Oregon Family of 3 - Nov 1-11, 2007 – Boardwalk Inn
Travel dates: Nov. 1 to 11, 2007
Travel method: Plane, Magical Express, Disney transportation
Resort: Boardwalk Inn
Accommodations: Water view room, 2 queens
Disney Resort Experience Represented in Group: Seasoned family, huge Mickey enthusiasts
Cast of characters: Me – Carey (27 years), Mom – Val (55 years), Dad – Bob (56 years).

PRE-TRIP


My little family (just the three of us) went to WDW for the first time when I was 19, and we’ve been huge Mickey fans ever since. Previous trips included staying at Caribbean Beach and the Boardwalk Inn. We hadn’t been for a couple of years and so decided in Christmas of 2006 that we were going come hell or high-water. We’ve always tried to go during the ‘slower’ times, and hadn’t ever gone in early November, so made the reservations. Fast forward 11 months (bypassing the headache of trying to find the right house/petter sitter to watch our horses, cats, and dogs while we’re gone) and we were on our way!



Day 1 – Thursday Nov 1st

The only non-stop flight from Oregon to Florida (PDX to MCO) is a southwest airlines red-eye. So my folks and I catch the last flight out and settle in for a relatively uneventful 8 hour extravaganza. In previous years I distinctly remember the red eye having enough room that we could each pick a row and spread out, but this time it was packed and unfortunately this proved to be a foreshadow of the increase in crowds (albeit nothing like the peak periods, I’m sure) at WDW. So Thursday turns into Friday, and….

Day 2 – Friday Nov 2nd

We arrive at Orlando bleary eyed and in need of the restroom (I have this thing about airplane bathrooms and plus you try crawling over 2 people [even if they are your parents] and then feeling like all eyes are on you as you stumble in relative darkness down the length of the plane to use a facility that practically sucks you away when it flushes….), and so find a ground version for my needs and proceed towards the little airport monorail. I don’t know about everyone else but that little monorail (complete with it’s announcer voice) is the first little dose of “we’re almost there!” Disney magic. But alas, before we board we spot a Starbucks, and being true Pacific NW folks we each order our fave drink (which was awful by the way – not to brag but our Oregon baristas are SO much better), and THEN we get on the tram.

Didn’t check any bags (but packed extras for the return as we expect to make purchases), and so head to Magical Express. Absolutely no one there. We board our bus and arrive at Boardwalk with no additional stops. I thought the little video they play on the bus was cute – but MAN does it push their cruise line. I might do a land and sea adventure when I get married (I want to kind married at Mickey). Anyway, we check it (room’s not ready but it’s like 7 AM so go figure) and head down to Spoodles for breakfast. Now, I could have sworn they have a breakfast buffet but I didn’t see it on the menu, our waitress didn’t mention it, and we were seated off to the side, so either it wasn’t there or I was oblivious due to lack of sleep. Either way, we ate what I remember as being a pretty good, standard Spoodles fare and headed for EPCOT. And so you all know who you’re dealing with, here’s us:

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/my_family.jpg)
(ugh, we all look tired and not at our best – by hey, we’re at Mickey and so all smiles)


SIDE NOTE: Ever since reading about the PAL MICKEY, I had to have one. I was one a mission to get one since first arriving – like literally I was on the hunt since the airport. I had envisioned buying one at that little travel store just after entering the international gateway for weeks prior to the trip. Like I seriously had this vision of finding MY mickey sitting on a shelf in that store waiting specifically for me. But alas, there were no PAL MICKEYS. I was a little disappointed to not see my vision realized, but since I knew there WERE pal mickeys for sale somewhere I didn’t sweat it too much. So we continue on through EPCOT (being herded away from the not yet open world showcase) and I decide to stop at the stores there in-between world showcase and future world, and what do I see but A PAL MICKEY!!! And a sorcerer one to boot! So I buy one and strap him to my belt and there he stays for most of the rest of the trip.

As much as a Mickey not and internet use that I am, I thought our family had really considered the best ways to go about doing things, but for some reason we did two things this trip (or rather did NOT do), that I now kick myself for. We never got a fasspass for Sourin’(which is beyond me why we brain farted this because we got FP for everything else so it’s not like we don’t know about them), and we did NOT ever bother with a photopass! Grr….. But anyway….

We talk about what to ride first (normally it would be spaceship earth but its being refurbished), knowing to pass on Ellen because last time we did the red eye and rode that ride my mom fell asleep, as so decide to do mission space to get our juices flowing. Now, I didn’t know ANYTHING about this ride, and neither did my parents, so we decide to try the green just to see. We come off of it and I really kinda thought it was lame. So did my mom, and my dad was sort of going with the flow so we opt for the red option (there really was no wait both times). Let me tell you, though – that red option was a HUGE MISTAKE. I can handle almost anything but I COULD NOT handle this ride. Ugh. I got this horrible feeling in the middle of my chest which caused my to feel a very rare panicked feeling that I’ve only felt once or twice before in my entire life, combined with knowing that I can not stop the ride if I need to and being in a tight space. NO. no no no no no. My dad, I’m pretty sure, felt the same or worse as me because he absolutely hated it and had to sit down afterwards for awhile. I also found out, long after we came home from this trip, that he felt that particular ride had lowered his endurance level for the whole rest of the trip, and so we will never be riding that ride again. I told my mom that if my future husband (who has to be a Disney manic, that’s just a given) likes mission space, she can ride it with him (she just loved it, for reasons I can’t understand). Anyway, here’s a picture of my woofed dad and me with my PAL MICKEY!!! (I just love to scream those words!  )

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/woofed_mickey.jpg)

After sitting there for awhile and watching the fountains do their thing (which I’ve always thought was pretty cool) and remarking on the increase in crowds from when we usually go in early December (which by the way is when we will be going this year – yeah baby), I spot a pin trading station there under the little shade wings they’ve erected in the middle of future world (which I thought was a nice touch – I don’t remember them being there last time) and decide to head over there.

SIDE NOTE: We’ve always bought pins when we go to Mickey as souvenEARS (lol), but I recently learned about pin trading while browsing the internet and wanted to try my hand at some CM and other hard to obtain pins. So a couple months prior to leaving I purchased a set of 10 from EBAY (making sure they were the authentic, high quality kind), specifically for trading. So we head over to the pin station and I had to admit I was genuinely surprised (and I little put off) by the handful of people that hung out at the little tables with they’re HUGE books of pins so people could look and, presumably, trade. Now, I had read through boards like this and Deb’s site that these people won’t usually do a one to one trade, and when I saw them I thought (and I don’t mean to offend anyone out there who is a serious pin trader) that the majority of them gave me a shifty sort of vibe and weren’t very Disney-like at all. I mean, a far cry from a CM, and so it was a weird experience for me – like I was at some tiny little gypsy style flea market, yet right in the heard of Mickey. But I have gone off the subject….

My mom is obsessed (and I mean crazed) over anything Jock. Sure, we have Scotties at home but come on, woman! So she sets off on a search to find a Jock pin (as it happens, I was the one to find the one and only pin with Jock on it throughout the entire trip.  - And my dad likes to quiz the CMs so he keeps himself busy with that as I look for a fun pin to trade. I settle on a Dalmatian one not because I plan on keeping it, but because (and maybe this sounds silly) I had worked myself up so much before coming over the image of trading a pin with a CM, that I couldn’t help myself. I ended up trading it later. And of course we bought a bunch that we actually wanted (we have a mural at home we keep adding to).

Ok, enough about pins! My dad was still feeling woozy so we take a leisurely stroll around world showcase and then decide to head back to Boardwalk via a friendship because, hey – we’ve been up for almost 18 hours now, having not slept really since Oregon (or changed clothes for that matter) and we’re tired). So around 3 PM or so we stumble into our room and collapse for a nap.

