Category Archives: Trip Reports

Germany Day 2 – A Day in Heidelberg

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After a good night sleep, we all awoke much refreshed. I was up early and spent some time downloading photos and doing the day one blog post. (In the bathroom, of course, so I didn’t wake anyone else.) Suzanne got up a bit later and Kyle slept until 8:00 or so. (Since we all went to bed around 9:30, this mean Kyle slept almost 11 hours.) We were a bit rushed, but managed to make it to the Hauptbahnhof (main station) in plenty of time for our 9:45 meeting with Joanna and Job. After grabbing some breakfast (McD’s for Kyle and Suzanne and a bakery for me), we bought our “Happy weekend ticket” (good for up to five people anywhere in the country on slower regional trains for ?37) we hopped aboard the waiting train bound for Heidelberg. This was one of, if not the oldest, train we’ve been on during all of our travels in Germany. I was afraid it would be packed, but it wasn’t so busy.

After the 90 minute train ride, we hopped a packed bus to travel to the altstadt. I had heard the market extended from one of the old town to the other. This was only sort of true. While there were markets in several squares, there were well spaced and the total size wasn’t that great. We did have a nice walk through the city, ate some good market food, collected our Heidelberg Weinachtsmarkt mug, and did a bit of shopping on the side. Kyle also very much wanted to see a castle. While there were couple on the train ride in, he wasn’t very impressed with them, but was awed by the one over Heidelberg. All in all, it was probably worth the ride each way, but I definitely wouldn’t go out of my way. (Also, it was weird hearing so much English spoken. Admittedly, we were speaking English, but … )

Once back in Frankfurt, after a ride during which most of slept to some degree and during which the police showed up in Darmstadt about a passenger incident with the conductors), we made plans to visit with Joanna tomorrow evening for dinner before they went back home. We headed back to our hotel to a restaurant that was supposed to be around the corner and had cheap, decent, Italian. It wasn’t there, but we did find the other location (perhaps they moved?). It wasn’t where I had it on my map but was at the address I had listed. The restaurant (Zimt + Koriander) was pretty good and we were well treated. Three drinks (one beer, one soda, and one juice) and two pastas and a pizza came to ?26.90. Finished with dinner, we headed back to the hotel so Kyle could have a bath and Suzanne could have a shower. Overall, we had a very nice day.

Tomorrow we have plans to visit our friend Christoph and his family about 30 minutes south of here in Frankfurt. Aside from having to catch and early train (9:10) as they have a family event in the afternoon, we very much looking forward to it. We’ll likely hit the market here again tomorrow afternoon and then head to Joanna’s for dinner.

Germany Day 1 – We Made It

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Well, we made it to Germany without any problems. I managed to catch an early train home on Wednesday, so we were able to do most of our packing that night. The only major problem we had is that I managed to leave my camera battery charger in my office in Boston. After some frantic searching, I ended up ordering one from Amazon.de (at an exorbitant cost) and having it shipped to Joanna’s. Thursday wasn’t so hectic. We did have to do a final leaf raking as the last pickup is while we’re gone. It even started to very lightly snow, starting to get is the mood. Aside from the last minute rush, it was pretty calm. Our car arrived a bit early and the trip to the airport was very smooth as there was little traffic.

The airport itself wasn’t so busy. We expected this as we had flown to Florida in 2004 on Thanksgiving Day. Security was non-eventful. At Newark, they’re still using the old procedure and don’t have the new scanners yet, so we didn’t have to deal with them. After grabbing some dinner at the food court, we had a hour or so before boarding. As a Select Plus member of Amtrak’s frequent traveler program (akin to elite status on an airline), I get access to the Continental Presidential lounges. Let me tell you, if you have the ability to access these, do so. It was very nice. One of them in Newark’s terminal C (where we were) even has a small room for families, which we shared with a mother and her son awaiting their flight to India (after an 11 hour layover).

The flight itself took off on time as was maybe 50% full. They actually told people after boarding was done that they could spread out. I don’t think any row was full and most sections (it was a 3-seat–3–3 configuration) had only 1-2 people. I watched Toy Story 3 while Kyle watched some Handy Manny and insisted on watching some of my Toy Story 3 (using one of my headphone pieces to do it). We did learn that we should have brought over the ear headphones for Kyle. At home he tried a set of ear bud ones and they seemed okay (and they pack much smaller), but they kept falling out. We’re hoping to pick up a pair somewhere before we head back. The rest of the flight was fine, though we didn’t sleep. While I don’t normally sleep on a plane, we were shocked that Kyle didn’t either. Both of us were dreading Friday. Other than this, Kyle was quite well behaved on the plane. The lady behind us even complimented us. (At least I think she did. She said something in German that included nice/good.)

