sorry for the delay....it has been crazy here.
Well, we got to Orlandon on the 9th around 2pm, and then we jumped on the
Magical Express. The kids and i were really excited to get there. We were staying at the
all star music and it looked so pretty decorated. our room was ready, we got pictures by the tree, birthday buttons and the staff sung happy birthday to me and my daughter.
after dumping our stuff, we headed over to the magic kingdom, it was around 4pm. we were goign to the christmas party that night but thought we would check it out. as soon as we walked in the mice from cinderella were there and mattie was so happy. it was pretty crowded on main street but we managed to look in the stores. at 6pm was the castle lighting, and if you have never gone during the holidays i highly recommend it. to watch the castle light up, was breath taking!! then off to tony's for dinner. my mom didn't understand the disney reservation thing and was irritated that we had to wait a few minutes. the food was good, i just got spaghetti. they brought out our desserts with candles and sung to my daughter and i. then off to the party. it wasn't crowded at all, it was very nice. the kids rode some rides with no wait. then we headed to liberty square to get good seats for the parade. we waited 30 minutes and i got all cramped up so i stood up and told my daughter not to move, well she did what any almost 6 year old would do, she got up and 2 teenagers jumped in and took our spots. i quickly sat back down and squished my daughter on top of them. parade was really cool!! the coco was great and hot, the cookies were good and the apples made a nice breakfast snack the rest of the week (they had tons of extras of cookies and apple packs when we went that they gave up lots).
monday--we all got up and headed to Norway for breakfast. the girls were excited to see the princesses, willie was less than thrilled. the food was good. the only bad time was when Mulan walked past our table twice and didn't stop. we only went to see her for my 14year old. bummer. we did find her at China and told the her that the person in character at the Norway restaurant missed us so we came to see her. she said it was her and apologized. we kinda messed up this day, i wasn't goign to stay at epcot all day but dylan wanted to run all over the place. no big deal. everyone loved soarin', mattie went hysterical for honey i shrunk the audience and had to leave, they loved the jumping water (they got soaked). Crush picked Willie to talk to during the show and he was excited about that. dinner was at the Coral Reef and it was good, the waiter was a little slow but attentive when he was around.
Tuesday----the little 2 and i got up early and hit MGM. the park felt deserted, no lines and lots of characters. Willie was beside himself when he met the power rangers. we ate at Pizza Planet and they gave mattie a mug since she was wearing her birthday button. dylan got annoyed cause we had done so much before she and mom got there (at 11:30am) and i wouldn't back track. we seperated by the Disney playhouse (dylan wanted to run to the tower of terror and i thought we should do everything in that area). so i took the little ones in there and they picked mattie to dance with bear cause she had her button on again (it was a good luck day for her). then over to the tower of terror----the kids loved it!! they also loved the rock n roll roller coaster. when we finished up there we were headed to the
MK for my birthday dinner at the Crystal Palace. we were early so we wandered around and looked at the swiss family tree house (scary at night). dinner there was fabulous!!! they put us right in the front row and decorated the table for me. we got to visit wiht all the characters and when they brought out my cake they all came over to sing. i even got a signed bday card. since we were the last ones in the place, the kids got to dance and sing with the characters and more pictures. it was a great birthday!! when we got back to the room there was a signed wtp and friends picture for me and a cinderella picture for mattie.
wednesday--dylan finally got up early and we headed over to
MK for a little bit. her and willie were the 2nd on space mountain and they thought that was really cool. she met alice and the mad hatter and we rode the tea cups and the wtp ride. then they decided that they wanted to trade pins. they didn't want to do it back in june when i could have gotten pins cheaper off
ebay. but they had disney money so i bought them (they didn't realize that when they asked for stuff i was using their money, ha!)
then we went to Ohana for breakfast with Stich. What an awesome place. we loved all the gingerbread houses and the food was the best!! the characters were patient and signed all 4 books (i had to bring mine too) and took multiple pictures. it also pays to get the last seating because there were less people there and we got more attention.
