Jen's Holiday Madness

Episode one - Anticipation trepidation.

Tickets - Check
Passports- Check
Spending money - Check
Reservations - Check
Sister and family ready to go - Check
Sister and family have no idea where they are going - Check
Bags packed - *looks at the large pile of clothes on the bed* Sorta Check
Time check - Twenty four hours till we head for the airport

Ready to go, Disney awaits.

Stay tuned for episode two - Disney hysteria.

Where we find out how dear sister and her family reacts when they realise they are going to Disney World.

 

[DisneySam]

Have a great trip! Come back with lots of photos to share!

 

[DisneyBunny]

Have fun! Happy Traveling! Take lots of pictures and eat lots of food! :wave:

 

[Steve-B]

I wish I could spring a surprise trip on a first-timer (or anyone, for that matter). That has got to be fun!

 

[CAPTAIN HOOK]

Sister and family have no idea where they are going - Check

Interesting !!
Have a great trip

 

[tink rules]

Put oxygen and pick family up off of floor on list!!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

If you're there next week.... I'll look for the extremely happy and stunned family floating around!!!!

Can I adopt you as MY sister???? The only place she's taking me is to Texas to her house for Christmas.... :lol: :lol: :xmas:

Have fun!!!

 

[DisneyFanJen]

Hi guys!

Due to technical difficulties (Internet not working and forgetting to install Graphics editing software) I wasn't able to do daily updates as first planned.

Give me a day or so to sort out the best pictures and I'll fire you all a full trip report.

But a very quick round up is apart from a couple of dissapointments (including the kids trying to out do each other at being annoying) it was a great trip.

Anyway, back to bed to fight off that jet lag.

See you real soon!

 

[DisneyFanJen]

Jen's 12-1-05 12-14-05 WDW Holiday Madness, Warning LOTS of pictures!

Ok, here's the start of my trip report. I'll be putting the rest up during the day as I get time to get back to the keyboard.

Cast:
Jo, Dear Sister, otherwise known as she who rarely smiles.
Tracey, Jo's Sigificant other, otherwise known as she who is over excited.
Andrew, Jo's Number one son, otherwise known as the annoying one.
Jane, Jo's Eldest Daughter, otherwise known as she who will not be photographed.
Tazmin, Jo's Youngest Daughter, otherwise known as she with the cheeky grin.
Stacey, My sigificant other, otherwise known as the light of my life.
Jen, Me. Known aliases. Generous benefactor & she who works the magic eye.

Day 1:

We set off about 6am in typical english weather for the season, wet and cold. Taking a nice trip down the highways and byways, passing the UK's idea of a theme park on the way.

But finally our goal was in sight.

So, we parked up at Gatwick where we met up with my sister and her family.

Jo and Tracey were pretty happy to go with the flow, but the kids started pestering me from the second they got out of the car to tell them where we were going. Part of me was tempted to hang it out, but I decided to tell them once we had reached check-in.

So a quick hop on the courtesy bus to Gatwick South, and into the queue for Virgin Flight VS015. Luckily the check-in desk didn't display the destination yet so it didn't give the game away.

So I lined them up, got out my camera and asked them if they wanted to know where we were going. Of course they wanted to know, but you could see they half feared that it'd be somewhere like Scotland as I'd all but convinced them already that I couldn't afford something as expensive as the U.S.A.

So, pointing the camera at them to capture their reaction (set on sport mode in case they moved fast) I said "We're going to Disney World." Well the kids literally 'Jumped for joy' and even with the camera set to sport I couldn't capture a clean image (from then on I started using shutter priority rather than relying on the camera). Here's the cleanest shot.

Just seeing this reaction was worth it, (even given the grief they gave me later. Kids!)

So it was on to the plane for the hop across the pond.

Almost looks like you could walk on it doesn't it?

Anyway, it was a pretty uneventful flight due to these guys. We slept, watched Batman Begins, you know the routine.

So it was out of the airport and off to the hotel to freshen up then we popped to EPCOT to pick up Jo & the families tickets as well as our Annual passes.

That done we couldn't resist a quick dive into EPCOT for a run on Test Track. Now this was the first time I'd done Test Track in the dark and I have to say it's ten times better! It's harder to see the wall is going to move and it's almost a different ride when you do the fast loop.

Anyway, one ride was all we got as it hit 9:30 while on the first run and that was that. Feeling a bit too tired to stay for Illuminations we headed back to the hotel and hit the hay.

