[hiner]

Hi All,

Cast:

Myself (Kim) 40
DH (Bob) 46
DH (Anthony) 11 1/2

(Avatar is from Imagination Workshop - free e-mail to friends)

Finally got a chance to write up our trip report for 5/8-5/19/07. Ok here goes.....

5/7 - House is ready for dog sitter, suit cases are all packed (except for last minute things for me, of course) now it's a matter of time.

5/8 - Up early (6:00am), limo coming at 8:30am, DH and DS sneak the bags out of house so the dog does not see them, and flight is at 11:25am. All goes smoothly. That is saying a lot flying out of Philly!!!! Landing in Tampa and our decent was absolutely horrendous . We all thought we would be sick, but we finally land. Good thing is we are about 20 minutes early. Get our luggage (all arrives safely ) and head over to Dollar Rental. I had signed up as a member prior to the trip which was a great thing. We walk in and the line is about 10 people and no one is in the member line. We walk up, and one of the reps finishes with a customer and calls us up. He asks if we want to upgrade for about $100 dollars to a Chrysler 300, DH and I look at one another and say "Nah", finish with the paperwork and the rep announces that he has upgraded us for nothing to the 300. What a way to start a magical trip . Nothing like driving to Tampa with loads of room for 3. Get the car and head to WDW. Took exactly an hour with no traffic at all. Stopped at Publix for the usual water, snacks and breakfast things and head to the resort.

We got to CBR around 3:30 and checked in. I asked if they received our room requests (Jamaica or Aruba since we lost our preferred room due to the package discount). They told us that we were in Barbados and asked what our requests were. Good thing I asked We told them and they said they would try to do something. They went into the back room and moved us to Aruba, bldg. 46, ground floor. So off we go to our room. We park and search for the room but they are still cleaning it. We decide to walk over to OPR, which by the way the island is now called Caribbean Cay not Parrot Cay island. We enjoyed seeing OPR again and it has finally set in that we are actually in WDW. Head back to the room to unpack and walk in to a very mildewing stinky room . DS has already taken off his shoes and goes to sit on the bed when he steps on a wet spot in the carpet. Ok, now I am on the phone explaining the situation. They try to tell me that they have been cleaning carpets in the rooms and they would send someone to suck up the excess water. I explain that it is not excess water that something was spilled and it really stinks. They agree to switch our room but the room they tell us we are moving to has a family in it, so where are they going to put us now. The runner comes with the new keys for a new room which was so much better. I made sure I had her feel the rug and smell her hand so she could tell them to send someone to clean the room. Finally get all settled in and unpacked.

We decided to have dinner at OPR and went to DTD for the evening. We walked around and had ice cream at Ghiradelli's which was totally yummy. Went back to the resort and hit the sack .

5/9 - Up around 7:30, ate breakfast in the room and planned on going to TL EMH. Walked out of the room and was smacked in the face with the smoke from the fires from GA and northern FL . Everything is so dry and they really need the rain. By about the third day we became amuned to the smoke.

Anyway, got our regular spot at TL (under the umbrella by the Mt. Trail Overlook entrance on left side of the pool). We love that spot because we can see DS in the pool when the waves are coming. We can't go in the pool yet because they are having surfing lessons. That's ok cause we then hit the slides.

Had lunch at Typhoon Tilly's (our favorite of the two major CS places to eat), stayed until about 2:00 and went back to the resort to shower and relax before going to AK for the evening.

Had dinner at the Rainforest Cafe at AK and then did the AK EMH which was not crowded at all. I had always wanted to do the evening EMH at AK but we always had something else to do those nights on our past trips. Boy was it fun. We walked right on Dinosaur twice, we love that ride . Next walked over for EE. Oh my Gosh, what an awesome ride ! I was completely terrified but when it was over, I never had so much fun! We then did KRR, ITTBAB and then back to the resort for sleep.

5/10 - Up around 6:30, breakfast in room and off to MGM. Barely any waits for anything which was awesome. If you have the time, sit and watch the street performers, they are a lot of fun and hysterical. We enjoyed watching them while waiting for the parade. After the parade, we went back to the resort to rest, shower and head over for dinner at Chef Mickey's.

