The Way too Late but Way to Awesome Not To Report-NEW* 10/10* An Almost Empty Epcot -

[cherokeemamma]

The Way Too Late but Way Too Awesome Not to Report Trip Report-

October 2007

You may or may not want to go along with me on this rather old TR. I am sorry I left many of you hanging with the original. Some of you will be happy to know it has haunted me ever since. I am not going to make excuses as to why I didn't finish but I do promise to complete it this time.
I thought it best to begin at the beginning so I will be inserting the first 2 days from the old report. Originally this TR - under a different name - was started well over a year and a half ago. It was such a great trip with so many things I really wanted to share. My DH and I had dubbed this our 20th Anniversary Celebration Trip. It was a fantastic trip filled with fun, laughter, frustration, friends, surprises and pixie dust. I am sorry that I never finished it and that I didn’t share while all the details were still fresh in my mind. It is a trip that I feel compelled to share. At this point I can probably say that for the most part it isn’t going to be very detailed. However, I will try to hit on all the highlights and bigger events.
One thing I can promise…. there will be many pictures.

So, are you ready to go back to the fall of 2007?
October 2007to be exact.....

So…where shall I begin? Well, at the beginning I suppose. We had taken 2 previous trips to The World and became addicted immediately…we drank the kool-aide as they say…a lot of it! We became total Disney Freaks and yes, our friends and family all think that we are weird. But, you guessed it we simply do not care. Think what you must…. Like most of you we love Disney and have a wonderful time there. Quite frankly, I don’t get the other opinion…What is there not to love???

We had pulled our kids out of school for our last two trips and taken advantage of Free Dining (LOVED IT) but our DS really struggles making up the work from school and of course, we always get that nasty little letter about reaching the 5 day rule. I should clarify for DS’s sake that he is extremely bright and can do all of the work- no problem, but the issue lies with his actually doing it. You might call it lazy (we do). I would hate for you all to think he is Dopey when he is really just Goofy. hahaha

My DH and I would be celebrating our 20th anniv in April and had originally tried to plan an adult only trip but DD couldn’t handle that thought and neither could our check books. We knew realistically that we could only do one trip. Our school district has a fall break, Oct 22-26, so we thought it would be a great time to go. Not hot, less crowded, F&WF, no guilt about taking the kids out of school. (Our thoughts on this would change…more about that as we go along). We booked our ressies in late April with the 40% code. The plan was to stay at ASmovies, 7 day PH, DQuest for DS, BBB for DD and of course we must get the DP. The other thing you should know about us is we love food. We do not eat out a lot at home so we really enjoy the opportunity to try new foods and experiences. Not to mention….I do not have to cook it (best reason of all).

As time went on they released an even better code for certain weeks of the year. We were so blessed that it turned out that one of the weeks was ours. I started crunching numbers and we decided we could add a couple more days to our trip. We would take the kids out of school for two days…we would leave on Thurs am and stay until the following Sunday….10/18-10/27. We had to change hotels to ASMusic to take advantage of the savings…no problem. This would actually turn into a blessing in disguise.

We made our dining, BBB and DQ plans, ordered some trading pins off Ebay, studied with TourGuideMike and planned our days at WDW while we endured the ridiculously hot summer that GA offered. We made tentative plans with fellow Disser and dear friend, Eeyore’s Tiara aka Cassandra and her family as well as a couple of local friends whose families would be vacationing at the same time. We also decided that while our dog Mickey was being boarded that it would be a great time to have him neutered. We felt he would be much less active there (“Tigger” may have been a more appropriate name, if you get my drift) and they could keep an eye on him as he recuperated from “the procedure”. Everything was falling into place.

One last thing before the trip begins….our cast of characters.

DD8 (just turned9) Allison – not so into princesses anymore, completely nuts about Hannah Montana-Miley Cyrus, adores Mickey Mouse…wants to marry him some day. She loves almost all rides with the exception of ToT. She loves Webkins, anything pink and sparkly, reading, singing, dancing, drawing, laughing, bossing, being sassy and prissy and eating anything that contains chocolate or ice cream.

