All Star Music 8/17-8/23, better late than never

I have so enjoyed reading trip reports, both before and after my trip, that I decided to post one of my own. I am completely new to this and hope everyone will bear w/ me on it.
I have wanted to visit Disney for the last few years. Every summer something came up (mostly lack of $). In July I decided to throw caution to the wind, plus I received a great hotel deal in the mail, and I booked our trip. For days we all walked around singing "we're going to Disney" while doing a dance.
That's when I officially became obsessed with all things Disney and spent many a night hunched over the computer doing "research" for our trip.

Who?
Me-age 37(visited and stayed in the treehouse villas when I was 10, day trip while visiting Florida back in 98)
DH-age 40(visited as a teenager, again w/ me in 98)
DD-age 15( on the 98 trip at age 6)
DS-age 9(first visit)
DNephew-age 18(first visit)

 

[sissa216]

:sohappy:
looking forward to more!

 

[Aurorabell]

We left Jersey at about 5 am after a mostly sleepless night. Our intention was to drive as far as we could on the first day so the second day we could get to the World early. My DH really enjoys long drives so this was right up his alley. Every time we went through a toll, my wired kids yelled "We're going to Disney!" :sohappy: I'm sure it was pretty obnoxious to the toll collector, but hey, they were excited. We ran into crazy traffic outside DC and that set us back about 2 hours. We continued driving right through lunch as we had eaten a big breakfast somewhere in Maryland. Finally, we stopped for an early dinner at a Sonic Drive In in No Carolina. We don't have Sonics in NJ and my DN had never been to one. So after our Coneydogs and cherry limeades we drove on until just north of the Georgia border, and stopped for the night.

Up and out early the next day. Quick breakfast at McDonald's and made it to Orlando by about one o'clock. Of course, we were all super excited as we drove through the entrance and had to stop to snap a picture.

We easily found the All Star Music Resort and parked to check in. While DH and I checked in(luckily our room was ready)the kids checked out the main building, totally loving all of it. Especially the gift shop.

We were assigned to the Rock building and made our way over there. Our room was in the corner on the second floor closest to the piano pool. We were very happy with the room. It looked recently refurbished and was immaculate. The only thing missing was our requested fridge. I called down and they said they'd send it right up. So we unpacked, took a tour of the grounds and basically walked around w/ moronic grins.:ROFLOL:We were finally in Disney! After about 2 hours the fridge showed up and we were getting hungry. We decided to head out on the highway in search of dinner and a grocery store. We stopped at KFC and then made our way to Publix. An hour later we were on our way back to the room stocked up w/ water bottles, breakfast items, snacks, wine and beer.

What to do for the evening? We decided on Downtown Disney. We had never been there and I was really curious about it. So we jumped on the bus and headed over. We really liked DTD. We wandered around for a few hours, looking in shops, admiring the Lego creations and atmosphere. We bought our first souvenir of the trip, a Lego mug w/ my DS's name on it. We were really excited because we have never found an item personalized with his name, Liam. After that all my promises to myself about not going overboard and trying to make the money stretch seemed to go right out the window. We also bought Liam a lanyard so he could start collecting pins. The kids had a set amount of money they could spend, predetemined before we got there based on behavior, chores, etc.

Finally, exhausted we headed back to the room. It was probably about 10:30 but the main pool area was still hopping. So we changed into our suits and headed down for a swim. It was so relaxing after the long day to lounge in the warm pool. I really liked the atmoshere of the All Star Music. It was very family oriented. I don't think I would have enjoyed having a room right by the pool however. Alot of people write about not wanting to be in Rock or Country. I felt the opposite. We enjoyed the festivities near the pool but then we could "go home" where it was quiet.

Tomorrow will be our first day in the parks. :king: We didn't purchase hopper tickets so it's one park per day for us.

 

[Aurorabell]

We left Jersey at about 5 am after a mostly sleepless night. Our intention was to drive as far as we could on the first day so the second day we could get to the World early. My DH really enjoys long drives so this was right up his alley. Every time we went through a toll, my wired kids yelled "We're going to Disney!" :sohappy: I'm sure it was pretty obnoxious to the toll collector, but hey, they were excited. We ran into crazy traffic outside DC and that set us back about 2 hours. We continued driving right through lunch as we had eaten a big breakfast somewhere in Maryland. Finally, we stopped for an early dinner at a Sonic Drive In in No Carolina. We don't have Sonics in NJ and my DN had never been to one. So after our Coneydogs and cherry limeades we drove on until just north of the Georgia border, and stopped for the night.

