The LAST WEEK OF AUGUST ROCKS! (A Disney Adventure w/2 Families) Completed!

[bbump]

(A Disney Adventure with 2 families)


When? Sun 8/27 - Fri 9/1
Where? All-Star Movies, Mighty Ducks Building.
Why? First ON-SITE trip, and with Free Dining, how can you refuse the deal?

Who? Well... here is the cast of characters:


* Me (30) loves Disney trips! Didn't get to Disneyworld and Disneyland until
my teens, but am a big kid at heart and have loved going ever since.

* Hubby (32) Will be named "JACK SPARROW" for this report.
His first trip to Disneyworld was with my DD on her 1st trip.
He likes Disney, but is not as crazy as I am. He tends to get goofy and crazy in the parks.

* DD (10) will be named "ARIEL" for this report.
She is a fish in swimming pools and LOVES Disney Vacations and pin collecting/trading.

(We went to Disneyworld during spring break in March 06 but we all ended up getting sick
and decided that the free dining deal and staying onsite would be a great way to end our summer!)

* Sister-in-Law, will be named "CINDERELLA" for this trip report
because she is a hard-working stay at home mom to her 3 young kids.

* Hubby of Sister-in-Law, will be named "BASHFULL" for this trip report.
He is an easy going guy who is usually pretty quiet.

* DD of Sister-in-Law (5), will be named "LILO" for this trip report.
She is a spunky girl who is not scared to voice her opinion.

* DS of Sister-in-Law (2.5), will be named "STITCH" for this trip report.
He is full of energy and is saying the names of the Disney Characters non-stop.

* DBaby of Sister-in-Law (8 months), will be named "BABY TARZAN" for this trip report.
He is a cutie and a ham. Rarely Cries.
Learned to point, clap and do the arm flapping wave cheer prior to the trip.

(THIS IS THEIR FIRST TRIP TO DISNEYWORLD!!!!)

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OK, Intro's are done, so on with the trip report!


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Sunday, Aug 27th - departure and Magic Kingdowm EXTRA MAGIC HOURS (sort of)

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At the airport, we were getting a little nervous about the weather predictions
for Huricane Ernesto. It was scheduled to be in Central Florida by Wednesday.
Ariel was getting a little scared watching the TV screens, but I assured her
we would be safe and happy in the "World"
(Although, deep down inside, I was a little shaky too.)

The plane trip went smooth for everyone. Baby Tarzan did great!!!
When we landed and exited the plane, we could feel the heat already.
We easily found the Magical Express check in desk and soon were in line to board
the All-Stars bus!
The 1st STOP is All-Star-Sports, 2nd was Music and Movies was last.
It took a little while to get to our resort, but it was fun to see the other
All-Star resorts. They are all so fun looking!

Check in took about 15 minutes, and our rooms were ready!
We quickly unloaded our carryons and prepped the kids for their 1st park,
Magic Kingdom!!!
It was Extra Magic Hours tonight until 1am, although we knew we probably
wouldn't last that late.

We hopped on a bus to the MK and were amazed to be taken right to the front
gate by the Train Station!!! We have always stayed offsite and had to park,
take a tram, and then take the monorail or ferry to the MK.
THIS WAS A GREAT TIMESAVER FOR US!
This was our first Thumbs up to staying on-site!

We arrived a little before 3pm, which meant that the parade was starting
very soon!!
We couldn't walk down Main Street for the amazing view of the Castle,
because it was roped off for the parade. (So much for the magic of seeing
the kids' faces seeing the Castle for the 1st time)

It was very hot, so we didn't want to stand arround in the heat waiting
for the parade, so we kept trucking down Main Street on the side of the shops
and curved off to the left towards Adventureland.

Our 1st ride was PIRATES!!!
This was a 20 min wait. Stitch seemed a little nervous for the ride when
we boarded our boat. We all loved the ride, it was fun and a "yo ho" singing
adventure. I love the new version better than the old one. So Did
Captain Jack and Ariel.

Next we went to Liberty Tree Tavern for our early Dinner Ressies.
It was priceless seeing Baby Tarzan,Stitch & Lilo interact with the characters.
Baby Tarzan was a ham like usual and even started doing the "wave" in the
restaurant. Whenever he starts the wave, we would all throw our hands up
in the air and say "YEAHHHH!!!" with him.
He loves every second of being the center of attention.
We saw Minnie, Goofy, Chip, Dale and Pluto.
The food was Thanksgiving style and was very yummy.

Meal for me, Captain Jack and Ariel came to $107 with tip.
After Dining Plan, we owed nothing.
We were shocked and amazed (and full)

During our dinner, we noticed that it was downpouring outside.
By the time we were done eating the rain reduced to a drizzle, so we went
to the Haunted Mansion next.
Cinderella was excited about this ride.
Cinderella, Bashful, Stitch and Baby Tarzan rode together.
I rode with Captain Jack.
Ariel and Lilo rode together.

We all loved the ride.

We went to see Mickey's Philharmagic 3D show, which was a hoot, because
Lilo was grabbing the guys head ahead of us thinking it was a trinket from the movie.

Next we went to Toontown because Stitch had been saying "Mickey Mouse"
multiple times since he had woke up before the flight.
Captain Jack made a mad rush to get fast passes for Buzz Lightyear, while
we walked to meet up with him in ToonTown.

We looked at Mickey's house first and then went to meet him in the judges
tent. We all took family shots with the Head Mouse himself, then looked
through Minnie's House too.

It was just about time for Buzz Lightyear, so we got in the fastpass lane.
We all had fun spinning our cars and shooting at the Zurg Targets.

