Avatar’s 2008 Fall Vacation

[Ogrmac]

Avatar, phenomenal report so far! I am enjoying it so much and anxiously awaiting your next installment.

I've been to Disney once when I was 18, and the trip left me with some not so fond memories. Three of my friends and I went for 3 days, and we DROVE. The people I was with mostly complained the whole time about the lines, crowds, and walking. Nobody could agree on what we would do, so we ended up only spending one day at Magic Kingdom and one day at Universal Studios. I ruptured my eardrum putting on 3D glasses for one of the shows. (The earpiece slipped off my thumb as I was putting them on and snapped right into my ear. Totally my fault, and such a "me" thing to do. I'm accident prone.) When we arrived back in Ohio, I swore that I would never go back. However, your report has totally changed my point of view. Watching your pictures and videos has made me see that with some actual planning and the right people to attend the parks with, Disney might just be magical for me again. Thank you, and keep the report coming!

[auge.dog]

Thanks for taking the time to write such a detailed and knowledgeable report. I'm reading closely as we are taking our 7 and 5 year old to Orlando during Thanksgiving week. We plan on 5 days at Disney, 1 day at Universal, and perhaps 1 day at Sea World. My kids know nothing about taking a day off. We may have a few late starts though.

[kiruler102]

have fun in disney. auge.dog. hope you and your family have a wonderful time as i sit at home looking at the Diamondback webcam instead of being at Kings Island since there closed. but have fun while i have no fun at all. wathcing the macys day parade and the dog show. oh well.

[Cory Butcher]

^DO NOT knock the Macy's day parade! I spend every Thanksgiving morning watching the parades of the day, and eating with my grandpa and my grandma. It may not be your cup of tea, but the parades, the food, and the football make for a day of memories that occasionally can be better, yes better, than a day at Disney, though by admittedly slim margins!

Cory, who cannot wait for Thanksgiving day to roll around, and then the Winter Holidays like Christmas. The end of the year is near so grab yourself a cup of cheer!

[XGatorHead 8904]

The group with the Don Helbig look-alike is MoRockin (get it? As in Morroccan?) We caught the end of their set this past trip, but I didn't notice Don's talents. My eyes were drawn elsewhere on stage, much like your camera in the second video of them.

Others like to plan have a more hands on approach, Disney website is ok but is very limited on the information. I would suggest a few Disney Forum sites such as DIS http://www.wdwinfo.com/chat.htm or Mouse savers http://www.mousesavers.com/ . I order the planning kit and free maps from Disney but do the rest on my own.

I take a hands-on approach too, but have never attempted the scale of Avatar's trip. Another helpful website for planning a WDW trip is www.allears.net. There's a ton of useful info here, and I always look forward to getting their weekly email newsletter which is such a fun read every time.

[Avatar]

Hi everyone and thank you for the kind words, it nice to know that you all are there, I would write this if even just one member was reading it as it is fun to reminisce the trip.

I was planning on putting up part 4 tonight but I started work this morning around six and had to drive from Indy to Cincy to Dayton to Newark (OH) then back to Indy by 5:45 with just 15 minutes before Miss Rae’s school dinner. I just walked in and to be honest the next few parts are my favorite part of the trip. I know if I rush it will come out that way and to me part 4 needs more time (mostly done now though). So for the sake of a better read I will put part 4 up sometime tomorrow night. I truly do appreciate the interest and support, it helps.

Gator thanks for the name, you know I felt odd video them when she was dancing, but for some reason I do. It did not stop me though!

Also I just want to say thanks again for your PM’s and to everyone else I am happy to answer any questions or suggest a few things if needed, I know some of you are going soon and if you want a copy of the Picture Itinerary file (Excel) just PM your e-mail. In the file it has blank sheets to adjust for you length of stay.

Well back to typing typing.

[Beast1979]

Avatar, I love your PTRs. You are really able to accomplish that personal feel to it that makes them very special.

[kiruler102]

ya keep them coming it keeps me from being totally bored. boredom is not fun

[Avatar]

Avatars 2008 Fall Vacation

Quick Links

Part 1 Posted 10/18/08 Kings Island

Part 2 Posted 10/19/08 Magic Kingdom/Animal Kingdom

Part 3 Posted 10/21/08 EPCOT/Hollywood Studios

Part 4 Posted 10/25/08 Typhoon Lagoon/Starship/IOA Universal Studios

Part 5 Posted 10/28/08 Family-Animal kingdom/Magic Kingdom/Mickey’s Halloween Party

Part 6 Posted 10/31/08 Typhoon Lagoon/Departure Day/Final Thoughts

Part 4

Random Thought;

At this point we have did the basic four park routine and pretty much from this point forward we did a lot of activities of special interest to us. I looked forward now in sharing what we look forward to the most while on vacation and in many ways.

Day 6

Wednesday October 1, 2008

This day marks my wife Lisa and I 9th wedding anniversary and this is our third year in a roll celebrating it while at Disney World. We have made it a tradition to do the activities that we look forward to do the most on this day, even if it requires us to change our touring schedule around to accommodate that.

Pins that was given to us to put on.

The first great part of this day we got an extra hour to do what we would like, for us today it was lying in bed waking up slowly and watching a bit of TV morning news.

Then we got up to get ready for the park we most look forward to the most of all the parks, that park is Typhoon Lagoon.

We are huge Water Park fans, not because of slides n such but because we like the laid back atmosphere of a water park, that is were we go to relax and unwind. My first visit of the year I haft to admit gives me butterflies in my stomach; I just really love this park. We have found a great location to sit and spread out, just one problem it requires us to get to rope drop 20 minutes ahead of time and while most guests wait like cattle by the main bridge I go to a side bridge further around deeper in the park, that only a few know about. Miss Rae noticed at the main bridge they offered hula hoops and beach ball bating and wanted to practice some more so she and Lisa stayed there for a while. When they finally drop the ropes I go right in and the look of the other guests of where did they come from and how’s come they are so far ahead of us is priceless. We got our spot as always and set in for the day.

This spot is only big enough for one family and is somewhat secluded, with a great view of the park. To the left is the entry to the wave pool and small children slide and to the right of course is the WAVE pool. No time to waste it was time to catch some waves.

Now that is what I consider a true Wave Pool. If you notice the guy’s body riding the wave to shore I was able to get Miss Rae to go about half way in the wave pool to shoreline. I Just Love It! After several waves we did some individual and family tube slides.

By now it is getting close to 11:30AM and that means its lunch time and guess what? Typhoon Lagoon serves my favorite quick/counter service meal here too. Can you believe how great this place is, I just love it!

Of course it comes with an ice cream desert that you come back for when you’re ready for it.

After lunch is the best part of the day, we get to lay down on the loungers while sticking one foot off to the side and into about 2 inches of cool granulated sand, wait that’s not it. The swaying palm trees above us on both sides gives us just the right amount of sun and shade like an osculating fan but the palm leaves filters the sun for us. I just love it!

After about an hour and a half it’s time to cool down and get into the cool water of the Shark Reef snorkeling tank.

This was the first year Miss Rea tried it. Her mask kept filling up with water so she only made it about half way.

We slid down a few more slides and rolled with the waves some more but it was getting close to 4PM and it was time for us to shower and catch a bus to Disney’s Boardwalk Resort.

