100 Pictures of Disney Wonderfulness

Here is another big old trip report from me, this time written from the car, and we just pulled away from Disney property. I figured this would be a good way to occupy myself during the 11 hour ride home!

We planned this trip just a few weeks ago to celebrate my husband Andy’s return from 9 months in Iraq, and decided to leave on June 9th, the day after our son Dylan’s last day of Kindergarten. Our daughter Abby, who is almost 4, was with us too of course. This was Andy’s 6th and Dylan and Abby’s 7th trip. For me, I think this was trip number 20, but I’ve kind of lost count. I just know it was my 11th trip since getting married 8 years ago.

The days leading up to this trip were very hectic. In the 3 week period between Andy’s return and the start of our vacation we bought a new house and sold our house, and we will be returning just in time to move, as the U-haul is reserved for tomorrow afternoon, which is another reason I’m writing this in the car. I definitely won’t have time to do write a report after I get home!

We made a nice profit from the sale of our home, so we used some of that money to “upgrade” our van before the trip. A few days before we left we dropped it off at Circuit City and had an overhead DVD player and bluetooth stereo installed, and had them install the wires to our Playstation 2 at the same time. We also bought a bunch of new Playstation games, Disney DVD Bingo, and a Garmin GPS system to help us find restaurants, gas stations, hotels, and such for the drive. Needless to say, the 11 hour drive down (which we spanned over 2 days) was extremely fun and felt like it went by in an instant with all the new toys. I can’t believe we didn’t buy a GPS sooner because it made driving so much more pleasant.

The most fun thing about this trip was it was a complete surprise to our kids. They had absolutely no clue we were going to Disney World. We told them we were taking a really long road trip to a “huge toy store”, and they believed us!

Yay, we’re going to the toy store!

Am I winning yet?

Taking an overnight break in Savannah, Georgia


Day 1 - Sunday, June 10th

We got to Orlando Sunday after lunch at Steak N Shake (my favorite non-Disney restaurant in the whole wide world) and as we neared the WDW property gate I asked Dylan to help me find the toy store. When he looked out the window and saw the entrance to Disney World he about died and was very confused and excited at the same time. He kept asking, “How did we get here???” and was grinning ear to ear. We got his whole reaction on video and it’s priceless. When we explained to him that we were gonna stay at Disney World for the whole week he couldn’t believe it!

We’re almost to the toy store!

Steak N Shake has the best cucumbers...

...and the best lemonade!

After a quick stop to Shades of Green to buy annual passes we checked in at Pop Century. We got the exact location I had hoped for - ground floor, 50’s building, as close to the parking lot as possible. The one thing I hate about Disney resorts is the huge walk back and forth to the car when you’re trying to load and unload, so I was thrilled to see we were able to park about 20 feet from our room! It made the trip so much more enjoyable. We also arrived to 3 towel creations waiting for us in the window which was a nice surprise.

1950’s - The bowling era (apparently)

Can’t park closer to your room than this!

Those mousekeepers are always putting these stickers all over me. Oh, bother!

We’re here! We’re here...heyyyyy this isn’t a toy store!

 

[Laura]

After unloading we went over to Downtown Disney for about an hour to buy the bulk of our souvenirs with the 10% AP discount. As soon as we left there it started down-pouring and rained very hard for about 2 hours straight. We used this time to unpack and settle into the room and get dinner at the food court. When the skies cleared we headed to Magic Kingdom and enjoyed the beautiful post-storm weather and small crowds.

Dylan fitting as many creepy things into a pirate chest as possible

The best part about Disney World is getting these stickers everywhere we go!

We’re actually on the monorail going to Magic Kingdom!

They DO have Barbies at Disney World, right? Because I really wanted a Barbie...

Who cares, Abby? This is WAY better than a toy store!

We did everything in Tomorrowland except the Speedway in 2 1/2 hours, starting with Buzz Lightyear and ending with Astro Orbiter. Monster’s Inc. Laugh Floor was hysterical, and way better than I had anticipated. I also tried Stitch for the 2nd time (the first time was right when it opened) and found it more enjoyable this time than the previous time. A Cast Member picked Dylan to be the “super recruit” and put him at the front of the line. His name was announced on the microphone and everyone cheered for him and then he led the crowd into the attraction. He was so excited about the whole thing and got a certificate afterwards. The excitement was short-lived though, because after Stitch I took him for his first ride on Space Mountain. It scared the crap out of him and it took 2 loops on TTA to get him to stop crying LOL.

