Jennifer Baldovinos – October 23-30, 2007: All-Star Music

Time of Year: Fall – October 23-30, 2007
Travel Method: Airplane and Rental Car
Resort: All-Star Music and a Friend’s House in Kissimmee
Accommodations: Standard Room
Ages Represented in Group: Adult
WDW Experience Represented in Group: Veteran

The Cast:
· Jennifer – 27 years old
· Jose (My Husband) – 27 years old

Introduction:
This is our second trip to WDW this year. We were there earlier this year in April/May to go on the 7-night Eastern Caribbean Cruise on the Disney Cruise Line (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/showthread.php?t=71260). Since Jose and I lived in Orlando for a few years (Jose and I met while working at Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster on the Disney College Program in 2002), and worked for Disney, we are Disney veterans. Jose is not as obsessed with Disney as I am, but he is a wonderful husband that humors my addictions to Disney :D.

The Plan:
We love going to the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot, so we wanted to make another trip out here specifically for that. We don’t drink alcohol, but the food part will be well worth it :). We always like to get as many new character pictures and autographs as we can, since I am a scrapbooker. We will also be dining at restaurants that we have never been to before. Jose has also never been to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, so we have tickets to that on October 25th.

We chose this specific week because one of my old roommates from the Disney College Program was going to be there at that time with her family and another family. Our other two roommates from the College Program still live in Florida, so this would be the first time that the four of us have gotten together since August 2006. We’ve all seen each other since then, but not all four of us at the same time.

A couple that we are friends with here in Denver, Jen and Don, also decided to go down that week with their daughter, Clara, and some friends. Our week will be filled with trying to spend time with everyone that came down as well as our friends that live in Florida.

We found out on August 11th that we will be having a baby (I’m due April 11th), so this will be a trip with no roller coasters and thrill rides. I am not too disappointed though, since Jose does not ride thrill rides, and I know that we will be back again soon. We are just so excited to be blessed with a child, and we will of course be buying as many things for the baby as we can while at the parks :). At the time of the trip we didn’t know what we were having, but now as I am writing this we found out we are having a girl. I also have a brand new niece, Jocelyn, that I will be buying oodles of things for! I’ve already had a request from my dad to buy her some Disney Crocs and anything else that I think is cute for her :).

Planning:
We bought our plane tickets on Ted (United Airlines) for $218.80 each. The flights were non-stop from Denver to Orlando, and at great times of the day. Jen, Don, and Clara are also on the same flight as us to Orlando, so we are going to take them to their hotel (the Polynesian) since they have never been to Orlando before.

We booked the rental car through Alamo, using a discount through Costco. The total cost for a mid-size SUV for one week was $192.12 tax included. The great part about booking through Costco is that you get an additional driver for free.

We bought a 7-Day Park Hopper, and the two tickets to Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party were $100.88 with tax and shipping. Our first night in Orlando will be spent at a friend’s house in Kissimmee, and then the last six nights will be spent at All-Star Music. Jose has never stayed at this resort before, so here’s another one we can check off our list.

Day One – Tuesday, October 23, 2007:
The Plan: Fly to Orlando, Downtown Disney, and Crystal and Alvin’s House

We woke up around 3:30am and showered and finished the last of the packing. We drove to my dad’s house around 5:00am so that he could drop us off at the airport. We drove our car there and then switched out drivers once we got to the airport. It had snowed on Sunday, so it was still pretty cold. I think the temperature was somewhere around 32 degrees.

We checked in online the night before, so all we needed to do was check our bags once we got to the airport. We used the kiosks when we got there and then stopped at McDonalds and got McGriddle sandwiches. I wasn’t very hungry, so I just ate one of the pancake tops. We bought some bottled water and then headed to the gate. We were the last gate at the end of the terminal, so it was a long walk down there.

We waited at the gate, and then soon after, Jen, Don, and Clara, showed up. We boarded after a few minutes, and got settled onto the plane. The flight was a little bumpy, and we landed on time around 2:00pm. Jose and I have never been in the B Terminal at MCO since we always fly Frontier or Delta to Orlando. The terminal was a mess! They were doing construction, so you could see the pipes in the ceiling, and it was extremely dark.

We picked up our luggage right away, and then walked downstairs to Alamo to pick up the rental car. I wanted to pre-pay online before we got there, but for some reason, it would not let me. We instead used the new kiosks that they have set up. The kiosks are wonderful! It literally took us a few minutes to get the car set up. We just swiped our credit card at the end, and then it printed out a receipt. We walked outside to the garage and picked out a red Toyota Rav-4. It only had 60 miles on it when we picked it up!

We made the drive down 417 towards Disney, pointing out our old apartment and where we got married and used to work when we lived there. We got to the Polynesian around 3:00pm, and dropped the three of them off. Jose and I then drove to Downtown Disney to shop and get some food. Ellen called while we were driving there, so we chatted for the short trip.

Our first stop was Earl of Sandwich since I was starving! Jose and I split the Earl’s Club, chips, and a drink. I think it was around $9.62. Next we went to the Christmas store. There were so many new ornaments! I wanted to buy all of them. We went to Goofy’s Candy Shop next and I bought a Goofy Burger. I miss the old ones. I think they tasted better.

Next was the Scrapbooking store, and then the Art of Disney. I found some new scrapbooking kits that I wanted, as well as a Halloween scrapbook that would be perfect for this trip. It had Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Donald, Daisy, and Goofy on the cover dressed in Halloween costumes. Then the title above it said “Give us Candy, or Else.”

Since it was getting late, we breezed through Pooh Corner, the Pin store, Once Upon a Toy, Team Mickey, and World of Disney. We saw a few new things, but nothing too different from the things that we saw in May.

We headed over to Target around 5:15pm and bought some groceries for dinner that night, and some snacks and drinks for the hotel room. We drove to Kissimmee to Crystal and Alvin’s house (we used to work with Crystal in Orlando), and I made baked ziti, salad, and garlic bread for dinner. We watched Transformers after we ate, and then went to bed around 9:00pm since we were all so tired.

