Hi All, got back on Sat. 13 and had alot to do so sorry for the delay in this report. Also had to upload a ton of photos and they're coming soon.
Sat. 9/6: Started trek @ 5 am to leave our troubles behind! Was a 7.5 hour drive so thank god for TV/VCR combos or else our 2 1/2 yo may have been bored out of his skull. Arrived at Orlando International to pick up my Mother- and Sister-In-Law and went to our resting spot: Orange Lake Resort on 192W - Very nice place with lots to do (golf, miniputt, tennis, pool, daily activities, spa, etc.) After dropping off our things went to dinner and shopping at Orlando Premium Outlets. Headed directly to Character Premiere for some Disney souvenirs at fantastic prices. Called it an early night for the real fun tomorrow.
Sun. 9/7: Nobody could sleep the night before so we headed for the MK pretty early. As we drove up to the Maingate, we all finally let out a simultaneous "We're here!" and said "Hi" to the pics of Mickey and Minnie on the side of the gates. Decided to take the ferry over and it was the right choice. Dale was on the boat so it was a great opportunity to take some pics. Strangely, not many folks approached Dale, instead decided to simply look out into the water
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First ride was for the kid, since he was so good thru-out the drive down so off to Fantasyland we went. Hit MAOWTP first. Wife decided to videotape this and we realized: Even with the stabilization feature on, when the honeypot starts bouncing after seeing Tigger, you will not get a clear shot. :lol: IASW was next, this was what our son was waiting for. He absolutely loves this ride. The smile on his face when we were finally on the boat made coming here worth it. I even joked with the wife that we should just move down here to be closer to this ride. When we came thru the "Farewell" room, he looked at me and said, "Dada, one more time?" Now how could I say no? You guessed it, one more time. Headed for Cinderella's Carrousel next but along to way I had to stop and admire the work done on Mickey's PhilharMagic. I got a peek inside the store adjacent to the exit area when some CM's were going in to do some work. Looks like it was all set and ready to open. I asked them how things were going and they said that all was on schedule. Too bad the AP preview event was going to take place after we left.
While on the carrousel, noticed once again that our little boy had this silly grin plastered on this face. If I sound like a broken record, forgive me but THIS is why we came down here!
Next was the HM and a ride with the grim grinning spooks. I love reading the headstones and the stretching room. Mom-in-law was alittle spooked cause she's wired a little tight for things like this but she made it like a champ. No "one more time" from the little one (Dakota) when this ride was over.
Before we knew it, it was lunch time and we had reservations to the Crystal Palace and an appointment to meet the residents of the 100 Acre Woods. You've gotta understand, my wife (Virginia) is a Pooh fanatic and all of her Disney clothes only has Pooh on it. In fact our wedding was Pooh themed! Instead of table numbers we had them listed as Pooh related names: Tigger, Piglet, Owl, Christopher Robbins, etc. And would you believe our cake topper was not a figure of a bride and groom but Tigger and Pooh? Honest! As we were seated to our table I smelled all the great food just sitting there ready for us to dig in and only then did I realize I was hungry. It's funny how while having a good time you forget to do things like eat. We all ate like we haven't eaten in weeks. The sauteed veggies where outstanding and the baked salmon was great. Everything offered on the carving area was sampled too, in fact twice . But of course the main reason for coming here was to meet the gang and when they made their rounds they didn't dissappoint. We must've taken 150 pics (it seemed that way) and fun was had by all. Especially me when I met my main man, Tigs. Always bouncing and glad to see you. Hint to any visitors: If you sing the Tigger song (you know, "The wonderful thing about Tiggers, is that Tiggers are a wonderful thing.......") he really seems to like it. Made me feel better.
After lunch, went off to Tommorrowland for the offerings there. Rode Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and a final ride with AE. Man I hate to see it changed. Oh, well. In case you didn't read my thread about a run in with a foul mouthed parent while waiting to take a pic with Buzz, just let me say that I think all people who use profanity in front of their kids while visiting WDW should be tarred and feathered and put on display in Liberty Square.
Methinks I'm getting too long-winded now so to summarize the rest of this first day: we all ate a Mickey icecream bar for break and had a fantastic time watching A Dream Come True Parade. We rode as many rides as we wanted and ended the day with another ride @ IASM "one more time". :lol:
More later, hopefully I'll learn to tell my stories more efficiently and with less blabber.
