Silva Family - October 2005 • WDW Trip Reports

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Silva Family - September 2005

Tony-30yo Disney Nut and planner
Derek-33yo Disney Nut
Emily-10yo Niece "I want to do it all."
Matthew - 6yo Nephew "Nothing too scary or fast."

Airline: JetBlue. Wonderful experience as always. Kids loved the TV's and the Terra Blue potato chips.

Flight arrived early. We quickly found Disney's Magical Express. We loved the bus and the movie. I would use this service again in a heart beat.

We checked in at the Pop Century Resort. The room was very nice we had no problem with noise or space. It was on the 4th floor of the 50's building with great view of EPCOT. Next time I will request a view of an icon. The pools were great. I used NetGrocer.com to send bottled water and fruit H2O. This is a wonderful service. If you will not have a rental car please use this service. We took 4 bottles of water with us every day. I also sent a package via USPS. I expected this package to arrive two days before us. It contained treats and Halloween costumes. It was no where to be found and did show up until Thursday. Pop MouseKeeping was great got a few towel animals and stuffed animals were arranged in cute formations.

We went to Downtown Disney to get Free Disney pins from eating all of those Fruit Loops and Apple Jacks. The kids also got their starter lanyards. Next we headed off to Fort Wilderness via bus and Arrived early for a 5pm Hoop Dee Doo Review. We poked around the shop and the playground. We saw the lawnmower tree. We entered into HDDR. Derek and I had been there a couple of years ago and the kids had never been. We had a great table right in the center of the floor. A few songs were done right next to us. Food was great and I have never seen my nice laugh so hard. Matthew was the center of the Annie Oakley character attention and he was just red with embarrassment. After the show we wandered over to the petting zoo and loved a little white pony that Derek quickly named "old Blue eyes." Then we hopped on the bus to the campfire. This was a great activity. I bought 4 sticks and 1 Ziploc bag of marshmallows at a cart right at the campfire. This was more than enough. I think that 6 people could have shared this bag of marshmallows. A word of warning the sticks are long and kids quickly pulled them out of the fire. Just be careful or you'll end up with marshmallow burn. The sing along was great. And Chip and Dale were in their element. We got autographs and pictures. Then we hopped back on the bus to go to the marina. The bugs were everywhere. This freaked Emily out, but they weren't biting so we got on the boat and rode to Magic Kingdom. I love boat rides so I very much enjoyed this. Funny moment was that the kids were running away from us all night, then we got on the boat where they could really go anywhere and they were glued to us. Go figure. We transferred to the bus at Magic Kingdom. Bus stop 18 was a place that we would become very familiar with. Once we got to Pop, we went for a quick swim before going to sleep.

Up early and at park by 8:40 and got in to the rope. We played Disney Trivia with the cast members and then Emily won the first family on Tower of Terror. (Question was what state does Dumbo take place?- Florida) We entered the park behind the bell hop and entered the ride. Matthew was very certain that he was not riding this ride. But agreed to enter the hotel and do the pre-show. We did a child swap and Derek, Emily and I all loved the ride. Then we were off to Rockin' Roller Coaster. Matthew decided that this was too scary but did do the pre-show. Child swap again. I never heard Emily scream like this in my life. She loved it. Now we were off to the Great Movie ride. We all enjoyed this ride. But we ended up in the front row; I think Matt would have liked to have a few people ahead of us. Told both kids to close their eyes during the Alien part and all loved the Wizard of Oz part. We followed this with the Muppet 3D Movie. Kids loved it. Derek and I were trilled to finally find the key under the mat and "a net full of jello." After the show we headed off to Sci-Fi Dine Inn, stopping for tattoos along the way. Lunch was great. We all had burgers and did not use the dinning plan. Next we head off to the Voyage of the Little Mermaid. We all loved the bubbles and the rain. Great show. Left there and went to the Animation studio. It was a good show and the kids really got in to it. Then we had the Chicken Little Magical Moment. Derek has been in love with Chicken Little ever since our friend Amy, a sister of a Disney Animator, told us about it. Well I thought he was going to burst when he saw him. The four of us must have spent 20 minutes with Chicken Little. He was wonderful and funny and flipped out when he saw Derek's Chicken Little t-shirt (thanks again Amy.) The animation computers proved fun activity for all. I'm still laughing about being most like Scar. Off to Indian Joes. Derek was picked to be in the show and the kids learned about some special effects. Now were off to Lights Motors Action. The show was great. I feel like I learned quite a bit about how they pull off those scenes in action movies. I would see this show again. Star Tours – "This looks scary Uncle Tony." "Matthew you will be fine." "I don't want to go." "Matthew just try it." Ride ends. "Can we go again Uncle Tony?" Uncle Derek was looking a bit green. Derek and I don't like Sounds Dangerous so we skipped it and did the Backlot tour. Backlot tour is okay. I miss the Golden Girls house and wish that they could beef this tour up a bit. Fantasmic was great. We went in about 30 minutes early and got great center seats about ten rows up. We had wonderful pin conversations with those around us and all loved the show. And the show was great with Mickey battling all of the evil Disney villains. After the show we headed back to Pop and had a quick dip in the pool.

