Well here it goes, the start of our trip report. My first attempt at writing one, so bear with me………

Our trip began on November 6th and ended on November 11th.

We stayed at the All Stars Music Resort in the Country Faire building.

Cast of Characters:

Me 42 10th trip to Disney

My husband, 41 5th trip to Disney

Our son 9, 3rd trip to Disney

Our daughter 14 months, 1st Trip to Disney


Story on how the trip came to be……

I have relatives in England and Ireland that we visit frequently. One on my cousins called in August and said that she will be coming to Florida in November with her son and granddaughter. Her son is going to represent the UK in the Triathalon in Clearwater. They really want to see us and would love to meet us in Disney world since they know we love to go there. Actually what they said was…”Can you “pop” down to Disney and see us?” LOL!! Of course me being a disney freak, wanted to say yes right away! I did have to check with my husband and it took him all of 2 seconds to say of course, we all could use a vacation! Let’s go. Hurray!! We were on our way to Disney!!!

So I emailed our regular Disney travel agent and inquired about reservations, deals, tickets etc…and decided on All Stars Music because they had a fall deal going on. We usually stay at the Wilderness lodge so this was going to be new for us. We did not budget for this trip, as it was kind of last minute so we could not stay in the WL. I was able to get really good airfares and we were all set to go!!!

Then of course the planning began………multiple discussion boards, posts, questions asked, information updated, planners ordered, supplies gathered, you all know the drill !!! Fun! Fun! Fun!!!


Finally our travel day arrived!!! Or should I say our middle of the night travel extravaganza………..oh my!

Stay tuned for day 1!

Great start Eileen!

But hurry up....I want to read about day one!!!:p;)

Waiting...........................:D

DAY 1: ARRIVAL AND MK

Our day started out at 3:15am, yes you read correctly, 3:15am! UGH!!!! The alarm went off and I felt like I just fell asleep a minute ago! There is a commercial on TV about going to Disney World where the sister asks the brother on the night before they leave for their trip, “Are you asleep?” And he replies, “ I’m too excited to sleep!!” in this crazy voice. My husband and I spent most of Monday night saying that as we were getting all the last minute stuff done. I think we got to bed around 10ish and of course he fell asleep in one minute and I was still up at 11:30. Awake…..Awake…..not sure when I finally fell off to sleep, but I do know that 3:15am came way too soon! The limo to the airport was coming at 4:15am and we had to shower and make sure all the little stuff was ready when the limo came.

The limo was on time and by the time we loaded all of our luggage, carry ons, diaper bag, stroller, and secured the car seat, got our son up and in the car, and dragged our daughter out of her crib, changed her and put her in the car seat, it was after 4:30am. http://<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/18559879@N06/2021762350/" title="PB060001 by eyenjeff, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2365/2021762350_de84dbedb8_o.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="PB060001" /></a> But, we were still doing ok on time, our flight wasn’t leaving until 6:30am. My son was so excited because it was a stretch SUV, and had lots of cool things to look at! http://<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/18559879@N06/2020961985/" title="PB060002 by eyenjeff, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2368/2020961985_4fbb23f53b_o.jpg" width="800" height="600" alt="PB060002" /></a> We arrived at the airport quickly because no one in their right mind is out at that time of the night. We used curbside check in because we had too much stuff. We learned a valuable lesson in that you are allowed 2 pieces of luggage per person and that luggage can not weigh more than 50pounds per bag. We took one large suitcase and filled it and one med suitcase and one small suitcase for all 4 of us. We should have taken at least 2 suitcases per adult and maybe one each for the kids, leaving room in each case for purchases. You had to know that the large suitcase was overweight. So here it is 5am on Tuesday morning at O’hare airport, about 29F, and we are unpacking the large case and moving stuff around to decrease it by 5 pounds. We were successful at least on the way To Orlando, not so much on the way home.

After checking in our luggage and rearranging their contents, we make our way to security. Here we are, a mom, dad, little boy and a one yr old, stroller, diaper bag, camera bag, and laptop bag and of course the laptop. Oh and of course, a full size car seat for my daughter who won’t sit still any way else. We all take off our shoes, my son and I were smart and wore our crocs, daughter was still in her footy jammies, and my husband insisted on wearing his gym shoes and socks instead of easy to remove sandals. Plus he had on a belt, many keys in his pocket, and had to remove his laptop from the case. He is so easily flustered and this time was no exception. He had to also put the full size car seat and stroller thru the x-ray so I could be on the other end to catch it all and put it all back together. Plus hold the baby and answer the 1,234,457 questions my son had about everything under the sun. Of course the machine beeped when my husband went thru it. He did not originally take out his keys, belt, etc… and it made it all beep. (duh!) Anyway, that sent him on a mumbling tirade about the current administration and how we wouldn’t have to have all this security if it wasn’t for them…..blah blah blah blah. The last thing I like to discuss at ANY time is politics, especially at 5:15am on my way to Disney, aka: The Happiest Place on Earth. My only response to him was that I believe we had airport security before 9-11. I then took the children and walked away so he could continue his mumbling rant while he put his belt back on, put all his keys (non of which he needed at WDW LOL!) back in his pockets and put on his shoes and tied them.

By now, everyone was hungry and knowing that airlines no longer serve food on the planes we decided to go to McD’s and get some breakfast before the flight. So off to McD’s and then on to the gate.

I had a surprise for my husband in that I had checked us in online and had upgraded us to the business section of the plane for more leg room. My husband is over 6’2” and is always cramped on a plane. He was very happy again when heard of his surprise! Thank goodness I had saved that info til the last minute. Because we had a baby, car seat, stroller etc… I asked if we could board early and at least install the car seat ahead of time so we would not hold up the rest of the plane when we got on, seeing that we were in row 1 and 2 of the plane. Of course the answer was NO.
No preboarding for small children anymore, only if you are in first class. (Which this plane did not even have 1st class as it was Ted not United). So instead of being considerate to my fellow passengers, like I wanted to be, we blocked the aisle while we installed the car seat and got both kids settled. I drove MYSELF crazy, I’m sure the rest of the plane loved us!!!

