Disney trip report

Sunday, 16 May

The day started around 4AM. We were on our way to the airport shortly after 5. We brough Michael and Joe with us; Mike and Lynn followed us to the airport in their car. We met Adam, Jennie, and Lily at the airport. The flight was uneventful. Sandra and I flew first class and had a nice bit of breakfast (pancakes for Sandra, an omelet for me).

We arrived at the Orlando airport at 11:00 and had to wait for a bus to take us to the airport. We got very good at counting to 12 throughout the vacation, making sure we had all the people we needed to have. We arrived at the hotel around 12:30, checked in to a complicated mix of rooms. (We had to register for rooms with adults and kids divided properly to qualify for a "Kids Stay Free" discount. Each person had a key card that was also used for meal charges and park admissions.

We stayed at the Contemporary, a short walk or monorail ride from Magic Kingdom. Our rooms were nice enough, in a building separate from the main hotel, which was good and bad. We had a nice view of the lake and our rooms were quiet most of the time.

We had a mid-afternoon lunch at the snack bar at the hotel, a place that came to be called Disney Hell (DH) because it was right next to the noise and lights of a video game arcade.

Magic Kingdom: The gang went in separate directions. Sandra and I rode Space Mountain. I'm not a great fan of roller coasters and won't likely take that ride again. We were pretty tired from our early morning travels, so we didn't do a lot; we mostly walked around and then returned to the pool.

Dinner: Snacks at the park.

Monday, 17 May

Breakfast: Kona Cafe at the Polynesian.
Magic Kingdom: We returned in force. Sandra and I went with A, J, & L to Pirates of the Caribbean, Swiss Family Robinson's Tree House, and a few other sights. AJL were able to get into the Princess Lunch, a thrill for Lily. The rest of the gang did Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, the Haunted Castle, and a few others.

Dinner: California Grill, a wonderful restaurant on the 15th floor of the Contemporary. Great food, great view of the whole park.

Tuesday, 18 May

Breakfast: Character breakfast at the Beach Club.

Epcot: We walked the short distance to Epcot and stopped at Honey I Shrunk the Audience. Good fun. Mission Space was the best attraction for most folks. Spaceship Earth was, in the word of the week, lamé. Sandra and I walked the whole park, with stops at Mexican, Norwegian, Chinese (great ginger ice cream and tea), Moroccan, and Canadian exhibits. We listed for half of one song at at double-plus lamé Eric Burdon concert.

Dinner: Restaurant Marrakesh, just S&K. A nice dinner with good service and a fine sampling of Moroccan fare.

Wednesday, 19 May

Breakfast: DH

MGM/Disney Studios: Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster were the big hits here. RRC, according to several, was the best ride ever. ToT was a favorite for several others. I liked the Muppets in 3D the best. The backstreet scenes, made up like old New York, were very realistic.

Dinner: Steakhouse at the Contemporary. Good food in a futuristic setting.

Thursday, 20 May

Our anniversary.

Breakfast: DH

Sandra and I wrote and then went to Downtown Disney to mail some post cards. We were underwhelmed by DD, although we did find a couple pairs of socks and gifts for Marley and Molly.

Dinner: Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue. Great fun and lots of food. We followed the meal with a wagon ride around Fort Wilderness and neighboring trailer parks.

Friday, 21 May

Typhoon Lagoon: The 6' waves in the pool were the best fun. Sandra and I did the Humunga Kowabunga which someone described as a wedgie machine.

Dinner: Luau at 'Ohana at the Polynesian. Again with the great food and great fun. AJ&L went to Cirque du Soleil and dined at Wolfgang Puck's.

Saturday, 22 May

Blizzard Beach: We were all tired by this time, so we moved slowly. The boys went on Summit Plummet, a 120' foot vertical drop. It was too much for the young and the old. We all liked Teamboat Springs, a long ride down a winding chute in a large raft.

Dinner: Clam Bake at the Beach Club. Too much good food. Sandra and I waddled back through Epcot to get the monorail back to Magic Kingdom and then a walk home.

For the first time, we had to close our window because of the outside noise. Loud young folk outside our balcony.

Sunday, 23 May

Homeward Bound. Last breakfast at DH. The bus picked us up at 9:00 and took us to the airport. It really helps to be an American Airlines Advantage Gold member. We got through check-in quickly. Sandra and I flew first class again. It was cool and drizzly when we got to Boston. We drove home easily and safely.

End Notes

We had spectacular weather, with just a 45 minute shower on Wednesday afternoon. Before the trip, we let everyone know that we'd all get at least one meltdown, so that reduced the pressure to be perfectly 'on' all of the time. We stayed flexible enough so that people could go back to the hotel and pool as needed. We stopped trying to eat all of our meals together and planned just one family meal each day.

I brought my laptop and checked email a few times during the week. I also received a some phone calls regarding my job search. Had something important come up, I would have been able to do what was necessary. That's the nice thing about the kind of work that I do; I can be productive anywhere that I have a decent Internet connection.

There's nothing that I wish that I had seen that I didn't see and nothing really that I need to go back to see. It was a trip of a lifetime. It needed nothing more. We are blessed with a wonderful marriage, wonderful family, and many other good fortunes that let us do things such as this.