Dad's Birthday Bash Travel and Day 1

[TinkiTime1989]

Dad’s Birthday Bash

Cast of Characters:

My Mom: Marla, 44- Looking forward to a break from the real world.

My Dad: Don, 45- Hasn’t been to WDW since June of 2007. Ready to go back!

Me: Erin, 19- College sophomore, looking forward to escaping to my happy place before really diving into the school year.

Hotel- Pop Century Standard View Room w/ Free Dining

The Trip
August 28- September 1
Mom and Dad have 3 day park hoppers and I have an Annual Pass.


Thursday, August 28: I drove the 2 hours home from school last night. I had my suitcase packed a couple of weeks ago so everything was ready. Had my parents let me, I would have been in the car driving down as soon as I got the suitcase in the car. Even after a full day of classes I wasn’t tired enough to go to bed. However, after a full day of work Mom and Dad were tired so it was off to bed we went. I don’t think I slept a wink! My alarm clock went off at 4:15 a.m. and I quickly took a shower and threw some last minute items in a bag. I was ready to go. Mom and Dad were right behind me. We said goodbye to the dogs and were out of the house by 5:15. A quick stop at the gas station and we were on our way! The drive down was relatively uneventful. We pulled into the Pop Century parking lot around 12:30 p.m. and checked in. We were in the 70s so Dad asked if there was any way we could get a room in the 50s, his favorite. One quick phone call regarding a “birthday gentleman who would like to stay in the fifties” and magically we had a new room ready for us! Dad got his birthday button and Terry printed out our dining ressies for us since I had left our list at home. Terry handed us the reservations and asked if we wanted to go ahead and get our tickets for the Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue tonight. There goes Dad’s surprise! But wait, Dad looked at me and said “What’s that?” He obviously never paid attention to Mom and I when we were planning things. So the surprise is still intact, however I decided I couldn’t hold it in any longer (it was hard enough keeping it from him for 4 months!) and told him what it was. He was very happy with my dining choice! Since we hadn’t eaten yet we walked on over to the Everything Pop Dining area and grabbed some lunch. Mom had a double bacon cheeseburger with fries while Dad had a blackened fish sandwhich and I had nachos. Everything was very good and soon we were off to our room, 2449. Our view wasn’t much, just the run-down Golden-Years section, but we didn’t care, we were at Walt Disney World! After settling into our room we were off to Downtown Disney to do some shopping before our 7:15 Hoop-Dee-Doo. By 5:30 we headed back to the room to freshen up and change clothes before dinner. A quick drive over to Fort Wilderness and we were ready. We were ushered into Pioneer Hall promptly at 7:15. We had category 3 seating in the balcony. Our table was on the right at the far end, basically right above the stage. It was perfect! We had great interaction from the cast. The food was also wonderful! Dad loved the all-you-care-to-eat ribs and mom and I loved the fried chicken! The show was a lot of fun. Once the show was over we decided to make a quick run to Wal-Mart to buy water and a few other things. We were in bed by 11 and ready to hit the parks in the morning!

Friday, August 29: We began our morning at AK, a park which we had orignally decided to skip (we later found out that Michael Phelps had been at the MK that morning, why did we change our minds!?). We had never done any of the shows at AK so we started our morning with The Festival of the Lion King. Wow. I can’t believe we had never taken the time to see it. The show was amazing. We all walked away in awe. Next we were off to see Finding Nemo the Musical. While it was cute, we all agreed that FotLK was better. On a whim we decided to see how long the wait for Dinosaur was and were surprised to see 5 minutes posted. We hoped in line and were quickly strapped into a Time Rover on a journey into the prehistoric world! Once we safely returned to the present-day we decided to head to the MK. For lunch we headed over to Columbia Harbor House. I was craving a Starboard Deck Sandwich. However when we got there it was no longer on the menu! The Anchors Aweigh Sandwich wouldn’t work for me as I am allergic to Tuna and the Lighthouse wasn’t an option either as I’m not a fan of hummus. Fish and chicken it was. Dad also got the fish and chicken combo and Mom had the BLT Salad. For dessert we had two apple crisps and one chocolate cake. We were all super full and I don’t think any of us finished our meal. We took our desserts back to the room for snacks later. After lunch we rode the Haunted Mansion, had a great time with the Country Bears, and visited Captain Jack Sparrow himself on Pirates of the Caribbean. We also watched Dream Along with Mickey for the first time and caught the Disney Dreams Come True parade. Back to the hotel to freshen up and we were off to the Polynesian for dinner at ‘Ohanas. It took less time than we originally thought it would to get there and we arrived for our dinner about 50 minutes early. We walked around the resort for a while taking in the ambiance and then went to the Tambu Lounge. Dad had a Michelob Ultra while I had a Lava Smoothie. Soon we were seated next to the fire pit and our feast began. The food was good, however some of the flavors weren’t my favorite. The steak was very good. Our dinner was timed prefectly and right as our desert came out (Bread Pudding for my parents, Pineapple and Caramel for me since I’m allergic to bananas) Wishes started. We had a great view and that was the perfect ending to a great day!

Next Up: DHS and EPCOT!

[Lizzie]

Thanks for the report. I always forget about the Hoop Dee Doo I think my Dad would love it too.

[laward32]

Sounds like you had a great first day. Thanks for sharing. Hope to read more soon.

[tinkerbell04]

Sounds like a great start, I can't wait to hear more. Thanks for sharing!

[iheartmickey]

Sounds like an awesome start to your vacation! Except now I'm hungry!

Can't wait to read the rest!

[ChipnDaleGal]

So far it sounds like a wonderful trip for you three. I am glad that your dad enjoyed his birthday show of Hoop Dee Doo. Thanks for reporting.

[wilshade]

Nice start and a great story! Thanks for sharing!

[pdrlkr]

Thanks for the report!

[faline]

We arrived at Disney World the same day! It certainly was hot, wasn't it?!

I love the Hoop de Doo! Sounds like your trip is off to a terrific start!

[TiggeRia]

Thanks for posting--sounds like a great first two days! And you make me hungry thinking about the Hoop-de-Doo and O'hanas-two of my favorite places! Thanks for adding in the pictures, too. They really add to the report!