A Toddler at the Grandparents + Two Parents = An Amazing Disney Vacation

My husband texted me the other day to remind me that a year ago he began to plan our first vacation ever (we have been married for 13yrs) and our first trip to Disney World. Like many of you, we spent countless hours poring over books, brochures, blogs, podcasts, DISCUSSION BOARDS and articles about the World to aid us in having a trip of a lifetime. Now that our amazing trip is over – we are going through withdrawals and other than planning for another trip to Disney the only thing I could think of to cure this withdrawal and depression is to write a Trip Report.

So, here we go!!!

Who: me (Catherine 38yrs) and my DH (Rob 35yrs – yep, I married a younger man..LOL). We were leaving our 3yr old with Grandma and Grandpa for the week… yippee!!!!!!

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When: Oct 16th (happened to be my bday) thru Oct 21st
Resort: All Star Movies

Before I begin… thank you everyone who have posted trip reports in the past (HollyBelle, Fractal, Blackthidot, WDWFigment, MillerPoppins, etc…) you helped us make the time go by fast as we counted down to our vacation. Well… with that – my first trip report….

On Saturday morning, October 15th we packed up the car and strapped our 3yr old in and headed “downstate” Michigan. (that is what us folks from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan say when we head below the bridge) We were headed for my husband’s folk’s house, where we would be spending the night and leaving our little boy while we traveled to Walt Disney World. (we decided to go by ourselves since he is young and since we’ve never been on a vacation together) Our trip downstate for the most part went well. Despite a traffic jam due to construction on the Mackinaw Bridge that slowed us down CONSIDERABLY, it took us an hour to go a ½ mile.!!!
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But, we made it to Rob’s folk’s house and after a long day called it a night.



Day I
A journal entry on Sunday, Oct 16th at 5:45AM (while we were waiting to board our plane)
Happy 28th Birthday to me! (ugh, 38???)
We said goodbye to Jonah last night at bedtime. He was not phased at all and didn’t care that we wouldn’t be there when he woke up. He was more interested in grandma and grandpa and all they had planned.
We left the house at 4:50am and headed to Flint! What a gorgeous fall morning! It was still dark out of course but it was calm, no snow and no deer!!! It was a quick drive! Our arrival at the gate was just as smooth! We didn’t have any issues at security and didn’t get a pat down or a body scan…. darn! haa haa (note the sarcasm)
Oh, I’m so excited! I feel so close to my husband now – we are on an adventure together and the only goal is that we enjoy being together and we have fun. I’m pretty much at the point where no words are even needed.

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The flight was smooth (it seemed to take forever though – even though we arrived earlier than scheduled). We paid a little extra to board early, which was a great decision! As the morning sun was rising over the clouds, I couldn’t help but feel like a child – amazed at what I was seeing and jumping inside with excitement due to our destination!
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We made our way down to ME by 10am and waited in line for maybe 20min. It was amazing to see in person all that we had read about and seen from everybody else’s trip reports. We couldn’t believe we were finally there! We hopped on our bus and we were off.

The obligatory photo of the airport..
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Trying to stay cool and collected on our monorail trip to the terminal.
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Yay!
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Off we go!
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Now, the ME was not quite what we had heard it was or could be. Our poor driver couldn’t really speak English well and his loud speaker didn’t work either. So, he spent the whole trip talking into this speaker that he KNEW wasn’t working and then in this accent that us Northerners could not make out exactly. to add to it, the movie on the bus wasn’t working either. It only played the opening and then would get stuck. This bus had issues. It didn’t bother us though – I felt real bad for the driver but I entertained myself with looking out the window at all the wonderful birds, vegetation and sights! I was overwhelmed already and we hadn’t even made it to Disney World. haa Yea, we’re from a small isolated area up in the U.P.
 