We finally took off on time and both my son and daughter fell asleep for exactly 30 mins. They were up since 4am and by now they should be so tired that they pass out, right? No such luck, I get 30 mins of twilight sleep and am just about to crash hard when I hear my daughter awake and fussing. Well so much for a little power nap. We finally arrive in Orlando and of course I can’t get the car seat unbuckled from the airline seat. They had to call maintenance to come and undo it. This made us the Last people off the plane. Oh well, were on vacation and headed to the Happiest Place on Earth. So off to collect our luggage, this by this time was waiting for us in the unclaimed luggage area, due to our needing maintenance to remove the car seat. Thankfully our pre-arranged Limo driver was there and waiting for us with a cart and he led us outside to the limo pick-up area. Immediately all the stress of the trip there went away when we felt the warm air saw the blue skies and the palm trees. Something about palm trees always makes me relaxed. We had left 29F and gloomy so the warm air was such a nice change! He brought the car around for us and thankfully it was a full size suburban. We loaded all of our stuff in and off we went. We always use the same car service so we know they are dependable. At this point we usually go on a 30min grocery stop, but after reading many posts we decided to try ordering groceries to the room to save time. This turned out to be a great idea and I will do it again! More on that later.

We arrived at All Stars Music about 30 mins later, and were greeted by luggage services that helped us unload, (again), all of our stuff onto a cart.

As an aside, we usually stay at Wilderness Lodge, so we were a little leery about staying at one of the value resorts from all that we have read. The WL is so majestic and the lobby so cool and well themed, you immediately feel like you are someplace special. As I said earlier, we picked ASMu because it was a last minute trip and we did not budget for WL.

So when we arrived at the Lobby of the ASMu, it was a little disappointing but OK. I had seen pics of it online so I wasn’t shocked, just not as blown away as with the WL. I do have to say though in defense of the ASMu, for the “value” of it all it was fine. We really have no big complaints. Basically you get what you pay for. Our room happened to be the farthest from the bus stop in the Country Faire building, although that made it very quiet back there. It was also the farthest from the food court so we did not take advantage of the refillable mugs as we also had the dining plan and that included a drink with all your meals anyway. When we checked in, the manager was in the lobby handing out balloon animals and helium balloons and stickers to all the kids. He was very welcoming and upbeat. The counter staff was very accommodating and nice. They had assigned us a room that was not ready and offered to look for another room that was ready so we could go directly to our room and unpack. We also needed a connecting room for my cousins for one night and they were able to accommodate that as well. Customer service I would have to say at that resort is A+.

We checked with luggage services and gave them our room number and they said they were going to bring our luggage right away. We also had groceries waiting for us from gardengrocer.com and a refrigerator we had reserved from a frig swap from one of the discussion boards. Otherwise you would have to rent one for $10 a night, and this was free! (Great idea in my opinion) All was present and accounted for and ready to go. WOW! Was all I could think. This is really going well. Usually our trips don’t have so much ease and convenience. We make our way across the resort to the room following a map, and the luggage guys beat us there! We let them in and they help us with the luggage and the frig and helped us take it out of the box and set it up. Again, great service!

My cousins had not yet arrived from Clearwater, so we decided to unpack a little and get ready to go to the MK when they arrived. We unpacked the groceries, filled the frig, and got organized and were all ready to go when my cousins arrived. They were very excited to see us and quick threw their suitcases on the bed and off we went to the food court for a quick lunch and then on to MK!

Our lunch in the intermission food court was good. We hadn’t eaten since the McD’s at 5am so we were starving and willing to eat dirt at this point. This was our first try at the dining plan and getting used to the guidelines again. It was certainly enough to eat for a counter service, and everyone seemed to go away satisfied. I had the chicken Alfredo and breadstick, with a drink and a desert. My husband had an Italian sandwich with a pasta salad, desert and drink. My son had spaghetti and meatballs, Jell-O and a choc chip cookie and drink. My daughter ate off all of our plates LOL! She was the best fed of the whole trip. It is nice that there was no charge for her, and most of the places we ate, asked if they could bring her something. All of the places brought her a beverage of our choosing. Mostly we chose milk for her as we brought a lot of small juices with us. We also ordered milk from the grocery delivery and next time, I probably won’t order it knowing that we can get it at any of the eating places. She also started liking to drink out of water bottles. Gerber has these caps you can put on a reg bottle of water and it makes it spill proof! Very cool, in fact I put it on my water bottle too, because I am just as big as a mess maker as my daughter! LOL!
I usually put Propel packets in the water and she seems to like it.

So with lunch done and everyone’s tummy happy we head off to our first bus ride to the MK. We have never traveled to WDW with a baby, stroller, and all the paraphernalia you need when you have a baby. It was an enlightening experience to say the least. Enjoyable but a lot of work! Especially for a stay at home mom whose daughter is very attached to her. I came home with muscles in my arms that were not there when we left.

Part two coming: Magic Kingdom, and the commando riding experiences! Plus dinner and fireworks!

YEAH! You DID it--and well, I might add! 3:15 is awfully early, girl. You beat me by 15 minutes. I had to get up at 3:30....

Sounds like a great start to the trip. Glad you liked gardengrocer.com. We used them for the first time this trip and we loved them too!

Looking forward to more, more more!

Wow, this much pretty much took all day to get to be able to post pics and type it on word and copy and paste ugh!!! I can save your life, but I am soooo computer challenged!!! Hopefully the next section will go faster! I am finishing downloading pics now so I can add some more to the next section. I was going to add some to this one, but the edit button is not availaable for some reason. So Ill add more to the next one. Thanks for reading!!!

