We walked how far? My very first trip report

OneBadApple

DIS Veteran
Joined
May 31, 2007
Messages
1,245
Hi, my name is Lauren and I'm a Disneyaholic. I have read many trip reports here and have enjoyed them all and I hope to bring some enjoyment to all of you. Plus, I hope it helps me get over "the trip is over blues".

Meet the Cast:

Me 39 : a newly converted Disney fanantic and thrill ride junky. I made my first trip to Disney last year and couldn't wait to go back.

DH40: also a newly converted Disney fanantic, but not a thrill ride junky. He also made his first trip to Disney last year and was the one that prompted me to investigate another trip this year.

DD11: very out going and can sometimes be annoying as she likes to get her way. Like me is a thrill ride junky. Loves Hanna Montana and High School Musical.

DS9: can be shy at times and loves to gross out his sister. Loves most rides except scary ones. Loves to pin trade and is a big fan of Pluto.

At the end of each day, I'll post the number of steps that I walked that day. I was amazed at the number of steps that we walked each day. I knew that we would walk quite a bit, I just didn't realize just how many steps we would accomplish each day. Hopefully, I'll have day 1 up tomorrow.
 
It is amazing how much you walk in a day at the parks!
 
Day 1: Saturday, November 24

Day 1 begins at 5:00 am in good old Rochester, NY as the alarm goes off. Since most every thing is packed all we had to do was get dressed and load up my dad's car. By 6:00am we are off to my dad's houses, so that he can take us to the airport. As we pull in the driveway, my DS, Daniel, decides now that he has to use the restroom. So we all go in to say good morning to my mom.

We get to the airport around 6:30am and proceed to the check-in counter. As we proceed to pass through security, DH gets patted down. Not sure why, except for his bulky sweatshirt that he is wearing. Since Rochester is not the busiest airport in the world, we still have about an hour before we need to board. So we decide to hit up the McDonald's and have some breakfast. After we eat, we head down to the gate and wait just a bit before they start boarding. Once on the plane, they tell us that they need to de-ice the plane, which freaks me out, since I HATE flying. We finally take off and since I can't sleep, I go though all of my detailed plans for the trip. We have a direct flight down to Orlando and arrive only a few minutes late, despite leaving much later than the scheduled departure time.

As soon as we get off the plane, we head down to baggage claim. 2 of the 3 suitcases come down immediately and seems that we are waiting forever for the 3rd one. After we have all our luggage, we head down to the car rental counter. The line was not long and we were on our way relatively fast. We got a brand spanking new Dodge Charger.

About 30 minutes later we are at the CBR. It is just as gorgeous as all the pictures that I have seen of it. We get to the Customs House and it seems like a mad house, but we got checked in pretty fast. The CM explained the dining plan and told us how to get to our room. We had booked a preferred room and were in Trinidad North building 31. I had requested a corner or 1st floor room, but did not get either. We get back in the car and drive to building 31, which we found without a problem. The problem came when trying to find our room in building 31. We ended parking at the opposite end of the building from where our room was. We did eventually find it. We got into the room and it was perfect. We all quickly change out of our semi-winter gear into a more summer attire.

The plan for that day was to head over to MK for the night. I figured the park would be extremely busy, so I wasn't planning on doing too much. I think we got to the park around 2pm or so. We were all pretty hungry, but I didn't want to do lunch since we had an ADR at 'Ohana at 5:00. DS and I got into the bakery, while DH and DD (Allison) go to the ice cream shop. DS had a cookie, I got a bagel and the other 2 got ice cream. As we were eating and deciding what to do first, we got to watch the Family Fun Day Parade.

After our snack, we head over to Adentureland, and decide to go on Pirate's, since we didn't get to ride it last year. The wait time posted was only 20 minutes. We get in line and wait. We almost get to the loading area when they announce that they are having technical difficulties and that the ride should be back up soon. After about 5 minutes, they announce that they want everyone to turn around and exit. We exit through some back door and the CMs are handing out fast passes. We get ours and decide to try BTMR. We go through the fast pass line and would you believe it, we hear an announcement, that BTMR is having technical difficulties and to turn around and exit. All 4 of us are really bummed right about now. The kids want to ride Splash Mountain, so we go there only to find out that it is temporarily closed. So we are 0/3 on rides. It is a little past 3 and the parade starts so we are basically trapped in Frontierland.

