WDW — September 2006 (CR) by Sherry Cote

This trip wasn't the original plan for Sherry and her husband but using it as a graduation gift for her son and his girlfriend was a sneaky way to get back to Walt Disney World and to take another trip as a family.

Sherry Cote -- September 2006 - Walt Disney World (CR)

Family Trip September 9-16, 2006 Contemporary Garden Wing Room
Cast Members

Sherry - Me (40) recently unemployed ULTIMATE DISNEY FANATIC, Planner and Organizer16 WDW trips and 1 DLR trip, NO motion sickness Rides ALL Attractions.

Steve - Husband (44), Accountant Good Sport, The Sensible one (keeps my feet on the ground) Driver, 10 trips to WDW and 1 DLR trip. Some motion sickness issues.

Stephen - Son (22) Chemist, Recent Grad, Co Driver, 6 Trips to WDW

No Motion Sickness, Thrill ride seeker.

Sara - Girlfriend (21) Chemist, Recent Grad, AKA Cinderella, Back up driver.

One trip to WDW when she was 9 years old. No motion sickness loves to spin

Planning and reason for the Trip

Where and Why

In April we decided to plan a trip for September. The Original plan was for just the two of us (Sherry and Steve) to go to Canada (Prince Edward Island) since Steve needed a break from the Disney Vacation scene. (I can’t understand that!). Our son who is 22 has not been vacationing with us in a few years. The last time he came along on a Disney trip was in 2004 for a whole extended Cote family trip. He was only able to attend 3 days since he was still in college. Just before Stephen was about to graduate college in May, we decided it would be nice to take a family vacation instead. Since Sara has become a member of our family of course she had to come too. Now we have our average size family of four. Now for the Where to go: Number one Family Destination WALT DISNEY WORLD! (who could ask for a better graduation gift) sorry Steve and Canada!

Resort

I chose to stay at the Contemporary Resort. I had stayed there in 2001 on a trip with my mother. Five of us shared a room with plenty of space. I loved how you can walk to the Magic Kingdom. The food and fun center was well done with a buzzer system and quite a few choices when you are in hurry, pizza, and burgers, chicken strips, sandwich wraps. Although the rooms were pretty ugly I felt it was more important to have what you need available as well as a top location. I stayed at the Beach Club last Feb. The rooms were nicely decorated but very small. There was not even a table to eat at. Go figure, even the All-Star resorts have a table! I was hoping to get a refurbished room. I heard they were well done and it would be nice to see the difference.

Transportation

On our last few trips we have been driving. Steve likes to drive and I hate it. He does all of the driving. I think he prefers it that way too. This time we will have 3 drivers and so,

they have decided to drive straight through no stopping overnight. It takes about 20-22 hours from our home in MA. Once we did it in 19 hours. That is our record. It would cost at least $1000 to fly all four of us plus we would still want to rent a car. Steve’s car is a Toyota Avalon, which has enough room for four adults to be comfortable on a long drive.

When

I found out about the free dining plan offer for August and September. The decision was made, September it is. Even though it would be hot (for Steve) still this was the selling factor of the trip for my Accountant husband. He knew how much it was worth and couldn’t pass it up. I love the heat so I was happy about the timing.

Final Plans Made

I went to my Trusted Travel agent (Roger) even though I could do this myself. I prefer going through him. He is a one-man show. He has been on 97 trips to WDW and I value his opinions on everything from restaurants to hotels. He has always found better deals than I find on my own, and has also handled a few travel problems that I have had over the years. He booked us on Magic your way with dining package for four adults staying at the Contemporary Garden wing room. 7 nights 7-day hopper pass total cost $3,553 now we just have to pay for gas and food on the ride down. Deposit of $200 paid 4/24/06

FYI: Both graduates accepted chemist jobs and were able to get the week off.

COUNT DOWN BEGINS!

6/28/06 Package Paid in Full

My Fun Part

Being the organizer that I am, I love the planning part. I started with food since we would be eating at many new places for us. Normally we eat counter service meals and one table service meal inside the World for the whole trip. My husband prefers to eat outside the World whenever possible. My usual meal is a kid’s meal and a Mickey Ice Cream bar. We are not usually going for the food but I guess maybe we are this time. I printed several menus from the ALL Earsnet website. I had everyone read them and pick one or two restaurants. I like the idea of trying new things and it works well with my plan- ahead personality, since it is recommended that you make reservations ahead. Here is what we picked:

Sara- 1900 park faire with Cinderella-still a princess fan- Second choice- Ohana’s

Steve- Tapenyanki Japan second choice-Norway

Stephen- Norway (venison stew) second Tapenyanki Japan

Sherry, Mexico (always wanted to eat by the water with the boat ride) oh yeah Mexican food is okay too. Chef Mickey’s dine with the mouse and they have the best desserts

Next I planned a schedule based on Extra Magic Hours. I did the EMH in Feb and they were great especially the 3 extra hours at night. Based on that schedule which I got from the official WDW website I fit in the dining locations selected. I made a list with our requested times and restaurants and brought it to Roger. He did all the calling and was able to get all of the times and dates I had requested. What a guy! He did ask me for a credit card for Norway, and asked me if I knew it was a Princess meal. I said ok, yes the guys picked it for the food. He had to have a credit card just to hold the reservation if we did not show up there would be a charge otherwise no extra charge. My plan worked perfect with the EMH we had enough time at each park and a Water park day in the middle of the week. While on the all earsnet, I found out they were going to hold the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween party in September. They started on the 15th, which was our last full day. I have always wanted to go but have never been during that time. I love the Christmas party so figured it had to be just as much fun. Back to Roger’s office. He took care of that as well. (Now the costumes) I have a Snow White costume I bought at the Disney Store in 2000 for $60. Although I wanted to be Belle with her big yellow ball gown and gloves I started searching ebay in hopes of finding a Belle gown. What a tough decision! Sara decided on Cinderella. She has blonde hair and a perfect figure. She got a costume on ebay for $45 including shipping. It came with the headband and black choker she had the gloves. She put her hair up and looked like the REAL thing. The guys were boring We came up with a Toy Story Soldier for Stephen, and a Pirate for Steve. Stephen’s costume was a pair of camouflage shorts a green shirt, camouflage hat and a Fisher Price baby monitor. Paid $30 for the shorts the rest was borrowed. Steve’s was a Black t-shirt with Pirates of the Caribbean on it, and a bandana that I attached a pipe cleaner to with beads strung on it, black shorts and some temporary pirate tattoos from a party store for kids. Everything was already owned except the tattoos paid $2.99

I found out about a free Disney tour-planning site. I used that to make a master plan. I printed the pages cut them out and glued them to cardstock added some stickers for a scrapbook look. I bought a small 3 ring binder at Wal-Mart for $1 and laminated each page so I could remove it and bring the page of the day along with notes and reservation #s and times.

Planning done!

3 Weeks before the Trip I was laid off from my job. I was relieved because I was extremely unhappy and looking for a new job anyway. The timing was perfect. I cleaned and organized the entire house Oh! by the way this made my Snow White Belle decision for me. Snow White it was! I did buy a big red shiny poison apple for a prop ($2.99).

I packed for the 3 of us since I had the time and took care of all the last details. I was really looking forward to this trip for many reasons. We have not had a trip with our son in a while and having a girl along will be fun for me. Not having to come home and go right back to work. Now for the down side. I usually have my next Disney trip planned. I have to find a new job first. I will worry about that after the trip.


Friday Sept 8th

Plan: Me- Vacuum and pack the car.

Everyone else- Work a full day and be on the road between 5:30 and 6:00 pm any earlier we would hit NYC at rush hour.


Real Story:

I woke up at 5:15 am I guess I was too excited to sleep. (Just like the commercial) I had the car cleaned and packed with room to spare by 10:00 am. I did my exercise on the treadmill. I usually do 3 miles but I did 4 since I would be sitting in the car so long. Roger called to wish me a good trip and told me to call him if I had any problems. He said he had called down to the Contemporary that morning to make sure they had everything correct including our request for a refurbished room.

We left the driveway at exactly 5:29 pm with a full tank of gas, and Steve doing the first leg of the drive. We made it to RI at 6:20 pm. We stopped at a Wendy’s for supper to go. We got 2 value meals for the guys a kid’s meal for me total was $15.61. Sara brought a small lunch cooler with her own food. She doesn’t eat at fast food places. Next state we reached was CT at 7:15, as we got close to NYC we turned on the AM radio to 1080 to here the traffic. It said it was backed up on the Cross Bronx. Steve called his sister Heather who lives in NJ and makes frequent trips to MA. She talked him around by way of another route we did not hit any stopped traffic. We crossed over the George Washington Bridge at 9:25 pm. At 10:26 pm we stopped in Bordertown NJ for gas. The price there was $2.39 per gal. Stephen took over driving at this point.

Saturday Sept 9th

Plan: Drive, Check in around 3:00 pm, unpack, dinner at food and fun center, bed EARLY

Next stop was Ashland VA at 2:43 am, gas was $2.39 per gal here. Sara and I were sleeping. Next thing I knew it was about 6:00am and Steve was now driving. Sara and Stephen were asleep in the backseat. Sara woke up just in time to see the South of the Border at 6:45 am in South Carolina. We stopped for quick breakfast to go at McDonald’s at 7:29. Stephen was still asleep. We got 2 Mcmuffins for Steve and I and coffees for 3 of us. Cost was $5.91. Sara took over driving at this point. She ate her breakfast she had packed. I sat up front with her, and Steve went in the back with Stephen to try and get some sleep. He is not a good sleeper, so to sleep in the car is hard for him. Sara drove for about 3 hours. We watched the outside temperature rise. We were hoping for 90 degrees, we got 88. Stephen woke up just before we hit the FL border at 11:21am he took over the driving. We made it to FL at 12;09 pm we stopped in ST Augustine for gas paid $2.79 gal. We actually decided to stop and eat a meal. We chose a Cracker Barrel restaurant. We do not have them in our area and decided to try something new. It was pretty good. Sara and I got the Grilled bacon and cheese sandwich and the Steves both got a fried chicken plate. Total cost was $46.30. We left at 12:39 pm; at 2:11 we passed the exit for Daytona Beach area. We crossed under the Walt Disney Resort sign at 3:12 pm YEAH! I am home!!!!!

Hope that was not too boring but I wanted to put as many details as I had in case someone was considering driving and could use the information.

