[hydeho]

Hello fellow MBers. We're back! This will be my first TR, so go easy on me. I don't want to bore anyone, so let me know if there's too much detail.

Cast: Myself, Heidi, 39+
DD Amy, 12
DD Allison, 10

This trip was a last-minute, low-budget fling because we had heard how great the P&PP was and didn't want to miss it. We stayed 3 nights, Feb.25 to Feb.28. My husband and 5 yr. old son stayed home for this one, as we had just gone in Oct. and are going back for a week in Sept.

OK, on with the TR.

Day 1: We left Manchester airport at 6:30pm and arrived in Charlotte at 9. Our connecting plane was having software problems so we sat there for about an hour while they tried to fix it. Then they made us get off & wait for another hour while they got a different plane ready. We finally left at midnight and landed in Orlando at 1:45 am., almost 3 hours late.
We had to claim our luggage and headed over to the ME. Our bus was full but luckily our stop was first. We finally checked in to the POP at 3am.

Here' a picture of our room.

[hydeho]

Day 2: I was awakened at 8:30am by a knock on the door from Mousekeeping. I let the kids sleep awhile longer, as this was P&PP day and we weren't going to the park til 4pm. We ate breakfast in the room, as we brought cereal and snacks to keep costs down. Then we walked around exploring the resort. First I'll say we totally loved the POP! We had a preferred room and it was so close to everything. The kids loved the giant icons and the arcade. It's such a fun, happy place.

Next we hopped a bus to DTD for some shopping and more exploring. We loved WOD, especially the pirates area. Here's a pic of the girls with a pirate.

[hydeho]

We ate lunch at McDonald's. I know what you're thinking- so many other great places to eat! I agree, but the kids are pretty picky and we wanted something quick.

So we headed back to the hotel for a quick swim. It was in the high 70's and cloudy. While the girls were getting changed for the party, I heard quacking outside. I opened the door and these ducks practically walked right in. They hung out by our room the whole time. Here they are in the doorway.

[Dana]

Those ducks are adorable....I can't believe they were that close...amazing. Can't wait to hear more!

[Dopey]

Hey another trip report. Those ducks are precious. Did you let them in?

Is there more?

[hydeho]

We arrived at MK at 4pm and got our wristbands and headed over towards Space Mtn. On the way a CM was inviting people in to the MonstersInc. Laugh Floor for a sneak preview. We were eager to see it and went inside. Well we ended up waiting about 40 mins. before going into the theater.
It was an interactive show, kind of like TurtleTalk. They picked out audience members and put them on the big screen with funny captions and called on people to interact with. They also used jokes that people sent in by text-message, but they weren't really funny, unless you were under 6. I think it was cute, but not hilarious, especially considering the long wait.
The characters were not audioanimatronics, but images on a big screen. There was Mike and Roz and a few new characters. Sulley was not there and I thought he should have been. My pic is a bit blurry, but you can see a little bit of the theater.

[hydeho]

Originally Posted by Dopey

Hey another trip report. Those ducks are precious. Did you let them in?

Is there more?

The kids wanted to let them in but I was afraid we'd end up with duck poop on the rug!

[Dana]

This is the second review I have read about that monster's inc. thing and hate to say it, but it doesn't appeal to me in the least....is that nondisney of me?

[hydeho]

Next we rode SM with a 10 min. wait. Then off to Toontown for a couple of paint jobs. Amy got Jack Sparrow and they offered to give Allie a little bit of pizazz for free because they didn't have to do the bandana on Amy.

[Dana]

love the face painting! The jack sparrow looks so cool...and I love the pizaz as well!

[hydeho]

After a few more rides we ate at Cosmc Ray's and found a good spot for Wishes. I really wanted to see Tink fly out and I wasn't disappointed. I got a great video but no pictures.
After Wishes we ran over to get in line for the Jack Sparrow M&G. The line was already 70 mins. but everyone was in an excited mood. There were so many people with great costumes, even lots of adults. Everyone commented on Amy's face and some people even took pictures with her.
The M&G was worth the wait. Jack took his time and interacted w/ the girls and we got some great video. His speech and actions were so authentic!

[daisyd]

Hey Hydeho!!! I groaned at the thought of arriving at 3:30 am to have mousekeeping knock on the door 5 hours later! But hey, being woke up by mousekeeping at WDW is better thna being woke up by a loud neighbor at home

Your girls are adorable! I love that they dressed as Peter and Jack

[hydeho]

As soon as we exited the M&G we saw the pirate tutorial going on at PotC. And there was Jack, the same exact guy! OK, so we walk a little further towards Frontierland and the parade was in progress. And there was the pirate ship float, followed by the Jack Sparrow float. And I swear it was the same guy. I made a comment to the girls about how they must have clones, and a CM heard me and said "That's the magic of Disney!"

We didn't stay to watch the 1st parade but headed over to SM and BTMRR, which were walk-ons and even stay-on-agains. There were no lines anywhere by this time. We had time for HM and then back to Main St. for Magic, Music & Mayhem. This was totally awesome, even better than the Halloween fireworks. I got goosebumps all over!

[hydeho]

Originally Posted by daisyd

Hey Hydeho!!! I groaned at the thought of arriving at 3:30 am to have mousekeeping knock on the door 5 hours later! But hey, being woke up by mousekeeping at WDW is better thna being woke up by a loud neighbor at home

Your girls are adorable! I love that they dressed as Peter and Jack

Thanks Daisyd, I was actually glad to get up. Who wants to sleep on your first day!

[hydeho]

After the fireworks we settled into some comfy chairs right by the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe on the walkway to Frontierland to watch the 2nd parade. This was really cool too. The highlight was definitely seeing Tinkerbelle. She's so full of character!

By now Allie was getting tired, but I wanted to go to Fantasyland to check out the dance party. The crowds were really thinng out fast and only a handful of kids were dancing. We collected more loot, which was beads and chocolate coins etc. We hit Space Mt. one last time as well as Buzz on our way out.
On the bus ride back we commented on how it felt like we had been there several days already, instead of less than 24hrs.

Here's a pic of the 3 fairy godmothers from the parade.