Laura and Family - June 2004

Dates: WDW Sat June 19-Sat June 26 then Port St. Lucie for 3 days cast: me - laura (50), lori
(43)-SIL, and nephews Danny (9) & Matt (8)

Preliminary: This is my 7th or 8th trip to the world but the first in the heat of the summer. My SIL and DNs have been to MK (1day) and AK (1day) as my SIL's mom live about 1 1/2 hrs south of WDW and they visit her regularly. My first choice would not have been summer but SIL works as a school nurse in one town and the boys go to school in another and their vacation's don't match up. I have to say that thanks to info from this list I was well prepared for the heat.


Day 1:

We left CT and arrived in Fla on SWA - everything went smooth and limo driver was waiting for us. He wasn't super talkative but had a video for the kids which prevented the "Aren't we there yet". The boys stayed in the car watching the video while SIL and I did a quick grocery stop for breakfast foods, snacks, water and wine. We also picked up a styrofoam cooler for the room to keep things cold. We arrived at POFQ and check in went quickly. I had not had a chance to fax in a room request so I simply asked for something first floor and as close to food court and pool as possible. The CM (a trainee by her badge) got this nervous look on her face as she showed me where the room that had been assigned to me was. Room 2143 was about as close as you could get to both and just perfect. We got our stuff in the room and the cold things on ice and decided to head to EPCOT. On the way we grabbed a quick bite at the food court. It was now about 4 and breakfast had been a long time ago.

EPCOT: We did a few attractions - Figment, HISTA (my nephews hated the mice) and the American pavillion. TT and MS lines were just too long and the FP return times were too late so these would have to wait for our next visit. We slowly strolled around since it was almost time for Illuminations. The boys seemed to be holding up fairly well so we were able to stay for Illuminations and then we went back to the room, hit the bed and were out.


Day 2:

Today went to EE at MK. I knew this was a mistake after our late night, but OK i was outvoted. We were able to do all the mountains - Space, Thunder, and Splash, theTiki birds, HM and Buzz Lightyear and then Matt and I did Aladdin while Dan and Lori did SFRTH and then we met back up. We did an early lunch at Columbia Harbor House, which is my favorite, and then decided to head back to the hotel for dip in the pool and much needed rest. I honestly do not remember where we spent the evening. What I do remember was that by this point athe boys were getting testy so we decided to end the day on the early side.

We had kept well hydrated with H2O and had the spray mist fan and cooling neck wraps so we had done pretty well but I think they were just plain tired because they did not repeat the problems the rest of the week. High points - travel going smoothly, great room, being at WDW.

Low points - heat, boys getting testy. Oh yeah, my DN Matt knew about autographs. I have to admit I was not looking forward to standing in line and had not brought that subject up too much, but a friend at school had come back with an autograph book, so he knew. Luckily my SIL was willing to do the line waits with him. I would usually time a smoke break then and we could kill two birds with one stone.


Day 3:

We were smarter today and let the boys sleep in. The adults got coffee from the food court and relaxed until the boys awoke. We did breakfast at the food court. We knew we would be doing HoopDeeDoo tonight and wouldn't want a big lunch before that.
We headed out to EPCOT agiain. We didn't quite make opening time, when a 9 yr old has to go to the bathroom you wait, but were pretty close. We got to go on MS while getting FP for TT. I drilled the boys on the "keep you head back, eyes open, look straight ahead rules" and they and I were all fine. My SIL was a bit queasy and from our conversation I suspect she didn't follow the rules as strictly. After a brief rest she was fine and we did our TT FP. The we did some of world showcase and living seas stuff. While walking around WS we were open to snacking, at least the boys, so I introduced them to beaver tails. We shopped at mouse gear. They went inside while I took a smoke break and I got to watch the fountain perform. After waiting awhile I went inside looking for them and you know that's when they came outside looking for me. :-) We finally met up and they got to see the fountain perform and then we headed back to the room. We had PB&J for lunch and went to the pool to cool off. We headed over to MK after our rest and got to do CofP and PoC. It was now time to head over to see the HDD. We had great seats. We had made our reservations about a year ago, as soon as our dates were firmed up. My DN, Matt, got picked by Miss Claire to get sung to. He was giggling and shy and absolutely refused to kiss her but did let her kiss him. Boy did the picture of that come out well. We really enjoyed the show and when we got out we went back over to MK just as parade was ending and Wishes about to begin. Due to the size of the crowds, we were unable to get anywhere much past the beginning of Main Street, but I knew (again - thanks list) that was the best spot to see them from. We got spots where the boys could see luckily and just enjoyed it. They were awesome! Since the majority of the crowds were streaming out of the parks, we waited out of the way, and then grabbed a super spot for second parade. We got to see it just as it came around the curve from the starting point and on the side of the street, so it was coming towrds us. Finally we was able to get a picture of Chernabog fully open that actually came out. After we headed home with two tired little boys.


