Hollingshead - November 2004

Day 1 - Getting there

PREP: I bought a binder with dividers, added a pencil pouch that zipped and two of my son's (borrowed) card protector pages, and I set up a Disney binder with a section for each park plus reservations. The pencil pouch held our tickets for the plane, parks, and MVMCP. I used the card pages to hold my pressed pennies as we went through the parks and I got them. I also had info for each park under its own section - this way, I could immediately flip to that park and see where we were supposed to eat and when, which restaurants sold vouchers at AK, when the parades were, etc. It was a lot of planning but SO worth it in the end!

TIP: I bought a lanyard for each of us. My two youngest kids, myself, and my dh were the only ones who would wear them, though (other family members thought they were "uncool" LOL). I attached a hard plastic luggage tag (decorated each one with scrapbook stickers on one side) to each lanyard, and my kids had all our cell phone #'s written on the back of each of these. That way, if they DID get lost, they (and I) knew they could go up to any park worker and would be able to get one of the adult members of the group on a cell phone within just seconds. This really gave me peace of mind. For DH and myself, I put our drivers' licenses in our lanyards as we went through security at the airport; it was so much easier to show them that than to be setting down luggage and digging through purses and wallets to find them! I bought the lanyards for $2 each at Family Dollar (tons of different designs available though none were Disney), and I got the luggage tags for free from a cheerleading competition we went to the month before. Next time, though, I plan on getting two cheap wallets from Family Dollar and attaching them to the adults' lanyards to hold tickets, fast passes, and money (nothing to carry then!).

We flew to Orlando the day before Thanksgiving, and the weather was beautiful. We got off the plane to warm windy weather, and after getting the shuttle to the Thrifty rental place and picking up our car and minivan, it was smooth sailing.

THRIFTY: I want to say that it was GREAT renting from Thrifty! I was a little worried (I've never rented an auto before) that something would go wrong, but it was fine. When you get to MCO (Orlando Airport), you get your bags and then go downstairs. From there, go outside on the sidewalk and look at the little "street" signs that have all the car rental place names on them. Stand under the Thrifty sign, and the shuttle will pick up you and your luggage and take you to the Thrifty rental store which is about a ten minute ride away. They also unload your luggage when you get there, and then you go inside and give the cashier your reservation #, sign the paperwork, and get your auto. Make sure you fill out the little form they give you to mark down any damage there is on your vehicle, and do it BEFORE you leave the parking lot, and then give them a copy BEFORE you pull off the lot. That way, it's all noted so they can't say you damaged their auto (I'm a little paranoid......LOL). We kept the info in the car instead of in the binder just in case somebody stole our stroller or our binder at Disney.

We ate dinner at TGIF's nearby the Thrifty rental place, and then we headed for Disney. We got lost finding the All Star Music resort. If you're staying there, just look for and follow the signs towards Typhoon Lagoon. The resort is near there, and the signs will show up once you get close to it.

ALL STAR MUSIC: It was a very nice hotel. Of course, it's not as nice as the Grand Floridian or the Polynesian, but for $77 a night, it was GREAT - definitely as good as a Holiday Inn. There is no complimentary breakfast bar, though, and my sister and her bf ate at the Food Court and didn't like the food there so we never tried it.

TIP: Ask for a handicapped accessible room if there is one available. We just happened to get one, and the fridge was already in there (so it was free - otherwise, it's still $15 a day to rent one at ASM). The food court opens at 6 a.m. and sells milk in small bottles (just big enough to fit in the fridge). Cans of pop and small bottles of juice also will fit in there (12 juices in all), but 20 oz bottles of pop have to lie on the side to fit (and only three will fit that way on each shelf). There is a Wal Green's on International Drive, and they have a small bit of food available (we picked up milk and few other things on day four there b/c what I packed was running out).

