Kelly and Family - August 2005 • WDW Trip Reports

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Kelly and Family - August 2005

Kelly and Family

Our day started by dropping off our beloved Aussie-Shepherd mix at a local kennel. Our dog does not ride well in a car, and boo-hoo'ed the entire way to the kennel while climbing all over the kids in the back seat. After saying good-bye to the pooch, we loaded up on gas and hit the road!

We live 3 miles from I-95 and know what a royal pain-in-the-behind our local Baltimore/DC stretch of 95 can be at any given time. Rather than going down 95, we left MD through its "backdoor" using 301. We began using 95 in VA, well past the DC Danger Zone.

The kids amused themselves by listening to Harry Potter on tape, making little pipe cleaner sculptures, playing Auto Bingo..........You name it, they did it! Overall, they did a very good job at entertaining themselves during the long ride.

Our original plan was to spend the night in Dunn, NC. But we were making excellent time. We ended up staying in Manning, SC. At night we walked around Manning and marveled at the barbershop and small diners that look like they were stuck in a WWII time warp. Being from a well populated area, we are easily impressed with anything "small townish."

Our original plan was to stay in Dunn, NC the previous night, and to break up the ride some more by staying in Jacksonville this night. Well, since our driving was going so well, we decided to head straight for Disney. We did stop at JAX to cancel our room and to have lunch. Then.............we were on our way to Orlando!

After negotiating some heavy traffic, we finally hit the Welcome to Walt Disney World Gateway! You've never heard 4 people cheering *that* loudly in a car as we were cheering then! If we weren't buckled into seats, we would have been bouncing off the walls. : )

We decided to go for the gold, and drive straight to Port Orleans Riverside (POR)to see if they would have a room available that night. We explained that we drove and arrived a day earlier than our reservation started. They did have a room available! We had to pay (quite a bit, I might add) for our first night. Then, we had to go and check out/check into our room again the next morning, but it was well worth it! We had a room in building 18, a perfect location!

(Tip: If you are going to stay at POR, the Alligator Bayou buildings 14, 15, and 18 are best situated as far as the bus stops, food courts, quiet pool/laundry, and Old Man Island).

A few words about our resort: We loved it, loved it, loved it! The theme of Port Orleans is, of course, New Orleans. We enjoyed the rustic atmosphere of the Alligator Bayou section, and the lush landscaping that surrounded us. When leaving the hot and crowded parks for a mid-day break, walking through the quiet and shaded paths of Alligator Bayou was like taking a breath of fresh air.

Our section of POR has trundle beds in the room. Dd used the trundle bed, and ds had his own bed while dh and I shared the other bed. Comfortable sleeping arrangements for all! Our room had 2 sinks, and a privacy curtain for getting dressed. That curtain came in handy many times. We also had a free refrigerator in the room, good for keeping our drinks cold on hot days.

Mousekeeping was great! Our room was clean and well stocked with Mickey soaps, towels, laundry bags, etc.....Every day, Mousekeeping took the time to arrange the kids' (many!) stuffed animals into clever poses that surprised us when we came back to the room. One day, they were all at the window waiting for us. Another day, Goofy was holding hands with 2 Barbies while the Mickeys were sword fighting! Ds and Dd were convinced that their animals "came alive" with "Disney Magic" and did not suspect Mousekeeping of moving their animals. : )

We were also lucky enough to get a wash cloth "animal," which is a wash cloth folded in a unique way. Our wash cloth bunny was so cute that we hesitated to use it!

The quiet pools were nice, but Old Man Island can't be beat! The kids and dh *loved* the slide and all of the squirting water! I loved the Muddy Rivers poolside bar, with it's big deck overlooking the pool. It's the perfect place to sip a colada while icing a sore ankle. : )

Dh and I bought the refillable mugs to use in The Riverside Mill, our nicely themed food court. The mugs were $11.99 each, and we were able to refill them many, many, many times during our stay. They were *well* worth the price, and they are fun souvenirs!

(Tip: If you're staying on Disney Property for more than 2 days, buy the refillable mug to use at your food court. This will save you a lot of money in the long run).

One more plug for POR and then I'll quit gushing about it for now: We shared pool privileges with our "sister" resort, Port Orleans French Quarter (POFQ). Their pool is great fun! Who wouldn't LOVE the Marti Gras theme and the dragon slide?! Even *I* went down that slide. Wicked fun.

Once we checked in and got settled, we headed for Kissimmee to do some grocery shopping. Now, you'd think it would be easy to find a Winn-Dixie, Super Wal-Mart, Super Target.........anything......along this BUSY stretch of road. For us, it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. After driving and driving, we finally found a Publix and stocked up on bottled water, pop tarts, juice boxes, some beer............You know, the essentials of vacation survival. : )

Next, we drove back to POR and had dinner in the food court. The kids loved their Mickey-shaped plates, and I was impressed with the way that even my pasta sauce and meatballs were arranged to be shaped like Mickey's head. Dh and I bought our refillable mugs, a good investment.

After dinner, we ambled on over to the gift shop. We bought the kids a Pal Mickey to share. Pal Mickey is a plush Mickey you wear to the parks. He hangs on a lanyard and tells you all sorts of interesting facts and tips. He has a sensor that is activated when you pass certain attractions at eack park, plus he reminds you when parades are about to begin. Pal Mickey also tells jokes and plays games! Check him out at: http://allearsnet.com/tp/pal.htm

Pal Mickey was pretty pricey, but well worth the pleasure he brought the kids. He gave us interesting tidbits about the animals at Animal Kingdom, and also impressed dd with his knowledge of the countries in Epcot.

Once we were done messing around with Pal Mickey, we decided to take a spin on the Monorail. We caught a bus to the Magic Kingdom (MK) and from there, took the monorail to the Contemporary. We got off to find Chef Mickey's (for future reference) and then rode to the Poly and back. We got the bus back to POR. Then we spent the rest of our first evening splashing around at Old Man Island.

Day 3 was supposed to be an "evening only" day at the parks, but since we arrived early, we had the whole day to enjoy! Yippeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!

