Olivia Wray - December 2004 - Saratoga Springs, Boardwalk

Time of Year: Holiday
Travel Method: Plane
Resort: SSR, BWR
Accommodations: Standard
Ages Represented in Group: Teen, Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Rookie, Infrequent, Veteran
Comments: If your birthday is New Year's Eve, what better way to celebrate than going to Disney World where everybody will have a giant party for you. That's just what Olivia and family did.


Olivia Wray -- December 2004/January 2005 -- Walt Disney World (SSR, BWR)

I want to preface this report by apologizing for the fact that it is about a year late, but maybe it will be interesting to those who are going around this time this year. Enjoy!

The Cast:

Olivia: me, turning 19 on the trip, early childhood education major currently in college, trip reporter, planner, 20+ trips to Disney (lost count!), lover of all things Disney (except thrill rides!)
Katherine: 21 year old sister, college student, loves Disney, wants no part in the planning, 20+ trips
Maria: 13 year old sister, likes Disney okay, but more or less just along for the ride, 10 trips
Mom: my mom! 30+ trips
Dad: My dad! 30+ trips. Mom and dad are DVC members who finance these wonderful trips to the world.

We also traveled with my aunt, cousin, and her family (The Browns). We had originally planned to do a lot of things together, but due to illness and different interests, we ended up seeing very little of our family. At different points, just Mary, or just Andrew came to some meals or parks with us, but for the most part we didn't see too much of them. They included:

Mary: My aunt, went to the Magic Kingdom one day about 25 years ago
Kelly: My cousin, went to the Magic Kingdom one day about 25 years ago with her mom, Mary.
Andrew: Kelly's husband. Never been to Disney, didn't want to go on this trip because it involved taking time off work but decided to go to see his kids in Disney.
Andrew Jr: Kelly and Andrew's son (yes, they have the same name), 3 years old, never been to Disney
Caleb: Kelly and Andrew's son, 7 months old, never been to Disney

How it all started...

Our family goes to Disney at least once a year. Our last trip was in December of last year, so it was obviously time to go back! I babysit for Andrew and Caleb and one day when Kelly came to pick them up at our house, she asked if I would help her plan a trip to Disney if she ever decided to go. Being the good cousin that I am, I not only accepted the offer, but also offered to come along on the trip! We picked Christmas break (December 27-January 4) even though we knew it would be extremely crowded, it was the only time we were off school in the near future for a long enough period of time. We also love seeing all the holiday decorations and lucky for me the dates also included my birthday (December 31).

Hotel:

That same day Kelly called CRO and was able to reserve a one-bedroom villa at The Beach Club, which I recommended to her. Her family eats a lot and is on a specific diet (no sugar, no red meat, etc), so I knew they would need a kitchen and they all wanted to be in one room so I thought the villa would be good. It has a master bedroom with a king bed, a sitting area with a sleep sofa, a kitchen, dining room table, bathroom with a shower and a Jacuzzi tub and a washer and dryer. I called DVC and tried to get us a reservation at the Beach Club Villas, but there was nothing available. There was also nothing available at our second choice, The Boardwalk Villas. So we decided to try the new DVC resort, Saratoga Springs and we were put on the waiting list for both the Beach Club and the Boardwalk.

Airfare:

Since we were traveling during holiday season, the airfare was really kind of scary! The best offer we could find was $250 for a non-stop flight leaving from Columbus which is about a 2 hour drive from us, but we went ahead and booked it. It looked a lot better than the $400+ fares from our hometown.

Planning:

With hotel and airline reservations, it was time for the planning to begin! I decided to ask for an IllumiNations cruise from my parents for my birthday and they said that if I could get the reservation, they would do it. I called 90 days out at 7am but by the time I got a hold of anyone, both the IllumiNations and Wishes cruises were sold out. I was pretty bummed out that I wouldn't get to go on the cruise for my actual birthday, but I decided to try for the day after my birthday. So, once again I got up at the ungodly hour of 6:50 and started dialing. I was not able to get an IllumiNations cruise, but I got a Wishes cruise!

I decided to go ahead and make all of our PS's since we would be going at such a busy time of year. I tried my hardest to get Cinderella's Royal Table for any day of our stay for breakfast, but I was unsuccessful. I was up at 6:55 8 days in a row with no luck. This is the second trip in a row I have tried to get a reservation for CRT with no luck, so I guess it wasn't meant to be.

Mom and Dad are actually strange people to travel to Disney with because I think they would be happy just laying by the pool and touring at other resorts and not ever entering a park when at Disney. Therefore, the plan did not contain a ton of park time, but enough for us since we go so often. The general plan was set and looked like this:

December 27: flight at 12:10, check-in, Downtown Disney for dinner
28: Magic Kingdom in the morning, Tony's Town Square Restaurant at 11:35 for lunch. Pool in the afternoon, Epcot for dinner at San Angel Inn at 5:30
29: Spend the day at the pool, dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe, 5:30
30: Animal Kingdom in the morning. MGM in the evening, dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby, 6:00
31: My birthday/New Year's Eve!!!! Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, 10:00. Spend the day at the pool. Dinner at Spoodle's 6:00, watch IllumiNations from the bridge between the Boardwalk and Beach Club.
January 1: I scheduled a massage for myself at the Grand Floridian spa at 11:30. Spend the day at the pool, dinner at Kona Cafe, 5:30. Wishes cruise.
2: MGM in the morning with lunch at Mama Melrose, 12:00. Pool during the afternoon, return to MGM for dinner at the 50's Primetime Cafe.
3: Magic Kingdom in the morning. Pool in the afternoon. Dinner at Jiko for mom's birthday (it is really on January 4, but we will be celebrating on the 3rd since we leave on the 4th) 6:30.
4: Pack up, maybe some pool time, flight at 6:35pm.
Yes, the waiting was horrible, but the Christmas holiday helped me to get through it and eventually, it was time to leave!!!

Day 1: December 27, 2004

Plan: flight at 12:10, check-in, Downtown Disney for dinner

Actual: This morning we woke up to the alarm at 7:15 after a sleepless night due to excitement! My dad works the night shift in labor and delivery at a hospital and he gets off of work at 7am, so we got dressed and packed some final items while waiting for him to get home. He got home from work around 7:45 and even though it was really too early to leave for the airport no one really felt like sitting at home, so we were on our way. We arrived in Columbus around 9:30 and did curbside check-in while dad went and parked the car. At this point, mom realized she had no photo ID. In order to go to the gym she belongs to at home you have to show your driver's license. She had gone to the gym the day before and her license was in her coat pocket at home! Since we were two hours from home we decided to just find out if they were going to let her fly and hope for the best. We talked to security who said it was essentially up to the TSA, or Travel Security Administration. These are the people who scan your bags and wand you if you set the metal detectors off. When we talked to the TSA, a nice gentleman let mom go through because she had her social security card. However, he said that the TSA in Orlando is a lot stricter and would never let her come back home without an ID. So we called my grandfather and asked him to mail it to us at Disney. It was a stressful way to start the trip since mom is already terrified of flying.

We got some snacks and sat down to wait for our flight which was scheduled to depart at 12:10. The Browns showed up to the gate shortly after us. At 11:30 an announcement was made that our flight would be late. We eventually took off around 1:30. We were on a Delta Connections flight operated by Chataqua airlines and it was the world's smallest plane! I have problems with claustrophobia and generally have trouble flying because of it, but when I got on this plane it was just too much for me. I got right back off, I didn't think I was going to be able to take a 2 hour flight in such a small space. After a lot of talking from my mom and Katherine I was eventually coerced back onto the plane. The convincing argument they gave me was that if I didn't get on the plane I wasn't going to Disney World. I reluctantly got on the plane and took Dramamine which causes me to fall asleep. I was asleep within 20 minutes and didn't wake up until we were in Orlando at 3:30. I felt a little groggy, but mostly just excited that I was finally there!

