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Tuesday, 10/21
Miranda still not feeling well - can't talk at this point. We arrived at MK about 8:45 - just in time for
the opening ceremony. We split for awhile, DH with Miranda to go to Tomorrowland to ride Buzz & TTA and me
with Laken to do autographs and whatever. Did a little shopping down Main Street and was just in time to see
Cinderella's Surpirse Celebration - Laken loved this - so did I! Got Daisy & Pluto's autographs. Caught
up with DH & Miranda - they had bought her some cough medicine suckers which helped her throat a bit.
Went to Toontown for Barnstormer and a walk through entire place. Saw Mickey in Judge's Tent. Got autographs
from Pooh, Eeyore & Tigger. Laken was so cute with them! She bounced up to Tigger and told Pooh a knock,
knock joke. Want to hear it? Knock, knock. Who's there? Abby. Abby who? 'A bee' stung me on the nose.
Headed to Fantasyland. I don't remember what order we did everything in. But we did everything here, except
Snow White's Scary Adventures. And this was the first & only place we used the Fast Pass. We loved Mickey's
PhilharMagic show! It was terrific! Went into Tinkerbell's Treasures to spot her. We ate lunch sometime in the
middle of this at Columbia Harbour House in Liberty Square. Good food again. Saw the parade from this area.
I was surprised when Miranda wanted to do the Haunted Mansion ride - but we all did it - even Laken did fine
snuggled up against me.
Headed into Adventureland for a Magic Carpet Ride. Got Genie's autograph. Had some ice cream from Aloha Isle
- pineapple floats are great! Had some more we wanted to do and didn't get to because Miranda was feeling
terrible by this time so we decided to head back to our room. Did the WDW Railroad all around the park before
leaving.
Back to ALMo for dinner. Had Ted do a Character sketch to the girls together. Kind of pricey - but worth it
in my opinion and he made them laugh after a long day. Kids in bed around 8:30 tonight. Miranda's pumped full
of Tylenol & Cough Medicine (I had to purchase the cough/cold medicine in the gift shop - not cheap - but
could have been worse).
High point: Cinderella's Surprise Celebration, it was just nice for Laken & me to happen upon this and
enjoy it.
Low point: Miranda feeling so bad - a horrible way to spend a vacation.
Tomorrow: Epcot & MK for parade & fireworks & meet with other MFL
10/22
This was an early entry day into Epcot - but with Miranda sick - we just took our time and didn't worry about
it. The bus line for Epcot was, as usual, big - so we hopped on a bus to MK and road the monorail to TTC then
to Epcot. Arrived at Epcot just before 10. We used our package coupon to do Leave A Legacy with the girls.
Headed towards WS - we had lunch PS at the San Angel Inn in Mexico at 11:30. The food was good but not great.
Service was lacking - we were acutally rushed out when there was no wait. The restaurant was dark. The boat
ride was nice - but Laken would have no part of it. The girls ordered name rings. We stolled our way around
the world. Took pictures of character beanies in countries costumes, got pressed pennies at every country (except
China & Japan - they didn't have them) and looked for HM. Miranda & I did Maelstorm - which was fine
- but we had to wait at the end to get into the movie - which we skipped. We found Jasmine & Aladdin in
Morroco - they sat and actually chatted with Laken. And we got to meet Koda & Kenai in Canada - she thought it
was cool to meet them even before their movie is in the theatres. It was a slow walk around WS and we forgot
& missed our PS for The Ice Cream Social. We did do HISTA - everyone enjoyed this - before leaving for
MK. We plan on coming back tomorrow.
We were planning on meeting some from MFL for the parade & fireworks. We didn't make it. Barely got a good
place to see the parade. Found a place along the path in the Rose Garden to view the fireworks. I ran over
to Cosmic Rays to get us some dinner while we waited. We saw Tinkerbell great but our view of the fireworks
was somewhat hindered by the trees. It was truly a magnificent show.
We had about a 45 minute wait back to resort - buses were running the best they could - the crowd was just
huge. Twice ALMo had 2 buses come at once.
Back to Day 4 at MK. I fogot to mention that we ran into Peter Pan in Adventureland. This, like Jasmine
& Aladdin, was a great experience. He sat & talked with Laken about many things - which I loved
- one of my favorite all time lines is...."But, Peter, how do we get to Neverland?" "Why,
fly, of course!"
High Point: Jasmine & Aladdin, Laken had actually been dressed as Jasmine when we arrived at Epcot today
- but had to change due to getting wet somewhere along the way - but she told them what she had worn.
Low Point: Missing Colleen & Michelle for the parade :-(
Tomorrow: CRT at MK then on to finish up Epcot before leaving for the beach.
10/23
DH left at 7:20 to pick up car at Alamo because we are leaving today :-(. When he got back we loaded up the
car and decided to drive to MK & park there. We PS for CRT at 8:50. We were planning on doing a few
things a MK after breakfast then leaving for Clearwater Beach. Since Miranda's been sick (she's finally feeling
a bit better today) and we didn't get nearly enough done a Epcot we've decided to go there after breakfast.
