Ferg
03-10-2011, 11:13 PM
Me
Sandy
DD9 (Alyssa)
DD5 (Jenna)
Day 1: Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011
Our trip started off a little rough but turned out great. Friday night before we were to leave, I was running a 100 temperature. Sandy gave me an IV bag of fluids and a friend called in a prescription of antibiotics. We put the girls to bed at 7:00 and then we went to bed at 9:30, excited for the next morning!
Our alarm went off about 4:00 a.m. and we loaded up the car with our luggage and left for the airport at 5:30. I still had a temp of 100 but felt OK. No problems getting checked in and onto the plane. On our layover in Houston, we were one of the last to deplane since we weren’t in any hurry since we had 2.5 hours to sit and wait. So the girls asked if they could meet the pilots and see the cockpit. It was so fun! The pilots let them sit in the pilot chairs and hold the wheel in their hands. We got lots of great pictures and was extra special for the kids! Arrived in Orlando around 2:00 and went straight to Dollar Rent A Car, where they lied several times trying to get us to buy extras and then got insulting and accusatory that we weren’t paying enough for the car. Whatever. That’s what they agreed to and why we chose them for our reservation!
We loaded the luggage into the car and drove straight to Epcot, arriving around 4:00. We were so excited as this was Sandy, Alyssa and my second trip but Jenna’s first. And it was all of our first time to ever go to Epcot. We were so impressed with the shear enormity of the “golf ball!” We rented a stroller and headed to……Ellen’s Energy Adventure. Yes, I know, not a popular ride and that is why we went there first. The crowds were a 9 at Epcot that night, so our plan of attack was to hit the least popular/crowded attractions this first night and of those, hit the ones that close at 7:00. The ride was OK but the film part was too long. We liked the dinosaur part though.
We then headed over to Innoventions West and did all of the activities there. The girls especially liked the Great Piggy Bank Adventure and Sandy and I thought riding the segways was kind of fun. The girls had fun making their own videos in Smarter Planet and we all enjoyed the Where’s the Fire? exhibit and game. We took our picture with the fire truck and emailed it to Kelby, our good friend who is a firefighter.
We then headed over to ride Seas with Nemo and checked out the exhibits. During Turtle Talk With Crush, Alyssa was asked a question by Crush so that was extra fun for all of us. I love the technology they use in that show – interacting with a cartoon and being called “human dude!” I was disappointed we missed the manatee exhibit as it was already closed.
When we came out, it was 8:00 and we had 20 minutes to book it over to Morocco to see Mo’Rockin’s last show. We wanted to see them since they weren’t going to be there the next day when we were there. We grabbed some food (I got the combo plate) from Tangeriene and enjoyed the show. At one point, all of the kids were dancing with the belly dancer and Jenna especially enjoyed that part. When the show ended, we still wanted to do Spaceship Earth so we hustled all the way back and got in line for our first ever ride on SE and got on at 8:57. While we were on the ride, we missed Illuminations but would have had bad seats for it anyway because of the crowds. The animatronic people looked quite real – so real Alyssa insisted that they were!
I spent the next 30 minutes asking CM after CM about the plans for the next morning. It was Princess Marathon and I needed to know how to get to the park for an 8:00 a.m. ADR. I got “I don’t know” answers from person after person until one person finally promised me that at least one lane would be open for access to the park. It ended up not being true.
In order to better afford Disney “extras,” we stayed off site at a condo at Emerald Isle. It was about 3 miles from Disney gates and quick and easy to find. We got to the condo about 11:00 and unloaded our luggage to discover the a/c was broken. We were frustrated and called the emergency number. They promised to look into it the next morning. Other than the broken a/c, it was a nice condo. Well decorated, clean, big. 3 BR, 2.5 bath, fully furnished, 4 tvs, full kitchen, laundry room. $725 after all taxes for 8 nights. We found our stroller from Orlando Strollers in the condo for the rest of our trip and hit the bed by midnight after a long day.