DS13 Justin – Fun loving, easy going, smart, loves Goofy, being silly or making people laugh, any thrill ride. He is a sports enthusiast (would watch babies play ball), huge GA Bulldog fan, Guitar Hero virtuoso, enjoys movies, video games and hanging with his friends. Used to be very picky eater now likes anything that doesn’t bite him back but he especially likes chocolate or any type of ice cream.

DH Phil - my BFF, kind, helpful, will do anything I ask…my prince. He is the family pack mule, NYer turned Southerner…. in name only. Lover of all things Italian, especially pasta and will go out of his way to get it, but loves ALL food, enjoys thrill rides, movies and music. You should know that he does have a tendency to lose or should I say misplace things. He is wonderful guy…a great dad. Btw, he loves chocolate, too!!!

DW Darlene, me : - The family planner and keeper of schedules, maps, phone numbers, and all other stuff. A southerner through and through. Absolutely loves photography – the family historian. I am crazy about Johnny Depp, Elvis, a great bargain, music, movies, cooking, laughing and hanging out with my family and friends. I love thrill rides and I think being a good mom is the most important (and hardest) job in the world. And one last thing…I will do just about anything for chocolate.

Oh, I cannot forget….

DDog – Mickey – a cockapoo, cute as he can be but completely neurotic. He chases birds (sometimes catching them), will play fetch with almost anything, likes to drink (steal) my coffee, sometimes we think; he thinks he is a cat. DD and DS are completely crazy over him. They have a least one argument a day over who is going to sit with, hug, play with the dog.

So there you have it, my family.

Our original plan was leave Thurs morning around 6:50 or so and drop the dog off at the vet and then hit the road. However, as the day went on Wed. we decided (rather last minute) to drop the dog off on Wed as late as possible. This would free us up to leave even earlier on Thurs. morning. My DH and kids took the dog to the vet and then they went to church for dinner and choir practice. I stayed home and finished the last minute packing/cleaning. We eventually got the car packed and we all finally fell asleep for a few hours. As fate would have it we actually did not get on the road until 6:30 or so and we decided in the future to stick to the original plan.

The trip to WDW was pretty uneventful which was a good thing. The highlight was our stop for breakfast at Cracker Barrel somewhere in central/south GA. We decided to eat later in the morning so that we wouldn’t need to eat lunch later on. We had snacks and a packed cooler in the car. I always wonder what all of the folks do that seem to fill up these places. Regardless of the time of day it always seems to be busy. I mean are they all traveling, do they live in the area, are they retired or what. It always amazes me at how busy places are when you stop.

Oh yeah, we did have a problem with our portable DVD player. We had fully charged it up for the trip and when they went to watch a movie it played for about 2 minutes and then went dead. Have any of you had this problem before? It has only been used a few times before. I am guessing it has something to do with the battery??!! So you know what this mean...bickering, arguing, fussy kids...

Eventually we arrived on WDW property!!! We all cheered and celebrated as we crossed under that wonderful sign! YIPPEE!!!!! We took a moment to thank God for getting us here safely and providing for us another trip. It is now around 3pm or so and we are ready for our vacation. Actually the kids are ready to swim and I am ready to nap. But we all know, that ain't happening...
We head to the front desk of ASMusic. My first impression is just how friendly and nice everyone is. Everything is clean and shiny. We only had to wait for a couple of minutes as only one person was in front of us. We got to the desk and I am really hoping for an upgrade to preferred actually I am really hoping for an upgrade to the Poly or GF but we all know that ain’t happening either. Yeah, in my WDW fantasy the dream team comes bursting out from behind the counter and awards us with an upgrade to a deluxe. Of course, we are so excited and we accept the wonderful gift. They lavish us with balloons and other goodies. Finally, I get to stay at a monorail resort. Thank you so much….WAIT..back to reality. Did she say we are going to the Rock Bldg????? Oh no! Is there nothing closer? She informs us that a writers convention is staying here and all of the rooms close in are taken but she will see if something closer would be available tomorrow. We tell her yes, please check and that we would be willing to move. I really wanted a room in the Jazz bldg because I knew they had the curtain between the bedroom and the vanity area. They really need to do this in all of the rooms (at least the values). Now that DS is 13, we all are a bit more modest and it would just be so much better for us. The CM was so nice and I could tell she really wanted to help us. She gave DD some balloons and gave my DH and I Happy Anniversary pins since we were celebrating (although 6 months late) our 20th.

