The Kentucky Bourbon Trail and Walt Disney World?

Towards the end of October I was able to complete The Kentucky Bourbon Trail. For those of you who are not familiar, The Kentucky Bourbon Trail has been put together by the Kentucky Distillers' Association and is a group of eight distilleries that put on tours and teach visitors about the history and the making of Americas native spirit. The distilleries are grouped in fours. One group is near the bourbon capital of the world, Bardstown, KY. Those are Jim Beam, Tom Moore, Heaven Hill and Makers Mark. The second group is near Lexington, KY and they are Buffalo Trace, Wild Turkey, Four Roses and Woodford Reserve.

To do the Bourbon Trail you should pick up a passport.


Inside there are spaces to get it stamped at every distillery and when you complete it you can send it in and get a Bourbon Trail t-shirt.


If you are planning to visit all of the distilleries, you can do this in two days but I would not recommend it because you will really be rushing to get from one place to another. Luckily when I did it I visited Woodford Reserve and Makers Mark during the Kentucky Bourbon Festival in September and then took two days in October to visit the other six.

The Distilleries

Woodford Reserve - This distillery is one of my favorites to visit. It looks like it's a movie set and what Hollywood would have created for what a distillery should look like. Even the drive in past all of the horse farms seems too good to be true. I don't want to give away too much away but just plan a bit of time to really take this distillery in.

Makers Mark - I have to preface this by saying I am a Makers Mark Ambassador so I may be a bit biased but I love their bourbon and the rustic feel of their distillery. To me this is what I envision when I think of a distillery.

Tom Moore - This was an interesting tour. This is the one and only distillery that is optional on the trail since they only hold two tours a day and only take out around 20 people on a tour. Here you really get to see the inner workings of a modern distillery from where the grains come in all the way to the shipping of the final product. The Tom Moore distillery makes 1792 bourbon but they also bottle a lot of other products like gin and vodka.

Jim Beam - This distillery is a bit in flux. They are in the midst of putting a tour together and the time I visited they were just putting the finishing touches on their visitors center. The distillery is massive but for a visitor there really isn't much to do or see just yet.

Heaven Hill - They have the Bourbon Heritage Center on their grounds and it is extremely nice. I would take a little wile to go through there and really take in some of the bourbon making history.

Four Roses - Architecturally you will not see anything like this distillery anywhere else on the trail. Their buildings are done in a Spanish mission style and is truly something to see. The tour I received was a bit abbreviated since they weren't distilling and it was raining a bit but what I did see was extremely nice and makes it to my top three distilleries.

Wild Turkey - This was another tour that really got into the workings of the modern distillery. The location is really nice also, being next to the Kentucky River. There is a nice story, if you can get your guide to talk about it, about one of their barrel houses. oh and don't forget to try the fudge if they have any.

Buffalo Trace - This was another interesting tour. you get to see their small batch bottling line where they do a lot of it by hand. they do also offer some other tours that you have to make reservations for that go more into depth through the distillery. Did you know their distillery was the only one allowed to still distill bourbon through prohibition.?

The Bourbon

Of the tours, Woodford Reserve, Makers Mark, Jim Beam, Heaven Hill, Four Roses, and Buffalo Trace all offer bourbon tastings. My personal favorites are Makers Mark, of course, Four Roses Single Barrel, Buffalo Trace and Wild Turkey Rare Breed in that order. Now I tend to like sweeter bourbons more but have come to like some of the others. Now of course every one's tastes are different so I would definitely go and try all that you can and if you can handle it you can even try some "White Dog".

Walt Disney World?

Being a Disney fan something this year got me thinking. Epcot has a world showcase that is represented by eleven countries that display their culture, food and drink. This past year the Mexico pavilion just put in a tequila bar were people can come in and try different tequilas. I'm not certain but I think they even do tastings.


If that can be put there why couldn't there be a bourbon bar put in the America pavilion? With the popularity of bourbon rising, and it being a truly American spirit, it is a perfect fit. Not only could you educate people on the bourbon making process you could advertise the trail. There is a place to the right of the building that would be a prime area to put together a building that looked like a small barrel house but inside was set up for serving drinks and having bourbon tastings. I may be doing a bit of armchair Imagineering but I think it's a great idea. Let me know what you think by leaving your comments below.