First stop - Tomorrowland!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Just before 10:00 we grabbed some snacks at the Lunching Pad, including the best snack on property - a sweet cream cheese pretzel, and we brought them over to the hub to watch Wishes. Dylan fell asleep right before fireworks and missed them, but it was definitely my best Wishes experience ever. Seeing Wishes from the hub while eating a cream cheese pretzel is absolutely heavenly. After Wishes we browsed around the Main Street stores and then camped out on the sidewalk across from Guest Relations for the parade. We laid Andy’s jacket on the ground and Abby fell asleep on it, so Andy and I watched SpectroMagic peacefully with no crowds and 2 sleeping kids. It was great!

Tired

Also tired

Glimmering....shimmering...

 

[Laura]

Day 2 - Monday, June 11th

Monday was our Frontierland & Adventureland day. The plan was to ride the WDW Railroad, and then get a fastpass for Splash Mountain, but we were very disappointed to see that they had removed the fastpass machines at Splash for refurbishment! So we got fastpasses for Thunder Mountain instead and then went over to Tom Sawyer Island. It was brutally hot outside, so we enjoyed the breeze, shade, and lack of crowds over on the island. One of the caves also had air conditioning so we kept going through it to cool down LOL.

Choo choooooo!

No, you may NOT ride the Haunted Mansion this month. Booooo.

Look! It’s me and Abby on a fake ship thingy!

Peek-a-boo!

Next was Thunder Mountain and it was Dylan and Abby’s first time riding. I was nervous Dylan would be scared after his poor experience with Space Mountain, but he was brave and gave it a shot. Him and Abby both loved it! Abby giggled through the whole thing, and Dylan was so proud of himself for riding. The line for Splash was insane so we decided to try Pirates, only to find a 50 minute wait for that! So we opted for Tiki Room first, and then braved the long line for Pirates. This was my first time riding since they added Jack Sparrow and it was great. I loved the Davy Jones fog thing at the beginning, and the Jack Sparrow animatronics were incredibly realistic and creepy!

I just don’t know about these rollercoasters....

Ok, so it was fun afterall!

By this time we were hungry for lunch so we stopped at Pecos Bill’s and then went over to stand in line for an hour at Splash Mountain. Again, this was Dylan and Abby’s first time riding and they were really excited. They both thought the ride was awesome and talked about it nonstop the rest of the week. After Splash we grabbed fastpasses to ride Thunder Mountain again and saw Country Bears to complete Frontierland and then went back to Adventureland.

I’ve got these fast rides down now!

He he he he, ho ho ho!

I’m not gonna get wet or anything, right?

It started to Thunderstorm and half the Adventureland attractions there closed for the weather, so we asked the Jungle Cruise CM’s if we could go down and get fastpasses instead, and they said they were all gone, but then one of the CM’s took 4 out of her pocket and gave them to us! Next we got some ice cream (citrus swirl for me - mmmmm!) to get out of the rain, and then got on Magic Carpets as soon as the rain cleared. Jungle Cruise opened back up as well so we used the fastpasses the CM gave us and rode it. We had Ian for a skipper and he was extremely “energetic” to say the least LOL. Then we finished off Adventureland with a quick hike through the treehouse.

I’m too sexy for my treehouse. Too sexy for my treehouse....

We weren’t quite hungry for dinner yet so we watched Hall of Presidents, which was my first time seeing it since I was a little kid and it was nice. Next we used our fastpasses to ride Thunder Mountain again, and then finished up rides for the day with another round of Pirates. Then it was time for dinner at Casey’s, and on the way there I ran into my friend & former tour guide from multiple tours (lol) Jeff (Enderikari) At Casey’s I met up with my good friend Rain, who I haven’t seen since my last trip over a year ago. Casey’s is also apparently the only place left at Magic Kingdom with free cheese sauce! Hmph.

After dinner another torrential rain began, just in time to drench us on the way to the monorail, and of course it cleared up by the time the monorail ride was over! Back to our hotel room we went to get rested up for another long day of rides.