As we weave our way through the crowds, we some how make it to Tomorrowland and decide to try Space Mountain. We had to convince DH to go, since he is not a roller coaster person. We go through the fast pass line and make our way to the loading area. And guess what happens? You guessed it, the lights come up and they announce they are having technical difficulties. Fortunately, it doesn't last long and we are soon on the ride. DD is in the front, with DS behind, DH is the last seat of the front car and I sit in the 1st seat of the second car. The ride starts and all I can hear is my DH screaming. I don't think I ever laughed so hard in my life. Needless to say he will never ride it again. After we finally get off of Space Mountain, we don't have much time before are ADR, so we go on TTA after grabbing fast passes for Buzz, which for some reason is one of DS's favorite rides.

After the TTA, we head to the exit and get on the resort monorail. We get to 'Ohana's a bit earlier, but are seated within 5 minutes. We got a table by the window where we could see the castle. Our server was very friendly and we were served immediately. We loved the food, but DD did not enjoy the entertainment. My favorite part of the dinner was the dessert. It was awesome. I have pictures of the food, but they some how didn't get uploaded.

A picture of the castle for 'Ohana
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After dinner, we head back to MK and make a beeline for Buzz. We do end up getting there a bit late, but the CM still lets us through the fast pass line. We all love this ride. We then head Fantasyland and get in the line for the teacups. We didn't wait long at all before we were on.

DD and me on the teacups:
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DS on the teacups:
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After teacups, we head to IASW, despite DD's resistance. For some reason she cannot stand this ride. Again the line was not that bad and we were on in no time at all. Next up is the Haunted Mansion. This is one of the rides that DS doesn't like, but he didn't give us a problem about going on it. I rode with him and his head was in my lap the entire time, except for the brief moment when I pointed out a hidden mickey. DH and I didn't like it as much as we did last year, so we probably won't go on it again.

Once we are done with HM it is time to find a spot for Wishes. We find a good spot and wait.

Waiting for Wishes:
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DH's attempt of getting a picture of Tinkerbell flying (I think I got a good shot with the video camera):
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After Wishes, we head back to Frontierland to stake out a spot for Spectro. We get an awesome spot we can sit. The boys do some pin shopping while DD and me just sit and wait. I enjoyed the parade better this year, probably because I didn't video tape it and was able to take everything in.

After the parade we are tired and decide to do a couple more things before heading back to CBR. We decide to do something that we didn't do last year, so we head over to Philharmagic. We all throughly enjoyed this show. After the show the kids want to do Space Mountain once more, so the 3 of us got in line and DH does some shopping. After SM, we all were just too tired to continue on so we head back the resort and crash.

Number of steps: 20820
For the record, my pedometer resets itself everyday at midnight, so my steps are from midnight to midnight.

Up Next:
Not More Technical Difficulties
 
Bummer about all the technical difficulties. Glad you were about to shake it off but I hope you eventually got to ride Pirates. I guess I will have to stay tuned to find out!
 

Great start...cannot wait to read more. We were there the week after Thanksgiving.

You are better then me ....no teacups here for me.
 
Bummer about all the technical difficulties. Glad you were about to shake it off but I hope you eventually got to ride Pirates. I guess I will have to stay tuned to find out!

It took a while for DH to shake it off. I shook it off immediately after all your worst day at disney is better than most days at home.

Great start...cannot wait to read more. We were there the week after Thanksgiving.

You are better then me ....no teacups here for me.

I can't believe how non-busy it was that week. I love the teacups, you should have seen how fast we got that thing spinning. My arms were sore afterward.

Hopefully I'll after day 2 up tomorrow.
 
I have completely forgotten about my trip report. I will finish posting it soon, plus now I get to start a my first pre-trip report.
 
