[DereksMom713]

Cast:
Me (old enough)*
Derek (my son, 3.5 years)
Maya (my sister/father's daughter, 7 years)
Big Derek (my husband, 33 years)
Mom (mine/all mine, also old enough)*

Supporting Cast:
Rennie (college friend, old enough)*
Tre (her son, 3 years)
MiMi (her step-daughter, 11 years)

Nick (HS friend, old enough)*
Kiely (her son, 3 years)
Vanessa (her daughter, 7 years)
Franny (her mom, also old enough)*

*Never tell a woman's age! *

Dates:
Tuesday, May 8th through Sunday, May 13th

Highlights:
Tuesday, May 8th
This was my entire family's first time to MGM Studios. And, this was Maya's second time on vacation all together. Believe it or not, her first trip was NOT to Disney. My friends had not joined us just yet. So, we explored MGM on our own.

Wednesday, May 9th
One of my friends arrived on Tuesday night, so our two families headed to Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios. As soon as we walked in a "CM (can you call Universal employees that)" gave us VIP treatment for our first half hour in the park. Oh, and why didn't anyone tell me just what the Hulk was made of?

Thursday, May 10th
On our "off" day, both friends and their families headed to Seaworld. We opted out since we didn't LOVE it last year. We took time out for the pool, DTD, BBB, and the mall. The best part of the week was yet to come and every channel kept bringing up the dreaded Tropical Storm Andrea.

Friday, May 11th
Animal Kingdom!!!! It was everyone's first time here and we loved it. All together our families totaled 12. And, each one of us got a Dream. Can you believe it? Oh, and we also tried Rainforest Cafe. I was very hesistant bringing 11 other people to try a restaurant so many others have criticized. I have a couple of criticisms for them too... and praises.

Saturday, May 12th
MAGIC KINGDOM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Is there any other park that exudes Disney like this one? One thing I did learn is that no matter what day I arrive, I will do MK in the beginning. Everyone was working on their last bit of sanity and strength. And, I feel we could've done more had we had more energy. That doggone Andrea was still looming too. She was almost as much of a pest as those doggone Lovebugs.

Sunday, May 13th
Nothing much to tell... we went home and I got no confirmation as to when we can go back.

Hotel:
Sheraton Vistana Villages, International Drive
Our hotel was extremely nice. The grounds were amazing. However, we spent very little time there. Our 2-bedroom villa was spacious, comfy, and modern. We spent a whole 2 hours, in total, at the pool. I think my husband, son, and sister had soda at the pool-side restaurant one time. I would definitely stay there again, especially with the AllEars rate.

Rental Car:
Dollar Rental Car
I'm not sure if it was MouseSavers or AllEars that suggested both the 'KISS2' discount code and signing up for their rewards plan ahead of time. I could've also got those recommendations from one of you. Either way, I've never been serviced that quickly before. I almost felt awkward, as if something was going to be wrong or inaccurate, it all worked so efficiently.

Crowds:
Unofficial Guide/TouringPlans.com reported a 5-6 level
For fall travelers, the crowds may have appeared busy and overwhelming. However, my first time (as an adult) was during July of last year. And, I was pleased with the crowds all week (sans the parade and fireworks crowd at MK on Sat. night). We pretty much walked on everything. And, of 5 days in the parks, I can only recall two rides in which I had to actually wait between 15-20 minutes. Everything else was less than 10 minutes, if any wait at all.

Details and pics to come.

[jaljayjar]

OOOOHHHHH the lovebugs! Those things drove me crazy!!!! My DD is terrified of anything that crawls and I swear she was jumping out of her stroller every 2 minutes when they would fly into her 'space'. I think I was even dodging them every few minutes or swatting or even running at one point.

[tinkerbelle24]

Sounds like a nice trip. What kind of dream did you get?

[Dopey]

Originally Posted by jaljayjar

OOOOHHHHH the lovebugs! Those things drove me crazy!!!! My DD is terrified of anything that crawls and I swear she was jumping out of her stroller every 2 minutes when they would fly into her 'space'. I think I was even dodging them every few minutes or swatting or even running at one point.

jaljayjar---Ehhh, should you not be continuing to write your trip report, hmmm?



Great and to the point trip report.

What a bout the Rainforest Cafe? What was good, what not so good?

[DereksMom713]

I would like to blend my paragraphs with photos. I'm resizing them as I type. So, bare with me.

So, now for more detail....

Tuesday, May 8th
My family and I flew out of LGA. I don't think I've ever traveled mid-week before. So, I had no idea everything was going to be so much less hectic than my usual travel days of Thurs., Fri., and Sat. Anyway, we arrived into MCO a half hour early and ready to go.

Mom, Big Derek, Little Derek, and Maya


Before the trip, I spent nearly one week preparing directions to and from every place I could think of. I created these same instructions for my two friends. It was nice to learn that the first set of directions - to the hotel - were incorrect. We were lost for nearly one hour due to my directions, courtesy of Yahoo! Maps. All I could think of was not getting to MGM Studios in time for our ADR at Sci-Fi Dine-In. And, though they were my directions, I was becoming upset with Big Derek for not paying better attention to the signs.

Finally, we made it to the hotel. And, though I sent a fax and made a phone call ahead of time regarding our early arrival, our room was not ready. So, we had to take bird baths and change for the park in the locker rooms.

The View from the Walkway under our Balcony


We arrived, FINALLY, at MGM Studios with nearly one hour to spare. I felt like I waited so long to see these mice. Finally, I had arrived.

[DereksMom713]

Originally Posted by jaljayjar

OOOOHHHHH the lovebugs! Those things drove me crazy!!!! My DD is terrified of anything that crawls and I swear she was jumping out of her stroller every 2 minutes when they would fly into her 'space'. I think I was even dodging them every few minutes or swatting or even running at one point.