 

[Laura]

Day 3 - Tuesday, June 12th

Tuesday was our Animal Kingdom day, and the goal for the day was to do every single ride and see every single show there, which we had never done before. We got there right at park opening and went straight to Everest to get fastpasses, and waited half an hour in line just for a fastpass - at 9 in the morning! The first ride of the day was Primeval Whirl, which Andy and I took turns riding since both kids are too short. Each of us took the kids on TriceraTop Spin while the other rode Primeval Whirl. Of course we forgot to utilize the rider switch pass option, so we both waited over 20 minutes to ride.

Since when do Triceratops fly?

Next we got fastpasses for Dinosaur and then went to Everest. Since it had been over a year since the last time I rode Everest I had forgotten just how intense it was and figured if Dylan liked Thunder Mountain he’d be fine on Everest. So him and Andy rode it first while I browsed the gift shop with Abby (who wasn’t tall enough to ride). Dylan came off the ride cheering and smiling, not because he liked the ride, but because he made it through the whole thing without crying LOL! Then it was my turn to ride, and when I was reminded just how fast the thing was I couldn’t believe Dylan didn’t cry on it!! Everest seems more fun and intense every time I go on it. I love it!

Then we went back to Dinoland and took the kids on Dinosaur for the first time. Dylan loved it and Abby hated it. During the ride she yelled out, “I don’t want to be killed!” LOL. Next we went to Asia and saw Flights of Wonder for the first time ever, which was super cute, followed by the Maharajah Jungle Trek and Kali River Rapids. Of all the time I’ve been on Kali I’ve never gotten wet before, but I guess it was payback this time because I got completely drenched! Of course, right after riding this the temperature outside cooled down so I ended up freezing for the next few hours. Yes, freezing cold walking around Animal Kingdom in the middle of June! The weather was actually really beautiful that day and made the day so much more awesome.

Bald Eagle from Flights of Wonder

Before having some lunch at Tusker House we got some fastpasses for the Safari and then went to go see a bunch of shows. We started with Tough to be a Bug, then Festival of the Lion King, Pocahontas, the afternoon parade, and then Finding Nemo. Finding Nemo was spectacular, and about 100 times better than Tarzan Rocks. Good riddance, Tarzan!

It’s not THAT tough to be a bug!

Don’t worry kids, Disney fire doesn’t burn.

I feel so naked without my.......uhhh.....hat

Park closing time was approaching so we quickly went and used our fastpasses for the Safari and did a quick walk through the Pangani Forest Trail. The only attraction left was Rafiki’s Planet Watch, something we’ve never done before. So we took the next train over there and didn’t end up seeing much as the petting zoo had already closed. We did see Jiminy Cricket there though, and got his autograph! At this point we had completely finished Animal Kingdom and it took from 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. to do it. Anyone who says AK is a half day park is nuts. It took us the entire day and because of fastpass we didn’t wait in any lines either (except for the first hour the park was open).

What are you lookin’ at?

Look who we found!

With half an hour to go before closing we grabbed a quick dinner at Restaurantosaurus and then I ran over to Everest and rode it 2 more times using the leftover fastpasses from earlier, while Andy finished dinner with the kids.

Climbing up the big hill to see the big monster

Pretty view from Everest

What other theme park could ever produce something like this out of nothing??

 

[Laura]

When I got off Everest the park was closed so we just wandered around and took some pictures. The best day we’ve ever had at Animal Kingdom was complete! We’ve never really had a great experience with Animal Kingdom before because it’s always so blasted hot, but having a chance to go with nice weather really helped me appreciate that park so much more. I had so much fun and thought the shows were all phenomenal. At one point I stood in front of Everest staring at it in disbelief, realizing how amazing it was that Disney could actually build an actual mountain in the middle of a theme park. Animal Kingdom has got to be the most pristine, beautiful, detailed park in the world. I can’t imagine another place topping it (aesthetically).

Look out!

Be careful, she’s not licensed!

Let's be EXCITED about the tree!

What a princess Abby is!

The big, fake tree

Good-night, Animal Kingdom!

When we got back to the hotel we did some laundry and I walked around and took pictures of the resort.

The 50’s pool, just a few steps from our room

I think they stole this from one of the tables at Beaches and Cream

Mowgli and Baloo by the Hippy Dippy Pool

I totally wanna stay THERE next time!

