1. An actual limousine picked us up to take us to Wilderness Lodge on our first morning (June 5). Half of us had never ridden in a limo before. I learned that I cannot, even on plush leather seats next to the minibar, ride sitting backwards.
2. Walking into the Wilderness Lodge, we realized it was exactly like we remembered it. The totem pole still towered over the entire lobby, the enormous fireplace radiated unnecessary heat, and the bubbling spring in the lobby percolated down to the waterfall outside into the swimming pool.
3. Spaceship Earth was our first stop. You know that big golf ball looking symbol for Epcot? We rode in it. It's been updated since we were there last year.
4. It was hot. And humid.
5. We did The Seas with Nemo & Friends and looked at the actual fish that inspired the characters in the film.
6. To escape the heat, Innoventions caught our attention. Dad, Lindsay, and I discovered a kiosk that used green screens to put guests into actual video games. We could even email the game home to play later.
7. The Land Pavilion attracted us with giant pumpkins, nine pound lemons, and lunch.
8. Mom, Dad, Lindsay, Grandpa, and I rode Soarin', a ride based on an attraction at Disney's California Adventure on the west coast. A sort of hang glider contraption lifts guests up for an aerial view of the beautiful state of California. We "flew" over vineyards, the Golden Gate Bridge, rivers, orange groves, San Diego harbor, and ended the journey over Disneyland at Christmastime just in time for the fireworks spectacular.
9. We trekked over to World Showcase, beginning in Mexico. We explored shops selling maracas, handbags, ponchos, silver, and tequila.
10. Our journey into Norway took us to a replica of the Stave Church that had replicas of famous Norwegians and authentic Viking gear. Grandma, Dad, Mom, and I rode Maelstrom, a little boat ride showing little old villages and trolls.
11. A particular shop in Norway featured perfume. The designer was there promoting his fragrance; apparently it was quite popular at the last Grammy Awards.
12. China was under construction. Mom and I tooled around there while the rest of the crew stopped for a refreshment at the Cantina in Mexico.
13. The clouds continually moved in throughout the day. A light sprinkle started as we began to head out of the park. The sprinkle turned into a stream that quickly turned into an absolute downpour. Then the lightning started. We stood under a kiosk for a little shelter to put on rain ponchos, but even the "castmembers" (or workers) received a message to abandon their posts and go to more secure shelter. Grandpa's wool suit jacket was soaked all the way through and reminded all of us of a wet sheep.
14. Dinner at Roaring Fork Cafe at the hotel that night featured chicken strips, outrageous $7 fruit cups, and the beginning of many bottomless soda mug runs.
15. Animal Kingdom day began with Kilimanjaro Safari. I ran to the back of the park to get Fastpasses for everyone so we didn't have to wait forever in line. It was the best safari we'd been on! There were so many animals out because it was so early in the morning and not as hot yet. We got a lot of pictures; however many of them feature animal backsides.
16. I got a Tinkerbell tattoo on my ankle.
17. We met with Terk from "Tarzan."
18. The Festival of the Lion King was as awesome as ever. It's my favorite show in Disney World.
19. Pocahontas was outside after the show.
20. Our first time seeing "Finding Nemo: The Musical." It was really cute actually. I wasn't expecting it to be that great, but it was good. The puppetry was amazing. The show also took us to a section of the park we'd never been to before.
21. It started raining again.
22. We had lunch at Rainforest Cafe. Mom, Lindsay, and I shared pizza. Grandpa got a mountain of nachos. I had a drink called "Sheba's Jungle Mud."
23. We went to church Sunday morning across from the Orlando LDS Temple.
24. Monday morning we went to Disney's Hollywood Studios. I got carsick on a bus far too crowded.
25. The Great Movie Ride line was forever long. I was glad we were there early.
26. The Streets of America still caught our attention. We particularly liked the San Francisco backdrop.
27. The Studio Backlot Tour was one of my favorite attractions; there were original movie props from two of my favorite movies, "Indiana Jones" and "Pirates of the Caribbean."
