[boucher0911]

Ok guys! I'm going to take this one day at a time - I've got so much to say, but so little time to write it all! Hope you all can bear with me, as it may take a few days to get it all out - Here goes....

Cast: Me, DH, DS (21 mos), DN (Dear Niece, 7 yrs), DD (Dear Dad) & DSM (Dear Step-mom)

Day 1 (Friday)
Our flight out wasn't until 8 pm, so we knew it was going to be a late night. As many of you already know, DS had to have minor surgery that morning (a tube put in his left ear) in order for us to take him on the plane. He came through the surgery with flying colors and was fine within a few hours. I was worried about how he would do on the plane, but he did awesome. He was awake for takeoff and as soon as the plane started down the runway he kept saying "Woah Mommy, Woah!!". He loved it - very cute. He fell asleep shortly after takeoff and slept the rest of the flight (even with the screaming baby behind us almost the entire way). My DN had never flown before, so she loved looking down at all the lights. We arrived in Orlando around 10:40 and my DD and DSM met us there (they had already been on a cruise and spent a week in Orlando before we got there - must be nice to take a 3 week vacation!) and helped us load our bags into the car. The drive to the house where we were staying seemed short (about 1/2 hour maybe). My DD had rented a beautiful home in the Indian Creek subdivision. It had 4 bedrooms (2 master suites), a huge open kitchen/dining/living area, and a private pool and hot tub (I guess this is the norm in FL, but it was a treat for this New Englander!). We settled in and finally got to bed around 1:30 am. What a long day - I slept like a rock even though DH and I had to sleep in a full sized bed (opposed to our king at home!).

[Dana]

Dawn -
I was so excited to see your report up. I loved your travel day play-by-play and cannot wait to read the rest.

[DisneyTeacher]

Great so far!! I am so glad your little guy was feel better for your flight.

[boucher0911]

Day 2 - (Saturday)
We woke up fairly early dispite our late bedtime the night before. We didn't have Disney plans this day since our friends from Jupiter were meeting us in the afternoon. DD and DSM were all excited about taking us to one of the many flea markets in the area. We got an early start and were home by 2. My friends had arrived at the house by the time we got home, so they were setteling in with their two boys (3 mos and 2 1/2 years). We hung around the house for the afternoon and headed to DtD around 4. We were all excited for the boys to see the Lego store and were disappointed to find that it was closed. DH commented that the dragon (the only part you could really see) was looking pretty tired - faded and no smoke coming out the nose. I agreed and we chalked it up to bad luck. They had a tent set up selling Lego merchandise, but that was it. We browsed through World of Disney and a few other shops. Our reservation at Rainforest was at 6:30, so we hit the train ride and merry go round before heading to dinner. My friend and I sat on a bench and watched the teenagers and had a good laugh at how old we were getting and remembered the good ol' times when we were teens. We arrived at Rainforest a bit early, so ended up waiting to get seated for a while. Finally got seated and ordered. The waitress asked if we would like the kids meals brought out right away when they were ready. We said yes, that would be great. Kids meals arrived about 15 mins after ordering - and the kids were done eating before our meals even came. Two adult meals arrived and we were still waiting on two more when the manager came over to apologize b/c the last two meals were ice cold when the waitress went to bring them out. At this point the kids were getting fussy, so we asked to have the meals packed to go. They did take $30 off out bill, but I was still pretty disappointed. After the fiasco with trying to get a PS and then this - I think I am pretty much done with Rainforest, no matter how much the kids like the place! On the way out DN wanted one more ride on the merry go round, so I went with her and we ended up in the teacup. It's a good thing I hadn't eaten at this point - boy did she like to spin! . I staggered through DtD and out to the car. We headed home and ate our meals there. Got the kids off to bed and all enjoyed a long soak in the hot tub. Headed to bed by 11 because we were going to MK in the morning!

[Dana]

Sorry to hear about the RC. I don't hear to many good things about the DTD one for some reason. I am glad they compensated you with the $30 off the meal. Can't wait to read the rest.

[boucher0911]

Day 3 - (Sunday)
Woke up early so we all could get ready for our first day at DW! We had a PS at Crystal Palace for breakfast at 9:30. My friends were both getting their tickets for free by doing a mystery shop at the ticket booths. We knew this was going to take extra time, so we arrived by 8:30. We got into the park before everyone else and was thrilled to have all of Main St. pretty much to ourselves. Got a few photos and then headed to CP. I was thrilled to see that nothing had changed since I had last been there (on my honeymoon in 99). We were seated and our wonderful waitress brought us coffee and juice. All the Pooh characters visited us at our table - some twice! Had some great photo opps! DS loved seeing all the characters - he wasn't afraid of them at all (I was afraid he would be). We stuffed our bellies (and discovered the breakfast lasagna - YUMMY!!) and headed out to Tommorowland for some rides. Rode the TTA twice with the kids (the ride for Buzz was really long) and the Dads went on the Speedway with the kids while my friend and I headed to Fantasyland to scope out which rides had the quickest FPs. Did I mention that the park was absolutly mobbed? There was a cheerleader convention going on and there were cheerleaders everywhere!! So all the lines were long and the FP's were about 3-4 hours out. Got FP's for Phillarmagic and went back to meet the others. We headed to Phillarmagic and then waited in line for SWSA. At this point my friends DS was getting really cranky, so they wanted to head back to the house for naps (about 2pm). We agreed, thinking we could come back later in the day. Went home and the kids napped - didn't wake up until after 5, so our friends didn't want to go back to the park. DH and I were a little upset, but decided that going without them would have been rude. We stayed in and ordered pizza delivery. Friend's oldest DS refused to go to bed - they fought with him from 8pm and were still trying to get him to sleep when I turned in at 10:30. I had just dozed off when I heard a knock at our bedroom door. My friends were all packed up and told me that they were heading home (to Jupiter - about a 2 1/2 hr drive!!). I couldn't believe it, but understood. You know how it can be with kids.... Including a few pics of breakfast with the characters - first is DN with Pooh - second is DN, DS, and myself with Piglet. Hope it works!!

