Nala & pride + one tour WDW Final thoughts COMPLETE! About This Page:

[Nala]

What a wonderful, magical trip we had. And for anyone who doesn’t know about us I will give a brief description of the characters involved .

Nala - that’s me. This trip was number thirty one for me. My trips to WDW began at the tender age of 9 in December of 1971 with my parents and little sister. Mom and Dad were campers so we made many trips to WDW and stayed at FW in our motor home. I have very vivid memories of WDW being nothing more than two hotels, a campground and one park and have loved watching it grow and evolve into what it has become today. And because of the link to my childhood, FW will always hold a special place in my heart and is a place that is filled with many memories of years gone by.

Grumpy- My darling husband of almost 8 years. A guy who had been to WDW once at the age of 7 and hated it. It took almost 3 years of begging and pleading on my part (and careful planning) to get him there for our first family trip in 2001. Being a fan of the great outdoors I knew the only place I had a shot of creating a love for WDW was at FW. And I was right. He fell in love with FW and has never put up a fight about going back.

Kiara- Our darling DD who is 6. Kiara is the light, love and joy of our lives. She is developmentally delayed and ADHD. Her major issues are with speech, fine motor skills and she has some sensory issues with loud, sudden noises. But she is a funny, happy child who doesn’t miss a thing. She is also a princess through and through. And boy does she love Disney.

Peter Pan- My darling nephew who is 10. Peter is a bright and exceptional young man. Gifted both in academics and sports and has made two trips to WDW as a very young child with little memory of what WDW had to offer. The bond between him and Kiara is more like a big brother /little sister than cousins. We were thrilled to have him along on this trip.

So, all that being said, here is our trip report.


Wednesday January 26

Grumpy had the week before our trip off from work. This gave him time to take care of a few things before we left and pack the van for us to make a very early start on Thursday morning. We had planned on Kiara going to school on Wednesday but her teacher got confused about the day we were leaving and had a class going away party for her on Tuesday. They sent her home with a photo album of all her classmates and asked us to put some pictures of our trip in the empty pages. Grumpy decided to keep her home on Wednesday and let her help prepare for the trip. I called him on my lunch hour and suggested we take off when I got off work. He was up for the idea as Kiara was driving him crazy asking when we were going to Disney World. As soon as I came through the door Kiara was on me saying what would become her key phrase for the next 48 hours. “Disney World?” DSis and Peter Pan were already at my house when I arrived from work. We waited just a few minutes after I arrived for DBIL to come and say goodbye to Peter Pan and then we loaded up and were off. Kiara was overjoyed that we were on our way. And every ten minutes she would ask “Disney World?”.

We were able to drive to Paducha KY where we stopped for the night. Kiara, Grumpy and I were way too keyed up to sleep and got to bed about 1:00 AM. Even after a late night we still were able to hit the road again by 7:30 AM. We had an uneventful drive that day, short of the scary traffic in Atlanta, and made it to Lake City FL. We checked into a hotel, ordered pizza to be delivered to the room and tucked in somewhat early.

The next morning I woke up at 5:00 AM, which was 4:00 AM for us. It didn’t take long for me to realize that Grumpy was also awake. I quietly whispered to him that I was too excited to sleep and before we knew it Kiara’s head popped up off her pillow, she sat straight up in bed and said “Disney World?”. It was then we realized that Peter Pan was also awake as we heard his giggles erupt to mix with ours. So we all got up and got ready to head to WDW. We were able to hit the road at about 6:45. In less than 3 hours we would be in WDW!

The only thing we had to do before heading into FW was make a quick stop at a grocery store. Somehow we found ourselves on WDW property before we found one. Grumpy had to make a pit stop and found his way to the gas station across from Downtown Disney. I managed to contain the kids in the van when he went in and noticed he stopped to talk to the attendant before he came out. I assumed he had asked for directions to the nearest grocery store. Grumpy got in the van and informed me there was a grocery store up the road at the T intersection but he forgot the name of it. I asked if it was Gooding’s and he looked at me in total amazement. That was what the attendant had told him and he couldn’t believe I knew it. I proceeded to tell him that I had read on the Passporter boards the Gooding’s was very expensive but had also read that there was a Winn Dixie near by it. We turned left at the intersection where Gooding’s was and were able to find the Winn Dixie with no problem. Thanks to the Passporter who posted the information about the Winn Dixie! We made a quick run through the store and made our way to FW around 10:30.

I was concerned that checking in that early would be a problem. I went into the Outpost Depot and was helped by a CM in training. Much to my delight they had a cabin ready for us. She did ask for my AP and I was concerned it would be a problem as our AP’s were not activated yet. She took one quick look at the voucher and proceeded with checking me in. This was the first time in three trips with an AP rate a CM had ever asked to see my AP. I did check to make sure that our request for a smoking cabin was noted and the CM who was overseeing the training assured me our request had been met. She then informed me that there were only 10 smoking cabins in FW, so if anyone wants one book early and make the request. I must say a big thank you to Jean at Your Magical Journeys for taking care of all of this. After a few minutes I had room keys in hand and made my way to the family waiting in the van and instructed Grumpy to drive us to cabin 2405. We had arrived!!!!

