Tuesday Sept 19 - EPCOT

EPCOT = Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow.

Ok, maybe EPCOT isn't exactly what Walt Disney had invisioned when he came up with the idea, but it is still one of my favorites. As a matter of fact, I have a hard time picking a favorite between Magic Kingdom and Epcot. And I knew that my kids would love EPCOT as well.

We started our morning with the too early wakeup call, just like the other mornings. Thanks Stitch (with a little bit of Mickey thrown in). I really expected that the kids would just jump out of bed and rush to get ready each morning ... but we had to practically drag them out of bed each morning. What is wrong with you people??? WE'RE AT DISNEY AND WE'VE GOT THINGS TO SEE!!

Another Extra Magic Hour early morning day, and another day when we left later than we had planned. Still, we were in front of the big golf ball (otherwise known as Spaceship Earth) before 9 am / the official opening time.

I had my plans all made out - the best rides to hit in the best order to avoid long lines. Now, EPCOT is really spread out and that means a lot of walking. But, we've got a lot to do! So, we rush past Spaceship Earth and head to the back left corner of Futureworld to get to Test Track. The kids were excited about this, but a little apprehensive as well. Here we are, a really special family - we get to test out a new car, make sure it is safe and all.... The kids loved it. Philips favorite part was the outside portion where we test the car at top speed. After we were done with the ride, we rushed through the high priced showroom but were stopped in the gift shop where the kids saw TONS of things they liked. Zachary got his own dirvers license but Philip didn't want to waste $5 of his dollars on that. I got a few antenna toppers for my car ... to show what a Disney geek I am to the world (or those sitting around me in traffic).

Next, was Mission Space. Philip was too short to ride this, and Zachary decided against it. I wimped out and went for the "mild" side (without the intense G-force / less spinning). What a cool ride! REALLY COOL! While I rode, the kids played in the computer/space area at the exit. When I got off, Kiki decided to give it a try - she had been worried about motion sickness but I assured her that the mild side was not bad at all. While she rode, the kids and I continued to play in the computer play area. We sent a video postcard (from space, of course) to their Dad. Though I don't think he ever got it. This kind of play took up a LOT of our time, but it is one of the things I just love about EPCOT. There are so many little hands-on, interactive things to do. I swear my kids could spend a full 2 days in just the Futureworld side of EPCOT - if you stop to do everything that is there to do.

After we left Mission Space, we headed to see Ellen. So many people find Ellen's Universe of Energy ride boring, but I just love it. I did before it was "Ellen", and still now with the Ellen/Bill Nye and "Judy" Jeopardy twist. Sure, it is a long ride (I'm a long winded person ... maybe that is why it appeals to me), but I like it. We sat through the pre-show show (WHY can't they let you SIT on the ground during this? It is a little long, but still worth it. I'm not complaining (ok, maybe I was but still.......) The kids got a little nervous as we went into the moving theater, but I assured them that this isn't a scary dinosaur ride - nothing is jumping out at us, and we don't move fast at all. This ride is also a great way to rest your feet and get into the air conditioning. It's almost 45 minutes long.

After Energy, we headed towards The Land. We have an ADR (reservations) at the rotating restaurant "Garden Grill" located on the second floor. It is a spinning restaurant and we get to see some of the ride as we spin over it, from our seat. While eating, we have several visits from Mickey, Pluto, Chip, and Dale. The food was FABULOUS!! We ordered seconds of the steak, the sugar snaps (the BEST green beans if you ask me), and the baby carrots. The turkey with cranberry relish was out of this world. The kids get to build/decorate their own cupcake and Kiki and I shared a fabulous puff pastry with custard cream. Oh .... and I had a nice relaxing grown up beverage (a Mango-rita, which Pluto gave me a hard time about ... hey, it was AFTER noon - somewhere around 2:30).

When we finished our meal, we went and got in line for The Land, the boat ride. I really miss this having a live narration. I found that other visitors found it less rude to talk over a recorded voice than to talk over a live person talking (ok - maybe I'm assuming the best in people, but I'd like to believe that they would not talk so loud over a real person - maybe they would have). Still, it is a lovely ride. The kids loved that they were seeing how the food we had just eaten in the restaurant was grown in the futuristic-like growing conditions. As soon as the ride was done, Philip proclaimed that he wanted to go AGAIN - now! Awww, my son loves the education stuff too, warmed my heart.

I went on Soarin' alone - kind of made me sad that no one else wanted to ride. But I loved it! It is just the BEST ride. When Zachary realized what ride he had passed on ("The Hang-gliding Ride"), he was very disappointed. Ok, we'll come back to it.

We went to the Living Seas to see Crush. This was a GREAT show. We had to wait a bit, a lightbulb was out in the theater and they had to get someone in to fix it. But the wait was WELL worth it! Kiki got the whole thing on video. I was really glad that Zachary was the first kid picked to ask Crush a question. The interaction was amazing. Zachary asked how turtles and fish swim. The funny thing was the next girl asked the same exact question. The look on Crush's face was priceless!

