[ajbdk5]

DAY ONE, 2/10/04:

CAST: Me, DH (Jimmy), DS (Brendan, 8), DS (Declan 6), and
DD (Kathleen 3)

We woke at the crack of dawn and headed for the airport. The flight took off on time, thankfully, and all went well from there!
We landed on time at MCO and our Tiffany driver was waiting for us with our last name on a small sign!
We felt like V.I.P.'s...Marcelo, our driver, was great! We stopped at Publix and got a few things and then we were on our way to Pop Century! I instantly LOVED this resort it was so cool!
Our room was ready!
I got my requests too!:) First floor 70's building B, we were in room 108 right next to the Big Wheel and near the Mickey Phone icon, so cute! The layout of Pop is fantastic, and I would stay there again in a heartbeat! We settled in and headed straight to the MK! We kept looking at each other and saying (almost in unison) "I can't believe we're FINALLY here!" We were 5 happy campers! The bus service was great, we never waited long for a bus and we seemed to reach our destinations in no time! We arrived at the MK and checked out all the Mickey statues on our way in...adorable! As we entered, Brendan spotted Pinnochio and Geppetto! We whipped out the autograph books and went crazy...the kids are so excited! We had to catch our breath at the site of Cinderella castle.....goosebumps!:) We had our pic taken in fron of the castle and headed toward the Tea Cups!
The kids had unanimously voted this as the chosen FIRST ride at WDW!
I love the tea cups as much as they do, hahahaha! DH video taped us...he is not a whirly-twirly fan.:dazed We then headed straight for Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin...no wait! We all love this ride! We rode the TTA, Mickey's Philharmagic, IASW, PoC and the Carrousel...not exactly in that order though, LOL.
It was time for our 5:30 PS at the CP, we LOVED it, the food was EXCELLENT!!! Our favorites included the pulled seasoned pork, the green bean casserole, garlic mashed potatoes, the alfredo pasta, not to mention the delicious red cheesecake thing for dessert...this was a WONDERFUL dinner! We had Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, and Eeyore at our table and they were great with the kids...we all really enjoyed this one!
After dinner we went back to Pop and the kids begged to go in the pool. Of course we said , "sure!" They were delighted! The temp was cool, but the water was warm...a perfect ending to a magical first day!:)

[tiggerlover1971]

great trip report so far cant wait to hear your take on the Meet and greet :)

[tinkerbell]

I can relate to

We kept looking at each other and saying (almost in unison) "I can't believe we're FINALLY here!"

we feel that way every time!!
I am sooo looking forward to reading your part of the M&G experience!!!

[LRTJS]

Amy, I am so enjoying everyone's M/G reports. It is so nice of you to share your trip with us! Pop Century sounds like a fun place. I think I am with your DH on the twirling though....anything but that!:whistle:

[DisneyTeacher]

Originally posted by ajbdk5
We had to catch our breath at the site of Cinderella castle.....goosebumps!:)

I get that feeling every time I walk up Main Street and it never goes away.

I love your first day, it sounds perfect. I can't wait to read the rest.

[BDavis932]

Oh, I love reading your report....can't wait for more!!!

[ajbdk5]

Thanks gals!

DAY TWO, 2/11/04:

We woke up bright and early this morn and got ready to head back to the MK and our PS for CRT! Yippee! Kathleen had her Snow White dress and Minnie Mouse shoes on for this special occasion!:love: My friend Erin and her son had checked in late last night and would be joining us today. We arrived at the MK and headed excitedly toward the Castle! They called us right away and we were seated at a table near the window with a great view of Fantasyland!:) We had a friendly server and he brought our food right away. We could not believe our eyes, or our luck, when Peter Pan and Captain Hook came running past the windows on the outer terrace of the castle! It was too cool! That breakfast is YUMMY! Especially those deep fried cheese danish things, OMG...to die for! We requested a few more of them and our waiter brought us a whole basket! They did not go to waste, let me tell ya...delish!:D Sleeping Beauty, Belle, Cinderella, Mary Poppins, and Snow White visited our table. Gotta brag for a sec here, my DD and Snow White, in their matching dresses, standing side by side, inside the castle was the best....just adorable!:love:
On our way out, we visited with the Fairy Godmother who was seated in the lobby. She gave the kids lots of attention, we were the only ones there! They each left the Castle with big smiles, full tummys, and handfuls of pixie-dust! God I love this place!