After a couple hours rest and a shower, we decide to go back to EPCOT for dinner someplace, and then maybe a few more rides. Oh, something else we failed to do which I kick myself for – we didn’t bother with any advanced anythings when it comes to our dining. We also didn’t do the dining plan which , in retrospect, was a mistake. Supposedly our reasoning behind no reservations was that last time we went (early Dec) we didn’t really seem to need them. But that was several years ago and this was a busier time of year, so oops. Nonetheless, we head through world showcase looking for a place to eat. We try Canada (ha ha, yeah I know), then Rose and Crown (nope), and then we try – thinking foolishly – that we might get into the Chefs du France (the one one the second floor – I think I have the name right). Anyway, to our surprise the guy doing the host services around back and out front (who, by the way, I thought was incredibly cute and had the coolest accent and I thought maybe there was a connection between us but as you will discover later my swooning my have been in vain – I think his name was Pete. Shorter guy with adorable brown hair and eyes, and did I mention the accent?), he tells us that if we can come back in about a half hour maybe we can sneak us in. So we mill around the perfume store and wine shop, and after 30 minutes check back and YES! He can fit us in. How cool? So we have an expensive fine dining experience upstairs with a waiter who wasn’t quite as cute as Pete but that accent….. and then after sharing a crème brule desert (excellent) head back down for more rides. On our way Pete stops us and asks how it was (furthering my perhaps lofty belief that he was interested in me) and we say it was good and then as we’re walking away my dad gives me some money to tip Pete and I get to go back and exchange a (maybe) significant glance with him before exiting France towards future world.

I should mention that it was extra magic hours at EPCOT that day, and so even though we only had a few hours nap between this point and when we left in Oregon the day before, we decided to press forward. Maybe not the best choice but it was MICKEY! I wasn’t hugely tired, but I admit a certain two pre-geezers lagged a little. Hee hee We managed to ride Sourin’ (our only time this trip, which was too bad as we all liked it – but were only once over that way again and I actually did think of FP for it that time but they were all gone), and then we road the living with the land ride (with just a few other people and no wait, and I thought was really cool as my mom and I are avid gardener’s back home), and then finally went back to the room and collapsed for good.



Day 3, MGM and more! Coming soon….

This is my first trip report after having lurked unregistered on this site for sometime now and reading other’s reports. Please let me know if you love it or hate it. I tend to give more information then less, and so maybe I’m being too talky? Let me know! Also, a shout out to kassadrasmom, NJ Mike, 91wingnut, and WDW heart. You don’t know me but I’ve read your trip reports and have loved them! I sort of feel like I know you….

Great trip report so far!! You write like I talk so I'm following along extremely well haha. And with all the gushing of Pete I thought for sure you'd have a pic for us to see haha.

Keep the report coming! It's getting me soo excited for my trip next month! :D

I'm loving it so far...keep it coming!

((By the way – my bad about the previous posts spelling and grammatical errors. I usually check my work but I type kinda fast and sometimes I’m lazy. Thank goodness for spell check. Lol))

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Normally at home in Oregon, we all wake up at 5 AM every morning (I should clarify that because I am still single, old fashioned, and working as a partner in the family business, I still live at home with my folks. And my dog, and my horse, and my cats, and our home office, and so it’s convenient!). SO… because of this even with the 3 hour time difference NOT in our favor, we still get up around 6 AM. The boardwalk is quite peaceful and quite this time of day, and it’s probably one of the few times it’s nice to sit out on the balcony and relax. Since we live in the country and have few neighbors, we’re not really into the busy activity of the promenade later in the day but I imagine for some that’s the best time to chill on the balcony as I saw an awful lot of people doing it. But I’ve gotten off track again…

We head out in search of breakfast and I have to tell you as much as I enjoy the boardwalk, they have very little in terms of breakfast options (coincidentally when we go back this year we’ll be staying at the Animal Kingdom Lodge), and so many mornings we settled on the bakery for early snacks and then a bigger lunch later – which on the plus side meant I could have cake for breakfast every morning, on the negative side meant I could have cake for breakfast every morning. I figured though since I was on vacation I didn’t give a rip if, good or bad, I ate cake every morning for breakfast (which I didn’t, but the point was that I could! ) So we have a little breakfast outside a relatively empty boardwalk, while making a fun game (which would be repeated a lot during our trip), of tossing food to the little fat brown birds – which I know you’re not supposed to do but I couldn’t help it. They were so cute! We are now ready to go to a park, but of course my mom has decided she needs an over-shirt and so my dad and I do some window shopping until she comes back. Finally, we’re on a friendship heading to MGM.

When we get there, the crowds are pretty light and so I attack the first CM I see for pin trading. Nothing! We head down the main drag and decide to duck into a store for a shirt for my dad and maybe another CM I can accost. No luck on the shirt but I do see a pin that I want! It is a round, black pin with the three circles of Mickey’s head in blue. The CM, afterwards, tells me that I have found one of a series of three CM pins! This is very cool as not only did I stumble upon an unbuyable pin, but it is also one that is actually pretty neat and one I would want to keep. So I have my new mission – find the yellow and red to complete the set!

We look at the attraction board and decide on the great movie ride. Had I been thinking I would have gotten a FS for all of us for rockin’ roller coaster or TOT, but oh well. There’s no line in the lobby area, but there is once you get to the big screen. It moves pretty quick though and soon we are on the ride! We get to sit in the front row (we’re usually in the back car) which makes for a neat experience cause the operator was just to our left and the Alien sequence shoots out different effects at different times and so we were engulfed in… well I won’t give it away but it was cool – I’d never experienced it from that vantage point. We got the gangster version, and the new operator was cool – he messed with the little boy right behind him. Come to think of it, the original operator was pretty good too. Really into it. We rode this ride again days later and the two women doing it didn’t seem as good to me that time. But, moving on…

We head towards Star Tours and board the ride with little wait. Even though the crowds did seem bigger then what we normally see in early December, they were pretty light. Almost all the rides had huge queuing areas that we did NOT have to walk through and just looked like a nightmare of a wait if they were full. That is why I will never go in the summer. Observe the lack of people.

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/no_lines.jpg)

So we do star tours and then down the avenue of the Americas to the backlot tour. We notice along the way that the lights for Christmas are starting to go up, even though there is still a Mickey Halloween party that night at MK – weird. Also, it looks like MGM is preparing for something big in the coming days and we discover that it’s super soaps weekend. Not being soup watchers we are glad we are doing MGM today as the next few days looks to be really busy.

The backlot tour is fun, as usual – I think there are some new props or something because I thought originally there were houses to see and we did not go through any studios, but this time we drove through a wardrobe area (seen through glass) for some movie and saw props from various things instead. We’ve got lots of days left and we want to do the stunt show and some other things so we leave the park to rest at the hotel before going the Halloween party at MK. I had vowed to do rock and roller coaster (my favorite ride before Everest) about 10 times upon arriving at WDW, and here we are on our 2nd day in the parks and I’m leaving MGM without riding once!!! But, like I said, lots of days left so I didn’t sweat it.

We get back to the Boardwalk and as I recall got tickets then for the Halloween party because we weren’t sure if we were going to want to go, but decided on the day and fortunately there were still tickets left. Rested up in the room and then did the bus to the TTC and then monorail to MK. I, like I think the rest of you, got that certain feeling when we walked through the gates and saw the castle for the first time. Even though we had been there for 2 days, there’s something about the MK itself that causes a certain sense of warm fuzzies. Maybe because of everything Disney has to offer, the MK signifies what Walt envisioned as he walked out into those swamps so many years ago, stood firmly in the middle, and said ‘the castle goes here’. Disney’s had a lot of great people making some great contributions over the years since, but Walt will always be the man behind the mouse.

Pardon me while I wipe away a tear… OK, moving on… There are shops and things we wanted to see but we saved that for the daytime and instead plowed ahead for rides. I’m using pictures I took to help jog my memory for this trip report and I don’t seem to have taken much during the party, so I don’t recall the exact details, but I do know that we rode (all with pretty much no wait ever and very few people) pirates (I thought the Jack Sparrow bits were a nice addition), Splash mountain and Big Thunder a couple of times, Space mountain a few times, the TTA, Buzz Lightyear, the tea cups, and even the train around the whole park just because. There were fireworks but they weren’t wishes. Cool though anyway. We ate some food at a practically empty Pinocchio style German type eatery in Fantasyland (I can’t remember the name) that was right next to IASW (which we did NOT ride – save it for when I have a kid, I say). Rode Haunted Mansion a few times – I do like the updates they made. I think by then it was getting close to the midnight or whatever closing time and so we headed towards the exit – got some chocolately something from the main street bakery - then caught the bus back the boardwalk and collapsed. There are other rides we wanted to do but again we knew we’d be back to MK so no big panic.

Great Trip Report!!! I can't wait to read more. I respect your choice to live at home and still vacation with mom and dad. I don't live at home, but i definatly still vacation with them and have tons of fun!!!

