Dow Family – May 2004

The Dow Family – Walt Disney World Trip Report May 22-31,2004

Cast of Characters: DH (Scott – 41), Me (Abby – 39), DD (Keagan 6)

Later joined by the Soliday Family: David (the Dad), CJ (the Mom), Zoei (DD-8), Zara (DD -7) and Zane (DS-7 months)

Then joined by the Griffin Family: Roy (the dad), Cris (the Mom), Zak (DS 6), Zane (DS 4) and Drew (DS 2)

Day 1
We got up bright and early on Saturday May 22. (This was also our 10-year Wedding anniversary) I made breakfast while DH and DD loaded up the car. We also packed up a cooler with frozen and refrigerated bottled water, lunchmeat, cheese and assorted snacks. We were able to drive the whole way down with out getting any fast food, just eating from our cooler. This saved us some $$ which our DD promptly found other things to spend on. :)

Gas prices the whole trip ranged from $1.83-$2.11/gallon with the most expensive being right here in Columbus, OH. We drove down I-77 to I-26 to I-95 and spent the night in Walterboro, SC at a Ramada Inn. I booked the room through expedia.com and got it for $61.05. The room included breakfast the next morning. Breakfast was actually very good and I was surprised it wasn't just a donut and coffee. They had a cereal bar, assorted muffins, bacon, sausage, scrambled eggs, grits, toast and jelly, coffee, juice, water, and fruit. Check in and check out was quick and easy and there was easy access on and off of I-95.

Day 2
On May 23 we left the motel around 7:30 am. We arrived in Orlando around 1:30 and my DD kept asking about Orlando Bloom, whom she thinks is wonderful. LOL We stopped at our friend's house for about 45 minutes or so. They had moved down there last fall and there oldest son and our DD were buddies who miss each other terribly. They were actually coming to pop later in the week so we could all hang out together. After a tour of the house and a quick catch up on things, we were off to Pop Century.

Our DD had spent a good portion of the trip asking the age-old question, "Are we there yet?" When we were finally there, driving through the sign over the road saying welcome to Disney, she was sound asleep and wouldn't wake up. LOL We arrived at Pop Century, got checked in and had our bags unpacked by around 3:30pm. I have to admit I was sort of surprised at how small the room seemed when we first got there, but it was plenty big enough for the three of us.

We made really good time and didn't expect to arrive until much later in the evening. So we headed over to Everything Pop for dinner. DD got the kids cheeseburger, DH got the double cheeseburger platter and I got the steak roll up, we all got Pop mugs. DD said it was the best cheeseburger ever. I had a hard time choking down the steak roll up. DH will eat anything that doesn't eat him first, but he did say he thought it was yummy. I know I have a reciept her for it, but I don't feel like sorting through them at the moment.

We had coupons for 2 free lanyards and pins from AAA since we booked our trip there. We went to the gift shop and got them, then bought DD a purple Tink lanyard and we all picked out a couple of pins each. The lanyard and pins cost us $79.00. Then I decided to go ahead and buy Pal Mickey. I have to say we LOVE Pal Mickey! He was the best purchase we made. Yes his jokes are cheesy but he was a wealth of information and anytime DD got cranky we would ask her what Pal Mickey had to say and she forgot about her cranky mood. That alone was worth the $60. Keagan also found a cute little Ariel music box. It's blue and gold with Ariel on the box, when you wind it up it plays under the sea and has a little Ariel that spins around inside. My DD is an Ariel nut so she had to have it. Great grandpa sent her $20 for her birthday so she chose to buy this music box for $15 with that money. It's actually quite cute and she really loves it.

We decided to go to Disney Studios and watch Fantasmic. We got there around 7pm and just went straight back to the Fantasmic theater. Pal Mickey had lots to say. We got a seat, DH bought us some drinks, and we sang along with the songs they were playing and talked to the folks around us. Keagan talked Daddy, who she has completely twisted around her little finger, into buying her a rainbow pastel colored light saber for $6.00. Finally the show started! What a great show! There was only one part that scared DD and she jumped into my lap but for the most part she was mesmerized by the whole thing. I tried to take photos with my digi cam, but most are blurred because I can't sit still. DD was so excited when Ariel and Eric came out on their float. That was what the magic was all about for DH and I, watching her eyes light up and that big smile on her face. I cried happy tears because I am one of those moms. :) After the show we went back to our room and got ready for bed and our big day of celebrating Keagan's 6th birthday!

Day 3
This day was not a dollarless day. :) We did schedule some once in a lifetime kind of stuff this trip and felt it was worth it.

We had originally planned on going to Animal Kingdom in the morning and then we had several things scheduled for that afternoon and evening. We decided to go to Animal Kingdom on Thursday instead. We received priority-seating coupons for 4 of the shows at AK and we needed to give 24 hour for these reservations. Also, we had so much planned that it just seemed like too much to try and fit into one day. So we decided to take all of your advice and to give ourselves a break. We slept in until 9am.

We were celebrating DD 6th birthday today so she decided to wear her Ariel dress and Crown along with her cool new flashing princess tennis shoes. She also had a purple button on that says "I'm 6 today". She was treated each night with a card from one of the characters and a small gift. The night we arrived she came back to find a card from Tink and a purple Tink backpack that included a beach ball, water bottle and Frisbee. (Wal-Mart $14.99) She put her autograph book and pen in her pack and put on her lanyard and she was ready to go.

We set out for Everything Pop to get breakfast. While we were waiting in line a very nice CM noticed Keagan all dressed up and came over to talk to her. While he was chatting with her he noticed her "I'm 6" button. He told her to stay right there and he would be right back. As the line moved forward she was concerned because he told us to stay right there! LOL When he came back he had a very large cinnamon bun thingy with about 2" of whipped cream piled on top and a cherry. Then he got down on one knee and sang Happy Birthday to her. It was very cute. She was shy and hid behind daddy. The CM gave her the special birthday concoction and told her it was only for her and not to share it with any one, which she was more than happy to comply with. LOL We got our breakfast and drinks and found a place to sit and start eating breakfast. About that time I got a call on my cell phone, our friends were at the check in line. So I went out to meet them. We had plans to go to Hoop Dee Doo Review that night and she had made the reservation and used her card to guarantee, but we wanted to charge our dinner to our own card. The CM was more than happy to help and it all worked out fine. While they finished getting checked in I joined back with my family and finished breakfast. We met the Soliday Family in their room, also in the 50's Section, building A, and then we all headed off to the Girls Wonderland Tea Party.