 

[Laura]

Day 4 - Wednesday, June 13th

Wednesday was our Epcot day, and this turned out to be our “tired and grumpy” day. Throughout the day our kids kept whining and bickering and behaving pretty badly, which made us grumpy too. I guess a week of walking 10 miles a day in the 90 degree weather is bound to do that to a family!

We arrived just before opening and were up near the rope when the park opened. Andy and Dylan went to Mission: Space, and Abby and I went in the swarm of people over to Soarin’ to get fastpasses. We arrived at Soarin’ at 9:05 and there was already a 40 minute wait for stand-by! Insane! Then we went over to Mission: Space to meet up with Andy and Dylan and I took my turn riding while the kids played on the playground. Andy had taken Dylan on the green version, and Dylan loved it. I went on the orange version of course. Next we got a fastpass for Test Track and then went back across the park to use our Soarin’ fastpasses. This ended up being the best moment of the trip, because when we were getting ready to board the ride the Dream Squad came over and handed out pins and lanyards to our entire glider! Seeing as Andy and I are avid pin collectors, we couldn’t have been more thrilled! It totally made our day that we actually won something!

So we rode Soarin’ (which the kids loved) and then proudly wore our new lanyards and pins over to the Nemo and Friends ride. We waited 25 minutes, but the line moved quickly and the queue was so relaxing. The ride itself was really weird. It was kind of plain, until the end where they project the characters right into the tank. That was definitely cool. After this it was time for our first sit down meal of the trip at Garden Grill. No one ever seems to talk about this restaurant much, but it’s definitely our favorite. The all-you-can-eat food is incredible, the restaurant is small and quiet, you have characters coming by every few minutes, and the place rotates! What’s not to love?

Mine!

A little pre-Nemo kiss action

We finally found the mouse!

Who needs a cupcake? Frosting is good enough!

*Now there should be about 30 more pictures to insert here, but my memory card decided to go nuts at this point in the trip and caused them to all be corrupted files. Therefore I need to go buy a memory card reader and use some software to try and recover the lost photos. If successful, I will add them later at the end of this*

After lunch we rode Living with the Land, and I liked the version with the recorded narration better than having a live CM, which surprised me. Next we went on Journey into Imagination and watched Honey, I Shrunk the Audience (are they EVER going to put a new show in there???). Then we finished off Future World with a spin on Test Track, a ride through Ellen’s Energy Adventure, and some Spaceship Earth, opting to skip Innoventions.

Then came the “fun” part of the day, when the skies opened up. Unfortunately we forgot to build an ark, so our trek from Spaceship Earth to Mexico was a very wet one. It was the worst rain I’ve ever walked through, and we were definitely drenched when we arrived at the Gran Fiesta Tour, even though we used ponchos and umbrellas the entire way. Gran Fiesta Tour was odd, and I miss the “la la” song, but I think it’s probably more enjoyable for kids now and definitely more upbeat. Next we got fastpasses for Maelstrom and then walked over to Italy for dinner at Alfredo’s. This was our first time eating there, and I wasn’t terribly impressed by it. The food was definitely good, but the restaurant was crowded and kind of boring honestly. It wasn’t too pricey and we had great service, but there it lacked the “magic” of the other sit down meals on property.

Dylan after getting soaked in the rain

I did not wet myself. It was the rain. I swear!

Oooooh....Nor-vay is pur-tay

Hey little dudes, watch out for those falling pennies!

Stop being such an....uhhhh....donkey....and smile!

Pretty girl

 

[Laura]

They are really good at pretending to like each other!

Hi, Abby!

Italian lights

My family in front of a naked man

Whooooaaaa this dinner is soooooo aweeeeesome!

We were hoping to see both the American Adventure and Impressions de France, but they both started at 7:30, and we realized we’d only have time to see one or the other. Since I haven’t been to Impressions de France in as long as I can remember we decided to try that. The film was dated, but beautiful with a great soundtrack. When we came out of the movie there was a full rainbow going all the way across Epcot!

I guess we won this rainbow for running around in the rain all evening?

It’s an eyeful, isn’t it? HA!

With only an hour before IllumiNations and the good spots already filling up we decided to walk back to Future World and find a place to sit down. We got a spot right next to one of those little gift shops, and it had to be the best seat in the house. We were as close to the inferno barge and globe as you could get. The inferno barge was so hot it actually made Dylan and Abby mad LOL. After fireworks we went back to the hotel to get to bed quickly, as the next day was our earliest day.