DAY 1: <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">PART</st1:PlaceName> TWO: <ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">MAGIC</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">KINGDOM</st1:PlaceType></ST1:place> COMANDO STYLE<O:p></O:p>
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We got in line outside of ASMu for the MK, and of course all the other busses were there and came and went while we were waiting. That gave us more time to talk about what we were going to do once we got to the MK.<O:p></O:p>
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My cousin’s granddaughter, who is 12, has been to Disneyland Paris but was so excited to visit Disney World MK! She could not wait to see the castle that she had heard so much about. We went through the bag check which always took time with us because of all the stuff we felt we needed to carry around with us, “just in case” we needed it. LOL! We went past the train station and she saw <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Main Street</st1:address></st1:Street> and then around the first bend towards the castle and she lit up with joy! Exactly the same feeling I get when I see the castle. When my daughter saw the castle, she also lit up and started pointing towards the castle and clapping. She is a girl after my own heart, must be in the DNA! LOL!<O:p></O:p>
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I know she is only 14 months old and she will never remember this trip, but I will always remember how happy she was when she was there and how she laughed and smiled at all the characters and clapped to all the music. She brought a new level of enjoyment to Disney World. I remember when I first took my son to Disney World as a single mom, when he was 5, it was the best vacation I had ever had! We stayed for 12 days at the Wilderness Lodge over Halloween time and had a blast! To see Disney through his eyes was absolutely magical and I will never forget that trip either. I had adopted him as a single mom, because I really wanted to be a mom and he really needed a mom. He was a premature infant born at 27 weeks at 1 pound 7oz. His biological mother was not kind to him during her pregnancy and delivered him via an emergency c-section at a neighboring hospital. I worked as a Nicu nurse where he was transported to and took care of him from the first night and fell in love with him from day one. I decided somewhere along the way that I would love to be his mom, and make sure he got the best life he could. I took him home as his foster mom and within 9 months, I adopted him. He is the first joy of my life. We were lucky enough to meet my now husband, and he fell in love with both of us. We were married in Sept. 2005, and went on a “Family Honeymoon” to Disney World in Dec. 2005 to celebrate. That was at Christmas time and also a very magical trip. Each trip brings different and more magical memories!<O:p></O:p>
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Back to MK now, 2007, we headed for the castle for the customary pictures

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and decided to go right for <ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Splash</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Mountain</st1:PlaceType></ST1:place>. We had arrived at Mk around 2:30 and made our way to SM only to be stopped by the afternoon parade. Which made me happy, but the kids were a little upset they had to wait for SM. The parade finished and we made it to SM only to find out it was not working at the time. OH NO! So while they all went on Thunder mtn, I got them all fastpasses for Splash. Although SM was not working when they got off TMRr, they were happy with the FP and we went to ride my favorite Pirates!!! Hurray!!!

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This was my daughter’s first ride at MK I am proud to say, and she loved it! She had such big eyes for most of it and towards the end when the song starts, she was clapping! See, it is all in the DNA! After Potc, we went back towards SM and it was working! Hurray for them. They were on and off in record time and got a great picture! Next was another favorite of mine, Haunted mansion. Plus I was so excited to see the refurbished mansion. I liked it, and again my daughter loved it too. It was starting to get late already and there were so many of the “big” attractions left to ride. We headed over towards Small world and decided to keep going because my cousin’s granddaughter really wanted to ride <ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Space</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Mountain</st1:PlaceType></ST1:place>. We got to SpMtn and the standby line was only 20 minutes! What luck! While they all rode Space mtn, my cousin, my daughter and I rode TTA. It was right about sunset and the views from there were awesome! I love that ride! So does my cousin now, she was so glad she got to see MK from that view! Plus, she saw what space mtn looks like on the inside. (she is not a thrill rider, she is in her 60’s and says she is done with thrills, loves the themed attractions---I must say, I am slowly getting there too). <O:p></O:p>
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No wait at Buzz either so they all rode buzz and then we decided to find a place to eat. <O:p></O:p>
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Since my cousin’s son was going to run in the triathlon on the weekend, he wanted to be able to eat certain things. We tried to get a table at Tony’s, but as I thought, no availabilities. We walked up to the <ST1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Crystal</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Palace</st1:PlaceName></ST1:place> on the off chance they would have seating, and originally they said not until 8:00 and to check back then. We really wanted to see WISHES so 8:00 would not work for us. We were deciding what else to do, while sitting on the CP porch and my cousin was trying to justify eating a hotdog from Casey’s, when I said to give me one more chance at the reservation guy. I went up to him, and must have looked pathetic and sad eyed, when I asked him if they really did not have any room for our party, as we really were very hungry and wanted to see Wishes and this was the only night we could see it. (This was true for my cousins, although not for me) There was a server right behind him at the time, and she said, “Come on, we can seat them, I’ll set a table for them.” This may not have been an official dream, but it sure was a magical moment!<O:p></O:p>
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I went back to the bench and said we were in! I never saw happier people! We were seated right away, got our drinks, and even some Mickey pixie dust for my son's bday!

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We went up to the buffet, and came back just in time for Pooh and friends to make their way to our table. Boy, my cousin’s granddaughter was thrilled. She loves Pooh and friends and did not expect to meet and greet any characters on such a short time at MK! HURRAY again for us! My daughter was not thrilled with the characters jumping out of the TV and into her dinner space; she was pretty leery of them, when they were close. If they were 5 ft or more away, she was all smiles and waves, but any closer, and down went her head and she barley looked at them. I had to laugh! <O:p></O:p>