We did the breakfast thing at the limited bakery again and then caught a bus to DTD. We decided the buses would just take us where-ever depending on what got to use first, and usually that worked out pretty well. So we got to DTD and started to shop! It was still pretty early (like 8 AM I think) and since we hadn’t had that great of a breakfast from the bakery but nothing else was open, we chose MacDonald’s for a snack. I think we each had a breakfast pancake sandwich thingy and ate outside, while watching this horribly behaved little Mexican girl chase after the birds and chipmunks outside. I’m all for kids playing and some innocent fun but she was downright being mean and trying to hit the wildlife. Meanwhile her grandma was on the cell phone, completely oblivious. My mom did something she never does – she told the kid to knock it off – and that was only when the kid got really close to our table and disrupted our gentle interaction with said wildlife. I personally wanted to smack her, but I restrained myself.

When we were done, we went through World of Disney (which as much as I love Mickey and totally do not blame them for being this way – much of the merchandise is for kids – ok not so much in WOD so that’s a bad example, but in general, I saw an awful lot of kid things. It’s all good though). Anyway, I needed to find something for my best friend’s sister’s kid – whom she and I have grown quite close because my best friend is always watching her – and she’s a Cinderella fiend so I got her a doll. Then I set out to find my mug.

SIDE NOTE: I am a tea addict. I used to HATE tea but in my more adult years I tried a cup one day at home and instantly loved it. Been hooked ever since. Since then, I have also always been extremely picky about my tea cup. It has to be a very specific shape, size, color, material, thickness, and handle. I had decided before we left that my two very specific purchases at Mickey were going to be a Thomas Kinkade print of the castle, and the perfect tea cup.

It was very difficult finding my mug, because I am incredibly picky. I came across a pooh mug that sort of fit the criteria, but was square instead of curved, so I passed for now. This wasn’t the place to find Kinkade so I was done with the store for the time being. The whole family, surprisingly, passed on a lot at the store and so we left to go look at the lego structures nearby. My mom had her picture taken with the dogs (of course) and then we were getting hungry again so we went to Captain Jack’s (it was only like 11 AM at this point) and had sort of a brunch from their appetizers. Pretty good, as I recall – and right on the water which is nice. Then we walked all the way over to the west side to see if there was anything interesting – didn’t want to do Disney Quest and passed on the big circus tent – and were surprised that at 1 PM or so on a Sunday there was nobody around. We debated on seeing a movie and actually, because it was hot, decided to watch Bee Movie! I know, a Dreamworks flick on a Disney vacation, go figure. I was not really impressed, but a friend of ours does the voice for one of the characters so we were interested.

Afterwards, we went outside and were greeted with the heat (maybe not for Florida residents, but to me anything above 65 is bordering on too warm), and so we decided to go to our room and then alter in the day, another park.

So I, thinking I’m all clever, steer my parents towards the west side bus area - at the absolute furthest point from where we were dropped off earlier at DTD - only to discover that there’s no busses over there anymore! Ugh! So we sort of drag ourselves back over to the Pleasure Island bus area and catch a bus back to the boardwalk (at least we didn’t have to wait very long).

After a rest in our room we decide to go back to MK, and so went via the bus from the Boardwalk. Once there, we decided to take our time looking at things - we had read about a mural hidden I think in Tony’s? And my mom wanted to see it, so we move past some activity in that main building on the right and into it seems nowhere, when suddenly, yup there’s a rarely visited area with old posters and props and things pertaining to the early days of Disney. It was cool. After looking at that, we head back out onto main street and over to the fire house store (we used to have Dalmatians so I like to look for things at this store). My mom finds a shirt and we exit just in time to watch a marching band finish - my dad saw most of it as he prefers to wait outside rather then shop like my mom and I. This became a common occurrence during our trip….

I head next door to visit the horses and to my dismay they don’t seem to have them there anymore! Maybe it was just that day but I was kinda disappointed. I know, I know, we haven’t even gotten past Main Street yet! Ok, so we continue up Main Street and go into one of the stores on the right that seems to have art related things inside. My new mission: a Thomas Kinkade print. Little did I know that not only were they extremely popular and thus pretty much sold out, but they were also more expensive then I had anticipated. The MK store happens to have ONE open edition print available, but when I learn that it’s over $100 and not as big as the original, I do some thinking and decide that for that particular piece of artwork I am willing to save my money and splurge on a signed, limited edition full sized canvas at some point. So thus ends my search for a Kinkade. Sigh.

While I am deciding all this with the really helpful CM at the counter, a three man singing group starts a set right in the middle of the store, which my parents enjoyed.

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/singing_group.jpg)

But alas – we’re at MICKEY!!! Nothing keeps me down for long. We head left from Main Street to Adventureland and decide to try these famous Dole Whips. Pretty good! My mom is the pineapple lover and so I think she enjoyed them the most. We then decide to hit Mickey’s Philharmonic – when we hadn’t ever seen – and after I let my eyes adjust I thought it was pretty cool! It was starting to get towards late afternoon at this point and we were planning on doing the extra magic hour at MK, so we head back to the room for a rest and some food before heading out again.

Back at the boardwalk and after our rest, we catch a burger at the Big River Grille. It was pretty good but I come from the land of Tillamook Cheese and Angus Beef and so I’ve had great hamburgers before and this wasn’t really amongst the top 5. We finish and head back to MK via bus, just in time for it to be getting dark. We bypass the parade and head towards Adventureland again, but this time stay and ride Pirates. There is virtually no line and we enjoy it as always, with only a few other people with us on the whole boat. From there we go on Splash Mountain (I love it when we can just run through the entire queue) and then decide to catch the train over to Tomorrowland. There was maybe a total of 3 other people on the whole train. We decide to disembark at Toon Town instead (which seems closed) and hit the teacups (my dad sits this one out – he says he doesn’t like to be spun. I don’t know what’s wrong with him), before getting a little bite to eat at Starlight Rays. I keep hoping to find that talking trashcan, but alas no.

I think my parents were getting a little tired – and my dad disappeared for awhile in the bathroom, but we got some reserve energy from the food and decided to do Space Mountain.

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/parents.jpg)

We do the TTA again and Buzz – not so much into stitch so we just avoid the ride – and then head leisurely back through main street and on the bus back to our room, were we again collapse.

Absolutely loving your trip report! Hopefully you will have time to post additional days before I leave for Disneyland at 6:00 a.m. on April 24 -- so I will have something to read on the plane. :)

Gloria

((I'm glad people are enjoyed my report! I am having fun writing it as is brings back specific memories that I've since let slip from our trip. When I get going I get on a roll, so here's more!))

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We decide to do the early entry to AK (after a late MK night, I know) and so skipped breakfast at Boardwalk for something we figured we’d find at the park. When we get there, we take our time through Oasis (with people storming past us) an enjoy the various parrots. I like to take animal pictures and I brought a nicer camera specifically for this so it took awhile before we crossed the bridge into the main hub. Since my mom and I enjoy gardening and like to model some of our plant configurations against Mickey, I took a lot of pictures referencing the pathways and plants throughout animal kingdom. Since everyone else seemed to be heading to Everest or the Safari, there were lots of empty paths which for my purposes were pretty cool.

Since we had skipped breakfast my dad was pretty hungry, but they were redoing Pizzafari or something so all we could do was stand in line at the walk up next to the bathrooms over in that same general area. It may have been quite along those pathways, but the safari area and the food section was packed. It was an absolute mad house! I was chosen to go get a table while both my parents stood in line for food. At least it was in the shade. I found a great table for four (and there was only me) and got a lot of dirty looks between when I sat down and when my parents FINALLY made it over to join me. I tried to have PAL MICKEY sit on one of the other seats to make it more obvious that I was not alone, but I think people just thought I was nuts.

At last my parents arrive, and as an added bonus some African tumbling group comes out and starts doing a routine just to my left. They were pretty good, and considering that they were in full sunlight and it was a pretty hot day AND they were exerting themselves I was impressed. By now there were still tons of people and my dad doesn’t like crowds and plus I think the parade was getting ready to go through that area so we slipped out towards Asia for the jungle trek.

We went into Asia and did the jungle trek, and I sort of overdid it on pictures and my camera battery died. Grrr… and it’s a rechargeable one too so there wasn’t anything I could do. Fortunately my dad had his camera on him also so all was not lost.

