Quantcast Aaron's Surprise Week-Long Birthday Trip
 
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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Indian Trail, NC
    Posts
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    Talking Aaron's Surprise Week-Long Birthday Trip

    Sunday 3/29

    As planned, we woke up a little after 5am Sunday. After getting all our last minute stuff together and downstairs, we headed in to wake Aaron. We wished him a Happy Birthday and then asked him if he wanted to know what his surprise was. Of course he did. "We're going to Disney World" we said. "Why?" was his first half-awake response (it cracked us up). Within 10 minutes he was beyond excited, running around the house saying how he was going to see Mickey and Goofy and Donald and Minnie.

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...&id=1632977882

    Our plan was to be on the road by 6:00am and for once we were right on! We were out of our development by 6:09 which when you consider how long it took to get Aaron in the car and then let Bill run back into the house to potty etc. was right on time!

    Whenever we're on a trip to Disney my mother wants us to text her every step of the way, something I'm used to from the past 3 years at least, so it wasn't unusual at all for her to ask the same of us this time. Every time we hit a new interstate or a new state we'd text her. This is worth mentioning for later...

    About 30 miles before we hit I4 Aaron starting saying he was hungry, so we stopped for lunch at a McDonald's in Palm Coast. My mother sent me a text that was nearly frantic "Where are you now??". This was because we had planned to arrive around 2:00 and it was a few minutes after 2:00 when we had stopped (a few unplanned stops had us behind a bit), or so I had thought. I sent her a text that we had stopped for lunch then another when we hit I4 and when we arrived on property as usual.

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...&id=1632977882

    We quickly found a parking spot at ASMo and headed in to see just how much quicker our "online check-in" experience would be. We found the kiosk to check in and stood in line (which was funny because there was no line for regular check-in). Suddenly my mother comes up behind me "You just HAD to stop for lunch didn't you??". I was completely surprised. I had no idea that they had planned to show up to surprise Aaron (and us) for his Birthday. We were thrilled!

    After getting checked in (which was honestly quicker than the normal process) we headed over to the room to quickly unpack, then to grab our picture at "our spot" and then head over to the Magic Kingdom.

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    Though we arrived at 5:00, the "parkers" were still out (though there were spots up front as we saw as we passed on the tram) so we ended up back in Daisy 32 (wayyyy in the back by the speedway).

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    We hopped the tram to the TTC where I attempted to find Guest Services and get Aaron's birthday gift card (as everyone had told me I needed to do). We asked one Cast Member where I'd do this and after standing with his mouth agape staring at the ticket booths and looking back and forth he finally said we'd do it at the park. Because everyone had insisted there was nowhere to do this once we left the TTC I decided to ask someone else. We were told to head to any ticket booth. The lines were huge so we gave up, decided just to head to the Magic Kingdom and then boarded the gold monorail over to the Magic Kingdom.

    I immediately found Guest Services outside the gate and was quickly helped to get Aaron's card.

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    Our first stop was to the Chapeau where we picked up Aaron's "Happy Birthday" hat and got it embroidered. Bill picked up a new Grumpy hat and I a Tink hat. Then we were off to Tomorrowland and the TTA.

    While on the TTA we spotted Buzz over by the Carousel of Progress and hopped in line. Unfortunately after a few minutes of waiting Aaron's little fear of characters (which started two trips ago) started to rear it's head so we stepped out of line and into stand-by for Buzz's Space Ranger Spin. The queue was short, maybe a 10 minute wait and we were on. The photos taken were just hilarious so I had to pick up two sets (one for us and one for my parents).

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    At this point it was a little after 6:00. We had ADRs at The Plaza for 6:40 so we figured we'd head over and get checked in. After over an our wait (they were having issues - even the manager came out as a result) we were seated.

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    Our server, Carlos (?), was very nice and accommodating. I had no idea just how tiny The Plaza was was our first visit) though. The food was very good. I had the Grilled Chicken and Strawberry Salad which was yummy although I think the dressing was a little overpowering for it. Aaron had the PBJ with the tomato soup for the appetizer. He ate the entire bowl of soup and barely touched the sandwhich. My mother and step-father each had the cheeseburger and said it was yummy. Bill had the cheesesteak. Then it was time to bring out Aaron's surprise cake that my mother had ordered. It was a huge Mickey cake, covered in chocolate ganasch and filled with chocolate cake and mouse that was yummy!

