You Flew All The Way Here With PIXIE DUST?! UD 8/22: Final Thoughts :)

[AmandaSparks730]

August 15-21, 2008: Our 5th (and 1st) WDW Trip!

Characters:

Mom (age undisclosed): family service coordinator at a center for children with physical and mental disabilities (ie autism and ceberal palsy). Loves to plan (and over-plan!) vacations, read a good book, and watch fun reality shows.

Dad (age undisclosed): GM at Chuck E Cheese's (in his 16th year there!). Likes stress-free vacations and listening to music.

Me (15): high-school sophomore in honors-level classes. Hope to go to URI and major in children's lit/library sciences. HUGE fan of Broadway musicals and all things Disney!

Aly (15): one of my best friends, who tagged along with us on this trip. It was her first trip to WDW! ( ) HS sophomore with me, and wants to major in pyschology (children's), also at URI.

Mom, Dad, and I have two cats, Sam(uel) and Esmerelda (named after the gypsy in Hunchback of Notre Dame, of course) and one dog, Scooby (Doo).

Here's a picture of the fuzzball we call Sam (he is a Maine Coon):

And Scooby with his favorite toy, "Pete" (Peak-A-Poo):

Yes, I'm an only child (Aly has an older sister, Erica).

Moving on with the show!

My favorite WDW park: MGM. Favorite character: Belle.

Dad's: Unknown/Goofy.

Mom's: Unknown/Eeyore.

Aly's: MK/Pooh.

We stayed at POR--first time at a Moderate Resort!

DDP--check!

First installment (departure day/EPCOT) to come later

Preview pictures:

Update coming soon

 

[KathyRN137]

Hooray! I'm first!!

(I know... so mature for a 45 yr old!!!)

Sign me up, Amanda!!


Kathy

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Hooray! I'm first!!

(I know... so mature for a 45 yr old!!!)

Sign me up, Amanda!!


Kathy

Welcome aboard, Kathy!

 

[Smiley.Socks]

Woo! I'm here too, Meg!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Woo! I'm here too, Meg!

Yay, Elin!

 

[PosessedEeyore]

Sophie's here also
* I love reading peoples trip reports! *

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Sophie's here also
* I love reading peoples trip reports! *

Sofa, Sofa, SOFA!



Welcome aboard!

 

[mickeystoontown]

Signing on for more. I often say that trip reports and pictures are what keep me sane until my next WDW vacation. Thanks for your contribution to my sanity.

 

[saratogadreamin09]

cant wait for more

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Signing on for more. I often say that trip reports and pictures are what keep me sane until my next WDW vacation. Thanks for your contribution to my sanity.

You're welcome! I read TR's all the time, too. Makes me homesick, but so worth it!

cant wait for more

 

[ladylyons]

Your title pulled me in. Can't wait to read more.

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Your title pulled me in. Can't wait to read more.

Welcome!

Title will be explained in Day 2 (MK Day)

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Arrival Day-- Part One


(I am watching Peter Pan as I write this)

August 15, 2008

It was The Day! The Day! The day planned since February!

Our flight was at 7:20 a.m., leaving out of PVD. We woke up around 5:00 for last-minute packing. Aly's father dropped her off around 5:30, and we popped in the planning DVD "one last time" while waiting for my grandparents (dad's parents) to take us to the airport.

Leaving for the airport around 6:00, we were just too excited! I mean, we were going to WALT DISNEY WORLD!

The best thing about PVD is that there's never a line for security or check-in (we actually did curbside check-in this morning). We walked straight through the line to security (no wait!) and then off down the (small) corridor to the Southwest area (the entire left side of the airport is Southwest). By this time, it was only 6:20 How's that for great timing?

Did I mention we live literally 5 minutes away from PVD?

AnyWAY, the plane left right on time, and we had an uneventful flight (with me reading Breaking Dawn the entire time) until we got to...

MCO!

We were in MCO around 11 a.m. Hooray! Yay! We're in FLORIDA!

Are those...PALM TREES? You don't see those in RI!

We took the "unofficial Disney monorail" to baggage claim...wait no...not BAGGAGE CLAIM.

We DIS-er's are too good for baggage claim!

