Last Day : (

Check out was at 11, so we got up, finished packing, tried to make sure our suitcases were less than 50 lbs so we wouldn't be charged an extra fee. I was pretty nervous about mine. Port Orleans has a Delta check in counter so we were able to check in and get our boarding passes. Both of our suitcases were 49 lbs. We checked our carry on luggage at the resort because we didn't have to catch the bus to the airport until 2:45. We headed to DTD by boat one last time. Our mission this time was to go to the pearl stand and pick a clam with a pearl. The lady that helped us pick our clam told us to pick a small one, they would have the biggest pearl. She was right. We both got good sized pearls. I had mine made into a ring and Kim got a necklace. By the time we were finished we grabbed a giant pretzel and headed back to the resort. We ate our pretzels while we waited for the bus.
The plane ride was uneventful. When we got to Salt Lake, the shuttle from the Marriot picked us up and took us to their "secure" parking lot where we left our car. Someone had tried to break into the car, but all they did was mess up the wires in the drivers door, so that I was unable to roll down my window, adjust my mirror, or use my seat warmers. Luckily they didn't scratch the outside too bad.
When we left Orlando it was 85 degrees, when we got to Elko it was 35. We both about froze to death (I was really missing those seat warmers). I don't miss the Orlando humidity though.
We are already talking about what we will do differently "next year when we go". You really feel like you are in another world when you are at Disney. Everyone we had contact with treated us like we were their only guests.

Day 9 Cirque De Soleil

On Wednesday we packed and just enjoyed the resort. It rained off and on all day. This evening we had dinner reservations at Planet Hollywood and then tickets to the 9pm Cirque show. We took the boat downtown around 5 and did some shopping. Kim found the giant Virgin records store and we spent most of our time there.
Planet Hollywood was really loud and very expensive. We weren't really hungry, I ordered a chicken sandwhich with fries and a banana smoothee and Kim got buffalo wings with fries and a smoothie. Our bill was $50. We couldn't talk during the entire meal because the music was so loud, you could barely hear your waitress.
All the stores at Disney had so many different hats that everytime we'd see a different we would try it on and take a picture.






We weren't allowed to take pictures at Cirque, but it was well worth the money. We had seats front and center. The show is almost 2 hours long and the performers are amazing.

Halloween Party

We headed back to the resort and changed into our costumes. Kim was a vampire and I was a pirate.


It was dark when we got to the party. The Boo to You parade was on Main Street so Kim and I headed to the rides. We rode Space Mountain, stitches great escape, It's a Small World, Peter Pan, Haunted Mansion (which was really cool at night) and more. The fireworks over the castle were so pretty.

The second parade was starting at 11 so we watched part of it then headed to the exit so we could get to the busses before the crowd. The Halloween party was fun, but it was really hard to ride the rides with our costumes. Next time I would just wear a Halloween shirt and some Mickey ears.

Day 8 Magic Kingdom and Halloween Party

Finally today we are going to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived around 10. Magic Kingdom is so big, we didn't know where to start. The castle is so awesome. We rode Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain twice and Splash Mountain 3 times (5 minute waits for everything). We watched the parade, got there as it started, and still got to sit up front. We wandered around taking pictures, did a little shopping for Kim's boss. She had requested a colorful Disney World sweatshirt. We had been looking since day one and finally found what she wanted just as the Dreams parade was starting. Kim ran out with the camera to take pics of the parade while I paid for the sweatshirt. We left around 3 because we were coming back this evening for the Mickey's not So Scary Halloween Party and we had to put our costumes on. The party is held during the months of Sept and October. Magic Kingdom stays open until midnight for people with a ticket to the party.

Day 7 Park Hopping again

Today we got up and headed to Hollywood Studios first thing, so we could get the Indiana Jones hat. Kim found just what she was looking for. We did a little shopping and picture taking and headed back to the resort. We shopped at Port Orleans gift shop for larger items and also glass items that we wanted to have shipped home. We also already had purchased an Alice in Wonderland snow globe that we didn't want to get broke on the plane. We had a large box with mugs and snow globes, they charged us $20 to pack and ship it all. After that we caught the bus to Animal Kingdom. We were going to go to Magic Kingdom, but planned to spend all day and night there tomorrow, plus it was starting to rain pretty hard, so we thought Animal Kingdom was a great place to go in the rain. We went to It's Tough to be a Bug, which is inside the tree of life, then rode Expedition Everest a few times (no wait) and Kali River Rapids. By the time we got on Kali it started to rain again. We got on a raft with 2 women and their daughters and Kim and I. They were from Mountain Home, Idaho, not far from here. What a coincidence. Because it was raining, there was no wait for the ride so they let us ride it over and over without getting off. We laughed and talked the entire time. By the time we got off, it was pouring rain and the park closed in about 30 minutes. We headed back to the resort, changed clothes and went to DTD on the boat for dinner. Neither of us were very hungry so we ate at McDonalds. We picked McDonalds because they had Dr Pepper. Disney doesn't have Dr Pepper or Mr Pibb so I hadn't had a Dr Pepper fix all week. We were back to the room by 10:30 and went straight to bed.