Arrival in Frankfurt was uneventful. It was very foggy as we came in. Once we landed I could swear the grass was snow covered, but it was hard to tell as we didn’t have window seats. Turns out I was right. They had they’re first snow Thursday night. We did manage to neglect to get Kyle’s gate checked stroller as we got off the plane. (We boarded a bus and it was raining/snowing at the time.) They ended up delivering it (slightly damp) to baggage claim, so the crisis of a lost stroller was avoided. Immigration and baggage claim was uneventful. One bag was on the carousel when we made it there and the other popped up within a few minutes.

Other than having to wait for a bit for the S-Bahn into town (we just missed the previous one), we had no problems getting to the hotel. (Of course, we know our way around reasonably well as Marburg is an hour northeast of here.) Our hotel (the Best Western Scala) is a few minute walk from one end of the main shopping street and from one of the main S-Bahn stations, so is very convenient. The hotel itself it nice and feels fairly new. We did have to wait 20 or so minutes for our room, but as official check-in isn’t until 3, we didn’t mind if it meant we could get to our room then. (It was about 11 at this point.)

After moving some stuff around, we headed back out. Our first stop was McD’s to get Kyle lunch. The line was quite long and by the time I managed to actually get it, Kyle was nearly asleep. He managed to eat a french fry and a half before falling asleep with the second half in his hand. We figured (and hoped) this would happen, but would have liked him to eat something since he hadn’t eaten much Thursday. While Kyle slept, Suzanne and I headed down the Ziel (the main shopping street) and over to the R?merplatz, site of the Christmas Market. It seems the market has expanded since we were over here. Being back in the atmosphere was great. It wasn’t so busy, despite it being the first day it was open, as it was only mid-afternoon at this point. We toured the whole market, stopping for a Gl?hwein (hot mulled wine — a staple of any Christmas market) and a bratwurst. We then headed back towards the Ziel, stopping in a couple of department stores to (a) pick up a few grocery items (most department stores here have a grocery store in the basement) and (b) (at one) to “preview” the toy department with a sleeping Kyle.

Back at the hotel, we switched a few things and headed back out to meet our friend Katrin (from our time in Marburg) at a cafe about 10 mins from the hotel. We were running a few minutes late, but so was she, so it worked out very well. Kyle woke up just before we arrived, though he was still a bit grumpy. We had a nice conversation over coffee and then wandered around the market for a bit. The lightly falling snow really added to the festive mood. Kyle took a ride on one of the carousels, of course insisting on the one with the bright orange hook-and-ladder firetruck. We then all walked back to the hotel.

After saying our goodbyes to Katrin, we headed back upstairs to grab the stuff to take to Joanna and Job’s. The trip there was also fine aside from my forgetting to take the nice printed transit directions. Luckily I remembered them well enough and had a map to their flat. We had a wonderful visit with them including Joanna’s delicious steak and pepper (?) stew. (She made this for me when I visited on a previous visit.) About 7:30 we were all starting to feel the effects of a night without sleep, so we packed up and headed back to the hotel (about 30 minutes) after making plans to meet at the main train station in the morning and head out to Heidelberg for the day (about 90 minutes from Frankfurt). All in all, it was a pretty good trip over and a first day.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the latest update.

Back Home

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The Blue Mosque at night

The Blue Mosque at night

Well, we are back home. Our trip back was fairly uneventful. The car we had scheduled to pick us up was bit late, and it was scheduled a bit later than would have been ideal, so it was a little anxious. However, we had no problems getting to the airport in plenty of time. After a brief stop at the Duty Free to blow our few remaining Lira (when ended up bringing home only 0.50 TL), it was off to the lounge to await our (45 min delayed) boarding. The flight itself was as good as a 10 hour flight could be. (I did manage to watch a total of seven movies between the two flights.) We were quite impressed with Turkish Airlines and would definitely fly them again, aside from the fact that their only flight from the US is to Istanbul.

We encountered no delays once back in the US. However, on the drive home from JFK, traffic was horrendous. It took us almost two-and-a-half hours for what would be maybe an hour without traffic. Of course we knew traffic would be bad, so we had a car service pick us up instead of asking Mary Lou to drive both ways through rush hour. We were exhausted, but had a great trip.

