DATES: February 3 to February 14, 2009
TRAVEL METHOD: Driving from Arnprior, Ontario Canada
RESORT: Offsite - Bahama Bay Resort
ACCOMMODATION: 3 Bedroom condo
CAST OF CHARACTERS: Me (40), Mike (41), Kayla (17), Adam (13)
Flying in the meet us are Mike's brother and family: Jamie (38), Kerri (35), Kaitlyn (15) and Karleigh (almost 7!)
DISNEY EXPERIENCE: This will be our third trip to DW since 2005. For Mike's brother and kids, this will be their first. My sister-in-law, Kerri, has been once, but was very young and doesn't remember much.

I began planning this trip just under a year in advance. I am a Disney nut and I figured if I should book it, that way it is really real!!! The trip will happen. My husband just shakes his head and smiles. He teases me all the time, but he loves me anyway. He was actually a little slow out of the gate for LOVING DW, but I finally finished warping him and now he can't wait to go back!!!

We stay off site everytime Bahama Bay Resort. We really do love it. We are only 10-15 mins away from the parks and lots of room for the family. However, the other crew meeting us there, they decided to stay on resort at CS, they took advantage of the buy 4 get 3 free and the $200 gift card and the dining plan.

DEPARTURE DAY:


February 3 @ 7:21pm. The kids went to school that day, Mike worked that morning but was home by 12pm and went to bed. I was off, my holidays started the day before::). Got the last minute things accomplished, brought our dog Buddy for a nice long walk (we'll miss him :crying:). Once the kids got home, they showered, dressed in comfy clothes for the long drive and finished their packing. We had supper, then I brought Bud to the Kennel, had a little cry and came home. I feel bad leaving him there, but he really does like it, he gets to play and they are great to give attention, besides it wouldn't be much fun for him to come with us. So I get home and Mike is ready to go. So much for taking my shower....... Oh well, we were really leaving, so I wasn't going to complain. We had clear skies, but darned cold! Clear skies are very welcome when driving through the night. We got to the border crossing at 1000 Island Bridge at 9:18pm. We like driving through the night because we sleep through the night (well Mike doesn't ha ha) so the kids, who are fantastic, don't feel like they've been in the truck forever, when they really HAVE been in the truck forever!!!! Once we cross the border, the kids put on a movie. Once that is done, it's bedtime. We were making great time, and I mean great time. So when we reached South Carolina, we asked the kids if they wanted to stop or keep going, they said, "KEEP GOING!!" When we reached the Georgia Welcome Center, it was only 1:56pm! As we stretched our legs and got our lunch out, we discussed driving straight through.....in a hand full of hours we'll be in Orlando. Once we crossed into Florida, we all decided to keep going. We were in Kissimmee by 7pm! We checked into the Comfort Suites Inn on the I-192 for $109.00, finally got my shower (which was a piece of heaven) and then we all went to Outback Steakhouse for a delicious supper. Toasted Mike for getting us here safe and sound. He was sooooo tired. Headed back to our room afterwards, watched Disney's Aladdin on TV and slept!!!!!
The next morning we packed up our stuff and went to breakfast. Adam had made Mickey waffles, we all enjoyed our food. Once checked out, we decided to hit the Premium Outlet Mall for some shopping. Since we drove straight through, this was a BONUS day. We couldn't check into Bahama Bay until 4pm. Really liked this mall, it's huge. It was sunny and starting to warm up. Apparently, the week before was quite cool. So walking around and enjoying the day was fabulous. The next thing we knew it was going on 4pm!! We still had to get our groceries! We went to The Supermarket on the I-192. It was expensive. We should have stuck to Publix or Walmart like usual, but we thought - try different things. Oh well. We checked into Bahama Bay without incident. We are on the main floor which was great for unloading the truck!! No stairs!
While Mike prepared supper, the kids unpacked as did I. We took a picture of Kayla's closet, she is a shoe queen. Adam, well we took a picture of his all his Disney hats. This was proof that we were finally "HOME".

DAY 1 AT DW
Off to DHS! It's soo exciting for us, once we drive under the all the Disney World signs. I always take pictures, always, everyday! I know, I'm so kooky. Mike and I wanted to rome the shops first and the kids were extremely patient. We watched a street show. Very funny. I call it the "love me, love me, love me" play. After about 1 1/2 hours I started to feel a little guilty as did Mike and asked the kids what they wanted to do first. So Kayla and I (who are the ride enthusiasts) headed to RnRc (got a fast pass) and waited in line for ToT while Adam and Mike headed to ST and TSM. Kayla and I lucked out on Tot, the wait was posted at 60 mins., but while in line a CM called out for a party of 2. Nobody raised their hands ahead of us, so I put up mine. We were on the ride within 20 mins!!! Awesome, thank you very much! Kayla decided to eat lunch, we had taco salads on Hollywood Blvd. They were actually delicious! For dessert, a Mickey Premium ice cream popsicle. Ymmmmm! We still had time to kill for RnRc so we went to the GMR. It was the gangster show. Not until reading other trip reports, I always assumed that the gangster show was the only show. Never knew there was a cowboy show! Maybe next time?
Meanwhile Mike and Adam did go on the Toy Story Mania. The wait was about an hour, but it was fun. Adam loves Star Tours. They had lunch too at the ABC Commissary.
We met up to see the Muppets together. Then it was RnRc time for Kayla and I. This ride is so fast and fun. Kayla and I are histerical. We scream and we laugh and we scream! Then when it's all over, we say, "That was great!!!!"
Kayla got a caramel candy apple at the Villan Store and then she wanted to get her hair wrapped & beaded. This was set up buy the Muppet fountain. Mike and Adam met us there. Once Kayla was done, we went to the LCASS. We have not seen this show before. The boys were more excited about this than us girls, but still it was fun. The crowd watching was fun. We did the wave, and there were several squads of cheerleaders that week. So back and forth it went, who could cheer the loudest.

