[ssn]

This was a spontaneous trip DH and I had decided to go on 3 weeks prior. As a fluke one day I called him at work after getting an email for Southwest's fare sale and said to him, "can we go to Disney b/f DD goes back to school?" To my huge surprise, he said "YES!!!" We already had park tickets (from our April trip) and we were able to get the flights on Southwest and booked a room at ASMo for $69/night. We decided that we weren’t going to tell DD that we were going until that morning. The whole flight down I felt a bit guilty for taking another vacation since we were at WDW for 13 days in April but the trip proved to be the trip of a lifetime…

Cast:
DH – 44
Me – 38
DD – 7
Trip dates Fri Aug 24-Mon Aug 27th

Friday, August 24th

DD woke up and said she had weird dreams and that her brain was playing tricks on her. I said well wait until your brain sees this. I led her into our spare bedroom where I had a Mickey bag packed with things for her to do on the airplane. On top of it I had a letter (that I had made on the computer) from Minnie inviting her to the Magic Kingdom for the Pirate and Princess Party that night. She looked up at me and said “tonight??????” and then I handed her a t-shirt that I had made that said “Surprise Jillian, we’re going to Disney World!” She started to scream and it was great!! I was all packed (quite a challenge to do w/o her seeing me doing it all week!) and we just had to do a few last minute things and we were off to meet DH at his office.

We flew Southwest and had a great and relaxing flight. The flight attendants were hysterical and really put everyone at ease. I really love this airline – they are so efficient. We flew Delta in April and they changed our flights on us 4 times!!

We arrived in Orlando and saw dark clouds and thunder bolts up ahead. We got our Avis rental car and headed to the All Star Movies. Since we were staying at the All-Stars and this was to be such a short trip we decided to rent a car so we didn’t have to wait in the long bus lines. We were so glad we did! It rained most every day and when it wasn’t raining it was soooo hot, so it was great to not have to wait in the long bus lines. I was surprised how easy it was to navigate your way around the World. Oh and if anyone needs directions from the airport to your hotel, allears had perfect directions that I had printed b/f we left.

Avis was a great rental company. We went up to the counter, checked in and they gave us our keys. Very hassle free!

We headed to the resort and just as we were pulling in it started to rain –REALLY hard. I went to check in and was relieved to see that the line wasn’t too long since it was 5:30 and we had an ADR at LTT at 7:00 b/f the Pir and Princess Party. Well the line moved verrrrrrrrry slow. We finally made it to the front and DD looked at me and said “I hope we don’t get the Mighty Ducks section” so guess what section we got!! I asked the CM if there was anything else available and she called someone to see if there was anything in Dalmations or Toy Story but there wasn’t – but we did end up getting the Love Bug section. I paid – it took her 10 minutes and a calculator to figure out how much change to give me back when I gave her $50.10 and my balance was $50.07. It was so funny!! So by now it is 6:10 and it is pouring!!!!! So glad we had a car since our room was pretty far away and on the 3rd floor. I have to say I was a little nervous about staying at the All Stars but I was pleasantly surprised with the room. It was very neat, clean and everything was in great condition. It was perfect for this long weekend. As a side note: in April we stayed at the Beach Club and we were very disappointed in the quality of the room. It needs a refurb bad! Stained carpets, burned out lightbulbs, not so comfy beds, very thin walls and mousekeeping was not good at all (I spilled powder on the floor our 1st day and it stayed there all week!) Anyhoo…not to get too far off the subject, but we were happy with the All Star rooms – but do highly suggest having a car to get around.

Here is a pic of her seeing her "surprise" and one with the t-shirt I made

[WishUponAStar]

OooOoO, I can't wait to hear all about it! We were at the P&PP that OH SO rainy night also!!! Crazy, huh? We thought it would never stop! Hope you guys had a wonderful time despite the weather. Can't wait to see!

[ssn]

Having a little trouble with the pics. How do I attach the actual photo and not just the link?

[ssn]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

OooOoO, I can't wait to hear all about it! We were at the P&PP that OH SO rainy night also!!! Crazy, huh? We thought it would never stop! Hope you guys had a wonderful time despite the weather. Can't wait to see!

I thought so after I read some of your TR today. We were waiting for the fireworks too and they never made an announcement that they were delayed! WE just waited and waited!!!

[yankeevttch]

She looks so excited. I can't wait to hear more. Hope the weather turned o the brighter side.

[Dopey]

Heheh, I cannot wait to hear all about it.

Your Jillian is really cute

[ssn]

Originally Posted by Dopey

Heheh, I cannot wait to hear all about it.

Your Jillian is really cute

thanks!!

