Thanks, Nana! Our 2008 WDW trip report - updated 6/8 with AK PP photos About This Page:

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

When I talked to my brother earlier in the day, I told him I would call him when we got to the Poly. After taking pictures of our room, I gave him a call; they were on their way back from Downtown Disney. Since they were staying at Shades of Green, which is practically right next door to the Poly, we agreed to meet in the Great Ceremonial House. The last time I saw him was at our baby brother's wedding, back in May 2007. He had returned from Iraq at the end of March 2008, and he been in Georgia with his wife and daughters since that time. I was really looking forward to seeing him again! His wife and girls (2 & almost 5) had spent a lot of time here in Michigan while he had been gone, so we'd seen them quite a bit; not that we weren't happy to see them, too, but we mostly made the trip to Florida during this particular week just to see my brother!

The walk from Tokelau to the GCH didn’t take very long, and we walked into the lobby from the back door while my brother was walking in the main entrance. I was so excited to see him, it didn’t even cross my mind to get our picture taken together! He looked terrific, really happy and rested and relaxed. He brought me a box of chocolates from Ghiradelli, as well as the caffeine-free Pepsi I had requested. What a brother! We spent quite a bit of time hanging out in the lobby while the girls colored and watched TV in the kids’ area. I did manage to get a picture of them:


Kate really enjoyed the coloring activities, although I think she finished up someone else's picture for them.


None of us had had dinner yet, so we said good-bye, promising to meet tomorrow morning at the Magic Kingdom. We went to Captain Cook's to use our first counter service credits. They have touch-screen menus there, which I'd heard were a little tricky, but we didn't have any trouble with them. Rose got a kids' pick turkey sandwich, Grace got a kids' pick burger, and Rick and I both got the multi-grain turkey club sandwich. We took our food back to the room, where we ate it quickly and then settled in for bed. It had been a very long day, but we were so happy to be at Disney World! Of course, I stayed up longer than everyone else so I could get things unpacked a little. A mom's job is never done...

Memories of our journey:
The weather was drizzly and dreary when we left and beautiful when we arrived.
The best thing about our journey was curbside check-in and printing boarding passes ahead of time equals no waiting at the airport!
The worst thing about our journey was the trouble with the lift on the DME bus.
The funniest thing about our journey was when Kate said, "We're almost there, Walt!" while watching the DME video.


Memories of our room:
The first impression of our room was that it was big!
The amenities were a safe, toiletries, coffee maker, room service, queen beds, day bed, flat-screen TV, three chairs, two desks and a table.
We tried a garden view room and the result was the view was lovely; the landscaping was beautiful.
The most magical moment was seeing a room in person after seeing them online before the trip.


Memories of our first day:
The weather today was beautiful and warm.
The best thing today was our time in the UK & Canada in the World Showcase.
The worst thing today was having to miss Soarin' and Test Track.
The funniest thing today was Alice kissing Christian on the forehead.
Today we tried Mission:Space and the result was the girls loved the green side and wanted to try the orange.
The most magical moment today was meeting Mr. Hugh, having our own photopass photographer and when Alice left her queue to spend time with our family!


Up next: breakfast with royalty!

[DyanKJ130]

Wonderful updates, Beth! How exciting that you were able to see your brother! Can't wait to hear about your breakfast with royalty!!

[B.M.]

Great Update! Glad you were able to see your brother. Can't wait to hear more.

[piratefreak]

Great first day wrap up. So happy for you that you got to finally see your brother. Can't wait to hear more.

[mcc0313]

Wonderful updated Beth...your room is beautiful

Glad that you got to see your brother for a bit tonight...they girls are adorable...

Can't wait to hear more when day two arrives.

[chezp]

Wow, you have been busy while I've been away from the boards! I'm all caught up now and loving this report - it looks like you're all having an awesome time.

[Colexis Mom]

Glad you were able to meet up with your brother! Sounds like a great night! More please

[disney_duke]

It's so nice that you get to meet up with your brother. Just adds to the magic. Looking forward to your royal breakfast!

[mom to 3 princesses and 1 prince]

It was to be our first full day at Disney World. I was lucky to get an ADR for Cinderella’s Royal Table at 8:20 a.m. and we were all looking forward to it! Of course, it meant another early start. I think I had my cell phone wake me up at 6:30 so I could be all ready to go when Mickey woke the kids up at 7:00. My goal was to be on the monorail by 7:30 so we could get to the gates early enough to see an empty Main Street! Even though our ADR was at 8:20, I acted as if it was at 8:00 to try to get us there a little earlier. Rick got up and we quickly got the kids up and moving; they were excited about eating in the castle, so it wasn’t as difficult as it usually is to get them going! We walked over to the Great Ceremonial House, where it is so easy to catch the monorail to the MK! I really loved that about the Poly!
We had never been to the Magic Kingdom this early in the morning, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. We waited in a very short line for those with breakfast ADRs, but I had a moment of panic when I heard the CM ask someone for picture ID. I had my confirmation number, but only had my Passporter pouch and not my wallet, so I didn’t have picture ID with me. As it turned out, I didn’t need it; I’m not sure why someone else needed theirs! I was so excited to see an empty Main Street; I took lots of pictures!

A lovely family offered to take our picture; we took theirs for them in return! I enlarged this to 8 x 10 and framed it for my mom and MIL for Mother's Day.


I like this one because you can see more of the castle.








Here is Grace, running to the castle!




I took this before going up for breakfast; it wasn't even running yet!

Up next: Cindy, Belle, Jasmine, Aurora, and finally, Snow White!

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures!! I love being on Main Street when it's so quiet

[CountryTink]

How cool is that - it's just amazing to see Main Street so empty. Love the t-shirts!

[B.M.]

Can't wait to hear all about the breakfast, Your pictures look great!

[BlueCinderellaEyes]

great pictures!

[kmurburg]

Your family's t-shirts look awesome! It's so cool to have Main Street almost to yourself - I'm looking forward to that on our trip this October! Can't wait to hear more about your trip!

[disneydani]

Playing catch-up....
Welcome to the Poly, your room is great! Glad you could reconnect with your brother and his fam.
Love the pics on Main Street, isn't is cool to be on eof the few in the MK?

danielle