Sharon - September 2001

Vacationers:
myself, age 31
husband, Sam, age 32
son, Matthew, age 7

Trip expenses (sorted by most expensive):
(3) 5 day hopper plus tickets with 4 options instead of 2 options = $730
Cash (food and tips) = $450
All Star Music 9/22-9/30 at $49 rate = $439
(3) airline tickets on Delta = $233 (I know! Isn't it unbelievable that I got these for $77.66 each!)
National rental car (using two coupons) full size for 8 days = $151
(3) Sea World tickets (2nd day free; $5 coupon for each) = $136
Souvenirs = $85
Holiday Inn Express Park and Fly on 9/21/01 = $66
Hollywood & Vine Fantasmic Dinner Package = $50
(3) tickets to Gatorland ($5 coupon for each) = $35
Gas = $25
Total cost of trip for 2 adults and 1 child = $2400

We had been so excited about this trip before September 11th. We had calendars on the refrigerator where we marked off each day (for the past six months). I was having a hard time getting into packing the suitcases. But I'm so glad that Matthew was excited about it. I remember about three months ago when we were talking about the trip he said he didn't want to go. You can imagine my surprise. I asked him why not and he said he would miss our dogs - black lab named Thelma Lou (named after the Andy Griffith show; we are huge fans) and a beagle named Lucy that we got from the pound. Well, let me tell you that he did not say one thing about those dogs when it came time to leave!

We had a 6:00am flight on Saturday (9/22) so we decided to drive to Raleigh (one hour from our house) and spend the night near the airport. Holiday Inn Express had a Park and Fly rate where you could leave your car there and they would drive you to the airport. This rate includes your spending the night in the hotel. Not bad for $66. If we had parked at the airport, that would have been $54 all by itself. Our airport doesn't even open until 5am. So, we assumed getting there at 4:45am would be fine. WRONG! We arrived at 4:45am with over 100 people in front of us in the Delta line. Half of the people were military. They looked exhausted. I took one picture of a guy standing up sleeping (after I asked permission of course). I wanted to ask where they were going but knew they couldn't tell me.

The line moved pretty slowly with us getting to the desk at 5:30. We checked all bags except one. We had four suitcases (two large and two small) and a backpack. One large suitcase had nothing but food and a toaster. I know they have a toaster in the All Star cafeteria but we wanted to eat breakfast in our room. The two large suitcases were very heavy so I made a point of looking at the scale to see how much they weighed - 82 pounds!

Once the bags were checked we were off to stand in line to have our carry-on inspected. First they ran everything through the scanner. If anything looked suspicious, they took everything out inspecting each article. I took a picture of the inspection table. It looked so weird seeing the employees take out each piece and try to tuck it back in! Our carry-on only consisted of a coloring book, crayons, stuffed animals, food and a camera so we were okay. We got through this line by 5:45am and took off running to our gate. When we got to the gate, we were the last ones to board. The plane had already pulled away from the gate. The pilot was waving his arms over his head so that we could see him since it was still dark out. We ran across the parking lot and boarded. They shut the door behind us and we took off. This was a very small plane. I didn't realize how small when I booked it. It only held 48 people. Matthew was not thrilled by the size since he was a little scared already. This is his third time flying. He had to have his stuffed animals as security. It was really pretty taking off with everything still lit up.

Our plane landed at 7:30 (1 hour and 15 min flight time). Sure beats driving for 12 hours! Especially when its only $77 round trip! We waited until 8:30am to get our National rental car because we knew it would be around 9am before we brought it back the following Sunday and needed to use the 59 minute grace period not to be charged for another day. We were also planning on going to Sea World and that doesn't even open until 9am anyway. Unfortunately, Sam took a wrong turn (I should have been helping him look for 528) and we ended up going 20 minutes out of the way arriving at Sea World at 9:20am. Since Sea World is not TheMouseForLess I won't mention much about it. If anyone has any questions about Sea World feel free to e-mail me privately at sharon_batchelor@merck.com. I will say that we enjoyed the shows (although some of them are getting pretty old and need updating). We loved the two rides - Kraken and Journey to Atlantis. One other thing...my fanny pack broke and I had to buy a new one which wasn't as big as mine and cost $15. Next time I will take two!

We left Sea World at 5pm and ate at Jungle Jim's at Crossroads. (I will write Restaurant Reviews later). Should I include ones off property too? Jungle Jim's was pretty good but we got way too much food and it was pretty pricey. We arrived at All Star Music at 6:30. My co-worker went to Disney on Labor Day and was upgraded to the Yacht and Beach Club because All Star Music was overbooked. I knew they wouldn't be full with everything that happened the following week but I still had to ask. Not only did I not get a free upgrade I also did not get the room request that I faxed over. I had asked for Calypso. I got Rock Inn #3 (way out in the middle of nowhere!) So, I won't bother with a room request anymore. They said I could be moved the next day once people had checked out and I agreed to that. It's just real inconvenient not being able to unpack anything that night. I asked for the restaurant mini menus that someone said you could get at the front desk and was given about forty of them! We booked the Hollywood and Vine Fantasmic Package, asked for an iron and board to be delivered and headed to our rooms. It took 30 minutes to get all of this done which I guess isn't too bad. We did have to wait over an hour for the iron and board which is a very long time when everyone is waiting to go to bed. We crashed in bed at 8:30pm since we are getting up at 6am tomorrow for MGM early entry.

Sunday, September 23rd, we get a wake up call from Mickey at 6:08am. Matthew really enjoyed the call. Sam walked a quarter mile to get some coffee and Sprite from the cafeteria in our refillable mugs that we purchased on our last trip. Don't you just love free stuff? I just wish they had orange juice on the bar too. Since they didn't he purchased a small bottle for over a $1. We won't do that again. He also got some cream cheese for our bagels that we brought with us. Unfortunately, when he gets back I am trying in vain to get the toaster working. It seems that it was broken during our flight! Okay! So it was a mistake to bring the toaster. I can't deal with an untoasted bagel so I had a pop tart instead.

I called the front desk to confirm our room move and am told that they will move us to Calypso #10 at 7:30. So, we made sure everything was packed up and left for MGM early entry. Since we have the rental car we decide to drive instead of taking the Disney bus. In fact, the only time we use the bus is for Magic Kingdom early entry since the monorail doesn't run from the TTC that early. We just loved driving ourselves everywhere instead of waiting for the bus and then having to stand if it was full. We left the room at 7:00 and were parking at MGM at 7:15. The parking lot was pretty deserted. I guess not many people get up at 6:00 on vacation. We lined up to get our backpack checked (they did this in every park - even Sea World). They started checking bags at 7:25. We had food in the backpack but they didn't say anything. Once inside the park, we immediately headed for the Tower of Terror. It was so nice being able to go right past the stroller rentals. The last two trips Matthew was 4 and 5 1/2 years old. We always rented a stroller and by 7:00 at night Sam and I were exhausted and Matthew was still raring to go from sitting all day. We convinced him on this trip that he was way-y-y too big for a stroller and he did great - complaining a little in the afternoon but not too bad.

