Newbie and Last Family Trip

[Ramblingman]

So it begins...

Okay, I have delayed too long already. Thanks to those who followed my pretrip report and welcome to those who are just coming aboard. It’s way past time to do this trip report. We’ve been a bit busy since we got back with all the getting back in the swing of things (sadly). Life just seems to interfere sometimes when you just want to wallow in your memory of the last Disney trip.

Our day of departure finally arrived after a mostly sleepless night. Friday, May 20 was our day to drive down to the Kingdom and get checked into Shades of Green. We have never checked in the day before we do tickets, so this will be different for us. We have always stayed overnight at my mother’s house in Tampa and driven over very early in the morning, but this time we wanted to check in and have time to relax so we could start our Magic Kingdom day fresh.

The members of our party are myself and DW (50’s), DD (19), DS (21), and DS’s GF (23). GF has never been to a theme park before. She is a complete newbie to all things like this, so we are chomping at the bit to show her around and see it new through her eyes. We will have to be careful, because she is not good with large crowds, doesn’t like mascots or rides that go up off the ground or too fast. We will take it easy and not try to force her on anything she truly does not want to do.

While my DS goes to pick up GF, the rest of us drive a couple of exits down to our normal breakfast spot. With any road trip to Florida, our first stop is always Hardee’s for a biscuit, or as my DW calls them – sleeping pills. One biscuit with bacon, egg and cheese and she’s usually out until Tallahassee. We wait for DS and GF to arrive and get their breakfast.

We are getting an earlier start than I honestly thought we would, and the day is looking to be a great one. After eating, we drive across the street to gas up before hitting the road. This is where our first bit of magic happened.

We are driving two cars in case DS and GF have to leave early to return home. After gassing up my car, I walk to the other car to pay. He’s already pumping and is standing there with his legs spread apart about shoulder width. Something catches my eye on the ground and when I look down, directly halfway between his feet is a ticket. I asked him if he dropped it. He looked down and said he had never seen it.

I bent down and picked it up. It’s a one day pass to the Magic Kingdom with a picture of Donald Duck and the words, “Let The Memories Begin” on the side facing up. The ticket looks brand new even though it’s two days old and is at a gas station in Alabama about 40 miles from the Florida state line.

I get in the car and show it to DD and DW. “It’s fate, it's a sign,” I tell them. DD puts the ticket on the dash wedged between the AC knobs and the radio player. She loves it and it accompanies us on our trip (and more on this later, so don’t let me forget to tell you the rest).

Okay, that is enough for now. I’ll pick up with the story in a bit.

[faline]

Hope the rest of your drive goes well and you are soon in Disney World!

[T-Belle]

Sounds like a great start. I too love to take newbies to the world. It's fun to watch them morph into a Disney person. I remember when we took my DD's boyfriend. We were watching wishes after a fun day at MK and he asked "they do this EVERY night?"
Can't wait to read more of your trip.

[Ramblingman]

As we drive, we hook up my iPod and listen to Disney tunes for the trip, singing along with all the songs. Our favorites are the Disney Afternoon songs. We wore that tape out when the kids were young. They loved those songs. Rescue Rangers, Tale Spin, Gummiberry Juice – all of them are as great today as back then. I wish those shows were being shown still.

After crossing the state line, we pull over at the welcome station and take pictures in front of the Blue Angel plane and the Welcome to Florida sign. This is too funny, as we have traveled a whole 45 miles from our house. DD’s favorite pose is in the grass, right next to the sign that states, Keep Off The Grass. She got her dad’s sense of humor.

After driving awhile, we stop for gas and a bathroom stop. We had found some old lottery scratcher tickets while packing. They were over a year old but we figured why not try it and see if any are still good. To our surprise and good fortune, only one of them had expired. We had $62 in old winners to go with our $20 in newer ones. I had put aside some cash to buy scratchers on the drive down and back. It keeps my DW and DD occupied and happy. So, I did not have to put in any money this first time. We did tickets and purchased some drinks and shopped for stuff too.

My daughter found a shelf full of FSU stuff. She has always wanted to go to Florida State, and since I went there, we have lots of FSU stuff around our house. But, she is always on the lookout for new items.

While she was looking over the FSU things, I said well they surely have U of Florida things too, and looked on the other side. I told my daughter, “sure enough, there’s gator stuff here on this side.” She walked around and saw little stuffed gators, gator shaped backscratchers, and other stuff made from actual gators. She laughed and laughed at that one.