Loved the show! Pizza Planet for supper. I have Celiac Disease, and I found out they have Gluten Free Pizza there. So exciting! It was perfect timing. There were only 3-4 people ahead of us. Within 5 mins., the place was packed and lined up to the door. We ate upstairs. It was good. Once the kids were done eating, we gave them $$ to go play games. Mike and I just sat and enjoyed watching them together. We finally found our way downstairs to get them, but Kayla had me go on a simulated roller coaster with her! Pretty cool. Then I challenged Mike to a game of air hockey. I put up a good fight, but he still beat me - twice! He and Adam played games too. This is the stuff family vacations are made of. Being together and enjoying eachother's company, making memories.

We then headed to Fantasmic. It was standing room only 1/2hr before the show. Where we were standing, you couldn't see everything. Both Adam and I really wanted to see the show, but not like this. So were left it to Adam and he was disappointed too but opted to go home instead and maybe do some shopping. No problem. We returned to the Villan Store and Adam chose a Jack the Pumpkin King hat to add to his collection and Kayla chose and Nightmare Before Christmas music book (she plays piano). I picked up our ToT picture. The tram was there just waiting for us, perfect!

Once back at our resort, swimsuits were on and off to the pool and hot tub we went. Soak away the day, relax weary muscles from walking all day. Heaven. Afterwards the kids went to the internet cafe and I went back to the room. Mike isn't a big pool person, so he just relaxed and stayed at the condo.

What a great day. Filled with sunshine and it was a beautiful. Warmer than the day before. Met some comical people, friendly CMs, saw multiply smiles on my kids faces. Wonderful day!

Day 2
Today was another beautiful day. Sunny and warmer still! We decided to stay home today and enjoy our lovely resort. I won't bore you with as much detail, but I treated Kayla and I to a spa treatment. She chose and massage and I chose the body scrub. Wonderful. Mike found a car wash that wasn't frozen up and out of order, so our truck was shiny once more. Adam just relaxed, walked the grounds with me and took pictures. After lunch Adam went to the clubhouse and relaxed with his book on a lounger, while Kayla and I went to the spa. I later joined Adam. Kayla and Adam played tennis while I was ball girl. Mike slept, all that driving takes a toll on him, so I was glad to be out and give him the peace he needed. Another soak/playtime in the pool and hottub for the kids.
Made supper since Mike was still sleepy. Mike and I went for a nice walk around the resort after supper while the kids went to the internet cafe. On our way back around we met up with Adam and returned to our condo together and watched Ratatouille. This would set the pattern for our evenings. Come home and once settled in, watch a Disney movie.