THANK YOU to everyone who made suggestion for transportation for this crazy evening. We did end up using Disney transportation and things went very well.

We caught the bus to the Magic Kingdom and then the boat launch to the Grand Floridian Hotel. The Wonderland Tea Party was in the main building at the grand Floridian. We had to pre-register for this and it was $30.00/child. CJ had paid for this for my DD as a birthday gift. We were given receipts for the kids and a pager. We were told we could take photos until for about 5 minute and then all parents must leave. (The party started at 1:30pm) The kids thought that was cool! The table was set up really cute and I took photos of it but still need to get them dropped of to develop. The table was very long and decorated with a nice table cloth, little tea cups and saucers, tea pots, sparkles and glittery stuff and Alice in Wonderland beanie babies. We gave kisses and hugs and then the parents had to go but were told to be back promptly at 2:30pm. Our party of adults and the 7-month infant went to the Gasparilla Grill and Games, also in the Grand Floridian. DH and I got two drinks, which cost $5.18! We went back to the party site at 2:25pm. The CM's gathered all the parents around the door and then at 2:30 they opened the doors and all of the kids jumped up and yelled "SURPRISE"! I made my way to Keagan who gave me a bouquet of flowers. All the kids made bouquets for their moms. They also had photos taken of them with Alice and the Mad Hatter. They drank apple juice "tea" and decorated their own cup cakes and ate them. They had the kids who were celebrating birthdays stand up and sang happy birthday to them. Then they had the kids who were not having a birthday stand up and they sang happy unbirthday to them. Keagan had a camera wit her but forgot to take pictures. The kids had a ball and were all smiles.

We had to be at Pioneer Hall for the Hoop De Do Review at 4:30, so we took the monorail over to the Magic Kingdom to kill some time. My DD had lost her "I'm 6" badge at some point so our first stop was city hall to get her a birthday badge. She had been asking for a hair cut so we took her to the Barber Shop to get one. There was a bit of a line so I sat inside the shop and could watch out the window. Our timing was very good because the Make a Wish parade was on its way. I watched all the floats go by and watched the rest of our party watching the parade. What a great parade! The highlight for us was the float with the Princesses and their Princes. Keagan was dressed in her Ariel Princess dress and Ariel was waving at all of the kids, then she saw Keagan and Ariel's eyes got big and she got that surprised look and pointed to Keagan and then waved madly. I could see Keagan waving and jumping. It was really cool, and I cried more happy tears. When it was Keagan's turn for a hair cut she got a short cut like her friend Zara. It's kind of a bob in the front and stacked in the back. She also got red hair gel, because that's what color Ariel's hair is, and pixie dust. The stylist also put a red Mickey silhouette on the back of her hair. It was very cool. keagan was very angry with me when I told her she had to wash her hair later that night.

Next we caught the boat launch to Fort Wilderness. It was actually a nice breezy and peaceful ride over. We went over to pioneer hall, checked in and waited for them to ring the dinner bell. This was a fun dinner with all you can eat family style dinner. The menu included salad, fried chicken, BBQ ribs, rolls and sweet butter, baked beans, corn and dessert was strawberry shortcake. While you eat there is an old fashioned, western traveling style show going on. The show was fun and entertaining with lots of audience participation, and the servers get in on the show too! Keagan got recognized for her Birthday. One of the handsome young men came over and had her stand on a chair and had her tell everyone her name, where she was from and how old she was. There were a few other folks also introduced and then we all sang Happy Birthday. They also recognized folks who were celebrating their anniversaries and one guy that graduated valedictorian from a college out west. It was a lot of fun and I'm glad we had the experience. The cost for 2 adults and one child was $122.82 + gratituity.

We also had a Wishes Fireworks Birthday Cruise scheduled and our boat was due to pick us up from Fort Wilderness marina. However we had some time to kill before being picked up. So we went through the petting zoo and then we went into the trading post. Keagan bought a magic wand with her Disney bucks. Then we headed down to the marina.

Our boat arrived about 8:15pm and we saw it coming! It was one of the pontoon boats without the canopy. It had a huge Happy Birthday banner across the front and balloons all over it. Our driver, Rick, was AWESOME!!!! He got us all loaded in, made sure the kids had on life jackets and that everyone was ready. He had a cooler full of drinks for us to choose from and told us to get out whatever we wanted when we wanted it. He said since we were on time we could do some extra sight seeing. He took us around Bay Lake and we looked for alligators, but didn't see any. He took us around the Contemporary resort and told us all kinds of nifty facts I had never heard. The kids had the need for speed so he went fast. Did any one know that the bridge that goes over the road into the Magic kingdom is for boats? It's a water bridge and only about 10' deep. If he hadn't stopped and showed us the traffic going under us, I would have never realized or believed this. He had lots of great information he shared with us as we enjoyed the boat ride. Then he took us into Seven Seas Lagoon and got us a nice spot for the fire works. Once we were settled, well as settled as a boat not docked can be, he got out the birthday cake. We had our choice of Chocolate with raspberry filling and chocolate frosting or just chocolate with chocolate frosting. We chose the later since we had 3 young kids there. We sang Happy Birthday, took photos and dug into that scrumptious cake. The Solidays gave Keagan and Ariel wristwatch, which she loves. Rick sang Under the Sea to her, which made her eyes light up. Pretty soon the fire works started and it was a really cool way to watch them. After they were done Rick took us back to Wilderness lodge, at our request, so we could watch the water parade. He parked us in front of wilderness lodge and showed us that it is built to look like a bear, but you can only see it at night from the water. It was very cool; I hope the pictures turn out. Then we docked and he cut the balloons off the boat and gave them to the kids. The cost of the Birthday Cruise is $220 + I tipped Rick. The cruise includes, the boat ride, cake and drinks plus they decorate the boat. I imagine all of the drivers are wonderful, but Rick made it extra special for us. I am writing a letter to Disney to let them know how awesome he is and how special he made that night for us.