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We finished at right about 7:55pm and quickly paid our bill and made our way out to <st1:Street w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">Main Street</st1:address></st1:Street> and into the middle of the street just as Wishes was starting. We had a pretty good spot to see it just above the castle, and it was just as magical as I remembered it.<O:p></O:p>
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The last time I saw Wishes before this time, was on our Family honeymoon when my husband, son and I wished every night that when we got home I could get pregnant and we could bring him/her to the MK to see the fireworks. SEE DREAMS REALLY DO COME TRUE! As I watching Wishes that night with my daughter in my arms, sobbing tears of joy, thanks and love for all I have to be thankful for, I remembered standing there two years before wishing for her. I know I am a sap, but I am proud of it!! LOL!<O:p></O:p>
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After wishes was over and we all dried our tears, we headed towards the main street shops for our traditional shopping extravaganza, which we usually save for our last night, but since they only had one night, this was it for them. <O:p></O:p>
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After a few purchases were made, we headed for the busses again and rode back to ASMu resort. Then we had that long walk back to the room from the bus stop. That was the only drag about our room, that it was sooo far away from everything.<O:p></O:p>
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We finally reached our rooms which were connecting. We spent a few minutes talking about our day, and then off to bed as we were all totally exhausted! My cousins were heading off to Universal in the morning and we were off to MGM.<O:p></O:p>
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As I read somewhere else….now that is a post for another day!....It ‘s a great big beautiful tomorrow………..<O:p></O:p>
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Eileen, what darling kiddos you have! It's SO cool that you had a limo pick you up for the drive to the airport- what a prefect way to begin a magical vacation.

I am glad you liked the ASMu. It's not the WL, which is amazing, but for a last minute trip, I am glad it worked.

Your pictures are so much fun and I look forward to reading more! :fez:

Eileen, what darling kiddos you have! It's SO cool that you had a limo pick you up for the drive to the airport- what a prefect way to begin a magical vacation.

I am glad you liked the ASMu. It's not the WL, which is amazing, but for a last minute trip, I am glad it worked.

Your pictures are so much fun and I look forward to reading more! :fez:

Thanks! We needed the limo becasue who in their right mind would drive us to airport at that time of the morning?? LOL!!:confused::D

It is just much easier and FUN!:D

Everyone here has the stomach flu, started with the baby on Monday and now going thru the house. Hopefully I can get some writing done here and there and post some more later.

Til then................:D

I'm really enjoying your trip report. It has touched my heart. I can't wait to read more.



Vanessa

You had me tearing up reading about you all watching Wishes!

Thanks for taking the time to post, I love the report and the pictures are really fun -- what a great family you have!

Looking forward to more -- and hope the stomach crud is on the wane!!

DAY 2: MGM AND IMPROMPTU DINNER AT SPOODLES<O:p></O:p>
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We were awakened by a knock on the adjoining door of our room by my cousin to say goodbye. I couldn’t believe it was morning already. I felt like I just went to sleep (seems to be a trend), and I did not want to say goodbye to them, I wished for them to stay longer, but I knew they couldn’t. They were headed off to Universal Studios and then back to <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" /><st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Clearwater</ST1:place></st1:City> that evening, so they had to get an early start. We say our teary goodbyes and they head off to start their day. <O:p></O:p>http://http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff253/eyenjeff/PB070067.jpg
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We decide we might as well get ourselves moving and head over to MGM. We really like MGM, especially all the character meeting options. We showered and got the kids ready, packed the diaper bag, cooler bag, stroller, etc…everything AND the kitchen sink. Oh MY, and headed to the food court at ASMu for breakfast. <O:p></O:p>
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The food court was ok, suited our purpose, the food was ok too. Our kids loved the waffles, my husband had French toast and I had the ham and cheese sandwich. We all had our fill of caffeine in the form of pop, ( no coffee drinkers here) and headed off to wait for the bus.<O:p></O:p>http://http://i240.photobucket.com/albums/ff253/eyenjeff/PB100619.jpg


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True to form, the MGM bus line was long and full, and the other lines were empty, and had busses that came and went. If we were going to MK or Epcot, that would be the long line and no busses. Anyway, we finally got on the bus and arrived at MGM. It was a beautiful day and we were excited to start our day there. <O:p></O:p>
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We had ADR’s for <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Hollywood</ST1:place></st1:City> and Vine at 12:55 for a character lunch so we tried to plan the day around that. We also wanted to see the Stars and Motor cars parade at 3:00. <O:p></O:p>


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We started out walking down <ST1:place w:st="on">Hollywood</ST1:place> boulevard and looking in some of the shops.


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My 9 yr old son is a shopaholic! If he has one cent in his pocket, he has to spend it. It borders on obsession with him. Drives us crazy! He does have a diagnosis of OCD along with ADHD and Bipolar disorder, these all stem from his biological mother’s prenatal abuse of drugs and alcohol. He is on multiple medications for these and we try to keep a handle on it, but when you are surrounded by shops at every turn it is hard for him. Sometimes it just takes a small trinket to satisfy his “need” for something, sometimes he obsesses about a certain object and until he finds it, he is relentless. We had given him Disney Dollars to spend, and when they were gone, there was no more spending. We did not want him to spend all of his dollars on the first day, because we knew even though we agreed on the amount and the spending guidelines, he would still feel entitled to more stuff even if his money was all gone. He is a little behind on his emotional development, so he doesn’t always act like a 9 yr old with his reasoning.<O:p></O:p>


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Anyway, he did not find anything he desired yet, so we headed over to Playhouse Disney with the understanding that we would return to the shops later in the day. Thank goodness, he went for it. Yea!! We were early for the show, and some of the characters from Little Einsteins and Jo Jo’s circus were out so we took the baby to see them. She loved them from afar! LOL! And wanted nothing to do with them up close. Par for the course. Our son, did not want to stand in line for a picture, he just wanted to watch, so that was OK with us. We had pre-ordered a photopass CD so we took as many pics as we could even if they did not turn out so well. We figured the more you take, the better the chance of getting a good one.