Miles walked today: 8.14

Day Two – Wednesday, October 24, 2007:
The Plan: Check into All-Star Music, Animal Kingdom and Dinner at Liberty Tree

We woke up pretty early, and then showered and got dressed. We had a few minutes to visit with Crystal before she left for work, and then the three of us headed out around 7:00am. Since it felt like 5:00am to us, we were exhausted! But as is my theory any time we come to Disney, I can sleep when we get back to Colorado :D! We waved goodbye to Crystal and then drove up 192 towards Disney.

We drove to All-Star Music to check in and pick up our park tickets. There was no one in line ahead of us. Check in went smoothly, and our room was ready! I was shocked seeing as it was 7:50am. They gave us our park tickets, and then we drove over to our room. We were in building 3 (Rock Inn) in room 3654 on the third floor. It was at the end of the hallway, right next to the stairs. We live on the third floor at home, so we weren’t too keen on the stairs, but it was better than walking all the way over to the elevators. This turned out to be a great room. We never heard any noise and it was great being so close to the parking lot. We never really used the main building, so it didn’t bother us that we were a ways away.

We headed off to Animal Kingdom to try and catch the Rope Drop. We saw this in December when we were there and wanted to watch it again. After the rope drop, we walked around on the trails around the Tree of Life and then watched A Bug’s Life. We wanted to kill some time until 9:30am, so we were able to eat breakfast at Pizzafari.

I got a breakfast pizza and Jose got biscuits and gravy. The pizza was very good, but way to big for one person to eat. It had a white sauce on it, cheese, eggs, and peppers. Jose scraped off the eggs (he won’t eat eggs) and ate the crust. The crust was delicious, and I think it was the same kind as the regular pizzas. I felt like it needed a little more to it though. It was kind of bland. I put some crushed red pepper on it to give it a little more flavor. Jose didn’t care too much for his biscuits and gravy.

After breakfast we went to Camp Minnie Mickey to take our pictures with some of the characters before the Festival of the Lion King started at 10:30am. We got pictures with Goofy and Minnie in their safari outfits, and then went to the show. The show was wonderful as usual. I never get tired of seeing it. I started crying during the bird part with “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” Having all these extra hormones at Disney is going to cause a lot of tears this trip :).

After the show let out, we took pictures with Mickey and Donald in their safari outfits, and then rode the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. Jiminy Cricket was out, so we took our picture with him. We asked if Stanley would be coming out and the character greeter told us that Stanley had been retired a few weeks before. They said that Jiminy would be his replacement. I was disappointed that I wouldn’t get to see Stanley, but it’s good to know that Jiminy would be out more often since he is usually only out on Earth Day.

We took our picture with Rafiki next, and the castmember had us do a cute pose. I covered my eyes, Rafiki covered his ears, and Jose covered his mouth. This was to represent “See No Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil.” PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/470213183208_0_ALB.jpg) We caught the train back, and then decided to leave the park.

We stopped at Wal-Mart and picked up a few more items, and then visited Angela at work. We visited with her for about 10 minutes and then drove back to the hotel. We rested and I worked on the trip report notes. I took a shower and then both of us fell asleep. When we woke up and turned on the TV and the Full House episode of them going to Disney World was on. How appropriate :).

We drove to Magic Kingdom and rode the monorail in. We walked through the Emporium and then took some pictures with the Partners statue. We rode Haunted Mansion next. We loved the new revisions! They really did a great job with the rehab. Unfortunately the audio wasn’t working for us in some parts, but it was still a great ride nonetheless. Next we watched Philharmagic, and then I got a text that Angela and Ellen (old College Program roommates) had already checked into Liberty Tree.

Jose and I walked over to Liberty Tree and met up with the girls. We gave each other hugs, and then we were seated right away. Our server was really good, but unfortunately I can’t remember his name right now. I do remember that he was from Vietnam. When we were seated, we got rolls and honey butter. They were delicious! Drinks were included in the buffet so Angela and Jose both got chocolate milk, Ellen got iced tea, and I had Sprite.

Right away characters started appearing. Pluto came first, then Chip, Minnie, and Dale. They literally came back to back. We all wanted to start eating since our salad had been brought out, so it was a little overwhelming to us. We were all starving, but we had to keep getting up to take our pictures with the characters. Poor Ellen and Angela were on the booth part of the table (Jose and I were in chairs), so they had to keep sliding in and out.

Finally we got a break to eat. We had mashed potatoes, homemade gravy, stuffing, green beans, macaroni and cheese, turkey, ham, and beef. PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/770160183208_0_ALB.jpg) It was all served family style. Everything was delicious. I couldn’t get over the macaroni and cheese and mashed potatoes! It was a lot of carbs, but oh well :~D. Half way through the meal Goofy came out. Then all the characters came back again, but we just said hello to them and continued to eat. Once we had gotten our pictures with them, we were fine. The characters were all dressed in Colonial outfits, so it was nice for the scrapbook since we had never seen them in those clothes.

We all wanted to stop at the restroom on the way out, and were told they were upstairs. We never even realized that there was a second floor to this restaurant! After we left, SpectroMagic was starting. No one except me wanted to watch it, so we just skipped it.

We went over to Tomorrowland and decided to ride the TTA. We were so comfortable on it, we decided to stay on it three times! It was relaxing. On the third time around we switched sides just to see it from the opposite way. Wishes was starting in a few minutes, so we watched that on the end of Main Street. We stayed as far back as we could next to the exit so that we could somewhat beat the crowd out. We caught the monorail back to the hotel and then went to bed right away.

Miles walked today: 13.98

Day Three – Thursday, October 25, 2007:
The Plan: Magic Kingdom for MEMH, Mouse Memories, and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party

We woke up early this morning so that we could make it to Magic Kingdom for EMH at 8:00am. We had bought cereal and fruit for the hotel room, so that was breakfast before we left. The weather was still overcast, but not overly hot.

We walked up Main Street to get our picture taken near the front of the castle. While we were posing, I felt an arm on our backs of someone trying to get into the picture. Jose and I both thought that it might be a character since the night before at Liberty Tree a character would just be behind your back all the time. It turned out to be Don, Jen, and Clara. We took some pictures with them and then the five of us stayed together for the morning.