We got off the plane and rode the first ride of the trip, the monorail to the main terminal and baggage claim. We gave the Browns directions to the Beach Club and made plans to call them that evening to possibly meet up for dinner. We gathered all of the bags while dad went to get our rental car, a Chrysler minivan. (Note: Dad arranged the rental car so I don't know what company he used or how much it was). We loaded the luggage and were on our way to Saratoga Springs!!! We arrived without any problems and went inside to check in. Mom and I went to Artist's Palette to get our refillable mugs while dad checked in and Katherine and Maria waited in the car. Dad also bought our park passes and we headed over to our building. We were on the 4th floor, but there was an elevator, unlike at Old Key West. Although we had requested a non-smoking unit and we had checked in before the 4pm check-in time, we were given a smoking unit. Although the resort is new, it smelled pretty bad so we called the front desk to complain. They said there was absolutely nowhere they could move us to until tomorrow, so we just stayed. I am allergic to smoke, and the smell was giving me a horrible headache. I was still drowsy from the Dramamine and I was just not having a magical start to my vacation!

We were not impressed with Saratoga Springs. We really felt stranded there since we are used to staying at either the Beach Club or the Boardwalk where you can just walk to Epcot or MGM and get on a monorail (via Epcot) to get to the Magic Kingdom. On top of feeling stranded, the whole resort is under construction still and it didn't seem very friendly. The smoke was also getting to us, so I called the front desk that connected me with a DVC agent to see about changing resorts. There was no availability at the Beach Club or the Boardwalk when I first talked to the CM, but when I told them it was going to be a huge problem with the smoke allergy, he said "hold on" and came back a few minutes later with a manager saying they had worked something out and we could stay at the Boardwalk with the exception of our last night. I don't know how a room all of a sudden opened up, but we went ahead and changed the reservation to switch to the Boardwalk in the morning. We knew we would have to switch back to Saratoga Springs for the last night, but we got put on a waiting list for Boardwalk and decided to hope for the best.

After getting everything squared away with our reservation, we called the Browns to see if they wanted to head to Downtown Disney for dinner. Kelly said the kids weren't feeling well and they were just going to get room service at the Beach Club and put them to bed early. We took the walkway to Downtown Disney which was about a 10 minute (chilly!) walk. It was already 7:00 and we didn't want to wait for dinner anywhere so we just went to Wolfgang Puck Express. We really enjoyed it, especially with the DVC discount!

We walked through the World of Disney for a little while and I already started shopping! I was still not feeling so great from taking the Dramamine though, so we headed back to our villa which smelled horribly of smoke. We opened the door to the balcony and cranked the heat. Everyone showered and went to sleep by 9:30 with a 7:00 wake-up call.

Highs: Driving through the entrance of Disney World, finally being here after months of planning and waiting!!!

Lows: Almost not getting on the plane, getting assigned to a smoking room.

Day 2: December 28, 2004

Plan: Magic Kingdom in the morning, Tony's Town Square Restaurant at 11:35 for lunch. Pool in the afternoon, Epcot for dinner at San Angel Inn at 5:30

Actual: This morning, Stitch woke us up at 7:00. I was expecting the traditional Mickey wake-up call, but I guess because of the new Stitch attraction they are having him make the calls! This was a happy surprise for me since I am a Stitch lover! We got up, dressed, breakfast, etc. and then had to pack up and leave our bags by the door for Bell Services to transfer them to the Boardwalk. We left around 7:40 with plans to pick up Mary and Andrew Jr. at the Beach Club before heading to the Magic Kingdom, but they called at 7:50 and cancelled, they were still too tired from traveling yesterday. I am used to the Browns canceling plans, they probably cancel their plans more often then they make it to them, so this was no surprise.

So, we drove over to the Grand Floridian and parked in the lot across the street from the resort (Note to DVC members: Your DVC card will get you into this lot). We hurried inside the Grand Floridian as we were running a little late and hopped on the monorail over to the MK. People were swarming in! Holiday crowds....

We normally start our visits to MK in Fantasyland, but we wanted to go ahead and ride Stitch's Great Escape before the line became unbearable, so we headed to Tomorrowland. The wait time was only 5 minutes which ended up really just being the pre-show. This set up the plot for the ride in which everyone is an employee at some kind of facility for alien criminals. Being new recruits, we were only trusted with level one criminals. However, this quickly changed when a level 3 arrived and we were given charge of him since he looked so harmless. This of course was Experiment 626, or Stitch, who quickly escaped, causing chaos and confusion. I loved this ride! It was so much better than Alien Encounter which was far too scary.

After Stitch, we headed right over to Buzz Lightyear which had a posted wait time of 15 minutes. We were on the ride in less than 10 minutes and I once again proved my extreme prowess on this ride by getting (predictably) the lowest score. I don't remember my exact score, but it was something like 10,000 with Katherine coming freakishly close to getting the highest possible score.

Although we were not done in Tomorrowland, we feared that the lines in Fantasyland would become unbearable later in the day so we headed over there. When in Fantasyland, the wait for Winnie the Pooh was already looking long, but it only had a posted wait time of 15 minutes which was exactly what it ended up being. Pooh was enjoyable as usual. However, the narration stopped at one point although the ride did not. We obviously weren't exactly "lost" in regard to the plot of the ride, but it was kind of disappointing to miss a portion of it. We also observed that the "Honey Pots" that you ride in seemed to be going faster than usual. We asked a CM about this and she said they can control the speed of the ride and when crowd levels are high, they make the ride go faster to allow more people to ride as well as to reduce the wait time. Interesting.

After Pooh we started working our way through Fantasyland. Although the wait for Snow White was only 20 minutes (it became 75 within the next hour), there was a CM ushering people into Mickey's PhilharMagic which would start in 5 minutes. So, we opted to do that. Since this is only our second visit that this attraction has been open and subsequently my second time seeing it, I particularly enjoyed it. I love the quick tour Donald gives you of all the movies-particularly the magic carpet scene! After the show we headed to Peter Pan's Flight which had a 45 minute wait so we got FP's with a return time of 11:10-12:10. We then went over to the Haunted Mansion which had no wait time posted so we walked in and had about a 5 minute wait. After picking up our hitch-hiking ghost, the Browns called us. They were now at MK and so we met in front of Winnie the Pooh. Due to an earlier fight, or something that we were not aware of, Kelly was in a very bad mood and Mary said something that set her off and she immediately stormed off with Caleb in his stroller. We sat on a bench and waited for her to return for about ten minutes and then decided to just enjoy our day. Kelly has an extremely short temper and we are used to this kind of behavior from her. Everyone including her had a cell phone, so we could always get in contact if necessary.

We decided to check out the Barnstormer wait, thinking Andrew Jr. would like it (and knowing I would!). It had a posted wait time of 25 minutes, which ended up taking about 15. The whole time Andrew Jr. kept trying to sneak up to the front of the line, begging us to let him ride. However, when we finally got to the front of the line he promptly attached himself to a post and refused to move. So Maria and I rode while Katherine took him to the exit. We had an extremely nice CM who promised him she would "put the ride on slow," and it wouldn't be scary, but he refused to ride. Oh well.

We then walked back over to Peter Pan's flight for our FP return. We only had 5 FP's, so dad gave his to Mary and we planned on just carrying Andrew Jr. and hoping the CM wouldn't ask for his FP. This worked fine, and Peter Pan was wonderful as usual, although it was obviously in fast mode as well!

Everyone but Katherine and I then went to ride Cinderella's Carousel while we went to get Splash Mountain FP's (12:45-1:45). We could only get 5 because the Brown's had FP for Pooh at the time. We all met back up at Tony's for our 11:35 PS. We were seated around 11:50 in the sun deck type room in the front of the restaurant. Kelly finally called at this point. She and Caleb were back at the resort and he was taking his nap. Lunch at Tony's was excellent as usual despite the fact that they have stopping giving bread at lunch and now charge if you want some! Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Parade was at 1:00 and it was 12:40 and the streets were PACKED. Dad and Andrew Jr. wanted to see the parade which the rest of us didn't care too much about, so dad gave his Splash Mountain FP to Mary and Mary, mom, Katherine, Maria, and I headed over to Fronteirland. Mary was really funny walking up to the ride. She must not have realized that if it is something that I ride it is not scary. She was so worried it was going to be intense! The stand-by line was 75 minutes and we got on in just 10 (with some dirty looks from the folks in stand-by, but what are you going to do?). After getting only slightly more than sprinkled, we headed to Main Street where dad, Andrew, and Andrew Jr. were. We got to see the tail end of the parade and then exited the park with the masses.

