Now with my trip to Nationals booked, it was a good night's rest before our next morning's Medical Assisting Competition. Pam, Danielle, and I planned to dress in identical Grey's Anatomy scrubs in the color Cabernet for States, but Pam got a pair of…Read More

Now with my trip to Nationals booked, it was a good night's rest before our next morning's Medical Assisting Competition. Pam, Danielle, and I planned to dress in identical Grey's Anatomy scrubs in the color Cabernet for States, but Pam got a pair of pants too big and couldn't order another pair before States, and Danielle got ones too small and couldn't order another set on time either. So Pam was in her shirt and brown pants from school and Danielle wore her tan and brown scrubs from school, while I was the only one in a complete Cabernet outfit. Oh well. We were just happy to be competing in the final events which was hands on stuff and would determine our placement in Nationals should we qualify.

So Saturday morning at 8:30 a.m., we gathered at Fiesta Ballroom area of the hotel and waited to be led into the room for our competition one at a time. We had to report at 6 minute intervals and compete. Pam was nervous and Danielle and I were telling her to breathe. I was getting nervous too, and was running to the bathroom every couple of minutes with nervous bladder. I could have used some deep breathing. Pam went first, followed, by me, then Danielle and then our three other competitors. I went in to competition and got points for being prepared and then went on to compete in taking medical histories from patients and prescription refills over the phone. My nerves got the best of me, and I didn't feel I did a great job but I was proud I made it that far. I was happy it was all over and went back to the room and got into my bathing suit and went to the hot tub to soak my worries away, took a long walk around the resort, had an early dinner, then went back to the room and got back into the monkey suit for the Grand Awards Ceremony at 7:30. This was just for us college folk and it would be less crowded in the Coronado Ballroom.

After taking pictures and having fun with our PSC classmates, we got into the ballroom for the Awards Ceremony. Our category came soon, and we held our breath. We vowed before Orlando to place at least one of us in the top three for Nationals, and that is what happened. Danielle finished 4th, I was 5th, and Pam, who was more nervous than we were finished 2nd. We were really happy for her, and Pam later celebrated her victory with a big piece of chocolate cake from the Rix Cafe. Pensacola State College won a lot of medals and ribbons that night, and about 20 of us are going to Nationals in June. We just had our first meeting about the trip to Nationals last Wednesday, and we are so excited to be taking another trip. This time it's a longer bus ride, but we will have more room to stretch out! I was on Cloud 9 for days after the States, and now I have started another countdown: 66 days til Nashville!

   Close

The purpose for our trip to Orlando was because as the only Medical Assisting students in our class, Danielle, Pam, and I automatically qualified for the State HOSA Spring Conference. Danielle finished first, yours truly second, and Pam finished in third. If we…Read More

The purpose for our trip to Orlando was because as the only Medical Assisting students in our class, Danielle, Pam, and I automatically qualified for the State HOSA Spring Conference. Danielle finished first, yours truly second, and Pam finished in third. If we did well in the State competition, we could move on to the National HOSA Conference in Nashville, Tennessee from June 25-30 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort.

HOSA is short for Health Occupations Student Association and its a great way for one to improve medical skills and do some traveling. Danielle,. Pam, and I qualified for the State Medical Assistant and Medical Issues Exam Competitions. We also had to go to all of the opening ceremony stuff along with two Awards Ceremonies on Friday and Saturday nights. We had to wear black suits with white blouses. Being in these outfits for most of our time in Orlando, I started to call our suits "monkey suits." "Hey! You will have to wear one of those monkey suits when you start doing job interviews!", joked Pam.

Our trip to Orlando was one of fun but one of the business of winning some hardware for Pensacola State College and qualifying for Nationals. Thursday night, Pam, Danielle, and I took our Medical Assisting written tests to qualify. There were only three other competitors with us, and the test was a real pain in the touche for us. Danielle and I were swearing by the time we got out of there and were wanting a beer bad, but we couldn't drink being representatives of HOSA. So I could only cry on the door of the beer fridge at the Rix Market when we went for a drink later on. We were supposed to find out if we qualified later that night after the opening ceremony, but our results weren't posted and we weren' t about to fight the crowds of HOSA members wanting their results either, so we went to bed and got our results the next morning. Let's just say we qualified for the final competition on Saturday morning.