Got the Kids up early. They had no clue what was going on and soon we where in the Castle eating breakfast. Emily was so excited to meet Sleeping Beauty. I was equally excited to see Snow White and we all had a jolly conversation with Mary Poppins. At the end of the breakfast I had the server present an invitation from Mickey Mouse to attend a party on Friday night at the Magic Kingdom. This got the kids really excited. We finished our meal and took off for Fanstyland. There were already kids in line to dash off to Tink Treasures so we took off to Dumbo and had a great flight. Followed this up with every other ride in Fantsyland in 45 minutes. WOW! The only things left out were Teacups and Mickey's Philharmagic. We took off for Main Street for the next surprise, the Family Magic Tour. I'm so glad that we got to do this event. Matthew and Emily loved it. Derek and I hammed it up and did every silly thing that the tour guide told us we must do to find Captain Hook's favorite hook. The end was Magical! Peter Pan and Wendy showed up and played with the kids and did photo's and autographs. Then they took us to Mickey's Philharmagic. Matthew and Emily got to sit with Peter Pan. It was worth every cent. After the tour we took off for the Haunted Mansion. I didn't expect Matthew to ride but I figured if I could just get him on it he would love it. Saying things like it was similar to Star Tours didn't cut it. So we back out and went through a service hall in the Haunted Mansion that was themed really cool. If I didn't have a crying child with me I would have taken a moment to drink in the details. Like the service bells that connected to various mansion rooms. So Matthew and I checked out the Pet Cemetery and when Emily and Derek appeared all full of giggles. We went to Pecos Bills. Lunch was great. The Dessert was great. Derek got up toward the end and got Fast Passes for Big Thunder Mountain. When he got back we decided to take Matthew to Toontown to ride Goofy's BarnStormer via the train. If he liked it, he would ride BTMRR right? Well he loved Goofy's but there was no way that he was going on BTMRR. Well we walked on to see Minnie's House and then Mickey's House and got a photo with Mickey. Then it was off to Adventureland. We headed to Pirates. Well Matt had no desire to ride this ride. So he and I went off to ride the carpets. Emily and Derek met up with us and I sent them off to BTMRR. Matthew and I rode Magic Carpets and did the Swiss Family Tree House. I really enjoyed the Treehouse so much more because I had watched the movie this summer. And who can beat that view from the top. We met up with the gang and saw the parade. I love this parade form Frontierland. After which we saw the Country Bears. Derek and I love Big Al. This show is always good for a laugh. After which I suggested that we go to Story Time with Belle, but I was out voted for Tom Sawyer's Island. I swear that some day I'm going to get to story time with Belle! Well we went off to TSI and gave the kids 20 minutes to get lost. Derek and I sat at Aunt Polly's and rocked in a two very comfortable chairs. We met up with the kids and Emily and I rode BTMRR and Splash. I loved pointing out hidden Mickey's to Emily. Derek and Matthew shopped. It was now time for dinner and we chose Columbia House. Derek and I loved the Fish n' Chips and the apple pie. We followed this up with Pooh's playful Spot, Pooh ride and Snow White. Then it was time for Wishes. This turned out to be a testing night for Hallowishes. I loved the theme. The use of Nightmare Before Christmas characters as well as all of those villains was just grand. We all were very sleepy and some fell asleep on the bus.