One More Day

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Rumeli Fortress on the Bosphorus

Rumeli Fortress on the Bosphorus

Today was our last day in Istanbul. Since we had seen most of the highlights we wanted to hit earlier in the week, we decided to sleep in a bit. We eventually got going around 10:00, popping down to the Arasta Bazaar to check it out. Next we headed back up Divan Yolu where Suzanne wanted to stop back by an inexpensive, small “Target-esque” store to pick up some tea glasses. (Six were only $2.) After a tram ride to the ferry port of Eminönü, we hopped on a boat for a 90 minute cruise up and down the Bosphorus. It was a nice time, but got quite cool and windy. (Suzanne moved downstairs where it was enclosed while I stuck it out up top for photos.)

After a brief stop for lunch, we walked back to the hotel to drop off some purchases, stopping a few places on the way. We then decided to hit the Mosaic Musuem, in the Arasta Bazaar, which was a nice way to spend some time. The 6th century mosaics are from the Byzantine Palace and are very impressive. Some final few shopping stops and we ended up back at the hotel, doing a few things before dinner at Mozaik, which was quite good. I made one last stop for a döner kebab as I hadn’t had one yet (and had them for lunch nearly every work day for the last several months I was in Marburg). It was good, but I prefer the German style meat which is mixed lamb and beef and not so strongly flavored. Back at the hotel, it was time to pack for our return trip.

It was a very nice trip and we really enjoyed Istanbul, even with the pushy shopkeepers and restauranteurs. The layers of history are quite impressive, and, in some ways, far more apparent than Rome. I think our 3 1/2 days was a good length to at least scratch the surface and we saw most of what we had planned. Coming in the off-season was a bonus, aside from the cool weather, as the crowds were very manageable. (Admittedly, we lucked out having only one day of rain. Last week it rained almost every day.) Will we come back? Probably, but probably not for some time as there are so many other places we’d like to go. (Also, I think it would be better for Kyle to be older if he were to come.)

Three Faces of Istanbul

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Kadikoy Train Station

Kadikoy Train Station

It was another full day. We started our morning at the Archeological Museum, which was a real highlight. There are a large number of Greek and Roman artifacts as well as a very nice exhibit on artifacts from the ancient near east, including writing tablets from 4500+ years ago. We also got to see the famous Greek discus thrower statue for a second time as it’s on loan from the British Museum, where we had seen it in 2002. We then hopped the tram to “New Istanbul”, across the Golden Horn. After a ride up the funicular from Kabataş, the end of the line, we headed up the funicular to Taskim square. We had a decent walk down the İstiklal shopping street, stopping in a few places for gifts.

By this time, the weather had turned kind of dismal, with a light rain. After a walk back down to the Galata Bridge, we decided it wasn’t a good day for a cruise on the Bosphorus. Instead we opted to catch a ferry to Kadiköy, across the strait on the Asian side. We walked around here a bit, but it was kind of cold and the rain was pretty steady. After a small lunch in a cafe, we headed back to the ferry dock and back to Europe. (However, it was successful as I was able to buy some safety pins to “fix” part of the zipper on my camera bag which had broken.)

After the ferry ride, we stopped by a few toy stores by the dock/Spice Market to pick up something for Kyle. A second wander through the Spice Market and we headed back towards the hotel, stopping a few places on the way. After a break, we headed out for an enjoyable dinner at the Enjoyer Cafe, picking up some cake and baklava on the way home for dessert. All in all a good, but kind of wet, day.

(PS, sorry for the poor photo. I don’t have many due to the dreary weather.)

Our First Full Day

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Inside the Grand Bazaar

Inside the Grand Bazaar

We had a very full and very nice day. After a good breakfast at the hotel, we hit Hagia Sofia. It’s quite a building, though the Pantheon in Rome remains my favorite ancient architecture. Then it was on to the Blue Mosque and a walk around the Hippodrome. We then headed up to the Grand Bazaar, which was quite an experience. We didn’t end up picking anything up, but it was well worth the trip. We then headed out towards the Spice Market. Thinking we were lost, we asked for help and found out we were just down the street. After a quick lunch, we walked through. It was also a worthy site.