joanna71985

Well-Known Member
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We walked up to the Great Movie Ride and figured it was the perfect time to see us some Judy Garland and Fred Astaire, but the waiting time was crazy. It was 30min at that point. It must have been a mistake looking back, because the line wasn’t that long – but we were both at the point where I think our patience was starting to exhaust. As we were walking in the Animators Courtyard, my stomach started not feeling very well at all. I have a real touchy stomach so I figured it was just me so we kept moving. But, as we were standing at the Chinese Theater, I was feeling worse and worse. Again, I didn’t want to say too much because I didn’t want to ruin Rob’s time – but I felt green. Then suddenly, we heard music… FUN music! It was the Countdown to Fun parade. We had not staked out our claim 45min beforehand, so there really was nowhere near the parade route to get a good view. So, we took in front of “The Hat”, up on the steps there and watched it. It was a great place to watch it from! I was able to get some great pictures of the Pixar characters … more head on instead of looking up at them! This parade, I thought, was great!!! The music was fun and who doesn’t get happy and forget their cares when they see Woody, Sully and the alien guys!!!

Actually, from what I can tell from the picture, if the line uses the exterior queue, it really is around a 30 minute wait.
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
I’m not sure how else to sum up what I thought of Kilimanjaro Safari’s except to say – So cool!!! Rob and I were able to have our own “bench” so, no – weird umbrella guy (like on the Backlot Tour). So, I was able to be taking pictures with one camera and Rob with the other. SIDENOTE: We brought two cameras; a DSLR and a point and shoot. Our DSLR doesn’t have video taking capabilities and we wanted to be able to take some or a 100 videos. haa So, we spent a lot of time capturing memories and sat with “Holy Cow” faces!!

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“You follow old Rafiki, he knows the way” – Rafiki

We followed him over to Camp Mickey to “Festival of the Lion King” but first stopped at a little frozen food cart to get a Popsicle. It was really hot and humid and this lady needed to cool down!!! We didn’t have to wait long, about 15min before we were allowed into the auditorium. I was so impressed with their set up. I was thinking as we sat there that Disney thinks of everything! From a parent with a toddler/preschooler perspective I love how the “bleachers” were not that high. I also loved how they included kids as much as possible in the act and makes everything as interactive as possible. I can’t wait to take our son there!

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
We took a stroll over to Asia. I thought Africa was amazing, but I found Asia to be even more impressive! I went nuts taking pictures while Rob ran to get Fastpasses at Kali River Rapids.

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It's time to call it a night.... later: In search of the Yeti, a tough couple of bugs and an incredible dinner!
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
If you thought it was strange that we saw Rob’s aunt while on vacation, this is even stranger…

Rob comes back from getting Fastpasses at Kali and he says that he saw a guy he works with at the Fastpass kiosks. Rob works for a company that has about 300 employees.. so, it’s not a tiny company – but certainly not a large one. It continues to prove that we live in a small world.

Our tummys were hungry so the closest place to grab some grub was the Yak n Yeti quick service. We had heard good things about it so we figured, why not!!!!! It was noon so the place was jumpin!!! Rob stood in line to order while I went to “stake our claim”. Now, I had learned a few days ago that one can’t be too passive in this game. You must be a bit assertive – no one is going to start to get up and offer you their table. Well, maybe some will – but it’s not common. So, I went to the seating area behind the Yak n Yeti and waited. A family began getting up and before they all left the table – I walked up and got the table. I felt so rude – but I guess there is an art to this. Not being from a big city, I am not poised in this area. Regardless I sat down and waited. Just then – it began to rain. Of course eh? It didn’t majorly downpour but I was wet! Luckily, there was an umbrella to a table nearby that some of us jotted under. By the time Rob came with our food it had pretty much stopped raining. So, we sat down and dug in!

Rob ordered the Honey Chicken with a Lemon Ice and I had the Mandarin Chicken Salad with a Lemon Ice.

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Rob commented (which I’ve heard from other folks as well) that it would have been nice if they gave you a plate or something for his chicken. It was difficult to stir up and he ended up eating all the chicken first and then the rice. Regardless, he said it was really good! I loved my salad!!! What is up with me and salads???? I NEVER order this many salads – and here we are at Disney World and I’m eating salads!!! I think I was just afraid of getting sick again, so I decided to go light. The Lemon Ice totally hit the spot – as it was still really steamy out and quite humid.

Rob was itching to do Kali so we took off and allowed another “vulture” to swoop into our table/chairs for lunch! As we were getting on Kali, we saw his co-worker again, as they were getting off. They were pretty wet from what I remember.