The Big Cheese Himself did our wake-up that morning, and the kids were delighted that Mickey took the time to call us so early in the day. : )

We had breakfast in the room. Unless stated otherwise, we ate breakfast in the room every day.

Since we considered the morning and afternoon to be "bonus time," we decided to play it low-key and enjoy whatever it was that we would like to do. Dh is an avid runner and wanted to go on a long run, so that's what he did with his found time.

I knew I would have a hard time trying to squeeze in our "must sees" at MGM Studios (MGM) later in the week, so I decided that the kids and I would head there and fit in The Little Mermaid show for Dd so we could concentrate on the Indiana Jones Show for ds on Thursday.

The 3 of us took the bus to MGM. We were one of the first ones there! The kids were so excited to finally get to a park. At rope drop, we had time to spare to get a Photopass Card (www.DisneyPhotoPass.com) that we would use throughout most of the trip.

We were in the first timeslot of The Little Mermaid show. We all loved it, but is was a special favorite of dd's. The effects during the show (water, wind, bubbles, etc.) were fun!

On our way to our next attraction, we saw Jo-Jo. Ds and dd are too old to truly appreciate Jo-Jo, but this was their first character and they were happy, happy! They whipped out their autograph books and I whipped out my camera to savor the moment.

Next, we saw the Muppets 3-D movie. Loved it! Loved the special effects! You know how 3-D movies work--everything looks like it's coming right at *you.* Well, at one point of the movie, a character said something like, "Everyone here thinks I am talking to them. But I am really talking only to you."

Dd jumped up and said, "Did you hear that, Mommy?! He's talking to ME! To me! All of these people are here, and he picked ME to talk to!" She grabbed a lot of Disney Magic while watching that movie, thinking she was its special guest.

After the movie, our timing was just right to hang around Al's Toy Barn to meet & greet Buzz, Woody, Jessie, and a Green Army Guy. Ds and Dd (and dw!) love Toy Story, so this was great!

We were approaching lunchtime, and had a non-descript lunch at the ABC Commissary. The food was OK, but I wasn't overly impressed with the place.

After lunch, on our way out of the park, we stopped by the Sorcerer's Hat to meet Friar Tuck, the Sheriff of Nottingham, and Prince John. The Sheriff tried to steal dd's hat. : )

On our way out of MGM, dd bought a Tinkerbell name tag. Ds did not want a name tag, claiming it was "for girls more than for boys."

(Tip: Buy your kids a name tag for some fun. The cast members and face characters will greet your children by name throughout your trip).

We took the bus back to POR. When we returned to the room, our stuffed animals were lined up at the window, waiting for us! (Thanks, Mousekeeping!) Dh was waiting for us, too. He did his run in Fort Wilderness and enjoyed it, in spite of the heat.

We all decided to go to Epcot.

Upon entering the park, we noticed that there was no line at Spaceship Earth, so we rode that first. Dd dubbed it "the golf ball" and we all called it that throughout the trip.

Next, we went to Innovations West. The kids played and we mailed a couple of e-postcards while there. We took advantage of a promotion for Disney Visa holders and had a private meet & greet with Minnie and Goofy at Innovations West. We were supposed to get a free 5 x 7 photo, but unfortunately we missed our opportunity to claim the photo. We thought that we'd order it online once we were home, but the coupon they gave us was only good for claiming the photo *that day* and *in person.* Bummer. Anyway, we had fun with Minnie and Goofy.

(Tip: If you qualify for the free Disney Visa Cardholder Meet and Greet, don't make the mistake we did! Read that coupon they give you, and remember to claim your picture before you leave the park).

Next we went to The Land and were overwhelmed with the Soarin' crowd. The Fastpass return was too late for our comfort, so we decided to skip Soarin' for now. Instead, we grabbed a FP for The Land's boat ride. While waiting for our return time, we took in the Circle of Life movie, starring Timon and Pumba. When the movie was over, we did our boat ride.

At the Living Seas, dd and I enjoyed Turtle Talk with Crush while Dh and ds missed it due to an emergency bathroom break. Dude, if you go to The Living Seas, don't miss Turtle Talk with Crush! It's a must-see!

Dinner time was approaching, and we all agreed upon The Tangerine Cafe in Morocco. It wasn't crowded at all, and it was delicious! Dh had the lamb schwarma platter and I had the chicken schwarma platter. The kids stuck to a "safe" burger and pizza. $33.87 for dinner, not including drinks for me & dh, as we drank from our own water bottles.

While poking around Morocco, we spied Jasmine all by herself! We rushed over for a prime photo opportunity. Jasmine bantered with the kids and treated dd like a princess.

We walked to Mexico and rode the boat ride. Ds got a kick out of the big Mexican hats.

Next, we went back to Future World to ride Figment. Twice. The kids LOVED Figment. After Figment, we watched Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Dh, ds, and I enjoyed the movie and the special effects. (How *do* they do that mice thing?!), but dd was scared throughout the second half of the movie.

We checked on Soarin' and Test Track lines, but they were too long and we decided to save those rides for later.

Spaceship Earth was still a walk-on, so we rode it two more times before leaving Epcot. I think the kids could ride it 50 times and not be bored.

We rode the bus back to POR and hit the sack.

We were at the rope drop at Epcot. We flew straight to Soarin.' This ride is so amazing that I'm at a loss as how to best describe it. You feel as if you are flying over California. The breeze goes through your hair, and you even smell the orange groves! Soarin' was a family favorite! Right after we rode it, we grabbed FPs so we could ride it again. It is worth a trip to Orlando just to ride Soarin'! Really! It's *that* exhilarating!

Next, we went to Test Track. We couldn't get a FP because we had our Soarin' pass. The line wasn't toooooo long, so we decided to wait. All was going well, until we were in the final waiting area. The ride shut down, and the line was stopped for quite a while. Right when we were thinking about leaving, the ride started again. We enjoyed this ride. It was worth the wait.

We went to Cantina de San Angel in Mexico for lunch. Dh and I had combo plates. Ds had a kid's meal. Nothing on the menu satisfied picky dd, so we let her slide by with a churro for lunch. $23.49 for lunch, not including drinks.