The opening ceremony was one big hoo ha with all schools (secondary, middle, and college) in the Coronado Ballroom. We had fiber optic rods that lit up and made our presence known and sat through two hours of speeches and an interesting performance by mime and comedian Cary Trivanovich. He also gave a motivational speech about being bullied in school but not letting that chase his dreams and he encouraged us to do the same. Pam was really inspired by him, and we got to talk to him the next day when he was getting ready to leave. He was a nice guy and a liked my joke about needing Tommy John surgery for some of the moves he did if I tried them.

Friday morning, we were back in our monkey suits for our Medical Issues Exam. 50 multiple choice questions about the latest news in medicine and medical breakthroughs. At regionals, I finished a surprising 5th while Danielle and Pam qualified in the top 20. Danielle felt I had a chance to place again in States, but I wasn't sure. I finished my test quickly and felt I had guessed through the whole thing. I turned in my test and prayed for the best at the awards ceremony that night and went back to my room and jumped into my bathing suit and hit the hot tub at the Dig Site to soak my worries away.

Friday afternoon, I was back at the ballrooms volunteering for the Courtesy Corps and competing too to see who could get the most hours to go to Nationals as part of the Courtesy Corps. Courtesy Corps volunteers make sure all competitors are where they are supposed to be competing and within earshot of being called to go in and compete. I was working with the Middle Schoolers who were competing in Prepared Public Speaking. I stayed in the all and made sure the kids were nearby and not standing by the doors of the competing rooms. I spoke to a couple of mothers who were with their kids and made the kids comfy and wished them luck as they went inside to do their speeches. That lasted two hours. Now I had to stay in the same area and judge the Middle School Medical terminology exam for two hours with Linda and Julia, two LPN students from PSC. That was an easy job in which we sat there and watched the kids take their test and answered any questions they might have with the exam. We had so many high school courtesy corps volunteers that we could place one of them at each table to make sure none of the little dears were cheating.

Danielle was a judge next door in another competition and because she had to read over the results of the competitor's work with her fellow judges, she was in her room for another two hours after I was finished. I went downstairs after a while and wondered if she got lost or killed a kid, but she told me on the way to dinner what was going on with her group.

After changing into the monkey suit again, it was time for the Awards Ceremony for Courtesy Corps and the Medical Issues exam at 9:30 p.m., past my bedtime most nights! Once again, we were in the Coronado Ballroom and go to sit through the usual spiel before seeing who won the Medical Issues Exam and going to Nationals as part of the Courtesy Corps. The moment of truth came after the speeches by the State HOSA folks, and well, surprise, surprise, surprise, it was a PSC top three sweep with yours truly finishing 2nd. "OH MY GOD!" was my exclamation when I headed to the stage for my award, and I was happy that Diana, an LPN student, and Laura, my future Nationals roomie and fellow Red Sox fan, finished third and first, respectively. Danielle and Pam were thrilled for me and so was everyone else.

More of this is continued in another entry!

   Close

When you think of Disney World in the summer what do you picture? You probably picture a magical place where the sun shines bright and the fun never stops. Well, the last part is true: Disney is an adventure to remember for a lifetime. But…Read More

When you think of Disney World in the summer what do you picture? You probably picture a magical place where the sun shines bright and the fun never stops. Well, the last part is true: Disney is an adventure to remember for a lifetime. But the sun is not always shining. June-September is actually the rainy season in Orlando. But don't fret! Most of the rain showers happen in the evening time and are rather light and quick.

So, how does one pack for these partially cloudy, hot days? Here are some useful packing tips to make the Disney Summer trips more enjoyable.

Tip one: bring waterproof or water-resistant sunscreen and reapply often.
Even though it may be cloudy, your skin is exposed to a high amount of UV rays which can easily burn exposed skin. Don't forget to reapply throughout the day as sunscreen (even the waterproof kind) can rub off or diminish - especially after a light rain or water ride. It is a good idea to buy a large bottle of sunscreen as well as a refillable travel size (one for the hotel and one for the Disney experience)

Tip two: Don't forget lip balm!
Sun blocking lip balm is the most ideal for a Disney day. Dehydration and heat can both cause your lips to crack and no one wants to give their favorite Disney sweetheart a kiss with dry lips.

