Note: Min's trip report is in Coral and Bill's comments are in Blue. In the Gallery links, pictures without a border link to the specific picture and those with a border link to a gallery of related pictures.

Click to Read:  Intro & Prelude  - Part Two  - Part Three  - Part Four

May 13, 2004 - Thursday

We got up, got ready, put our things in the car and then waited. Nancy was going to call us when she left work around 9:00 AM to let us know she was on her way to Jacksonville.

Well that was the plan, but when she called things took a twist. She asked me about driving straight to Orlando and meeting us there, rather than driving to Jacksonville and then riding with us to Orlando. I got on the internet, got the directions and went over them with mom while she looked at her map. Mom said she would give us a call for final directions to the hotel, once she got off the turnpike in Orlando.

After talking to Nancy, we called my mom and told her about the change in plans. Then we went by the credit union and then headed to Orange Park, a suburb of Jacksonville, to pick up my mom. We got her stuff in the car, said goodbye to my dad and grandmother Vadie and were on the road to Orlando by 10:30. The trip to Orlando was uneventful and took us about 2 hours. Since we got to Orlando about 12:30 and did not expect Nancy until about 3:00, we decided to start the Disney Pin Flower scavenger hunt while we waited for her arrival. I wanted to get the Pooh and Stitch flower pins, and Bill liked the free pin which was a Figment flower pin.

Get the first few stops out of the way; Downtown Disney, Pop Century and Wilderness Lodge before check-in at the hotel.

When we got to Downtown Disney, we headed for Disney's Pin Traders.

The hunt was on...

Unfortunately, they did not have the Pin Flower scavenger hunt card. We talked to one of the cast members and she said someone was bringing some more over, so we decided to get a sandwich at Earl of Sandwich to kill some time.

Min was hungry, too... well... so were Linda and me...

Bill had the Full Montagu, my mom had the Florentine and I had the Beef n' Bleu. Bill and my mom had the Earl's Grey Lemonade, way too much lemon in my tea for me.

Good sandwich, but not enough meat... the portion needs to be doubled.  I agree with Min on the Earl's Grey Lemonade, it is one beverage that I will not be ordering again...

After our sandwiches, we headed back to Pin Traders but still no pin scavenger hunt card. We saw a sign about the Pin Flower scavenger hunt that said that the Stitch flower pins were sold out. After not getting a card and then seeing that the Stitch pin was sold out, we decided to skip the scavenger hunt. On our way back to the car, we stopped at Guest Relations and upgraded my mom's pass. We told her it was an early birthday present, her birthday is in June. We went to the hotel, Port Orleans French Quarter, to check-in. It was a bit of a wait and then checking in took a little while because they were trying to find us rooms that were close together. While we were in line, Nancy called for directions to the hotel. We got our room assignments, 6123 for Bill and me and 6229 for our moms, not really close to each other but at least in the same building. Then, we went out front to wait for Nancy.

It was a little before 2:00 and Linda commented that it looks like Nancy will be here before 3:00... I think she jinxed us...  :)

Thirty minutes later, we were still waiting for her when she called again.

Mom said that she had missed the turn for the resort and drove through Disney property before getting back on I-4 headed west. She realized what she had done, had turned around and was now heading east on I-4. She was already past all of the Disney exits and heading into Orlando. I told her to turn around and head west on I-4, then get off at exit 67, then take the first ramp off of exit 67 and she would see the signs for the resort.

Fifteen minutes later, still no Nancy. Bill took my cell phone and called her.

Mom was just about to get off I-4 at exit 67. She had me stay on the phone until she was through the WDW entrance and getting off the exit ramp for Downtown Disney and the Downtown Disney resorts. She told me she saw the sign for French Quarter and would be there in a few minutes.

Nancy arrived at the hotel at about 3:00. We drove to our building, unloaded and parked the cars. We got the moms' stuff to their room and then went to our room. It was a nice room with a water view overlooking Sassagoula River. After unpacking, we sat down and rested in the A/C for a few minutes before heading over to our moms' room. Once they were ready, we were off to the bus stop for a ride to the Magic Kingdom. After a quick security check and a short wait while getting my mom's new pass to recognize her biometrics, we were in the Magic Kingdom. Bill took a picture of the "Flower Mickey" in front of The WDW Railroad Main Street Station before we walked under the station and into town square.

To be greeted by a marching band... who told Disney that we were going to be bringing our moms as a late Mother's Day gift...  :)

We walked through the Emporium and Bill stepped outside to take a picture of the marching band. We turned left at the end of Main Street and headed for Adventureland. Our first stop was the Swiss Family Treehouse, where my mom took a picture of Bill and me that was a reliving of our the first picture as a married couple from our honeymoon.