....More EPCOT coming soon...

Monday Sept 18 .. Animal Kingdom (and work again)

So it is now Monday September 18th. We have finished with our Magic Kingdom visits.

I have to work from 3 pm to 8 pm at the convention, so we have plans to hit Animal Kingdom EARLY (it is morning Extra Magic Hours on Monday at Animal Kingdom - normally opens at 9 am, but today, just for us-and all of the people staying on Disney property- it is opening at 8 am.)

Yeah yeah, once again, NO WAY the kids are getting up early enough to get there for 8. However, we did do pretty well. It was still before 9 when we got to Animal Kingdom and started making our way into the park.

This was my first ever visit to Animal Kingdom. High on my list were a few things that the kids could not do. But also included some things that the kids COULD do and I wanted to do with them. The plan was to hit the park and do the "must do" things before I had to leave around lunchtime. I'd then catch the bus back to the resort for a meal, to shower, and get ready to work.

As we walk in, we start towards the tree. We did stop and look at a few cool things, but moved towards Africa. We were going to ride on Safari. Both Kiki and I had read that seeing it first thing in the morning is the best way to actually get to see animals on the ride. It was REALLY REALLY hot and there was a chance of the animals all hanging back in the shade.

We saw elephants, a lion or two, a rhino that was intent on blocking the road (and another one off to the side), and several other really cool animals. Of course nothing like the real African Safari I went on in 1984, but a neat ride. We had virtually no wait to get on it, and the ride took about 20 or 25 minutes.

After we got off, we made a bathroom break, walked through the African village and bought a snack.

We then headed to the Tree of Life, where we wanted to see the It's A Bug's Life 3D movie. They did a great job - it was a good show. I knew about the hornets/bees "stinger" (in the back of the seat) so I was sitting up during that part of the show. Poor Philip, yelled at me (not in a made/mean way) "that chair poked me in the back!!".

Next ... Dinosaur. The Dinosaur ride was really neat with lots of animatronic dino's, loud noises, steam/smoke/etc, and a couple of surprises. The ride picture came out pretty funny, so the sucker that I am, I bought it. We also rode Triceratops - a Dumbo-like ride that spins in circules. I wanted to ride the Primevil Whirl which is a mini-roller-coaster of sorts with a spinning cart. But the kids didn't want to ride it, so we skipped it. The plan was for the kids to come back to the Dinosaur section of the park after I left. They had all afternoon to dig for dino bones in the dig site. I was on a mission to catch the rides that I could before I left.

Next ... Expedition Everest, I hoped. But, we got there and the line was 45 minutes long. I only had enough time for one long-line/big-wait ride and then I had to leave. We still had to ride Kali Rapids. The sign said that the line was 45 minutes long, we got in the line and the guy handed me a badge on a string and told me to turn it in at the front. I figured out it was used to guage the length of the lines. We walked the long trek down the qeue but ended up pretty much walking on to the ride - no wait at all. It was a fun ride - Kiki got SOAKED. My legs were soaked, and the front of my shirt, but Kiki and Zachary also got splashed all the way down the front. Thank goodness we were all wearing crocs.

It was time for me to head back. I walked to the front and left, While Kiki and the kids headed off in another direction in the park to finish their day of fun.

I'd pretty much dried by the time I got back to the hotel, but I was going to be rushed. I ordered room service, took a shower and got myself ready to go. I got to the convention center and my co-worker told me that I could go early (I'd ended up having to work all of the day before by myself because of an emergency). I worked until 6 pm - then went back to the room. I got there and Kiki and the kids were in the room, doing homework. We decided to go to the hotel food court for dinner - it was pretty good and they had a big selection. We all walked down to the Pepper Market for dinner. After dinner, we headed back to the room and had a fairly early evening. We'd talked about going swimming or something, but that just wasn't happening.

Sunday Sept 17 ... Work and evening Magic

Sunday morning, I STILL had trouble getting up even though we had made Saturday night a fairly early night. But, it was a morning that we could sleep in a little.

I had to actually work this day (imagine that ... making me work after paying for me to fly to Orlando and stay at Disney). The expo started at 11 am Sunday, and I needed to get down there and set up the table-top display in time for it to open at 11. I'd called down to the business center/package service desk Saturday and they said they would deliver the boxes to the booth.

I got dressed for the show, and made the trek from our building to the convention center located near the front lobby of the hotel. Quite a walk. By the time I made it back to where our booth was in the correct hall, I had blisters. I had been wearing "crocs" which were extremely comfortable but couldn't do that in my pantsuit that I was wearing for work.

I got there about 9 or 9:15 and was setting up the booth. Not long after I got there, my sister and two kids walk into the hall with the lady who had provided my badge at the registration desk. My co-worker had a really bad emergency and would be at the hospital. My cell phone was dead (I forgot my charger!! EEK!!) so my sister left me hers so that I could call and talk to Evelyn.

