[FONT="]It’s been a rough week at Casa de Elleshoodat. DS picked up a nasty virus somewhere, and DH or I have had to stay home with him every day this week. So to pick myself back up and to keep the PTR going, I thought I’d post the trip report I wrote for our last trip to the World – a long weekend April 30-May 2, 2010.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]All Disney World trips are special, but this one was especially so for a couple of reasons:[/FONT]
- [FONT="]We were celebrating my birthday on the trip, as I turned the big 3-0 three days after we returned home.[/FONT]
- [FONT="]This was last childless trip to the World. DS was due that October, and while I absolutely cannot WAIT to see the Disney magic through my children’s eyes, I was happy to have one last trip to do what we want when we want. (Of course, this also means I wasn’t able to ride any of the three mountains at Magic Kingdom, but our baby’s well-being was well worth the sacrifice.)[/FONT]
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[FONT="]The TR is mostly written in the present tense, so if you see something like “I am pregnant,” don’t freak out.
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[FONT="]Here we go![/FONT]
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[FONT="]A few months before the trip, I made reservations for a room with a king bed at Port Orleans French Quarter … finally! I’d wanted to stay at POFQ forever, but for one reason or another, it hadn’t worked out. Since we’re Florida residents, we saved between 30 and 40 percent on the room. We had one day left on our Play 4 Days passes, which we bought in October 2008. They served us well, getting us into two Food & Wine Festivals, the Animal Kingdom for my birthday last year and the Magic Kingdom this trip. We hadn’t been to the MK in a couple of years, and it’s my favorite of the four (though Epcot runs a close second and, depending on my mood, sometimes comes in first).[/FONT]
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[FONT="]The same day I made our resort reservations, I made a dining reservation for lunch at The Plaza. I wanted a sit-down meal for a nice break in our day, but I didn’t want something too heavy. The restaurant’s sandwiches and salads seemed to fit the bill. (I also made a reservation for ‘Ohana, but it was for 9:30 Friday night. As much as I want to eat there, that’s way too late for us to eat dinner, so I canceled it.)[/FONT]
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Friday, April 30:[/FONT]
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[FONT="]We were all packed and ready to go this morning with the intentions of leaving work at 3 and getting on the road. Well, I didn’t end up leaving work ‘til 3:30. Not bad, but not what I’d planned, so my Type-A self was getting anxious.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]I drove downtown and picked up Nick, who was leaving his car in his office’s parking garage for the weekend. I ran inside to use the bathroom (what can I say? I’m pregnant) and we hit the road, arriving on property two hours later. I had done online check-in, and when we went to pick up our package the CM asked if we were celebrating anything special. I’m a purist and since we weren’t going to be there on my actual birthday I wasn’t going to say anything, but Nick told her I was turning 30, so she gave me a birthday button – my first one! She also wished me a “happy 21,” which made me even happier – those were the days.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]I went to the bathroom next to the gift shop (love those old-fashioned toilets), met Nick in the gift shop and we went to our room, No. 1103. It was a first-floor handicapped-accessible room facing the parking lot, which wasn’t a total deal-breaker; there was nice landscaping between the room and the lot, and the location couldn’t be beat for walking back to our room after a long day (we typically drive to the parks).[/FONT]
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[FONT="]We moved in, and I took some pictures. I love fleurs de lis, so I had to shoot every one I could find. We lay down for a bit to watch CNN’s coverage of the oil spill – ugh, what a mess BP made.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Between 6 and 6:30, we went for a walk around the resort and had an impromptu photo shoot in front of one of the fountains, then we hopped into our car – after I took a bathroom break in the room, I’m sure – and drove to Buffalo Wild Wings at the Crossroads. We loooove us some spicy food, and the BW3s nearest us is about a half-hour away, so it’s become sort of a tradition to eat there while at Disney World.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]We were at the restaurant for a couple of hours. It has the MLB package, so Nick was able to watch most of the Mets-Phillies games. I think that was right around when the Mets started playing well, so he was happy. I had hot boneless wings, Nick had hot wings with a side of wild sauce, and we split some Buffalo chips with cheese. I drank Sprite, and Nick had a mojito and water.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]When we got back to the resort, we walked to the food court for some sweet treats: a Mickey Mouse head-shaped Rice Krispies treat for Nick and a brownie for me. The brownie was pretty dry, but it was huge and the frosting was yummy, so that made up for it. We sat on a bench between the food court and gift shop and just people-watched for a while, then returned to our room and took showers. I went to sleep between 10 and 10:30, Nick not long after me.[/FONT]