We drove into the Contemporary parking lot. Steve went to park the car while I checked us in. A very friendly man in a suit greeted me at the door. “ Welcome to the Contemporary” he said, “are you checking in?” Right this way! I asked about our room location and was told we had been upgraded to a water view room. I then asked if we could have a renovated room but was told there were none available. The cast member said, anyone who had one was checking out because they were experiencing some sort of electrical problem and work is being done. OK can’t argue with that. She was very pleasant and efficient. She gave me a map and a resort information paper as well as a transportation guide. When I stayed at the Beach club in Feb they did not have any information. I asked for some and they said they were not available. We did not have a map of the resort or could not find out what time the restaurants and pool opened and closed. It was very frustrating. I am glad to be back at the Cotemporary. We got room 7106 a first floor room, which is what I requested. It had a patio with 3 chairs, a view of the boat dock and some of the pool. The chairs and patio were a favorite place of the Lizards YUCK! They freak me out. Stephen kept trying to catch one.

Now about the ROOM:

The first thing we noticed was a very strong smell of mold in the room. I am not usually a picky person, but that was kind of gross and not what you expect from a Disney resort. The carpet had a few stains on it and the table legs were all scratched up. And yes just as ugly. I guess I had prepared the others because they said it wasn’t as ugly as they thought it would be. The room was a little different from the last time I stayed there. The bathroom was smaller and there was a third sink in the room with the toilet last time not this time. Well we all decided this would do. It was a nice location and we could put up with the smell. I am guessing that they have not done any upkeep to the rooms since my previous stay in 2001, knowing they will be refurbishing them. The whole North wing was run down since then. The carpet in the hall looked like it was in need of replacing. It lifted up in a couple of places. I kept tripping on it. If you never stayed at a Disney Resort before I think you would be disappointed. What happened to the Disney motto of exceeding the guest expectations? Okay this is still a lot better than the Beach Club resort, which cost more.

Sara and I began to unpack for all of us. We sent the guys out to Wal-Mart to get some necessities. We were able to fit the clothing for all four of us in the drawers. The guys returned with their purchases totaling $53.06

Here is what they got:

20 in box fan $10.97 this is to drown out any noise so we can sleep.

Beer $16.87 Must keep hubby happy!

Wine coolers $7.47 Sara’s favorite kind Watermelon

Wine coolers $3.47 my favorite Pina colada

Bagels $0.98 I brought the toaster from home to make our own breakfast.

Cream cheese $1.29 plain

Cream cheese $1.29 chive flavor

Deodorant $ 1.89

Mouthwash $2.27

Fabreeze $2.48 WAY to go guys!

Bagels $0.98 second bag

Plus TAX

We noticed the mold smell was coming from the AC vent so we sprayed the Fabreeze right in there. Over the next few hours the smell was going away or we were getting use to it.

At about 7:00 we decided to go get dinner at the Food and Fun Center. This was our first time using the Meal Plan. It went very well. We asked a couple of questions and the cast members were able to answer them with no confusion. We ordered 3 pepperoni pizzas and one chicken melt basket. They gave us a buzzer. We then each picked out a dessert. We got a cupcake, brownie carrot cake and pudding. We filled up four cups with soda. Went to the counter with the items and a slip with our order on it. The cashier said we only needed one person’s card, which is how I thought it worked. We sat for about 1 minute and our buzzer went off. We brought this back to our room and we all sat at the table that was plenty big enough for the four of us. We were going to watch the Electric Water pageant at 10:05 but we were all in bed and asleep by 9:30.

Sunday Sept 10th

Plan: We had No set wakeup call planned. The plan was to let people sleep after a long drive and lack of sleep, then go to the Magic Kingdom as soon as we got ready. Do Space Mountain first then Buzz Lightyear and Pooh, Small World, Haunted Mansion, lunch at Columbia Harbor House. Thunder and Splash Mountain. Philarmagic, Carousel of Progress and TTA then go back to resort rest and or swim. Dinner seating at 6:00 1900 park fare at Grand Floridian. Back to MK tour Adventure land, extra magic hours to midnight or until tired.

Real Story: I woke up at 6:00. I can never sleep late when I am in my happy place. I got ready. The others began to wake at 7:30. We had our bagels for breakfast. I made coffee for the guys in the room with the small pot. They like it black. Sara and I like our coffee the same way, lots of cream and sugar. I brought along my refillable mug from my last stay at the Contemporary and was able to use it. I went and filled it up at the food and fun center with lots of cream and sugar. Sara and I split it. At 8:30 we headed down the Magic Kingdom walkway. When we got to the gates it appeared opened. They were letting people in and we did not see any opening ceremony and it appeared everything was open before the 9:00 time. We went straight towards Tomorowland for our Space MT ride. The rope was up because it was only 8:45 and the official opening was 9:00. Oh! This is one of those times where they open Main Street early but nothing else. When the rope was dropped, we walked with the crowd. It was a pretty small crowd. We walked right on Space MT next we did Buzz Lightyear. Steve got a score in the 300,000s and Stephen hit 197,000. Sara and I got 20,000 and 40,000. Oh well I like the ride and watching the others. We then saw that there was no line at the Speedway, which is unusual so we did that. Sara wanted to try it out. I got some good photos of the two of them in the car ahead of us. After that we went to Snow White and Pooh. There was absolutely no line at either one. Sara and I enjoyed Pooh, but Snow White was not a hit with anyone. I guess we just did it to cross it off the list. I think it is time to change this attraction. We than noticed that the Philarmagic show was beginning in five minutes. We went in. Everyone enjoyed that. I think it is a top attraction. After the show we went straight to Peter Pan. Even though this is fairly simple and old. I don’t know why it is still one of my favorites. Maybe it’s the whole flying thing I like. Stephen got some good photos inside with his new camera. Then it was time to do the dreaded It’s a Small World. Don’t get me wrong. I am one of those people who love it! But I can’t say that for the rest of my family. Their comments usually go something like this “Let’s get it over with”. Sara said she remembered doing this when she was nine and wanted to do it again. Yeah someone who will enjoy this! Everyone made it through so we rewarded them with a trip to the Haunted Mansion. I think this is one that we all had on our favorite list. Sara said she remembered feeling scared on this. She said not so scary this time but lots of fun. We then felt like it was time to hit a mountain so it was Thunder Mountain. After that it was now only 11:30 WOW! You can do a lot when you walk right on everything with no lines. Someone mentioned food. I think it was Stephen. I figured if we ate now we would beat the lunch crowds so we headed to Columbia Harbor House and used up four of our counter service meals. We all got the chicken strip meal. There was only one choice for dessert I know it was cake but I am not sure what kind. I think it was chocolate. Whatever it was it was not very good. No problem because we don’t normally eat dessert anyways. The drinks that we got on the dining plan were 22oz. I think I drank about 4oz. I don’t drink much. The Steve’s were happy since they drink like fish. I checked our receipt and it now said we had 20 Counter service meals left and that was correct. We ate upstairs which we like, because it is a nice quiet break. While we ate we discussed what to do next. Stephen said he really wanted to do the Pirates of the Caribbean. We hadn’t done this since it had been changed to the movie with Johnny Depp. We all agreed. We walked right on with no line. I don’t think they changed anything accept that they added Captain Jack Sparrow in some scenes. I liked it and thought they did a very good job. It looked just like him. The guys said they enjoyed it but thought they could have done a lot more. I figured that since this was a Disney classic they did not want to change the integrity of the attraction for those of us who like it just as it is. I thought it was a nice blend of the old and new. (Just my opinion) Next Steve suggested we do the Hall of Presidents. He enjoys anything historical. We had to wait just 10 minutes for the next show, so no problem. After that we headed over to Tomorrowland. We did one of my all time favorites the Tomorrowland Transit Authority. TTA. I love this even though it seems so boring. I think it is because you get to go on a relaxing ride above the crowds. It’s a great place to watch people. It also feels like you are taking a break but still doing something, and you are above all the noise of the crowd. When we were exiting the TTA Steve noticed that the Carrousel of progress was about to start. We both Love this. I guess I love most everything. We made a run for it and got right in. I think this reminds me of one of my favorite Christmas movies, The Christmas Story, with Ralphie and his Red Rider BB gun. The narrator is the same voice. I think his name is Jean Shepard. It was just as enjoyable as always, but we did all agree it’s time to update the last scene. When the daughter says car phone instead of cell phone it just sounds wrong, and the TV and microwave look outdated now. I hope they don’t shut this down. It was one that Walt worked on, and I think it still appeals to a lot of people. After the show it was just about 2:00 and we all thought a break would be nice. We took the walkway back to the Contemporary. This is my favorite thing about staying at the Contemporary. When everyone else is waiting for a bus or a monorail back to the parking lot we can just walk and be back in 10 minutes. This means you can stay at the Magic Kingdom longer and still take a break in your day. The Magic Kingdom is the park that takes the most time for transportation, if you drive your own car you still have to take a monorail or boat from the parking lot, and sometimes even a tram if you park way out. This means allowing up to 45 minutes versus a ten-minute walk away even at peak closing time. Sara Stephen and I changed into our swimsuits and headed to the pool. Steve is not a big pool person. He preferred a nap. What an OUTRAGE! Napping at the happiest place on earth when there is SO much to do! NOT ME! We went in the hot tub not for long because it was pretty hot out. In the 90s Stephen and Sara went on the slide. They told me I should try it. I did and it was just right. Not to steep or anything. The water in the pool was just right for me. It was nice and warm. We sat in the chairs and relaxed for a little while with our Wal-Mart wine coolers in our cups. I wrote down what we did so I would not forget. Sara was very helpful with this. Her memory works faster than mine. I remember but just not as fast as she does. I guess that 19 years between us would explain it. Right after I put my notebook away it started to rain and it came down pretty heavy. We ran back to the room. Steve was just waking up. We hung out in the room. Everyone was relaxing and watching TV. I do not relax at WDW, so I straightened up the room. I decided to get stuff ready for the morning since the park was open to midnight and we may be back pretty late tonight. I got the coffee pot ready and put out paper plates for breakfast. I put out an outfit for Steve and myself. Sara did the same. I also got out the envelope for Mousekeeping. I filled them up before I left home, one for each night’s stay. Next I gathered the stuff that I would carry tomorrow in my bag. Everyone started to get ready to go to dinner. We left at 5:28. We had a Dinner seating time of 6:00 at 1900 Park Fare at the Grand Floridian. We took the Monorail. We arrived at 5:50 checked in and were given a buzzer. It went off in about 5 minutes. The dinner was a buffet with Cinderella and friends. The food was good, not quite as many choices as Chef Mickey’s (my favorite) but the same quality. The desserts were just average. The Characters were all great. Sara and I sat on the outside of the table so we could get our photos. The guys just wanted to eat so they were a little annoyed, but were good sports and took our pictures with all the characters. We got Cinderella, Suzie, Perla and the Prince himself. He was really tall! We got our receipt and it showed only 0.00, How’s that for Magic! It didn’t say how much the actual cost was. That’s ok who needs reality anyway? It’s all part of the Magic of Disney. I did check the slip and it was correct showing we had 24 Table service meals left out of 28 total. On our way out we met the Fairy Godmother in the lobby. That was exciting because I never had my photo with her before. It was a nice meal and not rushed or too slow. I would go back there again even if I did pay. I looked at my watch as we headed to the Monorail it was 7:00. The Monorail was just getting in. We took it back to the Magic Kingdom only one stop away. I guess my planning is GOOD! Somehow we ended up on the teacups. Three of us did Steve doesn’t like to spin. In case you were wondering spinning with full stomachs doesn’t bother us at all. If anything I think most people who have trouble, is because of an empty stomach. We had Stephen (who is VERY! athletic) spin the cup as fast as he could. Sara and I were laughing so hard my stomach hurt from that. When the ride stopped I had to ask Stephen if we were still moving. It does make me dizzy, but I like that feeling, and it never bothers my stomach. After that we walked down through Toontown. I lead everybody to Goofy’s Coaster. There was no line so they went willingly. We then brought Sara through Mickey’s house and took some photos inside, but we didn’t wait in line to see the big guy since he was at one of our scheduled character meals. We then took the train from Toontown station to Main Street Station. . We headed to Adventureland. It started to rain and came down pretty hard, we had to put on our rain gear. We did the Pirates again and then the Jungle Cruise. I prefer this attraction at night. It seems more realistic. We had a good boat captain who was very funny. Since we were all pretty wet and it was still warm we figured a ride on Splash Mountain would be perfect. We got to pick any spot in the log. Stephen and Sara took the back because Stephen knew whoever was in the front gets the wettest. Since there was no one else in front of us to block the splash we got soaked. Oh well, I didn’t care I was mostly wet anyway. After that we took a ride on Space Mountain and Buzz Lightyear. For the last fun of the night we all went on Cinderella’s Carousel. It was just about 11:00 and we decided it was time to call it a night. We walked up through Main Street. It was so pretty all lit up and the castle behind it, I had to pause and look for a moment. No waiting for any transportation either, we took the walkway back to our resort. Most people must take the Monorail to the Contemporary, because we hardly ever pass anyone on the walkway. We were back in our room in 10 mins. We had everything for the morning done. So we relaxed watched a little TV. I read over our plan for tomorrow. I put the info I needed in my backpack. ( Lights out 12:00am.) “ OH! Guess what everyone?” I said. “ We didn’t use our snack options today. I guess I have to add that to the plan.” They all told me to BE QUIET! And go to sleep, Good Night!