Derek and I had experienced Soarin' Over California at Disney's California Adventure and we loved it. We headed to it first and got on the first flight. Matthew loved it so we got Fast Pass for it latter in the day. I love the sent of the oranges. Next we bolted to Figment's ride and loved it. There was one scary spot but we didn't talk about it and moved on. Emily was chosen to be part of the photo show and became a geeky lab nerd. The photo was great. We than played on the computers and sent some crazy photos to friends. After which we headed off to Test Track. Matthew was not to sure about this but once he was told that we would buy him a pin at the end he was okay. He loved this ride and wanted to go again. So we grabbed a fast pass and headed off to Mission Space. Not quite sure how I got this kid on this ride but we eventually got on. The kids loved it, and Derek and I enjoyed it but we need Ellen's Energy Adventure afterwards to get our heads back to normal. The Kids liked this ride and the pointed out all of the dinosaurs. After this ride we went to Season's and had the best counter service meal that we had all week. After we went on Soarin' and followed it with Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Matthew was very nervous about the snake scene and decided that he would just take his glasses off. After this we went on Spaceship Earth. Kids thought that this was good. But they were ready for Test Track and to hit the World Showcase. I still cannot believe that Matthew loves this ride. The kid won't go on Splash Mountain-a little water and a singing rabbit, but loves traveling 70 miles an hour into a wall.

Mexico ride was cute as ever. It is corny and tacky. But a must do for me. Next we brought the kids to the Kidcot Station. THANK YOU DISNEY! These little stations were wonderful. The kids started with a mask and colored it then they traveled around the world collecting symbols and stamps for all of the countries. This allowed Derek and I a moment to shop close by and a moment away from the constant questions. Anyone at EPOCT with kids please take advantage of this free feature. I also got Emily to ask how to say thank you and good bye in the host's native tongue. This was a wonderful learning experience for all of us.

The Viking ship play area was closed in Norway. I was bummed, because I wanted the kids to get the chance to get rid of the wiggles. We went on the Norway Ride and pointed out the hidden Mickeys to the kids. Matthew was not thrilled with this ride as it went into the whole Troll storyline. Once again the kid rode Mission Space. Go figure.

In China we had a wonderful moment with the best Mulan that I have ever encountered. She talked with the kids about family, love, honor and respect. This was followed up with a Mushu sighting. The kidcot was great and the kids got their names written in Chinese on the back of their masks. Italy was quick. We had fun pointing out the various types of architecture.

When we arrived at the American Pavilion the American Adventure was just about the start. This is a great show and Emily and Derek had a conversation about the Civil War. Matthew took a little nap and I just sat back and enjoyed it. That horse-robot that George Washington sits on is just too real. After the show we found the Kidcot and Derek and I listened to a fife and drum set while the kids colored their masks and met some new friends from Louisianan. We even did some pin trading with these sweet kids.

Now it was time to trek to Canada. By the time that we got their it was time for dinner. Le Cellier is a wonderful restaurant. Derek and I were very happy with our meals and the kids enjoyed theirs as well. The kids desserts were so adorable. Emily had Mousse Moose and Matthew had S'moores. Once again Disney presentation was superb The bill came to $190. Thank you free Disney Dining. After the wonderful meal, I took care of some gifts and Derek took the kids to the Kidcot. We then wandered up to England. At this point I was very driven that we get all of the kidcots done. The others wanted to check out the pin cart. Eventually I got them into the UK Kidcot area. Once there we found that a line was forming for Winnie the Pooh and Friends. So we got in line. One of Emily's favorite characters is Eeyore. She just bubbled over when he entered the room. I on the other hand just lost it when I saw Rabbit. He and I are a lot a like and I had a long conversation about it.

Next we were off to France. We found the Kidcot and this cast member was superb with the kids and their questions. We took a moment to smell the fragrances in the Perfume shop. And then dashed off to Morrocco. The kids really saw the difference in architecture here and loved all of the tile work. The cast member at the Kidcot was fantastic. He taught the kids about Arabic and more words than thank you and good bye. In fact we all had a good laugh about Uncle Tony's pronunciation of thank you. Next we were off to Japan. Emily was surprised to find all of the Hello Kitty merchandise. Derek bought his piece of china in Japan. And the kids finished their masks. At this point they got a poster for traveling the world.—there are kidcots at some of the future world, but we didn't do those.—We also loved the tin toys in Japan. This is a very amusing exhibit.

Illuminations ended our night. This is one of Disney amazing firework shows. Wow, it was as amazing as ever. Matthew plugged his ears through the whole show. If traveling with small kids who are over whelmed by loud noise, consider bringing ear plugs for them. After this we went to MouseGears were Derek collected the greatest Hitch Hiking Ghosts pin collection that was ever created for me. I entertained the kids at the Mr. Potato Head buffet. We were all very tried at the end of this day. But this was the most enjoyable day in Epcot that I have ever spent. Great Food, Sorin' and those kidcots just made my day.

