Kristi, DD and Friends - October 2007

Cast: Me, DD (2), best friend, her DD (9), uncle (driving from KY), cousin (flying in from OH)(24), my mother (flying in from Costa Rica)

Friday and Saturday: Me, DD, friend (Kimberly), and her DD left on Friday and drove most of the way to the world. Stopped about 3 hours outside of Orlando and got a hotel room. Up at 8AM to continue the drive. Stopped at Universal to eat at Margarettaville then on to downtown Disney. Shopped some. Got to room by about 6PM. My uncle was already in Disney and my cousin flew down Sat. morning. They are staying at a different hotel. My mother was to get in about 11PM Sat. night but her flight was cancelled and she had to spend the night in Miami.

Sunday: My mother called to say that she was sick and would make it to the room today but not be able to meet us in the park. We got up and to Epcot by 10AM. Rode some rides - Nemo ride is great and my daughter loved it. This is her first trip and we did Imagination first and then Nemo second. It is very hot today and needs to rain!! We saw Mary Poppins and my daughter kept saying "poppins, poppins". She actually went to her on her own. For my daughter that is a huge step! Then we saw Tigger, Pooh, and Piglet and Beauty and the Beast. Had lunch at the Land and the 9 year old did the Jr. Chef. She enjoyed getting involved. Rode Soarin - still a great ride! It is still HOT! Our dinner at Coral Reef was great! Had to hurry to make the reservations for the Coral Reef. We had personalized menus with our pictures (thanks to Kimberly)and the diver had Welcome to Princess Laura and Princess Kaylene on a sign that he held up. It was great as the 9 year old kept saying how much like a princess she felt. Got a tink clip and had a great meal. Glad we were on the DP for this meal!! Did a few other rides, watched illuminations, and then back to the hotel.

Monday: My mother is still not feeling well but went with us to Animal Kingdom anyway. Still extrememly hot and the park is overcrowded. My least favorite day of our entire stay. We did ride the safari and rode mount eversest twice (by the way - great ride!) and watched the parade. For the evening we had a boat ride in the lagoon to watch Wishes. It was fantastic. The weather had cooled and it was so pleasant to be with friends and family without the hecticness of the day. We saw a really neat light show on the water and then watched the fireworks. It was well worth the cost. It was one of my favorite things that we did the entire week!!

Tuesday: Back to Epcot for the Princess Breakfast. Wow - still hot. Actually a record breaking 92 or so for this time of the year. Really needs to rain! The breakfast was great and we were all there for it.Both the girls dressed up like a princess. The 9 year old had on a formal type dress and a silver tiarra. My cousin really liked it and had her picture taken with many of the princesses. My daughter liked to see them too. The food was good as well. Me, DD, and mom went back to the room about 1 to take a nap. Kimberly and her daughter went to the countries to get the kidcot things. Went to the Halloween party about 5 after a few hours nap. Dressed as Wizard of Oz and was extremely hot! Was not too impressed with the party but really enjoyed being able to walk onto rides with no wait and seeing a few characters that we might not normally see. The parade was good and very different. Got to the hotel around 11PM.

Wednesday: To the Magic Kingdom with no plans or meals planned. Decided to stop and see if Tonys has any reservations open. They do for 12:15. So we went to the Harmony Barber where my daughter got her first hair cut. She got a certificate, a mickey ears hat, and pixie dust/mickey confetti in her hair and they saved the hair clippings for me. That was neat and a great experience. Went to eat at Tonys. Good meal! Got a Capt. Hook clip. It is not so hot today so we are having a better time. Rode lots of rides! Walked into Liberty Tree Tavern and got dinner reservations at 4:30. Great food as well and was neat having the characters come around. Then off to more rides. Great day and very relaxing if you can call a day at Disney relaxing!!

Thursday: Magic Kingdom today again. Much cooler today. First stop the Laugh Factory. Great show! Then off to a few more rides. Then to lunch at the Crystal Palace for lunch with Pooh and friends. Ordered my uncle a birthday cake several weeks ago and had it as a surprise for him. Our table had confetti and strings on it. He was very surprised and even a little embarrassed! Saw Greg Raymer (for those of you who are poker fans) with his family at the Crystal Palace. Saw the parade. Ended our day about 7PM. We rode almost everything that we had planned and some things that we had not. It was a great day!! Did the Luau at the polynesian. Forgot the tickets in the room. Kimberly hopped transportation and went to the hotel to get the tickets. My mom, me, and the kids went to the polynesian. Found out they could have printed another one once we were there! Food was okay - not really impressed with the show. Got to the hotel around 11PM.

Friday: At MGM before it opened. Cooler today as well! Went straight to Tower of Terror and walked right on. Got fastpasses for Rockin Rollercoaster. Did Little Mermaid, the Great Movie Ride, Indian Jones, and did a lot of shopping! Ate at Holly wood and Vine to get the preferred seating for Fantasmic. Rode Tower of Terror again and rockin rollercoaster. Went to Fantasmic about 7Pm. Great show. Liked preferred seating as we were not crowded and sat close up front (got wet) but had plenty of space. Decided to do Magic Hours at Epcot so rode the boat (a very slow boat) to Epcot. Walked around but did no rides as my DD was asleep in the carrier and the 9 year old was about to fall asleep. Did some shopping and headed back to the hotel by 10:30PM.

Saturday: Checked out of the hotel at 9:30. Paid a bellhop to get our bags. Very worth it as we are worn out!! Headed to downtown disney to shop and eat (needed to use the rest of our DP). Shopped alot and did not leave there until 2PM. Got home to Tennessee about midnight.

General: Loved the Dining Plan! Ate way to much but had a great variety of food and experiences! Really enjoyed pin trading - especially my mom and the 9 year old. Got some neat pins including 3 sets of the Year of Million Dreams pins. My uncle and cousin got a free locker rental as a "dream" and we did get a set of tinker bell pins from a cast member as a "dream". It was too hot our first few days and really crowded but cooled down and was great. We did use Disney transporation to everywhere and had no problems. Took a stroller but will probably rent one the next time we go. Stayed at the All Star Sports but would not choose to stay there again as we had various problems all week from the ice machine to bathroom issues. The extra activities that we did really made the trip from the boat to the character meals. Three of the 6 days we all dressed in the same shirts and we all had the same outfit on for the luau. I thought I would feel self consious but it was acutally fun!!

Tip: My daughter will be two next month and it about 27 pounds. She does not like the stroller and will let everyone know it! So, I took my carrier that I use for her (Walking Rock Farm) and she took naps in it and went to sleep in it at night if we were not back at the hotel. It was easier than in the stroller as I could go on rides or shows with her in the carrier when it was places that I had to leave the stroller outside. I rode Pirates, saw Indiana Jones, and a few other things with her asleep in the carrier!! We did use the stroller for carrying small items such as rain jackets, etc.

All in all a wonderful trip. We started planning our next trip the minute we left Disney property - for next October!!