Happy Thoughts for the Day:

Magic Kingdom is still my favorite park.

Stephen can spin the teacup at warp speed!

Having Sara along is way more fun!

My plan works like Magic!

Our Room smells less Moldy.

Disney Dining plan is a lot of food!

Unhappy Thoughts:

This Vacation will have to end


Monday Sept 11th

Plan:

Go to MGM for opening at 9:00, ride Tower of Terror (TOT) then Rockin Roller Coaster (RRC) Great Movie ride, One Man’s Dream, Little Mermaid, Muppet 3d, Motorcars Stunt show at 11:05 (got this time from a website at home.) I planned to eat lunch at Pizza Planet. Return to the Contemporary after lunch for our break. Dinner seating time at Chef Mickey’s 5:30. Right after dinner go back to the park. No set plan for evening except to see Fantasmic at 8:30. Stay for Extra Magic hours; open up to 11:30 ride TOT and RRC a few times.

Real Story:

I woke up right about 6:00 again. I let the others sleep while I got ready. They began to wake up an hour after me. We had our coffee and bagels, and all were ready to leave the room at 8:15. We took the car because it would be the most efficient mode of transportation for MGM. We made it through the bag check and turnstiles by 8:45. The rope was across so we waited with everyone else for the rope drop. Everyone decided they wanted to ride the RRC first so we proceeded in that direction as soon as the rope dropped. Steve rode once. Stephen, Sara and I rode 3 more times. I find this a great way to wake up. It was Sara’s first time and she loved it. After that we headed to ride TOT. Steve said he was up for it now that he had had a break. Sara’s first impression was “ I liked it but it really! Scared me.” Stephen and I discussed riding again. Sara decided she would be brave and the three of us had another ride. There were absolutely! No waits at all, for any of the rides that morning. It was then 10:30 we walked over to the Stars and Motorcars show area to check out the wait. Last time I was here in Feb it was too crowded to get in so I had not seen this yet. We asked the cast member some questions. They told us that they would start letting people in at 10:45 and the crowds were light so no problem getting a seat. We stopped for a few minutes to discuss lunch plans. It was already getting very hot in the sun. We all decided to get an ice cream and use one of our snack options. Sara and I were dying for a Mickey Bar. It is about the only snack I ever get. We were all in agreement that after the show we would try and eat at Pizza Planet. I know you have to go fairly early because it gets very crowded and there is limited seating. After we ate our ice cream it was time to head to the stadium for the show. Stephen asked me where to sit. I said I did not know that this was new to me. Steve said “All I know is that I want some place out of the direct sun”. It was in the 90’s and very humid. We started walking up the steps when a cast member asked us how many people we had. I wasn’t really paying attention because I was looking down so I would not trip. (Which I do all the time anyways) Stephen answered four. That’s when I looked up and the CM said “right this way” He opened a rope and brought us to a reserved section where there were four very tall director chairs on a platform. He said, “We pick one family each show to sit here”. I asked him if we would have to be in the show. I know I would have had stage fright. He said no. I said “OK so we don’t have to do or say anything?” He assured me that we did not. He was right. I don’t know why we had those seats. I guess it was just luck. They were great! There was one downside. They were facing right in to the sun. Steve just smiled and looked at me, and we both laughed. Being the good sport he is ,he knew that I was not about to give up a special opportunity at Disney World. In the end everyone enjoyed the view, got some great photos, and worked on our tans. After the show we walked directly to Pizza Planet. I told Steve what I wanted and went and found a table in a shady quiet corner. We used our counter service meals. We all got the same thing Woody’s meal, which is a personal size pepperoni pizza and a small garden salad. For dessert they had two choices chocolate chip cookie or rice crispy treat. I told Steve to get me the cookie. He came back with the rice crispy treat. I guess he doesn’t even know that I HATE! Rice crispy treats. Oh well I guess after 22 years he is not about to figure it out now. The cookies were huge and Sara gave me half of hers. Lucky for Steve! After lunch we did the Muppets 3D. Sara said she remembered doing this and she still enjoyed it this time. As a matter of fact we all did. Who doesn’t like the Muppets anyway? Next we went to the Great Movie Ride. When we got there the line was outside. That was the only line we had seen the entire trip so far. It ended up moving right along never stopping and we were inside in ten minutes. Sara said she did not remember it at all. I told her she must not have done it, because as a nine year old she would most likely have remembered the Wizard of Oz scene. She agreed. We then went over to see The Little Mermaid show. The sign said next show 20mins. We said ok we would come back there, so I brought everyone over to One Mans Dream. I enjoyed walking through the exhibits, even though I have done this a lot, it is meaningful to me. We couldn’t stay for the film because we had agreed on the Little Mermaid. I thought we might get back to see the film, but we never did. We got really good seats at the Little Mermaid right in the center. We got pretty wet from the spray, but it felt nice on such a hot day. I then saw that we were right near the Narnia behind the scenes show. I wanted to see this because I loved the books as a child and the new film. It started out hopeful but was pretty disappointing. It really was just an advertisement for the film with a few movie props at the end. The last time I did this attraction it featured One hundred and one Dalmatians, which had much more to offer. When we finished there it was 2:30. We all thought it was time to leave the park. We made a run to Wal-Mart Super Center and got some more necessities. Beer, wine coolers, bagels. The total was $34.34. This was the first money we spent on anything since the last Wal-Mart trip. When we got back Sara and I went to the pool while the guys took their nap. We stopped at guest services in the lobby because I wanted to have them double check my passes that I was going to use tomorrow for Blizzard Beach. Our passes on this package did not include the water parks. I had some old hopper passes with unused water park options. The cast member at the desk had a hard time determining what was left on them. She had to call a manager over. It took about 20 minutes. She did end up agreeing to what I had written on the back of the pass. I guess the old passes had some advantages. You could see the date stamped on them. No trusting computers back then. We lost 20 minutes of our pool time. Oh well things could be worse. I did my notes for this report while I sat in the lounge chair with by wine cooler. Stephen came out to join us for a little while. It was time to go back to the room to get ready for dinner. I did my routine of making coffee, putting out the breakfast plates, Mousekeeping envelope and our outfits for the next day. We walked upstairs for Chef Mickey’s at 5:20 There was a HUGE!, line just waiting to check in. We were given a buzzer. First our name was called to take a picture that they do right there with a professional. I did this once before. It is just a backdrop that says Chef Mickey’s. We said No Thank You and in five minutes our name was called. Steve said it must have been so quick because everyone else was waiting for the picture first. I think he was right. I told everyone we were not in a rush. We could take our time, and of course Sara and I had the guys take our photos with the Characters again. Stephen even let me take one of him and Sara with Mickey. Dinner was great as usual. The food was excellent especially the desserts. The Oreo cookie topped with chocolate Mickey ears is to die for. What could be better than my favorite cookie topped with Mickey ears? Two weird things happened. First a small bird was in the restaurant. It flew by me close enough to skim my hair and then it sat under my chair. I guess it knew I don’t care for birds. I was sitting there wondering how it came in until Steve (the Sensible one) said. “ Its no wonder more birds aren’t in here the building is wide open for the Monorail to enter”. “ OH that’s right” was all I could say. The second thing was that the party at the table right next to us was complaining to the wait staff, then got the manager and said there was no food at the buffet and it was cold. They were actually trying to get a refund. The funny thing was we never even saw them eat. We never found out what was done but we think they either got some money off or a refund. Well we all thought it was a delicious meal. One of the few I would go back to and pay for if I was not on the dining plan. When we left there it was 6:50. We drove back to MGM, we got our wrists band for Extra Magic Hours right at the gate. We did the Drew Carey show it was 7:25. At 7:45 we were seated for Fantasmic. We were seated next to some nice people, who we chatted with. We then found out the people right behind us were from our state. The show was great. I like this better than Illuminations. There were two changes that I noticed. John Smith from Pocahontas did not swing down the rope like he always did. The other thing was much more disappointing. The big boat at the end of the show with all the Characters was missing. They just had some characters stand up on the stage. I guess if you never saw the show before you would not know what you were missing. To me that was the best part of the show. When that boat came around filled to the max with every character there is. I have no idea if that was temporary or permanent. I hope it is only temporary and they are fixing the boat or something like that. We took our time getting out of the show and checked out the time for the two big attractions. TOT and RRC both had 40 min waits. I guess extra magic hours are not so magical? We had no wait at all in the morning. Just goes to prove most people don’t like to wake up early. We did not wait for either one. Someone suggested Star Tours. I had not done that in a long time. Steve does not like it. It makes him sick. I think it is boring, but I am willing to do anything if other people are interested. The wait was 20 mins. The three of us agreed to wait. I think it took a little longer then 20. I was glad we did it because it was better than I remembered it being. We meat up with Steve. We took some photos of us at night around the sorcerer’s hat. Then the three of us did RRC twice with no wait and TOT with no waits. I guess Steve had already done his one ride in the morning for each because he sat out again. The great thing is that he does not mind, and never complains. He just tells us to go ahead and even asks us if we want to keep going on. I guess extra magic hours don’t work very well until people get tired. I would suggest you find out what is open during extra magic hours, and plan on doing the not so popular attractions the first hour. In that case we could have done the Great Movie Ride and Little Mermaid, but we had already done those earlier. The last hour of extra magic hours is when you can do the headliner attractions with no waits. This was weird because out of the whole trip the only time we had any wait was during Evening Extra Magic Hours. My theory is that everyone that was there that week was staying at a Disney resort to take advantage of the free dining plan and therefore was eligible for extra magic hours. The first time I did Evening Extra Magic hours was in Feb of 2006 and it was totally different. There were no lines for the whole time. We left MGM at 11:00 pm ,Lights were out at 11:58

