Vomit is NOT very magical! A Halloween Trip Report!

[MrsSkellington]

Hello! This is my first attempt at a trip report, so please be gentle.

This was my husband's 5th or so trip, my 3rd, and our son's 1st. We also celebrated our 11th anniversary on Halloween. Yep, we're those people! I'm going to try hard to include as many pictures as possible, but I will admit that I didn't take many food photos. I know, I know. That's like the first rule of TRs, right? I told you, I'm new. But there will be lots of cute kid photos!

So I think this is where I lay out the chapters.

Pre-Disney: Homosassa Springs State Park
Day 1: Check in/EPCOT/San Angel Inn
Day 2: Hollywood Studios (MGM, darnit)/Trail's End
Day 3: Magic Kingdom/MNSSHP
Day 4: Animal Kingdom/Tusker House
Day 5: More EPCOT
Day 6: Magic Kingdom/checkout

So here's your first cute kid picture, as promised.



EDITED: Oops! I forgot to tell you about us!

Me: Sally, 36, only child, left-handed, camera shy. I'm the anxious planner that tries hard to let loose.

Hubby: Jack, 38, only child, left-handed, goofball once you get to know him. He's the go-with-the-flow guy who lets me take the lead until I freak out and hand over the reigns.

Son: Lock, 2.5, only child, adorable, smart, and mischievous. He's kind of a combination of Lock and Barrel, but the smart/cunning side wins out over cute and smiley.

 

[MrsSkellington]

Pre-Disney: Homosassa Springs State Park.

We started our trip with a visit to my SIL outside of Ocala. We flew into Tampa and rented a car, then drove. Pretty uneventful. One day we were down there, my SIL took us to Homosassa Springs State Park. I had no idea what to expect, and was pleasantly surprised.

You enter the main building and head straight through to the boat launch. Yay! Our first ride! They take you out on the water to the actual park, where you pay the admission fee. From there, you are free to explore. There are trails that lead to animal habitats. And the manatees!!! I have never seen one in person before, and they are just mesmerizing. They were feeding the birds when we got there and they were just everywhere. So much fun. And the otters! Fat, fuzzy otters. I loved them.



When you leave, you can take the boat back before 3:30, but it was late, so we took the tram. Yay! Another ride! So overall, a fun experience. Much more than I imagined from a park just off the main drag.

Up next, off to Disney!!

 

[tabrizia]

The animals are great and your son is very cute.

 

[MrsSkellington]

Day 1: Check in and a little EPCOT-ing!

We left Ocala around late morning with about an hour and a half drive to Disney. That was pretty uneventful, thanks to some back road directions from his sister. We were going to check in, get settled, and then drive our rental over to the Car Care Center, where they would drive us back on the shuttle.

I see it!!!


Some room pics. We were in the Garden Wing, which was fine by me.



Room view: This was room 5107 (1st floor, Garden Wing, Garden View)



Up next: EPCOT!

 

[MrsSkellington]

So, checked in, car returned, park bag ready, we were off to EPCOT. Having never used the monorail before, I was a little nervous, but it was super easy.

Eeeeek! There it is!


We just walked in, and who do we spy but Pluto! There were maybe 4 people in line, so we thought, what the heck? Our son had never met a character before, so we decided to just throw him in and see what happened. How did it go?

You tell me!



So now that we determined that he was moderately comfortable with the big furry guys, we trekked on into the Future! World, that is.



We started hitting up a few Food and Wine booths before our dinner reservation. And then this happened:



Cute, right? Not when we have a dinner reservation and you can't bring the stroller in.

Here was our dinner spot:



I'll spare you the details on dinner, but it involved one very unhappy little boy, who we had to wake up in order to get to our ADR. Luckily we had a patient server and understanding dining neighbors. Needless to say, we needed one of these:

The Avocado Margarita. Delicious!


Dinner itself was okay. I wasn't feeling very hungry after such a long day and getting used to the heat, and I wasn't thrilled by the selections. I ended up with a Caesar salad, and it was good enough. Hubby had the Carne Asada and really liked it. We wandered around World Showcase some more and called it a night.

Up next: Day 2 - Hollywood Studios!

 

[MrsSkellington]

Where were we? Oh yes, after a colossal meltdown at San Angel Inn. Luckily we were not kicked out of the park, so we thought we'd go back to the hotel and try again. Day 2 was Hollywood Studios day. I was thinking that this would be a half day, but we ended up spending most of the day there and we still didn't see everything.

My favorite ride of all time was first on the list. Time for our awesome combination of FP + Rider Swap. This worked so well all trip. I'm almost sad that our son will be 3 next time, because now he needs a FP too.



I got in line as a single and the couple that would be sharing my row were so cute. The wife had never been on before, and was so nervous. I told her repeatedly how fun it was. We got the front row, and it was time to head up. We had a great ride, and I screamed/laughed the whole way down. My neighbor, well, not so much, but her hubby was having a good time.



I bid farewell to the lovely hotel, because we had a limo to catch!



I know I'm getting old when even roller coasters make me queasy. Spinny rides, forget it. But this trip, all of the big coasters seemed to make me nauseous. This is not where my trip title comes in though, so don't worry. I took a quick ride to catch the Aerosmith show, and then it was hubby's turn, so I took some publicity shots of the boy.



I believe it was time for lunch after this, so we took off for our reservation at.....



Sci Fi! I booked this primarily for my husband, since I knew he would like the atmosphere. I did too. My only complaint was that it was too dark at the table. Our car hop was nice, and she got a kick out of me telling her that hubby was "making a pitstop" when she came to take our drink orders. I didn't even do it on purpose. Hubby ordered the NY Strip, which he said was good, and I ordered a burger, I think. Not very memorable, but hubby gave me one of his onion rings and wowww!! They were so thick and awesome. For dessert, we both got the Warm Glazed Doughnut - Stacked with Cinnamon Apples and topped with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream and Caramel Sauce. I had to share with my son, but it was a lot of food. This was delicious! Just the perfect amount of soft, warm donut with apples and ice cream. *drool*

Then it was time to wander around again. My husband went on Star Tours, which I decided to skip due to my propensity toward motion sickness. Then it was almost time for TSMM, but first we spotted a special someone through a window across the street.

Who is it?


Little man kept peeking around the corner. It was adorable.



After our visit with the Sheriff, it was time for the boys to do TSMM, and then we were on our way out. Hubby wanted to ride RnR again, since he still had a RS pass. The single rider line was really short when he went up originally, so he just jumped in there. So, little man and I were walking around and spotted someone else. This is where I got what was probably the best picture of the trip!

 

[MrsSkellington]

I'm not sure if anyone has even read this, but I'm so sorry for not updating! I've got to get back on this before I forget everything! I'm planning a new trip for this October, so I'm a bit preoccupied.

 

[Hezzy04]

Just saw this now and hope you update soon

 

[MrsSkellington]

Maybe tomorrow night. I need to get up early to book our flight for this October! Southwest opens up bright and early!