On our way back to the car we stopped at luggage services to pick up our fridge. We had gotten in on a fridge swap (from the budget board). I wasn’t sure how this would all work but it was real quick and simple. The gentlemen there offered to deliver it to our room. We thanked him and reluctantly headed toward the Rock & Roll bldg.

We pulled up to the curb and began to unpack. The CM who was delivering our fridge came around the corner and told us to wait. He would help us! WOW! How cool is that. He was a great help especially since we had so much crap. He informed us that he had recently moved to the area from NY. I guess he was still feeling the Disney Magic because he was wonderful, talkative and extremely helpful. I am sorry I do not remember his name. We got in our room and unpacked as little as possible since we would be hopefully moving tomorrow.

We rested for a few minutes and headed out to check out the rest of the resort. I will tell you one of the things that I do love about the AllStars is the maturity and amount of vegetation on the property. We have stayed at POP 2x’s before and it is lacking in this area. It feels much more tropical to me because of the plants, flowers & bushes. The pool was so cute & nice. I had read about the movies they show every night and thought that would be a fun activity for my kiddos. Things did seem rather quite for the time of day that it was. We wondered around for a while and headed back to the room to contact Eeyore’s Tiara and her family. We had plans to go to the Beach Club for dinner & ice cream at Beaches and Cream.

Up next we’re off to the Beach Club for some yummy ice cream.

 

[cherokeemamma]

We called ET and decided we would meet up at the bus stop. My DD had met her and her family back in Sept but my DS and DH had not. I was so excited for them to all meet each other. ET and her family were great and we had such a great time together. They had treated us like part of their family and hopefully they felt the same. From the moment my DH and DS met them it was as if we had been friends forever. ET was traveling with her DMom and her 3 DD ages 4, 10, & 12 As I hoped it would be, we all got along great and after several hugs we were off to DTD to switch buses.

We switched buses and headed to Beach Club. Now, I would love to stay here. It is a beautiful resort and the pool, Stormalong Bay, looks fantastic. If your kids like to play in the pool a lot this would be a great resort although $$$. One thing that struck me right away was just how early it gets dark in late Oct. Not that that is a good or bad thing, but it was different than Sept.

We wondered a while before we found Beaches and Cream. It looks like an old-fashioned ice cream parlor…very, very cute but not too big. We were so fortunate that they could seat all 9 of us right away. The kids ate at one table and the adults at another. My Dh and I decided to share a hamburger & onion rings and the kids shared a hamburger and FF. You know we had to save all of our appetite for ice cream. Before you all think I am terrible mom, we do not eat this way normally…we are on vacation. Also, we decided to pay oop for this since all of our other meals would be on the DDP.

The cost for 2 HB, 1 FF, 1 Onion Ring, 1 soda, 2 sundaes....$47.00

We were really hungry and the ½ burger was really good. I am quite sure we had eaten something between breakfast and this but I can’t remember.
Then it was time for the ice cream. Let me just say…OMGosh!!! I had read several reviews here for the No Way Jose’ (which is p’nut butter & chocolate) so my DH & I decided to split that. My DS had a Milky Way Sundae and all of the girls would share a Kitchen Sink. If you do not know, it really is served in a Kitchen Sink with all the flavors of ice cream and all of the toppings…they make a big deal when they bring it out ….it is huge. The girls were soooo excited as you can see.