Happy Thoughts for the Day:

Reserved seats make you feel special

Desserts at Chef Mickey’s

Patient Husbands

Unhappy Thoughts for the Day:

Rice Crispy Treats

Evening Extra Magic Hours at MGM are not so MAGICAL!

Flying bird at Chef Mickey’s

Tuesday Sept 12th

Plan: Blizzard Beach and Downtown Disney. Have lunch at Blizzard Beach. Dinner seating time 6:25 at Ohana Polynesian Resort - Day to take it slow no Attacking Theme Parks.

Real Story: I slept in today until 6:30. Steve decided he would skip the water park. We only had three unused passes. He would only want to stay for a few hours so it was not worth buying a pass. He said he would find something to do. I was thinking he needed to take the car and go out into the real world. He needs his dose of reality. He normally gets this when we are not on the dining plan we would eat dinner outside of “The World”. Stephen, Sara and I headed to the bus stop at 8:45. Blizzard Beach would open early for resort guest only from 9:00 to 10:00. After about 15mins a bus showed up that said Animal Kingdom/Blizzard Beach. The bus was full and loud. We took three seats facing inward about three quarters down from the front. We went to Animal Kingdom first. I did remember last time I took the bus it went to Blizzard Beach first. I thought nothing of this figuring; things must not always be the same. Everyone but the three us proceeded to get off the bus. We all looked at each other and said I guess it’s just us. The driver came down to us and asked. “ Where are you guys going?” We all answered “Blizzard Beach”. He then said in his ANGRY VOICE! “ I asked three! times if anyone was going to Blizzard Beach!” We said sorry we did not hear a thing. I can’t believe that three of us could have missed an announcement. The bus was very crowded and noisy. As a matter of fact we did not hear him speak at all. Usually the driver tells where you are going, Park hours, Information about parades etc. We figured his microphone must have been broken. After he said that statement he walked off the bus without saying anything. We were not sure what to do. We just stayed put. We saw him talking to another driver. He then came back on got in his seat, while still not saying a word drove us back to Blizzard Beach. We got off the bus and thanked him. He just said “your welcome.” I guess we were lucky we even got that. I have never had an experience like that on a Disney bus. I have used them many times. I hope I never do again.

It was 9:30 when we arrived at Blizzard Beach. It was actually the coolest day so far that we had. It was warm but not hot like it had been. There were no crowds at all. We selected a spot and put our stuff down. We did the family raft ride (Team Boat Springs) after that I wanted to ride the chair lift back up to the top. Stephen pointed out some realistic touches that they had put into the ski lift. I would have never noticed them otherwise. He is an avid snow boarder at home. He was actually looking around and feeling a little homesick for his snowboard and wanted to be coming down the mountain on a snowboard. NOT ME too cold! and scary! I took the stairs back down. The one thing I will not do at Disney is a water park water slide. I did the Slusher Gusher once and I did not like it. I am not athletic at all and not a good swimmer. I don’t feel comfortable. Stephen was talking Sara into doing Summit Plummit. Sara said she did not like water slides much either. We both said it was that going airborne feeling that we did not like. I made it to the bottom of the stairs just in time to see Stephen come down Summit Plummit. He clocked in at 58 miles per hour. If I were going 58 miles per hour I would prefer to be inside some form of vehicle. I asked him where Sara was and he said she chickened out. We met up with her and she had done the Slusher Gusher instead. She said it was OK. We then went in the wave pool for about a half an hour. This was fun because you could have a tube. Last time I did the wave pool there were no tubes. I want to float not swim through waves. The sun was out and this was very relaxing. After that we went in the lazy river for about half the way. It got cloudy and started to rain. It was no longer hot out. It then got windy like it was going to storm. We walked under a shelter. I called Steve to see where he was incase we wanted to catch up with him. He said he was back in the room. He asked us if we wanted him to come pick us up. I told him I would call him right back. We discussed what we would do if we left. Stephen said he really wanted to go over to the Wilderness Lodge. He loves that resort and wanted to show Sara. I said OK we could check out some other resorts too. We called Steve back. We walked out to the bus stop area, and he was able to pick us up right there. We went back to the Contemporary and changed back into dry clothes. We had lunch down at the Food and Fun Center. We got a pizza, 2 bacon cheeseburgers, and chicken melt and Mickey ice cream bars for all. Once again too much food! That’s OK I just eat half my meal so I can eat the Mickey bar. I have my priorities. We drove over to the Wilderness Lodge. We walked through the lobby checked out the pool and the geyser. Stephen took some pictures of lizards. While we were standing on the boat dock Steve pointed out some otters that were swimming towards us. We saw three otters swim right underneath us. They were so cute. One picked it’s head up and looked right at us. After that Stephen suggested he wanted to visit the Animal Kingdom. I had only scheduled a half a day. He said that the only time he had been there he did not have enough time and would like more than the half a day. I told everyone that this was supposed to be the day without a Major park. They asked me if we had enough days on our pass. I told them yes. We then all agreed that we would go, but with no set plan and just take it at a slow relaxing pace. It had now turned sunny again and very hot now. We figured we would check out Expedition Everest first. I was the only one in our group who had done this before. I told them they would love it. We walked right on, no wait at all. Steve said once was enough for him. So the three of us went again we ended up riding it four times in a row with no wait. We got the front and the Back The front was by far the best. The sky started to get very dark so we stopped after four rides. We met up with Steve, he was in the gift shop. He bought an Expedition Everest pin that my friend Laurel had asked me to pick up for her. We then headed to the Safari. There were hardly any animals. I almost always do this first thing in the morning and I have always seen lots of animals. I think we saw one giraffe and a couple of antelope type animals I forget the names. Stephen took a few photos and then the battery died in his camera. I guess digital has its downside too. We then walked the Pangani Forest Trail. We were told as we entered that the Gorillas were not out. I never had that happen, but I always go in the morning. I was not sure why. We went anyway. We decided to leave after that and go check out the Animal Kingdom Lodge. We entered the lobby and there was a cast member at a table. She had some animal skulls she asked us to guess what animals they were from. Stephen and Steve got all but one right. All I remember is that Stephen guessed the Impala. Who would of thought? I thought that an Impala was a Chevy. Guess that college education paid off. We walked out back and they had some animal viewing areas. I think I would like to stay there sometime. We got back to the room at 4:30. I did my routine of making coffee, outfits ready, and we all showered and got ready for dinner at Ohana’s. Our seating was at 6:25 but we left at 5:45. We took the car. I love how they say aloha all the time. I have stayed at the Polynesian twice and so far it is my favorite place to stay, Steve’s too. It just seems so Disney- like to me. We checked in and were told it would be 30-40mins, we were given a buzzer. Everyone sat down in the chairs by the big windows except me. I took the buzzer with me and I went and looked in the shops. I was in there for 8 mins when it went off. I went back to the others. They said that was quick! They had ordered us all tropical drinks but they had not come yet. Steve told the bar and they said they would bring them to our table. Steve said he ordered me a pina colada. I said perfect. I guess that makes up for the rice crispy thing. Total for the Drinks was $42.58 I had them take a picture off all the drinks with the Ohana’s menu for my scrapbook and we asked the waiter to take one of all of us. It came out nice we were all dressed in tropical wear. The dinner was great. It is served family style. The guys were happy because there were no characters to deal with. We even had a view of the castle. The only thing that could have been better was the fact that they brought out our main meal just about 1 minute after the appetizers, other than that, the service and the food were very good. I would go back there again. After that we walked around the grounds. Steve and I showed Stephen and Sara were our room was when we stayed there. We walked out on sunset point and took some photos. It was so tropical and magical at night, I did not want to leave, but we had to. We drove over to Downtown Disney. We split up here and planed to call each other at 9:30 so we would be back to our resort in time to see the Electric Water Pageant at 10:05. It comes to the Resorts every night but we had not been back in our room by 10:05 to see it. I wanted to make sure I saw it. If Stephen and Sara wanted to stay longer they could always take the bus back. Steve and I went to the Scrapbook store. Last time I was in there I managed to spend two hundred dollars in less than 10 mins. While he waited outside. I knew I wasn’t doing that this time I only bought one punch with Tinker Bell on it for $6.39. I think I did not see anything new that I did not have already. We went in the Christmas store. I usually by an ornament from each trip. Steve helped me look, but I did not see one that had the date on it that I liked. We walked through the candy store and World of Disney where we ran into Stephen and Sara. Sara asked me where the Scrapbook Store was so we walked back with them. She went in and bought some stickers. They said they were ready to leave. Sara showed me some Mickey wine glasses she got for her sister’s new apartment. We went back to the room. At 10:00 we walked down to the boat dock and saw the Electric Water Pageant. Last time I saw this in 2004 when I stayed at the Wilderness lodge and they did not show the whole thing, but all the floats were back. I was happy. I never did find out why they were missing. HMMMMM?

