Well, we just got back from our 4th trip to WDW (other times being in 2006, 2008 and 2010), and this being a special treat (my father had mentioned my wife, daughter and I go back with money from some of the train collection we sold after he passed), I have to say that with only a few things that were minor bumps, we had an amazing time!
We got there on Sunday, 29 July, after a hilarious flight (my wife and daughter had to sit in a row with a woman who seriously should have purchased 2 seats - I'm not being mean, but realistic! And a fellow next to me who kept dozing off and having his head almost drift into my lap each time!) We had a great ride to the WDW Dolphin by Happy Limo (my wife and daughter were happy I rode shotgun - the driver was a big football and boxing fan, so I was able to at least hold my own in conversation!) and we were able to do our first park by 12 noon (the one we have to do the first day - Magic Kingdom!)
It was emotional walking through the entrance gates, one reason being the circumstances that enabled us to go, the other being that as soon as we were past the MagicBand scan, the train whistled and arrived at Main Street Station. I started to cry because it felt like my dad was wishing us a great time!
Going through the arch under the station and out onto Main Street, it felt like we were home again. All the sad feelings from the past year were gone, and reality was going to take a break for a week. My daughter stopped at the center of Main Street, and just looked at the castle. She forgot how big it was, and it was so heartening to see a 17 year old fill up with wonder and pure happiness again.
Lunch we decided to try Casey's, and again the feeling of my dad came back: any food choices anywhere, he would just order a hot dog! Plus the vintage baseball memorabilia was something he and I collected, so it was a comforting feeling.
It was almost 100% humidity, so we went straight for something that would cool us down: Splash Mountain! We had the FP for it, so we did that and since there was little wait for Big Thunder Mountain, we took care of two mountains in one go!
It started to pour rain as we were heading to our other staple attraction: Pirates of the Caribbean!!! After that, we headed to our dinner reservation at Crystal Palace, then we did a recon of merchandise in the Emporium before going to the new Fantasyland to see it. We did Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and loved it! It felt like a ride that may have been made in the heyday of Disney dark rides, with a charm and feeling that had my wife fall in love with it.
We stayed for a little longer, but then went back to the Dolphin to check in (ended up with fireworks view!) shower and cool off.
Sorry this post is so long! I'll put just some of the highlights below:
-Monday was AK, and Pandora is incredible. Our daughter kept looking to see how they suspended some of the rocks! We couldn't get into the flight ride when we were there, but the river journey was really well done! That night we had dinner over at San Angel Inn, which was fantastic! We stayed for Illuminations, and it was every bit as great as we remembered.
-Tuesday we did EPCOT, starting with a great breakfast at the Boulangerie in Paris, then did most of the rides we set out to do there. I amazed my wife and daughter by chugging a cup of Beverly in one go, even getting admiration from others there at Club Cool! Later that day, it was torrential rain, so we walked to the Dolphin via the Boardwalk - because of lightning storms, the boat service was suspended.
-Wednesday was a morning to honor my father. I did the Magic Behind the Steam Trains Tour. I did it in 2008, but this time there were more stories and information not told before. I went into the Emporium to buy the G gauge train set, and had it shipped home (it arrives today!) We spent up to a little after lunch in MK, then to the hotel so we could see the hotel area and the pool. I love how the Dolphin had family things scheduled each day, so there were activities there if you had a down day. That night it was off to Disney Springs for dinner at House of Blues and shopping. With the stores there, our daughter went nuts! She found some great clothes at Zara, and got some things she needed at Sephora.
-Thursday was our day at Universal, our first time there! We loved it a lot, with Wizarding World of Harry Potter taking top marks. I also loved Seuss Landing having a Dr. Seuss book store, with schedules for story reading times for children!
-Friday I felt like I was getting a head cold, so I stayed in bed while they went to Hollywood Studios. Our daughter said that Rod Serling stopped in the middle of his narration on the TV to ask where I was. They came back, I was feeling a little better, so we went back to do our dinner reservation at the 50's Prime Time Diner, then over to MK for the rest of the night. The Happily Ever After fireworks show is incredible! Our flight was the next night, so I selected seats on the plane, together and the first row! We would be depressed from leaving anyway, the last thing I wanted was a lousy flight!
-Saturday was the bittersweet day. We had up till dinner time before going back to get our bags and so we did MK for the last time this trip. We did all three mountains (my first trip on Space Mountain, and I loved it! Our daughter kept telling me to shut up, because I was reciting dialog from Star Trek during the ride!), Pirates one last time, Little Mermaid and then our daughter wanted to meet Ariel. It brought a tear to my eye that she still wanted to meet characters on this trip. Meeting Ariel was emotional, because in 2006 for our first trip there, it was the first princess she wanted to meet to tell her she passed her deep water test and was on a swimming team! We had a great lunch at Liberty Tree, then back to the bus to the Dolphin and home. As we were heading to the exit gate, right beyond the Main Street Station arches, the train came in again. My dad was saying he was happy we had a great trip!