We emerged from the trek and walked past the Yak and Yeti (still under construction) and saw the Birds of Prey show. I used to volunteer at the Zoo in Oregon as a Bird of Prey handler and so it was neat to see someone else doing a show with the birds. From there we decided to do the Safari ride, bypassing Everest (which we had not ridden yet) because we knew we are going to be back in a later day for extra evening magic hours (though if had I thought about it we could have done a fast pass). The crowds seemed to have shifted (yea!) and so we got right on. Kilimanjaro was fun, but the animals were lazy during these hours (perhaps why there were no crowds) and so we vowed to come back and ride first thing in a later day. We went from there to Dinosaur, which surprising was empty, and then decided we were hungry and so got one of those turkey legs to devour. They were good. Very good – and I don’t normally like that sort of thing. We finished eating, and then the park was getting crowded and so we left to get some rest back at the room and see where the day would take us next.

After resting in our room for a bit, we decided to go back to EPCOT (my family really enjoys illuminations) to see if we could find a nice restaurant to sneak into. As luck would have it, we managed to get into the Italy restaurant, and enjoyed a nice (and expensive) meal there. Being part Sicilian I am partial to Italian guys – and our waiter was pretty cute – but for some reason Eddie (and it’s EDDIE, not Pete – I just remembered) – stood out in my mind. So cute! (More on him in a later post....)

We managed to get out just in time for fireworks, we which enjoyed while strolling along world showcase, observing with pleasure the general lack of crowds. I was able to get a few pictures of Morocco in without any people in the way (one of my favorite pavilions) as we made a full loop back to a friendship which took us back to the boardwalk. Even though it was after 10 PM when we got there, a lot of street entertainment was still happening. There is this one guy who does his whole act silently, and it varies between balancing on a skateboard, to playing with a banana, to using a mini basketball hoop, to playing with dishes. He tends to get the crowd involved. He was pretty entertaining.

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/plate_guy.jpg) (I’ve tried to lighten it cause I took it at night, lol)

My mom was tired so she went up to the room but my dad and I hung back for a little bit and enjoyed cheesecake from the bakery while taking in the sights. Ahhh…… Mickey. Finally, closer to 11 PM, we head up to the room and – you guessed it – collapse.

Still loving your trip report and looking forward to hearing the rest!

Ok, I am NOT going on 6 days at Mickey without having ridden some of my favorite coasters. MGM, here we come! My mom and I greet this day with great anticipation as we both love fast rides!

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/mom_me.jpg)

We opt not to do the bakery this morning and instead board a friendship and are off to MGM pretty early. We never seemed to get to anything as the rope was dropping, but must have always been pretty soon after cause it felt like the park had just opened. But anyway… Last time we went to WDW, my mom and I walked from the boardwalk to MGM but the path stopped at the road and we had to go up, across (with no cross walk) and over to reach the park. So this time we passed on walking in fear that it would be the same way, but on our way to the park via boat I noticed that the path was complete, which was nice to know, even if we didn’t use it this trip.

We get to MGM and head straight for TOT. It’s only like 8 AM at this point so we walk right on. I’m smart this time though and get FP for Rockin’ Roller Coaster. My dad decides to sit these two rides out (his loss!) and so my mom and I proceed to the pre-show of TOT (making sure to stand near the back corner) and make it onto the ride in no time. TOT is one of my favorites. My mom absolutely loves the ride. We manage for some reason to be the only two waiting for the pre-show doors to open – but over by the doors – which gives us both a chance to really examine the lobby area and take some pictures. I’ve always vowed that when I have my own place (which I intend to be a mansion) then I am going to have a bunch of secret rooms and passageways and corridors that are all done up Mickey style to represent the different rides. And then I’m going to have my own ultilidors. I’m not sure where they will lead yet but I’m going to have them! Lol.

So the doors to the pre-show open and we place ourselves strategically in the back corner, and from there it’s a walk on to the ride. Great as always. When we exit, we decide to go right back on – still no wait – and its just as good. It’s time now for our FP which is good because the standby line for RRC has gotten a little wait going. My dad waits for us in the shade over by that little coffee cart while my mom and I practically skip into the RRC building. I thought that originally when they had “Chris” messing with chords in the room it was a cute touch, but I didn’t really miss it as that CM isn’t there anymore.

I have this theory about coaster that the further back you side, the more you’re going to feel whipped from side to side (which I enjoy), so each time we do RRC I hope for a back seat – but I don’t ever specifically request it because any seat on that ride is good. Well we end up getting on of the very back seats, so that was kind of a score (at least for me). I love that ride. How can you not laugh with childish glee when your on that ride. Ah…. Mickey…..

Anyways, so after we exit and find my dad we all decide that we want a bite to eat and so head towards the Brown Derby to see what’s available.

SIDE NOTE: My mom, either through shuffling her feet when walking, or wearing the wrong socks, or something, got blisters after the first or second day at Mickey. She had brought moleskin, but since we couldn’t bring scissors on the plane (and didn’t really think to), she had nothing to cut it with. After using my nail clipper the first time (which was less then successful), my dad was able to find a pair of blunt Minnie scissors for her to use. So she was doing OK with moleskin but by day 6 she was having a tough time. It was then that she discovered the wonderful world of crocs. I would never have guessed they’d be comfortable but she just swore by them. She managed to score herself a bright red pair that you could only get away with wearing at Mickey, but she was no longer it pain so it worked.

So my mom has her new crocs and we’re heading towards the brown Derby for food. And so was everyone else. Nothing available to sit down, so we ended up getting some stuff at a market type place just next to the brown derby that was laid out sort of small and oddly, and there was absolutely no place to sit. We scored a bench (sort of) across the street and ate our ala cart breakfast and discussed what to do next.

My dad wanted to let his food digest but my mom and I had FP for TOT that we scored earlier and so left him to go do that one more time. Great ride. We came back just in time to head over to the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular.

SIDE NOTE: We knew it was the year of a million dreams and we were sort of hoping to score something, but alas the trip would prove dreamless in that sense (but really, can WDW really be dreamless? I think not), but we did realize that we had to create our OWN dreams. Example: For Indiana Jones we managed to slip in just as it was about to start, and there were NO seats, so it looked like we had to stand in the back. Well, I spied an empty half row – RIGHT IN FRONT!! I mean front and center, and I asked the cast member if we could sneak down there. I’m not sure why it was empty because wheelchairs can’t maneuver the stairs, but anyway she said yes and we ended up with what I think was probably the best show in the house!

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/jones.jpg) (from our seats – I’m not using the zoom!)

After Indiana we went back down the Avenue of the Americas in hopes of seeing the stunt show, but we missed the last show of the day (which was early!) and so opted for Muppets. The next show was in about 30 minutes so we grab a soda and sit in that outdoor seated area near the Honey I shrunk the Kids playground. I’ve read somewhere that there’s a crate near the gift shop that’s located right in that area that talks to you if you try to open it, but alas I could not locate in. Meanwhile, my dad decides to attack a CM.

SIDE NOTE: We have this thing in our family where if we see another human being that looks interesting, or looks like they need some conversation, or is doing something we’ve never seen before, or is otherwise involved with something we’re curious about (and not currently pre-occupied), we attack and quiz them. Well maybe not literally tackle them, but pretty close. My dad is the ring leader, because he’s really charming about it, and since we typically are genuinely interested in engaging the person, they tend to receive it warmly. I had found that at Mickey this way of interacting seems to work wonders with CMs. They generally seem to like being talked to, and lots of useful information can be obtained that way.

So my dad attacks this CM and starts quizzing him about the playground. Unfortunately he was just a trash boy that didn’t seem to have a lot of information to share, fortunately he did seem happy that someone was talking to him and I traded a pin with him, so that was nice. He left smiling so I figure a healthy outcome, nonetheless.

Ok, its time for Muppets. A fun show, as always. For some reason I think the 3D effect is easier on my eyes here that at Philharmagic, but maybe its just me. After Muppets we decided to get a little something to eat and so managed to get into the prime time café. I’m not really one to get into being picked on (even though I like to accost others – I know I know) and so I was a little leery of our waitress (who was REALLY into her role and was loud) but fortunately she decided to pick on the table next to us – two older couples the one guy of which looked really disgruntled to be there. And he’s the one she picked on the most! Lol. And then to make matters worse he spilled his soda all over the floor. And he didn’t eat all his vegetables. I think though he lightened up towards the end because he was smiling, and she was making a fuss over EVERYONE (except us, which ended up surprising me given how loud she was). Anyway, good times.

