Trip Report Our wonderful Christmas vacation thanks to the Pepto!

It's December 13th and were up and ready to go.... Except for my sweet daughter Cady.

She has decided that she actually wants to go to her second period class before we leave for Disney!!!

Why would I let me 14 year old call the shots? Well she has this crazy passion for music, I mean crazy and on this day they were doing something special in her music class so yes I pushed back our trip by 3 hours. Much to the dismay of my other children.

At 10 in the morning we have finally hit the road and are on our way. After driving for 14 hours we decide to stop in Tifton, Ga for the night. We stayed at Microtel. Why am I telling you this? Because you should never...NEVER stay there. The lobby looked nice the man at the counter was very nice but the rooms were disgusting and the beds were the worst I've slept on. I suppose thats what you get when you pay $51.00 for a hotel room .

 

[prfctlyximprct]

Being sick in Disney has to be the worst! Glad you kept up the positivity and stuck it out! Loving your report

 

[Zipadeelady]

LOVING your trip report!! I'm so sorry that you and your son were sick for your trip, but I'm glad you both managed to keep good spirits in spite of it and that you eventually got to feeling better. I love the Osborne Lights, too! They're possibly my favorite thing about visiting WDW during the holidays!

Thanks for reading!! I heard rumor they were getting rid of the lights but I don't believe it. Who would do that?! They're to popular!!

Being sick in Disney has to be the worst! Glad you kept up the positivity and stuck it out! Loving your report

I'm glad you like the report. I wasn't sure about doing one but very happy I did. It all seemed like a blur when I got back but the report is bringing back all the memories

 

[Zipadeelady]

Indiana has had a very snowy weekend and I was exhausted from all that shoveling so I took a break from my report. I should be able to post day 6 tonight. But watch out we weren't at Disney... We went to Universal !

 

[Magenta Panther]

WOW!!! Now that really stinks. Nothing worse then being sick on vacation.

Wow! I got sick once after eating at the Plaza Restaurant in MK. Just had awful stomach cramps that subsided, thank goodness.

Ok..Wrapping up day 4

We hop on a bus to AKL and find Boma's. I picked Boma's because of the reviews on here. I fixed a plate for myself and wouldn't you know it my stomach is still sore. It doesn't bother me to much because honestly I wasn't liking the food at Boma's. I noticed Zane wasn't eating to much either but i'm not surprised since he spent half his day in a bathroom. What i am surprised at is that his spirits are pretty good. I forgot how fast you bounce back when your 10 years old. Joe does like to try different and exotic foods but he and the girls weren't to impressed with the food either so I don't think we'll be going back.

It takes us a long time to get home. A DTD bus wasn't a good choice to transfer on. We are in need of some relaxation so after getting back Joe, Zane and I head to the hot tub! We were told that they clean them out every other night by the lifeguard. This is good to know since sitting in other people filth grossed me out.

Yeah, Boma's is so overrated. Can't imagine why some rave about it. I tried all sorts of dishes from the buffet, and the only one I liked was a half-chicken, I remember. Kind of a let-down.

 

[Magenta Panther]

Indiana has had a very snowy weekend and I was exhausted from all that shoveling so I took a break from my report. I should be able to post day 6 tonight. But watch out we weren't at Disney... We went to Universal !

Cool, I can't wait to read what you thought about it!

 

[Magenta Panther]

Check out Gaston's cinnamon rolls...they are even better IMO

And his chocolate croissants aren't bad either! (Coffee's decent too, much to my surprise).

 

[Zipadeelady]

Ok so Day 6!! We're going to Universal Island of Adventure!! Why...Why not. Cady is a huge Harry Potter fan and actually got me to read all 7 books, I have to admit they were extremely good. Anyway so.....

The walk to IOA wasn't as bad as some made it out to be. City walk was pretty neat but not something I would do with my kids. If I was 21 and with friends or husband I would really enjoy it. Anyway we enter IOA and hang a right, we decide not to just run for Potter but enjoy the park at our own pace. First is Dr. Suess land or Suess land or.... sorry I don't know the name. IOA lovers please don't be upset I have memory issues. Anyway (liking that word today) I LOVE IT. It's just what I would imagine it would look like and with it decorated for Christmas it is just too cute!

Now I know the words. I could never seem to figure them out!!

There is this cute train ride that is high in the air and goes around Suess Land. It goes through a restaurant and I saw The Cat!!

And.....

Can't say enough good things about this land. Twice we saw Who's walking around!!!

Next was (i think) The Lost Continent. Again... Spectacular!

At this time we just looked at all there was to see in the Lost Continent and came back to it later to see a stunt show and a walk through Poseidon show. I'm going to be honest and say I was disappointed with the stunt show. The actors were good at what they did but it was pretty cheesy to me. I'm glad I did it but wouldn't do it again. The walk through show about Poseidon was also a let down. There were way to many people to enjoy it. We couldnt see or hear it very well.

If there was anything else here rather than a few shops and places to eat we missed it.