[boucher0911]

Ok, I guess they were too big - Let's try that again!

Just an FYI - I removed all the pics from my trip report after all the talk about "Milo". Just to be safe....

[Disneyfever]

Boucher, great trip report. I am looking forward to hearing more! That is too bad about the Rainforest Cafe. We went to the one in AK and it was great.

[DisneyTeacher]

Great pictures! I am sorry your friends left early, I know vacations can be rough on kids.

[boucher0911]

Day 4 (Monday) -
Another scheduled non-Disney day. We thought our friends were going to still be there part of the day, so we kept it open for the most part. We ended up going up to International Drive and doing some shopping in the Belz outlets. Had lunch a Sonic (a must for us every trip since we don't have them in CT) and headed home fairly early. Went out for dinner at Outback with DD & DSM. Right after we ordered, I suddenly got very nauseous and had to excuse myself. I think the FL water was getting to me (I should know better - I drink it every time and get sick every time!). I told DH to get my food to go (and even left my Margerita untouched! ). I went to the car and fell asleep while everyone ate. Got home and went right to bed, hoping that it wouldn't carry over to the morning.

Oh, and just because I notice on another thread that a lot of you were concerned about the Lego dragon being MIA - here's a pic we took right before we headed home. I assure you he is alive and well (even got a fresh coat of paint!)

[DisneyTeacher]

I am so happy the dragon is doing so well! I love him and I was scared he was gone!

[Dana]

Dawn -
I am so sorry your friends had to go...but I totally understand it. I am waiting for the next day and hoping that you were all better in the morning. The dragon looks awesome! Thanks for the pictures. I loved the one with you, DN, DS and piglet! It's great putting a face to your name.

[BDavis932]

Great trip report so far! Bada ba ba ba....I'm loving it!!

I hope you felt better and didn't miss out on the parks!

[boucher0911]

Day 5 (Tuesday) -
Woke up early again (noticing a trend here?) and thankfully was feeling much better. Headed to Epcot and arrived in time for the rope drop. Was thrilled to see the characters all come out on a bus to welcome everyone. I had been to the rope drop before, and the characters weren't part of it, so this was a nice surprise. This was DS's first Mickey sighting and he had a huge smile on his face ! We headed in to the park and found that the characters were all in front of the big fountain for pictures. Went to see Minnie and then Mickey. Got a nice family pic with Mickey - posting the pic. Grabbed a quick breakfast at Electric Umbrella and headed over to Imagination and DS fell asleep on the way. DN got to ride it 2x while DH and I took turns sitting with DS. Got to watch some of the work going on at The Land Pavillion while waiting. Didn't realize the work they were doing there was so extensive - can't wait until it opens back up! While DS was still asleep, we decided to head over to TT. Got a baby swap pass so DH and I could both ride. DN loved it and was happy to go on twice. We decided to skip MS this year since the kids couldn't go on. DS finally woke up and we headed to UoE. The kids enjoyed the dinosaurs and thought it was funny that one of them squirted me in the face! From here we headed into WS, starting with Mexico. Let the kids color masks at the kids stop and we poked around the market. Rode the boat ride and on the way out the band started playing - one of the guys stopped while the rest of the group continued on and played to my DN for a full 2 minutes! It was so cute and she was so embarassed! After leaving Mexico, we ran into Snow White and got some good photos with her. At this point we were getting hungery and the kids wouldn't think of trying something new at one of the countries, so we skipped a few pavillions and headed over to good ol' USA for chicken nuggets and burgers yuk!! Stopped at the Japan store and DN got to pick an oyster and got the pearl. Next stop Morocco so DH could find Jasmine to get HIS pic taken with her. We found her and Aladdin, but he decided he just wanted a photo with her, so we just let the kids get their photos done. Walked rather quickly through France and stopped in the UK to go through the shrub maze in front of the stage where the band plays (a Pal Mickey tip!). Looked through the stores and moved on to Canada. Looked sadly at Le Cellier as we passed by, knowing that we wouldn't be eating there this trip Stopped off to get ice cream from a McDonalds stand and sat and ate while DS was napping once again. Headed to Imagination again when DS woke up and took him on. Bought him a Figment stuffed animal on the way out (that he just adores!). Then headed over to The Living Seas. Spent a good amount of time letting DS look at all the fish - he LOVES fish! And waited to see Turtle Talk. I have to say - it was as good as everyone says it is. DN sat on the floor up front and got to talk to Crush. DS left the show with a new word in his vocabulary - DUDE! We had to head home after Turtle Talk b/c DD was making a big meatloaf dinner . DH enjoyed it, but I just stuck with mashed potatoes and veggies that night...

Almost forgot to mention - we brought DC the bear to Epcot! He had a blast and we got lots of good pics with him! Posting just one of many!

[boucher0911]

Ok, I think that's it for tonight - I'm off to bed. Will write more tomorrow! Glad you all are enjoying it so far. I know I'm enjoying reliving it as I type!