sea of Yellow. (the color of the ponchos Disney sells, for $6.50 I think) It helped us find each other. Also 2 way radios.... They were a blessing too!
Friday night (arrival day) we went to Downtown Disney. Fun Fun fun!!! The girls loved Lego land. (as did we all) The dinosaur in the water is sooooo cool! We went briefly into the World of Disney (man oh man is that place huge!) It is important to note which Character is at the entrance where you came in otherwise you will get lost! I must admit I was a bit disappointed with the selection of women's wear. Only 4 shirts with a non T-shirt neck. And the selection of socks for kids is bad too. (I forgot to pack socks for my girls! LOL) As it turns out just about everything I bought there they had at Conch Flats (the store at OKW)
Animal Kingdom (Saturday) was neat. We didn't get to spend enough time there though :-( The safari ride was neat..... It is amazing how well Disney Hides the "cages" It is very hard to take pictures.... The really cool jeeps (really really cool) barely stops.... so make sure you have high speed film! We never made it to the Tree of Life... spent some time in Dinoland.... seems like a lot of construction there. The triceratops spin is fun.... We
rode that 3 or 4 times. (kinda like Dumbo.... But with dinos) Saturday night we headed to the Magic Kingdom to see SPECTROMAGIC Parade (it was only on Friday and Saturday nights) and the fireworks. Maddie dug both! Juju liked it too.
For the parade we sat right by the train station. Great view. For the fireworks we headed down Main Street and sat in the smoking section. Great views of Tink as she flew and the fireworks we all around the castle. One draw back was the lights on the other side of the water never dimmed..... Made for bad photos.... But the fireworks still looked grand!
MGM (Sunday) was a big dud for the kids..... Except for Playhouse Disney. Saw that show twice and should have gone more..... Both Maddie and Juju loved it! Dancing.... Clapping.... Singing.... A kids dream! The biggest bummer was that it only played 3 times that day..... Never caught the Beauty and the Beast show.... But it sounded cool. Little Mermaid scared the daylights out of Maddie..... If ya see it, sit far back...... It may help with the fear factor.... We sat in the second row and Ursula was just to
big and scary from there..... Rode Tower of Terror.... FYI the ride is tame.... Really.... ( I was kinda disappointed!) Maybe if your in the front of the elevator it is better.... We were in the last row. I think the giant drop ride at Six Flaggs Great America is better.... But..... The Theming is GREAT! Very spooky! Also rode Rock n roller coaster! WOOOOO HOOOOOOO That is a great ride!!!!! I am a rear car roller coaster gal but I suggest the front car on this one! You FLY!!!!!!! (I imagined this is how fast Jo drives <beg>) We bought both the photos from ToT and RnRC. They are a hoot! There are several great places to eat at MGM and we didn't eat at one of them.... We
grabbed a bite at the ABC commissary..... Yuck.
Sunday night we had dinner at O'hana's at the Poly. Boy that was one great meal! So great my girlfriend and I ate so much we later got sick! ROFL. I dont think it was the food.... I think it was the 4 rum punch in the pineapple that did us in. LOL The Poly is wonderful. We plan on staying there when the girls get older..... It was more lush the Hawaii! If you can believe it! Disney at it best!
Monday we went to the Magic Kingdom. Rode Dumbo several times.... And the merry-go- round. Maddie didn't like Pooh (I dont blame her.... I was disappointed with it too) Maddie didn't like Buzz.... Maddie LOVED..... The race cars.... She thought that was the best.... Driving her own car (with daddy's help lol) She also thought the peoplemover (darn cant remember the NEW name for it.....) It is the slow train that runs through space mountain and
all over tomorrow land. We rode that 5-10 times. It does get dark in a couple of places but I have bought her a cute little light that she could turn on when she got scared. I highly recommend getting a small light for the little ones. It was a life saver!! They sell these fiber optics ones there that are kinda cool..... We also went on Small world. Maddie enjoyed it..... I loved it! It is so nice to see the same dolls I loved when I was a child (my fave is the pink belly dancer.... Always has been... always will be!)