After dinner at Chef Mickey's, which is never a disappointment, we walked over to MK to hit some attractions and see Spectromagic. We did LFC which was hysterical, Buzz and Indy Speedway. Walked through FL to Liberty Square to stake out a spot for the parade. We waited 45 minutes and just as the parade starts heading our way, a family comes running over and squeezes behind us to sit on a wall. Now I have knees in my back and I am getting very agitated . I start pushing back and the mothers says "Well what to you expect?". I look at her and said "We waited here, not you!" and did not budge. I was not about to loose my spot because of someone who waited last minute. I learned my lesson for the next time that is for sure. Anyway, the parade was beautiful and I was happy I finally got to see it after two other trips of missing it.

We did not stay for the fireworks, since Main Street was sooo mobbed and we had a long day at parks, so we went back to the resort so DH and DS could swim for a bit before bed.

5/11 - Today we went to TL again. Got our bands for EMH and our normal spot

We went back to the resort to get ready for our ADR at Boma. Ok, report on Boma......I am not picky but DS and DH can be. The names and looks of things were a little scary. Believe it or not, DH tried different things and so did I. The chicken and steak stips were very good, along with the rice with white raisens. The prime rib was eh, you don't really expect prime rib to have a bbq type taste. I tried the mac salad and a green salad which were ok. DS ate from the kids bar and he was completely satisfied. The desserts were ok too. Most were made with alcohol in them, which there is a sign indicated so. I did enjoy the coconut cake, yummy!!!! Well we now can say we tried it, but not in any rush to go back.

After dinner we went to EPCOT for the evening for the EMH. As others have said before, EPCOT EMH is sooo crowded. TT stated 40 minutes but we only waited about 30. Ellen's was closed but we walked right in to Journey into Imagination, HISTA, Nemo and Turtle Talk. They really have to do something with The Land Pavillion!!!!!! Since they put Soarin' and updated Sunshine Seafood Fare, it is an absolute mess walking in there. There are just people walking everywhere !

We then decided to wait on WS until tomorrow and went back to the resort to swim and go to bed.

5/12- We walked WS, which I was very disappointed in the F&GF. In FW and the entrance to WS there was the Pirates theme but in WS it was Winnie the Pooh again in the UK, the perfume in France, nothing in America, nothing in Germany (as far at topiaries). Two years ago, they had Snow White in Germany and Mickey & Minnie in America. They did have the three Cabrero's in Mexico. I guess I was just expecting more. Don't get me wrong, it was beautiful as always with all the flowers.

If anyone is a Disney Visa Cardholder, I highly recommend the cardholder M&G in Innoventions. We had a ball with Minnie, Mickey and Goofy. DS, who is now 11 1/2 and thinks he is too cool to be a kid again, actually laughed and had a great time. There were only about 10 families waiting in line and you pretty much had all the time in the world with the characters.

We hung around in Innoventions, there really are a lot of fun things to do in there if you have the time.

We then walked to BW to have dinner at Big River Grill & Brew Works. We got there around 5:00 and were seated right away. Inside the restaurant was a little tight but then again, almost every restaurant in WDW is tight quarters. The food was very good and we all enjoyed it. We then had desert at Seashore Sweets, one of our favs and walked around the resorts. Went back to EPCOT to walk around some more and back to the resort.

5/13 (Mother's Day) - This was my day and I was looking forward to it. We got to sleep in, had breakfast in the room, showered and headed out to find The Disney Wilderness Preserve off of 535. We found a Wal-Mart and stopped to pick up more water. DS found WDW towels for $9.00 each and were identical to the ones in the parks going for $20. Can't beat that! In years passed, it was the pins and pressed coins, this year was towels. Go figure

Found the Preserve, which just opened it's gates (12:00pm). Took a ride in and then left to go get lunch before the buggy ride we reserved. Today is a really opressive hot day but the breeze helped. The tour started on time, after a short film and Q&A session. There was a family of 5 from ND, a Mom and Son from FL and the three of us along for the tour. Due to the drought they were having, there really weren't any animals about and everything was soooo dry. The tour was about and hour and half. Lisa and Ben were very knowledgeable and had an answer for every question we all through at them. It is amazing the work they are doing there. If anyone has the chance and or time, you definitely should take an afternoon and see the preserve.