We all found a spot on the beach, kicked off our shoes and waited for the water parade. I had fun dancing with the kids on the beach. :) Although I was silly and left my point and shoot on the beach and now the zoom is clogged with sand and the camera lens won't open. Bummer! To get home we caught a bus to Downtown Disney and then the bus to Pop. It took a little while, but it all worked out fine.

When we got back to our room there was a card from Minnie Mouse and a balloon attached to it. What a great surprise! We had a great day!

Day 4 – Tuesday
Our morning started with breakfast at Everything Pop, after which we caught the bus to MK. Our friends had a character breakfast scheduled for the morning, and we had mentioned meeting at the park after their breakfast. Our family got to the park at about 10am and I called them to see the plan. They were still eating breakfast and were planning on heading back to the motel for a little rest and then come back later. We all had PS at Liberty Tree Tavern at 5:45. SO what we decided to just meet at dinner and then run around together for the evening. CJ told us not to go to Fantasyland because her girls wanted to do all of those rides with my DD. SO we agreed.

We went to tomorrow land and FP Buzz Light Year then rode the carousel of Progress and the People Mover. I know it's not called the people mover any more but it will always be that to me. While on that we decided against doing Space Mountain. I wasn't sure how my DD would react to it and since I couldn't sit with her, we decided to skip it this time. We headed to the Tomorrowland Speedway but on the way decided to get some ice-cold water and DH also bought some ice cream sandwiches. While our DD was eating her ice cream and spinning around in circles the talking trashcan made an appearance and started charging toward her yelling "Ice Cream! Ice Cream!" She screamed and ran to hide behind her Dad, which he found to be quite funny. :) He eventually got her to interact with it but every move it made she jumped. Next we went to the Indy speedway. She was able to drive, I am surprised I don't have whiplash. I am not looking forward to teaching her to drive when the time comes. Onward to the Teacups, I didn't ride them because I don't do circles, but DH and DD had a great time on them.

Since we have to avoid fantasyland, we cut over to the Haunted Mansion. My DD loves spooky stuff and thinks the Nightmare before Christmas rocks. So the Haunted Mansion did not bother her. She kept making spooky noises in the line and howling like a wolf. We met a great couple from England while inline and chatted with them. They told her they were scared and she told them it's just pretend. :)

We headed toward Splash Mountain, which DD was very keen on trying. However the line was 80 minutes and FP was for around 8pm. SO we decided to skip it and went to the Country bear Jamboree instead. Followed by Pirates of the Caribbean and Aladdin's Magic Carpets.

Then convinced me to go on this ride, and of course I felt sick after. My DD also likes Pirates, so she sang "Yo Ho a Pirates life for me" all through it. When we came out she decided to buy a pirate sword and telescope with her Disney bucks.

At this point it was time to meet for dinner so we headed to the Liberty Tree Tavern. Our friends were not there yet and at about that time CJ called me and said they were entering the park and then gave us the PS number so we could go a head and get seated. We were seated about 5 minutes before they arrived. Minnie came over to our table while we were waiting and Keagan had a ball seeing her! We got autographs and pictures. I have to say I prefer the character meals with the characters coming to you instead of standing in the line to meet them. We will do this again. Our party came and we all started our meal, which was very yummy. The meal included bread & sweet butter, salad, roast turkey, roast beef, pork chops, stuffing, mashed potatoes, really yummy green beans and macaroni and cheese. We all drank birch beer, which is kind of like root beer only more a cherry flavor. Dessert was apple crisp with vanilla ice cream. The meal was excellent! We saw, Minnie, Chip & Dale, Pluto, Meeko...and I think that was all, but until I get the photos back I'm not sure. I have colander brain.

After dinner we headed toward Fantasyland. It turned out that our friends had already rode Fantasyland rides, but wanted to ride them with Keagan. However, once we were there they kept walking past everything they had already done. We all ride Snow Whites Scary adventures together, then FP Pooh and headed to the Teacups again. CJ, the 7 month old and I sat out and the Dads and girls rode the ride. After they decided to head to tomorrow land and we went back into Fantasyland, with plans to meet up for Pooh and then watch Spectromagic. We went back to Peter Pan but the line was very long so we went to Philarmagic and the wait was only 10 minutes. What a great show! It really made an impression on our DD. After we checked the line for Peter Pan and it was still very ling so we just headed over to Pooh and waited for our friends. They showed up shortly and we all rode the honey pots. It was a cute ride and we spent some time in the gift shop. Then I mentioned it was getting late and needed to head toward the parade route. By the time we got there it was too late, the parade had started and we couldn't get anywhere near it. My DD started to cry. CJ apologized because she knew how much we had wanted to see it. We decided to try and catch it another night and to take this opportunity to ride Peter Pan. So we did with no wait at all. I suggested we leave before the fireworks finish, but the kids wanted to ride Dumbo. There was a wait, but you try arguing with an 8, 7 and 6 year old at the Magic Kingdom. We ended up watching the fire works from Fantasyland. Then came the mad exodus to the buses. We ended up waiting for 1.5 hours. We got back to Pop around 12:30, no slushy tonight. Our feet hurt and we were tired, so we all went to bed.

So ends our day at the Magic Kingdom. :)

Day 5 – Wednesday

We started this day by over sleeping through 2 alarms. We were tired folk. We ended up getting up around 10am. We decided to just take our time. The only thing we had scheduled with a PS was the Ice cream social at 3pm so we decided to get lunch in EPCOT. We headed to the bus stop. Unfortunately this was the EHM day at EPCOT so the line to catch the buss was long, even though it was afternoon.

