Time of Year: Spring
Travel Method: Plane, Rental Car
Resort: ASR
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Infant/Toddler, Elementary, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Veterans (and one former castmember)
Comments: Michele, Caleb, and their children go to WDW far too often. They make me quite jealous. After a wonderful holiday trip in December, the Warner's followed it up with another this Spring. Michele's reports are always chock full of useful information...

The "Players":

Michele - 32, Stay-At-Home Mom

Caleb - 31, Systems Administrator

Katharine - nearly 5, daredevil, monkey and all around great kid

Patrick - 2, see notes under Katharine :)

Introduction:

We visited WDW for two weeks in December and bought Annual Passes for that trip. Thanks to a number of trip Caleb had to take to India we had more than enough frequent flier miles to give the kids a special birthday present (Patrick's was in March, Katharine's is in June) of an extra week at WDW. We consider ourselves to be WDW veterans and I spent 8 months working at the Studios on internship when I was in college.

Originally we were planning to stay off-property at the Hyatt but a last minute call got us the cabin in Fort Wilderness, or so we thought. A call from CRO told us that they had made a mistake and the cabin wasn't available. They offered us a room at the All-Star Music for the same rate ($59) and also offered to pick up one of our five nights. We accepted. We stayed our first night at the Sleep Inn on 192 (we got into Orlando very late on the 13th) and moved to the ASM the next morning.

On to the report...

Tuesday, May 13th -

Our plane wasn't scheduled to leave until 7:00 pm so this allowed Caleb to go to work and me to get some last minute packing done. I took Katharine to the doctor for a re-check on her ears (she had had an infection the week before) and all was fine. From there I picked up my dad at his office and we drove up to my mom's office where we were to meet Caleb at 4:00. He arrived right on time and we were off to the airport. Traffic into Boston was very light for rush-hour and we arrived at Logan Airport at 5:15. Caleb had some USAir upgrade coupons but because we had used frequent flier miles for our tickets we were told we couldn't upgrade until an hour before flight time. We checked in at 5:20 and asked about upgrading and the USAir representative took care of it all. There were enough seats available in first class but they weren't together. He assured us that something could be worked out so we accepted the upgrade. From here we headed to the gate. A short time later a woman's name was called over the loudspeaker and right after that a USAir representative came over to us to explain that the woman had agreed to switch her seat so we could all sit together. Katharine and I went to thank her and then it was time to board. The plane was nearly empty (except for First Class) and we were beginning to regret upgrading when the Flight Attendant came around to take our dinner orders. Yippee!!! Filet Mignon! We had a great flight down and both kids fell asleep. We arrived in Orlando at 10:25pm and after claiming our baggage (the first bags out) we headed to the Avis booth to get our car. The woman on duty happened to be from Worcester, MA so we chatted for a while and then she told us where to get the car. I happened to ask her what the total bill would be and she said "About $275." What! I was quoted a rate of $118 for the week. She said she had it as $225 plus taxes and the car seat. She called a supervisor out and was told to "Just change it to whatever they say it should be." Wow! I thought I'd be in for a real fight. We headed off to our car, a green Buick Skylark which I came to hate, and were on our way to the Sleep Inn on 192. We got off at Celebration Ave and went the wrong way on 192! Ooops! We got straightened out and arrived at the Sleep Inn at about 11:45. For anyone interested in an inexpensive option for accommodations I must recommend this hotel. The rooms were large, clean and only $28.00 including the tax. We all fell into bed and were asleep in no time.

