Our plan was to get away from the house by 7 a.m., however at 4:55 a.m. Gary asked, “Are you awake?” to which I answered, “Yes, I am now.” I had just gotten back to sleep after being awake since 2 a.m.  Not much sense just lying there so we got up, showered, had coffee and hit the road by 6:15 a.m. We stopped in Gananoque for breakfast at McDonalds and then took the Parkway to the 1000 Island Bridge. It was slow going through customs; the officer was being very thorough and seemed to be checking all the cars inside and out. When we pulled up he asked the usual questions and we got through fairly quickly. The only thing I had to do was throw out the roast beef sandwich meat I had brought with us, no beef can enter the country. I knew that but thought I might get away with it. By then it was a nice sunny day and we enjoyed a pleasant drive through New York and into Pennsylvania. Zak is a real trooper but Zoë does not like it, I don’t think she ever will. We arrived at our first destination by 4 p.m. and settled in for the night.

Day 2, Monday November 27, 2006

We were up and on the road by 8 a.m.; it was fairly sunny with a bit of cloud cover in spots. The drive was pretty uneventful, straight down I81 with a few stops for lunch and gas. The mountains were very pretty and the countryside nice and clean.  We drove out of Pennsylvania and through Maryland and West Virginia into Virginia. The distance through Maryland and West Virginia was only about 40 miles. We arrived at our destination about 4 p.m. and settled in for the night. The campground was nothing to write home about but was a place to park and hook up.

Day 3, Tuesday November 28, 2006

We were both wide awake at 5 a.m. so we got up and decided to get an early start, we showered and had coffee and were on the road by 6 a.m., it was still dark. There was a Cracker Barrel just down the road so we stopped for breakfast; by the time we were back on the road it was daylight. It was a nice sunny day and the further we drove the warmer it got. When we stopped for lunch it was time for shorts. I think it was about 72 degrees by then. This day was the longest drive at 360 miles but because we got such an early start we arrived at the campground by 2:45 p.m.  It was nice to be able to get set up and enjoy some of the day. They had a doggie park there so we took Zak & Zoë over for a play. Zak had fun, but we were right next to the interstate and Zoë did not like the noise. We had a shorter drive day planned for the following day so we hoped to stop at a few stores or outlet malls along the way. I still had a bit of Christmas shopping to do, although most of it was done and wrapped. We planned to be in St. Augustine early the next day and would spend 2 nights there.

After we had lunch, spend some time with the dogs and had a short nap we were ready to go to Downtown Disney. We had dinner at Planet Hollywood and then went to the AMC theatre to watch Nightmare Before Christmas 3D. It was very cool. The day ended with a bus ride back to camp and a couple of tired campers flopping into bed at about 10 p.m.

We were starting to take on the lobster look by early afternoon so we thought we should call it a day and go back to the camp. The dogs were ready to romp by then so we spend some time out by the canal with them and then back to the RV to cool down. Before we knew it, it was time to get cleaned up and head over to Pioneer Hall for the Hoop Dee Doo Review. Even though I have seen the show many times before, I still find it a refreshing way to spend the evening. It is so upbeat and the cast do a great job. After the show and dinner was over we headed back to camp, walked the dogs and crashed into bed.

After that we hopped on an inner tube and floated around the lazy river, life doesn’t get much better than that.

This was our fourth day at Disney and we still had not been to the Magic Kingdom. We were meeting Jenn & Eric and their two boys for lunch but we had a couple of hours before that so we caught the boat over to the Kingdom. I always love that first walk up Main Street when you are visiting Disney; it is such a great feeling. We stopped to watch the Main Street players for a few minutes and then walked over to the Caribbean Plaza.  We get there just in time to catch the pirates street show with Captain Jack Sparrow. It is a pretty good show. Then we took a ride through the Pirates of the Caribbean; it is such a great ride. After the ride we strolled through a few of the shops and decided we should get back to camp so we can let the dogs out before meeting Jenn and her family.

Our dinner package included dinner at le Cellier, our favourite EPCOT dining place. We both order the same thing every time we go, the maple glazed filet for the entrée and the maple crème brulee for dessert. As always it was excellent. After dinner we wandered through the countries on the way to the American Theatre, this included a stop at Canada to watch Off Kilter; they are such a great group.