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    After dinner we headed over to Fantasyland. We hopped onto It's a Small World, giving Bill a break from it. Aaron just loved riding with his Gringa and Grandpa. He was so happy and excited.

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    After IASW we headed over to Dumbo. Wishes was just getting ready to start as my mother and Aaron got in line to ride. Aaron apparently loved seeing the fireworks while he was in the queue with his Gringa.

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    After Dumbo we all took a ride on Cinderella's Carousel.

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    After the carousel we jumped into Phillharmagic just as it was seating, found great seats right in the center, and sat back to enjoy Bill's favorite attraction. After it was done we realized that we needed to let Aaron spend his birthday gift card. We headed toward the Emporium and though he was nearly asleep, he quickly found the remote controlled Wall-E that he'd seen on YouTube and we took it to the counter.

    By the time we hit the monorail Aaron was sleep in his stroller. This was ok though because it gave him just a little cat nap before we arrived back at the hotel where we knew his big Birthday Surprise was waiting for him.

    We walked into our room (6730 - first floor of Woody) and Aaron was surrounded by the wonderfully decorated boxes, balloons, and his birthday banner. He just loved opening all the gifts from the characters. It was a lot of fun!

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    After the fun it was time to get my parents back to the Boardwalk and get some groceries. At this point it was midnight and I was exhausted. I felt like I was sleep walking through the Winn Dixie as I shopped. I got back to the room a little before 1:00, hopped into bed with Aaron, and we all fell quickly asleep.
    "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
    Visited In: 1983, 1988, 1989 x2, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (passholder), 2007 (x2), 2008, 2009 (x2), 2010, 2011 (x2)

    Once You Go, You Know
    Visit the World you used to know...

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  3. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Indian Trail, NC
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    Default Day 2

    Monday - 3/30

    My parents had to get to the airport by noon so we had originally planned to head over to The Boardwalk for breakfast. At 9:00 my cell phone rang and I suddenly realized we had overslept a bit when I heard my mother's voice ask "Were you still asleep?" We changed our plans and instead they stopped by the room to hang out for a bit while we prepared for our day. After saying good-bye we got our things together and headed over to DHS for the day.

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    We arrived at DHS just before noon and immediately headed over to Toy Story Midway Mania. We figured we'd grab some Fast Passes and then do One Man's Dream and Playhouse Disney or whatever before it was our time to ride. Instead we arrived to find that the FPs were already gone for the day! Realizing we had little choice, we hopped into the stand-by queue which said there was a 50 minute wait.

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    I absolutely LOVED the queue of this attraction. It seemed Disney Imagineers really had a lot of fun with it and to us, it really was going back to the "old way" of doing things. So many new attractions of late had simply decorated queues, something that seemed so "non-Disney" to us, so this was really nice. Aaron loved it.

    Our 50 minute wait turned into nearly 90 minutes by the time we had boarded of course... something I wasn't all that surprised by.

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    We LOVED this ride. I wished the queue was shorter or there were FPs left so we could do it again and again. I just loved everything about it. Bill won of course though I was in the lead before the last game. Oh well. Aaron just rode along watching the fun. He was in awe.

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    After a quick stop in the little shop across from TSMM we headed to the Studio Catering Co. for some lunch. Bill and I had the pulled pork (which was yummy but could've used some more sauce) and Aaron had the macaroni and cheese (which was unbelievably yummy).

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    After lunch we decided to let Aaron play around in the HISTK play area. He'd never been in there so he was having a blast running in and out of all the tunnels and playing in the fountains. It was a great way to burn off some energy that had been wasted standing in a queue for so long.