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We still had time left, so we found yet another little shop right across from PD and he found a small trinket to keep him happy and we found some bath toys for the baby. ( they turned out to be a great buy, she played with them all day, especially when she had to wait while her big brother went on “big kid” rides.) <O:p></O:p>


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<O:p> </O:p>
We got in line for Playhouse Disney and within minutes were seated inside. “Ok, here is the thing, “( to quote my son), I am 42, almost 43, very out of shape, Pooh shaped with a bad knee. My husband is 41 and not in the best strength shape either. We had to sit on the floor……UGH!! I remember that from when I took my son there when he was 5, but I was in much better shape then and 4 yrs younger! LOL! We were in the back row, in the middle, actually perfect view of the “blue house”.


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As soon as it started, my daughter went crazy. She was so excited to be out of her stroller, on the floor and watching something she sees on tv at home. She was bopping all over the place and clapping to the music, and smiling from ear to ear. I get so much joy from watching her get so excited.


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That is what bringing your kids, no matter what the age, to Disney is all about. Even though I know she will never remember it, she will have the pics and video to look at and know that we loved taking her there. My son loves to see pics and videos from when he was younger, even though he doesn’t remember all of the details. <O:p></O:p>


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<O:p> </O:p>
After the show was over, all the “youngins” got up quickly and exited the show. Of course, it took me quite a bit longer to get up off the floor and I vowed never to sit on the ground again!! I’m just glad that the show emptied out before I was embarrassed on how hard it was for me to get up.<O:p></O:p>
<O:p> </O:p>
After PHD, we started to head towards <st1:City w:st="on"><ST1:place w:st="on">Hollywood</ST1:place></st1:City> and Vine for our ADR, stopping to take pics along the way. We checked in and were seated in about 15 mins. H&V is a buffet with a lot of choices. The food is pretty good and there is a good variety to choose from. My son loves the buffets because he can make his own ice cream creations. This was the playhouse Disney character lunch so we met up again with Jo Jo and all her pals.


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They had some cast members leading singing and dancing too, getting all the kids involved. It was quite loud in there, that was my only complaint, really. The kids were really tired and the baby was cranky, but she did eat, and then wanted to be held and not sit in her highchair. So my husband offered to hold her so I could eat, and at first she protested, ( she is a mommy’s girl), but she then quickly fell asleep on his shoulder. My son was tired too, and fell asleep on my husband’s other shoulder. “ Isnt it nice to be loved?” He seemed happy because he does not get much time with them at home due to his work schedule.


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I made us each a desert plate and we leisurely ate our desert while our children slept in the middle of the loudest place we had been in. LOL!<O:p></O:p>
<O:p> </O:p>
Well, by now it was time to find a spot for the Stars and Motor Cars parade, so we picked up the baby and put her in the stroller, and unfortunately had to wake up our son, he is too big for us to carry! He has enough of a sleep to refresh and get some energy. <O:p></O:p>
<O:p> </O:p>
We scoped out a parade spot and watched the parade. I love this parade because it seems like the characters are all so close to you. I think it is because they aren’t on big floats and most are walking and dancing right by you. Plus they interact with the kids which my son loves! It is always so hot watching this parade, not much shade along the route. But in my opinion, worth it!<O:p></O:p>


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<O:p> </O:p>
After the parade my son and husband went on Star Tours


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while my daughter and I watched the Jedi training academy. The jedi training instructor was quite funny, and entertaining.


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We were able to sit in the shade at a table right across from the stage. This is where those little tub toys came in handy. She played with them the whole time, putting them in the bag and taking them out. Yea!!!<O:p></O:p>
<O:p> </O:p>
Of course when he got off star tours, he HAD to have a light saber from the gift shop that is conveniently located right outside the ride and you have to walk through it. I know how much he loves star wars, he was Obewon Kenobe for Halloween, and I knew he would really play with it so I shocked him and said, “Sure, let’s go and get one.” He was the happiest kid on the planet at that moment. Again, this is the reason we take our kids to Disney World, to see their faces when something “magical” happens. Even if it is only their mom saying “yes” to a simple request that she would normally say no to. I got a big hug and a kiss from him as he was carrying his new light saber so proudly out of the shop. We stopped and took his picture on some kind of transport vehicle and he posed with his new saber. <O:p></O:p>


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<O:p> </O:p>
Our next stop was the Great Movie ride, which only had about a 5 min wait, how cool! I love this ride and so did everyone else. <O:p></O:p>
<O:p> </O:p>
We looked over the map when we got off the GMR and decided that there wasn’t anything major we had wanted to see this time, and decided to figure out some dinner plans. We decided to go into the guest relations bldg. and ask for help. They were great, and so helpful. This is also where the baby center is, so while I figured out the dinner plans my husband was able to change the baby and clean her up a bit. The guest relations guy helped me by looking on his computer to see what places had reservations left. We decided on Spoodles at the Boardwalk. I had always wanted to see the boardwalk area so this was a perfect suggestion, plus we could take a boat from MGM to the Boardwalk. Hurray no bus! <O:p></O:p>
<O:p> </O:p>
The temp dropped quite a bit so we had to buy sweatshirts for the kids. ( notice how I said “had”,….always looking for an excuse to buy Disney stuff!!) My husband and I decided to tough it out because we did not see one that we liked and decided to wait til we found the right one. <O:p></O:p>


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<O:p> </O:p>
We walked to the boat dock and it was right there waiting for us, and we boarded and took off right away. How great for us!<O:p></O:p>
<O:p> </O:p>
Although a little cold, it was a nice ride, even in the dark, and we got to see some of the other resorts I had heard about. We arrived at the Boardwalk in plenty of time for our reservation,


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and checked in and were seated in about 10mins. It was too bad that it was so cool outside, it would have been nice to walk around some. Their menu is a little limited and I expected more pasta dishes but we did ok with our choices and took left overs back to the hotel with us. Hurray for having a frig in the room. My son and husband ordered a special raspberry lemonade in a take home cup with glowing Captain Hook and Tinkerbell on it!