We got FP's for Peter Pan, but since there was no wait we walked right on! The kids LOVED this ride...oh and me too. After that, my dear hubby offered to take the kids on the Carrousel and use the FP's for a second spin on Peter Pan so my friend Erin and I could ride the HM! What a guy! My friend had never been in the HM before! We both loved it...what a great ride, it's a classic! The timing was perfect, we met DH and the kids as they exited PP! This is the best day!:) We went to Mickey's Philharmagic and LOVED it! We did not enjoy it too much yesterday because we had the worst seats and we were all split up.:hmmm But today we were front and center and seated together and we all ADORE Philharmagic now!:) We took another spin on the Tea Cups, LOL.:dazed Erin and her son and my DH and 2 DS's lined up for the Grand Prix Raceway, and I took my little Snow White to "Storytime with Belle", while we waited for them. This was so cute, just perfect for a little girl!
Again, perfect timing-- we met up at the exit of the raceway simultaneously! We rode the TTA, so relaxing...we all like it! We saw there was no wait for Space Mountain, so my friend Erin and I rode while DH took the kids on Buzz Lightyear, again...what a guy!:heart I hadn't gone on SM in 10 years! It was a blast!

It was 1:40 now and we decided to leave the MK to make our 2:40 PS(late lunch) at the Whispering Canyon in the WL. We got to the boat dock just as a boat pulled up, so we hopped on. Well, here is the end of our good timing for today.:hmmm The boat went at a snail's pace and stopped at Ft. Wilderness first. We FINALLY got to the WL it took sooo long it was ridiculous! By the time we ran from the dock through the lobby of the WL and got to the podium at WC it was 3:00!!:!:
I explained to the CM that we had the boat from **** and please could they seat us...he said no. I asked to see a manager he also said sorry, but no. Apparently the WC closes at 3 until they re-open at 5 for dinner. I could feel the tears starting to form, I mean we left the MK to come here, left with time to spare (or so we thought) and ran like maniacs to try this place and now we were tired and hungry and out of pixie-dust!:cry: We unanimously agreed we did NOT want to take the boat back to the MK, so we walked to the bus stop. We were going to take the MGM bus and catch a POP Cent bus from there, but 20 min. later and the only bus to show up at all was the AK. So, we hopped on.:dazed We arrived at the AK at 3:30, we headed straight for the Flame Tree...but THEY WERE CLOSED!:nooo: All the food places in the AK were closed, except the McDonald's place...great.:hmmm We had time to see the parade and ride Dinosaur, before the AK closed. BUMMER. I felt like I had lost a good portion of our day today, and was feeling like a Disney planner who planned it all wrong.:cry: However as we left AK we found Koda, Pocahontas, Stanley, Timon, and Rafiki! The kids were so excited and they got their coveted autographs and pics...so everyone was happy again. We headed back to POp Century and had a relaxing evening. We lounged by the Flower Pool and enjoyed some of the offerings at the Petals Pool Bar.:whistle: The kids had SO MUCH FUN in the pool...they didn't think the air was too chilly at all, I must be crazy, hahahaha.

[ajbdk5]

DAY THREE, 2/12/04:

I woke up and left a message for DisneyAnne, I was so excited to meet her today, I knew she was supposed to have checked in late last night. I said we'd be in the Pop food court around 9am, and I was looking all over for her-- I was so excited!:D Well, I figured she might not have gotten the message, or they were still sleeping, zzzzz. So I left her another one saying that we were headed to Blizzard Beach. We would park our belongings in the baby area, hopefully she would get the message and off we went. It was a beautifully warm day and we just love Blizzard Beach...couldn't wait to go! We headed straight for "Teamboat Springs"-- IMO this is the BEST ride in the park! Weeee!:laugh The kids had an absolute blast in the "Ski Patrol Training Camp" area...so many fun things to do there! DH took Kathleen back to the baby swim section and Erin and I took the boys on some of the bigger water slides. DH and Kathleen also enjoyed lazy river together...a sweet Daddy/Daughter time. We all rode Teamboat Springs again and the kids played some more in the ski camp area. We had, had enough watery fun for today and decided it was time to switch gears. We were getting packed up when I heard a voice call, "Amy?" I turned around and saw Anne! I screamed, "Anne!" and we hugged and laughed! Her kids are so cute! Our middle sons (the 6 year olds) had been pen-pals for a while and immediately took to each other and then took off for the small water slide!:love: I was thrilled to bits to finally meet her! Unfortunately her family had just arrived and mine was just leaving. So, we said we'd catch up with each other later that evening and said t.t.f.n.;)
We took the bus from BB to the Contemp where we then took the monorail to the MK. Our first spin on the monorail this trip and we all enjoyed it! We arrived at the MK and just outside the entrance was Max, King Louie,and Foulfellow...the kids just love getting autographs, and we had never seen Max before--he was great with the kids! We walked passed Tony's Town Square and I asked if they had any openings for dinner ( I had purposely planned no PS's for today), and they did! They could seat us at 7:10 just after Wishes, PERFECT! Then I'd call Anne afterwards, and we'd still have the rest of the eveing to catch-up and visit.
We arrived just in time to wacth Cinderella's Surprise Show...very good! We then headed to Adventureland and met Jasmine, Jafar, and the Genie! The kids were thrilled!:) We rode Aladdin's Magic Carpets--no wait! So, we rode it again, lol! We then rode PoC and the Jungle Cruise...still funny.:p It was almost 7:00 now so we headed to Main Street for Wishes. We stocked up , chocoholics that we are, on treats for later at the Bake Shop.:D
I was happy to buy the giant Mickey shaped rice krispie treat with chocolate ears, I held it like a trophy...I'm a weirdo, lol.

We loved Wishes...the show gave me goosebumps and teary eyes...what a perfect day, what a magical night...Ahhh... :)

We headed to Ton'ys where they supposedly have
"the besta spaghetti ina towna!" well they do!;) The kids had pizza, my friend and I split the calamari appetizer (crispily cooked to perfection) and the eggplant dinner (heavenly). Hubby had the meatballs and besta spaghetti. This dinner was surprisingly one of the best of our whole trip, the food was wonderful the service was great, and best of all we avoided the stampede to the busses after the fireworks.

After our leisurely and enjoyable dinner we caught the last bus back to Pop Cent. Our bus driver told us it was his first day, and he was very happy to serve us, what a nice man.

AAAACCCKKKKKK!!!!!! :nooo: :nooo: This nice man, this new Disney employee got us lost! We ended up on a strip of hotels and restaurants, in a forest, off the beaten path, nothing was recognizable, we were LOST ON A DISNEY BUS!!!:bandit The bus wasn't even half-full and we were all starting to get a little freaked out, he kept apologizing on the speaker, but it didn't help much.:nervous He was now trying to make up for the lost time and was driving at what hubby guessed was aroun 80mph!:nooo: It was wild, it was wacky, it was the Tower of Terror bus ride! We FINALLY made it in one piece back to POP. We were dazed and confused, lol.:whistle:

I called Anne, by now it must have been quarter to 10 or so, but there was no answer, so I left her a message so she would at least know I tried to locate her. We crashed in our beds, after a day at the water park-- and that bus ride...we were wiped out!
Nighty night!

[goofygal1975]

Wow, Ames, love all the magical things that happened for you guys!! Sounds so perfect!! I'm so glad you had such a good time...3 years is a long time to go with out WDW!! I can imagine how excited you guys were!! Can't wait to read more!!

The bus driver sounds a little :hmmm crazy!! What an experiance that was LOL glad you made it back safely!!

[BDavis932]

Amy~

Your trip sounds just perfect (with the exception of that bus driver!!!) Can't wait to read more!!

[ajbdk5]

DAY THREE, 2/13/04:

Sorry this is so long.

