Rednecks, White Socks w/Photos to Prove It...

[weich1001]

Tuesday started with Austin receiving a special call from Goofy wishing him a Happy Birthday. Then we headed into Epcot for an extra magic hour in the morning. We arrived just after 8AM and were able to ride Test Track, Mission Space and Soarin all with less than 10 minute waits. Austin loved Test Track, especially the last hard banked left turn going around 75 MPH. Erika was the Enginner on Mission Space and laughed about being able to put us all in “hypersleep” and Soarin was absolutely breathtaking of the California countryside and LA. While they said there was a chance of motion sickness on all these rides…none of it affected any us. The rides were truly spectacular! Then we went to the Seas with Nemo and Friends…you just sit on this one and are moved along while sitting in a in a clam shell….it was neat and at the end of it we went into Turtle Talk with Crush---this is a really cute show for kids. We did all of this in just the morning.

We never made it into the Countries…though we wanted to…just not enough time! Pappy and Mimi went off and did their own thing, since Mimi doesn’t do rides! And from what I gather had a great time and traded for some really cool pins.

After Epcot we headed to Typhoon Lagoon. We started in the Wave Pool….all I can say is hold on to your swimsuit! Wow, this made Camelbeach’s Wave Pool look like a kiddie pool (and their’s is pretty powerful) but this was hard and physically would move you an average of 10-20 feet inward each time! It was great. Then rode three other tube slides and finished the day by riding the lazy river. Here you can get in at a number of entry points and aren’t restricted to going around just once and then being forced to get out.

We ate at Tilly’s in the waterpark on the DDP-three of us had chicken wraps and Austin had a hot dog, 3 oz bags of chips and melted cheese (for the nachos) a large drink and a huge waffle cone ice cream came with it to complete our “counterservice credit” Can you say stuffffffed! Disney sure doesn’t want anyone to starve that’s for sure!

Mimi and Pappy ate lunch before they left Epcot…so they caught some rays instead. If we had just paid cash for the meal for just the 4 of us it would have been $55.12.

From there we cleaned up and all went to the Contemporary Resort to Chef Mickey’s. Family picture taken and added to the Photopass and the photo package was bought that night. There was great character interaction. Each of them were around several times: Chef Mickey, Goofy, Pluto, Minnie and Donald. The food was a Buffet and it was good----not great, but good. As expected the place was packed with families with small children…read, “LOUD!”We used the DDP to pay. If we had paid cash it would have been around $150 or so for all 6 of us. Our server was great and Austin gave her a Cast member card to thank her for being so nice to us while celebrating his 8th Birthday.

As we were celebrating Austin’s Birthday; he got a specially signed placemat, cupcake with candle and special photo with Mickey.

After that, we changed our shirts and took the Monorail into MK for MSNSSHP. A couple different cast members told us this time of year was very slow and they had only sold about 9,000 tickets for tonight’s event. Decorations for Halloween are great. A lot of people wore costumes, a lot wore “special designed t-shirts” and a lot wore just regular clothes. There are tons of cast members doing everything possible to insure you have a great time. We made it into every land (7) in about two hours and got candy at every location.

We rode Haunted Mansion-don’t be afraid of this ride, they just put you in a half shell and move you along---it’s not like a haunted house---it’s just creepy for those of you who may get the willy’s about this---we had our picture taken in front of the horse drawn hears out front---it should be a great picture too. The kids rode Aladdin’s Magic Carpet twice with absolutely no wait---none of the rides had more than a 5-10 minute wait. A cast member from NJ gave Austin a special coupon for a free Mickey Head Ice Cream for his Birthday. Everyone was wishing him a Happy Birthday, all day long! For four of us we of a total of 25 lbs or so of candy and Mimi and Pappy trick or treated too and probably can add another 10 lbs or so to that total. We had our pictures taken in front of the castle and can hardly wait to see them on photopass! They should be great! We just finished trick or treatin’ when the fireworks went off…all I can say is WOW! Spectacular…Disney definitely spares no expense and then afterward the late parade 10:30 or so came down Main Street…again, WOW! We got tons of photos and I will post them as I get the chance.

When we left, the Monrail usher was from Somerset, PA (near my hometown of Altoona) we asked the Monorail crew if the kids could sit up front with the driver and he said sure…4 people could; so Glenn, the kids and Mimi did. Pappy and I sat in the regular compartment and boy did we get the looks from people…remember the kids were the “cops” and we were their “inmates”….but the kids were up front…no one knew that and thought we had just escaped or something…Pappy and I just laughed!

Until we got back to Contemporary Resort, picked up the mini-van and drove back to OKW it was heading for 1AM and another long day ensued on Wednesday.

Mickeys No So Scary Halloween Party Photo's...sorry due to the lights some are blurred!

Cast Members from Jersey Shore and England hamming it up at Magic Carpets of Aladdin...we were virtually the only ones there so the kids rode it twice...with absolutely no wait. They also gave him a gift certificate for a free ice cream cone since we were celebrating his birthday, today

The cops were arresting the genie and the monkey

Gee you can't tell by the expression on Austin's face that he likes girls...

Castle with a full moon...even though it is blurred, one moon almost appears to be a Mickey Head

Cinderella's Carousel...it really is beautiful at night!

Candy Stop sign...these were everywhere candy was!

The crowd before the parade sang Happy Birthday to Austin

Seniors gone wild again before the parade!!!

 

[weich1001]

Wednesday started off by me taking Austin to the Yacht Club Resort for his “pirates cruise”. There were 13 kids; half were 7-9 or so and the other half were 4-5 year olds…both boys and girls went. They gave them life vests and put their pirates bandana around their head or arm and then lined them up and gave them the rules…I was sure Austin was gonna thing this whole thing was dumb…but he went along with it, then they boarded their “Pirate ship” aka Pontoon Boat and headed off for their 1 ½ hour voyage to “different ports” to find ye treasure! They have a “shipwrecked island” aka playground at the Resort that they “land at and have a ton of activities that they do with them. They give the parents pagers just in case there should be an emergency. Before you know it, they are racing around the waters chasing a “Pirate”in a little 2 person Sea Ray Boat trying to get the key from him. It’s hilarious to watch! And before they dock they give them PBJ’s, Cookies and Apple Juice. As they pull into dock, they get the key and find the treasure. They give each kid a “treasure bag” with lots of junk in it; a mini pirate beach ball, a plastic mug and lots of stuff you would find out of those $.25 cents gumball machines! I could tell by watching him as they came into “port” he had a great time and when I asked him he was all smiles..I think he really liked it and for $30 it’s a real bargain to allow you to regain your sanity for 1 ½ hours!

