DISNEY 2008

In DISNEY WORLD(left to right)
Bengi
Jake
Mickey
Joshua
Jessica
Minnie
Jennifer
Tim		 Beebe Micky and Minnie 2008

Animal Kingdom

Tuesday, July 29, 2008
WOW!! Today was our first full day and our first in a park. We decided to go to animal kingdom. We didn’t get a real early start but it was surprisingly light crowds. We never had to stand in any line more that 15 minutes and that was only once.

We road the Disney Bus to the park and entered with no problems. We went in and were surrounded by beautiful plush greenery everywhere. When you finally get into the park area, you see the beautiful Tree of Life. It is this huge tree with lots of carved animals all around the trunk. We headed around the tree to go to the safari ride. Someone told us to go early because the animals would be out. You get in these large jeep type vehicles and drive through to see all the animals. It was really neat. Mostly normal zoo animals but they have gone to incredible lengths to make it look like Africa. We also road this last in the day around 6:00 p.m. and we actually saw more animals then. We were held up by an ostrich in the road and the giraffe and rhino were like 7 feet from the vehicle. It was truly amazing.

After the Safari ride we went and had pizza for lunch. We skipped breakfast and it was about 11:00. The kids were finding the characters to get autographs and pictures. We saw Lilo and Stitch, some monkey, Donald, Mickey, Goofy and Minnie. Josh is really getting in to the autograph thing. We have also all bought lanyards and are collecting the disney pins. You buy some and trade for some. Tim even got one before we left the park.

Our next stop was the Lion King Musical. It was beyond awesome. The dancers, singers and animitronics were amazing. Highly, Highly recommend this one. Next we ventured to the it’s a bugs life 3d movie in the tree of life. Literally in the tree of life’s trunk. I thought the kids would love it. Josh hated it. You are spit on by a bug. A big stink bug lets one rip and it actually smelled. Then the bugs pretended to get even with you for all the ways we try to kill them. You are sprayed with fog like a fogger and a bee stings you which is a part of your chair pokes you in the back. Tim and I loved this. The kids were not impressed.

Next we walked over to Dinoland. Not much interesting here. On our way to Asia we stopped at the Finding Nemo musical. It was almost as awesome as Lion King. Basically followed the movie in 30 minutes.

We only got to see the end of the parade. Then circled around and did the safari again. Kids weren’t interested in the Everest Roller Coaster thank goodness. I sure wasn’t to keen on getting on it.

This park was really neat. We all had a great time. Of course we are all exhausted!!!! We made it back to the RV and ate sandwiches. The kids and I went over to the pool. After the pool Jake, Jessi and I went down to the boat dock and happenend by chance to catch the boat parade. Neat lights set up on a series of boats, and the fireworks from Magic Kingdom. They truly are magical beyond measure.

I forgot to download the pictures off my camera before making the trek to the WIFI hotspot so I'll add pictures tomorrow.

Yes mom I know I should have gotten the card for my computer.

Magic Kingdom

Wednesday, July 30, 2008
I am sitting here on the beach to the lake watching the boats transport people to and from the Magic Kingdom. They have a kids play area and Jake, Josh, and Jenni are playing tether ball with some kids that they met. I can’t express enough how much we love camping for this reason alone. If we were in a hotel, we would go to our room, and not even see other people. The kids are constantly meeting new kids. The people in the site next to us are from Texas. I just love the interaction with other people.

Today was my dream come true. At least one of them. We went to the Magic Kingdom. We got there early enough to watch the opening program. The mayor comes out and dancers and singers welcome you to the Magic Kingdom. Then at just the right time the old steam engine train pulls up with Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, Goofy, Donald, Chip and Dale. It was so awesome. Then the whole bunch of people gathered there all try to enter main street at once. That was OK because we just took it slow. We have adopted a two by two approach. Each adult and Jessi holds a hand of one of the three littler ones. We haven’t lost anyone yet. We got into main street and there was Pluto and Chip and Dale. We got their autographs and pictures. I was a little disappointed there weren’t as many photographers today. Before we left Tim bought this deal where every time they take our picture in the park, they scan a credit card type deal. When we get home we order the disk and get all the pictures they took in the park on it. Every character has a photographer with them so we will have pictures of all of us with each character. The kids have already filled up one autograph book.