Wednesday, May 14th -

We awoke at about 7:30 and got ready to go. It was at this point that I realized I had not packed any socks or underwear for Caleb...oops! A quick stop at Walmart was planned! The Sleep Inn offers a free continental breakfast (donuts, juice, etc.) so Caleb grabbed some stuff while I got ready. We checked out and were at the front desk of the All-Star Music Resort by 9:00. I must tell you that I was a little nervous about spending a week at the ASM. We had stayed there the first and last nights of our December trip but I was worried that we would be cramped for a whole week. Nothing could have been further from the truth and the ASM is now on our "Favorites" list. We were staying at the ASM because of a CRO error. We had made a reservation for the cabin at Fort Wilderness only to be called back and told there was an error and it was not really available. (The CM had been checking 1998 dates.) They offered us the ASM at the same rate as the cabin ($59) plus they would pick up one night so we would only be paying for four. Upon checking in I was told there was no mention of this in their computer and a supervisor was called. He straightened the problem out in just a minute or two and our total charge turned out to be slightly less than what I had expected. We were paying about $45 per night, including tax...not bad! Our room was not ready so I asked the CM, Millie, if she could hold Katharine's antibiotics (for that pesky ear infection) in their refrigerator until we got into our room and had access to our own. She said that would be fine and put a sign on the bottle. I happened to notice that the sign said "Warner - 2422" so I knew we had gotten placed in Jazz, which I had requested. Things were looking good. They got even better when we headed out to the bus stop to go to the MK and that bus was pulling up. We hopped on and were on our way. Once in the MK we stopped on Main Street to get Patrick's hair cut (something I had wanted to do in December but never got to). He was less than enthusiastic and at one point we even had the Dapper Dans blowing bubbles for him. No Dice! So, I sat in the chair and he sat on my lap and he got a great haircut. From here we decided to head toward Splash Mountain. On the way we stopped so Katharine, Patrick and Caleb could go up in the Treehouse and then we hit Pirates of the Carribbean. There was no wait for Pirates and it was here that we noticed a new behavior of Patrick's. He rode the whole way with his hands over his eyes but with his fingers spread wide apart so he could see everything. Very cute! We arrived at Splash Mountain at 10:30 and by 10:37 Katharine and I were sitting in our log ready to visit the Laughing Place! Once we finished she went back on with Caleb and then we decided to get some lunch. We headed to the Columbia Harbour House as Katharine said she wanted a hot dog and I remembered they were on the kids' menu in December. Upon arrival I saw that the kids' meal was now a bologna and cheese sandwich. I knew that would be a no-go so I headed outside to the cart and bought two dogs for the kids. Back inside I got Clam Chowder for Caleb and Chicken Strips for myself. Lunch, including drinks, was $19.56. After lunch we walked up to Fantasyland. Katharine wanted to ride Peter Pan. The sign said the wait was 30 minutes but 15 minutes later we were seated in our Pirate Ships. Patrick again rode with his "mask" on only removing it at the end to point to the crocodile and Captain Hook while yelling "No Eat Him!". Again, very cute! After PP we went on Small World and I noticed that I seem to enjoy it more and more now that I have kids. They just loved it! It was now about 1:45 and warm (we haven't had a real Spring here in the Northeast so it seemed especially warm to us) so we decided to head back to the ASM for a swim and to see if our room was ready. As we approached the ASM bus stop the bus arrived! We were 2 for 2! We rode back to the ASM and found that our room was now ready. We got new Ids and headed off to find it. We were in Jazz 2 on the first floor on the parking lot side of the building. I don't know why anyone would pay for a preferred view at the ASM. Our room opened onto a beautifully landscaped lawn and it was very pleasant. Caleb, Patrick and Katharine all suited up and headed to the pool while I called Housekeeping to arrange for the fridge and waited for it to arrive. It came less than 10 minutes later so I headed off to the pool too. We had a great time bobbing around and getting squirted by the Three Caballeros in the Calypso Pool (great themeing) and then I headed back to the room to unpack while Caleb took the kids to the Piano Pool. (No comments about Women's Work please! I prefer to do the unpacking because it gives me some alone time and gives Caleb some 1-on-1, okay, 1-on-2 with the kids.) They came back to the room at 4:00 and we headed off to Walmart. We bought the necessary undergarments (Caleb's undies and Patrick's diapers) along with some juice boxes, fruit and snacks for the room. We were heading back to WDW by 5:00 and arrived at the ASM by 5:20. Caleb went to put the groceries away while I took the kids to the bus stop. We sat down and suddenly the MK bus was there. I was sure we were going to miss it but just then Caleb came out of Melody Hall and away we all went. We arrived at the MK at about 5:40 and went directly to the Liberty Tree Tavern to check in for our 5:55 PS. When making the arrangements I let the CRO CM know that we would be celebrating both kids' birthdays and they noted it on their computer. We were called at 5:50 and shown to a table that was covered with Mickey Mouse shaped shiny confetti. Ahhhh...they remembered! Our waitress came by and asked Katharine if she knew what the confetti was for. Katharine said no so the waitress explained it to here. She was ecstatic. We got our rolls and salad and then Goofy arrived. He immediately noticed the confetti and made a big deal about kissing Katharine 5 times and Patrick twice. He wrote special messages in both kids autograph books too. Magical! Goofy was followed by Minnie and Dale, both of whom also noticed the confetti and acted accordingly. After Dale our main course came out. We had turkey and stuffing, ham, marinated flank steak, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese and carrots. Everything was delicious and we all seemed to have our favorites. Katharine loved the turkey. Patrick favored the ham, and ate 3 whole slices so we had to ask for more. Caleb and I liked all three but really enjoyed the flank steak. As we ate Pluto arrived and made sure to lick Katharine 5 times and Patrick twice! Then Meeko stopped by and was in a very playful mood. As our dishes were cleared Katharine asked what we could have for dessert. (Do all 5 year olds love dessert this much?) I told her that I thought maybe we could have dessert somewhere else and she said no, she wanted it there. Just then one of the waitresses came out ringing a large bell followed by our waitress who was holding a cake. They came right to our table and gave each of the kids a card signed by all of the characters and all of the waitstaff. They then got the whole room clapping along as they sang a special version of Happy Birthday to the kids. What a great time we all had (and the cake was terrific too!). Total for dinner, including tip, was $55 after our MKC discount. After dinner we headed back to Adventureland to do the Tropical Serenade, at Katharine's request. On our way we stopped to get some of the pressed coins we didn't have and then worked our way to the show. Katharine really seemed to like it and Patrick spent a good part of it with his "mask" on but seemed to like it anyway. From the TS we headed to Big Thunder Mountain and rode with a 10 minute wait. Katharine then rode again with Caleb and then we were off to the Frontierland station to catch the train. We hopped on the last train that was heading out before Spectromagic and made it to Main Street just as the parade was finishing up there. We headed to the bus stop and - no kidding - an ASM bus was WAITING! We arrived back at the ASM at about 8:30 and got the kids ready for bed. I was a bit concerned about all staying in one room but the kids fell right asleep and we were able to stay awake for a while. What a great start to our vacation!