As I mentioned before it was our anniversary and this year we choose The Flying Fish restaurant. The Flying Fish is a signature restaurant which would be like a Ruth Chris compared to Ponderosa as far was full service restaurants go. Some of the Signature restaurants you go for the atmosphere and others for the food, but many offer both. We wanted to go to EPCOT for a concert that we thought would be a great way to spend an anniversary evening. Since The Flying Fish is just around the corner from EPCOTS World Showcase side entrance we thought this would be the best place to dine.

Inside was very nice and on the back wall where we were seated they had a huge silver Farris Wheel art thing going on, also they had fish being suspended from parachutes towards the ceiling.

When we were seated we were presented with special menu’s that had our anniversary date and our names on them. As we looked over the menu the sever came over and said the manager would like to offer us both a complimentary glass of Champaign for our anniversary we nodded and she then put two gasses on the tabled and poured the Champaign at the table. We usually do not odder the same thing but tonight the server recommended Scallops and that sounded good to both us. Here is the description from the menu; Oak-grilled Maine Diver Scallops – Cinderella Pumpkin risotto, clamshell mushrooms, sage, Serrano ham cracklins.

Honestly this dish was one of the best I have ever had and the risotto was outstanding!

Miss Rae ordered off the kids menu but much preferred the calamari, until I told her what it was after she ate ¾ of it.

We finished dinner and took the Boardwalk Boat over to EPCOT’s World Showcase entrance. We had decided back in May when they announced the concert line up for EPCOT’s Food &Wine Festival That tonight’s show was a must for us.

Yeah you read that right Starship with Mickey Thomas!

We got there about 20 minutes early and were able to get front row seats, but the theater was filled by the start of the show.

I did not catch the female vocalist name but she was dead on.

When they sang the duets you could close your eyes and instantly be blasted to the past.

These guys really were having a good time and getting into it.

I don’t want to leave out the rest of the band.

When the concert was over it I told Lisa that if Starship ever goes on tour and comes through Indy we will be going. I have been to numerous concerts at Epcot but this was my personal favorite hands down. Our bellies were still full and we were high on our emotions from the concert so we decided to call it the night. On our way out we had our photo taken to help us remember our great day. In the picture I was wearing the green Mickey shirt I bought at Magic Kingdom on our first day.

Day 7

Thursday October 2, 2008

As we woke up today I noticed how relaxed and refreshed I was feeling from having a day off from the parks. Our day would start with another visit to Typhoon Lagoon, which meant we got another extra hour that morning to get things started. When we got to Typhoon Lagoon we followed the same routine as the day before, Miss Rae more hula hoop practice while I waited for the rope to drop. Just because I can’t get enough we caught some early waves.

Since we did not ride the Crushin Gusher (true water coaster) yesterday it had to be done today then.

They have three slides with your choice of double or triple tubes.

I had to leave early today so we ate lunch then followed that with a tour around lazy river.

It is now close to 1:15PM and time for me to head back to the resort for my Solo Trip to IOA/Universal’s Halloween Horror Nights. YES!

Lisa and Miss Rae plans where to stay at Typhoon Lagoon until close then hop over to EPCOT for dinner and shopping at Mexico.

When I got back to POP Century my mother had arrived and was assigned a room right next to ours, she already unpacked and was getting ready to head out for her solo trip to EPCOT.

It is now 3:15PM and Mears Transportation showed up right on scheduled to pick me up in front of POP Century to take me to Universal Studios. It felt rather odd when a full size van pulled up and I was the only one going, I think it cost them more in gas than I was obligated to pay.

TIP: Mears Transportation offers round trip service from any Disney resort to Universal Studios or Sea world parks for only $16.00 per person.

As we were driving to Universal I could see Kraken from Sea World then it hit me, today I am going to add to my “been there done that coaster list” and it was going to be some true thrill coasters at that.

Well I arrived and was walking through the City Walk area of Universal studios and it felt good to see some unfamiliar layouts of buildings and attractions.

I don’t care how old you are, but when you go/see some place that you have always wanted to go or just seen it pictures it feels a little surreal at first as it did for me and I was pretty excited about that. I knew I had arrived when I saw Universal Icon in the Lagoon.

I was here to go to Universals Halloween Horror Night from 7PM-12AM but when I ordered tickets they offered me to go to Islands of Adventure (IOA) for $15.00 for 3 hours prior to the horror Nights festivities. So I got to IOA gates 15 minutes early but just had to try to get in anyway, well the automated gate denied me but an employee came over and looked at my paper ticket, pressed a button and said have a good time.

When I walked in a bit I saw this.

Dam, Ok I know I’m not suppose to do this yet but I’ll just get a little closer to see what I will be treated to later. Then I saw this.

DAM!

Sensible Jess; Now Jess you know you are supposed to be going the other way.

Thrill Seeker Jess; I know I just want to look.

Sensible Jess; OK but we have limited time so just one quick picture then we hafts to get back on schedule

Thrill Seeker Jess; you’re the Man!

As I got up under this green coaster they call Incredible Hulk I Saw this.

oh mmmyyyiii

Thrill Seeker Jess; Hey that sign says 5 minute wait!

Sensible Jess; if you promise not to tell all the members back at KICentral that you did not follow their advice for first ride, then ok.

Thrill Seeker Jess; I promise, that’s the way to stick it to the man, now there is the entrance lets GO!

The ride was Awesome, if you notice the lift hill is covered so I had no idea what was coming. I waited for the front seat to get that great first look experience. We started up the lift hill like a normal chain lift hill lift about half way up it slows down just a bit, then with out warning, BAM we shoot out of the lift hill like Flight of Fear does. I am just glad next to me was 20 something year old guys as I said OH SH*T! I said it in a natural reaction as I was truly shocked with the launch.

As I got off the Incredible Hulk I saw a sign for The Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man. I rode this 3-D dark ride and was totally blown away. I had read articles about dark rides and I thought I knew what they where, but I got schooled at how cool and awesome dark rides can be. I can not wait to ride this one again. I then decide since the park is very slow and walk on rides to continue on my current direction through Toon Lagoon and avoided the wet rides but they looked like fun.

So I waited for a log to come down Dudley Do-Right’s Ripsaw Falls and to see how wet they get, it did not look to bad, especially those in the front.

I got the front seat and found out that you get soaked at other parts of the adventure. So now I am ok to ride other wet rides like Jurassic Park River Adventure.

I really liked how the areas you where in everything was themed reflected the area well. I wished I had time to explore the areas more but my mission was just to get in as many thrill rides in 3 hours as possible. So onward I went and next up was The Dueling Dragons.

Since they were both walk on and a two train wait for the front seat, I rode 2 times each in the front of both Dragons. I really enjoyed the ride but I would not trade Vortex or The Beast for them. I continued on to Poseidon’s Fury and thought I was going to be the only one touring the area.

And

I walked through Seuss Landing and it was very creative in the style and attractions and look forward to spending some time there with Miss Rae, possibly next year.

I finished the Islands of Adventure with a couple more rides on Incredible Hulk and one more ride on Spider-Man 3-D.

IOA Summery;

I really enjoyed the thrill I got here and it was much needed after several days at Disney. I really did not get to ride everything or to take the time to explore each area in depth. I do want to go back and look forward to sharing this park with my family. I will just say I Think Kings Island has a much better coasters selection than IOA. I Admit Incredible Hulk is a Blast and ranks now as one of my all time favorite coasters. IOA has and does there themes in great detail which is a must for me to fully enjoy a get away adventure.