We headed down main street to the castle. This is every little girls dream. Even mine. It was so beautiful. We headed toward it and had our picture taken every few feet. Then we went into Tomorrowland. The futuristic section of the park. The first thing we hit was Stitches Adventure. You walk into this theatre thing as a new recruit. The stitch robot spits at you , burps in your face. Very wonderful. Josh loves stitch but started to cry. Of course later in the day Jessi, Tim and him went back again.

Next we walked down to the race car track. It is on a guided track. Josh was driving me and we bumped back and forth the whole way. He needs some driving lessons. Next we walked over to the Buzz Lightyear ride. You were in a car that spun at your direction all the way around. You had little lazer guns that you tried to hit targets inside the ride. It kept track of your score. It was painted bright neon colors. The winner was me with 306,000 points. The second ride Jake got 301,600 and Josh got 298,000. The rest of them barely got over 65,000.

The next ride was the timeless tea cups. I was just in pure joy here. You always associate those tea cups with Disney World.

Next we went to line up for the Cinderella’s Royal Table. We went inside the castle and met Cinderella. She signed the autograph books and took pictures with us all. Then up about 3 flights of stairs that went in a circle into the dining room overlooking the park. It was so awesome. They called us the Royal Family and the boys princes and princesses. Tim really outdid himself here. We ate and were visited by the other four princesses. Snow White, Aurora, Sleeping Beauty, Jasmine. They all signed the kids books and did photos with them. Then they had a make a wish ceremony. It was so cool and the food was excellent. It was the highlight of my trip so far! Then back out to the park. We road the Snow White ride, the Pooh ride, The flying Dumbo ride when it was starting to rain. Fortunately we were under the covered line when it poured. By the time we got to the front it was barely sprinkling. We toured Minnie’s house and Mickey’s house then rode the train that went completely around the park.

We decided to head back to the front and found a neat little Hot Dog baseball themed place to eat dinner. With our plan here at Disney we have a sit down meal, a counter service meal, and a snack each day. We really have been well fed. I think it is really worth the money. The princess dinner alone was over $240 which are plan included. I highly recommend it.

At the front of the park they had hula hoops and a girl with a bubble maker. The kids played out in the street for about 45 minutes. Then we loaded the boat that takes us back to the campground. It was a bit more crowded today than yesterday. We still didn’t have to wait in any line longer than about 25 minutes which was the Winnie the Pooh ride. Believe it or not we didn’t even get through half of the park. We decided to go back tomorrow and see the other half of the park.

We are bringing Tim, Josh and Jenni down to the dock tonight to see the boat parade and the fireworks.

My next post will be Friday night. I’ll catch you up on Thursday and Friday. Sorry but I don’t want to spend all my spending money on this crappy WIFI. Starting to miss everyone and home, but I’m having an incredible time.

Magic Kingdom Day 2

Friday, August 1, 2008
Today we decided to go back and see the other side of the Magic Kingdom. We didn’t get there at opening but we did go around 9:00 a.m. We headed right for Adventure Land where we road the Jungle Cruise nothing to exciting here. Basically a leisurely ride around a river with badly set up scenes of jungle stuff. The boat driver tried to make things light with bad jokes. It was OK. Then on to the pirates of the Caribbean ride. Same kind of thing only mostly indoors and scenes from the movie acted out by clay figures. Again OK nothing over exciting.

Then we walked on around to the Haunted Mansion. Cool ride. You go into a room and the ceiling rises so all the paintings stretch. Then you go into a room and get into a coffin like cart that takes you along the rest of the ride. Really nothing too scary. The coolest part was when you are almost done and you go in front of a mirrored wall and it looks like a ghost is in the cart with you. Jenni really freaked out. The other kids loved it.