After the visit, we walked over the Galata Bridge and back, checking out the fish market on the Galata side. A walk back to the hotel rounded out our major chunk of the day. We took a break to relax a bit, then I headed out to do some “sweet light” photos of Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. For dinner, I had made reservations at Sarniç, which is housed in a Roman era cistern. The setting was superb as was the food. It was even decently priced. For tomorrow, we have plans to visit the archeological museum, which we missed on Monday, and then either to head across the Bosphorus to Asia or up to Taksim.

In Istanbul (Eventually)

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View of Hagia Sophia from our hotel room window

View of Hagia Sophia from our window

Well, we made it to Istanbul. It was bit crazy getting everything squared away. We had horrendus weather on the Saturday before we left, to the point where Mary Lou’s flight into Newark was canceled. The best she could do was to fly up Sunday, arriving around 12:40. This was fine as we weren’t supposed to leave until 5:30.

When we got up Sunday morning, I took a quick check downstairs in the basement and found that we had some water again. The sump was working, so it wasn’t alot and basically only boxes got wet. However, it really wasn’t something we really wanted to deal with. To add to our problems, Suzanne’s work was flooded in the rain. NOAA had been predicting the Raritan River to crest at 27 ft, which would mean their plant would be fine. Instead it crested at 36 ft, meaning there was several feet of water in some of the building. She thinks her office is likely okay, but doesn’t know the extent of the damage as her nobody had been allowed into the plant before we boarded the plane.

On Sunday morning, we get a call from Mary Lou that they’re going to have to fly around some major storms in our area and would be an hour late. Not a huge deal as we still had time. In the end, she was only a few minutes late as they were cleared to fly their normal flight path. After picking her up and lunch at Jersey Gardens Mall (right near the airport), we headed out to JFK. Checking was smooth. However, our flight was delayed in boarding by 30 mins and then we sat on the ground to 90, eventually taking off 2 hours late. Unfortunately, we didn’t make up any time en route and arrived that late. Let me tell you, when the flight is already just over 9 hours, sitting on the tarmac for an extra 1 and a half isn’t so much fun. I did however end up watching three movies and getting a bit of sleep.

Our arrival in Istanbul was uneventful. The passport control line was quite slow. We had prearranged for a car to pick us up, which worked well. We had to wait a few minutes for a room at the hotel, but it was likely worth it as we have a view of Hagia Sofia. (The room itself isn’t huge, but is fine size by European standards and not the smallest one we ever had.)

After unpacking a bit, we headed out to visit Topkapi Palace, where the Ottoman Sultans reigned until the 1830s. It was very nice. The weather is decent, sunny, but a touch cool. We then walked around some of the main shopping streets of Sultanahmet (the old city), stopping by a grocery store for a few things before heading back to hotel for a break.

Tomorrow’s plans include Hagia Sofia, the Blue Mosque, and the Grand Bazaar. I’ll try and do another update tomorrow night, but we do have 8:00 dinner reservations.

Disney Trip Report Part 9: Summary & Reviews

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You can also see our report as a single page.

Summary

At the Caribbean Beach ResortAll in all it was a great trip. I think we had a very good balance of “go-time” and time to relax. Did we see everything there was to see? No, but we saw all of our “must-dos”. We ended up sticking to our planned (rough) itinerary pretty well. (A lot of this was forced by our dining reservations.) We had planned to stay at the hotel Thursday morning and do Hollywood Studios Friday morning, but reversing this worked nicely. (We figured aside from Tower of Terror and Playhouse Disney, whatever we did at HS that morning was a bonus.) I also think it was a great plan to avoid any early morning dining reservations. Most mornings we could sleep in and Kyle could get going in his own time. This also helped on the days we ended up skipping naps, which turned out to be most of them.

The time of year was pretty good too. The weather was great. (It only rained twice — once while we were eating dinner and once while were on the bus, so not affecting us at all.) It got a bit warm by the end of the week, but not oppressively so (into upper 80s). The crowds were very light until the weekend. Waits were generally only 20-30 mins for most rides aside from Soarin’ and Toy Story Mania. (Each of which were generally an hour, and we could have gotten FastPasses for TSM even late in the afternoon.)

Hotel

We liked Caribbean Beach Resort. We stayed there as we knew Kyle would love having the beach to play on, which he did. One of the play structures on our beach, the one with the slide, was closed off, so that was a bit of a disappointment. The rooms had just been renovated in the last year or so, which was nice. The pool, redone in the last few months, was great, especially the play area for little kids and the zero-entry section of the big pool. The distance to Old Port Royale (pool & food court) wasn’t too bad, maybe five minutes, but we were in one of the closest, non-preferred buildings. The bus transportation was acceptable, but we only had a full bus twice. (Most times it was practically empty.) I think most rides to/from the parks were 30-40 mins all told (between waiting for the bus and the actual ride.) It probably wasn’t worth the extra $150 it would have cost to have a car for the whole week.