We got on the monorail to the Grand Floridian where we retrieved our car and dropped the Browns off at the Beach Club before heading over to the Boardwalk to check in. When we checked in, we told them about our dilemma of not having a room there for our last night and the CM basically (kindly of course) told us we were not likely to get one, the resort was booked the whole week. Our room was not yet ready but we were given a card with a phone number to call at 4:00 and get our room number. We went over to Bell Services who found and allowed us to access our luggage. We got out gym clothes, changed in the bathroom, and headed to the health club, Muscles and Bustles. We worked out for about an hour and then called from the gym to get our room number which was villa 5002. I guess since we got our room here at the last second it was literally the very last unit in the place! The walk from the elevator to our room was almost amusing, I swear it took 10 minutes! Because there was construction going on below us we paid for a standard view, but from our villa we could see the Swan and Dolphin, the waterway, and the Tower of Terror. I thought our view was amazing.

We thought about going down to the pool for 30 minutes or so, but since it was already 4:00 and we had a 5:30 PS for San Angel Inn, we decided to just shower and get ready. The Browns said they would join us and we planned to stop by their villa at the Beach Club at 5:00 and then take the walkway to the International Gateway entrance to Epcot. When we got to the Brown's villa, the plans changes. Both of the kids were sleeping and Kelly didn't want to just put them in the stroller so just Mary and Andrew joined us. We slowly walked around the World Showcase, working our way to Mexico. We entered the Mexico pavilion, checked in, and got a pager. There was no wait for El Rio del Tiempo, so we rode it. As much as I love this ride and think of it as a classic, they could really get some new footage from the beach scene from the 80's.

We waited about 15 minutes after getting off the ride before we were seated. Although we did have a large party, it seems like there is always a long wait for a table at this restaurant. Anyway, the wait was well worth it as usual as this is without a doubt my favorite restaurant in Disney World-the Sopa Azteca is amazing!

During dinner, Kelly called to say that the kids were awake and she wanted someone to come get her and they would come to the park and possibly watch IllumiNations. Figuring we would be the most expedient, Katherine and I headed over to the Beach Club-big mistake. Kelly gets in really bad moods and has a short temper and when she saw that we had come (not Mary or Andrew), she got very upset and refused to come to Epcot and demanded that we send Mary and Andrew back to the villa.

Not wanting to waste any time, Katherine and I headed back to Epcot and relayed our experience to Mary and Andrew who headed back to deal with Kelly. Mom, dad, and Maria were tired, so they also headed back to our villa. Not wanting to spend an evening in the room, Katherine and I decided to stay at Epcot. We heard British Invasion playing, so we headed over there. Katherine is British Invasion obsessed and sang along to every song as well as getting her photo with the band at the end of the show. We then headed over to Spaceship Earth. If I had to guess, I think it is safe to say that Katherine and I are quite possibly the most annoying people to ride this attraction with. From going to Disney so many times we have memorized a good portion of the narration which we proceeded to recite until we got a less than friendly glance from the people in front row of our "Time Machine Vehicle"--sorry!

When we got off Spaceship Earth since everything in Future World was closed and we didn't feel like trekking back to the World Showcase, we decided to hop a monorail to the MK. When we entered the park, Wishes was just ending and we got to enjoy the snow falling from the sky which seemed especially magical in Orlando. Although we were attempting to go the opposite way of throngs of people exiting the park, this actually worked to our advantage as the park really cleared out. Our first stop was Aloha Isle where we split a delicious pineapple float.

We then headed over to PotC which had a 10 minute wait time posted. We were in line and next to get on the ride when it shut down. We decided to wait for it to just start up again, but we ended up waiting 25 minutes before an announcement was made that everyone needed to turn around and exit the ride. I will leave it up to your imagination to visualize how well that worked. It took 10 minutes to get out of there. We spent 45 minutes in PotC without even getting to ride!

We walked over to Fantasyland to check the wait times there. Peter Pan and Winnie the Pooh both had 75 minute waits, but Snow White, the only attraction we had missed that morning had just a 15 minute wait so we got in line and rode that. We then headed back to my favorite thrill ride :-), The Barnstormer. We walked right on! After an invigorating ride, we decided to walk through Minnie's house. I guess it was because Toontown Fair is geared toward younger children, but the whole area seemed deserted. After Minnie's house, we walked through the large store in Toontown and noticed completely empty lines for the characters. Of course we jumped right into the Disney Princess line! Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Snow White were inside. We had someone take our picture with Sleeping Beauty who asked us if our home town was a long carriage ride away! After we got done with the characters and walked out of the store we were standing directly across from the Barnstormer-how convenient! Of course we had to ride for the third time of the day.

We walked into Tomorrowland next and got on the TTA with no wait, of course. We enjoyed our tour of Tomorrowland and then decided to depart at 11:30 although the MK didn't close until midnight, since we were depending on bus service we wanted to get an early start. We got a bus and were back to our villa, and in bed by 12:30 after a wonderful first day in Disney.

Highs: First day in Disney World, getting to switch to the Boardwalk (my favorite resort!), getting to spend some alone time with Katherine at the MK and Epcot in the evening.

Lows: Can't think of any...

Day 3: December 29, 2004

Plan: Spend the day at the pool, dinner at Whispering Canyon Cafe, 5:30

Actual: This morning we got up at the leisurely hour of 9:00. Although some people don't like to take days off during their Disney vacations, we typically only go to the parks every other day as otherwise my parents get too tired. We had breakfast in the room and headed down to the gym to work out. After working out and showering we headed down to the Luna Park Pool. We lay around in the sun for about an hour before deciding it was time for lunch. Since we had not yet made it to the grocery we decided to eat at Hurricane Hannah's. Since this is the counter service restaurant at the Beach Club pool we called the Browns to see what they were doing. They were at the pool, so they met us outside the pool and gave us their room keys so we could get into the pool. It was a beautiful day, at least at the beginning, and we enjoyed lunch and lying in the sun. When we got too hot sunbathing, we ventured into the pool. I spent most of my time swirling around in the middle pool-I cannot say enough good things about Stormalong Bay. In the middle of our swim, the sky became overcast and a light rain began to fall. Because of the weather we decided to return to our villa and change and go to the grocery. We had our car pulled up from valet parking (free for DVC members) and headed to the grocery. It always amazes me how just going off property to go to the grocery you can tell you aren't in Disney anymore. Everyone seemed like they were highly not enjoying their interlude from Disney magic, so we hurried through the store and back to our villa.

We had a 5:30 PS at the Whispering Canyon Cafe at Wilderness Lodge, so we showered and called for our car from valet once again. We love having a car at Disney, but this trip, parking was quite a challenge. We were fortunate enough to get the free valet parking, but the few times we did self-park for various reasons, the only available lot was a CM lot across the street. We eventually learned to call for our car not 15, but 30 minutes before we wanted to go anywhere. Anyway, we drove over to the Beach Club villas to get the Browns and had an extremely difficult time convincing the guard that we were really not going to park and stay there, we were just picking people up. We got the Browns and made a point of waving to the guard on our way out-hopefully it made him feel better.

We arrived at the Wilderness Lodge at 5:15. The architecture of this hotel always amazes me. It is almost hard to believe that it is a fairly new hotel, not a cozy old lodge. Once inside we checked in and took a few pictures by the floor to ceiling Christmas tree-an amazing sight! If anyone is ever in Disney around Christmas time, I highly recommend making a point of going to the lodge just to see the decorations. Our pager eventually went off and we were lead to a table at the far back of the restaurant. This was slightly disappointing with a 3 year old who wanted to see everything that was going on in the main dining room. Also, every time they had one of the pony races (twice during our meal), Andrew Jr. wasn't fast enough to get to the front of the restaurant in time to get a pony which led to some tears.

Our waiter was enjoyable, and dinner was great. After dinner, the Browns decided to head back to their villa (we had caravanned over) while we decided to check out the decorations at the resorts on the monorail loop. We got some Mickey bars and headed over to the Grand Floridian. Our "tour" of the resorts was extremely enjoyable and I got a lot of birthday presents! I always love the store at the Contemporary and being in the monorail loop always makes me feel like I am experiencing the essence of Disney World, maybe it is the close proximity of the MK. Anyway, after exploring the resorts and seeing the beautiful Christmas decorations we headed back to our villa. I made a wake-up call for 6:40 to make it to the 8:00 opening of the Animal Kingdom!

Highs: Swimming at Stormalong Bay, getting to see the Christmas decorations at Wilderness Lodge

Lows: Andrew Jr. getting upset during dinner since he never got to participate in the pony races.