It’s 8:00....time to go wrestle tourists for a fireworks viewing location!

BAM!

Au Revoir, Wandy Wand

 

[Laura]

Day 5 - Thursday, June 14th

Thursday was morning extra magic hours at Magic Kingdom and I got up at 5 a.m., determined to get to the park entrance by 7:45. Of course, things didn’t go as planned. We got in the van about 15 minutes later than I’d hoped to, and then found that our van’s battery was dead. I had plugged in our GPS the night before to charge the battery, and forgot that the cooler/fridge thingy in the van was plugged into the same outlet and forgot to unplug it. So I called the front desk and asked them if we could have someone come help us start the van, and I couldn’t understand what she said, but she ended it with “and have a magical day” so I said “ok thanks” and hung up, assuming she had arranged for someone to come out. So we sat and waited for 15 minutes and no one came. Then Andy went in and called again, and found out that when she had said “have a magical day” she was actually transferring me to security. So I had hung up before I had been transferred, not knowing that’s what she was doing! Within 2 minutes a security guy came out and charged the battery for us, and off we went, 30 minutes later than planned.

The late start got me a little bit grumpy (I don’t like waking up at 5 a.m. for nothing!), and then to aggravate the situation, Andy turned the wrong way on Osceola Parkway and took us out to I-4 instead of heading towards the parks! So he ended up driving us all the way up to Orlando, and then we had to turn around and drive all the way back, which cost us another 30 minutes. Needless to say, we weren’t at the entrance to Magic Kingdom by 7:45! Instead, we got there at 8:30. We only had time to ride Dumbo before extra magic hour was over, but it ended up not being a big deal. We got on a whole bunch of rides with little to no wait - Peter Pan, Cinderella’s Carrousel, Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, Mad Tea Party, Goofy’s Barnstormer, Snow White, Small World, and Winnie the Pooh all by 11:30 a.m.

Almost Dumbo time, baby!

We almost bought this house, but decided not to because of all the elephants behind it.

Looks like Dumbo had a little accident on the sidewalk...

Yeee-haww!

Practicing for her road test in 12 years

Stop laughing! Tea cups are serious business!

Heyyyyy, smile for mommy!

Goofy wuz here

We were back on schedule and had put the grumpy morning behind us and were having a great time. We went to Liberty Tree Tavern for lunch and it was delicious as always. I got some kind of grilled turkey sandwich with cranberry relish, followed by a chocolate lava cake for dessert. My mouth waters just thinking about that meal! At this point we had done every single attraction at Magic Kingdom except the Liberty Square Riverboat, so right after lunch we got on that. It was my first time ever riding it, and it was so fun and relaxing!

This here’s the wiiiiiildest boat in the wiiiiiiiilderness!

Raise your hands if you wish you were on the Liberty Belle instead of Thunder Mountain!

 

[Laura]

Little toy train with little toy people

Watch out little turtle. The riverboat is bigger than you!

We’re all just sooooo gosh darn happy to be here right now!

Isn’t it wicked hilarious to take dumb pictures of your wife bending over?

Castle’s on fire!!! OMG OMG!!!! (not really)

Smmmmmokin’! (The castle...not me, duh!)

The whole family all together. AWWWWW

Our traditional “take a picture of the kids being grumpy across from Crystal Palace” picture

It goes in the collection with the following miserable pictures:
July 2004
February 2005
September 2005
December 2005
February 2006
May 2006

Look ma - no hands!

5 days in Disney and still smiling!

 

[scorp111]

As usual Laura, Great pics!

Makes me really look forward to our next trip in 90-odd days!

 

[Laura]

The plan was to leave Magic Kingdom at this point and go to Typhoon Lagoon for the rest of the day, but honestly we were just plain tired! So we made a quick decision to move Typhoon Lagoon to Saturday and go back to the hotel for the rest of the day. It was a great decision and we had an absolute blast swimming. The kids took a nice long nap after that and by 7 p.m. we were totally recharged and decided to go back to Magic Kingdom.