Here are some pictures….they truly tell the tale.

The aftermath....

Looking across from the Beach Club to the Boardwalk

We waddled out of there and decided to catch a ferry and wander around the boardwalk for a while. We certainly needed to burn some calories. It was lots of fun but then we heard Illuminations starting so we knew we needed to head back to DTD so we could get back to ASMu. We arrived back safely and were pooped. It had been a long day. It seemed hard to believe that just this morning we were home and now we were at the Happiest Place on Earth!!! We called it a night and went our separate ways. We knew we would meet up with ET and her family again.

Hopefully tomorrow we would get moved here...

Up next ... Up & Out early for the MK...

 

[cherokeemamma]

Friday Oct 19, 07

We awoke our first morning at WDW and were so excited to be going to the MK. It was a LOEMH and we were not 100% sure what to expect. We knew only Fantasyland would be open but that was OK with us but as far as crowd level, characters, etc; we would just wing it. Go with the flow, as they say. We were hoping that when we returned this afternoon we would be moved so that meant everything had to be packed up and ready to go. We called the front desk and confirmed with them that we were willing to move and they reminded us there was no guarantee on that.

We headed out into the warmth and humidity of this October morning. You can see that the humidity is true because of the fogginess in this first picture. I guess DH didn’t notice it when he composed the pic….

We arrive at the MK just after 8am. We were so excited because there were not many people going in with us. Main St was rather empty….

Here is the mandatory kiddos in front of the castle picture...

We entered FantasyLand to a lot of activity. There were some games going on and characters milling about but nothing too exciting for us. I can see that younger children would love this. My kids were some of the oldest ones there but they really didn't seem to mind. I did notice, that the characters and CMs really did not pay much attention to any one over 6. We decided while everyone else interacted with the characters we would ride rides.

Everything, with the exception of Dumbo and the Carousel were walk on. We did what we wanted to do in FL and waited at the rope drop to head into Liberty Square. We were all looking forward to riding the HM and seeing the changes that were made. Once the rope came down we walked very quickly to the HM.

We had a very short wait. We all loved the changes very much. We thought the sound track had greatly improved. Loved the attic scene and the stair special effects. As we were exiting the ride we notice the Dream Team waiting out by the exit with their bag of goodies. I told my family, “Walk slowly, the dream team is just outside here. Maybe we will win something….” We did walk slow but obviously not slow enough because we didn’t win anything. We were laughing about it because we had hurried to get in line and now we were kicking ourselves for being so speedy…Oh well, the best laid plans, as they say…

Then it was on to our favorite ride at the MK….Splash Mtn. We also grabbed some fast passes for later on. I just love Splash Mtn. I could ride it over and over and over. When I was a little girl my parents tell me that I forced/demanded/pitched a hissy fit for them to sing Zippy-Do-Da to me every morning. So, that must have been beginning of my love for this ride.

Anyway, it really is a great ride/attraction but they have definitely done something to this ride. When we visited in 05, you got sprinkled, at best. Now you have the potential to get drenched. We did get wet (rather soaked on the right side) as we came off the big hill and went around the bend toward the exit. I have learned to sit on the left side of the log/boat. I really don’t mind getting wet on the body …just not my hair. I do not have hair that when dried naturally will look cute...heck, it doesn’t even look decent. On a warm humid day you know you are going to look like crapola by lunch time anyway…please do not add insult to injury. If you haven’t ridden this in a while…take note of the splash factor.

My kids really love BTMR but it was still closed for refurbishment. However, it should be opening later in the week.

I was in a hurry to head over towards POTC because I really, really wanted to see the Pirate Tutorial (really, I wanted to see the JDepp look-a-like). Last year, I must have tried a half dozen times to see this but it never happened. I told my family, “We ARRRRGGGHHHH seeing this today, no matter how long we wait.” They all roll their eyes at me….