Up and out early the next day. Quick breakfast at McDonald's and made it to Orlando by about one o'clock. Of course, we were all super excited as we drove through the entrance and had to stop to snap a picture.

We easily found the All Star Music Resort and parked to check in. While DH and I checked in(luckily our room was ready)the kids checked out the main building, totally loving all of it. Especially the gift shop.

We were assigned to the Rock building and made our way over there. Our room was in the corner on the second floor closest to the piano pool. We were very happy with the room. It looked recently refurbished and was immaculate. The only thing missing was our requested fridge. I called down and they said they'd send it right up. So we unpacked, took a tour of the grounds and basically walked around w/ moronic grins.:ROFLOL:We were finally in Disney! After about 2 hours the fridge showed up and we were getting hungry. We decided to head out on the highway in search of dinner and a grocery store. We stopped at KFC and then made our way to Publix. An hour later we were on our way back to the room stocked up w/ water bottles, breakfast items, snacks, wine and beer.

What to do for the evening? We decided on Downtown Disney. We had never been there and I was really curious about it. So we jumped on the bus and headed over. We really liked DTD. We wandered around for a few hours, looking in shops, admiring the Lego creations and atmosphere. We bought our first souvenir of the trip, a Lego mug w/ my DS's name on it. We were really excited because we have never found an item personalized with his name, Liam. After that all my promises to myself about not going overboard and trying to make the money stretch seemed to go right out the window. We also bought Liam a lanyard so he could start collecting pins. The kids had a set amount of money they could spend, predetemined before we got there based on behavior, chores, etc.

Finally, exhausted we headed back to the room. It was probably about 10:30 but the main pool area was still hopping. So we changed into our suits and headed down for a swim. It was so relaxing after the long day to lounge in the warm pool. I really liked the atmoshere of the All Star Music. It was very family oriented. I don't think I would have enjoyed having a room right by the pool however. Alot of people write about not wanting to be in Rock or Country. I felt the opposite. We enjoyed the festivities near the pool but then we could "go home" where it was quiet.

Tomorrow will be our first day in the parks. We didn't purchase hopper tickets so it's one park per day for us.

 

[Aurorabell]

