November 29th Tuesday
We met the O'Neills, the Uncles and LouLou at BWI for a 7am flight to Orlando. A little valium and a cocktail on the plane plus a smooth ride made for a pleasant flight. Cammie slept for a while too so that was also nice! No turbulence and an easy landing made us very happy. We were met by Tiffany Town Car and we all piled into the van and headed for our grocery stop (a great way to stock up on snacks and drinks and save some big $$$) the driver dropped us and the uncles off at the Boardwalk Villas first and then dropped everyone else off at Coronado Springs. We checked in and my Mom and Dad met us there. We then got Cammie's annual pass (this is her first trip that she had to pay for admission!) Our room was ready so we headed up there to unload our baggage. After that we all headed for Hollywood Studios by boat and into a beautiful warm sunny day!! We met everyone else there and rode the Toy Story Mania ride which is FUN!! We had lunch at the Catering Co. with Brooke and then Cammie and Brooke played on the Honey I Shrunk the Kids playground. We caught a few songs by Mulch, Sweat and Shears and did some dancing in the streets and then roamed around for a bit. The highlight of my trip was meeting Phineas and Ferb and getting my picture with them. It was really funny when we were standing in line because I asked Jenn if my hair looked ok and she informed me that I was meeting cartoon characters and not the lead singer of Creed. I told her that I was only asking because we were getting our picture taken and she needed to keep up because now my band is NICKELBACK! We also met Jake from Neverland Pirates. Tried to get on Toy Story Mania again but the line was crazy, then tried to do Backlot tour but when we got up to the gate Cammie had to pee. This was our first diaper free disney trip so it does take some getting used to and you really need to be proactive with the bathroom stops so that you do not wait in line only to have to step out for a potty run. We watched Voyage of the Little Mermaid which is really good. We really like the puppets in there. We all met up again and got coffees and sodas and we saw SANTA!! A real Santa, Cammie and Brody got to meet him and we reminded them that Santa is always watching them, even on vacation and we actually saw that Santa a few more times and some other ones too which was really helpful when reminding them of the fact that they needed to be good! We stayed at Hollywood Studios until they turned on the Osbourne Lights and we walked through those. That makes the whole trip worth it. One of my favorite parts!! After that we took the boat back to the Boardwalk and ate a late dinner at Big River Grill. They have an awesome beer cheese soup and they offer a DVC discount. We sat outside on the boardwalk and they turned on a heater which made it perfect!! We made it back to the room where Joe fell asleep while Cammie was in the tub and I was shooting water all over the bathroom. Yikes!! The Uncles were out having a good time and we never even heard them come in!
November 30 Wednesday
Woke up, got ready and got some coffee on the BW and hopped a bus to the Magic Kingdom. Got my awesome travel agent friend Elyssa to make dinner reservations for thursday evening for Gary and Michael at the Prime Time Cafe. Breakfast was at Crystal Palace and we picked the perfect time because there was barely anyone in there and we got LOTS of face time with Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore and Piglet. Pooh picked Cammie as his partner for a parade and Pooh and Tigger were chasing Cammie and Brody all over the restaurant. Eeyore gave out lots of hugs!! It was so fun! Piglet did some flirting with Uncle Munckle! We all ate far too much but it was delicious. After all that breakfast fun we did some rides. Joe and Cammie got on Aladin's Carpet and we all walked through the Treehouse and rode the Jungle Cruise. Caught the end of the Pirate Tutorial and then some got on Pirates ride. We found the fairy section and met Viddia and Tink. Cammie liked chatting with Viddia but didn't want to meet Tink. I got my picture taken with her and I look like a giant beast next to her! We took the rafts over to Tom Sawyers Island which was fun then Joe and Cammie got on Dumbo finally!!!! They also did the Merry Go Round. We all got on Space Ranger Spin and then watched Mickey's Philharmagic which is Cammie's fave. We headed for Trails End for dinner after that and that was fabulous as usual. It wasn't crowded either and we ate too much (seemed to be the trend) and then we walked around the campground and looked at Christmas decorations. Another fun tradition that we are doing! It got pretty chilly so we boated back to Magic Kingdom and then caught the bus back to the BW.