Overall, there were some minor bumps here and there, but it didn't outweigh an overall fantastic week! Now to wait for the end of the work day so I can get to the train set arriving via UPS!
We got there on Sunday, 29 July, after a hilarious flight (my wife and daughter had to sit in a row with a woman who seriously should have purchased 2 seats - I'm not being mean, but realistic! And a fellow next to me who kept dozing off and having his head almost drift into my lap each time!) We had a great ride to the WDW Dolphin by Happy Limo (my wife and daughter were happy I rode shotgun - the driver was a big football and boxing fan, so I was able to at least hold my own in conversation!) and we were able to do our first park by 12 noon (the one we have to do the first day - Magic Kingdom!)
It was emotional walking through the entrance gates, one reason being the circumstances that enabled us to go, the other being that as soon as we were past the MagicBand scan, the train whistled and arrived at Main Street Station. I started to cry because it felt like my dad was wishing us a great time!
Going through the arch under the station and out onto Main Street, it felt like we were home again. All the sad feelings from the past year were gone, and reality was going to take a break for a week. My daughter stopped at the center of Main Street, and just looked at the castle. She forgot how big it was, and it was so heartening to see a 17 year old fill up with wonder and pure happiness again.
Lunch we decided to try Casey's, and again the feeling of my dad came back: any food choices anywhere, he would just order a hot dog! Plus the vintage baseball memorabilia was something he and I collected, so it was a comforting feeling.
It was almost 100% humidity, so we went straight for something that would cool us down: Splash Mountain! We had the FP for it, so we did that and since there was little wait for Big Thunder Mountain, we took care of two mountains in one go!
It started to pour rain as we were heading to our other staple attraction: Pirates of the Caribbean!!! After that, we headed to our dinner reservation at Crystal Palace, then we did a recon of merchandise in the Emporium before going to the new Fantasyland to see it. We did Voyage of the Little Mermaid, and loved it! It felt like a ride that may have been made in the heyday of Disney dark rides, with a charm and feeling that had my wife fall in love with it.
We stayed for a little longer, but then went back to the Dolphin to check in (ended up with fireworks view!) shower and cool off.
Sorry this post is so long! I'll put just some of the highlights below:
-Monday was AK, and Pandora is incredible. Our daughter kept looking to see how they suspended some of the rocks! We couldn't get into the flight ride when we were there, but the river journey was really well done! That night we had dinner over at San Angel Inn, which was fantastic! We stayed for Illuminations, and it was every bit as great as we remembered.
-Tuesday we did EPCOT, starting with a great breakfast at the Boulangerie in Paris, then did most of the rides we set out to do there. I amazed my wife and daughter by chugging a cup of Beverly in one go, even getting admiration from others there at Club Cool! Later that day, it was torrential rain, so we walked to the Dolphin via the Boardwalk - because of lightning storms, the boat service was suspended.
-Wednesday was a morning to honor my father. I did the Magic Behind the Steam Trains Tour. I did it in 2008, but this time there were more stories and information not told before. I went into the Emporium to buy the G gauge train set, and had it shipped home (it arrives today!) We spent up to a little after lunch in MK, then to the hotel so we could see the hotel area and the pool. I love how the Dolphin had family things scheduled each day, so there were activities there if you had a down day. That night it was off to Disney Springs for dinner at House of Blues and shopping. With the stores there, our daughter went nuts! She found some great clothes at Zara, and got some things she needed at Sephora.
-Thursday was our day at Universal, our first time there! We loved it a lot, with Wizarding World of Harry Potter taking top marks. I also loved Seuss Landing having a Dr. Seuss book store, with schedules for story reading times for children!
-Friday I felt like I was getting a head cold, so I stayed in bed while they went to Hollywood Studios. Our daughter said that Rod Serling stopped in the middle of his narration on the TV to ask where I was. They came back, I was feeling a little better, so we went back to do our dinner reservation at the 50's Prime Time Diner, then over to MK for the rest of the night. The Happily Ever After fireworks show is incredible! Our flight was the next night, so I selected seats on the plane, together and the first row! We would be depressed from leaving anyway, the last thing I wanted was a lousy flight!
-Saturday was the bittersweet day. We had up till dinner time before going back to get our bags and so we did MK for the last time this trip. We did all three mountains (my first trip on Space Mountain, and I loved it! Our daughter kept telling me to shut up, because I was reciting dialog from Star Trek during the ride!), Pirates one last time, Little Mermaid and then our daughter wanted to meet Ariel. It brought a tear to my eye that she still wanted to meet characters on this trip. Meeting Ariel was emotional, because in 2006 for our first trip there, it was the first princess she wanted to meet to tell her she passed her deep water test and was on a swimming team! We had a great lunch at Liberty Tree, then back to the bus to the Dolphin and home. As we were heading to the exit gate, right beyond the Main Street Station arches, the train came in again. My dad was saying he was happy we had a great trip!
Overall, there were some minor bumps here and there, but it didn't outweigh an overall fantastic week! Now to wait for the end of the work day so I can get to the train set arriving via UPS!