My girlfriend and I did Alien Encounter. Boy was that a HOOT. BUT NOT FOR LITTLE KIDS! The funniest (and saddest) part was about 1/3 of the way thru a kid (about 9) screamed a blood curdling scream..... I WANT MY MOMMY!!!!!! I dont blame him.... It was quite scary! Well done though! I only wish we had time to do it again with the boys! I just know they would have pee'd in their pants!!! ROFLMBO!!!
Tuesday, we went back to MK to have breakfast with the Princesses! This was a blast! Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Mary Poppins all came around several times. Maddie was in heaven. Juju couldn't care less. (she prefers the full costumed characters like pooh and Mickey) Oh and Fairly God Mother was in the waiting room. She was a delight to watch. So in character the whole time. I was amazed.... Can there be a better job? Some of the girls were
dressed up but most weren't. Food wasn't bad. It is a preplated all you can eat thing. Our server was really nice too. Was it worth getting up at 545 am exactly 60 days out to call for ressies??? Yes! Tuesday night Ozo and I headed to Epcot without the girls. We rode Spaceship Earth. I was soooo bummed! They had changed it since the last time I was there (1993) It USED to have this cool part when you entered this HUGE room and a big screen that filled your whole vision came on..... it was so cool. I didn't care for the newer version. :::::Sigh::::::
We also rode Test Track. Cool ride. I esp liked the preshow... all the dummies getting beat up! Funny! I was kinda bummed though... The lines were so short that they ran them past a lot of the preshow stuff..... does that make sense? I love all the extras the Disney does for us while we wait in line....... and to not be able to enjoy it all...... Now I dont want to sound like I am complaining that the lines were too short! No way! It just would be nice to be able to walk thru the whole line...... understand?
Wednesday. Back to the MK this time we took the train around to Toon town! Both the girls loved it there! Maddie and Juju met all the characters! Minnie's house is way more interactive (and more crowded) than Mickey's. But they have a great system. Several rooms all with Mickey in them.... The kids will never know there is more than one Mickey! Hee hee.... keeps the lines moving. At Minnie's.... in the big tent you have your choice of character greets. We did the Minnie one but also met Eyeore, Tigger (I have a great picture my husband took of Maddie and Tigger where he cut Tigger's head off! MEN!) Chip and Dale were also there..... As well as Rebecca from Tale Spin (I kinda felt bad for her.... Nobody knew who she was and no one really wanted their picture with her!) I know I am forgetting some..... Oh yeah... Pooh! I should add that when we first got there we were put off by how long the lines were. BUT they went really quickly. They let about 20-30 people in at one time so it goes quickly! Disney also provides photographers. As it turns out (due to the Tigger picture disaster) I am sooo glad I bought them! I think they run 13 bucks for the first one and less for copies. Expensive but as my husband taught me.... well worth it! Hardy har har! He can never complain about the price of photos again! We also caught the parade.... the snow globe one. It was great. The girls really enjoyed it. We found a great spot right by Big Thunder Mountain (at the start of the parade) so when it was over we booked over to Pirates. Maddie didn't care for Pirates at all but was good about it. She just kept her head buried in my shoulder. Gosh I love her when she is docile! ROFL. Then we hit the Jungle cruise. Big Hit! Even my husband liked it! We had a great driver. Jim I think... kinda old (well not OLD OLD but in his 50-60"s) He did most of my fave one liners....with the exception of.... Trader viks special... two of his heads for one of yours!!!! Hardy har har! I cant believe my husband liked it. I am also thankful that the girls like it too!!!!