In Tomorrowland, the kids got treats on a stick and the adults got smoothies
for our snack credits. MMMMMmmmm nice and refreshing.
It was weird seeing a Mickey Bar steaming when it gets taken out of the
wrapper because of the coolness reacting with the heat.
We all thought it was funny.

We then relaxed on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, we all squished into
the same car, I don't know how we did it.
I didn't hear the "Paging Mr. Morrow" line this time. Captain Jack, Ariel
and I always joke about it because on our last March trip, when we felt
sick, we rested on a bench by the TTA and kept hearing that line repeated.

It was starting to get dark and the Castle was starting to change colors.
Stitch and Baby Tarzan had a long day, so Cinderella and Bashful decided to
head back to the resort.
Lilo wanted to stay and hang out with us because she was so excited and
fascinated by the Magic Kingdom and has a surge of energy like our Ariel.
So the 4 of us continued our adventure in the MK!
We got Extra Magic Hour bracelets just for the heck of it.

Brave Lilo wanted to try Splash Mountain, since Ariel was asking to go on
since we entered the park, so we got in the 20 minute stand-by line.
I sat next to Lilo since she is tiny so I could hold her on the drop.
(She is a hair over 44 inches tall) She loved the ride and even thought
the big drop was fun. Wow, we were impressed with this girl.
Next Ariel and Lilo wanted to go on Big Thundar Mountain, which said a
20 minute wait, but was more like 5 minutes.
It was dark, and the ride was a blast at night! We were hooting and
holering through the whole ride.
It was so much fun that we rode it again!

We all wanted to ride pirates again before we left, the wait was 20
minutes. After Pirates, we could hear the Wishes Fireworks going off, and
caught a glimpse of some sparkling through the trees.
The "Wishes" song was playing and we saw 2 Cast Members Dancing and singing
along with the lyrics in Adventureland.
captain Jack & I were pooped out, the girls wanted to stay later, but we
grabbed their hands and exited down Main Street.
I told them we would be back on Tuesday.

We hopped on a bus back and crashed on our comfy beds and pillows.
It was a wonderful first day!


(I will post day 2 very soon on this same thread.
Thanks for reading! Please feel free to ask any questions)

 

[pumba]

thanks so much for your report.......sounds like your first day was a major hit.......I hope I can last as long as you did on our first day too

 

[bbump]

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Monday, Aug 28th - EPCOT !

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We all woke up and decided to head to the park for opening
and would find a place to eat a lite breakfast (and use a snack
credit)
We made it to the rope drop by the fountain and some characters
came out, along with a Test Track Car.
(I think the double decker bus was more of a fun opening)
Then the rope was dropped and it seemed like there was a mad
rush in the direction of Soarin.

Captain Jack ran to get Fast Passes for Test Track , while the
rest of us went with an easy pace and found a Bakery right next to the
Character Connection and used snack credits on fruit tulips and
fruit croissants. (mmmmm they were yummy)
Disney did a great job of labeling snacks with the Dining Plan
logo so you would know which snacks qualify for your credits.
It really helped us out being new to the Dining plan and all.

After our lite breakfast, we went into the Character Connection
so the kids could take their time with the Disney Celebrities.
There were only a few families in the buiding!

We met Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Chip, Dale, Donald and Captain
Hook! Photopass Photographers were there snapping pics and we
got alot of great shots on our cameras too.

To kill a little time before our fast pass slot, we walked over
to Club Cool and tried different sodas. There were no Beverly
fountains working!!!! (no prank tricks to the newbies)
We had fun in Club Cool.

On the way out of Club Cool we saw the fountain show. Nearby was
a circle of new Cast Members who were raising their hands and
making an initiation pledge to onlookers.
It was cool to see. They all looked really excited to be working
for Disney.

It was now time for TEST TRACK!

With the more thrilling rides, we used the Baby Swap pass.
An adult would sit out the 1st ride with Baby Tarzan and Stitch
while the rest of us (including Daredevil Lilo) would ride.
Then, depending on how long it took, the Adult who sat out would
either hop back in line to use the baby swap pass, or come back
later in the day to use the baby swap as the pass is good all day
and for up to 3 people!
This worked great for 2 others who really wanted to ride again.
Baby Tarzan and Stitch usually kept the adult busy.
We would wait for everyone else in the gift shop after the rides
to stay out of the heat. It worked great!
Captain Jack sat out this time.

Time was flying by! It was almost time for our 11am Lunch ressie
at Garden Grill!
Captain Jack went to get Fast Passes for SOARIN while I checked
our party into the restaurant (since we were in the Land anyway)
The Soarin stand by line was only 30 minutes! This was amazing,
as in March we saw a wait time of 120 minutes!!!

We LOVED the Garden Grill, the characters made a round to us
about 5 times and spent alot of time with the kids.
This was our favorite character meal of the week.
The food was great too! The kids loved the design your own
cupcake desert that came with Mickey shaped sprinkles!

After we finished Lunch, it was perfect timing to use the Soarin
Fastpasses! I sat out this time with Baby Tarzan and Stitch.
Baby Tarzan fell asleep in my arms and Stitch sat calmly in the
bench playing with a bottle.
About 20 minutes later, the rest of the crew came out smiling
after their "flight".
I didn't take a turn to ride Soarin, because I didn't mind missing
it this trip.
It brings back a yucky memory for me, because after riding
Soarin during our March Trip, I got sick.
It wasn't the ride's fault, I had caught a tummy virus that
Captain Jack had the day before and it hit me really fast.

Stitch wanted to go on a ride, so we walked over to Journey
into Imagination with Figment. This was the first time we
rode this! It was cute and fun for everybody.
After the ride, Ariel morphed her picture into a pug dog, and
Lilo morphed her picture into a flower. (didn't get the
picture emailed to me yet...boooo)

Since we were still full, we decided to ride a relaxing ride, so
Spaceship Earth fit the bill!
The ride was so relaxing that Stitch took a nap.