Sat. 9/6: Started trek @ 5 am to leave our troubles behind! Was a 7.5 hour drive so thank god for TV/VCR combos or else our 2 1/2 yo may have been bored out of his skull. Arrived at Orlando International to pick up my Mother- and Sister-In-Law and went to our resting spot: Orange Lake Resort on 192W - Very nice place with lots to do (golf, miniputt, tennis, pool, daily activities, spa, etc.) After dropping off our things went to dinner and shopping at Orlando Premium Outlets. Headed directly to Character Premiere for some Disney souvenirs at fantastic prices. Called it an early night for the real fun tomorrow.
Sun. 9/7: Nobody could sleep the night before so we headed for the MK pretty early. As we drove up to the Maingate, we all finally let out a simultaneous "We're here!" and said "Hi" to the pics of Mickey and Minnie on the side of the gates. Decided to take the ferry over and it was the right choice. Dale was on the boat so it was a great opportunity to take some pics. Strangely, not many folks approached Dale, instead decided to simply look out into the water
. First ride was for the kid, since he was so good thru-out the drive down so off to Fantasyland we went. Hit MAOWTP first. Wife decided to videotape this and we realized: Even with the stabilization feature on, when the honeypot starts bouncing after seeing Tigger, you will not get a clear shot. :lol: IASW was next, this was what our son was waiting for. He absolutely loves this ride. The smile on his face when we were finally on the boat made coming here worth it.
I even joked with the wife that we should just move down here to be closer to this ride. When we came thru the "Farewell" room, he looked at me and said, "Dada, one more time?" Now how could I say no? You guessed it, one more time. Headed for Cinderella's Carrousel next but along to way I had to stop and admire the work done on Mickey's PhilharMagic. I got a peek inside the store adjacent to the exit area when some CM's were going in to do some work. Looks like it was all set and ready to open. I asked them how things were going and they said that all was on schedule. Too bad the AP preview event was going to take place after we left. While on the carrousel, noticed once again that our little boy had this silly grin plastered on this face. If I sound like a broken record, forgive me but THIS is why we came down here! Next was the HM and a ride with the grim grinning spooks. I love reading the headstones and the stretching room. Mom-in-law was alittle spooked cause she's wired a little tight for things like this but she made it like a champ. No "one more time" from the little one (Dakota) when this ride was over.
Before we knew it, it was lunch time and we had reservations to the Crystal Palace and an appointment to meet the residents of the 100 Acre Woods. You've gotta understand, my wife (Virginia) is a Pooh fanatic and all of her Disney clothes only has Pooh on it. In fact our wedding was Pooh themed! Instead of table numbers we had them listed as Pooh related names: Tigger, Piglet, Owl, Christopher Robbins, etc. And would you believe our cake topper was not a figure of a bride and groom but Tigger and Pooh? Honest! As we were seated to our table I smelled all the great food just sitting there ready for us to dig in and only then did I realize I was hungry. It's funny how while having a good time you forget to do things like eat. We all ate like we haven't eaten in weeks. The sauteed veggies where outstanding and the baked salmon was great. Everything offered on the carving area was sampled too, in fact twice
. But of course the main reason for coming here was to meet the gang and when they made their rounds they didn't dissappoint. We must've taken 150 pics (it seemed that way) and fun was had by all. Especially me when I met my main man, Tigs. Always bouncing and glad to see you. Hint to any visitors: If you sing the Tigger song (you know, "The wonderful thing about Tiggers, is that Tiggers are a wonderful thing.......") he really seems to like it. Made me feel better.After lunch, went off to Tommorrowland for the offerings there. Rode Space Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and a final ride with AE. Man I hate to see it changed. Oh, well. In case you didn't read my thread about a run in with a foul mouthed parent while waiting to take a pic with Buzz, just let me say that I think all people who use profanity in front of their kids while visiting WDW should be tarred and feathered and put on display in Liberty Square.
Methinks I'm getting too long-winded now so to summarize the rest of this first day: we all ate a Mickey icecream bar for break and had a fantastic time watching A Dream Come True Parade. We rode as many rides as we wanted and ended the day with another ride @ IASM "one more time". :lol:
More later, hopefully I'll learn to tell my stories more efficiently and with less blabber.