 

[DisneyFanJen]

Day 2:

Day dawned and it was up and away to.... Universal Studios!

"Why have you forsaken us!" I hear you cry.

But fear not, there is a method in my madness.

1) I didn't want to do Magic Kingdom first and have everything else be a let down in comparison.
2) I had something booked for the evening and didn't want to pull them out of Disney early.
3) I wanted to totally avoid anything to do with the Chrismas Day Parade Taping, so would avoid Disney like the plague for the first two days.

So off to Universal it is then.

Got the obligitory shots in front of the globe of course.

This is Jo and her partner Tracey.

This is my Stacey, ain't she purdy.

However the youngun's declined the chance of having their picture taken with a large metal ball...

Then it was off to Will Call to collect our tickets. After about two minutes of cogitating Stacey and I decided to upgrade our tickets to Annual Passes, then we collected them all and in we went.

We did all the usual things, Twister, etc. The kids going mad on their first full day in a theme park and Tracey wasn't much better, it was like they all turned into six year olds with ADD. Wahaha! little did they know that this was nothing compared to the true delights of Disney! (Queue manic cackle and crash of thunder here. )

It was a different experience doing this with children and first timers. Stacey and I usually have our days planned with military precision, especially Universal days which tend to consist of: Into IOA, get Spiderman Express Pass, Ride Spiderman in standby, Ride Spiderman using Express Pass, Ride Spiderman on Single Rider Line. You see a pattern here, Spiderman is pretty much the only real soft spot we have for Uni & IOA. Well, Spiderman and the fact they have Starbucks.

But with Jo and the family it was a different story, it took an hour to get down one street with all the "ooh, what's that?" and "Look over there", you get the idea. The experience was refreshing.

Anyway, we had a look at the tree.

Not bad. Bet Disney can beat it though.

I got a picture done of Jo and Tracey.

Is it me or do you think that Jo has a "I am not amused" look on her face?

Then we finally watched Fear Factor Live (which I'd never seen before). It was a pretty good show actually.

We gave them till about 6pm to play then rounded them up as we had the evening planned. We felt the need, the need to Stampede!

So after a quick pop back to the hotel, it was off to Dixie Stampede to see the Christmas show.

It was a pretty good show but I actually think that the normal show is better. Each to their own I guess.

Jane didn't eat too much as it turns out she's the pickiest eater in human history. But everyone liked the show which is the main thing.

No pictures of the show because in Dixie there's no photography allowed (I assume they sell a DVD of the show, that's the usual reason) but I got a couple of the munchkins after.

We managed to get Tazmin on the horse doing one of her patented smiles.

But Andrew just wanted to lean on the fence and look cool.

We didn't have the heart to tell him he looked about as cool as Barney in a Tutu! :LOL:

No pictures of Jane yet, but I'll get her, and her little dog too! Wahaha!

Then off home and the end of another day.

 

[DisneyFanJen]

Day 3:

Day three is a picture free day. Why, because it was off to Seaworld and I didn't want my new toy (Digital SLR Camera) getting wet; and trust me it would have.

I'm told that Jo managed to get a few pictures with her digicam so if I can get them I'll add them on later.

Well, the youngest Tazmin is totally in love with Killer Whales, so when she found out where she was going that day it was almost like the time we told them we were off to Disney World all over again.

So, after a quick five minute drive (our hotel is very close to Seaworld) we arrived at Seaworld and went straight to Will Call to get our tickets.

Well, we thought about it and yes you guessed it, Stacey and I upgraded to Annual Passes. Only the Silver ones this time though as we only wanted one year and didn't want all the extra's like Busch Gardens.

Then in we went and we made a bee line for Shamu Stadium.

Now Stacey and I headed straight down the left side right to the bottom, only four rows up and the rest of the family followed (ain't we stinkers? ) but as soon as the first Shamu Weather warning came on the big screen, they were gonesville! :lol:

All except Tracey, Stacey, myself and brave little Tazmin who wanted the closest view she could get.

We offered to get her a poncho but no, she was willing to go without. So we braved the Tsunami together.

Then the show started.

It was as spectacular as I remembered with Shamu and his friends doing their thing, some of which I wouldn't have believed possible for an animal that size if I hadn't seen it myself.

We'd gotten a little wet but nothing too horrendous, but Stacey and I knew that there was more to come, and braced ourselves as Mamu (sp?) decided to give us a little tail splash.