Day 4: December 30, 2004

Plan: Animal Kingdom in the morning. MGM in the evening, dinner at Hollywood Brown Derby, 6:00

Actual: This morning, the 6:40 wake-up call came right on time, of course. It seems like since this is almost an hour and a half earlier than I get up at home this would seem early. But it always seems so much easier to get out of bed in Disney!

We planned to meet the Browns at the bus stop at the Beach Club at 7:30 since then we wouldn't have to try to meet up inside the park. So we got dressed, had breakfast, and walked over to the Beach Club and got to the bus stop right at 7:30. However, at 7:40 when the Browns still weren't there and one Animal Kingdom bus had already passed, we decided to call them. When they picked up the phone they asked us where we were. They were at the bus stop for the Beach Club Villas and we were at the bus stop for the hotel. We hurried over to the villas bus stop and waited until 7:50 when a bus finally came. When it did come, we couldn't all fit on. Andrew and dad were at the back of the bus, but we couldn't get on so we yelled to them that we would meet them at the entrance of the park. A nice lady said, "oh, you don't want to do that, we'll fit you on this bus," and made everyone scoot back so we could fit on.

The bus ride was long, especially for Kelly who was holding Andrew Jr. and Mary who was holding Caleb, and we were all standing. There were three grown men in seats next to us who never offered to give up their seats. Yes, they got there before us, and the seats were theirs, but it seems like they could let a mother or a grandmother holding a baby sit down. Disney transportation in peak season can be a nightmare.

Despite all the dilemmas, we arrived at AK at 8:10. We followed the masses back to Kilamanjaro Safaris. The wait took about 10 minutes and we were glad we chose to do this ride early in the morning. Andrew Jr. was completely awed by all of the animals. It was really cute. He was a particular fan of the giraffes.

After the ride, the Browns, who had not eaten breakfast in their villa, wanted breakfast, so we stopped in the Tusker House. Katherine and I were growing impatient so we decided to go check into Kali River Rapids FP's and meet up at It's Tough to be a Bug. When we got to KRR, the return time was in less than an hour and we wanted to ride right before we were planning on leaving since we would be wet. I guess since the weather was fairly cool, the standby time was only 5 minutes. We figured since we were traveling with a snail pack (I am telling you, these people move SLOW), we could catch them on their way from the Tusker House to ITtbaB. We were right, we easily caught the slowpokes and walked straight into the pre-show area. Andrew Jr. was not too happy about the darkness, but he enjoyed wearing his glasses at all times. I thoroughly enjoyed the show as usual and Andrew Jr. ended up liking it as well, although he jumped into his father's lap and missed the exiting bugs.

From ITtbaB, we split up. Kelly, Andrew, mom, Katherine, and Maria headed over to Dinosaur. Dad and I are not fans of this ride and we knew Andrew Jr. and Caleb couldn't ride it so we headed over to TriceraTops Spin with the kids. After the ride I played in the Boneyard with Andrew Jr. and Caleb fell asleep in his stroller and we all met back up. Then, everyone decided it was time to eat again (notice a theme?). We got milkshakes and popcorn at a stand in Dinoland. A woman was ushering people into the Tarzan show which was going to start in 20 minutes. Although I prefer Festival of the Lion King, it would be difficult to transport our snail pack all the way over to the Lion King Theater so we went in to Tarzan Rocks. While we were waiting for the show to start, Katherine and I quickly snuck out and got everyone FP's for Kali River Rapids. The show turned out to be quite a success and Andrew Jr. still talks about the roller-skating monkeys every time I babysit him.

After the show we headed over to Kali. I discussed the ride with Kelly and she decided Andrew Jr. would be able to ride it. Mom hates water rides so she stayed off with Caleb. Although we didn't need our FP's, the ride was extremely enjoyable. We wanted to see Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade which had been modified to Mickey's Jingle Jungle Parade for the holidays, but it wasn't until 4:00 and everyone was tired and hungry (yes, hungry again) so we decided to leave.

We got back to the Boardwalk around 1:00 and had lunch and then decided to head to the gym. We had a good workout and considered going to the pool but opted to just get ready for dinner and relax for some time. We all showered and took about a 30 minute nap and left for MGM around 4:00 with a 6:00 PS at the Hollywood Brown Derby. We called the Browns before we left and Andrew Jr. and Caleb were having fun at Stormalong Bay so we made plans to meet at the restaurant at 6:00.

We walked over to MGM, and when we arrived, the lines were all surprisingly short. We briefly discussed what to ride and began to head over to Star Tours but of course had to stop at a kiosk for popcorn and sodas (no surprise there). As we were eating our popcorn on a bench, a holiday dressed (wearing a scarf and hat) Piglet appeared. Naturally we jumped right in line to meet Piglet and we got a cute picture with him. The little girl who was in line directly after us ran up to Piglet the second we walked away but unfortunately she fell in the process. Piglet pretended to cry and covered his eyes until the little girl came over and got a hug which seemed to pacify her. The whole exchange was really cute.

We then went on with our plans to ride Star Tours, but as we walked by the trailers by Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Donald and Daisy walked out of one of the trailers and waved at us. Photo op! We just can't seem to pass up any opportunities to meet a character or get some food. We finally made it over to Star Tours, which dad and I don't ride, it makes us sick. So, dad and I decided to go see Muppet Vision 3-D while everyone else was on Star Tours. We ended up getting out right at the same time. It was very convenient.

It was about 5:40 then so we decided to just head over to the Hollywood Brown Derby. The Browns had already arrived when we got there and had a pager. This seems to be another extremely popular restaurant that we usually have a wait for. We were seated at a large table at 6:15. Although I thoroughly enjoyed the meal as usual, I regretted having it be a group meal. I warned the Browns ahead of time that it was not a casual restaurant and they might be happier somewhere else with two small children, but they wanted to come. They were not pleased with the prices in proportion to the portion sizes and the meal took a long time. They complained a lot about the food, the prices, and the crowd levels in the park. I had planned this trip for months, and this really was not making me feel good. Kellie started going on and on about how much she wasn't impressed with Disney and after all the planning I had done I had to excuse myself from the table to keep from crying!

Anyway, mom and I shared the cobb salad which was absolutely wonderful. Our family loves this salad and we would come to this restaurant just to eat it. We even try to make it at home. I also had the Thai noodle bowl with coconut tofu. I wasn't crazy about it, but it was pretty good. We were full so we skipped dessert.

By the time we got done with dinner, the 8:30 Fantasmic was standing room only and we didn't want to wait until the 10:00 show so we decided to head over to Epcot. We decided to walk since we had just had such a big meal. The walk from MGM to Epcot is pretty long and both Andrew Jr. and Caleb fell asleep in their stroller right about when we reached the Boardwalk. Kelly had been complaining about how she hadn't been getting to really see Disney World since the kids were always falling asleep or needing to eat, etc, so we thought since they were sleeping it would be the perfect opportunity for her to tour with us. Mary and Andrew offered to take the kids back to the room, but she refused, saying that they would accidentally wake them up when trying to transfer them from the stroller. Kellie complains no matter what. You can go out of your way to accommodate her and she won't stop complaining. Even though she didn't have to go back to the room with the kids she complained the rest of the trip that she wasn't having any fun because she wasn't getting to do things because of the kids. I thought she was coming to Disney for her kids....

Oh well. Our family along with Andrew continued on to Epcot. The only ride we all wanted to ride was Test Track and it had a 75 minute wait, so we passed that up. Ellen's Energy Adventure had no wait, but not everyone wanted to watch a 45 minute show. It seemed like everyone was basically just tired and we couldn't come to any agreements, so we decided to ride a neutral ride, Spaceship Earth. Next, everyone but dad and I rode Body Wars. We walked through the line with everyone and then when we told the CM that we wanted to exit, and not ride, she asked us if we wanted to ride a motion-free version. Although we turned it down (I get motion sick VERY easily), it was an interesting concept.

After Body Wars, we walked past Test Track which now only had a 40 minute wait, but IllumiNations was about to begin so we decided to just watch that while exiting the park. At that point, I said to Katherine, "If we go to the Magic Kingdom right now, we will have been to all four parks in one day." Well that decided it. Katherine, Maria, and I decided to journey over to the Magic Kingdom which was not scheduled to close until 1am! We took a quick trip through Ice Station Cool to confirm that Beverly is entirely unbearable and then headed to the monorail.