As we got over into Adventureland we found Capt. Hook & Mr. Smee…our first autographs of the trip. Mr Smee is always obsessed with DD hair…

Oh YEAH!!!! Imagine that….we are just in time for the Pirate Tutorial. We claimed our spot and within just a minute Mack, the pirate appears. A rather small crowd gathered and the show began. It wasn’t long until my favorite pirate appeared…

I admit, this pirate is awfully cute but he doesn’t quite hold up to the original.

My DH is so sweet, he lets me have my JDepp obsession, with little or no strife because he knows he is the really only guy for me.

They picked 3 kids to participate and it was really cute. This one little boy had on lime green crocs, they called him Johnny Green Shoes. I wondered…is his mom a Disser???? At the end they had all the kids line up and take the Pirates Oath. They all got a certificate. My kids want to know, “Are you happy now, Mom?” What do you think?

Afterwards, we rode POTC.

 

[cherokeemamma]

Oct 19 continues.....

We decide we are hungry for lunch even though it is barely 11am. We walked back into Liberty Square for lunch at Columbia Harbor House. We ate upstairs and it was quite and relaxing….with the exception of one gentlemen we had the entire upstairs to ourselves…for a while at least. My DS and I had tuna sandwiches with FF, DH had the Fish and Chicken combo with FF, and DD had chicken strips and FF, we all had the chocolate cake. Overall it was really good.

DD really wanted to see Ariel so wondered back into FL. The wait for her was over an hour…we said no way! It was getting hotter and we were all getting tired. I guess we hadn’t gotten over the trip yet. Being that we just ate we thought Mickey’s Philharmagic would be a great place to let our food digest and it was cool.

We then rode IASW and then into Tomorrowland we went. We rode Buzz and Space Mtn.

We headed back onto Main St and wondered into some of the stores.

We were all kinda dragging and we decided we would head back to ASMu.
waiting on the bus...

I was anxious to see what happened with our accommodations. On the bus ride back, DD and DS began bargaining for ice cream so we told them when we got back to the resort we would get ice cream. They were happy with that. We knew we still had to unpack and DH and I really wanted to rest a bit. We had 5:45 dinner ADRs at Kona.

We checked in at the front desk at ASMu. Yippee!!! They have moved us into the Jazz building. Yes!! We were so excited to be closer and to have the ‘curtain’. We were doing the celebration dance in our head. It looked something like this…
We stopped off in the food court and got ice cream cones and wondered around the resort a little while before heading up to the room.

It was great we were on the top floor of the Jazz Bldg facing the walkway. The room was exactly the same with the exception of the curtain that separated the room from the dressing area. We called and asked for extra towels and in just a little while they were delivered. We unpacked and it finally felt like we were on vacation. We were settled in for the next 9 days.

After a much needed rest we freshened up and left for dinner. We decided to drive because we (DH & I) wanted to go to the Disney Outlet store after dinner. We had shopped at the outlet store on our trip in 05 and had found several bargains. Of course, the kids were gripping and complaining about that. They never, and I mean never want to shop and they especially do not want to do so while on vacation. I understand that but we are here for 10 days and it will take maybe 2 hours. SO…. We ARE going shopping!!! Seems like a very little sacrifice to me on their part.... Wouldn't you agree?

 

[cherokeemamma]

OCT 19 continues.....

We head out to the Poly. I was concerned about the directions but it was very easy to find our way around.

I must digress for a moment here. My DD and I made a trip down during Free Dining in Sept for a long weekend. We made plans at kinda the last minute and it was difficult to find reservations. We did eat at Kona and it was really, really good. We had a fantastic waiter, the food was delicious and when we got home I know I drove my poor DH crazy talking about the Sticky Wings and the Kilauea Torte. So, I was really looking forward to our dinner.

Our meal consisted of….

The appetizers:2 orders of Sticky Wings, Pot stickers and a bowl of Chicken Noodle Soup.