Later on, Cinderella and Bashful were in the mood for a thrilling
ride, so Mission Space fit the bill.
There were 10 minute waits posted.
Cinderella, Bashful, Lilo and I got in the Intense Line.
(Yes,you heard right: Lilo wanted to do the Intense version, even
after I asked her many times about problems with motion sickness
or dizziness.)
Ariel and Captain Jack sat out with Baby Tarzan and Stitch.
Ariel wanted no part of the Intense version, but decided that
they would ride the lamer version after our ride.
They went over to meet Mickey and Goofy in their space outfits,
while the rest of us got in line for the Intense Mission to Space.
We walked right on!
After the many warnings we were all looking at eachother with
uneasy looks on our faces, but we boarded our "vessel" and
blasted off to space.
I think it is a very intense ride, you can feel the pressure
and floating sensations.
We all got off the ride swaying on our feet and smiling weird
smiles. Lilo did better than the grown ups.

Next Captain Jack and Ariel rode the less-intense version, and
Lilo went along to try it.
When they got off, we asked Lilo which version she liked better
and she said the less intense version was her favorite.

Since our tummys felt weird, we went back to Club Cool to
get some Ginger ale and then went on Ellen's Energy Adventure
so Baby Tarzan (and maybe even Stitch) would be able to nap.
This was a loud ride, and by some miracle, baby Tarzan slept
through the whole thing.

We did alot in future world, so it was off to the World
Showcase in the heat! BOY WAS IT HOT! We were going nuts with
our misty fans and sadly had to rush a bit through the countries
because we were just to hot to stand arround and explore them.
We ate our counterservice dinner in Mexico and got ALOT of food.
The kids got a huge kick out of the lady ducks trying to steal
our food.

We spent some time in the Mexico pavilian for pictures with
sombreros and crafts and HAD to go on the boat ride.

After going arround the world, we went into MouseGear to do
our shopping for the day, as the girls were bugging us about
buying things all day, but we didn't want to carry things arround.
MouseGear had a deal where if you spent $50 or more, you could
purchase a Pirates watch for the bargain price of $10.
I easlily made this minimum purchase by buying Pirates Pins,
an EPCOT picture holder & photo album. The watch would be a
suprise for Captain Jack...it was very cool looking!!!

WOW! It was a little after 8pm already and people were getting
spots for Illuminations!
I couldn't believe how long we made it with the young ones.
We could have plopped down and waited for Illuminations too, but
our hotel pool was sounding really nice by now.
So, we exited EPCOT and hopped aboard a bus back to All Stars.

The kids got their 2nd Wind when we got back to the hotel once
we mentioned "swimming".
Even Baby Tarzan and Stitch got in the pool with big smiles on
their faces.
Our pools were open until midnight.
We swam for a half hour, then called it a night.
WHAT A FANTASTIC DAY OF DISNEY MAGIC!

......Stay tuned for our 2nd great day at Magic Kingdom.
Thanks for reading!

 

[Bev J]

Really enjoying your report, your little ones sound like real troopers! I'll be looking forward to the rest..thanks for taking time to post it.

Bev

 

[RunDanceSkate]

We were there from Aug 23rd to Sept 2nd, Mighty Ducks bldg 2 room 2954 I think. I loved how close it was to the bus spots, even if they were the All Star Movies ones.

 

[Princess89]

I'm subscribing...I was there the same dates, except I checked in on the 26th and was in the Fantasia building.

 

[bbump]

RunDanceSkate and Princess89: SMALL WORLD!

I loved the Movies Resort! We walked over to the All-Star Music bus stops some days because they were closer to the Mighty Ducks Building.

We walked arround to look at the other Movies Buildings and loved the theming! I would definately want to stay there again.
Thanks for reading my report.
I hope to have Day 3 updated tomorrow.
(I miss the vacation so much, we had an absolute blast!!!)

 

[Nurse_Mommy4]

Sounds like you guys got alot done at Epcot. Glad to hear you had such a good time!

 

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Tuesday, Aug 29th - 2nd Day at MAGIC KINGDOM!

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It was a beautiful morning!
7am was the wake up call from Mickey and Stitch and they
even mentioned the Magic Kingdom in their greeting!

We all hopped on the bus and made it to the gate just as
the opening ceremony was finishing up.
This worked out great, as the tons of people had made it through
the entrance by the time we had our bags checked and fingers
scanned.

Today we were able to walk down the middle of Main Street and
OOOHHH and AHHHH over the beautiful Castle scene that lay ahead.
We hopped into the Main Street Bakery and used snack credits
for Apple & Cherry Turnovers and a fruit,granola & yogurt
parfait. We sat at the cute ice cream parlour tables by Casey's
Corner. It was so quiet and peaceful until some Disney Ducks
waddled over and looked at us with sad eyes as if asking for
food.
We didn't feed them, because a CM walked by and reminded us
not to. (Plus the Disneyworld napkins remind you not to feed
them as well)

We were not in a huge rush today and wanted to go at a slow
pace with the kids.
After our lite breakfast was eaten, we took some pics in front
of the castle and caught a little bit of the 1st Cinderellabration
Show. Then we walked on the side of the Castle and saw that
the Mad Tea Party was a walk on!
We parked the strollers and all of us boarded a teacup.
Captain Jack & I Sat with Baby Tarzan (we didn't spin the teacup
though, because Captain Jack hurls on spinny rides)
This gave the rest of our group the opportunity to spin their
teacups to their heart's content.
Baby Tarzan smiled and laughed as our non-spinny teacup made
the rounds to the Alice in Wonderland Music.

