Originally Posted By DVC_dad Family vacation to WDW March 04 - March 12, 2006 I pulled together a simple website for some photos. Please check it out. There are seven pages, or 25 photos with captions at… … … <a href="http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PWP-wdwtrip" target="_blank">http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PW P-wdwtrip</a> I hope to be as short and non-boring as possible. Anticipation is wonderful! Okay here we go. It’s literally 3:30 AM as I quietly peck away at my keyboard. I am so geeked out that I didn’t need the alarm clock. I am excited to the point that the glow from the screen feels like Disney Magic splashing on my grinning face. I feel awesome and geared up just knowing that I have already packed all 5 kids clothes, diapers, wipes, bathing suits and everything else yesterday. I loaded the Urban Assault Vehicle (Yukon XL, same thing as a Suburban more or less) both in the back cargo area and the roof luggage box…all done by 5:00 pm yesterday. The only thing to do now is to pack away this laptop, wake my fantastically pregnant wife, and light the fuse on my powder-keg offspring, by simply flipping the light switch in each of their respective rooms. They will fall fast asleep yet again while driving I am sure. Arrival Whew…after 9.5 long hours of driving the usual 7 hour trip, we arrived at the Boardwalk Villas. I had requested to be assigned to a specific room, which they had done, however it was not yet ready at 2 PM. So we off-loaded our stuff to a great Valet named Ali, who was so over and above the average call of duty. I felt compelled to tip him a bit more than I normally would, which I did. All I could think about was how some people claim that the service is slipping…well it wasn’t today. Once we were sure our stuff was safely on its way to storage, for a later deposit into our room, not even the lengthy drive could stop us from hiking to the back gateway of Epcot. We had to renew our AP’s at the gate (ouch, my god I’m broke now) and into the park we trod… A man, a pregnant lady, an 11 year old boy, 7 year old girl, 5 year old boy, 3 year old boy, and a 20 month old boy with two double strollers makes up the motley crew. First stop, Figment. All systems go, the whole lot seemed as grand as ever as we were entertained by our old purple and orange friend, Figment, in the Imagination attraction. I did notice that there seems to be new covers over the track, between the cars that would prevent someone from falling between the cars. I wonder if this has anything to do with the poor fella that fell under a ship in Peter Pan the other week. Anyhoo…It was then that the first Magic Vapor passed over me. As I held my 20 month old son, and heard the familiar TONES that greet you as you coast into the Sound Labs area, I felt the little fella get all excited and look around in awe at this place that is so new, so fresh and fun to a child who is finally old enough to begin to comprehend what he is experiencing. We exited the ride and for the millionth time I leaned and peered up the staircase near the exit of the shop wondering what is still up there from the old school ride. I wanted to tiptoe up there so badly but I didn’t, well I couldn’t, my wife would exterminate me. We bought the staple treat for the kids, the note pad with a liquid sugar pen that you can EAT the paper after you write on it with the pen. Next stop, The Land. We were beginning to feel tired and very hungry in spite of our excitement, and I knew that there was a new food court in the bottom of the land pavilion. I was surprised to find that the new menu is pretty awesome, but sad to see that the old giant fountain is gone. The fare is very healthy and even my kids, who get their fair share of fired food, found something they liked. I give the new-fangled menu a huge thumbs up! It’s all health food with a huge variety, which fits in so much better with the theme, “Living with the Land.†Before we searched out our food, we grabbed fast passes for the boat ride, so we could take an after dinner cruise. The timing was perfect. We saved Soarin’ for later. Next stop, Spaceship Earth: Right off the bat, I saw a fresh sponsor sign and all I could say to myself is “Thank god!