Glenn in the meantime took Erika off to Hollywood Studios. He said it was a neat park…no waits for anything and they did the life of Walt Disney and Character/Animation drawing class. They drew one of the seven dwarfs. Both of them turned out really neat!

Then they rode Tower of Terror and both thought it was really lame.

By then Austin and I had made our way over to MGM (a ten minute drive) and picked them up and it was off to Blizzard Beach.

Again, hardly any waits. We rode two mat rides where we raced to the bottom and several tube rides before heading into the wave pool. This wave pool was totally different-than Typhoon Lagoon’s----it was like going up and down on a boat on rough waters---while in a tube. After that we rode the lazy river and found the longest family raft ride. We made the trek to the top of the “mountain” and rode the family raft ride---it was great…not too hard, bumpy but nice and long before you hit the water. Photopass was used again to take our pictures….this is really nice then you don’t have to carry around a camera with you!

Then it was back to MGM were we had dinner at Mama Melrose’s and did the Fantasmic Dinner Show package. Even though we were on the DDP---the Fantasmic package included Appetizers, so that was a nice plus we weren’t expecting. I think this place a gotten a bad rap in the past, but has cleaned up their act now. The atmosphere is incredibly romantic, the Sangria awesome, the food…fantastic and the service was far superior than a 5 star restaurant and our tip reflected it…Ken was great and both kids gave him cast member cards to thank him for the excellent service! If we had paid out of pocket, our total would have been around $135 (including tip).

From there we left and went to the Fantasmic Show…we sat high and it was great. The arena was packed…some 6900 in attendance. It includes the most amazing water---picture show I have ever seen, fire, a dragon and of course lots of characters in dazzling costumes, and includes none other than Mickey himself. All I could think of the whole time was how lucky this family is to have the fortune to be able to do this…and how much money it to be able to design and create this. Wow…it just blows my mind!

Finally, an early night. Kids were showed and in bed around ten and we followed shortly thereafter.

Mimi and Pappy went off to Kennedy Space Center today for their excursion. Mimi had a great time having lunch with an Astronaut and getting lots of new t-shirts to add to her collection. Then they got the insiders tour of Kennedy and got to see a space shuttle on the launch pad!

The "Pirate Cruise"

The "Shipwreckled Island" aka playground

The Pirate

Kids find the treasure!

Hollywood Studios

Mama Melrose's

 

[weich1001]

Thursday morning started mighty early…5AM to be exact. As usual, I was up first followed by Glenn and the kids. The grandparents would take today to R&R a little in the morning and then catch up with us later in the morning. But today was important…we were gonna make rope drop or bust! Or should I say…I was gonna make it! I had heard so much about it, I wanted to make it on the day we planned to spend all day in MK.

Glenn loaded up the rental jazzy in the rental mini van and I loaded up the rented kids and we were off to MK…didn’t even take time to eat.

At MK we got the first parking spot space closest to the entrance….though we weren’t the first ones there. Unloaded the jazzy, grabbed the belly belts and yes, we will make rope drop! Why isn’t this jazzy moving that fast??? A sign of something in the future???

By the time we got to the entrance to MK, we were 3 deep with people…already too many strollers and crazy people for me! But where is the red velvet rope??? I felt cheated…just stay behind the imaginary line…a crack in the pavement…arrrrggggghhhh! I got up at 5AM to see a red velvet rope people…not something imaginary….So we waited…and waited…and finally the antics started about 7:45AM (It was the early day for MK to open for resort guests). Cheers…cool and, AND, A-N-D…yes, the side show starring Mickey and Minnie on the hill…that I couldn’t see for all the psycho people who had gotten up at 5AM to make rope drop! Sitting on the Jazzy didn’t help either. Finally, the countdown and screaming running people…it was like the start of a marathon. Mickey head confetti went flying and I think Erika and I got about a ton of it on us! We were in. Yiiipppeee!!!

Now we had a plan…that went out the door with the confetti. First park the jazzy where we would be able to direct Pappy to find it when he came in. Then, locker rental-stash the extra clothes…that we’ll never use…this entire trip! Face it people, if you get wet on a ride…you’ll dry off in 10 minutes in the FL sun…by the time you ever make it back to locker…you’ll forget why you needed to change clothes!

Then, Mickey ears…yes you must buy these things even though you’ll never ever wear them again…and now you can design your own…4 sets of ears…total with names and extra stickers of course…$94.10. Holy ears, Mickey Mouse!!! Yes, mine are now safe and sound on my bedroom dresser…purple of course with platinum ears with “diamonds” and my name embroidered on the back.

Then, Mom always said you MUST eat Breakfast…off to Main Street Bakery for DDP. I’ll post pictures…you’ll understand once you see the pictures, why it really was not necessary for us to eat the rest of the day! Bacon, Egg and Cheese Croissants and Danish and Juice…whoever said there wasn’t enough food on the DDP-Basic Plan must have been a giant!

Then finally, finally we made it to the rides and shows! And ride we did! Space Mountain…a cool roller coaster ride inside in total darkness, Monsters Inc…a neat show for the kids with a few laughs for the adults, Indy Speedway…not Erika is not permitted to get her license until she is 25…AT LEAST!!! Austin did so well, he got to take his test again with Pappy, Buzz Lightyear Ranger Spin…don’t worry folks…I get really bad motion sickness from spinning rides…and this ride you control how much you spin…not bad at all…no motion sickness (Erika was happy about that!) Glenn won out of the 4 of us with a score of almost 60,000 points, I had 17,500 points, and the kids a couple of thousand each. The kids rode the Mad Tea Party…now that is a spinning ride! We also went thru Mickey and Minnie’s Country House and met with Cinderella, Belle and Princess Aurora at Toon Town Hall of Fame. We also got to see Glenn’s and my favorite…the Country Bear Jamboree…so what if it is old school animation…it is still good ole family fun! Side note---we rode Haunted Mansion and Carpets of Aladdin at the MNSSHP—they were great! And we wanted to ride Dumbo and Cinderella’s Carousel…but the lines were pretty long, today.