Before leaving Epcot, we rode Soarin' again.

Next we went to Blizzard Beach. This afternoon would be the lowest point in our trip. Right when we got there, a horrible thunderstorm started. We had just enough time to dash to the locker area to seek shelter, along with hundreds of wet and sweaty half-naked other people who stood shoulder-to-shoulder with us. Ewwww. Let me tell you that this was not fun. After about 30 minutes, the storm let up enough for us to leave the locker area (whew!) and walk around, though the park remained closed for quite a while.

Finally, the park opened. We decided to ride Gangplank Falls. The ski lift wasn't working, so we used the steps. Then, there was a problem with the conveyer belt and they couldn't get the tubes up to the top area. We waited a *long* time for a tube to ride. Once we had our tube, we did enjoy the ride.

We wanted to do the lazy river together before the kids tackled the Ski Patrol Training Camp. We made it about 1/2 way thru the lazy river when the park closed again for lightening.

We already invested way too much time in standing around at Blizzard Beach while doing nothing, so we left. Unfortunately, my water shoes caused two blisters which were a thorn in my side for the next couple of days. Grrrrrrrrr!

We returned to PO to get a pizza at the food court.

Next, we decided to give the MK a preview before seeing it the next day. The MK was quite crowded. We rode the train to Toon Town and saw Philharmagic, a delightful 3-D movie that we all enjoyed. We also walked thru Minnie and Mickey's houses. On our way out of the park, ds bought a Goofy hat and dd bought Minnie ears.

We left MK right before Spectro, and went back to PO to relax in our room.

We were at the MK at opening time.

We dashed to Fantasyland. The kids were so excited! They didn't complain once about the heat and the fast pace we were setting down Main Street.

We rode:

--The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (a fav for dd)
--Peter Pan's Flight (a fav for ds)
--Snow White's Scary Adventures
--It's a Small World
--Mad Tea Party (I must be getting old. This ride wasn't as fun as us used to be!)
--Cinderella's Carrousel

Next, we headed to Mickey's Toontown Fair (MTTF) to catch the train to Frontierland.

We rode The Barnstormer. We *just missed* riding it with Goofy, but it was fun to watch Goofy ride it!

On the way to the train station, I stopped to put my camera back in its case. The case was missing. Dh and I looked everywhere and couldn't find it. We even went back to The Barnstormer to search, and it wasn't there. We figured that we must have dropped it somewhere between Fantasyland and MTTF. The case itself wasn't a great loss; however, we had a roll of used film in it that was indeed a valuable item to us. Dd got upset because her Jasmine pictures were on that roll of film. We decided to quit our search and check with lost and found later in the day.

We took the RR to Frontierland. We sat in the last car. Ds was the guest conductor and bellowed, "All Aboard!" in the microphone! He was given a guest conductor card. The little bit of Disney magic helped take the sting away of losing our film.

Once in Frontierland, we grabbed FPs for Splash Mountain.

Lunchtime was approaching, and we settled upon Pecos Bill. Good burgers! Dh, ds, and I had cheeseburgers, and dd had the chilled chicken kid's meal. $26.57 for lunch, again w/o drinks. Dd and ds split the milk from dd's kid's meal, and dh and I drank our bottled water.

After lunch, we rode Splash. What a fun ride! This was another favorite! We loved all of the Splash critters and songs, plus the plunge was refreshing! This is another ride we could do 50 times and not be bored.

Next was the Haunted Mansion. During the preshow, dd was scared. I kept telling her that it was all "Disney magic" and pretend. That it's not supposed to be "frightening" scary, but "funny" scary. That the ride would be OK. All of my reassurances went in one ear and out the other once the ride began. Dd was terrified, crying and begging to get off the ride. I covered her eyes with her hat and held her throughout the ride. Once we got to the point of the ride when you see a mirror and a ghost appears in your car, I was able to establish eye contact with dh in the car behind us. I indicated that dd was having a rough time. To my surprise, ds was crying too! What a mess! This took dh and I by surprise. I rode HM as a kid, and I don't remember being scared at all. We looked around at other kids (younger than ours, mind you) and none of them were crying. Go figure.

(Because of the HM ride, I decided then and there that the Tower of Terror would be a no-no for us at MGM).

I decided we better do something "light" next, so we got FPs for the Jungle Cruise.

Since we were in Adventureland, we headed over to Pirates of the Caribbean (PoC)and ride that. It was a MUCH anticipated ride for ds. I reminded dd that the cannons were not real. To our great relief, the kids LOVED the ride and begged to go on it again, and again, and again................Ds bought a sword in the gift shop.

We bought Dole Whips and it was a challenge to eat them before they melted.

The crowds were building and the heat was baking us, so we decided to head back to POR for a break. On our way out of the park, we stopped by City Hall to check for my camera case. It wasn't there.

At POR, dh went running during his break. The kids and I took showers and relaxed in the room. We all pitched in to do laundry. With the heat, we've been going through 2+ outfits per day, each. We had dinner at Riverside Mill at POR.

Once we were refreshed, we returned to the MK. We did:

--Jungle Cruise (with our FPs)
--Tiki Room (loved it!)
--Hall of Presidents (The Presidency is a kind of a hobby for ds. He is "into" anything related to Presidents. This show was right up his ally).
--Splash Mountain (with FPs--Our Laughing Place, indeed!)
--Took the train to MTTF
--Walked to Tomorrowland (Crowded!)
--Rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority ("People Mover")
--Saw the Carousel of Progress (A classic. The last time I saw this was during the late '80s. The song was new to me. "It's a great big beautiful tomorrow................")
--Checked on the camera bag again at City Hall--no luck

And then we headed "home" to POR.

We sure did squeeze a lot of fun stuff into this day! Busy little bees, we were! Other than losing our camera bag, we couldn't have had a better day at the MK. : )

I was slightly leary of Animal Kingdom (AK) becuase I've read enough reviews that said that this park is too hot, everything is too spread out, there is too much walking, yada, yada, yada..........

But I LOVED AK! It's a true gem. I wish we had more than one day to spend there, so we could see all of the nooks and crannies of the park.