[ssn]

So we didn’t have too much time to get ready for the P&PP..we left the room at 6:35 and ran in the rain to the car – made it to the TTC and we drove into the parking lot and there were spots in the front row!!!! Wow that was great. I grabbed my umbrella since it was so humid to wear the plastic poncho and we made our way into the MK. It was hard to take in all the P&P decorations since it was raining so hard. We received – what we called – our pirate booty bags – and then made our way to Liberty Tree, only 5 minutes late. We were seated right away and enjoyed a great dinner of comfort food on this rainy night. The salad dressing was good, but the salad was so soggy! The rolls and butter (what do they put in that butter?) were sooo delicious! DD ate so much, she loved the mac-n-cheese, turkey and mashed potatoes. I thought everything was good – especially the stuffing. DH thought the beef tasted funky. For dessert we had apple cobbler with vanilla ice cream. Character interaction was pretty good

Was hoping the rain had stopped during dinner, but no such luck. We grabbed our rain gear and headed out. The weather really did put a damper of the festivities, but we still had a good time and enjoyed the short (or no) lines. We went right on Pirates – absolutely no wait – stopped at the various treasure spots and filled our bags with beads and chocolate and raisins. DD was bugging for Space Mtn so we headed to Tomorrowland – again a walk-on. Parade was supposed to start soon so I was taking my time walking over. I figured I was wrong about the time since noone was lining up, so we rode SM, Buzz and then we went in for the Laugh Floor, but then I realized fireworks were going to start soon and I sooo didn’t want to miss them. We ran out and grabbed a spot 15 min early and we waited, and waited and waited and no fireworks! The rain had slowed down a lot so I didn’t think it would be cancelled. Then they started making announcements for the parade – I was so confused! I thought we missed the parade earlier!!! Anyway – we decided to go back into the Laugh Floor – as it was ending I hear fireworks!! Ughhhh!!! When the Laugh Floor was over we ran out and we were able to see a lot of the fireworks, it was fantastic!!! Shortly after we saw the parade and Tinkerbell!!!!! By now the rain had stopped and it was so nice out!!! We then rode the Speedway cars and then headed over to Fantasyland to ride IASW and Peter Pan. DD then decided that she was going to get up enough nerve to go on Snow White. The park was closing at 12:00am and it was just about that time so we ran over, but the ride had already closed.

Took the short walk to TTC to our car and headed back to hotel. Since I never unpacked earlier, I did now and we were all asleep by 1:30am. Despite the rainy weather we had a great 1st day. And just to let you know – a 7 year old still needs at stroller when you are walking around MK all night!!!

[WishUponAStar]

Awww, what cute pictures! I am SO glad you all enjoyed your time at the P&PP despite the rain & extreme humidity. We made the best of it too but I am CONVINCED this is NOT a party that can accomodate the weather AT ALL. Everything to do is outside, the regular lighting and decorations weren't even functional on Main Street, all of the outside character stations were non-existant and it was SOOOOO confusing and disorganized with the lack of announcements, time changes, and semi-cancellations. This is the SECOND time I've been to the P&PP like this and I am ready to call it a bust .

Anyway, you guys look adorable and I am SOOO happy you were at least able to ride a ton of attractions with no wait & enjoy yourselves!

[DisneyTeacher]

What cute pictures, your daughter is beautiful. I'm so sorry the rain tried to ruin your P&P party but it sounds like you made the most of it.

[ssn]

Originally Posted by WishUponAStar

Awww, what cute pictures! I am SO glad you all enjoyed your time at the P&PP despite the rain & extreme humidity. We made the best of it too but I am CONVINCED this is NOT a party that can accomodate the weather AT ALL. Everything to do is outside, the regular lighting and decorations weren't even functional on Main Street, all of the outside character stations were non-existant and it was SOOOOO confusing and disorganized with the lack of announcements, time changes, and semi-cancellations. This is the SECOND time I've been to the P&PP like this and I am ready to call it a bust .

Anyway, you guys look adorable and I am SOOO happy you were at least able to ride a ton of attractions with no wait & enjoy yourselves!

I'm glad it wasn't just me getting confused !!! I found it so hard to figure things out. Imagine if you've never been to the MK before!! We went to the MNSSHP a few years back and that was sooo fun! Hopefully we'll be able to do the P&P Party another time in better weather!

[alicefan]

I LOVE surprise Disney trips! I wish someone would do that for me. Can't wait to hear more - Jilllian is gorgeous, BTW!

[ssn]

I'll have to work on the rest tomorrow and trust me when I tell you
I have a really, really, really, really awesome story to tell!!!!!!! Just keep in mind, it IS the Year of A Million Dreams!!!!!

stay tuned....

[alicefan]

Originally Posted by ssn

I'll have to work on the rest tomorrow and trust me when I tell you
I have a really, really, really, really awesome story to tell!!!!!!! Just keep in mind, it IS the Year of A Million Dreams!!!!!

stay tuned....

TEASE! That's just mean.......................

[Dopey]

Yikes, that really is a cliffhanger.