Alright kids, and away we go.....
Thursday January 8th, my beautiful wife Kelley and I pick up my parents and drive to the airport. Out of Rochester and into Orlando in no time at all. After getting our luggage and picking up our car, we are on to the Fairfield Inn at Marriot Village for one night.
Friday January 9th - Up early and over to Riverside, to check in. That took much longer than needed because my parents' reservations were a big screwed up, and, they are not known for their patience, but, eventually it was ironed out and we were on our way to the MK. Sunny and cool and not very crowded, we hit what we wanted to - Buzz, Splash, HM, Philarmagic. After a while, we decided to go back to the hotel to check into our rooms. Then we went to the WWoS complex so I could pick up my marathon packet. Had to park approx 1,000 miles away, but, picking up the packet and visiting the expo was painless enough.
Saturday January 10th - COLD, REALLY COLD!! And I am from Rochester! Not out of the forties at all. Went to AK, did safari, TTBEAB and Dinosaur and the Flights of Wonder (first time and it was kind of neat). Also, got a family photo of us in front of the tree and dad FINALLY got a picture with Tigger, then, headed to Epcot. Did TT and walked around, but, did not want to do to much since the marathon was the next day, so, went back, ate some pasta and chilled in the room.
Sunday January 11th - Up before 3AM to get to the busses to get to the marathon starting line. It was a mob scene, but, at the same time, fairly organized. I parted ways with the family and hopped a bus. Got to the staging area, chilled out, and then started the half a mile walk to the start line. At 6AM, with temps in the 30's the race started, me and tens of thousands of my closest friends. At 11AM, with temps in the 50's, I crossed the finish line. Nothing cooler than running through all the parks and seeing the family before getting into Epcot and after leaving AK. After the race, went back to the hotel to sleep and eat and rehydrate.
Monday January 12th - Took dad to the airport, he had to fly back home for a gambling tournament. So, Kelley, mom and myself went to MK. Hit all the familiar rides, ate our fool heads off. The park was not very crowded, and those walking around were limping. I ate my familiar chicken fingers, Kelley had fish and chips. We watched the afternoon parade, mom ate ice cream and we went back to the hotel to try to find my legs.
Tuesday January 13th - The three of us had a Character Breakfast at AK. We hit the big three rides and then walked around to see different areas. Although Kelley and I had been there a handful of times, we had never walked the trails, so, we hit those and dragged mom with us. Mom wanted to lie in the sun, so, we went back to the hotel, she went to the pool and Kelley and I chilled in our room. The three of us then did some shopping and eating in downtown Disney. UMMM, chocolate chip cookies!! We decided we (meaning me) felt okay to go to the MK to see SpectroMagic and Wishes, so, we headed there and staked out of spot to enjoy these two shows, and it was well worth it.
Wednesday January 14th- Mom decided she was going to do her own thing (mostly shop and drink and sleep), so, Kelley and I decided to go back to the MK. Not very crowded still. We went on Splash Mountain quite often, which we both love. We also are huge fans of Buzz and Philarmagic. And she finally admitted that I was a better player at Buzz then her. My high score was somewhere in the 600,000 point area
We walked around quite a bit and she noticed how bad I was limping, but, since we were in Disney, I kept lying to her since I did not want to waste anymore time. So, we went to Epcot and I could not keep up the charade anymore. My right foot was KILLING ME :hammer: So, we had to go back to the hotel and I iced it and stayed off it because we still had two days left and I was not going to lose those.
Thursday January 15th - Dad arrived back the night before, so, it was back to four or us. We dedicated one day to MGM. Dad had been on ToT but, I had never gone, so, we went on that - we could not talk Kelley or mom into going though. We walked right on and we both loved it. We hit the GMR and WWTBAM. We had lunch at the Sci-fi cafe. I was not nuts about the whole car thing, since it was impossisble to have a conversation, but, the food was okay and the folks were buying, so, I am not complaining. We hit the Muppets, Indiana Jones, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast and then got to Fantasmic to get a good seat. The whole area was starting to get more crowded, but, we had great seats and it was one of the best shows any of us had ever seen - who doesn't love Steamboat Willie?!?! We went back to the hotel and Kelley and I went to DisneyQuest and played some games before falling asleep. (By the way, my foot was hurting in the morning, but, felt better as the day went on - in case you were wondering - and if you weren't, well that is just mean)
:animwink:
Friday January 16th - Up early to hit the character breakfast at MK. Ate like crazy at the buffet, got some pictures with Pooh and Friends. We then went on Buzz and Philarmagic and Splash Mountain and then dad wanted to go on TT again, so, we went to Epcot. We fast passed Epcot and hit Imagination and SSE and then went on TT, which we all loved - especially dad since he is retired from GM. At this point, we parted company since they wanted to go to the boardwalk and we wanted to go back to MK (Kelley and I are just MK people, it is who we are). Kelley and I went back, it was really packed, but, we did all our favorites and I go to eat more chicken fingers. (After running a marathon, I felt as if I could eat as much fried food was I wanted for the rest of the week). We stayed for Wishes and it was a great way to end the trip.
Saturday January 17th - Got up, ate breakfast, checked out and headed to the airport. Wanted to cry the whole way because I knew it was over. Got home and saw Kelley had bought two of the brownies from the Riverside Food Court. How great was that - I am hooked on those things.
