Spontaneous Mother-Daughter trip to WDW!
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Winnie-the-Pooh · 06-11-2004, 10:55 PM

I did something I NEVER EVER do - plan a quick vacation in less than 4 days! And to the World! Our family first went in January 2000....and while we loved it, did not have immediate plans to return. (We've done 2 Disney Cruises since then though) This year, we had been planning for months to go to Cancun on June 6. It was all arranged. I had been on other trip planning boards, made arrangements....and then it all fell apart with my DH's job. He had some unavoidable work emergency's come up, and our trip to Mexico had to be cancelled. But, wonderful man that he is, told me and the girls - go ahead, find a place to go for a few days. Somewhere safe, but where you can have a great time. I don't want to have to worry about you while you're gone. We'll go as a family on vacation later...... and the destination that came to mind immediatly - was WDW! We loved it there. We had a great time. My girls, now 10 and 12 are perfect ages for it. (of course any time is a perfect age!) My only concern - could I pull it together so quickly? It's not in my nature. It's fun to plan ahead. I hadn't been on the Disney boards - my passporter was from 2000. I was teaching middle school everyday through June 4 - we wanted to leave on the 6th.... I am here to tell you that it can be done and it was a most magical trip! After getting a sub for 1/2 a day so I could go get a new Passporter and so I could make the phone calls I needed to make - I started getting excited. My initial call was to the airlines - changing tickets from Cancun to Orlando. Yes, they had availability on miles (unheard of - you usually book those 1 yr in advance). We would have to return after 4 nights - so we'd only have 3 full days at WDW - but after talking with my family, decided that since DH couldn't go, 3 days would be fine. (never enough time, but any time better than none!) My 2nd call was to WDW ress. system - they gave me 3 options for resort availability - Port Orleans (Riverside) Contemporary and Wilderness Lodge. I had to hang up and go online and look at all 3. They all had good points, but we chose WL - that's where we stayed in 2000, and we had loved it. Ordered my Park Hopper tickets and then stayed up till midnight looking at restaurants, so I could call ahead for p.s. #.... It is still so heard to believe that it all could go so well.

ilovelilo · 06-11-2004, 10:57 PM

I'm glad everything went so well (and

to the boards!)!

Winnie-the-Pooh · 06-11-2004, 11:38 PM

So, on Sunday we flew out of Austin, Tx bound for Orlando via Chicago (gotta love the airlines!) That's ok...just wanted to get there. Landed at 7pm, and waited an hour for our luggage...grr. Our driver drove up in front of the Wilderness Lodge at about 8:45 and the girls were so excited! We checked in and found out that Disney had upgraded us to a courtyard view! We looked out onto the pool area - Rm 4039. Perfect! A great way to start! We hurried downstairs and got to the beach as the electric light parade was starting. After the parade, we wandered around, looked at the gift shop/arcade/pin station and decided to go to bed early so we could get a good start the next day. Our first day we ate breakfast at Roaring Forks, and then caught the first ferry over to the Magic Kingdom. We were there in time to see the Mayor open the city and in we went! First ride - Space Mountain! We followed advice and did our favorite rides first, as people were still coming in and getting their bearings. We got to ride at least 3 times before the lines started stacking up. Got a FP for Space and went off to find other adventures. I had forgotten so many details of the MK - it was so great to see what was new since we had been there. Aladdin's Carpet Ride was open, Mickey's Philharmagic too. Alien Encounters had closed. I treated the girls to some snacks and we continued to find short waits at most of our favorite attractions. We decided we wanted to do the E-Ride night that night, so around 2 we went back to the Lodge. The girls swam, and I had a nice refreshing adult beverage by the pool. We all took a nap and then headed back over around 7pm to MK to eat dinner. By that time, it was clear it was going to rain. We had dinner at the Plaza Restarant and it was excellent. (so glad I had called ahead for priority seating...waits were over an hour!)While eating, it started raining. A LOT! After dinner, we rushed next door and got some mickey poncho's.... a little rain wasn't going to do us in! We found the rain had the nice benefit of clearing out lots of people from the park.(Yea for us!) We rode some favorites that we thought we'd have to forgo as lines were so LONG! We rode the carosel, saw Mickey's Philharmonic, and the teacups. Still raining at 9...the parade was cancelled. Outdoor attactions were temp. closed (Big Thunder Mountain/Splash Mountain/Indy 500...). We asked about the fireworks. Would the show go on? The rain did let up (some) and the fireworks did happen. Yea! The girls really got a kick out of the new show. My DD (10) didn't really remember the fireworks from when we were there last. (sad) After the show we rode Space Mountain a few more times and then had to make a decision about e-ride night. Ultimately, we headed back to the Lodge, as we were afraid some of the rides wouldn't reopen (and the girls were running out of steam!). If we had more days at WDW, we would have tried to do e-ride night at least 1x. I really think for families with older kids, it is worth it. All the really good rides are open and there are no lines. What a deal for $10! I did find out the next day that by 12:30 or so, all the attractions were re-opened...oh well... By the time we got "home" it was after midnight and so we decided to sleep in (some) the next morning.

