LONG Trip Report - May 2-5 About This Page:

[samftracey]

<font color="purple"> As I said on the Cruise Trip Report board (where I posted the other part of this LONG journal), I had the laptop with me on this trip, making keeping a journal a little too easy. This is just the park part - Yikes! I hope it's not too long... BTW, so you know who the people are, Jim is my DH, and Erin is our 3 1/2 year old DD. Enjoy!!

--Samantha

Sunday, May 2, 2004 – The flight down to Florida was great. Erin’s favorite parts were take-off and landing (what a thrill-seeking daredevil!). And before we knew it, we were in Florida!

We found our luggage right away, caught the Hertz bus, and got to our car without any problems. From there, it was just about 25 minutes to the hotel. Just enough time for Erin to fall asleep a few minutes before driving under the big arch that says WELCOME TO WALT DISNEY WORLD! (That’s the second time in a row that she’s missed that moment…)

This is the second time we’ve stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and as soon as we walked into the lobby, we remembered exactly why we liked it so much the first time. It’s simply amazing. Our room this time is on the 4th floor on the Kudo trail, with a view of the center savanna. It’s exactly the same as our last room, but reversed. Erin immediately claimed the bed next to the sliders, and I got busy unpacking. We had just enough time to get everything put away before we had to head downstairs for dinner at Boma. Yummy! I can’t tell you what I ate, but I can say it was delicious! Erin had a great time going through the buffet line, and ate two big plates of macaroni and cheese, grapes and a BIG cookie for dessert.

We had promised Erin that we would go swimming after dinner, so we quickly changed into our suits and headed downstairs. The skies were kind of ominous-looking, but we thought we could at least get in a quick dip. The water was wonderful and warm. After a few minutes, though, it was 8:00, and the lifeguards blew their whistles and announced that they were leaving for the night. Swimming after they were gone would be “at your own risk.” They also said, though, that there was a nasty lightning storm heading our way, and they strongly recommended that everyone get out then. I’m not one for ruining a good vacation with a bad electrocution, so we called it a night.

Monday, May 3, 2004 – We didn’t get as early a start this morning as we would have liked, but the good night sleep we all had was worth it. Unfortunately, the weather forecast for today wasn’t that great… 70% chance of showers all day. Bummer. But we didn’t come down here to mope around the hotel, did we? NO!

We had breakfast at Boma (YUM!), and then met with the cruise desk rep to go over our forms and paperwork for Thursday. I’m glad we did, because it saved us a bunch of time. The rep was actually from Roslyn (all of the Disney Cast Members’ name tags have their home city and state on them), and she was amused that we were from her area. I even talked with someone who had just gotten off the same cruise as we’re going on, and she had nothing but great things to say about it.

Right after that, we left for the Magic Kingdom. Just like last time, we parked the car and took the tram to the monorail station, which took us to the park. Unlike last time, though, it was raining today. Yuck. Surprisingly, though, there were still quite a lot of people there. Like us, they were not about to let a few drops of rain stop their fun.

We went down Main Street, and actually headed first to Frontier Land. Pretty soon, Erin decided that she didn’t want to get all wet, so we bought rain ponchos for her and me. As soon as we left the store, Erin caught sight of the Splash Mountain waterfall, and she REALLY wanted to go on it. We got closer, and she still wanted to go (even after hearing riders scream in terror as they made the drop). We were resigned to going on it, but she just missed the 40” height requirement. Jim, however, decided to go on it by himself, so Erin and I waited on the bridge by the drop to see him. Every 3rd boat or so would be followed by a HUGE splash that would soak the people standing where we were. Erin LOVED it, and insisted on standing right where she would get splashed. (Of course, she was wearing her poncho…). Anyway, we saw Jim pass by in his little boat, and eventually saw him fly down the falls (eyes closed, by the way! He told us afterwards that it was much scarier than he thought it would be, and that Erin not going on it was a very good thing.).

After that, we got some lunch, and by that time, the rain had almost completely stopped. Ponchos came off, and Erin saw a glimpse of the Aladdin ride. We headed that way, and she and I rode it. She had such a good time making our “carpet” go up and down. The look on her face and her squeals of joy were simply priceless. After that ride, we rode on the Jungle Cruise, which was fun. Then we wandered through Fantasy Land hoping to catch sight of a princess or two, but they must have been taking a nap in the castle (nudge-nudge, wink-wink!).

