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We left on Friday afternoon at 2 for the short 4 hour or so ride down to Disney. The kids (all five of them) were excited, not to mention me :) We
had received a postcard from Mickey (thanks Audrey!!!!!) and the boys were carrying it around talking aobut "Disney Mouse" We stopped at the official
Disney welcome center on I-75. Cindy D had told me about what fun it was, and how nice the restrooms were. The boys liked climbing on the Mickey car,
and we took some pictures. After a quick potty break, we were back on the road. We arrived at our Downtown Disney hotel (Courtyard Marriott) at
around 6:30. I was very pleased with the hotel, our rooms and the service there. I would recommend them to anyone looking for a place to stay. We
felt that we were *at* Disney, even though we weren't at at Disney hotel. We met up with our family and went to a "off beat" Chinese buffet on 192
we've gone to several times. It's great, never too crowded and right accross from a Winn Dixie, where we where able to pick up supplies before heading
back to the room.
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Next morning, we were up early and waiting on the 8:30 bus to the MK. It arrived on time, and we were the first resort it stopped at, so seating
wasn't a problem at all. I did notice that at the third stop, it filled to capacity, but he had called ahead and had another bus waiting for the
remaining passengers. The lines at the TTC were short, and we were on our way (via ferry boat) within 5 -10 minutes from getting off the bus. The
security lines were numerous, and not terribly long. A security CM noticed we were having some problems with Cameron, our autistic son, waiting in
line. He was very upset at not being able to move forward, so he took Cameron and one of our party to the side, checked their bags, and got them
to the other, less crowed side to wait for the rest of us. (A bit of that Disney *magic* we all love). I also like that they had stroller express
there in the waiting area, so all you had to do was get your stroller and go. While Nels picked up the stroller, I got our Guest Assistance Pass (GAP)
for Cameron, and we were on the way!
The park was lovely, and I don't think I've ever seen so few people there so close to Christmas. We started over in Tomorrowland and rode Buzz twice,
then the TTA, and the rockets before heading over to the raceway. Again here we experience some Disney magic. Cameron is *obsessed* with red.
Everyone *MUST* be red. He was offered a blue car and refused to get in, crying and screaming. The CM who knew we had a GAP asked Cameron if he
wanted a red car, and she let him get into the next red car (just 2 cars back). He was soooo happy.
>From there it was off to the teacups then Mickey's house, and then we rode the train all the way around the park. I've never actually rode it ALL the
way around in one sitting, but it was a nice foot break. We got a call on the Talkabouts from the girls, who were ready for lunch, so we all met at
Cosmic Rays. Again, it wasn't that crowded and we were able to get 2 tables without much effort. (There were 10 of us) From Cosmic Rays, we went off to
find Santa Mickey and Santa Goofy ears for my brother and sister in law. They wanted them for pictures, then were going to give them to the boys. We
took their pictures over in the alcove on the right (as you are looking at it). From there we decided to ride Snow White. We hadn't been on it in a
long time, and I was a bit disappointed. Next was "Small World" which looked like it had been through a rehab, (it has recently was wasn't it??) We left
there and went to stake out a parade spot. We asked about sitting in the area roped off for disabled guests, and were told that Cameron, Nicholas and
one adult could sit there. I"m so glad we did. We were the only family with kids in that area, so the boys got a LOT of interaction as the parade went
past. They were really excited, and the Christmas parade was really nice. I was a bit disappointed not to see the snowglobe parade, but we'll see that
in March. :)
After the parade, it was off to Thunder Mt. Cameron had never been on it, but his growth spurt just made him tall enough. He had to ride it several
times, and I think would have ridden it all night had we not distracted him. Our GAP lets us use the FP entrance, so it shortened our wait, which helped.
I think he really liked the sensory input he got on it. From there we rode the Jungle Boats, and then decided it was time to head back to the rooms.
(It was 5:30). We rerturned our strollers, and headed for the monorail. Again, the light crowds helped, and we boarded the first train in, when we
got to TTA, our bus was waiting, what great timing. We had planned on Downtown Disney for dinner, but Cameron was asleep by 7 pm. So, our
teenager, (almost 16) decided she'd hang back in the room, (she was tired, having hurt her knee the week before, and wanted to rest it ) while we went
to DD. I love DD at night, especially at Christmas. It's so nice. The wait for Rainforest was pretty long, so we left and went to Landry's seafood,
then came back to DD to shop and wander about until almost 11.
The next day was Universal's Island of Adventures for Grinchmas. I won't give a trip report here since it's OT, but my DH and I have decided we
didn't really like it as much and it was really missing the "magic" feel of Disney.
On Monday, before leaving, we returned to DD to eat at the Rainforest Cafe, and to rent a pontoon boat and a water mouse (by this time our party size
was 13, so we needed both). We were out for an hour, and cruised way down Lake Disney. It was a nice way to end the weekend at Disney.
Now, we're planning a return trip for the first week or so of March. So, I'm off to search the database and archives for codes :-)
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