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    Then it was time for some MuppetVision. This was not only a new attraction for Aaron but for Bill as well. Aaron really enjoyed it. Bill said it was cute but not near as good as Phillharmagic (I'd have to agree). As we exited MuppetVision I noticed that McQueen was out for a photo op. This was one character I was positive Aaron wouldn't be shy to meet. Boy was I right. He was soooo excited at the idea of getting to meet McQueen. When it was finally our turn to go up and say hi he was simply overjoyed at the fact that he was standing next to the REAL Lightning McQueen.

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    On a whim we headed over toward Playhouse Disney to see when the next show was. We managed to be 3rd in line and caught the 4:10 show. Aaron LOVED this. I'm not sure if it was the characters, the music or the fact that he was allowed to sit on the floor but he was happy as could be.

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    Next we headed over to One Man's Dream, something we absolutely love. Each time we go we explain to Aaron who Mr. Walt Disney was and why he's important and each time he seems to understand a little more that he's the man who created Mickey Mouse. This time I specifically wanted to see the new D23 exhibit. It wasn't anything special but I'm a proud day-one D23 member so it was neat to see.

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    We decided it was time to head back to the hotel at this point. It was a little after 5:00 and Aaron was showing some signs of being pretty sleepy. On our way we noticed Handy Manny and Quincy were out for a meet-and-greet with zero wait. Aaron didn't want to do this at all. He used to love the characters but all of a sudden it seems he's gotten a fear of them. Well maybe not a fear but an overwhelming shyness. Still, we got Manny and Quincy's autographs. Manny even customized it just for Aaron. Then we headed back to the tram and to our car.

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    After a quick dinner at the food court at ASMo, we headed over to the little playground next to the pool and let Aaron play for a bit. Then, after getting incredibly full of sand, we headed back to the room for a bath and got ready for bed.
    "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
    Visited In: 1983, 1988, 1989 x2, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (passholder), 2007 (x2), 2008, 2009 (x2), 2010, 2011 (x2)

    Once You Go, You Know
    Visit the World you used to know...

  4. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
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    Indian Trail, NC
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    Default Day 3

    Tuesday, March 31st

    This morning Aaron woke me around 7:30 raring to go. We decided to let Daddy sleep in for a bit and finally forced him out of bed about 2 hours later. We headed to the food court to get some breakfast and then hopped into the car to the TTC to head back to the Magic Kingdom for the day.

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...&id=1632977882

    The TTC was packed and the line for the monorail was longer than I expected. When we were let into the boarding area we noticed no one was waiting to be a co-pilot. I headed up to a group of CMs and asked "Can we be co-pilots?" The CM had some fun with me and we did the "I don't know can you?" thing back and forth until I finally realized what he was trying to get from me and said "MAY we be co-pilots?" Of course we were then allowed to queue up front. I have to admit, I absolutely LOVE the looks we get from people as we cruise by the huge crowds of folks waiting at each gate and up to the front. That "what makes them so special" look you know? The reason I find it so amusing is all you have to do is ask. There's nothing "special" about it.

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    When we arrived on Main Street I immediately noticed that the Mayor and Bea were out meeting folks. I of course had to stop to get the Mayor's autograph and a photo with him.

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    We headed over toward Adventureland and stopped to check the wait for the Jungle Cruise. It was at 45 minutes so we skipped it and headed into the Tiki Room. It was nice to see a good crowd of people for the show. The theater was completely full.

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    After the Tiki Room we headed toward POTC, fully expecting after seeing a full Tiki Room show that the wait would be at least an hour. Instead we were surprised to see only a 20 minute wait. We were even more surprised when we got into the queue and ended up waiting all of 5 minutes.

    We headed toward Frontierland and stopped to catch the Country Bear Jamboree. I was SOOOO happy to see what a good job they did of fixing this up during it's last refurb. The bears fur looked great, the sound was crisp and clear and everyone moved fine with no stuck eye lids. The only problem we caught was one bear's eyebrow was broken (as in hanging off). It made for some good giggles at times honestly.

    After the Jamboree we stopped at a cart to get some hot dogs. While waiting in line, the Frontierland players came out to entertain. It's so sad to see just how little attention people pay to these incredibly talented people these days. I feel the same when I see people walking by (and in front of/around) the Dapper Dans. Just stop and take in what's in front of you people... there'll be time to get on Big Thunder!