Matthew's favorite character is Donald and it was just so sad that we hadn't seen him. We really played this up because Derek, Emily and I knew that we would see him at Donald's Breakfastasoaurous. Great Breakfast. The characters were fun and the food was great. There was a glitch in communication at the next point. Derek went off with Emily to Dinosaur leaving me and Matt to trek to Africa and back. Anyways we all met up Triceratops Spin and then went on Primeval Whirl twice. I love doing Dionoland first. No lines and it got the kids excited about the day. We next head off to It's Tough to Be a Bug. I love this show. I showed the kids the hornet poke spot and the mister and squirter but Matthew was still freaked out. He put his head in my lab until the whole hopper thing was over. Next we were off to Derek's favorite show, Flights of Wonder. He tried to volunteer a couple of times but didn't have any luck. The birds were beautiful and we got some great photos. Next we were off to Kali River Rapids. Which is fun but too short, but since we were there early in the day we did it twice and got a good soaking. Matthew loved this ride and wanted to go on it again and again. Next we did the Jungle Trek and followed it up the Safari. We were all enchanted with the powerful giants- tigers, hippos, and lions. Lunch was at Pizziafarri. Good lunch. We all needed some fuel to perk up our attitudes. Next we found a place for Emily to get a Hair Wrap. She was thrilled and has been saving up for months to get this done. While she did that Matthew and I had a great encounter with Stitch. He licked the autograph book and then rubbed it on me. Yuck. Now it was time for shows. The Festival Lion King was followed by Pocahontas, and then Tarzan Rocks. All three shows are great and each of us liked something different form the other. After Tarzan we did a spin on Primeval Whirl and then headed to Asia to watch the parade all by ourselves. I have never watched a Disney parade with no one around me. I was wonderful. Then we headed out. As we walked over the bridge I looked down on the Character landing and saw Tigger and we all yelled goodbye to Tigger. He turned around and hopped up and down and waved at us. What a great way to say good bye to Animal Kingdom.

Back at Pop I went to the front desk and picked up my package. Finally the Halloween Costumes had arrived. I will never ship via USPS to Disney again unless I send it next day. I blew up the floats and we went to the pool. We quickly went to have fun in the bowling pin pool. Then we went back to the room and got ready for our night out. The kids were off to the Neverland Club (seeing a theme in this vacation for the kids?) and Derek and I went to the Kona Café. Food was fantastic. But it was very noisy. But $109 bill for free. I can put up with some noise.After dinner we headed to the beach and relaxed in some chairs as the Water Pageant and Wishes fireworks entertained us. We got the kids who said that they had a wonderful time and we headed back to Pop

The kids awoke today with in invitations to Alice and the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. These invitations specifically stated that Tony and Derek were not invited to the tea party because they were friends with the Queen of Hearts. And they didn't want that sort at their gathering. Tinker bell had left an Alice in Wonderland pop up book with two appropriate pins. There were also Mr. Potato Heads. (If you think that your kids might get into the Mr. Potato Head Disney thing, buy them at Target for $5 and fill you Disney box with all of the unusual Disney accessories.) After all that excitement we went to the pool for a good 2 hours. Then it was back to the room for a nap. Everyone was snoring. And then we were off to the Tea Party. We took the bus and then the launch to the Grand Floridian. I realized that I had forgotten a bit of my costume. So I left Derek with the kids and taxied back to Pop and then bused and boated back. By the time I got back it was time to pick up the kids. We walked into the dining room to find all of the kids asleep. They quickly awoke and handed all the adults a small bouquet of flowers. The kids had a wonderful time. They had many silly stories to tell about what happened. I'm still not sure why Matthew got a lemon form the Mad Hatter. But he really had a great time. (Make sure that you tell you little one to sit at the ends of the table so they can sit close to the characters who are positioned at either end.) After the tea party we had sometime to kill and we decided to ride the monorail. We also realized that we need to go back to GF to get a bag left there. We rode up front hoping to get the front seat, but some one beat us. As we traveled around the driver would pop his head in and tell us a joke and eventually he let us ride up front. Once we had the bag we went to The Magic Kingdom.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party opens at 4pm and we had dining reservations at the Liberty tree Tavern at 4:05 so we were about 10 minutes late for our reservation, but it was no problem. By now the kids have figured out that this special party that Mickey is having is a Halloween party. The servers were all dressed up in Haunted Mansion uniforms and the charters were in costume. It was great and the food was wonderful. The kids were itching to know if they were going to wear costumes and we looked at them and said "Would Uncle Tony bring you to a Halloween Party without costumes?" to which they giggled and laughed. We told them that it was hot and that it would be best if we waited to put the costumes on at 7:00pm. After dinner we went off to Tommorowland and got in a ride on Buzz and then were told we needed to go to Frontierland. This threw me for a loop so we took off for BTMRR. Matthew had no desire to ride, but the rest of us did so we took off on the wildest train in the Wilderness.