After that, we saw that POOH was a walk-on!
The last time we rode Pooh was when Ariel was 3 years old, so
we were excited for the cute ride.
Once again, our whole group rode Pooh.

Next we rode the Carousel. I rode on a horse next to Ariel, and
she pointed out to me that my horse had a gold ribbon on it's
tail. I didn't think my horse was that flashy.
Ariel kept telling me "Mom! You have Cinderella's horse because
your horse has the gold ribbon on it's tail!" (She read
some of the Theme Parks Secrets I printed out on the DIS)
So, after our ride ended, Ariel asked the CM if I had Cinderella's
horse, and she said yes!!!
WOW! I guess I was the lucky one.

As a group we did DUMBO, Snow White, Small World and Peter Pan.
All were walk-ons except for a 5 minute wait on Peter Pan, which
turned into 20 minutes a short while later.

Cinderella wanted to go on Haunted Mansion, so we walked right on
(after snapping a picture of Madame Leota's headstone)
Her eyes opened and she looked arround at us and blinked...creepy.
A weird thing happened in the stretching room. The room did not
stretch this time! We looked up at the ceiling and still saw the
dangling body, but couldn't see the pictures stretch to
reveal how the people in the paintings died.

After the ride on our doombuggies, we went on Splash Mountain.
I sat out with Baby Tarzan and Stitch in the gift shop.
A child swap pass was given so I could use it later.

We took a break in the AC by watching the Enchanted Tiki Birds.

For lunch we had ressies at the Crystal Palace with Pooh and friends!
This is a beautiful restaurant. The plant sculptures at the entrance
are so cute! They were made to look like Pooh, Eeyore,
Tigger and Piglet. The food was yummy to the max.
The Characters made a complete round. Tigger was the best with the
kids. The other characters seemed to rush arround a lot.
All in All, we had a nice relaxing lunch and I would want to dine
here again.

After lunch we took a the jungle cruise which was an instant
walk-on! Our guide was pretty mellow.
The kids enjoyed the adventure so much, that we walked right back
on for a 2nd cruise. This time we had a young guy who was hilarious.
He was even making fun of the cruise guide in front of us who was
making his group sing the "Mickey Mouse Club" theme song.
After our 2 cruises and a spray down with the misty fans, we
took another ride on Pirates!

Then we figured a relaxing Country Bear Jamboree would be nice for everyone.
This attraction is classic cheesiness at it's best. It reminds me
of the part in "A Goofy Movie" when Goofy and Max are sitting
watching the Possom Singing show.

Now all we needed to do was go to Tomorrowland!
The skies were looking grey and then it started to rain!
We ran into Cosmic Rays to wait it out a while, but we still needed
fast passes for Space Mountain!
I volunteered to run and grab them this time, because I was hot and
running in the rain sounded kind of fun.
This turned out to be a BAD mistake, I should have had Captain Jack,
the Fastpass pro, get them instead.
When I got back to Cosmic Rays and handed everyone their fastpasses.
I noticed that I was missing a key to the world! And it was
Cinderella's key!!!! AUUGGHH, my heart was beating so fast and I was
imagining what would happen if it could not be found.
In a flash, I ran back through the rain and back to the fast pass
machine. Between huffs and puffs, I asked the CM if anyone turned
in a card a few minutes ago, and to my relief and astonishment someone
had!!!! THANK YOU MYSTERY GUEST, YOU SAVED MY BUTT!

We sat arround and had some soft drinks at Cosmic Rays to kill some
time before our fastpass slot popped up.

Soon we walked to Space Mountain in the gentle rain.
I sat out with Baby Tarzan and Stitch in the Arcade while the rest
of the group took their jerky ride through space.
They got a Child Swap pass for me to use later.

When they got off the ride, Cinderella & Bashful wanted to take the
kids back to the resort to relax and swim.
Captain Jack was pooped too.
Did I want to leave??? No WAY!
Ariel agreed to stay with me, and Lilo heard we were staying so, she
wanted to stay too.
So, the rest of them left the Magic Kingdom and Ariel, Lilo and I
stayed for a Girls Night!
The first thing we did was use our child swap fast pass for Space
Mountain! Ariel put her hands up, which I cannot do because I am
too scared that I will hit a bar or something.

I still had my child swap pass for Splash, so that was our next stop.
It had stopped raining by now and was hot again.

Ariel and Lilo didn't get wet enough on Splash so they walked over
to the Tiki Gods and got very wet doing their silly dancing in front
of the tikis.

Then we took the Adventureland path in the direction of the Castle
for some pictures in front it and the bronze statues.
We were trying to find something to eat.
The girls didn't want anything at Pecos Bills, so we ate a nutritious
dinner consisting of Dole Whip Floats! (We used our snack credits too.)
MMMMMM they were awesome to eat in the heat.

It was starting to get dark, so we walked back towards the Castle,
because Lilo wanted to walk through it and Ariel wanted to show her
Tinkerbell in the keyhole at Tinkerbells Treasures.
I really had to pry the girls out of that store, because they were
spending so much time in there.

So, we walked back through the Castle again and down Mainstreet
admiring the twinkling lights.
Ariel and Lilo were sad to leave, but I told them they will always
have happy memories from this day.

Back at the hotel we crashed after eating some food from the food
court.

Thanks for reading!


Coming Soon..... Ernesto Hits and we go to MGM Disney Studios!

 

[Nurse_Mommy4]

That was some major pixie dust when that nice mystery guest turned in your SIL key to the world!

Glad everything worked out! Can't wait to hear about MGM and Ernesto!