Day 2 (Sunday, Nov 25, 2007): Not Again!!!!

Today’s Plan:
Sleep-in due to yesterday’s long day
Downtown Disney for some shopping
MGM for EMH

Once we all got up and dressed we headed over to Old Port Royale for some breakfast. DH and I got a breakfast sandwich on a croissant. DD and DS both got Mickey waffles. DH and I both thoroughly enjoyed our sandwiches. After breakfast we head back to our room to pick up anything that we left behind. We are shortly on our over to DTD where we do some shopping both for ourselves and Christmas presents. When we are almost ready to leave we head for Goofy’s Candy shop and get an candy apple and 3 dipped pretzel rods. Both were quite tasty.

Here are our creations:
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Once we are finished with our snacks we head back to the hotel to freshen up a bit before heading to MGM. When we finally get to MGM, it is still a too early to find a place for the parade so we head over to RR to see what the wait time is. On our way over we run into this guy

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When we get to RR the wait time wasn’t that bad, so the 3 of us (me, DD and DS) get in line. After yesterday’s attempt on Space Mountain, I knew there was no way DH would go on RR. No more than 5 or so minutes of being in line, we hear those dreaded words: “We are experiencing technical difficulties”. We decide to wait it out. We must have waited about 15 or so minutes before the line started moving again. I love the queue for this attraction, next time we go I may try to convince DH to at least come through the queue and then use the “chicken” exit.

When we finally get off the ride, we meet up with DH and determine it is no too late for the parade. DD and I head off to TT, since again the wait time is not bad at all. DH and DS head off to try to do some pin trading. DS doesn’t want any part of TT, even though he hasn’t tried it. Again the queue is fantastic for this attraction; I need to convince the other 2 to at least go through the queue. DD and I love this ride and could ride it again and again, but we limit ourselves to just twice. Once we get off the second time, we call DH to find out where they are. We meet up with them and DS is talking with a little girl. The little girl saw DS’s pins and gave him one of YOMD Tinkerbelle pin. He shows me another one he traded for with a CM.

At this point it is almost time for our ADR at 50’s Prime Time, so we head over there. The theme of this place is fantastic. Even though our server didn’t do as many antics of some of the other’s, we still had a great time and enjoyed our meal.

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As we head out of the restaurant we realize that we may make the next Indiana Jones show, so we quickly make our way to the arena. I know a lot of people think they should update the show, but since it was our 1st time seeing it, we thought it was very well put together.

Next up was the Muppets, again this was a show we hadn’t seen. I had the kids look under the mat for the key and it was there. They got a kick out of that, since I didn’t mention it to them before. We loved the show and would definitely see it again. Luckily we got out in time to head over to see the Osbourne Family Lights. This is DH’s favorite thing at MGM and I think in all of DW. We watched them dance for a while. After viewing the lights for a while, we still had time before the 2nd showing of Fantasmic, so we got in line for the GMR. Again this is something we didn’t go on before. I love watching the movie scenes while waiting. All, but DS enjoyed the ride. He got a little scared when the gangster started shooting. I’m not sure if I’ll be able to convince him to go on that again.

After the GMR, we got to do my favorite thing, Fantasmic. The plan was to get some counter service and eat while we waited, but none of us were that hungry. We go in and get some pretty good seats. DH and DD go to the snack counter for some popcorn and drinks. It must have been pretty busy up there, because the show had started when they finally got back. This is my favorite night time event and would not go to DW and not see it.

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We head back to the lights to take in the Christmas atmosphere. Again we walk around a bit and enjoy the lights and Christmas music. By this time, we all are starting to get a little tired, but we go to the Imagination center and let the kids play around a bit. We all did the one where it picks which character you are most like. DD – Ursula, DS – Buzz/Woody (he did it twice), DH – Tarzan (I think), me – Belle. We all got a laugh when DD was compared to Ursula. After Imagination, we did some more shopping and headed back to the resort for the night.

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Number of steps: 16230

Up next: Our worst meal of the trip
 
Day 3 (Monday, Nov 26, 2007): Our Worst Meal of the Trip!!

