Monday, June 11, 2007

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Attraction Rankings

Our family each ranked each attraction on a scale from 1 to 10. These will be listed in order of: David, Tina, Chase, Reagan. If someone didn't ride it it will be listed as x.

Magic Kingdom

Space Mountain (10,9,10,9)
Indy Speedway (6,6,6,6)
Buzz Lightyear Spin (8,9,8,9)
Astro Orbiter (5,5,7,6)
Great Stitch Escape (5,5,5,6)
Splash Mountain (7,6,6,x)
Thunder Mountain (10,10,10,x)
Aladdin Magic Carpet (6,6,6,7)
Pirates-Carribean (7,8,8,10)
Tea Cups (8,10,9,10)
Flying Dumbo (6,6,6,7)
Swiss Family Robinson (x,7,8,8)

MGM

Star Tours (8,7,7,10)
Muppets 3D (6,5,4,5)
Great Movie Ride (4,5,7,5)
Rockin' Roller Coaster (10,10,10,x)
Tower of Terror (8,x,9,x)
Indiana Jones Stunt Show (5,2,7,8)

Epcot

Soarin' (9,8,8,8)
Test Track (8,8,9,10)
Mission Space (9,9,9,10)
Maelstrom (0,2,1,5)

Animal Kingdom

Everest (9,8,9,x)
Khali River Rapids (7,8,7,10+)
Primeval Whirl (10,9,9,9)
Triceratop Spin (6,6,6,7)

Cocoa Beach (10,10,10,10+)
Shuttle Launch (9,6,8,5)

The All Star Sports Resort





















Day Five


We only had half a day back at MGM (which Reagan says means Magical Gas Making). So we went straight to the Rockin' Roller Coaster. Then we got a Fastpass to ride it again and got in line for the Tower of Terror which Chase and dad rode.


Then we went and had our early sit down lunch at 50's Prime Time Cafe. Very cool retro vibe with decent food and very fun waiters and waitresses who forced you to eat your veggies, use proper manners and so forth.


Then we went back and rode Rockin' Roller Coaster again. Because of RS, Chase got to ride this six times!


We then went and rode Star Tours again. Finally, we saw the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular which was pretty good.


We caught the bus back to the hotel and jumped on the shuttle to the airport. Our plane was an hour late so we went ahead and had dinner at the airport Burger King. Fortunately, we had a long layover in Dallas so we didn't miss our connecting flight home.


We arrived at Casa de McLaughlin at Midnight and went straight to bed.


Vacation over. Recovery begins. Paid cash for whole trip. Woohoo!

Day Four


This morning we got up early for an 8 am Breakfastasaurus character breakfast with Mickey, Donald, Pluto and Goofy. It was pretty good food but the characters were the great.


Then we went and rode Mount Everest. Chase go to ride 2x because of RS. Then we rode the Khali River Rapids. You will get wet. But it was worth it.


Then we went to a kids area called Dino-rama. We rode a ride called Primeval-whirl. We absolutely loved this ride! After that we rode the Triceratop Spin (same thing as Dumbo and Aladdin). Then we rode the Primeval-whirl again and left the park around noon or so. This was really all we wanted to do at this park. We thought about doing the Safari tram but we wanted to go ahead and get to the beach.


Somene asked me on a flight home what shows we enjoyed. We didn't really do any shows. We're more "ride people."


So we went back to the hotel and ate lunch. Then we headed out for Cocoa Beach. While there we had a blast. This was definitely daddy's favorite part of the whole vacation. I could stand in the water and be virtually weightless which felt great on my aching feet. I also just generally love the beach.


We had planned for months to come on this day. What we didn't know until earlier in the week was that there was goint to be a space shuttle launch from Cape Canaveral just two miles away at 7:30 pm. So we got to see a real live launch of Atlantis which was very cool. You could see the flames shooting out and it was very loud as it went up.


We then ate Pizza Hut in Cocoa Beach. They had the absolutely most disgusting bathrooms I have ever seen.


Then it took an unbelievable 4 HOURS to drive the 52 miles back to Orlando. There is one main highway back and we found out later that something like 100,000 people had gone to see the shuttle launch. I believe it because we were driving 10 miles an hour with everyone of them. The worst traffic I have ever been in. It was brutal.


The cool thing though was this was a really great family time. We laughed and sang and had a blast. We got what our family calls "road happy." This is where you are so tired that normal things are hysterical. We also learned that Reagan thought the Bon Jovi song started out as "Shockalaha, and your to blame, baby you give love a bad nay!"