We walked right on the Tower of Terror. Sam and I did kid switch since Matthew isn't brave enough to try it yet. Sam actually rode twice. I could only handle it once. I thought I was going to have a panic attack before I got off of the ride. I have done it lots before but I know they can change the number of drops and the anxiety was killing me. It actually dropped five times. I think I might retire myself from this ride. The older I get the more anxiety I experience. I know how it is once you hit 30! Next we tried to make it to Who Wants to be a Millionaire but we got there as they were closing the doors at 8:15. So, we headed over to Star Tours and got right on. There is a ride at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg, VA, that is a simulator called Corkscrew Hill. It is so good that we find ourselves comparing every other simulator ride to it. And Star Tours failed miserably. It just bumps you too much instead of being smooth. Matthew hated it and I don't really care to ride it again either. It's 8:40 now and we are off to Muppets 3D. Matthew's favorite part is when the bubbles come down from the ceiling. He loves trying to catch them. We didn't have to wait for this either. Next came the Great Movie Ride at 9:20. We had a 10 minute wait here. We really like this ride but had to prepare Matthew for the Alien coming down from the ceiling.

We made the next show of Millionaire at 10:00. I had read all of the tips about how to better your chances of getting in the Hot Seat. The host started to read the fast fingers question and I knew that I didn't have a clue. So as soon as the key pad lit up I just punched in any combination. I think it was BACD. They showed the correct combination and I told Sam that I thought that was what I put in but I did it so fast I wasn't sure. I waited for the top ten fastest to display and I was #1 (in 2.3 seconds seat #390)! Sam said, "Sharon, that's you!" Obviously I was in total shock! A guy ran up to me and asked my name and where I was from. Luckily, I could remember both. The first three questions were really easy. I don't remember what they were. The fourth question should have been easy but I had not been to see The Little Mermaid show yet and I haven't seen the movie for years. The question was "What is the evil woman's name in The Little Mermaid?" I used the Ask the Audience lifeline. They were appalled that I did not know the answer. 97% chose the correct answer. Do you know what it is? The next question I needed help on was "In what state is the college Yale?" I did a 50/50 on this and guessed and got it right. Do you know this one? I had one more lifeline left and was up to 8000. The question was "What does pete benoire mean?" I am unsure if I spelled that right. Well, I thought that benoire meant black and one of the answers was black bird. So I decided not to use the lifeline and picked black bird. I was wrong..... Do you know the answer? So, I ended up with five pins, a lanyard badge and a hat (prize value $67.50). I asked the guy that gave me my prizes how many people were in the audience and he said 400. So I think I did pretty well even getting up there. Unfortunately, I can't play again for 30 days and Sam was not interested in getting in the Hot Seat so we never played again the whole week.

It's now 10:30 and we head over to see The Little Mermaid...I know I should have seen the 9:15 show then I would have got the question right without using a lifeline. This is the first time we have seen the show and it was really good. Again Matthew loved the bubbles. We were starving by 11:15 and decided to head over to Sci Fi Dine In Theater. Our priority seating was for 11:30 but we were still seated right away. We had never been inside of this restaurant before. It is so cool! I just can't get over it. Matthew was in hog heaven. I've heard a lot of people say the food is bad here but our food is really good. Our waiter even let me order off the kid's menu. (I will do a Restaurant Review later). Sam liked his burger so much he wanted to return later in the week but we never did make it. Even though the food is a bit pricey you have to think of it as entertainment not just food. It is a MUST DO on our list from now on.

Matthew is dying to go to Magic Kingdom so we leave MGM at 12:20 and are parking at Magic Kingdom at 12:35 (again we are loving our rental car). Matthew's all time favorite here is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMR). So, we hop aboard the train to ride back to Frontierland. Unfortunately, when we get there it is broke. So we grabbed a fastpass and headed over to Country Bear Jamboree instead. We walked right in and the show was getting ready to start. Nice timing! We then decide to do the new Aladdin ride. We walked right on with no wait. We tried our hardest to get hit by the spraying camel but could never get it just right. It was so hot and humid we needed a spritz or too. Off to Jungle Cruise we go with only a two minute wait. Next was Pirates of the Caribbean with a five minute wait. We had a frightening experience here. We are standing at the boat dock waiting to get on. A little boy beside us (probably 5 yrs old) puts his head through the bars as they are closing and they close on his neck. We were all screaming at the guy to open the bars back up. It took a few seconds (seemed longer) to open the bars and it was a blessing he was so small he never really felt the bars pinching his neck. I think he was just petrified from all the screaming.

We decide to get a Dole Whip for a nice afternoon snack but I found out that they all contain ice cream. I thought they would have something like a frozen lemonade only in pineapple but they didn't. So, we went in search of a frozen lemonade and ended up with two. One for all three of us would have been plenty. My brain started to freeze over but so good! It's now 2:45 so we go back to BTMR to use our fastpass and walked right on instead of waiting 30 minutes in the standby line. You know at the beginning of the ride when you go inside the bat cave and everything glows including your white socks. Well, we discovered that your teeth glow too. The ride started and Matthew was so excited he turned around and gave me a big grin and his teeth were glowing. He looked hilarious! I notice new things every time I ride this - like the opossums hanging from the tree or that each train has a different name - such as I.M. Brave. We just love it!

Splash Mountain has a 40 minute wait and the fastpass machines aren't working so we skip it and go to the Haunted Mansion instead. We also do Pirates of Caribbean and BTMR again with only a 10 minute wait this time. It is now 4:30 and it starts to downpour. So we put on our Sea World ponchos, got out the umbrella and headed over to Tomorrowland to do some rides that are inside. Our shoes and socks got drenched. (We put our shoes in the car the next day to dry while we walked around Blizzard Beach in our water shoes). Buzz Lightyear had a long line looping around outside but the ride moves so fast it still only took 10 minutes to get on. Next we were off to Space Mountain (my favorite)! Can you believe there was no wait? Sam and I rode twice in 15 minutes. Matthew only rode once. He doesn't like roller coasters in the dark.

After Space Mountain we waited out the rain (about 20 minutes) and got in line for Indy Speedway. There were only about 30 people in front of us but still took 20 minutes to get on the ride!! I hate this ride. It is so slow loading and they only had 1 of the 4 lanes open. We will never do this ride again. Well, it's 6:00 and we have done everything we wanted to do today so we decide to leave. On the way out we were asked to complete a survey. They didn't ask for my name or address so I guess completing a survey is not how you get one of those coveted yellow postcards giving a resort discount in the mail. We got on the monorail at 6:15 and were at our hotel at 6:45. Our new room number in Calypso 10 is 429. It is really close to the cafeteria and faces the parking lot not the pool so it is nice and quiet at night. We love it!

We had peanut butter sandwiches for dinner. I brought the peanut butter and jelly from home (in the huge 40 pound suitcase) and we purchased bread at the 7-Eleven. I later realized that small jelly packages are available in the cafeteria for free. So next time I won't bring my own. Sam and Matthew then went swimming for about 15 minutes. We prepared the tip envelope with Mickey on the front that I printed off a web site listed on the link page. I don't remember the name of the web site. I printed a whole bunch of them with a different character on each envelope. Matthew loved picking out the envelope each night. I took a pedometer with me to see how much we walked each day. Total mileage today was 8.3 miles! We were in bed at 8:30 and asleep by 8:45. I was so pooped! Tomorrow we go to Blizzard Beach and Downtown Disney.