Today’s Plan:
MGM late morning/afternoon
MK for EMH

This morning started off with a cell phone ringing waking us all up. You’ll never guess who it was. It was someone from work calling to ask me something. I can’t remember a vacation when I didn’t receive some sort of call from work. Once I took care of the problem, I made oatmeal for DD and me and got the cereal out for DH and DS. About an hour later we were out the door headed back to MGM.

Here we are arriving at MGM.

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When we finally get through the gates our attention is drawn to a street show. The performers had selected a couple that appeared to have been on their honeymoon to star in a movie. We all got quite a few chuckles during the show.

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After the show was finished, we saw that we had time to catch the next performance of the “Voyage of the Little Mermaid”. I had high expectations for this show and thought that it was just OK. It was nothing to write home about. After the show we headed back to the Magic of Disney Imagination and saw that the characters from Ratatouille were there. The line wasn’t that bad and we got to the characters relatively fast.

This is one of those moments where you realize that no matter how much they grow up there is always an inner child.

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When we got with the characters, the kids played around a bit. Shortly after that we all decided we wanted lunch so we headed over to Catalina Eddie’s and Toluca Legs Turkey Company. The boys got turkey legs and the girls got pizza. We found a nice table with an umbrella and took a nice long lunch break.

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After lunch the kids and I decided to ride RnR one last time and DH went shopping. As usual we all loved it and can’t wait to do it again this year. DD and I decided to not go on ToT because neither one of us thought our full tummies could take it. Since our time at MGM was winding down we all decided we couldn’t go without seeing LMA. Luckily for us a show was just about to start. This show is so well done, even though we saw it the previous year, we all still enjoyed it. As we got out of the show we saw that the line for the Backlot tour was short so we headed over there. After the tour was over we sadly departed MGM.

We had just enough time to head back to the hotel for a bit before our 4:30 ADR and a fun night at MK. Once back CBR, we all freshen up a bit and relax.

When we get to MK, we have enough time to do one attraction before our ADR, so we head over to PoC. The line was short and we got on almost immediately. Since this was our time on PoC, none of us knew what to expect. I can’t believe how much Jack Sparrow animatronic looks like Johnny Depp. I couldn’t find the chess board scene and I was determined to find it by the end of the trip.

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We then headed over to our ADR at Tony’s, where we were seated within 5 minutes. The place is decorated very nice, but our food was awful. I was looking forward to dinner here even after reading many negative reviews. I’m not sure exactly what it was, maybe because we are both Italian and have eaten at many Italian places before.

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After dinner, we headed over to BTM, since we were shut out the first night. As I was riding it, I didn’t remember it being so bumpy. But it was still a great ride. After that the kids, some how, got DH to go on Splash. We kept telling him it won’t be that bad, but since none of us had been on it before, we really didn’t know what we were talking about. We (being me and the kids) enjoyed the entire ride; DH on the other hand did not. He did like the theme, but hated it when we went over the big drop. To this day, I can’t comprehend how he can love BTM and hate space and splash.

Since we completely missed Toontown last year, we took the train over there to look around. I can’t believe how cute Mickey’s and Minnie’s houses are. Unfortunately, my batteries in my camera died and the only picture I got was this one.

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The kids and I went on the barnstormer a couple of times before heading back to Tomorrowland. We went to the Monster’s Laugh Lab, which I thought was a great show. I wish that DH got to be “that guy”, that would have been hysterical. It is so fun watching how the little kids in the audience reacted. After monster’s the kids and I went back to Space Mountain. When that was done, we meet DH and went on TTA. For so reason DS loves this attraction.

Earlier in the night we had gotten fastpasses for Peter Pan and it was about time to use them, so we headed over. Since we still had time and the line for Pooh was short, we thought we would give that a try. It wasn’t our favorites, but it wasn’t bad either. By this time it was getting late and we were all hungry so we grabbed a snack, before we used the fastpasses for Peter Pan. I absolutely loved this attraction. It is so well done. I was completely taken a back when the car came off the ground. After this we were all completely worn out and headed back to the hotel.

