So it's time for my last trip entry...
I can't believe how fast this week has gone. It's Friday the 23rd and we had a late night at the pool last night so we are taking our time getting up today. Of course I can'thelp but take my time with this watermelon in my stomach.... The sun is out in it's full blazing glory already. Luckily it won't take us to long to pack up. One suitcase full of dirty laundry, one for the kids, and one for us. Maybe the laundry TSA fairy will take care of that first bag for me.
Our ME confirmation says our bus pick up is 2:50pm, approx. 3 hours before our flight, so with the morning ahead of us we clean up and head to the Hospitality House. We never got our room charges on our door so we stop by to get a copy. When 3 pages spit out of the printer I about went into labor.
Luckily the last 2 were blanks.
We have a few minutes to kill before the boat takes us to DTD, so the kids watch the tv in the lobby and we relax on the couch. At Noon we board the boat and enjoy the ride to the Market Place. Since we just had breakfast we decide to "walk it off" and walk to the West Side. All the years we've been going to WDW and DTD I've never walked the whole thing. While I seem to be walking at a snails pace, DD has only made it to the
Lego store and is complaining her legs hurt....
We convince her to make it to Wetzel's Pretzels and we'll rest there. DH didn't have breakfast yet (oops) and he orders the pizza pretzel and a plain pretzel for the kids. I should have taken a picture, but by the time I remembered, DH had almost finished it. He thought it was very good and would gladly eat it again. They also accept Disney gift cards and Visa reward cards as payment. Come to find out later, they have a DVC discount of 20% on food items. Oh well, maybe next year.
We eventually make our way to the magnet store and DH finds a magnet that I should have bought, but didn't. It was Mom's Meal Planner. Imagine a circle and spinning arrow with colored wedges (think Twister). Each color had a different dinner idea. Wendys, McDonalds, Burger King, Make Reservations, KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza delivered, and the tiniest sliver for Mom to make dinner.
From there we board the boat back to the Marketplace and grab some lunch at Earl of Sandwich. It was packed inside as it was lunch time afterall, but the kids were so hot, I couldn't let them eat outside, so I stalked a table inside and waited while DH was in line. The kids loved the Frenchy and I had another All American (love cranberries). By the time we were finished there were plenty of tables inside.
No trip would be complete without a stop at Goofy's Candy Store. I love the chocolate covered apples with your choice of yummy toppings, but it was so hot out (about 92) that I knew it would melt into a huge mess. So some cotton candy and gummy bears for the airplane and the kids are happy again. Over at the Rain Forrest Cafe they are spraying the birds down with water to give them a bath and keep them cool. The kids are getting a kick at them squawking and trying to bite the water bottle until the gator in the water below starts to growl and open it's mouth. DD runs screaming.
and I can't help but laugh hysterically at her
. We try to explain that it's not real and she eventually peeks over at it again, but is keeping her distance just in case.
After that we board the boat to head back to OKW and our ME bus. Don't you know we miss it by about 1 minute. Luckily another one is coming in 30 minutes, so back at the Lobby tv we wait. When the next bus comes we are the last pickup stop before heading to the Orlando airport and the bus is quite full. The 4 of us squeeze into the last row (3 seats) next to the bathroom and on the way in DD takes a 15 minute nap.
At the airport we are flying Southwest and they don't have curbside check in so a skycap takes our bags for us, and we wait in line for our turn to check them in. Surprisingly the line moves quickly and it's our turn, but the person behind the counter is busy helping another family at the next touch screen so we wait about 10 minutes and finally another employee comes over and tags our bags for us.
The security line when we came into Orlando was HUGE! People we jammed packed waiting to get through. Lucky us, no line at all and a new process from when we visited in December. There are now 3 lines, business travelers, couples, and families. Each of these lines were empty and in the families line they only let one family in at a time. What a huge relief not to have to worry about our small children getting into things or walking off with a stranger. Who ever thought of this idea deserves a raise!
We boarded our plane on time and got into Philly about 20 minutes early.
DS even took a nap for the last hour.
In reflection what a great trip, hot, but great. I was able to take a lot of breaks and sit with DS while DH took DD on lots of rides. Yes, I drank lots but probably should have drank more. No, we didn't get sunburnt.
Also the last few times we have done the dining plan but this time we didn't. While eating at sit down restaurants is great, I find that there is so much planning involved with ADRs that there is no spontenatity in the trip. And if we are touring the opposite end of the park, we have to stop and walk what can be a long distance to make our reservation.
I want to thank Pete again for the gift card. We bought dinner and 4 Dole Whips with it.
So, now I'm sitting home and have caught a cold (darn airplanes) and Dh is in Vegas. I'm staring at a huge pile of laundry (TSA Laundry fairy must have missed my bag) and don't have the energy to fold the 3 loads that are clean. Thank goodness the kids are in school and I can rest during the day. But sitting and resting is boring so what else is there to do but plan our next trip!
My parents are taking the whole family on a
Disney Cruise in June 09. We hope to stay in WDW the week before and vacation for a total of 12 lovely days. DH and I have never cruised before and are extremely excited. We will have 2 adjoining rooms since there will be 5 of us and my brother and his family and my parents will also have adjoining rooms just 2 doors down. I'm bummed that it isn't the Podcast cruise, but when your cruise is over, I'll still be looking forward to mine.
Thanks everyone for reading my trip report. I wanted to share with you a little bit of the Disney magic.
If anyone has any tips or ideas for our next trip, I would love to hear them!
TTFN!