Kiki then left the hall and took the kids to the pool. Philip held on to my leg and said "I want to stay here and work with you..." (not allowed, and absolutely not in a tanktop and bathing suit!). Finally, Kiki bribed him with something (ice cream or some sort of treat maybe??) and they headed off to the really cool swimming pool.



Their plan was to hang out at the pool, swim, have lunch, and then head to Magic Kingdom to ride a few more rides or see more of the Kingdom before I got there. I had to work until 5 pm, and would meet them in Magic Kingdom when I got off. We had dinner reservasions at Tony's at 6:15 or 6:30.

I left the convention center right at 5, rushed back to the room to change into something more comfortable (and get those horrible blister causing shoes off of my feet). I then rushed to the bus stop, hop on a bus (lucked out, did not have to wait for more than a minute or two) and rode over to the Magic Kingdom. I got there and found Zachary, Philip, and Kiki right in front of Tony's, taking pictures at the Goofy Statue on the bench. They were also searching for a Hidden Mickey that was supposed to be there, but so far, they hadn't found it. It was almost time for our reservation so Kiki went inside to put in our name. We went inside to wait in the air conditioning (this restaurant is "Tony's" from Lady & The Tramp, and the movie was playing in the lobby). We got a little worried because they'd started to seat some people outside. It was HOT! REALLY HOT! After having rushed from the resort, I was not looking forward to eating outside. I'd had no real food to eat that day, and sitting outside would have killed my appetite. Not that I couldn't stand to have my appetite killed every now and then ... but I'd been looking forward to this meal.

They called our name ... and *whew* an inside table. Kiki is allergic to tomatoes, fish, and to chicken (among other things), so the waiter said he'd send the chef out to talk to us. This is the standard practice for those dining with food allergies. The chef will come out, discuss the allergy, and discuss menu options. Though we knew Kiki would have a tough time with this one ... an Italian restaurant.

The chef was held up and it took a really long time for him to come out. The waiter kept coming to apologize. Really, we were catching up on the day (the kids telling me all about the pool), and just chit-chatting. I hadn't realized how long it had been, and we were not upset by this. The chef finally came, and Kiki ended up with the steak. We ordered the calamari, I ordered the Chicken Florentine, Philip had spaghetti and meatballs, and Zachary had the ravioli's. The calamari was outstanding!! Zachary tried it and liked it, and as expected, Philip, my little picky eater wouldn't even touch it.

The manager of the restaurant came by and apologized for the long delay with the chef. We insisted that it was not a problem (I didn't even notice, really). But, he said that it was much longer than they found acceptible, and he gave us a special fast pass - good to bypass any ride line. He said that he hoped it would make up for the time we lost. They were really wonderful there. We thanked him and Kiki put it in her purse. Really ... we encountered no long lines so it wasn't even needed (great scrapbook material though - we kept it).

After dinner, we walked out of Tony's and found that it was dark, and that people were lining up, standing and waiting. We realized that it was time for Wishes, the fireworks show. We watched it while standing just in front of the train station. A somewhat decent view - and it was a magical show.

Finally, we started our last walk up Main Street (for this trip anyway ;) ). The kids were begging to do Buzz Lightyear again, so we went back to Tomorrowland. We got stuck on it this time, and I got a really high score.

I convinced Zachary to try Splash Mountain with me, and he really did like it, though I don't think he saw too much ... I had to keep reminding him to open his eyes. Philip wouldn't ride it, much to my disappointment me. This ride is just SO classic Disney to me. Full of really fun details, long (something like 12 minutes), with just a bit of thrill. I couldn't get either to ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, which surprised me because they both wanted to ride this after seeing it on the planning DVD.

We did a few other things, then Philip was getting tired. He said he wanted to go back to the hotel. Zachary wanted to ride Buzz AGAIN. So, we split up. Zachary and I headed back to Buzz, but saw Mickey's Philharmagic (the 3D show) was about to start and made a detour. We watched that again and then headed to Tomorrowland. Unfortunately, by the time we got there (with a few minor detours on the way), it was closed down. The rides in the area were all shutting down, the night was over.

So, a little disappointed, but not terribly so (he took it really well), we headed back to the resort. It was a long ride back, just because we were so tired. We got back to the resort and crashed.

Tomorrow, an early morning for Animal Kingdom....

Saturday Sept 16 ... Magic Kindgom part II

after lunch...

the kids were asking to ride buzz lightyear again. So we started heading from Adventureland towards Tomorrowland. That brings us through Fantasyland, where we stopped for a ride on It's A Small World. Ok, call me a geek. Yes, it is hoaky. Yes, it is sappy. And I LOVE it. Again, maybe it's the nostalgia thing. This is one of the few rides I really remember riding when I was 4 in Disneyland. I was so excited to see my kids face for this, their first ever It's A Small World ride. This ride screams Disney. BOOM!!!!! That's my bubble bursting. Now, remember my kids are only 6 and 7. And do you know what they said as we got off? "I hated that. How boring. That ride is just stupid." Now, that is the reaction I expect from a "too cool for words" 14 year old boy. But, these are my babies. I made a point to bring them while still young (and for Philip, too short to ride Space Mountain) so that they could experience their innocent child in Disneyworld. Nope, this ride was "stupid and boring". What a dissapointment (for me - they had no expectations).

