The Breitenbuchers

Abigail – Today we went to the one with all the rides. I liked riding all the rides. I rode the Stitch ride, rockets, the teacups, and merry-go-round. I saw a talking trash can that was really funny. I think there was a guy inside of it or maybe it’s made with technology that can make it move. I got an ice cream on the way home but didn’t get to finish it ’cause Dad ran to the bus, and they said no food.

Jon – We got up at 7:45 AM and got everything packed and ready to go. We tried to use the check-in service provided by the resort but the printer died and so we had to park all our bags with the Valet. Once that was taken care of, we headed back to the Magic Kingdom to catch some of the things we missed before.

We were met by Cruella and Wendy on the way into the park and got their autographs. After that it was a quick breakfast followed by Tomorrowland. We got our Fastpass for Stitch’s Great Escape and started to walk around. We saw a really cute talking trash can and followed it over to some more characters. We got another autograph from Stitch and also from Mr. and Mrs. Incredible.

After the autographs Abigail and I went on the rocket ship ride and had a blast. When we got done with that it was time for the Stitch ride. It was a little scary for Abigail and I don’t think she liked it very much. As we were leaving the ride we saw our final two characters, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dumb. Next to them was the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party ride. All three of us got in line and into a teacup. Abigail did the steering and had a blast. From their it was back to the merry-go-round and then to the exit. Along the way we stopped and bought Jack and Sally and an ice cream. We were running a little late as we needed to be back at the hotel by 12:50 and it was 12:20. I did my usual walk and caught the bus before it left. Abigail and Kathy were a minute or two behind and after they were on, the bus headed back to the lodge.

When we got back, we got our bags and boarded the bus for the trip to the airport. It took about 40 minutes to get to the airport. We had the same hassles as when we left, due to the error with our name. After getting that straightened out, we headed to security and waited for an interminable length of time to get screened. After we got through, we only had about 40 minutes before our plane began boarding. We grabbed some BK, since we hadn’t had lunch, and headed to the terminal. Our flight left on time and was uneventful. We got in at about 6:30 and after a strange delay in baggage claims we were met by Marge and Vic who had been watching our car. We had Perkins for dinner, probably the best meal of the trip, and then headed home.

I would have to say Kathy planned a fantastic trip and we had a great time. Abigail was better with the plane and can’t wait to go on another trip.

Abigail – I was grumpy and hungry but then we got some food and went to see Nemo. I got a Squirt, but it was too busy to see Crush. Then we did the states. I liked seeing all the different places and everything was my favorite. I got all the shapes for my mask. And in Japan I got a pearl. It was cool. They showed it to everybody and said it was very nice. All the people wanted me to pick theirs. At dinner we ate with all of the princesses, and I didn’t like the food. Then they did fireworks, and they were awesome. They were really loud and one of them scared me ’cause it made a huge boom with lots of fireworks.

Jon – Both Abigail and I were tired and grumpy when we got to the park. Kathy was fighting a cold the entire trip and was her chipper self. How does she do it?

We started off by getting Abigail her Stitch jacket since it was very chilly. After that it was time to get some breakfast, but first we had to get some autographs. We got Minnie Mouse and Meeko and then headed to breakfast. Abigail scared us by falling off her stool, but she was OK.

We went over to the aquarium and saw all the fish and Abigail did a craft thing. After the aquarium we went to lunch at the Coral Reef. It was a very cool restaurant with an entire wall that was part of the aquarium. Kathy had a lobster special, and I had salmon. It counted as two sit-down meals on our plan, and we agreed that it probably wasn’t worth it.

We then started our tour around the world. We started in Canada which was kind of lame and then went to England. We saw an entertaining street performance and found the store with the children’s activity, a mask, and Abigail started her mission. Kathy also found the passport so Abigail could do that. We also got a picture with Winnie the Pooh.

Next was France and we found Belle and the Beast along with Aurora. From France we went to Morocco and saw Genie. While we were waiting for Genie, we heard the Japanese drums and Abigail talked to a nice young girl who was also collecting shapes for her mask. Kathy also saw the Fez and lamp that eventually found their way into our stuff.

In Japan Abigail got to pick and oyster and watch as they opened it up to find the pearl. She got a very nice 6 3/4 mm pearl and was very excited. She wanted to go back later and watch again. From Japan we entered the USA and didn’t see anything exciting. Then we went to Italy and Kathy saw some cool dishes that she couldn’t pass up. Next was Germany and Abigail didn’t want to practice any of the German she knows.

After Germany we stopped and did some drumming with some very nice African drummers. Abigail particularly liked the dreidel song. Next was China and they had very cool items. I almost bought some silk pajamas. Abigail met a cute Chinese boy named Andrew and they played some tag and hide-and-seek. It was so cute. Abigail had a little accident during hide-and-seek when she fell in the bamboo and scraped her knee. We said goodbye to Andrew and his parents and headed to Norway.

Norway didn’t have anything really exciting. They had some very nice sweaters for $280. We took some pictures in the hopes of having some made to match what we saw. Norway was also where we were going to have dinner, but we were about an hour early. We decided to head to Mexico where Abigail got a tiny sombrero and the next to last entry in her passport and the next to last shape for the mask. Since we had time to kill, we headed back to Canada so Abigail could finish her passport and mask and get her prize.