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We nicknamed our daughter Tink right after she was born because when you pick her up, she flutters her legs like she is flying like Tinker Bell does. Coincidentally, she was Tinker Bell for Halloween, which you will see her in her “tink dress” later in the report. We had the Mahrgharita pizza appetizers, which were delicious. My son had the chicken soup which he shared with his sister, but neither of them liked it. The broth did not have a chicken flavor to it, it was kind of a weird taste, so I do not blame them. My son ordered the kids pizza and shared it with his sister, they both liked the pizza. My husband and I ordered an Italian sausage pasta which turned out to be very delicious. Desert was crème brule for me, kids sundae for my son, and carrot cake for my husband, all great! <O:p></O:p>
<O:p> </O:p>
My daughter was asleep in our Ergo carrier by now, and we decided rather than going to Epcot and then taking the bus back to ASMu, we would go to the lobby and have them order us a taxi. BEST idea we had so far!!!! We got to walk thru the lobby and see what it looked like, and did not have to take a bus!! There was a taxi right outside the valet and we were back at our hotel in a flash. Plus, he took us to our building in the back of the resort, so we did not have that long walk from the bus stop, another great idea! It was about $15.00 with tip, worth every penny both my husband and I decided.<O:p></O:p>
<O:p> </O:p>
Up to the room, change into our jammies, Stacey on the TV, and off to bed. ( doesn’t everyone watch Stacey over and over again while you are in your room?). My family was asleep in about 2 mins and I took that time to enjoy the quiet and restock the diaper bag, put away all the purchases, lay out our clothes for the next day, etc… you know all the housekeeping chores that a mom has to do when everyone is asleep…if you are a mom, you know what I mean….I think my husband and son think that an organizational fairy comes in each night and cleans up after them and gets everything ready for the next day. Then the battery charging fairy comes and charges the camera batteries and charges the video dvd recorder, and charges both cell phones. Oh and then there is the bottle and sippy cup fairy who washes and dries them so they are all ready in the morning for our next adventure. Did I mention that the battery charging fairy has to first wait for the picture downloading fairy to connect the laptop to the internet and then connect the camera to the laptop and download the day’s pictures before he/she can charge the batteries? While they are waiting for the pics to download they might as well double as the email checking fairy, (for 2 accounts, home and office, as my husband is self employed) and the bill paying fairy who pays a few bills online that are due while we are gone. <O:p></O:p>
<O:p> </O:p>
The day is finally done for the “fairy” and she gets to go to sleep, to the music on the what is going on in the parks channel……..Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom and Epcot with an ADR at the Biergarten for dinner.<O:p></O:p>
<O:p> </O:p>
As always, morning comes way too soon……..Didn’t I just go to sleep………..?<O:p></O:p>

Loving it!

Eileen - I'm so enjoying your report, can't wait for the rest. You know, I haven't got a religious bone in my body, but I think when who or whatever created the world did so, they meant it to be full of people like you. Respect x

Eileen - I'm so enjoying your report, can't wait for the rest. You know, I haven't got a religious bone in my body, but I think when who or whatever created the world did so, they meant it to be full of people like you. Respect x

Wow, thanks for the compliment. That is very nice of you to say. I just consider myself a mom who tries her best and doesn't always get it right, but tries really hard. I love my kids and just want the best for them, even though Noah ( my son) tests my husband and I to the limits sometimes as you will read later when we spend the whole day at MK.

Next installment coming soon!

Good trip report for what sounds like a great trip! I teared up also while reading about your wishes during Wishes. I remember reading about your adoption and trip with your son previously on MousePlanet. Glad to hear that you have magical additions to your family since then. Enjoying the report, but waiting for more.

Day 3: Animal Kingdom and Epcot

This is the day we originally had reservations for breakfast at Animal Kingdom at Donald’s Breakfastosaurus. After having dinner with Pooh and friends the first night and Lunch yesterday with Jo Jo and friends I had decided that I needed a break from loud character meals. We were planning on going to Epcot after AK anyway so I called Disney dining on Wed from MGM and was able to cancel the breakfast and make an ADR for Biergarten in Germany instead. It worked out great as you will read a little later.
We made it to AK by around 9:30am and took a few pictures and looked at the map to see what we wanted to see.
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Of course, we had to look in the shops along the way for our resident shopaholic. I had lost my sunglasses, so I bought a cheap pair and I think my son ended up with some kind of adventure kit of binoculars, pretend pocket knife, flashlight etc… all necessary items for exploring AK I guess.
I had only been to AK once before with my son on our solo trip when he was 5. We only ended up spending a half a day there because it was incredibly hot that day and not much shade and he was afraid of most of the rides so there wasn’t much for him there, we did not have at home. We have an awesome zoo here we spend a lot of time in (my son could give tours complete with all the facts! LOL!). We ended up leaving at lunch time that day and going to the contemporary and having a great lunch at their grill.
This time it was the first trip to AK for my husband, and my son was older and could ride the rides this time. We wanted to do the safari so we headed there to get a fast pass and by the time we got there, the fast pass return was past when we had to leave for Epcot! The stand by line was 70 mins, so I guess no safari for us. We spent a lot of time just walking around and seeing all the birds, swans, etc... around the tree of life.

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We took some photopass pics and lots of our own pics too. We had not eaten breakfast so we got some of their danishes and sat by the flamingos and ate our treats. My daughter loved the flamingos!

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We tried to wheel her away at one point and she got upset, so we decided to rest awhile longer. We went past the African drummer/dancers and they had just started to play.

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Both my son and daughter loved them. Brigid (my daughter, you all already know her name and it is much easier to type everyone’s names instead of my_________.) was dancing in her stroller waving her hands and clapping!

