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Trip Report - Sept 28 - Oct 5, 2002
Gretchen 33
Dave 35
Samantha 3
Jack 15 mos.
Grandma (G's mom)
Grandpa (G's stepdad)
Day 1 Sat - flew from Indianapolis airport to Orlando. Both kids did well on their first flight. J slept all the way, S was hyper,
but fairly well behaved. Arrived, picked up rental cars, drove to Liki Tiki Resort, 7 mi west of WDW on 192. Had dinner at Shipwreck
Sally's (the resort water park restaurant). AC not working in condo, had someone fix.
Day 2 Sun -woke up, air not working again. Someone came to fix again. Went to Epcot today. Went on Spaceship Earth. Kids a
little scared, but overall was ok. Kids loved Living Seas. J pointed out all the fish and squealed. Journey Into Your
Imagination was a disaster. Both kids were scared and screaming, particularly at the end when it is dark and blasts you with air and
a loud noise. J also lost a shoe, but it was retrieved with help of a CM. I liked it, but oh well. Kids were cheered up by fun jumping
fountains outside the ride. Ate at the Sunshine Food Fair food court in The Land and everyone found something they liked-even PB&J
for the kids. Left G'ma & G'pa at Test Track while we took kids on boat ride in Mexico, which they liked. J then fell asleep in his
stroller. Planned to take S on Maelstrom but it was closed . Watched part of the Chinese acrobats, then g'ma & g'pa returned. G
& D then went to Test Track, while G&G took S and sleeping J on the boat launch across the lake. All decided we were tired and weary
and left after that. AC not working at hotel AGAIN. Third time try to fix. Works for now. Rested at hotel and then ate dinner at
nearby TGIFriday's.
Day 3 Mon - AC not working!!! Finally today they send someone else and it is fixed by the time we return at end of day. We love the
condo, except for this problem. Anyway, we set off for Magic Kingdom. Realize it is more of a pain than anticipated to drive to
MK, park car, walk to tram, load everyone and strollers on tram, get off tram, walk to monorail, ride monorail, get off monorail..realize
that we will not be leaving the park for a nap as it would take too long. S is upset as we arrive-g'ma has hit her head on top of tram
and then set her bag on top of her head in the stroller. She warms up when she spots the castle. We head for Dumbo, get in line and
she flips out when she hears the noise it makes when the ride ends. Get out of line and I am crying. Don't remember order of other
rides but we ride the carousel, Winnie the Pooh, Goofy rollercoaster, meet Ariel, teacups, see Minnie's house, and It's a
Small World (both kids LOVED this). Samantha was singing the song all the way through. We were starved so ate at Pinnochio Haus right
next door, and food was not that great. J falls asleep and G'ma watches him while the rest see the Country Bears, which S loved.
G&G stay with kids to watch parade while D&G ride my favorite, Splash Mountain. I must add at this point that all the rides are
practically no waiting. Longest we waited for anything I think was WTP and it was 20 minutes. J is STILL sleeping so D watches him
while I take S on Aladdin's magic carpets AND the Tiki Tiki Room AND the Jungle Cruise, while G&G ride Splash Mountain. We all head for
the exit but stop because of Cinderella's Surprise Celebration happening in front of castle. This was a great little show that S
just loved. Saw lots of the characters. Stopped at Le Chapeau and got the Mickey& Minnie ears hats for kids with names on them. Also
let them get shiny balloons. Lots of photos! Left the park, stopped at Denny's for dinner and crashed at hotel. A/C is WORKING!!
Day 4 - Tues - we are so worn out from MK that we decide to take our break day today (we had a 5 day hopper). We walk over to the Liki
Tiki Lagoon mini-water park at our resort. It is very nice for small kids, has just 5 water slides, 4 of which are small. Lots of
spraying things, mini-wave pool, fountains, etc. Everyone has fun. Eat lunch there at Shipwreck Sally's again. Head back to hotel for
a nap. After, we set out out for Downtown Disney Marketplace for some shopping. Buy a few things in the new big toy store, kids go
on mini train ride and little carousel. Put our names in at Rainforest Café and walk around for about 15 minutes then our name
is called. Kids were a bit scared of the storms and animals but then warmed up to it and loved it. After dinner went to the Lego
store and Lego play area. S gets injured when another child rams into her on the slide. J gets upset when we leave because S is
crying. Head to World of Disney store and buy items there. We are really glad to have our two-way radios to communicate with G&G at
all parks and even in this huge store. They were great for splitting up and meeting up. Head to hotel and crash. I have three
blisters on my feet!
Day 5 - Wed - Animal Kingdom today! Head right for Kilamanjaro Safari and get on with only 5 min wait! Everyone loved it. Saw a
good amount of animals, and S was singing "On Safari" song from her Flik's AK Magical Adventure video. Headed to Dinoland and went on
the little dinosaur ride (forget the name) that's like Dumbo. S loves it. Head for boneyard playground area. S is in a mood and is
scared of all the slides and play area for some reason. J is now asleep, so he cannot play. G&G take forever getting their
caricature done by nearby artist. After a lot of waiting around, S decides she wants to go to the sand/digging area. D takes her. All
finally meet up and are so hungry we decide to eat at Restaurantsaurus right next door, even though I really didn't want
to. Decided it was worst food I had had in a long time, but it was cool in there and everyone got recharged. G&G watch kids while D&G
go on Dinosaur! It was fun! Meanwhile they took both kids on the kiddie ride again. Next G&G go on the whitewater rafting ride (no
waiting!) while we take kids on an animal viewing trail. Then we switch and we ride the ride-we are soaked! Head to Camp
Minnie/Mickey and S decides she is brave and wants to meet both. We run into Lion King and just make it. Everyone loved the show except
J who is getting antsy to run around and who is off his nap schedule. We leave park and return to hotel. J decides to take a
late nap. G&D leave while G&G agree to stay with kids for the evening! They eat in and stay for night, while we head back to
Epcot. Went on Energy Adventure and regretted wasting so much time later (didn't think it was worth 45 minutes of time for what we
got). Ate at Nine Dragons in China and agreed with the Unofficial guide book in that it was not very good. Missed parade. Did a
little shopping there for D, then headed for Japan where he wanted to shop too. Unfortunately, I thought shops closed at 11, but it
was 9 so it was closed when we arrived. Watched Illuminations, then toured rest of closed countries on the way out. Stopped at the one
Disney merch store between FW & WS and bought some items.