 

[disneyde]

Really enjoying your trip report.......I feel like I'm there with you.....I'll be their in just two weeks and one day and really will be at DISNEYWORLD.....yeah!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[BeautyNBeast]

Great TR! Sounds like you and your family had lots of fun!

 

[bbump]

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Wednesday, Aug 30th - MGM-Disney Studios & Tropical Storm Ernesto hits!

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After our 7am wake up call from Mickey&Stitch, we turned on
resort TV to see the update on Ernesto, as there was a little bit
of a buzz going arround that the park hours may be changed or (gasp)
even closed.
But, after viewing all the screens and scrolling text at the bottom
of the screen, it looked like parks were up and running!
(The only change was Animal Kingdom was having it's extra magic hour
early instead of late due to the storm)

It looked gloomy outside, but nothing different from the rain clouds
we see in MN, so we met up with Cindrella, Bashfull, Lilo, Stitch
and Baby Tarzan in the All Star Movies food court for breakfast.
The Mickey waffles are adorable. They come in a smaller kids size,
or big adult size waffles.

We made sure our (6) dollar store ponchos were packed.
Cinderella's family didn't bring ponchos, so we would have to share
somehow.

We hopped the bus to MGM and got there just as the park had opened.
It looked like a ghost town!
Nobody waiting for a bag check, nobody waiting for the finger scan
machine and hardly anyone walking down the main street towards the HAT.
We 1st took turns taking pictures of our families in front of the HAT,
then we headed to the right towards Tower of Terror and Rockin
Rollercoaster!
Cinderella wanted to do TOT first. The wait showed 10 minutes, but the
CM at the entrance said that they couldn't even fill the elevators up.
(Bashful looked a little hesitant,
but Cinderella twisted his arm to go on.)
Ariel chickened out (as she had on the last trip) so she sat with me
and Stitch & Baby Tarzan.
like I said earlier in the trip report, I was amazed at how much of
a daredevil 5-year old Lilo was! (She kept talking about TOT before
MGM day)

We walked to the area where the ride photos come up on the screen and
saw one ride only had 4 people on it!
It took about 5 minutes before we saw Cinderella, Bashful, Lilo and
Captain Jack on the screen.
They got a baby swap pass for me so I could go back on, but the CM
told me I should save it because it was a walk on right now.
So next, I took my turn to ride and Cinderella and Lilo went with me.

This ride scares me, yet I always ride it...not sure why.
Maybe because of the scare factor. Every ride seems to have a
different drop sequence.
Like always, I scream like crazy on this thing.

After our TOT adventure, we head over to Rockin Rollercoaster which
also shows 10 minutes, but the CM said they were thinking about taking
a train off the track because they had problems filling every one up.
So this meant it was a walk on too!
Captain Jack sat out with Stitch & Baby Tarzan this time.
Lilo had to sit out too (She was very mad about this) because she is
not tall enough for this.
Rockin Rollercoaster is my favorite ride here!!!
Our limo played "love in an elevator"
Cinderella loved this ride too, but Bashful decided he didn't want
to ride it again.

After our ride, Cinderella went on again with Captain Jack & I while
Bashful stayed with the kids in the gift shop.

After the thrill rides, we walked over to Star Tours.
Captain Jack sat out with Stitch & Baby Tarzan.
There were CM's in the streets trying to give away tickets for the
Wiggles Concert, there seemed to be alot of tickets left.
None of us wanted to see the Wiggles, so we said "No Thanks"
(Can't believe I was worried before the trip about MGM being
packed for the Wiggles concert)

We got seats for the 1st show of "Lights,Motors,ACTION!"
We wanted to see this show before the rain started, because we
were sure it would be cancelled due to the rain later for the
safety of the stunt people.

Stitch was excited about seeing zooming cars and explosions.
Once the show started, everyone's eyes were glued to the set.
(except Baby Tarzan who fell asleep during the show even with the
noise!! --- did I mention before what a good DisneyWorld baby he was??)
What amazed me this time about the show was that a stunt lady
named Amy was the one who caught on fire and was dancing in the
flames until being put out.
I could not imagine having a job like that.

When we exited the show, we saw 2 cars from the movie "CARS" going
down the street! Stitch was amazed at the sight.
I snapped pictures of them.

We let the kids blow off a little steam in the "Honey I Shrunk the
Kids" play area. (This is also a good spot for goofy photos)

Then we relaxed at the Muppet's 3D show, which is sooo cute.
The 3D effects are not as good as the newer shows, but you gotta
admit that the cheesy jokes are hilarious.
I love when Miss Piggy's solo singing scene gets wrecked.

When we exited the show, we saw that TOY STORY characters were out
at Al's Toy Barn!
WOO HOO!!
Woody, Jessie, Buzz and the Green Army Man!
The kids got pictures and autographs with all of them.

By now, we had done ALOT at MGM and it wasn't even storming yet!
Our time slot was up for our lunch ressie at the SCI-FI DINE IN
THEATRE. This was a great place for our group!

We sat in a pink colored car. (ALL of us fit!!!)
Lilo, Stitch & Ariel sat in the front seat.
Captain Jack & I sat in the middle seat.
Cinderella and Bashful sat in the back seat.
Baby Tarzan had a high chair on the side of our car.
One of the CM's cave Baby Tarzan a blinking ice cube to play
with because he started to fuss a little bit when we first
arrived. After he got the ice cube, he was quiet as a mouse &
completely amazed by the blinking thing.
The CM said "Works every time".

We had a great lunch. The old monster movie clips, Drive-in
refreshment commercials and goofy cartoons are lots of fun to
watch. Food was great.
Desert is too rich for words. (I had cheese cake that was sitting
in a bowl of caramel popcorn and M&M's)

When we started to leave after lunch, (it was about 3:30) we notice
it is POURING!!!! Ernesto was here!!!!