Our Animal Kingdom Day

June 12th was the day we had planned to go to Animal Kingdom. We noticed that this was going to be the hottest day since we got there so we got there at rope drop. I again grabbed my dad's and Wyatt's tickets and made my way over to Expedition Everest to get fast passes while they headed over to Kilimanjaro Safari.

I ran to meet up with them and we all got in line. the kids and I really like the safari and we did get to see a lot of animals but I think we were rushed through it. Of course I have no bases for this so I'll have to go on it again and see.

It was time to use our fast passes so we all headed over to Asia. I did not know what to expect with this coaster so I was telling Wyatt that it was like Big Thunder Mountain. Boy was I wrong. That was a great coaster. The point where you start rolling backwards through the dark was one of the most intense moments on any coaster I have been on because you cannot see a thing. You almost feel like you won't stop going down the hill. The only real complaint that I have is that the Yeti was still not working and it made it hard to see him. He was in B mode which means he is not moving and there is a strobe light going off. You are passing by so fast and if the strobe switches off when you go past you miss him entirely. Luckily I knew where to look and pointed it out to Wyatt so both of us got to see him for a brief second but my dad missed him completely.

There was some time between when we got off and when we needed to get lunch so we all went over to Finding Nemo The Musical. I kept hearing Lou Mongello and other talk about how well done this show was so we just had to see it. It didn't disappoint. Even though the movie itself did not have any music written for it the music written for the show is Broadway caliber stuff. The show also kept the kids attention. We were sitting right in front of the middle isle way that runs parallel to the stage and Brooklyn got a kick out of some of the puppets running back and forth right there in front of her. This is a must do if you go to this park.

After the show it was time for lunch so we headed over to Yak and Yeti. When we were finished with lunch we made our way down to the Tree of Life to see It's Touch to be a Bug. I think Brooklyn had been 3D'd/4D'd out because she didn't even put her glasses on and really didn't like this show. Wyatt and I on the other hand liked it and the Hopper animatronic was great.

Now hitting the real heat of the day we all decided to hit one more thing and head back to the rooms to relax a bit. Festival of the Lion King was starting soon so we decided to hit that. Mostly because my mom would have killed me if I didn't take the kids to see it. It was a really good show. It's very high energy and they get the audience into the show.

We left Animal Kingdom and this was the first time during the trip that we didn't have anything planned in advance. While we were leaving though, I noticed that Brooklyn had lost her USB drive that had all of her information on it. Knowing there was no way I was going to find it right then we went back to our rooms to rest and contemplate where we should go for dinner. My mom eventually called and said that we should head over to Planet Hollywood. That was fine with me I really wasn't all that hungry and neither were the kids. On the ride over Brooklyn ended up falling asleep and I had to carry her into the restaurant.

When we left we took a walk around "Pleasure Island". I put that in quotes because Pleasure Island as most people know it isn't there anymore. There are some restaurants and shops open but all of the clubs and things that made PI are gone. We did run into some dancers while we were there and they got Wyatt up to dance to YMCA.

I did promise the kids that we would play miniature golf at Winter Summer Land so the kids and I headed over there while my parents and sister went back to their room. All I have to say is Brooklyn is a player! She beat Wyatt and he was playing hard as well. I may have to look at getting her into the LPGA. One major problem I had with going there towards the end of the evening was that there is only one bus that runs. The Epcot bus is the only one that will pick up there and take you to your resort. It only comes around every 20 to 30 minutes so that can be a long wait to get back to your room. Luckily our resort was about 3 minutes away so I called my parents and My mom and sister came and picked us up.

Our day at Epcot

Our Epcot day, on June 11th, turned out to be a great day. I was really worried that the kids would get bored but they seemed to really enjoy themselves.

We started out the day with me going over to Test Track and getting fast passes while everyone else headed over to Soarin. I made my way over to them and we got in line. While in line though Brooklyn needed to go to the restroom so the both of us headed out so she could go. On the way back in I noticed that she was actually not tall enough to ride so we both went over to Sunshine Seasons and picked up a little breakfast. After we fished up the two of us waited for the rest of the family at Soarin's exit. They all really liked it.