Monday, September 24th, the alarm wakes us up at 6:00. We had planned on doing early entry today but the weatherman says it is going to rain starting tomorrow for the next 2-3 days so we decide to go to Blizzard Beach (BB) today instead. Since we are already awake, we decide to go to Ponderosa for breakfast. We do not have Ponderosa in North Caroline and we really like it. We went to the one on I-92 West which is really close to our hotel. The breakfast buffet is only $3.99 but doesn't include drinks. Everything was really good except the muffins (really dry!). We get back to our room at 7:45 and still have two hours before BB opens so we walk around the resort and take lots of pictures.

Sam has the bright idea to call the front desk and make sure BB still opens at 10:00. The cast member at the front desk tells me that it is opening at 9:00 instead! I pull out the brochure we received at check time to verify the time and it said 10:00. So I call the front desk again and speak with the same cast member. She tells me that they changed the hours the day before and that she has verified that it is opening at 9:00. So we hurry to put on our suits and lather up with suntan lotion. We rush out the door and arrive at BB at 9:00. There are only four cars in the parking lot. I'm thinking, "This is great! No one else knows that they are opening early!" WRONG! By 9:15 they still had not opened so I asked the lady that was setting up the table to check bags what time they were opening and she says 10:00! Well, you know I started to turn purple and informed her that All Star Music was telling people 9:00 instead of 10:00. I use the house phone to call the resort and get a different cast member this time. And of course he tells me 10:00. So, by now I am really fuming and ask to speak with the manager. He is not in and I am told to call back later that afternoon. The cast member also assures me that BB would open the gates at 9:30 so that we could go ahead and get a locker and look through the shops. WRONG! We had to sit there until 9:55 when they finally opened the gates. I much rather would have stayed in my room relaxing for that 55 minutes.

At 10:00 we get a locker (a small size which is big enough to put our backpack in) and head to the chair lift to go to Teamboat Springs (the father tube ride). There was no wait for the chair lift or Teamboat Springs. We loved this tube ride. We rode four times in a row. The first two times we took the chair lift. The third time Sam talked me into walking the stairs - all 148 of them (yes, I counted). I thought I was going to kill him before I got to the top! The fourth time we rode, it was getting busier and we had to wait for the chair lift for about 10 minutes - still better than walking up the stairs. We were hungry by now and decided to eat at Lottaway Lodge. I will complete a Restaurant Review. I wanted to mention that I heard a lot about the water tasting really bad in the parks but we did not really notice it being that bad. I took packs of Welch's lemonade mix but didn't even use them. We are big water drinkers. We drank water for every meal since it is too expensive to get drinks in the parks.

BB is a really neat place. After lunch we decided to do the lazy river. It felt weird circling the park in an inner tube while they played Christmas music in the background. Next we did Runoff Rapids (one or two person tube rides). We loved these but unfortunately there is not a chair lift on this side of the park. We had to climb 129 steps carrying our inner tube - we could only manage the climb twice. Next came the Downhill Double Dipper before heading over to the pre-teen Training Camp. Matthew loved this place! They had pretend icebergs you could use to walk across the pool, a really fast tunnel slide and a pulley drop. We stayed here until using the chair lift to ride Teamboat Springs one more time. It was now 3:00 and our feet hurt really bad. We didn't wear our swim shoes most of the day because they are so aggravating. Now we wish we had. We decide to leave and are back in our room in 10 minutes since BB is so close to the All Star resorts. We had peanut butter sandwiches for an early dinner and took a nap until 4:30. Now that I am rested, I decide to call the manager about my awful morning. He is sympathetic but doesn't offer any compensation. I suggest that maybe he could do something for the hour we had lost. He decides to give us a business card with a note on the back that entitles us to jump to the head of the line for any ride that we want. We will use the card on Saturday when Magic Kingdom is unbearable!

We leave for Downtown Disney at 4:45 and it takes 30 minutes to get there with all the traffic lights. We rent a canopy boat for $25 for 30 minutes. This seemed to be the best deal since there were three of us and it looked like it was going to rain so the canopy would come in handy. The boat does not go very fast and Matthew is pretty disappointed but at least it doesn't rain. Off we go to World of Disney for some shopping. I bought some pins and was informed that I couldn't use my 10% Disney Club discount unless I bought at least $25. What a rip off! By now I am having a huge chocolate attack (yes, I am a chocoholic). We go into several stores before finding something that looked good and didn't cost $20 - a box of Entenmann's Chocolate Chip Cookies found at the Gourmet Shop for $3.25 (and we ate on them for 2 days!). It finally started to rain at 7:20 and we left Downtown Disney. I didn't take my pedometer today since we were at a water park but my feet are killing me so I know we walked a lot. We fall into bed at 8:45. Tomorrow is Animal Kingdom and Epcot.

Tuesday, September 25th, we are up at 6:00 again. The weather man is still calling for rain starting at noon today so we decide to go to Animal Kingdom this morning since it is nearly impossible to do Animal Kingdom (AK) in the rain. We take our bagels and pop tarts to the cafeteria so we can get use the toaster and get some of the free jam while filling up our mugs. We leave the resort at 7:25 (again in our rental car; we haven't used the Disney buses yet and are loving it!). We arrive at AK in ten minutes. We noticed something different this visit to AK that we have never seen before and this is our third time going. There was a motorized, talking palm tree going around and talking to people waiting in line for the park to open. He would ask them questions and carry on a conversation. At first we thought there was a guy inside the tree. But then we noticed a guy standing about fifteen feet away with a small microphone attached to his hand. He was dressed as a tourist and really hard to pick out in the crowd. He had to be a ventriloquist because even though we know he was doing the talking you could hardly see his mouth moving. It was really neat! Make sure you arrive prior to park opening to enjoy this.

It felt really nice this morning. It wasn't humid as it had been every other day. They start checking bags at 7:55 and we immediately head for Africa for Kilamanjaro Safaris once we get inside. There was no wait once we got to the back of the park but we had to walk half a mile to get there (I checked my pedometer)! This really is a big park. This ride lasted 20 minutes and we saw more animals this time than we ever had. Maybe they were enjoying the nice weather too! There was even a rhino one foot from our vehicle. Next we did the Pangani Trail and saw a gorilla eating a banana. He was so funny. This took another 20 minutes and walking half a mile but definitely worth it.

Next we head into Asia to ride Kali River Rapids. This is our first time on this ride and I had heard that you can get drenched so we decide to put on our ponchos and take off our socks and shoes. We put our backpack, socks and shoes in the middle compartment of the raft so that they wouldn't get wet. There was no wait and in fact we had the whole raft all to ourselves. We asked the cast member to take our picture and she readily agreed. I just got our pictures developed (eleven rolls of 24 exposures) and we look so funny in those blue ponchos but we were prepared! Matthew loved this ride and we didn't get all that wet the first time around. We decided to go again and didn't even have to get off. The third time around another couple joined us. The fourth time around a family of four joined us and the other couple. So now there is a total of nine people on our raft. After the fourth time around the couple wanted to get off but we felt like such a big happy family by now that we all talked them into riding one more time. And boy did they get it! They got so wet they looked like they had jumped in the pool with their clothes own. We, on the other hand, were nice and dry in our funny looking blue ponchos. We ended up riding five times in a row without ever having to get off our raft. We would have rode again but it was time to get a seat for the Lion King show.