Our first stop was Peter Pan, then Dumbo, the Carousel, and Pooh. We wanted to ride Snow White, but it wasn’t working, so we went to Philharmagic instead. After Philharmagic, we decided to split up since they would be meeting up with their friends at 9:00am. Jose and I got in line at Ariel’s Grotto, and had our picture taken with Ariel. We checked on Snow White again and it was back up and running, so we rode that. I love EMH! We got 7 things done in less than an hour and a half that morning.

We stopped at Pinocchio’s to get some lunch. Jose got a hamburger, and I got Figaro Fries and a kids meal of macaroni and cheese. I love Figaro Fries! But I will say that I am not loving the new French fries that Disney is serving. I know that they had to change it for the trans fat, etc., but I like the old ones better. They still tasted good, though.

We saw the stepsisters out from Cinderella, so we got in line to take our picture with them and Lady Tremaine behind the castle. PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/283419783208_0_ALB.jpg)

We headed up to Toontown next and our first stop was the Judge’s Tent to get our picture taken with Mickey. The line seemed to take forever, and the whole time there was a Dream Squad member standing in the doorway with us. We kept our fingers crossed, but of course, no Dream was given :crying:.

We waited in line for almost 30 minutes, and then it was finally our turn to meet Mickey. I asked him if we could take a picture with is hand on my tummy, and he did. I think it’s the cutest picture ever! PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/l_7d9b5fb055e5181077b0a78f5b5ab757.jpg) This baby will be a total Disney Baby, so what better way to show that than in this picture!

We left Toontown and I got a spicy cheese pretzel from the Lunching Pad. This was such a great snack. I think this is going to be my new snack that I always get. It was $4.04 with tax. We got Fast Passes for Buzz Lightyear next, and then got in line for the Carousel of Progress.

While we were in line, the talking trashcan came out. He was singing, “There’s a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow” as he was walking around. A few kids started to chase it, and then were proceeding to shake it to try and knock it over. Their parents just stood there laughing! I was in shock. I can’t believe that the parents let their kids do that. The guy running it was asking them to stop, and they finally did.

When we left Carousel, Stitch was out so we got our picture taken with him. Next it was time for our FP’s at Buzz, so we headed that way. Jose ‘s score was way higher than mine, of course. After Buzz, we left the park and went back to the hotel. We took a long nap, and then Ellen came over after work to hang out before we left for dinner and the Halloween Party.

We looked at scrapbooks from her visit to Colorado this past June, and also the 2 books I made from our December 2006 trip to Disney World. We were getting hungry, so we went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse. The food was delicious, but we had a horrible server. The food came out late, she was really sick and coughing a lot, and then they cooked my steak wrong. So we left there with a bad taste in our mouth. It was too bad because we eat at that restaurant all the time in Colorado and I have never had bad service here. Maybe it was just that one.

It was raining lightly after dinner, and I was getting nervous about them canceling the parade at the party. It let up by the time we got to Magic Kingdom. We went into the park and got our wristbands. They had so much smoke blowing at the entrance that you could barely see the Train Station. We thought it was funny.

As soon as we entered the park, we saw Jiminy Cricket and Suzy and Perla near Exhibition Hall. Ellen had never seen Jiminy, so we went over to take our pictures with him. After that we went to visit a friend of ours that was working at the party that night. We walked by Cosmic Ray’s and saw Stitch dressed as Elvis, Donald as a Pumpkin, and Pluto in a Space Outfit dancing with the kids.

We stopped and got some candy at each stop we saw and then started the walk down Alice’s Trail. My goal of the night was to get my picture taken with the Walrus. I had never seen him out before, and I had heard that he came our for the Halloween parties. We walked the trail and there was no sign of him. We took our picture with the people dressed as cards, and then went over to Tomorrowland to ride the TTA. This time we only rode it once.

After the TTA, we walked over to Adventureland. We went into a building (I think it used to be a restaurant) across from the Swiss Family Treehouse and saw some more characters in there. They had backdrops set up with The Lion King, Tarzan, and the Jungle Book. Timon and Rafiki were out, and then Jane and Terk were next door to them. We wanted our picture with Jane more, so we got in that line. The line moved fairly quickly, and we were able to get our picture.

The character greeter said that Tarzan would be out in a short while, so we left to ride Pirates in the meantime. I love this ride. The small drop at the beginning will be the biggest exhilaration thrill for me this trip since I can’t ride much J. At the gift shop for Pirates, they were selling a frame for the Halloween Party. It was on clearance for $14.99. We were surprised that they would already be clearancing items even though there were at least 3 more parties after this one. Oh, well, that just means a better deal for us, so we snatched up the last two After Pirates, we went back into the restaurant and got our picture taken with Tarzan and Terk. PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/392773183208_0_ALB.jpg) I had never seen Tarzan before, so I was very excited.

We were getting hungry for a snack, so we walked up to Casey’s on Main Street. Ellen got a hotdog and fries, and Jose and I split a hot dog and fries. Hallowishes was going to be starting soon, so Jose and I stood in the middle of Main Street to watch them, and Ellen rested back in the chairs at Casey’s. The fireworks were great.

After the fireworks, the three of us just found a spot to watch the parade and relaxed. We sat in the hub next to the Partners Statue. Jose taped the parade, while Ellen and I sat on the bench. It was a little hard to see since there were a lot of people in front of us, but we were still able to enjoy the parade. The song for it is so cute, and of course it stayed in our heads all night.

As we were walking back through Liberty Square, we saw someone dressed up as the Headless Horseman, and people were taking pictures with him. His costume was great! I think a lot of people thought that he was a castmember, but you could tell that he was just a park guest.

We headed over to Haunted Mansion, and stopped at the entrance to take our picture with the hearse. The PhotoPass photographer placed one of the hitchhiking ghosts into the picture driving the hearse. PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/239360883208_0_ALB.jpg) It turned out to be a great picture! Haunted Mansion was great as usual. It was a little more fun to be riding it at night and at the party. It felt a little more spookier.