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Saturday, May 1:[/FONT]
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[FONT="]I had tossed and turned most of the night. I couldn’t get my temperature right (stupid window units), and I guess I was too excited for what lay ahead of us. I woke up between 6:30 and 7, then at 7 I got up to get dressed and go get breakfast. I got a breakfast platter and a fruit cup for us to split, plus some apple juice for me, figuring Nick would brew and drink coffee in the room. When I went to check out, the CM couldn’t find the breakfast platter on the register, and she almost charged me $2 more for another platter that came with a Mickey-head waffle. Um, no – $6.29 is more than enough for me to spend on some eggs and potatoes, thankyouverymuch.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]When I got back to the room, Nick was up and about, so we ate our breakfast and got ready to go. We were out the door at 8 and had started to drive to the Magic Kingdom when I informed Nick the park didn’t open ‘til 9. He was about to turn around and head back to the resort, but I convinced him to stop for gas, then by the time we parked and took transportation to the gate, it would be nearly 9.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]We stopped at the Hess to fill up and were in the parking lot in no time, parking in Pluto. We took the monorail over, went through the bag check and turnstiles, and waited with the masses for the park to open. I hadn’t seen the opening ceremony since I was a child, if at all, and I admit I shed a few tears while watching it. I’ll blame that one on hormones. Yeah, that’s it … hormones.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]On our way down Main Street, we stopped at the deserted bakery to get some coffee for Nick (he never did brew any in the room). I got a bottle of water and we continued on our way, stopping at the Partners statue to have a PhotoPass photographer take our picture with our camera. Our first stop was the Haunted Mansion, and we took our time getting to Liberty Square. There was NO ONE over there except the creepy CMs (creepy because they were in character). The CM at the door told Nick he couldn’t bring his coffee in, so he stashed it along the queue and we went on the ride – Nick’s favorite in the Magic Kingdom.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]He retrieved his coffee after a great ride (the graveyard scene is my favorite, while he prefers the party scene), and we went into Fantasyland. We ran into one of Nick’s coworkers outside Peter Pan’s Flight, so we stopped and talked to her and her family for a bit. Then we went on it’s a small world. We were the only two people on our boat, and since it’s my mom’s absolute favorite ride, I sent her a couple of photos I took with my phone. Nick had “hidden” his coffee outside again, but someone had picked it up (darn those cleaning CMs for being on top of their game!). We got FastPasses for Peter Pan, then went to see Mickey’s PhilharMagic – a favorite of both of ours. The show was as cute as always, and afterward we went on Snow White’s Scary Adventures. We were in the third row of a vehicle behind a set of parents with two little girls. Both of the girls were carrying cameras, and one of them took pictures of literally every scene – without even looking at the screen to see what she was shooting. If I were a huge Snow White fan, I would’ve been angry about the flash that kept going off, but Nick and I just laughed the whole way through. Thank goodness for digital cameras; I can’t imagine how many rolls of film that girl would’ve gone through 20 years ago.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]We walked into Tomorrowland and stopped into Cosmic Ray’s for a bathroom break for me and more coffee for Nick. This time, we sat down for a while in the sweet, sweet air conditioning (it was HOT out!) so he could drink most of it. We looked at the map and plotted our next few attractions, making our way back to Peter Pan’s Flight to use our FastPasses. This is one of my favorites; I just love “flying” through the sky and watching everything going on below. Plus, the music from that film makes me smile.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]By now the park was starting to get really crowded, whereas earlier in the day it had been perfect crowd-wise. I don’t know why this was our first time being at a park at rope drop, but I can’t imagine why anyone would
not get to the park as soon as it opens. You accomplish so much more that way![/FONT]