WHEN YOU CHECK IN: Ask the receptionist for a map of all the penny press machines. She will print you off a list that goes by park and tells you not only where each machine is but also which design is on it (and if it's a # of a certain set). Also, there are maps for each park available at check in as well as any other info you could possibly need. The receptionist when we checked in that night was WONDERFUL! =)

When we got to the room, we unpacked our clothes (TIP - pack prek child's clothes in gallon ziplock baggies - our 4yo daughter just grabbed the bag she wanted, and she was able to dress herself right to the shoes, and then she brought me her hair ribbons and rubberbands which were also in the bag! - sure made mornings really quick and easy for her!), picked a "to leave" time, and then went to bed.

And that was our first day! =)

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom

Getting nine people up and out on time is NOT EASY! LOL I kept waking up from 4 a.m. on and looking at the clock every 20 - 30 minutes; I was so afraid I was going to oversleep!!! I didn't want to miss one second of Disney magic! I wanted to be at MK at 8 a.m. since it was opening an hour early that day if you were on site staying. We didn't make it to MK until almost 9 a.m. though. =(

Taking the bus to MK was easy. Just go outside your onsite hotel, find the park's sign you want to go to, and then stand there. The bus comes by @ every 15 minutes or so (in the mornings). We got there without any trouble.

We tried to ride the train to do Toon Town first, but it (both the train and Toon Town) was closed until 10 a.m. so we got Fast Passes for Pooh's ride, and then we did a couple of others while waiting for Toon Town to open. We rode Pooh on the FP (those are the ONLY WAY TO GO!!!), and then joined the crowd waiting to get to see Minnie's house. We made it through quickly and took some great pics of her house, and I was able to get one of just her house from the outside without any people in it, so I was happy. Goofy's Barnstormer broke just as my sis and her bf got in line, so we headed to Mickey's house. That line was a little more congested, but we got through pretty fast. Then we went in to the barn to wait in line to meet Mickey, and the line was over 60 minutes long! We stood there @ 15 minutes, and 4yo dd couldn't handle the crowd, so we got out of line to do something else (we had ressies for Chef Mickey the next morning so we knew we'd meet him eventually).

TIP: Go straight to see Mickey in the barn before doing the house if you're going during peak tourist season.

There was a great show in front of the castle (Cinderella's something or other with presents and villains), and it was really neat! We all stood and watched that for a while, at ice cream, and enjoyed the sites. When we walked, we went at a really fast pace, but we let the kids set the pace for what all we did - when they seemed to need a break, we just took one, and it all worked out really well.

MK's crowds started thinning out around 5 p.m. which is when my two oldest kids and dh decided they wanted to change into jeans and jackets so they headed back to the hotel. They said it took them nearly an hour to get a bus and get back to our hotel (the longest wait we had for a bus - all other times we were on one and back within 25 minutes or so); maybe it was b/c it was Thanksgiving Day?

My Mom and I took 4yo dd and did a couple of rides (10 minute walk ons) and then watched "Twas the Night Before Christmas" show in Tomorrowland. It was great, but I had to laugh b/c it really reminded me of one long Target commercial. That's not dissing Disney b/c the show was great - Target's commercials lately are just along the same lines with the dancing around with gifts and fake snow, etc. LOL

LIBERTY TREE TAVERN: We had ressies for an 8:20 dinner at LTT (character dinner). We got there on time, but it was 9:30 before we were seated (remember, party of nine!). We asked a couple of times and were told that the earlier crowd just hadn't cleared out yet so that was what was taking so long. Then the light parade started outside, and people cleared out FAST, so we got a nice big table all together and practically had the place to ourselves. That was really nice! The food was EXCELLENT as was our server (Wilnett). We left a big tip for him since he had to work so hard on a holiday and was so cheerful about it. The characters came around, but they honestly didn't spend a lot of time with us (or any other table it seemed). Maybe they were tired b/c they'd been in costume a long time and it was a holiday. At any rate, I recommend LTT for the food but not for the characters. Chef Mickey's was MUCH BETTER re character interaction with our whole group.