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Number of steps:24424

Up next: A day at Epcot.
 
Hi Lauren
I love catching trip reports at the beginning. We flew out of Syracuse for our 2006 trip. My daughter goes to Nazareth College and Syracuse was on the way back from picking her up for Christmas break. We are looking at prices now for our next trip and Rochester airport is actually a couple hundred dollars cheaper but it is another hour drive and at $4+ for gas we are thinking Syracuse is the winner. I really wish Jet Blue would fly out of Albany!!

We love Prime Time 50's. It is a must do every time we go. Tony's really wasn't good, huh? We have never been there and that was a "let's try" for our next trip. It sounds like you had a good trip once you got past the technical difficulties. Thanks for inviting us along.
 
I love to see the castle at night. It's one of those "moments" for me like the gates that you drive through to enter "the world".

Sounds like you had fun at the 50's dinner. Sorry Tony's was a disapointment. I had been thinking of taking my kids there. They don't like italien food (according to them pizza is american) but because it is from Lady and the Tramp they were willing to have some spagetti. It would be a nice change from the copious amount of "chicken nuggets" they consume. I'm trying to get them to try a turkey leg too. To them that would be adventurous.
 
Hi Lauren
I love catching trip reports at the beginning. We flew out of Syracuse for our 2006 trip. My daughter goes to Nazareth College and Syracuse was on the way back from picking her up for Christmas break. We are looking at prices now for our next trip and Rochester airport is actually a couple hundred dollars cheaper but it is another hour drive and at $4+ for gas we are thinking Syracuse is the winner. I really wish Jet Blue would fly out of Albany!!

We love Prime Time 50's. It is a must do every time we go. Tony's really wasn't good, huh? We have never been there and that was a "let's try" for our next trip. It sounds like you had a good trip once you got past the technical difficulties. Thanks for inviting us along.

I think the JetBlue's flights to Orlando are the only cheap flights in and out of Rochester.

I love to see the castle at night. It's one of those "moments" for me like the gates that you drive through to enter "the world".

Sounds like you had fun at the 50's dinner. Sorry Tony's was a disapointment. I had been thinking of taking my kids there. They don't like italien food (according to them pizza is american) but because it is from Lady and the Tramp they were willing to have some spagetti. It would be a nice change from the copious amount of "chicken nuggets" they consume. I'm trying to get them to try a turkey leg too. To them that would be adventurous.

My DD won't eat them any more, but my DS is already talking about getting one when we go again in November.
 
I'm enjoying your trip report and I love your screen name! Can't wait to read more!!
 
I'm in! Can't wait for more! This sounds like a really fun trip! The end of November seems like a great time to be in the WORLD! :)
 
Day 4 (Tuesday, Nov 27, 2007): The best laid plans are meant to change.

Today’s Plan:
Epcot all day (morning EMH)

When I planned this day, I knew it was going to be tough getting up so early after a late evening, so when we all got up a little later than I had planned I was not surprised. I quickly jumped in the shower, when I was done the rest of the family followed suit. While everyone else was getting ready, I got breakfast and my coffee ready. We did pretty well in getting ready in a short amount of time and we made it to Epcot by 8:15am. After passing through the gates, we make a bee line over to Soarin’.

When we arrive at Soarin’ the wait is not bad at all at around 20 minutes. Just as we are getting close to the 1st CM, my DS decides that he NEEDS to use the restroom and cannot wait. I asked him if he went before we left the hotel and he says NO. Needless to say, DH is not very happy at this moment, but takes DS to the restroom. He walks up to the CM and asks for directions. DD and I stay in line and hope that people will be kind enough to let them through to catch up to us. Well, we get to the boarding area and no sign of the boys, so we go on and have an absolute fabulous time. This attraction is definitely on my top list. We reach the ext and still no sign of the boys, so I call DH’s cell phone and find out that they are in the boarding area. The CM that DH talked to, let him back in so he didn’t have to go to the end of the line. While the girls wait, I get FPs for Soarin’ and we look around the gift area.