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    Anyway... we then headed over to check the wait for the Haunted Mansion. While the sign said 20 minutes, the line that twisted 4 times around outside the gate was a good sign that it was wrong so we skipped it and instead heading through Fantasyland toward Tomorrowland where we hopped on the TTA (Aaron's favorite). We ended up riding twice thanks to a lovely woman and her husband (who both worked the attraction together) and Aaron was just so happy.

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    After the TTA we headed into the Carousel of Progress. Another nice cleanup/refurb was done here since we'd last been. Rover's hair was nicely combed and shiney and all the animatronics moved fluidly and no longer had stuck mouths or eyes.

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    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...&id=1632977882

    After COP Aaron wanted to do the TTA one last time so we hopped on, joking again with the woman who let us go twice before that her husband had sent her down to work the queue instead of the exit because she had allowed us to ride twice.

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    After our 3rd round of the TTA it was time to head back to the hotel for a break and a nap for the boys. On our way out we saw a huge storm coming with lightning flashing in the distance. By the time we made it to our hotel the weather channel was reporting a severe storm so we were happy we'd left before the mad rush when the rain began. It poured for about a half hour and then stopped... typical Florida storm.

    After Aaron was up from his nap we headed over to the Food Court for some dinner and then back to the Magic Kingdom for the night. The 8ish showing of Spectromagic was going to be starting soon so Mainstreet was getting packed. We decided to park the stroller and hop on the Walt Disney Railroad for a trip around the park.

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    When we made it back to Mainstreet, Spectro had just started. We found a little corner, put Aaron up on Daddy's shoulders and stopped to watch. Then came some rain. It was just a light rain but out came all the ponchos and umbrellas. Come on people you get wetter on Splash Mountain!

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    After Spectro we headed into the Emporium to pick Aaron up this Pirate light that he saw at one of the stands during the parade (we didn't have cash) and hunt for a T-Shirt my mother had gotten that I wanted so badly. It was a gray shirt with the monorail on it and "Por favor mantengase alejado de las puertas." I just had to have it. Sure enough we found it and Aaron's light and then headed over to Tomorrowland where we hopped on the TTA (again and again). This worked out well though because on our second spin around Wishes had just started. Neat perspective on some of the show from up there.

    After our 5th trip on the TTA of the day we decided to head over to the Tomorrowland Speedway where, we had noticed on the TTA, there was no queue. This time I got to take Aaron for a drive while daddy took a break and shot some pictures.

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    After the speedway we stopped for another quick ride on Buzz and then headed out for the night.
    "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
    Visited In: 1983, 1988, 1989 x2, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (passholder), 2007 (x2), 2008, 2009 (x2), 2010, 2011 (x2)

    Once You Go, You Know
    Visit the World you used to know...

  5. #4
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Indian Trail, NC
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    Default Day 4

    Wednesday April 1st

    Epcot Day! Yay! For some reason I just couldn't wait to get on Spaceship Earth this trip. It's not like I hadn't been on it hundreds of times before but it was almost like the trip just couldn't start for me without it. So... we started there. I was shocked (and thrilled) to find not only was there a line but the queue filled both sides of the entrance and took about 20 minutes to get through. It was of course worth it though.

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    After sending our photos and videos to my mother we headed over and grabbed Fast Passes for Test Track, then jumped onto Ellen's Energy Adventure just as the pre-show was starting. To be honest, throughout the attraction I kept looking for any sign of what the month-long refurb had done and saw nothing. Maybe they just cleaned it up a bit I'm not sure, but I saw nothing.

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    As we exited Energy we heard the sound of the Jammitors (or the Jamming Gardners as they were calling themselves this time) in the distance. We headed over and caught the last bit of their show which was entertaining as always. We decided to stop for some lunch at Sunshine Seasons and then hop onto Living With The Land.

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    When we got of LWL we realized it was exactly an hour before our boarding time for Test Track. That meant we could grab FPs to Soarin' while we were there so we did, then headed over to Nemo.