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[FONT="]Anyway, I wanted to see Toontown before it’s torn down to make way for the Fantasyland expansion, so we walked through Minnie’s and Mickey’s houses before backtracking to Fantasyland for FPs for The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. This isn’t a must-do for me, but Nick thought Peanut would like it … and I think he or she did! What baby doesn’t love Pooh, right? FPs in hand, we found a quiet place in Tomorrowland to make a couple of calls. I chatted with my cousin, who had a gallstone earlier that week but must’ve passed it; she was out shopping with our moms, who are sisters, looking at stuff for the baby. (It’s my parents’ first grandchild, and they are SO excited. I love it.)[/FONT]
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[FONT="]We took a relaxing ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority, then I went to the bathroom again while Nick went into Mickey’s Star Traders. Up until that time, I’d seen the same onesies – few of them gender-neutral – in all of the shops, but I found the
cutest onesie there. It’s white with short sleeves, and on the front is a picture of several of the characters on Main Street with the castle in the background. The back says “Magic Kingdom.” I know the rule about buying something you HAVE to have when you see it and I wasn’t taking any chances, so I snatched it up. It was a bit on the pricey side, but hey – it’s our baby’s first Disney onesie.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]There were no warnings for pregnant riders back at Pooh, our next stop, but I’d forgotten about the part where you bounce with Tigger. It seemed a bit rough at the time, but I guess the motion is fluid enough that it’s nothing to worry about. Here we are a few weeks later, and Peanut’s heartbeat is as strong as ever.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]It was nearing our reservation time at the Plaza, so we went to check in. Our wait wasn’t too long – maybe 10 minutes – but Nick got a kick out of this: When we checked in, the CM said, “We should be able to seat you shortly. We’re just waiting for other guests to get up and leave.” Um, okayyyy. We were seated at a corner table that gave us a great view of the room. We ordered drinks to start (Diet Coke with lemon for me, water for Nick), then the mayor of Main Street came in. The 100th guest (I guess of the day) was dining at the time, and he made a big production out of giving the family a certificate, having his picture taken with them and giving them a free dessert. Gotta love that Disney magic. For lunch, I had a cup of the tomato bisque soup, and we split a cheeseburger and the turkey sandwich, both with fries. The turkey sandwich was really good, but the burger was just so-so. We were too full for dessert, so we paid our check and left so “other guests” could have our seats.
It was our first time dining there, and I was really impressed with the Plaza. The décor was cute, and the food was not too heavy and just right for lunch.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]After lunch, we went to Adventureland, where we walked through the Swiss Family Treehouse. It was Nick’s first time, and he declared it one of his favorites. We picked up FastPasses for the Jungle Cruise, then rode Pirates of the Caribbean after a 20-minute wait. That was longer than I like to wait for Pirates, but at least we were out of the sun for a while. Our trip on the Jungle Cruise was nice. We had a really lively skipper, and the other passengers weren’t bumps on logs; everyone laughed at his jokes and answered him when he asked questions. After our cruise, we wandered into Frontierland and stopped at an ice-cream cart for a couple of Haagen-Dazs bars. We took them over to the launch of the rafts to Tom Sawyer Island and ate in the shade, then got on the next raft. We “explored” a bit, then took a break in the shaded seating area near Aunt Polly’s. By this time we were both dragging, so we took the raft back to the mainland to hit up a few more attractions before calling it a day.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Our next stop was the Hall of Presidents. There was a 15- or 20-minute wait ‘til the next show, but we didn’t care. It was nice and cool in there, and after looking at the historical objects in the cases, we took a seat on the floor. We filed into the theater and enjoyed the show, which we hadn’t seen since the addition of President Obama. We were a really liberal crowd, and everyone cheered for presidents Lincoln, Kennedy and Obama.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]We crossed the hub back into Tomorrowland for another of my favorites, the Carousel of Progress. Nick isn’t a huge fan of this one, but he puts up with it for me … ahh, the things we do for love. On our way out of the park, we walked through the Emporium. I saw a few things I wanted, but I had seen them in shops earlier in the day and knew they’d be at the World of Disney when we made it over there. (It was nothing I HAD to have.) We stopped at the statue of Minnie and Roy Disney to wave goodbye to the castle (well, I waved; Nick kind of looked at me like I was nuts), then took the ferry back to the parking lot. We took the tram to Pluto and drove back to the resort, getting “home” about 5:30. We took showers and lay down to rest for a while, with Nick catching a catnap. We walked down to the ferry landing on the Sassagoula River, where we had a loooong wait. And of course we were right in front of That Guy – this super-obnoxious father who was loud and embarrassing. Hell, I was embarrassed for him; I can only imagine how his teenage daughter was feeling. But then again, she may be used to it.