Which brings us to tip three: Drink plenty of water, bring in empty containers.
Due to safety concerns, opened containers are not aloud in many public venues (Your bags are subject to search, so make sure to leave valuables or any dangerous objects at your hotel- or better yet: at home). Gatorade/ electrolyte powder mixes are a good idea as well to prevent loss of nutrients from sweat.

Tip four- Don't forget to care for your feet!
Although is may be easier to slip on a pair of flip flops and head to the park, it may be smarter to take a moment to consider your footwear. Throughout the day your feet are likely to come in contact with water/moisture, dirt, strollers, spilled food, flat tires*, and other people. Not to mention, you will probably be walking and standing... A lot. Some people tend to purchase water-shoes or crocks for day use inside the park. Don't forget to break in your shoes before leaving home. be aware of any "hotspots" that appear on your feet as these are a good indicator that a blister is on its way.

*flat tire = Someone steps on the back of one of your flip flops (hopefully by accident) causing your foot to slide uncomfortable forward. The flat tire recipient may trip or even fall out of said flip flop. And in some cases, the footwear could be rendered useless!

Tip five - staying dry.
It is a good idea to pack an inexpensive poncho. Of course more expensive ones also work just fine. Of course if you wanted to splurge for a pink Minnie Mouse rubberized poncho with ears and a bow no one would judge you.

Tip six- staying cooool, be your own biggest fan..
Have you ever seen those squirt bottles with a fan attachment? Those are tiny water-misting blessings. Some of the rides have lines that leave you standing in blissful sections of air conditioning buildings (such as the last half of the tower of terror or part of space mountain) but it is more likely that you will be waiting in partial shade or even directly in the sunshine.

Tip seven- staying cool, nothing wrong with silly hats or umbrellas.
A nice, breathable silly hats are welcome. Normal hats are welcome as well. It is a good idea to get a hat that will actually shade your face. This will cut back on sun exposure as well as provide shade to reduce overheating. It may be a good idea to get a collapsible hat or one with ties as many-a-hat have decided to take the quick way off of the roller coaster rides.. It may also be a good idea to bring a portable umbrella to provide shade for yourself as well as your family.

Tip eight- what to wear?
Light colored, thin material is ideal on an Orlando Disney trip. Materials that are breathable and easily drying (think: polyester and synthetics) will leave you cool, dry and comfortable.

Tip nine- what to wear under what you wear..
Well, that's still really up to you. You may want to pack polyester/nylon undergarments. Personally, I wear a swim suit underneath but be careful about wearing it for too long...

Tip ten - what do you carry your stuff in?
In another post in this Journal I joked about wearing fanny packs. Although these tourist friendly marsupial pouches are acceptable, they are not always ride-friendly size. If you can't fit your lap bar down on your lap with a fanny pack on, you most likely will not be aloud to take the bag on the ride with you. There is a similar problem with backpacks and large purses or beach bags. If it doesn't fit in a ride cubby there may not be a safe place to keep your personals other than an expensive rent-a-locker. I would recommend a zip-able bag that is small enough to fit on your lap or back and able to be attached or secured to your person. You could also attach your water containers, umbrella or other loose objects to your belt with a carabiner.    Close

There is a train that goes around the park, The Walt Disney Railroad, and stops in each of the lands. It is free to use and is a quick way to get around if you aren’t up to walking. The first stop is at the…Read More

There is a train that goes around the park, The Walt Disney Railroad, and stops in each of the lands. It is free to use and is a quick way to get around if you aren’t up to walking. The first stop is at the entrance of the park. It is quite a good way to get a nice view of the whole place actually.

There are lots of places throughout the park where guests aged three to twelve years can be transformed into pirates and princesses. You need to book an appointment and it isn’t included in the price of your park ticket, but they do a very good job and make little ones feel very special. Transform into a pirate at Adventureland or a princess at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique in Fantasyland. Details for booking can be found on the park maps.

Make sure you mention when buying your ticket if you are celebrating something special like a birthday or you honeymoon or even if it is just your first visit. You’ll get a special badge and throughout the park staff will make a point of wishing you a happy birthday or checking that you are having a good day.