We got in, took some photos of the cool Mickey and gang Topiaries then headed toward World showcase. We got a call from our friends that moved to Orlando last fall and they were there at Disney, also staying at Pop. They were just getting unpacked and wanted to know where we were for the day so we decided to all try to meet up at EPCOT later. We also called our other friends (the Soliday's) and they had decided to spend the morning at the pool but would join us at the ice cream social.

We decided to have lunch at The Rose and Crown. DH loves fish and chips. We went over, even with out PS and we only had to wait about 10 minutes. We were seated near the lake outside. DH had the Fish and Chips and two Guinness (SP?) Beers. DD had the kid's pizza and fruit with a sprite. I had the chef special, which was potato and leek soup with a tuna and cucumber sandwich and iced tea. Everything was very good. DD even ate the crust on the pizza because it was soft and not crunchy. That is a raving review from a 6 year old. I can't find the receipt, so I don't remember exactly how much it was but it was just under $60 with gratuity.

Next we went over to the Garden Grill in The Land for the Ice Cream Social and Rehitchin'. We got over there and checked in then sat down. We didn't wait long, maybe 5 minutes and we were beeped. We ran into our friends the Griffins, they were headed to ride The Land. Our friends the Soliday's were not there yet so we went ahead and sat down for ice cream. About that time we saw them standing in the line. We had separate PS so we sat at different booths. The ice cream Sundays are really cool. The dish is made from a cookie and a waffle cone that are put together with chocolate. They then fill the waffle cone with vanilla ice cream and it was covered with chocolate and sprinkles. There was also a pirouette cookie and a chocolate piece with Mickey on it. Oh and gummy worms at the base, all of which we gave to DD. While you eat characters come around and visit. We saw, Mickey, Pluto, Chip and Dale. Pluto came over and put DD's head in his mouth then rubbed his tummy. LOL It was funny and DD thought it was hilarious. Pluto is DH favorite so he struck up a "conversation" with Pluto about his collar and tags. Pluto saw Pal Mickey sitting on the table and picked him up and motioned for Mickey to come over. Mickey motioned for me to get the camera ready, so I did. Mickey put Pal Mickey over Pluto's nose, and then counted to three with his fingers and Pluto threw Pal Mickey into the air and caught him in his mouth. I got pictures! Keagan (DD) thought this was the best trick ever and hugged Mickey and Pluto some more. Our waitress was very friendly and asked us how long we had been married. We told her we were celebrating our 10-year anniversary and we had gone to Disney World for out honeymoon. She thought that was cool. Pretty soon she and two other CM came back to get us rehitched. One of the CM's took pictures for us. Our "Preacher" was very funny and harassed us for coming to Disney when we were first married and not inviting any of the fine folks there today. It was a lot of fun! We took our vows and kissed to 100. She proclaimed we would be married forever! We thanked everyone and then finished our ice cream, although it took a while because we were full from lunch.

We tracked down the Soliday's and they decided they were going back to MK, but wanted to meet that evening to swim. We agreed and went on our way.

We rode the Land and were pleasantly surprised because DD really enjoyed it. She had many questions and seemed generally interested. Then we rode Space ship Earth. DD also loved that. At one point when you are backwards and looking at the cityscape and all the lights above she asked me if this was a living dream. LOL Next we headed over to Ellen's energy Adventure. This also made a huge impression on DD; she really loved it. It made me motion sick. Who knew? When we were done I needed to sit down for a minute. I felt really dizzy. We were next to Mission Space and DH and DD were getting excited about riding it. I was concerned because I was already feeling sick. We headed over but the wait was 80 minutes and there were no more FP. SO we decided to skip it. We will save it for next trip.

The Griffin family (our friends that moved to Orlando last year) called again and said they decided to head back to the hotel because the boys wanted to swim and they thought they would go to bed early. We agreed to try and hook up the next day.

We headed toward Mexico. We rode the river of time and then Keagan did the kid cot stop. While she was in there I went out and bought her a passport. After she finished her mask she had the passport stamped and signed. Then we went to Norway and rode Maelstrom. I remember that being longer. DD loved it. We went to the kid cot stop there and go the next tag for her mask and the passport signed. When we went outside we realized folks were lining up to see illuminations. DH and I were still aching from the night before and panic set in as we thought about the crowd before us and the bus ride back. We weenie out and went back to the motel with the intentions of finishing EPCOT on another day.

When we got back to the hotel it was about 10:00ish. We went to everything pop and had pizza for dinner and shared a tie-dye cheesecake. Then we called the Soliday's and told them we would meet them at the pool. The girls wanted to go to the Hippy Dippy Pool tonight so we did. We swam for about an hour and had fun. Then we all decided we were tired and went to our respective rooms to turn in.

Tomorrow: just us and the Animal Kingdom.

Day 6 – Thursday
We decided to sleep in a little then got up and headed to everything Pop for breakfast. We kind of took to long in there and realized we were really going to be pushing it to get to our 9:45 PS of Festival of the Lion King. So we beat feet to the Animal Kingdom bus. The bus came pretty quickly and we were at Animal kingdom by 9:15, but it took 30 minutes to get through the bag check. We went to Animal Kingdom twice and both times the bag check took a really long time to get through. I'm not sure why.

Once we were inside we realized we had missed out PS so we decided to head to Bugs Life and catch the show until our PS for Pocahontas and her forest friends. We loved A Bugs Life, what a fun show! There were several moments that were highlights for our family. My favorite is when the bugs leave at the end. The lady behind me screamed and brought her legs up to her chest. I jumped up off my seat. LOL

After this we headed to Pocahontas. I liked the PS coupons. Basically you take your coupon to the exit or entrance and tell a CM you have them and then they seat you in a reserved seating area. This is really nice for the little kids. They get a better view and often get to interact with something going on. Now if we hadn't had the coupon for Pocahontas we probably would have skipped that show. I have to say I'm glad we had the coupon. My DD loved it. I loved much more than I thought I would. The show is basically about how we as humans have the ability to protect the forests and the animals that live in it. There was a lot of music and Grandmother Willow sharing her wisdom. We also got to meet many of the forest friends and learned what lessons they each had to teach us. Pocahontas sang Color of the wind and there was even a large wind and paper leaves that caught the breeze and blew around. At the end of the show several CM's gather up the leaves and handed them out to thekids. We are saving that to scrapbook.