It was time to use our fast passes so we all headed over to Test Track. Brooklyn couldn't ride this either but Samantha doesn't do too well on fast attractions so she decided to wait this one out with Brooklyn. The fast pass line was nearly walk on. Wyatt and I got to sit in the front seats so he got to see everything that was about to happen and we all really liked this. It probably wouldn't have been worth it though if we had to go through the standby line.

By this time we were getting hungry so we decided to go to the China pavilion for something quick. When we got there Mulan was out front and the kids were able to get her autograph. When we were finished eating we decided to go back to the beginning and make our way around World Showcase.

We hit Mexico and rode the Gran Fiesta Tour Featuring the Three Caballeros and the kids hit the first of the Kidcot Funstops. They took some time and colored a mask and got a tag from Mexico. We then hit Norway,where Wyatt, my dad and I rode Maelstrom, China, and Germany. We saw Snow White and the Prince on our way from Germany to Italy. We then decided to make a pit stop at the America pavilion. None of us had ever heard the Voices of liberty sing before and we got there with 10 minutes to spare. All of us were sitting on the benches inside and I decided to walk around and look at all of the painting that were on the walls. While I was away, a cast member approached my parents and and told them that we were going to be the family of the day. This was truly awesome! Not only did we get certificates stating this, we also got to sit in the balcony to listen to the Voices of Liberty and also sit in the front row of The American Adventure. That was a wonderful show and I highly recommend seeing it. The show was fairly long, long enough for Brooklyn to take a little snooze and get refreshed in the air conditioning.

Japan was our next stop and we made it just in time to see Miyuki make little animals out of rice candy. It was unbelievable what she was able to do with that stuff. We then hit Morocco, where my mom grabbed some baklava, and then France. This is where we found Belle and the Beast and we just barely made it over in time to see Aurora. Noticing what time it was, we headed to the UK to see Pooh, Tigger and Eeyore. We thought we were going to have enough time to meet them and make it to our dinner reservation but we got all the way up to the front of the line and the character handler said they needed to take a ten minute break. My mom was able to talk to the cast member and plead her case for letting us be the last ones to meet the the characters before their break. You know what, it worked. We were able to get in out and over to the Coral Reef in time for dinner.

After dinner we walked back over to the Canada pavilion so that the kids could get their tags for their masks at the Kidcot funstop. I think my kids may be a bit odd. They seem to really enjoy going around Wold Showcase getting tags for their masks and trying to find the pressed penny machines. They didn't once ask to go on any rides or see any shows because they were so involved in what they were doing.

When we were finished there we headed back to the rooms to rest up for our Animal kingdom day.

Our parkless day at WDW

Wednesday the 10th was supposed to be our easy going day. I think I over planned it.

For starters our breakfast reservations were for 7:30 at Chef Mickey's so we did get to sleep in. When I say we I mean my mom, sister, Wyatt, Brooklyn and myself. My dad was beat so he decided to sleep in and forgo the character breakfast.

We got on the bus to the Magic Kingdom with a few other people and when we arrived everyone got off. On the way out I asked what would be the quickest way to get over to the Contemporary resort and the driver said that walking over would be the quickest. I told her thank you and as we were about to get off of the bus she told us that she could just drive us over. I was surprised, thinking that the buses have to stay on a tight schedule, that she was able to do that. I wish I could remember her name so that I could right a letter to WDW. Breakfast was really nice. The food was really good and the kids actually ate, even with the characters coming around. They were able to get autographs from Mickey, Minnie, Donald, Goofy and Pluto.

When breakfast was finished my mom and sister took Brooklyn back to the room while Wyatt and I went down to the water and rented a Sea Raycer. We had a great time speeding around Bay Lake and Seven Seas Lagoon. Wyatt kept dipping his arm in the water and got me a little wet in the process. I think that was what he was trying to do. We stayed out for a good hour and 15 minutes and was able to stay out longer but we had to make our way over to Downtown Disney for Brooklyn's appointment at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.