When we got through security and into the park, we headed straight back to Aloha Isle for some pineapple floats. After our delicious floats, we headed over to PotC since we had previously missed it when it shut down. However, when we got up to the ride there was a man standing outside telling people it was shut down for the remainder of the night due to "technical difficulties." We were really bummed. We were extremely tired, and the park was packed and Spectromagic was about to begin so the walkways were impassable. Amanda wanted to try to ride rides during Spectro, but I really wanted to see it since I enjoy this parade. I won and thoroughly enjoyed Spectro. There seemed to be a mass exodus at the end of the parade and we were completely overwhelmed by the sheer number of people around us. So we slipped into Pecos Bill's Cafe, got three hot chocolates and sat down to wait out the crowds. It was a very chilly night and the hot chocolate was greatly appreciated.

In Pecos Bill's at midnight, I realized it was officially my birthday!! I was very happy to be with my sisters in the MK on my birthday! We did have a strange conversation at that point on the fact that although it was a new day since it was past midnight, a day would not be subtracted from our hopper passes since we came into the park "yesterday." Strange. After we warmed up we left Pecos Bill's and it was like a miracle, the crowds were gone! We headed over to Jungle Cruise where we had about a 5 minute wait. Although this ride is extremely nostalgic to me, riding it on the same day you ride Kilamanjaro Safari kind of takes away some of its value.

After the cruise since we were in Adventureland we rode the Magic Carpets of Aladdin with a 5 minute wait. At that point it was 12:40 and the park closed at 1 so we decided to head out. We got home and in bed around 1:30 and placed a 9:00 wake-up call for our character breakfast. We may have been dead tired, but we officially went to all four parks in one day. I can only imagine what will happen if they add a fifth park...

Highs: Going to all four parks in one day, SpectroMagic

Lows: Kellie complaining after I worked so hard to plan this trip

Day 5: December 31, 2004

MY BIRTHDAY!

Plan: Breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, 10:00. Spend the day at the pool. Dinner at Spoodle's 6:00, watch IllumiNations from the bridge between the Boardwalk and Beach Club.

Actual: This morning I practically jumped out of bed for my 9:00 wake-up call from Stitch. I can't think of anything that could make me happier than being in Disney with my family for my birthday! We planned to pick up the Browns at the Beach Club at 9:30 and caravan over to the Grand Floridian for breakfast at 1900 Park Fare, so we got dressed and drove over. It turned out that Andrew couldn't come as he had a high fever and stomach ache...a bad sign of things to come. Kellie informed us that last night they had changed rooms. Their villa had an Epcot view and every night when the fireworks went off she said it was "bright, loud, and annoying," so they asked to switch. They had a view of IllumiNations from their balcony and they asked to switch rooms! Nothing makes that woman happy. You could give her a room in Cinderella's Castle and she would complain that Cinderella wasn't in her room 24 hours a day. Oh well...

We arrived at the restaurant at little before 10:00 and using valet parking and the place was absolutely packed! I didn't want to eat anything before coming here since they have such a beautiful buffet and I wanted to take advantage of it, but clearly I should have. We were not seated until 10:40 and by that time I was starving. I become extremely unpleasant (I'll admit it!) when I am hungry and that is what was starting to happen. As soon as we were seated I headed up to the buffet and felt much better.

I got a lot of attention from the characters from wearing my birthday pin. Although Andrew Jr. was extremely enamored by each and every character, I still maintain that I enjoy character meals as much as a small child. While waiting for our table we met Mary Poppins in the lobby and once we were seated we met Pooh, Rabbit, Eeyore, Alice in Wonderland, and Wendy. Meeting Mary Poppins brought back a very vivid memory that I had previously forgotten. For my seventh or eighth birthday we came to Disney World and I met Mary Poppins. Although I was too "mature" at the time to believe that the costume characters were real, when I saw Mary Poppins, I was speechless. The fact that she was an actual human had me completely convinced that I had in fact met the REAL Mary Poppins. I went around telling anyone and everyone who would listen that Mary Poppins had wished me a happy birthday! I love all of the wonderful memories that Disney World brings back.

After completely stuffing myself (and finishing off my breakfast with soft-serve ice-cream!), our waitress came out with a cupcake for me. Mom had snuck and given her two candles (a "1" and a "9") at some point without me seeing and they were in the cupcake! After a thoroughly enjoyable birthday breakfast, we decided to take Andrew Jr. on the monorail thinking he would like it. Mom and dad went and sat by the pool with Caleb who was sleeping in his stroller. The monorail turned out to be not so much fun. Every time it stopped (MK, Contemporary, Polynesian, and TTC), Andrew Jr. wanted to get off and ride rides thinking we were at the MK. We were packed into our car and not even able to sit down. After every stop, Kellie would calm Andrew Jr. down and explain that we weren't getting off yet and then we would stop again and it would start all over! Needless to say, this was not a pleasant experience.

When we got back to the GF and met up with mom and dad, Kellie decided she was just going to take Andrew Jr. to the MK since he wanted to go so bad. Luckily, we were able to talk her out of this. Although at the time the park was not filled to capacity, it became so shortly thereafter. That is not a scene you would want to experience with a three-year-old who has no concept of lines and not getting what he wants exactly when he wants it.

Dad pulled the car up, and we headed back to the Boardwalk, first dropping the Browns off at the Beach Club. Since it was my birthday, I decided to skip the gym and head down to the Luna Park pool. Two ladies down at the pool who had never seen a Disney "Today is my Birthday" pin were quite enamored with mine that I was wearing. I called my aunt, who was watching my dog, to check up on everything and she reported that back home it was pouring down rain and there were patches of partially melted snow everywhere....and I was laying on a lounge chair in the sun with a strawberry daiquiri. Does life get any better? After we had been sunning and swimming for some time, the Browns showed up and we all swam together for awhile before deciding to head over to Stormalong Bay.

On the way over, Kellie decided to get Andrew Jr. a corndog from the hotdog stand on the Boardwalk. The corndog was extremely hot and Kellie complained for about 10 minutes about how dumb it was to give a three-year-old such hot food. All I could think about was how if the corndog had been cold she would have complained that it was sitting out too long. I maintain to this day that I will never travel with that woman again. Anyone who doesn't like Disney World has serious problems in my book!

We had an extremely enjoyable swim at Stormalong Bay. I could get into the habit of being in Disney on my birthday every year, now if only I could guarantee that I could finance that! After our swim, we returned to our villas to get ready for my birthday dinner at Spoodle's. We had a PS for 6:00pm and we decided to just meet at the restaurant a few minutes beforehand. When we arrived a little before 6, the restaurant was extremely crowded and we were given a pager. I witnessed multiple parties being turned away, they were booked for the whole evening. Glad I made my arrangements in advance!

We were seated around 6:20, and Andrew Jr. almost immediately fell asleep in his stroller which was great since he hates restaurants and misbehaves when you try to get him to sit still and eat. Caleb, on the other hand, chose to grab Katherine's Coke and pour it directly into Maria's lap. At this point I was very glad we were staying at the Boardwalk for two reasons. We were able to put Maria's pants in the washing machine in our room that night, and she was able to walk back to the room, change, and be back at Spoodle's within 10 minutes!

For dinner I had a pasta dish, I don't recall what exactly, but it was good although it was a little plain. Everyone else seemed to really enjoy their food as well. At the end of the meal, our waiter came over with a cake with the "1" and "9" candles in it that mom had somehow passed to him once again. I almost fell out of my seat when I saw the cake, it was sooo cute. Mom and Dad had ordered it from the Boardwalk Bakery, and it was Mickey's face. However, instead of icing it had a thick, fudge-like coating. It was so smooth and perfect, it looked just like Mickey, not to mention that the inside was the heaviest yellow butter cake that blended perfectly with the fudge. My mouth is watering just thinking about it...

After dinner, Kellie put Caleb in the stroller with Andrew Jr. and he too fell asleep. Mary offered to take the kids back to the room, and Kellie agreed. We decided to go to Downtown Disney to go shopping. We got right on a bus and were at Downtown Disney by 8:00. However, the driver warned everyone getting off that anyone trying to get back to their resort right after midnight would have up to a two hour wait and bus ride since Pleasure Island would be so crowded for New Year's Eve. Yikes! Well that put the fear of God in us so we decided to make it our goal to leave DD by 10:30.