After driving past Tallahassee, we stopped for lunch at a Denny’s. They don’t have any close to where we live so it was different for us. We stopped about 2:30 and everyone was plenty hungry. I had the bacon cheeseburger, DW had the cowboy western burger, DD had cheese fries (she’s vegetarian), GF had nachos and DS had shrimp.

We hit the road again and as my wife sleeps in the back, my daughter keeps me company up front. We sing along to Disney songs and keep each other excited about getting to Orlando.

As we get closer, the excitement grows. The familiarity begins to sweep over us like the rising tide. We are back in our second home. Memories flood over each other as landmarks are spotted. The excitement peaks as we finally spot the Disneyworld sign.

We drive to Shades of Green to check in. When we get to the counter, we get another pleasant surprise. The girl who waits on us is the same girl who checked us in at 2 am in December 2009 on our last trip here. We begin asking how she is doing. She was pregnant then and working the night shift. She had a baby girl who is healthy and growing like a sprout now.

We were not sure if our rooms were going to be close together because the wife forgot to call and request it after making the reservations. However, they anticipated obviously and gave us adjoining rooms that have a door between them. How sweet of them to pay attention to the small details even when we don’t request it.

We are in one of the newer wings from the renovation they finished a couple of years ago. The rooms are nice but we actually prefer the rooms in the older wing. Those have a half wall that separates the beds from the sitting area. The newer rooms have no partition and seem just a bit smaller to me. They are still nice though.

It’s about 9 pm as we finish getting settled in. Everyone is hungry so we head down to one of the restaurants for dinner. Shades of Green has the Garden Gallery and Mangino's Bistro for restaurants. They also have a bar near the pool named Evergreens. In the same building as Evergreens is an arcade room and a fast food service counter that is open when Evergreens is closed.

We choose Mangino's. I have the lobster bisque and chicken quesadilla. The bisque is delicious and my daughter almost takes it away from me. This is her first time tasting lobster bisque and it immediately becomes one of her favorite soups. My wife has calamari and a huge house salad. DD has mushroom ravioli. She will find plenty of items without meat while we are here. My son, who considers vegetables a nice side dish to a huge platter of meat, orders the BBQ ribs with a baked potato. GF orders bruschetta and a chef salad.

You all know about the refillable mugs available at Disney resorts. Shades of Green is just a bit different. They have their own mugs. Refills are $1 and only good at SOG. They come in three solid colors – green, purple and pink. We all get one and will have to mark them so we know which is whose.

All total, we spend under $150 with the tip. Not too bad for first dinner. We have one large meal planned for each day. The wife made all the reservations as soon as she could. We have a good laugh earlier because after we hit the road, she realized she left her spreadsheet with all the times and plans at home. That’s my wife – the planner. I had told her to transfer them to my laptop since I was taking it. I need the laptop to transfer pictures from the camera each day. She had forgotten to copy it to me or to email it. Fortunately, she had told my daughter the reservation times and DD had written them down. We are saved!

On the way back to the room, DD poses for a great picture with the huge Red White and Blue Mickey in the lobby. After we get back to the room, my daughter and I make our trip out to the Walmart on Highway 192 for our usual supply run. After getting home finally, we all bed down for a good night’s sleep. Tomorrow begins our Disney experience in earnest.

[Ramblingman]

After waking at 6:30, we begin getting dressed for our big first day. We usually try to make the first day Magic Kingdom. It just seems right that way. My daughter says that she has Hakuna Matata stuck in her head from the trip yesterday, so I fire up the iPod and play it for her again. We are dancing around the room as we are getting ready, singing along. We had the TV on, mostly showing local attractions, and the cutest kitten commercial came on.

DS and GF are getting into the spirit of things as well. The glass sliding door is fogged up from the humidity. GF has drawn a cute snail on the door to greet DS.

After everyone gets ready, we head down to the Garden Gallery for the breakfast buffet. It’s about $11 per person including drinks and taxes. The food is plentiful and not bad. We’ve had better but this is pretty good. They have an omelet bar that is quite good. There are plenty of choices for everyone to have their breakfast of choice. Eggs, ham, bacon, waffles, cereal, muffins, toast, pretty much every combination of breakfast can be had.

We head out to wait on the bus. When we get to the Ticket Center, we get in line to get our tickets activated. We are using the Armed Forces Salute ticket special and purchased the tickets last night when we arrived, but they have to be activated here at the TTC.