After that we made our way over to Beauty and the Beast, which was… OK. We got in late and so sat in the very back where the sun beats down on you, and the story was pretty condensed and I felt myself thinking that if I wanted to see it I could just watch the movie. Afterwards my mom and I got FP for Rockin’ Roller Coaster (actually we got those just before Beauty and the Beast) and then did TOT again (it must come in waves because again there was hardly any line), and headed back to RRC to use our FP but even with FP the line was now WAY long and I didn’t want to ruin my memories of the ride with a long wait so we gave our FP to two girls about my age that were about to get into the standby area.

I could tell the long hours each day were starting to get to my parents, even though we made sure to rest each afternoon. I admit I was a little tired also so we knocked off early (early evening) and went back to the hotel via the friendship to rejuvenate for the rest of the day. While waiting for the boat, everyone made a huge fuss over some gigantic fish and a turtle that were hanging around near the dock. Well, maybe we made sort of a fuss too. That thing was huge! Plus they both seemed happy to eat whatever scrapes people dropped near them, which maybe you’re not supposed to do but have you ever see a huge turtle eat? He just sort of glides towards the food with his mouth open. Maybe you’d have to be there….

Anyway, so we’re back at the boardwalk, and we order a pizza and bring it back up to the room and just eat and relax. We’re not really pool people so it was just a quiet evening ‘at home’ – plus I think there was some show on that my mom is loyal to (there aren’t many so we cut her some slack) that we watched - and then, around 9:30 PM, my parents collapsed and I drifted to sleep shortly after.

((I managed to get one more trip report day fired off in-between work today. I hope everyone enjoys it!))


We got up early and my dad went off by himself to have a bakery snack while my mom and I got ready for the day. It was about 6:30 AM and I saw him eating just below our balcony, with no one else around, and captured this photo:

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/dad.jpg)

Afterwards he came back up and announced he needed some “quiet reflection time”, his way of saying that he wants to take a nap without us around to make noise, and so my mom and I head off to EPCOT to do some things just the two of us for the morning. We grab our own little breakfast at the bakery (and feed the little fat birds again) and then head in to EPCOT through the international gateway. It’s a nice day out – a little hot – and not very many people. Since I flat out refuse to ride Mission: Space we head over to test track – again, a very little wait, and soon were in! It was a good ride, as always.

SIDE NOTE: I should mention that we went during the EPCOT food and wine festival, but didn’t really participate in any of the related events. We found one night early on that the world showcase area was crowded around the various food vendors, and so we just made smart decisions from there on out that allowed us to avoid most of that crowd (as well as the drunken people that went with it). We had planned on being more interactive with the festival originally but after seeing what it entailed we pretty much avoided the area during peak food times.

After test track we took that little side passage past the horizons building and into Mexico. Along the way we saw a huge turtle on the water and snapped some pictures of him. We don’t get turtles like that in Oregon, and while on vacation we saw them more then once!

Strolled through China and went into the shop, where we seriously considered a fake jade horse, but decided it was a little too tacky and moved on. By this time my dad should have had his moment of quietness and so we headed back to the hotel and got him. We had decided while strolling EPCOT that the Animal Kingdom needed to be re-visited. Even though we missed an early morning safari at this point, there were rides I still wanted to do and they were having evening extra magic hours.

SIDE NOTE: I’m not normally one to complain about bus transportation, but the bus service from Boardwalk to Animal Kingdom and back is just ridiculous. We had to stop at Swan. Then Dolphin, then Yacht, then Beach, then a water park, then FINALLY Animal Kingdom! Ugh. And then on the way back for some reason we stopped at Swan, then Dolphin, then Yacht, then Beach, then FINALLY Boardwalk. I know we could have walked from Swan but the idea that 5 resorts that are all deluxe have to share a bus seemed a little cheap of Disney, to me.

So we board the bus to Animal Kingdom, and our driver is a little grumpy it seems, and when we get to Swan a little brat boy rushes to the bus before the doors are open (the back door no less) and gets smacked in the face when the driver opens the door. So, even though there are signs on the doors that say not to rush the bus and not to use the back door (albeit I know they are a little difficult to locate), the kid gets smacked and starts to cry. And the party with him start making a huge stink about it to the bus driver, who it is a tough spot because yeah its too bad the kid got smacked but they probably should have been controlling him and not letting him rush a huge vehicle, and the driver points out the signs clearly stating the rules about the back door, and the family brush him off and WILL NOT STOP TALKING ABOUT IT for the whole bus to hear all the way to Animal Kingdom. Any sympathy I may have felt for the kid getting smacked, even it was the fault of the adults, went away after hearing them make such an incredible stink over it. Maybe since I don’t have kids I felt more inclined to side with the driver and not the family. But anyway….

We get to AK and immediately head to the Safari ride. No real wait, really, and we get right on and enjoy the animals – of which there do seem more of. It was nearing that hour before dusk and so the animals seemed more active like they were expecting dinner. That was cool. Really did see an awful lot of animals – it did not disappoint.

We get off the ride and that area is pretty much empty. In fact, it is empty. It was weird – but I think its because the park was nearing its regular closing hours and there was a parade going on. By this time is it dusk and we head through a practically deserted park towards Expedition Everest. Finally. And that’s were most of the people were, too. But, it was still a light crowd and my mom and I (Dad sat this one out) got on after a very short wait; actually, we practically had to run through the queue to keep up. We even stopped a couple of times to let people pass just so we could look at the cool sets they had designed for the ride.

So we finally get on the ride and OH MY GOSH! It has now become my favorite ride. I hadn’t really ever felt that sensation on a roller coaster before and I loved it! We got fast passes for later, and then were able to ride again with no wait, and then headed over to DinoLand. Absolutely NO ONE there. Ok, maybe 10 other people. My mom and I (My dad was being sort of pilly by now and not riding much) decide to do that whirl ride twice – very cool. Usually (like with this ride and teacups) I LOVE to be spun. Mission space, however – NO.

We disembark and head to Dinosaur, which really didn’t have anyone. I mean we were alone on the ride, the car in front was empty, and the cars after us were empty, and the cars in the loading area after the ride were empty. We probably could have ridden a second time without getting off but my dad (who had decided to ride with us) said he was getting gooshed, and plus and I was actually kinda jostled at this point also so we passed with just one. We headed back to Everest and rode again using our fast passes. It was great. We now had a third FP (from using my dad’s ticket) and just the two of us that were riding it (my mom and I). So I told my mom to use the FP and I would stand in the single rider line. Well, she breezes on and gets into her seat before I’m even halfway through the single rider line. Granted, that line was moving fast and a lot shorter then the standby, but didn’t even compare to the FP. So I got out and waited for her at the exit. She was beaming from ear to ear so I’m glad she got to experience it one more time.

We realize that we can just make it to the last performance of the Lion King, and so head over to camp Minnie Mickey. We’ve seen this show before and it was just as good as I remember it. I think we were in the warthog section. Afterwards we drifted out with the crowds, caught our bus back to the room, and collapsed.

We woke up a little later today and decided to hit downtown Disney one more time, just to make sure we had done all our shopping from there before we left. Before we left we stopped at the Bakery for our usual cake, etc. and tossed crumbs to the birds while eating on a relativelly deserted Boardwalk.

We get to DTD around 10 AM and checked out our more favorite shops – specifically the pooh store, the home/garden area, and world of Disney. My mom got a collar for her dog and I got a Pluto paw chew toy for each dog. I also saw that mug I was debating earlier and got that. Then we went over to that pin trading station and I saw a red CM pin to fit my set! So I got in line (behind a little boy who took forever picking his and almost selected MY pin – good thing he chose against it otherwise I would have had to bop him) and then snagged my pin once it was my turn. Now I only had the yellow to go. Incidentally along the way I had also traded some pins for a select few from the selection of main street transportation – the one with the Clydesdales and the one with Pluto on a buggy. I also noticed that there was a green and purple version of my set that was NOT CM exclusive, so I bought those two.

