The Hill Family's Surprise Vac(PICS)*NEW*Final Thoughts,Tips & Pictures **4/25

[MouseCrazy96]

Great report! I am dying to read more! Very addictive!

 

[Amy&Dan]

I love this report, keep it coming! I really admire your being able to keep this a secret. Something DH and I have never been able to accomplish. Also, your poem made me cry, it was so sweet! Can't wait to read the rest of it!

 

[lazydazy8]

subscribing! The poem made ME cry, too!

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

Cherokeemama - I am in awe! That poem is AWESOME - and the kids' reaction - THAT is what the magic is all about. Can't wait to hear more!

 

[UtahMama]

I told YOU! You are just Workin' it! I love it so far!!!! You are further than me, though.

Your kids are too cute! I'd have squeezed them and kissed them had I met them on tea day...so it's good just to see photos! I totally see the resemblance...adorable like their mama!

I know how sleep deprived the first day is too! The toothpicks description is perfect! Like Fred Flintstone holding open his tired eyes!! I think the whole first day is run on adrenalin alone!

Well, keep up the good work! It is alot of work, huh? I'm amazed!

Subbing to see more!!!

UtahMama

 

[cherokeemamma]

SUN. 9/10 Animal Kingdom

We got our wake up call from the annoying Stitch. What is that about anyway? I don’t get that one! My children really like Stitch but I have to say I do not. Well, thank goodness Mickey still has a tiny part! Wouldn’t we all enjoy having various characters doing the wake up thing? It could be random. Cinderella one day, Goofy the next. What about Captn Jack? I like that idea!

Anyway we were up and showered. I had my coupons for the free 5x7 photo for EE. We had packed the backpack with some water, grabbed the autograph books and camera and we were out the door. My DS and I were so excited about riding EE. As we waited for the bus we strategize about the best route for EE FP. The plan was to grab FP and jump in the stand by line and then ride again using FP. If time allowed we would try to ride a third time.

We arrived at AK just after the rope drop. It really is such a beautiful park. I noticed so many things I did not see last year. It is so very hot and humid at this park. Make sure you drink lots of water here.

We rushed to EE and grabbed the FP. But guess what…no line. It was basically a walk on maybe a 2 minute wait. YEAH!!! The ride was great…we absolutely loved it. The backwards part is awesome! Let me say that every area of the train gives a different ride. The front has the best views, the middle gives you more G’s and ride in the back to feel the speed more.

My DD was not interested in riding it…it wasn’t the roller coaster she was afraid of, it was the Yeti!!! Now this child has rode RR and Dinosaur but was afraid of this. Go figure!!! All of the CMs would try and talk her into riding also. They all said if you can ride RR then you can easily ride this. She would have no part of it though. There would be no talking her into riding…at least for today.

After riding EE twice, we headed over to DinoLand. We rode Dinosaur and Primeval Hurl - I mean Primeval Whirl. Dinosaur is really fun but I have different feelings for the Primeval Whirl. Now I can ride roller coasters or ToT all day but please do not spin me. I did not ride this last year but my children really wanted me to do it this time. They kept telling me it was fun and it really doesn’t spin very much. “Ok, OK I’ll ride it.” Well, the first part was fine but then it does spin and spin and spin…you get the picture. When we came to a stop I think I was green. The CM asked if we wanted to go again since there was no line. I said, “no!!! no way!!!!” I wanted off. I really was so nauseous. It was getting really hot and I had not eaten very much…just a granola bar at 8 am. I needed some air-conditioning and crackers. I told my DH I wanted to go over to Donald’s Breakfastaurus (spell???) and see if they had any crackers. The CM there was fantastic. Actually, there were two girls – one was a photo pass photographer and the other worked in the restaurant. They were so sweet. It was not very busy on the side we were on so they let us sit down in the air-conditioning and she brought me a huge cup of ice water and a big ol’ hand full of saltines. They even offered for me to get something off the breakfast buffet at no charge. I was so thankful and in just a short amount of time I felt much, much better. I think the waitress name was Rosie. So a humongous thanks to Rosie and the photo pass girl.

After the whirling we headed to Kali River. The wait time here was about 10 minutes. The “Disney Details” while in line, once again were amazing. Although, I thought the ride was fun and we all enjoyed it. It was very short and not much to it. They could definitely spruce up the details on the ride.