So of course, our first day in the parks the plan is to get up super early. Always easier said than done. We ate a quick breakfast in the room and headed for the bus. Luckily the whole trip we had good timing w/ the buses. We waited about 5 minutes and we were on our way. We arrived at Epcot at about 9am. My nephew breezed right through the ticket machine, my daughter was next and the machine would not read her ticket. So after a few tries a CM came over and said there might be problems w/ our tickets because they were paper(bought at the Disney store back home). She went away for a bit and came back w/ new plastic cards for all of us. Much easier to keep track of. So after that minor delay, we were in.:animwink: We immediately veered left and the first ride of the day was TT. I'm not a big ride person, so while they waited in line, I headed over to get FP's for Soarin. We agreed to meet at the fountain. About 40 minutes later I finally saw them. They liked the ride but were not completely impressed. They said I definitely wouldn't have liked it. Next we stopped at a character meet. At first just my DS and I were waiting in line, but after a while the rest of the family joined us. I'm really glad they did because those turned out to be some of the best pictures. This is also where we got our photpass(more on that later). Met Mickey and Minnie, Chip and Dale, Pluto and my DS's fave, Goofy. Headed over to Soarin (which I stupidly skipped). I sat in the food court waiting(waiting was a big part of my trip but I'm ok w/ that. I was happy to see them having fun. Happy to be in Disney and happy to people watch). When they came off Soarin they were like "that was the coolest thing ever" and thought I would have liked it. At that point we headed over to Nemo. It was HOT and HUMID and the queue for Nemo was air conditioned. The ride was cute but I wouldn't wait 30+ minutes for it again. Somehow we missed the aquarium( I would have liked that). So we walked toward the World Showcase. We entered through Canada and all agreed it needs more. It seems like it's only there because they're our neighbor, but it's pretty boring. Next on to the UK. We wandered into a toy store and that's where we hit paydirt! My fave characters from Pooh were there. I couldn't help but tell Eeyore that he's my very favorite and get a hug. Much picturetaking ensued.
After that the details are fuzzy at this point(2 months later), I know we had some sweets in France, bought Moroccan tiles in the Moroccan market, ate lunch in America. My DS is an extremely picky eater. I was looking forward to sampling food from around the world but we all decided it was lunchtime, we were in America, chicken fingers would suffice. While we were eating,the colonial fife and drum band came through so that was fun to watch. Moved on to Japan . We spent alot of time here. The kids really enjoyed the store. My DN bought some chopsticks and a soda, which took us quite a while to figure out how to drink because you had to pop some kind of ball into it to open. We watched the drum show for a while and then moved on. Meandered through all the shops in Italy, Germany (I stuck my head in the Biergarten because I love Oktoberfest type places, but knew noone else would enjoy dinner there). In Norway we got a FP for Maelstrom. When it was time I decided to ride. The ride was fun. I had a little scare when it seemed like it was going to go backwards, relieved when it didn't! This ride was right about my thrill ride level. Pretty lame huh?
In Mexico, we went on the Caballeros ride. Cute and I enjoyed seeing the sitdown restaurant. The atmosphere was really neat in there. It was so dark though I don't know how they could see what they were eating! Oh well, maybe next trip for me. Mexican sounded good though and it was getting late. After checking out China for a while we decided to eat at the Mexican counter service. The family went to scout a table(no small feat) while I waited on line. After about a half hour I had the food and a frozen margarita and found our table. We enjoyed eating by the lake and watching the preparations for Illuminations. We decided to eat s l o w l y and watch the show. About 5 minutes before it started I suggested we put down our umbrella to open up the view for the people behind us(also hoping the people in front would do the same). Well, before you knew it everyone was closing their umbrellas. This was working perfectly! We sat eating our dessert churros, sipping our margaritas and waiting. That was when a CM came out and said all the umbrellas had to go back up! I asked what was the difference and he couldn't give me an answer, only saying they had received a call about their umbrellas being down. Is there an eye in the sky at Disney? So after all the umbrellas went back up the show began. Our view was very limited at this point. I told my DS to move forward towards the rail so he could see better. He was standing next to an extremely obnoxious family(2 together actually). They had been very loud, kids running around, yelling, etc all through our meal. Anyway, after about a minute my DS came back and said the woman had pushed him and told him to go back to his own table. I was like "Are you sure she pushed you? Not just bumped you by accident?" and he insisted she pushed him back. At that point my DH got aggravated and said "let's get out of here. It's not worth it". So we left and walked toward the front hoping to beat the crowds to the exit. We had to stop and pick up our tile purchase at the front before boarding the bus. But we pretty much got right on.
My DD just read this over my shoulder and reminded me that my DN rode Mission Space. I wouldn't let my kids because I had read that the G forces were kind of intense. When my DN got off he said they could have handled it. Oh well. They were kinda mad at me. Also, we went into Honey, ISTA. The show needs some updating. It was cute and we all reacted to the 3D stuff.
So back to Music, a swim in the pool and finally, bed. Tomorrow, our first day at Magic Kingdom
This was also the first day my DS started complaing about "his feet". Around China, the complaining began. I explained that everyone's feet were hurting and that he would, indeed, live. More on the "feet" later.

 

[Jeff456]

Nice detailed report i look forward to reading more!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Great report - Any pics ?

 

[Aurorabell]

Sorry, no pics. Oh, I took plenty, but I don't have the software to download my camera(at least that's what my daughter tells me). I'll get back to the trip report tonight. Thanks for reading!

 

[DisneyGigi]

Enjoying the report, can't wait to hear more! :wave:

 

[Aurorabell]