If you can time your visit around a holiday season, it is extra special. We were there at Halloween and they go all out with the decorations. Nothing to scary obviously, but there were pumpkins and scarecrows all over the place and it looked fantastic. Christmas is something else though – the place really does become magically and it is hard not to get swept up in it.

The park operates a Fast Pass system, which is a free system where you can go to the most popular rides and pick up a ticket with a time slot on for when you should return to the ride and go to the front of the queue. It is a good idea especially in summer when the park gets very busy, but bear in mind that time slot you get can even be a few hours later so it may mess up your planning!

If you have only bought a ticket for a single day and a single park, you’ll need to get your hand stamped for re-entry. The most flexible way of getting a ticket is to get a multi-park one, they are more expensive but you do get more for your money. We paid about £100 each for a one day ticket although the more days you buy, the cheaper it gets per day. For two week stays it can be as little as £15 per day for an adult and the cheapest prices can be found if you pre-book on line before you go.

Parking is $14 per day and allows you unlimited access to all car parks within the Walt Disney World resort, when you are travelling between them; just show your ticket for entry. The car park for the Magic Kingdom is a fair way from the park itself, but there is a monorail that runs between the two very regularly so it is pretty convenient – and it is free.

If you need any more information, you can go to www.disneyworld.disney.go.com
   Close

Lots of the rides in this park are wheelchair accessible and many of the show type rides have assistive listening or sign language interpreted shows, so that everyone can enjoy them. Just pick up one of the maps as you enter the park because they…Read More

Lots of the rides in this park are wheelchair accessible and many of the show type rides have assistive listening or sign language interpreted shows, so that everyone can enjoy them. Just pick up one of the maps as you enter the park because they have details on them of which rides offer extra assistance and you just speak to the ride operator at the entrance.

It is also always worth mentioning if you are a single rider at the queue entrance because you tend to be able to jump to the front of the queue if you are.

It is worth picking up one of the maps anyway because it is much the best way of planning your day so that you get the most out of it. They are really handy to have and give all the information you need about the rides themselves (height restrictions, locker availability, opening times) and the other things in the park (food/drink, toilets, cash machines etc).

The park is predominantly non-smoking, however there are designated smoking areas throughout the park. There are seven of these areas in total and they all have plenty of ash trays and seating and are well sign posted. It’s a great idea and I strongly recommend you stick to them because you will be told off otherwise.

The parks are exceptionally clean. I was amazed at how so to be honest, because you’d think with that many people, there’d be some rubbish somewhere, but no. There are always bins everywhere and you often see part of what must be an army of cleaners picking up bits of rubbish here and there. It makes it such a lovely place to wander around.

There are plenty of places to get something to eat and it caters for all kinds of things from snacks and quick bites to full blown meals. I didn’t think the prices were that bad to be honest – certainly much less than I thought they were going to be. You are free to bring in your own food though if your budget doesn’t extend to theme park prices, although expect to have your bag checked when you enter the park and to have to wait in line to do so.

In terms of ticket prices for getting in to the parks, it is an absolute minefield depending on what you want. You can get tickets for just Universal Studios, which are about £50 for one day, although the daily price does go down the more days that you book. The best value if you are staying for a week or more is to get a pass that allows you unlimited entries into a number of parks. This is particularly good because I don’t think you need more than one day to see everything in Universal Studios to be honest, so you’d be better combining your ticket with something else. We paid about £150 each for a fortnight long ticket that got us into Islands of Adventure, Universal Studios and Wet n’ Wild water park. There are also untold numbers of places you can get tickets from but I would add that it tends to be cheaper if you buy them in advance.