DAY 3 AT DW

Another sun filled day again. Didn't sleep as well last night, not sure why, maybe I had a bit too much fudge???? :) Was up before everyone else, so I called the kennel to check on Buddy. He is doing great! The owner of the kennel owns a Bull Mastif named Oscar. Well, Buddy and Oscar are great playmates now. He's getting lots of play time and treats, he's won the hearts of the care givers there. Once Mike was up he called his other brother back home, he's checking on the house for us, to see how things are. All is well.
I headed to the pool and hot tub for my morning ritual. It's so quiet, I love it.
Once back to the condo, I showered and got dressed for the day. We had lunch and now today is Downtown Disney day. The kids and I went in 2007 but Mike has never been. I can't wait to see his face when we go into the huge Virgin Record Mega Store. He loves music, all kinds of music, in fact we might have a problem getting him out of this store!!! We parked on the West Side. Our first stop was the Virgin Record Store. None of us had been in there before, holy cow, impressive! Too bad it's gone now. Mike bought some CD's, Kayla bought a Twilight T-shirt. Once we pried Mike out of there, we went into I think all the shops on our way to the Lego Store. Adam goes into a trance in here. Just loves it. Mike was awestruck. Adam really did well here. There were specials and sales and he left with money still to burn! Money left and a huge smile on top of that. 2 large shopping bags later Adam was satisfied and Mike brought all the bags back to the truck! While Mike did that, the three of us headed to Design A Tee for Adam. I had bought Mike, Kayla and myself Disney Tees up here at the Disney Store on sale ($3.99 CDN) but none appealed to Adam. So he designed his own with a pirate theme. Very nice. His shirt would be ready at 4pm. We met up with Mike at the World of Disney. We did some shopping for our niece and nephew back home and gifts for Adam's teachers. He likes doing that. Bought Buddy a chew toy and at the Pin Trader shop, we got a Mickey Mouse dog tag engraved. Mike bought a Mickey firefighter pin pack, Adam bought Mickey with pilot wings (Adam is in Air Cadets and wants to be a pilot), I got a Pirate pin and for our oldest son we bought him a Donald Duck pin. He's away to university and couldn't join us. His favorite character is Donald.
We headed back to pick up Adam's shirt and then we will be leaving. However, once Mike saw Adam's shirt he wanted one too!!!! Well now, we have to wait until 5pm!! ha So we weren't leaving afterall. So we went to Earl of Sandwich for a drink and snack and a seat. Once recharged we headed to Rainforest Cafe. Then into the Christmas Store. All I have to say is WOW! I will be able to hang real ornaments from DW every Christmas now! It was very hard to pick. By now it was 5pm and Mike's shirt was ready. We took a water taxi back to the West Side and headed home for supper at the restaurant on our resort. Mike surprised me once back to our condo with a shirt from the House of Blues. He bought one for himself but this explains why it took him so long to meet up with us.
Supper was delicious, they even had gluten free beer for me. Awesome.
Once back from supper, Mike started listening to his new Cd's and Adam was like a mad scientist building his new legos. Eventually, the kids went up to the clubhouse while Mike and I relaxed on our screened in balcony.
We called Jamie and Kerri around 9:30pm to tell them that the weather was fantastic and have a safe flight and will be waiting for them at MK the next day.

DAY 4 AT DW

Another blue sky filled day. Warmer yet. The forecast shows that the week will be sunny and the temperature will rise a bit each day! Perfect.
While I headed to the pool and hot tub for my morning rituals, Mike headed to Walmart. He didn't sleep well this time, and his back is sore. Adam slept in but once he had breakfast, he was backing to Legos. Kayla slept in as well. We were in no hurry today. Jamie, Kerri and the girls should be arriving around 3pm.
Off to Magic Kingdom we went. We all have a very special spot for this park. This is the first park we ever went to when Kris (our oldest) was with us. Daisy and Pluto were there to greet us in Town Square. The kids and I got pictures with Pluto. We checked out the Firestation and the coral where they keep the horse and carriage (all firsts for us). We even saw the Barber shop! And there was a little guy getting his first haircut too!! AWE! Another first! We checked out I think most shops down Mainstreet. Spoke with a lovely CM who is semi-retired. Lovely woman. We were talking about the economy and that hopefully CMs won't get laid off and that things in general start improving soon. Listened to a Barbershop Quartette.
Adventure Island was our first "land". SFTH (Kayla's favorite) was first. She still says that she wants to live in that tree. POTC was next (Adam's and my favorite). We ate lunch across from Pirates. They could feed me too. The had Gluten Free hamburger buns. So I had a burger, as did Mike and Adam. Kayla, I believe, had a salad.
After lunch we headed to SM. Adam is not a ride person really. But since 2007 Kayla and I have been telling him he could do this ride no problem. He said he'd try. Well, he tried to back out and find reasons why he shouldn't, but we forced him to stay in line. Mike isn't a ride person either but he came on too. I eventually had Adam laughing at different stuff and showing him the humour in how wet people were. We saw 2 little lizards while in line, which he thought was cool. Got his mind off of the ride. The ride, however, was having some technical difficulties, so the 30mins wait turned into a 60 mins wait. Which I think, worked for us, you would think Adam would psych himself out, but it actually calmed him. Jamie phoned us while we were in line, they were there at their resort Coronado Springs. They were going to eat and unpack and join us in a while. GREAT! We finally get on the ride. Adam sat with me and Kayla and Mike were behind us. Well, Adam and I got SOAKED! Mike and Kayla got SOAKED! And this was before the ride really started, we were waiting to go up the mountain when we got splashed! That was the perfect "ice-breaker"for Adam. We were laughing through the whole ride. When it came to the big splash Adam hollered out and held on as did Mike and meanwhile Kayla and I had our arms up and screamed all the way down! Awesome! This was both Mike and Adam's first time on splash so we bought the picture....priceless. That final splash did us in, whatever dry clothing we had, was now drenched. Kayla wanted to get trackpants and I bought a Tink hoodie to go with my Tink purse. My boys are always warm to they didn't need anything. We got the call that the rest of the family were just getting off the bus at MK. We headed to Town Square. Once Kayla and I saw them walking under the trainstation, we ran to them and gave them BIG hugs. Once all the hellos and hugs were done, we walked down Main Street together. All of them, their eyes were wide as wide can be! We were to watch Spectro Magic and Wishes together. For the parade we were pretty much in front of the castle but for Wishes, we moved down to a quiet spot by Tomorrowland. Not crowded at all there, we all had chairs. I had bought a Disney afghan with my hoodie, so I opened that up because Karleigh was tired and getting cool. So she snuggled up and was so excited to see Tinkerbell fly overhead.
Once the fireworks were over, we walked through the Castle. We haven't been that close to the castle since our first visit in 2005! Magical. The park was closing however and so we headed back to Main Street. Got ice-cream and walked up to the front together. And parted ways until tomorrow.
We are back here again tomorrow for a full day.
Back at the resort, we did our usual, soak in the pool and hottub. It's tough I know, but somebody has to do it.