TIP: Make sure you pack a change of clothes in a ziplock bag as well as a few wipies in another ziplock INSIDE the bag of clothes for a young child. 4yo dd said she had to potty while we were riding, then said no she didn't, and I said okay. We got to LTT, took her to the potty, and she didn't make it as we went through the door of the restroom. She hadn't said anything at all about having to go (other than "I need to go - no wait, no I don't" earlier that evening), and I just never thought about it. Having the ziplock with me (I was planning on changing her into a sweatshirt and heavier pants when we went upstairs) saved her a lot of embarrassment (she gets embarrassed around her siblings if this happens as she wants them to think she is a "big girl" - and honestly, this only happens normally if she's sick). I just cleaned her up with the wipies, changed her clothes there in the stall (shoes and all), and told her not to worry about it b/c accidents happen sometimes, especially when there are so many wonderful exciting things to look at that we don't want to stop to go potty! I averted tears and a temper tantrum, shoved the wet clothes in the ziplock the others had been in, and her siblings were none the wiser.

Sis, bf, Mom, my kids, and I stayed after dinner and shut down the park. After 10 p.m., there were no lines for anything. We literally walked onto Big Thunder Mountain and the Haunted Mansion rides. How great!!! Then we shopped until the stores closed (@ 1 a.m.) and were back at ASM and in bed by 2 a.m.

BEST THING OF THE DAY: Getting straight on rides with less than a 5 minute wait with our FP's.

WORTH THING OF THE DAY: Toss up between the HORRIBLE CROWDS and waiting over an hour to eat dinner - we wanted to get back out there to ride!!!

Day 3 - MGM

We had reservations at Chef Mickey's that morning at 7:20 a.m. Only my kids, myself, dh, and Mom made it. Sis, bf, and Dad all slept in.

CHEF MICKEY'S: Book it! It was great! My kids all LOVED IT (even my teen dd who is too "cool" to be impressed by much of anything these days). The characters spent WAY more time at the tables here than they did at LTT, and they really interacted A LOT with all the kids (and even my Mom.......LOL). DH kept telling me "they're just people in costumes", but I told him I didn't care. I could pretend to be a kid and have as much fun as our own kids were having and that he should too b/c sometimes we all need a little magic in our lives and this was mine. =)

TIP: As you first go in, they take your pic in front of a big plate that says "Chef Mickey's". It's a neat photo op - ask them to use your camera to take one, too! That way, if you don't buy their package ($18 for two 5x7's and 4 keychain pics), you'll still have one of your own! Plus, it's going to make SUCH A CUTE SCRAPBOOK PAGE!

TIP: Watch to see which characters are there and make sure you see them all - Goofy never came around, he was there to see families as they LEFT! We got some great pics of him with teen dd; she didn't want to do the pics at all, but he "begged" and pulled her over, gave her noogies on her head (HA! to the "perfect hair" ROTFL), and made her stay for pics of just him and her after the other two younger kids moved away.

We made it to MGM just as they opened (9 a.m.) on Friday morning (day after Thanksgiving).

As we went in, we had some trouble - Mom's ticket wouldn't scan. We had to go through customer service to have her ticket voided and a new one issued. That took about fifteen minutes. The woman there told us not to store the tickets in the same pouch/fanny pack/purse/pocket as any cell phone or digital camera. Something about the battery causes them to short out and not work right. DH held the tickets that day since I had the cell and camera in my fanny pack.

We went straight to do Playhouse Disney, but the show had another 30 minutes before it started, so we walked straight into Ariel's show and did it. No crowd - how great!!! After that was over, we went to do the Animation Tour and met the Incredibles!!!! That was awesome! =) The line was about 30 minutes long by the time we figured out what it was, so we did that and then went out to get in line for Playhouse Disney (big line by then but we made it in!).

TIP: When you go through the Animation Tour, once it's over, go straight through the second room and out to get straight into line to meet whichever character is there. You can always backtrack and go back into the other room to look at the stuff on display there (b/c then all those people will be in line to meet the character!).