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We had a plan to ward off water!!! We put our nice camera in our plastic bag and in our backpack then pulled out our ponchos. I didn’t really want to be wet for the rest of the day. Yes, I looked like an idiot – but I would be a dry idiot! Of course – because we were prepared – our ponchos hardly got any splashes on them! We were dry as a bone. After the drop I thought…. there’s got to be more…. but there wasn’t!!! I was really surprised! All that hype and it was just one drop. If there was ANY attraction at WDW that I was disappointed in – it was Kali. I think that my expectations must have been too high for it.

We stopped for a few minutes to watch the monkeys. It’s funny how these little animals can attract people of ALL ages.

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We got off and then decided it was time… it was time to get fastpasses for EE!!!!!! I could NOT wait!!!! So, Rob ran to get us fastpasses and then decided to go back to the lockers to switch out his shoes. Since we were done with Kali, his sandals were no longer needed – and his feet were weeping for his tennis shoes. While he went in search for comfort, I sat in search for comfort. haa Actually, I walked around and took more of Asia in.

My phone rang and it was Rob – he was on his way back. On his way to the lockers he noticed that Tough to be a Bug had a very short wait time. So, the plan was altered a bit – we met at the tree and were ready to walk underground to see how our little friends, the bugs live.

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Ok – you have to have pictures with the 3D glasses on – as silly as it is!

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From the moment I heard that there was a new park called Animal Kingdom and they had this strange attraction where it feels like bugs crawl on you, I knew I wanted to go! Even though, ITTBAB wasn’t the most amazing – it was fun!!! I thought it was a lot of fun and I LOVED the technology of it.

By this time we were able to get another FP so we walked into Dinoland and got fast passes for Dinosaur.

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I wanted to go on Primevil Whirl so badly. But, Rob does not like rides that spin so I would have had to go by myself. For the long wait that I would have had to endure (like 25min), it was not worth it. But, I still wish I had done it!

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I didn’t really spend a lot of time in any of the gift shops but I saw this and I thought it was great!

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Ok, now – with Dinosaur fast passes in our pockets…

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we headed over to Everest!!! Rob was starting to get fairly nervous at this point and even though I thought I would chicken out, I was very focused and just wanted to do it!!! We FLEW through the que lines – which really is too bad because we missed so much of the que, but I would NEVER complain about a 3min wait as opposed to a 20min wait.
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
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WE LOVED IT!!!! It was so much fun! I wanted to just turn around and go right back in line!!! I loved the story, I loved the views and I loved how smooth the track was. I didn’t really care about the Yeti. Now, it would be cool to have seen it in its hay day, but it was still a great ride!!

Rob, liked it as well – but he did NOT want to turn around and go back on it. He was shaking like a leaf. The poor guy!!! For 20min. after the ride, he shook!!!!! But, he did it – I was proud of it!

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We looked at the time and realized that the day was flying by! We had a plan to get a spot near the entrance to watch the parade. We had a ADR at Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge) at 5:40pm. So, we knew we needed to stay on schedule. So, we rushed over to Dinoland and walked right into Dinosaur!

What a FUN ATTRACTION – luckily, I did not ______ my pants – but that one dinosaur scared the crap out of me!!! It was great though, I can’t wait to go on it again!

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We said goodbye to our new prehistoric friends and headed for the parade route where we thought we would try to find a place. Our plan was a success and we found a great spot right in front of Discovery Island on the Entrance side.

The parade was great – full of lots classic characters and the animal floats were so creative. I have never seen the Broadway musical, The Lion King, but I imagine some of these animal floats were from the similar concept.

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I never knew why people would want to waste 45min on getting a good spot for a parade. However, after looking at my pictures, I understand why now.

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Our son Jonah would have LOVED this! You are so close to the parade… it was awesome!

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At this point we started leaving (before the rest of the crowd). But, luckily I’m so tall that I was able to get the main man/mouse as we were walking away.

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We said goodbye to Animal Kingdom and took off (quickly) for the busses. Our plan of having ADR’s after the AK parade was not unique. The bus headed for the AK Lodge was full of LOTS of people with the same idea! Luckily though, we had made ours for a bit later so that we had time to look around the lodge. When we walked in the lodge I was blown away!!!