Thursday we got off to a slow start.  We phoned home, spoke to Gary's mother and then my parents.  They described the snow that has been falling for a few days, and is forecast to continue a few more days.  We sure hope it's gone by the time we get home!  After playing with the dogs for a bit we headed out, caught the boat to the Magic Kingdom and arrived about 10:30 a.m.  As we walked up Main Street USA toward the castle, the Main Street Players began to perform their song and dance show.  We stopped to take a few pictures, and who ran up and hugged me?  Why it was LimeGreenCheri, my Taginator friend from Georgia. She was there with her friends Liz and Michelle. After a short chat, we went our separate ways.  It was close enough to lunchtime so we had a hot dog at Casey's, then Gary went to get a Fast Pass for Peter Pan while I went to the Frontier Trading Post for some pins.  

We met in front of the Haunted Mansion and took a Doom Buggy ride.  Next we decided to ride It’s a Small World, the ride is still one of my favourites. By the time we got through It's a Small World, it was time for our Peter Pan ride.  Next came my big thrill of the day!  As we walked out of Peter Pan, the Dream Squad was there handing out lanyards with special "Dream" pins.  I was just elated! It was just the best thing to have happen.

 We wandered over to Tomorrowland and stopped for a Strawberry Swirl, then I beat Gary's butt on Buzz Lightyear.  By now it was time to get back and let the dogs have a little run, so we caught the boat back to Fort Wilderness. We had a bit of a break and then I left to go over to the Magic Kingdom to attend the Mike Scopa Dole Whip meet. The boat was late so I didn’t get there until it was almost over, but as I was checking at the bag check I walked through with Moley, she had just spent the morning with Robin. 

After dinner we were staying in the park for the Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party so we watched the special show in front of the castle. After that it was almost time for the Fireworks meet held at the Rose Garden and co-hosted by Deb Wills and Dave Card. This annual event is one of my favourite Mousefest meets. After the fireworks, at BetsyAnn’s suggestion, a bunch of us headed down to the Haunted Mansion for an unofficial meet. It was a hoot. Then Gary and I went off to watch the parade and immediately after the parade caught the boat back to the campgrounds. We were both exhausted!

It was Saturday morning, EPCOT Mousefest day and I had gone into “Lazy Butt” mode. We had boarding passes for the Soarin’ meet, so cleverly made by Kathleena, and there was no way we were going to make it in time; I was worried we were going to be late for the Brunch at the Ball. We did get to EPCOT by 10:15am and went straight to the Electric Umbrella to get set up. Jimbolini was waiting for us when we got there and together we got the prize table organized and the ballots ready for everyone to fill in, Gary ran off to make arrangements with the PhotoPass people to be there to take our picture. We had a great turn out and everyone had a good chance to visit and stop for a bite to eat. At 11:30 we all headed out to the front of the fountain to have the group picture taken. We had the banner there that Frogman had made last year and when we were done, the Marathon group posed for their pre-race photo.

Gary hurried off to the Dolphin with Dave as soon as the photo was finished and I had a chance to wander through Mouse Gears. I then walked over to the International Gateway and caught the boat over to the Mega Meet. I was a bit early so I was able to have a nice chat with RaySharpton while we waited for the doors to open at 1 p.m. The meet was huge, there were twice as many tables set up this year and the attendance was awesome. I helped Dave at the Tagrel table for an hour while Gary was a greeter, then we decided to take a quick break. We walked through to hotel and found a nice little café, we just sat down when CShore and AliKat came along and joined us. We had a very nice visit and before we knew it we had to get back to the meet in time for the prize draws. I didn’t win anything this year but we had three Taginator winners; Miss Bianca, Beast and EJ4Disney.

We had a note from RoguePony & JohnnyBlack yesterday saying that they were camped right next door to us so when Gary went out first thing in the morning he ran into them and had a bit of a chat. I would have gone out too but I was still in my nightshirt and didn’t want to scare the new neighbours. We got ourselves ready by 9:30 a.m. and rode our bikes down to the dock to catch the boat over to the Magic Kingdom. We were meeting up with some Taginators for breakfast at the Crystal Palace, this was our moderator meet. It was nice to sit and visit with everyone and we had some fun with the characters. We were missing Belle who had to catch an early flight and LimeGreenCheri, she had gotten a call from home that her Grandmother had passed on; we were all very sorry for her. After breakfast I gave everyone a goodbye hug, as we probably would not see many of them again until next year. 