We decided to try and catch the next showing of Festival of the Lion King, although we wouldn't be using our PS coupon. We were able to get in and we all really enjoyed it. We loved watching the "monkeys" do their trapeze act. Our whole section was singing along to the all the music so it really was a festive atmosphere.

Our next show was Flights of Wonder so we headed to that area of the park. When we got there we presented out coupons to the CM's at the entrance. These two guys were great. They chatted with Keagan and one even asked for her autograph because she was a VIP. Keagan was thrilled to give it to him. They asked her what all we had done, where we were from, etc. She had fun chatting with these guys. We were seated and Keagan struck up a conversation with the lady behind us until the show start. The show was basically an assortment of birds featured on Animal Kingdom and their natural behaviors. We actually learned a lot and my DD loves all animals so this was a treat for her. After the show we were able to see some of the birds up close and speak with the handlers.

After this we had a little time to kill before our PS at Tarzan Rocks. We decided to ride Kai River rapids but when we got over there, the CM was announcing that the ride was closed and would reopen at a later time.

So we headed to Dino Land USA. I had heard others say they were not impressed with it because it was more carnival and not very Disney. I have to say I agree. I was surprised when we got over there and saw it. Even DH said he was disappointed with it. DH took DD on the TriceraTop Spin, which she loved. What is is about little kids and rides that go in circles? Then we headed to the bone yard for some playtime. This is a really neat playground and DD had a ball exploring it. We played with her on some of it but once she decided to climb up we sat down. We told her where we would be and to check in with us every 5 minutes or so. She does very well with this. There are CMs stationed both inside the playground as well as at the gate, so no child can wonder out alone. About 20 minutes before we wanted to start heading to Tarzan Rocks DD came over and was looking tired so we made her sit down and drink water. She decided she was done playing so we went ahead and started walking to Tarzan Rocks.

We went in to Tarzan Rocks and were seated in the VIP section, which were really great seats. I think we all liked this show the best. DD thought the guy singing all the songs was cute. (She is a huge flirt at 6, 16 will be scary) She loved watching Tarzan and Jane do their aerial stunts, and the roller bladers did their thing right in front of us. She got to give high fives as they skated past us. Turk came into the audience and Keagan got a kiss on the head. Lots of happiness and fun. I took lots of pictures.

Next we decided to eat and got food at Flame Tree BBQ. We all got chicken f some type and then found a place to watch Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade as it went past. What a neat parade! We loved all of the colorful costumes and animal vehicles. Once the parade was over and we had full bellies it was about 4:30 so we decided to go ahead and leave.

We had planed on going back to EPCOT, finishing the kid cot stops and watching illuminations. However, after we got back DD wanted to swim, so off to the 50's pool we went. I also decided this would be a good time to do some laundry, so we gather that up and swam and did laundry and just had a nice relaxing evening. We were there for quite a while, and then DH noticed I was getting really red and we decided to go back to the motel and shower. I had bought SPF 50 waterproof sun block. I applied it generously, several time a day. I swear the more I used the more I got burned. DH threatened to use lemon and butter on me.

At this point we are still talking about heading to EPCOT but I fell asleep after my shower, so DH turned on the Disney cartoons for DD, and apparently we all fell asleep. LOL We never did make it back to EPCOT. We all started waking up around 10pm. We decided to eat some more. LOL DH and I were feeling really lazy so we ordered Pizza and Pop from the Everything Pop Pizza Delivery. If we had just walked to Everything Pop it would have only cost about $20, but we were feeling so lazy that we were willing to pay $35 for a 4 topping Pizza and 5 sprites. DH, said, we are on vacation, if we can't be lazy now then when can we. So we ate pizza and watched TV the rest of the night.

Our friends the Solidays also went to AK today and to Disney Studios in the evening. This was their last day there and they left after Disney Studios closed. Our itineraries were too different for this day so we were unable to meet up. We did call them and told them to drive safely and we would see them at home.

We were also unable to connect with our other friends that moved there the previous year. They went to AK and saw the crowd and decided to go somewhere else. LOL We were hoping to get together with them that evening but it just didn't work out.

Here is what I learned. DH and I don't have the energy we used too, even though we still think we do. When we go back it will be during off-season. Vacationing with friends is cool, but there was no way we could do what every one wants to do with out splitting up. So having a day where we did special things with them was defiantly the way to go. We are not morning people so we should skip the EHM and do non-EHM parks.

Tomorrow: park hopping and La Nouba!

Day 7 - Friday
Our morning started like most mornings with breakfast at Everything Pop.

We decided to head back to AK and go on the safari. This was the EHM day for AK and we were actually able to get up, out the door, eat breakfast, and get to the park at opening. One day out of 8! It must be a record for us. We got to AK and went straight back to Kilimanjaro Safari. This was very cool! Our Guide was really fun. We saw many animals and DD was very excited. We even saw a baby elephant, hippos in the water and the lions. I took lots of pictures.

Next we headed to Disney Studios. We were planning on spending all of Saturday there with our friends the Griffins, but DH was concerned he wouldn't get to ride star tours with all of the festivities going on, so we decided to do a few thing today. We went directly back to Star tours and there was no wait. We also ran into a Tuscan raider and DD and DH got their picture taken with him. We saw Chewbacca and a couple of Ewoks but the line was atrocious so we went to the ride. Of course you end up in the gift shop so we had to look around with my DH and DD both being Star Wars Fans. DH had a toy Millennium Falcon at home and occasionally he gets it out and plays with DD and his favorite toy. But she is not allowed to play wit it unless Daddy is playing too. Well, she saw this really cool Playschool millennium Falcon that also comes with some characters. She was very excited and decided she wanted to get it. It was around $25 and this would use up the rest of her Disney bucks, but she wanted her own ship she could play with anytime. So we let her get it and we picked up another pack of characters to throw in as a surprise for her. She was pretty much ready to go back to Pop and play with it at this point. We convinced her there was much more to do and bribed her with seeing Voyage of the Little Mermaid. LOL Then we rode the Great Movie Ride. DH and I had tried to ride it during our Honeymoon trip but the ride broke down and we never got past the big theater sign on the beginning of the ride. We had a ball on this ride. We were told it might be scary but DD said, "Oh Mom, it's only pretend." However she was very concerned about what happened to our first CM who left during the shoot out and was relieved to find out she was Ok later on. Next we went to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. What a cute show. DD was really excited to see all the fish up there "swimming". Have I mentioned that Ariel is DD's hero? When Ariel came out, DD actually squealed with delight!