Day two-Magic Kingdom

Up and out early this morning because we have an 8 am ADR for Whispering Canyons. We decided to drive to the WiIderness Lodge to save time and transportation aggravation. I was really impressed by the WL. Really beautiful architecture and theming. We were seated right away and our server MT introduced herself. She turned out to be one of the most entertaining parts of our trip. You see, my DN was wearing a Cheap Trick concert tshirt. Well, she had a field day with it,all at his expense, of course. She was about 60 years old and made all kind of double entendre comments to him. He was soooo embarassed, but was a good sport about it and played along. After a gut busting family skillet breakfast (kids had endless shakes, me and DH had bloody mary's) we checked out the pool area and grounds. We then headed over to MK. Tonight was EMH so the plan was to leave in the afternoon and return in the evening. After strolling up Main Street we went right, to Tomorrowland. This is where we stayed for quite awhile. Space Mountain, TTA, Carousel of Progress, Buzz Lightyear, Astro Orbiter and Space Mountain again. Next we headed toward Frontierland and Big Thunder Mountain RR. I don't know how, but the family talked me into riding it. Not such a good idea. I had sat out of Space Mountain and they assured me this was much milder. Well, my neck and back did not agree. Anyhow, next we went over to Tom Sawyer Island. The family never came right out and said it but they were quite miserable there. It was extremely hot and humid, especially walking on that island. So we rafted back and went to Tiki. Then, of course, we had to take a ride on It's a Small World. At this point we decided to call it an afternoon and come back later. My DS and DN had both let their hair grow recently. Well, when they saw that their was a barber shop in Disney, they both wanted a haircut(to stay cool). So after quite a long wait and watching some adorable babies get their first haircut, it was their turn. This was also a trip highlight for me. I really got a kick out of the whole thing and took lots of pictures. Newly shorn, we headed to the car and back to the hotel.
The plan had been to swim, but we were too tired to even do that. We just hung out in the room, in the air and kind of rested.
At about 6 o'clock we headed back. First we stopped at the McDonalds for our dinner. Then we went back to ASM and hopped on the bus. We were all refreshed and ready to get the most out of the night because Mk would be open until 3am.
At the park we got in line for out EMH's wristbands. That night we rode Pirates, Space Mountain , Stitch( we kept smelling that awful chilidog smell for the rest of the trip),walked over to the Toontown Fair and visited the mouse's house's, the kids went on Barnstormer, we shopped for pins and rode the train a bit. Somewhere over in Adventureland things went way south. My DS was overwrought about his feet. And now he began to complain about "chafing" on his legs. He was walking like a mummy, feet apart and stiff legged. The chafing situation had begun at Epcot but didn't seem like a big deal. If there's one thing I should know about my DS,it's that everything is a big deal. So after a minimeltdown and a short rest, we forged on, sore feet, chafing legs and all. We watched the Electric Light Parade and then headed toward Splash Mountain. The kids and DH rode a few times while I hung out. We then went on the Jungle Cruise. By this time it was about 1 am. The park was ours. All nonproperty people were gone, along with those w/ small children. In quick succession we went on Dumbo, the Teacups, Snow White, Winnie the Pooh, Indy Speedway, Space Mountain(yet again, but not me). I can't even remember what else, but we rolled out of there a little after 3 o'clock, completely exhausted! Back on the bus, back to the room and to sleep. Tomorrow, Animal Kingdom. I set the alarm to get up for 8:30, what are the chances that will happen?

 

[sissa216]

I set the alarm to get up for 8:30, what are the chances that will happen?

I'm guessing not very high :lol:

 

[Aurorabell]