Our entrees were: I had the Pomegranate BBQ Pork Chop, DH had Shrimp & Scallops, DS had the Terriyaki Steak and DD had Macaroni and Cheese. (DS shared his steak with her)

For dessert DH and I had the Kilauea Torte DS and DD had the Kona Kone. In Sept our waiter gave DD the Kona Kone as her dessert and now a month later we had to pay OOP (which was fine) but just look at this dessert…it is a kid’s dessert.

I think the kids dining plans options are horrible. Can you imagine the ******* that could (I promise you….would) have erupted if my DS had the kona kone and my DD got a fruit cup or a plain little scoop of ice cream? I don’t get this one. I know we are not the only family in a situation like this..one child is an "adult" and the other is a "child".

Also, look at the picture of the Kilauea Torte in Sept (Yellow & Red heart) and then the one from Oct. (raspberries) Let me just say….regardless of presentation the difference in taste was huge. The one I had in Sept was sssoooo good and the one in Oct was mediocre at best.

I was greatly disappointed in the dessert; really the entire meal. The food was just so, so. Alot of it had a burnt taste. I know my pork chop was grilled but it had alot of burnt taste and it was very dry. DS wasn't really thrilled with his food either. DH probably liked his the best. Our waiter was really horrible. Not only could I hardly hear what he was saying it was as if he were doing us a favor by being there. He brought our entrees out immediately after we got our appetizers. One last thing, in September, we got hot wash clothes after the appetizers; that did not happen this time. The meal and the overall experience were very disappointing. Not sure if I would give it another chance.

We did ask the waiter to take out picture … here it is.

Here is a chocolate Lilo and Stitch:

We left the Poly and headed out to the Outlet Mall for a quick shopping spree. We had no problems finding the mall but finding the Disney Store was another story. We wondered around for quite a while and it began to rain. The place was really crowded but it was a Friday night, after all. Finally, we found the store and were a little disappointed in the amount of merchandise. I am sure like most stores of this nature, it is hit or miss. DD found nothing (we were hoping for some Hannah Montana or Tink merchandise)so she was in a grumpy mood, DS did find a T shirt and a Splash Mtn pin , DH found a couple of shirts including a really nice denim shirt and he found me a great blue jean jacket with Mickey on the back. The denim jacket was the deal of the night; it was only $14. I also found 2 tees.

Once we arrived back at ASMu it had stopped raining and the kids really wanted to swim. They were showing a movie by the pool (sorry, I can’t remember which one) I think the movie idea is just fantastic. My kids really loved it too! We called ET and she and her family met us at the pool. We pulled up lounge chairs and watched the movie and talked while they kids swam. A friend from home was arriving at WDW and she called to let us know that she and her family had arrived safely. They were staying one night at ASMo and then moving over to ASMu tomorrow morning. I had also gotten in on a fridge swap for her so hopefully, that would go smoothly the next morning.

Once the kids got out of the water they were cold and ready to go in. It had been a day of mixed highs and lows. We were all exhausted and ready to call it a night. The kids showered and we got everything ready for the next day. Tomorrow is Disney Quest. DS was so very excited , me and DH not so much .

 

[cherokeemamma]

Sat Oct 20

We woke up to a very heavy rainfall. A Disney first for us. Of course we had experienced rain at Disney before but we had never woken up to it and never so heavy…it was the type of rain that made you think…this could last all day. Thankfully, we were going to Disney Quest (which is indoors). Our plan was to stay there all day from opening to close. I was especially happy to be doing today this because my DS was so excited about it and it was raining.

My DH and I got up and dressed and headed over to ASMovies to meet some friends from GA. I had gotten in on a fridge swap for their family. I was to meet a fellow disser (LindyLoo) at 8am. We headed over to ASMo and left our kids asleep.
As we were walking to the front entrance we heard all of this yelling and screaming. I am not sure what it was all about but a woman was cursing and yelling about how awful she had been treated and how awful the ASMo resort was. The really sad thing was her children were sitting in the back of this van looking shocked and awed by their mom’s performance. Then another lady joined in on the cursing and yelling…I am thinking she might have been her mom. It was really loud and seemed totally unnecessary to me. I truly felt sorry for her kids. I was glad my children were not with me. Many people were stopping and listening. We walked on by and hoped everything turned out to be okay with those folks.