We were all in bed at 11:00

Happy Thoughts for the Day:

Polynesian Resort

Getting to Ride Expedition Everest 4 times with no wait

Going against the plan can be lots of fun too!

Electric Water Pageant is back

Unhappy Thoughts for the Day:

Angry! Bus Driver

Not staying at the Polynesian

OOPS! We missed our snack options again

Wednesday Sept 13th

Plan:

Take the Monorail to Epcot for 9:00 opening Do Test Track, Mission Space, Soarin Imagination, ride Rio de tempo boat ride, do lunch seating time 12:00 in Mexico Universe of Energy, Spaceship Earth, take our break at the resort return to Epcot with the car in time to see the acrobat show in China at 5:15 Dinner seating time 6:40 in Norway do Norway’s boat ride, watch Illuminations. Extra Magic Hours, I found out that American Adventure (Steve’s Favorite Must see Attraction) would be open for Extra hours. We planned on doing this right after Illuminations then we would do the most popular attractions: Soarin, Test Track and Mission Space. My thinking was that after Illuminations everyone would do the top three and then be tired and leave. Drive back to the resort.

Real Story:

WOW! Mickey’s phone call actually woke me up. I set it for 7:15. We were up on the 4th floor monorail station at 8:20. It was 8:45 when we got to Epcot. I like to take the Monorail over to Epcot It is a nice ride and you get a tour of the park as you come into the Epcot station. We went through the bag check and turnstile and the park was still not open. We waited about 5 more mins and there was a little opening ceremony. We all walked right on Test Track and then we all did the Spinning version of Mission Space. I had read on a website that an astronauts trick to prevent motion sickness is to have a piece of hard candy in your mouth when you go on. I told Steve this and gave him a Lifesaver. He has done this before, but has had to sit down and felt a little bad. After the ride he said he felt pretty good. He did not know if it worked or was just a placebo effect. Either way I guess it does not matter. We then went over to Soarin. I was so excited because this is my favorite ride in all of WDW. I think it is because it is a combination of things. It actually feels like you are flying. It is very relaxing. The music is great. To me you have to experience it to understand. I don’t think there is anything else like it. This was Stephen and Sara’s first time. Steve had done it at California Adventure on our Disneyland trip. Stephen said he really liked it but was just a little disappointed. He said he thinks I hyped it up too much. Sorry but I still get the same thrill every time I ride it. We did it twice. I wanted to go again but everyone else voted to move on. We headed over to the Living Seas. On the way over someone saw ice cream and said we had to work on using our snack options. No problem we can eat ice cream before lunch were all adults. We went to the Living Seas I think Stephen was the only one really interested in this so we just let him wander around and sort of all followed. He loves animals of any kind and always has. We did see the Manatees and some interesting little fish. We then went back to Imagination and did the ride in there. It’s one of those things that is kind of lame but I still like it. I still like the original one better. We then walked across to Mexico and did the Rio de Tempo boat ride. Same story here outdated but I enjoy it. There was no wait. I still remember the first time I came here in 1983 we waited an hour and a half to see it. It was 11:40 and we noticed the Restaurant had just opened. Our seating time was at 12:00 but I figured I would check in anyways because I wanted a table right near the water. I have always wanted to eat there but never been willing to pay. The menu looked over priced. We went right in and got a perfect table right near the water. The food was ok. The service and atmosphere were very good. I got the Tortilla Soup for the appetizer that was actually better than the meal. I got the Mexicano Platos. It was pretty bland sort of like a Mexican frozen dinner from lean cuisine. I was glad I didn’t pay for that. I don’t remember what I had for dessert but it was good. I checked my receipt and all it says is 4 adults zero charge. I guess I should have written it down. I would go back for the atmosphere and just order an appetizer and dessert and that would be plenty. Everyone felt the same way, that it was just ok and they were glad we did not pay for it. We left there at 12:45 we now all had full stomachs and I told everyone they could have a nap at the Universe of Energy. Sara and I enjoyed it. The guys didn’t mind but they did both nod off in they last part with the movie. We then took a ride on Spaceship Earth. I always enjoy this one. After that we headed back on the Monorail to the Contemporary. I checked my watch and it was 2:15 we made it back to the room at 2:45 so in case you were wondering it took 30 mins. First you have to take the Epcot monorail to the TTC ticket and transportation center. Then take the Resort monorail to the Contemporary. Sara and I took our wine coolers down to the hot tub. Then we sat in the lounge chairs and she helped me make the notes for the report. Stephen showed up about that time. He took a quick swim and we headed back to the room. I did my routine of getting things ready for the next morning, and we all got ready to go back to Epcot. We took the car this time so we did not have to wait for the monorail at the end of the night with everyone else. I checked the clock in the car and it was 4:45 I said “Do you think we will make the 5:15 show in China.” Someone said yes. Someone else said (I can’t quite remember who said what here) No we have to park the car walk to the front go through bag check, ticket turnstiles and walk all the way to China. We made good time through the bag check and ticket area. We walked very fast and made it to China at 5:20. There was still room to see the show, so we scooted down and sat down on the ground in an empty area. It was very good as usual. We then saw the movie in China. I think everyone enjoyed it. The film is nicely down, but you stand in the middle of a circular theater and it confuses me as to where I am suppose to be looking. We started walking towards Norway. Our dinner tonight was at the Norway restaurant. Steve had always wanted to eat there. We actually looked at the buffet once. There was not much I would eat since I don’t like seafood. I told him I would eat off the kid’s portion. He did not want to pay full price for that so needless to say we never ate there. It never seemed crowded. It was just after 6:00 when we arrived. There was a HUGE! line coming out the door. It was very chaotic with little girls dressed as princesses and waving their wands around. I actually got whacked with a wand. OH the hazards we tourist face! The father apologized and I said don’t worry about it. I completely understand she was caught up in the moment. The guys said you better check in now. They both had a look of horror on there face. They said ok more Characters. Sara and I both said Princesses and I reminded them that they had picked this restaurant. Well honestly I did know they had princesses but was not aware that it was such a big deal. I knew the one at Cinderella’s Castle was and that it was next to impossible to get in, but I did not know about this. I guess the whole princess thing has exploded over the last few years. I know every little girl has always loved the princesses. It seems that Disney has finally figured that out. I have been saying for years they could make a killing if they had more princess related things. Outfits, Parties, merchandise, shows and even make overs, which they now have at the Downtown Disney. There is a place called Bippidie Boppidie Boo. They even have little beauty salon style chairs. Endless possibilities. Anyways we checked in and were told 5 mins. We were skeptical considering the line. It took only 10 mins. We got a nice seat in an out of the way corner. There was an older couple next to us with no kids. The man said, “See that door it keeps opening and lots of princesses come out”. He was right out came Princess Aurora, then Cinderella, Belle she was in here apron costume. Next was Princess Jasmine. Then the man next to us turned to Stephen and said, “Were you guys tricked too? She tricked me” He was so funny. In between the princesses we went up to the cold buffet. I got mostly cheese. I can’t even remember what else was there. I think I was too excited by the princesses. (Sad but True). We then all were told that on the dining plan we could order one entrée. Stephen got venison stew Steve got barbecued ribs. Sara and I got the same meal. It was chicken and pasta in an alfredo sauce. I don’t think it had anything to do with Norwegian food. It was good though. Stephen said his stew was excellent and Steve said his ribs were nothing special. Once again the receipt showed 0:00. I checked the number of meals left and it was correct. We had used two-table service this day. We would not use one on the last day so we would have had one extra at the end of the week.. It was 7:15 when we left the restaurant. We took a ride on Maelstrom, the boat ride in Norway. This always makes me cold. I had to put on my sweatshirt. We then walked towards China and Steve pointed out a bench that would be good for viewing Illuminations. It was only 8:00 and I asked him if he wanted to sit for an hour. He usually doesn’t like to sit but I think he has become pretty mellow now, or maybe he was tired or something. He said he didn’t mind. Stephen and Sara went off and walked around World Showcase and would come back there before 9:00. Steve sat on the bench. I told him I was going to go get my bracelet for Extra Magic Hours. I t took forever to find. It was way past Mexico before World Showcase. I walked back to the bench, which was in China. He then went and got his while I sat on the bench. I took out the glow necklaces that I had bought at home. I began to read the directions and I put one together but it was not working right. Steve showed up I asked him to see if he could figure it out. I took a walk to the restroom. When I got back he had them all together except one. He said it was broken and that was the one I started with. We called Stephen and Sara and reminded them to get their Extra Magic Hour bracelets. They showed up at our bench at 8:40 and said they hade made it to Morocco and ended up walking all the way around to where I got my bracelet because they couldn’t find another one. The thing about the bracelets are if you wait until after the park closes the lines are very long. I try and get them as earlier as possible. Three of us put on the glow necklaces. Steve said he did not really want one so it was ok it was broken. Just before Illuminations it started to rain. We put on our rain gear. It stopped in about 5 mins or so. Then it came back for 5 more mins. The Show was ok this is not my favorite. Since they did the whole globe thing I think it went down hill. Not everyone can see the globe. It is too low. I think they spend too much time on the globe and it’s not even that interesting. I love the music and that is the best part for me. When it was over Stephen who had not seen this in a while said” That’s it? I remember more fireworks.” After that we walked to America and did the American Adventure. I was surprised this was an extra magic time now and the theater was pretty full. The audience must have been full of fans for this attraction like us. It was one of the most quiet and respectful audiences I have seen in years. It made the performance all that more enjoyable. We had to put our glow necklaces under our shirts because the theater was very dark and they really do glow. We then went to Test Track it was a 30 min wait. GOTTA LOVE EXTRA MAGIC HOURS.! We said no way and went to Mission space and there was no wait. The three of us went on and Steve took some photos of the mission space building and sign. They came out very good. We then went back to Test Track, it said 10 mins. Just before we went we were told there was a technical problem and it was shutting down. For how long we did not know. We waited and it ended up being 20 mins instead of 10. Not bad considering one time I was stuck on this with my friend Laurel for an hour with my seat belt in the locked position. We called it a night after that it was 11:38 when we left Epcot. Lights out at 12:30

Happy Thoughts for the Day:

Princesses RULE!