Well ... on to Buzz ... that is where we were heading. Hey, maybe Buzz is the reason they thought It's a Small World was stupid and boring - it's his fault, maybe I need to hunt him down since he's to blame - forget shooting at Zurg!. So ... off we go.

Hey kids, there is the Peter Pan ride, it's really cool. Umm ... no mom. :( Ok. I'm not going to push, especially given that Snow White scared them and Small world was "stupid".

Turn the corner, "Oh Wait, there is Philharmagic." The really cool 3D theater show that I've heard so much about. "Sorry kids, Mom has just got to try this." It is a new attraction since my last trip to Disneyworld. The kids are actually interested in trying this. Why? They get to wear 3D glasses! (Thanks to IMAX - they remembered the cool 3D bug movie we watched at the IMax theater back home). Virtually no line - less than a 10 minute wait. YAY!!

Disney really goes into so much detail with these shows. The water droplets, the smells (I WANT that pie!), the music, the bursts of air and smell with the champagne corks, just everything. Too bad my contacts were giving me fits. They were dry and making my eyes 'tired' and things felt a little blurry. The 3D effects seemed off to me, but not to the kids. It still was a great show. The diversion was a good one Mom, unlike the "boring and stupid" Small World. No complaints about the Buzz delay this time.

Still ... on to Buzz. Finally, we are back in Tomorrowland. While there, we ride Buzz again (and when I jokingly suggested Stitch's Great Escape again ... NO!!!!!!!, ok, just checking ;) ). We ride the Transit Authority again, a good place to sit and relax. Last night was a late night after and early morning and very long day. We had plans to head back to the resort for a nap before our early dinner reservations, but it was becoming clear that we just wouldn't have enough time to do that. So, we needed to find some relaxing things we could do around the park to kill some time.

First stop ... Carousel of Progress. That lasts nearly 20 minutes. And it is another one of those nostalgic rides for me. The kids kind of liked it (didn't complain about it being boring or stupid). They may have even fallen asleep, though I don't think so. Philip had to go to the bathroom partway through the 3rd section. *sigh* You really can't get out (ok, you can for an emergency, but you just said for the first time you have to go, so you can hold it 5 minutes, right?). He held it but we ran for the bathroom when we got out.

While in that area, we got to meet and get autographs from Stitch and Buzz Lightyear (Buzz's is a stamp).

At this point, we decided to walk out of Magic Kingdom and take the Monorail to Epcot and back. Just for a chance to sit and "ride" and unwind. It is a nice little ride, and the kids really wanted to ride the monorail. We did that, and both kids fell asleep on the ride back. Now, we had just a bit of time left to kill. We hopped on the train at the entrance and rode it around once, and then to the next stop, which is the closest to Liberty Tree Tavern.

We went to dinner at Liberty Tree - it was really good. The forks were true colonial style, the theme was perfect. The meal was a Thanksgiving meal served family style. And it was good. We met Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Pluto, Chip and Dale.







After dinner, we started back towards the front and went back to the resort. We were all tired and while we still had a LOT to see at Magic Kingdom, it isn't fun staying to see it if you are tired and cranky. So we went back to the resort and had an early night. It was needed.

Saturday Sept 16 ... Magic Kindgom part I

Saturday Morning .... {I have pictures to add, but need to upload them}

I was tired, but had no trouble waking up. We had scheduled a Disney wake up call (Mickey Mouse and Stitch) but the kids wouldn't wake up to answer it. We did learn that there IS a snooze button on the wake up call ... just don't answer it and it will ring again in ten minutes. That was good to know, since I tend to REQUIRE the snooze at home, otherwise I would be really late every morning.

The kids finally woke up and heard the wake up call, but they were still so groggy and it happened so fast, that I don't think they "got" it. Stitch isn't my favorite character, I wish he wasn't so predominant in the wake up call. Bring back Mickey and the gang. ("It all started with a mouse....")

We got up, had cereal, and were on our way. Our first full day at Disneyworld!! WOOOOOHOOOOOO!! WHO'S EXCITED??? WE ARE!!!! Oh yeah, we're home now, I can calm down, right? Yes, we were all SUPER excited.

We headed for the bus stop to catch the bus to Magic Kingdom. I tried to get the kids to sit together for a picture at the bus stop, but they weren't cooperating a whole lot. They were just so excited. The love bugs were HORRIBLE at the bus stop. I actually didn't see them swarming right there (I did on some other areas of the WDW grounds - mostly on the bus), but the benches at the bus stops were covered with dead love bugs. I heard other people complaining about them - they are bad, but don't bug me TOO much. We have them pretty bad at home too, and while they are annoying, they are pretty much harmless - and I don't find them nearly as disgusting and things like cockroaches. blech

{insert picture here}

Walk in to Magic Kingdom. Wow, it is so hot and humid for so early in the day. yuck it's sticky....