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]We made it onto the second or third ferry, sitting as far as possible from That Guy, and enjoyed the leisurely ride to Downtown Disney. We went first to Paradiso 37, put in our names and were told the wait would be 35 minutes. We figured the other restaurants would have a long wait, too, but decided to check at Bongos anyway. The wait there was about the same and I was craving Paradiso more than I was craving Bongos, so we started walking back over there. We took our time, stopping in D Street – a store I have no use for; walking through it once was enough – and wouldn’t you know it? Our pager went off when we were still a ways away. We hightailed it back to Paradiso and were seated in no time. We ordered and gulped down a couple of waters. After our “run” through DTD, we were parched, plus there’s no air conditioning in Paradiso; it’s entirely open-air. By this time it was close to 9 p.m. and way past our usual dinnertime, so we ordered some chips and salsa to start. They were really good! The chips were fresh and crisp, and the salsa had a really great flavor to it. The menu had changed a bit since our last visit to Paradiso, and we both got something new to us: enchiladas for Nick and tacos for me. Both came with black beans, which we love, and the main dishes were really good, too.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]After dinner we went to World of Disney, where we picked up quite a few things and added the “bonus” beach towel at the register. We paid with a Disney Rewards card and got a 10 percent discount, which was nice; I had thought you only get the discount when paying with your actual Disney Visa. We then went to Team Mickey, where Nick found a new Met shirt he didn’t have and picked up a couple of things for his brothers’ birthdays. Then it was time for dessert. As much as we love Ghirardelli, the line was outrageous, so we went to Goofy’s Candy Co. and got a couple of cookies instead. On our way back to the ferry, I noticed Wolfgang Puck Express. I’d wanted to eat there but thought it was clear on the other side of DTD, so we missed it this trip. Our wait for the return ferry wasn’t nearly as long, and we were back in our room by 11, with lights out 15 minutes later. We were pooped.[/FONT]
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Sunday, May 2:[/FONT]
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[FONT="]I don’t know how, but I got a solid eight hours of sleep last night. I woke up at 7 but stayed in bed taking naps ‘til 9:30, at which time Nick and I woke up for good. We got dressed, packed and went to the food court for breakfast. Nick had the breakfast platter and a couple of milks, and I had the Western omelet with chocolate milk. Our breakfast was ridiculously expensive, which reinforced what I’ve known all along: When we come to Disney World with our children, we’ll have to bring breakfast foods to have in the room. I’m not about to shell out $40 for a mediocre breakfast for four or five.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]I had to do some work that afternoon, so we hit the road and were home within a couple of hours.[/FONT]
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[FONT="]All in all, it was a great trip. I tired more easily than I had on previous trips, partly because it was so darn hot and partly because of the whole pregnancy thing. I was upset it was a Grad Nite and I didn’t get to see Wishes, my favorite of the nighttime shows, but there’s always next time. Speaking of which, we’re hoping/tentatively planning to return to the World for the 2011 International Food & Wine Festival. It will be our baby’s first trip, and I’d love for my parents to come along. When I was growing up, we took multigenerational family trips pretty often, and I absolutely love them. Anyway, in October or November 2011, our baby should be about a year old, and we can celebrate Nick’s and my third wedding anniversary, too![/FONT]
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[FONT="]Tomorrow we find out whether we’re having a boy or a girl. We’re thrilled either way, of course, and can’t WAIT to bring him or her to the World.[/FONT]
We're actually selling our huge travel system because we love the Britax so much. Anyways, I know you're on my report so you'll see a full use report on there but if/when you decide to buy it, go with Amazon or something like that. I got it for way cheaper on there.
Hi! Another May DISer joining in. Planning the trip's almost as much fun as the trip itself, so I enjoy reading about other people's plans. 
Seriously, it's like we're the same person! Thanks for sharing your review. And funnily enough, Baby Gizmo's is the first video review I watched when I started my research. Hollie really sold it for me.