We caught the WDW railroad to Toon Town Fair, and Erin showed Jim Mickey and Minnie’s houses, which he didn’t get to see on our last trip. Then we all went on Goofy’s Barnstormer roller coaster – a first for Erin! She seemed to love it, even though it was quite a rocker and roller. When we got off the ride, it was raining again, so we decided to catch the train back to the main entrance to head back to the hotel.

We got off the train just in time to catch the afternoon parade! And because we were at the station, we were actually ABOVE the parade, right where it turns at the end. Perfect seats! Seeing it was an added and unexpected treat! Erin was thrilled to finally see the princesses all in one place, and she got her fill of them, at least for today.

We headed back to the hotel and tried (unsuccessfully) to take a nap. Forget it. Erin was way too wound up to sleep. So we showered and headed to Jiko for dinner. It was fantastic. After dinner, Jim and Erin headed down to the pool, and I worked on today’s pictures. I thought they’d be gone for 30 minutes or so… They didn’t get back until after 9:00! Apparently, they’ve made quite a bit of progress with Erin’s swimming skills! She wore a life vest and did some swimming on her own, as well as going under water completely, and holding her breath. I can’t wait to see it for myself tomorrow. I’ll tell you, the kid loves the water. I think that’s her favorite part of the trip. Except for the princesses…

Tomorrow, we’re heading for the Animal Kingdom in the morning. Then we’ll probably have some pool time in the afternoon before heading to the Grand Floridian for dinner with Cinderella. Looks like our weather should be great for the rest of the trip, which will be great. But honestly, all things considered, we had a wonderful time today. I can’t imagine it being much better than it was.

Tuesday, May 4, 2004 – To say that our weather today was perfect would have been an understatement. Low 80s, almost no humidity to speak of, breezy sunshine… It was awesome!

We didn’t get as early a start as we’d planned, but it was OK. We had another great breakfast at Boma, and then headed to the Animal Kingdom park. The one thing that we really wanted to do was the Kilimanjaro Safari ride, and we quickly realized that thousands of other people had the same thought. We hightailed it to the Africa section of the park only to find that the ride already had a 35-minute wait. So we decided to get a Fast Pass for it, which had a return time for 11:35-12:30. Perfect timing to allow us to ride the train to the petting zoo and let Erin have her fill of goat-brushing. While there, we bought her a disposable camera, and for the next 15 minutes she took pictures of all kinds of things. I can’t wait to get them developed to see what develops. LOL!

We got back to the safari ride just in time to take advantage of our Fast Pass. It was fantastic to pretty much scoot to the beginning of the line, ahead of people who were now facing almost a 60-minute wait! The ride itself was really neat. Basically, you ride a safari truck and get to see all kinds of animals. We saw alligators, gazelles, hippos, and even a lion! (Jim’s comment was that they must keep that lion VERY well fed!)

After that ride, it was definitely time for a ice cream break, so we found some shade, with a great view of the Tree of Life, and took a few minutes to decide what to do next. Erin waffled back and forth on whether she wanted to ride the rapids ride that scared her so much last time. In the end, we let the clock make the decision for us, and when we saw the long wait that would be ahead of us (or the very late Fast Pass return times), we decided to pass and head back to the hotel for some pool time.

Once we got back to the hotel, we quickly changed into our suits and got ready to hit the water. I decided to call to check on our reservations for dinner with Cinderella, because the last two nights our reservations were a little messed up. I’m glad I did, because tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast were both a day off! Thankfully, the Cast Member who I spoke to was able to get us another time for both meals. (I don’t know how she did it, but I was so grateful! The thought of telling Erin that she would NOT be meeting the Princesses was too awful to describe!)

Our new time for dinner was early (4:30), so it cut into pool time. Erin and Jim had enjoyed some time in the water, and Erin even came this close to going down the water slide by herself. But cutting the time short was worth it. Erin got all dolled up in her Cinderella dress, and we headed out to the Grand Floridian Hotel. We got there a little early, and got to look around the hotel, which at one point we had wanted to stay. Jim and I both agreed that it would not be for us. But we did see a few other little Princesses waiting for the same dinner as we were going to. It was so cute… A little Cinderella here, a little Belle there. And a lot of gown envy from little girls who were not dressed up.