†I just could not continue to exist if Spaceship Earth ever closed, and I mean it. It has a nostalgic value to me equal to Main Street. Anyway I instantaneously noticed that there are all brand new flora and flowers in front of the entrance to SE! Way to go Siemens, the company that is the new sponsor. I guess they have already started paying for some new plants, but you can’t see anything yet in the exit. I think it’s still all of the old ATT stuff in there. But about the ride itself…As Jeremy Irons began his old verbage, “Like a grand and miraculous spaceship, our planet has sailed through the universe of time, and we have been among it’s many passengers…†another Disney Magic Vapor passed over me. I am home! I gave a little tighter squeeze to my 3 year old in my lap. Next stop, Japan: My wife was getting really worn-out and bushed, and the room was ready by now, but she wanted some Japanese candy before going back to the room, so off to Japan we trekked. I was impressed with this store as always, I wanted to unsuccessfully to buy a Gundum model but my oldest son isn’t into that yet, and on day one, we are still on budget. So to the back of the store we went, skipping the pearl fishing station for now as well. The kids each got to buy one candy item, and my wife got her usual jelly sort of things that she loves so much, then we headed back to the hotel while smacking our lips on Japanese colored sugar treats. The Japanese people in this store were as usual ALL women and so very very pleasant and considerate. Back for the night: My poor wife, (baby number 6 due in May) was a good sport but I knew it was time to call it a day. So we went back, and I took all five of the kids to the pool without my DW for an hour or so, went back to the room and ordered room service. I had those awesome FULL SIZED Buffalo wings from the ESPN zone, my kids each got the staple childhood obesity chicken fingers and fries. My wife requested a house salad that I knew she would not be able to eat, and she proved my intuition right. She was showered, PJ’ed, in bed and fast asleep by the time the food got there for me and my five, very much awake and hungry, kids. The delivery guy was very nice and quick, and I hate tipping those guys cause they build the tip into the bill to the tune of 18%. What a rip off, but in my current set of circumstances I accepted the pain of over priced room service and we had our appetites satisfied. This would become a regular daily mantra on this trip. A new day! I made us a wake up call for 6 and we were eating at 1900 Park Faire by 8. The meal was fantastic, I love their grits. I don’t know why but they get grits so right at that one. Mary Poppins was honored by getting to have her photo taken with my kids, and we were later assaulted at our table by (a strangely beautiful/cutie) Alice and the Mad Hatter. Alice was really great because she got my 11 year old son, (who is harshly caught between being a child and being a young man) to stand up and get his picture taken with her. She told him in a perfect British accent, “Well come on then, I am only 12 so stand up and get your picture taken with me.†It was a huge moment in his life, I won’t go into details, but he and I later had a discussion about wanting to stay a kid, but wanting to grow up. My daughter age 7 was very much into Alice and the Mad Hatter, but my 20 month old was terrified by the Mad Hatter. I was happy we got a good one cause he didn’t press my little one. So right back to Epcot For our first full day of fun we went back to Epcot. We left our UAV (Urban Assault Vehicle) in valet parking at the Grand Floridian, (a move I would later regret terribly, especially since I missed a meet with RoadTrip and his wife) for the day and for fun we rode the monorail to Epcot. We were on Monorail Red and the ride was awesome, in fact the monorails seemed to be running a lot faster this whole trip. I know this cannot be my imagination. In Epcot I paid for a double stroller to complement our own personal double stroller that we take everywhere. I protested to the very nice CM who rented it to me, because they don’t give a Disney Dollar for returning it anymore. She was polite and unshakable. Beeline to Test Track, Mission Space My wife got us fastpasses for Test Track and so we set out for Mission Space to standby. We had very little pause, five mins maybe and were on Mission Space. It was awesome as usual, no problems for me, my 11 year old, my 7 year old, and my 5 year old. I gave some thought to seeing the HP sponsor, remembering that it was originally a company called Compaq that signed on as the sponsor for this attraction back when it was being designed. (I am huge on HP printers, but HP computers do not get kudos from me.) HP bought Compaq and that’s how all that goes or so I have heard it said. Test Track upside-down A funny thing happened at Test Track. When we got back over there to use our FP’s there was NO ONE IN THE STANDBY line. But yet the FP LINE WAS PACKED about 40 riders deep. I could not for the life of me understand why they just stood