May 12-18 trip report! (finally)

We found our room (8728) and tried to cool off from our trek! The room was "ok" but.. definitely not on par with Old Key West. It was nice though!

Stacy was there of course to tell us about all our "Must Dos" at WDW!

We headed out to DTD for our dinner reservations at Raglan Road..but we were running late. I gave the restaurant a call directly (thank you R2D2 phone with internet to look up phone numbers of restaurants!) The Hostess was great, and moved our reservation back a half hour which helped, but we still got there 10 min after that!
I had the steak, and my mom had the fish n chips..

Mine was "ok" but I left wishing I had picked the burger. Mom loved the fish and chips and luckily she got full and I got to help her finish it!
We walked around DTD for a bit after dinner (but only the Marketplace side), checked out all the stores, bought my mom her "I'm a tourist save me from the Florida sun" hat and then took the ferry back to POR. It was a nice 20 min ride and we got to see all the Treehouse Villas along the river. I want to stay in one!
We unpacked once we made it back to the room, and went to bed. Magic Kingdom day on Friday!!

We didnt head out as early as I hoped... my mom was really in the "I'm on vacation" mode and took foreverrrrrrr to get ready!! So I went to the food court at the resort to get some bananas and juice. We left for MK around 10am--can you believe that?? 10am!! It was a very humid day and the news put a 60% chance of rain on us.
Anyway, we made it inside and we got my mom her 1st visit button at City Hall and I was pointing out the differences between DL and MK Main Street USAs. She LOVED the castle.. and said DLs was so small in comparison. The "Celebrate Today" parade started just as we reached the hub, so she enjoyed stopping to watch that.
We had an ADR for 1230 so we figured we could get on a couple of rides so we went into Adventureland!
We hit the Jungle Cruise first, the sign said 20 minutes but it was more like 10. We had a great skipper, Bec.. she kept us laughing and even though we were in the back of the boat, she kept talking directly to my mom because she saw her Birthday Button. She was really funny and animated and we all left laughing.

We had enough time after our cruise to get on Pirates so we knocked that out as well. Mom was disappointed with it and said that it was short and that "ours" was better. Of course, she's right. lol
We headed to lunch--I was excited because it's one of my fave places--Liberty Tree Tavern! I had the Pilgrims Feast (turkey dinner) and Mom had the pot roast. Mine was great but my mom was in LOVE with hers!

We decided YES to dessert, and got the Apple Tart with Ice Cream (we substituted vanilla for the butterscotch it was supposed to come with) Since my mom was wearing her BDay button (which I had her wear every day lol) we also got a free chocolate cupcake.. which was MAGNIFICENT lol

We walked around Liberty Square some more then decided because it was so hot and humid and we were sooo full, that we'd head back to the room to rest some.

We napped for a couple of hours and got back into MK around 630p. This was when the heavens decided to open up and out came the ponchos! We were fine with it because we took some pictures with Roy and Minnie, and in front of the castle with hardly any people in the backround.

We had a couple of hours before dinner so I wanted to try and finish off MK. We went to MILF (I still giggle when I type that lol) first because well.. it was the first one we passed! Loved it.. sooo funny! Then off to the CoP! I was excited because no one ever wants to go on with me!

discussing sarsparilla

After that, we headed to Fantasy Land to see Mickey's Philharmagic. Walked right on which is always nice! Mom loved the show--except when you get squirted lol... it startled her! When that was over it was time for us to head to the front of the park to get to Fort Wilderness for Hoop Dee Doo. I was worried because Magic Memories and You was about to start and I knew we'd get stuck! We made it to the Main Street train station just as it started, and of course Mom got distracted by the show. We stopped for a couple of minutes but I kept telling her we HAD to go to make the show! Just as we were walking to the ferry, we saw it pulling away for Ft Wilderness. Soooo we had to wait for another. I knew it'd be close and the show started at 930! The fireworks started and just as they were ending, the ferry arrived and we got on and left before the exit crowd made it to the line. We landed at Ft Wilderness at about 925! We had only 5 min to spare lol.. but we made it to Hoop Dee Doo on time and had a blast! The food was great and the show is so much fun! BUT.. this was the first time I had a different CM play 6 bits! He was good but.. he pretty much stuck to the script

Mom loved the show and had a great time.. it was a great way to end the day!