Thursday was spa day for the girls. Although we snuck back to MGM to ride RnRC one more time. Then we headed to Disney Institute for a day of luxury. I enjoyed the Swedish massage. Very relaxing. Then we had a sea salt polish (where they rub you with sea salt to get all the dead skin off) and some kinda of wrap. I didn't care for the wrap part..... Too hot and gooey! LOL My girlfriend loved it. To each their own I guess. Then we had Pedicures followed by a facial. Again I didn't care for the facial. Too gooey. But my toes look great! The boys too the girls back to MK and they rode Dumbo, did Small world and the peoplemover a couple of times. Then they headed to the pool.
Friday.... check out day.... :-( And that is what we did..... checked out. Oh I made the guys pack while I went to a DVC open house <grin> I am proud to say we are now the owners of 430 OKW points! (bought them resale coz all they were selling was the Villa's at Wilderness lodge...... and we love OKW and want that 11 month window there!) I found a really great deal with extra banked points and such that when we close we will have enough "free" points to take a cruise with Disney!!!! WOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
I guess that is about it. I did leave out all the bickering and fighting that occurred.... I will never ever go to WDW with people who dont have children again.
To many agendas that weren't geared to little kids..... But all in all a great trip and we cannot wait to go back HOME!!!!!!!
Me, Laura, planner of trip
Ozo, Husband and newbie to Disney
Cindy, My best friend
Johnny, Ozo good buddy
Vee, Another of Ozo's buddies
Madeline (2 3/4) My daughter
Abigail AKA Juju (15 months)
We stayed at OKW 2 bedroom......This was a great place to stay! The 2 bedroom villa was HUGE and laid out wonderfully. I loved the fact that you park right where you stay..... AND we lucked out with a first floor unit that looked out over the golf course. I cant imagine walking up 3 flights of stairs at the end of the day..... We were in building 27. Close to the main building and the bus stop. I do wish that Disney would have signage on the back of the busses so you could see which bus you just missed. Then we could walk over to the main building and catch it......
The girls loved the kiddie pool. It was nice and toasty! The sand play areas were really nice too.
Airport security..... Was a pain. BUT it didn't take the two hours they claim to get thru it. My advice is to not carry anything in your pockets at all! The guys really dug the army guys with the m-16 riffles. I was amazed at how small their ankles looked! Oh and dont try to joke with them..... They are not happy to be standing there all day and have little to say! LOL
I guess the first place to start is with the security..... They check all bags, purses, strollers, et all thoroughly. Most days they even had us open eye glass cases..... Just as an example. They dont care about food.... Although they only allow Peter Pan brand peanut butter (a joke told by one of the guards) I suggest having all zippers open and ready to go. They are very nice about it...... It is a pain but worth it. I really also think that these searches are more for show.... They dont pat anyone down and it would still be very easy to bring in weapons. JMO
The parks were really slow the first couple of days thanks to rain. We didn't mind a bit. I do recommend buying rain ponchos before you go so your not a part of the sea of Yellow. (the color of the ponchos Disney sells, for $6.50 I think) It helped us find each other. Also 2 way radios.... They were a blessing too!
Friday night (arrival day) we went to Downtown Disney. Fun Fun fun!!! The girls loved Lego land. (as did we all) The dinosaur in the water is sooooo cool! We went briefly into the World of Disney (man oh man is that place huge!) It is important to note which Character is at the entrance where you came in otherwise you will get lost! I must admit I was a bit disappointed with the selection of women's wear. Only 4 shirts with a non T-shirt neck. And the selection of socks for kids is bad too. (I forgot to pack socks for my girls! LOL) As it turns out just about everything I bought there they had at Conch Flats (the store at OKW)
Animal Kingdom (Saturday) was neat. We didn't get to spend enough time there though :-( The safari ride was neat..... It is amazing how well Disney Hides the "cages" It is very hard to take pictures.... The really cool jeeps (really really cool) barely stops.... so make sure you have high speed film! We never made it to the Tree of Life... spent some time in Dinoland.... seems like a lot of construction there. The triceratops spin is fun.... We
rode that 3 or 4 times. (kinda like Dumbo.... But with dinos) Saturday night we headed to the Magic Kingdom to see SPECTROMAGIC Parade (it was only on Friday and Saturday nights) and the fireworks. Maddie dug both! Juju liked it too.