The Lion King show was okay but not as good as I had heard. There was way too much singing. The acrobats were pretty neat. Even Matthew thought it was ho hum.... Since we had a light breakfast four hours ago we are starving. We head over to Pizzafari since it is near the Lion King. We were really surprised at how good the food was here (Restaurant Review to follow). Next came the Maharajah Jungle Trek where we saw bats and tigers. It's so cool how it looks like there is no glass or fence or anything between you and the bats - but to be sure there is - right? It's 11:45 and we get a seat for the Flights of Wonder show at 12:00. This show is worth seeing once but we probably will not go back again. It's kinda corny but funny. We have heard that the Tarzan Rocks show fills up fast so we get a seat 30 minutes before show time. It is starting to warm up so we get two frozen lemonades (one regular and one pink) from a vendor inside and rest for a bit. The lemonades are so good! It frustrating that you can't find them in all the parks. The Tarzan Rocks show was better than the Lion King show. Matthew loved the guys and gals on roller blades and the acrobats but again there was way too much singing. I guess our family just isn't big on singing shows!

Next we get in line for Dinosaur and which we had gotten a fastpass earlier. The crowds have picked up and there is a 20 minute wait. Last time we visited Disney World was almost two years ago and Matthew was 5. At that time, Sam & I did Dinosaur without Matthew. But I had heard that they tamed this ride down so I thought it would be fine for Matthew to do this time around. WRONG! It was not tamed down. The entire ride was in pitch black darkness. He was terrified holding both our hands the entire time. He actually cried afterwards. I felt so bad for putting him through that. Let all parents beware! The ride isn't that good even for adults. I don't think we will waste our time on it again. Now we are off to see "It's Tough to be a Bug!" We always like this but the first time seeing it is the best since there are so many surprises (which I won't give away). It is now 2:30 and I had wanted to stay for the new parade but it is so-o-o-o hot and very busy and we just didn't have the heart to sit on the pavement for 30 minutes. Sam and Matthew really don't care about seeing the parade anyway. Is it a girl thing? We decide to leave and arrive at Epcot 15 minutes later.

It was so slow at Epcot it was almost spooky. We arrived at 2:50pm and parked in the 2nd row! I know - how weird is that?!!!! Of course there were more people in the parks than the parking lot indicated due to people arriving by bus and monorail. But it was still real slow. We rode Spaceship Earth first and walked right on. Two minutes after getting on, the ride stops. We are at a section that is pitch black and Matthew starts to get worried. Fortunately we were only stopped for about four minutes. Sam thought they were letting someone in a wheelchair on the ride. By now we are starving again! I should mention that I had a tupperware container full of nabs, cookies, raisins, nuts and fruit roll ups in the backpack. We munched on these snacks frequently. It's amazing how hungry you stay when you walk 8 miles a day. We had a late lunch priority seating at San Angel Inn and arrive at 3:30. There was only one other family there. I really wanted a burrito and there wasn't one on the main menu. So, I asked to order off the Kid's Menu. The waiter said no at first but then came back and said I could except the drink would not be included. I drink water anyway so that wasn't a big deal. I will fill out a Restaurant Review but wanted to make the comment that I know World Showcase restaurants try to be authentic but they still should have basic items offered on the Kid's Menu. Instead of fries Matthew received plantains and rice which he refused to eat. So the only thing edible for him was the chicken.

Before we leave Mexico, we take the boat ride - nothing special but a nice way to cool off in the afternoon. We next do the Norway boat ride. This is much better and there was no wait. I used the tip I got from this group and skipped the film at the end by going out with the crowd before us. Matthew then played on the Viking Ship for a few minutes. The Germany train village is close by and we let Matthew watch the train for about 15 minutes while waiting for the Chinese acrobat show at 5:25. The acrobat show was great! We were really impressed with these little kids. It is amazing how much they can do to be so young! There was a little girl stacking bowls on top of her head by throwing them up there with her foot. Each time she was successful she would add another bowl. She was up to five bowls and couldn't get it right. She kept trying and trying but they can't falling off her head. Finally on the fourth time she got it! We were so glad. I was beginning to think we were going to be there all night until she got it right.

Next came the American Adventure show. This was our first time seeing the show. It was really great! Especially after everything that has happened recently. Because of Steve's entertainment web page, I already knew that the British Invasion was a must see for us. We got a seat 30 minutes before the show and it was Awesome! It lasted 25 minutes with everyone dancing in the street and singing along by the end of the show. Even Matthew liked it and he didn't even know who the Beatles were! King Arthur and the Holy Grail comedy act were setting up as we left the British Invasion. We didn't know what it was about but it looked neat so we sat down to watch. This was a really great show too - especially for kids. Matthew laughed so much he got the hiccups.

We walked all the way across the park to Mexico and got a seat for the parade 15 minutes before it started. It was amazing at the number of people that had arrived at the park over the past hour. I think everyone came just for the parade and fireworks. We had a hard time finding a seat. I was very disappointed with this parade. The first 5 minutes were neat but after that it was just the same thing over and over again. It was definitely not as good as the Magic Kingdom or MGM parade! We won't bother seeing it again. It's now 8:30 and we are really tired. We had a seat for Illuminations but decided to start walking out before they finished so we wouldn't have to fight the mob. We left Epcot at 9:15 and were in bed at 10:00. We walked a total of 9.5 miles today! Tomorrow is Typhoon Lagoon, Gatorland and Bass Pro Shop.

Wednesday, September 26th, we actually sleep in until 7:00 today since we are going to Typhoon Lagoon which doesn't open until 10:00. We have breakfast in our room and watch the weather again. I don't know why we bother. They can't seem to get the forecast right. We haven't seen any rain yet. Matthew watched the man cutting grass outside our room. He has always loved lawn mowers. I hope he holds on to that affection when he gets older and starts helping his Dad. We left the room at 9:15 and it takes 15 minutes to get to Typhoon Lagoon. It is a pretty good distance from the resort. We were hoping they would open the gate at 9:30 so that we could get a locker and go through some of the shops but they didn't open until 10:00. It is a little cool this morning for swimming. It is only 75 degrees with the high to be 83 today. We got a large locker today because we brought a cooler filled with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The large lockers are $2 more than the small ($8) but you get $2 refunded when you return the key. This time we kept our swim shoes on instead of leaving them in the locker.