Dining

Inside Tusker HouseDining Plan: Based on my calculations, we saved over $300 using the dining plan. (It was free, but you had to pay full price for the room. In the end, it cost about $70/day total for all three of us.) Of course, we likely wouldn’t have eaten as much, especially not desserts at the counter services restaurants nor would we have spent so much on snacks the last day. We also got a bonus with the Fantamsic package at Mama Melrose’s on Tuesday night which included free appetizers (a $19 extra). However, it was nice to not worry about how much we were spending at dinner and whether or not we should splurge for the $28 steak or stick to the $20 pasta. The other downside is that you want to make sure to use up your credits, especially the table service ones. This requires advanced planning for reservations, including which park you’ll be visiting, a long time in advance. (You can now make reservations 180-days before your trip and many of the hot places will be booked this far out.) If it was “free”, I’d do it again. If we had to pay full price (around $100/day), I’d have to think about it.

Restaurant quick reviews

Biergarten (Epcot; Germany; lunch): Excellent and reasonably authentic food. The salmon in dill sauce and the roast pork were especially good. The sauerkraut was very mild, as it is in Germany. The rotkohl (red cabbage) was also good and served warm.

Pecos Bill (MK; dinner): Our least favorite meal of the trip. It wasn’t bad, just average. We both got bacon double cheeseburgers. I had planned to get the taco salad, but changed my mind at the last minute. I should have stuck with what I had planned on.

Sunshine Seasons (Epcot; The Land; lunch): Very good counter service. I had the roast chicken which was very good and moist. Suzanne had the pork chop, which was a bit dry. Kyle had lo mein which he liked. The desserts were especially good.

Mama Melrose’s (HS; dinner): Lucked out on being offered the Fantasmic package when we arrived. Overall food was excellent. We had calamari and bruschetta for appetizers. Suzanne had the steak which was good. I had the shrimp pipette pasta, which was good but quite heavy. The tiramisu was excellent and quite light. We also had the truffle cake.

Flame Tree BBQ (AK; lunch): Very good food. Suzanne had the chicken and I had the ribs. I thought the chicken was better. Kyle wasn’t impressed with his hot dog, but he’s very particular about the taste. (It was fine, just different.) The key lime pie was excellent.

Tutto Italia (Epcot; Italy; dinner): Excellent dinner. I had lasagna and Suzanne had veal tortelli. Both were delicious. Even Kyle’s mozzarella sticks were good. The desserts (chocolate-hazelnut torte and berry & gelato sundae) were wonderful. The bread was also very good. (I did miss the Fettuccine Alfredo from when it was Alfredo’s.)

Old Port Royale (CBR; breakfast): I had an omelet with spinach and chorizo which was good. Suzanne had a Mickey waffle which was as expected. The chocolate croissant Kyle didn’t end up eating was good even the next day when I ate it. I wouldn’t go out of my way to eat here, but it was perfectly fine as a hotel food court.

Crystal Palace (MK; dinner; character meal): The food and service was excellent. One of the best meals of the trip. The roast sirloin was very good, though I found the pork a bit dry. The desserts were also good. The character interaction was very good. It took an hour and 15 minutes from first to last, which was just about the right time. (We saw a couple twice.) Not a place for a quiet dinner.

Yak & Yeti Counter Service (Anandupur Local Food Cafes) (AK; lunch): The best CS of the trip. I had Kung Pao beef and Suzanne had the shrimp lo mein. Frozen lemonades for dessert were great.

Tusker House (AK; dinner): One of the best meals of the trip. I especially liked the “exotic” offerings, though I have had better samosas. Restaurant felt “empty”, but it was a couple of hours after normal closing time on an EMH night.

Columbia Harbor House (MK; lunch): Good food. Wanted something other than Pecos Bill. I had shrimp (10 good size ones) and Suzanne had fish. Kyle liked the Mac ‘N’ Cheese (which we had brought to Pecos Bill on Mon night).

Chef Mickey’s (Contemporary; dinner; character meal): Food was pretty good. The bowl of plain ravioli they brought for us was a nice touch. Kyle especially liked the make your own sundaes. Character interaction was great. Saw all in 45 minutes and saw a couple twice.