While DW is having the tickets activated, I wind up speaking to the two people working the ticket counters next to us. There is no one there for them to wait on right now and they looked lonely so I struck up a conversation. I was explaining who we were and why we are there. When they heard that we had a newbie, they grabbed a “1st Visit” button and gave it to us. I thanked them and told them it was a big week since both of them graduated college last Saturday and now here we are at Disney World. She reached down and gave me two more buttons that both said, “I’m Celebrating.” I hand the buttons over to DS and GF and they dutifully put them on their shirts.

GF is scared of things that are high, so she has said no to any suggestions of taking the Monorail. As such, we have said we’ll take the ferryboats to and from MK. We walk right down and only have to wait a couple of minutes.

While on the boat, I strike up a conversation with a couple of young kids who appear pretty excited. It turns out they have just recently begun collecting pins. Since I have a ton of pins for trading, and I am wearing a lanyard full of them, I offer them a free pin. The eyes light up and the transfer of magic has begun. It’s worth it to see the look of joy on their faces and the look of happiness on the faces of the parents. I discussed with my daughter on the way down that we are going to give away pins as well as trade for them. She thinks this is a great idea. She also is excited about giving away the glow necklaces we bought before the trip.

Next up – we enter MK

[mouseketeer mom]

Great Start!!!!
What happened with that ticket you found?

[Ramblingman]

As we get off the ferry, we are inundated with the sights and sounds that are so familiar. We are back. Life is good.

I tell the ones with bags that when they are having their bags searched, they should tell them that they have no mousetraps. We laugh over the stories of how guards have told people they are searching bags because they let a couple of mice in some time ago, and all the prices went up, or how they are searching for mousetraps. You have to just let go, wallow in the magic, and enjoy all things Disney when you are here. It’s really the only way to immerse yourself in the Magic.

We get our first Photopass pictures on Main Street. We’ve never done the Photopass pictures before because I am a major photographer. But this time, I decided I did not want to bring my good camera because it’s large. Ditto with the camcorder. So about a month before we came down, I purchased a nice small camera to take on the trip. It’ll fit in my pocket and is a high enough resolution that the pictures will turn out nice. Then I bought a small camcorder for the same reason.

Our first ride, going along with DW’s wishes, is the Carousel of Progress. This has become a tradition with us. GF enjoys it. We are off to a good start. When we leave, we walk over and pick up Fast Pass tickets for Space Mountain. They are not currently loading people on it, but we figure it won’t be a problem. We talk GF into riding the TTA, despite the height. She gets through it okay. They had Space Mountain stopped still, and the lights were on, so we got to see it in a way few get to.

After leaving the TTA, we head into Buzz Lightyear. DS has never ridden it, so he and GF are in for a great time. They have a wonderful first ride on Buzz, but I get the high score with almost 40,000 points.

It’s time for our Fast Pass tickets for Space Mountain, so we head over that way. When we get there, we find out it’s still closed. Seems that a woman was found unconscious at the end of the ride earlier today, so they have it closed while investigating. We will give it a shot later.

The crowd is a little thirsty, so we pop into Auntie Gravity’s for a drink. For about $14, we get waters and a strawberry banana smoothie. We are enjoying the drinks outside when we see the talking trash can moving around and chatting with people. It’s always fun to see that, especially the reactions by some of the crowd who has never experienced a talking trash can.

We walk over towards the Tea Cups. My daughter gets her picture taken next to the painting of Beast on the fence, and then we introduce GF to the Tea Cups. She may dislike things that go high, but when we said spinning, her eyes lit up. She takes to the Tea Cups like a fish to water, spinning so fast while my DD laughs loudly and DS suffers silently. He doesn’t like spinning quite that fast, but GF is not slowing down for anyone. The wife and I sit watching while I take plenty of pictures.

After the Tea Cups, we take them to the Carousel. Everyone rides except me, so I can take pictures. Sadly, my camera battery chooses to die right then. I did not charge it last night but thought it was okay. I guess I used it more yesterday than I thought. When they get off, I tell them to keep enjoying rides while I head back to the room to charge the battery for a few minutes. I’ll catch up to them over by Pirates.

I head to the exit, stopping only to trade pins. While I was gone, the four of them ride Haunted Mansion. They love the new changes. GF enjoys it and has not really had any rough times since our arrival. Perhaps this is going to work out fine.

I take the bus back to Shades of Green and charge the battery for a few minutes. Meanwhile, the family is riding Pirates of the Caribbean. They love the line, being entertained before the ride by noticing everything they can. Since the new movie opened yesterday, and we are going to see it in a couple of days at Down Town Disney, this ride carries a bit more excitement than normal.

I get back to meet up with them near Aladdin. They are enjoying water and popcorn at a table. I hurried back so water and sitting down sounds real good about now.