For the first hour, we did the three Falls - Gangplank Falls (a family white water raft ride), Mayday Falls (a fast, bumpy tube ride) and Keelhaul Falls (a fast, smooth tube ride). We liked all of these but Keelhaul Falls was our favorite! We rode Gangplank four times, Mayday twice and Keelhaul four times - all without any wait just a ton of walking up the stairs carrying our inner tubes. I'm starting to get some really strong upper arm muscles. Next we went to the wave pool which creates a wave every 90 seconds. It took us a while to figure out how to get to the front of the pool. This park doesn't have many signs posted to lead you around. We had to look at the guide map any time we wanted to go somewhere. We kept getting lost and it's not a big place! We stayed at the wave pool until time for lunch. We went back to the locker and pulled out our sandwiches. We also bought a huge cinnamon roll from one of the carts. It was only $2.75 and was enough dessert for all three of us (very good!).

Next came Castaway Creek. Lazy rivers really frustrate me. We kept getting separated and I would turn around and a stranger's foot would be in my face. We finally hooked on to each other with our arms. There was a section of the river that went through a cave. The cave had three water falls with REALLY cold water. I don't care to go through there again! Even with all of these frustrations, Castaway Creek is still a good way to get to the other side of the park without having to walk. We decide to get out at Humunga Kowabunga (really fast body slides in the dark). Sam talked Matthew into trying this! I couldn't believe it. Matthew hates anything in the dark. He not only did it once but twice. There was no wait. How many people are crazy enough to stand in line for something like that! Even I was not brave enough to try it. Now we were off to Storm Slides (body slides not in the dark). We rode these three times. They were great but again a lot of steps. They should have a Chair Lift here like they do at Blizzard Beach.

Sam wanted to do Shark Reef so we headed over there. Matthew and I didn't care to try it so we just watched. He put on the snorkel gear and waded into the water. He kept stopping every few feet adjusting his gear. Coming out the other side he said he couldn't breathe. He would have done much better with his own swimming goggles he uses in the pool at home. I asked what it was like and he said it was okay but the water was very cold and salty - not something he wants to do again. Matthew begs to go back to the wave pool. It's nice because you get the ocean waves without the salt water in your mouth and eyes. We stay there for another 30 minutes. It's only 1:15 but we have done everything so we decide to leave. Blizzard Beach is definitely our favorite of the two water parks. BB has a lot more to do and the family raft ride is three times as long and has a chair lift to get you up there! But Matthew loved the wave pool and Typhoon Lagoon is not as busy as BB. So I guess we will have to do both parks on our next visit to Disney World.

We return to the resort to change clothes, then leave for Gatorland. It takes us 25 minutes to get there. It cost $31 for all three of us (I had a $5 coupon). The first show we saw was Jungle Crocs of the World. It was boring and only lasted 5 minutes. We went through the Petting Zoo while waiting for the next show (Gator Wrestling) at 3:15. We fed the goats - one of which grabbed my park map and ate half of it before I could get it away from him. Next to the petting zoo was a machine that made a plastic mold of a man wrestling a gator for $1. Pretty neat for only a buck! The Gator Wrestling show was great! The guy doing the wrestling was hilarious. It lasted 15 minutes and Matthew loved every minute of it. This show was worth the park admission. A neat fact - Gatorland has 780 gators in all. We went to one more show before leaving - Animal Encounters. This show is not for anyone that hates snakes. He shows a lot of snakes and lets one of them roam around freely - it wasn't poisonous but that's not the point! We were at Gatorland for a little over 2 hours and that's plenty of time to do everything.

We next drove down International Drive in search of dinner and found an Olive Garden. We love this place and don't have one at home. After dinner we head over to Bass Pro Shop. The closest Bass Pro Shop at home is five hours. So Sam has never been and he starts to drool before we get out of the car! This is a huge place and it's really neat. We just stand around for the first 5 minutes oohing and ahhing over everything. They have a large aquarium with several fish in it including a 12.5 pound bass and an 11 pound catfish. They had a fishing demonstration in the aquarium showing how to use several baits. Sam made me write down the names of each one. We then walked around the store trying to find those baits (he's just a fisherman not a hunter). They also have a shooting gallery for kids and a toy section. We bought Matthew a small four wheeler with a hunter riding it. He played with that thing the rest of the trip. They also have a small restaurant. I guess some men stay so long they need sustenance. Fortunately for me we only stayed for an hour and a half. We bought several souvenirs and left at 7:30. It took 30 minutes to get back to the resort and we were in bed at 9:00. Tomorrow is Magic Kingdom and MGM.

Thursday, September 27th, we are up at 6:00 and excited about Magic Kingdom early entry. We board a Disney bus for the first time. You can't do Magic Kingdom early entry using your own car because the monorail does not run from the TTC to MK that early. We didn't have to wait for the bus but we did have to stop at All Star Movies and pick up people there too. We are finally getting some of the rain they have been talking about for three days. But it is only drizzling. We arrive at the park at 7:10 and they start checking bags 5 minutes later. It starts to rain harder and we put on our stylish blue ponchos. They opened the gates at 7:30 and we head over to Space Mountain. It just amazes me that even when its slow some people still take off like they are in a race to get over to Space Mountain. We take our time and get there by 7:40 only to find out it's not opened yet. But the cast member assures us it will be momentarily and she was right. We only had to wait 5 minutes. Matthew still didn't want to ride, so Sam and I did kid switch and rode twice. I forgot to mention that I am not officially at Disney World until I have been on this ride. It is my absolute favorite in all the parks.

We had never tried the Alien Encounter so Sam rode while Matthew and I rode Buzz Lightyear twice - again no wait for either. When Sam got off the ride he looked disgusted! He said that was the stupidest ride he has ever been on. There was nothing to it. A total waste of 20 minutes. We then headed over to Fantasyland to ride Snow White. We had never done this before either so I was curious. It's not worth doing again but at least we didn't have to wait for it. It is now 8:55 and we head over to Frontierland since it is getting ready to open. It has also stopped raining and we take off our ponchos. Our first stop here is Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMR). We rode three times without ever getting off the train! That's never happened before. I just love sitting with Matthew on this ride. Since it is his favorite he puts up his arms and laughs and screams. Just watching him is worth every penny we spent on this trip!

Next came Splash Mountain. I know it is hard to believe but we have been five times and have never rode this before. We never wanted to get wet and the line was always so long. Well, there was no line today and we had our ponchos. So, we decided to try it and loved it! We rode twice without getting off. We then had to make another stop at BTMR riding three times with no wait. Next came lunch at Diamond Horseshoe Saloon Revue. We got our lunch and sat down to wait for the 10:45 show to start. We were sitting in the balcony but it was freezing up there. So we moved downstairs where it was much warmer. The show has three parts - Singing Cowboy, Magical Comedy & Miss Lucille & her Lovely Ladies. The magician was the best part but we enjoyed it all. It lasted 45 minutes. I will complete a Restaurant Review on the food. We head back outside - it is nice and cool right now. The weather man said it is only supposed to be 82 degrees today.