there and didn’t go to standby! So for the first time I saw a FP line that was longer by far than the Standby!!! We jumped to the standby, pocketing our FP’s, got back off and used our FP’s to ride again! It was fun, worked great, all systems go on that one. Once I exited the ride the second time, I reflected on the fact that there is NOT a 2007 Suburban on display, there is the old 2006! I find that to be a faux pas on GM’s part! Anyway… Turtle Talk with Dory! I now know what happed to Dory and why she is not out front in the Nemo display. Dory is now a major part of the show as a costar with Crush in Turtle talk. My 5 year old son was the first to talk with Crush and it was so awesome. Dory is a big part of the show and I asked the CM outside,â€Where is Dory? There are lots of people who say this or that, but what is the official word and don’t tell me if you don’t really know.†He said that the official word is that Dory is not in the Nemo Display outside because she is inside in the show and cannot be both places at once, and that that is the official word that they are told to say. So, grain of saltwater… I tried to see into the remodel area of Living Seas, but I couldn’t see anything at all. The CM’s all say they don’t know anything. So, who knows? Oh and the 55 gallon drum of bubble soap is still there. I wondered if I could steal some, but nahhhhh. Soarin’ anything but Borin’ ! I had the pleasure of riding Soarin’ at DL a few years back. I was wound up to get a chance to ride the WDW version. I think the queue really stinks but I tried the whole time to figure out how to improve it and couldn’t come up with anything. We rode it, my 11 year old son dropped his tin of mints on purpose during the ride. I was angry at him, but I wasn’t too hard as I would have probably done the same as an 11 year old. My wife took the 3 yr old and the 20 month old back to Imagination while me and the older kids wondered if it would be too forward to ask for the tin, sans the mints after the ride. I estimate the drop is what…50 feet at least? I dunno, the attraction was totally awesome. The queue and the exterior of this attraction are far far superior in DL, but it sure seems to me that the WDW version can seat many more people at once. We forgot about the tin of mints and left quickly. Italian, and blonde too! If you eat here, look for the blonde waitress; she was awesome to me and the kids, but didn’t seem too enamored with my wife. Here’s what happened…We had a noon’ish lunch seating at Alfredo Di Roma, in the Italy Pavilion. My wife will comment sometimes on men and women, and their appearance, but more often on good looking older men for some reason. I never ever do this. She can do this all she wants as I am never pregnant, but I learned it’s not wise to comment on some young, beautiful, blonde Italian waitress while your wife is pregnant with your 6th child regardless of how much she eyes the waiter named Antonio. Oh well lesson learned. The food was simply awesome. I had Chicken Parmesan, kids all had macaroni, the 11 year old had spaghetti and loved it and the wife had eye fulls of Antonio and a bowl full of Alfredo something... the most memorable part of the meal was when my wife muttered something like, “…her hair isn’t really blonde, she’s Italian…hello…are you listening to me?†…and then I remember this debilitating sharp pain in my shin which hurt for two days and my wife glaring at me. I must have been staring a second too long, I really can’t remember. The rest of the World Showcase, but hurry After dinner, we began walking. We went into Germany, didn’t buy anything. We stopped in Norway and we rode the boat ride. I dared not look at many a pretty gal (that were most certainly Naturally blonde from Norway) for fear of a walking limp turning into a permanent gimp. My 20 month old fell asleep on the boat and I layed him down in the stroller once we made our way through the most expensive store in all of WDW. I know those sweaters in the Norway store are worth $300, but wow, I’d rather get one at Target with a new iPod or something. I still can’t figure out how they do that sparkling eye ball at the beginning of the ride. I admired the roofing on the little chapel thing and on we went. We stopped at China, got a few super cheap toys, but fun toys nonetheless, then on to Mexico, and just simply not thinking about our car being way back in Valet at the Grand Floridian, we walked back to the hotel through the back gate of Epcot. RoadTrip where are you???!!! At this point I explained to my wife that we needed to come back later around 8 to meet RoadTrip, which she agreed. Conditionally, if I would take the