It was time to fight over the ponchos (just kidding)
Captain Jack and Bashful volunteered to be the ones to go
poncho-less while the rest of us decked ourselves with plastic.
I took a great picture of Lilo and Ariel dancing in the rain
wearing their bright blue ponchos.

Someone on the DIS mentioned that wearing a poncho makes you
feel like a basted turkey. Well, it was still warm out, and I
WAS starting to feel like a basted turkey.
I thought of that post and laughed to myself.

It was raining HARD and we knew we had to do indoor attractions
until the rain let up. (if it let up)
So...it was off to the Great Movie Ride.
It was about a 5 minute wait.

After the ride, it was still pouring, so we got back in line.
It was a 10 minute wait.

After the 2nd ride.... STILL raining hard.
Cinderella, Bashful and Captain Jack were ready to leave.
Ariel and I were not.
(Tropical Storm or not, We were at a Disney Park and we were
going to have fun anyway, even if we were walking arround looking
like we were thrown in a baggie)
So.... everyone left except Ariel and I.

It was fun to have some Mother-Daughter time.

We spent some time in the Sorcerer's Hat buying some pins.
There were SO MANY MORE PIRATES PINS this trip than when we
went in March.
Got a Pirates lanyard, Pirates Medalion, and several Pirates
Pins for Captain Jack.
I bought a limited edition Summer 2006 pin with Chip&Dale
eating Watermellon for me.
Ariel bought a new red lanyard & 2 pins (she is now on her
5th lanyard and is quite the collecting & trading diva)

I still had a baby swap pass for TOT and RNR.
Couldn't get Ariel to go on TOT, so we went over to Rockin
Rollercoaster.
The CM told me I don't need to use the pass, because the
ride is a walk-on. So I kept it as a souvie.

We walked right into the pre-show room with the band and then
we got in line and were given THE FIRST SEAT IN THE LIMO TRAIN!!!
WOOOOOOOO HOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
We were pumped.
The front was fantastic. Ariel and I sang along with "Walk this Way".
I was so thrilled about sitting in the front, that I purchased an
8x10 photo of us in the hotseat.
Sadly, we were not wearing our ponchos in the photo because the
CM's make you take your poncho off before getting inside the
building. (darn it, I am sure a ballooning poncho at take off
would look great in a photo - ha ha)

I took some pictures of the rainy park, browsed in a couple
shops, then decided it was time to go back to the hotel so we
could grab a late dinner at the food court.

The rain had not let up.
Back at the hotel, Captain Jack wanted us to bring the food from
the foodcourt back to our hotel so we could watch movies while we
ate. (He said the resort gave us a movie channel because of the
storm)

This turned out to be an adventure.
Our building was quite a walk from the food court.
So we walked there with our ponchos, grabbed the food, and ran
as much as we could back to our room carrying trays and holding
onto the lids so they didn't fly off in the wind.
The rain was coming down hard and the wind was blowing.
When we got back to the hotel, the food trays had a layer of
water at the bottom of them.
The food still tasted good, and the price was right!!!
(GOTTA LOVE FREE DINING)

The pools were closed due to the storm, so it was a cozy night
in our room.

The Storm was not as bad as I had thought. The rain just
lasted longer than it did on prior days.
Huricane Season would not scare me away on a future trip.

Thanks for reading!!!


Coming soon..... A beautiful day at Animal Kingdom!!!!

 

[Mouse's Shadow]

Enjoying your report. We leave in 22 days. I'm glad you didn't let Ernesto rain on your parade. Looking forward to the next posting.

 

[bbump]

****************************************************

Thursday, Aug 31st - Animal Kingdom!

****************************************************


Today we all got ready and headed to the bus stop by 8:30 am.
We made it to Animal Kingdom's gates prior to opening!!!!

Right when you enter this park, you feel like you are in for
an adventure. This park has such a completely different feel to
it. Cinderella commented right away about how cool she thought
the atmosphere was.
Before we got to rope drop, we were able to look at some
funky animals. A CM was holding a case with a giant spider of
some sort inside it.

We stayed behind the large group waiting for the rope drop.
Captain Jack said that there was a show going on by the Tree
of Life. When the rope dropped, Captain Jack headed to Expedition
Everest to get fast passes for all of us while we said we would
meet him in Africa for the Safari.
On the way to Africa we made a few stops to meet the REAL Stitch,
Bears from a "Jungle Book" and "Flick" from a Bugs Life.

Captain Jack beat us to Africa and was wondering what took us
so long.
We walked right on to the Safari because Captain Jack said it was
crazy over by Everest. Our fast pass time slot started at 11:15!!!

The Safari was fun. We saw lots of animals and had a VERY bumpy
ride in the back of the vehicle. Baby Tarzan was drinking a bottle
during the safari and his eyes got huge when we went over some
bumps. Ariel told me that we were not really going over bumps,
the vehicle was designed to give a similulated bumpy ride.
(She watched one of the "Behind the Scenes" specials on the Travel
Channel.)
I looked at the road behind us (we were in the very last seat)
and she seemed to be right, because I didn't notice any big bumps
in the road. She is turning into a Disney Junkie too!

Everyone enjoyed the Safari.
After exiting, we walked over to the Tusker House for a lite
breakfast of pastry items.
Captain Jack had a nutritious breakfast of CARROT CAKE!!!
We used snack credits.

When we walked out of the Tusker House, we heard catchy
drumming music!
We saw a group dressed in beautiful African Outfits drumming
and whistling their hearts out.
Several onlookers got pulled towards them to dance and I was one
of them. It was lots of fun.