Well, that is the Readers Digest Version - can't wait to go back, hopefully sometime soon - maybe sooner than I think. Hope you all enjoyed. TTFN
Thursday January 8th, my beautiful wife Kelley and I pick up my parents and drive to the airport. Out of Rochester and into Orlando in no time at all. After getting our luggage and picking up our car, we are on to the Fairfield Inn at Marriot Village for one night.
Friday January 9th - Up early and over to Riverside, to check in. That took much longer than needed because my parents' reservations were a big screwed up, and, they are not known for their patience, but, eventually it was ironed out and we were on our way to the MK. Sunny and cool and not very crowded, we hit what we wanted to - Buzz, Splash, HM, Philarmagic. After a while, we decided to go back to the hotel to check into our rooms. Then we went to the WWoS complex so I could pick up my marathon packet. Had to park approx 1,000 miles away, but, picking up the packet and visiting the expo was painless enough.
Saturday January 10th - COLD, REALLY COLD!! And I am from Rochester! Not out of the forties at all. Went to AK, did safari, TTBEAB and Dinosaur and the Flights of Wonder (first time and it was kind of neat). Also, got a family photo of us in front of the tree and dad FINALLY got a picture with Tigger, then, headed to Epcot. Did TT and walked around, but, did not want to do to much since the marathon was the next day, so, went back, ate some pasta and chilled in the room.
Sunday January 11th - Up before 3AM to get to the busses to get to the marathon starting line. It was a mob scene, but, at the same time, fairly organized. I parted ways with the family and hopped a bus. Got to the staging area, chilled out, and then started the half a mile walk to the start line. At 6AM, with temps in the 30's the race started, me and tens of thousands of my closest friends. At 11AM, with temps in the 50's, I crossed the finish line. Nothing cooler than running through all the parks and seeing the family before getting into Epcot and after leaving AK. After the race, went back to the hotel to sleep and eat and rehydrate.
Monday January 12th - Took dad to the airport, he had to fly back home for a gambling tournament. So, Kelley, mom and myself went to MK. Hit all the familiar rides, ate our fool heads off. The park was not very crowded, and those walking around were limping. I ate my familiar chicken fingers, Kelley had fish and chips. We watched the afternoon parade, mom ate ice cream and we went back to the hotel to try to find my legs.
Tuesday January 13th - The three of us had a Character Breakfast at AK. We hit the big three rides and then walked around to see different areas. Although Kelley and I had been there a handful of times, we had never walked the trails, so, we hit those and dragged mom with us. Mom wanted to lie in the sun, so, we went back to the hotel, she went to the pool and Kelley and I chilled in our room. The three of us then did some shopping and eating in downtown Disney. UMMM, chocolate chip cookies!! We decided we (meaning me) felt okay to go to the MK to see SpectroMagic and Wishes, so, we headed there and staked out of spot to enjoy these two shows, and it was well worth it.
Wednesday January 14th- Mom decided she was going to do her own thing (mostly shop and drink and sleep), so, Kelley and I decided to go back to the MK. Not very crowded still. We went on Splash Mountain quite often, which we both love. We also are huge fans of Buzz and Philarmagic. And she finally admitted that I was a better player at Buzz then her. My high score was somewhere in the 600,000 point area
We walked around quite a bit and she noticed how bad I was limping, but, since we were in Disney, I kept lying to her since I did not want to waste anymore time. So, we went to Epcot and I could not keep up the charade anymore. My right foot was KILLING ME :hammer: So, we had to go back to the hotel and I iced it and stayed off it because we still had two days left and I was not going to lose those.Thursday January 15th - Dad arrived back the night before, so, it was back to four or us. We dedicated one day to MGM. Dad had been on ToT but, I had never gone, so, we went on that - we could not talk Kelley or mom into going though. We walked right on and we both loved it. We hit the GMR and WWTBAM. We had lunch at the Sci-fi cafe. I was not nuts about the whole car thing, since it was impossisble to have a conversation, but, the food was okay and the folks were buying, so, I am not complaining. We hit the Muppets, Indiana Jones, The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast and then got to Fantasmic to get a good seat. The whole area was starting to get more crowded, but, we had great seats and it was one of the best shows any of us had ever seen - who doesn't love Steamboat Willie?!?! We went back to the hotel and Kelley and I went to DisneyQuest and played some games before falling asleep. (By the way, my foot was hurting in the morning, but, felt better as the day went on - in case you were wondering - and if you weren't, well that is just mean)
:animwink:
Friday January 16th - Up early to hit the character breakfast at MK. Ate like crazy at the buffet, got some pictures with Pooh and Friends. We then went on Buzz and Philarmagic and Splash Mountain and then dad wanted to go on TT again, so, we went to Epcot. We fast passed Epcot and hit Imagination and SSE and then went on TT, which we all loved - especially dad since he is retired from GM. At this point, we parted company since they wanted to go to the boardwalk and we wanted to go back to MK (Kelley and I are just MK people, it is who we are). Kelley and I went back, it was really packed, but, we did all our favorites and I go to eat more chicken fingers. (After running a marathon, I felt as if I could eat as much fried food was I wanted for the rest of the week). We stayed for Wishes and it was a great way to end the trip.
Saturday January 17th - Got up, ate breakfast, checked out and headed to the airport. Wanted to cry the whole way because I knew it was over. Got home and saw Kelley had bought two of the brownies from the Riverside Food Court. How great was that - I am hooked on those things.
Well, that is the Readers Digest Version - can't wait to go back, hopefully sometime soon - maybe sooner than I think. Hope you all enjoyed. TTFN