Sandy
DD9 (Alyssa)
DD5 (Jenna)
Day 1: Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011
Our trip started off a little rough but turned out great. Friday night before we were to leave, I was running a 100 temperature. Sandy gave me an IV bag of fluids and a friend called in a prescription of antibiotics. We put the girls to bed at 7:00 and then we went to bed at 9:30, excited for the next morning!
Our alarm went off about 4:00 a.m. and we loaded up the car with our luggage and left for the airport at 5:30. I still had a temp of 100 but felt OK. No problems getting checked in and onto the plane. On our layover in Houston, we were one of the last to deplane since we weren’t in any hurry since we had 2.5 hours to sit and wait. So the girls asked if they could meet the pilots and see the cockpit. It was so fun! The pilots let them sit in the pilot chairs and hold the wheel in their hands. We got lots of great pictures and was extra special for the kids! Arrived in Orlando around 2:00 and went straight to Dollar Rent A Car, where they lied several times trying to get us to buy extras and then got insulting and accusatory that we weren’t paying enough for the car. Whatever. That’s what they agreed to and why we chose them for our reservation!
We loaded the luggage into the car and drove straight to Epcot, arriving around 4:00. We were so excited as this was Sandy, Alyssa and my second trip but Jenna’s first. And it was all of our first time to ever go to Epcot. We were so impressed with the shear enormity of the “golf ball!” We rented a stroller and headed to……Ellen’s Energy Adventure. Yes, I know, not a popular ride and that is why we went there first. The crowds were a 9 at Epcot that night, so our plan of attack was to hit the least popular/crowded attractions this first night and of those, hit the ones that close at 7:00. The ride was OK but the film part was too long. We liked the dinosaur part though.
We then headed over to Innoventions West and did all of the activities there. The girls especially liked the Great Piggy Bank Adventure and Sandy and I thought riding the segways was kind of fun. The girls had fun making their own videos in Smarter Planet and we all enjoyed the Where’s the Fire? exhibit and game. We took our picture with the fire truck and emailed it to Kelby, our good friend who is a firefighter.
We then headed over to ride Seas with Nemo and checked out the exhibits. During Turtle Talk With Crush, Alyssa was asked a question by Crush so that was extra fun for all of us. I love the technology they use in that show – interacting with a cartoon and being called “human dude!” I was disappointed we missed the manatee exhibit as it was already closed.
When we came out, it was 8:00 and we had 20 minutes to book it over to Morocco to see Mo’Rockin’s last show. We wanted to see them since they weren’t going to be there the next day when we were there. We grabbed some food (I got the combo plate) from Tangeriene and enjoyed the show. At one point, all of the kids were dancing with the belly dancer and Jenna especially enjoyed that part. When the show ended, we still wanted to do Spaceship Earth so we hustled all the way back and got in line for our first ever ride on SE and got on at 8:57. While we were on the ride, we missed Illuminations but would have had bad seats for it anyway because of the crowds. The animatronic people looked quite real – so real Alyssa insisted that they were!
I spent the next 30 minutes asking CM after CM about the plans for the next morning. It was Princess Marathon and I needed to know how to get to the park for an 8:00 a.m. ADR. I got “I don’t know” answers from person after person until one person finally promised me that at least one lane would be open for access to the park. It ended up not being true.
In order to better afford Disney “extras,” we stayed off site at a condo at Emerald Isle. It was about 3 miles from Disney gates and quick and easy to find. We got to the condo about 11:00 and unloaded our luggage to discover the a/c was broken. We were frustrated and called the emergency number. They promised to look into it the next morning. Other than the broken a/c, it was a nice condo. Well decorated, clean, big. 3 BR, 2.5 bath, fully furnished, 4 tvs, full kitchen, laundry room. $725 after all taxes for 8 nights. We found our stroller from Orlando Strollers in the condo for the rest of our trip and hit the bed by midnight after a long day.