Jungle Skipper Trip Report (Jan 22-26)
Well everyone, here it is, my trip report. First off I must say I am uber depressed now that I am back at work...::sigh:: i feel homesick...for my home away from home..WDW
. I guess I should start planning my next trip huh?
We had an absolutly wonderful trip! My Father, Sister and I took my mother down to celebrate her 52nd birthday this weekend. We all needed a break from the everyday world and WDW was the perfect place to get away.
We flew out of Nashville, TN on Thursday the 22nd around 7pm local time. (My sister had to take a different flight through charlotte becasue she didnt decide to go until a week before we left, her flight left earlier than ours so we spent forever and a day at the Nashville Airport). Of course we almost didn't make it there in time for my sisters flight because my dad's boss wouldn't let him leave work...they were "understaffed" and held my dad over his scheduled work time by 2 hours...leading to all kinds of drama..but tragedy was avoided and dad got away just in time to make it to Nashville on time for sisters flight.
After some slight delays we were in the air for a delightful flight.I read a book and in no time we were at Orlando International...oly to find out that my sisters connecting flight had been delayed....so 1.5 hours later she arrived, we had our rental car and luggage and headed for POR.
I went to check us into the hotel, a very smooth check-in. Made sure the knew it was moms birthday and got the family's tickets squared away. We got to our room around 1am and crashed. The room was great! Two beds and a trundle bed...the bathroom was small, but its the bathroom...does it really need to be big? NO! :lol: We were in building 27, room 2709 to be exact. Wonderful view I must say; the resort lived up to all my expectations!
Friday, Jan 23rd, 2004:
We all woke up bright and early, full of anticipation for visiting the parks! Unfortunatly this was going to be a very short trip, so we condensed everything, but made sure we all saw our must sees. We ate breakfast in the room to save money...gronola bars...mmm...and then headed for MGM.
We got mother a birthday pin to wear for the weekend...right away she was stopped by security who patched her through to Goofy who sang happy birthday! She loved it! We rode ToT and RnRC, GMR, saw One Man's Dream, Haunted Mansion sets, Millionaire, and had lunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe! What a great meal..always one of my favorites. We had a great server named Bob....very funny guy. Fried chicken was oh so delicious :slurp: Bob made a big deal over mom's "16th birthday" (she loved the 16 years old thing!) The whole room sang to her, and Bob preseted her with a huge birthday cupcake.
After lunch we wandered through the shops and mom got her picture taken with Eeyore (her favorite). Then we headed to Epcot for the afternoon. We bee-lined it to Mission:Space! I had ridden it in June during the preview sessions...in fact I was there for the first day of previews...I love the ride..one of my all time favorites. Mom chickened out....Dad and sister LOVED IT!!! I think it made Dad feel ill though. Next we headed to TT, then Imagination, then to the World Showcase. We casually walked around, taking in the sites and sounds. Everyone was happy to wish mom a happy birthday and always made her smile! I was ever so thank full for that!
Eventually we wound up in the UK around 7:45pm and decided to try and get a table at the Rose and Crown. We were lucky, some people didn't show up for their PS and the host saw mom's birthday button and winked at us saying "oh your the smith party right....your right on time for your PS" and seated us right away. I thanked him. We sat on the deck, it was quite chilly so they had the plastic dropped down and heaters set out. We dined on Fish and Chips and beer. Enjoyed our meal and finished just in time for Illuminations.
The waits for all rides that day were incredibly short...never more that 15 min. Mission:Space was a walk on.
By the time all of this was over we were exhausted...headed back to POR. Sister and I set out to explore the resort itself. I even ran into an old friend of mine whom I had worked with at the Emporium on my CP...she was working at Fultons General Store! That was cool... What a beautiful place! Then we all eventually fell asleep.
Saturday, Jan 24, 2004 (Mom's Birthday):
We awoke the next morning and headed for the MK! My mom was excited about spending her Birthday at the MK and just glowed all day! The park wasn't overly crowded, but not empty. Longest wait was 20 min for Splash.
Upon entering the park we took pictures with characters and then I took some time to wander through the Emporium. Saw a couple of my friends I used to work with...that was awesome! Did some shopping and met my dream girl. Vanessa...a CP from Maryland. She was totally cute and very guest oriented. Saw her making magic every time I was in the Emporium this weekend. She even made magic for my sister later in the trip!
We headed into the park and Saw Philharmagic. I loved it, very good show. Love the AA donald at the end. The huge screen was breathtaking! We roamed around Fantasyland, PP, SW, WP, Snow White. Had lunch at the Village Haus...Rode the HM, Splash and Thunder, POTC. Saw Share a Dream Come True. Mom had to have an Ice Cream and Cookie Sandwich at the Sleepy Hollow Snack bar in Liberty Square (they are excellent, I reccommend them highly!) Then mom and dad headed back to the hotel to get ready for La Nouba (I got them tickets for her birthday).