Universal Studios Halloween Horror Nights

It is right at 7PM and I was able to go through a side entrance to get to Universal Studios to save some walking time. Because my paper printed tickets got so wet and the ink runs, the gate personnel instructed me to go to Guest Relations to print out a new Express Pass for priority and faster service through all the haunts and opened attractions.

It was a pleasant night and I thought a perfect night for a haunted atmosphere and I think they set the tone early as you walk in.

The first scare zone was The Path of the Wicked Which had a great Witch on top of a building insulting and intimidating guests as they walked in.

While I am here I will just show a picture of that area after dark. They also had guys swinging from one side of the street to the other side using ropes over the top of the guests.

A few scare zones during the day light time was cool as you could see some of the great detail they used in their costuming and walkways.

They had many of their dark rides open;

The Simpson – Wow oh Wow, not at all what I was expecting

Men In Black – Fun family shot a target ride with great props

Revenge of the Mummy – I had no idea what to expect here, so I was absolutely blown away at the special effects used on this ride WOW x 4.

About half way through the night I attended the Bill & Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure show it was a full house and before the show started they had McCain & O’bama showed up and did a funny parity skit.

Then the real laughs started with Bill & Ted.

I missed the first show using my express pass but had no trouble getting into the later show and in a way I am glad I did. After a couple hours of scary houses and rides it was great to laugh out load, it was like taking a break in all the chaos.

I had saved the Haunted Houses for last on this Universal Halloween Horror night report because I have no video or pictures to offer as it is difficult to get those too come out. I feel having an Express Pass is a must if you are there for one night, even on a slower night like mine. The queues to get into many haunted houses were daunting and a long walk. I felt the houses themselves where very well put together and themed. In fact I think the props for there themed houses made the houses great. I did not feel there really was that many scarters in the houses as I thought there would be.

The only complaint I would have about the houses is that besides a couple the rest were basically the same besides a couple scenes or themes. I am going to leave this part of the report with a video of a scare zone after dark to help everyone see the atmosphere there.

It was getting close to 12AM and I was very tired and a bit sore, when I got to the pick-up point they had a bus waiting to take several of us back to the various Disney Resorts. It took about an hour to get back to POP Century but that gave me some time to reflect on some random thoughts about Kings Island – IOA – Universal and their Halloween Events.

I have looked forward to going to IOA and Universal to see what all the hype was about and I can say that during my short visit of both parks, I would say they lived up to the hype including Horror Nights at Universal. I would say that Universal is a highly theme park which always gets high marks in my book. Now have said all that, I could not help but start comparing Kings Island to the two other parks and their Halloween Events., I feel Kings Island has got a wonderful assortment of coasters but Universal has some great family dark rides that In my book are just as thrilling as many coasters I have been on. I think after Diamondback is open that I will wish for a great dark ride at Kings Island. As for the Halloween events they both offer in my opinion a great evening of entertainment, an analogy of “the Grass is greener on the other side” is what I think is the best way to explain how I feel about both. Kings Island in my opinion offered a couple haunted attractions that Universal did not. The haunted trail and the 3-D house are very creative and different. But universal offered great props, lights as well as offering some dark rides and a well received comedy show. I will just say for the money I think Kings Island has that covered, but Universal has the Express pass which is nice. I was glad I went and to be truthful I feel a whole lot better about Kings Island and the offerings they offer for a seasonal park.

I got back to POP Century around 1:15AM

Part 5 Hint – Fish & Family stink after three days.

Quick link to; Part 5 Posted 10/28/08 Family-Animal kingdom/Magic Kingdom/Mickey’s Halloween Party

[kiruler102]

great trip report so far more to come AWSOME

[Monroe]

Avatar, great reports, I always enjoy reading them. My daughter never liked the Disney scene, she is a small park lover like me. Although nothing beats that one trip every couple of years with the family. I would have loved to see Starship, that would have been fun. The girl singing is Stephanie Calvert, she was raised in Connecticut I think. She has performed with many different groups like Michael Grimm, great voice.

p.s. Good move adding a picture of mother in with the mix, brownie points always help after a vacation.

[Captain Picard]

After we get home from HHN we always started thinking about going next year. After going this year I am setting here wondering what we are going to do now. I know we will go next year but what a let down it was this year.

I did The Simpson ride to and wanted to get off it faster than wanting to get off Son of Beast. I think two more Scary Mary drinks and another ride on The Simpson ride would have ended my night.

[Avatar]

Hi everyone sorry to be so long in getting Part 5 out, but it was a busy weekend and we had family over most of the day yesterday, the extra time I had I put together a few home made video-slide shows, which is not all bad as now I can use those in the last two parts of the report. The last two parts will have 3 days in each part to complete the report. I would like to get part 5 out late tonight but most likely on Tuesday, followed by the last part either Thursday but most likely on Friday, well see.

Monroe – thanks for the female vocals name Miss Stephanie Calvit. As far as my mother goes she was part of the trip for a few days and in the next report well probably see more of her. I need all the brownie points I can get at times.

Captain Picard – thanks again for your pre trip advice it did help and I am not just saying that either. I usually feel the same way about planning future Orlando trips, but I must say I was lack lusting about going this year but it ended up being one of the best trips we have made so far. I try to always add something new to do in the area each year to keep it fresh. I know you and the Misses have been going down for a while so you may have done everything there is to do down there by now. I really did enjoy Universals IOA & horror night a lot and glad I went, it really helped make this trip a memorable one. Yeah that Simpson ride is like WOW and if you are prone to motion sickness you may not make it to the end of the ride. I can not imagine doing that ride after a couple drinks; I know I would have not made it.

[RailRider]

Enjoying the trip report so far.

Glad to see you finally got to experience IOA and Universal. I would wait on spending a full day at IOA until after they have Harry Potter finished, the park is truly amazing though. Any chance you got to experience Cat in the Hat while at IOA, great dark ride.

Revenge of the Mummy is one of my favorite coasters. The part when the room catches on fire is insane. Great coaster experience.

Looking forward to next instalment.

Keep up the good work.

[Avatar]

Thanks Railrider! Yeah that is a dilemma for next year, should we wait for Harry the following year 2010, if so then I guess to change things up a bit well need to do a lot of the Busch parks offerings. Don’t know just yet.

No cat in the hat. I knew I left something out too. But oh my oh my Revenge of the Mummy was out of this world creative and themed, can’t go wrong with that one. I was totally shocked with the fire room so much so that it was like erasing my memory of the rest of the ride. I want one of those rides closer to home, know what I mean?

I will have Part 5 up tonight I just need to finish the last part and proof it.

[Avatar]

Avatars 2008 Fall Vacation

Quick Links

Part 1 Posted 10/18/08 Kings Island

Part 2 Posted 10/19/08 Magic Kingdom/Animal Kingdom

Part 3 Posted 10/21/08 EPCOT/Hollywood Studios

Part 4 Posted 10/25/08 Typhoon Lagoon/Starship/IOA Universal Studios

Part 5 Posted 10/28/08 Family-Animal kingdom/Magic Kingdom/Mickey's Halloween Party

Part 6 Posted 10/31/08 Typhoon Lagoon/Departure Day/Final Thoughts

Part 5

Random Thought;

As mentioned previously my mother flew in yesterday and my brother, his wife and daughter will be arriving around 11PM tonight. From this point on I will refer to my mother as grandma, which is the big reason she joined us this trip. Also I mentioned about my immediate family had already gone to the 4 Disney parks, that was planned so that when we started touring with the extended family we will have done most of the attractions that appealed to us. That means when we are with them we will not be getting impatient or antsy to be doing something else, so now we are more interested in being with them, in other words; "there is nothing I would rather be doing than being with them".