After shopping for a few minutes, we head to the Columbia Harbour House for lunch. We dine on chicken nuggets, shrimp, combo appetizers, and a tuna salad sandwich for the vegetarian daughter. The food is wonderful and there are plenty of condiments to make everyone happy.

Next up, we head to the Jungle Cruise. GF has a wonderful time on it, even with the corny jokes. That is what makes it one of my favorites. I am a corny kind of guy. My daughter picked that up from me. Poor child.

My DS and DW decide to head back to the room to catch a quick nap. DD, GF and I are going to hang around and shop a bit before joining them. We hit some stores in Liberty Square. GF is buying souvenirs for every member of her family while DD and I are looking for pins. DD wants to concentrate on pins related to rides this trip. We are also looking for pins with 2011 on them.

From Liberty Square, we head over to Main Street for more shopping. GF is now looking for some ears. We hit Chapeau and explain we are looking for a grad hat, since she just got her Master’s a week ago. They are sold out but tell us to try the Emporium. After deciding the other hats were not for her, we head over to Emporium. No luck there either. It seems that Grad Week has wiped them out of grad hats and even grad teddy bears.

All is not lost, however. I buy a copy of the Four Parks One World CD with all the music. It will nicely complement my other Disney music on my iPod. DD found a cute silver necklace with Mickey ears on it, and GF found a messenger bag that she wanted. I had told her that being her first trip, she had to pick out something for us to buy her. While standing in line, I saw the perfect gift for my son – a USB hub with Mickey ears on it.

We head back to the hotel to join the other two for a quick nap so we can do the park until late tonight. We stop by the car to pick up more bottles of water to put in the fridge. My daughter asks me where the ticket went. Remember the ticket we found at the gas station? It’s gone. I noticed it was gone after we unloaded last night. I thought my daughter had grabbed it. Nope. It was just gone. That’s strange, I said. But it will probably turn up later. I even joked that it had gotten us to Disney World so it went to someone else’s car to help them on their trip.

On our way to the rooms, we stop by the exchange and pick up a bottle of Crown Royal (I forgot to pack mine), some bandaids and ibuprofen, and some Coke. They only sell small bottles of Coke, no 2 liters. I should have grabbed some at Walmart. Oh well. Then my daughter and I head all around trying to find someplace open to refill our souvenir mugs. The only place open is Lucky’s, the small counter service place in the arcade building at the pool. We get drinks for everyone and head up finally. Back in the rooms, everyone spreads out and quietness descends.

[mouseketeer mom]

You had a good combo of doing rides and just soaking up the magic at MK this day! Love that GF seems to be handling the rides better than you expected.

[Ramblingman]

When we get up to head back to the park, on our way out I refill the lanyard with pins for trading. This turns out to be a good thing, because on the bus, I strike up a conversation with two girls who are eyeing my pins. They have been talking about getting a lanyard and starting to collect pins. They both have their favorites of what I am wearing. The mother also comments on one of the pins. It’s a pin with Minnie and says Happy Mother’s Day. She seems to really like it. When we get off the bus, I let the girls pick one pin each. Then I turn to the mother and tell her to get one. She says oh, no, you have been too kind already. Nonsense, I reply. You need a pin too, to start your collection. She finally says okay and meekly points to the Mother’s Day pin. As I am taking it off, she burst into tears and said her mother had recently died, and this would mean so much to her. I give her a hug and we are off to the ferry.

Back in Magic Kingdom, we find out that Space Mountain is closed for the day, but our fast pass tickets will be good anywhere. We decide to hold onto our Space Mountain FP tickets as a keepsake and we get FP tickets for Thunder Mountain. The wife wants to eat at Pecos Bill’s, so we go in. It’s the first time we’ve eaten there, so it’s a new experience for all of us. DD gets a PB&J, DS gets an Angus Cheeseburger, and GF, DW and I all get the Taco Salad. This is because we saw the condiment bar and it looks delicious. We pile on the melted cheese, grilled onions, mushrooms, banana peppers, tomatoes, and other items. It’s a great meal for about $50.

After eating, DD, DS and I head to BTMR for a fun time, while DW and GF walk around. We have a great ride – I hold my hands up the entire trip. It’s always so much fun to ride at night.

It’s getting close to time to walk over and get good seats to watch the fireworks. We pass in front of the castle and onto the walkway to leads to Tomorrowland. After staking out a good spot, the kids head over and do the Tea Cups for the third or fourth time today. I think we have found a winner in the What Is GF’s Favorite Ride category. They come back and hold our spot while I go and get water for everyone.