Somewhere in the middle of the day, we changed our T-shirts and headed off to Crystal Palace for Lunch with the Bunch and to celebrate Erika’s “Un-Birthday Party”. It was to have been a 1:30ADR and we got in at 1:50---not too bad---considering the huge line I encountered just to check in…I thought we’d be there all afternoon. Character interaction was good..each came around just once…unlike Chef Mickey’s who were always around. Pooh really liked Erika’s “Pooh addict” shirt and Eyeore didn’t disappoint me…he’s my favorite! Food was good for a Buffet…a lot of somewhat spicy dishes..but a good spicy. Lots of screaming kids…as expected!

While we had extremely good luck most of the day, after lunch our luck seemed to change.

At the end of the day, we grabbed Fast Passes for Big Thunder Mountain RR and jumped in line for Splash Mountain…this was our only wait all day long…was to have been a 20 minute wait. We heard rumblings they were having problems with the ride, but continued to wait and wait and almost 50 minutes into the process we got word…the ride had broken down…they gave everyone in line a fast pass for any ride in MK until 9/30…this was great…but this was our last hour in MK…oh well…onto Big Thunder Mountain RR---this is a neat, old coaster….no loops, no corkscrews…just old fashioned wicked roller coaster ride!

Remember that slow jazzy…it died …as Mimi and Pappy were heading toward the entrance of MK to head toward their 5:30ADR at Artist Point at Wilderness Lodge…G-R-E-A-T!!! The four of us were in that horrible dreaded line for Splash Mountain when we got the call from Pappy saying it died! I had to call Walker Medical where I rented it from and make arrangements for them to pick it up and for us to get the charger cord and key back to them---several calls later, it was resolved and a partial refund and apology was given to us. This may sound easy enough, but when you are in a ride line, with no numbers or contact persons on hand…it was a tad interesting! Okay anyone who knows me, knows I just plain irritated!!! This shouldn’t have happened!!!

So we made it thru Big Thunder Mtn RR and the Jazzy incident and it was full throttle ahead to catch the Monorail to the car to OKW so Glenn and I could go out for our “special night” out. Caught the Monorail…then, wait, wait, wait…sorry folks we have to wait for traffic ahead of us to clear…okay…sorry folks we have to perform a routine test it will only take a few seconds…yeah right, a few minutes…20 minutes…aaaarrrrgggghhhhh!!! Then finally…we are moving!!!! Okay, jump on the tram…wait why do we need the tram….aren’t we just parked across the street…yep!!! It was almost 6pm and the sitter services “kids nite out” was due at our villa at OKW at 6pm…okay Glenn drive, Wendi call kids nite out and advise them we are on our way…6:15PM arrive at villa…Glenn to shower, Wendi to give final orders to sitter…final warnings to kids to behave…Wendi to shower and Glenn and Wendi are off at 6:45PM to Epcot. We get to Epcot, rush thru to Canada…make it for check-in at 7:20 for a 7:30ADR only to be told…”ohhhh we’re running about 20 minutes late tonight” Aaaaaarrrrrggghhhhhhhh!!!!! We rushed for what??? Well, it did give us a chance just to sit and enjoy the beautiful weather and scenery of “Canada” and relax…something neither of us had really done to this point.

We got to our seats about 8PM—our server was Ken from New Brunswick, Canada-very nice but visably understaffed. Wonderful atmosphere…it was like being in a wine cellar. Glenn had a Canadian Beer and I had a Canadian Chardonnay. Nice. He had the French Onion Soup and I had the smoked bacon cheddar soup---awesome. He had the strip steak with fingerling potatoes and watercress and I had the filet mignon with wild mushroom risotto---amazing---the filet melted in my mouth! Wonderful! For dessert, Glenn had Cherry Sorbet and I had the Canadian Moose—Mouse shaped like a “Moose” with chocolate crumbles, maple leaf cookies for ears and a red tongue cookie. Then they surprised us with a plate that had “Happy Anniversary” wrote in chocolate and hardened and in the middle had a fancy shaped chocolate dish with mouse and mickey head sprinkles. Oh yeah, and I had my favorite Iced Dessert Wine...Inniskillin! It was the first time Glenn had ever had it, and he quickly realized why I was hooked on this supersweet, very cold, very thick, wine! That was nice. While we were both really looking forward to tonight…ultimately I think both of us were too exhausted to really enjoy ourselves.

Thanks toLe Cellar staff getting us into our ADR a little late…we just missed the Illuminations show. So afterward we just enjoyed a nice stroll through Epcot stopping at several little shops for souvenirs.

Glenn wanted to get me something special to remember our first anniversary…but just didn’t have the time leading up to the trip nor knew what he wanted to get and was hoping we would find something nice while we were away. We did. We found a hockey puck kinda shaped crystal/glass that they take your picture and etch/make it 3D inside of it. The edging has a diamond pattern to it and it sits upon a miniature light. We had it engraved with “Our first anniversary, Walt Disney World, 2008”. They said we could pick it up after 6PM on Friday or have it sent to us…in 4-6 weeks, go figure. Since it will be pretty heavy and very breakable, we chose to have it sent to us. A perfect end to a perfect day.

I didn’t take any pictures tonight as you can look all over these boards and see pictures of Le Cellar and the food we had. It was great!

Pappy and Mimi went to Artist Point for their special night. And from what I gather had a great time and excellent meal.

The kids, told the sitter, Donna, all about the trip and then went to Olivia’s for Dinner. They liked being able to walk around our resort for once. Once back to the Grand Villa, they played some board games and then went to bed and were out of it by 9PM.

Thursday was definitely a day of “sensory overload” everywhere you turned! But a great day!

Cindy's Home

Main Street Trolly

Cinderella hoping for chocolate....little known fact, Cinderella likes Hershey's chocolate bars! Who knew!

Erika ad Belle

Erika and Princess Aurora...has the neatest signature with lots of swirls!

Town lady

Family Fun Day Parade with Pluto in the lead

Crystal Palace for lunch with the bunch...Piglet is making out with Erika...her first kiss!!!

Tigger is very photogenic!

Eyeore...my favorite!