Disney geekness

We promised Dylan we’d take him on Splash Mountain one more time because he’d been begging for days. Unfortunately, when we got there fastpasses were gone and the line was 70 minutes long! So we opted for Thunder Mountain instead, followed by another round of Pirates. Next we decided to try Jungle Cruise at night, since we’d never done that before. Had we been a few a few spots ahead in the line we’d have ended up having Ian as a skipper again, as we only missed him by 1 boat! After Jungle Cruise the family got ice creams and I got a Dole Whip to kill time until Wishes started. As soon as fireworks began we headed over to Splash Mountain, hoping to catch a short line, which we did. Dylan was so excited he was couldn’t stop smiling, and we were just a couple minutes away from boarding when they announced that there was a problem with the ride and everyone would have to exit the queue! Dylan was so devastated that I almost cried seeing how sad he was! So we decided to sit around and see if it would open back up while the kids played on the little playground. Finally, about 20 minutes before the park closed the ride opened so we jumped back in line and walked right in with no wait. I was so happy that we got to ride Splash again because Dylan would have been so bummed otherwise!

Heyyyy, she stoled my hat!

I think I found a hidden mickey!

We didn’t get back to our room till about midnight so we decided to sleep in the next day instead of doing MGM’s morning extra magic hour. We knew it meant we’d definitely not get to do everything at MGM, but we definitely needed some sleep!


Day 6 - Friday, June 15th

We got up on Friday after a long stretch of sleep and didn’t get to the Studios until about 10:30 a.m. This was our first time there during Star Wars Weekends and it was pretty cool! I just started getting into Star Wars a couple months ago, so I actually knew who all the characters were LOL. It was interesting entering the park with 2 clone soldiers pointing weapons at us and barking out orders!

Ahhhhh! Attack of the clones!

The first thing we did was get fastpasses for Tower of Terror, and noticed while we were over there that Rock N Rollercoaster was down. Next we went to Muppetvision 3-D, got fastpasses for Star Tours, and then saw Beauty and the Beast. About halfway through Beauty and the Beast Dylan started having a breakdown and crying, saying he had a bad headache. We decided to get fastpasses for Rock N Rollercoaster while we were over there, and then take a break from attractions and go to the Commissary to get some lunch to see if that would help him feel better. This turned out to be a bad idea, and I waited in line for over 45 minutes just to get food. When I got to the table with the food Dylan was still crying, and Andy said he had been crying the entire time. We couldn’t get him to eat anything, so we decided that Andy would take him back to the room and Abby and I would do a few more rides.

Beauty-ful!

So after lunch they went back to the hotel and Abby and I rode Star Tours, Tower of Terror, and the Great Movie Ride, then saw the Playhouse Disney show. I called Andy and he said Dylan had a terrible fever and was not doing well at all so I decided to go back with Abby, grabbing some Children’s Motrin at the hotel gift shop on the way to the room. Dylan was definitely in bad shape when I got there, burning up and kind of delirious. I gave him some Motrin to bring his fever down and decided to stay there with him and let Andy go to MGM and do some rides for a few hours. When the Motrin kicked in he started feeling a little better so I ordered a pizza and chocolate cake from the food court and he was able to eat it and then played with Abby and watched TV for a while.

Around 8:00 Andy came back and it was my turn to go out while he babysat. Dylan seemed to be doing fine so he was gonna take the kids swimming. He said Rock N Rollercoaster was still down, and that was the only ride I wanted to go on, so I figured I’d go to Magic Kingdom instead. Before I left I posted in PML that I was mad about RNR being down, and Nick (disneydata) who works there called them up and found out it had opened back up. So my friend Ben (Wilt Dasney) called me just as I was about to get on a Magic Kingdom bus to let me know it was back up so I went to the MGM bus stop instead. Yay for WDWMagic connections saving the day LOL.

I really should have just driven, but since I was planning to go to MK I didn’t want to deal with the monorail and stuff so that’s why I wanted to take a bus. Now that I was going to MGM, the bus was just a hassle, but I didn’t want to go back and get the van so I just dealt with it. I waited a long time for the bus, and then ended up being the only person on the bus, which was very strange. The little spiel and music they’ve added to the buses definitely makes them more enjoyable though.