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After relaxing a bit inside we headed for the outside. With the change of location (AK to the lodge) it had cooled off a bit. The humidity was manageable and you didn’t feel all gross!

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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
We were finished looking around the Savanna and we headed down a little early (only 10min early) for our ADR’s at…..BOMA!!!!

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We started out our dinner buffet with some drinks….

I don’t know why I didn’t write down what we drank, but I didn’t. I know for sure I had the mojito but I’m not sure what Rob had other than he says it was good! (a man of many words)

My mojito (I LOVE Mojitos!)

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Rob’s drink..

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We started off with soups and “appetizer type of foods”….

Rob’s soup – the Coconut Chicken Curry

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My soup – the Carrot Ginger Soup

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PRESS PAUSE……

This soup was heaven in a bowl! It had the consistency of a cheese velvet soup. Yet it had a sweet and savory taste like the carrots and ginger (go figure cause that’s what they call it). It was soooo good!!!!! I would have been happy with just that all night! We have looked up on other websites and we have gotten the recipe and made it and I have to say, it tastes very similar! Oh, I’m drooling right not just thinking of it.

My first plate:
-The watermelon rind salad – wasn’t that much on it, but I know it’s a popular one.
-Fresh pinapple – we don’t get a lot of amazing tropical fruit that’s FRESH where we live.
-pasta salad
-African breads
-some other cilantro/olive salad
-and a wonderful Black Olive Hummus!!!! Love!!!!

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For the main course…

-roasted chicken
-sirloin
-salmon
-cornbread
-“mashed” sweet potatoes
-some sort of rice (ugh, oh why didn’t I write this stuff down!!!)

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Of course we went back for seconds… yummy!

Then for dessert a collection…..

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We did get the zebra domes – but you know – I was not a big fan. I think at this point I was REALLY full and everything was so good, that a sweet dessert wasn’t the highlight. They were still good, just not what I was expecting.


So, we finish up with dinner and head out. Here is where we make an unexpected decision…

I was tired (not exhausted though), and I thought it would be a good time for me to go back to the resort and relax so that the next day I would be on my top game. The next day was going to be our busiest and longest day – so I wanted to be “ready”. Rob, on the other hand is “all or nothing” and he still had some energy. So, he wanted to stick to our pre-vacation plan which was to go to Epcot for EMH. So, in order for us both to enjoy our vacation and to get our needs met – we decided to go separate ways. I went back to the resort and Rob to the park.

I got back and I didn’t do anything exciting…. just laid around!!!!! I called some family to check in and to tell them about our time thus far. It was actually really nice and even though I missed out on Epcot, I know that I had made the right decision. I had a great rest of the week because of it!!!


Coming up… Rob’s night at Epcot, in his own words……
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
And now… introducing Rob, in his own words tell you about his time in EPCOT!!!!

After we bused from AKL to Epcot I bid DW farewell and headed into the park. I decided to send the backpack and DSLR back with Cat so I didn’t have to do bag check. That was the only time all week I didn’t go through bag check, and it was awesome!

I wasn’t really sure what to do all by myself so I just started walking around. It was still before 9 and I wanted to catch Captain EO before it closed for the night. I had been to Epcot back in 1986 and I remember going to see this when it was still brand new so I just had to relive my childhood. I wasn’t as awe-inspired as I remember being as a child, but it certainly entertained me.

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After EO I decided to see Journey into your Imagination. Um….that was 5-10 minutes of my life I’ll never get back. I don’t really remember the original ride there, though I know we went on it (I was fond of Figment and even bought my brother a Figment hat as a souvenir, that he still has today).

Then I wondered back to The Seas and looked around for a while before deciding to see Turtle Talk. It was really neat (though being a single, adult male I felt rather out of place). Of the two times I experienced it (spoiler…we go on our last day) this was the better of the two.