Wyatt and I ended up beating the rest of them over there so I sat down and let Wyatt get squirted by Stitch outside the World of Disney store. Once everyone got there we headed over to the Boutique. When we got there the fairy godmother that checked us in was asking Brooklyn what hairstyle she would like and started to ask what princess she would like to dress as and all that got out of her mouth was"and who would you like to dr..." and Brooklyn blurted out BELLE! Talk about a girl that knows what she wants. They weren't quite ready for us yet so they gave us a pager and we looked around the store for a bit. Brooklyn had the pager and got really excited when it went off. We went in and another fairy godmother took us back to a door and told Brooklyn that she had to say what Cinderella's fairy godmother said for her dress to appear in the next room. She was so excited that she completely forgot what to say and we had to help her. We went into the dressing room and she saw the dress and looked and me and said, with a smile on her face, "This is real magic." What can you say after that? I helped her get dressed and we headed out to her real fairy godmother. Brooklyn couldn't have been better. She sat there with her dress on and a great big smile as she got all dolled up. You can see some of the photos at the bottom of this page.

When we were finished and I was paying they reminded me that she got a photo shoot with the package that I got for her. I completely forgot. We all headed outside and Brooklyn needed to get her picture taken with the Cinderella and Aurora statues that were out front. We were heading over to the guest relations building for the photo shoot and I was noticing that I had created a monster. Brooklyn was just eating up the whole "being a princess" thing. She was walking different, holding her head up high and just acting royal.

After the photo shoot, which you can see some of the photos here, we looked through the stores at the marketplace and grabbed some lunch. The kids were really getting tired so I took them back to the room for a nap. On the way back we got onto the bus and Wyatt wanted to sit in the back so we headed back there and sat down. I noticed the driver got out of his seat and was rummaging through a box at the front of the bus. He closed the box and looked back at us and started heading back. He looked at Brooklyn and said "I have been waiting all day for a princess to get on my bus" and he handed her a ring that she saw, and wanted, at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique. He also had a slide whistle that he gave to Wyatt. These cast members really know how to take care of guests and go that extra mile to do it.

We ended up staying at the room, and taking a nap, until we had to get back to Downtown Disney for dinner. We met my parents at Raglin Road and had a wonderful meal and also got to see some Irish dancing and hear some Irish music. Brooklyn really enjoyed the dancing.

After dinner my parents took the kids back to the room to get changed and go swimming while I stayed behind and picked a few things up for myself, the kids and my sister. When I was finished I headed back to the room to get ready for our Epcot day.

Our Tuesday at Disney's Hollywood Studios

On July 9th we planned to go to Disney's Hollywood Studios for the day. We decided to sleep in a bit and headed to the park a little later in the morning. We got there around 10:00 and of course had some pictures taken in front of the Sorcerer Mickey hat, you know the one they need to get rid of ;^)

We made our way back to Pixar Place and got fast passes for Toy Story Midway Mania. The time we got was a bit later in the day, 2:15, so we decided to head on over to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. Since Brooklyn couldn't ride and my mom and sister wouldn't ride they took a stroll around some of the shops and then headed over to Beauty and the Beast - Live on Stage.

My dad, Wyatt and I got in line and Wyatt seemed a bit nervous, of course my dad messing with him didn't help. This was his first ride on anything that just drops you. We got down into the boiler room and he grabbed my hand and wouldn't let go. The bellhops got us buckled into our car and away we went. I forgot how cool that rise was and when it left one shaft and moved across to the other shaft but once we got there, we heard the locks engage and I told Wyatt to hold on and SCREAM! Our ride took us up and down, I think, five times. Each time Wyatt's feet came up and he started shaking them wildly. I'm not sure if it really scared him or he was just having a good time but when we got off he had a big smile on his face. On the way out Wyatt wanted to get something from the gift shop with his own money and he picked out a key pin that had HTH on it.

We got done with the Tower of Terror just in time because we were able to walk into Beauty and the Beast and get a seat just a couple of minutes before it started. When we got our seat I got a call from my sister telling us to look down the row behind us and there they were sitting on the other end. Brooklyn really like Beauty and the Beast and Belle in particular. My mom said that Brooklyn loved the show all the way up until the Beast came out and then she wasn't too sure about it. After the show we all met up and Brooklyn said that she really did like it.

The show ended and it was getting close to lunch time so we decided to head over to Mama Melrose's Ristorante Italiano but on the way over the Star Wars: Jedi Training Academy was about to start so Wyatt, Brooklyn and I stayed there to watch as my parents headed over to the restaurant to put our name in. I tried to get Wyatt excited to try and get picked for the Training Academy but he didn't seem that into it. He ended up not getting picked but that was a good thing because my mom called me and said that they had a table for us and they could seat us as soon as we got there so we left the show early to grab some lunch.