Pooh smooshing Austin...I guess that is considered a bear hug!

Pappy with his girl in the entrance to Crystal Palace

Mimi at the Liberty Bell...hey I thought we went to Disney...not Philadelphia!

The start of the "Dreams come true parade"

 

[DexLabDeeDee]

Wow! What a day, Wendi! I have been enjoying your trip report so far. That was also the one thing that really bothered me at WDW, it took so much time to get from one place to another because it just normally takes time and then something always goes wrong. Looks like you all had fun, though!

 

[weich1001]

Finally a day that didn’t start at the break of dawn!!! Yes we were able to “sleep” in a bit…for Wendi and Glenn, that meant up at 6:15…better than the 4AM of just a couple days ago.

As Mimi and Pappy got up and went downstairs, Glenn distracted the Grandparents and Wendi snuck upstairs to their room with a surprise for them for when they returned later that day. But as luck would have it, Mimi returned to the room before leaving for the day and found their souvenirs from us---mugs with crazy sayings and a note to hope they were enjoying the trip.

Then it was off to the Grand Floridian. The morning was spent by Erika and Austin going to a cooking class where they decorated cookies, and made their own aprons and chef hats. Then they got to pass them out to people in the 1900 Pak Fare Restaurant and the Grand Floridian Lobby. Austin gave one to the DVC person and he told her we became members this past spring and that now meant we could go to Disney every year for vacation. She was so impressed she gave him a whole roll of DVC stickers to play with. The kids really enjoyed this…getting to decorate cookies is definitely one of their favorite activities. While they were passing out the cookies Mimi and Wendi got to see a glimpse of Mary Poppins in a nearby restaurant.

Pappy and Glenn went on a BASS fishing excursion, that is catch and release only. Glenn had a slow start but eventually just used shiners and started to catch a lot…even once catching 2 at once. Pappy caught the biggest fish! This was a 20” Bass and yes a photo was taken of it to prove it. They said they probably caught 30 or so fish between them. The guys really liked the guide and if they ever get the chance again to do it, said they would do it in a heart beat. When Glenn came off the boat you could tell he had forgotten about the rest of the world..he was totally relaxed.

Meanwhile, the gals…Mimi and Wendi went to the Grand Floridian Spa were Wendi had a Swedish Massage by Suzie, and Mimi had a Reflexology treatment. While dropping off the kids for cooking class, Wendi met another lady who was staying at the GF but was from Roaring Spring, PA—just 10 minutes outside of Altoona (Wendi’s hometown). She too was dropping off the kids and going over to the Spa for treatments. So Wendi enjoyed the conversation while both of us rushed so they didn’t cancel our appointments for not showing up on time…gotta love Spa’s and all their rules! Treatments were relaxing and oooohhhh so necessary! After this Mimi said she was ready to continue the marathon (aka vacation) again!

Following this, we all went to the Whispering Canyon Café. Unfortunately we had to wait about 45 minutes past our ADR time. The restaurant is a very noisy, wild restaurant with fun things going on. Some of the servers were doing wild things with their parties---ours just seemed stressed out from having too many tables and not enough servers. It was an okay experience-we all got the “skillet” which was this huge skillet filled to the rim with BBQ ribs, chicken, sausage, corn on the cob, mashed potatoes and baked beans put in the middle of the table on a lazy suzan. They kept bringing out more stuff as we ate the stuff in the skillet. Most of us enjoyed milkshakes while Glenn got a “Prickley Pear Cactus Margarita”

Because lunch took sooooo long to get seated and then service was kinda slow…we had to scrap our plans to spend the afternoon at Animal Kingdom…which no one was happy about. But what are you gonna do…you can’t always get everything in.

So then we all checked out Wilderness Lodge and Wendi and Glenn bought a ton of DVC souvenirs…since this is our home resort and we couldn’t get a reservation for this time. We decided the next time we come we will definitely try to stay at VWL. The pictures just don’t do this place justice…this place is one huge log cabin, very reminiscent of the National Park system! The only word that comes to mind when thinking about this place is amazing.

Around 4ish we went back to OKW to rest and relax and while Mimi and Wendi packed for Saturday to leave. The kids, Glenn and Pappy headed off to the pool for a quick dip to cool off.

Since our Polynesian Review tickets got mixed up and we weren’t able to get in, dinner was at Olivia’s Café. The food was good, the atmosphere relaxed, the server gave good service and presentation was nice. Definitely a nice change from all the heavily themed restaurants we had been eating at.
Following this, we went to Epcot, where we went to the World Showcase, for a leisurely stroll of all the countries of the world. Crowds were already finding the best locations for the fireworks by 7PM. But we just kept walking and exploring. It was neat seeing all the different cultures. Then the best happened at 9 P.M. We saw “Illuminations” a fireworks, fire, laser and light show, a tribute to all on Earth. Crowds were 6-8 deep at a lot of spots. But it was still a neat show that we had been trying to see since Monday.

Old Kew West-Grand Villa

Golf Course-outside view from our Balcony---note from the Master Bedroom you could also access the balcony

Can you say acting up..no not just for the camera...this was normal behavior all week....yeaaayyyy!!!

And Mimi to the rescue..can she settle them down or what!

The boys ready to go fishin'

The cooks at cooking class at the GF displaying the aprons they made

The boys coming back from their BASS Fishing Excursion

Limo outside at the GF

Wilderness Lodge Pic's

 

[weich1001]

We left for Downtown Disney, saying farewell to OKW, our home for the last week.

We got to Downtown Disney-Marketplace at 9:15. Not too much activity. Kinda reminded you the day after a big party…some people cleaning…but not much else!

We ate breakfast at the Earl of Sandwich Restaurant…who accepts the DDP! The food is excellent, and the music was nice, not the elevator type, but Baroque Classical music which added to the great atmosphere of the place. I‘d highly recommend for families who need a break, as it has reasonable prices…with no theming.

Mimi and Pappy went around to the shops after this, and made a stop at Rainforest Café.

Meanwhile, Glenn and Austin headed off to Legoland to get the latest and greatest—which they managed to do. They got some things that haven’t hit the mainstream stores yet!