Yorkshire County Fish Shop (Epcot; UK; lunch): Decent fish, excellent fries. Skimpy dessert (package of Walker’s shortbread cookies).

Lotus Blossom Cafe (Epcot; China; lunch): Decent shrimp fried rice. Caramel ginger ice cream was tasty, but not Kyle’s thing.

Boulangerie Patisserie (Epcot; France; snack): Apple tart was very good, but Pithvier was superb. (Ended up eating half of each as breakfast before heading to Boston Mon morning.)

Attraction Checklist

Magic Kingdom: Magic Carpets of Aladdin, Pirates of the Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain RR (Paul), Haunted Mansion (Paul), Ariel’s Grotto, Cinderella’s Golden Carousel, Dumbo the Flying Elephant, It’s a Small World, Mad Tea Party, Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey’s PhilharMagic, Peter Pan’s Flight, Pooh’s Playful Spot, Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, Tomorrowland Indy Speedway, Tomorrowland Transit Authority

Epcot: Innoventions, Journey into Imagination, Mission: Space (Paul), Spaceship Earth, Test Track, The Seas with Nemo and Friends, Turtle Talk with Crush, Listen to the Land, Soarin’, Mexico’s Gran Fiesta Tour, Norway’s Maelstrom

Hollywood Studios: Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster (Paul), Tower of Terror (Paul), Honey I Shrunk the Kids Playground, Playhouse Disney Live!

Animal Kingdom: Discovery Island Trails, Festival of the Lion King, Kilimanjaro Safaris, Pangani Forest Exploration Trail, Expedition Everest (Paul), The Boneyard, Primeval Whirl (Paul), Triceratop Spin (Suzanne & Kyle)

Links to photos

Animal Kingdom
Epcot
Hollywood Studios
Magic Kingdom
Caribbean Beach Resort & few other places

Disney Trip Report Part 8: Sun 10/25 – Epcot & Back to NJ

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You can also see our report as a single page.

Sunday morning we had a bunch of packing to do. I took Kyle to play at the beach while Suzanne got everything together. Disney has this really great service whereby you can check in for your flight, including checking your bags, right at the hotel. We lugged our bags to check for the flight along with several bags (and Kyle’s carseat) to check with Bell Services for the day and were all set. After heading back to the room to grab our stuff for the day, we hopped the bus to Epcot

Epcot

Food and Wine Festival CakeBack at Epcot, the first stop was The Seas with Nemo so Kyle could do Turtle Talk. He sat up front this time, but was disappointed that he didn’t get to talk with Crush. We then headed up into World Showcase. The Food & Wine Festival was going on where they set up 20-25 stands from different parts of the world, each serving a couple of snack-size samples and wine. Best of all, most of the food is covered as a Disney Dining Plan snack credit, and we still had a bunch to use. We sampled the cheddar cheese soup in Canada (excellent — I can see why people go to Le Cellier just for it) and the fisherman’s shrimp and scallop pie from Ireland. I was hoping to try escargot from France, but the line was quite long. We did, however, pick up a couple of pastries at the Boulangerie Patisserie while there. I also had a lobster roll from the Hops & Barley cart. (A great value as it would have cost $7.50.) We also had a couple of counter service credits left so we had a lunch consisting of fish & chips (from the UK) and shrimp fried rice (from China). Once we made our way around, Suzanne headed for a last trip on Test Track while Kyle and I played in the Mission: Space playground. When she returned, I did one last ride on MS. (I probably shouldn’t have as we were cutting it close to the time to get the bus back to our hotel, but it was fine in the end.) Suzanne took Kyle to play in the water near Test Track and have one final Mickey ice cream bar. After a quick change of Kyle’s wet clothes, it was back on the bus for the last ride back to CBR.

Back at CBR, we got off at the Customs House and retrieved the bags we had checked for the day. We left Ecpot almost half an hour later than planned, but had plenty of wait time back at the hotel before our 4:30 Magical Express bus. Kyle fell asleep on the way, so we waited a while before going though security so he could sleep some. The plane ride back was fine, aside from it being a bit bumpy at times. We actually landed early. (This was a surprise since, according to flightstats.com, this flight is only on time 50% of the time and has an average delay of 67 minutes. It was our flight down, on time rate of 90%, that was late.) We were back home by 10:20.

Links to photos

Animal Kingdom
Epcot
Hollywood Studios
Magic Kingdom
Caribbean Beach Resort & few other places