buckysmom · 06-12-2004, 09:07 AM

First welcome!
Second, what an awesome spontaneous trip, thank you so much for sharing and looking forward to your next installment,

**DrDolphin** · 06-12-2004, 09:15 AM

What a great start for a suprise trip! I can't wait to read more.

Winnie-the-Pooh · 06-12-2004, 11:45 AM

Continuing our story....Tues we slept in. When I woke up - it was almost 9! There went our plans to be at MGM "early".... The girls and I had breakfast in the room, having thought ahead by bringing scrumpcious pastries from the main street bakery back to the room the night before. Another sunny/hot day was starting and we headed out to MGM. By the time we got there it was 10:30 (?) - not too much time before our lunch res. at the 50's Prime Time Cafe. So we went and experienced the Great Movie Ride and got FP to Indiana Jones. Looked around at the New York City street and then off to lunch. What a great Cafe! Last time we had eaten at the Sci-Fi Drive in Movie Cafe (also great) but this time we wanted to see how "mom" treated us. We had a wonderful "big brother" who was constantly letting us know his opinion on the girls eating style. Very Fun.Following lunch, we rushed over and got FP for Millionare before going back over to Indiana Jones. The only drawback of FP is that I feel like we constantly walk back and forth, trying to line up the next ride/attraction. But it is worth it as in the summer the lines and the heat really can drag your family's energy level down. Indiana Jones was great, and after it was over we did get to play Millionare. No - none of us made it into the hot seat... We also met Lilo and Stitch, and enjoyed a refreshing icee before leaving MGM for our hotel. Yes, we left before we had done even 1/2 of the park....but we really wanted dinner at Epcot and this was only a 3 day trip.... So back to the hotel, and the rain started in. WOW. I mean it poured. This break in the middle of the day though was really working out for the girls and I - getting cleaned up and readyto go out again in the evening feels wonderful. At 6 it was still raining but we decided enough time had gone by that we needed to go, rain or not. We arrived at Epcot and the weather started to clear. We walked over to Test Track and saw a long....long line. Asking a CM about it, he said it had not yet reopened following the rain but all the people in line were hoping it would be shortly. Hmmmm. No - we move on. Too little time. We did walk right into the "Honey I Shrank the Audience" show and enjoyed that. By that time the girls were starved. Onto the various worlds, to see what we could find. Again, the girls were disappointed that most of the street performers had finished for the evening. My DD (12) had hoped that the chinese acrobats would be out, as she had remembered them from our last trip. But they got a kick out of moving from country to country. We ate fish and chips in England and moved onto Germany where I sampled an excellent riesling and we found spots to watch Illuminations. TIP - bring some glow sticks from home and let the kids enjoy them - you'll save a LOT! Illuminations was great. Very different theme/show from the MK fireworks. After it was over, we meandered out with the crowds. I ducked in the large shop over in Epcot and did a little late night buying. Love all the new scrapbook supplies that Disney offers on site now. Again, got home late. But we've decided that for our last day, we must be up early. Yawn.

luvnwdwgal · 06-12-2004, 04:10 PM

For such short notice, you did great!!! Looking forward to the next installment!

**DrDolphin** · 06-12-2004, 04:13 PM

another great installment!

Annabel · 06-12-2004, 07:45 PM

Sounds like you all had a wonderful time, thanks for sharing.