Thursday, May 15th -

I woke up at 6:50!!! That is unheard of. I am most definitely a night-owl and have to drag myself out of bed each morning to get Katharine to school on time! I couldn't believe it. It must have been the anticipation of another WDW day! I got ready as quietly as I could and managed to get out of the room without waking anyone else up. I headed to Melody Hall, stopped in the store to buy a notebook and then headed to the food court. It was nearly empty and I sat and ate a nice breakfast of pancakes and fruit while I wrote some notes for this trip report. I then got a pancake breakfast for the kids to share (they are really light eaters) and a scrambled egg breakfast for Caleb and headed back to the room. Total for breakfast was $15.00 and it was at this time that I noticed the difference in juice prices in the store and the food court. In Maestro Mickey's (the store) they sold 8 oz. cartons of Minute Maid OJ for $.80. In the food court the exact same size carton was $1.35. Be warned and plan accordingly. From then on we stopped at the store before hitting the food court. I arrived back at the room expecting Caleb and Patrick to be awake (Katharine needs a crane to get her out of bed most mornings) but they were ALL STILL SLEEPING! I woke the "men" up and they started eating their breakfast. I then coaxed Katharine awake and she began eating as well. We weren't in a rush this morning as we were planning to go to the 10:00 Ladybug Release at the Wilderness Lodge. Everyone took their time eating and they all got ready. We headed out at about 9:15 and drove to the WL. (We relied on WDW transportation except when we were going to another resort.) We arrived at the WL and noticed that they do not have a guard shack yet. We parked in the self-park lot and walked up to the lodge. We stayed here for a week in December and loved it. It didn't quite seem the same in the warm weather. The fireplace wasn't going, obviously, and there was just something different about it. Still beautiful though. We headed to the Mercantile and picked up some postcards and stamps. It was here that I first noticed a disturbing trend. It seems that the pricier the hotel the pricier their logo merchandise. When we stayed at the WL in December I bought Caleb a polo shirt with the WL logo for $30.00. I had been thinking of buying one for my Dad on this trip but when I went to look at them they were $48!!! The shirt was exactly the same except for the logo which was only slightly different. I was shocked! I passed by the shirts and picked up the other things I needed. While I sat in the lobby to write out the cards Caleb and the kids went exploring. At about 9:50 we noticed a group of kids coming from the Whispering Canyons area, led by a guy in a lab coat and lady bug helmet. This must be it! We joined the crowd and made a brief stop outside Artist Point - to gather more troops - and then headed outside. Dr. L. Bug spoke briefly about why ladybugs are used and how important the environment is and then each child got a box of ladybugs. Katharine distributed hers and then helped her brother with his. We stopped to get our certificates, our stickers and our magnifying glasses and then headed off to the WL bus stop to catch a bus for EPCOT. This was our longest "bus-wait" of the trip - about 10 minutes. We arrived at EPCOT at about 10:40 and headed toward the Living Seas pavillion. We had missed this in December and wanted to make sure to see it this time. The kids absolutely loved it and could have stayed there all day but then Katharine remembered Food Rocks. We left TLS and headed for The Land. We saw Food Rocks with a 5 minute wait (for the previous show to end) and then headed toward Imagination. We rode the ride which had no line, an absolute walk-on and then headed upstairs to the Image Works. We played here for about 25 minutes and then decided we were hungry. We thought about having lunch in Le Cellier in Canada but saw that the children's offerings were mac & cheese or chicken & meatball stew. Now our kids like m&c but not just any m&c so we decided to move on and continue our search. A quick stop at the UK offered no assistance so we decided to head out through the International Gateway and try Beaches & Cream. We found it with no trouble, arrived at about 12:30 and got the last available table. Patrick wanted grilled cheese and the rest of us ordered burgers (K's with fruit and Caleb's and mine with onion rings). Caleb also ordered a very large iced tea and was presented with a glass that easily held 32 oz. He drank every last drop too! Our burgers were terrific but we decided to pass on dessert as we were planning on having dinner at the Prime Time and wanted to try some of there sweets. From lunch we headed to the Yacht & Beach Club marina and hopped on a boat to the Studios. We arrived at about 1:45 and a wonderful security guard found us a great spot for the Toy Story Parade. Katharine then decided that she didn't want to watch the parade so we went into Mickey's of Hollywood (my old employer) to make our way down Hollywood Blvd. Once in the store K decided that she did, indeed, want to watch the parade (growl with me now...AAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!) so we quickly stopped to buy Patrick a Piglet and then Caleb and the kids found a spot on the curb while I headed to the Prime Time to change our PS from 5:00 to 6:00. (We wouldn't have been hungry enough at 5:00 after the B&C lunch!). I met up with them after the parade and we headed to Indiana Jones. There wasn't a show starting for about 1 ½ hours so we headed to Star Tours instead. Katharine and Caleb rode and then Katharine and I rode. We then headed to Muppetvision 3D (after a brief stop to make a PS at the Sci-Fi diner for the next day's lunch) and waited only 3 minutes before being let into the theater. Patrick really loved this show! After this we stopped at Pizza Planet to see if Buzz and Woody were around. They were and were stamping autographs so we got in line. Patrick really liked both of them and both kids had a great time clowning around with them. We decided to head to the Great Movie Ride and stopped at the Commissary for a drink on the way. We got the second row on the GMR and saw the Gangster scene. Both the driver and the gangster had a lot of fun with the kids (we were seated right behind them) and Katharine again proclaimed this ride one of her favorites. From the GMR we headed toward the Tower of Terror. We noticed that the tip board said the wait was only 15 minutes! Great! We made our way down Sunset Blvd. and got in line. Just as we approached the entrance to the lobby the line just stopped. We didn't move for about 15 minutes and then word trickled through the line that there was a problem and they didn't know when it would be fixed. It was now 5:15 and we didn't want to miss our PS at the Prime Time so we decided to go Pressed Coin hunting instead and hit the Tower another time. We collected all of the coins on Sunset Blvd. and then headed off for dinner. We checked in at 5:45 and were seated by 5:50. Our waiter was pretty good but one of his co-workers was eating at the next table with his family so they got most of the attention. He was also a little pushy with the special kids' cups (an additional $2.50) but we still had a great time and our dinners were very good. Katharine had the Spaghettios, Patrick had meatloaf, Caleb had beef stroganoff and I had the turkey. The kids' meals came with dessert but Katharine really wanted to try the S'Mores so Caleb ate her ice cream and she and I dove into a huge plate covered with graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows. They were terrific! Our total for dinner, including tip and after the MKC discount, was $50. We left the PT at 6:55 and the Studios were closing so we headed to the bus stop. Katharine and I headed off to the WL to collect the car and Patrick and Caleb took the bus to the ASM. They went swimming and we joined them when we got back. Patrick and I left K & C in the pool and took a walk over to the All-Star Sports. We walked around for a while and then went into their food court. We collected the pressed coins in the arcade, filled our mugs and headed back to the ASM. K & C returned from the pool and the kids took a shower and went to bed. Again, we had no problems getting them to sleep and we were able to stay up for while.

