Tikihula & Moonbeam - Sisters See The World! Complete Report-Lots of Pictures

[Tikihula]

My sister Moonbeam wrote this report from our family trip to WDW last November. Rather than go throught the frustration of trying to add photos, she sent it to me and asked me to post it with pictures. So, here, in its unedited entirety, is our trip report complete with pictures. Hope you'll come along for the ride....

Characters:

Tikihula - Longtime true Disney fanatic, super trip planner, bargain hunter, little sister. Wife of Silverhair. Florida panhandle resident.

Moonbeam - New Disney fanatic, excited planner and researcher, big sister, me the writer. Wife of Lefty (who had to stay home and work!), mother of DDs . Central Oregon high desert resident.

DD43 - oldest daughter, spa lover and mother of DGD9. Colorado resident.

DGD9 - only grandchild and daughter of DD43. Colorado resident with Mom.

DD41 - youngest daughter and athlete and thrill seeker. Western Oregon resident.

Short history - Two sisters who had a wonderful Dad who loved taking his four children on adventures, but couldn’t afford more than one trip to Disneyland when it first opened in 1955. (Yeah, we’re old, but still kids in our own minds!).

We both bought into DVC in 2008 and our home resort is Kidani Village.
Now, on with the show!!

Being super users of all the major Disney planning materials out there, we came home from our November 2008 family trip (my first to WDW!), and I couldn’t stop thinking and talking about all the fun we had after two years of researching and planning our trip. The wonder of it all!

Tikihula was such a Disney fan and she and Silverhair had taken so many trips and cruises I was beginning to wonder if she was warped in some way. I just didn’t understand it all. Then, our oldest daughter wanted her only child to see Disneyworld so I decided one trip wouldn’t kill me and since they live in Colorado, it would give us a chance to spend time together. Our other daughter also wanted to come, so our first trip to The World included Tikihula and Silverhair, Moonbeam, DD43, DGD9, and DD41. We rented points and planned our stay in a two-bedroom unit at OKW. I faithfully read the Passporter that Tikihula had sent me, bought and read the entire Official and Unofficial Guides, watched the Disney DVDs over and over again. I thought I was ready…..

Departure day. Up at 3 am to get ready, and a sleepy Lefty takes his overly excited Moonbeam to the local airport for a 6 am Delta flight to Salt Lake City. Then it’s on to Orlando International Airport! I had put the yellow Disney Magical Express tag on my new red Mickey luggage so I only had to carry my small red Mickey carryon while taking the tram, or “cattle car” as DD43 calls it, to the B side of the terminal and down the escalator to the Disney Magical Express counters. The excitement builds as I see friendly faces on people standing behind the counters who actually want to help you . I know I’m in a different place then! Line up for the bus with lots of other mouse lovers and more CMs (Cast Members or Disney employees) ask the crowd Disney trivia questions to keep up the excitement and entertain the kids. Then the bus to OKW arrives and low and behold, a driver with a smile and lots of friendly enthusiasm. Wow! I’m really impressed now. When we passed under the big arch and rolled onto Disney property our bus load let out a big cheer! I’m already tearing up and I haven’t even gotten to the resort yet!

Old Key West. The name just conjures up a laid back lifestyle, warm tropical breezes through the palm trees, life the way it should be. And boy, does Disney deliver! The pastel buildings, low metal rooflines, and Victorian trim just spoke to my heart telling me I was “welcomed home” for the first time. And there was my dear sister Tikihula and brother-in-law Silverhair waiting to greet me with big hugs! They had driven down from the Florida Panhandle so they took me to our home to be for the week. It was huge! They had stocked the kitchen cupboards and refrigerator with foods for breakfast and snacks. The washer and dryer in our unit was a regular home sized pair. Tikihula and Silverhair claimed the master bedroom with king sized bed and whirlpool tub. Tikihula was in need of a hip replacement and limped painfully the whole time. Her surgery took place after our vacation. I took one of the queen sized beds in the other bedroom. Then we got a call from DD43 and DGD9. They had just come off the cattle car and were heading downstairs to the DME and would soon be on a bus heading to OKW. Later in early evening our DD41 arrived. We were finally all together. DD41 took the other queen bed and DD43 and DGD9 slept on the sofa sleeper with an extra pad on it (highly recommended).

Arriving at Old Key West Resort with my Mickey bag.

Our spacious living room with a full kitchen and full-sized laundry room.