Kellie had pretty much bought no souvenirs on the trip and wanted to do some serious shopping, so we headed to the World of Disney. The entire area was completely packed. We eventually got to the store and shopped for over an hour. Kellie got Mary a cute pair of Minnie Mouse pajamas and slippers. Caleb wakes up at 5 every morning, and although Andrew Jr. doesn't get up until 7:30, Kellie always has to get up at 5 with Caleb. However, during this vacation, Mary had been getting up with Caleb so Kellie could sleep in, so she wanted to get her a gift.

I did a pretty good job of birthday shopping. I got a princess photo album, Minnie Mouse pajamas, and Winnie the Pooh pencils. I also got a tote with the "Where Magic Lives" logo on it.

Next we stopped over at Team Mickey. Kellie got the kids some Mickey football apparel and then we headed back to the bus stop. We got to the bus stop at 10:30, but waited for a bus until 10:45. When the bus arrived and I stood up to board, I proceeded to drop the box which contained the remainder of my birthday cake right on the ground. The cake seemed to jump out of the box and landed right-side up. I couldn't bring myself to just leave the world's most adorable cake sitting there on the ground, or even throw it away since I was in such shock. I placed it back in the box and boarded the bus, but needless to say, it got thrown away upon our arrival at the Boardwalk.

Kellie got off the bus at the Beach Club stop, and we said goodnight. We then headed back to our villa for a few minutes and turned on Dick Clark?s New Year's Rockin' Eve which was being hosted by Regis Philbin. We enjoyed this program until about 11:30 at which point we decided to go walk around the Boardwalk and see what was going on.

There were swarms of people on the Boardwalk, along with entertainers and music on the green space. It is crazy to think about how many people were there considering the fact that the Magic Kingdom, MGM, and Epcot were all filled to capacity! We made a full circle around the Boardwalk and Beach Club and stopped on the bridge between the Beach Club and Boardwalk to watch the fireworks. At 11:45, a special extended version of IllumiNations began. Although we couldn't see any of the movement of the ball in the World Showcase Lagoon, the fireworks were fantastic! I don't think I have ever seen a finale quite like that one. It was a great ending to a magical birthday!

We worked our way back to our room through swarms of people and opened a bottle of sparkling grape juice. We toasted each other, and I called some family members and friends to wish them a happy new year. We went to bed around 1:00 despite all of the noise that continued on the Boardwalk into the night.

Highs: Being in Disney World with my family on my birthday, IllumiNations

Lows: Dropping my cake

Day 6: January 1, 2005

Plan: I scheduled a massage for myself at the Grand Floridian spa at 11:30. Spend the day at the pool, dinner at Kona Cafe, 5:30. Wishes cruise.

Actual: This morning we slept in until about 9:30. We made plans for Mary to meet us in our room at 11:00 for our 11:30 spa treatments at the Grand Floridian. This turned out to be a big mistake. Mary arrived right at 11 and we called the valet to pull our car up. We waited for our car until 11:10 before we went to inquire about where it was. They said they would get it right away. We waited until 11:20 before we asked about our car again and they said they had "misplaced" our keys. They informed us that they had found them at 11:25 and said "give us about 10 more minutes to get the car." We obviously didn't have time for this so we decided to find the car ourselves.

We made it to the Grand Floridian around 11:40 with dad driving recklessly and checked in and I started my massage at 11:50. The massage itself was wonderful, but the therapist had to stop at 12:30 regardless of the fact that I had started late. And although our tardiness was Disney's fault, we were of course still charged the full price. (*Note: When I got home, I called Disney to complain about this incident and had the FULL price of the massage refunded to my credit card.*)

Mom had a hair cut appointment for 12:00 (my birthday gift to her), so we went to sit by the pool while she finished up her cut. We ordered some daiquiris and pina coladas and lunch from the pool bar and just enjoyed sitting in the sun. When mom came back, her hair looked great. She was really happy with it. At that point Maria decided she wanted a hair cut too. So we walked up to the salon, and they had an appointment in an hour, so we booked it and went back out to the pool.

After all of the hair cutting was complete, we headed back to the Boardwalk, dropping Mary off at the Beach Club first. We decided to go to the gym and I just did a brief workout on the elliptical since my massage therapist told me it would be best to let my muscles rest for the day after a massage. At 3:30, everyone decided to go to the pool, but I opted to just stay in the room alone. I updated my trip report notes and took a long bath in the Jacuzzi tub! I really just needed some alone time. As much as I love my family, sometimes you just need a break.

Everyone eventually came dragging in from the pool and we got ready for our 5:30 PS at Kona Cafe. Our plan was to have dinner and then do some shopping around the monorail loop before getting onto our 10:00 Wishes cruise. I called the marina at the Polynesian right before we left just to confirm that we were supposed to be there at 10:00, and they said that yes, we were. I was extremely excited about the cruise as I have never taken a fireworks cruise and getting this one reserved involved me waking up at 6:30 three days in a row!!

We got to the Polynesian right on time after picking up Mary at the Beach Club and were seated immediately. It was evident that we really didn't need a PS for this restaurant, but better safe than sorry. I ordered the coconut crusted chicken, which I thought was great. I would highly recommend it to those who like coconut. Every time we go to Disney, we have an "Itinerary Dinner" where we go over our plans and PS's for the trip. For dinner I cook recipes from my Cooking with Mickey cookbook. This year I had made the coconut chicken, so I really enjoyed getting to try the real version of it! I also have to comment on the Kona Salad that I had. It was huge and it was amazing with different varieties of lettuce, cheese, and nuts. We had a couple of great desserts as well. Overall, we had a wonderful dinner at Kona and would definitely return!

After dinner we decided to shop. We had bought sparkling grape juice to take with us on the cruise and at this point we realized we had forgotten it back at the Boardwalk. We talked about going back to the resort to pick it up, but we decided to just shop and enjoy it another night. We looked around at the Polynesian a bit, but we had just shopped there a few days ago, so we decided to get on the monorail and go elsewhere. We got off at the Contemporary and shopped for quite some time. I got a Mickey Mouse ice cube tray for my freezer at my dorm and a Minnie Mouse t-shirt for my dog. I also "snuck" and got a nightshirt for mom for her birthday.

We then headed over to the Grand Floridian via monorail and just looked around for a few minutes. We got back to the Polynesian at 9:30 and decided to just relax in some of the chairs on the lower level. It was really nice to just sit and relax and enjoy the atmosphere. Around 9:50, we went to go check-in for our cruise. The employee at the marina told us he was unable to check us in and he would have to go get his manager.

We were a little confused, but the manager arrived and told us that the Magic Kingdom had modified their hours just that morning and had decided to set off the fireworks at 9 instead of 10 and no one at the marina had been informed of this change. Needless to say, we (along with 4 other families who were present) were very disappointed. Of course, the Wishes cruises were all booked up for the remainder of our stay, but they promised they were going to make it right. We left our room number at the Boardwalk so they could call us.

Yesterday, Mary told us that she wasn't very impressed with the service at Disney World. This experience of course contributed to that so I felt kind of bad. (*Note: Upon returning home, Mary said she is unlikely to ever return to Disney, she wasn't impressed at all!!!*)

We stopped and got gas, dropped Mary off at the Beach Club and were in bed at 11:30 with an 8:00 wake-up call and a plan to walk to MGM which was scheduled to open at 9.

Highs: Getting a wonderful massage, spending some alone time in the room.

Lows: The valet losing our keys and getting to my massage late, missing our Wishes cruise.

Day 7: January 2, 2005

Plan: MGM in the morning with lunch at Mama Melrose, 12:00. Pool during the afternoon, return to MGM for dinner at the 50's Primetime Cafe.

Actual: This morning, Stitch woke us up at 8:00 as planned. We got dressed and had breakfast in the room and were walking to MGM by 8:45. The Browns had decided not to go with us since they figured Andrew Jr. wouldn't like MGM. They never went to MGM at all!!!! They of course wouldn't listen to us when we assured them that Andrew Jr. would have fun at the "Honey, I Shrunk the Kids" playground, Playhouse Disney, and all of the shows. Oh well, their loss.