It's great to be here at the Happiest Place on Earth and be able to share it with people you love.

I will finish this report tomorrow hopefully. ;)

DAY 5 AT DW

Woke up again to a gorgeous sun filled morning. I again headed to the pool and hot tub to start the day off right. Couldn't relax too long as we promised Jamie and Kerri that we would go to Walmart for them to get snacks for the girls and such. Karleigh has a peanut allergy and so they have to be careful. The one great thing about doing this for them is that I finally got to go see a Disney Resort! They were staying at the Coronado Springs Resort. They told us they were right by parking lot 8A.
We arrived there at 10:30am and they were waiting for us. They were excited to show us around. Their beds were very comfortable. That is the only "con" to our condo this year. Our master bed was giving Mike a soar back and that's not fun. We headed to the main pool area and WOW! love the Mian (spelling??) temple waterfall. It was lovely. Kayla and Kaitlyn both had their bathing suits underneath their clothes and as soon as they saw the water slide, they asked if they could go on it together before we headed to MK. I said, "Go for it!" And they did! Karleigh and Adam were fine with being spectators though. That's okay.

After that, we loaded up the truck and headed to MK. This will be the only time that they would ride a tram or monorail. We went through the Contemporary Resort, Karleigh's eyes bugged out of her head when I told her we were inside a resort!

Once in the park, we headed to, you guessed it, SFTH! Like I said before, this is Kayla's favorite and it is a must that you have to see it. So she was telling Kaitlyn and Karleigh all about it. Then we had the kids go stand by the water spitting totem poles. This was quite funny actually, because of course Kar and Katie didn't know they spit until it was too late! Adam and Kayla had alot of fun getting them to do stuff. We took our photos of them trying to dodge the water, and poor Katie was left alone :p She finally made it out, but not completely dry! Off to Pirates. Karleigh did not like this ride at all. She was afraid of the dark and even though we all assured her that it is all fake, she kept her eyes hidden the whole time. But on the up side, she LOVED the shop! Tried on all kinds of differents hats and such! All was right again!

I had made ADRs at the Crystal Palace, this is another MUST for us. It is very easy for me to eat there and they knew about Kar's allergy. Our server Samy, was fantastic. She was a pro at teasing Jamie and Mike. She married a Canadian which gave us more to talk about. She got Jamie going though, who likes to tease, well she turned the tables on him and honestly, she won! It was priceless. All in all, we made pigs of ourselves, laughed, took lots of pictures with Pooh, Tigger, Piglet and Eeyore. After a meal like that we had to get walking to digest!:rolleyes: We brought Katie and Kerri onto Splash Mountain. Kerri sat with Mike and Katie and Kayla sat together and then Adam and I. Adam was much more enthusiastic this time. Mike and Kerri got big time soaked while waiting to go up the mountain. The girls got it too, but not as bad as them! Kerri is not a big ride person, so it was fun to be able to see her have fun and laugh away! Jamie and Karleigh stayed and watched us from outside. They waved and cheered us on. Everyone loved this ride so I had to get the picture. Another first!
We got fast passes to BTMRR and headed to Toon Town. Karleigh is simply mad about Minnie, so we brought her to Minnie's house and then to Mickey's house. She colored a picture of Minnie back home and brought it with her everyday with hopes of giving it to Minnie in person. AWWWW! We then all took part in Tomorrowland Indy Speedway. Adam has been waiting to drive this since 2005, but it was either raining or the line up was just way toooooo long. The wait time was about 30 mins this time, so we got in line. Kerri and I were partners, I drove....you know....those cars are tricky to drive at first. Kayla and Katie were partners, Kayla drove. We had fun driving up and bugging them. The boys weren't on the same track as us, so we didn't meet up with them. But, Karleigh got a badge for being such a good driver.
At that point we split up. I went with the big kids and Jamie, Kerri and Kar went their way. Mike had to do some work by phone for a while, so he went looking for a relatively quiet spot. We agreed to meet back up in Town Square at 6:30pm.
Us big kids kit BTMRR with our fast passes, HM and unfortunately SM was down. Some man was completely flipping out on this poor CM. Saying he wanted his money back and just freaking out. Mister, you can be disappointed, but I'm sure the CMs didn't sabotage the ride just out of spite!!! Relax man! We felt bad for the CM. Since we couldn't ride that, we decided to grab a bite at Cosmic Rays. Then the older girls headed to Space Mountain and Adam and I hit POTC again. Would have liked to do JC but the wait time was too long and we'd be late for our rendez vu. Today we also did Buzz, Goofy's Barnstormer, Philharmagic....speaking of, when Tinkerbell flies out to you, I called out to all the girls, "Hold Tink in your hand!" and all the smells. This is another must for us and were glad that the newbies liked it too!
We eventually made it to Town Square Exhibition Hall and we took pictures of eachother inside. Jamie and Kerri and Karleigh were already in there, so we all just goofed around.
We all agreed that we weren't going to stay for Wishes. It was a full day. So we said our goodnights and gave hugs to the girls and parted ways. We stopped at Publix to pick up something lite for supper. While Mike was making our meal, the kids and I headed to the clubhouse pool and hottub. It was another slice of heaven!!!!!! Headed back to the condo and had a nice meal and relaxed together.
What a great day!