Erika and Wendi went off to Bibbidi Bobbeti Boutique. When we arrived they gave us a pager. Honestly, first thought of this place…small, cramped way too many little girls getting way too much money spent on them..for what appeared to be pretty simple services. Nonetheless, we walked around the store and found LOTS of Hannah Montana stuff. Miss Erika wanted pretty much everything! And was told if she behaved MAYBE we could get some things…The pager went off and then the day became spectacular!!! We were escorted by her fairy godmother to the rear of the Boutique where there were lots of fairy godmothers and another lady with a Year of a Million Dreams Button on told us, she had WON…she would have her makeover in the front of the store…where there is a huge bubble and everyone walking by could see her-she would also have her very own photographer taking pictures of her entire makeover and a professional photo shoot afterwards. So off to get changed..she got an upgraded outfit complete with black leggings, black tutu with purple sequins, gold and white double sided tank top and gold sequined jacket. Then her fairy godmother placed a pink cape on her and a gold crown and showed her how to wave to everyone as she would move thru the store-she joked with her—she already had the “attitude” to be HM as she was chewing gum (what the Fairy Godmother didn’t know is the kids are limited to one piece a day…and she had just put it in—she was dying for it!) It was funny! As soon as she sat down in the chair, a huge group of tourists showed up and stopped right in front of the window. Erika became the shy-est little girl I have ever seen—her facial expressions say it all. Dad and Austin arrived just as they sprinkled pixie dust on her! Yes, this was expensive…but definitely worth the experience. The rest of the day people would shout out to her…I mean Hannah Montana…they would ask for her autograph (and I would joke back…being a typical “stage Mom”…$5 please…gotta recoup my costs…right?) It was neat! And yes, when we left the store…we left with over $100 in HM souvenirs! And a lot of professional photograpghs!

It was off to lunch and since Breakfast at Earl of Sandwich was great..we decided to return for lunch. Erika broke the news that she won the Year of the Million Dreams. Pappy thought she could be Hannah’s double.

Before leaving Downtown Disney, we stopped at Goofy’s Candy company and used up some snack credits..bringing back some really amazing homemade treats! Also an art store for a sketch book for Erika, a Lenox store with a mickey jewelry box for Wendi and a 2008 scrapbook and some supplies for memories of the trip!

We left Downtown Disney and went to Hollywood Studios(formerly MGM) .We saw the 3-D Muppet Movie---I missed the part in the description where it said you got wet in this—but just a squirt---nothing too drenching! We took pictures at the “Cars” movie area-Austins favorite!

Then we ate supper at the Prime Time Café 50’s Restaurant. This reminds you of Mom serving at home. We had to set the table, and mind our manners as reminded by Carole, our waitress. She reminded us there would be no spit wads, to finish our meals or there would be consequences and no elbows on the table. There were four large parties in our “kitchen” and boy did everyone get in trouble…the one guy had to put his nose up against the wall for tattling, several other people got airplane and train noises made for them to help them finish up their meals…and us, of course…Erika had chicken noodle soup…and ate the carrots (even though she never would anywhere else!) and then a huge plate of macaroni and cheese…you could tell she was scared to death of something happening to her…but towards the end…she just couldn’t eat anymore…she asked if I could help her out..so 3 spoonfuls of mac and cheese later and she was done…then “mom” arrived and Austin blurted out to her that Erika didn’t finish her mac and cheese and I helped…I thought we were both gonna be sent to our rooms…nope instead Austin got it…everyone in the room put their 2 fingers together and yelled, tattletale, tattletale…he busted out laughing…we all did…this was a perfect ending! They put their dessert menu on the old time viewfinders…which is neat, but we had to run to catch the Indiana Jones show.

We went to the “Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular”. Glenn asked a Cast Member before we went to Prime Time what was the latest we could get in to see the show since it was our last day and probably the last thing we were going to do and the guy told us to come back and give them his name and he would make sure we got in with good seats. Good seats…try awesome seats!!! Right down front. Another STAR in the Sheckler family was born…Glenn was selected to be one of extras in the show. He even had his own scene in the shoot. He was to come at a guy with a knife, and get shot. They called it “Glenn’s Death Scene.” He then took part in some other scenes as an Egyptian in a crowd. This show was awesome! It was the perfect ending to a great week!

After some frozen snack treats and a street show we encountered on the way out, we boarded our last tram back out into the parking lot.
We then left to go to our hotel for the night, Holiday Inn Express Orlando Airport, one and one-half miles from the airport. Glenn and Wendi took the rental cars back to the airport, and the hotel shuttle whisked us back to the hotel. We printed out our boarding passes and finished packing our souvenirs from the day…then it was to bed…this was close to 11PM (early for us considering the week!)

3AM came way too early, but everyone managed to make it...even Mimi! Taxi ride for all 6 of us was $9 (hotel shuttle didn’t start running til later) dropped of the bags (Wendi got into it with a guy from TSA—he didn’t speak English and his boss had a major attitude-wasn’t sure if I was coming back or going to the police station!) thru security without incident and eventually made it to Philadelphia where Carl—our limo driver was waiting for us with my favorite champagne. A few toasts later and we were home around 2:30PM---of which no-one remembers really anything until about 6PM as we all took some serious naps!

Then reality set-in…finish up the kids’s homework, unpack, start wash and oh yeah….breathe again…it’s good to be home again!


BBB-Secret Popstar Erika checks out her cap and crown in the mirror before making her entrance into the store

Walking to the front of the store, where the bubble and her makeover would be done as another "admiring onlooker" gazes on...

Okay...are you sure you really want to become Hannah

Let the transformation begin...first the real blond hair gets put into pigtails, tucked up and a hairnet goes on

Then the crowd outside the store arrives and looks at you...ooooohhhhh god! Wave!!!!

Then the blonde wig with purple stripes and purple sequined headband is put on, along with eyeshadow, lip gloss, and of course the wireless headset too.....please!

Some Pixie Dust and...

And Viola...Secret Popstar Erika, I mean Hannah Montana is ready for her concert!

Goofy's Candy Company...well, it is fall...who can't doesn't crave a carmel apple?

Yeah...this is a Mickey Mouse shaped Rice Krispie Treat covered in Milk Chocolate, then oreeo cookie crumbles, followed by peanut butter cup crumbles, some chocolate chips an of course some chocolate drizzle...just in case I didn't get enough of chocolate!!! And it only took the next 4 days to eat all of it!

