My college roommate and one of my very best friends was down from Pittsburgh to stay with us. She and her family have been to Disney many times before, but their last trip was 11 yrs ago before her youngest was born. She realized that her youngest son Jack has never been to Disney! So she came down with her 2 boys, 11 and 15. We had an incredible week, everything was absolutely perfect!
Tuesday afternoon we decided to preview the Disney magic and headed the hour+ drive to Downtown Disney- me, Erin, her 2 boys and my dd 16. It was crowded but we took the boat across to the Marketplace and poked our way back through Pleasure Island to Westside. The boys loved the Lego store. Jack was amazed at all the Disney stuff and kept saying how cool everything was, we said, just wait! We intended on eating at EoS but when we headed over there were, no exaggeration, more than 100 dancers in line! So we headed to Boardwalk to wander around. We ended up walking the whole loop, Erin had never been, and was amazed at the access to EPCOT and HS. We checked out Yacht and Beach Club and Beaches and Cream, which was packed. Finished the loop back at Boardwalk and decided to eat at ESPN club. We got right in just as the rain came. Finished eating as it slowed to a drizzle and stopped in time to walk back to the car, stopping at the bakery for cupcakes and the Sweet shop for ice cream. The red velvet cupcakes are to die for imho! It was a great taste of the Magic to come!
Erin is working on a winter trip to stay at Boardwalk now.
Friday was MK day. We went to bed early as we have a longer drive. Up at 6 out by 7, not bad for 6 of us! We got to MK at 8:15 and were walking down from the monorail as the train rolled in with all the characters...perfect rope drop timing! We enjoyed the song and dance and headed in straight to Space Mountain. 10 minute wait and attraction #1 done! Hit ALL the tomorrowland rides with not much wait at all, success. Jack and I both got picked on in the Laugh Floor - I got to make a funny face on the big screen! Definitely a memory there, I love that show! Then we headed over through fantasyland, no interest in the princesses, fine (boys). Adventureland, got jungle cruise fp s, tikki room, Pirates of the Carribean...10 minute line! Used the jungle Cruise fast passes and made our way to Columbia Harbor House for lunch. Everyone got something different and everything was delicious. It was congested but we sent the kids upstairs to get a table and it was nearly empty up there. I have to say it was a relaxing and calm lunch. Next we headed to Frontierland, grabbing Country Bear Jamboree on the way. Fastpasses for Splash Mountain (it's afternoon and HOT now), so the line was 80 min. We waited in our first and only real line for Big Thunder - 50 min. but in true Disney fashion, it wasn't REALLY 50mins, more like 40, not too bad and the boys loved it. We wandered a little until it was time for Splash Mountain. The boys loved it and we were having a great day so far! It was like 5:30 by now, and Slippery When Wet was playing at EPCOT. Since they didn't have park hoppers, Mike and I left and went to see the concert, they were awesome as usual! Mike was devastated that they did Small World while we were gone (sarcasm) but he got over it! They did Dumbo, Hall of Presidents, Haunted Mansion, PoC again, got ice cream and chilled til we got back to MK. It was around 8 when we got back and we were all still happy and felt great. They were so happy that we got so much done in the day, and without any drama (remember, there were 6 of us). The kids were all great, pure Disney Magic! Our timing was perfect the whole day, it could not be better, or so we thought! The fireworks 4th of July display was at 10 so we took the monorail over to the Poly for dinner and Dole Whip at Captain Cook's. Erin's brother and family are coming down next month and staying at the Poly so we walked around and explored so she could tell him all about it. Mike wanted Erin and me to get a Lapu Lapu but we declined. I was afraid the alcohol would put me to sleep, maybe next time. The boys loved the pool and beach. We found a perfect spot on the beach, there were lots of people but it wasn't horrible, lots of good viewing area. The fireworks were super fantastic, I love the patriotic music. We also were able to
catch the water parade - bonus! We walked through the grounds to the MK parking lot, straight across to the car (we were parked up front since we were there so early). When we got in the car to leave, it was 10:30. That's more than 14 hours! In 15 yrs of having annual passes, this was a record for us! And the amazing thing is that we were all still happy! No one complained about anything, even being tired! It was by far a Magical day with great friends!
Stay tuned for...Monday...HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS!
Thanks for reading, I love love love this blog and you all make me feel the magic even more!
Julie
Faith, Trust and Pixie Dust
No worries though, we grabbed a fp anyway and made our way to Rock and Rollercoaster and Tot. Great luck with both, 15 min for each, and the boys loved them both. ToT is Remlee's fave so she was happy too. Erin "lated" it, loved it AND hated it, but was glad she did it. Somewhere in here we saw Beauty and the Beast. Next we went to Indiana Jones. Seen it many many many times, but still enjoy it. Got right in (good timing again) and got good seats down front. Erin, determined to make memories for her boys, volunteered to be an extra and got picked. First for us. It's so much fun when a member of your party is up there! We laughed so hard, and she had fun too. Next we checked out Toy story and it was open and time for our FP. Great ride, no line with the FP, loved it as usual. We walked to the backlot area and wandered around, checked the time for Lights motor action. Hit Muppets and headed to Star Tours. We had about 30 min. til our adr at Prime Time Cafe at 3:00 so we hit Hollywood Blvd again and caught a street show before lunch.
Truly an awesome report! Sounds so perfect! Thank you for sharing!!