kids to the pool, come back, order room service, feed them, bathe them, get the two youngest to sleep, then I could go either alone or with the three older kids to meet RoadTrip at Illuminations. *sigh* Jerry I tried really hard to get there… and well, I ended up getting there with my two youngest in the stroller, and my 7 year old girl running by my side. I left the Boardwalk with the stroller and 7 year old at 8:55 and was standing in front of Germany at 9:17. Prior to this time, I put up a three hour battle, did everything I could to make things line up right, but it just didn’t work out. I was very disappointed. I saw a couple, a lady with red hair, wearing chinos, and a baby blue jacket of some type, and a guy with dark clothes. I don’t know if that was you two but I was too shy to ask them. We watched the rest of illuminations and walked back to the hotel through the back gate. My two little ones were asleep, and my 7 year old was fading fast. I was feeling bad at that point, but some people claim that life is full of disappointments. I don’t believe them. Then once everyone was asleep I had to bus it back to the transportation station , bus from there to the Grand Floridian to get my UAV out of Valet!!! Okay in the interest of this post I am going to severely abridge the rest of my trip. Day 2 Magic Kingdom and Coffee We had an early breakfast at Chef Mickey, left the car in valet and rode the monorail to MK. I love the grits at Chef Mickey. Heck I just love grits. The kids loved the fact that they had cereal. I was pissed that I paid 10.99 each for them to eat cereal, but my 11 year old didn’t let dad down. He ate like a champion, bacon, eggs, biscuits with gravy, on and on, it was a contest to see who could engorge himself more. I think I won in the end, but not by much. If I had had less coffee my victory would have been more definitive. The menu was great, but our server took forever to get our drinks and the coffee was luke warm at best. Usually they bring you a whole fresh pot, but she came and poured it for me, and it wasn’t hot for long. I would be cured of this stupid selfishness later WHEN A KID WITH CANCER WAS PUT IN FRONT OF US TO SEE THE RED POWER RANGER. Yes cold coffee, isn’t that big of a deal when a child with a terminal illness is being granted a wish to see the Power Rangers, while you sit there with your five healthy as a horse kids staring at his hairless head. This happened on the next day at MGM, and all I could think about was me being mad that my coffee was cold the morning before. We watched the pre-opening show that they put on in the front of the Magic Kingdom together as a family. It was awesome and my 11 year old son even got what I call “The Magic Vapor†as I caught a quick glimpse of a tear! We were all together, where we wanted to be, having a fabulous time! Words can’t do justice. Upon being the third person in the park, I shuttled the kids over to the Harmony Barber shop for haircuts. It was awesome. They did the whole hair color and sprinkles in the hair thing. People were asking my kids about their hair all day long. Space Mountain; Very jerky. We went over one little hill and I thought we were coming off the track, but as usual, we didn’t. Buzz Space Ranger Spin We rode this several times with at most a five minute wait. Fun stuff, and my 20 month old really loved it. People Mover, TTA, whatever, Rode twice without having to get off due to my wife looking all pregnant and stuff. Time Keeper, missed him and almost shed a smallish tear. Stitch, my kids didn’t even want to go on it, rode it last fall, my 3, 5, 7, and 11 year old all think it stinks. Who am I to say different? Race Cars ( well its not called Autotopia), fun as ever, had four tracks open, sunny, and way fun. My son rammed me from behind and I wondered if I could sue Disney for that. I never would, I’ve never sued anyone, and hope never to do so, but what an interesting legal puzzle. Took back passage under People Mover to… Toontown. As usual no one else goes that way. I got some awesome shots of the WDW Train Locomotive while it was at the Toontown station. Donald’s Boat never had water in it our whole trip. Does it ever have water anymore? Got all kinds of autographs in Toontown Fair, with waits less than 10 minutes every time. FP Pooh, while standby in Dumbo, waited about 20 mins for Dumbo. Rode Snow white, got stuck exactly under the giant bolder the witch tries to drop on you. We were there for about 5 minutes. Did Philharmagic. I can’t figure out how they get that Apple pie smell but I love it love it love. Went back and rode Pooh using our FP. Had lunch in Cinderella’s Castle. I HATE WHAT