For the parade we sat right by the train station. Great view. For the fireworks we headed down Main Street and sat in the smoking section. Great views of Tink as she flew and the fireworks we all around the castle. One draw back was the lights on the other side of the water never dimmed..... Made for bad photos.... But the fireworks still looked grand!MGM (Sunday) was a big dud for the kids..... Except for Playhouse Disney. Saw that show twice and should have gone more..... Both Maddie and Juju loved it! Dancing.... Clapping.... Singing.... A kids dream! The biggest bummer was that it only played 3 times that day..... Never caught the Beauty and the Beast show.... But it sounded cool. Little Mermaid scared the daylights out of Maddie..... If ya see it, sit far back...... It may help with the fear factor.... We sat in the second row and Ursula was just to
big and scary from there..... Rode Tower of Terror.... FYI the ride is tame.... Really.... ( I was kinda disappointed!) Maybe if your in the front of the elevator it is better.... We were in the last row. I think the giant drop ride at Six Flaggs Great America is better.... But..... The Theming is GREAT! Very spooky! Also rode Rock n roller coaster! WOOOOO HOOOOOOO That is a great ride!!!!! I am a rear car roller coaster gal but I suggest the front car on this one! You FLY!!!!!!! (I imagined this is how fast Jo drives <beg>) We bought both the photos from ToT and RnRC. They are a hoot! There are several great places to eat at MGM and we didn't eat at one of them.... We
grabbed a bite at the ABC commissary..... Yuck.
Sunday night we had dinner at O'hana's at the Poly. Boy that was one great meal! So great my girlfriend and I ate so much we later got sick! ROFL. I dont think it was the food.... I think it was the 4 rum punch in the pineapple that did us in. LOL The Poly is wonderful. We plan on staying there when the girls get older..... It was more lush the Hawaii! If you can believe it! Disney at it best!
Monday we went to the Magic Kingdom. Rode Dumbo several times.... And the merry-go- round. Maddie didn't like Pooh (I dont blame her.... I was disappointed with it too) Maddie didn't like Buzz.... Maddie LOVED..... The race cars.... She thought that was the best.... Driving her own car (with daddy's help lol) She also thought the peoplemover (darn cant remember the NEW name for it.....) It is the slow train that runs through space mountain and
all over tomorrow land. We rode that 5-10 times. It does get dark in a couple of places but I have bought her a cute little light that she could turn on when she got scared. I highly recommend getting a small light for the little ones. It was a life saver!! They sell these fiber optics ones there that are kinda cool..... We also went on Small world. Maddie enjoyed it..... I loved it! It is so nice to see the same dolls I loved when I was a child (my fave is the pink belly dancer.... Always has been... always will be!)
My girlfriend and I did Alien Encounter. Boy was that a HOOT. BUT NOT FOR LITTLE KIDS! The funniest (and saddest) part was about 1/3 of the way thru a kid (about 9) screamed a blood curdling scream..... I WANT MY MOMMY!!!!!! I dont blame him.... It was quite scary! Well done though! I only wish we had time to do it again with the boys! I just know they would have pee'd in their pants!!! ROFLMBO!!!
