Joshua's First Trip COMPLETE * Conclusion added 1-16-06 *
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TroianRae · 11-16-2005, 05:14 PM

Yeah, next up, July 8th - I make a brief appearance again. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img] [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

**Colexis Mom** · 11-16-2005, 06:18 PM

Another great update Christie [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/zwavin.gif[/img] How great you got to walk on everything at MK [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/woot.gif[/img]

More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

iamgrumpy · 11-16-2005, 10:37 PM

Great update! I can't wait to read more!

Amy

PrincessSharon · 11-17-2005, 10:16 AM

Great update! It sounds like you had a great night at MK! Can't wait for more!

christiejay · 12-09-2005, 06:02 PM

Cast:

Me, Christie, 34, stay-at-home mom and the trip organizer.
My husband, Jay, 35, production line worker at Nissan, the funding source of the trip!
Our son, Joshua, 3
Jay's sister, Melanie, 34, casino money counter and sometime cashier

Experience:
Very experienced (me)
Pretty experienced (Jay)
Might-as-well-be newbie, only 1 trip in 1991 (Melanie)
First trip (Joshua)

Dates: July 1-9, 2005

Lodging:
EconoLodge North, Lake City, Florida (1 night)
Pop Century Resort (7 nights)

Transportation: Titan crewcab truck, 12 hours from Clinton, Mississippi

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 8 - Friday, July 8

Part One - Showtime at Animal Kingdom

This morning we had our last wake-up call from Stitch and Mickey. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] After a few minutes, we were up and dressed, and ate breakfast in the room as we had done throughout the trip. Originally we had planned to start our day at Epcot, but since we still had shows to see at Animal Kingdom and it's easier to get into the shows in the morning, we decided to start there instead. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] So we walked through the parking lot and over to the bus stop. After a short wait we were on our way. We weren't in a big hurry this morning since we had already been at Animal Kingdom for opening, so we took our time walking up to the gates.

Once inside, we walked through the Oasis, looking at some of the animals, and made our way toward Camp Minnie-Mickey for the first showing of the Festival of the Lion King. As we turned that way from Discovery Island, though, we saw Lilo and Stitch out greeting guests. So we stopped to say hello and get an autograph and picture. Joshua had to take their picture first with his camera. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] I wasn't sure Stitch would be able to sign autographs, but he did. Melanie also got their autograph, and after she had her picture made with them, we made our way toward the Lion King theater. Arriving in Camp Minnie-Mickey we saw that we were still a little early, so we sat down on a bench to rest for a few minutes.

They opened the theater after only a short wait, so we walked inside and picked out a seat. This was my first trip since the theater had been enclosed, and it really made a big difference in the comfort level. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] We sat in the far right-hand section, I can't remember now which animal that is. We had just a little bit of a wait, and then the show started. We all enjoyed this show a lot. My favorite aspect of the show is the color on all the costumes, it makes it seem so festive. Joshua liked watching it because of all the action.

After the show finished we made our way clear across the park, to be among the first people to see the Tarzan show. I love the music from this movie, and I really wanted to see the show one more time before it ended its run. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] We were able to get what I consider to be the best seats in the theater - the first row of the top section. By sitting here, the performers come right in front of you. Whereas, if you sit in the lower section, a lot of the action is going on behind you. We were kind of early and had to wait, so we had a snack before the show started. I think this was probably Joshua's favorite show, he still talks about the people on skates that went right in front of us. I'm so sorry this show won't be there the next time I go.

So now we had seen two shows and we needed to finish up at Animal Kingdom. Because of timing issues, we had decided not to see the Pocahontas show this time, or the bird show either. I was sad about that, I really hate to miss things at Disney World, but we just couldn't fit it in this time. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] So the only thing left for us to do was visit Conservation Station. We made our way over to Africa, this time using the path on Discovery Island, instead of the long way around through Asia on the new path. When we were almost to Africa, I noticed a large crowd in front of us. I was scared it was a tour group that we would need to avoid, but it turned out to be DeVine. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] This was my first time to see her, so I tried to hurry and get my camera ready to take a picture. Unfortunately, I was a little too slow, as she was on her way out of the park and I just missed getting a picture. It was neat to finally see her, though.

