Fodor's Travel Talk Forums - Have A Magical Day! WDW Trip Report

DH and I just returned from Disney World. The trip was compliments of our employer for years of service. So, fasten your seat belts, keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times, and have a magical day!

DAY 1: Do you ever have one of those days when you just know things aren't going to go smoothly? I had a bad cold/cough and was so worried about flying, so I was armed with cough drops, kleenex, and water. (Getting a bottle of water turned into quite an ordeal when the pop machine jammed and would only distribute pop.) Flew Delta Connection out of Bloomington, IL. Sat on the runway for 45 minutes before takeoff. Went to the gate in Atlanta to find that the flight had been switched to another gate in a different concourse, so we missed our connecting flight to Orlando. Luckily, we were rebooked on a flight an hour later. And, darn if they only had first class available! Arrived in Orlando a couple hours late. We used Disney's Magical Express and didn't have to worry about our luggage at all. Boarded a bus for Contemporary Resort and we were on our way. Bus ride was fine, except for MIL humming M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E for several minutes. Oh yea, did I mention that MIL/FIL were on trip with us? MIL was being honored for years of service, also. That's right, DH, myself, and MIL all work for same company; well, MIL is now retired. I know what you're thinking and it ain't "congratulations!".

Hotel check-in seemed pretty efficient until we went to the 7th floor to find our room. Hum, no room 5208 on 7th floor. Went back to check-in and found that cast member gave us wrong instructions. Room 5208 is in another building on floor 2. We finally get to our room and crashed. Unfortunately, this was the best weather day at 84 degrees and sunny, but we were too beat to venture out just yet.

Monday evening we were treated to drinks and appetizers (by our company) in a banquet room at the Contemporary. It was very nice and the food was delicious.

DAY 2: DH and I are on our own and have a reservation for breakfast at Boma in Animal Kingdom Lodge. Excellent buffet and I'm not a huge fan of buffets because of the slobs that often frequent those places.

Went to Animal Kingdom--enjoyed the safari, Everest, and "It's Tough to Be a Bug". Weather was great--low 70s and we eventually saw the sun. Spent from mid afternoon to early evening at Magic Kingdom. Like an idiot, I wore my comfy Privos w/out socks and developed a blister, so I went in search of Bandaids and socks. Now in case you don't know, it is nearly impossible to purchase anything at WDW w/out some type of Disney logo. I just wanted a pair of plain black socks. After looking at endless rainbow colored socks, frilly princess socks, and DH following me saying "no Mouse, no merchandise", I finally settled on white socks with black Mickey heads on the back.

Had a sandwich in the food court at the Contemporary (it's open 24 hours). We were not that hungry because of the large breakfast. Plus, we were tired from all the walking and dodging strollers all day!

DAY 3: Slept late because we knew the weather wasn't supposed to be that great (rainy with highs in low 50s). Went to Epcot and did Universe of Energy before our lunch reservation Le Cellier in Canada/World Showcase. Excellent cheese soup and steaks. Now for the part of WDW we were looking forward to w/out our kids--drinking around the World! Had a great time, but the rain started coming down harder. After Epcot we wanted to see Downtown Disney--lots of shops and restaurants. We had Australian lobster at Fulton's and it was very good. Cold and drenched with rain we went back to our hotel.

DAY 4: Slept late because neither of us was looking forward to the cold/rain. Went to MGM for a few hours. This park is our least favorite, so we saved it for last. We did love the Rock & Roll Roller coaster and Extreme Stunt Show.

Thursday evening our company arranged for an Illuminations dinner at Epcot. Our boss bought us all lighted Disney hats of various kinds. DH and FIL were loving' that...not. We were dropped off backstage in country USA. The banquet room had a great view and the food was wonderful. After dinner we were escorted to country Moracco for drinks/dessert on the terrace. With our lighted hats, people thought we were a parade coming through. At least we didn't have to fight any strollers through that route.

DH and I stayed for extra magic hours at Epcot. Finally got a chance to do Soarin' in The Land. Awesome.

DAY 5: Travel day again. DS1 called at 7:45 a.m. to let us know that DS2 had backed DS1 car out of garage and scraped the house. Oh yea, thrilling. My folks were staying w/ the kids, but had just left to go home. Do you ever have one of those days.....wait a minute, deja vu??? Magical Express whisked us away to MCO. Flight to Atlanta was fine, but here we go again...Atlanta airport. We boarded our plane for Bloomington, IL and an hour later we're still sitting on the plane at the gate. Ground crew "couldn't figure out how to fuel the plane". What??!! By the way, did I mention the lavatory on the plane was not working? And, MIL wears enough perfume to choke a horse. A couple of hot flashes later the pilot allowed us to get off the plane and return to the building for food and restroom break. We reboarded the plane 30 minutes later and sat another 30 minutes waiting before takeoff. Arrived in Blm a couple of hours late, but all in one piece.

There's a report of our magical week. I'll be happy to answer any questions, but that will cost you