While waiting for the fireworks, we watched the Main Street Electrical Parade. I do love that music. I have it downloaded now on my phone for a ringtone.

We were not quite prepared for the Magic, Memories and You show. Wow. Fantastic. Words do not do it justice. It was awesome. Great show. Finally the fireworks happen and we are certainly not disappointed. Another great time. I wind up giving up my great seats to a couple of small kids who are awestruck. They don’t speak English and it looks like their first trip to WDW, so they need the best seats, right? I’ve seen the fireworks before, so I step back behind my wife and hug her while Disney paints the sky.

When that is over, what do we want to do next? We all head over to ride Pooh. The new changes in the waiting line are superb. They have walls that have videos of honey dripping down. When you touch the screen, you can “rub” away the honey, revealing hidden pictures at certain spots. I am not sure who enjoys it more, the kids, the teens or the adults. They all seem to have about the same level of Wow when rubbing away the honey.

When we leave Pooh, DD and I go to ride Peter Pan, while DS, GF and DW ride Snow White. We figure GF won’t like Peter Pan since it’s a suspended ride, and DD has never liked Snow White because the Witch creeps her out. Some shopping and browsing follow, with a stop at Tinker Bell’s Treasures. The sweet lady working there notices DS and GF with the “I’m Celebrating” buttons and asks about them. We tell her that they both just graduated college and then add that DD just finished her first year of college. Well, now, she says, that is worth celebrating too. So, she showers my daughter with fairie dust that sticks to her for pretty much the rest of the trip.

We all wind up posing for pictures attempting to pull the Sword from the Stone. DD had posed for a picture earlier there, and she let a boy jump in front of her. Wouldn’t you know it, he got it to pull out. Oh well…

There is not much else for us to do, so we head toward the exit. Of course, that leads us right past the Tea Cups, so GF has to ride it just one more time. GF and DS head off for water after that, while DD and DW go to ride the Raceway. DD’s never done the cars before and she loves it. I, of course, take plenty of pictures.

As we are leaving, we hear the following exchange just outside the entrance gates.

“Excuse me, how do we get back to the main parking lot?”
“The Monorail will take you right there.”
“Where’s the Monorail?”

We are almost too tired to laugh at that one. The Ferry and bus ride back to Shades of Green is a quiet one, and everyone goes right to bed for a good night’s sleep.

Tomorrow brings Hollywood Studios and the Star Wars Weekend.

[mouseketeer mom]

WoW! GF loves those teacups!
Agreed about the new Pooh line. Adorable.

[MizMissy]

I love your reports! Great trip so far. It's so touching to read about you sharing the magic with others. We just returned from a great trip to Universal - so great in fact, I don't think my kids care about returning to Disney. Your reports are making me miss Disney terribly.

[Ramblingman]

Thanks for all the feedback. I hope everyone is enjoying the report. I'm trying not to leave out too much, but I also don't want to write a novel (I know, too late!)

Sunday morning we got up early again. We skipped the breakfast buffet in favor of the quick breakfast at the counter service area by the busses. Before we went to the bus area, we let GF and DS feed the Koi. While we were waiting, DW spotted a large cricket on top of a trash can and mentioned it must be our conscience. That drew a laugh.

On the bus on the way to TTC, we passed by the golf course. We saw a gator just out of the water sunning himself about ten yards from the golf cart path. There was a boy on the bus who was fascinated by the sight. I asked him if he knew what gators call people riding on golf carts. The answer, of course, is fast food. He found that very funny, but my wife just rolled her eyes. After switching at the TTC to the bus for DHS, I spotted a boy of about 6 who had a tattoo transfer on his upper arm. I made a big deal about it, saying how brave he must have been to have a tattoo put on, and that I could never stand all that pain. He looked real puzzled while his parents just chuckled. Finally as we were getting off the bus, I heard him say, “he thought it was a real tattoo!” It’s fun to get others to laugh.

After arriving at Hollywood Studios, those with bags went to get searched. The guard said they had to check the bags because someone had slipped in a bad apple for Snow White and they were making sure no more got in.

After hitting the Photopass guys, we walked over and got FastPass tickets for Star Tours. We walked past the Academy park with the busts of famous entertainers and posed for a couple of pictures. We cut over to check the line for Toy Story Mania but it was already over an hour wait, so we decided to skip it. Next came the Backlot Studio Tour. Inside we got pictures of DD in front of an Angel statue (as huge Doctor Who fans, that was a creepy picture), horse statues used in Prince of Persia, and Tim Allen’s Binford riding lawn mower. Some of my favorite things on this ride are the Love Bug cut in half, the Mouse Gulfstream plane (November Two Three Four Mickey Mouse), and the cage from Pirates made of skulls and bones. Of course, Catastrophe Canyon was fun for everyone. We got a good view of it from the front car.