Animals, Characters and Food

We made our way to the train station and headed out to Conservation Station. Joshua liked how we got to sit sideways on this train. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img] Melanie enjoyed seeing the animal barns along the way. When the train stopped we started our long walk through the exhibit area. Some of the things looked interesting, but it was so hot we just kept walking, as we knew there was air conditioning ahead! Finally we arrived and went inside. We looked at some of the animals inside, then went out back to the Affection Section. Joshua grabbed a brush from the basket and brushed some of the goats and sheep. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] After a few minutes we went back inside to look for Melanie.

We spent a few minutes looking at the exhibits, then got in line to meet the characters. We saw Stanley, Rafiki and Pocahontas. This was a great place to see them, as there was hardly no line. After our picture-taking and autograph-gathering we went to one of the Sounds of the Rainforest booths. Joshua didn't like the noise, so he took his headphones off and just sat on the bench with us. The rest of us enjoyed the "show" if you can call it that. Mainly it is just a nice way to relax for a few minutes. Then we walked back to the train and rode back to Africa.

It was after 11:00 now, and we were getting hungry, so we decided to eat lunch at Tusker House. This is one of my favorite places to eat, even though I don't eat any of the actual African food. I just think the food tastes great, and is different from what the other fast-food places in the parks offer. I had a chicken sandwich plate and Jay had the rotisserie chicken plate. We ordered Joshua his own chicken plate, although I can't remember him eating much of it. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] Jay and I drank Coke, and Joshua had milk. After a filling meal, we all walked back to the front of the park and took the bus back to the hotel - no splitting up today!

Our Afternoon at Pop

We went back to our room and got ready for Joshua's nap. Melanie decided to lay down also, and Jay watched TV for a while. I gathered up some of our things, so we wouldn't have so much to pack up in the morning. I had told Jana I would be in the food court between 2:00 and 2:30 so we could meet up again. Originally Annabel was to join us as well, but that was not to be since she didn't make it on her solo trip. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] So I headed down to the food court to look for Jana. I didn't see her when I arrived, so I ordered a slice of tie-dyed cheesecake and sat down to wait for her. I sat in the small area behind the gift shop; afterwards I realized it was in front of the bar, which is closed during the day, so it wasn't very crowded. I figured this would be a good spot to watch for Jana, as I figured she would be coming in through the gift shop. Sure enough, after a little while she and Benji came in and joined me for a quick visit. I can't remember now what we talked about, other than Annabel. Jana mentioned that Andy had started a job with the trains in London, so she was concerned about him. But neither one of us had wanted to pay for internet access while at Pop Century, so we knew we would have to wait until we got back home to check on them. [As it turned out, they were fine. They were at the airport when the bombs exploded, and since they didn't know what was going on, Annabel had decided to stay at home and wait for her fall trip.]

Jana, Benji and I talked for a little longer, then I had to go back to the room and make sure Joshua was awake so we could head over to Epcot. So we said our goodbyes, and Jana and Benji left to get ready to go to Wal-Mart to restock some of the food and supplies in their room. When I got back to the room, Joshua was just waking up. I stuck my head in Melanie's room to let her know we would be leaving soon, and to make sure that she would be ready to go. After a few minutes we headed out the door and went to wait for an Epcot bus.

Next up: We Finish up at Epcot and Split up One Last Time

disneymom9092 · 12-09-2005, 06:46 PM

Great update. More please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

iamgrumpy · 12-09-2005, 08:57 PM

Great update!

TroianRae · 12-10-2005, 12:00 AM

Woo hoo!! I made my final appearance in your TR!!
You know, I have NO idea what we discussed either, except for what you mentioned, worrying about Annabel and Andy.
I know it was delightful to just be able to sit down for a few minutes and be able to chat with you in person.

lauren-roxy · 12-10-2005, 09:29 AM

Another great update Christie!! I'm so sorry your trip is ending, I am really enjoying reading all about it!!