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Now was the big decision. It was about 5 minutes to 9. Do I run and catch Illuminations (which was marred by the sick/drunk old woman the other night) or do I beat the crowds and hit up Soarin’? Soarin’ won by a landslide (mostly because I was standing right in front of it). I don’t remember the wait time but it wasn’t too bad. I was about 2/3 of the way down the last hallway, right after the “terminal split” when there was a cast member looking for a single rider. I thought for sure people up closer to the front would snag that but nobody did. As she got about half way she was about to go back when I raised my hand and called for her. She smiled at me and waved me down! What luck! So I skipped ahead a few flights and took off over Cali long before those poor folks in line in front of me!!
By the time I got back outside EMH was in swing and the crowds were thinning out quite a bit. I wandered around just taking in the sights. Epcot really is beautiful at night. SSE looks so majestic lit up in the dark!

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I headed over to TT and got down hearted because the posted wait time was 35 minutes. Then I remembered I was alone and the single rider line was only 15 minutes. That was definitely not right because I literally walked right on! As I exited the ride the single rider time was down to 5 minutes so I decided to do it again (oddly enough I actually waited longer that time, but still only like 1 minute). In the end I did TT twice in less than 20 minutes!

After TT I headed off to M:S to take a trip to Mars. There was a dad and son in my group and the kid was really nervous. But the dad was really good with him and encouraged him without being pushy. I hope I can be like that when DS makes his first trip in a few years!

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After my exciting voyage I was starting to lose steam. I headed towards the park entrance to ride SSE before heading home. As I stood at the entrance to the queue I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I kinda think of SSE as “our ride” (don’t know why, I just do) and I couldn’t do it without Cat. So I headed for the busses and headed back to the resort. All in all, I’m glad I did the solo night at Epcot but it is definitely more fun with company! I missed my wife and couldn’t wait to get back in the parks with her the next day!


Let’s give it up for Rob …WOOT WOOT!!!

I have a slight comment on his notes….

I had NO IDEA till reading this that the woman that was sick in front of us during Illuminations was drunk! I had NO CLUE! I thought she was dehydrated and that is why she had a drink in her hand – I thought it was juice or something. Yep, I guess that’s our relationship though – I see the rainbows and butterflies and Rob sees the puddles and drunks. haa Together we make a great story!
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
FORGOT TO MENTION...

I forgot to mention that when I left Rob at Epcot and was on the bus going back to ASMovies that I ran into some more people we "knew".

I was the very last person allowed on the packed bus, which meant I was standing right in the front of the bus (how no one gets hurt on one of those buses or killed when in an accident is beyond me). Anyway, the family I was standing in front of began talking and they had an "accent" that sounded very much out of place at Disney World and much like home. I heard them talk about the weather that day back at their "home" and how the wind was horrible which was producing crazy waves on LAKE SUPERIOR. Lake Superior????? So, I turned around and piped up and said, "Lake Superior? I'm from near there... where are you folks from?" They said they were from Ishpeming, which is about 14miles west and inland from the city we are from. CRAZY! When they heard where I was from they got all excited and couldn't believe it! I had asked them if they knew my BIL who is from Ishpeming, which they DID know - the parents had even gone to school with him. We began talking more and discovered we knew many of the same people well!!! It was really something! Out of all the buses, all the times in the day, and even places on the bus... we were standing right next to each other.

So, within two days we met THREE people from our "real" lives!!! Crazy Crazy Crazy!!!!!

Coming Up.....
Resort Tour, a whole day at the Magic Kingdom and MNSSHP!!!!!
 

fractal

Well-Known Member
Love the updates! :)

Boma looks delicious and that is really weird how you ran into all those people you knew. That only happened to us once and that was on our first family trip in 2000.
 

PolynesianPrincess

Well-Known Member
So random how many people you saw that you knew! Back in 2004 my cousin walked by one of his classmates, said "hi" and just kept going like it was nothing lol The only people I've seen that I know are people I knew were there and we made plans to meet up.

Gotta love the single rider line! We did TT twice our last trip and without it we would've only gotten on once.

Flying Fish looks soooo good but I'm super picky about my food. So many thing I don't like... I'd love to give it a try sometime when I'm feeling adventurous.
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Actually, from what I can tell from the picture, if the line uses the exterior queue, it really is around a 30 minute wait.