We made a second attempt to find the Walrus again, so we walked back to Toontown to walk Alice’s Trail again. We asked a castmember when we walked in if the Walrus was out, and she said that she had just seen him. We walked towards the train stop, and saw him walking towards the center of the trail. We talked with his character greeter and took our picture with him. PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/512283183208_0_ALB.jpg) Yeah! Mission accomplished!!!

It was almost midnight, so we started to make our way back out of the park. We stopped at Exhibition Hall to buy a pin for the party and then left the park. It had been an exhausting night, but we had a lot of fun! We got so many great pictures, and a huge bag full of candy :D.

We went back to the hotel and went to bed around 1:30am.

Miles walked today: 13.15

Day Four – Friday, October 26, 2007:
The Plan: Disney-MGM Studios, Beach Club, and Beth Arrives

We slept in a little bit this morning since we were out so late from the party. We got ready and then met Ellen at Studios. Today is Ellen’s birthday, so we are going to Beaches and Cream tonight to celebrate. We saw Ellen at the entrance and went into the park. The HSM2 Pep Rally was just getting started, so we made our way up to the front of the hat to watch them. There was an open bench just past the Tip Board, so we sat down and listened to the show since we couldn’t see much anyway.

The performers did a wonderful job in the show. I do love the songs, so it was a lot of fun to sing along. I know it’s sad that we don’t have any kids yet, and yet we still know the songs from the movie :D. In our defense, we babysit a little girl that loves HSM, so we watch it all the time with her :p.

After the Pep Rally, we saw that some characters were coming out, so we waited to see who was coming. We took our picture with Bowler Hat Guy and Wilbur Robinson from Meet the Robinsons. We wanted our picture with Daisy, but her line was too long. We decided to just come back later and see if we could get it then.

We walked to Animation Courtyard and got our picture with JoJo and Goliath from Playhouse Disney. I have never seen their show, but it was new characters that we didn’t have pictures with yet. Next we went into the Animation Building and saw Frozone. Ellen had never seen him, so we got our picture taken with him. They had told us in May that he was no longer appearing, but I guess they changed their mind.

After Frozone, we got in line to get our pictures with the characters from Ratatouille. We still haven’t seen the movie, but we did pre-order it from the Disney Store. We got pictures with both Ratatouille and Emile. As we were leaving the building, Frozone was out with the Incredibles, so we stopped and took our picture with all three.

We were starving by then, so we decided to try the Studio Flatbread Company. While we were on our way there, we walked through New York Street and took our picture with Ron Stoppable and Kim Possible. When we got to the restaurant, nothing looked appealing to us, so we turned around and went to ABC Commissary instead.

The line was relatively short here, but it took forever to get our food. I’m not sure what it is here. No matter what time of day, I have never gotten my food very quickly. I don’t know why we keep going back either, because there isn’t anything there that we are dying to eat. They used to have amazing steak fries, but again, they now serve the new French fries. Oh well, another lesson learned.

After lunch we took our picture with Daisy in front of the hat, and then went back to the hotel and took a nap. Ellen went home with plans to meet up with us in the evening. Jose and I drove over to Mouse Memories in Kissimmee. It’s a scrapbooking store that has a ton of great things for Disney. They have very friendly staff members, also. I found some great Baby Winnie the Pooh paper and stickers for our baby’s album. When we were checking out, they gave us a name of a new scrapbooking store in Orlando that had just opened, so we drove there. I can’t remember the name, but it was in Hunters Creek near Publix. The store had some great items and the prices were great, but I felt like the owner was more concerned about talking to the guests behind me than helping me out.

We went back to the hotel to relax and then left for Studios at 5:00pm. Our first stop was the Great Movie Ride. I haven’t seen most of the movies that they showcase in this ride, but it’s still one of my favorites. Maybe someday I will be able to watch all of them.

Next we went to One Man’s Dream. We didn’t spend too much time in the display area, and went into the movie. When we were here in May, we did the opposite, so we mainly wanted to watch the video at the end. Since it had been so long since we had seen the movie, I just noticed that someone else (I think it was Julie Andrews) now does the narration for it. I guess they had to re-film it from Michael Eisner’s voice ;).

It was about 7:15pm by then, so we went up to Fantasmic. They told us that it was standing room only, but we went up anyway. We saw a few people that we used to work with (when we worked at Coaster, most of us had to work the Parade and Fantasmic periodically). We sat on the benches near the restroom to see if the other standing room section opened up. Just before the show started, they opened up the side area of bleachers, so we were able to sit for the show. We were all the way on the side, but it was still a great view.

We left after the boat comes out just so that we could get out before the crowds since we had to pick up Beth at the airport. We left the park and drove to MCO. It was raining a little bit on the way out, so I was glad to be undercover in the car.

We picked Beth up (College Program Roommate) and drove to Wendy’s to get a snack. We (meaning me) changed my mind about wanting Wendy’s and went to DTD instead. Jose and I split another sandwich from Earl of Sandwich and then left for Beaches and Cream to meet the others.

We got to Beaches and Cream and were seated within 10 minutes. They squeezed 6 of us in a booth. It was Ellen, her boyfriend, Leben, Angela, Beth, Jose and I. Everyone else was hungry, so Leben and Angela ordered hamburgers, Ellen got a hotdog, Beth got fries, and Jose and I shared some onion rings. All of the food was delicious.

For Ellen’s birthday, we decided to try the Kitchen Sink. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s a HUGE ice cream dish served in a kitchen sink dish. PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/942063183208_0_ALB.jpg) The menu said that it feeds 4, but the six of us weren’t even able to finish it. It literally had everything in it that you could think of. Several different kinds of ice cream, peanut butter, Oreos, candy, an entire can of whip cream, caramel, chocolate sauce, cherries, muffins, and I’m sure there’s more that I am forgetting. It was very good!

We looked at the clock and it was close to midnight. We were the only ones left in the restaurant, and then we noticed it was because they closed at 11:00pm. Oops, we closed them down. I think our server was annoyed with us. We were all laughing hysterically at everything and having a good time, and she seemed like we were bugging her. Oh well. PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/746673183208_0_ALB.jpg)

We left the restaurant and went out to the pool area to take some pictures. We looked at Beth’s scrapbooks for a little bit and then left. Jose and I dropped Beth off at Pop Century and then went back to All-Star and went to bed sometime after 1:30am.