PLAYHOUSE DISNEY - what can I say but GREAT GREAT GREAT!!! I wanted to cry when Bear (from the Big Blue House) came out on stage and I saw my 4yo dd's face and eyes light up. She was THRILLED!!! He is one of her favorites! And he is HUGE - just the size you imagine a real bear would be when he stands up. I bet he was easily 7 or 8 foot tall on that stage. Then the guy who's in the show comes down into the audience and asks ALL THE KIDS to go up front and dance with Bear!!! My dd was SO EXCITED!!! She loved it. Once the dancing was over, she was a little disoriented b/c she didn't see us or where we were sitting (you sit on the floor for this), so I stood up and called her name (Sahara), and she saw us and came right up the aisle. Roly Poly Olie and Pooh (plus friends) are in this show as well, and it was just WONDERFUL!!! I have several pics from this show for my scrapbook. I just CAN NOT SAY ENOUGH - go see this show even if you don't have little kids!!! it's just FANTASTIC!!!!

After that, we went around and looked at some stuff, and the park was getting very crowded. Lines became much longer.

We got FP's for Star Tours and ate at Toy Story Pizza (YUCK!), and then we did Star Tours. 9yo ds really enjoyed that one a lot. I have some great pics of him on the speed racer just across from where you go in the ride. =) We did the Muppets 3D show (I was so tired I fell asleep and didn't wake up until the cannon went off at the end! LOL), and then we did a few of the other rides. We met back up with Mom, Dad, sis, and bf that afternoon, and 13yo dd and I went to get FP's for either Tower of Terror or Rockin' Rollercoaster. Both were already used up! I guess there were so many people who got the FP's earlier that day that there was no time left to get anymore. We got in line for RRC and did that one while the others went to see the light show. When we finished riding that (GREAT RIDE! DEFINTELY GO!!!), sis texted me and said Mom had gotten two FP's for TOT earlier that day and she and bf wouldn't go on it so we could have them. How great!!! We got the FP's from them, quickly walked through the Osbourne Light Show with everybody in our group (sipping hot chocolate and coffee from the Writer's Shop ....mmmmmmmm), and then ran to do ToT while they all got in line for Fantasmic.

TOT was so much fun!!! They dropped us FIVE TIMES!!!! WOW!!!!

We made it into Fantasmic, found our family (thank goodness there are cell phones these days!!!), and they had been able to spread out enough that they scooched over when we got there, and dd and I fit so we could sit with them.

FANTASMIC: it was FANTASTIC! We loved it. It was my Mom's favorite thing - she'd never seen it before (we saw it five years ago on our last trip). If you've never seen it, make sure you go! I fished out the binoculars, and that kept the kids quiet until the show actually started. They had fun looking at the mountain/island out there in the middle and then trying to focus in on some lights that were coming from one of the other parks.

TIP: Pack a fanny pack for each kid that you take. In it, put a tiny bottle of wedding bubbles (a tip from this group that I took!), some wipies, a couple of small snacks, a child sized camera, and a water bottle/juice box. This really kept my youngest two busy (4 and 9) while we were waiting on shows to start/waiting in long lines.

TIP: I took in the collapsible cooler the first day (Disney staffers never said a word and it was FULL of food and drinks), and we only used a little of what was in it. The 2nd day (MGM), I took a smaller duffel bag and had pretzels, beef jerky, raisins, water bottles, etc. in it. I also had binoculars. Those binoculars saved the day several times when we were in lines of 30 - 45 minute waiting times. The younger two would take turns playing I Spy with those, seeing all around the park, and just being goofy with them. So buy a cheap pair (or more) or binoculars and pack them! They were worth the money! =)

After Fantasmic, we shopped (b/c the park was closed for rides then) a little while. We made it back to the hotel fairly early that night (midnight) b/c we stopped at the McD's that's onsite to eat on the way back. NOTE: Don't have a heart attack when you go to this McD's over the prices. Remember - it's on Disney property, so it's going to be higher ($6 for a Happy meal instead of the normal $3 we pay here in Ohio).

BEST THING OF THE DAY: Goofy and Chef Mickey's!!!

WORST THING OF THE DAY: Again - the crowds!!!!

Day 4 - Islands of Adventure

What can I say other than DON'T WASTE YOUR MONEY ON ISLANDS OF ADVENTURE!!!