It was starting to get hot so, we went to see "It's Tough to be
a Bug" I got a great picture of Ariel and Lilo wearing their
bug eye glasses!
We all enjoyed the show. Baby Tarzan and Stitch did OK too.
(They didn't really wear the 3D glasses)
My seat didn't work because I didn't feel the stinger part,
but we all felt the bugs under our butts after the show.
I think the part that scares kids the most, was when the lights
go out, and the bees sound (& feel) like they attack the audience.
There were even alot of grown ups screaming at this part!!!

It was almost time to use our fastpasses!!
Captain Jack decided to sit out first with Baby Tarzan and
Stitch and wait for us in the gift shop.
The rest of us (including daredevil Lilo) went to the fast pass
lane. I asked for a baby swap pass for Captain Jack, but the
CM said she would have to see the baby in order to give us a baby
swap pass (This NEVER happened to us at the other parks)
We were a little angry about this because the boys were probably
comfy in the AC, and we had to run and grab one of them as
proof to the CM.
After Cinderella brought Baby Tarzan over to the CM, she finally
gave us a baby swap pass.
She then told us it was going to be nuts here because the
fast passes had run out already!!!!

I think Expedition Everest has brought many more people to
Animal Kingdom. It must be helping this park out alot!

The fastpass line went quickly.
Soon we were riding our train through the mountains, zooming
backwards in the dark, wooshing down the twisty hill, and
thrown into the Cave with the Yeti.

After our ride, Captain Jack used the baby swap pass and rode
with Cinderella, Lilo, Ariel and I.
I can't remember how all of us made it on the ride with 1 baby
swap pass. (especially with the strict CM guarding the Fastpass
lane) We had an extra fastpass or two somehow. ????
I had a coupon for a free ride photo and redeemed it after this
ride. Lilo was covering her eyes in the picture, Ariel was
hanging on for dear life, I had my hands up, and Captain Jack
was making a barfy-looking face.
Cinderella rode in another car by herself so she didn't make
it in our photo.

By now we were pretty hungry for lunch so we went back to the
Tusker House.
This place has wonderful food.

After we ate, we noticed that it was raining outside.
Cindrella had brought 4 ponchos from yesterday for the kids.
We ventured out, and the rain reduced down to a sprinkle so
it wasn't bad at all.
We went to Camp Minnie Mickey to meet the Characters in their
Safari Gear.
We saw Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald.

Then we went to see the Festival of the Lion King.
The kids loved this show, expecially Baby Tarzan, who pointed
and clapped. It was adorable seeing his facial expressions.
We sat in the Elephant section. It was hard to make elephant
noises.

After the show, we browsed in a shop.
The parade was going to start soon, so we scoped out a spot
in the shade close to DinoLand.
The kids loved the Jammin Jungle Parade. (It was the only
parade we saw all week due to the heat)
Sitting in the shade makes a huge difference!

There was only a half hour left until park closing, so we
went over to Dinosaur.
Captain Jack sat out with Baby Tarzan and Stitch because this
is a jerky ride.

The ride was hilarious because I was seriously scared this time.
I was not expecting a dinosaur to be where it was, and I let out
a loud scream.
I sat by Ariel and Lilo.
I looked over at Lilo and saw her back stiff against the back of
the seat and her eyes were squeezed shut with a look of absolute
horror on her face.
When the ride ended she laughed and said she tried to keep her
eyes shut through the ride.
The ride picture was sooo hilarious.
I wish I would have bought it.

Ariel was a little cranky after the ride. (this will be explained
more later)

Animal Kingdom was closing, so we took the exit and found
a bus to the Contemporary resort because we had dinner ressies
for Chef Mickeys.

We checked in and were given a pager and told to wait in line to
have our pictures taken.
We each took a family photo then our pager went off.

We were seated just when a napkin twirling session started.
So we got up and started twirling our napkins even though we
didn't have any food yet.
Goofy danced by us and was twirling his napkin too.
This is a great time to take pictures.

After the music stopped, we all grabbed plates of food.
Then Ariel said she had to go to the bathroom.
She was gone for quite a while.
Sadly, Dinosaur had done a number on her tummy and she got
sick.
This made us cut our dinner short.
I barely had a plate of food.
I felt bad for her.
Some Characters came by, but we didn't get to spend much time
with them.

A guy came by with our picture packages.
He gave us a package of 2 5x7s, 2 wallets, 1 keychain and 1
magnet for $25.
I had a hunch that they were going to try and make us purchase
the photos we took earlier.
Well, we got our dinner for free, and this seemed like a great
deal because the ride photos are more expensive, so we
each bought a package.

On the way out we took a picture of the kids with Donald Duck
wearing his Chef Outfit.
We nicknamed this place "Chef Hurleys" because of what happened
to Ariel.
She felt bad, but this will give us a reason to try eating here
again, if Ariel can get past the bad memory.

We walked out of the Contemporary and to the Magic Kingdom's
transportation Area to catch the bus back to All Star Movies.
This was about a 5 minute walk and we got a good view of
Space Mountain and the Castle in the distance.

Ariel was feeling alot better when we got back so we all went
swimming in the Mighty Ducks pool.
Ariel also wanted to check out the Fantasia pool.
So we walked arround to the other buildings and she swam for
a little while in the the busy Fantasia pool.

Then we went back to our room, cleaned up, got into our PJ's
and started packing our bags.



Coming up next.....
Departure Day & final thoughts, observations and tips.

Thanks again for reading!!!

 

[bbump]

****************************************************

Friday, September 1st - Departure Day, Final Thoughts
and Tips.

****************************************************


Got our last wake-up call this morning and slowly crawled out
of bed to get ready and pack the last minute items.
We had our final breakfast and used up our last of the
snack and counterservice credits in the food court.