Day 8

Friday October 3, 2008

We did sleep in later than normal today but was at Animal Kingdom for lunch at 11AM. Grandma made the girls a home made autograph book and wanted to go with the girls collecting those autographs. So today it was a just go with the flow and off the beaten path day. As we finished lunch some street performers set up in front of the restaurant and started to play, so we found and shared a bench.

They sung some catchy songs and got the guests to participate.

Please turn the player way down before starting this one.

I suggested that we go to Camp Minnie Mickey to get several autographs in one area. On our way we stopped at some side activities and meet some great cast members and Miss Rae said she wanted their autographs too.

We then found several more characters to sign Miss Rae's book.

Including Pocahontas

Lilo & Stich

Then we ran into a gentleman named Guitar Dan

He evidently talked to grandma earlier to gather some info so he could surprisingly sing a song about Miss Rae with "how did he know that" correct information.

Since we were in the area grandma wanted to watch Festival of the Lion King.

So we did that again but this time I took pictures.

When we left we seen Pocahontas again and she took Miss Rae to spot some Ducks coming out of the woods.

We chased down a few more autographs even from store clerks, which ended up giving us some special pins for taking the interest in them.

It was getting close to 4 so we found a place to sit towards the front for the afternoon parade so we could leave right afterwards. The area we found got a lot of sun so Miss Rae took grandma's sun visor too keep the sun out of her eyes.

Then too keep busy she decided everybody needed to put the hat on.

Including me.

We watched the Parade then left.

Before Grandma came down I asked her to pick a restaurant of her choice, she picked Raglan Road (Irish pub) because it was located in the Downtown Disney area. So I made a reservation for a signature dinner place at Animal Kingdom Lodge called Jiko.

We got there right when they opened and was seated right away and close to the front with a great view of the outside water feature.

I tried the Kenyan coffee BBQ-Braised Beef Short Rib – with crusted potatoes and sweet onion Jus.

It was very good, extremely tender and I am glad I tried it for something different but I would not it order again, especially after trying Lisa's Oak-Grilled Filet Mignon – with macaroni and cheese sauce.

Now that was excellent, it was even better than the great steaks we got at the Yachtsman Steakhouse. For desert I had Warm Peach Crumble – with spiced caramel sauce, white peach sorbet and ginger ice cream.

Lisa had the Tanzanian Chocolate Cheesecake – with almond crust, chocolate ganache, amarula sauce and lavender ice cream.

After dinner we walked around the lodge for a bit to have a look at the offerings that the Animal Kingdom lodge offers.

Next we caught a bus to take us to Down Town Disney to do some quick shopping and to catch the 9PM Cirque Du Soleil – La Nouba show.

Awesome, awesome, awesome and that is all I can say about this show. We wanted to see it last year but decided to wait till this year, because we thought it was like others we had seen on TV. It was not like any other of their programs, sure some similarities but it was action packed and geared towards a Disney audience. I had to buy the DVD afterwards just so I could watch it again to see what I missed. I have no pictures or video of the performance inside as they do not allow it, so I'll just post one last outside picture.

It was now about 11PM and we had an early day scheduled for tomorrow so we headed straight to the bus stop. When we got back to the Resort my brother and his family were there, so we talked for about 10 minutes then went to bed. All in all it was a wonderful day with grandma.

Day 9

Saturday October 4, 2008

Way back in February, 2008 we got my younger brother Sam and his wife to agree to come down to Disney when we would be there. They are the types who rarely get out and when they do it is mostly visiting family or attending birthday parties in a public places. Grandma was super excited that she would be there when both girls would be, but I recognized the fact that every family needs there own alone time while at Disney too. So I worked with them with very little input on what they would like to include and made some suggestions including suggesting they should have at least one day to rest in the middle. They liked the fact that I gave them some alone time and said they also liked having the first two days with the extended family then they could be on there own. They said no to an extra day to rest in the middle and that they just go with the flow and will pace themselves so that they won't be so tired (OK, I at least warned them). They also asked that if I did not mind since I have been before if I would plan the first day, which I did and also suggest/made reservations for there dinners.

Everything was set until about a month before we left, Disney suddenly announced Magic Kingdom was going to close early on our planned first day at 7PM for a Halloween party. Oh man now I have to figure out what to do after the park closes and on top of that Sam's family has now decided they would like Samantha (his daughter) to be made up at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Cinderella's castle. I decided the Hoop Dee Do Dinner show would be a great family activity, after Magic Kingdom closed; it took a couple weeks of calling looking for a cancellation for a party of our size. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique I could not get even when calling everyday prior to leaving so they said forget it. I as an uncle wanted my niece who may never make it back to have all the opportunities of here dreams to come true, so while we where down there on vacation and calling everyday I scored a cancellation for my niece for a 9AM seating.

So this day starts out with us needing to be inside Magic Kingdom before it opens which is cool. That means my brothers family would be able to walk down Main Street USA toward Cinderella's Castle without the normal crowded herd of people and to take some pictures.

We got to Magic Kingdom at 8:30AM and were immediately let in. we took some pictures including one with no one in front of the Castle (rare site).

No one was more excited than Samantha, she lead most the way.

The Fairy God Mothers in training got busy getting Samantha ready for her day at the Kingdom.

Afterwards she posed for some keepsake photos.

While all this was going on I collected everyone's tickets so I could get Fast Passes during our allotted time. Then Miss Rae and I headed out in to Fantasyland to ride some of her old favorite rides, like Peter Pan Flight, Dumbo and I was able to catch Miss Rea with her big girl guard down on Cinderella's Golden Carrousel.

We all meet back up and then my older brother Dennis showed up, he lives 40 minutes away.

I truly enjoy when Dennis comes over while we are at the parks, he has a fun light hearted side to him and we end up feeding off each other in joking around with our family as well as the cast members at Disney. Below is a picture of Dennis asking Ariel out for a date, she said she would but she tries to "keep it under the sea" as far as dating goes.

We did several ride and attractions with no wait because of the Fast Passes I collected through the morning hours.

It was 1PM and now time to get that hard to get meal with Cinderella and fellow princess in the castle. Cinderella's Royal Table reservation is one of the hardest to get and usually has to be made 6 months ahead of time. Cinderella meet us in the entry way and talked to the girls.

Then we went upstairs to be seated and greeted by other princess.

I don't know why but Princess Jasmine is always a delight to see.

We all had the same lunch of Major Domo's Favorite Pie which was kind of like a pot roast with a royal twist. Everybody agreed that it was just ok, but you don't go there for the food. The desert was much better and most had Blueberry Buckle with lemon ice and finished with crème fraiche.

From there most went to Toon Town to meet Minnie and Mickey while a few of us went to Space Mountain to ride. Then we rode the Walt Disney Railroad and Miss Rae asked for a picture autograph from a cast member.

Miss Rae said she wanted to go back and get nicks autograph now, but I told her we was not working at the time.

Now it was time to get our Royal Photo of the whole family at Magic Kingdom at the same time.

While we waited for the parade I noticed that with all the practice Miss Rae was having with the hula hoop she was getting pretty good now.

So much so that she felt confident in trying to teach her cousin how to do it.

We watched the Disney Dreams Come True Parade.

http://www.linkchaos.com'>

The rest of the afternoon was spent using Fast Passes on attractions and watching the Dream Along with Mickey show.

Another sighting of the various male prince, some how they are never available to meet.