My friend Erin's DH arrived in late last night and would be spending the day with us. He had never been to WDW before! We headed to MGM Studios, because all the fellas in our group (big and small) were dying to see The Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular and ride Star Tours!;) So they got their chance today! We rode GMR, haven't been on that in 8 years, what a GREAT ride...no pun intended.:p walked right on, had the gangsta, very funny! We then walked right in for The Voyage of the Little Mermaid Show for Kathleen ...she LOVED it! Even the boys enjoyed it, until Ariel and Eric kissed at the end, hahahaha....boys! It was now time for Indy. The show, as usual, was terrific! This is a family favorite, for sure! Of course no show is complete without a gift shop exit, lol.:dazed I gave in and bought Brendan the Indiana Jones hat and a tee shirt....he begs really well. Declan was happy with a few Indy action figures,
--he's easy to please.;) We then got FP's for Star Tours. It was time for our lunch PS at the Sci-Fi Dine In Theater. I LOVE this place it is so cool!:) Everyone ordered your basic burgers and shakes (with glow in the dark ice cubes, of course;) ). The service was excellent, the food was great, the shakes were heavenly, and the old sci-fi movie clips were hysterically funny!:laugh Hard to believe those movies were ever actually scary to anyone, LOL.:laugh After our fun lunch we did Muppets 3D, I still love that one. Then on to Star Tours! With FP's and baby swap, somehow we all got to ride it twice! WooHoo! What luck! We headed over to Walt's Tribute, there were some VERY cool things in the exhibit!:) I really enjoyed looking at all of it, especially "Walt's office".:heart I was disappointed though when the movie started and Michael Eisner was doing the opening/narration. ICK!
Why wasn't Roy in this film speaking about his Uncle and Father?
Anyway, after that it was time for the Stars and Motor Cars Parade. I had never seen this one, and was very excited to. I taped the whole thing!:) I was really surprised when the Hercules cast came over to me!:whistle: Megara said, "Tell Tinkerbell's Hubby I said Hi-- wink, wink!" I was alittle surprised but promised to deliver the message. Got that Melvyn?;)
Hades set his fingers afire and dedicated the blazing spectacle to Dana!;) Wow, I don't know how, but they must have known DCers were in town this weekend, lol.:whistle:

After the parade we left MGM and hopped on the bus to the POLY to meet my DC FRIENDS! HOORAY!:) I stepped into the Ladies' room to freshen up and I recognized Laura (aurora's twin) ! I introduced myself and we talked for a second when Heather (goofygal) rounded the corner and introduced herself! YEA! This was so exciting! We hugged and laughed, we were all a little nervous, I think.;) This was gonna be great!:) We went to Ohana where I checked in. Everyone put the leis and hibiscus hair clips on to "set the Hawaiian mood", lol.:p Good sports, all of them!:D Heather and I officially introduced Brendan and Brandon (they had been pen-pals for a while now). They immediately hit it off, and were like long lost buds. Kim (iluvwdw) arrived next I ran and hugged her, it was so great to see her! I couldn't believe we were all finally here together! Cheryl (tiggerlover) and her DH came, then Anne and her cute Family with Mickaholic. Boy this is unreal, it's so exciting!:) Finally Joe (jwdj4lfe) and Maria (SillyMe). Now we were all present and ready to be seated! Anne passed out little bags to each family with goodies and name tags that she had made with our avatars on them, very nice. We were seated, but at separate tables!:hmmm When I made the PS 90 days ago, I had requested the King's Table and was assured that wouldn't be a problem.:madmad Oh well, the dinner was very good and we all tried a Lapu, Lapu.:whistle: Our server was very un-organized and extremely slow, but a good time was had by all. Oh, and our group was joined by a nervous and panting rubber chicken. He looked as if he had just seen a ghost...or a skewer, LOL.:p We took pity on him and dubbed him "Rubber Chicken, Official Mascot of the M&G" it was a moving ceremony. We hung out in the lobby of the POLY and signed a lot of postcards for you DCers that couldn't be with us.
We took pictures and decided to meet back in the Classic Concoctions Lounge before heading to P.I. When I finally got there Anne, Mickaholic, Maria and Joe and our new mascot were there. We had a nice visit. Cheryl and Heather were not up for P.I. that night and Kim called too, she was at the E.R.--- poor Eugene's back hurt him so much! Mickaholic left not long after, and as we visited some more, we laughed some more, so I got some "lava lamps" and we laughed even harder. Maria was cracking us up to pieces!:laugh The chicken got crazy-- Joe got SPICY...can't remember why though, lol.:whistle: And we had another round.:p By this time the POP people were wishing we would leave, it was midnight already and they were closing!:dazed We then walked back to our rooms, well except Maria--- I think Spicy Joe carried her...just kidding Maria, LOL!;) :p :laugh I didn't realize, until later, how very badly Anne wanted to do P.I. that night...SORRY ANNE! After many early mornings, much park-hopping, and now 2 beverages....I just couldn't swing it .:nervous Again, Anne, so sorry you were disappointed.
~I think we all fell right to sleep. I laughed out loud a few times before I fell asleep though, gosh we laughed our butts off tonight...what FUN!:laugh