Upon arrival (at rope drop, of course!), we were waiting at the entrance gates. A talking palm tree rolled its way over to a newlywed couple standing a few feet behind us. We were entertained by the tree and it made the wait for the park to open go quickly.

Once we were in the park, dh sprinted to Kilimanjaro Safaris to grab a set of FPs. The kids and I went to Dinoland to ride TriceraTop Spin (the "Dumbo" of AK). We rode it twice by the time dh returned with our passes.

Dd was too short for Primeval Whirl, so she happily took another spin on the triceratops while ds and I rode Primeval Whirl. Wow! At first the ride wasn't too rough, but by the end of it we were spinning a lot and were being whipped around everywhere. I think it must have been a coin toss between the Imagineers on whether to call this the Primeval Whirl or the Primeval Hurl. Ds was grinning from ear-to-ear and enjoyed every moment of it.

Due to the Haunted Mansion Scare yesterday, dh and I said no to Dinosaur. A true bummer, because *I* wanted to ride it! LOL

Next, we booked it to Kali River Rapids (KRR). This a a popular ride and we wanted to get there before the lines grew longer. On our way there, a bush (!) talked to us. I would have loved to have stayed and chatted with the bush, but dh and ds were way ahead on the trail and we were in danger of losing them.

KRR's line wasn't too long. It was a fun ride, though a bit shorter than we expected. Dd and I got SOAKED and dh and ds were merely wet. I was wearing jean shorts, which did not dry the entire day with the humidity. It was hot, so it felt good to get wet.

After KKR, we explored the Maharajah Jungle Trek. Fun! Pal Mickey was informative here.

Then we went to ride K Safaris. We saw a lot of animals, but we (and every other jeep on the safari) had to come to a (long!) halt because a giraffe decided to munch on a tree branch while standing smack in the middle of the road. At first, this was funny. But that darned giraffe wouldn't move, and we sat there for a long time. A cast member tried to get a truck thru to shoo the giraffe in another directions, but because there were so many jeeps on the road, they couldn't make it to the giraffe. Our driver said that a delay this long was extremely unusual. We were antsy because we had an 11:30 ADR for RainForest Cafe (RFC), and it was quickly approaching that time. Finally, the giraffe decided to investigate another tree, and we were on our way!

We enjoyed lunch at RFC. There is a local RFC that we frequent, so we were old pros at the thunderstorms. We are also Safari Club Members, which secured us a great price on our appetizer. We shared The Awesome Appetizer. Ds chowed down on calamari without realizing it was squid. Dh ordered the chicken fried chicken, I got the buffalo chicken salad, ds got popcorn shrimp, and dd ate pizza. It was all good!

(Tip: It's difficult to do an afternoon break at your resort while touring AK because AK closes earlier than the other park. You can use RFC as a place to take a long A/C break.)

(Tip: If you are going to eat at a RFC even just twice/year, it's worth it to join their Safari Club. It cost $15.00 to join. You get a $10.00 gift certif. for your next visit. Then you get either 10% off your bill, or a free or greatly reduced price for your appetizer. Plus, you get priority seating, which works kind of like a Fastpass).

After lunch, we took in the Festival of the Lion King show. This is a must-see! We were in lion section. ROAR!

We walked on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. We enjoyed all of it, especially the hippos underwater.

Next, we rode the Wildlife Express Train to Conservation Station. We saw Pocohantas and Rafiki. The vet station was interesting. Ds and dd like The Crocodile Hunter, and the vet station reminded them of Steve Irwin.

We rode KRR again (w/FPs). This time we were wet, but not as soaked on our previous ride.

We lined up for Mickey's Jammin' Jungle Parade. We had a good viewing spot, and the parade was fun!

Dd bought a safari Mickey.

After the parade, we were pretty much fried by the heat, so we headed back to POR.

Instead of eating at Riverside Mill, we hopped on a bus to Downtown Disney (DT) and ended up eating at Wolfgang Puck Express. Yummy! Dh and I both had the Thai Noodle Salad. Ds had mac & cheese and dd ate pizza.

We took the boat back to POR. It was a nice and relaxing ride. We rode past the old treehouse resorts and POFQ.

In the evening, we did some catch-up work. I made an ADR for a Boatwright's breakfast, called about my camera bag (no luck--I was put on hold forever and decided to call again later), reorganized our backpack, etc. Dh did laundry and played with the kids at the quiet pool.

We were at MGM at rope drop.

Seeing the Indian Jones Stunt Spectacular was the # 1 most important issue for ds for our entire vacation, so we got FPs to make certain we'd get into the first show.

We rode The Great Movie Ride, and after that we saw Indy. Ds enjoyed the show every bit as much as he anticipated enjoying it. After the show, he bought an Indiana Jones Mickey and an set of tiny action figures. We found the well and pulled the rope! WooHooooo!

We saw Donald Duck. He readjusted dd's Minnie ears so they were crooked for the picture. : )

Dh has been hankering for a turkey leg. We headed to Toluca Turkey Legs Co. I wasn't in the mood for a turkey leg, but few other surrounding places were open (it was before 11). I decided to be a carnivore too and we all munched on turkey legs and hot dogs for lunch.

Next was Walt Disney: One Man's Dream. We are into history and all that, so we liked this attraction. Ds said, "I love learning about Mr. Disney!"

We rode the Backlot Tour. It was a VERY hot day, and I think we would have enjoyed the attraction a bit more if we weren't sweating like pigs throughout the whole ride. We were warned that we would get wet during Catastrophe Canyon, so we tucked Pal Mickey and my camera (in a ziplock bag, as my camera bag was still missing) in the backpack. We couldn't wait for that splash to get some relief from the heat. The special effects were good, but we didn't get wet at all. Not one drop! We saw Herbie Unplugged right before going to WDW, and the kids got a big kick out of seeing the Herbie cars on the Backlot Tour. I took a couple pictures of Herbie. We also saw people warming up for the Lights, Motor, Action Show, which was pretty cool. We did not get to see that show.

After the Backlot Tour, we headed back to POR for a much needed break. Dh went running, and the kids and I took showers and rested in the A/C.