Tuesday, we went back to MK to have breakfast with the Princesses! This was a blast! Snow White, Cinderella, Belle, Mary Poppins all came around several times. Maddie was in heaven. Juju couldn't care less. (she prefers the full costumed characters like pooh and Mickey) Oh and Fairly God Mother was in the waiting room. She was a delight to watch. So in character the whole time. I was amazed.... Can there be a better job? Some of the girls were
dressed up but most weren't. Food wasn't bad. It is a preplated all you can eat thing. Our server was really nice too. Was it worth getting up at 545 am exactly 60 days out to call for ressies??? Yes! Tuesday night Ozo and I headed to Epcot without the girls. We rode Spaceship Earth. I was soooo bummed! They had changed it since the last time I was there (1993) It USED to have this cool part when you entered this HUGE room and a big screen that filled your whole vision came on..... it was so cool. I didn't care for the newer version. :::::Sigh::::::
We also rode Test Track. Cool ride. I esp liked the preshow... all the dummies getting beat up! Funny! I was kinda bummed though... The lines were so short that they ran them past a lot of the preshow stuff..... does that make sense? I love all the extras the Disney does for us while we wait in line....... and to not be able to enjoy it all...... Now I dont want to sound like I am complaining that the lines were too short! No way! It just would be nice to be able to walk thru the whole line...... understand?
Wednesday. Back to the MK this time we took the train around to Toon town! Both the girls loved it there! Maddie and Juju met all the characters! Minnie's house is way more interactive (and more crowded) than Mickey's. But they have a great system. Several rooms all with Mickey in them.... The kids will never know there is more than one Mickey! Hee hee.... keeps the lines moving. At Minnie's.... in the big tent you have your choice of character greets. We did the Minnie one but also met Eyeore, Tigger (I have a great picture my husband took of Maddie and Tigger where he cut Tigger's head off! MEN!) Chip and Dale were also there..... As well as Rebecca from Tale Spin (I kinda felt bad for her.... Nobody knew who she was and no one really wanted their picture with her!) I know I am forgetting some..... Oh yeah... Pooh! I should add that when we first got there we were put off by how long the lines were. BUT they went really quickly. They let about 20-30 people in at one time so it goes quickly! Disney also provides photographers. As it turns out (due to the Tigger picture disaster) I am sooo glad I bought them! I think they run 13 bucks for the first one and less for copies. Expensive but as my husband taught me.... well worth it! Hardy har har! He can never complain about the price of photos again! We also caught the parade.... the snow globe one. It was great. The girls really enjoyed it. We found a great spot right by Big Thunder Mountain (at the start of the parade) so when it was over we booked over to Pirates. Maddie didn't care for Pirates at all but was good about it. She just kept her head buried in my shoulder. Gosh I love her when she is docile! ROFL. Then we hit the Jungle cruise. Big Hit! Even my husband liked it! We had a great driver. Jim I think... kinda old (well not OLD OLD but in his 50-60"s) He did most of my fave one liners....with the exception of.... Trader viks special... two of his heads for one of yours!!!! Hardy har har! I cant believe my husband liked it. I am also thankful that the girls like it too!!!!
Thursday was spa day for the girls. Although we snuck back to MGM to ride RnRC one more time. Then we headed to Disney Institute for a day of luxury. I enjoyed the Swedish massage. Very relaxing. Then we had a sea salt polish (where they rub you with sea salt to get all the dead skin off) and some kinda of wrap. I didn't care for the wrap part..... Too hot and gooey! LOL My girlfriend loved it. To each their own I guess. Then we had Pedicures followed by a facial. Again I didn't care for the facial. Too gooey. But my toes look great! The boys too the girls back to MK and they rode Dumbo, did Small world and the peoplemover a couple of times. Then they headed to the pool.
Friday.... check out day.... :-( And that is what we did..... checked out. Oh I made the guys pack while I went to a DVC open house <grin> I am proud to say we are now the owners of 430 OKW points! (bought them resale coz all they were selling was the Villa's at Wilderness lodge...... and we love OKW and want that 11 month window there!) I found a really great deal with extra banked points and such that when we close we will have enough "free" points to take a cruise with Disney!!!! WOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!
I guess that is about it. I did leave out all the bickering and fighting that occurred.... I will never ever go to WDW with people who dont have children again.
To many agendas that weren't geared to little kids..... But all in all a great trip and we cannot wait to go back HOME!!!!!!!