Friday, May 16th -

I got up around 7:00, showered and then woke Caleb. He showered while I woke the kids and got them dressed. We all headed off to breakfast at the All-Star Sports (we had forgotten one pressed coin the night before) and found it mobbed! I don't know if it was more fully booked than the ASM but we never encountered crowds like that in the Intermission Food Court. We bought juice in the store and breakfast at the food court. The kids and I had bagels and Caleb had pancakes and bacon. Total for breakfast was $10. After breakfast we took the bus to the Studios. Again we had no wait for a bus. We arrived at the park just at 9:00. We noted that the first Indiana Jones show wasn't until 11:00 so we headed for Star Tours. It was a walk on both times we rode. Next we went to Muppetvision again and then to the Animation Courtyard to look for characters and get the rest of the Studios pressed coins. The only character out was Mickey so we waited in line for him and then stopped in the Princess Shop so Katharine could spend some of her money. She selected one of the cone-shaped princes hats ($15 marked down from $20) and Patrick got a Tinkerbell wand. It was now 10:45 so we headed to the Sci-Fi for our 11:00 PS. We were seated in less than 5 minutes and got a car right in the front row. We had eaten here in December and Katharine just loved it. It didn't disappoint this time either (although I was shocked by the $7 kids' meal prices until I found out they included a souvenir. Still expensive but not quite so bad.) Katharine ordered a hot dog and fries and a cookies and cream milkshake and Caleb and I decided to split some chicken nachos and a mega burger. We decided to let Patrick share a little of everybody's. Our nachos came out a short time later. Our waitress gave a large plate to both Caleb and I and for a while we were wondering if she had realized that we had wanted to split one order. This wasn't just an order that was split in the kitchen. It had been prepared on two separate plates and it looked like two orders. The nachos were exceptional, some of the best we've ever had. Just as we finished them our meals came out. We were relieved to see that on both Caleb's and my plate there was a serving of fries and ½ of a burger. Each plate had two slices of tomato, four pickle chips, lettuce and onions as well. The fries were extremely plentiful and I think we must have gotten two full orders rather than one order split in half. Katharine got her hot dog and fries and Patrick shared a little of each. After we finished the waitress brought Katharine her dessert (included in the kids' meal price) which was a chocolate cupcake served on a glow-in-the-dark Sci-Fi Diner frisbee. (Great! Not another cup! You parents can relate, I'm sure!) The total for lunch was $36 plus tip. After lunch we rushed to the 1:15 show of Indiana Jones (it was now about 12:45) and as we entered a CM announced it was "Standing Room Only". I spotted one seat at the end of a lower center row so I grabbed Katharine and sat there with her on my lap. Caleb and Patrick stood in the back and eventually managed to get a seat in the row they reserved for the "extras" which becomes vacant when they go on stage. This show was the one thing Katharine had been talking about before the trip and it didn't disappoint. She loved it! We met up with Caleb at the end and decided to head back to the ASM for a swim. On the way out we bought some balloons and went to the bus stop to wait. We waited about 5 minutes and then we were on our way. Back at the ASM we found Piglet waiting in our window, courtesy of our housekeeper. Katharine and Caleb went swimming while I coaxed Patrick into a nap. They returned at about 3:00, got dressed and headed off to the playground as Patrick was still sleeping. I woke Patrick up at about 3:30 and we, too, headed to the playground. I dropped him off with Caleb and headed into Melody Hall to pick up some necessities. It was here that I noticed the difference in resort-wear prices. The All-Star Music polo shirts were just $30 (compared to those at the WL which were $48). Same quality shirts, both had nice logos. It really seemed ridiculous to me and I was just glad I had gotten Caleb's WL shirt in December when they were still affordable. The "kids" met up with me at the bus stop and we hopped on the MK bus (which had just pulled up) and were off again! At the MK we hopped on the train at the Main Street Station and rode to Mickey's Toontown Fair. Once we arrived Caleb took the kids through Minnie's house. Katharine deemed it "adorable" and then we wandered into the Judges Tent and got in the Famous Faces character-greeting line. We waited only about 5 minutes and were then shown into a room with Mary Poppins, the Fairy Godmother, Pocahontas and Aladdin. We waited for our turn with each and the kids had a great time interacting with them. We had been wearing our red GOH nametags everywhere and the characters really pick up on that. The face characters were able to address the kids by name and the other characters often wrote personal messages in their autograph books. After finishing in the Famous Faces room I convinced the kids to get in the Villains line. I explained that if Prince John (an old family favorite) were around that that would be the room he was in. I also told them that if he wasn't there and they didn't like it we could leave right away. Well...he was there! I really think he interacts with the guests perfectly. We have always had a wonderful time when we have encountered Prince John and we weren't disappointed this time. Also in the room was the Sheriff of Nottingham (also from "Robin Hood") and he and the Prince teamed up to demand my camera and Caleb's watch for taxes once they determined that the kids had no money. Katharine was hysterical! There are usually very few people in the Villains room so you get lots of time with the characters. We must have spent at least 10 minutes with these guys before moving on to Governor Ratcliffe. Katharine really does not like him very much so this was a very quick meet-n-greet and then we were on our way. We walked over to Goofy's Barnstormer and noticed that the sign said that children 3 and under "shouldn't" ride. Patrick is a (tame) roller coaster veteran so we decided to all get in line and see if he would be allowed to board. Nobody questioned us and in about 5 minutes we were zooming around and through the barn. Patrick loved it! Katharine wanted to splash around in the Miss Daisy but we didn't have bathing suits or a change of clothes so we made a note to stop by another day. It was now about 6:00 so we headed into Tomorrowland for dinner at Cosmic Ray's. We got a table near Sonny Eclipse (okay, I know some of you like him but I thought he was too corny!) and I went off to get a "Family Meal Deal". For $15.99 you get a whole chicken, two containers of mashed potatoes and 4 cornbread muffins. Not bad, although I wish some kind of vegetable were included. That and a large diet coke for Caleb and I was $18.00. We had juice boxes in our bag for the kids ($.33 a piece from Walmart is much better than $1.40 in the parks!) so they had those. The chicken was excellent and the mashed potatoes seemed to be the same served elsewhere. They were the kind with pieces of potato skin in them and they, too, were very good. We finished dinner at about 6:30 and were off to explore Tomorrowland. We passed by the Tomorrowland Speedway as the line seemed very long. We rode the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (one of Patrick's favorites) and Take Flight and then checked out the line for Timekeeper. There was no line but the next show was still 10 minutes away so we decided to keep that for another time and headed to Frontierland instead. As we entered Adventureland we stopped for a Dole Whip and sat to eat it. We had just finished dinner so one was enough for all of us. From here we headed off to the Country Bear Jamboree. This was another thing we had not gotten to in December and Katharine really wanted to see it. There was no line and the waiting area was relatively empty. Both kids spotted the pressed penny machines at the same time and went running to them. I caught up with them, dug out our change purse and we got the coins. We waited about 3 more minutes and then were let into the theater. Both kids really loved this show and did quite a lot of hand clapping and foot stomping. Patrick is still talking about the talking animals (the "trophies" on the wall) so we know we'll be back to this show in December! It was now about 8:00 and the crowds were beginning to build up for Spectromagic. We checked the wait time at Splash Mountain and were told it would be about 25 minutes. We decided to come back another day (which was a mistake as we never saw it with a wait of less than 45 minutes after that) and to call it a night. We had decided to do Early Entry at the MK the next morning so I thought it would be good for the kids to get to bed early. On the way back through Adventureland we stopped to ride Pirates with about a 3 minute wait. We then made our way down Main Street which was PACKED! Katharine wanted some cotton candy (a treat usually reserved for when we go to the circus) so Caleb and Patrick went to get some at the Confectionery while Katharine and I headed to the turnstiles. We met up with the guys a few minutes later, hopped on the waiting ASM bus and, shortly thereafter, were off to the hotel. Back at the room Caleb grabbed our ASM mugs and went off to fill them at the food court while I got the kids in bed. I arranged for a 6:00am wake-up call and we were all asleep by 10:15 (much to my consternation as I had been highly anticipating the season finale of "Homicide" which I slept right through!).