December 1st Thursday
Got up early and hit Animal Kingdom when it opened at 9am. Headed right for the safari and walked right on it. All of the animals were out and we saw the baby elephant. Too cute!!!! After that we walked through the trail and saw all of the gorillas including the baby there too!!! Very sweet!! We didn't see the meerkats out this time which seemed strange but during the safari we did catch a lot of giraffes walking around. Spent a little time at the Conservation Station. Watched It's Tough to Be a Bug and got on the Dino ride with Cammie. We had lunch at Pizzafari and then Joe, Cammie and I headed back to the room for a nap/shower. Cammie fell asleep on the bus back! Once we were refreshed we headed to EPCOT by boat for dinner at the Garden Grill which was a HUGE disappointment. First they lost our reservation and then it just went downhill from there and I am not a fan of the rotating portion of the meal. Bleck! We did meet Chip, Dale, Mickey and Pluto so Cammie enjoyed that. After dinner we joined the O'Neills and LouLou, they had dinner there too but we couldn't all sit together, and we headed for our premium seating at the candlelight processional. Michael W Smith was the narrator and that was pretty neat. They had a choir and told the story of Christmas and Jesus in verse and song. Cammie liked the Halleluah Chorus! We had to sprint around the world to make it there so it took a while to recover from that! We stayed for Illuminations and Joe and I had not seen that in a while so that was a treat! Cammie loved it. Oh, the reason we had to sprint to the Candlelight Show was because we snuck in a ride on Soarin'. Cammie really loved that. I think that is now her favorite ride!!
December 2nd Friday
Walked to Dolphin to try to catch bus there and ended up hopping on a Mears shuttle to take us to the Contemporary for Chef Mickey's breakfast. That is the BEST!! We got our Mickey waffle fix again and blintzes and everything else. Basically had to roll us all out of there. It was pretty crowded so we didn't get any special treatment there but it was still totally worth it! Caught the monorail to the Polynesian and walked around there a bit then walked over to the Grand Floridian, just looking at Christmas decorations and enjoying the gorgeous weather! We saw Cinderella's coach at the GFlo which was really cool. Saw the gingerbread house there also and then caught the monorail back to MK. We rented a stroller for Cammie and then got on Space Ranger Spin and the People Mover. Then the kids got pictures taken with Buzz. Got on Peter Pan, It's a Small World, Dumbo and watched Philharmagic again and met Rapunzel. We lunched at Starlight Cafe. Watched the castle get lit then bussed home. Cammie fell asleep on the bus.
December 3rd Saturday
Boat to EPCOT for Soarin', Living with the Land and Nemo. Took the Uncles to the place to try all the different cokes. Saw Pooh and Tigger in UK and Alice in Wonderland and Aurora and Marie the cat. Went back to BW and Joe and Cammie got in the pool which Joe said was freezing. No nap that day so we just hung out at BW and ate at Big River Grill and did a little shopping and played arcade games. Also had Fish n Chips for the first time. YUM!!!
December 4th Sunday
Headed to MK and got pastries on Main Street. Rode the People Mover and watched Philharmagic again, then met up with the Uncles in EPCOT. We got Orange Chicken in China. SO GOOD!! Back to room for nap, then back to EPCOT for Fish n Chips and french pastries for dessert. Did a little shopping and then watched Illuminations again. Back to the room to pack. :o(
December 5th MondayGot up and finished packing. Did our baggage check with Southwest at the resort and then headed for Downtown Disney. Yet another gorgeous day!! We all met up at T Rex for lunch and then did a little shopping before the van picked us up at 2. Got to the airport and then had an uneventful flight home.
Great vacation!!!!! Already have the next one planned!!
No comments:
Post a Comment