As always Mickey is the star of the show.

It was now 6PM and time for us to leave to catch a boat to take us to Fort Wilderness were the Hoop Dee Do Dinner show plays at. I thought this would be a good show for us and would give us some entertainment while we had dinner verses rehabbing what we did that day.

The show is played in parts as a musical/slapstick comedy show. They start the show with a musical number and a couple laughs, then a skit that announces dinner is served. After a bit more music and comedy then the servers are on stage doing a musical number and walking to the tables to serve desert. The last 10 minutes of the show they bring various members of the audience up to help them play parts in the last skit. My younger brother Sam was picked to be the Star of the show but we did not know that he was until they announced it. The video below will give you an idea of the type of show it is. I cut it down from 10 minutes to a couple minutes of the last segment. I hope everyone that watches it gets at least a laugh out of it as I still laugh out loud when watching it.

After the show when we went back to the dock to catch the boat back we got to see Hallowishes Firework show and the Electric Water Parade. My brother Sam said that this day was a good one and that Walt Disney World is much grander than he imagined.

When we got back to the resort I was feeling somewhat proud about how the day went for everybody and liked the fact that everyone had a magical day and that nobody had to wait for anything.

Great day indeed!

[Avatar]

Day 10

Sunday October 5, 2008

Today was a sleep in day as we had no where to go until the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tonight. I highly suggested to my younger brother Sam, to take his family early to Magic Kingdom to get some alone time with them and that I would take grandma with us before the party from 4PM - 7PM.

We ate lunch at the resort.

We even had time to swim at the resort for the first time ever.

It was getting close to 2PM so time to get ready for the Halloween Party tonight. Lisa dressed Miss Rae in a Tinker Bell costume and painted flowers and vines on her. Lisa dressed as a witch, I was disappointed she just wore her regular cloths and I dressed as a captain of something I think. A lot of people referred to me as Captain Hook so since Miss Rae was Tink I just went with it.

It was now 3PM and as we left the room fully dressed we ran into Sam’s wife who had not seen Sam of Grandma for a couple hours and she was not happy. We waited a couple minutes and then grandma showed up and said she liked our costumes and she would meet us at the party. Evidently grandma told Sam that they should not leave so early as they would be to wore out later, but Sam’s wife wanted that alone time and was not consulted about the change.

My immediate family got there when they opened the gates for the Halloween Party participants at 4PM, but the party did not start until 7PM and ended at 12PM. So we were basically the only ones in costume for a couple hours at Magic Kingdom, besides Disney characters.

We rode several rides that we did not get to do with family yesterday and on our first day that we got there. It was getting to be about 7PM and the Mickey’s Not so Scary Party was getting started at Stitch’s dance party. This was a great place to start as we where able to get dinner and rest for a bit. Below is a video from last years start, it was the same this year so I did not video it this year. It was very busy this year but the part itself was not very busy.

I noticed no call yet form anybody so I kept on course of taking more pictures and the Villains Mix & Mingle show. I like this show a lot and the tune is catchy.

Miss Rae and I then went on a mission to find Peter Pan while Miss Rae Tricker Treated.

He was not at the Pirates of the Caribbean.

We keep going and went by the Haunted Mansion and were scared away!

I still noticed no call form anyone so I figured I did not want to get in that mess and just settled in to enjoy the evening with my family. We normal have a great place to watch the Fireworks but elected to watch from the front because of all the special graphics and lighting for Hallowishes.

The finale

Next to do is the Boo To You Parade.

More if you want.

And even more if you must.

We went by the Get Up and Boogie Dance Party.

As we hit the various events they had candy stops and Miss Rae’s candy bag was overflowing now so I dumped it in mine and she was at it again. One of the last areas we needed to go through was the Toon Town area and on our way an extremely rare opportunity availed itself to us. It was Snow White with all Seven Dwarfs.

So we decided to just see what they were offering in the Toon Town Tent. It ended up being Prince Charming with Cinderella.

That was great Miss Rae was a bit shy when the prince kissed her hand. I was OK with that just as long as it does not lead to more in her mind.

Then we could not resist an opportunity to thank Mickey for inviting us to his party.

We finished with the pictures and trick-or-treating but had 1 hour left to do what we wanted, so I told Miss it was her pick for the rest of the night. She picked Goofy’s Barnstormer children coaster. She rode it and wanted to ride it again. When we got back to the station they offered us a reride without the need to go back around, this happened 4 more times and that was all I could take. We got a soda and Miss Rae said she wanted to go back to Barnstormer so I thought I will take advantage of her willingness to ride a coaster of any kind. I did tell her I could not scream with her, because my voice was going. We rode a total of 12 times all together that night and they where now closing up. When we got back the coaster control cast member (I think her name was Shannon) gave Miss Rae a Frequent Flyer card and told her that she was the best rider of the day.

At this point I was truly dragging and thought how ironic that my daughter was the one with all the energy for a change. I figure that is the first symptom of a coaster fan, I am pleased. As we walk out Shannon walked by and said something, so we talked a bit and for some reason my son came into the conversation and his age, then school, Purdue. Shannon said she goes there too but was in the collage program, I said I know someone from here in the program too. I said Nick from Jungle Cruise; she said loudly, you mean NICK from OHIO!! Yea that would be him I said, she went on about him and from what I figure Nick has some great friends at the Barnstormer coaster.

We got back to the resort about 1AM, I would have had a picture of Miss Rae carrying me back but she could not take a picture and carry me at the same time. I also found out that the rest of the family went but was at odds with each other, then wondered around and missed several special activities. From there a minor family blow-up and that lead to them leaving a bit early. I am glad I did not get that call. Like I say Fish and family stink after 3 days, it is important that everybody get some time alone sprinkled in over several days.

Side Note;

I truly feel the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is just as entertaining as any other Halloween event I had attended this year just different. I would advise anybody of any age to go to this event I think you’ll love it as much as we do. If you do go don’t make the same mistake as I did on my first visit and not wear a costume. Wearing a costume this trip made this visit especially fun and helped me get into character for a great evening of family fun.

Part 6 Hint; The Best – The Worst – I’ll Explain

Quick link to Part 6 Posted 10/31/08 Typhoon Lagoon/Departure Day/Final Thoughts

[RailRider]

The trip report is still great, Im enjoying every minute and getting lots of ideas to plan our first official Disney Trip. I have been to all the parks, but we have always stayed at the Royal Pacific at Universal and spent the majority of our time at Universal and Busch Gardens / Sea World, with just a few trips to Disney. Now with our daughter that is all going to change.

I would hold off on a full family trip to IOA till 2010 when Harry opens up. I think you can experience Sea World and Busch Gardens in the meantime. Honestly the Sea World in Orlando is amazing, but the real jewel is Bushc Gardens Africa. I personally think it is better than Animal Kingdom, (although I have not experienced AK since Everesst opened). The animal exhibts are first class, the coasters are top notch and the Crown Colony House is an amazing dinning experience. I dont think you would be disappointed putting IOA off for another year. Although once you ride The Mummy you cant wait to get your next fix. Truely a great coaster and attraction.

We did the big family vacation to Orlando 3 years ago so I completely understand how the whole family thing can blow up real fast. We rented a huge house for everyone to stay at, there were 12 of us. My wifes parents, her 2 brothers and their famlies. Thankfully we all did our own thing for the majority of the trip but there were still those moments. Still glad we did it and that we escaped for 3 days to IOA and Universal while everyone did the Disney thing.