We head over to It's A Small World and get right on. Matthew is not as impressed as he used to be when he was smaller. But I have to do this ride at least once each trip. We go over to Mickey's Toontown Fair to ride Goofy's Barnstormer. On Matthew's first trip to Disney World, when he was 4 yrs old, this was his favorite ride. Now he has graduated up to BTMR and he thinks that Goofy is too short and not worth the 10 minute wait. We also noticed that the seats hurt our backs this time. We never noticed that before and last trip we rode five times in a row. Maybe our bodies are getting worn out since we are on Day 6. We take the Railroad up to the front of the park to leave for MGM. We see several characters outside the store and get pictures taken. This is the first time we have seen characters all week. They seem to be awfully scarce this trip. We have to go to the bus stop but decide to go back to our room and get our car instead of taking the bus to MGM. I had heard that it can be terrible waiting on a bus right after Fantasmic gets out. Fortunately, we only had to wait for a bus for 10 minutes. It took 15 minutes to get back to the resort. Matthew was curious how many buses Disney owns. So, we asked the bus driver and he said 250!

We filled up our mugs in the cafeteria, had a snack in our room and left for MGM at 1:10. We arrive at MGM 10 minutes later. It is very cloudy today. We haven't even needed our suntan lotion. The parking lot tram was waiting for us when we arrived. We have not had to wait for a tram yet. We immediately head to Rock n' Roller Coaster (it was closed when we were here on Sunday). There is a 15 minute wait so Sam gets a fastpass. I don't care to ride. Anything that goes upside down gives me a headache. And Matthew won't ride since it is in the dark. Indiana Jones starts in 20 minutes. So, we get a smoothie and a seat for the show. The stadium was only 2/3 full by the time it started. Matthew still loves this show even though it has been the same for years.

We then do the Backstage Tour. There are a ton of people in line and we end up waiting 20 minutes. I am so glad they have changed this Tour. It was neat seeing how they made part of the movie Pearl Harbor. While on the tour we saw them setting up the Osborne Lights for Christmas. Man! We thought they started early in North Carolina! Christmas lights in September. Now that's early! We don't finish up here until 4:10 and we hurry to get a seat for the new parade. The park is much busier than it was on Sunday. The parade is not even listed in the guide map but apparently everyone knows about it. We had a hard time finding a seat. I saw a lot of people wearing the 100 year celebration lanyard badge. So, I assume that is why it was so busy. While Matthew and I waited for the parade to start at 4:30, Sam used his Rock n' Roller Coaster fastpass. He only had to wait 5 minutes and was back before the parade started. He was going to ride the Tower of Terror too but the wait for that was one hour! He loved Rock n' Roller Coaster and couldn't stop talking about it. It goes 0-60 in 2.8 seconds. He said it was great!

The MGM parade was much better than the Epcot parade. The characters were in different cars. After the parade there was a mass exodus of people and the crowds were a little thinner after that. We are starving again by this point. Our priority seating for the Hollywood & Vine Fantasmic Dinner Package aren't for another 30 minutes but we decide to go on over in hopes of getting in early. And we did - no waiting at all. This meal was a pricey but I had heard that it was difficult to get a seat for Fantasmic unless you waited in line for an hour and I was not prepared for that. So, we decided to do the package which gives you reserved seating when you show up 30 minutes before the show. The seats were fine and right at the exit. I will do a Restaurant Review on the food.

After dinner we do the Great Movie Ride with no wait. We were seated on the first row right behind the tour guide which gets replaced with the mobster about half way through. Matthew was a little scared of the mobster at first. But then the guy turned around and looked at Matthew and said, "What are you looking at?" Matthew laughed and was fine after that. It was now 6:30 and we had done everything with time to spare before Fantasmic. So, we decide to see Indiana Jones again - this was Matthew's request. While waiting for the show, I saw a guy with the neatest T-shirt. It said, "If you work at Disney World, where do you go for vacation?" Pretty neat, huh? After the show Sam went back to ride Rock n' Roller Coaster and Matthew and I went to play and the steam roller outside of the Backstage Tour. Matthew had seen it earlier and was dying to try it out.

Sam did not get off the Rock n' Roller Coaster until 7:30 and the Fantasmic card says you are supposed to show up 30 minutes before the show so we all take off running to the entrance - which is a pretty good distance. We make it there at 7:35 huffing and puffing and they still let us in. We bought some cotton candy and enjoyed the rest. The stadium of 9000 people (full, with some standing in the back) starts doing the wave. This was so fun! We did it about 10 times back and forth. Fantasmic was okay. Sam and Matthew were kinda bored and Matthew was exhausted. We left about 5 minutes before the end so that we wouldn't have to fight the crowd. Again the tram was waiting on us and we were back at our resort in 15 minutes and in bed at 9:30. We walked a total of 8.7 miles today. Tomorrow is Typhoon Lagoon and Sea World again.

Friday, September 28th, we are up at 6:00 again. We had planned on doing the early entry this morning but the weather man has taken the rain out of the forecast and Matthew wants to go to Blizzard Beach again. It's free since we bought the tickets with the two extra free options. We also had the second day free ticket for Sea World. So, that will also be free. By this time, we are tired of pop tarts and we ran out of bagels so we decide to get something from McDonalds. It is only a mile from the resort. The prices weren't too bad. We paid $7.91 for two bacon, egg & cheese biscuits, one plain biscuit and one egg mcmuffin. We got to Blizzard Beach at 9:30 only to be told that it was closed for inclement weather. Don't you hate it when someone lies to you and expects you to believe it like you are stupid!!?? The weather man has taken the rain out of the forecast, the sun is shining and it's 82 degrees. They should have told us the truth - we expect it to be slow today and do not want to pay employees to keep both water parks open. River Country is down for refurbishment. So that means that only Typhoon Lagoon is open. Sam and I prefer just to go on to Sea World but Matthew had his heart set on a water park. So, we go to Typhoon Lagoon.

We get to Typhoon Lagoon and expect it to be busy since it is the only water park open but it doesn't look to bad. It's actually not as busy as it was on Wednesday. We do the three Falls and Sam and Matthew try Humunga Kowabunga again. This time Matthew got off the slide holding his elbow saying he bumped it on the side. Sam got off holding his behind saying he got slide burn. So, they won't be doing that again! We do the Storm Slides again and the wave pool. At 11:45, we've already done everything and decide to leave. There was a long line of people just arriving at the locker counter. I didn't feel like waiting to get my $2 deposit back so I sold my locker key to a guy standing in line for $4. I made $2 and he saved $2 on his locker. Not bad, huh? We stopped at McDonalds again for lunch. The prices are a lot higher at lunch than the McDonalds back home. A Happy Meal was $3.70! We can get them for $1.99 in NC. A large fry was $2.59!

We took our lunch back to the resort and ate by the pool. Matthew went swimming for an hour. We then changed our clothes and left for Sea World at 1:00. They sun is out now and really getting hot - so much for inclement weather! It took us 30 minutes to drive to Sea World and we stayed there until 5:45. I know this isn't Disney but I have to mention one thing. There is a show there called Cargo de la Mer. It has a comedian, fire juggler, gymnasts and dancers. The best part is the comedian. There is one part where he picks six guys out of the audience and Sam ends up being one of those guys. He positions four of the guys in a square and then pulls scotch tape out of his pocket and wraps the tape around them creating a boxing rink. The other two guys are put inside the rink. The guy with the most muscles (obviously Sam) is chosen to box with him while the other guy rings the bell. They run around the rink boxing for about five minutes with Sam winning of course. Then all seven of them line up and do high kicks. It is hilarious. This show and the Journey to Atlantis ride are worth the admission into Sea World all by themselves!

