This morning we were waking up at Dixie Landings . . .

Deb in IA

Knows that KIDS are better
Joined
Aug 18, 1999
now I'm back at my computer (obviously) at my desk at work and the kids are in school.
Last July we bought AP's since we were there for a ten day stay. After we got back home, I found out about the WDW Marathon (hubby is an avid runner) on January 7, 2001, and since the kids are out of school for Christmas break until Jan 8, we would do a quick (for us!) trip! By the way, "we" are Me (Deb), age 41, mom and trip planner, Daddy (Eric), age 43, kid at heart and marathon runner, Jennifer, daughter, age 9, and Mark, son, age 5.
So, here's what we did:

DAY 1, Wednesday, Jan 3:
Arrival
Left Iowa at 8 am, flew TWA, arrived in Orlando at 1:30 pm. Met Scoobey at baggage claim, and found he gave us a free upgrade from a towncar to a stretch limo!! (I had made a comment to Scoobey that last time we were there, our kids loved the VCR in the car, and asked if we could have one again. Scoobey said that the stretch was the only one with a VCR available that day! Jennifer's eyes almost popped out of her head!). Checked into Dixie Landings at 3:15. Wonderful resort, beautiful theming, got all our requests (Alligator Bayou building 15, non-smoking room, trundle bed, upper floor). Got unpacked, then got on bus for Epcot. Realize that we left our AP's back in the room (!). Had to ride bus back to room to get passes! Go back to Epcot to get to our PS at Biergarten. Had great dinner there. I got "captured" by band member after doing "chicken dance" with daughter, and was drafted as a contestant in a yodeling contest!!! :eek: :eek: :eek: After MUCH embarassment and a very feeble attempt at yodeling, I receive a Beck's Beer t-shirt as a souvenir of my most embarrassing moment (luckily, we did not bring our video camera this time, so I don't have to see it again!). After recovering from that trauma, we go out to see Tapestry of Nations, skip Illuminations for now, and go back to DL to bed.

DAY 2, Thursday, Jan 4:
Animal Kingdom
Got Fastpass to Dinosaur first, then went to Boneyard (kids love playground stuff). Did Dinosaur, then It's Tough to Be a Bug. Ate lunch at Flame Tree BBQ, and FROZE (all outdoor seating, and temp was 45 degrees!). Went to Kilamanjaro Safari (no wait), then saw Festival of Lion King. Back to DL for rest and hubby to run. Dinner at Beach Club at Cape May Cafe for clambake - great food, steamed clams and mussels, clam chowder, salmon, ribs, cornbread, out of this world desserts! Unfortunately, bus takes an hour to get there (took Downtown Disney bus, connected to Beach Club bus at Pleasure Island). After Cape May Cafe, walked out across International Gateway, and got a spot by England for Illuminations. Then back to DL and to bed.

DAY 3, Friday, Jan 5:
Sports Complex/MGM
Took MGM bus, connected to Sports Complex bus to pick up marathon packet (race number, timing chip, instructions, souvenir t-shirt, etc). Back to MGM, stored stuff in locker. To Star Tours first for Fastpass (son's request). Did Great Movie Ride while waiting for Fastpass to come up and got the "cowgirl" story this time (had gotten the gangster one before). Did Star Tours. Headed over to Tower of Terror, got Fastpass. Ate lunch at Catalina Eddies/Rosie's All American Cafe while waiting for Fastpass. Did Tower of Terror (I LOVE this attraction, especially theming and special effects; kids are not so thrilled with it). Got Fastpass for Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Did Drew Carrey while waiting for Fastpass to come up. Dad and Jennifer do Rock 'n' Rollercoaster; I wait with Mark (too short). By now our PS for Mama Melrose is up; no time for me to do R 'n' R with Jennifer, so I give away my Fastpass. Head over to Mama Melrose for dinner; very good Italian food. Had special mussel soup (delicious!); hubby had pasta and a martini, with tiramisu for dessert. Kids had "ice cream cone that fell in the dirt" for dessert. Headed over to Osborne Family Spectacle of Lights, but could not find 3-D glasses. Still pretty impressive. Afterwards, while walking out, daughter spots a pin station, and gets first lanyard (sp?) and pins, and instantly becomes addicted to pin trading. Back to DL and bed.

DAY 4, Saturday, Jan 6:
Magic Kingdom
Sent hubby to Space Mountain first to get Fastpass. Kids and I got a ride on the trolley to Cinderella's Castle forecourt area. Met hubby at Buzz Lightyear, did that with 10 minute wait. Next did Space Mountain; son gets measured and first guy says "Sorry, too short", but second CM says "Wait a minute, let's try that again. Yup, he's OK!". So we all go on Space Mountain; everyone loves it. Jennifer and I do Alien Encounter while Dad and Mark do Tomorrowland Transit Authority. Do Indy Racers next (Mark wants this). To Goofy's Barnstormer, Mickey's house and Minnie's house in Toontown Fair. Do Tea Cups next. I go to Spash Mountain to get Fastpass, kids hang around Fantasyland and get more pins. Mark really wants to do "Sword in the Stone" ceremony in front of the Carrousel, so we do that while waiting for our Fastpass to come up. After that, we do Splash Mountain, and get really wet. We go to Pecos Bill for lunch and to dry off. Then to Big Thunder Mountain (another one of son's requests). We see the Magical Moments afternoon parade after this. Next to Adventureland and we go on Pirates of the Carribean (no wait). Stop for a Mickey bar before doing Jungle Cruise (5 minute wait, so we do not get Fastpass). Check out Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse (daughter Jennifer wants to see this). Then to main entrance and ride the Magic Kingdom train for the complete circuit. Then to Tony's for 5 pm PS. Got our request of a table on the outdoor balcony. Kids get cheese pizza (in the shape of Mickey), I get eggplant pancakes (excellent), hubby pasta-loads on spaghetti. We stayed for the Main Street Electrical Parade (Tony's balcony is a great spot!), then head back and go to bed.

DAY 5, Sunday, Jan 7
MARATHON DAY

Deb

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Deb: Love your report! I've been to Iowa City several times... the company I work for has its' corporate headquarters in Cedar Rapids. Love the mall in Iowa City!

Which airport did you fly out of?
 
We fly out of the Cedar Rapids airport, which I guess is now officially called The Eastern Iowa Airport. We love it because it is such a small airport, parking, check-in, and baggage claim is a breeze!
I don't know why the rest of my trip report ended up on another post <IMG SRC="/infopop/emoticons/icon_confused.gif" alt="confused"> , but the report on the marathon can be found there.
Thanks for reading! :)
 
Thanks for the info on the airport! I read your report that included information about the marathon. They showed a brief video clip of the WDW marathon on our local TV station. It looked awesome. Made me want to take up running just to be able to participate in this particular marathon LOL!
 



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