Looking forward to rest of your trip report and sounds like a great time so far.

[Avatar]

RailRider – Really thanks for the support I should only have one more part to go. There is some great advantages of staying on Disney property on of which you do not need to rent a car, but second is that total Disney immersed atmosphere. I am glad your family is looking into going, the first thing you need is a date then work it from there keep in mind the Disney usually offers the free dinning from lat August through September. That free dinning has saved us a lot of money, but in truth we probably would have never eaten at a lot of the places we had. The best value when doing the free dinning promotion is a value resort, otherwise if you’re staying in a deluxe resort it is a better deal to take advantage of other offers.

I think holding off the IOA/Universal till 2010 is what we are going to do, plus Miss Rae will be 10 by then and may ride the bigger coasters. I talked to the wife and she agrees doing the Sea World/Busch gardens parks is what would be best for us next, but we will still stay at Disney for the free dinning and so we can still do the Disney parks too.

Family was not as bad as I thought it could have been and everyone got over it quickly, I was glad I was not there when it happened. Vacations are too short to be dealing with family issues, I have never got why some take sore feelings with them on vacation. Over all the family portion went rather well especially on Saturday.

[Touchdown]

When you go to Universal, stay a few nights (I recomend two) at their hotels, because their perks are better then Disney at their parks. You get unlimited front of the line access to nearly every (kiddie rides and teacups are the holdouts) ride on site. I cant imagine ever doing Universal without that perk again. The accommodations are also really nice, when we go down to Florida it usually goes something like this:

Day 1: Arrive in Tampa, Do Busch Gardens

Day 2: Drive to Orlando, check into Hard Rock Hotel, do Sea World

Day 3-4: Universal Orlando

Day 5: Morning at Universal, Check into to Disney's Old Key West, whatever park is doing evening EMH that night

Day 6-13: Disney World

Day 14: Home

[luff]

Side Note;

I truly feel the Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party is just as entertaining as any other Halloween event I had attended this year just different. I would advise anybody of any age to go to this event I think you’ll love it as much as we do. If you do go don’t make the same mistake as I did on my first visit and not wear a costume. Wearing a costume this trip made this visit especially fun and helped me get into character for a great evening of family fun.

I have to second Avatar on this point. I first learned about MNSSHP 4 years ago, when our travel agent suggested it for the kids first trip. I thought what, pay $40 to get into a park that we already have tickets to? But she eventually convinced us and we had a blast. Between no waits for the rides, trick or treating, dance parties, the spooky atmosphere, the great parade and fireworks, all without a huge crushing crowd, I can not wait until my next opportunity to go again.

[Avatar]

Thanks – Luff for the second, but pleas tell us what costume you will be wearing next time.

Touchdown thanks for your suggestions and your sample itinerary. Usually when we go most kids in this country are in school, so lines are nearly non existent, except weekends. I think it will be 2010 before we do the Universal parks again and I will look into their offerings as you suggest. I think next year we will still stay at Disney value resort for $83.00 which includes 2 meals and a snack per day and one of those meals is a sit down meal. My thinking now is do breakfast at Disney go to one of Sea World parks, which close at 6PM, then back to Disney for a sit down meal. If you know a better deal please clue me in, I am all ears.

Also for those interested in a Disney Cruise; Disney is offering an early 2009, 4 or 7 night cruise with a bounce back offer to do another cruise later in the year for $99.00 per person on their 3 night cruises.

I was hard at work on Part 6 but the neighbor stopped over for a visit so I am a bit behind but still aiming to have the final part done sometime tomorrow night.

[Avatar]

Avatars 2008 Fall Vacation

Quick Links

Part 1 Posted 10/18/08 Kings Island

Part 2 Posted 10/19/08 Magic Kingdom/Animal Kingdom

Part 3 Posted 10/21/08 EPCOT/Hollywood Studios

Part 4 Posted 10/25/08 Typhoon Lagoon/Starship/IOA Universal Studios

Part 5 Posted 10/28/08 Family-Animal kingdom/Magic Kingdom/Mickey’s Halloween Party

Part 6 Posted 10/31/08 Typhoon Lagoon/Departure Day/Final Thoughts

Part 6

Day 11

Monday October 6, 2008

Today when we woke up we where able to see Sam and his family off on their way to Animal Kingdom. We got an extra hour as my family was set to go to Typhoon Lagoon again, so we got the chance to say good-bye to grandma as she was leaving to go back home today. My family was originally scheduled to come home today too, but due to a work schedule I had an opportunity to stay 2 more nights. I thought 2 more days to relax after spending time with the family would be the best way to end our trip. After several calls it all worked out even with no extra fees from Air-Tran.

At Typhoon Lagoon we took advantage of some early waves

And slide rides.

The day was just what we needed; total relaxation.

Miss Rae even found a play friend to play in the sand with.

Then late in the day around 3:30PM it started to rain, we took shelter in an empty shelter house and let the park empty out for a bit. We then showered and caught a bus to Disney’s Beach Club Resort for dinner. I haft to admit this day really got us in a relaxed mood.

When we got to the Beach Club resort, we checked in at Cape May’s Clam Bake restaurant and were an hour early so we found some oversized chairs in the lobby to wait. It was mostly quit in the lobby because it was still raining outside and Miss Rae fell into a deep sleep.

I did not wake her and was glad we were early enough to let here sleep a bit so she would be rested and able eat later. When we were called for our seating, they sat us close to the Clam Buffet and wrote the servers name with a crayon on the table covered with a large piece of paper.

This was our first and only buffet this year; our server came by and took drink orders but was also talking in character as if we were at a true Clam Bake without being to over the top with it. I have eaten at several Disney Buffets over the past couple years some better than others and I would haft to say the Cape May Clam Bake is my favorite when it comes to buffets. They offered many of the traditional buffet items but added a lot more seafood offerings like clam chowder, seafood salad and other Clam Bake items.

Everything in my opinion was superbly flavorfully including the different varieties of Clams.

A nice touch was when you went to get Clams they had silver buckets there were you would scoop out the clams and then but them in your bucket to take back to your table.

I wanted eat more and to try everything, but I wanted to save room for the individual desert items too.

And

Cape May Clam Bake was the perfect meal for us after having such a relaxing day at Typhoon Lagoon. We took a bus to Downtown Disney to catch a bus back to the Pop Century, but when we got to downtown Disney we found some new energy and thought it would be nice to explore Disney Quest.

We only had an hour and a half to explore this Multi Media place and the time flew by fast as we really enjoyed many activities that could be done as a family. I was surprised at how much we did there and look forward to going again sometime. From there we went back to the resort to get ready for the next day and when we arrived we saw Sam and his family and they told us about there great day they had at Animal Kingdom.

Day 12

Tuesday October 7, 2008

Because this was considered a bonus day we were going to do the park we love the most right now and that’s (you probably have already guessed) Typhoon Lagoon! Same routine so as in the other reports except around 2:30PM it started to rain. Well I had covered our personal belongings so we headed into the very warm and heated wave pool to wait out the rain. We had a great time in the waves and watched the park clear out and after about an hour it was still raining so the Disney Photographer came out to were the only people where left in the park and started taking everyone’s pictures.

The rain did not let up so we ended up leaving around 4PM, besides we had a dinner reservation later at 6PM.

Just For Fun;

When I came home I listened to a Disney song from a CD I bought while down there called “Hawaiian Roller Coaster Ride”. Well after hearing that I said I must put together a video/slide show using that song, I liked it so well that I thought I would share it with you all for reading this report all the way to this point.