Tomorrow WWOHP!!! (I think that's what it's called)

 

[Disneygal1]

Love your report! I'm totally digging the giraffe pictue. I've never seen them get that close before. I went around the same time and was sick, too, but with strep instead of the flu. Glad you and your son were able to keep positive. I did too, but with lots of motrin!

 

[epcotisbest]

Seuss Landing is one of the best themed areas in any theme park, in my opinion. So whimsical and colorful...we love it. And you met the Lorax! We usually wind up going to Uni. at least every other year.
Still enjoying your TR.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Love your report! I'm totally digging the giraffe pictue. I've never seen them get that close before. I went around the same time and was sick, too, but with strep instead of the flu. Glad you and your son were able to keep positive. I did too, but with lots of motrin!

Thanks Disneygal!! I've heard of some close encounters with the animals but it was a first for us!! Oh no Strep would be horrible! At least after that first initial day of symptoms I only ached when I ate. I can't imagine having a sore throat at Disney, just thinking about the pain every time you swallow. ugh

Seuss Landing is one of the best themed areas in any theme park, in my opinion. So whimsical and colorful...we love it. And you met the Lorax! We usually wind up going to Uni. at least every other year.
Still enjoying your TR.

Hi Epcot! Whimsical is a very good word for Suess Landing. It makes you happy just walking around there!!

 

[Zipadeelady]

Sorry all. I was lazy yesterday and just didn't feel like getting off my couch And tonight I was asked to work some overtime. So what's a girl to do? Well if I want to go back to Disney then I'm working some overtime. So more tomorrow!

 

[hikernh30]

Day 2!!
Today was Magic Kingdom day!! My plan was to make the opening show and get on some rides before the park got to busy. Well... I was up in plenty of time and headed down to the food court for some delicious hot chocolate. When I got back around 8am everyone was starting to move around, as it turned out no one but Zane wanted to see the opening show. Zane is not a fast mover so we end up missing the show by about 10 minutes. This was my first disappointment. I have read about the opening show on the threads here and was really looking forward to it. I tried not to be to disappointed knowing that I probably wouldnt have another morning that I would be able to go.

Zane and I went straight to Tomorrowland and did Buzz, SM and Speedway. I refuse to ride Astro Orbiter. That has got to be the scariest ride ever. I can handle all the Mountains, TOT and RNR but not Astro Orbiter! By this time Joe and the girls have arrived and ready to go. We head over to Laugh Floor where my husbands is the one buying Churro's for everybody. We then head to the new Fantasy Land.
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Before our trip I tried to make it a point to not look at to many pics of Osbourne Lights, fantasy land, stories with Belle and TLMR. I'm glad I did it made this so much more amazing.
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I must say again I'm the only one who wanted to do story time with Belle but since my family loves me so much they did it with me plus we had FP and i wouldnt change them and they don't know how. HEHEHEHE

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After Belle we had to make one of thousands of potty breaks and found this door. Zane is still wondering whats behind that door! Afterwards we did LM, Dumbo and then made our way to our special FP+ we got for lunch at BOG. Thanks to @wdwmagic and the thread I found had a link to get the FP! On our way we ran into this band.
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They were awesome and very entertaining!! My girls were in awe.View attachment 41943
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WHOO HOO!! Look at that line! Good thing I can just walk right on by!! Lunch was very good and inside is everything that has been said. I did find it pretty loud but it didn't really affect us to much.
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After Lunch we headed over to ride Pirates and the Jungle Cruise. By then it was time for a mid day break. Back to the bus and Riverside for a rest.

~edit~ I have to add that our family did split up for a little so my son could play the Sorcerer's card. He loved it. I thought that it would be to juvenile for him but Joe informed me that it seemed that when the two of them would go up to a portal that it was mostly older men that were playing the game

We played that game all day and night! My then 7 year old son, loved to trade cards with other players. A hidden gem at Magic Kingdom!

 

[SagamoreBeach]

Wow! I got sick once after eating at the Plaza Restaurant in MK. Just had awful stomach cramps that subsided, thank goodness.


Yeah, Boma's is so overrated. Can't imagine why some rave about it. I tried all sorts of dishes from the buffet, and the only one I liked was a half-chicken, I remember. Kind of a let-down.

Food is a very subjective thing. Foods that you love might make others gag. So it's perfectly understandable why some rave about it....because they love it.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Food is a very subjective thing. Foods that you love might make others gag. So it's perfectly understandable why some rave about it....because they love it.

I'm still trying to figure out how my husband can eat a steak that is so well done and has no flavor left. So I guess I understand what your trying to say.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Ok... We are leaving The Lost Continent and I saw the most beautiful sight ever. Ok not really but it came very close. It was so awesome to see. I mean Moaning Myrtle was even in the restroom!!! (Sorry I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Teresa, i'm 40 and I love Harry Potter)

Cady with the conductor for the Hogwarts Express!

Yep we ate at the 3 broom sticks!! The Butter Beer was very good. This next pic is inside 3 Broom Sticks. The detail of the ceiling I thought was magnificent!