Exiting into the AFI Showcase museum and shop, we found a Hidden Mickey book. I snuck in a Star Wars Weekend pin and keychain as a surprise for DD. Outside there was a squirrel running around the ground. Most people just take those type things as being actually a planned part of the park so they don't really notice them.

Across the way, Darth Vader was signing autographs at one of the many autograph booths set up around DHS. Evidently, even evil overlords have to answer the call of nature, as two Stormtroopers escorted him to the bathroom and back. The Stormtroopers were hilarious, blocking the way of small children and parents to make room for the leader of the Dark Side, and then hamming it up for pictures.

We tried to catch the Drew Carey Sounds Dangerous show, but it was closed for an appearance by C3PO. We headed back towards Star Tours to ride. We had to wait a few minutes, and overheard someone young telling their parent that the Ewok’s name was Wicked.

The renovated Star Tours is well worth it. As great as it was, it is now twice as good. The only downside was that we talked GF into riding it and she was not feeling very well after the ride. But, after sitting for a few minutes, she was game to keep going forward. We walked over and got FP tickets for the Tower of Terror and Rock N Roller Coaster. Since we were ready for a break, we sat down in front of Rosie’s All American Café and got drinks. I also stepped over to Anaheim Produce and picked up celery and carrot sticks, and pretzels. That hit the spot.

This is as good a spot to take a break as any. I’ll post the rest of the day later.

[Mysttree]

Great report! Thank you so much for sharing!

[princessgirls]

Sounds like you are having a wonderful time in WDW!!

Thanks for reporting!

Julie

[Ramblingman]

Picking up after the rest we took by Anaheim Produce and Rosie's.

DW and DD rode Tower while we let GF keep recovering from Star Tours. When they came back, we hit Celebrity 5 and 10 to pick up a tea press for GF and tumblers for DD’s new apartment. While walking through Mickey’s of Hollywood, DD found the only stuffed Grad Mickey we had been able to find since we arrived. I bought it and snuck it into a bag before GF could see. We decided to give it to her since we could only find one.

About 3:30, DD and I headed over to ride RNR. Although we made funny faces for the photo, we did not purchase it. Note – we went back later and tried to purchase it so it would be on the Photopass, but they told us it doesn’t get included on the Photopass CD.

Our reservations for 50’s Prime Time restaurant were for 5:00, and we headed over a few minutes early so we could get a drink and sit in the “living room”. DW went ahead and checked in, and sure enough, while I was waiting for the drinks, they took them back to be seated. A couple of minutes later, Byron came out yelling my name. He began fussing at me for being late to the table. I tried to explain they were still making drinks, but he was not going to let me off easy. He yelled while everyone laughed. Finally I got all the drinks and we headed to the table, with Byron fussing at me the whole time.

We ordered Pot Roast, two samplers, stuffed pasta, and crab cakes. The food was delicious and well worth it. Of course, Byron kept yelling at us (and the table next to us) about elbows on the table and the like. He kept asking DD if she was keeping an eye on the rest of us and she should report to him if anyone was misbehaving. Byron was a hoot who added greatly to the enjoyment of the meal. When he gave us the list of desserts, he ended it by yelling loudly, “and SMOOOORRREESSSS!!” Of course, I looked at him and asked him to repeat the list, which he naturally did in exactly the same way. I had the Boston Crème Parfait, DS had the cobbler, and DW thought she remembered a dessert that had the glowing cubes in it. Byron had them put the cubes in the Brownie Sundae for a small fee. It was well worth it. DW was happy and the desserts were wonderful. Thank goodness we all finished our vegetables and could order them.

Now we were stuffed and sleepy, so we headed back to the hotel to rest away the great food. We drove back to DHS after power naps and took pictures at the landspeeder before walking to Jabba’s Hutt, the shop set up expressly for the Star Wars Weekend. It’s a huge tent in the parking lot behind RNR. There were collectibles and exhibits packed in the tent which was humongous. GF and DD both picked out the Yoda shirt that says, “Judge me by my size, do you?” They said they could dress alike tomorrow.