Annabel

Winnie-the-Pooh · 06-12-2004, 08:55 PM

Our last day in Disney! We were up at 7:30 - the girls were dragging a bit. Mickey has worn us out! We were down at Roaring Forks by 8 and managed to catch the first shuttle back over to the MK by 8:30. I could tell this was going to be a great day. We took some pics of the opening day dance and then when the park opened, rushed over to Big Thunder Railroad. Got a FP and then walked onto the ride. We rode the train 4x! before lines started backing up. What a great start to our day. Then onto the Jungle Cruise, another favorite of mine... gotta love those jokes! ("Always remember - that way you won't forget!") We meandered over to Tomorrowland and got a FP to Space Mountain. And then we got to go see Carasol of Progress - I've never seen it before - it had always been closed. Very cool. I can see why it was a favorite of Mr. Disney's. The Lunching Pad serves great icees - perfect for hot days. We shopped/walked and rode a few more things before going back to the Lodge. The girls didn't want to swim today - they thought the pool was too hot, for the heat of the day. WL should look at that - maybe reduce the "heated" springs flowing into the pool on hot days... We packed, and got cleaned up and then it was time for our PS at Whispering Canyon Cafe. Candy Kane treated our family like royalty....the kids loved watching other tables ask for Ketchup! My DD (10) even did the pony rides they offered. Candy also helped transform her into the Statue of Liberty! Although by far our most expensive meal of the trip, it was worth it in that we also got a lot of entertainment from dinner too. After dinner - back to MK for our last night. Space Mountain. After a vote at dinner we had decided that was our favorite ride this trip. We hoped the standby line would be short...it was advertising 75 min wait - but in reality was only about 20! Yea! We rode it 3 more times before deciding we had to do Haunted Mansion one more time. After walking by Peter Pan and Dumbo, and looking at all the poor parents w/ small children who seemed tired, we were very happy to not be going to those attractions. Haunted Mansion seemed MUCH scarier at night. IT was drizzly and no waiting... the CM's were doing their very best to add to the atmosphere of a spook house. COOL! Afterwards, we looked for a charm to hang off our charm braclet that was HM oriented, but couldn't find anything. One last ride on SM and then off to find a great spot for fireworks. We ended up standing in the middle of Main Street right in front of the Castle. The Wishes music and lights are spectacular. A great way to end our visit. We were lucky and caught the 2nd ferry back to WL. I have noticed that every time I get off the ferry at WL my sinus' stop up. Am I allergic to the Lodge? hmmm. Must be those pine trees. We were up the next morning at 5:00 AM!!! (Again - we were at the airlines mercy!). By 5:30 we were in front of WL - looking for our driver. No driver. At 5:40 I called and got a message machine, left a message. At 5:45 I called again and told them I'd like my $ refunded. Funnily, shortly thereafter I received a call back. They said - "where are you - we've been waiting.." I replied that I was standing in the middle of the street and NO ONE was there. "Oh yes, our driver is looking for you.," To make a long story short - the driver had gone to ANIMAL KINGDOM lodge.... GRRRR. This started my day out with stress I did not need. We did make our flight, and we got home to Austin safely....but I would have preferred to not have gone through the whole car problem. Next time, I might just use Mears. Or anyone other than Happy Limo.

So - 4 nights, 3 full days in WDW - and we came home feeling like rejuvinated, ready for the summer, people. Although we are already thinking about when we might go again....so many things we didn't get to do! TT/Mission Space/TOT/the list goes on and on.... Thanks for reading folks. Writing this down (and I'm also saving it for our scrapbook) has been good. See you on the boards!

luvnwdwgal · 06-13-2004, 11:23 PM

Thanks for sharing your trip with us!!

**Colexis Mom** · 06-14-2004, 09:00 AM

What a great spur of the moment trip

Thanks for sharing it with us

buckysmom · 06-16-2004, 12:20 AM

Wow! You packed lots of activity in such a short time.
Thanks for your TR, and now you have the opportunity to plan for another trip...hooray

gumby74 · 06-16-2004, 04:16 PM

Wow! Sounds like you packed a lot in three days. I need a nap and a swim just after reading about it.

Those mid-day breaks really do make all the difference.

If you can have such a great trip with just a few days of planning, imagine what you can do for your next trip when your husband is able to come!