[Leslie427]

Hi all,

As you can tell, I'm pretty new here. I've been lurking for a while to get your tips for my trip to WDW, and I am grateful! This is a great forum.

We were at WDW from June 18-21. It was definitely an adventure. DH, DS (Age 4) and I drove the 17 or so hours from Dayton, OH. It was definitely cheaper than airfare but exhausting. DS has never been a good sleeper in the car, so that was a problem on the way down. (he was worn out enough on the drive back!) Next time, i think we'll definitely fly.

We stayed at Coronado Springs -- liked the room size and proximity to the parks a lot. However, we thought the bus transportation could have been a little smoother - but it could have just been the weather (torrential rain every day but Friday). Unfortunately, we never went to the big pool or the lake due to the weather, which was disappointing to me.

Day 1 -- Epcot

Had an 11:50 PS at the Garden Grill for the character lunch. We ran behind schedule getting to Orlando, and we hit CSR at around 10:45. It took a little while to get our passes, and the CM told us we might be better off driving to EPCOT rather than waiting for the bus -- so we did. It worked out great! We were 25 minutes early for our seating, and were able to get in right away.

I know that people have reported bad experiences at the Garden Grill. Fortunately for us, everything was great. Farmer Mickey almost immediately came to our table and posed for photos. We also met Pluto, Chip & Dale. Of course, my son was beside himself! We really thought the food was good - lat year we did the Crystal Palace buffet, but we definitely thought GG was better.

After lunch, off we went to Future World. I wanted to ride Living with the Land, but the line was unbelievable! I think the standby was 75 minutes. DH wanted to get Fastpasses for Test Track instead. Tough luck for me. Of course, Test Track was down anyway! So we ended up at Honey, I Shrunk the Audience and walked right in. Helpful Hint: If you have a 4 year old, don't give them the 3D glasses. They WILL be terrified. Enough said.

We rode the Journey into Imagination with Figment. Very cute. We loved it! Again, we waited about 10 minutes. Next we went to The Living Seas. Of the whole trip, this was the biggest disappointment. We just felt like there wasn't anything spectacular about it - maybe because we have great zoos and an aquarium very close to us. Then DH wanted to do Ellen's Energy Adventure, because DS is in a dinosaur phase. Note: After seeing a 3D movie, your 4 year old will be leery of ANYTHING dark and cling to you the rest of the day. Got it? Good! Although DS LOVED Spaceship Earth. DH & I laughed at the new warning on the way in!

DH & I think that Future World would benefit from some updating. But on to World Showcase!!!

We didn't get to spend as much time as we would have liked. (remember, we started our EPCOT day after lunch) Plus, by this time it was pouring rain. We stopped at a bunch of counter service places and got something to snack on at every one. Egg rolls, brats, etc. etc. We rode Maelstrom but had to Fastpass and come back to it. Wanted to see the Tapestry of Dreams parade but it was cancelled due to the rain. :madmad We loved the EPCOT parade from last year, and this looked to be very similar.

Then came the highlight of my EPCOT day -- Blast 2 - Shockwave! It is really an excellent show. For those of you that haven't heard of Blast! let me explain. Blast! is a Tony-award winning show which is basically a drum choir on stage combined with sets, props, and theatrical effects. Blast 2 is wonderful -- a Must See in my book.

Then came Illuminations -- beautiful. No one does the nighttime shows and fireworks like Disney.

I was going to make this all 1 post but it's now 10:40 and I'm tired. I'll come back tomorrow for the rest!!!! :D