We ended the night by taking in the last showing of Fantasmic. The show was fantastic as usual, and we got great seats right in the middle and about halfway down. We were close to the show but near the refreshment stand where I picked up beer, wine and water. DD wanted a set of flashing lights shaped like Mickey ears but the first set we got were broken and one ear would not light up. I walked down and exchanged them, but on the second pair the red lights would not work, so I walked down again and checked them this time. Success!

After Fantasmic, we headed out to the parking lot and drove back to SOG for a good night’s sleep. We need our rest since we are doing Animal Kingdom tomorrow.

[mouseketeer mom]

This was another fun day! Your cheer is evident and shines through your report. Happy you got a great server at Prime Time. That really does make or break the experience! 2 times ago we got a fantastic server. So hysterical. My DD was put in the corner, my second DD was fed her vegetables and chicken she hid under her roll, my son (whom he called Scooter) was just tormented. I was left alone., free to enjoy the antics!! Last time though, our server was a dud, no fun at all!!

[Ramblingman]

I agree that the server makes a world of difference. Luckily, every time we have gone we seem to get a good one. This time Byron was obviously the loudest and most outgoing of the servers. There was a girl who waited on a table near us. It was a family that appeared to be from outside the US with Mom, Dad and two boys. She kept snuggling up to the boys and flirting with them all to the delight of the parents and embarassment of the boys. She asked for bites of their dessert, tried to make them sing, etc.

DW did ask Byron why it appeared that all the male servers appeared to be bald or have very little hair. This was just asking for trouble, since Byron is clean shaven. Byron loudly repeated the question then yelled loudly for another male server to join us. When the guy came (from the other side of the building I think), he had a full head of hair. Byron just looked at her and said, "There! Are you satisfied?" We were rolling.

There is an older lady who is a server and everyone loves her. As Byron was taking us to our seat, we got behind her. She's...well, she's not the fastest person there, and Byron made loud comments all the way to our table about how long this was going to take and she was probably the one fixing the drinks that I kept telling him I had to wait on.

The experience was all the better for us being lucky enough to have Byron. I would think that if you request an especially outgoing server when you check in, they will make sure you get a fun one.

[Ramblingman]

Monday morning we woke up and got ready for our day at Animal Kingdom. After breakfast, we drove there in order to save a little time. For those who don’t know, staying at Shades of Green no longer includes free parking. However, our multiday military pass does, so we were still okay, we just had to show them the ticket. After parking in Unicorn, we strolled into the park, getting Photopass pictures taken at the entrance.

GF began taking lots of pictures of animals with her camera, and it quickly became obvious that this was her favorite park, despite MK having the Tea Cups. She ran off in her own direction, and DS dutifully followed her. DW, DD and I walked at a slower pace. We encountered a nice young girl who was standing at a junction and giving talks. She is participating in the College Intern program, and my daughter told her that she wants to do this after next year. She spoke with my daughter for fifteen minutes, giving her tips and hints about the program. It was very nice of her.

I texted my son to find out if they were near. They were taking pictures of lemurs. We headed towards Yeti, my daughter’s favorite ride. My son has never ridden it, so we had hoped they would meet us over that way. The line was not too bad, so we waited in line and rode Yeti. I again made with the mugging for the camera, which tickled DD.

We sat down outside the ride to see if DS and GF were going to make it over there. That way, DS would have someone to ride with, because we knew GF would never get on this one. There was a young boy of about 10 next to us with two women. They turned out to be from Canada, and the men were riding Yeti while the others waited. We had a very nice conversation with the Canadians. They were amazed at the weather, as it had been unseasonably warm at their home leading up to the trip. By warm, they meant in the 40’s. They were loving the Florida weather. I traded a couple of pins with the boy, who was an avid trader, and we bid them adieu.

As we were walking back towards Africa, we stopped and watched the monkeys on their little island habitat for a couple of minutes. They are always fun to watch. At Island Mercantile, we found a magnet map of Florida and a set of magnets that were A through E tickets. We always buy E Ticket memorabilia so we picked them up.

My daughter had decided to do pressed pennies on this trip as well as pins, so she had been carrying around a Ziploc bag with pennies and quarters. Everywhere we found them, she would get a penny. She was building up an impressive collection of them.

About 11:30, we took the train to Rafiki’s Planet Watch. DS and GF had already been there and gone, so we missed them again. It was no matter. They were having fun and we knew we would not all stay together the entire trip. DW, DD and I enjoyed the ride, and the air conditioned building with all the fun stuff. Pocahontas was signing autographs and that was a long line. My daughter walked around the educational exhibits while I sat and rested for a few. My back does not take as much as it used to, and rest stops are becoming more frequent.