Day 4:

Again let the boys sleep in, but they never slept super late. They were much better if we let 'em wake naturally.

We headed to the studios today. I think we did everything we wanted to. We got FP for RR and "forced" the 8 yr old to go on ToT. I say forced because the whole time in line he said he didn't wan't to do it and I explained how we could do a swap and he didn't have to. Then suddenly at the last minute he said he would do it. I think he liked it but not enough for a second trip. :-) This was my first experience with the all seat belt ride and I loved it. We got the two boys "I survived" cards for their lanyards and would have gotten my SIL one, but they didn't have her name. We had time until our PS at Prime Time, so were able to do WWTBAM, TGMR and backstage tour before our early dinner. The Prime Time was just ok. The server we had did a great job with the table next to us but got so wrapped up in a conversation with them that we were kind of ignored. We did get to show my 9 yr old nephew who Danny Thomas was on one of the TV clips. This is significant because his name is Daniel Thomas Car. My SIL says when they named him, she warned my DB about his being called Danny Thomas and his response was "how many kids his age will even know who that is?", well now he does! In the clip, DT had on a dress and a wig so he still isn't sure what he looks like. We got out of the restaurant and got to see BATB show and the do RRC (yeh - that was how late our FP's were). The first fantasmic show was filled up and we did not think the boys would do well waiting for the second one, so headed home. That was the only show I would have liked for them to see that they missed out on.

lows - missing fantasmic, so-so interaction at prime time

highs - during WWTBAM i made it into the top 10 on the scoreboard - I'm proud of that.


Day 5:

This was our early morning character breakfast at AK - Donald's breakfastsaurous. We did this to guarantee meeting the big cheese without a super long line. The bus got us to the park right on time and we were seated in about 5 minutes. The only drawbacks were 1) we were around the corner from the main part of our waitress' section, so basically we were on our own. We had a tough time getting drink refills (coffee) and 2) waiting for the check so we could leave. We got seated and were told that the characters would be in in just a few minutes and that we should wait before going to the buffet. I felt like the amount of time we waited we could have gotten some food but I was brought up to follow directions so we did. :-) We got the characters out of the way and had a great breakfast. The only down part was as we were finishing up Matt picked up his chocolate milk and apparently did not have a good grip on it and proceeded to "drown" himself in chocolate milk. Of course he had on a white tee shirt and shorts set and as if getting his front wasn't bad enough it pooled in his chair and when he stood up he had a chocolate milk butt. it was really hard waitng to laugh until his mom took him out to get a new outfit.

After changing him we headed for the safari. We were early enough to have only a brief wait and got to see quite a few animals. There was a point in time where we just sat looking at nothing. Word was some animals up ahead would not clear the road so we waited. The boys loved the safari. Kali river rapids were next (had gotten FP's before the safari). We did get wet in the big splash but hot as it was it felt good!

Next stop was the Lion King show. That was a absolute must for my SIL. The boys and I liked it too. Next I took the boys to ITTBAB, which they liked and were scared by at the same time. By this time the heat was mounting, so we headed out of the park and back to the pool for a dip. I found it funny that when we started this trip my SIL was telling the boys "we're not here to go swimming in the pool all day" by this point of the trip she truly realized the sanity of going back for a dip and a rest every day. H2O and ice cold neck wraps and spray mist fans helped but getting out of the heat was a must.