I didn't realize that! I was surprised at the wait time because nothing else had that long of a wait. I'm still bummed we didn't do it - guess it will have to wait for next time.

Love the updates! :)

Boma looks delicious and that is really weird how you ran into all those people you knew. That only happened to us once and that was on our first family trip in 2000.

Thank you so much for reading along! Writing the report is helping me with my post-WDW trip depression. haa haa And it's so great to have people read and comment!!!!!

So random how many people you saw that you knew! Back in 2004 my cousin walked by one of his classmates, said "hi" and just kept going like it was nothing lol The only people I've seen that I know are people I knew were there and we made plans to meet up.

Gotta love the single rider line! We did TT twice our last trip and without it we would've only gotten on once.

Flying Fish looks soooo good but I'm super picky about my food. So many thing I don't like... I'd love to give it a try sometime when I'm feeling adventurous.

Thank you so much for reading!!! YES - Go to Flying Fish! It was very yummy!!! Rob's meal was really really good! Not that mine wasn't... just wasn't AS good. Oh, and the Reisling flight is lovely!!!
 

Jenna

Well-Known Member
I've really enjoyed reading your trip report, I haven't been to the World since 2009 and won't be returning until 2013 or 2014, I live my Disney dreams through those on this board and love to read trip reports. You seem like you have had a great time (so far), can't wait to read the rest. Also, your son is a cutie :)
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
I've really enjoyed reading your trip report, I haven't been to the World since 2009 and won't be returning until 2013 or 2014, I live my Disney dreams through those on this board and love to read trip reports. You seem like you have had a great time (so far), can't wait to read the rest. Also, your son is a cutie :)

Thank you for reading along!!! Four or five years between visits???? That sounds like the boat we are going to be in as well! This really was a vacation of a lifetime! We hope to go back when our 3yr old son is about 6yrs old. These next three years are going to seem like forever. However, like you, I will help my "calling" by reading trip reports!
 

Kristia

Well-Known Member
BOMA......Yum! Dan and I love it there! I know it is not everyone's cup of tea but we think it is great! Ok, now I am hungry! :ROFLOL:
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
BOMA......Yum! Dan and I love it there! I know it is not everyone's cup of tea but we think it is great! Ok, now I am hungry! :ROFLOL:

Yes! Although, I think that there really is something for everyone there. It was VERY good. I would love to go back sometime! In fact, I think I will plan on making the Carrot Ginger soup next week!
 

catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
DAY FIVE… OUR LAST FULL DAY!!!

It was going to be our longest day AND most exciting day!!!! We were up early (well, not early enough to make it to the EMMH), but we were awake and at the bus stop by 8am. Unfortunately, there was a LONG line at the bus stop so we didn’t get to the Magic Kingdom till 9:15am.

The weather on this day was much cooler than on the previous days. The sky was a bright blue and had big puffy clouds and for the first time since we arrived in Florida, I didn’t feel like I was going to wilt away. I even had a coat on (just in case) !

We were both like kids once again, because we were going to be attending the MNSSHP this night! So, the plan was – go in early, leave for a brunch at the Poly, followed by a resort tour and then back to the MK to enjoy the afternoon and then the Halloween Party!!!! Bring it on!

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I love this….

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While we walked down Mainstreet we took some pictures, wish there was
smell-o-vision to remind me of the smells that leaked onto the street from the various treat shops!

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The castle sure is beautiful with a bright blue backdrop!

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Now onto some attractions….


Since we hadn’t been able to do it so far on the trip we booked it to Space Mountain to get some FPs!!! The standby time was only 20min at this point but we figured we would grab a fastpass and if we liked it we could always do it during the Halloween party when the lines were shorter. So, we grabbed our fastpasses and saw that the AstroOrbito was only a 10min wait. That sealed the deal for us!

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We hopped into line and prepared to be shot up into space. Again, Rob is not a big fan of things that spin. He didn’t want to do Dumbo, Alladin’s Magic Carpets or anything like that. But, because of the height of this one and the views that we would get – he sucked it up and went for it. I was really surprised at how quick it goes. It was a little unnerving (and that’s for me!). LOL! The views were great and we could say we had done it.
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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
We walked off with cold little noses and a skip to our step – not sure what it is about rides like that, that make you feel like a kid! Oh, maybe because we were the only ones on the attraction WITHOUT a kid in our lap.