After lunch we got in line for Muppet*Vision 3D. I loved all of the gags in the preshow area. They really took their time and thought this out. Brooklyn watch most of this with the glasses on and Wyatt really enjoyed this, thinking that the characters were only talking to him. Brooklyn also didn't seem fazed when Sweetums came out into the theater.

We made our way through The Streets of America and over into "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" Movie Set Adventure. This gave the kids a little time to play and "cool off". When we left there we walked through the back lot area and back into Pixar Place since our fast pass time for Toy Story Midway Mania was coming up.

This ride/game is one of the best I have been on. The 3D game play was extremely accurate and the graphics looked like they were straight from the movie even though they were being rendered in real time. I sat with Wyatt, my sister with Brooklyn and then my parents. I, overall, beat our group but what was surprising was that my mom came in second and took my dad out. I looked back at the end and my dad did have a smile on his face so I think he kind of enjoyed it. Coming out of the ride we ran into a Green Army Man and the kids got his autograph.

Over in the Animation Courtyard the next thing we hit was Voyage of The Little Mermaid, thinking Brooklyn would like this. I had never been to this show so I had no idea what to expect. We took our seats and the show started and all of a sudden we were getting wet?!? Brooklyn doesn't like unexpectedly getting wet so I heard her crying next to my mom but once that was over and the actual show started she was fine. One thing I would suggest for this show is to upgrade the movie scenes to digital. The old analog scenes are really looking dated.

Since we were still over in the Animation Courtyard I wanted to take Wyatt over to The Magic of Disney Animation. Lately he really seems to want to learn how to draw and I thought he might really like sitting down with a Disney artist and learn how to draw something. We went through a little presentation on how Mushu was created then they sent us into a character greeting area where the kids were able to get a lot of autographs. We then were able to sit down with an artist where he taught us how to draw Chip, as in Chip and Dale. Wyatt's drawing was wonderful and of course my moms came out perfect. We got done with our drawings just in time because it was time for dinner over at the 50's Prime Time Cafe.

After dinner we headed over to Fantasmic! for the first showing. Big mistake! By the time we got there it was already standing room only so we decided to skip it. My mom wanted to go back to the gift shop that was outside of The Magic of Disney Animation to pick up some how-to books and a sketch book so we decided to head over there. On the way we were going to stop at Playhouse Disney–Live on Stage! but was disappointed to find out that it was closed for the night. Actually the last showing was around 5:30, which we all thought was weird. Anyway, my mom got her books and on the way out we got in line for The Great Movie Ride.

Now I knew that there was a part that would really scare Brooklyn, Alien, and one that she would just go crazy over, The Wizard of OZ. Brooklyn is an Ozoholic. She can watch that movie over and over again and I think she might be close to having every line memorized. I knew the payoff from this ride was going to be great. We made it through all of the beginning scenes without any problems and when I knew the Alien scene was about to come up I told her to close her eyes and I helped hold her ears and we made it through just fine, even thought the Alien popped out right over Wyatt's head. I saw him slouch down a bit in his seat. We saw Mickey from the Sorcerer's Apprentice and the minute she saw Munchkin Land in the next scene boy did she perk up. Even when the wicked witch showed up she had no problems. I think this part made both of our nights.

When the ride was over we decided to head back to the rooms because we have a day full of breakfast, boats, and a little fairy magic.

Our first full day at the Magic Kingdom

June 8th got off to a rocky start. I ended up waking my parents up when I went over to see if they were ready to go. No biggie though this gave us time to eat a little breakfast and have some coffee before we headed out.

Once we got there, we got some photos taken and noticed that the Dream-Along With Mickey show was starting in front of the castle. Right here was my second choke up moment. At one point in the show, Mickey and the gang asked everyone to yell "Dreams Come True". My daughter is not one to get overly excited about this kind of stuff but at that moment she had her hands cupped around her mouth yelling dreams come true. I couldn't have asked for a better moment.

When the show was over we noticed Storytime With Bell was starting next to the castle but decided to catch that at another time. We ended up taking a path over to Fantasyland and hit a few shops behind the castle, Sir Mickey's and Tinker Bell's Treasures. Now I thought that you had to be the fist person into Tinker Bell's Treasures to be able to wake her up in the morning but my parents saw someone do it while they were in line to pay for their items and asked if Brooklyn could do it as well. By that time there were a lot of people that wanted to, so as a group we all called for Tinker Bell and saw her show up . That was really cool how they pulled that off and I highly recommend asking to call for Tink.