For any more information, the Universal website is excellent; www.universalorlando.co.uk
   Close

When you buy a Disney vacation package or rent Disney Vacation Club points, you have the option to add a Disney Dining Plan to your vacation. There are a variety of options for every budget and type of eater. Often Disney will offer…Read More

When you buy a Disney vacation package or rent Disney Vacation Club points, you have the option to add a Disney Dining Plan to your vacation. There are a variety of options for every budget and type of eater. Often Disney will offer the lowest form of the plan, Quick Service, "free" as a promotion during certain times of the year. I say "free" because it is there is generally a trade off meaning it is not offered when there are discounted rooms, etc. The quick service plan offers 2 quick service (fast food type) meals and 1 snack per night stayed. For a 2-3 day trip, I may be able to eat that kind of food for that duration, especially since if you look into the restaurants before leaving there are some good choices. Downtown Disney especially has good choices for quick service, such as Wolfgang Puck Express. For a trip of our duration, 8 nights, we could not have eaten only fast food for that long. The choice are limited and repeat themselves from place to place, especially for kids.
The highest option is Deluxe Dining which includes3 meals of any kind plus 2 snacks per night. It also includes a refillable mug to use at your resort's quick service. This is a lot of food and a lot of time out of the parks to eat. If you are a foodie, you may enjoy this, but you would need to do some research before you leave to pick the best restaurants because you have to remember, you are at a theme park and a lot of the restaurants are typical theme park food. There are some really good ones at resorts, however. If you are planning a lot of dinner shows or character meals, both of which may require 2 credits per meal, the Deluxe plan may be right for you. I would consider carefully before planning a lot of these on a first visit though because a lot of long meals will take you out of the parks a lot. Another thing to consider with the Deluxe Dining plan is whether you will actually spend what you have paid for the plan, as it is quite costly.
For our first trip, we purchased the basic Disney Dining Plan which includes 1 table service, 1 quick service, and 1 snack per night and 1 refillable mug to use at your resort. You may use the meals any way you like, combining 2 table service credits for a show or character meal or utilizing 2 table services 1 day while using 2 quick services another. All your meal allotments go on your room card and are taken off when you order.
What I liked about using the Disney Dining plan is that our food was prepaid. We didn't have to carry money or a card around to worry about food or keep track of what we were spending on it. The only thing we spent extra on for food was about 1 snack a day because everybody usually needed a water or something to drink during in addition to the ice cream or fruit or whatever they'd had as their snack credit. Many times we used the snack credit to get a muffin, croissant, or fruit in the morning with coffee or hot chocolate in our refillable mug and that was our breakfast so you can stretch the plan to 3 meals if you eat a light breakfast.
One more note on dining, most Disney books recommend planning meals for off-prime times to avoid long lines and have more time in the parks. For example, lunch at 11:00 or 1:30 rather than noon, dinner at 4:00 or 7:00 rather than 5:00-6:00. If you pay for the Disney Dining plan, you will definity want to utilize the Advance Dining Reservation system at 180 days before your trip. Many popular character meals, such as Chef Mickey's, fill up early. In this way, you can be sure you will have a seat at places you want to eat and use those credits rather than eating wherever you can find a spot when you get there.
The Disney Dining plan worked great for us and we would definitely utilize it again if we make it back to Walt Disney World.   Close

For our last day, I had originally planned Magic Kingdom for the nighttime entertainment, the Main Street Electrical Parade, the Magic, the Memories, & You, and Wishes. But now I was having trouble deciding whether to return there, since we’d already done most of…Read More

For our last day, I had originally planned Magic Kingdom for the nighttime entertainment, the Main Street Electrical Parade, the Magic, the Memories, & You, and Wishes. But now I was having trouble deciding whether to return there, since we’d already done most of the rides or go back to Hollywood Studios, where all the wilder rides the kids loved were. I finally decided on Magic Kingdom. I really wanted them to see Main Street Electrical Parade. There are a few things I remember from my trip when I was little: waiting in a very long, hot line for Haunted Mansion, the treehouse, not liking the Tiki Room, Country Bear Jamboree, Hall of Presidents, Small World, Peter Pan, Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, the PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress, and sitting in a cinema on Main St watching old Mickey cartoons to cool off.
I also remember Spaceship Earth, Figment, Imageworks being way cooler, Captain EO, Living with the Land, a show about eating good food, Universe of Energy (pre-Ellen), and the countries. Ok, so I remember a lot more than I thought, but I came home with tons of very dark, very blurry pictures from my kid Kodak camera of the Main St Electrical parade. I wanted my kids to see it as much I wanted to see it again.
So, we were off to Magic Kingdom rope drop again. We headed into Tomorrowland to grab fastpasses for Space Mountain. The line was short so my husband & daughter went ahead & hopped on. Mom, my son, & I went on PeopleMover. My son was not happy about this arrangement, but he actually didn’t mind the ride once he did it. While we were on it, I saw Chip and Dale meeting "somewhere." At the start of the trip, I had purchased a 10 pack of postcards, pre-addressed & stamped them, and was having favorite characters of my kids’ friends and mine autograph them to send home. Chip was the last one we were waiting on for my daughter’s best friend and there was no line for him at the moment! When we got off, I went running around as best I could on my bad ankle (did I mention I broke my ankle in December & it’s never completely healed right so it was very swollen?). I finally found them and thankfully, there was still no line.