I start walking away from the pin station and get attacked by a CM trying to sell those huge bouncy balls. I'm pretty sure he's an exchange student and he seems really excited to maybe make a sale, and I make the mistake of asking how I pay. I find out I have to go into the kitchen store, pay, then come back and give him the receipt. huh? But I'm already walking towards the kitchen store with ball in hand before I realize I don't really want one. So I ditch the ball in the kitchen store and, feeling ackward, now attempt to hide myself from Mr. Exchange Student for the rest of the time we're in DTD. I guess looking back it wasn't as bad as it felt at the time, but I didn't want to hurt the guy's feelings by giving it back to him, but I didn't want him to see me and think that I'm trying to swipe it, but I didn't want to buy the damn thing! Ugh. My advice to anyone - avoid those ball CMs unless you actually want to buy one. Unless you see them inside EPCOT, because they seem more interested in playing with people there then anything else. Ok, moving on....

We walk through Art of Disney (while I hide behind my parents from the pin station to the store which walks right past aforementioned CM) and when we get there my mom finds (actually I did) two Lady and the Tramp pictures with Jock, so she bought those. My dad has been collecting big figs for awhile and so added to it with a captain hook and the black pearl. I got a print of Nightmare before Christmas for my best friend. My dad also got a small figure of that duck professor and his messy desk. I see a semi-crumpled up print of Kinkade and scowl at the CM behind the register (well I wanted to anyway) for allowing such art to get a crease. Afterward our shopping we decided to head back for some food at the boardwalk.

We got back, dropped off our stuff in the room (minus the big stuff that was being shipped and some things being delivered) and went for a bite at Spoodles. I don’t’ remember exactly what I had but it was good. Then it was a visit to the bakery again (cake!) before going back up to the room for a nap (mostly for my parent’s sake). Around about 5 PM my parents wanted to wander around the boardwalk and see what Jellyrolls was like, and I didn’t want to, so they went off by themselves, and I got all gussied up and decided to see if there really was something between Eddie (the French cutie) and me. Hee hee

So I’m looking all nice, and nice clothes (which felt a little weird being in at a place were everyone else is NOT dressed up, really), and I head into World Showcase. I go over to the French pavilion and nonchalantly try to see if Eddie is working. He is! Ok, but now that I am actually there I sort of get cold feet. I mean, I’m sort of shy about this, and plus I live in Oregon and he’s visiting Florida from France and who’s to say he even remembers me… so I decide to get something from the pastry area and sit on a little table outside his hosting area to see if he catches my eye.

SIDE NOTE: I decide on the mousse, which I had before several nights ago while we watched illuminations. I only bring it up because I know it’s been discussed before on the boards and I just wanted to chime in by saying OH…. MY…. GOD!!!! So good. I mean seriously…..

So, I get my mousse and pick a seat as close as possible to his line of sight, and sit where he should be able to at least notice that a person is sitting there – under a pool of light no less – and start eating my mouse as I dubiously pretend to study the EPCOT map. I sit there for probably a good half hour taking my time staring at nothing, meanwhile noticing that he tends to pace in and out when there’s no one there to host on, looking in all directions but not necessarily ever looking in my direction specifically…. And then illuminations start, and the French pavilion becomes practically deserted, and I start to feel stupid that here I am sitting at a little table by myself studying a map for an inordinately long period of time (maybe if I were actually IN Paris it would have been ok….) while fireworks explode beyond the restaurant. So I sit there and wait for it to finish, then make sure that there is really no one else around, and then approach Eddie. He looks at me, and…. I get the feeling like he doesn’t recognize me from Adam – and that being the case, I also don’t get the vibe like he is connecting with my gussied up, nice looking appearance the way I thought we connected days ago. I stumble for something to say, and come up with “can I make a reservation for Chef’s Du France?” I try to give him a significant look while I say this in attempts that he’ll remember or recognize me. No such luck. He simply says: “oh, you must do that with zee hostess down there, follow me” – and takes me to the lady running the downstairs diner. GRR!!! Double grr because last time we inquired (granted my parents were with me) he took it upon himself to accommodate use and get us in. Sigh.

So I go through with asking the lady downstairs (even though I didn’t really want a reservation) just in case he is watching me (he isn’t) and sure enough they don’t have anything for the next several days (big surprise) – so as a last, parting hope I go back up to him and thank him for his help, and he with a friendly but empty handshake says your welcome and goes about his business. So there was nothing, apparently. Or as I like to believe, perhaps my appearance was different enough that he did not recognize or remember me, but even if that were true I was hoping my dolled up look would catch his eye. But alas, no. Double sigh.

I’m ready for bed at this point. My feet hurt because I’m in heels. I’m sweating because I’m wearing a dress jacket not appropriate for the humidity. My eye liner feels like its getting runny. I feel out of place with the way I am dressed. Ugh. But, to lift my spirits, I go to the UK pavilion, semi-flirt with a guy in the perfume section (while buying a rose scent I had my eye on from earlier), then also purchase a black current tea that I had been eyeing from before, and score a Scottie type English mug that I know my mom would like. So the evening is not a complete waste. I hobble back to the room and collapse. My parents arrive shortly after (Jellyrolls was apparently not their tastes and so they mostly just wandered the Boardwalk and relaxing) and collapse themselves. I do not tell them about Eddie.

You are a brave girl!

You mentioned that you didn't tell your parents about going back to France in search of Eddie. What I'm wondering is, do they read your blog?

I've enjoyed reading your trip reports, please keep them coming!

((I am kicking myself for not having taken a picture of Eddie - although how I might have ever managed to obtain one anyway I'm not sure. My parents don't visit this site that I'm aware of but if they did they'd probably just laugh. Actually I think at the time I mentioned to my mom how cute Eddie was and she agreed (it's hard not to). But its embarrassing to admit to your parents that you semi-stalked a Frenchman while on vacation. hee hee..))

We wake up a little later then normal today and decide on breakfast at Spoodles. I think I see the remnants of a buffet just starting to close down, so maybe they do still have it. We are seated somewhere near the pizza making area next to a group of people having a business meeting. I think they were management CMs but hey either way where better to hold a breakfast meeting then at Mickey, right? I can’t remember what I ordered but I do recall that Spoodles has excellent tea cups. Nice size and shape.

After breakfast we choose to go to MGM because we want to see the stunt show, and so take a friendship there. Before we head in that direction though my mom and I have to get another TOT in, and so do with what I recall being a minimum wait. Afterwards we all three take our time in the shops area the main hub area as this is likely our last day at MGM, and end up purchasing a couple more pins. We wind our way out of the shops and towards the great movie ride. This time I think the wait was a little slower but still really no line until the big screen area. This is the one were we end up in the back car and the two ride operators are both women and – maybe it’s cause we got the gangster option again and its hard for me to picture a female as a mod boss – but I really didn’t feel as into it from them as before. Oh well – still a great ride however you slice it and I love at the end who they drive the cars forward right as you start to go through the star field at the end of the movie clips section and so it makes it feel like you’re going faster then you actually are.

So after the ride we exit out the side and notice that a bunch of villain and Aladdin characters are out by the hand, drawing quite a bit of attention. Since we’re not interested we head towards the stunt show. We almost make it to the entrance of the stunt show when the High School Musical show comes out. Not having any kids I have no idea what the big attraction is to that show, but suddenly there’s a huge crowd of people. And we were bar far the only ones not wanting to see the HSM show and just wanting to get across to the stunt show but it was all blocked off. So people start getting creative and try to sneak behind and snack cart and climbing over hedges and we know better and so wait, and sure enough the people attempting to sneak past get rushed by CMs on the other side.

SIDE NOTE: This brings me to an observation more then anything else. I don’t know this for a fact but my family has long speculated that Disney must have a pretty extensive plain clothes security and theft prevention team, and we’re always trying to pick out possible under cover security personnel that might be posing as tourists. Generally speaking, if we see some square jawed guy by himself walking around (especially if he is NOT wearing a ring and he IS wearing sunglasses) then we assume he MIGHT be an under cover security person. So sure enough while the HSM float sits in the path between the crowd and the stunt show, and some people thinking they’re clever start to find alternative routes to get there, I think I saw (my parents missed it) a couples of plain clothes couple of guys muscling/escorting people back to the street area. Maybe not, thought….

Anyway, the float finally moves on and the crowd is able to get past towards the stunt show. This is another example of us making our own dreams. Hee hee. My mom continues to use the mole skin, but her toes are really starting to hurt her. So for the stunt show we have to walk all the way around behind the set and then to the very other end of the stands get to our seats, and by then they are herding everyone up to the top rows and my mom is visibly limping. Well, my dad says to the CM that my mom’s toe is broken – a slight exaggeration but she WAS limping – and the CM lets us sit in the VERY FRONT ROW!!