Well, the alarm clock rang at 8:30. I don't think anyone else even heard it. I hit snooze, many times. We didn't actually make it to Animal Kingdom until about 1:30. Before heading out we had stopped at the hotel gift shop to cure my DS's "chafing" problem. I picked up some diaper rash cream! Thank goodness this seemed to do the trick. He didn't complain (well, at least about that) for the rest of the trip. So on the bus we went. Today was HOT. Everyday seemed to get hotter. I had read that AK can be brutal in the heat and that turned out to be the case.
Once in the park I was a little overwhelmed by the layout. It is not open and spacious, I felt kind of cramped. It was very crowded. Well, the first thing the kids wanted to do was EE. Headed over there but the wait was like 90 minutes. Got a FP and went over to Dinosaur. I waited on line at Dinosaur w/ everybody just to get out of the heat. When it came time to ride, I stepped out the other side of the car. When they came off they had really enjoyed the ride. Great, and by now it was time for EE. Again, I waited. I checked out the area's gift shop. The kid's came off and somehow missed us. After awhile we found each other and forged on. We checked out the monkeys, the anteater and the sloth. We decided to try It's a Bug's Life. Well, that show really freaked out my DS. He was really upset when we came out of there. Between the heat, the crowd, the IABL scare and again, his aching feet, he was in serious meltdown mode. The embarrassing kind.:fork: I quick corraled him into an air conditioned shop to cool off. Literally and figuratively. Finally, we decided it might be good to have a late lunch and relax a bit. First we stopped at the Tusker House, but it was closed. Wanting air conditioning(I could't imagine eating hot food in the hot sun on this day) we went over to Rainforest Cafe. My DN had never eaten at one and was kind of psyched about it. So we sat, relaxed, checked out the theming and ate. I have to say, we ate the best nachos we have ever had. After paying we headed out. Now, at AK to get to the Cafe you have to exit and then reenter the park after. Well, we walk up to the gate and my DN can't find his ticket. We empty all pockets. We go back to the restaurant and ask if anyone found it. We retrace our steps. Nothing. We can't get back in. They suggest we go to guest relations. At guest relations they can't help because the ticket was not purchased in Disney and I did not have the receipt. So we need to go back to the hotel to find the receipt(yes, I had brought it w/me, thank God). Now we're in panic mode. The safari stops running at 6 o'clock. There are EMH until 9 but not everything will be open. Back on the bus, schlep over to Music, make a dash for the room(the only time the walk seemed really far) and back to the concierge to reissue the ticket. Well, of course the concierge line was ridiculous and I'm watching the clock. There's no way we'll make it back in time. Finally, it's my turn and the CM kindly reissues his ticket. Too bad he couldn't reissue the lost Photopass too! Anyway, back to AK just in time to miss the safari. The one thing "I" wanted to do. Next up, EE again, then Dinoland for a while, then Kali River Rapids. This I did go on and enjoy. So much so that we went on 2 more times that night. At some point, the kids went on Dinosaur again. By then it was time to go.
I was really disappointed in the day. I felt like we missed half the park because of heat, crowds and then circumstances. I have to say though that I found the park really well done. It was beautiful and I look forward to going back one day.
Back on the bus, wet and exhausted. So we're settled in our seats and they keep piling people on this bus. A couple got on w/ their baby and his stroller(not the light umbrella kind). They close it up and it suddenly reopens and smashes into my DN's head. I could tell it really got him but he acted like it was no big deal. The people were really apologetic, the whole ride back to the hotel. They even offered to give him some money! Of course, he said no. But later on, he was like "That really hurt".
Another night lounging in the pool. At some point the kids and I took a walk over to All Star Movies to check it out. Then back to the room for bed. MGM tomorrow.

 

[Jeff456]

Wow good trip report i look forward to hearing the rest, although it all sounds very exhausting i hope the crowds are not quite as big in presidents week!

 

[sissa216]

wow, sorry that your AK day didn't go so well!!

This past trip, one of the things I really really wanted to do
was see the new Nemo show.
But I got sick on our day in AK and ended up going back to sleep....
and never did get back to it!

So I know how you feel about missing the safari

 

[Aurorabell]

I completely forgot to write about missing Nemo and The Lion King shows. Not being a ride person, I really enjoy the shows. It just wasn't my day, I guess. But like I said, it gives me inspiration to go back to see the things I missed.

 

[Aurorabell]

Thanks to everyone who is reading! My DS is really excited to check how many people have read each day. Sorry this is taking so long! I'm a teacher and we had parent conferences this week so I had a few late nights. MGM and last day at MK coming up!

 

[Aurorabell]