After leaving Sea World, we decide to eat at Ponderosa on International Blvd. The buffet is very good and comes with everything on the menu. You get a 7 oz sirloin with the buffet for only $8.99. The kid's buffet is $3.59. The only thing that was disappointing was the dessert bar - no chocolate chip cookies and the brownies and muffins were very dry. We headed back to the resort at 7:00 and happened to pass the building site of the new Pop Century resort. I thought it would be beside the All Star resorts but it wasn't. It is actually across from Disney's Wide World of Sports. Two of the buildings looked complete on the outside. We could see huge bowling pins on one and mega size yo yo's on the other. This resort looks just as big as all three of the All Star's put together. Each building has four stories instead of three and are really long. I know it will be neat when they get finished! We anticipate staying there on our next trip. Back at the resort, Matthew goes swimming for 30 minutes and we are in bed at 9:00. Tomorrow is Epcot and Magic Kingdom.

Saturday, September 29th, we actually sleep in until 7:00. We are going to Epcot today which doesn't open until 8:30 and ending our day at Magic Kingdom which is supposed to close at 10:00. I say supposed to because they have been closing a lot of things earlier than previously posted. In fact, I decide I better call the front desk and see if they have changed it and they had. It is now closing at 9:00 instead with the parade being at 8:00 when the parade was previously starting at 10:00. Fudge! We drive to the McDonalds on Disney property for breakfast and it was very busy. There were 30 people in front of us in line and only three people working in the back. We decide to go through the drive thru instead. We get our food, get back out of the car and eat outside under the umbrellas. We leave for Epcot at 8:10 and arrive ten minutes later. Again, we get a park right up front. It is a little chilly this morning with the high only supposed to be 77 degrees today.

We head over to Test Track first and it is actually running for a change. On our last trip it stayed broken most of the time. Matthew did not like this ride on our last trip so Sam and I did kid switch twice with no wait. The Technologies section in the back where you can test drive the safety features of a car is closed for refurbishment and Matthew is pretty disappointed. He loved that last time! Next we go to Body Wars. We told Matthew that this ride is the same as Star Tours and since he did not like that one he did not want to ride. Sam wasn't really thrilled about doing it either so I went by myself. It was okay and I didn't have to wait which is good because it isn't worth waiting for. We came out of the Wonders of Life just in time to see the bus with the Characters on Holiday. There were a ton of characters. We got a picture taken with Mickey. I read a lot about the fountains not running at Epcot due to the drought but they were all working when we were there.

Next we did Journey Into Imagination and it's definitely not the same without Figment!. We also did Honey I Shrunk the Audience. It's neat to sit back and watch people that have never seen this before. Next stop was Living with the Land and there was a 10 minute wait here - our first wait of the day. We passed through Ice Station Kool. Sam tried to get an unsuspecting person to try Beverly. But I said, "No, you don't!" That's just not nice trying to get someone to taste that nasty mess. I really didn't like any of the flavors. Coming out of the igloo, we saw the Kristos (acrobats). We only stayed for two minutes. The music was way too loud and they weren't that good.

It's time for lunch and Sam and I wanted to try Cantina de San Angel (counter service outside Mexico) but Matthew was tired of exotic food. So, we stopped at the McDonalds Refreshment Port to get some nuggets and fries. Six nuggets and a fry was $5.07! There was only one side open and we had a long wait. We then walked over to Mexico. I will complete a Restaurant Review on Cantina de San Angel. The food was basically just as good as San Angel Inn (full service inside Mexico) but a lot cheaper. According to our guide map, the American Drum Corps was playing at in five minutes. We ran all the way over there only to find out that the guide map is wrong. By now, we are frustrated and tired and decide to take the boat over to leave. But the boat dock on that side was closed! We are too tired to walk over and decide to wait for the Voices of Liberty which begins in 30 minutes. I'm glad we did. This was great! It was a group singing popular American songs acapella that lasted about 10 minutes. It was so good! The Drum Corps played immediately following the singing. We were expecting a big band marching and drumming and playing all our favorites. It was so pitiful. It was just four guys playing the drums. The walked around the outside seating area and then went back in. It took a total of two minutes!

The wind had really started to pick up and it was getting chilly. We don't really have anything else to do at Epcot but we really want to see the British Invasion again. So, we have 45 minutes to burn. Earlier in the day, Matthew saw a little boy eating a huge lollipop and I guess he got a sugar craving because he starts asking about that lollipop. We walked in every single country in World Showcase looking for a lollipop. There was not one to be found anywhere! We finally saw a girl eating one in the UK and asked where she got it. She said Magic Kingdom. So, Matthew will have to wait a little longer. We got a seat for the show and it felt so good to relax our feet. I checked my pedometer and we had already walked 6.2 miles today. My body is starting to scream that it is time to go home! The show was great again and they played totally different songs this time. We decide to take the monorail to Magic Kingdome (MK) instead of taking our car. I'm sure the car would have been just as quick but Matthew loves riding in the monorail.

We got to the monorail platform and I quickly asked the cast member if anyone had asked to ride with the driver yet and he said "No!" We were so excited! We had never rode in front before and the only reason I even knew that you could is because I learned it from this group. We had to wait 10 minutes for the monorail (black striped). We hopped in front and it was so cool. It's neat being able to see where you are going. The driver gave Matthew his honorary co-pilot's license. We got to the TTC and hopped on the MK monorail with only a five minute wait. We arrived at MK at 3:00 just in time to get a seat for the new parade which started in Frontierland and wrapped around to Main Street. It has started to rain, so we put on our ponchos and eagerly wait for the parade. Every float in the new parade was a snow globe with a character in it. It was so pretty. However, Matthew was more concerned about finding that lollipop. So, we head over to the Main Street Confectionery before the parade is even over. And hallelujah! we found the evasive lollipop in the shape of Mickey's head. (He still has not finished that thing....it went to school with him again today. I think he is waiting for it to grow fur!) Of course, I had to get something chocolate - a 3 Musketeer bar - and Sam got a candy bar too. So we all got dessert for $5.00. Not too bad...

I had read that you should never, ever go to MK on Saturday. But it was our last day there and it is our favorite park and I really wanted our trip to end with the Spectromagic parade. What I should have done was show up at MK about 6:00 or 7:00 instead of 3:00. Because it was just as busy as a day in July. And I know because I have been twice in July. There was an hour wait for all our favorites - Space Mountain, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (BTMR). We got a fastpass for BTMR and headed over Mad Tea Party which usually goes pretty fast even on busy days. There was a 20 minute wait there so Sam and Matthew only rode once. We have never waited that long. Next came Goofy's Barnstormer since that is another one that goes pretty quickly. The sign stated a 30 minute wait but we actually made it through in 15 minutes. And it had stopped raining by the time we got to the front of the line. It is now time to use our BTMR fastpass. We walked right on with no wait. I don't know why people in the stand by line give us dirty looks every time we use a fastpass. They have the choice of using it too. I guess some people rather wait in line an hour than go ride something else and come back.