We had considered going back to Magic Kingdom for a couple hours for Extra Magic Hours but since we didn't get back til' Midnight we just went to bed.

Day Three


As planned, we slept in and sauntered in to Epcot around Noon. It was hot and the place was packed. We went to get a Test Track Fastpass but the signs said the fastpasses for all the good rides (about three at Epcot) were all getting really late already. So we decided instead to go across the park and get a Soarin' Fastpass instead. This turned out to be a great move.


We then ate a Quick Service lunch at Seasons. NIGHTMARE! Again, the food was great but the service was a nightmare. We were packed in like sardines and the lines were screwed up because the manager was telling people to line up one way and the order-takers were telling people to do the exact opposite which was causing mass confusion.


Then we went and got in line for the Test Track. The line had gone down considerably. We were pretty lucky like this all week. In the whole week we never waited in line more than 40 minutes for anything. Most of the time we only had to wait 15-20 minutes. We kept lucking out on ride lines. (The bus lines were another story!)


We enjoyed Test Track and then went and rode Mission: Space which was really cool. We then headed to the World Showcase where you walk thru all the countries. When we got to Norway there is a ride called the Maelstrom. Do not ever waste your time on this waste of real estate.


We then strolled thru some more countries on the the way to Alfredo's where we checked in a little early for dinner. OK-this place was fantastic and delicious! You will absolutely have the best lasagna in your life if you try it. My solemn promise. Tina tried mine and agreed. She had the Fettuccine Alfredo which was also very good.


On our way out of Italy we happened upon a street showing of "Romeo and Edna" which was really funny. Our family doesn't usually enjoy stuff like that but we all agreed it was funny.


We then went thru the rest of the nations on our way to Soarin'. That was a great way to end our day at Epcot. It is a fantastic ride.


Then we went and spent a bunch of money on souvenirs and went back to the hotel around 7 pm. We did everything we wanted to at Epcot so we went to the hotel to relax and then went to bed.

Day Two


Daddy got up early and picked up the rental car. We didn't need it because if you stay at a Disney resort they transport you around on buses, monorails, and boats for free. But we were planning to go to Cocoa Beach on Friday so we went ahead and got one with our package.

We then hopped our first shuttle bus. They run every 15 minutes and we missed every single bus each way all week by about 30 seconds except for our very last bus on Saturday.

We got to the Magic Kingdom by opening time. At some of the rides you have two options. Stand in line or get a Fastpass and come back at a certain time frame (one hour window) and go thru a special line and get right to the front with hardly any wait. We went straight to Space Mountain and got a Fastpass.

Then we went and ride the Indy Speedway race cars which was fun. Then we rode the Buzz Lightyear Spin two times in a row. That was a blast! We all loved it. Then we rode the Astro Orbiter and then it was time for Space Mountain. Space Mountain was probably our second favorite ride all week.

[Oh yeah-David & Tina had been to Disney before but it was the first time for the boys.]

Then we went and saw/rode Stitch's Great Escape. Started out horrible and then ended up mildly entertaining.

We then got a Fastpass for Splash Mountain and had lunch at Pecos Bills.

OK-Disney's Dining Plan is great. You have a certain number of credits that you can use and not have to pay any money for food during your trip because it is prepaid and saves you about 40%. You get a "Quick Service Meal" each day where you stand in line and get your food then sit down and eat, and a "Table Service Meal" where it is more like a regular restaurant. You also can have snacks included which we did and mainly used just to get water. If you go in the plan you will seriously have access to more food than you can physically eat.

The gripe I have with the plan is that the Quick Service places like Pecos Bills' have great food but horrendous service and lines. Very very very frustrating and stressful.

We then went and rode Thunder Mountain. Chase got to ride it two times in a row because we did a Rider Switch since Reagan didn't want to ride it. It was really good.

Then we went and rode Splash Mountain. Chase rode twice due to Rider Switch (RS). It was ok. Sometimes the best feature of the ride is that you get to sit down for a while in a cool place. This was the case with Splash Mtn.

About this time of the afternoon it started raining off and on all day.

We then went and rode the Aladdin Magic Carpet ride, then Pirates of the Caribbean. Then back to the Magic Carpet ride then it was time for dinner.

We did a table service meal at Crystal Palace. It is a Character Dinner and buffet. A Character meal is where there are certain Disney characters who come around to each table for pictures and autographs.

Even though we had reservations we got in about 20 minutes late. The food was really good though. We go to meet Tigger, Eeyore, and Piglet. Pooh was there but we were ready to leave by then and the kids didn't really care.