We still had some time before we could use our FPs and Rob wanted to ride Stitch’s Great Escape. I really didn’t care to do this one, I would have rather spent the time shopping but it was only fair that I sucked it up too, so, off we went. The way Rob feels about Journey Into Imagination is how I feel was Stitch’s Great Escape. (and that is all I will say) I can understand though, if you like the movie you would like the attraction. We weren’t fans of the movie.

You see, this summer we decided that if we were going to Disney we needed to familiarize ourselves more with Disney movies. So, we became Netflix members (for the DVD’s) and put ourselves on a semi-strict schedule of watching the Disney movies we had not seen. Stitch was one of those movies. On our Disney movie nights we would all (including our 3yr old son) gather on the couch with popcorn and watch the movie. During Stitch, I cringed so many times at the behaviors my son was seeing that I couldn’t get into it. I just didn’t realize what the movie was about. I figured – Disney movie = little kids… I have learned that it is not so. Nuf about all that!

These trees are so cool!

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We had small crowds… Touring Plans were predicting a 2 for crowd levels.

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By the time we got out of SGE it was time for us to enter “Starport Seven Five”. When I was young and had been to the MK, I wanted to go on this ride but it was down but refurb. In a way I was relieved because I was scared to go on it but everyone said I HAD to do it. So, I went home with an excuse of why I hadn’t done it. This time though – it was open and ready!!! We walked right up and hardly waited a full 3min to climb aboard. Wouldn’t you know it --- I got the first seat of the car. I was excited about this, but would quickly find out that I didn’t like it.

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We walked out – me shaking and Rob thrilled!!! I did NOT like Space Mountain! I was freaked out!!! I know it doesn’t go fast, I know it’s a small rollercoaster – but I did not like it! I don’t think it was so much that it was in the dark because Expedition Everest was partly in the dark and I loved that! But, I think my problem came with the seats. I felt like I was just sitting on top of the “car”, instead on sitting IN the car. The car didn’t seem deep enough and therefore, sturdy enough for me. I have lots of neck problems and I was worried that I was going to injure it. Needless to say, I did NOT like that attraction. But, I was really happy for Rob that he loved it! So proud of him for taking risks!!!

The minutes were ticking away and the park was starting to get busy – it was the perfect time for us to head out for our ADR at ……(drumroll)…… The Kona Café! We had previously had a ADR at Chef Mickey’s. But the closer we got to October we started thinking that another buffet wouldn’t be the best. Plus, as fun as a character meal would be, we wanted this to be a quiet meal, away from the business of the parks. So, Kona it was!!!!

We made our way out of the park, all the while I’m shaking and kept saying in my head, “oh… I did not like that coaster”. haa haa I was surprised and very disappointed in myself for not liking it more. But, it is what it is.

We left the grip of the MK and decided to take a quiet ride on the ferry to the Poly. It was a perfect day for a boat ride,… plus, there was no wait for a ferry! The ferry ride was wonderful. It gave us a chance to sit, hold hands and just watch. I think that the ferries were my favorite mode of transportation – I loved the monorails, but the ferries were just so relaxing. We made a stop at the Grand Floridian and then we were on our way to the Poly.

This isn’t the best picture, not even close – but it gives those of you who have never been on one before an idea…

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This is what I’m impressed with… the details. Look at the mousekeeper cleaning the ceiling.
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Yummmmm Narcoosees….
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This resort is so beautiful!
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And we came upon the Poly….
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catnrob

Active Member
Original Poster
Once we docked it took us a while to figure out HOW to get to The Kona Café. But, we didn’t mind looking around a bit. It is a fabulous resort… I can see why once you stay there, you are hooked!

We found our way inside and we just followed our noses (and the castmembers directions) to Kona.

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The Kona Café was perfect! I loved the lights…. details once again!
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First up… Kona Coffee….
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… and Lilikoi Juice!
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For breakfast Rob ordered the Big Kahuna and I had the ever popular Tonga Toast!

(Cardiac bypass to table 5 stat!!!!)
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