Arriving at MGM I still had half an hour to kill before my fastpass window for Rock N Rollercoaster arrived (which I had FOUR fastpasses for!), so I went on Tower with a leftover fastpass from earlier to kill time. I ended up with a great group of repeat riders and Disney freaks in the elevator so it was a TON of fun! Then I went over and rode Rock N Rollercoaster with one of the 4 fastpasses I had. When I got off, there was only enough time left to ride it one more time, so I got right back in line. After waiting for 10 minutes, the ride broke down again! Keep in mind, it had been down the entire day except for about 1-2 hours. So rather than waste my night waiting for a broken ride, I jumped out of line and got in line for Tower again 2 minutes before the park closed, which was a great ride to pick as my “last ride” of the trip.

This must be a new DVC resort at MGM?

I wonder if this elevator is safe...

The ghosts of Disney tourists

Mickey, I think you dropped something.

After some shopping and picture taking I spent FOREVER getting a bus back to the hotel. I actually got right on the bus without a wait, but then it sat there for 20 minutes waiting for more people. I am seriously not using bus transportation again unless I need to. What a pain! When I got back to the room I learned that Dylan had been throwing up while I was gone, and he was still burning up. So we didn’t know if we’d actually be able to go to Typhoon Lagoon the next day or not. We stayed up late and got all our laundry done and planned to sleep in a little later in the morning.


Day 7 - Saturday, June 16th

Saturday was the sad day. The leaving day. Boo. Actually, Saturday is today, as I’m still typing this in the car (in South Carolina now!). This morning, Andy and I got up and packed everything and loaded it into the van and got ready to go to Typhoon Lagoon, but then Dylan woke up and was still burning up with a fever. So that wasn’t gonna work. Unfortunately, we already had paid for our tickets, so I guess we’ll just save them for a later trip. We gave Dylan some Motrin and decided to go to Beaches and Cream for lunch and then head home. Once the Motrin kicked in Dylan started feeling better, just in time for lunch. My friend Rain had lunch with us, which was nice since I didn’t get to see her more than a few minutes the whole trip. I got my cheese hot dog which I’d been craving for over a year, so that made the vacation feel complete. Also, from walking around there the Beach Club just looks so nice, Andy and I wanna go back and stay there sometime in the next year or two.

A quick picture with Rain before heading home

After an awesome lunch we got in the van and started the 11 hour drive back to North Carolina, which we are now nearly done with. So I guess we’ll be getting home around midnight tonight, and then tomorrow I can get my pictures up and add them to this trip report and post it. And when I’m done with that, I can start packing up my house, seeing as we’re getting a new house on Monday and going on vacation again on Tuesday LOL.
And that’s the end of my trip report. =-)


....and now it's Sunday morning so I'm home and posting my report. And yes, there are exactly 100 pictures!

 

[lpet11984]

What an AWESOME report-- I love all your pictures!!! You have a great camera, to take some fantastic shots. Hopefully, Dylan is feeling better, poor guy...

Thanks so much for sharing!!!

 

[Computer Magic]

Great Report !!! I laughed, I cried, I was glue to my seat

 

[tigsmom]

Wow Laura, that some report!!

I'm so glad that you all got to spend the time together as a family (in one terrific place) after all that you've been thru this year. You have a beautiful family, enjoy your new home (we get picture, right? :lookaroun )

:wave:

 

[OhioDisneyLover]

Great report. Your pictures are awesome. What kind of camera did you use?

Hope your son is feeling better.

 

[Laura]

Great report. Your pictures are awesome. What kind of camera did you use?

Hope your son is feeling better.

I'm glad you liked them. I was actually really unhappy with how my pics turned out this trip. :lol:

I used a 3 year old Canon Digital Rebel for most of them, and a Fuji Finepix for the rest.

I also have a roll of waterproof disposable camera pictures to develop and scan from the pool.

And he's feeling perfectly fine now, thank goodness!

Ok time to go pack. Getting the u-haul in a couple hours. :lol:

 

[DDuckFan130]

Great report!!! Your kids are getting so big and I love how you have the pictures from the same spot over the years. My other favorite was the pre-Nemo kiss :lol:

Glad you had fun :sohappy:

 

[Monty]

Great trip report! But why is it any time you mention trauma involving your kids you follow it with "LOL"? :drevil:

Oh, and hooray for 1950's bowling era! :sohappy:




:lookaroun

 

[Wilt Dasney]

We had Ian for a skipper and he was extremely “energetic” to say the least LOL.

Sounds like a jerk to me.

 

[doop]

Excellent report! Loved the pictures and the details from your trip! Thanks for sharing!