Sister and I stuck around rode everything we could. The waits were easy except for Space Mountain where the merge girl wasn't keeping her fast pass ratio, we stood at the front of the line and waited forever while 125 (thats after i started counting) fast pass people went without any of us in standby being let through...and the fast pass line wasn't backed up either, she just made standby wait and wait and wait..bad show...i got mad...shouldn't have, but did. and then went back to the POR to get ready for PI. Took the Boat from the POR to DD, and met mom and dad at around 9pm. They loved La Nouba..my dad normally doesn't like stuff like that but he couldn't stop talking about how much he liked the show!
We headed to the Adventurers Club (I love it there!) They made a huge deal over my moms birthday and kept getting her involved. She loved that...everyone sang happy birthday. Samantha Sterling even picked on her during the cabaret. The whole family loved the Adventurers Club and they are still going around sayng Kongaloosh! I'm so proud of them! :lol: We caught the 12am Comedy Warehouse...not the best showing I have ever seen...not the worst either) Mom and dad left after the show, sister and I partied 'til 2am!
Sunday, Jan 25th, 2004:
Today we slept in, almost to late, and went to the local catholic church. Mom and Dad decided to spend the day at DD and just relaxing, but sister and I hit the parks once again. We went to Epcot and saw everything again..I love that park. The weather was beautiful, the lines were super short. I got mad as I was going through the line at Imagination, I caught my jeans on the counters at the front door, tripped and ripped the leg of my jeans! but its all good, I survived!
Around 5:00pm we headed for the MK so we could see Wishes. It was amazing...I was astounded! Did some shopping, bought souvies for my aunts and uncles, my little cousins....Saw Vanessa again, she went out of her way to find this shirt for my sister that she wanted really bad. We had a flat out great time.
We had PS for Boma at the AKL...mmm...Boma...mmmmm....Mom and Dad loved it..sister didn't. Then we went out to the Savannah and watched the animals with nightvision goggles. That was cool. Then ended up in the room reluctently packing our bags.
Monday, Jan 26th, 2004:
We got up early and had breakfast at Boatwrights....what a nice place. We packed up and I checked out. The we headed to the Marketplace to buy last minute souvies. I bought this really cool Hula Mickey Bobble head type doll for my Mickey mouse Collection. Spent all morning at DD, had a milkshake from Ghiridellis and headed for the airport. Several hours, an ice storm and delay for my sister in Charlotte, an hour delay in Orlando for us and a two hour drive home from the Nashville Airport we arrived at home. To Snow and Ice falling. Yuck....but because of the ice I didn't have to go to work Tuesday and had all day to relax and enjoy myself.
Well, hope you enjoyed my trip report! Pictures should be in later this week..or early next week. Have a Disney Day Everyone!
Jungle Josh
Well everyone, here it is, my trip report. First off I must say I am uber depressed now that I am back at work...::sigh:: i feel homesick...for my home away from home..WDW
. I guess I should start planning my next trip huh? We had an absolutly wonderful trip! My Father, Sister and I took my mother down to celebrate her 52nd birthday this weekend. We all needed a break from the everyday world and WDW was the perfect place to get away.
We flew out of Nashville, TN on Thursday the 22nd around 7pm local time. (My sister had to take a different flight through charlotte becasue she didnt decide to go until a week before we left, her flight left earlier than ours so we spent forever and a day at the Nashville Airport). Of course we almost didn't make it there in time for my sisters flight because my dad's boss wouldn't let him leave work...they were "understaffed" and held my dad over his scheduled work time by 2 hours...leading to all kinds of drama..but tragedy was avoided and dad got away just in time to make it to Nashville on time for sisters flight.
After some slight delays we were in the air for a delightful flight.I read a book and in no time we were at Orlando International...oly to find out that my sisters connecting flight had been delayed....so 1.5 hours later she arrived, we had our rental car and luggage and headed for POR.
I went to check us into the hotel, a very smooth check-in. Made sure the knew it was moms birthday and got the family's tickets squared away. We got to our room around 1am and crashed. The room was great! Two beds and a trundle bed...the bathroom was small, but its the bathroom...does it really need to be big? NO! :lol: We were in building 27, room 2709 to be exact. Wonderful view I must say; the resort lived up to all my expectations!
Friday, Jan 23rd, 2004:
We all woke up bright and early, full of anticipation for visiting the parks! Unfortunatly this was going to be a very short trip, so we condensed everything, but made sure we all saw our must sees. We ate breakfast in the room to save money...gronola bars...mmm...and then headed for MGM.
We got mother a birthday pin to wear for the weekend...right away she was stopped by security who patched her through to Goofy who sang happy birthday! She loved it! We rode ToT and RnRC, GMR, saw One Man's Dream, Haunted Mansion sets, Millionaire, and had lunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe! What a great meal..always one of my favorites. We had a great server named Bob....very funny guy. Fried chicken was oh so delicious :slurp: Bob made a big deal over mom's "16th birthday" (she loved the 16 years old thing!) The whole room sang to her, and Bob preseted her with a huge birthday cupcake.