Day 6 at dw

Wow--Day 6 was pretty boring, huh? :p
Just kidding--looking forward to the rest!!!

LOL! No kidding! Believe it or not, I spent 2 hours the that night typing out the rest of the report and I guess I lost my mind for a second and pressed lord only knows what and ZAP, IT WAS ALL GONE!!! I was so disgusted with myself! I will finish it up.
Glad you enjoyed reading my report. Up until this incident, I enjoyed writing it!!!!! ha

DAY 6 AT DW

Today is EP day and it couldn't have been a nicer morning. Not a cloud in the sky and wonderfully warm. I don't feel bad for the family at home in the cold winter!!!!! :D Kerry called us in the morning to let us know that since Karleigh was an early riser, they were heading to the park early, and to just give them a buzz when we arrived. So I did my usual routine as did the kids and Mike. Even doing this, we were still at EP by 10:30 am.

We went to SPE first, as is our ritual. What a line up. That has never happened before! It was a 30 min wait, but we all felt it was worth the wait. My absolute favorite part of this ride is at the end when we reach the top and you see millions of stars. It's beautiful, I find anyway. Being interactive was such a hoot too. Now, this ride can say it appeals to everyone in one form or another.

We met up with the gang and then separated. I took Kayla, Adam and Katie and they did a Kim Possible Mission in Mexico. They had fun with that, my two kids do watch the cartoon so they got a kick out of the whole thing. Jamie, Kerri and Karleigh went off to do their thing in Innoventions and Ellen etc. and poor Mike had a bit of work to do by phone. We did meet up with us in Mexico eventually at the San Angel Inn. We explored a bit waiting for Mike to catch up with us. Kerri and I both had frozen strawberry marguaritas, which is simply a tradition when us two girls get together, Mike found us and we decided to have lunch at Cantina de San Angel. Natchos was on the menu for and they were pretty good. There were they white birds there, quite a few actually. They were harmless, just looking for leavings on the ground. All the girls didn't like this, it kind of freaked them out. So what a perfect opportunity for Mike and Jamie to get their goats. They would pinch the girls bums pretending to be the birds. The girls would scream and us grown ups, and Adam, would laugh and laugh! Enough of that. This was the warmest day yet, but it was really nice at the Cantina. Right on the water, the breeze was always flowing.
After lunch, we hit the Three Caballeros ride in Mexico, Maelstrom in Germany, Soarin, Mission to Mars, Honey I Shrunk the Audience etc. Soarin was fabulous. Love the smells of the orange orchard, at least I think I smell it, or do I think I think I smell it???? lol We went to TT but the wait for really long so we decided to walk around the world together. The older kids offered to go back to TT for fast passes for later. So off they went while we all stayed with Karleigh. The older kids were to meet us in Germany for supper at 6pm. This was one of my favorite times of our day together, just walking around the world. Karleigh and I held hands and skipped down the walks and we would people watch and chat. We didn't go into many worlds, as we were worried we would be late for supper ADR at the Biergarten.
The kids beat us to Germany and we were seated right away, right down by the dance floor. I was able to order a Redbridge Beer (gluten free). What a life, ice cold beer on a warm day! This is the first time we have had supper in Germany, it's always been lunches. The food was good, but I have to say, it all tasted the same to me. Mike and Adam were disappointed that there were no meatballs. Like I said, the food was good, but it wasn't delicious this time :( The show was fun. Karleigh really wanted to get up and dance the polka (she is 6yrs old). Her older sister Katie refused but good cousin Kayla jumped at the chance. Kayla is very good with young children. I think Kayla had as much fun as Karleigh to be very honest. And the way Karleigh would look at Kayla, it was just pure love!

After supper, we separated for the night. Katie was going to come home with us! :fez: We headed to Test Track with all the fast passes only to discover that the ride had broken down! So in the meantime, the kids headed back to SSE with hopes that TT would be back open. They had fun in space, meanwhile, Mike and I browsed at Vacation Club info and just strolled and enjoyed the evening. TT was still down and we asked a CM what the scoop was, and it didn't look promising for the remainder of the night. So the kids, troopers that they are, voted to head back to our resort and hit the pool and hot tubs! Skip the fireworks!!!!:confused: Adam and I were out voted.....that's okay, we'll see them next visit. As a consolation prize, on our way out of EP we saw Wishes!