We then went back to the resort, showered and went to our ADR at 1900 Park Fare with Cinderella and Friends. This was our first time and it was very very yummy. A definate return for next time.

After dinner, we used our voucher for miniature golf at Summer Winterland by BB. That was fun as usual. Then we decided to go to the Poly to see the Water Pagent. We got there in time to see the fireworks from MK and we sat waiting for the pagent. We heard it and saw it in front of GF, the Contemporary and WL but not in front of the Poly. Well that's because we missed it. Boy did we feel like dummies , but DS had fun playing in the sand and we enjoyed sitting on the beach just relaxing.

5/14 - Today is Donald's Breakfastosaurus and AK. We all can't wait because it is one of our favs, although when I made the ADR, I did not know it was EMH day Turned out to be ok because our ADR was for 8:00 when the restaurant opened. We were one of the first to get seated so that was good. The food was good as usual but got a real dud of a CM this time. We did see the CM we had on our last trip, he was great! Ok to everyone already knows about Donald's moving to Tusker House so I won't go into it again.

After breakfast we went on Dinosaur and got the front seat. Then went to the Safari and got the front seat again!. Got a FP for EE and went on KRR. Didn't get too wet! While walking over to EE we saw Devine. She is amazing!!! Again, we got the front seat which DH and DS practically jumped out of their skins about!! Did all the rest of the walking tours and looked in the shops before heading out of the World for dinner.

Had dinner at Olive Garden since I had gift cards. After dinner, we went to MK to hit some of the big attractions and then to the Contemporary to try to see the Water Pagent, again! This time it was really windy and a hotel CM said they may not have it due to the wind. We sat on the beach in a hammock waiting and waiting. We decided to go thinking they weren't going to have it and wouldn't you know it, there it was, in front of FWL. Well we thought that was where you could see it fromt he Contemporary to we went and watched the MK fireworks from the 4th floor of the resort. That was cool too. Then we were walking back to the car and heard the pagent music right behind the construction fence. There was the Pagent, right in front of the resort now. Oh well, we saw it from a distance. Next time we will see it up close. Back to the resort and crashed.

5/15 - Another day at TL in the morning. Went back to the resort to clean up, had dinner at OPR and off to EPCOT again. This time we parked at BW and walked over to EPCOT to do the rest of WS. After a few hours of walking, sight seeing the countries and shopping, we walked over to our all time fav, Beaches N Cream. There was about a 45 minute wait so we were going to do take-out but it was not the same menu and we wanted sundaes so we put our name in. We walked around the pool at BC. Wow what a pool!!!!! Our beeper finally went off and we were in for our sundaes woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!!! DH and I shared one and DS got one himself. Of course he did not finish his and DH finished it for him. We basically rolled back to the car and went back to our resort and rolled into bed.

5/16 - First breakfast at Chef Mickey's. Very yummy and we thought it was great that, not only did the restaurant characters and CM's get in on the napkin twirling, but so did the resort CM's working on the floors above.

We spent the day at MK and walked on practically every ride in Fantasy Land. I couldn't believe it and it was after 9:30 too. I then realized it was 10:30 and I wanted to get on TS Island to find the brush, but by the time we got there it was 11:00 and they were all found. Oh, well maybe next time.

Later we left to go swim and rest at the resort before we had to be at DTD for Cirque Du Soleil. We had awesome seats and the show was amazing!!!!! DS was entranced the entire time, which I was shocked about. I figured for sure he would think it was dumb, but he really enjoyed it.

We then went to EOS for dinner. It was as good as everyone had said it was. DH and I both got the Tuna and DS got the MB. We walked around DTD, shopped and then back to the resort for bed.

5/17 - We went to AK for the morning heading straight for the Safari first thing. Well we weren't the only ones with this plan. We got there and the line was almost passed the Tusker House, I guess because they didn't change all the line ropes. It wasn't as bad as it looked though and only took about 20 minutes. It was neat seeing all the animals first thing in the morning.