The first picture in a fountain in the queue to Kali, the second is Kim with her Indiana Jones hat.

Day 6 A free Day!!

Today was Sunday!!! Sundays are reserved for sports, so I told Kim to sleep in, because I had to watch football and the Nascar race. I watched the Broncos win, the Nascar race didn't turn out as well, as Jr wrecked. Good race, though. We grabbed lunch from the counter service diner and ate in the room while watching sports.

Tonight was Extra Magic Hours at Hollywood studios so this evening we decided to head there. Its was pretty busy as it was the only park open at that time (around 8pm). We rode Tower of Terror a few times, the movie ride, then did some shopping. We were going to go ride Rockin Roller Coaster, but the wait was 70 minutes. We spent the time taking pictures and watching people. We left at 11:00. Kim wanted an Indiana Jones hat, but those shops were closed.

So now we have to make one more trip to DHS to look for the hat. We decided to do that first thing in the morning.

Day 5 Epcot

Today was Saturday and a planned free day. We would just play it by ear. We slept in (I know we are at Disney world, we can sleep at home, but I was really feeling the crud I was fighting). We went for lunch then to Epcot. This was our only Epcot day and was the only day we noticed crowds. Waits for the rides weren't bad, so I think they were more for the Food and Wine Festival going on. We shopped a little, then rode Spaceship Earth, Mission space and Test Track. the only ride with a line was Test track and it was around 30 minutes. It was a fun ride, so worth the wait. We headed up to the pavillion to go to the world showcase, but it was wall to wall people so we just headed back to the bus, (after taking a few pictures). We ate at the resort, I had make your own pasta (it was good) and Kim had pizza. Then we did laundrey and went to bed.

Pictures are us arriving at Epcot and riding test track.

Day 4 at Disney World

Today was Animal Kingdom day. Again, we woke up a little late (darn time change) but made it to animal kingdom by 10:00. We rode Expedition Everest a few times (5 minute wait) and Kali River Rapids quite a few times (no wait). We were soaked after the rapids, but decided to go ride the Kalimanjaro Safari. It was warm outside so we figured we would dry. The safari had about a 10 minute wait and we were off. We saw lots of animals and it was nice to relax for a few minutes. By the time we finished that ride I was starting to get cold, so we took the bus back to the resort, grabbed some lunch and went to the room. I dried off, put on some new clothes and curled up in a blanket because I couldn't get warm. I dozed for about an hour and when I woke up, I had a sore throat and ached everywhere. Kim so nicely shared her cold with me. But..we're at Disney so I got started taking my Air Born and off we went to Hollywood Studios again. The crowds were still low, so we did a little bit of shopping (okay, maybe a lot of shopping). The great part is that they send your purchases to your resort so you don't have to drag them around with you. We rode Tower of Terror over and over (walk on lines), Kim rode Rock N Roller Coaster by herself (I have to admit in my feeling horrible state I chickened out). We walked around the park after that taking pictures. When Fantasmic started we hurried out of the park so we could beat the rush and took the bus back to the resort, then to DTD again on the boat. After a "little" shopping we went to giradelli (sp) ice cream shop. We each had hot fudge sundays, it was $16 for both, but they were really good. By this time we are realizing that we really weren't in Disney World, we were in Money World (LOL). I was finally worn out so we took the boat back to the resort, then stayed up talking til 3AM (which is really on midnight at home)

The pictures above are expedition everest, the tree of life, a baby giraffe on the safari and Kim and I at Animal Kingdom.

Universal Studios, Day 2

Day 2 we planned to spend at Universal Studios. We were still having trouble with the time change and didn't wake up until 10. We had planned to leave at 9 so were running just a little behind. We called for a Mears taxi (recommended by the front desk), we were waiting out front when a taxi drove up, the young man got out and asked if we were waiting for a taxi. We told him yes, and hopped it. Halfway to Universal I realized this wasn't the taxi we ordered, he was an independent taxi. This taxi was filthy, I have since learned that you only use a yellow taxi (this one was white). When I went to pay he told me it was $35 one way but for $60 he would come get us at 11pm. I still wasn't paying that much attention and didn't notice the looks Kim was giving me, so I paid him. It was a good lesson for this small town girl. We didn't even look for him when we left, cuz we left earlier than 11 and rode in a real taxi. I'm sure he never came back. Plus, that taxi was so run down, I don't even know if it would make it back to pick us up.