"Oh look, a wall of Wat..." *glub, glub, splutter* "Here comes another..!" *Glub, glub*

Finally when the show was over, four drowned rats made their way up the stairs to join the rest of the party and Tazmin had a grin on her face wide enough to park a Buick inside!

Not sure if Jo managed to get any photo's of it, but if she did, I'll be sure to add the drowned rat chronicles to this thread.

Well, then we took a walk over to Journey to Atlantis and the Kracken and let them play, though I sat that one out, not my thing.

Then back for the Walrus Show which was hilarious. Blue Horisons, which was spectacular but I honestly couldn't follow the story assuming it actually had one.

Then with a few stops at various areas in between (including the Dolphin petting area, which is a must for me. I must do Discovery Cove some time), lastly the Shamu Christmas show, which we sat up high to watch this time as we'd still not dried up from the first soaking.

Though the actual animal stunts were the same, the show was much better than Shamu's usual one IMO. I loved every minute and wished I'd got some photos. But alas it was not to be.

So, finally after the last roar of the crowd had died down and Shamu went for a well earned rest it was time for us to make the slow walk back to the car whilst listening to the Carolers.

Thus came the end of another great day.

 

[DisneyFanJen]

Day 4:

Guess where we're going today...

Yay!!

Who's the leader of the club that's made for you and me M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E!

So using the power of positive thinking, a touch of pixie dust and a Chevorlet Town & Country, we headed for Disney World.

So where should we go? Should we go for the big guns and head for the Magic Kingdom? Start them slow with say, EPCOT? Well, then we remembered we had a show that night, so we thought what of the four parks is best if you're a bit short on time?

And the winner is!

Disney/MGM Studios!

Straight in today as we already had the tickets sorted and over to the Sorcerer's Hat to scope out some Passholder exclusive goodies.

Well, who should turn up for a photo session while we were drooling over pins and things? Our good friend Piglet.

Now Jane's a big fan of Piglet, so we managed to finally catch a photo of her.

The queue was short so Jane and Piglet played a little game with Jane & Tazmin giggling their heads off through the whole thing.

But for some reason Andrew was, to say the least, grumpy (and I'm not talking the good kind that looks after Snow White).
We found out later that the black button eyes that some of our friends have creep him out and being "the man" of the party he had to act hard, so he got grumpy rather than telling us.

However, we didn't let it spoil our day and hit the rides.

We did the Great Movie Ride first then in quick succession, Start Tours, Muppet Vision 3D, and the Backlot Tour.

I think it's a shame what's happened to the Backlot Tour, it's a shadow of it's former self. They should either close it or re-vamp it. But here's a couple of shots anyway.

Firstly the obligitory water tower, gotta get a shot of the water tower.

Here's the red shuttle craft (for want of a better phrase) from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. It seems weird to see it just sitting there given the film was so recent.

On the way out of the tour we wandered over to visit Mickey, and managed to get most of the mob to pose in this one.

...

 

[DisneyFanJen]

Day 4 Continued:

After that we all headed to the Rockin' Roller Coaster and the Tower of Terror.

I sat these out as I wasn't ready to tackle a dark coaster and that drop of ToTs, I don't think so! But somehow the kids managed to convince Stacey to do the Tower of Terror.

Now Stacey has a bit of a phobia of elevators, so to me this fell under the heading of "Bad Idea" but she was adamant and who am I to stop her.

So, after a quick run on RnRC they all headed into the Tower. I sat, I waited. then fourty minutes later, a ghostly white Stacey came out shaking like a leaf. Well she did it, she'll probably never do it again mind, but she did it.

Deciding to give the thrill rides a break for now, we grabbed some lunch as Rosies (they had various meat based foodstuffs while Stacey and I had Veggie Burgers) and went and saw Beauty and the Beast.

I'm a big fan of this show, so seeing it again is a treat. However Four for a Dollar were no longer there as a warm up act which disappointed me a little as I really liked their show.

Now it was time for the parade and as Jo and family had never seen one, these were on our not to miss list. So we scoped out a good spot and waited.

See, me and Mickey are best mates. Look how he waved at me...

Now I don't think the Stars and Motorcars parade is the best parade Disney do by a long chalk, but Jo and the family lapped it up, especially with the Christmas twist giving it an extra boost.

Even the big man had time to make an appearance!

Finally there was enough time to catch the final performance of Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular before we had to leave.

Run Indy! Run!