Once inside we started our hunt for LindyLoo. Our friends met up with us and still no LindyLoo. Then we get a call on our cell…it is my DS. He said LindyLoo had called to look for us. It seems her DD had gotten sick with a stomach issue and she had went ahead and taken the fridge to guest services. I was sorry to hear her DD was sick and sorry we didn’t get a chance to meet. Her family was headed out to a Disney Cruise so hopefully her illness was short term and not contagious.

I hooked my friends up with their fridge and said goodbye. We gave them our room number for ASMu and went on back to our resort to get our kids up and ready for DQ.

As we left ASMu the rain stopped but the sky was still very cloudy and stormy. We arrived at DQ about 45 minutes prior to opening and got in line. There seemed to be a lot of people here. In my mind it was going to be very low crowds…now I am thinking…you are wrong, there is going to be a lot of people here. We had pre-purchased our tickets from an online service (sorry don’t remember which one) at a discount. As we waited in line we took turns visiting some of the stores close by. DD tried on many hats but didn't decide to buy one. DS purchased himself a new Goofy hat.

http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m100/darlip/DSC_0170-1.jpg[
We knew when the doors opened we were going to head to the make and ride your own roller coaster. It is called Cyber Space Mountain. My DD and I would work together and DS and DH would work together. After you make your coaster you get into a simulator to ride it.
[IMG]http://i102.photobucket.com/albums/m100/darlip/DSC_0174.jpg
My DD was a bit scared and I was thinking I am bit unsure of this myself. My DD almost changed her mind. (they even had barf bags in the simulator) They record you riding and you can purchase it. It was a lot of fun and turned out to be DS’s favorite. DS and DH did this attraction several times. FYI…This is probably one of the most popular attractions at DQ so do it first thing if possible.

We then got inline for the virtual rafting trip…complete with dinosaurs and rapids.

We then did Astroblaster. It was like being inside a huge video game…

They have a version of Animation Academy. I loved this… It is done on computers instead of paper and it you want yours you have to purchase it (I do not like that part). We did 2 of these classes. We learned to draw a classic Mickey face and Goofy. In the first class, I sat next to a little boy that had a melt down and pitched a fit the entire time….I wanted to personally take him and remove him from the class but his parents just let him go on and on. I don’t get that…

There are a couple of differences in this Animation Academy and the one at DHS….there is an eraser option on the computer. My DD wanted to erase and start over. It almost made her more frustrated than having no eraser at all. At the end of the class the instructor pulls each person’s art up on the screen and says a thing or two about it.

We ate lunch at the Cheesecake Factory…It was absolutely wonderful. I had a chicken and mushroom Panini and DS, DD and DH had angel hair pasta with garlic bread. For dessert the kids had a chocolate cupcake and DH and I had a brownie that was like a magic cookie bar. We all really enjoyed our lunch and thought the food was terrific. I have heard that this place is no longer open (too bad, it was one of the best CS I have ever had at WDW).

We then did…Ride the Comix. You have to wear a virtual reality helmet and face mask. This did not fit any of us too well. You swing your virtual sword and wipe out villains. I am happy to report that I beat all of my family in the number of villains that were slain. All of that sword fighting made my arms tired.

My DD wanted to do the SongMaker attraction. She did a song about her BFF Christina, It as really cute and she had a great time doing it. She could have stayed in her recording booth all day but the line was very long for this so she only did the one song. We didn’t purchase it but you can, of course!

We played several video/arcade games but never did the Carpets of Aladdin nor the Pirates of the Caribbean virtual ride/attractions…they both looked to be a lot of fun but had huge lines all day.