We then rode the Tea Cups which was great. We spun it so fast Tina almost threw up. we then rode Dumbo. The kids and Tina then did the Swiss Family Robinson thing while dad rested his feet. It started to pour rain about this time.

We had done about all we wanted to and knew we were going to have a short day on Saturday at MGM so we decided to take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours at MGM.

We hopped a tram to MGM. It was closing time at the park except for those staying at Disney Resorts and it was pouring rain so people were leaving the park in droves.

We were able to go do Star Tours, the 3D Muppet Show, the Great Movie Ride, and the Rockin' Roller Coaster with virtually no lines at all.

Star Tours was pretty cool. The Muppets and the Movie Ride were ok. The best thing was that they were inside out of the rain.

The highlight of all was the Aerosmith Rockin' Roller Coaster. This ride really does rock!!! It was our favorite all week! Daddy even got an Aerosmith Rockin Roller Coaster t-shirt.

Then we headed for the hotel. We went from 9 am to Midnight on Day One. We were so unbelievably tired and exhausted. It was a brutal day but we were able to do everything we wanted.

Daddy then took some pain pills, anti-inflammatory pills and we all went to sleep. Very quickly.

Day One



We spent the morning doing some last minute packing and getting an early lunch on the way to the airport.

The airport experience went fine except they hurried us through and we realized at the gate that although we checked four bags, they gave us receipts for two of our bags and two of someone elses bags who was going to Chicago. we didn't know if they tagged two of our bags wrong or if they just gave us the wrong tickets. They didn't know either when we asked.

So we departed for Florida not knowing what bags we would have when we go there. By the way-if you stay at a Disney resort, they have Disney Magical Express. They will shuttle you to and from the airport. Also, when you arrive they will pick up your bags and deliver them to your room. When you depart, you can check in for your flight and check your luggage at the hotel instead of the airport. This was one of my favorite features of the whole trip.

The kids enjoyed their first airplane flights and we arrived in Orlando around 7 pm and got to our room around 8 pm. The All Star resort rooms are fairly inexpensive and very small. Think Motel 6 but much, much cleaner.

So we ate dinner in the hotel food court. Quesadillas and chicken strips were both great. Then we went swimming.

By the time we got back to the room, all four of our bags had magically appeared! We were very happy and went to bed looking forward to our day at Magic Kingdom.

How To Plan Your Big Vacation


Last year we went to Padre Island and Sea World and other attractions in San Antonio. I enjoyed Padre, but not so much all the walking at Sea World. So we decided to do something more relaxing this year.....Disney World.

Yeah, I know.

Disney World (WDW) now has four main theme parks as well as a couple water parks. They also have hotel resorts right on the property so we had a lot of planning and decision making to do.

STEP ONE-Book Vacation

Research. I checked all the prices for tickets at the parks, hotels, flights, food, etc. This would cost a medium fortune. I don't think we can do this.

Then I went to the Disney site and checked out some of their vacation packages. I was able to book 5 days, All Star Sports Disney resort, Park Hopper tickets, Disney Dining Plan and airline tickets for all four of us for a small fortune, so I booked it.

We're going to Disney World!

STEP TWO-Rebook Vacation

My wife was reading one night and looked at me and asked the magic question, "When is Gay Days at Disney?"

Well, there are 365 days a year. It just so happens that Gay Days at Disney was during the exact same days we would be there. I don't care if gay people go to Disney. I don't even care if they have Gay Days. But I don't need to explain to my 8 and 11 year old sons all the stuff in these pictures. [Warning: Explicit Photos]

So we decided to move the vacation to one week later. So I called the Disney travel agent and said I needed to move the vacation. She asked why. When I told her (very nicely) she got upset and acted like I was a bigot. She then hung up on me. I called a second time and got an even more belligerent agent. She told me that gay people were just another ethnic group. I asked her what country they were from and she hung up on me too.

Finally, after the third call I was able to change my vacation dates. The agent then told me that it would only raise the price of our vacation by $3000. The price was the same except for the flights so I spent an hour and a half trying different flight combinations, we were able to pull it off for $400 more although now we are losing almost a full day due to a later flight on departure day and an earlier flight on our return day. But....

....we're going to Disney World!!!


STEP THREE - Plan and Pack

The hardest part of this whole vacation was figuring out what everybody in the family wanted to do and how to get it all in and figuring out what to pack. Have you flown lately? Geeez!

The best thing I found was the intercot website. If Disney's website was half as informative it would be wonderful. No Disney vacationer can afford not to utilize intercot!

Finally...we're going to Disney World!