Well, after a quick wash and brush up at the hotel it was away for a joustingly good time at Medieval Times!

We got the Royalty upgrade and were seated third row back in the black and white section, the Knight we usually support.

All was going well until a manager came to see Stacey and I. It seems we gave them the copies of our WDW prepay vouchers rather than our Medieval times ones and the sales office hadn't noticed until now!

Well, we hadn't brought the right ones with us and it seemed that the manager was going to be in trouble over this so we offered to pay for that night's tickets on our credit card as we'd probably come again before we went home anyway.

The manager was so grateful he gave us free royalty upgrades for our next visit and a guaranteed front row seat.

So we ended up getting freebies for our own screw up! Not a bad days work.

Unfortunately I can't tell you much about the rest of the night, nor do I have any photos as I got quite tipsy and can't remember much beyond that point (several Maiden's Kisses in the large goblets will do that to a girl).

However I'm told it was a good night and that I told several jokes to the kids that would not have made a PG rating. :lol:

Anyway, we made it home in one piece as funnily enough I wasn't the designated driver and that was the end of another day.

 

[DisneyFanJen]

Day 5:

Today, we split up in the morning. Stacey took my sister and the brood to EPCOT and I headed to the Magic Kingdom for a little side trip.

When I got there, the fake station tarpaulin was gone and you could see the builders working away on the finishing touches.

Is it bad show? I don't think so, they have to work some time and it's nice to see it looking good again.

Shouldn't be long now before the scaffolding's gone.

But back to the topic of discussion. Why oh why did I head off to the Magic Kingdom without them? To get myself a haircut of course!

I joined the queue outside Harmony Barber Shop and waited patiently as the throng slowly entered and exited their doors.

Then it was my turn and I had them shorten it a fair bit (my hair's now about 2 inches below the shoulder instead of 3/4 of the way down my back) and generally tidied up.

Once that was done she asked "Would you like some color or some Pixie Dust"?

Well, of course my answer was "Gimmie the works!" so I was colored and pixie dusted up the wazoo by the time I walked out of there.

Then it was back to EPCOT to meet up with the others.

Now it didn't feel like it at the time, but I was several hours waiting for that haircut and the day was half gone by the time I got back, so it was off for a late lunch we had booked in the UK at the Rose & Crown.

The food was excellent as always, but Stacey found the only Vegetarian Entre to be a little too spicey for her and here's where our incedental purchase of the Disney Dining Experience came into it's own as 20% off of 7 people's meals is a lot of moola. It almost paid for itself during that first use.

Then is was finally my first ride on Soarin'

Wow that ride is Awsome! I loved every minute of it and would of headed straight back on if the others had let me, but nobody else was willing to wait another 70 minutes.

So as the wait was short for it we all headed to Mission Space.

Again I enjoyed every minute of it and it felt just as intense as the last time I rode it.

Also for the record I asked one of the CMs looking after the ride if it had been slowed down or altered in any way and his answer was (as Corrus has told us several times) that the ride is running the exact same profile that it did the day it was installed and as far as he is aware slowing it down would ruin the effect.

Well, the CM could be wrong, but based on what I felt in the ride, I believe him.

After that it was nearly time to go (yes we were leaving early again, but remember we still had plenty of time to do the late night stuff as we had another 9 days to go). So I took a couple of arty long shutter speed shots with my camera, before we headed out.

Here's a shot of the Mission space globe doing Mach 10.

And a shot of the backwards waterfall (does this have a proper name?), with the long exposure giving it a kind of ethereal effect.

Well, enough of the arty stuff and back to the report.

From here we took the kids over to Downtown and hit Disneyquest.

Well, we got inside and said "go play but be careful and don't leave the building" and they scattered to go explore.

Stacey and I went and did some Astroblasting, while Jo and Tracey played some of the classics.

A bit later we popped upstairs and got ourselves a Pizza and found that our Annual Pass was good for discount there. So we treated everyone to a late supper.

We finally left Disneyquest when they closed at 11pm and did a bit of shopping, with me fixing my Lost craving by buying Lost season 1 (remember, the UK still hasn't finished the first season so I'm ahead of the game now).

Then after a wander around the World of Disney and the Lego store we headed off home tired and happy.

We all agreed that we'd have a late start tomorrow but that was OK as tomorrow was going to be another late night...

 

[DisneyFanJen]

Day 6:

Well it was a late start today with everyone meeting up at about 11am

Then it was off and away to todays destination.