It was a colossal waste of time. Spiderman was a great ride, and we rode it at least four times each (using their version of FP's), but it certainly wasn't worth the amount of money we paid to get in there.

The whole park even had a different "vibe" or feel to it. The people were NOT at all like at Disney (and I mean guests as well as staffers).

Disney is really family oriented, and everybody knows that. While at Disney, almost everybody we came into contact with was poite, helpful, courteous, kind, patient, etc. At Universal, it was just the opposite.

I stood in line to get FP's for the Hulk roller coaster, and I listened to the couple in front of me cuss out the young man who was handing out the passes (their machines were having trouble there that day, so they just asked how many passes you needed and gave you that many instead of using the machines) b/c the come back time for that ride was 6 p.m. that evening (which I guess was too long to wait for their liking). I felt so sorry for him; it wasn't his fault.

People were walking around drinking beer from bottles at Universal, they shoved into you and didn't say excuse me, I heard words coming from their mouths that made me want to cover all my kids' ears for most of the day, etc., etc.

My best friend told us later that we should have gone to the other Unversal park (Studios maybe?) and not that one, but I don't think I will ever go back to either one of them b/c that one day was enough to do me in FOREVER.

BEST THING ABOUT THE DAY: - only two good things - my 9yo ds thought it was really neat to meet Spiderman, Capt America, Storm, Rogue, and Wolverine (and these characters really did spend a LOT of time talking to him, taking their pics with him, signed his shirt as well as his autograph book, etc.) and the Spiderman ride

WORST THING ABOUT THE DAY: the whole rest of the day was MISERABLE - the rides were lousy, the people were lousy, etc.

We left there around 5 p.m. and were finished for the whole day. Compare that to us shutting down MK and MGM the other two days - see what I mean? Nobody was in a good mood by the time we left Universal.

Save your money and spend it on another day at one of the Disney parks!!!

Day 5 - Animal Kingdom and Home


AK is our FAVORITE PARK!!!

The crowds thinned out by Sunday, and it was a great day (especially after the Universal mess of the day before).

We went in and dh and 13yo dd ran straight back to the safari and got FP's for it while Mom got a stroller for 4yo dd and my two youngest kids looked at the animals the CM's were showing off in their little boxes. Cockroaches were the first ones we saw....oooohhhhhhhhh (shuddering). They sure did like it though! LOL

The safari is EXCELLENT!!! you are honestly ON SAFARI!!! You go on these trucks that look really old and beat up, and you go RIGHT THROUGH THE ANIMAL PRESERVE!!! They are there - loose - with you in that truck!!!! We saw hippos and a lion and lioness, giraffes, antelope of some sort (ran right at the truck - we thought one was going to jump in on us but it swerved at the last second and went around), elephants, etc. I can not say ENOUGH about this!!! You have to go on it (and I read here that the earlier you go, the more animals you see - we sure did see a ton!!!).

From there, we did the walk through forest and saw tons of birds, fish, etc. The kids really enjoyed that. There is also a gorilla display in this, and the kids got to see a gorilla (real) footprint where one had put its foot right up against the glass while it was sleeping (it was still asleep right there by the window!). That was AMAZING! That foot was at least 3x the size of dh's hand!!! We took a neat pic of that for the scrapbook.

From there, we walked through Asia and saw the person who is dressed up as a vine. My Mom was amazed. I had told her about it last time, but I think she thought it would look fake or something. She followed that thing around for 15 minutes taking pics and just walking around and around it. It was so funny for my kids to see Gramma so interested in something like that. =)

Then we went over and got FP's for Dinosaur, but as we were in line, it broke down, so we went to eat at Flame Tree BBQ. The food was great! make sure you buy the vouchers there - they are worth it!

We went back to DinoRama and did the rides there (lots for the younger one to do there!) and then did Dinosaur since it was back up (using our FP's we'd gotten earlier). We took pics of the dino fossils they had everywhere; the kids really liked that.

We saw Tarzan Rocks; it was a really neat show but very loud. Sit near the center if you can; that's where the CM's come out to and dance around so you will get good pics there.