Miles walked today: 9.08

Day Five – Saturday, October 27, 2007:
The Plan: Magic Kingdom and Epcot

We were out the door around 9:30am this morning and drove to the TTC. We caught the Ferryboat into MK and then caught the train back to Toontown. We went to Mickey’s House and then into the Country Fair to get our pictures taken with Belle and Cinderella. The sign said 15 minutes, but we waited close to an hour. I was not a happy camper. If we would’ve known, we would not have waited in line that long. When we finally got into see them, we were barely in there for a few minutes. Oh well, at least we got the pictures.

We left Toontown and went back to Tomorrowland to get another cheese pretzel. We walked up to the front of the park and found a bench in front of the castle. The show was starting in a few minutes, so we stuck around for that. Jose went to the front of the crowd to tape it, and I just stayed in the back so that I could sit. I thought the show was all right, but I was more impressed by the moving eyes and mouths on the characters. The imagineers did a great job with those.

After the show we walked back to Adventureland and got Fast Passes for Jungle Cruise. We went to Tom Sawyer’s Island next, since I had never been there. I have to say, unless you have kids, this was very boring for me. I wasn’t about the walking and exploring. So unless you do this first thing in the day, your feet will be tired! We walked through one of the caves, and it was so dark! So definitely good for kids to explore, but I think I will pass on coming back to this again until I have kids to take with me. One funny thing was that Jose walked across the Barrel Bridge and his foot went into the water :D. I think it was more for little kids than full-grown adults ;).

We went over to Liberty Square next and took our picture with the Liberty Bell. Next was the Hall of Presidents. I unfortunately fell asleep right at the end when George Bush was making his speech. No disrespect to him at all, but being pregnant and in air conditioning is taking its toll on me. I know that I definitely wasn’t getting enough rest on this trip.

We decided to leave the park and save the Jungle Cruise for another day. We stopped by the Food Court and I bought an apple and some carrot sticks, celery, and ranch dip. I also stopped by the gift shop and bout two pairs of Disney Crocs for a co-worker’s kids. We went back to the room to relax, and then Ellen and Leben came over.

We went shopping and then went back to the hotel and looked at scrapbooks again and watched the Gators/Georgia football game. We left the hotel and it was raining pretty hard. We decided on Chili’s for dinner. We shared an Awesome Blossom, Jose got fajitas, Leben got pasta, Ellen got a pita, and I got nachos, mashed potatoes, and steamed broccoli. Haha, my cravings were definitely being weird tonight :D.

Since it was still raining, we wanted to just hang out inside tonight, but Beth wanted to stay at Magic Kingdom (we were supposed to meet up with her later). We ended up going to Epcot when we left because I found out that the Village People would be done performing after tonight, and I really wanted to see them.

We got to Epcot and took some more pictures around World Showcase, starting in Mexico. We stopped in China and got some pot stickers. We took pictures with PhotoPass in China, Germany, and Italy. We stopped in America and went to sit down for the concert. There were still some seats left, so I walked back to the Poland booth and got some perogies. It was supposed to come with sausage, but since I don’t eat sausage, I asked them if I could just have a second perogie.

The concert started and they sang Macho Man, In the Navy, Go West and YMCA. They even taught us the correct moves. I will admit that I am one of the ones that was doing to moves wrong. I did my C backwards. PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/957643183208_0_ALB.jpg) After the concert we walked to France and got another picture taken by the fountain and then another one on the bridge. We stopped at the New Zealand booth, and I got the Kiwi-Custard Roll.

We left the park as Illuminations was starting and then said our goodbyes. Crystal called in the car on the way home, and we made plans to meet up at Epcot in the morning. We ended up going to bed sometime after 11:00pm.

Miles walked today: 11.30

Day Six – Sunday, October 28, 2007:
The Plan: Epcot all day

We were supposed to meet Crystal and Alvin at 9:00am at Epcot, so we woke up early and just ate our leftovers from Chili’s for breakfast. We drove to Epcot and Crystal called to say that they were running late. Jose went up to The Land to get us some Fast Passes for Soarin’, and I went into the Art of Disney to look around. When Jose got back we went to Innoventions West to send some Internet postcards. They have a new system now that you can send the postcards to four people at a time. That makes it nice to send it out all at once versus sending out several copies.

Crystal called after that and we met her and Alvin outside of The Art of Disney. We walked up to The Land to get them Fastpasses for Soarin’. We were all a little hungry so we went to Sunshine Seasons to grab a bite to eat. Jose and I shared a Breakfast Platter (eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuit, and breakfast potatoes) and Crystal and Alvin shared a bacon, egg, and cheese croissant and breakfast potatoes.

After breakfast, we walked over to ride Nemo. We walked upstairs to look around at of the fish, and there was a dolphin presentation starting. We watched the show, which none of us had ever seen. It was great to see, and I recommend it if you enjoy marine life. The kids all got to sit on the floor in front of the tank, and two dolphins came down and did a few tricks, while the trainer taught us about them. It was very cute and interesting.

After that, we found a friend of ours that is a castmember there. We visited with her and then went down to Bruce’s area to take our pictures with the sharks. We still had a few more minutes until the Fastpasses were good, so we walked back to The Land and rode Living with the Land.

After Living with the Land, we rode Soarin’. This was Crystal and Alvin’s first time on the ride, and they enjoyed it. We asked a castmember if we could wait for the front row, and they said that was fine.

We left The Land and went up to Journey. This was one of Alvin’s favorite rides from when he was younger. When we got there, there were 4 young children sitting on the turnstiles to get in, just hanging out. We said excuse me, and one of them moved. Another one of the girls was doing some dancing that was not very appropriate for someone her age, and the four of us were in shock. Again, where were their parents?

After the ride, we went outside and got our picture take with Figment. Usually he is inside, but he must have gotten bored since he came outside :). PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/877091183208_0_ALB.jpg) We started the walk to World Showcase and Michelle called to tell us that she had arrived at the park. We agreed to meet outside of Mexico.