Master bedroom with king sized bed and private entrance to the balcony.

Our spacious second bedroom with two queen beds and a private bath.

A whirlpool tub in the master bath, and through another door there's a large shower, sink and commode. Wow, what a lot of room we had.

A lovely view of the golf course and the lake with a fountain from our 2nd floor balcony.

And one more view from our balcony. These white ibis, ducks and other birds came every morning along with a few bunnies, and we even saw an otter in the lake.

Up next - our first evening at Downtown Disney.

 

[Tikihula]

Our first evening in Disney!!! We decided to take the boat to Downtown Disney and we were the only passengers so the boat driver had fun with Disney trivia questions. Tikihula knew most of the answers of course. Arriving in DTD my first impression was that it sure was noisy! There was some kind of stage entertainment going on that included participation of the crowd and boy howdy, were they! We ate at one of the counter service restaurants, walked through the Disney store to the Guest Relations office and got our first Photopass picture of us all together. Tikihula had pre-purchased the Photopass since this planned to be our only trip to Disneyworld and she wanted us to have the pictures for our memories. We wandered through most of the shops and our eyes feasted on all the fun and beautiful merchandise, the creative way everything was presented, the cleanliness of even a place devoted to eating, shopping, and night time entertainment. However, the long travel day after early risings finally got to all of us and we loaded up on the boat and went back home to OKW.

Our first boat ride to Downtown Disney.

The bus stop was right around the corner from our villa on Turtle Pond Road. Silverhair brought along his bubbles to entertain us at the bus stop every morning.

Yayyy, here comes the bus!

Next day, Magic Kingdom!!!

 

[Tikihula]

What comfy beds we had in our OKW villa! Coffee on our balcony, and now that it’s early and morning we discover a lazy river and a golf course with both squirrels and golfers chasing little round objects along the grassy slopes. After everyone got up, ate breakfast, and got ready to go we headed downstairs and around the corner to the bus stop to catch the bus for our first experience at the Magic Kingdom. I didn’t take notes from this first trip so all the details are hazy but I’ll sure be able to give you my impressions and I hope other newbies, and oldies, can enjoy the sense of wonder and excitement that just being at Disney can provide. Our OKW buses played steel drum tunes nearly every time we rode them. It’s so easy using Disney transportation and there is no climbing into a hot car that’s been sitting in the sun, no having to find your way from one place to another by looking at maps while trying to drive. No long hike from the parking lots to the parks. Even the passengers seem happy and many are ready to chat about their adventures. Anyway, on to the Magic Kingdom!

Here's who greeted us:

I remember my first impression as an 11 year old walking into Disneyland in 1955. I loved Main Street with it’s old timey Victorian architecture and bright colors. I still love it and if I had my druthers I’d be living in a colorful Painted Lady Victorian house.

When we walked into this Main Street and saw the beautiful Cinderella Castle at the end, it just brought tears to my eyes. It was all so beautiful and so soon after opening, it wasn’t crowded. We headed off to enjoy the rides and see the sights! I don’t remember the order but we rode on The Pirates of the Caribbean (loved it), Haunted Mansion (loved it too), Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (I watched while the others enjoyed its thrills), It’s a Small World (so cute and of course we had the song in our heads all day), Space Mountain (another for thrill seekers), Tomorrowland Transit Authority (enjoyed the breeze and the view!), and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin (I love this one too!). We rested on Carousel of Progress (creative programing with a rotating audience) and at Monster’s Inc. where Silverhair was spotlighted twice (I had not seen the Monsters movie at that time but it looked like I should do so). I even rode Splash Mountain sitting in the front seat with DD41 where we got soaked! I had seen Song of the South as a child and remembered much of it from the ride. DD43 and DGD9 went off to ride the Fantasyland rides like Dumbo and Peter Pan’s Flight while thrill seeker DD41 re-rode everything that goes fast, falls, or goes up in the air! Us old folks took a peaceful ride on the Liberty Square Riverboat all around Tom Sawyer Island.

On the riverboat, this guy's socks fascinated Tikihula so she took a picture. (Note from Tikihula: Jim, if you read this trip report, I LOVE your socks!)