Ok, here we are, Magic Kingdom. We head in, but stop for a couple of pictures at the castle.



Where to first? Last night we spent a lot of our time in Tomorrowland. While the kids were already asking for Buzz Lightyear again, we convinced them to head to a land we didn't really have time to explore. PIRATES! YAY! That convinced them.



Into Adventureland. Kiki stopped at a Kiosk to look at something and the kids found wooden guns. They begged for them. Before the trip, I kept saying that I'm not going to use the word "No". We are going to have a fun and positive experience. But ... I'm NOT carrying two wooden rifles around all day. Sorry ... but no. There's that word. Uh-oh. I hated being the mean mom, but I would hate even worse carrying those stupid things all day. I decided that part of the problem was the sitting and waiting while Kiki was looking (and in no way her fault). We were sitting on a bench right at the Adventureland souvenier stand, of course that is tempting for the kids. So, when she was done, I told her that next time, I'll keep going on with the kids (to the next "non-souvenier thing"), so that they weren't left bored with nothing to do but look at things I wouldn't let them buy. LOL She could then catch up to us. That works. She said she would do the same if I wanted to stop to look at something. A much better scenario.

We move on and the kids see the Treehouse. They want to stop. Not the most exciting thing at Disney, but the details are AMAZING. It takes a while to get through it, and when we were almost to the top, Philip starts to freak a bit. He is afraid of heights, and he made the mistake we all know you shouldn't do ... he looked DOWN. OH NO!! He froze, and held on to the rail and couldn't move his feet. Ok, this is a narrow walkway/staircase and there is this long line of people behind us. The treehouse is neat and detailed, but people don't want to be stuck on this non-headliner attraction. I encourage him to look towards the center of the tree, facing the handrail, and to walk up without looking around. He wants down NOW! Ok, but this is a treehouse - no elevator. You got up on the stairs, you have to go down on the stairs. So, he wanted to turn around and go down. Can't do that. See that long line of people behind us? They are coming this way and the walkway is too narrow for two direction traffic (especially with MY big butt!!). Only one more "up" section, I think. Everytime you think you are at the top, you turn a corner and there is another "up" flight. Keep moving...we'll get to go down soon. Finally, the stairway is heading back down.



Ok, we're out. Look - there, you can ride on Magic carpets from Aladin (ok, this just doesn't seem very "Adventureland" to me - but I guess it is where Disney felt it fit best? The kids don't want to ride. Really? Are you sure? Nope. So, we skip the carpets.

Alright, there is the Jungle Cruise. Kind of a wait, let's just get a Fastpass. I always find that the line for Jungle Cruise is HOT - all of that concrete or something, the covered area/shade just doesn't seem to do much to alleviate the heat. If I'm going to have to stand in a long line I want it to be INSIDE with airconditioning (and really, the lines aren't THAT long - it is the slow season and the park, while not empty, isn't super crowded). Grab the fastpass, and head over to the nearby Pirates of the Caribbean.

WOOHOO!! I've been waiting for this. The re-done Pirates, with Jack Sparrow making an appearance. The waterfall with Davy Jones is really cool - and looks like a real water fall. I was starting to panic because I hadn't put my camera inside the ziplock bag. I don't remember hearing of people coming off of this ride wet, but there is a waterfall in front of us. That was well done. Ok, the integrity of the ride (my favorite little details) have remained in tact. And the Jack Sparrow additions are cool.

We come out of Pirates and see Wendy and Peter Pan. Zachary wants to get their autograph, so we get in line. The CM tells us that Peter and Wendy are about to have to go inside for a bit, but will be back out a bit later. We *might* make it through the line if the line moves fast enough. At this point Philip is being whiney and doesn't want to get their autograph. But Zachary does. It's hot. God it's hot. Ugh. Being pulled in two different directions, standing in this hot sun, while the kids fight over standing in a line. Zachary decides to give it up. I feel bad, he is always the one giving in to Philip who is so demanding - and even worse that as the mom I let him do it just to avoid the confrontation with Philip. Philip has GOT to learn he can't always have his way. I point out to him that he needs to THANK his brother and be appreciative, because once again, Zachary gave up something he wanted to do, because of Philip. I don't think that sunk in though. :(

Then, who do we see with a VERY short line!?!?? Captain Hook and Mr. Smee! Zachary was more excited about them than Peter and Wendy anyway. So ... into that line. Philip starts to get afraid. Maybe it was Hook's big evil grin. But he was afraid. But, thankfully he didn't get all irritable because Zachary wanted to meet them. He just quietly sat back on the bench and waited.