We went to bed when we got back because Saturday was Hollywood Studios day!

Again we started out for HS later than I wanted to (I was trying to get there to take advantage of the EMH) but we arrived after 9am. There was some sort of big field trip going on and we got stuck behind them at the security checkpoint. Took foreverrrrrr! All teenagers too.

We made our way to TSM for fast passes and then took the Backlot Tour. Mom enjoyed Catastrophe Canyon and took LOTS of pictures of everything. After the tour we had some time before lunch, so I decided she had to experience the one and only Great Movie Ride!! Of course my mom LOVED it! lol... We did not have the gangster get in the car with us, but rather, a cowboy in the western scene did. Also, the alien didnt come out of the ceiling but the Wicked Witch looked right at me which made it all ok.

We headed over to Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano--yaaaay!! and of COURSE I got my Chicken Parm! Mom had some new chicken pasta dish that I didnt get a pic of (sorry). Mine was excellent. For dessert I had the Panna Cotta (which was tira misu flavored). It was "ok" but I didnt care for the texture--it reminded me of flan.

After lunch, we were pretty full and Mom didnt feel like walking so much. We missed the American Idol show, so we walked in to the Indiana Jones Stunt thing. I had never seen it before so I didnt mind trying something new. Neither one of us cared for it.. but at least we can now say we saw it.
It was already after 2pm so Mom asked if we could go rest. I wasnt so sure because we had dinner ADRs at 50s Prime Time at 7. I knew we wouldnt get to rest long before we had to come back. She told me she didnt mind if we didnt go back to HS because she didnt really like it. So I told her that it would be ok if missed our ADR and we could go to Epcot at night and get something fast there. So that became the new plan.
As we walked to the front, we hit a few shops and there was a change in the weather. It got nice and cool, breezy, and a little dark. So we knew the rain was coming! We saw a bus at our stop but just as we were getting close it pulled away so we had to wait. The next one finally came and just as we were getting on, the first drops of the storm started to fall! Driving back to the resort was fun because the heavens really opened up and it was POURING! We were lucky because it slowed down when we got back to the resort, but after being in the room for 10 min, the thunder started and it started pouring again

Around 7pm, we headed over to Epcot--I figured we could catch Illuminations and then we wouldnt have to worry about trying to see it on Sunday. So off we went... The rain had stopped but the park was still pretty clear from it!

We went on Spaceship Earth and my mom had a lot of fun with our picture. We decided on a life of leisure under sea!
The combo of rain and sunset made for some great picture opportunities!

We headed over to World Showcase to get a spot for the show. We decided to stand across from the margarita stand in Mexico. I left my mom there to hold our place and went and got us some nachos from La Cantina de San Angel. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of them! Sorry! they were good! THen I went to Norway for some dessert!
Schoolbread and a Veiled Maiden (a traditional Norwegian wedding treat made of applesauce and whipped cream--it wasnt as good as it looked)

We enjoyed Illuminations and waited about 30 min after before we headed out to our bus stop. Mom was particularly excited about the light up walkway over by the exits lol.

We got back to the room around 11pm and went right to bed. We had a breakfast ADR on Sunday!

I'll have to continue tomorrow! Sorry! I have to work early tomorrow!

Mase, I'll check... sometimes I take pics with my phone so I can post them right to Facebook, and sometimes I take them with the camera. Sometimes I do both! lol.. I'll look though

also, I dont mind if you use them!

ok I'm back!!