Then we headed to lunch at the TuskerHouse. We had eaten here last year and the food was very good. This year proved to be just as tasty. My DH had the wrap and soup, both DD and DS had the chicken sandwich without any lettuce or sauce, and I had the chicken salad. We all had chocolate cake. It was all very good.

We then headed to It’s Tough to be a Bug 3-D show. I think that is so much fun. I love everyone in the audience squealing and screaming. Lots of laughs. I can see how little kids may be freighted.

We headed back over to Asia toward EE and noticed a train was stuck on the first hill. We asked a CM about it and was told it had been down a while and they did not know when it would be back up and running Now DD all of sudden said "I was going to ride it this time."

We then went to see the Flights of Wonder Show. All of us enjoyed it and thought it was very informative as well as entertaining. I wish we had gotten there early for good seats. Not that our seats were bad but I really couldn’t take good pictures from where we were seated. I did get this shot of a hawk as he flew toward the back of the arena. After the show they had some of the handlers come out with birds for photos and questions.

On the way to Camp Minnie-Mickey we saw King Louie and Baloo. Baloo had some fun with DS. He 'borrowed' his hat for a while. King Louie and DD did somesort of dance...it was rather comical. At camp Minnie-Mickey we saw several characters. There were no lines at all. We couldn’t believe it. There was Minnie, Mickey, Goofy, Donald and on the way out we saw Stitch. My DS is a huge Goofy fan and he was a riot here. He stole my DS’s pen and hid it in his pocket. He really ‘goofed’ around with him for several minutes. My DS loved it.

It was getting late by now almost 3 pm and it was sssooo hot! We did not really want to stay for the parade so we headed back to POP for a nap and cool down. We have ADR's this evening at BOMA.

 

[cherokeemamma]

I just want to thank you all for the wonderful comments on the poem. I am so glad you enjoyed it. It was funny how it just came to me. My DH and I feel so blessed and thankful to have been able to do this for our kids. We almost blew the surprise more than once. I do think it was one of the hardest things I have ever done.

When I was pregnant with DS I wanted to tell all of the grandparents with a surprise at Christmas. It was the first grandchild on both sides. We knew for over 1 month before we surprised them. I wrapped each of them a picture frame the read "I love my Grandpa or I love my Grandma" It took them a few seconds to figure that out. There were lots of tears and joy over that one. That was probably a little bit harder to keep than the Disney surprise. Especially when my mom and I would go Christmas shopping and she was wanting to buy me clothes. I kept saying I really like these bigger longer style shirts.

I will be happy to share my treasure hunt clues if anyone wants them.

 

[MomPlanner22]

Your pictures and report are fabulous! I love that picture of your children with Louie and Baloo. You can just tell that they are joyful children and are really enjoying themselves. Thanks for sharing your trip!

 

[Glendamax]

I know this has been said before, but your kids are SOOOO cute! I'm sure your childhood pictures and your daughter's have to look alike!

I am soooo sorry that we did not see each other that day. The picture that you took outside of the Tusker House while the guys were playing outside - I was sitting on the other side of the window. The guy that your daughter posed with - he was just inside playing the drum near us before he went outside!

Loving your pictures and report so far! Can't wait for more!

 

[Al and Kate's Mom]

How great to see two kids smiling so much and having such a good time - you must be so proud - your whole family looks like lots of fun. Love how DD got "brave" right when the train went down - sounds VERY familiar

 

[raetrosclair]

Your pictures are so beautiful! I love the one of the hawk. Really enjoying the trip report.

 

[kaysmommie]

Love your trip report! I don't know if I could keep the surprise a secret that long. Good planning. Did you stay at Pop last trip too, just wondering about the noise and hard beds? Great pictures of your cute kids. We were at Contemporary on 9/09 too. We shopped and ate CS at Food N Fun center that night. Sorry we missed you as we checked out on 9/10. My DD6 rode EE and she said she liked it but didn't want to ride again. She is too scared of Dinosaur and TOT and even HM scares her. Hope your DD decided to ride it, she is braver than my DD. Waiting to read the rest.

 

[toony]

Another great installment! Luv the Yeti-hat pic!

 

[lovealldisney]

Great TR!! Can't wait for your next installment!!
Your kids are so cute!! I'm sure they had a blast!