Saturday, May 17th -

Our phone rang promptly at 6:00am and I was disappointed to find dead air on the other end. I had been hoping for Mickey's voice to coax me out of bed. Oh well...sigh...Caleb got up first and showered. Then, while I got ready he headed to the food court and got us some bagels. When he returned we woke the kids up. We were all out of the room by 7:00. We decided to drive to the Poly and take the monorail from there as we weren't sure how often the buses to the MK were running. We arrived at the Poly at 7:15 and were at the front gates of the MK by 7:25. We entered and walked directly to Fantasyland. I was surprised (and pleased) to see most of the people heading to Tomorrowland. The crowds were very light in Fantasyland and we got in line for Dumbo. The sign said it would be about a 10 minute wait. Ten minutes later I was given the last green tag (signifying the last Dumbo in that set). Caleb and Patrick were behind me so they would be first in the next group. Suddenly I realized that both kids could fit in the Dumbos with me so I grabbed Patrick while Caleb was shown to the other holding area. The kids and I rode and then I handed them off to Caleb and they got to ride again! It worked great! From here we went to Snow White's Adventures (a walk-on), Mr. Toad's Wild Ride (5 minute wait) and the Mad Tea Party (5 minute wait). We then headed over to the Tomorrowland Speedway and were going to pass it by (as the line seemed very long) when we noticed the sign said it would be a 10 minute wait. It was right! Ten minutes later we were racing (okay, not quite) around Tomorrowland! The kids really liked this ride and it made me remember how much I had loved it as a little girl. Ahhhh...nostalgia! After our race we headed toward the path for Mickey's Toontown Fair (we had brought Katharine's bathing suit!) where, although they said it would open at 9:00, the rope dropped at 8:45. We headed to the Barnstormer (while the rest of the crowd headed who knows where - Mickey's house maybe?) and were first in line for the day. In fact, we were the only ones in line. They gave us our choice of seats so we headed toward the back. Nobody else was there to ride with us so off we went on our own private Barnstormer! When we returned to the station there was still nobody in line (although we saw some people heading that way) so they let us stay on for another go-round. After this trip we got off and Katharine and I headed for the Miss Daisy while Caleb and Patrick got back in line for the Barnstormer. Again, nobody questioned us about his age. Katharine spent about 30 minutes playing in the water while Patrick continued to Barnstorm and then went to play in Toontown Park. We met up at about 9:35 and headed into the Judge's Tent to see who was in the Famous Faces room this time. It didn't open until 10:00 so we went into the Mickey's Pals room instead. Minnie, Pluto and Goofy were there (and we were told Daisy and Donald would be there later) so we got autographs and pictures and then went to wait in the Famous Faces line. We waited about 10 minutes and were in the first group to go in. Snow White & Dopey, Pocahontas and Jasmine were in the room this time. After photos and autographs I tried to convince Katharine to go into the Villains room again (I had heard Captain Hook was in there) but she didn't want to do it. It was getting busy so we decided to head over to EPCOT by way of Tomorrowland. On the way out of Toontown Fair, however, we decided to change course and see if Ariel was in her Grotto. She was so we got in line. Patrick was approaching melt-down status so he and I exited the line and went into Pinocchios' to get a snack. We bought juice boxes (forgot our own) and cookies and sat down to wait for the others. We met up with them about 20 minutes later and we were off again. We walked past Cinderella's fountain on our way out and once we rounded the castle we noticed that the Disneymania show was going on. This was one of my favorite shows when I was working at WDW and I would often to into the MK just to see it. I had not seen it for about 7 years and I noticed that they really haven't changed much of it. Some new parts were added (Beauty & the Beast, Little Mermaid, etc.) but much of it was exactly as it had been. The show was winding down so we headed for a waiting Trolley and waited for our ride down Main Street. Once at the other end we asked for, and got, the front seat on the monorail and headed to the Poly to pick up our car. It was now about 12:00 so we decided to skip EPCOT and head to the Boardwalk instead. We had a 1:00 priority seating time at Spoodles and were hoping they'd take us a little bit early. We arrived at the Boardwalk, parked the car and trekked to the resort. We found Spoodles and asked if we could be seated early. No problem. It was now about 12:15. Spoodles was only about 1/3 full and we were seated at a table by the windows. Immediately upon being seated I noticed that the "Make-Your-Own-Pizza was not on the kids' menu. I asked our waiter, Mark, about it and he informed us it was now only available at dinner. Katharine had really been looking forward to this event and was near tears at the thought of not being able to do it. Mark saw this and rushed off to the kitchen. He returned to tell us that a palette was being made up and that it would be out shortly. (The M-Y-O pizza comes out on a palette with cups of sauce, cheese and pepperoni where the paint would go. It's very cute!) Katharine was thrilled and Caleb and I were happy to bask in the glow of the Disney Magic! Patrick, of course, was pretty much oblivious and was just happy to be drinking some more apple juice! Caleb ordered the grilled veggie pizza, I ordered the 3-cheese pizza and the kids shared Katharine's pizza. I liked mine, except I had not noticed that gorgonzola was one of the cheeses. I managed to avoid those sections and was fine. I really liked Caleb's choice, as did he, and was sorry I hadn't chosen that. The kids enjoyed their pizza as well. Another interesting thing here. At the Prime Time Cafe souvenir cups were an additional $2.50. At Spoodles the kids' drinks automatically came in these cups at no extra charge. We even ordered a glass of water for Patrick and it, too, came in a special cup. Hmmmmmm.... Mark came back a short time later and I told him I was an annual pass holder and wondered if the discount was available at lunch. He had not heard of a discount so he took my card and went off to get more information. He came back about 3 minutes later with our bill which now had 10% deducted from it. Not bad! Total for lunch was $31 plus tip. We decided that while we liked Spoodles, and definitely thought the service was A-1, we probably won't rush to return there as it really is not our style. Everything we had was good, just not what we prefer. We had purposely not let the kids order dessert in Spoodles as we had noticed the Sweet Shoppe next door. We headed in there and let the kids each choose something from the case. Patrick wanted a chocolate covered pretzel and Katharine chose an absolutely huge carmel apple. Caleb decided he wanted a stick of rock candy so I indulged too and got a chocolate coated coconut cluster. Everyone deemed their choices "delicious" and, when we were done, we all toddled out onto the Boardwalk. We had noticed the Surrey Bike shop when we had first arrived and this was our next stop. We rented a bike with one bench (two sets of peddles) and a basked for the kids in front. (They