Ah, fond memories of our honeymoon... Linda really liked the treehouse, she kept stopping and looking around at all the detail... mark one thing off her "things to do list" list...

My mom had the Jungle Cruise on her "to do" list, we walked right on without a wait. Both her and Bill's mom enjoyed the campy spiel of our captain. After our jungle boat ride, Nancy voted for a boat ride through the Caribbean. It was a walk on and we got to sit in the seat in front of our moms. They kept joking about keeping an eye on the children as the safety message had advised.

"Keeping an eye on the children," would become one of the running jokes between our moms on this trip.

After a short rest stop, Nancy asked about the island she remembered from a previous trip. She had taken Bill's brother Ron when he was about ten. She talked about eating ice cream, while Ron played with some other boys on the island. We figured out that she was talking about Tom Sawyer's Island and went in that direction. We walked by Splash Mountain and watched some of the folks "take the plunge."

It was kind of weird watching the log plunge down the drop without the water running down the flume...

We also watched the folks on Big Thunder Mountain before arriving at the dock for the raft over to Tom Sawyer's Island. We caught the raft over to the island, but Nancy changed her mind about seeing the place after we got there, so we rode back without setting foot on the island.

I think my mom was upset that Aunt Polly's wasn't open, so there was no ice cream waiting for her on the island...  :)

My mom wanted to go on the Liberty Square Riverboat, but its next trip was at the same time as our dinner PS, so we headed for the Country Bear Jamboree instead. Nancy told my mom about the Country Bears' Christmas show while we were waiting and we mentioned that we might be making a return trip this Christmas for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and the holiday decorations.

Both our moms seemed to get a kick out of the show...

After the Jamboree, we walked through Prairie Outpost & Supply and then found that the hat shop in Frontierland had been redone as a pin shop.

I guess pins are selling better than hats these days...

By now it was almost time, still about fifteen minutes early, for dinner PS at Liberty Tree Tavern. We were seated about fifteen minutes after checking in.

More like thirty and I was getting a little restless waiting... guess I am spoiled by the quick seating we usually get as a party of two versus a party of four...  :)

The food was great, I think we ate three bowls of salad with the strawberry vinaigrette dressing and at least two rounds of everything else. The characters were great as well. My mom and Nancy enjoyed it as much as we did.

The characters were great... the highlight of the character antics was when Chip "borrowed" a blanket and stuffed rabbit from the sleeping baby a couple of tables away, then headed off to a table by himself for some "quiet time." Of course, I got a couple of pictures of Chip in action...  :)

After dinner, we rode Haunted Mansion. We got the doombuggy in front of our moms and I had to keep Bill from thumping theirs when we turned backwards and were coming downstairs to the cemetery.

Well... I... a...... never mind...  :)

We still had a little time before Wishes and stopped by the Ye Olde Christmas Shoppe, so my mom could look for a Disney themed snowman. She is a really big fan of  all things snowmen...

I think Linda likes snowmen more than Min likes Winnie the Pooh... and you guys know how much Min likes Winnie the Pooh...  :)

She found a snowman antenna topper wearing Mickey ears, but the line was too long and the time for Wishes was fast approaching so she passed on buying it.

Right... she just passed on buying it... we had to assure her that the Christmas store in Downtown Disney would have it and that we would stop by there on the way home before she "passed on buying it."  :)

For Wishes, we got a spot right in the middle of Main Street near the tip board.

We once again followed the "Kenny Plan" for viewing Wishes...   :)

The show was great and it was really neat to share the experience with my mom. She loved Wishes, especially the music. Afterwards, it was off to the buses. We stopped to say "goodnight to Mickey" and Bill got a picture of him wishing everyone goodnight.

It came out blurry...   :(

The wait for the bus was not too long and we all got seats, then Bill gave his up to two little girls and then chatted with their mom on the way back to the resort.

She was very happy that the girls got a seat. Her family; husband, the two girls and herself; live in New Jersey. She and I along with my mom had a nice chat on the way back to the resort.

Back at the resort, we made a trip through Jackson Square, the gift shop, for a few refreshments. Then we talked with our moms and decided when and where we were going to meet in the morning before heading back to our room. We watched the season finale of ER before going to sleep.

It was a nice day, even with missing out on the flower pin scavenger hunt, capped off with a good meal, a great show and a nice conversation.

Click to Read:  Intro & Prelude  - Part Two  - Part Three  - Part Four