 

[Disneyland_Mama]

Hi CMama- I just found your TR. I hear you are a tiara, so I must read your TR. I have to tell you, I just read your 2nd post and your poem got me all misty eyed. Good thing I am home alone!!!
How wonderful to surprise your children like that! I'd love to do that someday! Your DD is a beauty! Absolutely adorable! What a wonderful family. You sure are blessed!!!
Can't wait to catch up!! Thanks for sharing!!

I just caught up and didn't want to leave your DS out... he's a handsome boy. I do agree with GMax - your kids look just like you! How sweet!

 

[OhMari]

loved your poem,
I was just going to copy it and put it in my archives, lol, sort of plagerism, unless I quote your name.

Isn't it funny how sleep catches up to you. Would you eat at Chef Mickey's if it was just you and your husband. I am still trying to decide.

 

[cherokeemamma]

Hi MouseCrazy96, Lazydazy8, Al and Kate's mom, Tinkerbellmom33, Toony, soozie, lovealldisney and disneyland_mama: Thanks for reading. I am glad you are here! You guys are so sweet...Thanks

Utahmama: Glad U found me. Thanks for the sweet comments on my kids. It really is rather hard writing a TR but ever harded remembering it all. BYW, how is Norah today? Poor baby...I am sure she has felt miserable. You knw my DD was never a cuddler but she is now. It is like the older she gets the cuddlier she gets .

MomPlanner22: We really did have a fantastic time. It just goes by ssooo quickly - too quickly. Kind of like Christmas morning.

Trevor797: Next time you cross the Atlantic we will be expecting a TR . When is your next trip? Are you getting in on the free dining for 07?

GMax: Hi there! I cannot believe you were that close and we didn't see you. I was looking for you and ET that day because I knew you had both planned to be there.

Amy&Dan: It looks like you guys have stayed at so many hotels...Which one has the best beds on prop? What about the cruise? I know that has to be great. I have never been on a cruise and I am holding out for a Disney one! I would love to do the land and sea: That would be a Dream Come True

raetrosclair: Glad you liked the hawk picture. I have a new camera and didn't have time for alot of learning before the trip. I was happy with that one. Believe it or not I took over 900 pictures.

Kaysmommie: Yes, we stayed at POP in 05 and we were in the 70's bldg. 4th floor. This time we were in the 60's 2nd floor. I just do not remember the beds being quite so hard in the 70's...maybe we are just another year older. The outside area wasn't loud but the between the rooms noise seemed really high to me. I do not thinks our neighbors were loud I just think the walls are thin. We heard every shower and every toilet being flushed. Maybe the 70's had more insulation or something or maybe it was just us.

OhMari: You too are so sweet and kind...thanks. Gald you enjoyed the poem.
If u enjoy the characters and the interaction I do think you will like Chef Mickey's. You should know there are lots of kids and families here. We thought the food was pretty good on a 10 pt sacale I would give it a 6 or 7 . We also really enjoyed the CP. I liked the food best at CP. Character interaction is awesome at both places.

I have to go now and sleep...I am feeling the need for toothpicks again. I also want to say that tomorrow I will post.
So...TTFN

 

[cherokeemamma]

We return to POP in hopes of a nice cool room, some non sweaty clothing and a nap. We set the alarm, draw the blinds and lay down…..now this is good. I am still so tired from yesterday. This nap is going to be sweet! There is just something about Sundays that just beg for a nap. Don’t ya’ll agree?
Others in the family have different plans…DD did not want to nap - she kept talking, and talking and talking and singing and giggling. DS is talking and they are laughing and making up crazy stuff – annoying stuff. They are imitating TV characters and repeating movie lines. They are both really annoying. Now is not the time to have fun it is time to sleep. Finally, we couldn’t take it anymore we demanded they both be quite and go to sleep. After much ado they finally get quite and still. Lo and behold DD falls asleep. It seemed as though I had just fallen asleep when the alarm goes off! Time to get up already and this is supposed to be a vacation! A sleeping, resting vacation…NO! but a fun, entertaining one YES!!! So we drag our groggy selves up and begin to get ready for dinner. It is time for more fun.

Now guess who will not get up? You guessed it…DD. She is now “so tired and she doesn’t even want dinner.” She is “so sleepy she just wants us to leave her there.” Go figure. It is our turn to annoy her. I don’t remember how or why it happened but she did finally get up and we were on our way. However, we are now running late. We rush out to the bus stop where we can wait and stress. The bus comes and there are only us and 2 other people getting on. The driver asked where we were going and we told him AKL. He drove us straight there which was wonderful considering we are now about 20 minutes late for our ADR.