We still have that business card that allows us to go to the front of any line and we chose to use it to get right back on BTMR. The cast member just looked at the card, shrugged and said okay. We got in the front car this time but I think the ride is actually better in the back because you get thrown around more. After BTMR, we take the train to Toontown and walk to Space Mountain. There is still an hour wait so we grab a fastpass and get on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (or the Wedway People Mover as I still call it). There was a pretty long line for it but it moves so fast you just keep walking never really standing still. I love doing this when I am exhausted. It's so peaceful and the ride lasts a fairly long time. Next came Buzz Lightyear with a 20 minute wait. We then head over to the Plaza Pavilion for dinner. I will complete a Restaurant Review later. Now it is time to use our Space Mountain fastpass. I actually got three fastpasses. Sam and I did kid switch and since Matthew didn't want to ride, I rode again while they played arcade games next door. Astro Orbitor was closed for refurbishment. So, we didn't get a chance to ride that this trip. I hope they are changing it in order to load and unload people a lot quicker!

It was now 7:30 and time to get a seat for Spectromagic only it was so busy we couldn't find a seat! And we were just too exhausted to care at this point. So we decided to leave and take the ferry boat back to the TTC (something we had never done before). It really was just as quick as taking the monorail only prettier with the castle changing during the Goodnight Kiss. I have promised myself that we will never again go to MK on Saturday. We get on the monorail to go to Epcot to pick up our car and are back at the resort at 8:15. I checked my pedometer and we set a record today - 10.8 miles! And I am feeling every single mile! Tomorrow we head home.

Sunday, September 30th, we are up at 6:30. Our rental car has to be back by 9:25 (using the 59 minute grace period) and we are going out for breakfast so we are very busy this morning. At 7:00 our bill has not show up yet so I call the front desk. They assured me that they are out delivering and will be there by 7:30. She was correct only the bill wasn't! They had charged me for last night ($99) even though I had prepaid for everything before we checked in. I called the front desk again and she explains that it can't be fixed on the phone. So, I leave Sam to finish the packing while I hurry to the main building. It took 20 minutes to get them to understand I had already paid and to take the $99 off my bill.

We leave the resort at 7:45, gas up the rental car and bypass the airport in search of breakfast. We find a Golden Corral and have the breakfast buffet. The price for adults was $5.99 and kids was $4.99 but the drink was included and there was orange juice on the bar! I think we drank a 1/2 gallon between the three of us. We were starting to have withdrawals! We go through a lot of orange juice at our house because Matthew and I can't have milk. The food was really good even though it was a little pricey for breakfast. We returned the rental car and told the attendant about the awful noise we have been listening to all week. Sam thought that something was lose in the rear of the car. It had a very load humming noise. If we had been closer to the airport we would have returned it for another car.

We get in line at Delta at 9:25. The line was about the same length as it was in Raleigh on our departure but it was moving very quickly. It only took 10 minutes to check our baggage. There was also no wait at the scanner. I took a picture of a group of National Guardsmen getting briefed on their new jobs as airport security. We then sat down and relaxed waiting for our 11:35 flight. At 10:30 a flight attendant announced that they were overbooked and asked for volunteers to change to the flight with a layover in Atlanta. Our flight was a direct flight arriving in Raleigh at 1:15. They would give $350 in vouchers and pay for your lunch. Sam and I said, "Let's do it!" But Matthew didn't want to. He wanted to get on a plane only once not twice. But for $350 we just couldn't pass it up. So, I gave up our seats not even realizing that we actually would get three vouchers for $350 totaling $1,050. We don't fly enough to know these things! Needless to say we were ecstatic! We also were told that the plane we were moving to was a lot larger than the direct flight and that made Matthew feel better. He hated that little plane. We are planning on using some of the vouchers to go to a Pittsburgh Steeler game. Sam loves the Steelers and the Pirates - does that make sense when we are from North Carolina?

The flight attendant said they would move our luggage to the new plane. So we head over to gate 74 to check in there. It took 25 minutes to check in and we didn't have assigned seats yet. She was trying to find three seats together. Fifteen minutes after checking in, the flight attendant announced that this plane was also overbooked and was asking for volunteers to move to the flight leaving at 4:30. Hey! I'm game. I could use another $1000 in vouchers. I got in line but they had enough volunteers before I got to the desk.

Our new flight was to leave at 11:30, go through Atlanta and arrive in Raleigh at 3:55. We found out at 11:30 that there was an electrical problem and the flight was delayed until 12:15. At 12:15 it was delayed until 12:45. Our connecting flight in Atlanta is leaving at 2:35. At this point there is no way we are going to make the connecting flight since it takes an hour and 15 minutes to fly to Atlanta. At 12:50 we finally started boarding and the plane was huge. The biggest that we have ever been on. It was 200 feet long, had nine seats all the way across and held 270 people. It had televisions in the roof that showed you where the plane was and how much farther you had to go and there were little ear phones to listen to the radio. Matthew loved it. He was now glad that we had switched.

The flight didn't leave until 1:30 and landed at 2:35. So, obviously we missed our connecting flight. We were rebooked on a 4:20 flight scheduled to get in at 6:00. By the time we got our new flight it was 3:00 and we had to hurry to use our $30 vouchers for free lunch (which is now turning out to be dinner; we never did get lunch). We took the train over to Concourse E (this place is so huge). We had dinner and bought six huge cookies with the remaining money. It's now 4:10 and we didn't have time to eat the cookies. I packed them up and we rushed to our gate. They immediately started boarding and we didn't have three seats together. But a nice guy swapped with me so that I could sit with Sam and Matthew. This plane was large but not huge like the other one. It had six seats across and held 200 people. Our flight went without incident (I am sure there was a lot of praying going on) and we landed at 5:50.

We go stand by the luggage carousel and patiently wait - okay so not so patiently. But it has been a long day and we are ready to go home. After 20 minutes, the crowd is starting to thin out and we still have not seen one piece of our luggage! It took 30 minutes to see our first piece and then we only got three of the four. A lady came out and said that was all the luggage and we would have to fill out a baggage claim. Thankfully our fourth piece was in the back. It seems that it stayed on the direct flight and actually got to Raleigh at 1:15 when we didn't get there until 5:50! But that's fine too. The extra 4 1/2 hours was worth $1,050. We called Holiday Inn Express to come pick us up and they were there in 7 minutes! We picked up our car and left Raleigh at 7:00 arriving home at 8:00. Home. Isn't that a nice word. Here's some more nice words - my own bed. It's nice to go away once and a while just so you can appreciate home.

I just got the eleven rolls of film developed and calculated our expenses. We actually came under the budget by $7 - not bad when you have to estimate $2400! We had a great time but I think it will be three years before we go back. I am already taking notes about what changes I need to make for next time. We would like to go to Universal Studios instead of Sea World. We would like to stay at Pop Century or maybe even one of the Moderate hotels and go either Halloween or the week after Thanksgiving.

I will stay on Daily Digest for another week or so in case I get any questions. But after that I plan on changing to the Best of TheMouseForLess. Thanks for everyone's help in making this a great vacation!