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    When we left Nemo we noticed the sky was getting a little ominous. We had 2 minutes until our FPs were good for Test Track so we picked up the pace a bit just incase some rain was coming that was going to stop the ride.

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    Sure enough just as we exited the building we got caught in a downpour. After it let up a bit we decided to trek toward the exit for a break. By the time we made it to Innoventions it was pouring, HARD. We stopped to wait by one of the balloon ball vendors for about 20 minutes until the rain let up again. She was super though. She had an extra kid's size poncho someone had left and she gave it to Aaron to keep him dry. Once the rain had slowed we made our trek to the parking lot. By the time we made it to our car, the rain had stopped and the sun was out. Typical Florida storm again.

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    After we all took a really long nap (we didn't wake up until after 8:00) we headed over to the food court for dinner. At 9:00 Bill realized it was time for "LOST" so we headed back to the room. I got Aaron into his swim trunks and me into my swim suit and we headed to the pool to let daddy watch his show in peace. After a few minutes in the big pool we headed over to the little pool where Aaron stayed for the next hour. A little after 10:00 we headed back to the room, meeting daddy half way.
    "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
    Visited In: 1983, 1988, 1989 x2, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (passholder), 2007 (x2), 2008, 2009 (x2), 2010, 2011 (x2)

    Once You Go, You Know
    Visit the World you used to know...

  6. #5
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
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    Default Day 5

    Thursday April 2nd

    Because we had plans for the evening, unlike every other day, we had to get everyone up early and over to Animal Kingdom so we could get everything in we wanted before we had to leave. Our first stop was Finding Nemo The Musical. The last time we did AK we waited in line for an hour for the show only to be told it was cancelled due to some unresolveable problem that occurred during the previous show. We were very pleased when we caught the queue just as they were filtering it down toward the doors and were just a few families back. We picked a seat against the center platform about 5 rows back from the stage.

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    WOW! That's all I can say about this show. It was truly Broadway quality and the performers were incredible. We really enjoyed this and Aaron was hypnotized the entire time.

    After the show we headed over toward Dinoland and caught a ride on Triceratop Spin.

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    While Bill stopped for a break I headed over to Dinosaur to check the height requirement. I was pretty sure it was 44" and Aaron wouldn't be able to ride (he's 41") but wanted to double check. Much to my surprise I found I was wrong and the limit was 40". The wait was 45 minutes so I checked the FP return time. Wonderfully the FP return time was also 45 minutes so I quickly grabbed 3 passes and we headed over to Restaurantasauras for some lunch.

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    After lunch we hopped into the FP queue for Dinosaur. Once inside we realized the wait for stand-by was just as short as the FP queue but we were sure Aaron would only go once anyway so we continued. Aaron did surprisingly well... much better than either of us expected. He was waving to the Dinosaurs and smiling... until it was over at which point he started to cry (I think just because the adrenaline rush had hit him).

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    There were really only two more things we wanted to hit this time before it was time to go, It's Tough to Be a Bug and Maharajah Jungle Trek. We headed into Discovery Land and jumped into the queue for the "Bug Show". Aaron enjoyed it. We weren't sure how it was going to go but he did great.

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    After the show we headed over to Asia and to the Maharajah Trek. It was nap time for most of the animals but we got a good view of many of them which was nice.

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    Then it was time to head out and back to the room to get cleaned up for our evening plans (and Bill's surprise). All Bill knew was that we were doing something together that night. The sitter arrived right on time at 4:00 and we were off to Disney Quest, a first for us both!

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    It was busy but not packed by any stretch. We were able to pretty much walk onto each of the larger attractions and play anything we wanted. It was fun but I don't know that it's something we'll do again, at least not without Aaron. Our favorite was definitely the Astroblasters. That was neat. We also really liked the Pirates of the Caribbean attraction. The one thing I was looking forward to most was the Space Mountain attraction and of course we stupidly decided to try it out RIGHT after we ate dinner. Something that didn't work well for either of us. After a break outside to get some air and not be nauseated we headed back in for another stop at the Astroblasters and some gaming before it was time to head back to Aaron.
    "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
    Visited In: 1983, 1988, 1989 x2, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (passholder), 2007 (x2), 2008, 2009 (x2), 2010, 2011 (x2)

    Once You Go, You Know
    Visit the World you used to know...

