The 2009 Desert Flower Tour About This Page:

[tio marco]

Saturday
Woke up at 4:00 a.m. to make our 5:30 a.m. airport shuttle. Left ATL at 8:30 a.m., seats 1A and 1C - gotta love those upgrades, and we were whisked off to MCO. Arrived around 10, and shot downstairs to the new, much improved DME area! Within minutes we were on our way to the Poly. Much to our chagrin, we left sunny Georgia behind for gray, dismal and dreary Florida!!! Our room was ready when we arrived at the Poly! AND we were upgraded to water view (Pool and Lagoon -- corner room in the Samoa Building). I can't say for sure, but i'm attributing this to online check-in.

After a quick unpack, we were off to take the monorail ride through Epcot....not TO Epcot, just through it. LOL. Finally got back to the Poly (after a bunch of monorail transfers) and explored around the resort before going to take a nap.

After a quick nap, we headed off to the 5:15 p.m. Spirit of Aloha lua, where we were joined by my mother. The dancers were fun, but the "storyline" is a little annoying. The food was kinda mediocre, but the service was good. After the luau, we hung out for a bit, then took the Wishes Fireworks Cruise. Said goodbye to the relatives and called it a night.

Sunday
Got up and headed over to Coronado Springs, where we'll be until Friday morning. Decided not to go to a water park, but to head on over to Hollywood Studios to get in as much park time as possible. The weather alternated between blistering hot and torrential rain, but the park crowd was very manageable. Grabbed the all-important FastPass for Toy Story Mania then went off to enjoy the park. Saw Voyage of the Little Mermaid for the first time and had a GREAT time at the American Idol experience. Seriously AIE was much, more fun than i would have ever imagined.

Finally got back to CSR at 9:00 p.m. and had our luggage delivered to our room. We're in building 9B in the Cabanas area (first building to the right outside El Centro). We're off to Animal Kingdom and Epcot tomorrow!!

[Cam22]

Sounds like a good start to your trip!

[chezp]

Great start!

[ekschuler]

Great start to your trip! Have a great time..hope the weather works with you better!

[Colexis Mom]

Great start!!

[vfair]

Great start! More please.

[KMB733]

Great Start!

[Sandra Bostwick]

Sorry the weather is not great, but the upgrade sounds awesome!

[tio marco]

Monday
Got up early and headed over to Animal Kingdom (turned out it was early opening EMH hours). Rode Expedition Everest twice, saw TONS of animal on Kilimanjaro Safaris, Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl and Festival of the Lion King.

Took a quick break at the room and changed shoes. My Crocs sandals let me down......crazy blisters in places i've never had them before and pain shooting up my legs. LOL. Changing shoes helped, but the damage is done.

Headed over to Epcot for lunch at Biergarten. The food and show were excellent, but the service was the worst. I swear we had the slowest waitress ever......one person at our table NEVER got her drink!

After lunch, we did three Kim Possible adventures: Norway, Mexico and China. Lots of fun. Surprisingly, we saw as many adults as kids participating. Hit the Gran Fiesta Tour, Maelstrom and The American Adventure.

Had dinner at Restaurant Marrakesh. We were seated early, since there was hardly anyone at Epcot (or AK). The food was good and the service was much, much better than lunch. After dinner, we blew through MouseGear and picked up a few souvenirs for friends back home. Decided to skip Illuminations this trip and call it an early night.

No rain today, which was great. Hopefully we'll have nice weather tomorrow for MNSSHP. Will probably sleep in a bit, possibly hit the pool here at CSR, since we won't be headed to the halloween party until 4 p.m.

Quick note: the bus service has been outstanding thus far, with waits of only 5 - 10 minutes.

[bsblady01]

more please

[Wolfy6688]

Sounds great so far! Can't wait to read more.

[chezp]

Great update. Sorry about the blisters.

[Colexis Mom]

Another great day! Pixies for your feet!

[KMB733]

Another great day! Glad to hear the bus service has been running well.

[tio marco]

Quick Update: Forgot to mention that Photopass photographers were swarming Epcot yesterday like locusts....they were EVERYWHERE!!! I've never, ever seen that many out and about......

Tuesday: Decided to sleep in. Got up around 11 a.m. and got to The Magic Kingdom around 2. Let me tell you there was NO ONE in The Magic Kingdom. Seriously, we walked on to EVERY SINGLE ATTRACTION (with the exception of the ridiculous line we had to stand in to see Tinkerbell). Did i tell you we experienced every, single attraction with the exception of the railroad??? It was crazy...... Had dinner at CRT.....seriously, one of the best meals I've ever had and the service was good as well.

Right after dinner, we got our only rain shower of the day, right about the same time they were clearing the park for MNSSHP. Which, once again was a lot of fun. Rode Thunder Mountain and Splash Mountain multiple times....had a great spot for viewing the fireworks and a great spot for the parade.

Finally, i should confess that due to the shooting pain in my right leg, we finally decided i needed a wheelchair or ECV......to give u an idea, it feels like the muscle is ripping off my ankle w/ every step i take. Decided to go the ECV route, so i wouldn't have to be pushed. Two things to note: 1) i only used it to go from attraction to attraction....stood in the regular line like everyone else......did not use it take advantage of wheel chair entrances, etc. 2) those things don't have brakes!! who knew? I only ran over one person, but frankly he deserved it after he stepped right in front of me after the parade.

Off to Epcot and the Aqua Seas Tour tomorrow!!