CARS...with HM still wearing her backstage pass!

Another Parade at Hollywood Studios

The street show as we left HS

The last tram ride

This is what 3AM looks like (photos when you are an adult you wish were never taken of you!)

Yeah, I'm up...but I'm not happy we are going home!

 

[manntra]

Looks like you had a really great trip and got everything in! Great for Erika and the special treatment! Was she nervous in the front or just soaking it all in like a rock star? We had a similar experience at Primetime with our waiter. My nephew Billy who got in trouble about 60 seconds after we sat down ate everything on his plate! Okay...now you are home, time to start planning the next trip!

 

[weich1001]

Looks like you had a really great trip and got everything in! Great for Erika and the special treatment! Was she nervous in the front or just soaking it all in like a rock star? We had a similar experience at Primetime with our waiter. My nephew Billy who got in trouble about 60 seconds after we sat down ate everything on his plate! Okay...now you are home, time to start planning the next trip!

A typical girl...get her on the phone with her friends and she won't shut up but then shy when you want to show her off. She was really surpised to be chosen and thought I had something to do with it. When I assured her I had nothing to do with it, she was floored...she had won something. And when all the tourists showed up...her facial expression was like..you did this...nope, wrong again Miss Erika. It was howl. She loved it and everyone all day long kept giving her shout outs.

And as for our next vacation to Disney...Glenn gave me two weeks after we returned to recouperate and then announced he wanted to go back again! Huh? Really? Yeah!!! He's got the Disney bug, bad...really bad. So as for our next Disney trip it's already being planned...but it will be a surprise for Erika and Austin when they least expect it!

 

[weich1001]

Best Advice: take everyone’s advice, family, friends, co-workers, buy books; Birnbaums, Passporter etc.., do your homework on reputable websites…then, plan, plan, plan and be ready to change when (and it won’t be IF, but WHEN) necessary.

Our trip had 3 major flaws---all could have been prevented, but it was what it was, deal with it and get over it.

At SW, we had a Behind the scenes Polar Exploration Tour scheduled for 10AM and Dinner at the formal Sharks Grill scheduled for 4PM---when I confirmed a week before the trip, the girl cancelled the Tour instead of just confirming it---SW apologized for the mistake and agreed to put us on the 4PM Tour and call Sharks Grill for us-which agreed to try and take us for lunch and told us if we were in the area to stop by—we did and they took us right in.

The second whoops was when the Polynesian Review got scheduled for Sat nt instead of Friday nt —the concierge at OKW was of no help and insisted I had the wrong date—I explained I confirmed it a week before and had no other problems with any of my other reservations, I didn’t expect any here---he suggested we just eat out wherever, we were at, at the time we got hungry---yeah, right, a Friday nt in Orlando, during Free Dining---nope, not that stupid either, then Glenn suggested since we hadn’t spent any time at OKW why not eat on property at Olivia’s---it would give the kids a chance to visit the pool and we could go into Epcot afterwards to watch Illuminations---got an ADR for 6:30 and that resolved that---not the ending we were hoping for, but what are you gonna do.

And the third whoops was I left a credit card on file in case we wanted to charge things back to the room---which we found very helpful and only ever carried a minimal amount of cash and a credit card with us---just in case, a store didn’t do chargebacks to the room---well, we also had quite a few American express gift cards we wanted to use---things got VERY mixed up and my credit card on file got charged over $7,000 ---almost 4X the amount that should have been charged and the gift cards never ended up being used---after an hour of the manager on the phone to my credit card company and American express, things got straightened out but oooyyyyy veeeeyyyy!)

As for be “ready for anything”….don’t go overboard…for example, people told us to take a spare set of “dry clothes” for the kids and a spare set of “socks” for us so we could change into in the middle of the day…put them all in a backpack along with throw away rain ponchos…and stow it all in a locker rental…just in case it is needed. So we did and we never used them…WHY??? Well, if the kids got wet on a ride, so be it, in the Orlando sun and heat you were dried off within 10 minutes---Read until you got back to the front of the park where the lockers are, got it open, found the restrooms, changed and got back to where you were at in the parks…big waste of time! Kids will dry off, trust me. And as for changing socks to give your tired feet a break…it is a good idea, just for us, NEVER happened, NOT once!

Do make your ADR’s early…READ the 180 day mark at 7AM. We got every ADR we wanted at the times we wanted. While we waited to go into the restaurants we heard many, many, MANY people grumble about how all the restaurants were full and they couldn’t get a reservation.

Don’t go in with a predisposition towards a place just based off of others opinions, a lot of times we found the exact opposite to be true. For example, I was ready to cancel our Mama Melrose’s Restaurant ADR because it seemed like a lot of people were grumbling about everything there…And instead we found, a wonderful, clean, romantic Restaurant and watched our server Ken and many others just totally going out of their way to make the experience a very positive memorable one.

Even in the slow times, allow about an hour for an attraction or show…even if it only has a five minute wait…until you get thru the que, get on the ride, ride it, get off, find your party go to the next ride or attraction…it takes time, a lot of time. Over an 8 hour slow time in the park we only averaged 8-12 rides or attractions along with shopping, parades, fireworks you name it! We virtually never encountered a wait of more than 5-10 minutes and only needed to use a fast pass a couple of times the whole trip

Do make a list of the rides or attractions you want to do in each portion of the park and those that are most critical to see and do. It just makes things easier then fill in with other things. Shop for souvenirs last…while the rest of the crowds are clammering for the exits, it gives you something to do…the shops are still open and don’t close until long after the parks actually do…for the most part. Do mix and match rides with attractions to give your stomach or head a chance to rest in between motion sickness rides-if you are prone to that. And if you are prone to motion sickness, heed to the warnings on the rides but do realize most Disney rides are very gentle on motion sickness-a lot are just rides you sit and move on a trac and there are plenty of shows that have nothing to do with motion sickness!