  7. #6
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Indian Trail, NC
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    Default Day 6

    Friday April 3rd

    We woke to a thunder storm that didn't let up until a little after 10:00. Once it did we scooted over to the food court to grab some quick breakfast. After breakfast it was time for Epcot again.

    We headed over to Imagination and as usual walked right on. After a ride with Figment we went into one half of Innoventions where there was little that really caught Aaron's attention. The fire truck and the video games were a big hit though.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    After Innoventions we decided that though we'd only been there for awhile, we'd head back to the resort for a nap. First we stopped to do another round of SSE for Aaron (he just loves it).

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...&id=1632977882

    After our nap we headed back to Epcot and walked the World Showcase. We headed into Mexico and did a quick ride on El Rio (or whatever it's called now) and then let Aaron pick up and color a mask at the Kidcot Fun stop. He was only half interested.

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...&id=1632977882

    Can someone please tell me what's up with the zombies over in the model village by Germany?? At first I thought my husband was kidding but sure enough the little clock tower struck, the people's eyes turned red and their arms went into the air. Very freaky stuff. There's gotta be a story there I'm missing.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...&id=1632977882

    Anyway... we headed toward the American Adventure and saw the next show wasn't until 8:15. It was about 7:30 so instead I forced Bill into line for a funnel cake! MmmmMmm! I swear the line here was longer than most we'd seen all week for attractions.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    At 8:00 we headed in to check out the exhibits in the American pavilion and then decided that a 45 minute show was probably a bit much for Aaron to sit through so instead we headed around to the other countries and then back into Future World again where we rode SSE one last time and then headed out for the night.
    "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
    Visited In: 1983, 1988, 1989 x2, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (passholder), 2007 (x2), 2008, 2009 (x2), 2010, 2011 (x2)

    Once You Go, You Know
    Visit the World you used to know...

  8. #7
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
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    Indian Trail, NC
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    Default Day 7

    Saturday April 4th

    Wow... our last day already! For such a long week it has sure flown by quickly! After taking our time getting up at the resort we headed straight over to the Magic Kingdom. We figured we'd skip breakfast and see how long before we were hungry instead. We hopped onto the train at Mainstreet Station and headed over to Toontown Fair where Aaron checked out Mickey's place.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    After checking out everyone's places, Daddy took Aaron for a trip on Goofy's Barnstormer.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    After the ride, we let Aaron run around a bit in Donald's Boat and the attached play area to burn off some energy.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    We realized we were getting hungry so we headed over to Tomorrowland and to the Lunching Pad for two turkey legs, a filled pretzel and some soda.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    Then of course it was time for a ride on the TTA. After the TTA we grabbed Fast Passes for Buzz and then took a spin on the Carousel of Progress.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

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    We still had some time left to kill so we hopped back on the TTA (Aaron just can't get enough of it) and then jumped into the queue for the Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor. I decided to send in a joke this time just to see what would happen. "Why did the mouse cross the road? Because he wasn't a chicken." (ha ha ha ha) A few minutes later I got a text message back from Mike Wasowski that he loved my joke. We weren't sure if that meant it would be in the show or not but it was cute to get the text regardless. Sure enough when Mike's nephew came out to do the submitted jokes, Jennifer from Charlotte, NC was up first with her joke. Woot! I'm so easily pleased.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    After MILF (tee hee) it was time to jump on Buzz one last time. Aaron did rather well this time (with daddy's help of course) and as usual had a blast (hah get it? blast!).