We all met up for our Crystal Palace Character Meal. We got to meet DD43’s favorite character, Winnie the Pooh and his friends Piglet, Eeyore, and Tigger! DD43 has a bouncing Tigger tattoo on her ankle and Tikihula got a cute photo of Tigger looking at the tattoo. We had a very good buffet meal and characters to boot. DGD9 got some autographs and we took lots of pictures. Later on DD43 and DGD9 had these and other pictures made into a calendar and sent it to Moonbeam and Lefty (us) for Christmas. Time to head home to OKW and rest up a bit for the evening.

Tigger inspecting DD's ankle tattoo.

After a nap and/or a dip in the pool next to Olivia’s Restaurant, we headed back down at dusk to enjoy the MK at nighttime. What a beautiful sight arose before our eyes….Cinderella Castle all dripping with lights!! Thousands of LED lights sparkling on every turret backed by slowly changing colors of midnight blue to turquoise to pink to magenta back to midnight blue again. Absolutely stunning!

We eventually were able to peel our eyes away from the castle long enough to ride some of the rides again, to walk through the shops making some purchases that would be delivered to our resort the next day (another wonderful perk for resort guests), and we enjoyed having those excellent Mickey Bars and popcorn while we found places to watch the Spectromagic parade followed a bit later by Wishes fireworks. Wow to both of those events!! We watched Tinkerbell’s flying escape from Cinderella Castle just before the beginning of amazing explosions of sparkling color against the night sky all synchronized to music. The best, most coordinated fireworks display I had ever seen in person, and it was just the first show at Disney for me! What was in store for us tomorrow that could top that?

Hollywood Studios was on the itinerary for the next day and it gave us its best shot! Now, I’m not a big movie fan and have seen very few in theaters in my life, except for Star Wars, Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Superman, and while our girls were kids we didn’t even have a TV for over a year. A most creative time in our family life too - we watched them put on plays, open play restaurants, build hideouts, ride horses, host haunted houses at Halloween in our huge old barn, etc. etc. But we missed out on most of the Disney movies that came out. DD43 and DGD9 have a nice collection of Disney Pixar movies on DVD and I did get to watch a few with them like Toy Story and Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Tikihula and Silverhair are not like us in this respect - they’ve seen ‘em all! Silverhair and Moonbeam stayed in the gift shop while Tikihula and my DDs and DGD took off from zero to sixty in 2.8 seconds rockin’ out to Aerosmith on Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster! They were really wound up when they got off !! We cruised on down Sunset Boulevard to the Twilight Zone tower of Terror, that big pink building that barely keeps below the height limit to avoid low flying aircraft. DD43, DD41, and DGD9 took the plunge and rode ToT. Even the brave Tikihula did not want to risk her hip coming completely apart on that ride so she and Silverhair kept the Moonbeam company while we watched the screaming folk drop through the open doors from the lucky 13th floor of the Tower. Mio Myo!!

It was time for a little something smoother and quieter so we headed on back to Hollywood Boulevard and took a seat on The Great Movie Ride, enjoying flash backs to all the biggies in movie history. We had reservations for lunch at the 50’s Prime Time Café so we followed our noses to the restaurant and were seated back in time in a corner with a heretofore unknown Uncle as our server. The restaurant was pretty full of all our “cousins” and Uncle did verbally reprimand me for pointing out a cousin at a neighboring table who was putting his elbows on the table. Uncle told me it wasn’t nice to tattle….properly put in my place I finished my excellent meal of chicken pot pie.

Remember the old B&W TVs that carried shows like I Married Joan? The 50s Diner brought back lots of memories for us baby boomers.

We all left to walk off lunch, pointing our sore footsteps and Tikihula's cane towards Echo Lake and the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular. We sat in the back top row of the Indiana Jones stunt show and still felt all the heat of those giant blasts of flame during the explosion scenes. We enjoyed the street fighting, the rolling stone escape, and Indy dealing cleverly with the big dude and the ever closer propeller of the circling escape plane. Folks having the most fun were the volunteers drafted into becoming street scene extras!

After 30 minutes of watching the action and letting our full tummies do their job we headed off seeking adventure! We found it in a strange place. On the Streets of America! We walked into Muppet Vision 3D. So much fun to be a kid again and enjoy watching the Muppets, and even more fun watching small children enjoy the characters! After Muppets we took the Studio Backlot Tour and road the tram through the Catastrophe Canyon getting both fried and soaked.

