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Our family consists of me(39), dh(47), dd(14).
Day 1
Arrived at Pop Century (5:15 p.m.) after an 11 1/2 hr. drive from TN. Check-in line had about 10 families in front of us but it
only took 15 minutes to complete the process of waiting in line and checking in. After we got settled into our room (70's A bldg. 4th
floor), we wandered around the resort - (loved the themeing)- then had dinner in the fod court. We did eat from the food court several
times during our stay and all of the food was good, except for the Mom's TV Dinner - MEATLOAF - do not even attempt to eat that.
Day 2
Arrived at Animal Kingdom at 8:15 a.m. - we were let into the park at 8:30 and they had an opening safari ceremony at 8:45 - it was
really cute and entertaining. We used the Unofficial Guide's touring plan - It Works GREAT!!!!!!! Before lunch we experienced Kilimanjaro
Safaris,Pangani Forest Exploration Trail,Kali River Rapids,Dinosaur, & Festival of the Lion King. We loved all of these. We ate lunch at
the Rainforest Cafe and although the Unofficial Guide doesn't give it a very good rating, we enjoyed the themeing, service and the food.
Ater lunch, we had photos made with the characters at Camp Minnie- Mickey(the lines were not long and moved at a steady pace), we ended
our day with The Tree Of Life/It's Tough To Be A Bug - I think this is the best 3-D film that Disney has to offer and the animals carved
onto the tree are amazing. What a WONDERFUL DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We could have done more as we were leaving the park by 2:30p.m. but we
had experienced all that we actually wanted too. This was also the most hot/humid park but well worth every drop of sweat - and that was
ALOT!!!!!! We ate at Pop Century food court for dinner, then later while sitting outside on the breezeway, talking with other guests, we
were able to see the Epcot fireworks at 9 p.m. and MGM fireworks at 10 p.m.
Day 3
Arrived at Epcot at 7:30a.m.(extra magic hour day). We were allowed into the park at 7:45a.m. and the official rope drop was at
8:00a.m. We spent 8:00 - 11:00 in the Future World and experienced the following - ate breakfast(danishes and juice) at a counter
service - I can't remember the name of the resturant. We began our attractions with Living with the Land - we enjoyed this more than we
thought we would. Then onto Honey, I Shrunk the Audience 3-D film - definately lots of laughs!!!, The Living Seas is a wonderful exhibit
and I could've spent another hour in there but onward we went to Innoventions and then to Imagination Pavilion - both of these
attractions/exhibits are good but if you/your family enjoy the rides like Test Track and Mission Space then I would skip these or do on
2nd day at Epcot. At 11:00 a.m. the World Showcase opens and we immediately began our tour starting with Canada and touring counter-
clockwise. BEAUTIFUL doesn't even begin to describe the World Showcase. There are so many things to see and enjoy. I won't
elaborate on each of these for lack of time. I don't think most kids under the age of 10-12 would enjoy this because as a society we have
instilled that action means enjoyment when actually we (including myself) should take more time to instill culture/arts and nature into
our kids as enjoyment rather than boredom. We ate lunch at Mitsukoshi Teppanyaki Dining Room and it was fabulous - the
experience and food was worth the cost. Be prepared, that if you do dine here, it will cut into some time - it is not a fast or quick
meal. The entire lunch took about 1 1/2 hrs. The characters travel around by a double-decker bus and stop at various Pavilions
throughout the day. Although they do these visits, we saw less characters at Epcot than at the other parks we visited. After a 9
hr. day in the park, we wnet back to our room and chilled for the rest of the evening. Now, I wish that we would've went back for
Illuminations but at the time we were hot and tired and decided watching the fireworks part of Illuminations from our room would be
enough but..........next time I will be sure to see the show from the World Showcase.
Day 4
Took a day off from the parks and slept late. Spent the afternoon at the hipity-dipity pool and went to Downtown Disney
during the evening. The World of Disney store is the best place to shop for souvenirs, in my opinion. We enjoyed shopping/browsing all
of the shops - the Goofy Candy Store has Fudge to "die" for!!!! We ate dinner at Planet Hollywood, which is one of my least favorite
places to eat but one of our dd favorite places to eat. For me, it is too noisy and tables are placed too close to each other - I mean,
its so noisy that you have to talk loud for whomever your speaking to too be able to hear/understand what you are saying and I just don't
like that, but hey, thats me, lots of people love it.