When we first arrived at Universal we went to the Nascar cafe for lunch. Then to the park. Amazingly, no crowds at all. We rode every ride and most numerous times. Our favorite was the Mummy ride, also I like the Simpsons virtual reality ride. At 4:30 they kicked everyone out of the park, except those of us who had tickets to the Halloween Haunted Nights party that night. They had 8 haunted houses, which we got to go through early before they let everyone who didn't have tickets in. They roped us off in one area and there was maybe 200 people waiting. We went through the haunted houses, then the streets had scare zones that were really fun. Lots of scary actors who seemed to be attracted to Kim. She had a blast, they followed her everywhere. We left around 9ish and it was wall to wall people coming into the park. We were really glad we got there early. Went back to our resort and went to DTD again. That boat ride was just so fun and DTD had lots to see. When we got back to our room, the housekeeper had left us a suprise in our window. A set of swans made from towels.

The pictures from the top, Kim with a scareactor, Debbie in front of an old hearse and the window of our room with the towel swans.

Our Disney World Trip

Kim and I went to Disney World a few weeks ago. We were there from September 30th to October 9th. We flew out of Salt Lake City, UT via Delta. A 4 1/2 hour ride. We arrived around 5:30 Orlando time. We were picked up by the Magical Express and taken to our resort, Port Orleans Riverside. This resort is so pretty. We were in room 9534 with a view of the river, a short walk to the lobby, restaurants and bus stops. The temperature was in the 80's and very humid, a big change from Nevada 60's and dry.

Because it was so late, we just headed to Downtown Disney, via the boat that ran from Port Orleans to DTD every 20 minutes. It was about a 20 minute ride to DTD and very relaxing. We shopped (we were so excited we wanted to buy everything) then went to the Earl of Sandwhich for dinner. I had a Hawaian BBQ sandwhich and Kim had a turkey club. They were so good. When we got back to the room, our luggage was waiting for us. We checked it at Salt Lake and Disney picked it up and delivered it to our room.

Weds. morning we intended to get an early start, I went and got us both breakfast at the counter service cafe, and suprised Kim with Mickey shaped waffles. She had left home with a miserable cold and was still feeling yucky, plus we were having a hard time with the 3 hour time difference. I got ready to go, then laid down on my bed for a few minutes to wait for Kim to get ready, when I woke up it was 3pm and Kim was asleep too. So much for our first day. We got up and headed to our first park. Disney Hollywood Studios. It was very empty!! Yes!! We rode lots of rides over and over. Our favorite was Tower of Terror. We never used fast pass once for the entire trip, the crowds were so low. We had reservations at the sci fi theatre at 6:00. It is like a big drive-in theatre, you sit in cars with tables in front of you, and watch clips from sci fi movies. Kim is a big sci fi fan, so I thought she would like this. The food was ok, not great, but it was something different. After dinner, more rides, with no wait for anything.

At 9 we went to the water and light display Fantasmic. The park closed so we went back to the resort and rode the boat back to DTD. I went to Goofy's Candy Store. YUM!!! I got chocolate and caramel dipped pretzels. I haven't figured out how to put the pictures where I want them in the story, so in order they are, Fantasmic, arriving at Disney Hollywood Studios and our room at Port Orleans.

Our own personal Mickey ears

Getting the hang of it

I'm starting to get the hang of this. (Thanks Mary) I have too many sports games to watch today to get much accomplished. Hopefully tomorrow will be a little more productive.

My other passion. Taking photographs of sunsets

Kim waiting in line to ride Test Track.

about me

My name is Debbie, I am 51 years old and married to Mike. I am a registered nurse working in labor and delivery, which I love. I have a 23 year old daughter (Kimberly) that I spend a lot of time with. In my free time I watch football (Go Broncos), Nascar (Go 88 JR), and reality TV. I also like to scrapbook, go fishing, surf the net, play bunco, and LOVE Disney!!
Kim and I just returned from 10 days in Orlando, FL at Disney World. I want to go back. The entire experience was awesome. Every person working for Disney treated us like we were special. The lines were short, sometimes there was no line and we walked onto the ride.
Kim and I also make jewelry, bracelets and necklaces from Swarovski beads. Our big sellers are the baby bracelets we make. Talk to ya soon

Disney World!

Kim and I at Mickey's Not so Scary Halloween Party!

Got it started!

My first Blog. Give me time to figure it out!