Once back at our resort, we all got our suits on, EVEN MIKE!!! Headed to the pool. Got some action shots of the kids jumping into the pool and horsing around and just hanging out together. Once all the walking of the day had soaked away, Mike and I headed back to the condo while the kids hit the internet cafe at the clubhouse.

What a glorious day it was. It was super having Katie with us for the night. I'm sure it's difficult when one child is 15 and the other is 6! I'm so glad that Kayla and Katie are so close in age and as cousins/friends. Adam gets included alot with them together too. All this makes a great vacation together, and the best part is that they are old enough to remember it!!!!

LOL about day 6. I write mine in Word and then cut and paste in here just in case....

Enjoying the report. Ya all are amazing to drive straight through!!!! :eek:

LOL about day 6. I write mine in Word and then cut and paste in here just in case....

Enjoying the report. Ya all are amazing to drive straight through!!!! :eek:

Thanks! I just did that now. I wish I had done that in the first place! Oh well, lesson learned right??!!:eyeroll:

Day 7 at DW

Today is the first day that we woke up to an overcast sky! No rain in the forecast though, luckily! I called the kennel again this morning while everyone was still sleeping and I got the answering machine, I told them don't phone if all is well and that we will see them Sunday.

Woke up the kids because they said they wanted to come with me this morning and swim and soak. Jamie and Kerri had called to let us know that they were going ahead to HS and they would meet up with us when we get there. The kids had their fun while I took pictures and relaxed. We wanted to get to HS around noon at the latest so we didn't lounge very long. Headed back to shower and all that.

We arrive at HS and there are no lines to parking. Seems very quiet....little did we know that it wasn't that way at all! We get into the park and there is blue carpeting all down Hollywood Blvd. It's roped off as well so people don't walk on it. I ask a CM what's going on and it is the American Idol Experience Grand Opening! Boy, did I miss this in my planning! The parade was starting at 4pm I believe and people were already planting themselves along the Blvd. for a good view. There was going to be about 21 celebrities! BIG!! The girls were excited because Carrie Underwood was going to be there!

Anyways, we headed to TSM and called the gang. The wait was 60mins but it was worth it!!! (No fast passes left). Mike had the highest score with us, but when Jamie joined shortly after, he beat Mike big time! By the time we got out of the TSM, the sun was out and beautiful blue skies: cool: Mike started to complain it was too hot! Insane! It was lovely. We had to head to Prime Time 50's Cafe for our ADR. I can eat there very easily and I like how the servers nag!! :) We had to wait for a bit, so Kerri and I had Long Island Ice Teas that packed a punch while Jamie had a beer and Mike a seltzer (club soda). Our waitress (cousin) called us in and she was absolutely fabulous! I chose the chicken pot pie (gluten free!) and it was delicious and everyone else enjoyed their meals immensely. This we all agreed on later was the best food of the week, tied with Crystal Palace. Cousin was a lot of fun. Mike doesn’t really like this restaurant (but loves the food); he doesn’t really like being told what to do. He just can’t play along! So he and his brother (two big men) sat side by side and put up the united front. Cousin laid out the rules/table manners and had the kids set the table. Kayla likes this restaurant very much and loves to play along. This time she wasn’t the one picked on, it was Kerri and I. Cousin told us about elbows on the table, and I am usually very good about it, but this time, I just kept putting them up on the table! Don’t ask me why. Cousin caught me every time. Kerri and I tried to get the fellas in trouble with elbows on the table (remember united front – they sat elbow to elbow) but Cousin told us not the tattle and don’t worry about them, worry about ourselves! The kids in the meantime, were half horrified at their parent’s antics and half tickled pink! Well Cousin was getting tired of telling me to get elbows off the table so she grabbed a ketchup bottle and squirted a line across the edge of the table! Well……Kerri really liked the Long Island Iced Teas and she was so relaxed and full of giggles that she grabbed my elbow and put it right into the line of ketchup!!!!!! Cousin was stunned for a moment (and laughing). She couldn’t let Kerri get away with this misbehaving so she had Kerri get up from the table and grabbed a sugar packet and had Kerri stand facing a wall and holding the sugar packet on the wall with her nose! Our whole section was howling! Cousin didn’t punish Kerri for more than 15 seconds, but OH MY goodness, it was hilarious! We all had so much fun together. Desserts were huge and yummy! We said good bye and thank you to Cousin and parted ways once again. Adam went with Jamie, Kerri and Karleigh, Mike had to do a little bit more work over the phone and I took the girls to TOT and RnRc. We girls took our time getting to these rides (had to wait 1 hour after eating for TOT), so we strolled and took in sites and shops on the way. Fast passes were all out for the day for both rides, the crowds were pretty big but the bulk of them were up by the parade route fortunately. RnRc line was not too bad actually. This dad with two younger kids asked if I was going on the ride alone and if I could take his daughter. I said absolutely! She loves roller coasters and hasn’t been on this ride yet. Katie and Kayla were going all excited. Well, we get into our limo and my little partner’s name is Madison. She was so sweet. I warned her about my screaming and laughing and that I hope it wouldn’t bother her. We take off to the concert and I don’t hear a peep out of her. At the end of the ride I look over at her and she couldn’t be smiling any bigger. She loved it! We get out of the limo and I high five her! Her father thanked my very much and off I went to see how MY girls made out. They had a blast. Katie says she swears she could hear my laughing and screaming 2 seats back! It was just about an hour since we ate so off to TOT we went. This line was really good. Katie loved this ride, she gets a kick out of Kayla’s noises and she loves my laugh, she says it makes her laugh!
After that we met up with Mike and the Idol Parade was in full swing. Mike though that the best thing to do in this crowd was head to the front of the park. Not such a good idea after all, it was even worse. We should have stayed back on rode other rides, because according to Jamie, there was nobody back there – no lines! The only good thing about heading to the front is that we were able to see Carrie Underwood, Paula Abdul, Ryan Seacrest and lots of other celebrities. Once we got to the front, we couldn’t head back – too many people. So we really took our time and explored the memorabilia store and the gift shop. Jamie, Kerri, Karleigh and Adam finally joined us and we discovered the other good thing about being right at the front of the park, we were able to leave before the big rush. They were able to walk right onto their resort bus and we had a tram just waiting for us!
We got back to our respective resorts and did our routine. We had stopped at Publix on our way home, it was nacho night tonight. Adam was having a difficult night tonight. He was missing Buddy and home. A week before we left on our trip, his hamster (his first pet) died and he was missing her too. He wasn’t up to the pool time and hot tub, so he stayed back with Mike. Kayla and I headed off to the water. Once back to eat supper, Adam was feeling better and we all watched to first Pirates movie. Adam was in bed early however (10:30).
It was a fun day today, Jamie had video taped Karleigh dressed up as a HSM cheerleader and dancing with the show. Today ended up being about 82 degrees and beautiful. The crowds were a bit of a pain, but, I should have planned better- but you know, the girls could now say they saw these celebrities! So maybe I wouldn’t have changed a thing. It’s Disneyworld!