Nighty Night!:)

[tinkerbell]

your trip report is soooo fun to read !!! oooo and that new bus driver getting lost ..wow what an experience!!!
Amy ..thank you for

"Tell Tinkerbell's Hubby I said Hi-- wink, wink!" I was alittle surprised but promised to deliver the message. Got that Melvyn?

It really tickled him when I read that to him ..and it brought tears to my eyes ..just to be thought of .. means so much .. dang it .. got tears on my keyboard now

[aurora'stwin]

Amy, great report so far! I really wished we had spent more time we you guys!! You are a hoot!

[ajbdk5]

DAY FOUR, 2/14/04 Valentine's Day!

I couldn't wait to meet up with my DC friends again, today!:)
I had made a PS for San Angel Inn at Epcot for lunch, and would meet up with them for dessert! We headed to EPCOT...FINALLY! We hadn't made it there yet this trip and I was so excited to finally go, I just love Epcot. We got FP's for Test Track. We rode the Maelstrom in Norway twice...no wait! The kids played on the huge Viking ship for a while then we headed to Mexico and the San Angel Inn.:love: It is a BEAUTIFUL place.:heart We had a wonderful lunch, service was great and so was the food. I had the combo plate, hubby had the nachos, and the kids had cheeseburgers. After lunch we checked out the Marketplace and rode the boat ride. It was time to head to the Garden Grille to meet up with my DC friends!:) It was pouring rain now, so we threw on our ponchos and ran.;) I got to the Garden Grille at 2:35, our PS was for 2:50 for the Ice Cream Social. I found Heather(goofygal) and her son in the waiting area near the podium. We looked around but couldn't spot any other DCers.
Joe(jwdj4lfe) found Heather and I and told us that everyone was in the food court downstairs.
They all came up to the Garden Grille, and said Park Hopper had been downstairs, dang...sorry I missed ya, PH!:dazed
We waited for a little while and were seated. I don't know who all sat with who but hubby and I sat with Heather and our kids and Anne's two boys. It was fun, the kids exchanged Valentine goodies and Dana had sent some too, very thoughtful. Chery(tiggerlover) also passed out some treats to our kids...so sweet.:love: The ice cream concoctions were out of this world! YUM! The Farmer characters were great with the kids, too. Our waitress was really rushing us though, and took away my waffle cone, half-eaten, right out from under me.
:hmmm What-ever! Anyway, after the frenzied but delicious Ice Cream Social, My group took off with only 15 min. to spare on our Test Track FP's! Test Track was fun! Weee!

We met up in the U.K. with my friend Erin and her family. We checked out France and saw the movie, "Impressions de France". Since it was Valentine's day, the French CM sang "La vie en rose" (sp?) to our waiting group..Oui, oui, it was tres romantique!:love:
All I can say is if you have not seen this, you must make time to do so on your next trip to Epcot! This film was BREATH-TAKING! The beautiful music, and the awesome sights, it was like a religious experience, really! Spectacular! As we left France it was pouring AGAIN! We headed to America and watched th American Adventure Show, this was great too!:) I asked a CM if Spectromagic would still be on tonight at the MK and she said probably not.:nervous It was really coming down now, and I wanted to meet the DCers at Pecos Bill's in the MK!:nervous
We made a mad dash for the Pop Cent. bus and headed back to the resort to dry off. When we got back to Pop I called Anne's romm to see if they had returned, no answer. I called her cell phone but gor her voicemail. Dang! Were they still in the MK in the rain? Was Spectro back on? I didn't know where my posse was! We stayed at Pop Century, in the lounge/food court area. I thought with all that rain surely the group would come walking in at any moment. Oh well...we were so tired anyway we turned in and went to sleep. Zzzzz.

[crystalrp]

LOVE LOVE LOVE your trip report! It sounds like everything (almost) was so magical. Boy, I wish I could have been there, but reading these trip reports really makes me feel like I was! (almost) MORE MORE!! :)