then when we could eat or smile no more, we headed to animal kingdom. what a neat place!! since it was a bit crowded we headed to the safari ride right away. the wait was 45 minutes but it didn't feel like it. i did have to run mattie to the bathroom. no sooner did we get back in line she let out a hysterical cry that she left her lanyard and her birthday button in the bathroom. it wasn't there when we went back, she was so sad. at ohana she had traded for a pin that had a 2001 on it, the year she was born. we kept checking but no one turned it in. the man at lost and found gave her a certificate for $25 to buy a new lanyard and another pin. after we got off the yeti ride and the lady told me happy bday, mattie looked up at her and said, its my bday too, but i lost my button. so she gave her a certificate for a pin and a fastpass for 1 ride. that was pretty cool. we rode that ride 3 times. the kids wanted to do the water ride, but it was late and i didn't want to get cold so i borrowed a poncho from a man getting off. we got right on and mattie and i huddled under the poncho and i can say that neither of us got wet. the other 2 got drenched!! we ate at the rainforest cafe, it was ok but if my mom wasn't so insistant that we eat there i wouldn't of.
thursday--willie and i got up and hit the
MK for the early hours while the other 3 slept (what did they think this is a vacation??). we knocked out frontierland, adventureland and some of fantasyland when they arrived. once again dylan got mad cause i wouldn't go back and do all the rides. we did go back for splash mountain and pirates. we did go to all the rides in
Mk and we saw the monster laugh show. it was mattie's bday today so we were eating at 1900 park fare. i have to tell you that mattie was a grouch bug from the moment we got there to the moment we left, but she was the happiest little girl for the 2 1/2 hours that we were there. she was so happy to see cinderella, the prince, the step mother and sisters. the characters had changed since i made the reservations (the mice were supposed to be there but thankfully she saw them on the first day). Mattie even got to dance with Cindy and Prince Charming and one of the step sisters. they gave her a signed place mat, a birthday tiara and a big cupcake. dylan complained the whole time that i never did anything like this for her birthday, oh what a pain 14 year olds can be.
friday----our last day
willie and i got up and hit epcot....we did test track and mission space since we missed them the other day. he kept asking to go in the big golf ball but that was closed. when the sleepy heads arrived, we walked thru the countries. then off to AK, we missed the parade, the bug show and the dinosaur ride the other day. i was stressed when i got there and who was at the door? Baloo!! well i was trying to dig out the camera and autograph books and do it quickly. he was miming me to calm down and to breath in and out and all would be ok. it was. we staked out our spots for the parade a good 45 minutes before it (a nice time to sit quietly and play our gameboys). well when the parade started this family appeared out of no where and started pushing the kids forward to take pictures. willie was still sitting on the ground and they were pushing in to him, so i made him stand up and asked them to not push. so they moved to my right and moved mattie so far that the rope was stretched out. i told mattie to take 2 steps back and if she had to stand on the ladys feet that was ok. they did it 3 more times before i glared at them and made the kids stand right next to me. i understand that everyone is excited but to push the kids to take better pictures? and they weren't waiting with the group that was there the whole time (you know how you start to talk to everyone around you). that i think was the worst expeirence we had with rude people. we loved the parade by the way. mattie got freaked out in the bug show, i think she didn't like the 3-d effects. then it was off to home to pack.
we had a GREAT time!!! there were virtually no lines, everyone was polite and happy, the hotel was awesome (there was no noise, the sofa bed was really comfy, and we didn't wait longer than 5 minutes for the buses). it was beautiful at all the parks, especially at night. all those lights!! the trees!! how do they do it?? the characters were so nice and signed 4 books and took lots of pictures (i was respectful when there were more than 4 people behind us). the buses at the parks came with little to no wait (i guess i read everyones tips and timed our leaving when the buses would be coming back). the only thing that bugged me was the store at the end of every single ride. the first day it was hard to get the kids thru it but by the second they were pretty good. i loved it and am hoping that we can go again next year and see the shows that i missed and the one little section of epcot (i totally forgot it was there). i loved the
photopass people and all the pictures that they took. oh i did pass the year of a million dreams people and they wished me a happy birthday, but no magical ears or fastpass. we were walking in AK and 3
photopass men stopped the kids to take a test and they gave them the special tinkerbell pins to share with each other.
I love Disney!! it is truely magical and the people that we talked to were so sweet and helpful and the people in the lines were so friendly. other than the girls and my mom not getting up at 6am to be the first at the park, we all had a wonderful time. willie got up and we went and went and went.
thanks to everyone for all their tips and hints and putting up with my stressing to make sure the trip was perfect. i hope the kids will remember it forever. if not in memory, but from all the pictures that i have.
Aimee
who wants to go to disney again, soon!!!
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Thanks for sharing the Magic with us! You did so much! We have stayed at all of the All Stars- aren't they the best?! Our last trip was during Christmas as well- the parks are so beautiful that time of year! 
Have a Magical Day! 
) out there to explore?
There's a great big beautiful tomorrow 