When we returned to MGM, we went to Hollywood and Vine. Our ADR was for 5:00, but they seated us sooner than that. The food was fresh and yummy! Ds got his money's worth, and then some. I think he ate his weight in macaroni and cheese, and then he started helping himself to the adult buffet. Decadent desserts! Dh and I devoured the pastries. The kids had a blast making their own sundaes. We were given our vouchers for Fantasmic.

H&V shares a restroom with Prime Time Cafe. It was fun to poke in there for a moment to check it out for future reference.

I didn't count on seeing the Stars and Motorcars parade, but just as we were leaving H & V, people were lining up at the ropes. We walked for a little while, deciding what to do between then and Fantasmic, when the parade started coming around the corner from us. And, there was NO ONE at the rope where we were standing! So, we took in the parade with an excellent vantage point. The kids loved all of the characters. I took a ton of pictures. It was fun, spontaneous moment.

Dd had been talking non-stop about The Little Mermaid show that we saw on our 1st day, so we decided to see it again. I noticed that we got more special effects (wind and water) when we sat in the middle of the row than we did when we sat near the end of a row.

Dh also missed the Muppets 3-D movie on our first day. The kids and I loved it, so we all agreed to see it together. During the movie, that little 3-D character popped out and again said something like, "Everyone here thinks I'm talking to them, but I'm really talking to only you."

Like last time, dd leaped up and said, "WOW! WOW! Did you hear that?! He's talking to ME! He picked me again!!!!!! Wow! He picked me twice to talk to!"

After the movie, dd was marveling about how she was "chosen" for special attention twice during the same movie. She asked me if we sat in the same seats, thinking that maybe the "seat" was "chosen" instead of her. I assured her that we sat in a different area both times. She was on Cloud 9, feeling like a little princess.

We let the kids unwind a while at the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. They had a ball climbing up the rope web and playing with the sprinklers.

We bought frozen lemonades and headed for Fantasmic. We were there about an hour early. I read that the Fantasmic theater seats around 6,900 (?) people. The bleachers were so full that people were standing in the back. The show was amazing. Another attraction not to miss!

After the show, we felt like sheep being herded to the bus. We sat in the Ursula section for the show, and did make pretty good time getting to the bus stop since we were toward the front part of the herd.

It was extremely hot and humid the night we saw Fantasmic. Even after the sun went down, everyone was uncomfortable and sweaty. We are used to high temps and humidity from home, but the heat at WDW was starting to take a toll on us.

My blisters from Blizzard Beach were not an issue anymore, though dd and I had nasty heat rashes. I had some pain in my ankle, and at the time I brushed it off thinking that maybe I got it from walking a little crooked due to the blisters. Otherwise, all was well with our happy little family in the happiest place on Earth.

(Important tip: Do not ignore ankle pain. Ice it before it gets worse).

Since last night was a late night, and we've been good about making it to park openings, we allowed ourselves to sleep in a little bit this AM.

We had breakfast at Boatwrights, the restaurant at POR. Dh, ds, and I had banana stuffed French toast. YUM! The portions were so big that dh and I could have split a serving (ds got the kid's meal version), though we didn't know that when we ordered. If you are at WDW and have a chance to order stuffed French toast, give it a try! Dd was thrilled with her Mickey pancake from the kid's menu.

After Boatwrights, we went to Epcot.

The kids and I rode Spaceship Earth (the "golf ball") while dh ran over to get FPs for Soarin.' We rode Figment (again)---dd LOVES Figment. Next we headed to the World Showcase.

Since we already rode the boat in Mexico, we headed straight to Norway and took in their boat ride. Dd was afraid of the spooky troll and did not like it when our boat flew backwards. Ds enjoyed the ride.

We ambled on over to China and saw the movie. Dd got a mask from the Kidcot Station in China. You can take the mask to a Kidcot station at each country in Epcot, and get it stamped like a passport. Dd was proud of her mask. Ds declared he was "too big" to do the mask-thing, so he missed out on the fun.

Dh said that he wanted to eat at counter service in Germany, but a bratwurst didn't sound too appetizing to me in that heat. I ordered an orange chicken bowl from China and carried it over to Germany, where dh and the kids got their food. Dd found the Kidcot Station and got her mask stamped, in Germany and in all of the other countries as we visited them. We liked the train garden in Germany. Dd was quick to spy the Hidden Mickey there.

We went to Italy, but didn't linger.

Next was The American Adventure. History Buff Ds devoured this place. We saw the show.

It started to rain. We headed for Japan. Nice gardens and lanterns.

I noticed that my ankle was hurting more and more as the day went on. I popped a few Advils and kept plugging along.

In Morocco, we saw Jasmine again. This time she was with Aladdin! Dd was thrilled to get another picture with Jasmine, since our first one was lost.

We rode Soarin' (love that ride, love that ride, love that ride.........) with our FPs. Spaceship Earth was a "walk-on" again, so we decided to give it another go.

On the bus back to POR for our afternoon break, I finally had the time to sit and inspect my ankle. It was swelling. A lot. I showed dh, no stranger to foot injuries because of his avid running. He asked if maybe I twisted it getting on or off a ride.........I didn't remember getting hurt anywhere. He encouraged me to ice it, though that day I didn't make the time.

During our break, I went to the conceierge desk in the hope that they would have better luck in getting through to Lost and Found than I did. He called Lost and Found and was put on hold for about 10 minutes. But it was worth the wait. Some kind soul turned in my camera case and the film! Yippee! There was a catch: They would not send it to POR. We would have to pick it up in person at the kennel (where the main lost and found is located) at the Ticket and Transprotation Center. We decided to pick it up tomorrow, as today's schedule was full.

We went to the MK and picked up FPs for Big Thunder Mountain RR (BTMRR).

We went to Liberty Tree Tavern, where we had an ADR for Goofy's Liberate Your Appetite Dinner. The restaurant is Colonial-themed. You are served a Thanksgiving dinner family style, and characters dressed in Colonial clothes come and visit you while you eat. The food was good, and the kids loved the character interaction! We saw Minnie, Goofy, Dale, and Pluto. Goofy noticed ds' Goofy hat and had some silly interaction with ds.