Day 5
Magic Kingdom - OUR FAVORITE PARK!!!!!!!!!!!!!! We arrived at the entrance at 8:15 a.m. and were allowed onto main street at
9:00a.m.. We used the Unofficial Guide 2 day touring plan with a few changes. The plan works GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Before lunch, we
experienced the following, in order - Dumbo, Mad Tea Party, Many Adventures Of Winnie the Pooh, Peter Pan's Flight, Mickey's
PhilharMagic, The Haunted Mansion, The Riverboat, and the Country Bear Jamboree. We ate lunch at Pinocchio Village Haus in
Fantasyland - The burgers were good although the unofficial guide doesn't give this counter-service resturant very good reviews. After
lunch we experienced Buzz Lightyear and the Tommorowland Transit Authority. Then, we slowed out pace and enjoyed Cinderella's Castle
and browsed several shops. Around 2:30p.m. we got wonderful(and shaded)seating near the bridge in Liberty Square. The parade is nice,
a little shorter in duration than I thought it would be, as it lasts approx. 15-20 minutes. After the parade we toured main street and
browsed several shops - the smells are divine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Our day ended early (5:00) because we were visiting again the next day.
Day 6
Again, we arrived at 8:15 a.m. after riding in the front of the monorail (ask if you can do this because it is a marvelous view).
We rode Splash Mountain and LOVED IT!!!!!!!!!!! It is the BEST in our opinion. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was our next adventure and
to us it was the 2nd best ride. We actually rode both of these twice - first thing when the park opened and then again later with
Fast Pass. After the mountains, we rode Jungle Cruise and Pirates of the Caribbean. Then we walked through the Swiss Family Treehouse. We
then went to Mickey's Toontown Fair - it is cute and all little kids would probally love this place. Our last attraction before lunch was
Wlat Disney's Carousel of Progress; we all enjoyed this, even though most would probally consider it educational. We ate lunch at The
Plaza Pavilion - the chicken salads are fresh and tasty. After lunch we just walked around absorbing all of the magic and watched
Cinderella's Surprise Celebration. We went back to Pop Century around 2 p.m. to rest for a while and reshower. Our PS at The Liberty Tree
Tavern was at 6:30 - I recommend this dinner for those who want to do a character meal. The food was delicious, cast members were all
wonderful, and the characters come to your table 2-4 times each throughout your dinner. The characters that were there with us were -
Pluto, Minnie Mouse, Meeko, Chip and Dale. There wasn't alot of young children dining there so the ones who were there got lots and
lots of character attention!!!! This meal is fun and relaxing and very filling!!!! After dinner, we choose to skip rides and do one
last walk through. The Spectromagic Parade began at 9p.m. so we went to the area between the Emporium and the Barber Shop (this is where
the parade begins) at about 8:30 - This parade was the most BEAUTIFUL that I've ever seen. Nothing compares. When the parade ended we
moved over to the Railroad Station to watch Wishes Fireworks - again, nothing compares to these fireworks and how everything fits together
perfectly. Truly Magical!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This evening was the only time that we used Disney transportation
because I wanted to be at the parks at least 35-45 min. before opening time. The transportation worked GREAT. We waited for about
15 minutes to catch the bus going to Magic Kingdom and after Wishes the wait was about 15 minutes to go back to Pop Century. I'm not
sure if Downtown Disney has a fireworks show every night or not but at 12 midnight they sure had a nice show that we watched from our
breezeway.
Day 7
No park today. We ate breakfast by the pool (from the food court) the waffles were very good - better than I expected. We
relaxed by the pool and swam until early afternoon, then went back to Downtown Disney and shopped. If you like sandwiches, then eat at The
Earl of Sandwich, its a new counter-service resturant but they serve top of the line sandwiches and at cheap prices. Later during the
evening we had to pack up so we'd be ready to get onto the road early the next morning. It was sad. I didn't want to leave. This was
truly the best vacation that we have ever done. NO COMPLAINTS (other than - don't eat the meatloaf at Pop Century Food Court). Every cast
member that we encountered was very friendly and helpful. The housekeeping could not have been any better!!!!!!!! Everything was
Top Notch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Day 8
Left Pop Century at 6:15 a.m. and arrived home at 5:30 p.m. Cannot wait to get my pictures developed. Hope that everyone who
visits DisneyWorld has Lots of Fun and Magic!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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