By now we were ready for something different! DD43 and DGD9 were ready for a trip back to OKW and some pool time since the day was quite warm so off they went. DD41, the thrill seeker, wanted more ToT and RnR so off she went to use her previously obtained Fast Pass. I think she rode those things about three times each! Moonbeam does not like falling or going fast. DD41 must have been switched at birth. She can’t be my child!

Tikihula, Silverhair, and Moonbeam got in line to play Toy Story Midway Mania. The line was long but kept moving and we really enjoyed seeing our old toys everywhere. My favorites were Lincoln Logs and I still find log buildings attracting me like a moth to a flame. This ride is the best!!! It’s five minutes of skill, quick action, competition, creativity, movement, color….it’s got everything!! And it’s in 4D! You can see your shots, darts, hoops flying out of your toy shooter and onto the targets that move and change, as does your ride vehicle. Great for gamers and regular people!

We wandered in and out of shops and picked up some raspberry lemonade which was cool and yummy! Just right on a warm afternoon. We checked out the pin station under Mickey’s wizard hat and decided to head back to OKW for a rest. DD43 and DGD9 were back from the pool and resting on their sofa bed and soon DD41 returned from her thrills and hit the sack for a nap! Silverhair and DD41 went back to HS to watch Fantasmic! Tikihula and Moonbeam just couldn’t do any more so we took the car to the pool and got really good burgers at Goods to Go. They were getting ready to set up the outdoor movie screen at poolside so we watched for a while then went back to home for a good night’s rest. I wasn’t expecting too much from our next day’s adventure. And Dear Doctor! Was I wrong!

 

[Tikihula]

Tikihula had created a detailed itinerary and if we had followed it we all would have been hospitalized for foot sores and exhaustion, and her with a bad hip just screaming for relief! The itinerary did, however, make a wonderful outline and Tikihula does so enjoy all the planning and itinerary making of trips to Disney places, so we tried to semi-follow it.

On tap for today was a trip to Animal Kingdom. When we walked into the place and around the Oasis and over the bridge towards Discovery Island, I just had to stop and stare at everything. I was so struck by the beauty of the landscape, the recreation of the feeling of Asia and Africa, all the birds and wildlife and shady walks and ancient looking buildings. It was truly a tearful moment for me and I fell in love with the place. I felt like I had come home. Our home in Oregon is in the high desert and we live in the country surrounded by juniper trees, basalt volcanic rock formations, sagebrush and lots of deer and small animals of all kinds. It feels like an oasis at home. Just like it does to me at Animal Kingdom. Even the other trekkers in the park seem more relaxed and peaceful, just enjoying the surroundings. And here we all were off on new adventures!

Tikihula and Silverhair led the way to Africa, watching in vain for DeVine since she was so well hidden, apparently. We hiked to the station to get picked up by our truck for our first Kilimanjaro Safari! We saw so many different animals and our truck had to stop and wait for a very large rhino to move off the road. Elsewhere in the savanna the zebras were bullying the animals and lions were sitting on their cool rock observing their kingdom. Giraffes with babies nibbled in the trees very close to our safari truck and birds of all kinds walked about. Crocodiles waited below our truck as it passed over the rickety bridge. Elephants waved their very large ears to cool themselves off as we passed by, then off we went to chase the poachers!! We had a great driver who kept us informed and entertained throughout the whole trip!

We had to have a souvenir of this after it was over….Moonbeam and DD41 bought Kilimanjaro Safari backpacks! We loved seeing guests dressing the part for their day at Animal Kingdom. Khaki safari shirts, vests, shorts, hats with lots of Animal Kingdom pins. Great fun! And a great idea for a future Halloween costume!

We stopped for a very yummy lunch at Flame Tree Barbeque. We took our lunches down to a table at lake side and shooed away the ducks before sitting down to enjoy our BBQ meal and the beautiful lakeside scenery. We ran into Tikihula’s friends Tiffany and Gabe, who were visiting WDW from Pensacola. “It‘s a small world after all…”!

DD43 and DGD9 went off one way and DD41 another to explore. Tikihula’s hip was really bothering her so she found a shady spot to rest while Silverhair and Moonbeam took a hike on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. Lots of beautiful birds, exotic fish, gorillas at home, hippos and an underwater hippo viewing spot. Informative little outposts are along the trail with wildlife savvy guides to answer any questions about anything. Beautiful shady paths everywhere!