We talked about going to EPCOT again, but we went back to Pop. We decided to get re showered and, dressed and head to Downtown Disney for a bite to eat and the see La Nouba. Once we got to DTD we decided to eat at Earl of Sandwich. DH had the original and a sprite. I had the Beef n Bleu Cheese and a Hawaiian smoothie; DD had a grilled chicken sandwich and sprite. We all split a bag of chips and two chocolate chip cookies. I don't remember the exact cost but it was just under $30. DH was very disappointed at how much it cost since it was sandwiches. DH and I both thought our sandwiches were really good. I don't know what the deal was with DD sandwich though. I asked specifically what they did for kids and she ran off a list of meats. When she said grilled chicken DD jumped up and down and said, "chicken, I want chicken". Well she had a regular sized sandwich with nothing on it but grilled chicken. She would have eaten things like lettuce and tomato. I thought about going back in and asking but they were packed and DD said it was fine, ate all of the chicken off the bread and proceeded to drink most of my smoothie.

After dinner we started to walk along DTD and PI the West side. DH would not let me stop and look at any of the shops. Goober! He was being a spaz about getting to the theater in plenty of time. We did enjoy looking at all the windows of the stores. There were many things going on around us. A concert, people giving out stickers, and I don't know what else. It was a fun atmosphere thought. Eventually we got to the Cir De Sole Theater and we went the stairs to look over the area. We were treated to the musician playing out side at the house of blues. She was very talented and we enjoyed listening to her until we were allowed to be seated.

The theater is made is such a way that there is no bad seat. But we had seat next to the sound mixing booth so we had a great view with just us three in our row. We were about 3 rows up from a wide aisle and it turned out that they use this isle for the show. Pretty cool! Keagan made friends with the folks behind us. That's the great thing about kids. Everyone is just a friend they haven't yet been introduced to. One of the ladies ripped part of a ruffle on her dress and DD volunteered me to fix it for her since I sew. LOL Soon two of the clowns came out on that wide aisle and started to "mess" with the audience. They were very funny. They worked their way down to the stage and eventually off the stage and then the show began. The show is awesome. It's all encompassing, as the music is played live, the singers are there singing and are often part of the scenery. There were always several things going on at once, like any circus. Lots of comedy, lots of really cool and amazing acts! Keagan was mesmerized. So were DH and I. After the show we had a great time talking about our favorite parts while we made our way to the bus station at PI. It really was really neat.

We went back to Pop and stopped in for the classic hall for a frozen coke then went back to our room to retire for the night. We had a great day!

Tomorrow: Disney Studios and Star Wars Week end!

Day 8 - Saturday
We woke up and realized we hadn't set our alarm for early enough because we forgot that we had PS at Playhouse Disney. So we dressed and went directly to Disney Studios. While in transit we called the Griffins and let them know what we were doing and planned to meet them at Disney MGM. We got to the park and went straight back to Playhouse Disney. We were too late for our PS, but he told us we could use our coupon for the next seating around 10am. We decided to find some breakfast so I checked the map and we head to Anaheim Produce. While we were walking we ran into our friends the Griffin Family! YEAH! The kids were all happy and were jumping all over each other. We told them what we were doing so they strolled over with us. At Anaheim produce we purchased 3 bottles f sprite, 2 large pretzels and a container of grapes. Our cost was $15.33. We shared our pretzels with DD and the grapes with all of the kids, who shared their crackers with Keagan, so Keagan didn't eat much pretzel. Those pretzels were really big. We went back over to the playhouse Disney area and checked out some of the shops. DD found a stuffed Dalmatian, Oddball, and asked if she could have it. We told her no because she had spent all of her Disney bucks and she would have to wait for another time. She was a little pouty about it but was soon side tracked and playing with Zak and Zane. We went ahead to get in line for Playhouse Disney and the Griffins decided to go into the show as well, but we had to wait in different lines.

DH has back issues and was really concerned with having to sit on the floor on Playhouse Disney. We were able to sit in such a way that he could kind of lean on me and it seemed to help. We met another family who had a little girl and were also star wars fans. DH wore a R2D2 necklace he bought back when the movies were originally introduced and it started many conversations among other fans. He also met many people, mostly CM's, who were amazed because they were just babies or not yet born when the original moves came out. LOL

Anyway, Playhouse Disney was really fun. It was so much fun to see all these happy excited little kids when Bear in the Big Blue came out. They get to dance and sing and have a generally great time. I took lots of picture. We connected back with the Griffins.

Next we all headed over to the sorcerers Hat for photo opportunities. We were talking about going to the great movie ride again but it was closed. So we decided to watch the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular. The kids LOVED this.

After this the Griffin kids wanted to go back to the motel so we decided to meet for dinner. We said we thought eating at Sci-Fi drive in would be cool so Roy volunteered to make PS for all of us for that evening around 7:30. We said cool.