Soooo.. Sunday arrived and because we had a breakfast ADR at 9:15, my mom was actually ready at an acceptable hour.
We headed to the East Depot to catch a bus. The plan was to go to Magic Kingdom then jump on either the boat or the monorail to the Grand Floridian. But when the Epcot bus showed up first, I changed the plan and we jumped on! It was 7:45 and all of the parks were opening at 9, so we had the bus to ourselves, and then the monorail to the TTC was empty too. Mom really enjoyed the relaxing quiet ride. She did NOT like having to switch monorails though.. she said it was too far lol. We got to the Grand Floridian with about an hour to spare, so we walked around some. It was great because it was early on a Sunday so people (all those rich rich people) were still asleep.

We went inside and my mom was amazed. Funny note: I used the restroom and the TP in there was the expensive SOFT kind. Not the hard newspaper kind like at POR.

this lady was napping. On the couch. In the lobby.

We checked in to the Grand Floridian Cafe about 10 min early and they seated us right away. I like it there. They dont know you arent staying there, so they really kiss up to you and make you feel all Grand Floridianish and stuff. My mom is still talking about the marble tables of all things lol!
She ordered the Eggs Benedict on english muffins and I had the Vanilla Maple French Toast. Both were delicious! Mine was a tad underdone but still really good.

After a lovely breakfast, we were heading back over to Epcot so we went back to the monorail station. Everyone was awake by then! The first monorail that came had people packed in like sardines. So we waited and the Cast Member told us, "uhhhh.. just so you know, the next one will be crowded too because there's conventions at the Contemporary." I responded with, "ok well, we'll just go ahead and wait anyway" And the next one that came was like, totally empty so as difficult as it was to do, we jumped on WITHOUT sticking our tongues out at the Cast Member. As we passed each resort, we noticed that all the flags were at half mast. And we couldnt figure out why. So.. R2D2 to the rescue! I looked it up and it was Peace Officer's Memorial Day. ok! now we knew.

We made it over to Epcot, and the plan was to see all of Future World before our 430 ADR. Noooo sweat!!

We went to the Land first because.. well.. I really enjoy the boat ride! lol!! My mom loves Soarin' Over California here at DCA soI thought maybe we'd pick up some fast passes for that too. But she said since it was the same we didnt have to.

After the Land I readied myself for The Seas. I knew Mom would spend a lot of time at the aquarium so I was just preparing myself.

We spent a good hour or so in there then I finally dragged her out. Found some good picture opportunities--it was such a beautiful day!

Unfortunately, my mom LOVES Ellen Degeneres. So she insisted on the Universe of Energy. Well it was hot and I needed a rest so I agreed. When she woke me up she told me that she had fallen asleep too. The only things left to do (that my mom COULD do) in Future World was the Imagination Pavillion so we headed over there next. She liked Figment, thought he was cute but she didnt like the ride. She did have fun directing the instruments afterward though. We needed a restroom break so there's one waaaay on the far right behind the Journey into Imagination ride so we went over there. While I was waiting for my mom, I noticed that someone (probably a naughty CM) did some tagging of a wall that faced the building. The only reason I even saw it is because the building is made of mirror typed stuff!

it says.. LATIN... something

We still had a little time before our ADR so we went to the Bambi Butterfly house. Oh yes, I forgot to mention that Epcot was CRAZY crowded because it was the last day of the Flower and Garden Festival. This butterfly was showing off.

Luckily I had the ADR to lure my mom out of the Butterfly house. I told her, "THIS is one ADR I will NOT miss!"
So off we went to World Showcase! We took a quick look through Canada and finally arrived in the UK. As you all know, I LOVE LOVE LOVE the Rose and Crown so I was really excited to have mom try it out!
There was a huge line but none of them had an ADR. So when I checked in, AND they said they were on the dinner menu already, I was one happy camper! We were seating at "my" table outside. I say it's mine because it's the 3rd time I've been seated there! And I've only been to WDW 6 times. lol.
Mom wanted an appetizer so she ordered "Mary and the Lads" which was a shrimp cocktail made with bloody mary mix. she LOVED it. She had the Fish and Chips for her meal and I had the Surf and Turf with yorkshire pudding! yaaaay! Then she had the Bakewell Tart with Cherry Compote for dessert.