Right outside that shop is a Cinderella water fountain so I took Brooklyn over there to get her photo and while we were out there Cinderella's Fairy Godmother appeared. We hurried and got in line with Wyatt and this was the first autograph they received.

When we were finished there we headed over to Snow White's Scary Adventure. Here is another ride Brooklyn wasn't too keen on. She got on and rode with me and my mom and by the end of the ride she loved it. As long as she was able to cover her eyes during the scary parts and we told her when to re-open them she was fine. Next was a ride everyone needs to do once, Dumbo.

One of Brooklyn's favorite princesses is Ariel, so while we were over there we decided to hit Ariel's Grotto. While we all waited in line the kids went and played in the little water area for a while. Once we got to the front of the line the kids were a little wet but it helped keep them cool. The Grotto itself was really neat and you couldn't ask for a better second autograph.

It was close to 12:30 and we decided to grab some lunch so I suggested the Columbia Harbour House. Now my reasoning behind this selection is that every time that I have ever been to the Magic Kingdom we have always eaten there. I even made sure to eat there in 2000, when I was on my honeymoon. I am hoping to keep this tradition alive with my kids every time we go.

After lunch we headed back to Fantasyland for It's a Small World. Brooklyn heard it was a boat ride and went into panic mode. Even before we went into the building, which is being refurbished, she was clinging onto me saying she didn't want to go on. Well we finally got onto the boat, turned the corner and the first thing out of her mouth was "Aw, look at all the cute little dolls." Needless to say this became her favorite ride really quick.

Heading back down into Liberty Square I tried to get my promise fulfilled by Wyatt to ride the Haunted Mansion but it was still a no go so we my dad decided to take a ride on the Liberty Square Riverboat. We had just missed the boat but this gave us a little time to relax an cool off. Finally we got our boat ride and we stood right up at the bow of the boat as it went on down the rivers of America.

Now was the time to call in Wyatt's promise. Right when we got off the boat we got directly in line for the Haunted Mansion. Brooklyn was scared but fortunately she was more tired than scared. She eventually fell asleep on my shoulder as we were in line. We made it all the way into the stretching room and she finally started waking up. I think she heard the music I play on my iPod and she recognized it. I carried her all the way up until we got into a doombuggy and then she sat on my moms lap. I was very impressed on how she rode this. I took the time, while we were riding, to try and explain how the effects are done. She would cover her eyes and peek through in just about every scene and she came to find that she really liked Madam Leotta, Little Leotta, the ballroom scene and the graveyard. After we were done with the ride she was so proud of herself that she actually wanted to go again. This also ended up being one of both Wyatt's and Brooklyn's favorite rides.

When we made our way over to Frontierland we noticed that the parade was about to start so we booked it over to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad where Wyatt and I only waited about 35 to 40 minutes to get on. Thanks 3:00 parade.

When we got off the parade was finished and we headed into Adventureland. The kids had to take a Bathroom break and it's a good thing they did because we ran into Wendy. This was one of the great character experiences we had because as my son was walking up to get her autograph I yelled "Be careful Wendy! I think there is a bit of the scallywag in that one." She played off of that wonderfully. Brooklyn was getting a bit tired so we decided to take it a bit easy and start heading out. As we were on our way there were two things we needed to do. The kids wanted to ride The Magic Carpets of Aladdin and my dad wanted a Dole Whip. Well I wanted one too.

On the way out of the park we also ran into a couple of friends, Chip and Dale.

Once we got a bit rested back at our rooms we decided to head back to that park, grab something to eat and see Wishes. after we ate we headed over to the Tomorrowland Terrace Noodle Station an waited for the fireworks. while we were waiting Brooklyn fell asleep and we couldn't get her to wake up to see Tinker Bell fly right over our heads. I can not believe she slept through the whole thing. I guess it was for the best since she doesn't do too well with fireworks and we had another big day at Disney's Hollywood Studios planned.