We ate breakfast croissants and Mickey Waffles.

I placed a credit card on our room so we could do the Express
Checkout and we didn't have to wait in line to leave.
I had $76 in Disney Dream Reward Dollars which I applied to
my room balance, and this left us a total of $150 ish
left on our account....not bad at all!!!

We rolled our luggage over to the Magical Express bus area
and within 5 minutes a bus pulled up and we had our pick of
seats.
We were the 1st pickup.
We stopped at Music, Sports and Coronodo Springs on the way
to the airport. It took about an hour from when we boarded
the bus, to when we unloaded at the airport.
On the way they played another Disney Video that was trying to
entice you to come back and experience DisneyWorld during the
various seasons of the year.

We had an hour and a half before our flight departed at 1pm,
so we hopped into the Disney Earport store for some last-minute
souvies.
If you spent $50 or more at the store, you would receive a
free pin! (Ours was Goofy flying an airplane..it was cute.)

I purchased a Waterglobe and had to pay extra to ship it home
because it would not be allowed on my carryon due to the liquid
restrictions.
I don't think I would have trusted it in my check-in luggage
either, so I guess shipping it home was the safest method.
The $20 waterglobe cost me an additional $8.95 with shipping.

The line for Security was super short.
We got to our gate with plenty of time to spare.
When we started to board our plane it started downpouring so
our flight take off was delayed about 30 minutes for safety
reasons.

We made it up into the air for a relaxing flight home.
Baby Tarzan, Stitch and Lilo slept through most of the flight.
Captain Jack, Ariel and I took turns switching headphones for
music and Pirates of the Carribean on our DVD player.

When we landed and claimed our luggage, Cinderella gave us
a hug goodbye because their ride was waiting for them.
We said our goodbyes to the kids with a little sadness in our
hearts.

I never thought the trip would have went as smooth as it did.
I never thought we would have stuck with eachother all day like
we did...but we were having so much fun as a group and the kids
did amazingly well! Meltdowns were almost non-existant!!!
There was magic in their eyes at every sight.
We all felt like kids again and loved every second of the trip.

(Obviously some major pixie dust was dumped on us for this
vacation.)

..........

...... back to the present, we attended Lilo's 6th Birthday
Party last weekend and it was great to see the kids and Parents
again. They still were raving about how much fun they had.
Lilo was telling guests about our goofy moments in Florida
during our Girls Night in the Magic Kingdom.

When she opened our Birthday Present that we gave her, she
burst out loudly after looking at our card "I love ___, ___,
and ____ !!!" (insert our real names in the blanks)
We started to blush because we were the only ones she shouted
about during gifts.

It was obvious that our happy week together made a huge
impact on her. I am glad that they will have many happy memories
from the trip.

Cinderella and Bashful did say they want to go back again, maybe
in a few years when their boys are a little older.

The trip pictures (all 325 of them) turned out priceless.

I have reviewed them many times over the past few weeks.
(Wished some of the days, that I could jump back in to one of the
photos.)

I am hoping that Free Dining is offered again next year.
We loved every bit of staying onsite and eating onsite. It made
for a much more relaxing vacation for us!!!!!



************************************

FINAL THOUGHTS AND TIPS!!!

************************************

* August was HOT HOT HOT! (But wasn't as bad as I thought it
would have been. It helped leaving warm weather and going into
warm weather as it wasn't such a shock on our bodies.

* Bring or Buy a Misty Fan! They were a lifesaver!
We had fun spraying eachother when it got hot.

* Go at a slower pace in the summer.
We previously rushed from ride to ride on our past trips.
Being with younger kids made us slow down and relax a bit more.
It would be too exhausting to rush arround in the summer, so we
are glad that we all went with a slow pace.

* Ship waterglobes to your home from the gift shops
Sure, the shipping costs extra, but at least you a guaranteed to
receive it without breakage occuring. I don't trust packing it in
my check-in luggage. If the globe breaks in shipping, Disney will
resend a new one to you.

* Smile and have a positive attitude.
You will enjoy yourself more and have more fun!!! Don't sweat the
small things!!!

* Tropical Storms were not as bad as I thought.
Hurricane SEason would not scare me away in the future.
The parks were so quiet!!!

.... any questions??? Feel free to ask....

otherwise, Thanks for reading my report!
Happy Trip planning and Disney Dreaming to all!!!!

 

[team weasel]

I enjoyed reading the trippie and I'm very happy to hear Ernesto didn't wash you out!

You mentioned a free photo coupon for EE and I have heard a few other people mention those. How do I get my hands on one.

I head to the World next Wednesday for 9 nights at the POP!

 

[OhMari]

I loved your beautiful attitude and making sure you slowed down this time because of the heat. Loved your Trip report and thanks for getting it done in such a short amount of time.

 

[sharonW]

Great Trip Report!!! I enjoyed every word.
That place sure does bring a ton of magic
to folks. Reality doesn't exist when your
at the greatest place on earth!!

 

[MEK]

Your trip report was special, because I was there the same week as you. I just don't have the energy or creativity to write a report. I much rather read others.

We were actually at MK the same day. We went to AK on Ernesto Day, because we had an 8am ADR for Donald's breakfastaurus. From there we headed to EE. No lines at all. We could have riden it for hours straight. I couldn't go on the third time, because I was still dizzy after the 2nd ride. We did go back and ride it later in the day. That evening we went to MGM. I was able to cancel my original reservation for the Fantasmic dinner because I knew it would be rained out. We went to Prime Time instead (in the pouring rain). It was awesome and our best meal of the trip.

Maybe we'll see you there next year!

P.S. I can't believe how much you were able to do with small children - amazing!

___________________________________________

Max is my favorite cat!