[hiner]

Ok, as you can see, we've been back for two weeks and I am finally getting to my trip report. We did so much and I was going to use my DS's journal to help me write this, but he keeps forgetting it at school. So here goes.....

5/12 - Of course there was no sleep to be had by myself and DH. DS fell asleep with no problems. I had been packing for the last two weeks, so all was in order except for a few last minute things. Finally fell asleep somewhere around 12:00 am only to be woken at 2:30am to shower and get ready for the limo pick-up at 4:00am. Everyone was up, ready and in the limo by 3:45am. No problems at all at the airport, phew! Now we just have to wait almost two hours for our flight. The flight was great, arriving early in "sunny Orlando" at about 8:30am. Picked up our luggage (all there), got our rental car and off to Gatorland.

We decided to do Gatorland, as it was a small park and head to WDW in the early afternoon. Well got lost getting to Gatorland, but finally found it. Wow have they grown. We had fun. DS was fine for a few hours then just wanted to get to WDW, so did I. We finally headed to the Magical Land. By getting lost "again" we found a Publix, couldn't tell you where we were. We were heading for the resort and somehow ended up "we don't know where" and spotted a new Publix, so we stocked up and tried our luck again. This time we found our way to WDW and found CBR. Of course we missed the turn so we had to turn around. Finally checked in around 3:30. DH and DS went walking around while I got everyone settled and unpacked. We rested a while, took showers and headed to the Contemporary for Chef Mickey's. We decided to take the bus and monorail over. I remembered riding in the front of the monorail when I was little and saw the door open, that was my chance! We got it! We rode in the front of the monorail from the Magic Kingdom to the Contemporary.

Chef Mickey's was great. We had never been to a character meal, between DH and myself, this was a first. We all had a lot of fun. After, we went to the top of the Contemporary for the view, thanks to our monorail conductor.
Now off to Magic Hours at Magic Kingdom. Couldn't have planned this any better.

This was DS's first trip. We had a blast riding all the popular rides with barely any wait. Of course by now we are exhausted and headed back to the hotel.
DS went swimming in the main pool for a while and had fun.

5/13 - Off to Epcot, DH's favorite park. Felt good to be back now and waiting to see the reaction on my DS's face after each ride. We headed straight for Test Track, it was down so we got a fast pass, as did everyone else. Headed to Mission Space. Through the wait, they kept mentioning cautions or motion sickness, dizziness etc. We are now at the doors to go on the ride, DH backs out. I am not good with simulator rides and didn't want to leave DS. All I have to say was "WOW"!! The ride was great!! We went on a few other things and off to Test Track. The fast pass line was longer than the regular line, oh well. Not much of a wait. Went through the ride and as we were unbuckling to get out, our car went through to the seat belt checker. Off we went again. Don't know what happened but we loved it. Now to The Land for the Ice Cream Social. No PS's and got right in. Very relaxing and "Oh My Gosh" the ice cream was great. We actually ate it all, cookie, ice cream, cone and all the chocolate. Time to head back, eat and relax for our next venture.

5/14 - Up early to head to Donald's Breakfastosaurus at Animal Kingdom. We decided to use the rental car to save time and get a little extra sleep. The breakfast was great and characters fun. We decided to do the safari first since it is one of the most popular. DS is an aquatic and animal nut. He loved it, taking pictures of every animal he saw. The bird santuary was fun too, trying to find all the birds on the map. Kali River Rapids was fun too, didn't get that wet, phew! Everyone was fun on our raft, we laughed like crazy. Did all the walking trails and visiting with characters then headed for Dinoland. Very upset that Dinosaur was down for refurbishment, DH is a dinosaur nut too, but we knew before going to the park. Oh well, they have to do these things. He ran around for a while in the play area, finally finding him digging for bones. Saw Pooh and friends for autographs and headed to It's Tough to be a Bug. This was DS's first 3d adventure and loved it. Did I mention he is now 8. We pretty much saw everything and went back to the hotel for a swim before going out and DS goes to Neverland Club. We drop him off and go to Epcot. Couldn't decide on what to do, so we went to Boardwalk and had dinner at the ESPN Club. Went back to the World Showcase and walked around, enjoyed a concert and both wanted to go get DS. We missed him and was wondering how his night went. He had fun but we all missed one another. Back to the resort for some shut eye.

When we got back to the hotel, our hotel neighbor was outside just sitting. Next thing you know DH and he are talking away. His name was Edwin and he was from Holland. After tonight we would be sitting outside our rooms, while the boys were all in bed and chat away, sometimes until 1:00am. His wife Laura wasn't as fluent in English and we had a lot of laughs. They were such nice people and we all learned alot about the countries. We would tell about our days and what our plans were for the next. When they left, we felt lonely.

5/15 - Went and checked out DVC, Saratoga Springs. Still undecided on what we want to do. It was late when we were finished so we decided to go to Blizzard Beach. Ok DH and I are not waterpark people. DS goes to them with his Nanny and PaPa. Needless to say, we had a lot of fun. Floating around the park on a tube for as long as you wanted was so relaxing. The tube rides and slides were a blast. Beat from the heat and sun, we decided to eat at OPR and went to Epcot for Illuminations. DS was very impressed, taking tons of pictures. They actually came out too.

I finally picked up the free lanyards as were starting to panic that DS would have too many stuffed animals to try to pack. Best thing we ever did. He was so into getting the pins. Should have thought of it earlier.