We were walking up Main Street and ran into SusanL, one final goodbye to her, she was on her way to the airport. The pin meet was held at the Noodle Station and there were quite a few people there, including some Taginators, Tacey and her daughter Crystal, Stinkerbelle and Pirate. After the meet Gary and I got a Fastpass for Buzz Lightyear and then took a ride on the Tomorrowland Transit Authority (I still call it the WEDway People Mover). We had an ADR for the Plaza and arrived just in time. It was a good meal and even though they make great banana splits, we were both too full to even consider it.

So Mousefest is over for another year, it was a fun time and I really enjoyed seeing old friends and meeting new ones. I plan to be here for Mousefest 2007 and do it all over again.

Monday morning and no MouseFest meets to go to, what will we do? We started the day off with a little visit with RoguePony then hopped on our bikes and rode down to the docks to catch the boat to the magic Kingdom. It was not very crowded and we were able to walk on Splash Mountain and Thunder Mountain. We then started to walk over to get a FastPass for Peter Pan when we ran into Jenn and Scotty and Jake, they were doing their favourite rides one last time before they had to leave for the airport. We said our goodbyes and then went and got the Fast Pass. We decided to go over to Tomorrowland and ride Space Mountain, and then rode Pooh’s Adventure on the way back to Peter Pan. 

We spent the afternoon with them and had a little nap before we had to get ready for dinner. We caught the boat over to the Contemporary and then the Monorail to the Polynesian. As we walked into the Polynesian we ran into Rosebud, she was having dinner at ‘Ohana too. We had a window seat in ‘Ohana and were able to watch the fireworks during our dinner. After a wonderful meal we caught a bus to Downtown Disney; I wanted to do some shopping. As I was wandering through the World of Disney I ran into WillCAD, he was doing some last minute shopping before his flight the next day.

We then went back to the campground; it was another great day in Disney.

We decided to leave EPCOT and go back to the campground, we were both tired and the next day was our last Disney day and we wanted to get an early start.

The plan was to get to the Magic Kingdom for rope drop, but alas that didn’t happen, we tend to take things a bit slower when we stay in the campground. The park seemed nearly empty as we walked down Main Street. We stopped in front of the castle to watch the Year of a Million Dreams show and then walked through Liberty Square to get a fast pass for Peter Pan, but when we got to the ride there were hardly any people waiting in the queue so we just got in line. After the ride we walked over to Toon Town and had a nice chat with one of the Dream Squad cast members. He was explaining to us how some of the prize distribution worked and then asked how many times we had been to Disney. When I answered that this was my 28^th trip he presented us with “Honorary Citizens” buttons.  We left him to go and catch the train to Frontierland.  

When we arrived at Frontierland I looked down the street and it was almost empty; it seemed very strange. We continued to walk through Adventure Land, I wanted one last ride on the Pirates, it was there that I found all the missing people, I have never seen the line so long in all the years I have been going to Disney.  It made me wonder if the real Jack Sparrow was making an appearance. The line was two to three deep, out the attraction and down the street to Aladdin’s Magic Carpet Ride. We passed on that idea and decided to watch the Tiki Birds instead. After the show we wandered over to Casey’s for one last hotdog before returning to the campground. I always hate that last walk down Main Street, but at least this time I know I will be back in a month.

We left the campground about 8 a.m. and drove right onto I-81; it was straight up the highway from here on in. The sun was shining and it was another beautiful day although quite cool. I noticed that as we drove through the mountains that the ponds and puddles were frozen. We were making good time and that was a good thing, our plan was to stop and have a quick visit with Cinderella and Prince Charming (Claire & Ron) and the earlier we got there the longer we would have. We found their place with no trouble; Claire had given us great directions. They were waiting for us and gave us a big open arms welcome. They have a beautiful home and after a quick tour we sat down for some coffee, homemade cookies and fruit salad. It was a pleasant break from a long day of travel. We actually stayed longer than planned; we were having such a nice time. As we were leaving Claire brought out the doggie treats and Zak and Zoë had a new friend. Zoë, who is not all that fussy about traveling in the RV thought that she would like to stay with the nice lady with treats.

By the time we arrived at the campground it was dark and the office was closed so we drove around in the dark to find a campsite and got settled in. We were both tired so we called it an early night.