This was followed by the Country Bears. We let the kids choose the seats and so we sat up close. It was fun to see this show from a different vantage point. Then it was off to the Frontierland Shootin' Arcade. Now the park was open and we took off to Stitch's Great Escape. I must say that I enjoyed the changes. Matthew loved it especially the Chili Dog Burp. Then we were off to Space Mountain. And we all loved it. Matthew yelled I want to go again. At this point we changed into costumes. Matthew was Peter Pan, Emily was Wendy, I was John and Derek was little Michael. The costumes were a big hit. And everything look great. Given who we were dressed as we went on Peter Pan's Flight. Ahh Neverland. As we left there we got a photo with Frollo. Boy he is just evil. We also got some great photos with the Seven Dwarfs and Codfish/Captain Hook. We then did the Mad Treat Party. We got to see the Walrus. Next it was on to Space Mountain and the Astro Orbiter. Hallowishes went off as we rode which was cool, but no witch flying . Then it was on to see the Boo to You Parade, which was fantastic! We loved every bit of it and freaked out when we saw the Lost Boys and they freaked out when they saw us too. We went and got our photo and then Emily and I did the Haunted Mansion which was grand as usually with a bit of flare with a ghost on the front lawn. Then it was off to the Stitch Dance Party, Teacups, Pooh, Snow White, Small World and finally Peter Pan's Flight. I was trilled with this event. I only wish that they handed you a guide to tell you what times things are. We missed Merlin's Magic Show and some other MNSSHP events. And I put too much weight on getting Tomorrowland done in that first hour. But it was a wonderful trip.

Sleep in (cancelled Chef Mickey's-up too late @ MNSSHP)-Pack-Pop breakfast-Downtown Disney (p.s. bus ride back to Pop was long and we missed our Magic Express, luckily we got on the next one and had time at Pop for lunch)Flight home

Dining plan: Yes! I would never have gotten this, but since it was free we tried it and wow it was wonderful. As long as Disney doesn't up the price too much I would gladly pay $35 a day. Kids and Rides: You just never know what is going to freak them out. Matthew rode Mission Space and liked it but would not go near Splash Mountain. Go Figure. If this is your once in a lifetime trip consider waiting until the kids are 10yo. It was a fantastic trip for Emily.

Pop century: For the money Pop is just great. Fast Passes: It was so slow at the parks. A couple of days we didn't even use Fast Passes. MNSSHP: Just do it! And were a costume it is really a whole lot of fun.

Tea Party with Alice: Yes! Yes! Yes! I was a little bit afraid of sending a 10yo since the web is full of people asking if they could send their potty trained 3 year old, but it became one of the highlights of the kids trip.

Pixie Dust: Each morning we all woke up with a special note above our heads. The notes were from various characters that we might meet thoughout the day at that particular park. The notes were silly- such as the one from Cinderella to Matthew to make sure he changes his stink socks before comming to the castle- and also informative about what might happen that day. On the MGM day Emily got a message from Belle that told her that sometimes things at Disney look very scary on the outside and really are quite fun on the inside, just like the Beast. Emily applied this note to her first trip on Tower of Terror and I think it really helped. For Matthew it was the message form Aldar (Dinosaur movie) that helped him remember that not all dinos are scary. Thus making Animal Kingdom a fun day. These notes really didn't take up that much of my time to create and if you use a color printer and clip art you could even do it faster. They certainly made the trip that much more magical. I also stopped at the party store and got a bag of 12 green squeeky frogs that "invaded" our bathroom one night. Oh and one other thing that Derek did was print out a sign that said "Welcome to Neverland" along with some Peter Pan clipart. He put this on the window the first day when I took the kids to the pool. Not only was this a great surprise for them but helped us locate our room quickly. A little dust goes a long way.

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