We did all the attractions we wanted to do again and then headed to TL for the afternoon. Stayed at TL for a few hours and then back to the resort to get cleaned up. This time we went outside the World passed DTD to 535 for dinner. We ate at Giordano's which was very good. Nice change of "price" . We then went back to DTD and hit DQ. We had dessert upstairs at Cheesecake Factory. Boy was that a lot and very rich !!!!!!

Back to the resort and bed.

5/18 - We spent the morning in MGM, then back to the resort for a swim/rest and change then off to BW for dinner. We decided on ESPN Club and were able to sit where ever we wanted. We got a booth with Play Station which was soo much fun for DH and DS.

After dinner we went to EPCOT for the final EMH of our trip. We just get in line for TT since Soarin' was too long of a wait and what does it decide to do, poor . We stay in line in case it stops and they restart the ride. We waited about a 1/2 and we really moved up but then bagged it when it just became a drizzle. We stopped at Seashore Sweets for some ice cream and back to the resort to pack everything up for our departure tomorrow night.

5/19 - Up early to finish packing and go to MK. We hit all the attractions we wanted to again, had our long awaited lunch at Columbia House. The Tuna Sandwichs are to die for, atleast we think so!!!!

Off to DTD so DH and DS can get their last fix of DQ. We shop for a bit, hit DQ and then go to PH for an early dinner. After eating we set out for the airport. Everything runs a smoothly as ever.

While flying home, we were talking about where we want to go next year and the plans may be DL in California. We had another rough descent but our bags came out almost immediately, which Philly is not know for, so that made up for it. Finally got home around 11:05pm.

Sorry it was long, I tried to keep the days short but I hope you enjoyed reading as much as we enjoyed being there. I tried to post some photos but kept getting errors. When I have more time, I will try to figure out what the problem is.

Thanks for all your advise, help and suggestions while planning our trip!

Kim

[emamasa]

So glad you had such a nice trip!! thanks for the Tr!!!

[Dopey]

Wow, a nice trip for you and the family, Kim. Are there photos by chance?

[hiner]

Originally Posted by Dopey

Wow, a nice trip for you and the family, Kim. Are there photos by chance?

Yes, but I keep getting errors when trying to attach them??????? Not sure what I am doing wrong???????

[Dopey]

Originally Posted by hiner

Yes, but I keep getting errors when trying to attach them??????? Not sure what I am doing wrong???????

Are they too big? What does the error message say? Do you know how to resize them if that's the problem?

[Dana]

nice report! Thank you for sharing it with us.

[hiner]

Originally Posted by Dopey

Are they too big? What does the error message say? Do you know how to resize them if that's the problem?

They may be to big! I am not sure how to resize them. My camera is a Canon Rebel and I have the Digital Photo Professional software. Are you familiar will it? I tried figuring it out for my avatar one day and got frustrated and quit.

[hiner]

Ok, with Dopey's help we were able to figure out how to resize the pics to post on the thread, so here goes......

[hiner]

Ok, our heads are about to explode after the photo resizing thingy. Figured out how to attach them but haven't figured out how to attach them where you do not have to click on each individual photo. Oh, well saving for another day. Will post more pictures when my head stops spinning

[DisneyTeacher]

Try to post a single picture in a post.

[DisneyTeacher]

Originally Posted by hiner

Cast:

Myself (Kim) 40
DH (Bob) 46
DH (Anthony) 11 1/2

I haven't gotten past this yet, I notice that you have two DHs in you life, that must keep things fun. (Then I noticed the age,)

[hiner]

Ant just loves Backlot Tour for the filming of the bombing scene and the earthquake in the hopes of getting wet.

[Dopey]

Originally Posted by DisneyTeacher

I haven't gotten past this yet, I notice that you have two DHs in you life, that must keep things fun. (Then I noticed the age,)

I saw that and had to laugh too. So cute. How smart

[hiner]

Originally Posted by DisneyTeacher

I haven't gotten past this yet, I notice that you have two DHs in you life, that must keep things fun. (Then I noticed the age,)

Yeh, you know us Pennsylvanian's we love our men ha ha ha. Thank goodness you can edit your posts hee hee hee, or maybe I will leave it as is for a good laugh?!

Thanks for the tip on posting the photos so they show up in the report.

[hiner]

Ok, here are a few more pics of the boys.....