Suprise Mom's Day Weekend Trip for the Lloyds - May 7-10 - COMPLETE with more pics About This Page:

[Caldercup]

This is my first trip report, but not my first trip to Disney! Actually, this was my 6th trip to WDW (1st as child, 2nd for honeymoon in 1990, 3rd, 4th & 5th in 2002-2003 for first annual pass “year of Disney” and this trip.



Background:

My husband is “in the biz” and makes amusement park rides. He always has to go to a trade show in November (over my birthday), and usually in February (misses Valentine’s Day) and then had to go to a trade show for Mother’s Day weekend this year. He felt sooooo bad about this that he didn’t complain when I announced a desire to whisk our son to Florida for the weekend (knowing, of course, that we intend to join him in Orlando for his November show this year!!)



Our Party:

Me (Eileen), 37, complete Disneyphile

DS (Calder, also called CJ), 8, all-around-great-kid and Disney World addict.



Our Preparations:

We like to fly on AirTran because their website always beats Travelocity, Orbits, Expedia, etc. and shows you so many more possible flights for the time you want to travel if you can be flexible. When I first became obsessed with the idea of going for Mother’s Day (about two weeks before), the flights were as cheap as $79 one way. Since we each had free one-way vouchers for AirTran, we were hoping for an excellent rate. Unfortunately, our plans kept getting delayed due to a slow-moving interview process I’m going through. (I'm trying to get a new job to feed my Disney habit!!)



[EDIT: I did finally get that job, two days after we returned -- now we're thinking of going to Disney again in March '05)



Finally, on Wednesday night (the 5th), my wonderful father said he wanted me to go anyway and would lend me the money until a job came through. I know, my friends are always wanting him to adopt them.



So, with no time to spare, I grabbed flights (couldn’t use the vouchers, but will use them in Nov) for about $500 – zoiks!!. Called CRO and found there were no AP rates left for ASMovies (Calder’s preferred hotel), but there were some for Pop Century. CJ and I were game for it and we booked it. We also paid for AP vouchers to be picked up at a Will-Call window. I tried to make a few PSs, but, what with Mother’s Day and all, things were pretty tight. Nothing available all weekend for Chef Mickey’s, our favorite. Booked lunch on Friday, our arrival day, at the Garden Grille – a place we had always seen, but never tried. Contemplated ‘Ohanna, since Chip and Dale are there and they have a special place in Calder’s heart. Finally, decided to just wing it and see what happened once we got there. (Money was tight too and Character Meals are a bonus for us, not a must.)



Made on-line ressies with Tiffany’s Towncar and started printing out my packing lists and a funny little chart I make for each trip that includes the projected weather, park hours, PS numbers and other reservations for our stay.



Okay! The plans were set, arrangements were made. Time for the doubts to set in.



Could I really leave for WDW with only 36 hours of warning and planning time? Yikes!! Could I get my money back?!



I was so worried whether I could I handle all that walking and riding and kid wrangling all by my lonesome. When my DH, Bob, goes with us, he has amazing energy and goes on all the rides that Calder loves – the ones that turn my hair gray. Could I really do this??!! Primeval Whirl, Goofy’s Barnstormer…… the Teacups!!



Our Trip:

After a sleepless Wednesday night, I threw myself into packing and prepping and cleaning the house. Exhausted, I collapsed into bed at 11 o’clock Thursday, knowing we had to be awake at 5:30am Friday to make our flight. To my surprise, I conked out and woke up energized to go. Calder popped right up and jumped into clothes, we tossed our bags in the car, gassed up the Ford, and dashed for the airport. Despite a little hiccup on the 45 min drive to Philadelphia International, when Calder decided he was desperate for the restroom (8 yo bladders, doncha know), we made it to long-term parking in good time. We got to the gate just as they were boarding and went straight down the jetway to our seats. (Love that on-line check-in and at-home printing of boarding passes!)



We got to Orlando a tad early and, because we only brought carry-on luggage, I was excited to think we’d be in the parks soon. We hit a slight snag when our Tiffany’s driver was 5 minutes late. But he was chipper and apologetic and allowed us to make a grocery store stop, even though I had forgotten to request it when I made the reservation. We grabbed bananas, water, boxed milk and OJ, cereal, extra moleskin and a pair of scissors (since I couldn’t pack one in our carry-on). The only thing I forgot was PB&J Uncrustables – the major food group of my skinny little kid. Oh, well, I’d have to pay through the nose for these at the resort.