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/stunts.jpg) (again, this is from our seats without any zoom)

It is definitely a cool show, and our seats were killer. I might have felt bad except I saw my mom’s one little toe and it was all raw so it probably really was tough to walk and climb stairs (and plus, she doesn’t ever limp unless she means it).

After the show – mostly because my mom’s feet are hurting - we wander through MGM slowly towards the exit. We’ve pretty much done everything we wanted to do here, and we’re getting hungry and so we catch a friendship back to the boardwalk.

We rest in the room for a bit and then go back to EPCOT. This is the time when I try to get a FP for Sourin but they’re gone for the day. So instead we do Nemo and Friends and wander around the fish tanks (and I seem to recall that it stank in there for some reason. The place was really empty, too) before grabbing some food at the land pavilion. I wish we had discovered this tray service food court earlier, because all the food was really healthy and delicious. My dad saved a table while my mom and I got tons of everything that looked good.

He had chosen a seat sort of in the middle of everything, and there was a huge party of people behind him, which were in perfect view of my mom and I. While we ate, we made conversation through trying to guess how all these people were related. Being a small family of three, it was a different world to me to see what looked like a set of grand parents, and three sets of grown siblings with spouses, with probably 2 to 3 kids for each set. So totaling something like eight adults and eight kids. They were all talking amongst each other while trying to feed the various kids… my mom and I made quite a game out of guessing which adults were the kids of the grandparents versus the spouse, and which kids belonged to which parents. I don’t think we ever had it quite right. They were all one big happy (busy) family and I just am not used to that.

Anyway, we finish our food and pass on the hour long standby for Sourin (and I also notice with some glee that the living with the land ride we walked onto days ago now holds a 45 minute wait time), and head out towards the imagination pavilion. We decide to see the figment ride, which was completely empty for some reason – it was cute – and then head over to Honey I shrunk the audience but it was closed. After nine days of vacation and two parks today we’re all ok with heading back to the room and taking it easy for the rest of the day. Especially since we want to catch an early Kilimanjaro Safari the next day. We get pizza and cheesecake for the room, pig out, veg with some TV, and then collapse.

Great trip report:) I was quite amused by your semi-stalker comment. Can't wait to read more.

Love your report probably because it is wordy like the only one I've ever done.:D

We went to Halloween party a few years ago and couldn't believe how many times we got to ride. splash Mountain was like you said about running through the qeue (sp?). The cast members were lined up giving us high fives as we ran by. WE ride like four times in a row with no wait. i couldn't understand why they made us get off and go back thru the line, though. There was no one waiting.

((We also had to disembark and then re-embark on most of the rides even when there was no line. On some rides this made sense because the little ride-mobile seemed to go through a tunnel or something where a human wouldn’t fit. But I agree on Splash Mountain there’s nothing like that so the best I can come up with is that maybe the ride counts the number of times butt rise and fall in the seats? Anyway I’m glad my wordy trip report is being enjoyed – I am having a good time writing it!))


I’m smart today. We get up early and go to AK (avoiding the bakery at Boardwalk). Once there, we briskly walk through Oasis and head straight to Kilimanjaro. At that point, I specifically have my parents WAIT while I rush to Everest and get FPs for us. NO ONE at all as around I make my way from Africa to Asia and back, which was pretty cool. I got a neat picture of Everest and also that multicolored bus that acts as snack stand, with no one around and the doors shut and so it made for a neat picture. And those two gorillas were out and playing around on the ropes, and I was like literally the only person around so I stopped and watched for a few minutes. Then I hustle back and we all walk on to the Safari ride (while I take pictures of the roofs of everything because we’re designing a garden pavilion at home and we want to model it after Mickey) and after a short, continuously moving light flow of people, snag some seats in the bus. Our guide is a cool guy – kind of laid back and purposely taking a long time with each animal. I got the feeling that the first few safaris get to go extra slow.

As I hoped and suspected, lots of animals were out. Towards the middle of the ride when you come up into the savannah, a bunch of animals were milling around and two giraffes decided to cross the road right in front of the bus. So our driver HAD to stop as these two giraffe walked close enough to the vehicle that you could reach out and touch them, while giving a lazy glance to the people and moving on.

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/giraffe.jpg) (no zoom – probably five feet away from me walking past the vehicle on my side – and I was on the end. That dark spot in the upper right hand corner is the awning of the bus! Pretty cool, huh?)

That was definitely a highlight, and the safari continued to delight after we saw the lions, the zebras, the elephants…. And the driver I think not having said he spiel all day yet was more alive and into it also. Towards the end of the ride we came to that pride rock area and see the lions this time.

SIDE NOTE: I’ve always liked it when I can see the lions here (which generally is a hit and miss thing – lazy beasts!) because it’s a little known fact that those two at the AK came from the Oregon Zoo. Yup, it’s true! The zoo here in Oregon did some remodeling years back and in the process shipped our lions off to Florida. Coincidentally, even though the Zoo has been finished with it’s new look for several years now, our cat collection has been sort of lacking. Still no lions and only recently one tiger! Lots of bears though……. Oh my! lol

We disembark the safari and emerge into a fairly deserted Africa. No one has had any food yet and so we decide to get some breakfast. My dad wants a sit down place and with Pizzafari being out we look at the center hub area and pick a really colorful food place that I can’t for the life of me remember the name of. Come to think of it, I can’t remember what we ordered either but I don’t remember gagging so it must have been good (plus, we’re at Mickey, so nothing is ever that bad). I think my dad was feeling better today. Plus, it’s nice to ride the slower, showy type attractions sometimes, so he was happy.

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/dad2.jpg) (this is after he been fueled with protein. Silly man.)

Afterwards we stroll over towards Asia (moving slow enough to let our food settle before Everest) while I continue to take pictures every 5 feet of interesting buildings and plant life. AK is like serious a muse for me when it comes to how I’d like to design our garden at home.

SIDE NOTE: We live on acreage in the country on the rolling hillside of a small valley within a mountain, with sort of a park-like setting of fir trees all around us (well, it would be park like if our horses did a better job of keeping down the undergrowth), and my mom and I allotted one acre of the only completely flat, treeless front yard area specifically for gardening. We have grand plans of building an entertainment pavilion and have actually done a pretty good job so far of creating various groups of plantings and flowers and pathways and bushes and several larger trees --- and I have gotten way off track to my point with is that MICKEY has always been our inspiration and AK especially with it’s lush pathways and vegetation. I wish we had an army of gardening people to help us out… which bring me to my:

SECONDS SIDE NOTE: My parents and I did the behind the seeds tour years ago and it was good, but not as in depth as I had hoped. So this time around My mom and I have really wanted to do the Gardens of the World tour at EPCOT, which was led by a horticulturist, but to our dismay that tour was canceled in the months prior to our arrival. I can’t imagine why, as I would have found that tour fascinating, but alas it was not meant to be. I had vowed then to accost the first plant or garden person I came across at Mickey and bombard them with questions about their vegetation – and you would think Animal Kingdom would be the place to find such individuals – but either they only come out at night or they are well camouflaged cause I couldn’t ever seem to find the right person in which to engage. Oh well, next time.

Ok, end of side notes and moving on with the actual trip report. So we arrive at Everest (my dad still will not ride it) and so my mom and I gleefully move forward and go through a really fast FP line to the ride. By now some of the sensations were staring to feel familiar, which caused the ride to lose some of its rush, but I’m sure it will all be new again when we go back. I wish that when you’re ascending to the top of the mountain the ride would slow a little so we could take the time to look out at the landscape – which by the way Florida is incredibly flat. Has anyone else noticed this? I mean seriously pancake flat. It’s a little disconcerting to me honesty since I’m used to seeing a mountain range or something to help gauge my distance but Florida was just a never-ending plain of FLAT.

So anyway, Afterward Everest we stroll back towards the still under construction Yak and Yeti – and I was interesting in going on Kali River Rapids, but my mom has this thing about getting wet and my dad didn’t want to, and I didn’t really want to be the only damp person in our party - so we skipped it this trip. Ya know, looking back, we really didn’t do a whole lot else at AK in terms of rides, but it being our 10th and last day at Mickey we were OK with that. Being our last day, I wanted to fire off as many animal and plant and structure pictures as I could, so we wandered around the paths leading to and from the central hub, while taking or time to look at the various animals and carvings and woodworkings while I snapped away. As I mentioned this is our last day and so we really take our time with this park especially since we’ve already decided that next trip we want to do the Animal Kingdom Lodge.