PrincessSharon · 12-12-2005, 10:51 AM

Great update! I'm sorry your TR is coming to an end.

christiejay · 12-12-2005, 05:45 PM

Cast:

Me, Christie, 34, stay-at-home mom and the trip organizer.
My husband, Jay, 35, production line worker at Nissan, the funding source of the trip!
Our son, Joshua, 3
Jay's sister, Melanie, 34, casino money counter and sometime cashier

Experience:
Very experienced (me)
Pretty experienced (Jay)
Might-as-well-be newbie, only 1 trip in 1991 (Melanie)
First trip (Joshua)

Dates: July 1-9, 2005

Lodging:
EconoLodge North, Lake City, Florida (1 night)
Pop Century Resort (7 nights)

Transportation: Titan crewcab truck, 12 hours from Clinton, Mississippi

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 8 - Friday, July 8

Part Two - One Last Time at Epcot

Arriving at Epcot, we headed for Spaceship Earth. Can you believe it is the last day of our trip, and we still haven't ridden this yet? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] Joshua sat with Jay, and Melanie and I rode right behind them. This is one of Jay's favorite rides, and we all enjoyed it. I knew the exhibits at the end of the ride were closed, but it was still really strange to see how empty that area was. We went outside and found Joshua's stroller, then headed around to The Living Seas.

Entering The Living Seas, we decided to watch the film first, so we waited with a few other people on that side of the room. After a few minutes the doors opened and we went inside. And it rained, and rained, and rained, and rained on that planet. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img] They really need a new film here! I wonder if everything will change after the current rehab. Of course the seacabs were non-operational, so we went straight from the hydrolators to SeaBase Alpha. Melanie really liked this area, and I also enjoyed looking in all the aquariums. There were lots of people snorkeling in the tanks, and they were all nice about waving at all of us on the inside. Or is it on the outside? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img]

During this time Jay and Joshua had kind of wandered off. I found them after a little while, at the kidcot table, coloring a shark and dolphin. We had not stopped at any of these tables previously, so this was his first one. We all got back together again and headed for the hydrolators. Back outside and on "the surface" we decided to skip the Circle of Life film at The Land, but did go in to ride Living with the Land, since we didn't have time for that earlier. There was about a 30-minute wait, but we all wanted to ride, so we got in line. Joshua liked being on a boat, and I think Melanie found it all interesting, especially the greenhouse area. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img]

Leaving The Land, we headed over to Journey into Imagination next door. I had wondered whether some of the special effects might be a little too much for Joshua, but I was willing to let him ride anyway. As it turned out, he handled it all pretty well. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img] We spent a little while in Image Works afterwards and Joshua threw his only tantrum of the trip when we said it was time to leave. He was having a great time with all the hands-on activities! Before leaving, I picked up a Figment head antenna topper as a souvenir for my sister, who loves him so much.

Even before we arrived at Epcot, we pretty much knew that we wouldn't have time for Ellen's Energy Adventure, and it was getting so late now we knew we would have to pass it up. So we headed back into World Showcase, and walked around to Morocco. We walked through the pavilion and spent a couple of minutes in the art exhibit gallery, then went on to Japan. When we arrived, the taiko drummers were performing so we stopped to listen. Then we walked through their gift shop, which is one of my favorites, and on to their art gallery. Joshua enjoyed this one, since they were having an exhibit of tin toys, some of which were Disney characters.

Finally, it was time to eat supper. We were all starving, as it was now 7:30, and we hadn't had much of a snack back at the hotel. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] Because we were eating on a strict budget this trip, that meant that our only option was Liberty Inn. But as we were passing the front of the American Adventure, we saw that a show was about to start, so rather than have to wait for it later, we saw the show first. I was surprised to see that they were using half of the exit as the entrance to the theater. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] This disappointed me as well, as I always enjoy coming in through the Hall of Flags. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] Oh well, the show was still great. I had wondered if the film at the end had been updated to include anything about September 11, such as the firefighters and police officers. It had not, though.