After dinner, we went to The Diamond Horseshow Revue to meet Woody. Right after we snapped a picture, dd told Woody, "Watch out! There's a snake in your boot!" Woody went crazy, stamping out the snake. Dd laughed and laughed!

We rode PoC again. "Yo Ho Yo Ho..........."

We rode BTMRR w/our FPs

Got FPs for Splash

We tried to go to Tom Saywer's Island, but it was about to close.

It started to rain hard. Most of the outside rides closed. We were lucky to squeeze ourselves into Country Bear Jamboree.

Most of the rides were still closed, so we rode the Liberty Bell Steamship to wait out the rain. This was OK to ride in our current circumstance, but I would spend "prime" park time on the Liberty Bell.

We bought a Christmas ornament.

Then, the rides reopened and we ended our day at the MK with a big Splash at Splash!

Back to POR to get some downtime and go to bed.

We did not have a park ticket for this day, so we loaded it with activities outside the parks.

We had breakfast at Chef Mickey's (in the Contemporary) and decided to drive ourselves there instead of taking the bus to the MK during "rush hour" and transferring to the monorail.

Chef Mickey's was a hopping place! We had an ADR, but waited about 15 minutes for our photograph to be taken and for a seat. The buffet had a variety of items; all was good. Again, ds ate his weight's worth of food.

You get your buffet food, and characters take turns visiting tables. We saw Minnie, Goofy, Chip and Dale, and Mickey. Mickey did not come over until *right* before we were about to leave. This was the only time we saw Mickey on our trip, and I'm glad that we did get to see him.

Dd had the best character interaction with Chip and Dale! She brought them each a bag of acorns from our yard. When Chip came over to our table, dd gave him the acorns and said, "These are for you and Dale. I brought them from my yard." Chip went wild! And I mean wild! He started jumping up and down and waving his arms in excitement. Then, he scooped dd right out of her seat and picked her up to hug her. After the big hug, Chip swung dd around in the air and carried her throughout the restaurant! (I wish we had our camcorder!!!). A cast member came over to see what the excitement was all about. Chip showed the CM the acorns, and the CM made a big fuss over dd. Dale came on over and was just as delighted over the acorns as Chip was. Then Chip tried to steal Dale's acorns, and they had a mock fight over both bags. Dd convinced them that there were enough acorns to share. Throughout the breakfast, Chip and Dale would come back to our table to hug dd. It was great!

We ended up buying our pictures from Chef Mickey's since it was a highlight of the trip.

Dh drove us to the TTC. Our plan was for him to drop us off and then he would go running. The kids and I were to catch a bus to Downtown Disney to shop for a few hours. I went to the kennel, and they did indeed have my camera bag! Whew.

At the TTC, I asked a cast member where we could catch a bus to get to DTD.He said that my best bet was to catch a bus at the Poly. I said, "OK. We'll catch the monorail." He assured me that it would be quicker to walk to the Poly, and pointed where to go. I could see exactly where he meant to get to the border of the Poly. It was quite a walk (in the heat, and with my sore ankle), but we plodded along until we got to the grounds of the Poly. In that humidity, it didn't take much for us to melt. My ankle was getting worse by the minute. We had a hard time navigating our way through the Poly to find the bus stop. I wished we would have taken the monorail. Oddly enough, the place was like a ghost town--there was no one to ask for help when we needed directions! We finally stumbled upon a maintenance man who pointed us in the right direction.

(Later I found out that dh had a similar experience. He wanted to get gas at one of the several Hess stations on Disney property. He somehow get disoriented and drove around in circles looking for Hess. At one point, he mistakenly ended up in Epcot's parking lot! Luckily he didn't have to pay because he had his POR parking pass and room key. He finally did find a Hess. And, later he realized that he was giving up and turning around *just shy* of the Hess station, which is why he couldn't find it).

We caught the bus to DTD. We browsed and shopped at Once Upon a Toy, The World of Disney, and the Lego store. Ds is a Lego freak, so he was in heaven here!

The highlight of DTD was Goofy's Candy Company. What a fun store! We were...........well, we were like kids in a candy shop! LOL The first thing ds did was make his own pixie stick with Goofy's machine. Next, we filled out menus to design our own pretzel sticks. While our pretzel sticks were being made, we bought the slurpee drinks. $8.00 each for the drinks--but it is something that the kids and I loved! First, you pick "feet" for your cup. Next you pick the color of your cup. Then, you pick the lid of your cup. I made a Goofy cup, ds made a Stitch cup, and dd made a Minnie cup. Then, the CM fills your cup with the flavor of slurpee you like. The cups were ours to keep. By the time we were done "building" our drinks, our pretzels were ready. We didn't have lunch (too full from Chef Mickey's), so I asked the CM to wrap them for us. Since Dh missed out on all of the sweet fun, I bought him some Goofy mints. I was afraid to buy anything chocolate in that heat.

(Tip: It's very easy to sink a lot of $$$ at Downtown Disney. Whatever your souvenir budget is, think about doubling it if you are shopping at DTD during your trip. Goofy's Candy Co. alone is a place that'll eat your money quicker than you can eat chocolate. But, our experience in Goofy's Candy Company was priceless! I'll try to remember that when I get our Visa bill.........)

We went back to the room to meet dh and tell him all about DTD and to show him our yummy creations. None of us were hungry, so we decided to skip lunch and have an early dinner.

We headed to Old Man's Island. I found a table at Muddy Rivers (poolside bar with a big, shaded deck). Dh set up a chair to prop my foot, and I finally began to care for my ankle. Dh and the kids went swimming, while I sat at Muddy Rivers with a big bag of ice on my foot, sipping a colada, and taking in the atmosphere. I was very comfortable. Between the having the ice bag, sitting in the shade, and having the overhead fans blowing, I could rest without heat issues. My afternoon at Muddy River's was surprisingly one of the highlights of my trip! It was plain-old-quiet and relaxing, in comparison to how busy the rest of the vacation was. Likewise, dh and the kids had a great time swimming at Old Man Island.