After a rest we headed to MK - had supper at Pecos Bill's. saw Mickey's Philharmagic (well worth the wait!!) and rode Winnie the Pooh. I took a seat while my SIL took Matt on the carousel. For some reason my back had gotten a spasm while waiting for Winnie, but was fine after sitting for a while. We would have liked to do some other Gantasyland rides, but at the late hour waits were very long and FP return times too far away. We had gotten splash FP's and went and did that, then hit BTMRR. I had asked my DN's for a list of 4 rides each they would like to repeat and both of these made their list's so we handled that. By now it was getting on to evening parade time that we didn't want to see again (all good spots taken) so we followed the winding "alternate" route around the crowds to get out of the park. Of course spectro was ending at the front end of the park, so we got trapped by the last few minutes, since we weren't staying for the fireworks we got out and got the bus before the crowds hit.


Day 6: We used this morning to take advantage of the water park feature on our UPHs and headed to Typhoon Lagoon. I am more of the lazy river type and so was Matt. Lori took Danny and hit some slides and rafts. Next we spent some time in the wave pool. We had our only scary moment. I was with Matt while Lori was taking Danny out deeper for the big waves. Danny is a strong swimmer while Matt is just okay. When Matt realized where they were headed he started to follow. Problem 1- Lori didn't know he was behind her. Problem 2 - I didn't know he was going until he got well ahead of me. Problem 3 - I am NOT a strong swimmer and I know this. I am trying to get Lori's attention and catch up with Matt, all to no avail. When I can tell that a big one is forming. I was able to grab his ankle and pull him back to me and get far enough back so I wasn't terrified when the wave hit. I think I scared him enough with it's force that he gave no trouble when he was banned from going out that far again. Matt has an "anything my big brother can do I should be able to do" attitude, which is not true for swimming. Dan is on the Y swim team and has competed in regional meets. Matt doesn't want to. Aunt LaLa spent some time relaxing at the edge of the wave pool with the banned swimmer while the other two rode some waves. Then we decided to do the family raft ride before heading home. I can definitely see why the cast members had warned me so much about sun screen and H2O. Luckily I listen, but was starting to feel as if much more sun would fry me when it was time to leave.

We rested back at the hotel until it was time for the trek to AKL for our PS at Boma. I knew my DN's were picky eaters, but I had warned them all this was for lala and they would have to make the most of it. My SIL enjoyed the food and so did I. Rhe boys relied heavily on the kids station. Danny did get brave enough to try a few things and of course the desserts were a hit with all.

We went outside and spent at least an hour at the different viewing stations. The timing was perfect for a lot of animals were feeding. My dream is still to stay there. We just couldn't justify it this trip, the budget would not go that far.

After this we headed to DTD for some souvenier shopping. Dan had saved most of the disney dollars I had given him for Christmas and Matt had a few bucks left. I had also told Dan that since I had given Matt more $ for his birthday and Dan's b'day hadn't come up yet he was entitled to something in my birthday budget price range on the trip. He picked out a Mickey bobble head baseball player he had been eyeing all week. We finished shopping with the kids, then I took them outside so mom could do some shopping on her own. Minor meltdown on Matt's part when he was informed he was out of money. Then back to the hotel and bed .


Day 7:

Our mission this morning was space. The other 2 rides that made both boys lists wer MS and TT. My SIL was not about to try MS again, so auntie took the boys while she got FP's for TT. Loved it just as much the second time (it doesn't hurt that I have a thing for Gary Sinese. ;-) ) We met up outside and headed over to TT. The last time we rode it was smooth as silk but this time there were several stops and apparent glitches but our trip around outside went smoothly. We headed over to do JIYI and see figment once more. I had not been able to do this ride yet on my trips to the world. I knew of Figment from my sister, by the time I went the first time it was closed for renovation. Then the one everyone complained about opened but closed again before I got back and last time I was at WDW it was being changed to today's ride. It was as fun as ever and then it was time to head for the hotel. We spent the afternoon packing and pooling and decided to head for Planet Hollywood for early dinner. We had a $25 coupon so it was worth it and the kids loved the decor. Then we surprised my nephews by taking them to Disney Quest. I will be totally honest in that this is not my idea of fun but at 8 & 9 they were in heaven. I do think it is a shame that there is not more of a "1 turn then give it to the next person waiting" attitude on the part of some. Try to explain to an 8 yr old why he has to take turns when that big kid just looked at him and started again. We were finally able to drag the kids out with the promise of dessert and stopped at an ice cream place as we headed back to the busses. I had gotten a piece of cheesecake to go from DQ (cheesecake factory) so we sat under an umbrella'ed table to enjoy. We started to enjoy when it started to sprinkle. the the sprinkle turned to downpour, major thunder and lightning. Lori and Matt tried to wait it out inside the store but the a/c made it way to cold for wet bodies. so we hung under the awning and watched mother nature's fireworks.


Day 8:

Saturday morning we got picked up by the Alamo/National shuttle and took the rental car to Lori's mom's house in Port St. Lucie. It was an almost 2 hour trip due to some heavy thunderstorms, that cleared by the time we arrived. Her mom was really nice and spoiled us rotten. Saturday we just chilled out and did laundry. It was so nice not to go home with a suitcase full of dirty clothes!


Day 9:

Sunday we headed to the beach, which was great for about 2 hours. Until the helicopter that had been going back and forth announced there had been several sharks spotted off the beach and everyone needed to get out of the water! That was a first for me who usually goes to Long Island Sound and is lucky to see a fish. It was too hot to hang out on the beach if you couldn't cool off in the water so we ended the day early and relaxed more at home.


Day 10:

Monday we took the boys to see Shrek II and ended our visit with a boiled lobster dinner. I told you she spoiled us! Day 11:

Tuesday it was time to head back to the Orlando airport and a relatively uneventful trip home. I say relatively because as we got off the plane my nephew was paged to SWA baggage claim. Seems "our green suitcase had accidently been taken off the plane during our Baltimore stop". All our checked baggage was green so had to wait till it was all off the plane to find out it was my small one with most of my souveniers in it. Luckily it was delivered safely the next day.


Final Thoughts:

I have to say it was not hotter or more humid or more crowded than I expected but if at all possible I will never go to WDW in the summer again. The timing of this trip was guided by school schedules and this is the last set of nieces or nephews I feel I owe a trip to. I was well prepared by info from this list but don't want to do it again.

I loved POFQ - if a moderate is the choice I will definitely go for that one - loved the size and the atmosphere. Had all positive experiences with bus transportation and cast members. My only complaint is they seem to have done away with newspaper boxes except for USA Today and I am an Orlando Sentinel kind of girl. I like the paper with my morning coffee and the gift shop sells them but doesn't open till 8 a.m. On the days we set out early that was too late. Almost missed the news that the gov of my homestate resigned while I was on vacation.

There were very few things I wanted to do but didn't get to - Fantasmic because the boys did not handle late nights well but I have seen it several times so I am not super upset. IASW closed for rehab - I may be crazy but I enjoy it. At EPCOT the Wonder's of Life Pavillion being closed because I think the boys would have enjoyed both Cranium Command and Body Wars. But at the same time I got to see COP and was really surprised that Danny listed that as one of his favorites at the end of the trip. Also really enjoyed Journey Into Your Imagination - had NEVER been there when it was open before!

Was a bit disapointed at the lack of server interaction at Prime Time. And at Breakfastsaurus being around the corner from the rest of our server's tables didn't help, but the meals both times were good. The only negative dining experience we had was Pecos Bills - was not thrilled with the food and neither was my SIL. Looking forward on my next trip to some more adult dining experiences - like Le Cellier for example.

Also looking forward on my next trip to being able to wander more in World Showcase and stop and check out the performances etc. I am trying to convince my sister and her husband we should make a Christmas time trip - will likely not be until 2006 but am all ready talking them into AKL :-)