DQ has every video game from the arcade stand point that I could imagine. Of course, you can play and play and play on these. DQ is a very loud place and a great way to spend a rainy day. If I ever did it again I would not choose a weekend because I think a lot of locals come here. My DH and I had our fill and were ready to go before a little before closing time. I felt I had sensory overload and was in need of a couple of Tylenol when I left. If you have a child that is easily over stimulated I would not recommend this place. If you have a child that loves video games and all that involves…they will love it.

Up next Captain Jacks...

 

[Peppi]

Better late then Never. I enjoyed your TR. We will be going on our first trip this Oct. 9th-13th. I hope we luck out with weather.

 

[cherokeemamma]

Yeah!!! I have a reader!

We are going back the end of Oct...
I am sure we will both have great weather.

 

[cherokeemamma]

We had ADR’s at Captain Jacks.

Our friends, from our hometown that we had seen earlier this morning had ADR’s at close to the same time. We asked if there was anyway we could sit together and they asked us to wait. Within a few minutes the CM came back and said, no problem…so we got to eat dinner together. We had a good waiter but the food was just not great. Mediocre at best.

some of the appetizers...

our entrees...

desserts....

They messed up our DDP credits which we got straightened out when we returned to the resort.

After dinner we wondered around DTD for a while.
Took some crazy pictures... Tried on some more silly hats...

We ran into another family from our hometown. It is so strange to see people at WDW that you know from home. We chatted for a while and then went our separate ways. We were all exhausted and ready to call it a night. We went back to ASMu and straightened out our DDP credits. We then headed to our rooms and as it turned out our friends were about 9 doors down from us. We said goodnight and were soon having magical dreams…

 

[mousebymarriage]

wonderful trip report and pics, can't wait to hear more!

 

[Glendamax]

HEY! I guess it's never too late! Just wanted to let you know that I'm here! Now I gotta read ....

 

[SunnieRN]

Looking forward to more!!

 

[cherokeemamma]

wonderful trip report and pics, can't wait to hear more!

Hi mousebymarriage...Thanks for reading! Glad you are here!

HEY! I guess it's never too late! Just wanted to let you know that I'm here! Now I gotta read ....

Hey Glenda... I glad you are here. I hope I won't disappoint you!


TTFN...Darlene

 

[cherokeemamma]

Looking forward to more!!

Thanks so much for reading!

 

[lovealldisney]

Hey CM, I remember reading your other TR and loved it! You take amazing pictures! Thanks for completing this one! Looking forward to it!

 

[cherokeemamma]

Hey CM, I remember reading your other TR and loved it! You take amazing pictures! Thanks for completing this one! Looking forward to it!

Hi, I remember you also. Thanks for the photography compliment. I really love photography.
Thanks for reading.

TTFN, Darlene

it looks like our kids are very close to the same age. my DD is almost 11 and DS just turned 15. Is your DS driving yet?

 

[MeMom]

It's good to see your sweet family in pictures again. Glad you decided to pick back up. I will be along for the ride!

 

[Glendamax]

Hey! I'm all caught up and ready for more! So cool your friends were staying so close you!

Good Morning MeMom!

 

[cherokeemamma]

It's good to see your sweet family in pictures again. Glad you decided to pick back up. I will be along for the ride!

Hi Memom! Thanks for reading...so glad you are coming along...

Hey! I'm all caught up and ready for more! So cool your friends were staying so close you!

Hey Gmax..Glad you are here too! Thanks for not totally giving up on me.

 

[lovealldisney]

it looks like our kids are very close to the same age. my DD is almost 11 and DS just turned 15. Is your DS driving yet?

Hi Darlene,
My kids are now 16 and 13! And YES my son is driving! I almost fainted when I saw how much our car insurance went up!
My 13 DD is in full blown teenager mode (if you look at me wrong I'm in emotional turmoil for the rest of the day!)
She is worse than my son ever was.
But oh the joys of motherhood.

Thanks for writing your TR! Have a great day!