Do put money in your budget for extra things…we didn’t think the kids would be very interested in pin trading…until we found out that is all they wanted to do…we actually had to restrict Erika, it was eating up too much time and money…we spent almost $170 in pins so she and Austin could trade and I know Pappy and Mimi bought quite a few for them too. We had a $100 in our “Whoops” category in our budget…you know for day to day thins you forgot about…waterparks are torturous on newly manicured hands---read…take along nail polish remover or you’ll end up buying it and putting it in your “whoops” category. That would have been more than enough…except coming back, our bags at the airport…..aaaaagggghhhhh…can they hit you with any higher fees for being overweight—that just blew our “whoops” budget sky high! Pay the $25 extra for the second bag for everyone, trust me on this one, don’t try to limit everyone to just one bag and a carry on…you won’t save any money on the return trip!

On your way out of the parks, do grab a fresh map or two. Once you get home, you mark a clean map with what you did and what you want to do next time---maybe on a surprise trip (!) and put one in the scrapbook too! Disney will also make you a customized souvenir map as well…which we did but since we didn’t get to do everything we wanted to we will have to have them reprinted…and Disney will only do that once every six months

Do get and wear your buttons; Austin got one for his Birthday---some people wear them the whole time, we let him wear it just on the day we were celebrating his Birthday (his actual Birthday was a week later-his mother’s is near his Birthday and she wouldn’t hear of her not getting to see him on her Birthday) He must have had 50 cast members and people wish him a happy birthday and everyone wanted to do something special for him…an ice cream cone here, a song and dance there, a magic trick, you name it…people were over the top! Glenn and I got one for our Anniversary and wore it Thursday night when we went to Le Cellar to celebrate…after dinner the server brought out a special dessert which on the plate had wrote Happy Anniversary in chocolate…Wow, very unexpected! And all of us wore our “1st time buttons” the whole time and Cast Members just seemed to be more helpful anytime we had questions or concerns. As many horror stories as there are about rude Cast Members or problem cast members…we did not encounter any period! Everyone was great! There were some places we thought could have used more employees (Le Cellar and Whispering Canyon Café) but still had great experiences.

And if you are really creative, make a matching shirt or two and if you aren’t at least wear the same colors…it will help keep maintaining track of everyone much easier! The t-shirts and sweatshirt I made all went over very well…a ton of people came up to us and asked us where we got them, who made them and would I make them one. It also helped keeping the gang together easier…with the kids averaging being 10-20 feet in front of me and Mimi and Pappy on a Jazzy 10-20 feet or more behind me.

Last thing, don’t be a total park commando on your first trip ---it’s extremely hard not to do. Remember to take time to relax and time for yourself. If you don’t you’ll come back and just be burnt out. It’s really not worth it. If you’re the type who is not happy until you’ve explored every nook and cranny of something…seriously don’t go to Orlando. We were there for 10 days and can now see how you could easily spend a month there and still not get on the same ride or see the same attraction twice.

 

[weich1001]

Obviously some of these rides and attractions we’ll probably do again and again!

SeaWorld
Shows: Clyde and Seamore Sea Lion Show---go early and watch out for the Mime’s antic’s, Believe—the Shamu Show---it’ll leave you wanting to be a trainer and the patriotic beginning will leave you in tears (Yeah, you’ll soon realize I get mushy about stuff like this) and Pets Ahoy which featured all types of dogs and cats doing all types of neat tricks!

Rides: we only got on the water log ride—Journey to Atlantis-yes you will get wet!

Extra Neat or Things that really Wow’d us: Seeing the Budweiser Clydesdales up close, hitched and pulling (Mimi and I were both close to tears when they pulled---I know, I know call me weird, I like big horses!). And the pearl diver was really neat. Dove in front of us for the oysters, allowed us to have our pick and then went thru the “special antics” of opening it. Also the park grounds are in immaculate condition!

Things for the next trip: Kraken Roller Coaster, Whale and Dolphin Theater/Dolphin Cove/Stingray Lagoon, Manatee Rescue, Alligator Lagoon, Penguin Encounter, Wild Artic, and the SkyTower

Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure
Shows/Attractions: Jurassic Park Discovery Center-really neat stuff to do for 7 & 9 year olds

Rides: The Incredible Hulk Coaster-yeah this is fast, but the G force is incredible! Revenge of the Mummy coaster Glenn liked because it was in total darkness, Wendi was the only one who liked Jaws boat ride or maybe it was just I am old enough to remember the movie!, Austin loved Men in Black Alien Attack as he got to test his alien zapping skills and of course the best ride---The Simpsons…you gotta do this one…technology wise and thrill factor it’s the best-we all loved this one!

Extra Neat or Things that really Wow’d us: The amount of characters just free roaming…they were everywhere you turned around!

Things we didn’t like: Being hit as soon as you went in to sign up for a credit card and a person who approached Glenn to take a survey---while in the park---go away I’m on vacation! And then how they work their “photopass” if you don’t buy your picture at each place (approx $30 for a cheap package) your outta luck! The only photo’s that are at the front, are the ones they take of you coming in.

Things for the next trip: Dudley Do-Rights Ripsaw Falls, Popeye and Bluto’s Bilge Rat Barges, Doctor Doom’s Fearfall-for Austin & Erika, Storm Force Acceleration, Pteranodon Flyers-if they aren’t too tall, Poseidon’s Fury in the Lost Continent, The Eighth Voyage of Sinbad Stunt Show, and Dueling Dragons/Fire and Ice Roller Coaster at IA. At US; Jimmy Neutron’s Nicktown Blast, Universal Horror Make-up Show, Terminator 3D, Twister, Animal Actors on Location, ET Adventure and Disaster. And hopefully by then the Harry Potter area will be up and running.

Magic Kingdom
Shows/Attractions: Monsters Inc was a cute show---a few good belly laughs! Country Bear Jamboree---who can't love Big Al!

Rides: Magic Carpets of Aladdin—the kids liked because they could control the height-they thought that was neat. We tried to go on Splash Mountain but the ride broke down just as we got near the front of the line. Big Thunder Mountain RR is a coaster—but reminds you of an old wooden coaster feel to it---like what I grew up on, kinda wicked in a sense. Austin and Erika liked Space Mountain another indoor coaster mostly in darkness. Austin rode Indy Speedway twice (once with Daddy and once with Pappy) and after riding once with Erika, I’ve determined she shouldn’t get her license until she’s 25 or so!

Extra Neat or Things that really Wow’d us: Seeing the castle in the daylight and evening and all the shades of light that it turns. The parades and fireworks displays are awesome!