Just as we were walking away from Hook and Smee, there is some BIG commotion. Pan goes running behind a fence and slams the gate, with a CM running after him, yelling to give back the hook! The CM runs full force into the gate and slams his body against it, then falling to the ground. The poor guy looked SOOOOO hot in his uniform, and he was running and really playing it up. There is a family with the CM carrying what looks it could be a kind of treasure map. I'd read about the "DISNEY'S FAMILY MAGIC TOUR" and this looked like what this was. One family was walking around with a CM, who was talking to them and having a lot of interaction. Disney's site describes this as "Put on your detective hat as you are immersed in this interactive scavenger hunt. Your Disney trivia knowledge is put to the test as you search high and low for clues in this adventure to save the Magic Kingdom® Park. Kids of all ages enjoy this very magical and very Disney tour. " I've read that the scavenger hunt involved Peter Pan and Captain Hook, so I'm betting that is what this was. This looked like something I would love to do with the kids on a future trip. It runs about $30 each for 2-1/2 hours. NOT something to do when you don't have a lot of time in the parks. But for another trip (yes, we are talking "next time" already, at least the kids and I are).

On to the Jungle Cruise... Fast pass, walk right on. It is corny and hoaky and full of very obviously fake animals. The tour guide has lots of corny jokes, but this guys delivery was pretty good. I still like the ride, but am pretty sure it is strictly for the nostalgia factor. Really, the kids seemed pretty bored.

After the Jungle Cruise, the kids tried the remote control boats just outside the exit. What a total waste of money. The steering wheels work pretty well if you know how to steer, even just a little. But, to turn right, my kids would both spin the steering wheel to the right at full blast, 20 or 30 times. The boat would spin in circles to the right. So, they'd (obviously the thing to do, right??) spin it 20 or 30 times full speed to the left, causing the boat to just spin in the opposite direction. Half the time they couldn't figure out which boat was theirs (um, the only two MOVING - we are the only ones here). But since they'd push their boat into an obstacle and try to move forward full speed ahead, it wasn't very clear to them. Then, they'd move it from forward to reverse over and over and over again....without any time in between for the boat to actually move. Nope, they won't be driving ANYTIME soon!! Ugh. No, I won't give you another $1 coin to waste on that again. Yes, we still have the extra tokens I got when I had to convert bills to coins so you could play with these boats. But, I find it a better value to save the remaining tokens as scrapbook embellishments than to dump this in the machine so you can spin a steering wheel in circles. You know, you can spin the steering wheel with nothing happening WITHOUT putting money in it.

Enough of that ... let's move on.

We are trying to decide where to go next. We spot Jack Sparrow outside of Pirates, giving a demonstration and entertaining guests. But the crowd is pretty big. The kids can't see from the ground behind the 5 people deep crowd, and we appeared to have missed most of the show anyway. So, we move on. The kids are starting to say that they are hungry. To Pecos Bill's for burgers (BBQ for me). Wow those burgers are big!! They each ate 1/3, and threw out 2/3 (and really, ate enough for me to be satisfied with how much they ate). Next time, they are splitting a burger.

Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party

FRIDAY NIGHT ... still September 15...

So, just about 7 pm, we head into Magic Kingdom. As our special tickets are scanned at the turnstile, they give us each a bright orange wristband. This says that we are supposed to be there. They are handing out trick or treat bags as we walk up to the train station overpass.

The square just on the other side of the train station isn't too packed, and there is fog and scary Halloween music playing. We start into the park, and the kids are beyond excitement.

The treck up main street was a bit like fish swimming upstream. There was a mass exodus of the day park visitors. The Halloween party is a special event / "hard ticket" event, which means that the regular admisssion ticket is not good for the night of the party. Magic Kingdom was closing down earlier than their normal evening hours, just for the party.

Once we squeezed our way up main street, past all of the people exiting, our wrist bands were checked again and we were ushered into Tomorrowland. There, we rode Buzz Lightyear, Stitch (were we were in line with another pirate, really nice guy in a great costume), Tomorrowland Transit Authority, and I TRIED to get Zachary to ride on space mountain, but that didn't happen. Oh well, I think I can next time. Kiki rode space mountain while I took the kids through the trick or treat line just outside of the Carousel of Progress (which wasn't open for this). The line there for candy was the longest I saw all night.

It rained a little harder than comfortable for ignoring the drops, and we spent a little bit of time standing under the Transit Authority overpass. I had forgotten the ponchos at the room, but to be honest, I HATE being damp and hot under as plastic poncho. I'd rather just get wet, and then allow my clothes to BREATH as they are drying off. I kept repeating the mantra, we won't melt...let's march on. But secretly, I wasn't enjoying the rain. LOL

From Tomorrowland, we headed over to Mickey's Toon Town, which is right next to Tomorrowland. We got the kids on Goofy's Barnstormer and they loved it. Philip I think more so than Zachary, and Zachary was the one who was less afraid to try it. Philip laughed and laughed through the entire ride, saying "I'm crazy for doing this. I'm nuts. I can't believe I'm riding this." But he laughed and laughed the entire time. The line was just non-existent for the ride, and we tried to get them to go again, but they were ready to move on.

The next stop was a trick or treat station inside a ship (is that Donald's ship? I can't remember). The water spouts weren't going on it, which was a good thing. We were wet enough. Then, a CM (Cast Member) standing in front of Mickey's tent informed us that Mickey was in and available. The line there was probably the longeset line we stood in all night. It wasn't bad at all, but it took a good 15 minutes to get finished with that, if not a bit longer. Mickey was dressed up like a scarecrow, and the kids were ready with their autograph books.