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We got some great video of her and Noah (formally known as “my son” LOL!). dancing together, he was trying to imitate the African dancers, it was really cute! Of course by that time Noah, was starving again and might die if we did not get popcorn right away so off we went to find popcorn, and of course we ended up with pretzels because he never ends up with what he asked for, EVER. Drives me crazy!! We walked around and spent a lot of time by the tree of life and in and around it.We were going to walk thru Asia but everyone was getting cranky and we decided to find a place for lunch. I was disappointed because I wanted to see the new Nemo show, and the Lion King show, and we never got to do it because of various meltdowns. I would have wanted to try EE but neither Noah nor Jeff (previously known as “my husband”) wanted to ride.

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It was one of those days where nothing seemed to “gel”.
As we were walking towards Asia, we saw the creepiest thing I have ever seen in my life! A walking tree like person.

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She was SOOOOOO Creepy!

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She kind of slinked along and then stood still and blended into the tree line, and then she would walk along and stop and stare at you. At one point, she put one of her “branches” towards Brigid in the stroller, and scared her to death. As far as I could tell, she was on stilts and her arms must have had some kind of “stilty” attachments too. She was a great actress because she totally creeped out EVERYONE who saw her. Still frightens me to think of her!!! LOL!



We found the Flame tree bbq and the lines were really long so we kept walking and ended up retracing our earlier steps and went to the pizzafari. Which the lines in there were crazy long, but Noah decided that this was better so if Noah is happy everyone is happy. (oh my). I found a table with Brigid as she was asleep in her stroller, having long given up on us eating anytime soon. It was really loud in there, and as I later found out, there was an outside patio that was nice and quiet, where we should have gone. Live and Learn. I waited for Jeff and Noah with the lunch for about 30mins at the table. In which time, I realized that we were not going to make any of the shows or any rides and that we should just head over to Epcot when we were done with lunch. UGH!! I also had time for about a 10 min power nap leaning on the table, and was awakened by a screaming child at the next table. From what I could figure out from all the screaming, she was with her brother and grandparents waiting for her parents to get the food. She was screaming for her mommy continuously for about 10mins straight! Her grandfather just ignored her, Jeff was sure he was hard of hearing, or just really good at ignoring. Her grandma said a few things to her but that did not reassure her. Her brother tried to console her, but she was not to be consoled. Did I mention she was not a baby, she was about 4 or 5, a little too old to be “screaming” for her mommy when she was just in line. I wanted to say to them to let her go with her mom in line already!! But I held back as much as I could. As soon as her mom came to the table she turned the “waterworks” off instantly and just became a bratty 4ish yr old. What a relaxing lunch. When we left and saw the quiet patio, I was ready to kick myself! The lunch was pretty good; we had the Italian sandwiches with chips and dessert and large drink with straws! I couldn’t believe it, a straw. We had purchased a refillable straw cup earlier in the day because I am a “straw person”. I think it was for a fair price (sarcastic) of about $8 and then all refills are 99 cents. It had a large animal on top, which Noah picked a tiger. Of course we brought this home with us to add to our large straw cup collection. This was our first experience with the cardboard straws. They were ok, I don’t think they would have lasted too long, but I ended up pouring the drink in my refillable cup.


On the way out, went wandered thru a shop, surprised? Brigid was munching on a bag of potato chips ( her 1st ever chip, I am usually not that bad of a mother) and she proceeded to spill the chips all over the floor of the shop. Not just a few, almost the whole bag!!! Jeff went to tell the lady at the register, and he came back with the broom and dust pan himself!:confused3 :confused3 I asked him "What's up?". He said she was going to send someone to clean it, but HE offered to clean it up.:eek: He certainly doesn't sweep at home!!! He said he wanted to be able to say that he worked at Disney World and he made me take pics to prove it!

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We had rested long enough and decided to make our way to Epcot by my favorite mode of transportation, the only form really, from AK, the bus. We did not have to wait long; it is just hard when you have a baby, diaper bag/backpack, another backpack with the sweatshirts and jackets etc… Before anyone starts yelling………I know it was our choice to bring a 14 month old to Disney, I know we could have rented a stroller in each park we went to, I know we did not have to carry around all the stuff we did. I know we could have brought one of those ridiculous unsafe umbrella strollers (I am a neonatal/pediatric intensive care RN, who has seen a lot of injuries due to those strollers); I know I know I know. It just seemed to be our luck that whatever direction we were going was were the busses weren’t coming. We just had bad bus karma I guess. Sometimes we had to let people in front of us because we did not want to stand with Brigid and try to hold on etc… again, that was our choice, but it was safer. Anyway, with that little editorial out of the way, we made our way to Epcot by around 2:30.

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Hurray!
Our ADR’s for Biergarten were for 5:15 so we had some time to explore. Of course Noah immediately wanted to _ _ _ _! I’m sure you can figure out what goes there. We took a photopass pic at the entrance, and she told us that there was another photographer by The Living Seas taking pics by Nemo and friends.
So we headed that way, plus I had not seen the new Finding Nemo ride or turtle talk with Crush. We made our way to LS and sure enough there was the PP lady. We took our pics and watched the birds and the waves “Mine mine mine mine!!!”
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We got in line for Nemo, and we were lucky that it was pretty much a walk on, although we had to weave our way thru that crazy maze to make our way thru to the ride. I can’t imagine waiting in that maze for a long period of time. Plus I need to mention that behind us, walking thru the maze, was what I originally thought was a kid or a teenager, saying “mine, mine, mine” the ENTIRE time we were weaving thru that long maze!!!! DROVE ME NUTS!! Plus, when I finally looked back it wasn’t a kid at all, it was an adult, full grown, man, someone’s husband!!! Who was telling him he was annoying but he did not listen. Twice in one day I wanted to speak up but did not. It was comical the first time but by the 100th or so time, not so much!
We made it the shells and I rode with Brigid and Jeff and Noah rode together. She loved it! I liked it too, it was cute. We got off and headed to turtle talk with Crush. We walked right in. No wait. Now that was cool. Not sure how they do it, because I am technologically challenged, but it is very cool and funny!
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Whoever is behind the magic curtain controlling crush has a great sense of humor. I would have loved to see that again. On the must do list for next time!
After crush, we decided to make our way over to the boat to World Showcase because we were very tired and did not want to walk all the way around.