The dinner was a buffet, and actually quite good. The kids’ section was even lower so they could see their choices for themselves. Erin was very impatient for the guest of honor to arrive. The first character to our table, though, wasn’t Cinderella, but Prince Charming. Erin shied away from him, and wouldn’t even let us take her picture with him. (Too bad, too, because he was really cute!) A few of Cinderella’s mouse friends came by, but Erin’s still a little petrified of the big-headed characters, so that was a no-go. But when Cinderella herself stopped by, I thought Erin would just melt with happiness. Her favorite Princess helped Erin put her crown back on and then posed for pictures with her biggest fan. She stopped by a second time and had a nice conversation with Erin, which Erin just ate up. We took a trip out into the hall to visit with the Fairy Godmother as well, which was another good photo-op. We even got a few cute shots with a little Belle. All in all, it was really fun. Even Jim said it was worth it.

When we got back to the hotel, Erin and I decided to head back down to the pool, and Jim wanted a little “alone” time. Unfortunately, though, our beautiful weather today meant that it was much cooler tonight than last night, and we didn’t stay long. Once back up in the room, we talked about how much fun we had today, I gave Erin a manicure and pedicure (what a girl she is!), and now we’re getting ready for another fun day tomorrow!

Wednesday, May 5, 2004 – Another perfect weather day! We’re realizing that our one bad day on Monday was almost worth it because of how wonderful it’s been since then!

This morning, we had our Princess breakfast at Epcot. Originally, it was supposed to be quite early, but once our reservations were all changed, it wound up being for 9:50. So we actually ordered some room service to get us started. Then we headed for the park.

Epcot is really wonderful, and very different from the other Disney parks. The World Showcase doesn’t even open until 11:00am, so it was almost empty when we got there. (In fact, you could get as far as Norway, where the breakfast was, and then couldn’t go any farther.) We checked in for our breakfast, and when they were ready for us, they announced us as “the Royal Family Tracey.” Erin was once again beside herself in anticipation of seeing some of her beloved Princesses.

The hostess who seated us was actually from High Bridge, New Jersey, and our waitress was actually from Norway. The breakfast itself was served family-style, but it was really good. Fresh fruit, cinnamon buns (which Erin gobbled up), and a big skillet of scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon, potatoes, and biscuits. Enough food to feed around 6 adults. Erin at way more than she normally would, and we eventually ordered extra eggs for her!

Once she saw the first Princess, though, she took a break from eating. As each one came to our table, they greeted her as “Princess” and chatted with her a little before posing for a picture or two. She loved it.

After our breakfast, we wandered through the rest of the world showcase, but didn’t spend too much time there. We did, however, go to the Living Seas exhibit, which was quite impressive. It’s actually a decent-sized aquarium, complete with sharks, dolphins, and all kinds of rays and fish. There’s even a Finding Nemo exhibit, and Erin reveled in finding the Nemo (clown) fish in the tank.

After Epcot, we headed back to the hotel for a nap, and then a swim. Then we headed back to the Magic Kingdom, where we were meeting up with my recuiter-friend from work and her family and sticking around for the fireworks show. We knew it would be a long night…

We met up with Maureen, Dana and Brandon (who is exactly Erin’s age) right on Main Street, and found a place to have some dinner. It was fun being with another family there! After our exotic dinner of hotdogs and ice cream (yum!), we headed over to Fantasy Land. On the way, we passed the Mad Hatter Tea Cup ride, and Erin REALLY wanted to go on it. I knew better, so Jim did the honors, and they shared a cup with Dana and Brandon. My little daredevel of a daughter LOVED the ride (of course!). Then we all rode Cinderella’s carrousel together, and Aladdin’s ride (which Brandon hadn’t had a chance to ride yet). By this time, the park was getting ready to “officially” close, and the Cast Members running the ride let us ride twice in a row without getting off. It was great fun, and the views of the park at night from up high were really amazing.