Once the boys caught up with us, we headed over to Test Track (DHs favorite attraction).

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Here are the kids posing in a couple of the cars after the ride, while we were looking around.

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While the kids and I headed over to Mission Space, DH went and did some shopping. He ended up getting the monorail set for DS and had it shipped home (it made a great Christmas present for him). We met him at the exit of the ride and headed back over to Soarin’ to use our FPs. This time we got in the top row and I have to say it seemed a little different, not sure if it was the row and the fact we were in one of the end sets.

By the time we were done with Soarin’, we decided to get a snack from Sunshine Seasons and then got in line for the Land of the Living. I think we waited in line about 20 or so minutes, but it was worth it as it was a nice enjoyable ride. My DS was amazed at just about everything.

Once done, we headed back over towards Test Track and since the line was not that long we got in. Even this late in the morning, they were not filling up all the cars.

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By this time, even though we just had a snack we were all pretty hungry, so we headed over the Worlds for the Liberty Inn. DH and DS got sidetracked by the train in Germany, a performer in Italy and a surprise appearance by Pluto, while DD and I went to the restrooms.

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We ordered our food without them and found a table. Once they arrived, they got their food. We were all given large drinks (on DP) and a dessert and I don’t think anyone of us ate the dessert. I ended up toting them around all day.

Since we were all quite stuffed at this time, we thought it best to start browsing around the Worlds. We started in Italy and we got to hear the Christmas story there.

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Our next stop was China to see “Reflections of China”. It was a very nice presentation. When we got through with that we saw that Mushu was signing autographs, so the kids got in line for that.

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Next on the tour of the Worlds was Norway with a ride on Maelstorm. The kids enjoyed this, but did not want to stop and watch the movie. So we headed over to Mexico and shopped a bit before getting in line for Gran Fiesta. This was a cute attraction, not sure if it would be worth it if the line was long.

At this time I wanted to head over to the Disney Visa Card character signings, but before that I thought it would be a good idea to try some Coke products. The kids got a kick out of trying all the different flavors. I tested one or two as I normally don’t drink soda. The ones I tested were not bad at all. I forgot to have the camera ready for when they tested Beverly, but I don’t think their reaction was that funny.

We got to the signing and the line didn’t seem that long, but we must have waited for almost an hour. Not sure if we will waste our time here this time around. But the characters did spend a lot of time with the kids.

Here Mickey is asking DS where is a Mickey pin?
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Since this took longer that I had planned we only had time for a couple more attractions before dinner at the Garden Grill. We decided to do the Seas with Nemo and Friends and then catch the next Turtle Talk show. While waiting for the TT show to start we looked around and saw some amazing things. Not sure why I didn’t take any pictures. I thought TT was an amazing show; Crush even spoke with DS (who thought that was pretty cool).

We didn’t have much time to get to our ADR, so we walked as fast as we could and made it in time. I have to say the character interaction at the Garden Grill was the best that I have seen. The characters spent a lot of time with us.

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Mickey didn’t like DSs shirt. If you look carefully it says the Perfect Family and the place for the picture of the sister is missing. Mickey decided to draw my DD.

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Our plan after dinner was to see HISTA, Imagination with Figment and than continue with the rest of the countries before finding a spot for Illuminations. We made it to HISTA (I love all of the 3D shows), but when the show was finished it was pouring outside. We tried to make it over to Imagination, after waiting for about 20 minutes, but decided to hit Mouse Gears. We did some shopping and then decided to call it a night. Before we left Epcot, we stopped and got our free picture. DS wanted to ride the monorail, so we got on it and did a round trip to MK and back.

When we got back to CBR, we could hear the fireworks from Illuminations, but since it was still raining, we just stayed in our room. I think we all feel asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows.

Number of steps:20724

Up next: Will we get to see Illuminations?
 
Love that Mickey took the time to draw DD into your DS's shirt.

I have to say the character interaction at the GG was simply the best. Not only Mickey, but all the characters. All during dinner, every time Mickey saw us, he made some sort of jesture about the shirt.
 




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