Off to the hotel.



We got to Pop Century around noon and there were plenty of CMs at the check-in desk and no one in line. They had a woman handing out folders with what I thought would be materials about the hotel, but ended up mostly being about DVC. I’m a little spoiled by how much ASMovies gives you at check in that I later use to make scrapbooks, but there was some stuff that was helpful amid the ads.



Anyway, our room was ready – in the 90s building, by the computer pool. I knew nothing about this resort ahead of time, so room 8260 seemed great. Then I saw how far it was from Classic Hall and the foodcourt. But we trundled on and settled in. Our section had great theming and was nostalgic for me – a big WalkMan, Roger Rabbit, CDs and PacMan. Our room ended up being right on a corner within an easy walk to the buses (although, I admit, I was a bad mom and we always took a shortcut through the parking lot to save shoe leather. I kept saying, “Calder, we shouldn’t be doing it this way. It’s not safe. Don’t tell your father.”)



We had our PSs at the Garden Grille for 1:20, so we headed to Epcot. Went to the Will Call window and picked up our Annual Passes. The CM even took the time to make sure Calder had Mickey on his pass. I got Goofy. I always get Goofy. I want to be Minnie!!! (Whine, whine, whine.)



We walked through Innoventions so CJ could visit with Aibo, his favorite robotic dog. (I’m clueless as to why this dog holds so much fascination for a boy who has two fantastic border collies who think he’s the cat’s meow.) On our way out, we saw the Nemo exhibit in the distance and took the walkway between The Living Seas and The Land to check it out.



We got to the Grille with time to spare, but they seemed to be behind schedule – there were tons of people waiting with “beepers” in their hands. But, sure enough, at exactly 1:20, Calder was startled by the “beeper” going off and we were seated. Oscar brought us drinks and promised to take great care of us. Calder started staring at the interior wall, painted with sunflowers. I looked over and realized that the wall seemed to be turning clockwise and thought, “cool, the kitchen must be moving.” Calder insisted that the restaurant was moving. “No, way” I said. “How can the whole restaurant be moving?!” When Oscar brought us our drinks, Calder asked and promptly did a little celebration dance when Oscar told silly ol’ Mom that the restaurant moves slowly counterclockwise and that we’d end our meal somewhere near Mickey’s farm. Score one for the little guy. The food was delicious. Calder gobbled up the chicken and mac & cheese and I loved the grilled veggies so much that Oscar brought me more, despite the fact that I couldn’t finish all the barbeque and mashed potatoes. Stuffed but happy, we sat in the restaurant to see the whole “experience.” Plus Calder was hoping for extra interaction with the characters. He loves Chip and Dale and even got a pic with both of them. Mickey saw us admiring his farmhouse, and came over to show us how we could see into the bedroom. Great experience for both of us!







So, too full to appreciate Mission:Space immediately, we strolled through the exhibit hall for the Flower & Garden Festival and through the other Innoventions (East, I guess). Calder loves all the displays and is very into learning about anything. We played some video games too and then decided we were feeling good enough to take some G’s.



Mission:Space was awesome – as always. Calder got to be the Commander (his dream job), my eyes crossed during lift-off, and we screamed and yelled and laughed the whole way to Mars and both chanted “Don’t move a muscle” along with Gary Senise. We went to the after-show area and played the big group game and some of the smaller games, sent e-mail pictures to Bob/Daddy and generally enjoyed the atmosphere.



By that time, it was getting quite warm outside and Calder wanted to go back to the pool. A quick stop into Spaceship Earth and a (finally!) successful viewing of the Hidden Mickey by the sleeping monk and headed back to the hotel for time in the pool



My best moment of the day happened when I sat in the pool with my back to the 90s building and watched a gorgeous Florida sunset settle on the horizon between the left and right wings of the two 80s buildings. Calder came over to me for the last minute and we did a 10…9…8…7 countdown that perfectly synced-up with the last piece of orange sun.



We took showers and gobbled the sandwiches we (wisely) purchased at Classic Hall on the way back from the buses earlier. We drank the soda we (unwisely) bought the Pop Century mug for and watched some TV. I tried to read, but my eyes were closing by 9 o’clock. Lights out.



Next: we finally get to see the “park opening” show at Magic Kingdom.