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Hi everyone!
I finally have time to do a quick trip report - Me (41), DH (41), DS (5) and my parents
Left Denver on Sat. before Thanks. My ds started to run a fever at DIA - by the time we checked in at Holiday Inn Airport location (50.00 a night), it was 10:00. He still had a fever when we woke up on Sunday, so took him to Mainstreet Physicians where we got in quickly and he had a throat culture which came back positive for strep! Doctor was very nice - advised us to take it easy our first couple of days which I had planned anyways. Off to Walgreens for antibiotics and on our way. . .
We took my parents to Star Island Resort in Kissimmee to check them in and then went on to Polynesian.
Checked in about 1:30 - they said they didn't have our room ready yet so we left bags with bellman (who
we tipped because we didn't know any better!) We took the bus to MGM and went straight to Playhouse Disney. Even though my son wasn't feeling well, he did want to see this! Then went to Al's Toy Barn to see Buzz, etc... waited in line for about 15 minutes for a picture. Had PS for Hollywood and Vine at 4:30 with tickets to Fantasmic at 6:00. Food was good, we go to a lot of buffets, so thought it was pretty much buffet fare food. (Nothing to rave about.) Got great seats at Fantasmic which was wonderful! Went back about 7:30. (BTW - leaving DW at night is incredibly confusing, especially since all roads lead in and out of DW! Between my parents and us, we must have gone back to Kissimmee 5 or 6 different ways!!) Our room was located in the Niue building - close to GCH and pool - but it was a little too chilly to us to swim. Big room with nice bathroom! Extra treat - when we were checking out the grounds, heard the fireworks and ran to the beach with great views!
Monday - had PS at Ohana's for character breakfast. It was fun, they
involved the children by dancing around the restaurant. Food is served family style - skillets of food put in middle of table to share. Took bus to Animal Kingdom where we got in line for Festival of the Lion King which really is a must see show. Very professionally done! Then did Kilimanjaro Safari ride which was great. Went over to Rafiki's planet watch which was interesting too. Decided to do Downtown Disney later that day since ds was still not at 100% and he could rest in the stroller. Did some shopping and went to Captain Jack's for dinner - food was OK. Back to Poly. . .
Tuesday - MK day!! DS is feeling much better now. We went straight to Dumbo and Peter Pan. Did Pooh and then got FP for Buzz. We've never used FP before, but it was relatively easy to get the tickets. Ride transit ride and look in gift shop while waiting. Our only negative experience of the trip - the first CM took our FP's as we entered the ride. Once we got closer, another CM asked for our FP's. When we told her we gave them to the first CM, she didn't believe us and wanted us to get out of the line. She was quite rude about the whole thing. Now, we have waited for about an hour to ride this and there was no way in hell I was getting out of the line. Fortunately, there were people around us who also didn't have their FP's so we all went ahead and rode. Unfortunately, my blood pressure had already
risen quite a bit, so didn't really know what to do on the ride. Afterwards, went to Toontown to meet Mickey and took train to Frontierland. Saw Country Bears show which was a pleasant surprise since it had a holiday theme. Ate lunch at Pecos Bill's - hotdogs are huge!! Food was good - condiment bar was awesome!! Saw snowglobe parade which was a little disappointing. . . too short. Went back to Poly for a nap since we had luau reservations for 8:00 that night. Luau was great - great food and entertainment very authentic.
Lasted until after 10:00!! Even though I made ressies in June, our seats weren't very good. We were a little late since we had gone back to MK, so I don't know if being early gets you better seats.
Wednesday - Had breakfast at Kona Cafe - again the food was OK, we ordered the infamous Tonga Toast, but unless you're a huge banana fan, it is a little too mushy. Checked out of Poly and went to timeshare in Kissimmee. Took my parents to the airport and went to Celebration. Had an early night.
Thursday (Thanksgiving) - Got great advice to spend this day at Epcot. It wasn't crowded (or didn't feel like it). Rode SE and saw Honey, I Shrunk. . . Making the masks at each country was a lot of fun, I would highly recommend doing this since it is FREE and a nice souvenir. We had ressies at the Dolphin ballroom for a character buffet at 5:00 - buffet food was great!! The turkey, dressing, etc... was very good, did not taste like buffet food at all. Best of all, they had rotating characters where you could stand in line to get autographs and pictures. Drove back to Epcot and waited for
Illuminations to start. It was chilly, but we got a good view.
Friday - Went back to MGM to see Beauty and the Beast and do other things. I would highly recommend this show. Again, went to Hollywood and Vine so that we could get the Fantasmic seats. (This was my ds favorite thing - he loves how Mickey fights the villains!) The only thing we didn't do was Osborne Lights - my legs were too tired to walk over there despite the raving reviews. (Besides, we watched it snow on Monday Night Football when the Broncos played and didn't really want anything to do with snow, whether it
was real or fake!!)
Saturday - Our last day - had breakfast at Chef Mickey's which was way better than the character breakfast at Poly. Loved the food!! Went to MK. Crowds were heavier, got a FP to Buzz, rode Aladdin, Jungle Cruise. Sat on bridge in front of castle 2 hours before Spectromagic parade which was fantastic. It certainly renewed my opinion on Disney parades! Watched fireworks from there as well. . . the perfect ending to a memorable week!
Ending note: When we got home, the new version of the DW video was waiting for us. When ds started to watch it, he started crying and said he couldn't watch it because it made him want to go back . . . my sentiments exactly!! He continues to ask us when we can go back. No offense to the DL'ers, but DW is a much more relaxing vacation because it's not so congested. So Orlando will always be my first choice. Also, a big thank you to all of you who gave me such wonderful advice, planning made our trip much smoother. I am also
going to stay in this group so I can get my Disney fixes from time to time...
Take care,
Debby in Colorado
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