Day 6 - Thur - MGM today. Went directly to S's top priority, Voyage of the Little Mermaid. Saw the show and liked it, but Ariel seemed
to always be singing a little behind the music. Wanted to see Playhouse Disney next, but just missed it on timing. Headed for
Beauty & the Beast and all loved this show. No waiting for Tower of Terror, so G&D went on it while G&G toured some shops with kids.
Doesn't seem like this ride drops you as far as it used to-just more up and down over and over again. Still fun though. Headed for
Honey I Shrunk kids play area and unfortunately had a repeat of S being afraid of the playground-guess they are just so creative they
are not familiar looking to her or something. Anyway, she freaks out and is crying and mom and dad are really annoyed. J loves it.
We let him play for awhile until we can't take the crying and whining anymore and leave. Can't decide where to eat, but finally
end up at ABC Commissary. I didn't enjoy my tabuleh wrap (blech) but everyone else thought food was ok. S wants to meet Sully from
Monsters, Inc, but changes her mind and is too scared. J is tired so I volunteer to stroll him to sleep while everyone sees Muppets.
S was a little scared and took glasses off mid-way through. Try again to get to Playhouse Disney but gang is too late returning and
we miss it again. G&G give kids ice cream while G&D ride Rockin' Rollercoaster. Definitely a thrill ride!! G&G decide to split off
at this point. We RUN to Playhouse Disney and miss it AGAIN!! You must get to this show at a minimum of 15 minutes early or they fill
up or close the doors. I started crying out of frustration and heat exhaustion. D convinces me to stay awhile, meander in shops and try one more time. We do, and make it and S loved it and was singing
and dancing. J was restless but eventually enjoyed some of it. He was pretty worn out. I liked the fact that it looked like the
actual Bear and Tutter, and the whole gang. We leave park as parade is about to start. No good place to see it and we are all tired.
Head back to hotel, rest then head back to Italian place near our hotel, Carraba's, for dinner. Food is excellent. Unfortunately,
kids are not so great in their behavior. I'm getting tired of begging kids to eat all week and constantly nagging. At least the
lobster ravioli was satisfying. Meanwhile G&G went on the Backstage tour, saw Indiana Jones, and showered at the hotel then went back to
Epcot, ate at Rose &Crown and got to see Illuminations from their table.
Day 7 - We want to return to MK today, but G&G can't make up their minds what to do. They head with us to MK but when we arrive say
they want to split off and that's fine with us. We head to Tommorowland since we missed it the first time. We ride the
Transit Authority and everyone loved it. I convinced S to go on Buzz Lightyear but she was scared on it. Wouldn't shoot her gun, so
I had to rack up points for both of us. Head to her favorite Goofy rollercoaster and she rides with dad this time. Let both kids play
on little playground nearby for a bit and have a hard time convincing them to leave. Stop in a store, then head for Dumbo,
which S has now said she wants to try. Wait is really long, so we convince her to do Small World again instead. Both kids just love
this one. J is pointing and squealing the whole time. I'm dying to go on Peter Pan but the line is just too long the whole day. Meet
up with Grandma and Grandpa who have shopped and gone on Space Mountain and transit authority.end up at Liberty Tree Tavern for
lunch. Must agree with guidebook again in that this is the best food in MK. We really enjoyed it. Felt sorry for J who was
literally falling asleep at the table, so dad held him all through the meal while he slept. Transferred him to stroller and he slept
awhile longer. Took his food to go, which he ate later. G&G again decide to leave. Dumbo says 15 min wait, but I wait with S for 25
minutes (need to update sign!!) and she does love it. Peter Pan is still too long and just couldn't work out right times for FastPass,
so we just skipped it. S wanted to see Big Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain (even though she knew she could not ride), so we
walked over and saw them. Saw part of parade on the way. She enjoyed seeing them. Convinced her Pirates of Caribbean would not be
too scary, so we all went on it. Both kids were scared in the dark at beginning, but S loved the drop! J loved the pirates and moving
animals and such. Next all went on Magic Carpets again and all enjoyed. Shopped in the Emporium and bought a few things then left
park. S really loved riding the monorail again. Rested at hotel then went to Giordano's for pizza for dinner, which was good.
Packed up and got kids in bed. G&G returned and tell us they had left MK and drove to a war plane restoration museum. G'pa loved it
and G'ma was bored.
Day 8 - left bright & early for airport. Plane was a little late taking off. J slept ˝ way and then really hated the rest of it. S
did fine, but was almost asleep by landing. Ate at airport food court, then said goodbye to G&G who returned to Chicago area and we
drove our 1 ˝ hours home to Danville, IL. Everyone is sad, but happy to be home too.
All in all, a great trip. Rough on the little one who got too much sun and not enough sleep, but he still had fun too. S can't wait to
see pictures. Adults are tired and sore but happy . Can't wait to return!!!
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