(Tip: If you're staying at WDW for more than a few days, it's nice to have a non-park day during your trip. There is plenty to do at WDW in addition to the parks, plus having a "lazy" afternoon at the pool can do wonders with recharging your batteries mid-vacation).

Once we spend a couple hours at the pool/Muddy Rivers, we went to DTD for dinner at The Earl of Sandwich. This place had reasonable prices and good sandwiches. We rode the bus to/from DTD instead of the boat.

When we were back at POR, we drove over to POFQ to use their Marti Gras pool. Fun! I went down the dragon slide, which is something I usually wouldn't do! The kids loved the pool. The atmosphere at POFQ was very nice, but I preferred the more tropical setting of Riverside's Alligator Bayou. Either resort is great, depending upon your personal preferences for the specific theme. The main pool at both resorts are excellent!

We ate our Goofy Candy Co. pretzel sticks. Yum!

At POR, we did laundry and I put some more ice on my ankle before going to bed.

We were refreshed for the next busy day.

We really enjoyed Epcot! Can you tell?

I failed to mention my morning routine in my other trip reports. Every morning, I got out of bed and got dressed before everyone else did. I took our refillable mugs to The Riverside Mill to get coffee. My little morning walks were the perfect way to start the day. There were not many people out that early in the morning. The ducks were on the sidewalk most mornings. One day I saw a mother duck with her baby ducks. Another day, 2 little bunnies were on the sidewalk. It was a nice walk from our room to the food court.

Today we went to Epcot, not realizing it was EMH. We had planned to be there for rope drop at 9, but instead we were in the park at 8:15!

Of course, the kids begged to re-do favorites. The kids and I rode Spaceship Earth while dh booked it to Test Track to get FPs.

We rode The Journey to Your Imagination again (Figment). Dd bought a stuffed Figment. We also sent some e-cards.

(Tip: You can send e-cards from Innovations West, but you are not able to add a personal message to your card. After the Figment ride, you can also send e-cards. At this location, you are able to type your own message).

By this time, we were able to get another FP, so we got one for Soarin.'

We rode Test Track. Fun! Dd stopped to do the Kidcot Station at TT. She had a Kidcot lanyard from The Land, but left it back at the room. She got a new lanyard. Ds kept himself busy and happy by browsing around the TT store.

We didn't want to ride Mission: Space, but we walked over there to check out the hands-on activities.

Next we did The World Showcase, hitting the countries we previously missed. We did not have reservations for lunch anywhere, and decided that a restaurant meal would be better than counter service. I could rest my ankle for a longer spell, the A/C would be appreciated, and the rest would do us all some good. We tried our luck at Canada, and was told that they were not seating yet but we could return as walk-ins in about an 1/2 hour. We watched the Canada movie, and returned to Le Cellier.

The restaurant was just opening, so it wasn't that busy. We had to wait about 15-20 minutes for a table. This wasn't because we were walk-ins, as other people who had reservations had to wait, too. There were empty tables, so the wait was a little frustrating.

We were told (more than once while we were in the Canadian area) that Le Cellier is the #1 ranked restaurant in Epcot. The food and service were great. The wait was the only thing I can think of that could have been improved.

First, you are given warm breadsticks--a pretzel, multigrain, and sourdough. Each breadstick represented a part of Canada. They were good, and we were told to ask for seconds of the kinds that we liked. We did!

I have made the recipe for their bacon/cheddar cheese soup at home. In spite of the heat, dh and I split a bowl of the soup ($4.99) to see how the "real" version tastes. It tasted like mine! (I'll post a recipe if you're interested).

Dh had a chicken sandwich (I forget how it was prepared, but there was something unique about it) with a tomato and cucumber salad ($11.99). I heard that the beef is tasty here, and I got a steak cheeseburger w/fries ($9.99). The burger was indeed tasty, but it was so big (there was a *thick* slice of tomato on there!) that I had a hard time wrapping my mouth around it! Ds had the kids' meal cheeseburger ($4.99) and dd had a kid's meal hot dog ($4.99). All in all, it was a good lunch.

We went to England and wandered around the gardens in the back of the gift shops. No one else was back there, so we had that place to ourselves.

We saw the movie in France. We saw Beauty and the Beast and took a picture of them with the kids. Later in France, we found Aurora (Sleeping Beauty) tucked away in a corner, all by herself! Dd was wearing a princess hat with Aurora's picture on it, and Sleeping Beauty made a fuss over dd. Ds decided to skip getting his picture taken this time--too "girly," I think. LOL

Oh--one more thing we saw in France was a mime. He was stacking chairs and doing a good performance. We didn't stay to watch because we were winding down for our afternoon break.

Dd still needed stamps on her mask for Mexico and Norway, since she didn't start her stamp collection until after we already did those countries. We walked to Mexico for her stamp. I got a Fiesta Margarita ($7.00). Dh and the kids rode the Mexican boat again. We stayed in the Mexico building for a while, just to enjoy the A/C.

Dd got her stamp at Norway, and then she was given a small poster for traveling to all of the countries.

We went back to POR for a rest and for an early dinner at the Riverside Mill.

After dinner, we returned to Epcot. We used our FPs for one last ride on Soarin.' I'm telling you............that ride is so awesome!

We rode Figment for the last time, too.

We were going to try The Living Seas, but it was too crowded for our taste.

We poked around the World Showcase. It was raining for much of the evening. About an hour before Illuminations, we staked out a perfect spot to watch the show, not far from Norway. Ds and I rode the Norway boat one more time, and dh and dd held our place at the rail. While we were on the ride, it stopped raining. Dh and ds saw a huge rainbow over Norway! The sunset was like a picture on a postcard. Dh captured it on film. I don't know how to post the picture online, but I would if I could. Maybe I'll enter that picture of the week contest.....

The rain brought the first (and only!) cooler temperatures we've had during the trip. It was so nice to not sweat!

We bought sweet pretzels from Norway (sticky, but good) and waited at our spot until 9:00 for Illuminations to begin. We held that spot near the rail for an hour.