NEW RIDE ALERT: Disney is building a new roller coaster in Ak called Expedition Everest!!! This thing is going to be HUGE!!! It's coming 2006 according to the posters. Can't wait to go back to ride that one!!!

We made it back to ride Rafiki's Train/Planetwatch just in time - we caught the last train! Mom rode it over and then went on back as she wanted more time to shop, but we got off, and at the end, there is a petting zoo of sorts (llama, donkeys, pygmy goats, Dexter cattle, and pigs). My kids all liked that a lot, and we stayed there and relaxed @ 30 minutes while they played, then we rode the train back.

4yo dd finally found what she wanted to spend her money on - she bought a pair of Tinkerbell tennis shoes and a Princess fanny pack at Creature Comforts, then bought another fanny pack for her best friend so they "can match". LOL She looked at every park everyday, and on our last day, she finally found what she wanted. I was very proud that she didn't buy the first thing she saw but waited until she saw something she really really wanted. =)

We ate dinner at Rainforest Cafe. What a mess! We had to wait over an hour to get seated (even though we had ressies), and then I purchased the RFC club discount card ($15, supposed to save 10%, and it never expires). When the bill came, it was messed up; they didn't take even 10% off, and when I questioned the waiter, he had conveniently forgotten to tell us that the 10% came off of the first six meals (first two on our bill were $5 kids' meals!!!). I told him absolutely not, redo the bill so the most cheapest items were listed last so we would get our discount. Then he came back to tell me he'd made a mistake and had not mentioned the discount was only good for four people. I was very upset. We wound up with a $200 bill for two kids and five adults. I did not think the food or the service was worth that, and I certainly would have rather paid to have another character meal than to do that again. UGH.

TIP: Don't go to RFC - book another character meal! You'll come out AHEAD on the price, get better food, better service, and have a much better time!

After dinner, we went over to MVMCP. This was not very crowded like MK was the first day we went. Several of the rides were closed, however. I was surprised by that.

The parades were great, though; these repeat twice so ride during the first one and watch the second one which is exactly the same but less crowded.

We went to Tomorrowland and 9yo ds and I rode Space Mountain three times (got four FP's and also stood in line for 15 minutes). It was a lot of fun! Dh took the girls to do the Nascar ride (they only made it through once).

TIP: If you go to a park that day before going to MVMCP, you can use your park tickets plus your party tickets to get FP's (so double FP's!). We did this several times, and it really saved us time waiting in lines, plus we got to do our favorites twice or more!

We met up with the rest of the family later that evening, rode a couple of rides dh wanted to do, watched the last parade, and then everybody but Mom and myself went back to the hotel. Mom and I closed the park down (literally). I think we were the last two visitors to leave.

While waiting on Mom, I went around by the train station and turned to look down Main Street at the castle. I almost cried - it was so beautiful. The only people there were a few street sweepers and the horse/buggy driver with his rig. The fake snow was blowing down, and it just all looked so beautiful. Even now, I can not begin to tell you how much it affected me.

Mom was very sick this past spring and had two surgeries this past summer (heart and hysterectomy), and this family trip was her idea; she decided to take everybody as a Christmas present rather than "waste the money on gifts nobody even wants". I told her this was the most wonderful present she could give my family; right now, we just couldn't afford to go even though we really wanted to, and it was great to spend so much time with her, especially after everything that happened this summer - I cherish every bit of time I get with her so much more now than I did before b/c I know how quickly it could all end.

We caught one of the last busses back to ASM and were in bed around 2 a.m.

Anyway, that was our trip. We shopped for two hours at Downtown Disney (that needed a day all by itself and will get one next trip! LOL), dropped the car off at Thrifty the next day and took a plane back to Ohio (brrrrrr...........cold!!!).

I hope you've enjoyed reading about it and maybe have picked up a few tips along the way to help you in planning your trip. I know when I was planning this one for all of us, I loved reading others' trip days b/c it really helped me pull everything together for us, know what to avoid, what to be sure to do, etc.

Thanks so much to this list; our trip would not have been as wonderful w/o all your great input, ideas, and suggestions!