acornlover

Carol, I so agree with you!  We also purchase an annual pass every two years.  Go one year for a month, go the next year for a month the month before our passes expire.  So we get two months' admission on each AP.  

Day 3 Epcot with Grandma, and Niece.
Right off the bat, Grandma and Niece who were staying at the Contemp didn't transfer to the Epcot monorail and were lost in to the resort monorail for 20 minutes.  Not a great start to the day but hey, we are at Disney so lets just relax...
After Grandma and company arrive at the Transportation center we all get on an Epcot Monorail only to find the AC isn't working all that great and its already 45000F with enough humidity to drowned you if you take a deep breath. And per usual, its my fault the AC isn't working all that great.
Then getting through baggage checked and scanning Magic Band and finger was another huge hurdel for Grandma and Company.  Even the 3 year old did it on his first try!!
None the less just about an hour after scheduled arrival we are in the park just in the nick of time for our Meet with Mickey and friends, but first the line for Daisy Duck is short so zip over for a signature and photo opp.  

We purchased the photo pass option so I let the pros do all the work.  
Made it to Micky with 4 minutes to spare, and yes I heard a lot about how I would devastate the Grandson if we missed mickey...

Love his some Goofy! 

My man putting the moves on Minnie!

Then the big man himself.  Success, now off to The Land for Soarin.  Had to do the kid swap, and he wasn't all that jazzed about missing out on something,  But a mickey bar fixed his mood. 
After Soarin, and the Land boat snooze we decided to grab a quick service lunch.  Then the boy was starting to wear down and it was Damn hot so we went to club cool and yes, everyone did the Beverly challenge.  My wife, didn't hate it said it tasted like bad tonic water. 
At this point the boy had had it, we strapped him to his stroller and let him cry it out until he fell into a blissful sleep, somewhere between England, and France.
Then this happened :)

At Mexico he woke up, and demanded Small World, so of course we went on Gran Fiesta Tour, and sold it as Small World.  I dont think he bought it 100% but he was happy enough to be on an attraction.
After that I was finished, and we headed back to the Camper, it was after 4 and we had dinner setup at Wave and I wasn't going to wave smelling like I smelled.
Day 4 Back to the Magic AND FINALLY DO WE MAKE IT TO SMALL WORLD!!

Day 2 (October 12) started much like day one.  Birthday boy was up around 5am, again asking about The Small World..
So instead of fighting to get him back to sleep we started to slowly get moving.  First order of business was to start the truck and get fuel.  So as i headed out to get fuel for the truck the Birthday boy and Mommy set to work getting things ready to roll.  
About 30 minutes later I was back at camp ready to go only to find my two traveling companions sound asleep...  So I started to pick up the toys and pack up snacks for the day in the truck.  Not long after I finished up and sat down to eat did everyone wake up and demand donuts. Another trip to the local quick shop to buy donuts, then back to the camper and we were off, around 7am.
My big fear was leaving at 7am we would be stuck in Rush Hour traffic in Atl, as we were rough 45 minutes north.  The travel Gods were with us on this day and we breezed into Atl and hit the HOV lane and continued unstopped cruising right around 65 mph.  Just around 11am I noted the gps was going to put us into our stop just south of gainesville around 1-2pm.  The wife made a executive decision "The Fort or Bust".
So she got on the phone with Disney and they were able to add Today to our reservation.  What luck, they Can squeeze another $300 out of us.. :)
Flying through the SunPass toll lanes we were blazing the Florida turnpike asphalt at a whopping 68mph.  Suddenly Google Maps notified me of a large backup that would cost us 45 minutes!!!! But just as heart break and despair crept in, and moments before tears broke out, Google rerouted us by passing the affected area and saving getting us to the fort at 5:07pm.

Some where along the way I received a text message and email form Disney saying my site was ready.  We drew Site 431, and we were happy with our draw.  So as we pulled in the checkin like was about 4 or 5 deep at each bay and we headed through the returning guests, through the overflow lot and back into the fort.  Found our site backed the camper in hooked it up and around 5:30pm the blender was singing the victory song of a job well done.

Right about the time my 2nd frozen drink was "letting go" our neighbor pulled up.  He had seen me go through returning guests and after getting hooked up came over and asked what was up with that.  I explained I did online check in about a week ago and got my text around 11 or 12 and headed right to my spot.  He was frustrated at how long it took to get campers checked in and was annoyed he didn't know about online check in.
After the wife got the beds ready and decoration setup we headed out to get our mugs and start the explore, as well as get some dinner.  First top P & J to get mugs and see all the people getting ready for Hoop De Doo.  We got in on the fun and had a pic taken.

As you can see birthday boy was excited to be back at "The Disney" but still wondered where the Haunted Mansion was and Why no Small World...
Next stop the Pool and Sing along.  We got dinner at the chuck wagon and I got to say it was really good, not the fastest food service but well worth it.

After dinner and most of the movie we headed back to the camper past the comfort station where the Boy had to use his "Mickey Button" (magic band) on all 3 doors.  For a Birthday gift I was given one of the designer limited edition Haunted Mansion Magic bands and every once in a while it was make a noise other than the normal, its sort of a tolling bells.  We got it twice on the bathrooms.. Kinda cool.
Day 3 Visiting Epcot with a Toddler. 

Nice, but I still miss the days when you could go to the Settlement trading Post, order a couple of sandwiches freshly made from the deli along with giant pickles and decent salads, grab a $1.25 can of beer a couple of sodas, and go down to Clementine's Beach and enjoy a picnic lunch while the kids played on the beach and in the water.
Probably 1 drink at this new place costs more than our entire meals used to.
 

We are at the Fort right now and I must say my absolute favorite so far has been lunch at The Boathouse at Disney Springs. It is not cheap but I had Carpaccio with argulua, olive oil, shaved cheese and fried capers that I am still crying over it was so good!  
There are a lot of seafood options as well as steaks and chops. The hubster had filet mignon sliders and loved those as well. As we were leaving I could smell truffle fries! I will be back for truffle fries!   My SIL went over for lunch one day and had shrimp and andouille mac and cheese , he wants to go back too!
OT- is there anywhere close to the Fort to get a manicure polish change?