We end up in the African shop and browse around for the last time. I head towards the back area with a bunch of colorful looking kitchenware, and what do I see but my perfect mug! I never would have thought to find it here, but amongst those colorful looking plates and bowls and cups is a beautiful hand painted mug!. And indeed, its just about the right shape and size, and really unique and attractive in its design and I simply had to have one. It was expensive, and actually has since proved it be a little too small for the amount of tea I like to consume in one sitting, but still really worth it and definitely one of my favorite mugs. As the CMs are wrapping it up for me, and wander into the other second of that store and spy a little over the shoulder day pack that I like. I normally don’t by carrying cases like that on a whim but I wanted to protect my cup and we new we were checking baggage home and so this would make a good carryon, and plus is has the perfect front pocket for my treo and zune, and so I get one. Meanwhile, my mom finds some decorative painted rocks she wants for the garden and my dad finds a new hat, and we stash all our purchases in my bought shoulder bag and so I am literally carting rocks around until we get back to our room. Ugh. But anyways….

We’re getting ready to head towards the exit by now, and even though we’ve just bought some things in Africa we browse through the AK shops one last time. I happen to come across a cast member with my last CM pin I need (the yellow mickey) and trade for it (yes!), and I also find another Nightmare before Christmas thing for my friend while my mom and dad both make a couple of really small purchases.

Like I said, we’re (meaning me) carrying all of our purchases with us at this point, and it’s getting heavy, so we head towards the exit. Plus, with all my snapping of pictures of the different tropical plants and things, my stupid camera battery is starting to poop out. Adding on to my comments on gardening earlier - I’ve always been interested in growing tropical plants in our non-tropical climate back home, and I’ve managed to raise a pineapple plant and a couple of palm trees (my banana plants didn’t do so well), and this is all due to attempting to follow in the footsteps of Mickey. We reach the bus area at about 1:30 and wait.

PICTURE (http://i293.photobucket.com/albums/mm79/roadsendfilms/dad_me.jpg)

We get back to the room and do a final trip over to EPCOT. Its after lunchtime but since we had a late breakfast we just sort of munch on the various snack type items as we circle the world showcase. For some reason, I’m having a tough time remembering what we did because I didn’t seem to take any more pictures after AK (my camera battery probably died), but I do recall that we just sort of took in the sights one last time.

I do recall pondering on going over to bid farewell to Eddie but decide against it. Sigh. It was too early in the day for his shift have started yet, and plus even if I did seem him I doubt I could have mustered up the umph needed to approach him again… so, C'est la vie.

Once we do our round of World Showcase, we take our time to look at normally passed up locations in future world like the One Man’s Legacy exhibit about Walt and earlier ideas for the parks (its tucked away somewhere near one of the innoventions areas). My parents really love this sort of thing and so they dawdle here for quite awhile. We laze our way back over towards the international gateway, and decide to watch the Canadian show (which I thought was really pretty good especially with the addition of Martin Short. I think I want to go there someday and visit), and emerge right around dinner time.

We managed, on a surprising whim, to get a table at Rose and Crown – outside – and take our time with a leisurely dinner of total comfortable food (brilliant, those English peoples). We finished right around illuminations time and caught the show one more time before heading back to our room and retiring for the evening. I suppose I should mention that we did some mundane things like pack and arrange for bell service in the morning, as we had to be up by 4:00 AM. Did those few things and then for the last time in our room – collapsed.


DAY 11 – Home again, home again – piggy pig! Sunday, Nov 11th

I tell you, as much as I love WDW, I was ready to go home. We woke at 4:00 and caught the earliest magical express bus (probably) to the airport in order to catch our 6:30 flight. Again, from Orlando to Portland without any layovers that’s the only sticking flight outta town. Ugh. So we right ME to the airport -there’s that push for the cruise line again. And also that new Adventures By Disney! What they won’t think of next.

We actually have to stand in line for security at Orlando for a little bit, but eventually make it through and still end up having to wait over an hour to board. The plane ride is uneventful – somehow we always seem to manage on the side of the plan opposite Mt Hood, which jets always seem to fly pretty close to as they descend into Portland so I imagine the view is pretty cool. But moving on… We get home sometime in the afternoon, absolutely pooped, and arrive home to happy puppies and kitties. And horses. My PAL MICKEY has since been sitting at my desk and occasionally I give him a little squeeze.

FINAL NOTE: You can never be too old to experience Mickey. You can never be too old to go with your parents. You can never be too old to go with your parents and suddenly revert back to being a teenager (in a good way). Don’t ever call your house/pet sitter while you are away. I specifically did not want to know if anything good or bad was going on at our house (and believe me, with the complicated animal living situation we have at home, something very well could have). And good thing too because I find out that in fact the pet sitter NEVER saw my cat and was afraid she ran away or worse (fortunately I suspected she might do that and only show up for food when no one was around) – but even though I knew this I would NOT have wanted to hear – thousands of miles away – that “Oh, I haven’t seen Sophie!”. No thanks. Next time we will use the dining plan. Next time we will remember more often to use FP. Next time I will remember that Sourin’ is incredibly popular. I will never ride Mission: Space again. My dad will ride Everest next time. I WILL get married at Mickey.


((That is all. Fairy dust to everyone and thanks for reading my trip report. ……. How’d I do?....))

I've been reading these trip reports for about a year or so...and this is the first time I have responded after reading one:)

I loved it!!! I felt like I was right there with "your little family" and I couldn't wait to read each day's installment. Thanks for writing it...and sharing it with all of us!

Very good report. Sounds like you had a lot of fun.

Trip reports kind of keep me going between my own visits. I think I agree with you .... When you're @ MICKEY, nothing can be all that bad--except having to leave :crying: ... .. :D

FABULOUS trip report!!! i absolutely loved reading it. It has gotten me soooo excited for my upcoming trip in just a few weeks. Good luck with the gardening...you'll have to post pictures so we can see how "Mickey" it's looking! :)

How'd you do? You did GREAT! I read every word! A few comments:

I agree with you about Philharmagic vs. Muppets. It takes concentration for me to adjust to Philharmagic 3-D effects. I don't know why. It's my favorite 3-D attractions, but I DO love Muppets.

Your mom and dad's pic was absolutely adorable. I liked the one of them hugging (it was taken at a slight angle). Really cute.

I felt your pain with the Frenchy. In my single days, I would've TOTALLY done something like that. If you had to be snubbed, what better place than at France in Epcot nibbling daintily on Chocolate Mousse!!????!?!?! Good for you!

I noticed the bus issue too. We always save a few bucks by staying at a moderate, but we resort hop A LOT. I was amazed at the Swan/Dolphin/Boardwalk/YC/BC route. I remarked that this would irk me if I spent $300-500 a night only to be held on a bus for 40 minutes getting to the parks!

Sounds like you get along with your parents as I get along with mine. We enjoy each other's company, but don't think a thing about running our separate ways.

Thanks so much for writing up the report!!!! Good job, newbie!!

You did a GREAT job!! Thanks for letting us all join your family for a wonderful trip.

Thanks,
Ellen

Nobody's ever too old to stay with Mom & Dad. Seriously, my little sis lived with our parents til she was 30. I think you are lucky to have a relationship like that. We have a very close family too and in 30 days we'll be the family you and your mom would have fun guessing about. I enjoyed your trip report and hope to do as good of job with mine. Is it crazy that I'm nervous to write one?

Thank you everyone for reading my trip report and for the kind words. Indeed, I enjoyed writing it and agree that it helps to keep the Disney magic going throughout the year when we're not so lucky as to be waking up at the World.

I will try to post Mickey gardening pictures as we get closer to summer - should I do that in a new thread or is it OK to continue with this one...? As this is my first post, even though I've been lurking for awhile, I admit I'm not up to speed on proper blog etiquette.

Again, thanks everyone for the visits and the comments, and if anyone happens to see a cute, small Frenchman at EPCOT named Eddie, you could tell him that an apparently non-memorable girl from Oregon fancies him and wishes him well.

- Carey

Carey, I think people would find your pics better if you started another thread. If you leave it here, it might get buried....