But, the feet and legs were beginning to scream so back to find Tikihula! We connected and decided to take a ride on the Wildlife Express Train out to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. We walked through Habitat Habit!, looked at exhibits at Conservation Station (no veterinary procedures ongoing at that moment to watch), and enjoyed seeing the kids meeting animals in the Affection Section. Kids need to learn about wildlife and nature so they will care for it and respect it when they grow up.

Then it was back on the train and back to Harambe Village to find a spot to watch Mickey’s Jammin’ Jungle Parade. It’s Tikihula’s favorite parade. We found a place in the shade at Tusker House’s patio and danced to the music and fun of this so colorful parade of very creative and crazy safari vehicles and all the characters in safari outfits. My kind of parade too!

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We all met up again and walked to Discovery Island and down, down, underground through the roots of the Tree of Life and down into It’s Tough to be a Bug! We enjoyed the 3D show and DD43 and DGD9 took their own picture with their heads together wearing their bug glasses. “The Bugs” photo showed up on our Christmas gift calendar later on. Cool gift!! The bug show could be frightening to some small children and some parents did have to remove their little screamers. Hopefully they will forget this experience and come back to enjoy the show again!

DD and DGD getting ready for It's Tough to be a Bug.

It was time to head to another continent so we trekked off to Asia. We had brought lots of cheap, disposable WalMart ponchos which we donned as we prepared to ride the Kali River Rapids! We got soaked anyway! We handed our ponchos to folks in line that looked like they wished they had ponchos. The queue was not too long and we always enjoy the way queues are set up with all the atmosphere and the expectation for adventure that the queue buildings create. How could you not be expecting a great ride when it looks like you are in the Himalayas! Even the roads were made to look old and Tikihula knows that the families of the CMs got to come help “age” and “characterize” the paving. They rode bikes and pressed marks in the fresh paving, making everything look like it had been there for a hundred years, or more. Even the queue all the way up to Expedition Everest is full of stuff actually from the Himalayas. Silverhair, Tikihula and Moonbeam stood in the queue line with all the girls just to see it all, then took the chicken exit leaving DD43, DD41 and DGD9 to deal with the Yeti! It turned out to be DGD9’s favorite ride of all! We had to wait for our Disney trip until she was tall enough to ride whatever she wanted, and it paid off for her!


Everyone was getting hungry and it was late afternoon so we worked our way out of Asia, through lots of shops, and towards the Rainforest Café for an early dinner. Silverhair put us on the short list for a table and after 15 minutes or so of looking at the colorful Rainforest Café clothing and other treats in the shop, we were seated at our own little cozy cove in the jungle. We had a good table and enjoyed a great meal accompanied by thunderstorms and wild animals in the Rainforest. Loved the bar! After dinner we were all ready to head for home and get off our feet. Tikihula could hardly wait to get home and rest her hip! A cool bus ride full of exhausted but happy campers and we were home at last.

 

[Tikihula]

Next morning we got everybody up and at ‘em and packed into the car. We had a 10:40 am reservation for breakfast at Boma with Zazu and SWMBO. Zazu is a CM and seems to know something about everything and a lot about everything Disney! We had a wonderful breakfast buffet and a most entertaining time with Zazu and SWMBO and took a good walk around Animal Kingdom Lodge. What a fantasic place this is! I loved all the colorful artwork, the huge stunning lobby, the cozy firepit where story tellers set forth in the evenings on the patio or inside the lobby. Even the doors on the hallway rooms each have their own individual shield design on them. And then to look out at the animals and have a giraffe watching you eat breakfast on your own balcony! It just can’t get any better than this.

We reluctantly had to say goodbye to Zazu and SWMBO and decided to spend the rest of the day touring the resorts. We drove back to OKW and left the car, took the bus to MK and up to the monorail station. Tikihula asked the attendant if he would get permission so we could ride up front with the driver, which he did. It was scary for the Moonbeam to look down! Everyone else thought it was fun and the driver gave us all co-pilot cards!

We took the resort monorail to the Contemporary, getting off to look around in the shop and making a few purchases of souvenirs. Then we met Nebraska. He was a so helpful attendant at the monorail station. Thank you! We hopped back on and got off again at the next stop at the Polynesian Resort. So cool and beautiful and the lobby landscaping and waterfall just made the place feel like a resort in Hawaii. Tikihula lived in Hawaii for ten years and we spent many happy days vacationing with all our kids when we went to visit her there. Brought back lots of good memories.

Beautiful tropical patterns in the lobby carpet at Poly.