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    At this point it was 3:00 so we decided to head out and back to the room for a break. On our way we caught the new parade and stopped to watch.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    After a nap and dinner for everyone, we headed back over to the Magic Kingdom, once again riding as co-pilots on the monorail. When we arrived Aaron noticed there were Cast Members out with hula hoops and bubbles. While daddy took a quick break, Aaron played and got crazy on Mainstreet.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    We made our way back toward Frontierland and over to Liberty Square for our first ride on the Haunted Mansion. Aaron was excited, then scared, then excited. He did so good we bought him an HM pin for his very own lanyard.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    After a stop in Fantasyland on It's a Small World we checked the wait for Peter Pan's Flight (too long) and grabbed some ice cream and took a break near Ariel's Grotto.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    It was nearly time for Wishes to start so we headed over to Pooh and grabbed Fast Passes. Then we hopped onto the Tomorrowland Speedway for a ride. Aaron drove the whole way this time and I must say, for not being able to see the road, he did very well.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo...eat=directlink

    As expected, Wishes had begun while we were just pulling in from our ride around the track so we quickly jogged over to Peter Pan assuming there'd be little wait. We hopped in line and waited about 45 minutes. It would've been a 20 minute wait but Wishes ended and everyone who had Fast Passes for any time within the hour allowed got in line. The FP line stretched out of the building so of course they made those of us in standby wait.

    After PPF it was time to use our Pooh Fast Passes. We headed over and jumped right on.

    Then it was time to say good-bye. It was late and we were all exhausted, not to mention having to prepare to pack, load and drive 9 hours the next day.
    "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
    Visited In: 1983, 1988, 1989 x2, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (passholder), 2007 (x2), 2008, 2009 (x2), 2010, 2011 (x2)

    Once You Go, You Know
    Visit the World you used to know...

  9. #8
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
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    Indian Trail, NC
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    Default Final Thoughts

    All in All it was a great trip. I did have some pet peeves though that I just had to share...

    1) Parents who let their children run around in the queue, stepping into, falling against and spraying the people in front of them with their spray bottles.

    2) Whoever our Mousekeeper was just flat our stunk. We looked around the resort at all the windows of the other wings that had towel art and cute little things done like arrangement of toys on the beds or in the windows. Our Mousekeeper did NOTHING and that was even with the very obvious fact that it was Aaron's birthday (balloons etc. everywhere). So... in turn... we did not tip. I don't tip because you did your job... I tip because you did a GOOD job. All this guy did each day was pull the sheets and covers up and tuck them in, and leave clean towels (sometimes not even removing the dirty ones we had placed neatly in a pile on the floor).

    3) Being "parked" at 6:30pm then walking up to the TTC to see row upon row of empty spaces while we're back in Daisy (near the track).

    4) Cast members cutting off a family with a stroller (this happened to us at least 4 times) with a cart or train of EMVs and cause us to nearly run into them.

    That said, there were some wonderfully magical moments as well. Many cast members stopped to wish Aaron a happy birthday and even on the days after we had a few here and there who would interact with him, giving him stickers etc. Unfortunately, it seems these days, the better more energetic CMs are hard to find. So many of them just looked like they hated their jobs or hated the people they had to deal with all day. I miss the days when a CM's job was to put a smile on everyone's face, regardless of their own mood.

    Looking forward... while we enjoyed our week long stay I have to admit we got a bit Disney'd out. While I think we'll do an extended stay again in the future, I think we'll limit our days in the parks to 4 or 5 and then spend the other days doing the myriad of other things you can do on property, maybe hitting Sea World etc. too. It was great to have a real vacation and get away for that long but on the same note, when it was over, it felt like it had gone by as quickly as our 2 day trip in January. We're happy to be back none-the-less.
    "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
    Visited In: 1983, 1988, 1989 x2, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (passholder), 2007 (x2), 2008, 2009 (x2), 2010, 2011 (x2)

    Once You Go, You Know
    Visit the World you used to know...

  10. #9
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    Oct 2005
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    Default

    i have only gotten through day 1 so far..but i have to comment on the gifts for your son!! those boxes and the whole setup was really cool!!! is it something you did yourself? or was it from like disney florist or something? so very cool!! i love it!!
    *bRiTTaNy*
    35 trips to WDW already...
    May 2012 - Daughters first trip - one bedroom Villa at Wilderness Lodge
    Sept 2012 - Pirate room at CBR
    Dec 2014 - SSR -second daughters first trip and my older daughters 5th Birthday!!