We got off the ride just as the fireworks were starting. We made our way to the back of the castle, but from where we were standing, we could just barely see the top of it. The fireworks display was incredible… I’ve never seen anything like it. All set to Disney music, too, which added to the magical feeling of it. Unfortunately, though, Erin HATED it. Not the lights, but the noise scared the bejessus out of her. I took her to a bench away from the others because she was crying so hard (let’s face it, there’s no place to go to get away from it, so we just had to get through it), and tried to talk her through it, pointing out the different colors, shapes, etc. Eventually she stopped crying, but she still wasn’t happy about the noise. I felt s-o-o-o-o-o bad; I hate seeing her that upset. L

After the show was over, Maureen and her family headed out to catch their lift to their hotel, and we headed to the park exit, along with around 100,000 other people. It could have been a total nightmare, but I give Disney kudos for being able to handle that large of a group so well. We literally didn’t stand still for more than a minute for the entire trip back to the car. It was that smooth. By that time, Erin could even say that she liked the fireworks, although she still didn’t like the noise.

We got back to the hotel around 10:30 (WAY past Erin’s bedtime!), and then had to pack our bags, because they were being picked up early in the morning for the cruise. So our time in the parks is over. But now the new adventure begins!!! </font>

[saremca]

Sounds like you made good use of your time! We were at WDW on the 4th too (that was the first full day of our vacation) and the weather was heavenly, wasn't it? The whole week turned out like that so we were really happy.

Can't wait to read about the cruise!

[luvnwdwgal]

Thanks for sharing your park days with us! Now I gotta go read about your cruise!

[buckysmom]

What a great TR!
Erin is definitely a daredevil (my DD wouldn't even consider Splash Mt!).
On the other hand, we, too had the tears and hysteria with the fireworks. Oh well...maybe next year.
Can't wait to read about your cruise

[DrDolphin]

Great report!! My niece Jolene completely REFUSED to go on Splash Mountain (and Haunted Mansion, and POC...)

[Mel & Richard]

Thanks for sharing your trip with us. Sounds like a great time. I will catch the rest of it in the cruise section.

Mel

[Colexis Mom]

What a great time you all had Thanks for sharing your report

[DouglasE]

What a great trip! Isn't it great when your children surprise you in a good way?

Hope you are able to return to the magic soon.

[Tara O'Hara]

Thank you for sharing this trip with us!!

[Diz]

Your TR is not long at all!

<font color="blue"> [ QUOTE ]
it was just about 25 minutes to the hotel. Just enough time for Erin to fall asleep a few minutes before driving under the big arch that says WELCOME TO WALT DISNEY WORLD! (That’s the second time in a row that she’s missed that moment…)


[/ QUOTE ] </font>

LOL! Is that better than, "are we there yet?". Before you know it, she won't keep her eyes closed the whole trip! And then you'll have lots of opportunities for photo shoots of her first sight of those beautiful signs!

<font color="blue"> [ QUOTE ]
This is the second time we’ve stayed at the Animal Kingdom Lodge, and as soon as we walked into the lobby, we remembered exactly why we liked it so much the first time. It’s simply amazing.

[/ QUOTE ] </font>
We have never stayed at AKL, but this past January I had the chance to see it for the first time. DD and I went to BOMAs for dinner and for a look at the savannah. When we walked into the lobby, it was just so breath-taking.

<font color="blue"> [ QUOTE ]
The first character to our table, though, wasn’t Cinderella, but Prince Charming. Erin shied away from him, and wouldn’t even let us take her picture with him. (Too bad, too, because he was really cute!)

[/ QUOTE ] </font> LOL! This will be a great story when she's older, the day she turned down Prince Charming!

This is a great TR. It sounds like your family gets along very well and handles everyone's individuality wonderfully.

Your trip sounds magical already and now you're sailing off. I'll have to catch your Cruise TR.

[vsonnier]

Great tr! Thank you for sharing it with us! Sounds like you had a wonderful time!

[Joy J]

Samantha, I just finished reading your trip report and it's WONDERFUL! Erin sounds like such a little sweetie-pie and I could just picture her getting so excited about meeting Cinderella. Thanks so much for sharing your magical vacation moments with us.

Joy

[whoSEZ]

Samantha, what a great report! Thanks so much for sharing it. Must go read your cruise report....