Once the show was over we headed straight to Liberty Inn to eat. Jay had a hamburger, I had a hot dog, and Joshua had chicken nuggets. We all drank Coke this time. The food was okay, I just didn't care for the hog dog that much. I really only ordered it just to have something different, but the taste wasn't that great. While eating, we discussed our plans for the rest of the evening. The only thing left to do at Epcot was to walk through Italy and Germany. We had planned to head back to Magic Kingdom to finish up some things there, but there really was only a couple of things we hadn't done there. So Jay decided that he would take Joshua back to the room while I took Melanie to Magic Kingdom, as it was extra magic hours that night and since Melanie had a good rest today, she said she could handle it. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Having decided on our plan of action, Melanie and I stopped at the restroom, then walked past Italy and Germany. We didn't even go in any of the shops, as neither of us had any spending money left. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] But I did point out a few things about the pavilions as we walked past. Going through Future World, we again checked the wait time for Soarin' but it was too long as usual. So we just headed over to the monorail station and rode to Magic Kingdom.

Next up: An "Extra" Magical Night

lauren-roxy · 12-12-2005, 07:17 PM

Another great update Christie!! I am so sorry to see your trip ending, I am really enjoying your trip report!!

disneymom9092 · 12-12-2005, 07:44 PM

Great uypdate-more please [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

PrincessSharon · 12-13-2005, 11:22 AM

Great update, Christie! Can't wait to hear about EMH at the MK!

christiejay · 12-19-2005, 06:46 PM

Cast:

Me, Christie, 34, stay-at-home mom and the trip organizer.
My husband, Jay, 35, production line worker at Nissan, the funding source of the trip!
Our son, Joshua, 3
Jay's sister, Melanie, 34, casino money counter and sometime cashier

Experience:
Very experienced (me)
Pretty experienced (Jay)
Might-as-well-be newbie, only 1 trip in 1991 (Melanie)
First trip (Joshua)

Dates: July 1-9, 2005

Lodging:
EconoLodge North, Lake City, Florida (1 night)
Pop Century Resort (7 nights)

Transportation: Titan crewcab truck, 12 hours from Clinton, Mississippi

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day 8 - Friday, July 8

Part Three - Melanie Wears Me Out For a Change!

By the time we arrived at Magic Kingdom and got through the security check, the early parade had just finished, so we had to fight a little bit of a crowd to get onto Main Street. We found the line for extra magic hour wristbands, showed our ID's and went on through. We ended up heading over to the right-hand side of the street and walking through the shops, as they weren't too crowded. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] At the end of the street, we cut through the Plaza Pavilion area to make our way into Tomorrowland. The first thing we did was go on Space Mountain. There was only about a 20-minute wait which wasn't bad at all. They were holding people at the entrance to the building, then would let in a large group all at once. So by the time we entered the building, we walked almost all the way through before having to stop and wait. We visited with the mother and daughter in front of us while waiting. I think they were from Boston, and they were staying at one of the All-Star resorts. The ride was fun, although Melanie screamed the whole time! She didn't have her lap bar pulled all the way down, and she kept thinking she was going to fall out. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Once the ride was over, we got right back in line, as the wait time was about the same. The family from before joined us for another go. This time, Melanie made sure that she pulled the lap bar as far down into her belly as it would go, and she had a much better time. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502yes_prv.gif[/img] We were going to ride once more, but when we came out they had bumped up the wait time to about 90 minutes. We didn't think that was true, we thought they were just trying to discourage people from standing in line since closing time was approaching, but we decided to try Stitch instead. We waited quite some time in the back section of the line, but probably no more than 30 minutes overall. Neither one of us cared for Stitch very much. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] I just remember sitting there cringing the whole time, hoping that I didn't get sprayed with water. This was so much better as Alien Encounter!