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Plus the boat stops right in Germany! Score! We had about a 10 min wait for the boat but it was worth it. Nice ride and a chance to relax.

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We arrived a little early for our reservation, checked in and they took us within a few minutes.

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Early dinner must not be that popular, and the fact that the Food and Wine festival was going on probably made a difference. As the night went on, it got more crowded.
We were seated right on the second level by the railing in the middle, great seats, great view of the band, with another family that was nice. Not too talkative but friendly enough.

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The service for our drinks was a little slow, but OK. We thought the food was good. My husband really wanted to go there because he has German in him and enjoys the food. I enjoy the food too. It was a buffet so Noah was happy he could fill up on lots of whatever made him happy at that moment and if he did not like it, he could start over with something else and not get in trouble. (He is a really picky eater! Learned my lesson with him, and I am trying not to make the same mistake with Brigid lol!). The band and the music were lively and got the kids clapping along.

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The atmosphere was good too, you really feel like you are outside in a beer garden in Germany. Overall I would recommend it and will return.
The surprise of the night came when I returned from a trip to the buffet and Jeff says, “Look who’s here!” At first I didn’t see who he was motioning to...and then…I couldn’t believe it! It was friends from Noah’s school, who I knew would be at Disney at the same time, but when we compared itineraries, we did not seem to be going to the same place at the same time. That was before I changed our ADR’s. How cool! I love those chance meetings!

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Noah was glad to see his friend and sister, and they went down to the dance floor and danced to the music. We were glad to talk to people we knew and rehashed our trips so far and compared notes. It turned out that they were at AK all day too! But their time was much more productive than ours was. The rode a lot of rides and saw the Nemo show, I’m jealous. We were actually about done when they were seated right behind us and that had us staying for one more beer/pop and extra desserts and more laughs. How fun! For us we consider it a small “magical moment”.
We finally rolled ourselves out of there right around 7:15 and realized we had time to catch the last boat at 7:30 across the lagoon to head back towards the busses.

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Of course we had promised Noah we would stop in Mouse Gears before we left, oh my! The boat came quickly and we made our way to future world and over to mouse gears. Just as we were going to enter, the music started by the “dancing fountain” as we call it, I think it is called the fountain of nations. It was like magic!

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We stopped and watched it for awhile, and taped it, and took some pics but of course; the shopper among us was drooling at the site of that BIG store. Good gracious, if they don’t have it there, you can’t get it! We made a few purchases (well maybe more than a few), and headed towards the gate for our long walk to bus stop 13. I think now that I think about it that is the problem, the bus stop. I noticed that the “value” resorts have the farthest bus stops and the Deluxe have the closest. Check off another reason to stay at the Polynesian next time!!
We made it to the bus stop and on the way ran into our friends from home again; they had partaken in many more cocktails than us so they were feeling no pain! Just Disney happiness!
Home to the country faire and off to bed for everyone except for the “fairy”. (see previous day’s post).

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This was a Big night for the organizational fairy. Tomorrow was the opening and closing of Magic Kingdom!!!! Our all day commando MK day. But that is a post for another time……There’s a great big beautiful tomorrow……….

:)

What kind of post is that Eileen? Just a happy face? I am aging quickly here! Between you and Tina I am going to go 'loco.' Maybe you should just write a completely horrible report - that way, I wouldn't be so interested and I could actually carry on with a real life instead of WAITING FOR YOU TO POST!:p
Seriously, I love your report! :p
Oh, and in reference to your Wishes/sap comment....I believe you made a few of us realize what saps WE are. That was a beautiful moment is your report Eileen, a beautiful thankful reflection.

What kind of post is that Eileen? Just a happy face? I am aging quickly here! Between you and Tina I am going to go 'loco.' Maybe you should just write a completely horrible report - that way, I wouldn't be so interested and I could actually carry on with a real life instead of WAITING FOR YOU TO POST!:p
Seriously, I love your report! :p
Oh, and in reference to your Wishes/sap comment....I believe you made a few of us realize what saps WE are. That was a beautiful moment is your report Eileen, a beautiful thankful reflection.


LOL!!! Just wanted to see if anyone was reading and paying attention anymore to see if I should continue or not. I'll write the next day today and see if I can get it posted tonite. Stay tuned!

Thanks for the nice comments:) about Wishes, we still play the CD at night before the kids go to bed as a nighttime goodnite. They love it.

More later................

I love the nighttime fairy. My bedtime is always way later than everyone else's and I'm up a lot earlier than everyone else.

Hey Eileen, I don't know how I missed it before, but I just noticed your Poly countdown. Congrats!

Oh, for our trip in Jan, we have a lot of the same dining plans so far as you had. Headed to Spoodles, H&V and Biergarten too. Great to hear your reviews on them and can't wait to hear about where else you go!

Hey Eileen, I don't know how I missed it before, but I just noticed your Poly countdown. Congrats!

Oh, for our trip in Jan, we have a lot of the same dining plans so far as you had. Headed to Spoodles, H&V and Biergarten too. Great to hear your reviews on them and can't wait to hear about where else you go!


Thanks for the congrats!!

We are not sure how we are going to afford it quite yet, but we have 376 days to worry about it....well I guess 379-45days, when the last pymt is due. Somehow my husband will work it out, he always does, his new saying now is "Never underestimate the power of the Mickey Mouse!" We have started the change bucket for all of our loose change, and everytime I get the urge to go shopping I remind myself of the upcoming vaca even though it is next Dec! It will be worth it to be able to stay at such a cool place!

:cool: I am reading and enjoying every minute of it! I LOVE seeing MGM all dressed up in holiday lights. You are not helping my current jonesing for Disney at the holidays though. ;)