also rent bikes with two benches (4 sets of peddles) and a basked in front for the kids.) The cost was $12 per ½ hour and soon we were on our way over to the Yacht & Beach Clubs. It was a hot day and we ended up going around the path twice. On a cooler day you could make it around three times in a half hour but we weren't pushing ourselves. These bikes were a great deal of fun and we'll definitely be going back to the Boardwalk to rent them on future trips. Originally we had thought about going into EPCOT after lunch but it was very hot so we decided to head back for a swim instead. We walked back to the car and were back at the ASM by 2:15. When we got to our room we immediately noticed that the Studio balloons were in the window. We didn't see the animals and I explained to Katharine that not all of the housekeepers had the time to set up special scenes. We walked into our room only to find both Piglet and Brer Frog sitting up on the star shaped light over one of the beds. ...Sigh...More Disney Magic! We all got into our suits and headed off to the Piano Pool. (I noticed someone recently said this was supposedly an adults-only pool. We were never told this, neither at check-in nor by anyone at the pool. There were no signs to indicate that this pool was restricted and there were many children present during the time we were there.) We stayed at the Piano Pool for about ½ hour and then I decided to go back to the room and relax for a while. Since it was difficult to watch two kids at this pool Caleb took Katharine and Patrick off to the Calypso pool and the relatively safe Kiddie Section. I headed into the food court to fill our mugs and then went back to the room to shower and get dressed. The others returned at about 3:45 and got dressed. We were expecting one of the Fairy Godmothers (a baby-sitting service) to arrive at 5:00 and I wanted the kids dressed and ready when she arrived. While I was drying Katharine's hair I noticed that Patrick was not his usual boisterous self. Five minutes later he was fast asleep on the floor in front of the TV. I moved him to the bed and let him sleep. Our Fairy Godmother, Barbara, arrived at 4:45, complete with VCR, tapes, pre-packaged treats and lots of toys. She showed us two forms of ID and gave us her FG business card. She was very sweet and Katharine took to her right away and Patrick was still sleeping. I decided to run to the food court to get Katharine some dinner (I had been planning to have the FG take them both there for dinner) and returned about 10 minutes later. I was a little concerned about Patrick waking up with a stranger, particularly since he'd never had a sitter before (my parents always babysit - their choice!). I also didn't want to wake him up. What to do? I decided to let him sleep. I figured that he would be fine since his sister would be there when he woke up. Caleb and I set off for our "date" at 5:00. We really weren't interested in going anywhere fancy (we're not really the fancy type) and when I had been at the food court getting Katharine's dinner I had noticed they were setting up the Barbecue booth. Caleb loves ribs so we decided to have a quick dinner here and then head off to the parks. I ordered the turkey dinner and we both decided are dinners were a great value for the price ($8.99 for his, $6.99 for mine). After dinner we headed out to the bus stop and hopped on a bus for the Studios. We arrived at about 6:00 and headed to the Tower of Terror. We had not yet ridden it on this trip and had never ridden it togehter. The wait was only about 10 minutes although it seemed like an eternity thanks to a group of teenagers who insisted on screaming to another group of teenagers all the way across the "boiler room" area. By the time we got to the end of this line several people were pretty annoyed and telling them to be quite. Lucky us...we got to ride with some of them. They actually weren't too bad once we got on the elevator. The ride was as great as we had remembered it to be and perhaps even better since we were together. We had to buy the picture, just to commemorate our date, and then we were off again. We wanted to go to the MK next but there is no direct bus from the Studios, you have to go to the TTC and then go to the MK from there. Instead we decided to take the boat to the Beach Club and a bus from there. Once at the Beach Club we thought it might be fun to stop at Beaches and Cream, sit at the counter (something that parents of very young children rarely get to do) and share a sundae. We ordered the Milky Way Cake Sundae and Caleb went to find a phone to call back to the room. We found out that Patrick was now awake and they were both watching a tape. He had cried a bit but then settled down once he was presented with some food! Now, back to that sundae. This thing is huge. First the coat the bottom of a large goblet with hot fudge and caramel. Then a piece of bundt cake (with Milky Way bars baked in) is put in the bottom. On top of this goes three scoops of vanilla (or whatever flavor you prefer) ice cream. Then comes more fudge and caramel and then whipped cream. They then cut a Milky Way bar in half and stick this on top along with two small pieces of the cake. WOW! I actually saw lots of people ordering this thing for one! It was all we could do to get to the cake at the bottom with two spoons working. I must say, however, it was a top notch sundae! Yum! After gorging ourselves we wandered into the Beach Club. We passed by the Cape May Cafe and saw their clambake spread. It looked and smelled terrific, even though we were far past stuffed. We ambled over to the gift shop and I found several T-shirts had been marked down to $7.99 (from $20)! They were all XXL but I thought they'd make great nightgowns so I bought 2. They were both black (probably why they were marked down - not a great color for hot weather) and one has Minnie and one has Goofy on it and they say Walt Disney World at the bottom. (They still sell the same shirts in white at full price.) Anyway, after this we were off to the MK. As we approached the bus stop a MK bus was pulling up. We hopped on and were off, or so we thought. Instead of heading to the MK we headed to the Boardwalk instead. We stopped here for more quests and then were off. We arrived at the MK at about 8:00 and immediately noticed the crowds. Main Street was already packed with people waiting for the parade. We headed over to Tomorrowland to see about the line for Space Mountain. (Katharine is still too short to ride this one so we don't usually bother when she's with us.) The sign said 45 minutes and we realized that we wouldn't come back to it so we got in line. About five minutes later we realized that we were waiting 45 minutes for a 3 minute ride, slapped ourselves and got out of line. We hopped on the Skyway (with a 10 minute wait) and took a very leisurely ride to Fantasyland. From here we decided to head to Splash Mountain to see how the wait was. We snaked our way through the crowd and were very grateful for the new path along the water. We arrived at Splash Mountain to find a 45 minute wait. Um...nope. We had had enough of the crowds so we hopped on the train at the Frontierland Station, rode around to Main Street, exited the MK and hopped on a ferry to the TTC. Once at the TTC we boarded a bus for the Marketplace and went to do some shopping. We arrived at the Marketplace at 9:45 and stopped to call the room to tell the FG where we were and that we expected to be back to the room by 11:00.