A light fixture in the lobby

you can't really see the detail of the tall lights - it is ostriches and the light part is an egg

When we walked in to the AKL I was stuck at how beautiful it is. This is one of the places I would love to stay...one day. It reminds me, in some way, of the WL. I guess the size of the lobby. Anyway, I think it is beautiful. We head downstairs to BOMA and we are seated within 2 minutes. Our server’s name was Allison same as DD. She got a kick out of that even though the server Allison didn’t seem to care. She was very efficient but not very friendly. We are the kind of family that enjoys talking to our server and having a bit of personal interaction but that did not happen here. Don’t get me wrong, she wasn’t rude or anything just not very friendly or talkative. Oh well. She gave us instructions on the buffet and off we went.

room view from our table

I found the food here to be very good although different and that was what I was expecting. The pork tenderloin was great as were the potatoes and the prime rib. I tried several diff. salads I thought they were all very tasty. I loved the mango vinaigrette dressing. YUM.! The kids did try several new things but ate mainly from the kids buffet. Especially DD she had 2 serving of the mac and cheese. My DH loved everything here and I seriously think he did try everything! A side note about DH and food: The man loves to eat. I mean he LOVES food. He especially loves spicy foods. He eats a tremendous amount but never seems to gain any weight. Don’t cha hate that?! We jokingly say that he will eat anything that doesn’t bite him first. So watch your fingers and toes when dining with him.

Our server asked if we would like coffee and she offered us several options that were included on the DP. We opted for the French press. My DH and I like dark roasted coffee - no weak light coffee for us!!! We found the coffee to be very good. It was nice and strong!

Although I was full I had to try the desserts. I had read so much on the DIS about the zebra domes, I couldn’t wait to try them. We have another saying at our house…My food section is full but my dessert compartment is still empty. So there is always room for dessert. The desserts did look delightful I think I tried almost everything. I made myself a sample platter. I am sorry to say, I do not understand all the rage over the zebra domes. I thought they were good but not great.

After dinner we wanted to explore the lodge so we headed upstairs. It really is a beautiful hotel. We wandered outside and enjoyed looking at the giraffes and other animals. There was a fire pit and a CM was out there telling stories. We then wandered into the gift shop and my kids joined in a parade around the lobby. All of the participants were given a noise maker of some sort. They marched, clanged and drummed their way around the lobby 2 times. It was very cute and at the end they were all given a certificate.

a really interesting and colorful piece of folk art

We finally headed out to the bus area. Our original plans were to go to MK to see Spectromagic and Wishes. We had wavered because it looked stormy and there was some lightening & thunder going on in the distance. Then DD started having some tummy issues so we had stayed at the AKL longer than planned. We decided to head back to POP. When we went out to wait for the bus it was pitch dark out there. There we no lights on!!! It was really kind of scary. We thought maybe it was always that way - perhaps for the animals?! It was really, really dark – like you could hardly read the bus signs. I felt very uncomfortable.
Living outside of a city like Atlanta I always have my guard up and try to be very observant of my surrounding. I have to say I was thankful to be with DH. If I had been alone with my children I would have been scared. It just felt very unsafe. We waited for 15 minutes or so and several other people came out and waited too. Finally, the lights came on. So they do have lights here. I still have no idea why they were not on earlier.

Total bill for BOMA 3 Adults and 1 Child would have been $119.46 but we were on the FREE DP

Next installment: EPCOT and Tea at GF with other Lime Green Ladies!!

 

[PrincessV]

YUM! Boma is still on the list of restaurants I haven't tried yet, but I think I'll have to try it soon - sounds like a delicious meal!
Love the pic of you and the kids - so cute!

 

[Amy&Dan]

Cherokeemama: I took a break from cleaning to come read your latest installment! We do alot of split stays so that helps us to try out the various WDW resorts and hopefully meet our goal of staying at each one of them! Most comfy bed has to be the king sized beds we had in our two bedroom unit at Saratoga Springs for both of our stays there. I still dream of those beds! And you must try a Disney Cruise. It was so incredible. We did a 7 day, I could go do it all again tomorrow. But with the cost it will likely be more like 3-5 years! Your dh and my dh must be related with their love of spicy food and their ability to not gain weight. No fair! Can't wait to read more, keep it coming.