My Family (thanks for being such good sports)

Soarin (Still my favorite Attraction)

Unhappy Thoughts for the Day:

Only two more full days left

Thursday Sept 14th

Plan:

Magic Kingdom morning extra magic hour 8:00 to 9:00

Do Dumbo and Space Mountain; Buzz any other without a line.

Ride the Railroad. Look in the Main Street stores. lunch either at Pecos Bill or Cosmic Rays. Go back to hotel, swim look around the hotel grounds.

Drive to Epcot spend time in World Showcase. There is some kind of Candy Artistry demonstration in Japan I have been reading about. I guess it’s always been there but I have never seen it. I found out there was one at 5:05 and we have a scheduled dinner at Japan at 6:00 so that would work. No plan after dinner just that I have to do Soarin again.

Real Story:

I woke up early at 6:00. Sara woke up and we got ready to be at the MK for eight am. The guys started to wake up we gave them coffee and asked who was going with us. Steve said he wanted to relax and read the paper and he would meet up with us later. Stephen said he would come with us now. Once again we took the walkway. We arrived just as the Welcoming music was playing. We timed it perfectly. We walked right through the bag check because everyone else was already going through the ticket area. When we entered the ticket area everyone else was already through. We caught up to the rope in Tomorrowland. When the rope dropped we walked quickly to the front of the pack and were 7th in line for Space Mountain. After that Sara had mentioned she wanted to ride on Dumbo. (Finally someone who gets it) Sara and I rode together. Stephen rode in the Dumbo in front of us so he could get some photos of us. I am not sure but I think that was his first Dumbo ride. He was never interested when he was little. He only wanted fast rides. After that we took another ride on the speedway since there was no line. Sara and I rode together. I don’t like to drive any cars! We did Peter Pan and Buzz Lightyear. We then did Splash Mountain. Stephen’s phone rang while we were on the ride. It was Steve calling to meet us. He told him we were on a ride and he would call him right back. After the ride we called Steve. He was in the park so we told him to meet us at Thunder Mountain, and we all took a ride together. Next I had mentioned we should go to Tom Sawyer’s Island because we had not been there in years. This was one of Stephen’s favorite things as a toddler. He loved to jump up and down on the rope bridge. He also liked the rifles when he was about ten. I was not sure they would still have them since everything has gone so PC in the real world. I was pleased to find out they did. We took a photo of him posing with the riffle again, and one with Sara too. We walked through the caves and Stephen managed to get ahead of me and somehow then jump out at me. The echo was quite loud when I screamed in the cave. Just as we exited the cave I saw a paintbrush sitting on the ground. I screamed again “PAINTBRUSH” I found one! They had not told us that day, but on a trip several years ago the cast member on the raft would tell you that Tom lost his brush and if you found it you would get a pass to the front of any attraction for your whole party. Maybe it was before fastpass I am not sure? We saw a place where they had put up a fence that was half painted (whitewashed) I took the brush and posed like I was painting and got a nice photo. After that we decided it was time to head back to the mainland. I asked the cast member driving the raft if they still gave out passes for finding the paintbrush and he said yes as soon as we get over to the dock I will get you one. I got the pass and it said it was for four guests to use at our choice. It was only good for that day and only at the Magic Kingdom. We did not end up using it since we had done most everything we wanted, and there were no lines, so I carefully folded it up for my scrapbook. Once again Stephen said it was lunchtime. We picked Pecos Bill for our counter service meal. We all got burgers. Sara was happy because she could get carrots. She doesn’t eat french-fries. The dessert was a chocolate peanut butter brownie. It was pretty good. The drinks here were 32 oz size. WOW! After lunch we walked by the Country Bear Jamboree and heard them say the show starts in three minuets so we went in. It was fun but I think I prefer the Christmas one. We headed to Adventureland Sara and I rode Aladdin’s Magic Carpets while the guys took photos of us. Once again we heard a cast member say Show Starting. This time it was four minutes and it was the Tiki Birds. No one complained but I am sure they did not enjoy it much. After that we decided to split up and meet back at the room later. Since I was with Steve I tried to think of things we would both like. I suggested the TTA he said OK. After that we Walked through the Christmas shop and then did the Haunted Mansion and the Train. I love the Train I always loved playing with trains as a child. I never had one but my younger brother did and my cousins did. We had a nice ride where you could actually here the announcer. We got off at Main Street Station and walked down Main Street to Adventureland. I wanted to get a Dolewhip. I have never had one since I don’t get many snacks, but now is the time. I did not know what I was missing! UMMM very refreshing. I will put this on my must have list with the Mickey Ice cream bar. Steve got the dolewhip float. I tried it and that was just as good. (Tough decision) We sat at one of the tables for about 15 mins and just had a quite moment. It was nice. We then figured it was time to leave the park. We had had a very full and enjoyable day and it was time to go. It was now 1:50. When we got back to the room, Stephen and Sara were there. They said they were going to the pool so I went with them. Sara told me she and Stephen had ridden Space Mountain twice and done Buzz Lightyear twice then the Haunted Mansion and they also went in the Christmas Shop. She helped me with my notes again from the morning. We left the pool after about 20 mins because it looked like a storm was coming. Stephen laid down and took a nap. Steve and I said we were going for a walk. Sara said she wanted to come with us and get a Mickey bar. We walked by the beach and the other side of the resort where the new refurbished rooms are. We saw no signs of them being occupied and we saw lots of workers and generators everywhere. I guess they were not making up the story about everyone moving out due to an electrical problem. I did feel better knowing that. We went back in the hotel through the food and fun center. Sara and I got a Mickey ice cream bar. We then went up to the fourth floor and shopped. I bought a bottle of Aleve for Steve. $6.39 His back was hurting and we had used up all the other ones I had packed. I bought a Minnie Mouse doll outfit. It looked like it would fit my American Girl Doll Molly. I wanted to buy one in the Germany toy store but it was $139.00 just for a dress no ears or shoes. This one was $25.00 and it came with all the accessories. Sara just window-shopped. She was going to make a decision later about what to buy. We left for Epcot about 3:45. We took the car again this time. We planed on checking out the Candy Artistry at 5:05 so we needed something to do before that. I mentioned that we had not been in Inoventions in a long time. To me it was pretty much video games, which I have no idea how to play. We walked in and there was a cast member calling out for more people to come and join a game. He said hurry hurry come right in. We went inside. They were putting people on teams. They put Steve and I on one team and Stephen and Sara on the other. It was a game that was presented by Liberty Mutual on Fire Prevention. We were on the Searchwell team and Stephen and Sara were on the Findmore team. They gave a little speech about the losses each year due to fire in the home. They gave us flashlights and said we had to go through rooms and find fire hazards. When we did both team members had to put the flashlight on the item at the same time and they would score points. I don’t know what happened there was all this confusion and Steve said follow me. Next thing I know we were running around a house. There was someone pointing you into different rooms. They had a bathroom and kitchen and living room and bedroom and garage. I felt like I was on some reality show and I was going to be the first one voted off. I could find the hazard. It was like a hairdryer plugged in near the sink or a candle unattended, but I could not point the flashlight. It sounds weird but it was like a video game or something like a computer mouse that you had to get use to and there was not enough time. Steve had no problem and said Point the light!!! What’s wrong with you? I was laughing so hard I couldn’t even figure it out. Then a buzzer went off and Game Over. We went back to our teams. Our other team members were laughing too and they had little kids so I know we lost. Stephen and Sara had no pointing issues and a very competitive team. Well in the end the Findmores did find MORE and the Search wells did NOT search well. But fun was had by all. I was glad we did that, and I found out Inoventions was more than just traditional video games. We did not have much more time to explore anything else. We headed to Japan. We did walk through Morocco and visit the shops. We got to Japan at 4:50. I did not see where the Candy show was. I went in the store and asked the cast member behind the counter. She said see that little cart out in front of the doors? It is right there. There was no one there, but we took a spot in front. Right at 5:05 a lady came walking out with a box. She got behind the cart and put on a microphone. She asked a woman in the audience what she wanted her to make. It was obvious that this woman had seen this before. She said a pink flamingo. She took out some pink taffy looking candy. It was about the size of a large marble and began to quickly form it into a flamingo. She then took out some sort of clippers and snipped the wings to look like feathers. Then she put in on a stick and put some shiny edible paint for a beak. She then told us she could make any animal and asked someone else to pick. She made an Orange Bunny, Blue Dragon, and Blue porcupine. Then Sara got to pick she picked a pink unicorn. It was very interesting Art. She told us that the Candy was 200 degrees and that is why her fingers moved so fast. It was amazing to watch. We all enjoyed this. I think it has been around for a long time but I never heard of it until I read someone’s trip report that mentioned watching a candy art. I was glad I found out about it. After that we looked for a restroom before dinner. The reason I am mentioning this is because, the one we found was in Japan and it was strange. It only had two stalls and there was no one else around. I guess because it is hidden so well. We checked in at Tepanyakki. We had never done this before but Roger (Travel Agent) has always recommended this to me. We waited about 15 mins since we were a little early. We were seated with a family from Ohio that had two boys about 11 and 13. They were very nice and the 11 year old was quite funny at times. The food was GREAT! The guys got the filet mignon and Sara and I got a chicken and sirloin combo. Mine was the best beef I think I have ever had. (Thanks Roger) Steve tried a bite and said he thought it was better than the filet. I am not a beef person but it was so good I think I ate it all and none of the chicken. It was the fullest I felt on the whole trip. Before the meal they brought us a sample appetizer of a seaweed salad. I almost didn’t try it, but I did and was glad. It was very good. I ate it all. The desserts were all good too. I had Ginger Ice cream. We all agreed this was the best dinner so far. (Only one more to go) After dinner we needed to walk, so we went around the other side of World Showcase where we had not been yet. We started in France, where Sara bought me a glass of wine. It had our last name in the name of the wine. It was very good. We went through England where we saw Mary Poppin’s Carpet bag. Next we went to Canada and I looked through the Anne of Green Gables section of the store. After that I wanted to take another ride on Soarin so we headed over to the Land. There was only a 10 min wait. I loved it!! It was especially relaxing after that glass of wine. (Thanks Sara!) Next we all did Test Track and three of us did Mission Space. The park was now closed and it was time to say good buy to Epcot for this trip. I had to take my traditional walk over the sparkly lights in the sidewalk on our way out. I always do that. I think it is because it makes me think of the very first time I saw those lights in 1983 on our honeymoon and how magical I thought it was, and of course I like anything that sparkles. It was 9:22 when we made it back to our room. I made some notes for the report and organized for the next day. At 10:05 we watched the Electric Water pageant again and lights out!