Last stop was the Grand Floridian and we had special reservations there.
Bless her heart, Tikihula had made reservations for us at 1900s Park Fare at the Grand Floridian for the Character Meal and we had dinner with Cinderella, Prince Charming, and the Wicked Step Mother and Step Sisters. Ooooohh, how mean they are to poor beautiful Cinderella! And poor Tikihula! She painfully limped around everywhere with her cane, loaded up on Ibuprofen, insisting we commando visit the whole thing since she didn’t want us to miss any of it. What a gal! But, alas, we couldn’t take anymore and we Shanghai-ed her back to OKW for a rest.

Had to post this picture of the wonderful desserts on the buffet at 1900 Park Fare.

Went home to OKW for a change into swim suits and an evening spent by the pool. If memory serves me right (probably not), we were watching for a shuttle launch from the Cape which is only 60 miles away. We got to the pool and Tikihula and Moonbeam had a good laugh trying to see Silverhair and DD41 and DGD9 coming down the slide! We are both so nearsighted that without glasses and contacts all those people looked like blurs to us! DD43 just vegged at poolside reading her book and people watching. When shuttle blastoff time came we walked up on the little bridge over the pool but it was cloudy and all we could see in a small spot between clouds was a glowing vapor trail that soon disappeared again. After a relaxing time in the pool and hot tub we called it a night and went home. Epcot tomorrow!

 

[Tikihula]

I, Moonbeam, am really liking this living at OKW, having a good nights rest in a comfortable bed, getting up early with fresh, hot coffee on the balcony. DD43 brought her favorite coffee from home and I brought the filters. We have healthy breakfasts with Kashi fruit granola cereals and fresh fruit. We did snack on Goody’s delicious chocolate bars that Moonbeam brought but don’t they say chocolate is now good for you? That is true, I’m thinkin’. Our lovely pastel condo home in a small village is looking more and more like just the thing after retirement….mmmmm!

DGD9 wishing we could just live here at OKW.

Well, it’s time to head ‘em up, move ‘em out…to the Future World of EPCOT! Off we go to catch the bus to EPCOT (henceforth Epcot).

Doesn't this bus driver look like Walt Disney?

We got a late start at Epcot because we wanted to be there for Illuminations at 9 pm. For starters we headed off for a trip Soarin’ over California. The queue was long and we were definitely ready for a sit down ride. Made the middle row for my first flight and it was so fantastic! Moonbeam is not a heights person at all but this was not as scary as I thought it would be. There is the flying sensation but it’s all so beautiful and fun to see the rivers, the mountains, the cities, the fields, and the ocean, all beneath your feet! Great ride!

We then head for The Seas with Nemo & Friends and hop in a clamobile for a trip under the sea. Everyone wants to meet their favorite turtle so we wait for a chance to Turtle Talk with Crush. The kids just love it and it’s so fun to see them interact with The Dude! Off to watch Honey, I Shrunk the Audience in 3D (another movie I never saw but should have). Time for lunch at Sunshine Seasons and yikers! That place was noisy!

With tummies full, we headed across Future World for some shopping at Mouse Gear, then we all rode together on Test Track! Pretty exciting ride for Moonbeam who doesn’t like to go fast! The crew decided to split up and the thrill seekers flew off into space on Mission SPACE. DD41 rode that several times or so we heard later. The slowpokes, Tikihula, Silverhair, and Moonbeam, had an adventure on Ellen’s Energy Adventure.

That big silver golf ball was calling to us next and we met back under it’s protective canopy, minus DD41 who was still in SPACE, and took a trip into the past and the future when we walked up the ramp into the Reimagined! Spaceship Earth. Reminded me of a Twilight Zone show I watched as a kid where aliens convinced humans that their special “Book” would be useful once they got into the alien ship and blasted off for a visit to the alien’s planet. People bought the idea and lined up to get on board. A skeptical scientist finally figured out this book. It was really an alien cookbook! You get the picture. Scared me! I thought of this as we walked up the ramp and into the silver sphere….no aliens or cookbooks present, thankfully. We enjoyed the cool ride through time in the late afternoon and sent “our future” postcards home via email. Spent a little time playing with the gadgets but we needed to head on out and begin the World Showcase tour before it was time for the Illuminations show.