After lunch we wandered through the shops and mom got her picture taken with Eeyore (her favorite). Then we headed to Epcot for the afternoon. We bee-lined it to Mission:Space! I had ridden it in June during the preview sessions...in fact I was there for the first day of previews...I love the ride..one of my all time favorites. Mom chickened out....Dad and sister LOVED IT!!! I think it made Dad feel ill though. Next we headed to TT, then Imagination, then to the World Showcase. We casually walked around, taking in the sites and sounds. Everyone was happy to wish mom a happy birthday and always made her smile! I was ever so thank full for that!
Eventually we wound up in the UK around 7:45pm and decided to try and get a table at the Rose and Crown. We were lucky, some people didn't show up for their PS and the host saw mom's birthday button and winked at us saying "oh your the smith party right....your right on time for your PS" and seated us right away. I thanked him. We sat on the deck, it was quite chilly so they had the plastic dropped down and heaters set out. We dined on Fish and Chips and beer. Enjoyed our meal and finished just in time for Illuminations.
The waits for all rides that day were incredibly short...never more that 15 min. Mission:Space was a walk on.
By the time all of this was over we were exhausted...headed back to POR. Sister and I set out to explore the resort itself. I even ran into an old friend of mine whom I had worked with at the Emporium on my CP...she was working at Fultons General Store! That was cool... What a beautiful place! Then we all eventually fell asleep.
Saturday, Jan 24, 2004 (Mom's Birthday):
We awoke the next morning and headed for the MK! My mom was excited about spending her Birthday at the MK and just glowed all day! The park wasn't overly crowded, but not empty. Longest wait was 20 min for Splash.
Upon entering the park we took pictures with characters and then I took some time to wander through the Emporium. Saw a couple of my friends I used to work with...that was awesome! Did some shopping and met my dream girl. Vanessa...a CP from Maryland. She was totally cute and very guest oriented. Saw her making magic every time I was in the Emporium this weekend. She even made magic for my sister later in the trip!
We headed into the park and Saw Philharmagic. I loved it, very good show. Love the AA donald at the end. The huge screen was breathtaking! We roamed around Fantasyland, PP, SW, WP, Snow White. Had lunch at the Village Haus...Rode the HM, Splash and Thunder, POTC. Saw Share a Dream Come True. Mom had to have an Ice Cream and Cookie Sandwich at the Sleepy Hollow Snack bar in Liberty Square (they are excellent, I reccommend them highly!) Then mom and dad headed back to the hotel to get ready for La Nouba (I got them tickets for her birthday).
Sister and I stuck around rode everything we could. The waits were easy except for Space Mountain where the merge girl wasn't keeping her fast pass ratio, we stood at the front of the line and waited forever while 125 (thats after i started counting) fast pass people went without any of us in standby being let through...and the fast pass line wasn't backed up either, she just made standby wait and wait and wait..bad show...i got mad...shouldn't have, but did. and then went back to the POR to get ready for PI. Took the Boat from the POR to DD, and met mom and dad at around 9pm. They loved La Nouba..my dad normally doesn't like stuff like that but he couldn't stop talking about how much he liked the show!
We headed to the Adventurers Club (I love it there!) They made a huge deal over my moms birthday and kept getting her involved. She loved that...everyone sang happy birthday. Samantha Sterling even picked on her during the cabaret. The whole family loved the Adventurers Club and they are still going around sayng Kongaloosh!
I'm so proud of them! :lol: We caught the 12am Comedy Warehouse...not the best showing I have ever seen...not the worst either) Mom and dad left after the show, sister and I partied 'til 2am! Sunday, Jan 25th, 2004:
Today we slept in, almost to late, and went to the local catholic church. Mom and Dad decided to spend the day at DD and just relaxing, but sister and I hit the parks once again. We went to Epcot and saw everything again..I love that park. The weather was beautiful, the lines were super short. I got mad as I was going through the line at Imagination, I caught my jeans on the counters at the front door, tripped and ripped the leg of my jeans!
but its all good, I survived! Around 5:00pm we headed for the MK so we could see Wishes. It was amazing...I was astounded! Did some shopping, bought souvies for my aunts and uncles, my little cousins....Saw Vanessa again, she went out of her way to find this shirt for my sister that she wanted really bad. We had a flat out great time.
We had PS for Boma at the AKL...mmm...Boma...mmmmm....Mom and Dad loved it..sister didn't. Then we went out to the Savannah and watched the animals with nightvision goggles. That was cool. Then ended up in the room reluctently packing our bags.
Monday, Jan 26th, 2004:
We got up early and had breakfast at Boatwrights....what a nice place. We packed up and I checked out. The we headed to the Marketplace to buy last minute souvies. I bought this really cool Hula Mickey Bobble head type doll for my Mickey mouse Collection. Spent all morning at DD, had a milkshake from Ghiridellis and headed for the airport. Several hours, an ice storm and delay for my sister in Charlotte, an hour delay in Orlando for us and a two hour drive home from the Nashville Airport we arrived at home. To Snow and Ice falling. Yuck....but because of the ice I didn't have to go to work Tuesday and had all day to relax and enjoy myself.
Well, hope you enjoyed my trip report! Pictures should be in later this week..or early next week. Have a Disney Day Everyone!
Jungle Josh