We decided that parking at MK then monorailing back & forth to Epcot would be our easiest solution -
what we didn't know is that we'd be parked at the TTC and have to monorail or ferry boat to MK from the parking
lot. We took the ferry, which was quick & fun, but I was really stressing about getting to CRT on time.
THEN they had some sort of ceremony at the gate before they let us in - it wasn't the normal Welcome/Opening
ceremony - ugh! We ran to Cindy's castle and was just a tad late. We did see the Fairy Godmother while waiting
but the line was so long we didn't get her autograph before heading upstairs for breakfast. Breakfast was
great! You have to try the stuffed french toast. We saw Cinderella & Mary Poppins. Also present were
Snow White, Aurora & Belle whom we had seen at the Princess Storybook Breakfast in Norway. DH (very smart)
very casually said to them when they approached our table "How nice to see you again...." - each
one took the hint and didn't even offer to sign our books again but did ask if we wanted another picture.
It was a nice breakfast for our last day in the parks.
Okay, back to Mirnada...she wants a hair wrap - but just the pin on type. There was one at the pool at ALMo
but we never quite made it there to purchase. They're only open in the evenings and our goal was always to
get back to our room and to bed. We've seen them in some parks so we're going to ask a CM. Was told there
was a stand in Adventureland. So we split and DH took Miranda to see about getting one.
I took Laken to get her picture with Minnie Mouse because she is dressed as Minnie today. We barely caught her
just before Cinderella's Surprise Celebration but Minnie took the time to gush over her costume. We headed to
Toontown because I thought a picture with Mickey would be cute and this is where we were going to meet the
other 1/2 of our family. Mickey's line was too long so we hung out and waited. They took the train from
Adventureland (kiosk was not open so still no hair wrap) - we all jumped on the train to the entrance and said
our goodbyes to MK.
We took the monorail to TTC (changed Laken's clothes during this private ride) then took it to Epcot. We
got to ride up front! Bob, the engineer, gave everyone a pilot's license. Very cool views! We did Innoventions
(my kids favorite) and the Living Seas and some last minute shopping at MouseGears. Said a final goodbye
and headed out about 2:30.
High Point: Cinderellas Royal Table Breakfast
Low Point: Leaving
Tonight & Tomorrow: Clearwater Beach
Final comments
All Star Movies: We enjoyed this resort. Rooms are small but you have all you need. Room was quiet. We stayed
in Buzz Toy Story Building. It was close to courtyard, pool, food court & buses. Food Court here was almost
always busy & loud. Loved my free diet coke on the way to the parks each day.
Buses: No serious complaints. We only had long waits for Epcot. Coming back from Epcot after Illuminations
and from MK after Wishes was less than desirable but to be expected considering the crowds. Overall I thought
the buses ran very well. Everyone always did what they could to make room for others. My complaint would be
that they didn't use the same procedures on each bus. You never knew what you could do with a stroller or
where the driver would let you stand. Not a big deal but I like consistency.
Security check: I was expecting this to be a pain but it wasn't. You do have to have everything opened up
and unzipped ready for inspection. Went quickly.
Fast Pass: We only needed to use this at MK. I didn't realize that you couldn't just get a couple and then
hit those rides. But it worked just fine getting a FP and then riding something else getting FP #2 then riding
FP#1. You had to time it....which could be too much for some people...but it was nice for those rides with
long lines. We never waited for longer than 20 minutes on any ride - and only a couple were that long.
Parades: I love parades! But you do have to get there early to set up a spot for front line. If not, it can
get to be push & shove - sad for Disney but true. I love it when they stop to involve the kids. The SpectroMagic
parade & Wishes fireworks was the busiest! Of course, they're not that every night right now so more people
are crowding in to see them.
Mugs at All Stars: $12 for a mug - refillable for your entire stay. It's a deal for us adults - but not so
much for the kids - but they got their own mug anyway. It was a bonus that you can take your mug to Blizzard
Beach and purchase a $6 refillable code to use all day. I'm ashamed to admit I am a big diet coke drinker -
I also drink lots of water - it's one or the other for me.
Drinks in parks: We've heard complaints about this before. Personally, the tap water did not taste THAT bad to
me - just a bit of sulpher. The cost of bottles of water was not unreasonable, IMO. $2.50 for a large bottled
water. You pay more than that at stadiums and such. A large soda was only $2.29 - again, I don't think that's
unreasonable in a park. Just my opinion.
Character Greetings: The last time we were here in 1996 - I only remember seeing the characters at MK. It was
nice to get autographs at some of the other parks so we didn't spend our day standing in line at MK. I found
the lines to be shorter at most of the other parks, also.
That's it from me. We had a great time despite a sick child. Have a few things we didn't get to - but are
already talking about going back - sooner rather than later!
Part 1, 2, 3
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