Day 8 at DW :crying:
Today is AK day. Once again a beautiful warm, sunny day. This is the only day that we got up early. We wanted to be at the park at opening or shortly after since this park closes at 5pm. We met up with the gang perfectly at the front. Took pictures with characters. Jamie, Kerri and Karleigh decided to head off and do little kid things and the rest of us headed to EE. Mike and Adam waited for us three girls. The line wasn’t bad at all! Katie loved this so much, and we had so much fun, I bought the picture of us. Once we met up with the guys again, Kayla and Katie quickly got fast passes to go on EE again later on. I asked a CM about the fast passes, they are good for the whole day, so if you miss your scheduled time…it’s still good! I didn’t know that, now is that because it was considered “off peak” time??? I don’t know. Anyways, we then met up with J, K and Kar to go on KS. We thought going before the warmth hits would be better to see the animals. The line wasn’t too bad at all! Maybe 30 mins. We saw the animals but they weren’t very lively this morning. That was okay, everybody enjoyed it anyways. We went and visited the gorillas. We really love this.
This is the only day that we winged it for lunch. I’ve eaten at Tusker House before safely, so I knew we could go there. As it turned out, that is where we ate. The lines were terribly long every where else. We enjoyed our meals as usual, I’m not sure if J, K, Katie and Kar did though. We all did like how when you get a table, you are off the beaten track enough that it is actually quiet or much quieter anyways! We like it there.
Now fed and ready to go, we went to KRR. We brought on Kar’s Fisher Price video camera with us. Its waterproof, but unfortunately, the battery died just as we were about to hit the first geyser! Jamie and Kerri were the first victims of water, but Mike, Karleigh and I were the biggest victims for the rest of the ride!!! Karleigh thought this was the greatest! She was sitting beside her Uncle Mike, had her bathing suit underneath and she just laughed and laughed! Mike and I were so soaked! :D The only ones disappointed were Kayla and Katie, they didn’t get anything! We promised we’d go back on later. The girls wanted to go back to EE. I decided not to go on (I didn’t get the FP). So we all watched and tried to see them! Now J, K and Kar went off to do Planet Watch with Rafiki and lots of other things. We, however, went to Dinosaur! after we had some ice cream. This we all rode together. Mike and Adam had never been on this ride before
And they really liked it. The girls had fun joking around with a CM named Seth. The girls decided to pool their money together and they got a picture drawn of them. It was very well done! They both thought that we an excellent souvenir. We briefly met up with the three others and we planned on meeting up with them at Camp Mickey and Minnie at 4pm. We had lots of time! So the kids said back to KR. Mike and I were still wet from our first go; well…the second go was just as bad for us. Adam got some this time, but once again, the girls were dry. As Mike and I pour ourselves off of the raft and head out, the girls wanted to go again. There was no line to speak of, a CM heard them and said for us to come right on back. He was pretty fun. Well, the third time, you guessed it, Mike and I were drenched again but this time…..the girls got soaked! They were happier than pigs in mud I tell you! Mission accomplished! The CM that let us come right back took one look at them and cheered for them!
Poor Mike, he was so wet that his shirt was stretch right down to mid thigh! So we sent Adam with him and they went shopping for a new shirt. I stayed with the girls and headed toward Camp Mickey and Minnie. Mike and Adam would meet us there. Kayla bought a pretty sundress on the way. Katie couldn’t decide.
We got to CM & M and the rest of the gang wasn’t there. I said out loud, “Where are they?” and a CM heard me and thought I meant characters. She pointed and said, “Just over there!” We look over and there is Brother Bear, Chip and Dale, Mickey, Minnie etc… with very decent lines. I look to my right and there he is, at long last “GOOFY”!!! We’ve seen him on other visits and other times, but honestly, he was always up to his ears in line ups or going on break! We run (Kayla, Katie and I) up to the line to wait. I love Goofy! He’s so fun and clumsy and well…goofy! Mike and Adam had our knapsack with the camera and autograph book unfortunately, but I had my Photo pass thank goodness! The girls got pictures with Goofy and boy was he having fun! Dancing with the girls and playing around. I could barely