No really, those Lovebugs were so doggone annoying. Although I read so much about them, nothing could have prepared me for how irritating they actually are in person.

[unamadreditre]

The hotel looks lovely. Do you have any pics of the inside of your room?

That stinks that you got lost. I usually have to double check all my maps because the online maps are often totally wrong.

[Dopey]

yes well, the map thing
Mapquest puts us on the other side of a lake not even close to where we are

[DereksMom713]

FYI - Derek thinks he's the red Power Ranger. So, you'll see A LOT of posing in the upcoming pictures. After a day or two, Maya begins to join in. I think Big Derek does too.

Anyway, Sci-Fi Dine-In was nothing to write home about. But, I'm glad we did it as Derek thought it was "cool." Though we were late arriving to the hotel, we did arrive to MGM with enough time to get to our ADR early. We were seated immediately.

I'm waaaay in the back of this shot. I'm usually the photographer, so you have to take what you can get.


We hit Star Tours, the Muppet 3D show, and then Big Derek and I snuck off to Tower of Terror while the kids and my Mom saw Playhouse Disney Live. I ToT. That ride is fun! Did I mention that Big Derek is not a roller coaster kind of guy? Everything he went on, I had to challenge him to. Also, we walked on everything. Most all rides stated a 10 or 20 minute wait. But, the bulk of the time was spent walking through the empty line queues. We did wait a little for RnRC. But, that was because we had to watch that video. We did not look at a FastPass machine the entire day. We ended our day letting the children play in the Honey, I Shrunk the Kids area.

I almost forgot one of the most important things of the day. We were able to see the Power Rangers. But, getting a pic didn't exactly work out as planned. The CM did announce, while we were on line waiting to take a pic, that the Red PR would be leaving in 5 min. One family took about 4 1/2 of those 5 minutes. The parents let their children run around and play with them while us families waited patiently to just take pictures. I thought it would have been more fair for the CM to end the line, as opposed to tell the people already on line that if they didn't make it to him in 5 minutes... too bad! While we waited on the one family who took up all the time, my Mom took Derek to a short line for the Green PR and got his pic. But, as she brought him back to me and we were about to step up to take a pic with the Red PR, he gave Derek a high-five and walked away. I think I was more sad than Derek.

[DereksMom713]

Originally Posted by unamadreditre

The hotel looks lovely. Do you have any pics of the inside of your room?

That stinks that you got lost. I usually have to double check all my maps because the online maps are often totally wrong.

When uploading photos, I realized I took very little of the inside of our room. I do have a couple though.

[DereksMom713]

Originally Posted by Dopey

yes well, the map thing
Mapquest puts us on the other side of a lake not even close to where we are

I learned, long ago, that MapQuest is no good. But, I thought Yahoo! Maps was okay. After the arrival debacle, I asked the front desk for a map. Their's was much more reliable.

[dac921]

Welcome back.
Love the TR so far... but I need more

[DereksMom713]

Wednesday, May 9th
My girlfriend, her son, and her step-daughter arrived in the late evening on Tuesday. So, we met them, bright and early, downstairs in the parking lot as we were not located in the same buildilng. I was beginning to think that Sheraton didn't get my fax or note anything from my call about both my early arrival AND the need to have our three seperate parties as close as possible to one another.

Maybe Disney has spoiled me. But, I so prefer the parking lot shuttles over the moving walkways. I know what it is.... I'm lazy!

Mimi, Maya, Tre and Derek in CityWalk


Anyway, this morning began as perfect as ever. Tre, my friend's son, had a Spiderman toy and Spiderman water shoes on. He caught the eye of a really nice woman taking photos at the gate. She volunteered to take a group photo of us. And, she also asked if we wanted to see Spiderman. Admittingly, the park wasn't crowded and we may have easily found Spidey on our own. But, we had just walked in the park and didn't know which way was up or down. So, we were glad to get personal assistance from what turned out to be a park manager. She led us directly to him. We took some very cool pics with Spidey. (I'll upload the finished product at home.) And, our helpful park mgr. didn't just leave us there. She offered us her 50% discount to purchase the pics. And, she maneuevered with the package so that both families got exactly what we wanted - nothing more or less. We were on a high and praised her continuously. But, before we left the shop she asked if she could do one more thing for us! Of course you can... is what I was thinking. LOL! She led us through the employee entrance to get on the Spiderman 3D ride. Again, there was absolutely no line and we probably could've gone direclty on without her help. BUT, her intentions were what mattered. And, we felt like VIPs for our first half hour in the park because of her.

[DereksMom713]

I didn't know what to expect with Spiderman. Yet, it definitely surpassed what I had in mind. That ride is now one of my faves. My son was just fine thoughout, while Maya shook and shivered on my shoulder. However, when exiting, Derek vowed to never go on it again. He's just like his Dad.

We went through each section of the park in order, but not before we backtracked and tried to get on that big ole' green coaster where we heard the people screaming. Mimi and I are Roller Coaster Comrades. (I just made that up.) She and I were open to get on anything that could make us scream. Big Derek couldn't let the 11-year old show him out. So, he joined us for most of the rides. Much to our dismay, the big green coaster better known as The Hulk, shut down as we were 10 steps from the cars. So, we exited and hoped it would open again before we left.

We left Marvel Island because there wasn't much there for us. We went through Toon Lagoon where Mimi convinced me getting wet first thing in the morning isn't so bad. So, I got on Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls. The funny thing about this ride is that if you don't get completely wet during the drop they make sure to spray the crap out of you before you unload. Real cute!

Maya trying to catch a glimpse of me coming down.

[dac921]

WOW that is great Customer Service... you got First Class Service.