I loved mine! but my mom had her issues. First, she likes mustard with her fries. So she asked for mustard, which he brought. But she didnt like it. So she asked what kind it was and he said, "well it's English mustard". So she asked for American mustard. All he could find was Grey Poupon. She didnt like that either lol. Then, she decided she didnt like the tarter sauce either. Then she said the fish was too greasy. But, in her defense, it DID look like it was still the lunch portion they gave her. So maaaaybe it was sitting a bit? I dunno. When I've had the fish and chips there at dinner it was two HUGE pieces. Not 3 strips. But I had my surf and turf so I was happy.
So after linner (lunch/dinner) we headed over the bridge to France. When we got to Morocco, she had to rest (she's not so good on inclines and hills or stairs). So as we were sitting, I noticed this kid..

he's playing with his beaver.

We went to Japan, and when we got to the USA, the American Adventure was just about to start so we went in! I was happy! Mom slept lol. We saw Italy and it kinda hit me that there's really not a whole lot to that pavillion. When we got to Germany, she was in love with the lil miniature city. And.. I noticed that the little city was having a Flower and Garden festival too! Very cute!

We toured China and I took her to the perfectly acoustic room which she thought was pretty cool. There was a couple in there at the same time looking around and when they heard me explaining to my mom about the acoustics, they stayed behind to try it themselves. When I was there in March, the back part of the shop in China was closed, and now the front part was closed.
We finally made it to Norway and I got her on Maelstrom! hooray!! She was really um.. confused. lol
Then we hit Mexico--she is Mexican so she had a lot of fun! She tried on sombreros and went on the boat ride too.

poor donald as a pinata.

After Mexico it was about 830.. I wanted out of Epcot before Illuminations started so we headed out. We got to the bust stop just as the first fireworks exploded! Hooray! beat the crowd!
I wanted to go to bed early because I was going to try to see the shuttle launch at 856am!

the butterfly house was a part of the Flower and Garden Festival.. it's not always there they had it over near Club Cool!

Oh that reminds me.. I tried to get my mom to try the sodas at club cool but she refused. She doesnt drink soda anyway and she said that it would make her sick.

I was up early on Monday because I was SET on seeing that Space Shuttle take off. It had been all over the news since we got there and we'd been hearing CMs and Guests talking about seeing it. So I headed out to the dock area because it seemed pretty open there. I got there about 15min before the scheduled launch and a small crowd was forming

as it got closer to the time (8:56a), more people came out.. CMs too!

BUT... there were too many clouds so we were unable to see the shuttle It was still fun and exciting to gather out there though. Of course, the clouds cleared about 20 minutes later.

this is where it SHOULD have been

I took this pretty picture at least!

We went over to Animal Kingdom because that was the last one left to see! It wasnt very crowded so we headed over to the safari, picked up some fast passes and went for a walk on the Pagani Trail.
We saw lots of interesting stuff!

this fish was.. ummm.. "resting" wink wink

I wont post the pic of the gorilla, because he was um.. you know.. uh.. busy.

We took the safari and I was surprised how much my mom liked it. She normally cant go on anything too bumpy or jerky but she really enjoyed it. After that we had lunch at Flame Tree BBQ--one of my fave quick services. I was sad to see that they stopped giving corn bread with their meals! But, I was happy to see that they now had desserts to choose from: Key Lime Mousse or Chocolate Mousse.
Mom had the pork sandwhich and I had the ribs. We both had the Key Lime Mousse, which was dumb--we should have had one of each! Lunch was really good though.