After Toontown, we headed to the Haunted Mansion. On the way there, we were stopped by CM's who had major walkways blocked off. It was time for Hallowishes. This was the best fireworks show I've ever seen, and we were NOT in an ideal spot. We were stuck behind the castle, and a big part of the show happens in front of the castle. It is designed to best be viewed from in front of the castle with all of the fireworks going off at the castle and behind it. But from our vantage point we were between where the fireworks were blasted off from - kind of in the middle of if. Actually, some were shot off of the roof of the buildings we were standing right next to (such as Peter Pan's Flight). The show went on for a LONG time, and there fireworks were just amazing. I wish I was at a place where I could have used my little tripod and taken a few pictures, but my vantage point wasn't that great (as far as pictures went), and I was standing in a crowd, all looking up.

Once the fireworks were done, we continued on to the Haunted Mansion. Again, there was no line. We walked right up, and into the stretching room for the pre-ride 'show'. The kids had been really excited about this ride, having seen it many many MANY times on their Disneyland Fun Sing-A-Long video tape. But, in the end, it was just a bit too scary for them. They rode, and were gracious about it, but said that they did NOT want to go again. It is still one of my favorite rides. Wait, what am I saying? I say that about a LOT of rides. Over half of the rides at Disney are considered "one of my favorite rides". Don't make me pick. ;)

The line for the party picture in front of the Haunted Mansion was pretty long and we decided not to wait. I'm sorry now that I didn't because I've seen how some came out and it was a great picture. We headed to Main Street.

Kiki had plans to meet up with a couple of people at Casey's (hot dog stand on Main Street) for the 2nd parade of the evening. Zachary was hungry, and Philip said he was, but decided against eating. I took Zachary and Philip to get something to eat and drink, and we sat at a table just outside Casey's while Kiki searched out the people she was meeting. While Zachary was eating, the Headless Horseman came riding up the parade route. I'd heard about this, and it was an amazing sight. The horse was HUGE, and the costume was great. He was moving fast, though I heard not as fast as normal because of the wet pavement. I was actually surprised to see him at all since I'd heard he doesn't ride when it has rained.

The group Kiki had met up with had a spot staked out for the parade right on the street, and allowed Zachary and Philip to sit on the curb and watch with them. I thougth that was really great (since we waited to last minute to mosey up - but I wanted them to eat something first). The parade was really good. LOTS of villians. Most of my pictures did not come out great. I still need to learn the proper settings for my camera for night 'movement' shots. Most of the pictures show lots of swirls where there had been people. But Kiki did get some good shots with her camera (and she had a better vantage point than me). I did get a couple that showed mainstreet, all dark and set up for the parade. It looked really cool, and only a little erie.





The kids were getting tired and we had plans to head back to Magic Kingdom early Saturday morning. So we headed back to the hotel room. On the bus, I ran into Evelyn, the lady from work who was there to work the tradeshow with me. She was with her oldest daughter and her grandson. We talked the whole way back to the resort, and only a little bit about work, mostly about what they had done earlier in the week at the parks.

The kids were REALLY tired at this point, and unwound rather fast. I, on the other hand, was having a hard time unwinding.

Disney trip ... continued...Downtown Disney

Ok, so we were just a bit later than I anticipated getting to Downtown Disney. We had a bit too much fun in the hotel room (ok ... hubby was NOT with me, just me, the kids, and my sis - so not THAT kind of fun ... get your head out of the gutter).

We had a great package from "Mickey" waiting for us when we got in the room. We spent some time going through that, taking pictures of the room (for the scrapbook - and you've got to do that before you do ANYTHING else - it is never as neat and tidy as it is the minute you walk into it the first time).

Just as we were about to leave, our luggage arrived. SOOOOOO fast. I'd read reports about it taking a long time to get luggage, but we definitely beat the 'promised' 3 hour window. Ok, luggage is here, we've got to dig for a few things before we go.

Finally ... walk to the bus stop to catch a ride to Downtown Disney.

I had a list of things to look for. And I didn't get to do most of them. First was a pirate costume for the kids for the (still surprise at this point) party that night ... Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP as abbreviated on the Disney message board where I got all of my tips and tricks for this trip). Darn, the costumes all looked EXTREMELY hot. And it was HOT. Did I say HOT? I meant HHHHHOOOOTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!! Like, melting in the sun in under 30 seconds, hair dripping wet, face melting off, humid, clothes stick to places you don't want to be touched ... HOT! Now, you're probably saying, she lives in New Orleans. Come on. Yep, I do. And I've learned not to go outside unless absolutely necessary. We go from an air conditioned house, straight into an air conditioned car, and run into an air conditioned building. Who stays outside in this heat? What was I thinking? Oh yeah, nearly free Disney trip. That's what I was thinking.

Ok, but I still don't have to actually LIKE the heat. (Though ignoring it didn't make it go away, as much as I tried).