Happy Thoughts for the Day:

Dolewhip

Our Timing was right all day

Japan (Candy and Dinner)

We get to be princesses tomorrow

Unhappy Thoughts for the Day:

ONLY ONE! More day left

Friday Sept 15th

Plan: Be at the Animal Kingdom for the openings at 9:00. Ride the Safari then Everest See the first or second Festival of the Lion King Show. Ride Primeval Whirl and Dinosaur, see It’s Tough to be a Bug 3d show, (no set plans for lunch) See Flights of Wonder show, take the train to Rafikis planet watch. Ride the Kali River Rapids. Return to the Contemporary, and do the pool if there is time. Put on our Costumes. Walk to the MK and get our bracelets for the Mickey’s Not so Scary Party. Eat dinner at Tony’s seating time is 5:30. The party should be starting shortly after dinner. Visit some Trick or Treat stations and do some of our favorite rides Get a spot and watch the Parade. Visit the Haunted Mansion. Take a photo with Cinderella’s coach if it is out. Watch the Fireworks then visit any attractions and trick a treat until Midnight when the party is over. Go back and pack up so we can be ready to leave in the morning.

Real Story:

I woke up at 6:00 and realized it was our last day. (VERY SAD), but then I remembered that we had Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party today. (Very Happy) We had our bagels and got ready to leave for the Animal Kingdom. We took the car. We arrived at 8:45. They were letting us through the turnstiles, but there were ropes holding you back. At 9:00 they had an opening ceremony. Mickey and Minnie and Goofy and Pluto came out on the back of a truck. It was like a big parade float. They did a little presentation and there was music. Instead of a rope this vehicle moved down ahead of the crowd and walked us to the Safari. I am assuming they must have done the same thing on the other side of the Tree of Life towards Expedition Everest, the other top attraction here. We wanted to do Kilaminjaro Safari first so we could see the most animals. I have always done it first and seen most of the animals every time. It worked. We saw lots of them and they were pretty active. After the Safari we walked the Pangani Forest Trail again since last time we did it the gorillas were not out. When we got to the gorilla section it was roped off and we were told they were not there. I asked the Cast Member why and he said they were working on refurbishing the habitat and they had to be moved out at times so the workers could go in. I told him that the people at the front of the trail were not informing guest as they entered. I then asked him when they would be out and he said most likely in a few more hours. After that we headed to Expedition Everest. There was a huge line outside and they wait time said 40 mins. I was glad we had done this already because we did not want to wait. There were no lines when we came on Tuesday, and that was even later in the day. I am thinking it was because today was an evening extra magic hour day so more people came to this park. We skipped over that and went to the Tree of Life to see the 3D bug show. I used to hate this because of my fear of bugs and flying things, but I am used to it now and it only freaks me out a little bit. Everyone else enjoyed it. After that it was time to head to the theatre so see the Festival of the Lion King. This is my favorite show in all of WDW. It has so many different things all in one. There are Disney characters, acrobats and music and even a Fire dancer. As usual it was a very good show that I enjoyed a lot. When the show was over, guess who was hungry again? I think it was because we passed Pizzafari. We all agreed that pizza sounded good so we went in. We all got the pepperoni pizza. For dessert, Stephen and I got frozen lemonade and Steve and Sara got apple pie. They said the pie was good. The frozen lemonade was also good and very refreshing in the heat. It was way too big. I checked the calories and if you ate the whole thing it was about 600 calories. I think I ate about 200 calories worth and had to throw it out. This restaurant was empty when we came in there was no one else even in the room that we ate in It was very quiet and relaxing for a pizza place. I took some photos of the walls. They had some very unique murals with different animal scenes. I even took a photo of the chair I sat in. I like to capture all the details for my scrapbook. The chairs were painted in very bright colors with bugs and lizards painted on them. After lunch we did the Dinosaur ride and Primeval Whirl. There were no waits for anything so far except Everest, which is still new. We just walked on everything else. This is when I realized that we had not used a fast pass the ENTIRE trip. We did get one at Soarin and Space Mountain once but we ended up not using it because there was no need. This was a first for me. I am the fastpass queen. I once had three in my had at once. After that revelation we headed to the Maharaja Jungle Trek. We saw the tigers and the bats and a few other animals. It was just about time for Flights of Wonder show to start. I knew Stephen and Steve would like this. It is very interesting even to me who does not like birds. I did have to duck several times. When the birds fly over the audience they come VERY close, but I made through. The guys enjoyed this a lot. After the show we took the train over to Rafikis planet watch. We went in the booth where you listen to the rain forest sounds. We enjoyed that. The booth gets totally dark and you just listen. It feels a little strange because the headphones are very real sounding. You think an animal is really there. We walked through the exhibits and then to the petting zoo. After that a visit to the restroom to check out the poop info was in order. They actually give you information about animal poop on the back of the stall doors. We took the train back. The train ride itself is pretty boring. I think they could have done something better. After all this is DISNEY! We then headed to Kali River rapids the wait said 10 mins. Steve said he did not want to go on. He said he did not want to get wet. I figured it was 98 degrees, and wet would be good. We were leaving soon after that anyways. He stood over a bridge and got some good photos of us on the raft. We then wanted to ride Everest, but when we got there it was stuck up on the hill. Not a good idea right now. Well it was time to say good by to the Animal Kingdom. Funny thing about this park is that the more I go the more I like it. The first time I went I thought it was Okay, but now I really enjoy it. We headed out to the parking lot. It was the hottest we had felt yet. A funny thing happened we couldn’t remember where the car was. Steve always remembers so I never even pay attention. He said he remembered the general area. We started walking that way when Sara said it was the Unicorn section and we all said yes that’s right. Steve kept saying I think it was over to the right and Stephen said not that far. Steve then said everyone take a row walk straight down and call out if you find it. I was on the far left and I found it. Too bad I guess we can’t stay here forever. Phew I thought we were going to be one of those people that you see security driving around looking for their lost car. This was a first for us. When we got in the car the thermostat said 101degrees. I believe it was right.

On the car ride back to the Contemporary, we discussed whether or not there was time to go in the pool and for all of us to get in our costumes, before we had to leave for dinner. Stephen said that Sara and I would need a lot of time for our Princess primping. We did go to the pool for a short time. (Even Steve joined us this time) We all managed to transform into our respective characters on time. Steve put on all the tattoos. He was getting into the fun. I can’t say the same for Stephen, although he was not disagreeable. Sara put here hair up and used blue eye shadow and glitter. She looked so good! I was jealous. I used some hair gel to part my bangs in the middle of my hair and used some of Sara’s glitter, and was good to go. The party officially began at 7:00. We would be entering the Magic Kingdom earlier for our dinner at Tony’s. We were not sure if we needed our regular passes or if our Halloween party passes would get us in. To be safe we brought both passes. Sara and I had the guys carry our passes because we did not want to bring any bags tonight. They did not go with our princess costumes. We also decided ahead of time to wear our sneakers and not uncomfortable princess shoes. I carried my poison apple and she only had her gloves to deal with. It was 4:55 when we left the room. Once again we took the walkway. Some of us felt funny to be walking down that path in our costumes. Not all of us. Sara and I felt like princesses. Where else can two grown women walk around in princess gowns and not be questioned? We were proud to wear them! We soon saw a whole group dressed as pirates and our other halves felt less stupid, as they put it. When we arrived at the MK, it turned out they had a separate entrance on the far right that said Halloween party. We used those passes and were given bracelets and trick or treat bags. It was very organized for a first night of an event. They also gave us special Halloween party guide maps. I asked for a couple extras for my scrapbook. The guide maps had the Trick or Treat spots listed in them as well as show and parade time. As soon as we entered the Park we saw Chip and Sara and I got our photo with him in our costumes. We then checked in at Tony’s at 5:15 for our 5:30 seating. This was our last table service meal so it was a little sad, but the princess costumes made it feel much better. We sat down in the lobby to wait. Several times a little kid would come in and say Look it’s Cinderella and wave to Sara. She loves kids and was happy with that. She worked at a daycare before she graduated college. Tony’s was fun. We saw some three other groups dressed up. For some reason Tony’s receipt was different then the other restaurants. They printed what we got and the total price. Here is what we ate.

Me: Appetizer: House Salad $4.69 Soda $2.19

Entrée: Chicken Pasta $19.99 It was very good in a creamy Alfredo sauce

Dessert: Ice Cream Bomb $5.69 also very good it was vanilla ice cream in a

Chocolate shell with sauce. The best non-buffet dessert.

Sara: Appetizer: same as me

Entrée: Spaghetti and meatballs $18.99 Very brave in a Cinderella Dress!

Dessert: Tiramisu $5.69

Soda: same price


Steve: Appetizer: Calamari $7.99

Entrée: NY Strip Steak $25.49

Dessert: Tiramisu same as above

Soda same price

Stephen: Appetizer Soup of the day $4.69

Entrée: NY Strip Steak same as above

Dessert Cheesecake $5.69

Total $143.54

18% 25.84

Total $178.72

Conclusion: We all agreed it was about the same as going to the Olive Garden but a lot more money. The service felt a little rushed and there were really no special Disney touches. I would not go back here if I were not on the dining plan. The food was pretty good but not a good value, but since we were on the dining plan we enjoyed our time there.