Next we went to the Hall of President. There are pictures of Presidents in the outer room. Then you go into a theatre. Now of all the rides we have gone on, this would be the one that Tim practically runs to get a seat in the middle of the theatre. It was really funny to watch him hurry in. /Tim hurries no where. Let me add that even at the start of the show the theatre was less than ¼ full. Glad he ran to get a seat. They had a stage that had animitronic figures of all the presidents. Each one was introduced by name and the others would move their heads to look at the one being introduced. Don’t tell Tim I said so but it was really kind of cool.

Next we had lunch. Now let me tell you that the fool plan is awesome. We have eaten incredibly. Most sit down meals are all you can eat family style, and the counter service meals are huge too. As of today we have two extra counter service meals and 2 snacks left. After lunch we circled back around and walked through the Swiss Family Robinson’s tree house. Pretty cool!

Then we decided it was time to go back and rest. So we headed back to the RV and relaxed till about six.

We had dinner reservations at a Liberty Tree Tavern. Really good food. This was a character dinner and Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Chip and Dale, all came by the table. Goofy and Dale (or Chip not sure the difference) started goofing around and I have never heard my kids laugh so loud. Goofy pretended to fall down a short thing of stairs. Dale ran to his rescue. Just really funny.

After dinner we walked out of the restaurant and the night parade was coming. We had a great view at the top of the stairs outside the restaurant. It was magical. The floats were so elaborate. The costumes awesome. This is really something to see.

After the parade we made our way back to the castle gardens to get ready for the fireworks show. We watched it from the castle tonight. Very beautiful and magical. It was a wonderful day. This place is truly magical!

Epcot

Friday, August 1, 2008
Today we got up and headed out for Epcot. Tim and I were really excited. We thought this would be the park we liked best. We arrived shortly after opening.

We headed straight for the SOARIN ride. This is a ride where you are placed in a hand glider type contraption that lifts you off the floor with a huge screen in front of you. The very first scene Jennifer started screaming her head off. I kept yelling close your eyes, close your eyes. When she did, she was fine. Tim had to close his for most of it too. It was totally awesome. The seats would tilt and you felt like you were really gliding over the earth. The golden gate bridge, the Grand Canyon, over the ocean, over big cities. It was so cooooool!!!!!!

Next we headed for the GM Test Track. Of course the wait for it was already over and hour so we did the fast pass (where you get a slip of paper that tells you to come back between a certain time later in the day). Even with the fast pass we still had to wait about 20 minutes.

While we waited for the Fast Track time to come, we went to an energy show hosted by Ellen Degenerous. I thought this is going to be stupid but it was awesome too. You were in a huge theatre with wrap around screnes, then the seats in the audience came apart and you wandered through prehistoric times. Then wrapped around back to a theatre. They reassembled and you watched the end. It was really cool too.

Then it was back to the Fast Track. You actually get in little cars. You go over bumpy roads , the car slams of the brakes, then you go outside of the building and probably reach speeds of about 60 miles per hour. The kids loved this one too.

Next we went to the Honey I shrunk the Kids 3D show. It was really a let down. You hear so much about it but no big deal.

Next we had lunch at the Garden Grill. It was a revolving indoor restaurant with neat scenes all around. Several of the characters were here also. Jenni is really getting used to eating with the characters. I suppose I’ll have to dress up as Minnie when I get home to get her to eat. Food was exceptional again today.

After lunch we headed around the world tour deal. We really thought this would be neat but I wasn’t impressed. Mainly just shops with junk in each country. I expected like music and street actors etc.. Tim said it may have been because it was sprinkling but it wasn’t that bad.

The best thing to me here was the Coca cola testing area. You went in and they had coke products from different countries that you could just try for free. Only sample size fountain drinks. This was really interesting. We all liked the super sweet cola from costa rica. We headed home and Tim and I took a nap. We have been going non stop from about 7:30 a.m. to usually 12:00 midnight It was some much needed rest.