I hope you enjoy it.

We got changed and headed over to Hollywood Studios for a signature dinner reservation at the Brown Derby.

This restaurant is a reproduction of the famous Brown Derby restaurant in Hollywood California. Back in the days you were not considered anybody until you had a drawling of your face framed on the wall at the Brown Derby.

Miss Rae found what she wanted on the children menu so that meant we would need to spend two adult credits on a $7.95 dinner. I quickly offered the family an alternative of, maybe I should pay out of pocket for Miss Rae’s meal and try to get a reservation for Tony’s Restaurant at Magic Kingdom and leave the same way we came in. Besides we originally scheduled our last day to be Typhoon Lagoon again but we where now water logged and a bit red from two days already in the sun. Everyone agreed that the alternative sounded the best. So I got on the phone to Disney’s Dinning Reservation Line and scheduled an 11:30 lunch reservation for Tony’s.

The server at the Brown Derby was great and made several recommendations but Lisa decided on the Noodle Bowl with Wok Fried Coconut Tofu, the picture is all you’ll probably want to know about this one.

Lisa said it was ok but would not order it again. I on the other hand narrowed it down between two of the servers recommendation, then asked him for more help between the two. He asked a couple questions and then strongly suggested the Roasted Sterling Silver Pork Chop with mustard spaetzle, white cheddar, rainbow chard, vinegar onions and pan juices.

BINGO – We Have A Winner!!

I will go on record and say the Sterling Silver Pork was the best food item I have had not only at Disney but in my life. Usually pork is dry, but this was not and it melts in your mouth being so tender. The best way I can describe it is an awesome first cut oak flavored Filet Mignon but much lighter and flavorful. I can not wait to try this one again!

For desert we both had Banana White Chocolate Toffee Tower on cocoa almond cookie and bananas foster.

Miss Rae had Hidden Treasures – vanilla ice cream, Oreo cookie crumbles and gummy snacks with a Tollhouse cookie.

I have read many mixed reviews about the Brown Derby so I had put it off untill this trip but it will not be our last. I will also just remind everyone that all the meals we have had at Disney have been free. We paid nothing other than full price of our room.

After Dinner we went to Fantasmic Night show while we were in the Hollywood Studios area, this was our last night at Disney and I think Fantasmic would be a great way to end our nightly entertainment. As promised in part 3, below is the video of the finale of Fantasmic.

Tonight we were a bit sad about it being our last night but we had a very pleasant evening and I am happy it turned out the way it did. Back at the resort I offered Sam’s family to go with us to Magic Kingdom for the last day rush before we go tour and Sam said him and his daughter would go while is wife goes shopping at Downtown Disney. So we went to the front desk and added another day’s ticket to our card for about $3.00 a piece. Then we hurried to bed so we would be rested for our last day.

Day 13

Wednesday October 8, 2008

Today was an extra early morning starting at 5AM so we could be packed and have our luggage down at the airline check in at the resort by 7AM. Everything went exceptionally smooth with no waits, so we were able to get a sit down Breakfast at the food court for the first time this trip. We got on the bus to Magic Kingdom and were able to watch the preshow of the Magic Kingdoms opening ceremony for that day.

When the park opened I collected everyone’s card so I may get fast Passes as we did not have time to waste today in lines. I also told everybody we haft to be out at the bus stop by 2:30PM to be able to catch the 3:45PM bus to the airport. We walked on these rides Pirates of the Caribbean, Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain 3 times.

I was surprised Miss Rea did not even bat an eye on any rides so far. She requested that she wanted to ride Barnstormer at Toon Town with her cousin. I agreed and thought the more coasters rides the better, so I sent them around using the Railroad while I cut across the park to get another set of Fast Passes. The line for Barnstormer was short.

So we got 3 rides in before we told the girls it was time to move on.

An embarrassing moment happened here for me, when I went to get up while holding my camera bag my phone slipped off my belt, after picking it up I hit it on the lap bar. Well the phone case landed on the tracks, while my phone dropped under the tracks. Oh man now everybody is going to be looking at me, for holding things up. The Cast members came right over with an extended reach grabber and reached right under and got my phone in seconds. Oh man was I relieved.

We took the red trail over to TomorrowLand and Samantha and Miss Rae asked what the big white building was (Space Mountain) Miss Rea acted like she might be interested in it but was very nervous. So I told her I would get a Fast Pass for later if she decides she wants to try and I added, if she rode it I would consider it as my Birthday present from her (oh by the way it was my birthday too). We did the Astro Orbiter then departed with Sam so we could get our final sit down meal at Tony’s Italian Restaurant.

At Tony’s we had the best server and Miss Rae told him it was my birthday, he asked where we were from and inquired about the Colts football team. I told him I haven’t seen a game in two weeks and have no idea if they won or lost. So after dinner the server brought out desert and announced my birthday to the whole restaurant and asked them to say something followed with a big mmmwa (kiss with fingers)

as soon as they did that another cast member approached me and said “hi I am the manager here and I want to wish you a happy birthday” then followed with “I am from New England so what I am about to tell you is a true gift” that got my undivided attention, he then said “last Sunday your Colts where down 21 points with less than 5 minutes left in the game, but they rallied to a victory, happy birthday”. WOW

They then came out and put a Birthday pin on me.

After lunch our Space Mountain Fast Pass was available so we headed to it first, Miss Rae was extremely nervous but not so much so that it would cause attention. I think it was a bit much for her to ask her to ride in a seat by herself as that’s the way it is on that ride. She reluctantly got on and while ridding I kept one hand on her shoulder. A few times during the ride I could tell that she was enjoying it and as soon as we got off she asked to go again.

Let me repeat, she asked to go on Space Mountain again; Yes, Yes, this is great finally my daughter is ridding coasters and I am so happy, this whole trip has been a huge success in breaking her fear of even the smallest coasters.

I think this was the best birthday any Coaster Fanboy could ask for!

There was no time to get a Fast Pass or to be able to wait in line so we would need to wait till next year to ride again. We did finish up with two more rides of Peter Pan Flight and Splash Mountain using Fast Passes. It was now right at 2 PM and time for that long walk out of the park for your last time.

As we got to the last point I told Miss Rae to turn around one last time before we go and wave good- bye, as she did I noticed a tear rolling down her check. She said “I don’t want to go we were having such a great time and now it’s going to be another whole year before we get to come back”. Not much I could say about that but to comfort her, but I was gushing with pride inside thinking back to the first day when I promised myself to have a relaxing but an extra special trip and her reaction was that confirmation. I think this is what is meant as “bitter-sweet”.

We did make it back on time to catch the bus to the airport with enough time to trade our last snack credits for some treats to take home and to get our families yearly pick of a picture frame to take home.

The flight back was for the most part smooth but 2 gentlemen sitting next to me caught my attention with all their official Colts merchandise on. It turns out the one right next to me was the Colts Team pilot and was in the area for a conference. I told him about the manager at Tony’s and he showed me his Super Bowl ring.

Travis picked us up and we took Sam’s family home first and when we got there Travis asked Sam how the trip went. Sam did not know I could hear him but I could, he said, “ it went well , when we were with Jesse we did a lot of activities and never waited for anything it was great, but when we were on our own we wondered around and waited in lines and we got kind of cranky at times.

To me that was the best compliment I could have received, I was pleased he saw I cared enough to plan a mini trip for them with little to no input from them. I think this trip was a success all the way around.