We headed over to the World of Disney and bought a few things (a 25th polo shirt for Caleb, a shirt for me, some candies for the kids, etc.) We then walked back to the bus stop and waited for a bus. A few minutes later a bus marked "Special" pulled up to take us "home". It first stopped at the ASSports and then proceeded on to the ASM. At both resorts it did not pull into the Marketplace/Pleasure Island spot (and we had not stopped to pick up PI passengers on the way) so we figured it was just an extra bus added to the Marketplace schedule to pick up the overflow of guests at closing time. In any case we arrived back at the room precisely at 11:00. Both kids were sound asleep and Barbara was watching TV with the lights off. We paid her ($53 plus tip for 6 hours) and gave her the red GOH pin we had purchased which said Barbara in large letters and Fairy Godmother in smaller letters where the hometown usually goes at the bottom. She was very surprised by the pin and seemed thrilled by it. We had hoped she would like it and were very pleased by her reaction. She said she planned to wear it on her future jobs! We said goodnight and Caleb walked her to her car. I think we fell asleep as soon as our heads hit the pillows!

Sunday, May 18th -

We had a 9:45 priority seating time for the Cape May Character Breakfast so we all slept in. We were all dressed and ready by 8:45 (at home that wouldn't be considered sleeping in!) and Caleb took the kids to the playground for a while I sorted through the collection of stuff we were accumulating. They returned at 9:20 and we were off. We drove to the Beach Club, parked and walked inside. We were to meet some very special friends for this breakfast and I was very excited. A few minutes later I noticed a semi-familiar face (I had only seen her picture) enter the lobby. It was Deb Wills!!!!!! Woo Hoo! I finally got to meet Deb herself! We all exchanged hugs and introductions were passed around. One down and one to go. Deb had to run back to her room for something so I went to check in at the desk and then we sat and waited for our other dining companion. This one I had met before so I immediately spotted Gardenia when she entered the room! Yeah! Barb and Deb! What fun! A few minutes later Deb returned and shortly after that we were called in. We were shown to a nice large table in a corner and we all parked ourselves and got to know each other a little better. Soon we realized that we were there to eat so we headed off to the buffet. There was a tremendous amount of choices at this buffet and it is now among our favorites. Shortly after we returned to the table the characters came by. This is no longer hosted by Admiral Goofy. Now it has a beach party theme and Goofy, Chip, Dale and Pluto (who waits in the entrance) all had their swimming trunks on. We made sure the characters stopped over by Barb and Deb too (sometimes when kids are at the table they get the lion's share of attention and the grown-up kids get overlooked) and had a great deal of fun. We filled ourselves with the wonderful food and then headed outside. We were planning to go to the Studios so we headed for the boat dock. We waited about 15 minutes for a boat and then were on our way. We arrived at the Studios at about 12:00 when Barb suddenly realized she had something to attend to. She headed back to her car after making arrangements to meet up with Deb later. We had tried to entice Deb to go on the Tower but she didn't think it was as good an idea as we did (bummer!) so we headed off to the Backlot Theater to see the Hunchback show instead. On the way Deb showed us the "Singin' in the Rain" Umbrella sprinkler but Katharine didn't want to try it. We arrived at the theater at 12:45 and they were already seating people. We managed to get seats about 10-12 rows back from the stage and had a very good view. Patrick simply adores the movie and knows the score by heart and I just knew he'd love this show. The rest of us enjoyed it just as much! After the show we all said our goodbyes with promises of meeting up again in December and then Deb went off to meet Barb while the rest of us headed to the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Playground. Katharine and Caleb went to play while Patrick and I went to hunt down the elusive apple juice. I couldn't find any so I got some water instead (better for you but it kills me to pay $2.50 for water!) and we sat down to listen to the Hollywood Hitmen (one of my favorites!). A little while later Caleb and Katharine met up with us and we decided to skip the swim we had planned in favor of a few rides on the Tower. This was the last time we would be in the Studios this trip and we wanted to make sure we did everything we still wanted to do before we left. On our way to the Tower we stopped to see Muppetvision one more time but the line was tremendous! We feared we would find the same thing at the Tower but we decided to try it anyway. We were surprised to find a wait of only 10 minutes at the Tower so we all got in line. Once we got to the elevators Patrick and I took the "chicken" elevator to the basement and received our Kid-Swap pass. Caleb and Katharine emerged a few minutes later and she and I then went back to the elevator for our trip back to the "fun" elevators. A few minutes later we were headed to the Twilight Zone. We had so much fun that we all got in line again. This time there were two middle-aged couples from the UK in front of us. The men were planning to ride and the women were trying to figure out where to meet up with them. We encouraged the wives to go through the queue area and then exit through the real elevator at the end. They stayed in line and we chatted throughout the wait. Katharine assured the men that the Tower really wasn't that bad and offered her hand to hold if they needed it. They told her she was very brave and seemed very pleased with herself. Once we got to the loading area one of the men decided he didn't want to go so the other man "made" his wife ride with him. She was nervous so I tried to calm her down. I don't think it worked though! Katharine and I were in the second row. She was seated next to another nervous woman. She made me promise to tell her when the drop was coming and I obliged. As I watched Katharine run to Caleb and start pulling him back to the elevator I heard both women saying they didn't think they'd ever ride again. I giggled to myself and turned my attention to keeping Patrick occupied. When my daredevil emerged a few minutes later we realized that it was time to leave the park....sigh...

We walked down Hollywood Blvd and exited the park. We then headed toward the docks to catch a boat back to the Beach Club. As we walked we turned around and said goodbye to the Studios for this trip. We waited about 20 minutes and then a boat finally came. We had the absolute slowest driver in the world and made it to the Beach Club about 45 minutes after leaving the Studios. We ran to the car, drove as quickly as safety would allow to the Contemporary where we were actually stopped by the guard at the gate. At every other resort we had visited were had been waved through by the security guard. We hadn't even had to roll down our window. At the Contemporary not only did we have to stop and roll down the window, we had to explain why we were visiting the resort, tell the guard what restaurant we were eating at, what our name was and what time our priority seating was for. We were finally waved through at about 4:50 so we decided to valet park since we were supposed to be at Chef Mickey's at 4:45. We arrived at the restaurant at 4:55 and when I checked in I told the CM that I didn't know the people we were meeting so I hoped we'd all be at one table (there were 11 of us coming). She pointed us to a family of three just inside the waiting area and it was Paul, Andrea and Holly McKenna. Originally I noticed a young boy standing near Holly so I thought it was the Jukes family. Andrea cleared that up for me and we all started getting to know each other. A few minutes later Jane and Nicholas (her son) Jukes showed up and Jane explained that Larry (her hubby) and Laurel (their daughter) were returning their rental car and would be there shortly. Sure enough they eventually arrived and we were all seated at a large table by the windows. If we leaned a bit we could even see the castle/cake. We got our places settled and or drink orders placed and then we were off to the buffet in shifts. We visited Chef Mickey's in December as well and we had fond memories of the place. This visit didn't disappoint. I really think they have a terrific selection and we more than filled ourselves. Minnie, Pluto, and Chef Mickey himself all visited our table. At dessert time we noticed something that had not been there in December. At that time Goofy held court in the waiting area and did not circulate around the room. This time Chip and Dale took turns in the waiting area (with Pluto now added to the list of circulating characters) and Goofy had a table set up where he decorated cupcakes for the kids. Katharine had to have one of these Goofy creations and I must admit that he did a superb job. She ate every bite and I made a note to remember his technique next time I made cupcakes at home! :) After dinner we all headed to the lobby where we posed with Chip for a group picture. We had promised Katharine a trip to Fort Wilderness for the campfire and it was tonight or not at all. The McKenna's were staying at Fort Wilderness so we made arrangements to meet up with them out there. The Jukes had just arrived that afternoon and were, understandably, tired so they passed on the movie and we said our goodbyes. Dinner had been wonderful and we now had more new friends thanks to RADP. Patrick had been close to falling asleep at dinner so I decided that he and I would go back to the ASM while Caleb and Katharine went to the movie. We went out to get our car and waited while the valet went to get it. As we waited a silver Porsch pulled up and a couple who were dressed to the nines got out. They must have had plans for the California Grille but I don't think they ever got there. As the gentleman was making arrangements with the valet we noticed that there was something leaking from the tail end of the car. Just as Caleb was about to mention it to him another man said something. The man hopped into his car and drove it to a more level area of the driveway. After he left we determined that it had been oil leaking from the car and realized that their lovely evening had probably been ruined. I only hope he hadn't been planning to propose or anything! What a shame. Our car came somewhere in the middle of all of this drama and we were soon on our way back to the resort. Caleb grabbed a beach towel and the bug spray from the room and then they were off. Patrick and I headed to the room and noticed that the maid had both stuffed friends sitting in the window along with the two Studios balloons and Katharine's princess hat (with the beautiful tulle draped over the back of the chair. Katharine had not seen it so I took a picture of it and then we went inside. I got Patrick ready for bed and then did some packing. He fell asleep a little while later, I finished packing and then watched some TV. Caleb and Katharine returned at about 10:30. She was already asleep and he was definitely ready for bed. We all settled in for our last night at WDW!