After Stitch, we decided to check the line for Space Mountain once more, but it was still too long. Instead, we took a bathroom break and headed over toward Frontierland. The park had officially closed by this time, so most of the crowds from the late parade were already off Main Street. We went through Liberty Square and seeing that the Christmas store was open, decided to go inside. Melanie was looking for an ornament, and found one she liked, but didn't want to carry it on the rides all night. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] However, the cast member said that they would be open throughout extra magic hours, so we decided to come back and get it later.

Since we were already in Liberty Square, we decided to go ride Haunted Mansion, since it had been closed the other day when Melanie tried to ride it with Jay. She was really wanting to ride it, so we walked over and got in line. Well, actually, there was no line so we walked right into the stretch room, since they had just opened the doors as we approached. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img] After screaming in the stretch room we headed for our doom buggy. Melanie enjoyed the ride, she couldn't really remember any of it from her last trip, or either she didn't ride it that trip or something. We were going to ride again, but when we circled back around they had closed it down. The cast member was saying that the bell wasn't working, which is what Jay and Melanie had been told when they tried to ride it previously. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] Then I remembered in the room with Madame Leota, she says something about summoning the spirits with a bell. So I wonder if by saying that the bell wasn't working, was that their special way of saying that something was not working properly? Regardless, we didn't want to wait, so we walked around to Frontierland.

Arriving in Frontierland, we decided to ride Splash Mountain first, since we hadn't done that yet on our trip. We had a great first trip, with only about a 10-minute wait, so we got right back in line. Again, we had a very short wait and another great ride. But now it was time for something different, so we walked next door to Big Thunder Mountain. The wait was only about 10 or 15 minutes over here, and we ended up riding three times in a row! [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/jawdrop.gif[/img] I wish that you didn't have to walk so far to get back in line, because my foot was killing me. I had developed a very small blister yesterday, and tried to compensate by walking with most of my weight on the other side of my foot. But after so much walking today, I was about worn out.

But I couldn't leave without one more ride on Splash Mountain, so we stopped there first. This time, unlike our first two rides, there was somebody in the back row of our boat, and I guess having the extra weight in the boat caused a bigger splash, because we got pretty wet this time. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/shocked.gif[/img] So after getting wet, we didn't want to ride anymore, and walked back to the Christmas store for Melanie to get her ornament. After that was done, we crossed the bridge to walk down Main Street. As we came off the bridge we saw a line of people and wondered what it was for. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] It turned out that Mickey and Minnie were in front of the castle for pictures and autographs! I didn't know that there were characters out during extra magic hours. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/082502no_prv.gif[/img] We didn't stop, though, but kept going down Main Street, one last time.

It was so sad to be leaving. It was even sadder how far we had to walk to get to our bus stop. And once again, our bus stop was jam-packed with people. What is it about Pop Century, that they can't send buses more often when they are so desperately needed? [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/mad.gif[/img] Neither one of us wanted to stand in line, so we sat on a bench and waited until it appeared that there was only enough people left in line to fill one bus, then got in line. Extra magic hours were over by now, so most of the crowds had already come out of the park. After waiting a while, the bus finally came, but we refused to stand up on the bus, and instead waited for the next one so we could be able to sit down. It was so late, and we were so tired, but we had had a great time. I just wish I had been able to rest that afternoon, like everybody else did - I had to keep reminding Melanie that I didn't get a nap!

Arriving back at the hotel we stumbled to our room, probably appearing to be drunk, but only completely tired out. Back in the room, Jay told me that he and Joshua had made their way out of Epcot slowly so that they could enjoy the lights on Spaceship Earth one last time. When they got back to the room, my dad had called to say that because of Hurricane Dennis fast approaching the Mobile area, we might encounter some problems on our way home tomorrow. In order to evacuate the coast, I-59 was express-only out of Mobile, so if we went that way as usual, we wouldn't be able to take our exit just north of Mobile to get on Highway 98 back to Hattiesburg and Highway 49. [img]/ubb/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] So we went to sleep knowing that our drive back would definitely be an adventure, since we would have to find a new way home. I had already gathered a lot of our things together before meeting Jana this afternoon, so all I had to do tonight was to lay out our last mousekeeping tip envelope.

Next up: Day 9 - Finding a New Way Home