Arriving at Walt Disney World

Sunday the 7th was going to be a big day. We got up somewhat early, picked up some breakfast at Starbucks and left Valdosta. My parents wanted to stop at the visitors center at the Florida border but come to find out we got there an hour before they opened. Needless to say they were just a bit disappointed since we generally stop there every time we go to Florida.

We got onto the turnpike and we were going to go down to I4 and then into WDW but the GPS had us going to 429 and getting off at Western Way. Boy am I glad we took 429. Not only was it shorter but it put us onto the western side of the property where we were staying, the All-Star Sports Resort.

We got there about 10:30 and got checked in. My room was ready but my parents was not so we unloaded the cars into my room grabbed what we needed to walk around the parks for a while and headed off to the Magic Kingdom after we got a bite to eat at the resorts food court. When we got there I picked up my annual pass and Tables in Wonderland card at guest services so we were set. We were supposed to meet up with Lou Mongello, author of The Walt Disney World Trivia Books and host of the WDW Radio podcast, unfortunately he had to cut his weekend short and we were not able to meet him. Maybe next time.

Since this was the kids first trip, how can you deny them a ride on the monorail on the first day. We decided to make the round trip out to Epcot and back. I also tried to get us up into the front of the monorail but it was already taken.

When we got back the kids were so excited to get into the Magic kingdom, since they saw the castle from the monorail going from the Transportation and Ticket Center to the park, I decided that we should go on in. This would be the one and only time we saw any substantial rain. We walked under the train station through town square and into the Emporium then the skies opened up. Thankfully the heavy stuff didn't last too long. By the time we finished looking through the Emporium and was down by Casey's corner the rain was light enough for us to make it over to Pirates of the Caribbean. Which I have to point out was my dad's suggestion not mine.

The wait was only 20 minutes when we got there but it seemed like we made it through the line much quicker. I was noticing a bit of tension in my daughter, Brooklyn, and I had a feeling that she may not enjoy this. Even my son, Wyatt, was a bit unsure once we were on the boat and he saw the Davy Jones effect. Once we hit the waterfall though it was all over for my daughter. She wanted off the boat. Eventually I was able to calm her down and get her through the rest of the ride but from here on out she was very hesitant to get on another boat ride. We found this out quickly when we headed over to the Jungle Cruise.

We got into the Jungle Cruise line and Wyatt had the pin trading itch. The first cast member we saw he asked to see his pins and I think he made a really good trade because for his pin he got a Captain Jack Mickey Mouse. We got about halfway through the line and Brooklyn started getting scared again but we all also noticed that she was getting tired. She rode most of the ride with her head buried in my moms lap. When we were done there it was getting really close to dinner time but we still had not found the shop to get the one item every 1st timer needs...Mickey Ears! On the way out we stopped at the hat shop and picked up 2 sets of pirate ears and one set of Minnie Mouse ears. We didn't forget our names on the back either.

On to Beaches and cream! We took a nice bus ride over to the Beach Club and put our name in for Dinner. They told us it would be about 45 minutes to an hour but that was fine. It gave us some time to relax at a table by the pool. Once our table was ready and we got to our seats it was time for dinner, The Kitchen Sink! I cannot see how 4 people could eat all of this. There were 6 of us and we couldn't polish it off. Oh well, only in WDW could you have ice cream for dinner.

Afterwards we headed back to the Magic Kingdom but Brooklyn was beat and my parents and sister, Samantha, wanted to go back to the room so they took Brooklyn and headed back while Wyatt and I took in a bit of the extra magic hours that night. It was almost 9:00 and time for Wishes so we picked out a spot to watch. Right here was one of my choke up moments. Before they started Wyatt was asking about the fireworks and in a low voice asked if Tinkerbell was going to fly from the castle. I told him I wasn't sure and that he would just have to watch. The show started and the minute he saw Tinkerbell flying, his eyes got really big and his hand went up to his mouth like he couldn't believe it was happening. From that point I knew this was going to be a special trip.

After wishes we really just walked around the entire park. We did go on the Tomorrowland Speedway and Wyatt got his drivers license. I tried to get him to go on The Haunted Mansion with me but it really spooked him a lot with it being at night so we ended up on Pirates again. This time we lucked out and was able to sit in the front row of the boat. On the way out we just strolled down Main Street USA taking in the music and then headed back to our room for the night. The next day will bring us more Magic Kingdom fun.