[luvnwdwgal]

Wonderful start!! Can't wait for more!!

[Diz]

Isn't it great when your room is ready?!

What a great start. Everyone seems so excited to be going to WDW! Can't wait to hear all of the fun you had together!

[Joy J]

Terrific start, Nala! I can hardly wait to read more.

Joy

[DopeyGirl]

Great start!!! Looking forward to the rest!!!

[LizardCop]

Great Start.... MORE [img]http://smileys.*************.com/cat/23/23_31_4.gif[/img]

[Colexis Mom]

Great start Hurry back with more

[Jennifer2003]

Great start! Can't wait to read more...and very excited that there may be pictures this time!

Jennifer

[Tara O'Hara]

Great start Nala!! I just your sig pic!! Can't wait to see what's next!!

[DrDolphin]

Great start!!! Your daughter is too cute!!!

[Jillybean]

Your DD is just precious standing in front of the cabin! I love her excitement!

Keep it coming!

Jill

[travismom]

Don't you just love those cabins??? Your daughter looks so cute in front of the entrance. Love that smile -

More please.....

[ripkensnana]

Aha! Now there's a picture of you so I can have a mental image of who I'm chatting with! Hope Ed gets to read this (and see the photo). Now all we have to do is get him to post a picture of himself.....Hmmmmmmm.....

[Nala]

Friday January 28th

Once we parked in front of our cabin the four of us all ran up the steps of the deck and went inside. It was like coming home for us and Peter Pan was quick to explore his surroundings. He thought it was very cool. We all grabbed bags and boxes out of the van and began to unpack. I had put together gift bags for Kiara and Peter Pan which Grumpy brought in and set on the table. I didn’t take long for the presents to catch the kids attention and I told them both to sit down and open them. They tore into them and found they each had an autograph book, pen, Epcot passport for the WS, a pressed penny book, a lanyard with pins to trade and of course Mickey ears. I had hoped that Kiara would be inspired to wear them if she saw Peter Pan in them but it didn’t work. She did wear them long enough for me to get a few pictures and I was grateful for that.


We finished unpacking the van rather quickly and made our way to the Bicycle Barn to pick up our golf cart. We decided to get it a day early since we arrived about 6 hours before we had originally planned. I made the call to walk there which I received a few grumbles about from Grumpy and Peter Pan. It was all in fun and I told them both to consider it training for the up coming days. We had possession of our cart and made the short drive for a stop in the Meadows Trading Post. I was like a kid in a candy store and found a few things I just couldn’t resist. The holiday pack of Mickey antenna toppers was a must have. And so was the castle antenna topper! I took the opportunity of the quiet store to explain the pin trading process to Peter Pan. He was wearing his lanyard but was just too shy to start trading yet. Kiara on the other hand jumped right in and traded for a Rajah pin which the CM informed her was a CM issue pin. We thought this was very cool, but Peter Pan still held back. Too bad because the CM had a great CM issue pin that was an A ticket. It even had all of the old A ticket rides listed on it.

We went back to the cabin where I started putting away everything we had dumped in the floor. After about 45 minutes the kids were both expressing their need for food so we decided to go to Trails End. We had planned to do this for dinner but it really didn’t bother me to have to pick out another restaurant for that evening. We had no wait for a table and the food was great as always. They even had fried cod, one of Kiara’s favorites, but she was too concerned about going on the boat to see the castle to be bothered with eating. I had a hard time explaining to her that we could not go see the castle today (Peter Pan had a 7 day MYW pass and today was not one we planned on going to a park) Kiara seemed content with the idea of riding the boat and seeing the castle from it.

Since we knew we would be at the Contemporary later in the week we decided to take the boat to the Wilderness Lodge. We explored the grounds outside and then wandered around inside for a bit. This resort never ceases to amaze me. It is just so beautiful. And it was a great place to practice with my new camera.



Once again we hit the gift shop and I had to hold myself back. I took the kids to the penny presses and Peter Pan started his collection. We then went to the pin station and Peter Pan decided to take his first plunge. He made a trade from the pin book and then found a DVC CM with a green lanyard. He made a few trades with her and it was clear that he had the hang of it. I would soon discover that I had created a pin trading monster.
I was concerned that the trading of pins and collecting pennies and autographs would be of little interest to him, but he really loved it.

As we left WL a light rain began to fall and the wind was picking up. While I wanted to take the boat to the Contemporary and ride the Monorail, Grumpy was not up for it. So we headed back to the cabin where we all took a short rest and formed a plan for the evening. Downtown Disney seemed the obvious choice since we had no plans to go there during our stay. I was excited we would be able to fit it in this trip! Just gotta love a few unexpected hours at WDW! While Grumpy and the kids napped, I turned to my trusty Passporter to explore dinner options.


Coming next….. An evening at Downtown Disney and “I can’t believe we are stuck eating HERE!”

[DrDolphin]

Great update - I WL too - isn't it the best??? More please.