Things we didn’t like: Having to park so far away, take transportation, take more transportation, get there, get in line, go thru turnstiles…you can easily waste an hour just going in and out of the park!

Things for the next trip; Pirate of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain, Mickey’s Philharmagic, Dumbo, The Adventures of Pooh, Astro Orbiter and Stich’s Great Escape.

Epcot
Shows/Attractions: Turtle talk with Crush---Dude, seriously one cool show! No matter how old you are!

Rides: Mission Space---okay we all wimped out and did the green (the easy section) but afterward Glenn and I both agreed we could have probably done the orange. Test Track---all of us agreed---k-e-w-l banking a turn at 100MPH and how they put you thru the series of “car tests”. Soarin-not what I would have pictured for a “Hang gliding” ride---but a really neat adventure. California countryside is breathtaking-though at times I wished the ride went a little slower, just to take in the scenery-beautiful! The kids were constantly asking, is this for real—like the tons of lights over LA! Yes, they really do live in the country!

Extra Neat or Things that really Wow’d us: Spaceship earth is huge! And the water fountains at night with Spaceship earth in the background is incredibly romantic. We just missed a water show set to relaxing music—maybe next time! Walking around the worlds was very relaxing---even though the place was packed on a Friday night!

Things for the next trip; Okay, the only one who wants to go back for attractions mostly this time is me...there's so much to experience and take in educationally, but everyone wants to go back on the rides again. Spaceship Earth, Ellen’s Energy Adventure, Innovations East and West, Living with the Land, The Circle of Life, Journey into the Imagination with Figment, Honey I shrunk the Audience. And then there are all the countries-I’d like to see all 3 films; Canada, China and France but to also experience, the Eiffel Tower, Italy, The American Adventure, The Gran Fiesta Tour starring the Three Caballeros and Maelstrom

Hollywood Studios
Shows/Attractions: The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular---of course, Glenn got his own death scene in this show! Muppet Vision 3 D was neat! Erika really liked Walt Disney One Mans Dream and the Magic of Disney Animation.

Rides: The only ride Erika and Daddy rode was the Tower of Terror and they thought it was kinda lame!

Extra Neat or Things that really Wow’d us: Fantasmic Dinner Show Package—Dinner at Mama Melrose’s-awesome and the show itself, amazing!

Things for the next trip; The Great Movie Ride, Sounds Dangerous-starring Drew Carey, Star Tours Flight Simulator, Lights Motor Action Extreme Stunt Show, Studio Backalot Tour, Toy Story Mania, Journey Into Narnia, Beauty and the Beast Live on Stage, Rock an Roller Coaster and for Austin the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.

And of course, all of Animal Kingdom…thanks to slow service at Whispering Canyon Café, we totally missed this entire park…Expedition Everest, Kali River Rapids, Kilamajaro Safari, Tree of Life, the walking safari and Oasis are but a few of things we wanted to see and do there.

The extra things:
The BASS Fishing Excursion-the guys thought it was great and recommend it highly! The guide was very nice. The day they went, they caught a lot of fish in the two hour period. And what’s better than to spend a couple of quality hours with your Dad who loves to fish and who isn’t a spring chicken no mo! It was $250 and with a $50 coupon from Birnbaums Book, made it $200, well worth it.

The Pirates Cruise-I was worried about this one..would Austin think it was dumb? Were the ages of the kids going to be too young for him??? Lots of questions. As they pulled back into dock 1 ½ hours later and I saw the expression on his face…I knew he had a great time and he said he did. The ages really varied---1/2 were 4-5 and the other 1/2 were 7-9, and there were both boys and girls. For $30 it was worth it.

The kids Cooking Class at the GF. They liked it. They only decorate the sugar cookies but they keep them busy, making their own aprons, hats and passing out the cookies. And they wash their hands 4X. So they also help teach them cleanliness as well. Ages ranged from 5-12. For $30 per child again it was worth it especially since both Erika and Austin love to help in the kitchen.

The BBB Hannah Montana Makeover---wow, a lot of hype over a name. This isn’t cheap! The store is amazing. All in all it was a very positive experience for Erika and she had a ball. If she would still be at that age the next time we go back, I would say she would do it again in a heartbeat BUT realistically---she’ll be older and probably not into that at all…but this time, she ate up all the attention and loved every minute of the entire day! Total including extra HM things we bought in the store afterwards (like Assignment Books, photo frame, HM gold guitar watch etc… was around $200, worth it for her to experience.

The GF Spa, honestly I feel is a lot of hype. Not the Disney “Wow” experience I had come to know this past week. The Massage was okay---nothing wrong with it---the setting was okay---I was relaxed---but I’ve had much better settings…therapists…experiences back home at my day spa in the Poconos for about a third less of the cost. Mimi thought her session of reflexology was great and she was ready start the marathon again. For the two sessions it was $250 and with tip came to $300. Would I do it again…maybe…maybe not, it would depend on why I was going there.

 

[manntra]

After reading everything I didn't realize that you never even got to AK! Oh well, you will have many, many years to come right!

I know you had mentioned the driving/parking etc...maybe next time try Magical Express if you will be staying the whole time on property. Eliminates the need for a rental---both pros and cons either way imho.

Yah...it took me about 2 weeks before I decided I wanted to go back...I was already thinking of a trip for next October but decided that was way too far away so I am going for 5 nights in January.

My parents have a cottage on Elk Lake about 10 miles from Honesdale....not super far from you I think?

Take care and thanks for sharing your report and pictures!

 

[weich1001]

After reading everything I didn't realize that you never even got to AK! Oh well, you will have many, many years to come right!

I know you had mentioned the driving/parking etc...maybe next time try Magical Express if you will be staying the whole time on property. Eliminates the need for a rental---both pros and cons either way imho.

Yah...it took me about 2 weeks before I decided I wanted to go back...I was already thinking of a trip for next October but decided that was way too far away so I am going for 5 nights in January.

My parents have a cottage on Elk Lake about 10 miles from Honesdale....not super far from you I think?

Take care and thanks for sharing your report and pictures!

Yeah, I was shocked by his decision. I knew he liked it. But now he's all over this. He's really got disney-itis...bad!!! We are thinking about December next year but I think we might try to sneak a mini-trip---just ourselves---over Easter---as they kids are going to visit her parents in Illinois then.