We headed thru the Star Wars area over to the Muppets In 3-D. We saw lots of star wars characters walking around. They were all really great about interacting with the kids. We had fun. So we saw the Muppets in 3D, another hit with DD. Then we walked through the New York Streets and stopped at pizza planet to get drinks and Dad also got cookies for a treat for us. Next we headed back toward the star wars area. More fun with characters, then we saw the last Padwan Training. Keagan had wanted to do this but we never seemed to make it there when it was starting. So we watched the last one. DH told her it was OK because she was Daddy's Padwan learner. This was good enough for her and we watched the kids. The kids learned some moves with the light saber and then Darth Vader and Darth Maul come out and challenge them. The kids were split up into two groups of 15. The 15 on the stage fought Vader and the 15 in front of the stage fought Maul. Darth Maul was so good with the kids. Sometimes the kids didn't quite get their moves in right but he was very adaptable. The fight ended with the kids making an overhead and down strike and then Maul would block it. But he blocked with style. LOL He would also really push back, especially with the older kids, get in their face and bare his teeth. The kids he fought were eating it up! It was fun to watch and very entertaining. DJ decided he had to buy a t-shirt right now. LOL so we made our way to the gift shop. I also picked up to small Disney world cups with the glitter liquid. DD wanted all of the Star Wars toys, but we told her we get much of those other places and besides, she bought that cool melinum falcon. DD wanted to know if we could ride Star Tours again and we started to say no there is a long wait and we realized the wait was only 5 minutes. So we took the opportunity to ride again. DH was proud that is was DD idea to ride. LOL

Roy called us and said he tried to get PS for Sci-fi but they didn't have anything for the time we needed, then he tried Primetime café and the same thing so he got us PS for Hollywood and Vine at 7:30 and told us to meet them over there at the time.

We talked about going on the back lot studio tour but we were unsure if it would hold DD's attention for the length it was and decided to save that for another trip. I asked then what next and DD wanted to know when we were going to ride the Tower of Terror. We re- explained exactly what the ride was and she said lets go! DH, who is actually afraid of heights, decided he had to try it or he would never live it down. I was very excited because I love this kind of ride and my whole family was going to ride too! How cool! So we headed toward TOT. There was a bout a 25-minute wait but the fast pass time was for when we would be watching Beauty and the Beast so we went ahead and waited in the line. It didn't seem like it took that long at all. We kept asking DD if she was scared and she said no it reminded her of the Haunted Mansion. We got up to the elevator cars and we were assigned our row. While standing there we realized we would be in the front row. The couple next to us said it's not too bad. We all boarded our car and off we went. The girl behind us kept screaming. LOL The anticipation was getting her. I loved when everything went black and all you could see was stars. Very cool! I was expecting more to the story about the missing people but I guess most people are interested in the drop.  Then it happened! Whoa! Serious airtime! I put my arm around my DD, because she is afraid in the complete dark. Then we went up and suddenly we could see the whole park! I didn't realize that happened. I said oh wow look! Then I looked over at DH, who was ghost white and had a look of abject terror on his face. I asked him if he was Ok and down we went again. I started laughing hysterically because this is great fun to me. Then we went back up and another daylight scene. I asked DD if she was ok and she said yes and was smiling. DH was not smiling. Down we went again. I think we went up and down one more time. I was having so much fun I lost track. When we got off the ride and saw our photos I had to laugh because in the picture I was laughing hysterically, DD was smiling, DH looked like he thought he was dying. We walked to a bench because DH had to sit down. He was really shaken. I asked him if he was Ok and he said yes, he just needed a minute. He was finally able to stand; LOL and we went through the gift shop. He said he was glad he did it, glad he lived through it, but he would never ever do it again, ever. He was ok until the door opened to the view of high above the park. He said that put him over the top, so to speak, in the fear area.

So we went over to the Beauty and the Beast Theater and sat down for a while. We had PS for the 6:15pm show. We went to the CM and we were sent to the VIP section. We got to sit front row center stage. DD was beside herself. The opening act, Four for a Dollar, were so much fun. They come out as thought they are checking the mikes and one guy breaks into song. DD really enjoyed it and everyone was swaying and singing. Then the Beauty and the Beast show started! The costumes, the music, it's all wonderful! That story always makes me cry, this time was no exception.

It was time to meet the Griffins for dinner so we headed over to Hollywood & Vine. We ran in to them by Echo Lake and Roy checked in. We had a little time before we would be seated so we got 25 cents worth of pennies and let the kids make wishes. We chatted and had fun then we went in for dinner. There were 8 of us so we had to sit at two tables. Cris and I debated and then relented and let the kids all sit at a table to themselves, with us next to them of course. They were so excited that they got to sit at their own table. They were all very good so they wouldn't get split up! This restaurant is a buffet and the food was really good. They had the yummiest green beans and grilled veggies. Meats, fruit, salads, of all kinds, and a kid’s buffet with things like Mac and Cheese, hot dogs, and chicken nuggets. DD surprised me and only had Mac and cheese from the kids’ bar. She ate fruit, a piece of chicken, rice and green beans. There was also a dessert bar with cobbler, muffins, cookies, ice cream and the fixings. Of course she had some of that too. The food was good, and the company was better. The boys gave Keagan a belated birthday gift. She opened it up and it was the stuffed Dalmatian toy she had asked for earlier. She was all-full of hugs and kisses for them, especially Zak. Come to think of it he was full of hugs and kisses for her too. Hmmm. Then the bill came and Roy picked up our dinner too. So I have no clue how much it was. He joined that Disney Dinner club thing that Florida residents have and he did tell me that the total bill with tip was less than it would have been with out that discount. It was around 9 pm or so and we decided to beat the folks at Fantasmic out of the park. So we all went back to Pop and then we met at the 50's pool. They were staying at the other end so this was a nice change of routine for them. For some reason that night we were the popular parents and all of the kids were hanging out with us. We had a small beach ball and we were all playing pass the ball to each other. It was a fun night. After swimming for about an hour and a half we decided we were tired and it was time for bed. We were leaving the next day and we knew we would probably not get to see the Griffins the next day so we all hugged and kissed and said our byes. The kids were bummed. They had so much fun seeing each other and playing. Gosh but I miss Cris and wish she were just 20 minutes away again. They said we could come and stay anytime and they were hoping to get back to Ohio for a visit next year. Roy was trying to convince Scott (my DH) to move down there.

So ended our Saturday. Tomorrow one last visit to MK and then home.

