We are back from our trip 
but we had a great time 
!
We were taking 6 kids from our school and about 44 others from varying schools in new jersey to international convention. We had stayed in the airport hotel in philly the night before since it was about $300 less for each ticket than if we flew from the airport by us. We rented a van and took a two hour ride there and crashed at the Marriot for the night.
We had an 8AM flight to Orlando on July 1st. Even though it was early I was so excited that I didn't sleep all night and was still bopping around in the morning. The flight went smoothly though it felt like it took forever. We took Magical Express from the airport and since we were such a large group we had our own bus and didn't have to wait for others.
Our convention was split into two parts- July 1-4 at the Dolphin with July 1-3 being park days and then July 5-8 being convention days. We arrived at the Dolphin at about 12:00. They knew a large convention group was coming and were expecting us. Only two groups were arriving this day- New Jersey and North Carolina, others were arriving later and not doing park days. The hotel assured us that 12:00 was a fine time and that they would be prepared for us. Needless to say- we sat for over an hour in a hallway as they decided we had never called them in advance and they thought we'd be arriving after 4. 
This whole time I was going bonkers since we only had 2.5 park days as it was! Finally they could provide us with half the rooms. The rooms for our particular 6 kids weren't ready but ours was. They tossed their suitcases in our room and we headed to Epcot!
Since we had landed, I had been checking wait times and fast pass times at the parks. We took the boat from the Dolphin over to Epcot. As soon as we got off over by France we booked it to Soarin to score some 7:30 fast passes. Phew! We then sat at the counter service there so each kid could go pick their own lunch option- we had some vegetarians and gluten free kids. After refueling, we hopped over to mission space orange. I was expecting some serious wait times since it was the week of July 4th but we only waited 15 minutes. This was my, and Lou's, first time riding the orange more intense version and it was no where near as intense as I expected! It was actually a bit more fun because I really felt as if we were moving.
Since Epcot was open for extra magic hours, but only future world, we opted to head over to the world showcase next. We started over by Mexico. I immediately dragged the kids to see Fiesta Donald in his greeting corner and I was wearing my Donald T-shirt- needless to say he went ducking nuts on me 
I think the kids were beginning to think I was insane after about 30 hugs and a dance with Donald. I'd love to post photos, but since the students are in them I'd need parent clearance first. So, possibly some to follow later!
Next we headed into Mexico and rode my favorite boat ride! As always, no line- we walked right on. The kids weren't so much into walking through the shops so we headed into Norway. The wait for Maelstrom was posted 10 minutes, but was only about 5. Always a good ride! Most of the rest of the afternoon was uneventful. The kids weren't into the shops or cultural pavilions so we mainly just walked around and browsed much more quickly than usual. We did stop in China and have a Mango Green Tea Slushie which has now become one of my must-do's.
I also had an interesting encounter at the American Pavilion. I know on occasion that the Country Bears appear there- I am so obsessed with the country bears it is sick- so I asked a female cast member about them. As I approached her, rather than saying hello, she yells, "you can't bring that bottle in here" referring to my water bottle. I replied, "I'm aware of that but I just have a question, I'm not coming in for the show." I asked her if the country bears were appearing at all today and she said "There's no such characters as the country bears- you are thinking of Universal." 
I assured her that there was such a thing as the country bears to which she again told me I was wrong. Finally, a nice male cast member came over and said that they only appear randomly as a training procedure for when they will be other characters and that is not ever pre-scheduled. I thanked him, glared at her and sadly moved forward. I would have loved to see my bears!
After making our way through the world showcase (and also taking a photo with Alice- couldn't resist), we headed to Spaceship Earth for a quick ride. After this, Lou and I popped in some of the shops (art, mousegear) while the kids did sum of all thrills in Innoventions. Finally, our Soarin' fast pass time had come and we headed over to ride. I think after this I had worn out the kids. Everyone was hungry and looking for different food so we split up and went eating. Lou and I ate Mexican and as there was no seating we sat on the pavement with our tray, tacos, and guac. We had all planned to meet back up over by Italy for illuminations. Since the food line was long, we gobbled the tacos and took our guacamole with us over to Italy where we got a good spot for fireworks. The show was amazing as always and so was the Guacamole!
Even though the park was open late, it had been a long day of traveling and the teenagers were tired. We walked back over to France and the kids took the boat home. Lou and I opted to walk back to the Dolphin since the boardwalk is so nice at night. When we got back the kids, not just from our school but all 50, opted for a night swim so Lou and I got some ice cream and headed down by the pool to relax. Room checks were at mid-night and by then I was ready for sleep so I'd be well rested for day two at DHS and Lou's birthday! 
Grovesnor offsite '93 ~ Port Orleans '94 ~ Port Orleans '95 ~ Caribbean Beach '97~ Carribbean Beach '99 ~ Caribbean Beach '00 ~ Offsite '02~ Caribbean Beach '08 ~ Port Orleans French Quarter '10 ~ Dolphin/Hilton '12-~All Star Sports '16
I needed to rest up for commando day 2 at the parks and they were not helping. This time., I made sure they handed me the pillow to check and finally went to bed.
just kididng! We went to Backlot Express- which wasn't bad for some quick, budget friendly food. After eating, the kids went to see Beauty and the Beast. Lou and I opted out. We went to see Muppetvision! As much as I love Muppetvision and the Muppets- it's definitely time to update it a bit. It was enjoyable as always! Lou and I were a bit sleepy so we wandered in & out of some shops before heading back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner at Ohana!
A definite must-do for me now. After our snack we headed over to the hall of presidents. We figured since it was almost July 4th we should salute America...also it had air conditioning. Next we opted for more air and went to watch Philharmagic which is always a great show. We kind of started to get sleepy now and were wandering. We wound up back on Main Street and decided we were hungry so we hopped the train and rode it over to Tomorrowland. We popped into Cosmic Rays for some quick eats. It's always so fun there! I love the old tunes.
them. I have worn the shirt at WDW and have received MANY compliments on it from cast members, a few even asked me where I had purchased it (Mouse Gears).
Sorry to hear about the bad experience you had at the dolphin though
you just KNOW they didnt bother with them cause they are 'just kids'. I always say something if I see a child hold open a door somewhere and then an adult walk through like there isnt anyone even there! Its just SO rude!!! Children are people too!!! GRRRRR!!