The kids have really gotten in to the pin trading. Jenni goes up to every cast member (worker) and trades one pin or another. She never comes home with the same ones she left with. Josh is collecting all Stitch. This is really a fun pass time while you are here. Another awesome thing here at the campground is all the really cool golf carts. We saw one painted like Tigger, one like Lightning McQueen, and various other. People bring theirs from home. Or you can rent one here. Ours is a rental from here number 804. We saw a family today riding ice chests. Yes I said ice chests. They had made a seperate compartment for a battery and it ran just like one of those little motorized scooters. You just sit on top of your cooler and away you go.

We decided to go to Magic Kingdom for dinner. We used 5 counter service meals because Jenni wasn’t hungry. So now to date we have 8 snacks and 3 counter service meals extra. I’m telling you the food plan is awesome!

After dinner we were heading back to the front gate and Jenni wanted to ride the Alladin Flying Carpets. This is just a circular ride where the carpets go up and down. I forgot that one of the camels on the side spits water. We got spit on by the camel. We were all laughing so hard. Then we headed back to the RV and I brought Jake, Josh and Jenni to the pool. The pool here is open 24 hours and I bet there are 100 people out here and its almost 11:30 at night. Amazing!

Tomorrow we are headed to Disney Studios. Josh has several rides he wants to go on here. More tomorrow.

Disney's Hollywood Studios

Saturday, August 2, 2008
Well today we were a little slow getting around again. We headed out for Disney Studios around 9:30.

We headed right for the Toy Story Mania ride. The FASTPASS times were already after 4:00 in the afternoon. The wait time was already 50 minutes so we got a fastpass and started walking around the rest of the park. The kids were able to get Woody and Buzz Lightyear’s autographs. Then we walked around the corner and Lightning McQueen and Mater from the movie CARS. You only got to have your picture taken with them. That was really cool.

We watched a stage and movie of the Little Mermaid. It wasn’t quite as good as the others at animal kingdom but was pretty good. We went and had lunch at the Toy Story Pizza Arcade. It was good. Then we decided to head back to the RV for a little rest and take some time to clean up. We have been going so much that the kids haven’t even put their beds up. We aren’t in the RV till well after 10:00 and we usually go right to bed.

We headed back over to Disney Studios around 3:30. Our Fastpass times were 4:20 and 4:25. This really was a cool ride. You rode in little cars that spun around. You had 3D glasses on and a lazer gun. It was like arcade games. You shot at things for points. It kept track of your points and at the end of the game they were on a big screen. This was really a cool ride. The little kids liked it so much they wanted to go again. The walk up time wait was only 60 minutes so Tim took the little ones and waited in line. Jessi and I just wandered around the park. We walked down to the Rockin Roller Coaster. I couldn’t get her to get on even for $100. Josh and Jake said they would both ride it with me but by the time we got back the wait was over an hour and we didn’t have time before dinner. Maybe tomorrow.

We had reservations at the 50’s Prime Time Café. I was really looking forward to this. It is set in the 50’s and your waiter is supposed to act like your mom. Apparently, I’m not mean enough to qualify as a mom like these. Of course they did the usual yelling about elbows on the table. When the guy at the table next to us didn’t eat all of his green beans, she forked them up and made him eat them. It was funny but my gosh. We were thirsty from walking around. I drank all of my tea and she came back and told me to slow down. I was a little offended. The food was good. But overall, I was a little disappointed.

We headed back to the RV after dinner. I promised the kids I’d take them swimming after I get this done so we’ll probably be at the pool till after midnight.

So now we have been to all of the parks. I don’t know if it is that we are exhausted that the last two (Epcot and Disney Studios) haven’t impressed me much. If I were to do this all over, I would definitely do all of the other three first and save Magic Kingdom for last. It really is my favorite. Next would be Animal Kingdom (I thought I would like this one the least), Disney Studios, then Epcot. Although Tim and the three older kids are planning on going back tomorrow morning to do Soarin and Test Track again. Jenni and I are on Laundry duty in the morning. We are all running out of things to wear.

Sorry there are so few pictures. It takes over 5 minutes to upload one picture. I haven't downloaded todays pictures so I'll post them on Monday as well.

Next Post will be on Monday Night.

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