contain myself waiting for my turn. In the meantime, Kerri came up to me and said they were heading over to meet Minnie at last!! Karleigh had carried the picture she colored for her with her everyday! It was finally my turn! I jumped up to meet him, literally, and we started dancing around. We hugged and laughed, it was wonderful fun! We got a picture of the three of us with Goofy! We said our good byes to him and thanked him. Katie ran to meet up with her parents and Kar for Minnie. Mike and Adam were waiting for us girls. I looked over and just then Kar was meeting Minnie! I was so excited that I shouted out how great that was. The CM directing traffic for Minnie’s line asked if we were all together and I said yes. She said if we wanted to join our family and meet Minnie, this was our last chance! Minnie was going to go home right after this. I looked back at my crew and yelled, “RUN!!” The CM was right on the ball, removed the barricade allowed us through. We met Minnie and had a big production and hugs and laughs. We had a marvelous group photo with Minnie. It is really my favorite picture of our vacation. Karleigh looked so proud and happy! She even received a special sticker from Minnie because of Karleigh’s colored picture of her! What a perfect way to end our family vacation. We said our good byes and big thank you’s to all of the CMs and Minnie and calmly walked away.
The park was just about to close. Mike and I stopped to do some last souvenir shopping with Jamie and Kerri. Kerri and I decided to wait until we got home to get our Photo pass CD. Before we completely left the park, we went into Rainforest Café. Adam really wanted to eat there, he was just as sad to leave too. But, we still had to pack as we were leaving the next morning…..next time Adam.
We all said our good byes. Jamie and Kerri and the girls were there for another two and a half days. I didn’t want to have our magical vacation end. I cried and Katie was so sweet and came and gave me another hug. Awwwwe. Love her. Kerri asked if we wanted to go to their resort afterwards, but with all that we had to do before we leave in the morning, I said it didn’t look like we’d be able to sadly.
The one really good thing about taking a relaxing time leaving the park was that there were no crowds….NONE! It was lovely. A tram was waiting for us and there was a bus just waiting for them. I think there was one other family on with us. Big waves and big byes we parted ways. :crying: Adam was cheering me up and asked for the camera on the tram ride back to our truck. He was taking pictures for me as Mike just put his arm around me and said, “We’ll be back.” Kayla was sad too, but she had had such a great time she couldn’t help but smile and thank us for bringing them there. Such great kids.
We got home and I started packing up. The kids helped out with their rooms and they did a very good job. The truck was loaded up as much as we could until morning. We headed off to the pool for our last dip. It was karaoke night, which is always entertaining or painful, whichever way you look at it, so it was busy! The kids headed up to the internet café to use up the remaining time on their internet cards and I exchanged some books from their library.
We got back to the condo, had supper. Mike and Kayla went to bed early whereas Adam and I stayed up till midnight. Anything to prolong waking up and leaving!
Breakfasts and lunches are made, laundry is done, IPODS charged for the long drive home (23 hours).
What a vacation! What weather! What memories! Magical firsts! Anybody who goes to DW and doesn’t fall in love with the magic of being a kid again – well, there has to be something wrong with them. I still can’t believe that we are fortunate enough to have been able to go three times to DW! The only thing I wish is that we could bring our oldest university resident son with us but he couldn’t get away during this time. He came with us on our first visit which was 2 days. We had a blast, but it was jammed pack with action!
This concludes my report. I hope that you enjoyed reading about it. I apologize for the multiple entries. Our next trip (2011) will all be in one – PROMISE! :)

Thanks for sharing your wonderful report with us!! I have to admit, that I did get a little choked up at the end. I hate to leave when we are there!! I know you'll have a great trip in 2011!!

Thanks so much for taking the time to write your trip report. I can totally understand the feeling of leaving. We always end our trips at the MK. That last look at the castle is a tear jerker for me. I love the first sight but hate knowing it will be awhile before I see it again.

Thanks again,
Ellen