Next we rode AstroOrbiter, then went over to the Speedway, which I didn’t really want to do again but we were still waiting on my husband & daughter. About the time we got in line he texted me to say they were going again. Ok. They finished as we were getting in a car so I told him to take her on AstroOrbiter if it wasn’t a long line. He did then they met us at the Speedway for the fastpasses which they used to ride 2 more times. Mom, my son, & I went to do Buzz again. My son decided to go on his own and quickly realized he could use both blasters. Mom & I still look totally confused in our picture. I never could figure out that ride. I even hit a 100,000 point target at 1 point and couldn’t tell you what it was if my life depended on it!
Afterward, he spent a little time in the arcade at Space Mountain while we waited on my husband & daughter. A photopass photographer was actually hanging around in there, which surprised me but we got some cute photos of him.

Next, we did the Teacups, then got in line for Winnie the Pooh about 10:00 and said 20 minute wait. My husband went to go grab fastpasses for Peter Pan. Not a good time to get in line, of course because fastpass folks are showing up, so 20 minutes turned into 40. At least the kids had fun in the interactive line. Next, we headed to Peter Pan. Afterward, I went to the back of the castle to see if the Fairy Godmother was out. Instead, I saw the Move It, Shake It, Celebrate It parade was coming around the hub and I could see Woody! My daughter didn’t feel like running down there so she stayed with Mom to do a little shopping but my husband, my son, & I ran through the rose path and across the bridge, found Woody’s float and danced our hearts out. I wish I had a picture of my son dancing but I was too busy dancing myself. When they shot the Mickey head confetti out, my son picked up at least 25 of them and asked me to keep them so that "when we forget about our trip to Disney World, we will have these to remember it by."
Afterward, we ate at Pinochio Village Haus. The boys were tired. My husband actually did laundry in the DVC laundry room for me the night before so I wouldn’t have to do it on Mother’s Day when we got home. So they went back to the resort for a nap and we headed to Pirates of the Caribbean and got in line to see Princess Tiana, the one person my daughter really wanted to see. We got the BEST pictures of them.

Afterward my daughter reminded me we were supposed to dance together on Main St so we did on our way to the monorail to head to 1900 Park Fare for dinner. After dinner, we took the monorail back to MK. I knew we could take the boat but my kids loved the monorail and we didn’t have many occasions to take it so we did any time we could. We did some shopping on Main St, pressed a million pennies, as we had throughout our trip. They more than halfway filled their pressed penny books. We saw the castle show again. Then my daughter wanted to do Splash Mountain but it was too long of a wait so Mom & I sat at Sleepy Hollow sharing a funnel cake while my husband took the kids to Tomorrowland. Gregory talked them into TTA which only this morning he thought was boring. Then they made the mistake of trying Stitch’s Great Escape. They said no one there liked it.
Meanwhile, I saved a spot right by the bridge and Sleepy Hollow refreshments for them to sit and watch the parade. I got them some popcorn and my husband & the kids watched the parade from there while mom & I sat at a table nearby. Afterward, they came to sit at the table with us and watch The Magic, the Memories, and You. I have to say that was my favorite show of the trip. It was just beautiful. Not the pictures so much but all the cool things they do to the castle. Then we walked across the bridge to Main St and there were places to squeeze in and watch the fireworks. What a great last night for our trip.
The next morning we get ready to leave. Sigh…   Close

After breakfast at Mara quick service and some photopass pictures in the lobby, we hopped on a bus for our shortest bus ride of the trip, a quick 5 minutes, if that, to Animal Kingdom since it’s so close to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We…Read More