We went to MAGICAL EXPRESS CHECK-IN, of course! Mom checked us in, and it took all of 5 minutes. (Amazing, for August). We were on the DTD Resort bus in another 5 minutes, and left around 11:30. ( )

Aly and I on our ME bus (actually, it was a DCL bus) (I'm on the right, Aly on the left)

And the video screen

Soon enough, we saw more Disney signs...

And more Disney signs...

And then...

THE Disney sign!



(Sorry, no picture of it--we were moving too fast!)

First we dropped off at SSR, then OKW, then POFQ, then POR!

POR...oh my, how gorgeous! Pictures just do not do this resort justice; it is beautiful. We went to the lobby to check-in, which took maybe 10 minutes.

And...our room was ready! ( )

Magnolia Bend, in the mansion of Acadian House

Good location, right between the main pool (Ol' Man River) and a smaller, quiet pool. A few minute's walk from the boat dock and lobby/Riverside Mill. Such a pretty area, too, surrounded by Magnolia trees. Our boudoir was on the first floor. Nice room, decently sized. We didn't unpack much (we put our clothes in big ZipLoc bags, and then just throw all the dirty clothes back in there at the end. Saves space and time!) but nonetheless got settled before going off to...

EPCOT!

To be continued...

Next time:

EPCOT--FW
Figment!
The Seas--did we find Nemo?
We got shrunk--did we return to normal size?
Canada through Mexico--travel around the world!
Dining in jolly old England!
Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger too. Alice and Mary, oh what to do?
And...our first time...watching...STACY!

Thanks for reading

 

[DramaQueen]

Hey Meg!
I'm in!! Very exciting TR so far!
Hope you have lots more pics!

 

[KathyRN137]

Arrival Day-- Part One
Leaving for the airport around 6:00, we were just too excited! I mean, we were going to WALT DISNEY WORLD!


But, of course!


AnyWAY, the plane left right on time, and we had an uneventful flight (with me reading Breaking Dawn the entire time)


Tricia's read the entire series three or four times! I really must get around to reading these books!



Aly and I on our ME bus (actually, it was a DCL bus) (I'm on the right, Aly on the left)

Okay... stupid question! Are you sitting on the right, or pictured on the right?



Magnolia Bend, in the mansion of Acadian House

Good location, right between the main pool (Ol' Man River) and a smaller, quiet pool. A few minute's walk from the boat dock and lobby/Riverside Mill. Such a pretty area, too, surrounded by Magnolia trees.


Sounds lovely!



Figment!
The Seas--did we find Nemo?
We got shrunk--did we return to normal size?
Canada through Mexico--travel around the world!
Dining in jolly old England!
Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger too. Alice and Mary, oh what to do?
[/COLOR][/FONT]

Can't wait!!


Kathy

 

[Hedy]

I;m here-I liked the PTR last year, and I love your Spring Awakening themed siggie.
I love how easy PVD is, too!

 

[wvdislover]

Subbing! Be back later to read

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Hey Meg!
I'm in!! Very exciting TR so far!
Hope you have lots more pics!

Heyyy Cait

Oh yes, lots more pics to come!

Can't wait!!



Kathy

Clarification on the picture, Aly is the one with the short hair

Tell Tricia she is awesome for reading the Twilight saga

I;m here-I liked the PTR last year, and I love your Spring Awakening themed siggie.
I love how easy PVD is, too!

Oh, thank you!

And thanks for the compliment on my siggie--I LOVE Spring Awakening (maybe errr...a little TOO much, since I've memorized nearly all of Ilse's lines!)

Subbing! Be back later to read

Thanks so much!

 

[AmandaSparks730]

Arrival Day Part Two--EPCOT!



We left POR and boarded a bus to...

EPCOT!

By now, it was 2:00, and we had intended on spending the whole afternoon and evening in WS, then spend a half-day later in the week for FW.

Did we stick to these plans?

'Course not!

My favorite ride of all time at EPCOT has been and always will be Journey Into Imagination with Figment. Seeing as how there was a 5-minute wait posted, I insisted we go on in.

Poor Aly, her first WDW ride being Figment!

HISTA was posted at a 5-minute wait as well, so we popped on in next door and shrunk!