Monday, May 19th -

We awoke at about 7:00 and got ready. Caleb started to pack the car while I got the kids up and dressed. Shortly thereafter our bill came for Express Checkout. I opened it and immediately noticed that the CRO credit had not been applied. I called the front desk and the CM there informed me that I was not entitled to any discounts. I had thought this had all been straightened out when we checked in. I hung up and headed down to Melody Hall. I waited a few minutes for a CM and she then called a Supervisor. He came out and apologized for the error. He credited our bill $210.00 which brought our portion down to just $238. Not bad for 5 nights! On my way back to the room I stopped to get some breakfast for us all. We ate our breakfast, finished packing the car and then headed off to EPCOT. We arrived at 9:00 and went directly to the Universe of Energy. Both kids are big dinosaur fans so they love this attraction. We waited about 6 minutes for the next show to start. After UoE we headed to the Wonders of Life. We rode Body Wars and saw Cranium Command and then headed out of EPCOT. We stopped to get some of the EPCOT pressed pennies, walked to the car (saying goodbye to EPCOT) and drove to the Poly. We parked the car and took the monorail to the MK.. We arrived at about 11:45 and walked through the Emporium. The kids had some money left in their envelopes and Katharine was trying to decide what to buy. She didn't find anything so we proceeded to the Crystal Palace. We had a 1:00 priority seating time but hoped they could take us early. Although it was busy they signed us in and we waited only 5 minutes before our name was called. We were seated one of the first tables on the left side just as the characters finished up on that side. We were a little worried they wouldn't get back around to us before we were finished but decided to just see what happened. They buffet we well stocked and the food was excellent. About half way through our meal Pooh finished up on the other side and approached our side. We were surprised to find that we were at the first table in the rotation on that side of the room! A nice surprise! Pooh visited a while and then moved on while we continued to eat. We made our dessert selections from that table and soon Tigger was at our table. He was followed closely by Eeyore. We had seen them all. We paid our bill - $40 plus tip - and left the restaurant. I had hoped the MK would be less crowded today since it was a weekday but it was not to be. It was packed! We went to check out the tip board and everything seemed to have long waits. We suddenly remembered Timekeeper (something we had never seen) so we headed off to Tomorrowland. The wait was just 5 minutes so we went in. I really enjoyed this show and found it nice to experience something new. When we came out of the theater it was pouring! We waited the rain out a bit and Caleb took the kids to see Take Flight again. When they emerged the rain had died down so we went over to the TTA again. Next we headed to Adventureland to spend some of Patrick's money on a Pirate hat. That done Caleb and Katharine headed off to find Mickey ice cream bars (a last day tradition) while Patrick and I sat to wait for them. It felt like a steambath outside and part of me was glad we were heading home. (Okay, a small part of me, but part of me nonetheless.) Katharine and Caleb returned with the ice cream and we sat and ate them. When we were done we decided to walk over to Frontierland and check on Splash Mountain. The wait was 40 minutes but we got in line anyway. A few minutes later that reality set in and we jumped back out of line. We noticed a penny machine under the train station so we stopped to get them. Next we hopped on the train and rode to Mickey's Toontown Fair. We went into the Judge's Tent and got in line for the Villains. Jafar, Brer Fox and the Sheriff of Nottingham were in the room this time. We entered and I didn't notice that the Sheriff had removed Katharine's Brer Fox from my bag. A few minutes later I saw him walking around with one and realized what had happened. He refused to give it back. Instead he took it to Brer Fox and the two of them tried to eat poor Brer Frog. Katharine was laughing so hard I thought she'd cry. The Sheriff then took Brer Frog and stuffed him in his mouth (great picture!). Katharine finally was able to get Brer Frog back and we all have a wonderful memory! We got some more pictures with the Sheriff and then stood in line for Jafar. I thought Katharine might get scared but she didn't. We left the Villains room and headed into the shop. Katharine was determined to spend her money. She selected a small (6") Fairy Godmother doll that holds perfume inside and a Minnie Mouse comb/brush/mirror set. She also bought a postcard of the Timekeeper. We still didn't see anything for Patrick. It was now about 4:00 so we decided to call it a day. We hopped on the train and got off at Main Street. We left the park (of course saying goodbye again) and headed for the resort monorail. We got the front seat and rode around to the Poly. We said goodbye to the driver and walked to our car. We stopped at the Car Care Center to top off the tank and then drove back to the ASM to fill up our mugs one last time. From here we headed to the airport. We arrived at about 5:00 and dropped off our rental car. We then went to check in for our flight and found that USAir was all the way at the other end of the terminal. We hiked down there and waited to check in. When it was our turn we asked if upgrading was possible and were told it was! Yeah! First Class again! We got our boarding passes and headed for the gate. On the way we passed the WDW store and I stopped in to get a shopping bag to put all of our smaller bags in. While in the store I noticed that they had a stuffed Rabbit (we had seen one at the Studios but then couldn't find one anywhere else when we wanted one). With the Piglet he had bought earlier Patrick now had all of the Pooh characters except Rabbit so we added a few dollars to his envelope and bought Rabbit. We also gave Katharine a few more dollars and she bought a box of taffy to share with her pre-school class. Okay, money spent! Off we went to the gate. We had about an hour wait at the gate and then our flight was called. We settled into our seats and when boarding was complete we were told there would be a one hour delay because of earlier bad weather in Boston. We drove out to the runway, just in case an earlier time came up, and waited. I was thankful we were in First Class. The flight attendants came around with beverages and the kids read books and colored while we waited. A short while later we were off. We arrived in Boston at 11:00 to find my parents waiting for us. It's always hard to leave WDW but it's also so nice to be home.

So, until December..