28. Toy Story Mania was absolutely awesome! It was a new ride that had guests ride in cars that moved around point people at various video games. Dad ultimately ended up with the most points, but we all had fun.
29. 50s Primetime Cafe was our restaurant of choice, but it was already booked. I called to get us reservations for Magic Kingdom from the park right after to make sure that we could eat where we wanted there.
30. That afternoon Dad, Mom, Lindsay, and I rode speedboats. The boats were definitely not the best quality. Dad and Mom's stalled a few minutes after leaving the dock, and mine stalled no less than three times, the first almost instantly. I managed to start it on my own once, but in my (*not*) extensive boating experience, that was totally new for me.
31. At Magic Kingdom, we ran onto the Jungle Cruise. We were the last ones on, and when our guide made a joke that we were taking too long, Grandma wanted to tell him that "Sonny, someday you'll be old, too" but she refrained. I kinda wish she would have.
32. We went to Pirates of the Caribbean. I hadn't been on it since it had been updated with Johnny Depp animatronics. His likeness appeared a handful of times throughout the ride.
33. Haunted Mansion was a new experience for all of us since it had been refurbished. 999 happy haunts greeted us like always but they were extremely more realistic than they had been previously.
34. Dad, Grandpa, and I rode Splash Mountain. Thank goodness for Fastpasses. The line was insanely long. I was perfectly content with our Zip-a-dee-doo-dah ride in my rain poncho to prevent me from getting too damp. Dad unfortunately didn't take of his hat and it blew it off in the 40 mph descent.
35. Lunch at Liberty Tree Tavern was one of the things we were all looking forward to and it certainly didn't disappoint. Four enormous pot roasts, one pilgrim turkey dinner, and one chicken pasta finished off with apple cobbler, strawberry shortcake, and ooey-gooey toffee cake were well worth the wait.
36. Wednesday afternoon we rode a pontoon boat. Everyone got to drive but Lindsay and Grandpa. We didn't end up taking out the bridge or ending up on the beach of the Polynesian Resort, but there were some other close calls... Oh wait... Grandpa did drive it. I totally spaced that since I didn't get a picture of it! Sorry Grandpa!
37. We took a boat in Epcot over to the Germany Pavilion to pick up exploring. Mom loved the German Christmas store.
38. Italy was one of my favorite spots. We took so many pictures there. It was really pretty!
39. We had to stop in France to check out the stores. It had cute French-themed merchandise.
40. The United Kingdom Pavilion featured tea, Beatles memorabilia, and Winnie the Pooh.
41. Mom and I took one last ride on Spaceship Earth. On the way out we saw the beginning of the fireworks show.
42. We were around for the Magic Kingdom opening, featuring many characters and really loud music.
43. We spent a lot of time in Fantasyland, enjoying Snow White's Scary Adventure, Peter Pan's Flight, it's a small world, Cinderella's Golden Carousel, and shopping in a fairy themed shop.
44. Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor included one of the jokes I texted in. It flopped. Badly.
45. Mickey's PhilharMagic was adorable.
46. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh was an interesting experience. All 6 of us crammed into one honey pot. I sat on Lindsay while trying not to squish Grandma and Mom was more or less squashed on top of Dad. It was fine until the honey pot started bouncing like Tigger; then my knees started to cramp up.
47. The Mark Twain Riverboat was great because it left us in some shade.
48. Liberty Tree Tavern again for lunch. All I have to say about that is more ooey-gooey toffee cake.
49. One day, Grandma put salt in the sugar bowl to make it easier to get to. Apparently everyone heard that except Dad, who put salt on his morning bowl of Cheerios and fruit. And he ate it anyway.
50. It took us forever to get home. We woke up in the middle of the night to take a limo to the airport. Our flight was delayed five hours because of mechanical trouble, stupid rules, and flight crew that had already clocked too many hours. That meant that we missed our connecting flight to Boise. With three cell phone calls, lack of customer service agents, and no internet service, we finally caught a flight on another airline to Boise leaving at 9:45. We were supposed to get back to Boise 2:30. We got back at 12:30. Moral of the story? Never flying United again.
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