Next, we noticed that there was a 5-minute wait posted for The Seas with Nemo and Friends. I'm gonna go explore...in the BIG BLUE WORLD! Cute new ride for us (we hadn't been since '03).

(However, that song was in our heads all week!)

Heading out to WS, we traveled to Canada (eh?). Mom, Aly, and I saw the updated 'O Canada.

Heading now to the UK, we popped into The Toy Soldier and met up with these guys:

A bit of a backstory, I ADORED Alice in Wonderland as a little girl. I wore out the VHS!

As you can imagine, I was thrilled when we ran into this girl:

As well as this one:

Checked in for our 6:00 reservations at the Rose and Crown, and were seated in about 5 minutes

I don't recall exactly what everyone ordered, but I do remember ordering Fish and Chips--yummy!

We left jolly old England and moved on to...

(No pics from here on out, sorry!)

France! This is one of my new favorite countries in WS. The fountain is simply beautiful, and wandering around the back streets felt comforting.

On with Morocco, which is also beautiful.

Japan was wonderful, as always. We wandered around the department store for awhile, and checked out the tin soldier display.

America, Italy, and Germany blurred on by--we were on a mission to get to Mexico before Illuminations!

China and Norway are very pretty at night (all the countries are!), but we walked on by still.

Popped into Mexico for a few minutes to look around, before securing spots at Cantina de San Angel for...Illuminations!

What can I say about Illuminations? Lovely. I get chills when the fire suddenly blows out! Great show as always, and we walked out feeling happy, yet tired.

Back to POR, we trudged on to Acadian House, and fell asleep with dreams of the MK in our heads



Coming up:

MK day!
Triple Mountain Whammy
Dinner with Pooh and Friends
999 ghosts
Wishes

 

[Smiley.Socks]

Arrival Day Part Two--EPCOT!



We left POR and boarded a bus to...

EPCOT!

By now, it was 2:00, and we had intended on spending the whole afternoon and evening in WS, then spend a half-day later in the week for FW.

Did we stick to these plans?

'Course not!

My favorite ride of all time at EPCOT has been and always will be Journey Into Imagination with Figment. Seeing as how there was a 5-minute wait posted, I insisted we go on in.

Poor Aly, her first WDW ride being Figment!

HISTA was posted at a 5-minute wait as well, so we popped on in next door and shrunk!

Next, we noticed that there was a 5-minute wait posted for The Seas with Nemo and Friends. I'm gonna go explore...in the BIG BLUE WORLD! Cute new ride for us (we hadn't been since '03).

(However, that song was in our heads all week!)

Heading out to WS, we traveled to Canada (eh?). Mom, Aly, and I saw the updated 'O Canada.

Heading now to the UK, we popped into The Toy Soldier and met up with these guys:

A bit of a backstory, I ADORED Alice in Wonderland as a little girl. I wore out the VHS!

As you can imagine, I was thrilled when we ran into this girl:

As well as this one:

Checked in for our 6:00 reservations at the Rose and Crown, and were seated in about 5 minutes

I don't recall exactly what everyone ordered, but I do remember ordering Fish and Chips--yummy!

We left jolly old England and moved on to...

(No pics from here on out, sorry!)

France! This is one of my new favorite countries in WS. The fountain is simply beautiful, and wandering around the back streets felt comforting.

On with Morocco, which is also beautiful.

Japan was wonderful, as always. We wandered around the department store for awhile, and checked out the tin soldier display.

America, Italy, and Germany blurred on by--we were on a mission to get to Mexico before Illuminations!

China and Norway are very pretty at night (all the countries are!), but we walked on by still.

Popped into Mexico for a few minutes to look around, before securing spots at Cantina de San Angel for...Illuminations!

What can I say about Illuminations? Lovely. I get chills when the fire suddenly blows out! Great show as always, and we walked out feeling happy, yet tired.

Back to POR, we trudged on to Acadian House, and fell asleep with dreams of the MK in our heads



Coming up:

MK day!
Triple Mountain Whammy
Dinner with Pooh and Friends
999 ghosts
Wishes

Whoooo! Go Figgy!
I'm loving the TR so far Meg! Sounds (and looks!) like you had great first few days!