If any of you havent eaten here before, and you decide to try it.. they have TONS of seating! Just keep following the path to the left of the restaurant and head down toward the water. It's always empty there. Each little area has its own service station too--forks, napkins, bbq sauce, etc. It's always quiet and you get the best views! Plus there's all kinds of wildlife living in that lake! We saw otters this time, but couldnt catch them in a pic.
View at Lunch:

After lunch we went to see the Festival of the Lion King. of all the live shows in the parks, I think this one is my favorite. It's so fun! I like the acrobat monkeys! After the show ended we went through a few shops and then headed back to the room. I wanted her to rest because there was still a few things we needed to do at MK before leaving!

uhoh! I have to go to beds!! will have to finish up tomorrow!

Haunted Mansion queue spoilers ahead..if you dont want to see pics, skip this one!
............

Well, our rest was long enough that when we headed back to MK we were hungry again. The original plan had been to get to 'Ohana at 5p when they opened, to try to do a walk-up but we were still tired and not hungry at that time. We headed out from the resort around 630p. I knew we'd have no chance at 'Ohana so we just went to MK and planned on doing quick service.
We decided on Columbia Harbour House since it was over by Haunted Mansion which was still on the to-do list. I had the Fish n Chips (I think this was the last place I needed to try them at) and Mom had a tuna sandwhich. Of ALLLLLL the great places we ate, my mom keeps talking about the "best tuna sandwhich" at MK! It's crazy lol. My fish and chips were good, but I think Rose and Crown's are the best.

After dinner, we went to Haunted Mansion. The sign said 5 min, but I could tell it would be longer if we went on the left side (where the new interactive queue is). I didnt mind waiting so we stayed to the left to check it all out! It was pretty cool. At least it will give people something to do when it's crowded and such.

This is what you see first, it's not blocked... you can go right up to them if you want. not sure why you would WANT to, but people were posing with them.

the instruments make noise when you touch them!

this sprays you with mist when you play the keys

this is spitting out mist and water too--it'll be refreshing on those hot days!

this didnt translate well onto film, it's a bookcase. And there's a book popped out, and when you push it in, a different book pops out

and then you rejoin the right hand side of the line..

When we got off the Haunted Mansion, the Hall of Presidents was 5 min from starting so we went right in. My mom stayed awake for this one! I really like when they introduce all the presidents. Definitely an attraction to check out every so often.

all our presidents

After HoP the Electric Parade was about to start so we made our way around the back side to Fantasyland. Jumped on It's a Small World.. Mom was amazed that it was so.. um. Well you know how it is. It's just.. nothing special like at Disneyland. After that we continued through Fantasyland toward Tomorrowland, because I was ready for some dessert! Auntie Gravity here we come!!

took this cool pic of the Carousel, the Moon, and the Castle

I love me some Soft Serve Ice Cream and I'm usually too full to enjoy this place but I had just enough room for a cone. We walked as we made our way to Main Street to get a spot for the nighttime show spectaculars.
We found a spot near the pin "hut" on Main Street and we saw Magic Memories and You and stayed for Wishes. It was all so magical lol.. but we were right on the Tape Line and we kept having to deal with people stopping on the walkway and the poor CMs that had to keep them moving. Mom really liked the fireworks but I was just concerned about getting out once the show ended so I planned our escape. As soon as it ended, we went and sat in that little smoking section and waited about 20 minutes until it was easier to leave.

We were trying to make it back to the resort store because I did package pick up but we got there 15 min after they closed So we had to leave room in our luggage for the goodies and I picked them up first thing in the morning.
On Tuesday, our Magical Express bus picked us up promptly at 10am and we were off to the airport. When we got there we saw the 1st of our 4 delays lol... we had a nice lunch at Chilis Too, and when we were done we saw delay #2. So we went to the Disney Store and the restroom, and saw delay #3. We went through security and got to our gate and saw delay #4. Ended up leaving 2 hours late but we arrived home safe and sound.

My mom loved her surprise trip and even asked when we could go back!! She told her brother about it and volunteered me to plan his trip for him lol.. I wouldnt mind! I love the planning!!