Trip Thoughts;

This was our third trip to Orlando and even though some parks are getting old for us it opened an opportunity for us to change our touring style up a bit and to try some new activities. That worked out rather great for us as we came home more relaxed and in many ways closer as a family.

I was not sure if we would be staying at Disney next year but this trip convinced me that our precious little one is growing up so quick and that I better embrace the activities that bond us together to be a closer family. The thought of missing out on seeing Miss Rae growing up on vacation is not one I am ready to give up yet.

I have booked us to go back next year and here is what I have planned so far.

Cost Break Down;

The costs below are rough estimates but are pretty close though.

$504.00 Airfare – Air Tran

$1166.00 POP Century Resort 11 nights

$879.00 Disney Tickets 10 day + water parks and more

$141.85 Mickey Halloween Party

$248.16 La Nouba

$107.00 Universal Halloween/IOA

$150.00 Tips – Waiter, maid and other misc.

$50.00 Gas round trip to Kings Island

$700.00 Spending money – Appox $60.00 a day for 11.5 days

$0.00 Food

$3946.01 Total

I hope that some of you after reading my trip report may want to plan one for yourselves or as alluded too in the title save yourself a lot of money because you may fell you just got back from Orlando after reading this report to the end. Obviously the trip could have cost much more but at the same time it could cost less for those wiling to cut out certain extra activities.

My Best and Worst Picks;

Best Dinner – Brown Derby

Worst Dinner – Tony’s even though we liked it enough to go twice

Best Day – Family day at Magic Kingdom

Worst Day – Monday 10/6 3 rd trip to Typhoon

Best extra activity – La Nouba

Worst extra activity – I can not pick one

Best Park ***

Worst Park ***

After thinking about it I can not pick one here either, I mean it is like picking fruit. They all offer something different and have there own unique style but are all considered a fruit. I liked them all but was glad I got to go to so many parks in one week it was like the best fruit salad ever. I must say I think including Kings Island (my home park) was a great way to compare it and as I said earlier in this report, Kings Island offers a tremendous amount of entertainment for the money and for a seasonal park.

Final Thoughts;

I am very pleased to have had you along for our trip; I like to get every bit of value out of every penny I spend. So if you enjoyed this report or learned something from it then I was even more successful in this trip than I had planed for and I thank you for that.

Thanks for reading – Avatar/Jesse

[kiruler102]

Great Final Trip Report. Hope to hear from you soon.

[Hoeter]

Avatar,

I thoroughly enjoyed your trip report and hope you had a good time! I was in Orlando back in September on business and did not have extra time to spend at Disney or Universal. Me and the family went to Disney last September, stayed at a Disney resort (All-Star Music) and did all four parks: Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Animal Kingdom, and Disney's Hollywood Studios all in four days. It was so draining but was so worth it. It has been years since I've been to Universal (when Kongfrontation was still there) and I've never even been to Islands. Next year when we come down, we plan on hitting Busch Gardens, Universal/Islands, and Disney. We've only had one bad experience with Disney, and that is with my sister. It was her birthday, we were at Magic Kingdom, and we went to City Hall (Guest Relations) to get a birthday button. We were about to get on Space Mountain and she told the Cast Member that it was her birthday. The Cast Member got an attitude and said "Who cares?". After this, we got free Fast Passes to every ride in that park for our misfortune. I apologize for the long post, got carried away on memories. Anyways, I enjoyed your TR and hope to hear more in the future!

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Thanks guys for your support and for letting me know you enjoyed it. That report took a lot longer to do than I thought it would. I would have waited a bit longer to have started it and made some homemade video/slide video’s to add to the report and to had the first 2-3 parts done before posting the first one. The problem was I wanted to get Part 1 with Kings Island in it while the park was still open.

Andrew I will just add I am always glad to hear others experiences they have had and glad you added yours thanks.

We thought about switching to All-Star Music next year because for some reason the Music at POP was always on and a little louder this year (or just my imagination) and it seamed hard to relax while at the resort. Andrew if you remember can you tell if the music at All-Star Music was a bit loud?

Well I usually do not make a big deal about my birthday (age thing you know), but I think it means more to our children. In fact it was not until my daughter said something and late on our last day did I get the B-Day pin. From there every cast member we came into direct contact with said something nice, now Mss Rae wants to go on her Birthday too.

[Hoeter]

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We really enjoyed All-Star Music. Every night, around dark or so, a movie was played near the main pool area/main building. I don't remember it being loud, we were in the rock section towards the back of the property. All-Star Music is in the vicinity of Animal Kingdom, and the drawback is that all three resorts (All-Star Sports, All-Star Movies, and All-Star Music) use the same bus, and I believe that Pop Century has it's own. It took us a good 45 minutes to an hour just to get from EPCOT back to our room...but we never left the resort, save for a few times we went to eat in nearby Kissimmee, and we saved a ton on gas. I hear now that if it's your birthday, you get in for free.

[auge.dog]

Great report - I will be sure to use much of the info provided for our family's upcoming trip. Jesse, I also want to thank you for taknig the time to email me the Excel file. We have a full crew going as well. My wife, 2 kids and I, her parents, her two sisters, and our niece. I think they have too much planned, but I let them do whatever they want. I know my kids will be up for most of it.

[RailRider]

Avatar, great trip report. Really sounds like the entire family had a great time and that you were still able to create some magical memories with Miss Rae. Also sounds like you have a budding coaster enthusiast on your hands, what more could you ask for?

I really enjoyed the slide show you put together using the Hawaian Roller Coaster Ride song, I think thats from Lilo and Stitch, what program did you use to make that slide show? Really enjoyed it and the music fit perfectly.

I also must admit that when you were giving your final acount of leaving Magic Kingdom and what Miss Rae said, I got a little misty because it reminded me of the first time we took Zoe to KI and how it was just the perfect trip and I didn't want the day to ever end. Like you said it is very bitter sweet, but definately a memory you will hold forever, thank you for sharing that with us.

After reading your trip report and the comments from others we have decided that a Disney vacation is in our future sooner than we thought. We want to start creating those magical memories with our daughter and Avatar you have shown there is no better place than Disney. Thanks for sharing the memories and the photos of your beautiful family...

ps. Have you ever considered the Disney Vacation Club? Looks interesting for a time share

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Andrew – yeah that share a bus with the other All-Stars resort is what kept us away from there thus far. Maybe I’ll just take my speaker wire cutter tool with me next year.

Auge.dog you’re welcome. Our last year’s trip included a full crew too, it is nice to have them all together but it tends to slow things down when doing things as a large group together. Many large groups wear similar shirts for photos In Magic Kingdom. Disneystore.com sells some great embroidery ****s that each person can pick a character out and have there name embroidered on there shirts. Cast members use that to help them in getting your group involved to. Just saying….

Most people try to cram everything into one trip, including us (first two trips) in fear they/we would not be back. I am just glad to hear you all have at least a basic plan.

I’ll give you another tip, just incase you are unaware of the opportunity. Disney Photo Pass system you can look that up if you don’t know about it but basically Disney will take a lot of pictures of your various families, you can buy them separately (expensive) or buy all them all on a CD (just group all your families together) for $125.00. If you order the CD before you go it only costs $99.00, which means if you split the cost by 4 ways it would only cost $25.00 for all your families apiece. This site will help you more with that http://www.stitchkingdom.com/disneysphotopass/

RailRider I am working on your response, have you guys considered a date yet? and are you guys doing the planning yourselfs?