We went into Honey Dukes to buy Pumpkin Juice, Bertie Bots and a Chocolate frog.

We rode the Dragon's Challenge which was a great ride. Then Flight of the Hippogriff. It was a nice kids roller coaster. Next we went on the Forbidden Journey! The exterior and queue where AMAZING!!

My pics of the inside are just ok. I didnt want to keep bothering people with my flash. Plus I don't want to give to much away if you are planning on going your self. I did get a pic of the Sorting Hat.

We rode this twice our first ride was about a 40min wait which i didn't think was bad and then we stopped by one more time before leaving the park and all rode in the single rider line and it was a walk on. I have never ride a ride like this before and thought it was one of the best rides I had been on. Maybe it was everything combined that made it so great. But again the queue was by far the best queue I've ever seen.

I think WWOHP makes IOA if it wasn't for this section of the park I would have been upset to pay $100 per person.

 

[Zipadeelady]

After leaving WWOHP we entered Jurassic Park. I love the looks of this section but I like greenery. That's what made me want to pick Riverside at Disney. Anyway there wasn't much to do in JP. we werent going to ride any of the water rides because you get drenched on all three so all that was left was Petrodonan Flyer. It was for kids but looked really neat because you are up high and can see all around the park. But once we get there only one adult can go per kid and the kid has to be between a certain height. Joe and Zane went on it. I was bummed but understood why i couldn't.. Well all the foreigner's that didn't speak english didn't. I felt sorry for the ride attendants that had to keep explaining it over and over and over. IMO they need an attendant that speaks different languages there, it got so congested every 5 minutes while they exploained the rules to the next set of people.

Joe and Zane riding. You can kind of see them by the tree's.

Next was the Comic Section.

Our next ride..

Ok.. I can't believe that I'm going to say this but Spiderman is even better that the Forbidden Journey. I used to be a roller coaster girl but the older I get the harder it is getting up that first hill. That's why rides like Spiderman and Forbidden Journey are so awesome to me. We had to ride this twice in a row. Only a 15-20 min wait the first time and even less the second.

Cady and I ride Dr. Dooms Fearfall. I have to explain myself. I love thrill rides but hate the slow tick tick tick on the way up the first hill. Even EE get to me a little. I absolutely won't ride ferris wheels or anything that stays up for to long (this is why Astro Orbiter bugs me) but being shot in the air or going down a steep hill doesn't bother me.. This is what you see right before they shoot you into the air.

Emily and Cady ride the Hulk and really like it.

This is when theres a big uproar on the streets and everyone is moving out of the way for something. I look around to see what it is. It's Spiderman and some other hero's coming out of a store and hoping on scooters and riding down the street. It seemed kinda cheesy. If they would have done a little something I would have liked it a bit more.

This is when we headed back over to the Lost Continent to see the shows and back to WWOHP to watch the Olivander's show. Which of course I liked. We then headed out of the park.

My take on IOA. It had some terrific theme's and some great rides but also alot that we didnt like. It seems there's even more shops than at Disney but not sure if that's possible. Like I said Spiderman and FJ were the best rides we've been on so I'm not knocking IOA at all. Maybe we'll go back once they finish Diagon Alley!! Maybe.

 

[Zipadeelady]

Just because pics...

After leaving IOA we headed back to Riverside for our late night dining reservation at BoatWrights. Little nervous about eating there due to some bad reviews and there menu is not that compatible with our family but since I knew we would be tired from a full day at IOA i wanted to eat at the resort.

I have to say that next to my Guac O Saurous Burger this was our best meal. I had the Prime rib and Horseradish potatoes. Oh my mouth is watering just thinking about it. Everyone else loved their dish too. Our waitress was fantastic and was very entertaining. I wish I could remember her name. She deserves some praise to her boss! It wasnt busy in there at all but after this drink I wouldn't have noticed anything anyway!!

It was a great day. We walked back to our room and started to pack up a little. Tomorrow is our last day at Disney.

 

[Zipadeelady]

We played that game all day and night! My then 7 year old son, loved to trade cards with other players. A hidden gem at Magic Kingdom!

I think so too!! MK has so many things but the Sorcerer's game was great for Zane it made him enjoy the park even more!

 

[Jessica Meier]

Oh, I love those too It definitely is annoying that she can never redo the whole home, that there's always some major setback (or 3), and the house listings they go see always fall in the same pattern. Honestly, it cracks me up and I think that's why we watch. DH and I will be sitting there wondering/joking- will there be asbestos? will there be mold from pipes that aren't up to code? how soon into the first showing will one of them say "he just didn't read our list of must haves." I should also note that we're usually watching around 11pm on a weekend night and having a few beers

Just thought of a new drinking game! Love it or List it ! I watch it all the time while Cade is at school. Can you imagine how drunk you would get if you just took shots whenever the people said "Will they Love it? Or List It?"

 

[Gabe1]

I've been enjoying youre trip report the last few nights as I am trying to relax before drifting away....

I'm not to the part where you are well yet, something to look forward to.