THEY HAVE DONE TO THIS MEAL!!! We checked in, were put in line for a photo, were hustled upstairs and seated, were handed a menu, which was much smaller than it used to be. My kids over 2 could order off the kids meal, while my 20 month old was given butter noodles, which he hated. SO KIDS UNDER 2 ARE NOT FREE AT ALL AT THIS MEAL! To me, kids under two eat free, means they can order from the kids menu. Anyway, we were given our pre-prepared entrée within 10 minutes of being seated. Our entrée came just minutes after the appetizer. We were bum rushed by the princesses, and then herded out into the MK again. The whole thing took maybe 35 minutes. Its volume, all about volume. I hated it and I won’t go back if it doesn’t change. I felt very cheated on all levels of this experience. Pirates is still closed. THE PARADE IN MK IS GREAT I am not a big fan of the parades but my daughter wanted to see it, so we got a spot and sat. It was actually good. The first thing we see is a very young Walt Disney sketching something. Then his sketch comes to life on the float behind him…and so on. It was a neat parade. We did a lot more in MK, the usual, Magic Carpets, fun. Tiki Room, my DD got a red feather from Iago. Jungle Cruise, same ol same ol, had a really great skipper. How they can still be fun and funny late in the day is beyond me. Back to Monorail, back to Contemporary for the UAV, and back to Boardwalk. MGM TOT was running awesome as usual. FP’ed Rockin Roller, Stoodby in TOT, and went back to ROR. Ran to Playhouse Disney for smaller kids. It was awesome as always. Did Little Mermaid, fun. Did Great Movie Ride, finally figured out who gets the western show and who gets the gangster shootout. Had an argument with my 11 year old over him not being able to watch the movie Alien. (He knows it is one of my all time favs if not my all time fav outright) I NOTICED ON THE GMR THEY HAVE ADDED SOME NEW CLIPS, NAMELY NEMO, NARNIA, AND I forgot the 3rd one I saw that was new. Doubled back to Honey I Shrunk playground. Spent an hour in there, I nearly had a heart attack trying to get my 20 month old up, through, and back down the cargo net, spider web, whatever that thing is. 50’S PRIME TIME AND LOST KIDS There was a frantic mom in the waiting area of the 50’s Prime Time Café. It didn’t take long to figure out what was going on. Her young daughter of maybe 5 was missing. Her husband was outside looking and SEVERAL CM’s were buzzing all over. It was maybe 5 stressful minutes before a man in a dark suit came up with the child and the mom and daughter were reunited. The mom was falling all over herself thanking them CM’s for finding her, and I know I would have been the exact same way. I have been in her shoes, that mom’s and its not an easy place to be. Okay happy ending, Fried Chicken is still the best in the country and that includes comparing it to Knott’s by the way. Wife ordered and only picked at the pot roast, so after eating my chicken I finished off her roast. Awesome! Funny thing about being pregnant, you often want to eat but can’t, and then later you can but don’t want the same food. She ate churros later like they were going out of style. Star Tours…I did the back row corner thing, to combat barfing as kids had to ride this shortly after a huge lunch. It worked, I felt fine. But then that ride never bothers me anyway. Muppet 3-D, more Honey I shrunk playground, and then Power Rangers!!! Oh my 3 year old and my 5 year old really think it’s the REAL power rangers and I guess it is. Who am I to say? They were in heaven!!! Paris Stunt Show was awesome. Here we go back to hotel, swim, order room service, and chill. TIP: DON’T LET YOUR KIDS STAND UP IN THE DOUBLE STROLLER AT MGM, IT WILL FALL OVER EVERY TIME WITHOUT FAIL. The Blonde Italian Woman revisited My 5 yr old son wanted to get fake tattoos so we all (except for mom) got them at the little tattoo place in front of Pizza Planet. I ended up with a cute tat of Tinker Bell striking a pose on my forearm. I asked the lady if they had any tats of Italian waitresses with blonde hair. She looked at me confused, and my wife looked at me as if I were a plump roasted hen and she The Big Bad Wolf. But then she laughed. Whew, glad that is passed. Tink would have to do. *sigh* EXPEDITION EVEREST First let me say that while the other parks seemed very very light as for Guests, the Animal Kingdom was PACKED !!! I swear it must be Everest. I was in line in front of a family from ALASKA!!! They came to WDW for Everest, were only going to AK and then down to Bush Gardens and Daytona FL for Bike week. They are coaster junkies and after the ride I asked them what they thought. Same