At about 8:57, a rude family of 5 tried their darnedest to take that spot from us. They split into 2 groups (3 on one side of us and 2 on the other) and tried to worm their way smack in front of where we've been standing. Ds was on the end of our group, and in no time they weaseled their way to the rail so ds had no room left. Dh and I saw what was happening, and used our arms to spread out and to place ds and dd firmly against the rail, where they have been standing patiently for an hour to wait for the show. (If the family had asked politely for a little space for their children to see the show, we would have been glad to huddle together to give them some room. But when they come over to and push and shove us, (especially ds--they were shoving our son!) without saying a word, then that's another matter!). Grrrrr......

Regardless of the rude family, we enjoyed the show! We did pick a perfect place to view it, and it was worth an hour to hold that spot. The kids loved Illuminations, and it was a good way to say good-bye to Epcot, one of our favorite parks.

(Tip: If you're staking out a spot to watch Illuminations, or any other night show, that's the perfect time to enjoy a snack! We also played an ABC game. We listed all of the Disney characters whose names began with A. Then B........Then C......You get the idea).

(Another Tip: If you have kids, you might be tempted to skip or rush through World Showcase. Please don't! There are many places for kids to explore in WS. Get the free masks and let the kids linger at the Kidcot stations. Sometimes characters hang out in WS, too. Be on the lookout for Characters on Holiday, a red double-decker bus that holds many characters).

We wanted to end our vacation at the MK, so that's what we did!

At rope drop, dh ran over to Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (BLSRS) to grab a set of FPs. The kids and I began in Fantasyland. We rode Pooh and Peter Pan.

Dh met us at Snow White's ride, and we rode that together. Next, we did the Carrousel, IASW, and Philharmagic. What a fun 3-D movie!

We went to Frontierland and picked up FPs for Splash.

Next, we went to Tom Sawyer's Island. Every day, CMs hide 3 paintbrushes on the island. If you find a paintbrush, you turn it over to a cast member. Then you get a FP to either Splash or BTMRR. We explored the island, and kept a look out for the paintbrush. TSI was a big hit with ds! He enjoyed the fort the most. While we were in the fort.................dh found a paintbrush! We were so excited! It's funny. We had a feeling that we would find a paintbrush, and we did! That paintbrush was another bit of Disney Magic that made our trip! We gave our brush to the CM running the raft, and he gave us a FP. We decided to use it for BTMRR, since we already had a set of FPs for Splash.

We had lunch at Columbia Harbor House. Dh had fish with fries ($6.49). I had a Garden Galley Salad ($6.39). The kids got mac & cheese kids meals (2 for $7.98) and a side of fries to share ($1.89). We also got a 22 oz. Coke ($1.99).

--We rode Splash (w/FP, and we grabbed another FP!)
--We rode BTMRR with our TSI FP.
--We took the train to MTTF, then walked to Tomorrowland. We rode BLSRS. Dh and ds loved that ride! We hung around Tomorrowland long enough for our timeframe to qualify for another set of FPs, and we did get FPs for Buzz before we left for our break.

We went back to POR. Our break time was spent packing because we wanted to leave as early as possible the next morning.

--We returned to the MK and rode BLSRS.
--We had dinner at Pecos Bill.
--Got FPs for BTMRR
--We went to Splash, but the FP line was unusually long! We couldn't figure out why--maybe the ride was closed for a while? Anyway, we decided to try again later.
--PoC was a "walk-on." We rode it twice! Woohoo!
--We rode Splash for the last time. "Zip-A-Dee-Do-Dah.........!"
--Our last ride was BTMRR.

We headed back to POR. We stopped at the gift shop for last minute purchases, and went to our room to finish packing. Then we took one last dip at Old Man Island.

Our vacation was so nice that we didn't want it to end!

On the morning of Day 12, I took my last walk to Riverside Mill to refill our mugs before leaving. I wished we could stay at Disney longer!

This sums up Day 12: We woke up at POR in Florida. We went to bed at home in Maryland. It was a long day. We were like zombies by the time we reached our front door.

The kids are talking non-stop about Disney. We have friends who are taking their first trip next month, so a lot of Disney chit-chat is happening with me, too. We are hoping that our photos will be developed today. Our trip may be over, but our memories will last forever!

We loved our vacation. It was everything we dreamed of, and then some.

We're a one income family, and this vacation was supposed to be "once in a lifetime." Now we're plotting on how to manage to go to Disney again in a few years. : )

We had our share of small setbacks and a few run-ins with line cutters and rude people, but overall the experience was magical and we didn't let the little stuff bother us. We made maximum use of our time at WDW and squeezed in as much fun as possible! We ended every day (Yes, EVERY day!) in a good mood. That's what makes a happy vacation!

Here are our top favorites:

Favorite Rides/Attractions:
dh--Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin and Kilimanjaro Safaris
me--Soarin,' Splash, and PoC
ds--The Indy Show, BLSRS, and Soarin' (Oh, and PoC!)
dd--Splash, BTMRR, Soarin', and Figment

Favorite Foods:
dh--salmon and pork chops at H & V
me--schwarma platter at Tangerine, desserts at H & V
ds--sundae at H & V
dd--sundae at H & V

Favorite Souvenirs:
dh: Christmas ornament
me: magnets (I collect them from places we visit), Mickey ice cube tray, mugs
ds: sword, Mickey from Indy show
dd: Figment
All of us: Pal Mickey!

Best Character Interaction:
dh, me, and dd: Chip and Dale
ds: Robin Hood and friends

Favorite Places to Eat:
dh: H & V; Earl of Sandwich for cheap eats
me: LLT and H & V
ds: Wolfgang Puck Express ("They have the best macaroni and cheese, ever!")
dd: "Chef Mickey's, of course!"

Favorite Magical Moments:
dh: When dd thought that the 3-D character was talking *just* to her; the rainbow and sunset at Epcot
me: Ditto on dd and the 3-D movie; watching the characters interact with the kids; that afternoon I spent doing nothing at Muddy Rivers/Old Man Island; Soarin'
ds: Indy Show and pulling the rope, playing with Goofy at LLT
dd: Chip and Dale fighting over their acorns and carrying her around Chef Mickey's; "The movie was talking to ME!"; feeding the ducks at POR

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