My daughter wanted to do the petting zoo, so I walked out there with her. Unfortunately, it was in the middle of the day and it was hot, so most of the animals were lying in shade trying to sleep. The goats were in an area that was designed like a playground. They had goats sleeping on the walkways, and on any other available surface. She found one goat laying near enough that she could brush it.

After riding the train back, we stopped at Kusafiri Bakery for a couple of waters and a fruit cup. This was probably the hottest day of our trip and our energy was being sapped quickly. Hydration was the word of the day. We wound up shopping at Island Mercantile again. DW found some Mickey swizzle sticks and a Christmas ornament and purchased one of the Mickey totes you can purchase for $12 when you buy over $30 of items. I had been trying to get one for two days but every time I spent enough, they were out of the bags. She walks in and boom, gets one. Then she tells me I can get my own. Okay, so that’s how we’re playing…

Before I could recover, my daughter came running in. Outside, they have a couple of benches and a small area of grass with two trees and some bushes. There was a large rabbit in the bushes. This area is surrounded by pavement and was full of people walking, so the rabbit was trapped in the little oasis. Likely he had been there since opening. I got some great pictures of him and we pointed him out to some passing children who looked on in amazement.

Upcoming in the next report – our lunch reservation at Rainforest Café and an afternoon at the hotel pool.

[mouseketeer mom]

Did you see the sheep with the hidden mickey shaved into his fur? Always fun to see!

[Ramblingman]

We had about a half hour before our reservation at the Rainforest Café, so we headed that way and arranged by text to meet DS and GF there. We shopped a bit while Momma rested and waited for them to call us for seating. It was nice and cool in the Rainforest. We ordered up sangria, a rainbow colada and a corona before our meal. Lunch began with the Awesome Appetizer Adventure, followed by Steak & Shrimp, a Canopy Burger, a Portabello Sandwich for the vegetarian, and a BBQ Bacon Cheeseburger. Tax and tip brought the total to about $200, about our normal for our reservation meal each day.

After lunch, we tackled the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. Although it was still pretty hot, we saw plenty of animals. The Lion was asleep on a shadowy rock, but the Giraffes, Elephants, and Gazelles were in abundance. We also saw more of the Rhinos than we wanted. Coming around one curve, a Rhino walked out into our path and evidently, the truck looked at him in a challenging manner. The Rhino struck a stance that said, “I’m right here and am not giving any ground, bring it on”, completely blocking the road. The driver came to a stop and said we’ll just have to wait for him to decide to move on. We sat there almost five minutes waiting for the Rhino to decide he had proven his manhood sufficiently. I thought at first he may charge us but he was content to stare us down for a few minutes.

After getting off the ride, we walked past the Gorilla exhibit. There were two males visible on the hill, and again we were treated to a display of animal testosterone as one Gorilla kept challenging the other who responded and ran the first one off into the bushes. This was repeated twice while we watched until the first one finally decided to take a seat on the other side of the hill.

We decided to head back to the hotel and rest up for a bit. Once at the hotel, we changed into our swimsuits and hit the pool. There are two pools at SOG – one with Mickey ears that’s for families and one that’s more for adults and has a jacuzzi nearby. We went to the adult pool for a relaxing hour or two. I went and got refills in our mugs. I had the iPod hooked up to speakers so we listened to Disney songs while we swam. Most of our time was spent in the Jacuzzi. It was very relaxing. DS and GF did enjoy a few minutes of private swimming on their own. All in all it was a great break during the day.

Since AK closes earlier than other parks, we decided to take advantage of Extra Magic hours at Hollywood Studios. We got pictures of my daughter on the landspeeder before catching the 3D Muppet Show. For the record, Statler and Waldorf are my favorite Muppets, along with Beaker.

My daughter wanted to give away some of our glowsticks to CM’s since they were working extra hours. As we went into the line for Toy Story, she gave glow necklaces to the two female CM’s outside monitoring the line. Their faces lit up when she said these are a little thank you for the hard work you do. As we walked away, we heard them excitedly telling other CM’s about their necklaces. When we were leaving, we noticed one of the male CM’s was now wearing one of the necklaces. Maybe we were able to help make some romantic magic for the CM’s.

On our way out of the park, we stopped and purchased a Lotso Bear (from Toy Story 3) that smells of strawberries as a gift for one of my daughter’s friends from Mickey’s of Hollywood. Then it was back to the room to collapse on our beds. Tomorrow is a long day because we are doing Epcot and planning on trying to hit every country.