After breakfast at Mara quick service and some photopass pictures in the lobby, we hopped on a bus for our shortest bus ride of the trip, a quick 5 minutes, if that, to Animal Kingdom since it’s so close to Animal Kingdom Lodge. We headed straight to Primeval Whirl. My husband took the kids on while I ran to get fastpasses for Expedition Everest. They rode it and got in "line" again. There was no line, even though we didn’t get there until 9:45 or so. After the second ride, the CM asked if they wanted to go again so they did. The CM asked if they wanted to go AGAIN so they did a fourth time! By then I was back with the fastpasses and we headed to Dinosaur. Then my husband & daughter rode Expedition Everest twice with the fastpasses.
Next we saw Nemo which everyone enjoyed. Then we took a little walk back to Africa to get fastpasses for Kilimanjaro Safaris. I started to go one way and something told me to go another. I was hoping to see DiVine. So glad I chose the other way. I told my daughter who I was looking for, I’d shown her a picture beforehand, and we both kept our eyes peeled. We were soon rewarded with DiVine just untangling herself from a tree. How cool!!! But the kids were a little scared of her for some reason.
I ran to get the fastpasses and came back to find my daughter dancing with the band in Africa. Both our kids love to dance. On our way back to Dinoland to get some lunch, we ran into another photopass guy and got some more good pictures. They were all over today.
Next we got a bite of lunch at Restaurantasaurus, then caught the It’s Tough to be a Bug show inside the Tree of Life, which everyone LOVED before using our fastpasses for Kilimanjaro Safaris. We saw a pregnant giraffe. That was pretty neat. Afterward, we watched Festival of the Lion King, then got some more photopass pictures taken before the parade started. We watched that then headed to dinner at Rainforest Café a little early.
My big goof? What's missing from this day? Kali River Rapids, an intertube water ride the kids were really looking forward to! And my daughter noticed too! She was upset with me, but we used it as an excuse to turn our once in a lifetime trip into a first ever trip. The kids had already been asking and my husband & I had been talking about it. Mom had even said she'd like to come back with me for a girls trip and stay at the Grand Floridian and maybe just do Epcot and do Deluxe Dining the whole time. What a nice trip that would be!
But now I had a big decision to make. The next day was our last day at a park. And I couldn't decide whether to head to Magic Kingdom to see Main Street Electrical Parade & Wishes like I had planned & really wanted or go to Hollywood Studios for more Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster & Tower of Terror for the kids plus the other stuff we'd missed. Decisions, decisions. Of course my husband & mom said they'd go along with whatever I wanted. What would I do??   Close

Day 6 Wednesday May 9 Magic Kingdom!I think I would have to say this was the best day we had. We arrived about 8:30 and were a bit back from the rope to the left in line with a tree for some shade which was…Read More