When we left Tony’s it was 6:15 so the Trick or Treat stations were not open yet. We went for a ride on Space Mountain. Sara and I were very glad we wore our sneakers. It made it easier to maneuver into the rocket while wearing our gowns. When we came out of Space Mountain we noticed it was starting to rain. It was jus a little sprinkle. We did not bring any raingear because we did not want to wear anything over our costume. We took a ride on the TTA. It was a great place to look down and see other people’s costumes. We noticed not as many people as I thought were dressed up. I think it was because it was so early in the season. After all it was only September 15th. We saw a little girl about seven years old dressed as Cinderella with a grandfather dressed as the Prince. At least we think it was the grandfather I guess it could have been the father you never know. We saw a whole family in a Star Wars theme. We saw the Wicked Queen from Snow White and some pirates. By the time we got off of the TTA there was a steady rain coming down now. We just went on with our plans. There wasn’t anything we could do and it was very warm so it didn’t really bother us, except my hair was growing larger by the minute. Snow White was having a bad hair day. We walked over to Frontierland and we went to a Trick or Treat Station at the Briar Patch. It was 7:20 so we picked a spot to see the Parade in Frontierland. We wanted a good spot since we had not seen this parade before or the headless horseman. I was not sure we would see him because the ground was wet and I had read that he might not ride if it is too slippery for the horse. The parade was scheduled to start at 8:00. It was very hot and humid now. The air was foggy and the rain had slowed down. There was a lot of lightning. It seemed far off but all around us. There were a few rumbles of thunder. I told my family it was not real it was just part of the Disney Halloween Magic, but they did not buy it. Stephen just said ok Mom keep telling yourself that. At about 8:15 there was an announcement that due to the weather the Parade would be delayed. They did not give us a timeframe. We made a decision to wait because we had already waited long enough. In about 15 mins it began. It also began to POUR right after they said it would begin, and the parade now went on in the pouring rain. The Headless Horseman did ride. And the Parade was good enough that we did not care that our princess gowns were getting soaked. The Haunted Mansion float was well done. They had men dressed in suits that were gravediggers. They did a dance and dragged their shovels on the tar to make sparks. They stayed in character and were a little scary looking. The Ballroom dancers had unbelievable costumes and make up. There was a Pirate float with a Captain Jack Sparrow on it. Then all the Disney villains joined in the parade and a big float with Goofy passing out candy at the end.

Everyone enjoyed the parade. Even Steve had to admit he enjoyed it. He usually just goes to the parades for me. After the parade let out we headed over to the Haunted Mansion. It was all lit up with a greenish glow. The cast members had extra touches. They had cobwebs woven in their hands and on there coats. They wore creepy looking makeup. It was a nice touch for the party. When we came out there was a special effect of fog all over and because it was so humid my glasses were completely covered. I could not see a thing and had to take them off for a minute. It did stop raining and believe it or not our dresses dried rather quickly. After I could see we walked over to Fantasyland when all of a sudden I saw something amazing. There it was in all of its Glory “Cinderella’s COACH!” I screamed. I had forgotten that it was going to be out for photographs. I told my family to hold on while I asked some questions. There was a long line so I asked the cast member if it was going to be out all night and he said yes. I then asked him if we could take our own photos or if we had to pay. He said either way is fine. I told everyone we would come back later when the line was down. No arguments there, although Sara would have waited after all, it was her coach for the night. Next we walked to the front of the castle to get a spot for the fireworks show, Hallowishes. Steve and I had some sort of argument about the spot. He told me to pick it so I did then there was some problem with it. I don’t even remember now what it was, but he was right I found another spot that was better, right in the circle in front of the castle behind a group of small kids sitting on a blanket. It was great spot and a great show. I was glad we had a good view of the castle because they showed a lot of things on it. After the fireworks Stephen and Sara and I went on the Teacups. A strange thing happened. The ride started and Stephen began spinning the teacup. It was barley moving. We thought he was tired and he insisted it was broken. When the ride stopped we were able to get off then go right back through the line with no wait and get a different teacup. This time it worked and we got a fast spin. After the teacups we went down Alice’s Trick or Treat Path. They had an actual teacup from the ride on the path filled to the brim with candy. I wished I got a picture of it but I didn’t think of it at the time. It was now about time for the second parade to start about 10:00 so I said lets go check out the line for the photo with the coach. It was much shorter only about six people ahead of us. We decided we would take one of me and one of Sara and have them take one of all four of us. It is disappointing that they did not have the free one anymore. I am guessing they must have done away with the free photo at the Christmas party too. I think that is wrong, first the party pins then the photo. I think it is time I write a letter. Our photos that we took came out just as good if not better than the one they took. Sara looked like the real thing in her gown. I ended up buying the photo of all for of us. They did give us a photopass card and we got 50% off so with the shipping it cost $8.96. The only advantage of their photo was that you could get a boarder around the picture with candy and it said Mickey’s Halloween Party 2006. This is what you used to get as part of the ticket price. I draw the line at cookies and cocoa. If they take that away from the Christmas party I don’t think I can go anymore. WA! WA!


After the photos we rode Thunder Mountain and then Splash Mountain. It was just after eleven when both guys said they had reached their limit of fun. Stephen said he wanted to take a shower. It was still so hot out that they were sweating. Sara said she was not leaving, that we only had one hour left and did not want to leave. I felt the same way. It was nice to have her there. I would have stayed alone, but it was way more fun with her.

I am afraid I may have created another Disney Fanatic. I was very proud of her!!! We went on the Haunted Mansion. A very strange thing happened; the ride stopped right in front of the Madame Laotta globe, and something smacked the back of our doombuggy. We screamed, and then there was laughter from the next doombuggy over. I am guessing they did it, but it seemed like a far reach if they did. I guess we don’t really know. After that I asked Sara what we should do and she said we could ride Small World again since there were no guys with us. I was right she had crossed over to the Disney side. We had a very enjoyable ride. When we got off I remembered that she had wanted to go on the Astro orbiter earlier and I told her we should wait until dark because it was a beautiful view with all the lights at night. We weren’t sure we had enough time to make it. We had to run in our princess gowns (thank goodness for the sneakers) to get there before midnight. It was funny because people looked at her and said hurry it’s almost midnight. We made it and we were the last ride of the night. We went in separate rockets because we could not fit two of us in gowns. It was a Magical ending to a special Disney trip. After the ride we both became very quite and walked slowly down main street said goodbye to the Castle. There were cast members at the exit passing out more candy as we went through. We headed to the walkway. We did not pass anyone it was a little creepy, just the two of us late at night. We wondered if the guys would still be up. They were awake. We all agreed the Halloween party was a lot of fun. Sara has never been to the Christmas party but the three of us thought that the Christmas party was a little more special. It might be that we just like Christmas more. I do have to agree for me the best part was wearing the costume and I would definitely go again. Here is what we got for candy I made a list of my bag:

All were small snack size

Skittles 1

Wonka Nerds 4 or 5

Mike and Ike 2

Bite size snickers LOTS of those

Twix 3 of 4

York peppermint patty only one of those

Air heads lots of those

Wonka Laffy Taffy lots of those

Dum Dum pops lots

Palmer chocolate wrapped in Halloween foil about 6

Starburst about 6

Tootsie flavor rolls lots

Little Hot dog and hamburger gummy things about 6 or 7

Bit o honey 2

Hershey crackle only 1

Swedish fish

Hershey kiss 2

Sugar babies 1

Butter finger 1

Sunkist fruit gems 3

Recess peanut butter miniature cup 1

There was a large variety of candy, but not a lot of any one kind. I thought it was well done. It was fun just to Trick or Treat, and the candy was good.

I asked Steve what time he wanted to leave in the morning and he said as soon as we were ready. Well no one was tired so we decided to pack up now. Pretty much Sara and I did all the packing. Lights were out at 1:23am.

Happy Thoughts for the Day:

Never being too old to be a Princess

Sara becoming a Disney lover

Magic Kingdom at Night

Unhappy Thoughts for the Day

Midnight and it’s over

It rained on our parade

Saturday Sept 16th

Plan: Check out day/ DRIVE ALL DAY

Real Story:

We woke up around 7:15 Mickey called at 8:00 Sara and I each picked up a phone so we could listen. There were two phones in our room. We all showered and got in our comfy traveling clothes. We made three trips to get the car packed. We had four counter service meals left so we went to the food and fun center and each picked out a sandwich and chips for lunch on the ride home. For dessert we all got one last Mickey Bar and ate that for breakfast. We did get some funny looks from a few people. Hey we figured we got some calcium. We had two small coolers so we got some ice and packed the sandwiches in them. From what I calculated we had nine snack options left so we got 4 bags of chips and one M&M candy one pop tarts and three cinnamon rolls. ALL to go. So with our car loaded up with junk food, it was time to leave Walt Disney World property. We left the official property at 9:15am. I was pretty much an uneventful trip home. We did take a wrong turn in Washington DC and it ended up bringing us by the Capitol building and the Washington Monument. It was nighttime and a pretty site. Sara had never seen them before so I was glad we were able to see it. We made it home at 6:00am and we were all glad to get out of the car.

Conclusion:


It was a very special trip for me, and I hope for everyone else as well. We all had fun and got along 99% of the time. Stephen and Sara spent most of their time with us even though they had a choice, and never once complained. It was a great opportunity to get some family time at the most magical place on earth.

Cost:

Pre trip Items: $45.98 Costume supplies and Glow necklaces
Magic your way with Dining Package: $3,553.08
Food on the Drive: $83.43
Incidentals: $139.58 Wal-Mart trips and Alcohol at Ohana’s
MouseKeeping: $35.00
Gas: $268.02
Souvenirs: $33.02
Post Trip: $141.94 photopass and Digital printing- we used Sam’s Club 15 cents/print
We had about 600 photos
Total Trip Cost: $4,299.97

Firsts for me on this Trip:

Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party
Lights Camera Action Motor Stunt Show
Photo with the Fairy Godmother and Belle and Cinderella’s Coach
Disney Dining Plan
Eating in Norway, Mexico, Japan and Ohana’s
Seeing the Candy Artistry in Japan
Dolewhip
Not using a Fastpass for an Entire Trip
Losing the car in a Parking Lot
Things on my Wish list that I have still not done:

Ride upfront on the monorail
Eat at the California Grill
Do a behind the Scenes Tour
Stay at the Grand Floridian
Attend Mousefest
See the Candlelight processional
Sherry Cote
dizgirl@comcast.net