We entered MGM with swarms of humanity at 9:00. We headed straight back to ToT which was more or less a walk-on. Dad and I decided to walk through the ride without going on the elevator portion and Katherine, Maria, and mom would ride. After ToT we headed over to RnRC to ride that before it got too crowded-no such luck! It was only 9:30 and the posted wait time was already 70 minutes!! We opted to get FP's with a return time of 10:10-11:10.

Next we wandered over to the Great Movie Ride. Last time we were here we didn't get to ride this attraction and the time before that it was closed, so we were ready to ride. We thoroughly enjoyed our journey into the movies after only a 10 minute wait. We then slowly walked over to RnRC and used the FP's. Once again, Dad and I walked through the ride and Katherine, Maria, and mom rode. We waited for them on the wall outside of the gift shop/exit. While we were waiting, I called my cousin Emily. She had come with us on our last trip and LOVED the RnRC sooo much. She could hear the music playing and was pretty sad not to be there!

Eventually everyone came off the ride and we decided to head over to the Backlot Tour. However, we were distracted (it doesn't take much) by an ice cream stand. It may have only been 10:30, but I was in Disney World, so I had ice cream! We sat and ate for awhile and continued munching our way over to the Backlot Tour. The wait time was about 10 minutes. As we entered the pre-show area, the previous group was still exiting to go to the ride vehicles. We decided to just exit with them and skip the show. Although the pre-show is neat, it hasn't changed in a few years, and I have gotten my fill of it.

Everything went as usual on the tour, except it was shorter. They got rid of the entire "neighborhood" section including the facades of houses from shows like The Golden Girls. They are using the whole area for the new "Lights, Motors, Actions!" stunt show. I was extremely disappointed as that was my favorite part of the tour and I am not too interested in a car show, although Disney's version might be good.

After the show we decided to head over to Mama Melrose for our 12:00 PS even though it was only about 11:45. We were really excited to try this restaurant. Although we have been to Disney 20+ times, we have never been to Mama Melrose! It turned out the restaurant didn't even open until noon, so we just chatted with a CM from Cincinnati, our hometown.

The restaurant was very cute. I am not sure if they always have lights up or if it was just for Christmas, but we really enjoyed all the lights on the ceiling. I was not feeling well at all for some reason, so I just ordered some minestrone soup. Everyone enjoyed the meal and we would probably return to this restaurant.

Amanda then had an appointment for a hair cut at the Beach Club salon, so it was time to go. As our dinner PS was at MGM as well I had initially planned to spend the whole day at MGM, maybe alone, and watch the shows and parades. Maria volunteered to stay with me, but I really wasn't feeling well so I didn't want to push it. Everyone headed to the Beach Club and Maria and I tagged along a bit looking for a gift for my aunt who was watching our dog. We found nothing and headed back to the room.

When we got back to the Boardwalk, there was a message on our phone from someone at the marina at the Polynesian. He told us he had found a family of 4 that was willing to share their Wishes cruise with us tonight or we could go on the cruise tomorrow night alone. If we opted to go alone, it would be on a boat they were bringing in from another local marina. It is impressive that Disney would go this far to make the situation right. As we had been planning on eating at the 50's Primetime Cafe tonight and everyone was really looking forward to it, we decided to go tomorrow night.

We had planned on eating at Jiko on January 3rd, but since we would now be going on the fireworks cruise, we thought it would be better to be closer to the Polynesian. So I called and canceled our Jiko PS and made a new PS for the Grand Floridian Cafe. That way we would just have to hop on the monorail to get over to the Poly for our cruise. I then called the marina over at the Poly to let them know of our decision.

After getting everything settled, everyone decided to go for a run. I really wasn't feeling too good at this point, and sometimes exercise helps me to feel better. However, I had a knee injury in the past year and I am not supposed to run, so I went to the gym alone and worked out on the elliptical. I then updated my trip report notes and showered. Everyone came back and showered and we met Mary on the walkway to MGM at 5:30 for our 6:00 PS at the 50's Primetime Cafe. Mary was really looking forward to trying this restaurant since she grew up in the 50's. We arrived at the restaurant and checked in right at 6:00. It seems like this is another one of the restaurants that you just always have to wait for a table at.

We waited about 20 minutes before being seated. Our waitress was far from enthusiastic from the get-go, which was disappointing since Mary had never experienced this restaurant. Regardless, we still enjoyed our meal and the waitress a few tables over from us was very amusing, making one grown man stand in the corner for not clearing his plate and then asking for dessert.

After dinner, Mary left to go be with the Browns. Tonight was the very first time that Disney tried out evening extra magic hours. It was 7:00 and the park was closing. However, it remained open until 10pm for resort guests. You were supposed to get a wristband to show before entering any attraction, which would ID you as a resort guest. However, they quickly ran out of wristbands and we didn't get any. We were informed that we could simply show our resort ID at the entrance of any ride and it would serve the same purpose as the wristbands. This didn't really work as clearly the policy had not been explained to all CM's. On each ride we were questioned as to why we didn't have wristbands and the CM's were generally less than polite about it. I am sure Disney will quickly work out this glitch in the system.

We decided to go see the Osbourne family spectacle of lights as it was the last night it would be showing. It was fabulous. There was fake snow falling and carolers. It was extremely beautiful! In spite of the immense crowds, I maintain that it is worth it to travel to Disney around Christmas time just to see all the decorations. At one point, a man came up to us with a hat to put money into. He was supposed to look like a homeless person since we were on New York Street. He was just plain creepy though. He kept asking me and Katherine if we would give him a hug or a kiss on the cheek. I am still not convinced he was a CM, he seemed too creepy to be associated with Disney. At one point he grabbed me and started dancing down New York Street. I told him I was not amused with him at all and that I didn't want to dance and he just let go and bolted away before we could ask him any questions. All in all it was a very strange and creepy experience, and looking back at it I wish I would have asked a CM about him. Oh well, nothing bad happened, and he eventually left us alone!

While everyone kept looking around, I spent most of my time just sitting on a bench. It seemed that all of the walking was catching up to me and my injured knee was throbbing. My whole body was aching, and I just felt really bad...foreshadowing of what was to come!

Anyway, everyone wanted to ride ToT. Dad and I didn't feel like walking through with them again and it had a 20 minute wait so we decided to go see Muppet Vision 3D followed by Voyage of the Little Mermaid instead. Although it was only 9:15 we then decided to head back to the villa. I was still not feeling well and my knees really hurt so we took the boat back. We had to start packing up then for our move to Saratoga Springs for our last night.

Packing was quite a lengthy event since we had been in the room for a week. Once we had our suitcases by the door I made a walk-up call for 8:00 since the Magic Kingdom was opening at 9 and we went to bed. I was still not feeling well and my stomach was really starting to bother me so I had a glass of club soda and tried to fall asleep. At 1am I sat straight up in bed and realized I was going to be sick. To avoid getting too graphic or unpleasant, I will just say I had a terrible night which involved getting sick 5 times and contracting a fever. At one point, Maria woke up crying. During the night, she too had gotten an extremely high fever. She was delusional, and seeing things. My dad is a doctor and my mom is a nurse, so they took care of us during the night with club soda and ibuprofen to keep our fevers down. However, needless to say, no one got much sleep!

Highs: Osbourne Family spectacle of lights-they were soo beautiful!

Lows: The creepy "homeless" man, getting really really sick

Day 8:January 3, 2005

Plan:Magic Kingdom in the morning. Pool in the afternoon. Dinner at Grand Floridian Cafe, Wishes cruise

Actual: After being up all night, the 8:00 wake-up call came all too early and my response was a rapid picking up and setting down of the phone. The whole night was a blur, and I am not sure what type of rearranging took place, but I woke up in the king bed with mom and Maria. I later learned that dad and mom wanted us to be close to them since we were getting sick so they put us in the bed with mom. Dad slept on the couch and they put the mattress from the sleep sofa on the floor and that is where Katherine slept. Interesting.

I feel back to sleep and didn't wake up until 11:00 when housekeeping knocked on the door. We were supposed to have checked out by 11, but mom and dad didn't want to wake us up. This was one time that it was really great to have the villa. Mom, dad, and Katherine went in the living room and ate breakfast and watched TV while Maria and I were in the other room with the door closed able to sleep. It would have really been a hassle if we were in one hotel room!