  11. #10
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    Connecticut
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    How fun! Fabulous pictures. What a great surprise and happy birthday for Aaron. Thanks for sharing.
    Sherri
    Next: Aulani Celebration 10/2018 (50th)
    Past Stays: Contemporary, GF, Poly, BC, POP, POR, Dolphin, AKL Kidani, BLT
    1990 August Honeymoon- GF
    Delighted Disney Return Guest since 1981, DVC (BLT) since 2014


  12. #11
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    Jan 2001
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    What a wonderful trip for all of you - especially Aaron! Thanks for taking the time to share with us your adventures for the week - I really enjoyed reading each one of them!!!
    Carol (aka KylesMom)
    INTERCOT Staff: Mousellaneous & Trip Reports
    Last Trip: ICOT 15
    Happy A/P Holder 2002 - 2011

  13. #12
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    Jun 2002
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    I really enjoyed your pictures. That birthday cake looked awesome.
    1973,1978 (2x) Off Site
    1980 CONTEMPORARY
    1981 POLY
    1983 OFFSIGHT
    1990 POLY
    2000 POLY
    2001 BOARDWALK
    2002 WL
    2003 GROSVENOR DTD
    2003 WL
    2004 POFQ
    2005 POP
    2006 POP
    2007 WL
    2008 Polynesian
    2009 POFQ
    2010 AKL
    2011 AKL
    2012 CBR
    2013 CBR March & December

  14. #13
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    Mar 2009
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    Indian Trail, NC
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    Quote Originally Posted by DizNee143 View Post
    i have only gotten through day 1 so far..but i have to comment on the gifts for your son!! those boxes and the whole setup was really cool!!! is it something you did yourself? or was it from like disney florist or something? so very cool!! i love it!!
    It was a package from the Disney Florists. Here's a link:
    http://www.ftdfloristsonline.com/wal...r-Bell/display
    "All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney
    Visited In: 1983, 1988, 1989 x2, 1991, 1992, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006 (passholder), 2007 (x2), 2008, 2009 (x2), 2010, 2011 (x2)

    Once You Go, You Know
    Visit the World you used to know...

  15. #14
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    Great Report. Sounds like you had a great time. I can't think of a better way to celebrate a birthday. Thanks for sharing.

  16. #15
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    That cake and those gifts were soooo adorable!! I can't wait to take children someday. What a wonderful gift to give to your son. He is going to remember his birthday forever and he will never doubt how much you love him!
    Next trip - Sep29-Oct4! Free QS dining at POP. First trip with both kids. (6th total visit)
    "In dreams you will lose your heartache"

  17. #16
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    What a great trip! Your family created lots of wonderful memories of Aaron's birthday celebration! How wonderful that your mom was able to join in the fun even though it was brief!
    Linda aka: Faline
    INTERCOT Staff: Vacation Planning,Trip Reports and Disney Camping
    [email protected]

  18. #17
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    Feb 2009
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    Wow! What an amazing trip report and great pictures.

  19. #18
    Join Date
    Feb 2001
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    West Virginia
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    Thumbs up

    Thanks for the great Report & Pics!
    ºoº David, Lisa, Aaron and Allison
    98-PO
    00-CB & ASMo
    01-Swan
    02-CS
    03-POR
    04-POP
    05-PO / CR
    07-PO / CR
    08-ASMu
    09-AKL
    10-CR, CS & PP DL
    11-NB DLP & SSR
    12-BLT & BLT
    13-GC DL & BLT
    15-Aulani & BLT
    16-ASMu & GC DL
    17-BWI, THV, CSR, BLT
    18-BLT, OKW, OKW, CBR, GF & BLT

  20. #19
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    Jul 2008
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    Whoa! Where did your mom (I think that's your mom?) get that t-shirt with the monorail on it and the español?? I want one!!
    Next trip - Sep29-Oct4! Free QS dining at POP. First trip with both kids. (6th total visit)
    "In dreams you will lose your heartache"

  21. #20
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
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    Thanks for the great report and great pictures you shared.
    Vince
    aka. Vizsla

    INTERCOT Staff: Mousellaneous and Disney Vacation Club

    DVC Member 10/11/04

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