Our first stop was in the Dominican Republic. Jose and I watched the dancers while Alvin and Crystal started with the food there. They got the Monfogo and the Pastelon. They said that both were good. Nothing there sounded that appealing to Jose and I so we skipped over that booth.

We walked over to Mexico and found Michelle (co-worker from Florida). Jose and I tried the Chilequilles and thought it was so good! I wasn’t picturing it to be soft (like enchiladas), I was more expecting something like taquitos. After the food, we went to ride The Gran Fiesta Tour.

We left Mexico and stopped at the Ireland booth. All of us tried the potato pancake. None of us cared for it too much. It was really greasy. The next stop was China. The others got the pot stickers, and Jose and I got the caramel ginger ice cream. The ice cream was delicious! I never would have thought that I would like that combination, but it was delicious. The serving was huge also, so it was more than enough for two people to share.

We continued the walk around World Showcase and stopped in America where Baloo was standing with no line. After we took our picture with him, we noticed that there were several other characters out with no lines. So we ended up taking our pictures with Goofy, Pluto, Mickey, Minnie, Donald and Stitch. There were no character greeters with them, only one manager that was directing the lines. We couldn’t believe we were getting our pictures with no wait for all of these characters! Rafiki was also there, but he did have a line, and we had already taken our picture with him, so we skipped him.

We stopped in Japan and bought a Kaki Gori. This was the first time that I have ever tried one. It was delicious! Jose and I shared the rainbow one. It is a perfect cheap snack for a hot day. The Taiko drummers were out, so we stopped and listened to them. Miyuki came out after the drummers, and we watched them for a bit since Michelle had never seen her. We watched her make two animals, a dragon and an armadillo. I thought it was hilarious that a little kid was requesting one. Most kids would pick something a little more common :).

We stopped inside the store in Japan and looked around. Michelle’s husband Frank joined us, and we all visited for a few minutes before our ADR at Teppan Edo. Michelle hadn’t seen the inside of the new restaurant, so they walked up with us. We said our goodbyes to them in the lobby, and then I checked into the podium.

They did an amazing job remodeling the restaurant. The lobby area is much more open now, and brighter. One thing I didn’t like was when I went to check in, there were two ladies working at the check in desk. Only one could check me in for Teppan Edo and the other one was for the other restaurant. So I had to wait in line behind someone else while the other castmember stood there. I think before the remodel, any castmember at the desk could check you in.

We were seated within a few minutes. There was another party of four with us at our table. The first thing we noticed was that the tables were wider now. The older ones put you very close to the grill, but these new ones had a lot more room to them. The servers also wear different costumes now instead of the kimonos.

We placed our orders and a gentleman came out to cook our food. I was surprised at first because he didn’t look Japanese to me. W have always had cooks that were from Japan, so we were confused. His name was Kenta and he was from Dallas, Texas. We started talking to him and came to find out that he is half Japanese, and lived in Japan for many years. He also spoke fluent Japanese.

For our appetizers, Jose and I got a tempura plate. It had vegetables, shrimp, and dipping sauce. For lunch Jose got steak and chicken, I got chicken, and Crystal and Alvin both got steak and shrimp. The food was delicious as always. The total for Jose and I was around $75 with tip. Whew! I wish they still had lunch prices. But from what I can tell, the prices remain the same all day. While we were ordering, my old boss walked by in the room next to us. I looked down hoping she wouldn’t notice us, seeing as I wasn’t too big of a fan of hers ;).

This next part is for the ladies to read, so men you might want to skip to the next paragraph :p. After lunch, I stopped at the bathrooms before we left the restaurant. They are in the back of the restaurant now. They were also beautifully decorated. But one small thing I didn’t like, the stalls are so small that when you are in them, the toilet paper dispensers touch your leg. It’s very cold steel, and very uncomfortable. I would suggest using the larger handicapped stalls when you are in there. Sorry for the men that had to read that part and probably don’t care in the slightest :D.

We continued up World Showcase and stopped in Australia for the Chocolate Macadamia Nut Bar. I picked off the nuts, but the bar was delicious! It started to rain a little bit, but stopped after a few minutes. Next we stopped in Morocco and tried the Baklava. It was delicious, but it got to be too sweet after a while. We made one last stop at the Dominican Republic again and Crystal got the flan, and then we headed out. We stopped to take our pictures with Spaceship Earth (I miss the arm and wand) and then said our goodbyes in the parking lot.

Jose and I went back to the hotel and rested, and then went back to Epcot that night to use the fastpasses from earlier in the day (we picked up four more after we rode the first time). While we were there, we saw Angela and Beth, and they said that Ellen was on her way. When Ellen got there, the 5 of us rode Soarin’. They wanted to go to the back and watch Illuminations from World Showcase, but Jose and I were too tired to walk all the way back there, so we split up.

Jose and I rode Soarin’ again and then went to the entrance of World Showcase and watched Illuminations from there. This show is always sentimental to us because Jose proposed to me behind Rose and Crown during Illuminations in 2003. After the fireworks, we made a fast break to the exit to beat the crowds. Jose and I decided to swing by Downtown Disney for a little bit to get our “shopping list” together for souvenirs.

We went through most of the store at Marketplace, and bought some blocks for Jocelyn at Pooh Corner. We left after about an hour and went back to the hotel. I fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow. All of the walking is starting to take its toll on me.

Miles walked today: 14.67

Day Seven – Monday, October 29, 2007:
The Plan: MEMH at Animal Kingdom and Dinner at Market Street Café in Celebration

We were out the door around 9:15am that morning. It was overcast and drizzling. I called Beth on our way to Magic Kingdom and said that we may or may not see her there. We caught the parking tram into the TTC and Jose sat on the outside of the row. By the time we reached the TTC, he was soaking wet! We took the monorail in, and then walked towards Main Street. Horace and Clarabelle were out, so we waited in line to get our picture with them. Luckily they were standing under an awning, so they didn’t leave during the rain. PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/100582183208_0_ALB.jpg) Jose went to Adventureland to pick up some fast passes for Jungle Cruise, and I went to pick up some Mickey Ears for Jocelyn and an umbrella.