5/16 - MGM. We headed straight for RNRC. DH is a coaster nut like his dad. He was speechless. Next TOT. I hate elevators but was going to face my fear. I will never do that again!! DH said that all he could hear was me screaming and laughing, screaming and laughing. My arms hurt so bad from trying to hold myself down. But, I now can say I did it! We of course, met the characters. Some from Star Wars. Did the Backlot Tour, which has not really changed. We made DS sit on the left in the tram so he could be close to the water and fire action. He was amazed. We then had to leave for our dinner in Italy and meet my girlfriend who was down with her family. Dinner was good and seeing my girlfriend in the most magical place was exciting. We watched Illuminations again, I could watch it every night! DS was getting tired so we headed back to Boardwalk, where we parked, got ice cream and went back "home". Chatted for a while with our new friends from Holland and went to bed.

5/17 - Typhoon Lagoon. This water park was more fun. I think we spent more time in the pool than anything. Went on all the rides and back in the pool. Went back to the hotel for showers and off to MGM for our Fantasmic Dinner at Hollywood and Vine. Of course DH and DS had to do TOT again, I sat out this time. Went to dinner and off to the sound effects show, came out, watched the parade and went straight to the stunt show. Worked out great! Went on Star Tours, met more characters and went to Fantasmic. The show was good. We had missed it the last trip, got stuck in the TTC. Back to the hotel.

5/18 - Magic Kingdom. We went on all rides, took tons of pictures. The best was we had lunch in Liberty Square, went to the Haunted Mansion, again, and sent to the Hall of Presidents (my favorite). Came out and sat right down for the parade. We had dinner at Tony's. Unfortunately, we were not that impressed but had fun watching everyone trying to get out of the rain while we were eating. This was the only time it rained and was over by the time we were done with dinner. Went on more rides, watched the fireworks and headed back.

5/19 - We went to Blizzard Beach again. Lots of fun and went on a few things we missed the first time. Back to the hotel for showers and off the Mickey's Backyard BBQ. All I can say is we had so much fun. We got there early so we heard the announcement about sitting in the back if you did not want to be by the loud music. We even got to mingle with the characters before they led us in. DS was chosen, along with another girl, to learn how to lasso a rope with the professional. He did a great job. Everything was great that night, we danced laughed and talked with people who lived a few towns away. We then took our miniature golf coupon and played at Fantasia Gardens. DH won of course, but we still had fun. Back for some rest and spend time with Laura and Edwin.

5/20 - Epcot, World Showcase. DS and I colored our masks and headed for all the kidcots. We tried to make it fun for him, the showcase can be boring for kids. We saw the drummers in Japan. Funny thing was we were finding characters here and there. While we were waiting for someone in China to tell us how long the Great Wall was, DH asked Mulan where the restrooms were. She had to whisper to him that she was a character. He thought she was a CM. We laughed about that for a while. Saw the show in United Kingdom which was fantastic. The CM's were hysterical. I would recommend catching it if you can. Had a snack in France and headed back for a swim and say good-bye to Laura and Edwin. They were leaving in the morning to head for PA, then NY and home.

5/21 - We went back to Typhoon Lagoon one last time. Went back to the hotel for showers and off to Downtown Disney. We had dinner at The House of Blues. Great Food!!!!!! Hung out at DisneyQuest for a couple hours. DH and DS love arcade games. If I didn't drag them out, we would probably be there all night. I wanted to go to Beaches N Cream for our last night. We got there just as Illuminations ended, perfect timing again. Wow was it great. Of course we could not finish our sundaes, too big. Headed back to pack. Very depressing!!!

5/22 - Checked out and went to Downtown Disney for shopping, a late lunch at Planet Hollywood and some time at DisneyQuest. Finally got home home around 10:45pm.

It's been two weeks, as I previously stated, and feels as though we never left. I said to DH, "I wish we were rich so we could do this all the time". Then in the next breathe I told him "Then we would not appreciate it as much". We are already trying to plan our next trip.

Hope this wasn't too boring, or too long. We had a wonderful trip, the first smooth vacation we have ever had. Can't wait to go back, made sure I got the license plate frame stating the same.

Also, thank you to all who have helped answer my questions and helping me plan the best vacation our family has ever had!

Pixie Dust to all and to all a safe and magical trip!

Kim Brown
Worcester, PA

[cahogbin]

Sounds like a great trip! You got a license plate frame? Where? How much? That would be a fun souvenir.

[hiner]

We saw the license plate on a vehicle down there. Looked high and low and finally found it in the huge Disney store in DTD. It's blue with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Pluto. It says "Been there, done that, going back". Don't know how much it was, DH got it for my truck. He got the little Mickey ball for the antenna on his mustang. Now we both have a little magic while driving around.

[lisalovesmickey]

Sounds like you had a great time. Thanks for the TR.

Lisa

[Willbegone]

Sounds like a wonderful and magical trip. Thanks for sharing the magic with us!

[gcbdad]

I loved your trip report. I am so envious of reading about long stays at WDW. I know it sounds funny since we live close to WDW but we have never stayed longer than 3 nights. That being the case we tend to skip allot of the activities that pople who stay longer do on their trips.

Anyway sounds like you had a great time.

[disneymom]

Great trip report! I want a license plate holder too!!!!

[ilvminnie]

Great report. Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

DD has that plate frame on her car & we all have antenna toppers. It's great to always be reminded of Disney.

[hiner]

Yes, I feel special now with my license plate frame. Anytime someone is behind me, I am hoping they are reading it and thinking about WDW. They can't miss it as I have a lifted 4x4 so it is right in view for everyone.

[inluvwithdisney]

Sounds GREAT!!!!! I love reading trip reports it so gets me in the mood and gives me a disney dose I am longing for!!!