Day 9 – Sunday
We got up early and finished our packing and loaded up the car. Then we went over to pop and checked out. I waited in the line for a bout 20 minutes, check out took about 1 minute and we were good to go. We had 9:10 am PS for Chef Mickey's. This was also to be a Character meal that was included with our package. We caught the bus to MK and then the Monorail to the Contemporary and on to Chef Mickey's. Another great meal and character opportunity! Again, they come to you while you eat. This is the best idea since peanut butter and jelly. Another all you can eat buffet with scrumptious foods. When you check in the CM's have you get your picture taken. At some point they bring the photos back around. It has 2 5x7's with a cardboard frame, 2 wallets, one key chain and one fridge magnet for $26.00. You can mix and match stuff. We went ahead and bought the package because while I had been taking lots of photos, there was only 1 with all three of us in the picture taken by a nice guy at Disney Studios. After breakfast we went to the gift shop. Keagan mentioned that she hadn't bought Mickey ears. I didn't realize she wanted any. We found the ears and they had a choice of black or pink and she picked black. I also picked up a pair if black ears for her pin pal in Iowa and some post cards.

Next we headed into MK. There was one last, very important thing we had yet to do. Get Ariel's autograph. We walked down Main Street and there were a bundle of those silver balloons that have Mickey on one side and Minnie on the other, so I bought one for DD. It was $6. With DD wearing her ears and holding her balloon, she looked like a typical kid at the MK. She was so cute I had to take pictures. As we passed the castle, Cinderella's Surprise celebration was starting, so we watched. Next we made our way back to Ariel's grotto. The line was very long, but we couldn't leave with out seeing Ariel. It took us 1.5 hours of waiting. DD played in the pop jet fountain and met other kids she played with. She introduced me to Little Snow White. LOL She was another little girl who was wearing a Snow White costume. They had a ball getting wet. We had gotten far enough along in the line that Keagan needed to stay with us so we could see her, plus we were hopping she would dry a little before seeing Ariel. DH was worried that Ariel wouldn't want to be to near a little wet kid. Ariel was worth the wait! When Keagan got a glimpse of her, she was all wide-eyed and excited. She told me how beautiful Ariel is and how beautiful her fins are. Finally it was Keagan's turn! I had made an autograph book for Keagan, inspired by the ones featured on the Mouse for less web page. Keagan's is Ariel themed, of course! Keagan also had on her Ariel watch on and a really cool Ariel t-shirt she got at the Disney store. Ariel invited Keagan over and she was completely awestruck. She walked over and was gushing about how she loved Arial and she is her favorite princess. Ariel helped her up on the rock next to her and asked her if she had been swimming. Keagan told her she had been playing in the pop jets. Ariel said she thought that maybe Keagan was a mermaid and had swum over. Keagan loved that. Then Ariel took notice of Keagan's shirt and watch and told her how much she liked them. Keagan was talking to her but she was still sort of tripping over her words because she was so enamored. Ariel asked if she wanted an autograph and Keagan said oh yes please! Ariel saw that she was on the autograph book and looked all through it and then signed near the front, "To Keagan Hugs and fishes, love Ariel" then gave Keagan some stickers. Keagan thanked her over and over and then started to hop down. Ariel stopped her; said, “Wait, don't I get a hug?” Keagan was so excited, she went up to Arial and gave her a hug and Ariel didn't hold back because she was wet. She gave Keagan a big hug and told her how much fun she had talking to her. Keagan was so happy! She was glowing! I of course was snapping away pictures. As we left Ariel looked up at DH and I, so I waved and smiled and thanked Ariel. Keagan was on cloud nine the rest of the day!

From here we made our way back to Pop Century. We went into the store and the last purchase was two containers of Mr. Potato head Disney accessories (ne box for Keagan and one box for her friend at home). Keagan helped me pick out all of the pieces and we carefully put them into our boxes. We paid for them and we went to our car. We had to change Keagan into dry clothes. Then we sent out on our drive home.

We didn't leave Disney until 2:00pm and we had actually planned on being on the road by noon. We decided to head up I-4 to A1A instead of I-95 so we could do some ocean site seeing. This was a bad choice for people wanting to get to Rock Hill, SC by 9pm. There were several Memorial weekend festivals going on so we got caught in quite a bit of traffic. We also stopped at Ormond Beach for about an hour. Eventually we did make our way back to I-95 and to Rock Hill. We had to call the motel twice because we realized we would not make it before 6pm and wanted to let them know. They said they would hold our room until midnight and around 11:30 pm we realized we wouldn't make it until about 2am so we called to let them know. We stayed at the Days Inn Rock Hill Carowinds. I booked this motel on expedia.com and we got the room for $37.49. Even the guy at check in commented on what a great rate we got. The motel was fine, a little older, but fine. We were surprised at how large the room seemed and laughed because the amenities were the biggest TV we've ever seen in a motel and a refrigerator twice the size of a motel fridge. No hair dryer, no iron or ironing board. There was an 11am check out, no breakfast. We asked for a 10am wake up call. Then we went to our rooms, showered, and went to bed. Keagan is still talking about meeting Ariel.

Day 10 – Monday (Memorial Day)
We got our 10 am wake up call, got up, dressed, checked out and found fast food for breakfast. I woke up with a sore throat and just attributed it to the cold AC. It was 10:30 am on a holiday and they were already serving lunch. LOL so we got lunch to go. We were just a bit south of Charlotte and NASCAR was this weekend in Charlotte so we were expecting some traffic. We got on the free way and by 11:15 we were stuck in traffic that was moving between 25 and 45mph. This lasted well past Charlotte. As a matter of fact this lasted until we were north of Charleston WV. I don't really know why traffic was so bad going north. South was smooth sailing. All we could figure was that it was a lot of people heading back north after vacation along with the folks who migrate North for the summer. We stopped around 6pm for dinner. I was feeling sick, sneezing, coughing, and just generally miserable and realized I had a cold. I asked DH to finish the drive home. This should have been an 8-hour trip and ended up being almost 12 hours. We got home about 10:00pm. We unloaded the car and went to bed.

We had fun and we are already dreaming of our next trip. I want to go this November. DH thinks that's too soon. I need to work on him.