I got out of bed even though I was really shaky, and I got to hear mom having a phone conversation with the front desk which went something like this (the replies were later filled in for me by mom):

Mom: Could I please speak to a manager? CM: Of course *brief time on hold* Mom: We are in room 5002 and we are supposed to be checking out this morning to move to Saratoga Springs. However, I just wanted to let you know that I was up all night with two kids getting sick. Manager: Eew Mom:Yes, so I just wanted to let you know that we are not going to be able to vacate the villa since my children are still too sick. Manager: I understand ma'am, that will be fine. I hope everyone feels better soon.

I have to take this moment to mention that we called the front desk on a daily basis to ask if there was any availability at the Boardwalk our last night so that we wouldn't have to move to Saratoga Springs. We said we would be willing to stay in any type of room, but we were told over and over again that there was no availability, the hotel was entirely booked. So apparently, if you just tell Disney you aren't leaving, like my mom did, you will be a lot more successful.

After settling that, mom, dad, and Katherine decided to go for a run. I just lay on the couch for awhile before getting up the energy to take a shower. I still had a fever, and I thought that might make me feel better. The hot shower was wonderful, but it apparently expended all of my energy and I then took about an hour nap on the couch. Shortly thereafter, everyone returned from their run and decided to put a pizza in the oven for lunch. Not yet ready for greasy food I decided chicken noodle soup sounded good. At this point I unintentionally sent mom on a lengthy quest. She wanted to get me the soup since it was all I felt like eating. She first called room service, which had no soup but referred her to the sundry shop at the Boardwalk. Down at the sundry shop there was no soup either, but they called over to the shop at the Yacht/Beach Club to check there. They had soup there, so mom walked over and bought it along with saltines. I ate a little and we then headed over to Stormalong Bay. We met the Browns there and everyone swam while Maria and I were sequestered on chairs far from everyone else to keep our sickness to ourselves. I once again fell asleep. It seemed like all I wanted to do was sleep.

When it was time to go for dinner, I dragged myself back over to the Boardwalk. When we got there, everyone wanted to shower for dinner. I was still feeling really weak and I knew that I needed to lie down if I was going to make it to dinner. I still had a fever, so I took some medicine, and slept on the couch. However, apparently I feel into a really deep sleep because when I woke up everyone was gone, with the exception of Maria, who was sleeping too. I called dad on his cell phone and he said he had decided we needed to sleep so they didn't wake us up for dinner, but they were at the Grand Floridian Cafe and they would pick us up after dinner for the Wishes cruise if we felt up to it. I figured I could tough it out even if I didn't feel well. After all, I hadn't gotten up at 6:30 on a Saturday to book a fireworks cruise I wasn't going to go on!

Maria and I got dressed and met them outside the hotel about 30 minutes later and we headed over to the Polynesian. We checked in at the marina right on time and were ready to settle the bill when the CM operating the marina informed us that our cruise would be free due to the earlier complication. That was a really nice gesture on Disney's part! We took about a 45 minute cruise around the lagoon during which our captain told us some really fun Disney trivia. He also showed us the "shoe tree." It is a tree on one of the small islands in the lagoon where everyone in the college program at Disney leaves a pair of shoes on their last night. It is basically just a tree with shoes all over it! He then informed us that he would be visiting the tree later that night as he was going home to Alaska the next day. He had worked in the college program at the Polynesian marina, and this was his last fireworks cruise ever.

We parked a couple of minutes before the fireworks were supposed to start and cracked open our bottle of sparkling grape juice. The show was beautiful of course but it was disappointing that we couldn't hear any of the narration which is a large part of the beauty of "Wishes," in my opinion. Our captain was really nice and drove us around the lagoon for another 15 minutes after Wishes to wait for the electric water parade to begin. He then parked us right in front of the parade and let us watch the whole thing! We then docked, tipped our captain extremely generously, and headed inside. Maria then decided she wanted a hamburger from Captain Cook's. We all tried to convince her that this wasn't a good choice for someone recovering from a stomach flu, but she insisted and we got her a burger.

We then returned to the Boardwalk and packed up some loose ends before going to bed. Although we felt that we had missed a lot at the Magic Kingdom in particular, we just made plans to go to the pool tomorrow and take it easy.

Highs: Our great captain who gave us a wonderful extended Wishes cruise, not having to move to Saratoga Springs

Lows: Being sick at Disney after I had planned for and anticipated this trip for an entire year!

Day 9: January 4th, 2005

Plan: Pack up, maybe some pool time, flight at 6:35pm.

Actual: This morning, mom, dad, and Katherine went for a run while Maria and I slept in. They got back around 11:00, which was when we were supposed to check out, and they woke us up. Housekeeping then came by but when we told them we were not yet ready to leave they were very kind and told us they would check back in an hour. We all put our swimming suits on and called Bell Services to have our luggage stored. They told us they were extremely backed up and no one would be up for the luggage for at least 45 minutes. They said to just leave it in the room right by the door and make sure all of it was marked with our names. We got everything packed up and had the extremely sad experience of leaving the room for the last time.

We headed down to the pool and discussed lunch options. We settled on the Big River Brewery right on the Boardwalk, just because we didn't feel like getting in the car. Rather than just leaving all our stuff by the pool we went to the gym and got a couple of lockers and put it all in there. We then walked over to the restaurant and were immediately seated. We chose to sit outside, and the Boardwalk was empty! All the holiday travelers must have cleared out. Lunch was okay, I would never go to this restaurant again, but it sure was convenient.

After lunch we all went back to the pool and moped in anticipation of our departure. Dad went to the business center at one point and checked us in for our flight and printed our boarding passes. We spent our last few hours going down the slide and soaking up the Florida sun. At 4:00 we headed to the locker rooms to rinse off and change. I changed from a swimming suit to sweatpants and a sweatshirt in anticipation of going home-not a good feeling!

I made one final stop at the gift shop for chocolate bars and rice crispy treats for the trip home and we were on the road at 4:30. Driving out of Disney was horrible as usual, and upon arrival at the airport, all of the magic was gone and it was just a crowded airport. Dad was not coming home with us. We own a condo about 4 hours north of Orlando, and he was going to spend the next week there. The rest of us all had to get back to school though. Dad dropped us off at curbside check-in a little after 5 and it was a mob scene. We said goodbye to dad and then checked in and went to wait at our gate. The Browns were already there. They had spent the day at Animal Kingdom and said it was completely empty!

The flight home was uneventful and long, and we were greeted by a snowstorm in Columbus with 3 inches of snow already on the ground...goodbye Orlando! Mom and I went to get the car while Maria and Katherine gathered the bags. However, the car wouldn't start, and we had to call AAA to jump it which was not really a pleasant experience after a long day. Nonetheless, we made it home around 10:30 after a truly magical vacation!

Highs: Soaking up the Orlando sun
Lows: Leaving!

Final comments:

Resort: Although our bad experience at Saratoga Springs was due to being assigned a smoking room, I really don't think we'd ever return there. We don't spend a lot of time at Downtown Disney, and other than that it just seems so far away from everything else. We once again loved the Boardwalk though, and it remains our favorite resort. You just can't beat walking out of Epcot or MGM and right back to your room without having to get on a bus. The villas there are beautiful, and they meet all our needs.

Dining: We really enjoyed all of our dining experiences this trip. Although we only tried one new restaurant (Mama Melrose), we really enjoyed revisiting old favorites, and I particularly enjoyed San Angel Inn and Tony's.

Overall: I thought traveling with a big group which included children was really going to be fun. However, I think you have to be really careful when choosing your traveling party. Before this trip, Kellie and I emailed back and forth. I sent her restaurant menus and tentative plans. She always gave me input and suggestions and said she was so excited to go. However, when we got there, she didn't want to do anything I had planned and we only spent one day together as a group in the parks. Not only did this really hurt my feelings since I worked so hard to plan this trip, but I also felt like I had wasted my time. I had taken a previous trip with my parents, sisters, grandparents, aunts, and cousins, and we had a blast and they all thoroughly appreciated my planning. I think you just have to be really careful who you decide to go with.

I worked extremely hard on planning this trip, and to get sick on the last day was a real bummer. I was already sad that it was our last day and it just made it worse that I had to spend the day sleeping. However, overall, this was a wonderful trip to Disney, and I am already asking myself the inevitable question of when I can go again!

Thanks for reading, until next time,

Olivia Wray