So, the pirate costumes were out. I knew the kids would not make it in that heat. Just way too hot for plastic-backed, fake velvet. EWWWWW!!! But they were happy with the alternative. Pirates of the Caribbean T-shirts, with pirate hats (Zachary- Mickey ears with gold earing and bandana, and Philip-regular pirates hat). They also got the swords (which I was NOT going to carry around the party), Capt Hook hooks for their hands (also too hot to deal with for the party), leather eye patches with their names engraved, leather band bracelets also with their names engraved, and a few other pirate accessories. We did this at World of Disney, a HUGE store in Downtown Disney with it's own little pirate section.



Kiki took FOREVER checking out (well, she didn't - the clerk walked away and disappeared, so she had to start over again waiting in another line). I waited outside with the kids who couldn't WAIT to do their sword fighting. *rollseyes*





It was then time to head to Rainforest Cafe where we had late lunch plans. Kiki met us there just as we were about to get our table. I had a Margarita in a flashing/blinking cup (that I got to keep, now of course the kids are going to fight over this, but I'm not buying another $12 drink just to get another one). The kids LOVED the Rainforest theme. The thunderstorms went off every 22 minutes, and Zachary made a big deal about keeping time and knowing with the next one would come. The animals came to life every so often. Our table was situated right next to a couple of the big elephants. I knew that the kids would enjoy this, and they did.



After lunch, we started back towards the bus to go back to the hotel. We had planned to get to Magic Kingdom about 5:30 for the party, but it was becoming clear that it would not be possible. We went back to the room, and started getting dressed. It was somewhere around this time when we told the kids about the party. They didnt think they were going to a Disneyworld PARK until the next day. They were VERY excited.

We got to Magic Kingdom right about 7 pm.

Disney trip continued ... we land.

The flight was nice, once the seating was settled, the kids were good. Kiki and I got to talk to each other, and I got to talk to the kids. They were really excited the whole flight.

We landed a bit early (thank you nice pilot LOL). I have heard some complaints about Disney's Magical Express (also known as DME - Disney's free shuttle bus service to the resorts if staying on property), but it was a GREAT experience for us. Not having to wait at baggage claim was such a nice treat. We followed the directions I had to the check-in. An employee directed me to the check-in, and Kiki and the kids to a lounge area to sit and wait. The line was non-existant and we were checked in almost immediately. We then went straight to a waiting bus (now, here, we were one of the last to board, so I am pretty sure the others had been waiting a while, but we took off not long after we boarded the bus). The driver put our carry-on luggage under the bus and we were on our way. Just a few stops to drop off people at another resort or two and we were at Coronado Springs Resort.

I'd also heard that check-in lines at our resort could be bad. But that wasn't the case. I walked right up (and I swear I didn't cut in any line), and was helped but a REALLY nice lady. We got all checked in. And what a nice surprise A WATER VIEW ROOM. I had a standard view (translation: parking lot) booked. Free upgrade. YAY!!

The view from our hotel room window/door:


We were off to our room to get settled in, with plans to head straight to Downtown Disney......

(back later for more).

Disney trip - Friday Sept 15.

Disneyworld was fabulous. Everything we planned/expected.

Friday - September 15.

Kiki came over Thursday night to spend the night, because we had to leave for the airport so early in the morning and she lives an hour north of me. We were hoping that would give her an extra hour of sleep in the morning ... but both of use were so excited that we were awake around 4:30, well before the alarm went off. We'd packed up the car the night before, with the exception of my cellphone charger (had it plugged in), toothbrushes, last minute make up kit (we'd be taking pictures, I couldn't NOT have make-up on when we left the house), etc.

The kids on the otherhand struggled to get up. Once Philip was awake enough to realize it was D-Day, he jumped up and tried to get his brother to wake up. Zachary wouldn't budge. I took a while to get him moving. Last minute packing happened and we were off to the airport.

We parked at Park-N-Fly, and caught the shuttle to curbside check-in. The line wasn't too bad there, just a few people in front of us. We figured we had it made. Usually when I fly out that early in the morning, the security lines aren't too bad. We got inside and the security line for our terminal was HUGE. Wrapping through parts of the airport. The other terminals had virtually no line. I explained to the kids everything they would have to do once we got to the front. I didn't want to have to argue about removing shoes with a long line of people behind us. I explained that their backpacks would go on the conveyor belt, as well as their shoes, and that they would have to walk through the metal detector alone. That went well. *whew*

We were in the A group (flying the cattle-call airlines Southwest), and selected a row where the kids and I sat in one row, with Kiki across the aisle from me. ACK! The fighting over the window seat. What was I thinking? Zachary was in the window seat, Philip cried. Finally, Zachary switched with him (his own doing, I was telling Philip that he would get the window on the way back). Zachary said he'd rather sit next to me anyway. He's so sweet. We took off and the look of excitement on the kid's faces was great. Kiki did remember to take a couple of pictures (my camera was packed away in the camera bag, which was packed away snugly in the rolling carry-on suitcase located in the bin above my head).

*more to come*....