I don't remember what time we got up this morning, but I know we were in no hurry. Ate breakfast in the room and then my DS and I walked to the gift shop to check out the Crocs. I couldn't take his complaining about his hurting feet anymore! Well, the Crocs were about $30 and it about killed me to spend that for shoes he would wear in Disney and probably never again! I have to say, however that it was money well spent. He was wonderful the rest of the trip! As ugly as I think Crocs are, I now at least, understand the appeal.
Anyway, for whatever reason we decided to drive our car today. Maybe residual stroller fears from the night before?
Once at MGM, the kids immediately got on line for ToT. My DH went w/ them and I again was content to wait. I found myself a nice shady spot inside a stone alcove type structure and sat down. This is also where I ate my one and only Mickey bar of the trip. They came off and got FP's for later. We then went to watch the Beauty and the Beast show. This was kind of bittersweet for me. The last time we were in Florida(all visiting my aunt for Christmas in 1998) my dad had been w/ us. He had never been to Disney before and we took a day trip. MK was closed due to crowds, so we wound up at MGM that day. MY DD was just about 6 years old at that time. Well, my dad loved the Beauty and the Beast movie when my DD was little. He especially loved singing the Gaston song to her. We had seen the show w/ him then and I have pics of us all that day. My dad passed away about 15 months ago, so I was a little sad being back in that ampitheater and remembering our last time there. But also a little happy that I had that memory!
Next we headed over to the Muppets. I really enjoyed this show. I was telling my kids how The Muppet Show was so funny. Especially the two old men in the balcony. I was excited to see them in the balcony here in the theater!
After Muppets we grabbed some lunch at the ABC Commissary. This is when I realized I had forgottem my debit card.:hammer: I only had about $25 cash on me. I ordered my DH a burger and kids meals for the rest of us because I was afraid we wouldn't have enough$. After a not very filling meal, my DH volunteered to go back to the hotel to get the card(you must have $ in the parks!). The kids then went on RR (twice I think). We met back up w/ my DH and bought some refreshing frozen drinks. Shopped for a while and then decided to see a show. Well, my timing was off again. We missed the last shows for Indy and the car show. Also too late for a Backlot Tour. For some reason the Great Movie ride had crazy long wait times all day(probably because of the heat) so we never did get on that. We did make it onto Star Tours(yes, I went on), the Little Mermaid and then Sounds Dangerous. This was the strangest attraction. It was worth it just to get out of the heat though. We walked through the city streets for a while, then one more ride on ToT before we left. Everybody was really tired and noone(except me) wanted to see Fantasmic. We decided to go off property for dinner. I didn't want to spend a fortune but we were kind of sick of fast food. My DH saw the Ponderosa and turned in. None of the rest of us were thrilled about but went along with it. Once inside we realized the restaurant was attached to the giant Bargain World next to it. We were cracking up at the touristy, white trashiness of it all when the hostess seated us next to the window that looked into the Bargain World. My kids about died. I asked that we sit somewhere else. Well, we ate and tried to look happy for my DH's sake. I think he knew deep down that this was bad! There were a lot of foreigners eating around us. I heard English, German and French accents. I felt kind of embarrassed because I thought "I hope they don't think this is what American food is like!"
After dinner we decided to head into the Bargain World. Hey, why not? We browsed for a while and then headed back to the hotel. The kids went for a swim while I got the laundry together and went to the laundry area by the piano pool. I didn't like the idea of carrying all that dirty laundry home with us. Might as well do it here so I wouldn't have a mountainful once at home.
After some pool time we all went to bed, already getting a little melancholy that our trip was almost over.
Tomorrow, last day in the Magic Kingdom.

 

[Aurorabell]

Last day at the Magic Kingdom

We woke up early this morning in order to get the most out of our last day. Again, it was very hot, so we took it easy. I don't really remember exactly what rides we went on, a few repeats from the first day. And then Swiss Family Treehouse, the Country Bears(I remembered this from my childhood trip, this time around it seemed sooooo ancient! We couldn't even make out most of the words to the songs and kind of laughed the whole time) and Aladdin's carpets. We were all exhausted so my DH suggested a relaxing ride on the River Belle. We were so hot and tired we sat on the floor and leaned on the railing the whole time. Next, I wanted a Dole Whip. I had read so much about them. Well, somehow I misordered and wound up w/ plain vanilla ice cream. I didn't realize until I walked away and didn't feel like waiting on line again. So I guess the Dole Whip will have to wait until next time. We took a ride all around the park on the train, again mostly to relax. Then hit the Hall of Presidents. The family wanted another ride on Splash Mountain, so while they did that I shopped. Finally we rode the train from the front of the park back to the front of the park. We were all pretty tired and decided to call it a day. We bid a fond farewell to the MK and got on the bus.
Back at the room, we spent some time packing. Then decided to go to Downtown Disney as our last hurrah. We had dinner at Wolfgang Puck Express (awesome pizza!), walked around a while and went back to the hotel for a swim.
In the morning we planned to be back on the road by 11am. Had breakfast in the All Star Music food court, the only time we ate there. Shopped in the gift shop for last minute souvenirs and then packed up the car. Of course we had more leaving than we did coming so packing was difficult. Checked out and headed north.
This last day was actually my birthday. When I booked the dates my DH was like "are you sure you want to be stuck in the car traveling on your birthday?" I assured him it was fine w/ me. Once you reach a certain age you don't really "celebrate" your birthday anyway. Well, we stopped at a Cracker Barrel in No Florida( another one of my favorite travel restaurants not represented in Jersey) and my DH had the server sing to me. So that was my party.
After some interesting adventures at a Stuckey's in So. Carolina and getting lost in No Carolina we finally made it home in one piece. When leaving Disneyworld I thought I was Disneyed out. But as soon as we got home we all began trying to figure out how we can manage to get back there!