as my opinion, they said it is so different than anything, not the thrill, the uniqueness of it was great. The “movie of the Yeti tearing up the track†was playing and was bright and vibrant, no problems seeing it at all. It scared my 5 year old a little but he is a trooper and was the first to want to go on it again…and again….and again… Had breakfast at Donald’s Breakfastosaurus. Great food, best bacon on Earth. Great service, very organized. I highly recommend this one. Saw Goofy, Mickey, Donald. The stuff on the walls and whatnot is really neat in there. Its very smartly done if you will pardon my English. Oh about Everest… The best ride this trip to me was Expedition Everest. Not because its big and bad and scary, but because its DIFFERENT! I have long thought that people say Mission Space stinks because they don’t understand what its all about. Its not so much about the thrill as it is about being new and unique! I say this goes for Everest too! I rode this coaster with my 11, 7, and 5 year old six times over two days. I love it, I don’t want to spoil it for anyone so I will only say, there are three main things about it that are unique and it’s so worth it. The queue is wonderful and all the nay-sayers are just being poopers. I give it an 11 out of 10 on any day. We also did Dinosaur and some nutty sun-tanned west coasters were coming off at the same time talking about how much better Indiana Jones is, and you know, they are right about that I have to say. But its not like Dino totally sucks. Indy is much better for many reasons, but we got Epcot over here! Just kidding…LOL We rode Triceritops Spin and that other coaster there by it; I think its Primeval Twirl or something. They had both sides open and we did it three times. Kids love the Bone Dino Dig thing that’s next to the playground so we burned an hour in there. We hit Tough to be a Bug and used FP’s that we had gotten earlier for Harambe Safari. We got some fantastic shots of Giraffe. It was a great one. We hit Kali on the way out which was a mistake cause I got the wet seat and was soaked through to my most private of nether regions. I love the Jungle Walk , I think its called Pangani or whatever, and we did this slowly. Kids loved the tigers. Ate a very late lunch at the Rainforest Cafe. Food was hot, good and on time. Honestly this was a first. Last two times there it was slow, cold, and average. But the wife loves it and we always have to go for the Mojo Bones. It’s ok but pricey IMHO. Animals? Yeah we saw lots. But Everest really overshadowed them. Okay we did lots of other stuff, we were there for a week. We even went and played miniature golf at Fantasia gardens. It was a fun time chasing my 20 month old all over. Yay. Things I forgot to include above… Haunted Mansion was great, the CM’s really did a great job being scary and freaky. They were really into it. After all these years I think that I have finally figured out EXACTLY how they do the ghosts effects in the dining room/ball room. Ate at Columbia Harbor House one day for lunch, I was very disappointed. It seems that the quality of the fish has gone way south and also I remember getting fresh Tartar Sauce there in the past, all they had were chemical laden packets of it. I probably won’t go back, as Capt D’s is better than that. I hope I didn’t dwell on the negative. I was disappointed to see that Coke took the frozen ice man away and put in a new more hip International Drink Center. I noticed that the drink from Africa was gone, or covered up and not available… have they finally pulled out of Africa? NAY-SAY-ERS HUSH! The parks were ALL very very clean, neat, tidy. Every single bathroom, (and some I visited at the peak of busy) were immaculate and clean, and smelled well…like they are supposed to. I saw several people around with brooms and dust pans keeping things tidy. The service at all the places except the sheer volume of Cinderella’s Castle, was awesome. I only got stuck on one ride for a few minutes, and that was Snow White. All rides were in great shape and every single cast member was Awesome and really into helping us catch the Magic Vapor at every turn. I even had an interesting conversation with a CM at the entrance to One Man’s Dream in MGM. She really gets it. I went to the restroom in Odyessy and managed to sneak around inside for a bit. I had never seen the inside of that place, as I never have time during the fall when we hit the food and wine festival, but it was neat and looks so very early 80’s and nostalgic. I wish I had tried to sneak around some other places but its hard to be discreet with 5 kids and a preggo wife! Hope this report wasn’t too boring.
