[dznygrl]

Hey all!

We are back from our wonderful (albeit much too short) vacation to WDW.

I have tons to share, both in notes and pictures. In fact, if the pictures get to be too much, let me know - there are a ton!

There were some definite highlights:
~Gorgeous weather
~ASMu bus transportation (yes, I'm serious!)
~Whispering Canyon
~Kona Cafe
~Meeting Gingita
~Animal Kingdom - we spent more time here than anywhere else!

And, of course, a few things we could have done without:
~Cheerleaders...especially the huge Brazilian groups
~Food courts at the All-Stars
~Splash Mountain being closed - (it's "our" ride, and while I thought I'd be having too much fun to notice its absence, I was pretty bummed about it the whole trip )


Well, everyone ready? Here we go!

[iluvwdw]

Originally Posted by dznygrl

Hey all!

We are back from our wonderful (albeit much too short) vacation to WDW.
I have tons to share, both in notes and pictures. In fact, if the pictures get to be too much, let me know - there are a ton!

There were some definite highlights:
~Gorgeous weather
~ASMu bus transportation (yes, I'm serious!)
~Whispering Canyon
~Kona Cafe
~Meeting Gingita
~Animal Kingdom - we spent more time here than anywhere else!

And, of course, a few things we could have done without:
~Cheerleaders...especially the huge Brazilian groups
~Food courts at the All-Stars
~Splash Mountain being closed - (it's "our" ride, and while I thought I'd be having too much fun to notice its absence, I was pretty bummed about it the whole trip )


Well, everyone ready? Here we go!

YAY!!!!! I can't wait to read ALL about it!

[cinderbella]

Yes!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[LuvMyLittleNoah]

Me too! Can't wait to hear more and welcome back.

[tigger]

You better have had fun...fun I say.

[dznygrl]

Cast:

Kim ~ 23 (dznygrl)
Ryan ~ 23 (Mr. Incredible)


Day 1: Who Needs Sleep? Let's Get Straight To The Parks!

Our flight left Portland at 10:25pm on Sunday 2/3. I left Alice with my parents a few hours before then, so I could finish packing (and so Ryan could watch the Super Bowl in peace! )

DH and I are on a weird schedule because of his job, so we don't usually go to bed until 3-4am. Needless to say, while everyone else was trying to sleep on the flight, we were both wide awake and pumped! I even took some cold medicine to see if I could calm down enough to sleep, but I think I only managed about 20 minutes of shut-eye.

One thing that made the flight miserable at first was the man sitting in the aisle seat of our row. He wasn't exactly small, and DH (like me) gets a little claustrophobic being pressed up against strangers. The aisle across from us had 2 empty seats, and I counted the number of times - three times! - that a different flight attendant offered this man one of the seats across the way. Yet three times and counting, he ignored their offers, made himself comfortable using all the space he needed, and enjoyed his bloody mary.

Even I was starting to get claustrophobic, and the smell of the vodka and tomato juice was starting to make me really . I honestly didn't understand why he wouldn't take one of the seats across the aisle. There were empty seats all over the plane, and he wouldn't budge!

Finally about halfway through the flight, he suddenly announced "I'm going to move over there and let you guys stretch out."

Phew!! Maybe we moved around enough to annoy him? I don't know, but both of us were pretty relieved when he moved!

Since sleep wasn't even a possibility, I played my Nintendo DS for most of the flight while Ryan watched a movie on his laptop. There were a lot of kids on the plane (I was surprised), many of them infants, and yet it was a very quiet flight. I was impressed!

[dznygrl]

As soon as the pilot announced our descent, I whipped out the Passporter and DH and I started poring over the park maps. We knew there was virtually no chance of our room being ready when we arrived, and both of us were too excited to think of taking a nap anyway. So it was straight to ASMu to drop off our bags, then to MK at open!

Our flight arrived exactly on time, and the first thing Ryan noticed when we got off the plane was the WARMTH. It was 6:30am and easily t-shirt temperature already. I was in heaven, but DH looked a little worried!

I had heard a lot of people complain about Magical Express being hard to find, so I was thankful to see an ME employee who was able to direct us where to go. If it weren't for him, I think we would have been looking for ages! There is definitely a lack of good signage.

But when we found it, Ryan had to point out the exciting discovery! hehe

[cinderbella]

Too cute!! I am trying hard not to look at this thread every five seconds!! I have to let you update it!

[dznygrl]

Magical Express was literally deserted...(guess that's the benefit of getting into the airport at 6:30am)...there were about half a dozen cast members at the desk who looked bored. They brightened up when they saw us - we were checked in within moments, and a cast member personally escorted us out to the waiting bus.

Yep, no wait of any kind - didn't even have to wait for a bus, there was one ready and waiting! What a beautiful sight! Ryan and I were really getting excited at this point.

[iluvwdw]

Originally Posted by cinderbella

Too cute!! I am trying hard not to look at this thread every five seconds!! I have to let you update it!

I know, me too! I'm just waiting...and waiting...

[dznygrl]

We had to wait a few minutes while another family checked in and boarded the bus, so we took a few more pictures...at this point I could tell just how many pictures we were going to take over the next few days. The camera was already clicking nonstop, and we hadn't left the airport yet!

[dznygrl]

I warned you there's a lot of pictures, so just tell me when I should stop posting them! Ryan on the ME bus...look at that Disney grin...

[dznygrl]

Me on the ME bus...I'm thinking, let's go already!!

[cinderbella]

Originally Posted by dznygrl

I warned you there's a lot of pictures, so just tell me when I should stop posting them!

Never!! Haven't you learned by now there is NO such thing as too many trip report pictures!!

[dznygrl]

Finally, the other family boarded and we left the airport. Time for the ME video!