Can you guess where based on this grin?

Well if that didn't do it, this will.

Finally the Magic Kingdom.

I like the 50th Aniversary make over, very snazzy.

Oh, the Tree's back where it should be by the way.

First thing we did is watch Cinderellabration, Nice show but I must admit I wouldn't go out of my way to watch it again.

Then we hit a few rides and visited an old haunt of mine.

Feel free to groan, but we did look up an old and dearly missed friend.

After that it was off to the Crystal Palace for dinner, where the guys from the Hundred Acre wood kept most of us entertained (and we finally found out about Andrew's dislike of Button Eyes).

We used our DDE cards again and at this point we officially saved more than they cost us.

On the way out of there we managed to catch a performance by the Dapper Dan's before heading back to the rides.

And I finally started breaking my fear of coasters by taking a trip on Thunder Mountain. Not big in most's regard, but a big step for me.

It had been a great afternoon, but 6pm was fast approaching and it was time for everyone to go unless they were going to the xmas party.

...

 

[DisneyFanJen]

Day 6 Continued:

But our hearts were not heavy, why? Because tonight was our Christmas party night! Yay!

So we did a quick pop to see the Country Bears Christmas Show (which I'd never seen before, Christmas or otherwise).

Then off to Mickey's Twas the Night before Christmas.

Just as we were entering, the CM on the door questioned our wristbands, saying they were the wrong color. Well, we explained that we had been told by *specific CMs name here, that I will not repeat* that some wrong colored bands had been handed out but that they would be ok for this evening, and she let us in.

Well, we got there forty five minutes early and it was already standing room only, so we found a spot at the back with a convenient wall to lean on and waited.

The Show was great if a little silly in places, and is it just me or is there something slightly disturbing about Minnie Mouse singing "Santa Baby"?

After that it was time to grab some coco and cookies (coco was nice, but the cookies, Urgh!) then we split up, Stacey and I heading for other shows as we wanted to catch all the Christmas only stuff, and Jo and the kids wanting to go on the rides.

And this dear reader is where it all went horribly wrong.

Just as we were heading for the show at the castle, we got a call from Jo saying that they were being refused entry and couldn't do anything. So back we went to talk to the CM that refused them to find out that the wristbands we had were indeed invalid.

Well given the fact that we had double checked this with the CM originally giving out the wristbands and was told there was no problem, the magic had definately left me.

I requested to see a manager immediately in the politest tone I could muster and the CM did their best to sort things out. (If that was you and you read the boards, I'm sorry if I offended, but when the kids came over to me rather upset it got me a bit irate).

Well, after about fifty minutes we finally got everything sorted and we also were given several skip the line vouchers and a spot in the VIP area for the parade as we'd missed it the first parade. We hadn't intended to stay till the end, but it looked like we were now.

Well, we gave all the vouchers to the kids and told them to go play, then took a walk down into Adventure Land to grab a Dole Whip. But most of Adventure Land was closed, including the store that sells my beloved Dole Whip. Tonight was not going well.

Anyway, after a trip through Pirates, we headed back to the Hub to find a spot to watch Holiday Wishes.

Which was when we realised we'd forgotten the tripod. Argh!!! Just one o' them days.

Well, making the most of it we decided to try some hand shots of the fireworks. Most are a blurry mess given the long exposure time but a few good ones came out...

These are credited to Stacey, who had a much steadier hand than I, these were both taken with a 1.6 second shutter speed.

Well, after all the messing around, Stacey and I just wern't in the mood to play chase the show, so we slowly meandered through the crowds soaking up the atmosphere and regaining our xmas spirit.

We met up to grab a snack with our friend Sonny here then hoping our manager was true to his word, we headed down to the VIP area for the parade.

Well, down to Harmony Barbers we went and sure enough we were let straight into the VIP area to sit on the nice comfy bench.

Being in the only uncrowded part of the parade route definately lifted our spirits and we waited eagerly for the parade to start.

And we wern't disapointed as nearly every performer in the parade made sure they gave us a wave or a nod, it was like the parade was just for us.

The only downside was we were so up close and personal with the parade, that it was too close for good shots, so stacey grabbed a spot on the other side of the street and took these beautys.

Well, though it didn't make for missing half the shows; watching the parade certainly lifted our spirits, so with much lighter hearts we popped across the street and purchased a few Christmas Party Pins (The Days Pin, the Limited Edition, Passholder Pin, The Larger Limited Edition Pin, and the framed set which I'll get a photo of and post up later)

Then with one more look down mainstreet we made our way back to the hotel.