Originally Posted By trekkeruss Welcome back, DVC_dad! Wonderful report, and nice pics too. Curious though: how was Cirque? I am wondering if all your brood was able to enjoy it.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad You know what? My wife just couldn't make it, and although I will venture out into the parks alone with my 5, (southern drawl kicks in) They Ain't NO way I'ma gonna go to DownTown Diz at night with THEM young'uns! We didn't go. We DID make the HoopDeDoo Review tho. I am sure my kids (except for maybe the 20 month old) would have done fine had we gone.
Originally Posted By Pixie Glitter DVC_dad. . . . . AWESOME report! Seriously, I have so thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and I had to make Mr. Glitter stop watching whatever he's watching on t.v. to come over and read your hilarious Blonde Italian Server incident. ;-) I love your writing style. . . witty, informative, and poignant all at once. Thank you, sir, for a most enjoyable read!
Originally Posted By trailsend I ditto Pixie Glitter! This was so much fun to read. Reminded me of so many trips with our children. I love your upbeat way to describe everything. Pics were great. You're a good dad.
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy Here, here! What a great report! Thanks for takin' the time to type it out and share it with us. <Alice was really great because she got my 11 year old son, (who is harshly caught between being a child and being a young man) to stand up and get his picture taken with her.> Ah yes, 11..."The Age of Not Believing". ;-) <I am so geeked out that I didn’t need the alarm clock. I am excited to the point that the glow from the screen feels like Disney Magic splashing on my grinning face. I feel awesome and geared up just knowing that I have already packed all 5 kids clothes, diapers, wipes, bathing suits and everything else yesterday. I loaded the Urban Assault Vehicle both in the back cargo area and the roof luggage box…all done by 5:00 pm yesterday.......It was a huge moment in his life, I won’t go into details, but he and I later had a discussion about wanting to stay a kid, but wanting to grow up.> DVC_dad, you sound like a *wonderful* dad. I envied your kids just readin' this---I wish my own dad were more like you, a vibrant man who still embraces the kid in his heart and loves to share it with his own offspring. If I were wearin' a hat, it would be off to you. Thanks again for the great report.
Originally Posted By Pixie Glitter Okay, just took the time to view your photos. What gorgeous kids! And, the performer in Animal Kingdom you photographed (and guessed was called Mother Nature) is called "DeVine." We saw her on our last trip---she's amazing!
Originally Posted By trekkeruss I love the pic of your daughter holding the lamb(?) mask to her face on the ride at DAK. Seriously, I loved your report too. It's rare when I read through a long post without skimming.
Originally Posted By trailsend >>>>Awe. Love the picture of you and your mouse ears <<<<< HAHAHA OK ~ I didn't realize you were so cute when I was throwing snowballs at 'cha! HAHA ~ You WISH you were that cute!!! I know I'm repeating here what everyone is saying, but this is wonderful family vacation! It's what Walt wanted families to do. And, you should consider writing, VCR_dad; you write right nice!!
Originally Posted By Coachbagfanatic DVC Sounds like you and your family had a great trip. Love the story. It wasn't boring at all. It was like a really good movie that kept you there from beginning to end. The Italian waitress part was funny. I am exhausted just reading about you and your wife whom is with child running around with 5 children. We have done the UAV thing also but we only have one child. Truly a great story and memories for your family. ºoº
Originally Posted By Coachbagfanatic DVC Great pic's also. Thanks so much for sharing your story and pic's with all of us.
Originally Posted By DVC_dad <<<in all those pics, why no pic of YOU???>>> I thought you'd NEVER ask! (Which is why there isn't one.) Let me rummage around my computer hard drive and try to find one that doesn't make me feel self conscious.
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy ^---I wanted to see ya too! I wanna see if you are indeed always dressed in sandals, shorts, and a loud Hawaiian shirt, which is how I picture you postin'!
Originally Posted By DVC_dad Ok well... I am very surprised that anyone likes trip reports as much as I do. I read them all and often wish folks would go into greater detail. I posted another page with 4 more photos on it. Thank for asking me to post one of myself. You can print it and use it in your garden this Spring to scare away Crows if you like. <a href="http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PW" target="_blank">http://home.bellsouth.net/p/PW</a> P-wdwtrip (new photos on page 8)