Then it was time for dinner with the princesses. We waited for about 20 minutes and then got to enjoy some traditional Norwegian food. Abigail got to see Ariel, Belle, Alice, Snow White, and Cinderella but didn’t find much to eat. I had salmon for the second time in a day and it was quite good. After dinner we had about an hour and a half to kill before the fireworks. We went to the pin shop, and I finished my pin collection with some special edition pins. We tried to go to the Illuminations exhibit, but it was closed. Instead, we went back to Japan and Morocco to kill some time. Kathy decided to call her mom from Morocco to be silly, I think.

At about 9 we found our spots for the fireworks, and I played around with the camera to try and figure out how to get good shots of fireworks. I ended up with 400 ISO, -1 Exposure, and no flash. It seemed to do an OK job, but I need to see what the best settings for fireworks are. The show was simply amazing, and we had perfect seats. We all really enjoyed them and had a wonderful day at Epcot in spite of Abigail’s and my grumpiness.

Abigail – Breakfast was great. Goofy was the best ’cause at the next table he drew on each page. I got a unicorn painted on my face and we rode on the animal ride and saw lots of animals. I took pictures of giraffes, hippos, crocodiles, cows with big horns, and elephants. I didn’t take pictures of the zebras or lions. Then we did dinosaur park, and we played a game. Mom and Dad weren’t very good at it. When I played the ball throwing game with Grams, I wasn’t very good but on my last throw in this game I got it in yellow and won a jumbo purple turtle.

At night we did the parade and I saw all the characters and my favorite was Ariel. I got hit by fireworks and got to stay up late. I rode the Dumbo and got to steer. I danced with Dad in line, and it was fun. At the end we went to the music show, and it was funny when the water squirted us. I thought that the guitar would come over and hit me, but it was 3-D. That was about it.

Jon – Today started early as we had breakfast reservations at 8:30 AM. We took the bus to Animal Kingdom and got there at about 8. We headed back to Dinosaur land and the restaurant. While we were waiting, we met a nice couple that were on their honeymoon. Abigail had a very nice conversation with them and then we were called in for breakfast. They had it arranged so that a group of about 20 would go in, get seated and grab food and then the characters would arrive and visit each table. When the characters were done so were the first group and the next group was seated in a different part of the restaurant and eating. We saw Goofy, Pluto, Mickey, and Donald.

After breakfast we headed up to the Safari ride and got a Fastpass ticket. Fastpass is something that only guests of a Disney resort can get, and it basically puts you at the head of the line with no waiting. It was very cool. While we were waiting for the Safari, we went to a shop with African artifacts and merchandise and looked at some very neat stuff.

Outside of the shop was a face painter and Abigail got her face painted with a unicorn. She was so excited, and it looked really cool. There was also a vendor selling cameras who traded a pin with Abigail and sold Abigail her camera for the Safari. Across the street was a very strange tree with large hanging seed pods. I got a very nice picture of it. I also bought my first pins a few steps from the strange tree. We then headed up to the Safari and waited about five minutes before going on the ride. It was awesome and we saw very cool animals. Abigail got some nice pictures of the animals, and I got a very nice picture of a giraffe.

After the Safari we headed over to Dinosaur land. There were some carnival games and Abigail wanted to play. We tried the Woolly Mammoth race and lost, then we tried the Whack-A-Dinosaur and lost, and finally we did the ball toss. Kathy and I missed but on her last throw Abigail won a giant turtle. After letting Abigail play in the Boneyard, we headed to the front of the park to get some autographs. We started with Stitch and Lilo. While in line we met a nice family from Chicago and Abigail played with one of the little girls. From there it was over to Chip and Dale, where we saw the family from Chicago again. After that we headed into Camp Minnie and Mickey but didn’t see anything we wanted to do. We stopped at the Rainforest Cafe for lunch and then headed to the lodge for a rest.

After our rest it was time to head to the Magic Kingdom and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. We grabbed something to eat and got our hot chocolate and cookie before finding our spot for the parade. Abigail really liked the parade and afterward we watched the fireworks next to the castle and in the fallout zone. We got hit with some debris and took a piece for the scrapbook. Following the fireworks we went to Fantasyland and rode Dumbo and Mickey’s Philharmagic. Abigail and I really enjoyed this one. It was a 3-D show and it really felt like things were right in front of your face. After the Philharmagic we headed back to the room.

Abigail – I liked the LEGO part. I liked the huge sea monster. How did they get it in the water? I also liked the pin store, and I liked getting my Stitch pins. The toy store was good. I got a baby Belle.

Jon – Today started at 7:45 AM. We all got ready and hopped in the car to head to Marge and Vic’s. along the way we got some breakfast at McDonald’s. We met Vic at about 10:15 and Abigail finished breakfast and we went to the airport. We had a little trouble as the travel agent spelled our name incorrectly. However, by 10 after 11 we were at our gate and had to wait for the 12:30 PM flight. We had a small lunch and got on the plane.

The flight was uneventful. Abigail was a little worried after her trouble with the flight to Albuquerque, but she did great. We got in at 4 or so and were at the hotel by 5. The resort took care of our bags, and we were able to just check in and head out to one of the parks. We decided to go to Downtown Disney and get our shopping out of the way. It didn’t work, but it was a nice plan.

When we got to Downtown Disney, we had a bite to eat at Wolfgang Puck’s Express and then looked around. We found the pin shop and Abigail got her first pins. I didn’t get anything at that point. Then we found Once Upon a Toy and the LEGO stores which were very cool. The last one was the Disney store which is the largest one in the world. Abigail spent some of the money she had been given to buy a baby Belle doll. After that we watched a juggler and then headed back home and went to bed.