Day 6 Wednesday May 9 Magic Kingdom!
I think I would have to say this was the best day we had. We arrived about 8:30 and were a bit back from the rope to the left in line with a tree for some shade which was nice and placed us in a decent place to still see the opening show which we had never seen before. When the rope dropped, we headed straight down Main St, high "fouring" CMs as we went, through the Castle to Peter Pan’s Flight. Princess Jasmine passed us on the way and said hello to my daughter, who thought that was pretty cool. Before we did anything else, my son had to stop and try to get the sword out of the stone in front of the Carrousel.
We walked right on Peter Pan, then grabbed Fastpasses for it. Then we walked right on Winnie the Pooh, Mad Teacups, and Snow White’s Scarey Adventures. I was really glad Snow White’s Scary Adventures was still open while we were there. At each ride we came to the kids would ask me if this ride was here or if I rode this ride when I was younger. I told them I did ride Snow White but that they were closing it down at the end of the month and we were all really lucky we were getting to ride it before it closed.
Then we continued with It’s a Small World and the Carrousel for my husband & the kids while mom & I took a quick break. Next we used our fastpasses at Peter Pan, then headed to Haunted Mansion, still a walk on. Next up was Magic Carpets for everybody while I ran and got fastpasses for Splash Mountain. Then came Jungle Cruise which was truly the only thing we waited for all day, I’d say about 15 minutes. Then we walked through Swiss Family Treehouse. My kids, especially my son, love that movie. Then another walk on at Pirates of the Caribbean. Then my husband & the kids did Splash Mountain while mom & I had an ice cream. Not sure who had more fun?
They decided they weren’t going to go again, so we gave away our 2 extra fastpasses to 2 very happy people, then boarded the train for Fantasyland. My son loves trains. We followed the path right up to Tomorrowland where we got fastpasses for Space Mountain before we did the Speedway (ugh) for my son and then Buzz Lightyear. The Speedway had a deceptively long line and is just like any other amusement park car ride. Wish we could have skipped it, but my son loves those rides. I didn’t particularly care for Buzz Lightyear either. Toy Story Mania probably had me spoiled since we did it first and it is so much better but I couldn’t figure out what I was shooting at because I felt like I could see more lasers than just mine. You can tell because the on ride photo they took all the adults look totally confused.
Next up was lunch at Cosmic Ray’s. My husband’s comment: "There’s not a kid in here paying attention to that guy," speaking of audioanimatronic entertainer Ray who sings as you eat. So don’t go just because you think your kids will enjoy the show…there really weren’t any paying attention. It’s really too loud in there anyway.
After lunch, my husband took both kiddos on Space Mountain. Mom & I tried to go on Tomorrowland Transit Authority but it was broken down. My son would never go on Space Mountain again. He said it hurt his neck. I wasn’t surprised after everything I’d read about it. My husband & daughter used the last 2 fastpasses for that while my son played in the arcade. Then we did Monsters Inc Laugh Floor which everyone thought was really funny and Carousel of Progress. My daughter put that as one of her favorite things for the day, after Space Mountain of course. Mom didn’t like it because it skipped too much time, namely her growing up years, I think. I told her they had refurbished it to update and probably obviously only had room for so much. But she didn’t care for that answer.
Afterward, we did Philharmagic again which everyone loved again, then Hall of Presidents-why does that seem totally different from what I remember?-and Country Bear Jamboree. Then it was almost time for dinner at Liberty Tree Tavern so we checked in and had a wonderful dinner there. Yum. My husband & mom really loved it. The pork was so good.
We finished the day off with some photopass pictures on our way out of Magic Kingdom.

We had a really great day at Magic Kingdom!
And the next day we would be off to Animal Kingdom…    Close

We started off break day with a yummy breakfast at Boma right at our resort. It seemed practically deserted when we went so I wondered if we missed the early morning rush with a 9:30 ADR. Everything was delicious. We all loved the…Read More

We started off break day with a yummy breakfast at Boma right at our resort. It seemed practically deserted when we went so I wondered if we missed the early morning rush with a 9:30 ADR. Everything was delicious. We all loved the juice. The turkey was heavenly. The pastries were so good.
We then decided to go ahead and hop on a bus for Downtown Disney. We decided to get off at Pleasure Island because we wanted to do Characters in Flight, a hot air (really helium) balloon ride that’s tethered over Downtown Disney. This was a surprise for the kids. Characters in Flight is probably not something I’d do again, but it was nice to do once. Afterward, we did some serious shopping. We took lots of pictures of the Lego creations outside the Lego store. My kids couldn’t believe them. I wish they had signs saying how many legos each one took and how long they took to make.
Then we headed into the Toy Store and my son & husband had fun making a lightsaber together, which of course we then had to buy. Next, we went into Little Mismatched and found a few pairs of mismatched socks for my daughter who is really into that right now along with smelly socks-fruit scented. We did this while my son was building his own remote control car at Ridemakerz. He really loved that.

My daughter made her own T-shirt at Design-A-Tee too. She thought that was just great. They weren't busy at all and said it would only take a few minutes but we left it to pick up after lunch which was a surprise for mom, Wolfgang Puck Express. I'm not sure why, but she loves Wolfgang Puck. She didn’t even know the restaurant was here and was really excited. I had the bacon wrapped meatloaf and mashed potatos. Everyone else had pizza. My husband said it was really good.
We spent the rest of the afternoon & evening exploring our resort. The kids swam, played in the arcade, and participated in some of the activities there, including the Primal Parade they have in the lobby every night.
Then early to bed for the all important Magic Kingdom rope drop the next day, and boy did we have a great day.    Close