Gathering the gang we turned left at the Showcase Plaza and found ourselves in Mexico! Took the Grand Fiesta Tour with the Three Caballeros on our musical boat ride and strolled through the shop and out the door to suddenly be in Europe, and in Norway! Viking boats whisked us away on Maelstrom, which we liked. I really wanted a horned Viking helmet from the gift shop but it hurt my head to put it on and it fell apart in my hands so I passed. Good Halloween costume stuff though. I’ve also always wanted one of those knitted Norwegian sweaters but the price was $100 over the normal cost elsewhere. Ouch!! Off to another continent next, China in Asia. I think we watched the show but I can’t remember it.

Back to Europe and Germany. Loved the architecture and the gift shops! Loved the masks in the shops in Italy too. Immigrated to the good ol’ US of A and we went upstairs on an elevator for special treatment. By this time Tikihula’s hip had truly given up and she was in a wheelchair. Still commandoing!! We watched the historically costumed singers and enjoyed the displays, then it was off across the Pacific to Japan! Tikihula has a pearl in horseshoe necklace she got at the gift shop on a previous visit.

Off to North Africa and Morocco, then back to Europe and France. We did stop to watch the movie Impressions de France but it was a stand up and our “dogs” were quite tired by then. Cruised through United Kingdom’s shops and through Canada and North America, with DD41 and DGD9 stopping at a Kidcot fun station to make a mask.

We decided to watch the Illuminations fireworks from Mexico and hurried back there to the restaurant at lakeside. The spots were filling up fast but we were finally able to sit down at a table. Two tables actually because there weren’t enough chairs for us all to sit at one table. That was OK. It was a long wait but finally the show started! It was indeed a wonderful show and spectacular fireworks again. I think the best way to watch this is to have a meal and a long time to sit down before the show starts. Well, time to head for home and our comfy beds for a good night’s sleep. Along the way to the bus stop we came across the sidewalks illuminated underneath by moving LED lights so we stopped to take some pictures.

Not much more time at Walt Disney World left. We were all feeling like we wished we could live there. Everything is so clean and well cared for. The CMs were so kind and friendly and helpful. There is so much to see and do that we didn’t have time for! I had no clue that this experience would change me forever. Tikihula and Silverhair had joined the Disney Vacation Club just previous to this trip and had made the new Kidani Village their home resort. We did not have time to take a trip to Saratoga Springs Resort and take a tour through the DVC models homes, but was stuck in the back of my mind to maybe request the DVC dvd online when I got home.

The morning arrived very very early for our various departure times. DD41 had booked what she thought was a 6 pm flight time but it turned out to be a 6 am flight home! She didn’t want to spend the extra cash to change it so she got up at 2:30 am and when the bell services man was not at the door at 3:00 am on the dot, she started walking with her suitcase down to the Hospitality House for her DME bus to take her to the airport. The bell services man arrived at 3:06 am and had to drive his cart back to try to catch her. She refused to tip him, caught the bus and left for the airport and home. Of course this event woke up everyone and we just got back to sleep when it was time for DD43 and DGD9 to wake up for their morning flight. They got ready and bell services was right on time for this one….off they went.

Tikihula and Silverhair had driven and they wanted to leave before noon for the long 7+ hour drive home, so we checked out and left my bags with bell services while I hung out around the pool and spent some time in the fitness room on the treadmill and elliptical machines before my early afternoon bus trip to the airport.

On the flight home I mulled the idea of buying into the DVC over and over in my mind. Our Mom had passed away earlier in the year and after divvying up the inheritance from the sale of her home, there actually was enough funds in place to buy into the DVC and keep up the annual maintenance fees. By the time we touched down at my home airport I had made up my mind. I was in! Next day I gave DVC a call and the rest is history. We soon became owners of a mouse house! And I was ready to start planning my next trip to WDW, with or without my family.

That dream came true in May 2009 when my sister agreed to meet up with me for a week at Saratoga Springs Resort so I could use the free developer points I got as an incentive for buying into DVC.

Thanks for accompanying us on this journey, and keep an eye out for our next Sisters trip report coming up soon.

 

[Moonbeam#3]

Tikihula, your pictures are great! I didn't know you had a picture of that rhino. The Kilimanjaro Safaris are so great because it is a new experience every time you ride. One of my favorite things to do at Animal Kingdom!

Moonbeam

 

[dd50]

Great trip report! Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[Tikihula]

Great trip report! Thanks for sharing your experience.

You're welcome! And thanks for taking the time to read it!