When I got into the store, I saw that they had raised the price for infant ears, and also there was now a charge for the embroidery. Man, where have I been that they changed all that? The last time I bought ears, the embroidery was free. Oh well, she is worth it. Jose came back and we went to watch the Tiki Room. After the show, I stopped at the restrooms, and when I came out, Beth and her sister Sarah were talking with Jose. We chatted for a few minutes and then said goodbye as they were leaving the park soon to catch their flight back to Chicago.

Jose and I walked over to the Jungle Cruise and got on the boat. Jose has never been on this ride before, so he has never gotten to partake in the wonderful and cheesy jokes from the skipper. Unfortunately for him, this would not be that time. As soon as we got going, it started to pour! We got soaked to the bone! Our skipper also had a thick accent, so we weren’t able to understand her very well. That and the combination of the loud rain made it so that we couldn’t hear very much. Oh well, we will just have to ride it again on the next trip.

Next we went over to Country Bears, a show that we hadn’t seen in years. Again there was a Dream Squad member at the entrance greeting everyone, but again, no dream given out :mad:. I went to use the restroom in Pecos Bill’s before the show started. On the area just outside the entrance to the restaurant, I started to slide, and then in slow motion, I just kept thinking, don’t land on your stomach! So I fell down and luckily landed on my side. There was a woman there that asked if I was ok, and said I was the second person that she saw slip there. So apparently Disney needs to do something about that area when it’s raining. I am just grateful that I didn’t land on my stomach and hurt the baby.

After the show, I wanted to ride Haunted Mansion one last time, so we headed up there. We got onto the ride and stopped inside the library. I have been on this ride on many occasions and had it stop, but we were literally there for almost 15 minutes before it started up again. Then we stopped again in the stairwell room for another 5 minutes. I wonder what was going on. After the ride, we left the park and drove to Taco Bell for lunch, and then ate back at the hotel.

We rested for a little bit and then drove to Studios to watch the Stars and Motorcars parade. Since we won’t be back before they change it to the Block Party Bash, we wanted to tape it. We have seen Block Party Bash at California Adventure and loved it, so it will be a nice new change for the park. I will just miss Stars and Motorcars because, again, we used to work it when we worked there.

We stopped at the Dockside diner and saw that they sell the spicy pretzels there! I was so excited! So I of course bought one to eat. We walked back and saw Muppets and then left the park. We took a nap back at the hotel and then met Ellen that night for dinner in Celebration.

We ate at a restaurant called Market Street Café. It was so delicious! The prices were great, and the food portions were huge! Jose and I ended up ordering breakfast since they serve it all day. I got an omelet and Jose got a pancake that was the size of the dinner plate. Ellen got a hamburger, and none of us ended up finishing our food. The service was great also. I would definitely recommend this place if you would like to eat off property. Plus, I love Celebration. I want to retire here someday :D.

After dinner, the three of us went to Downtown Disney and did some shopping. We bought the Photo Pass CD, like we did on our trip in December. I would recommend that everyone get this. The Disney cameras take such great pictures, especially at night, so it is worth every penny to purchase it. Both times we have bought it, we have gotten almost 200 pictures on it. Now all they need to do is add it to the Cruise Line, and I will be one happy camper.

We hung out at Ellen’s for a little bit, and then went back to the hotel and packed. I updated the trip notes, and then we went to bed. The last night is always the saddest, isn’t it?

Miles walked today: 12.98

Day Eight – Tuesday, October 30, 2007:
The Plan: Epcot MEMH and Fly Home :crying:

We slept in until 9:00am and then got ready for the day. We finished the last of the packing and went to the front desk to check out and print our boarding passes. We stopped by Magical Express and they let us use their scale so we could see if any of our suitcases were over the weight limit. They told us that we could leave them our bags even though we weren’t using ME, and they would still get them to the airport for us. We declined this time, but I think next time we will do that since it is a long walk from where you return the rental car to getting into the airport.

We went to Epcot and stopped in Innoventions to send some more Internet postcards. I am so sad that Spaceship Earth is closed. But I do agree that it needed an upgrade, so that will be one of the first things we do when we come back. We rode Nemo again so that we could say goodbye to our friend that works there. After the ride, I wanted to buy a pretzel outside of Journey so that I could eat it with the soup that we were going to buy in Canada. The person in front of me bought the last two, so I wasn’t able to get one.

We walked over to World Showcase, starting in Canada. We stopped at the booth for Greece, and I got the spinach and cheese pastry. Next we went to Canada and bought the cheese soup. It was delicious! We saw three people walking by that we used to work with, but they seemed engrossed in conversation, so we didn’t say hello. We went into Canada, and watched the new video there. Martin Short did a great job hosting the movie.

Next we stopped in France at the bakery and got a Napoleon to split. PIC (http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/191313183208_0_ALB.jpg) It was so delicious! After that we stopped in America to look at the new artifacts they have on display. It was very cool to see Abe Lincoln’s hat. When we went outside, there were characters out again where we saw them the other day. This time we got our picture with Gideon and with Liver Lips and Wendell.

We made one last food stop in Germany and got the sausage, sauerkraut and pretzel roll. Jose ate the sausage and I had the pretzel and sauerkraut. We didn’t see anything else that we wanted to eat, so we started to leave World Showcase. I bought some Disney Crocs for Jocelyn in Africa since this was the first place I found the pink and purple ones in the smallest size that Disney carries. I am very surprised that Disney doesn’t carry Crocs for babies. I’m sure they would sell a lot. For now, I bought a pair that Jocelyn probably won’t be able to wear for another year.

It was getting late and we needed to get to the airport so we left Epcot and drove to MCO. We returned the rental car and dropped our bags off and went to the gate. The flight home was extremely smooth, and we landed almost 30 minutes early! My dad and stepmom picked us up, and Jose and I drove home.