Not a total washout, but it definately could have been better.

 

[nibblesandbits]

Great report so far! Looking forward to the rest of it!!!

 

[DisneyFanJen]

Day 7:

Another no picture day, why, well we didn't do much.

After the night before, the kids were so tired they just slept in an Jo decided that they'd stay at the hotel that day, relax, catch up of some washing, you get the idea.

So Stacey and I had the day to ourselves.

In the morning we just slobbed around the hotel, and started watching Lost. (I have addicted Stacey to this phenomenon now. My work is done :lol: )

Then around 4pm, we headed out to Downtown and did some window shopping and checked out World of Disney again so we knew what we wanted at the end of the trip.

We watched Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix which we'd not seen yet, then headed over to Planet Hollywood and had a late Dinner (it was about 9pm at this point).

When we'd finished there we headed back to the hotel for a good night's rest.

It wasn't what we had originally planned but I think we'd worn Jo, Tracey & the kids out and they needed time to recharge.

 

[DisneyFanJen]

Great report so far! Looking forward to the rest of it!!!

Thanks, one aims to please.

I think I can crank one more day out today then the rest will probably be tomoorrow.

Oh, by the way, the pictures are just random ones that seemed ok for the report, if anyone wants pics of any of these events, give me a shout.

I went a bit mad with the new camera and have about seven thousand! (all at 4/3 megapixel I might add, my haard drive is groaning!)

(if you refresh them fast enough, some even look like video :lol: )

 

[doop]

Great pictures and report, looks like you had a great time!

 

[DisneyFanJen]

Day 8:

Today was an animal Kingdom day a wet, wet wet Animal Kingdom day.

So just to prove that water and Florida do mix in ways other than hurricane...

Being the silly things we are we hadn't brought weatherproof coats, so dove to the nearest store and bought everyone Ponchos.

Well, we decided that it was time that Jo and her family had a bit of Independance, so we gave Jo, Tracey, and the two older kids radios and said they could go do their own thing all day if they wanted.

Well, the two eldest were gone like a shot, nothing less cool than hanging with family right? But Jo Tracey and Tazmin stayed with us.

Then not letting a little rain deter us, we were away to the shows.

As I heard it was closing, I made a bee line for Tarzsan Rocks so I could say I'd seen it at least once.

Well I've seen it...

And now I know why they want to close it. That show is awful!

I'm glad I saw it once, but you wouldn't get me there again.

So as not to put the family off of shows at Animal Kingdom for life, we then took them to something a little more stimulating.

And using the soothing powers of the Festival of the Lion King, all was well. :lol:

Then it was time to go on Safari, and this time the rain was a blessing. I've never seen so many animals out and about before. I even got this great shot of the Lions, which if the CM was correct are rarely seen, and if they are, they're usually slumped down trying to avoid the heat.

That shot would have made the day worth it even if we did nothing else.

Then Jo, Tracey and and Tazmin wanted to go see the gorillas. As this didn't interest us, we went a wandering, and guess where we ended up?

I have to say none of the photos on the site (including this one) do it justice, you just have to see it for yourself.

While we were watching we saw it trundle up the ramp, but I didn't take much notice as I thought it was a sandbag run. Next thing I heard were screams as the train flew down the big drop with about six passasngers in it. I cursed myself at missing the shot, but luckily Stacey had filmed the whole thing on the Video Camera. Hopefully I can hook it out for you soon.

When we asked the CM in front of EE who it was, they said that it was being run for the Dirrector of WDW who was doing an inspection. So when I get the video to you, those in the know can confirm or deny this.

Anyway, excitement over, we headed to Breakfastasaurus (sp?), picked up a veggie burger and waited for everyone to arrive to go watch the Parade.

Well, we all met up only to find out the parade had been washed out, so decided to go back to the hotel as we were off out that night.

Where to you ask, well me harties, we were of to pillage and plunder, Arrrr! That's right, it was off to the Pirates Dinner Adventure.

Well, this show is a little too silly for me, but we knew the kids would love it so off we went to swash and buckle.

As predicted the kids loved it and were singing Yo-Ho songs with the best of them, and as an added bonus...

Recognise those heads on the right? Arr! they be Jane and Tazmin, recruited into the army to help capture them Pirates! Arrr!

It made the night and we all went back to the hotel with smiles on our faces.