Miles walked today: 8.70

Wrap Up Thoughts

We didn’t see the sun at all while we were there, but it was nice that it wasn’t so hot. I could have done without the rain, but that can’t be helped at this time of year. I don’t think I will ever do Disney World again while I am pregnant. It was just so exhausting, and I felt like I was wasting time when I was napping. I also have Lupus, so I am sure that played a large role in being so tired, but again, I think I will just skip Florida the next time I am pregnant.

The crowds were pretty minimal, which is why we like going this time of year. Food and Wine always Epcot crowded, but we got luck and didn’t encounter long lines for the booths.

We walked over 93 miles while we were there! You never notice how much walking you do until you wear a pedometer. The funny part is, I don’t even like to walk a mile at home, let alone over 10 in a day. Yet for some reason at Disney World, I wouldn’t even bat an eyelash walking that much.

We are hoping to go on another cruise in the spring of 2009. It will be hard to skip Disney for a year, but with the baby coming we would like to wait until she’s at least a year old before we take her down there.

Thank you for taking the time to read my report! I look forward to any comments!

Thanks for the great report, and congratulations!

Congratulations to you and Jose', Jennifer, and thanks for posting your report all at once. I'm so not a fan of the installment trip reports; when I want a Disney fix, I want it NOW! ;)

Thanks so much for another great trip report.

Congratulations on the new addition.

Thanks again,
Ellen

Thank you all so much for the warm wishes. We are so excited to be welcoming someone into our family. We weren't sure how a pregnancy would go for me since I have Lupus, but everything so far has been great!

We have decided to name the baby Jasmine :). Since we met while working at Disney World and we are Disney nuts, we figured we had to name our baby after a Disney character :). Plus we both have dark hair, so it fits :fez:.

Thank you again for the wonderful comments!

Thanks for the great report Jennifer and congratulations on Jasmine!!!!! No wonder you guys have such big smiles on your faces in all of the pictures :D

I have lupus too and actually had no additional problems through four pregnancies, I hope yours is as smooth as mine were. Just be sure to get plenty of rest and use it as a great excuse to just take it easy.

It's nice you got one last trip in for the two of you -- next time you'll have a beautiful daughter to share the world with!

Thanks for the great report, and congratulations on your little princess! My son's first visit was in utero too, and he turned out to be a WDW fan. Of course, I would have taken him back to the hospital if he hadn't liked it!

Jennifer,

I really enjoyed reading your report in one sitting and was very impressed by all of your pics. You encountered many characters that I've never seen in the parks and got great shots with them.

Arnold

Congratulations on your new family member upcoming arrival, im sure she is going to love disney as much as you do. Your report was great, i will love to go during the food and wine festival and try some new cuisines, I must admit I was very surprised to find out they had a Dominican Republic booth, i would love to see if their food is just like home. When is the best time to go for the food and wine festival?? You are so lucky to have seen all those characters, I tried on three different days to catch figment even during the posted times and i never got a picture with him.

Thanks for the great report, and congratulations on your little princess! My son's first visit was in utero too, and he turned out to be a WDW fan. Of course, I would have taken him back to the hospital if he hadn't liked it!

I'm right there with you about taking the baby back if they don't like Disney :p. I think I would rather her first word be Disney than Mommy :fez:.

Thanks for the great report Jennifer and congratulations on Jasmine!!!!! No wonder you guys have such big smiles on your faces in all of the pictures :D

I have lupus too and actually had no additional problems through four pregnancies, I hope yours is as smooth as mine were. Just be sure to get plenty of rest and use it as a great excuse to just take it easy.

It's nice you got one last trip in for the two of you -- next time you'll have a beautiful daughter to share the world with!

Thank you so much for the reassurances! It's nice to hear about other women with Lupus who have been through pregnancies.

I can't wait until our first trip with her to Disney World, even if she won't remember it. I am a great scrapbooker, so she can relive the trip that way :).

I was so excited to see you posted a new trip report---yea! Congrats on baby Jasmine. Wishes for a healthy and easy pregnancy for you!!!!

Great report! I enjoyed reading it all at once! Congratulations on your upcoming arrival of your little girl. We took our 14 month old daughter in November, and she did great, she loved all the lights, music, and so much to see! Thanks for a great report!

Congratulations on your new family member upcoming arrival, im sure she is going to love disney as much as you do. Your report was great, i will love to go during the food and wine festival and try some new cuisines, I must admit I was very surprised to find out they had a Dominican Republic booth, i would love to see if their food is just like home. When is the best time to go for the food and wine festival?? You are so lucky to have seen all those characters, I tried on three different days to catch figment even during the posted times and i never got a picture with him.

I think the time of year that we were there for Food and Wine was a great time (end of October). I always feel like Food and Wine is very crowded when it forst begins and right when it ends from people wanting to go before it's done for the year. I think weekdays are always less crowded, also, since there are less locals there on thier days off.

We have just been lucky I guess to always find Figment. We just go there whenever, and he has always been out. I never even noticed that they have posted times for him :). Good luck on your next try to get a picture :).

Jasmine has arrived!

Jasmine was born last week on April 8th. She was 5 pounds, 6 ounces, and was 19 inches long. She is a total little peanut :p. Here is a picture of her with her first Disney button that we brought the hospital for the occasion.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/birthdaybutton.jpg

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Jasmine has arrived!

Jasmine was born last week on April 8th. She was 5 pounds, 6 ounces, and was 19 inches long. She is a total little peanut :p. Here is a picture of her with her first Disney button that we brought the hospital for the occasion.

http://i180.photobucket.com/albums/x247/jord5074/birthdaybutton.jpg

Enjoy!
Jennifer


CONGRATULATIONS!!!!! WELCOME BABY JASMINE!

Congratulations! She is beautiful!

I just read your trip report, and really enjoyed it. I like all the pics you got with the "not so common" characters.

I also have a connective tissue disease similar to (but not) lupus. I am now inspired by you, that you could manage the parks, while pregnant, without letting the lupus get you down. :) That's good to know!

Take care, and many blessings to the new FAMILY! :D

Congratulations!

Congratulations!!! and welcome little Jasmine!

She's just beautiful (and I LOVE the button :D). It looks like everything went just fine, lupus and all. Hope you're getting some sleep :p

SHE IS BEAUTIFUL!!! Congrats to you!!!