One of the reasons that my vacation posts are lagging, as it were, is because I've been working on my book which is tentatively titled "29 Disney Tips And Mistakes I Made So You Don't Have To." I say tentatively because that title doesn't have chocolate in it, and I'm not sure I'll end up with 29 tips and/or mistakes. I suppose that part is easy to change if I end up with 30, 31 or 5.

The last four days of our trip at Disney were Sunday-Wednesday. Wednesday was our last day before leaving Orlando for Sanford, FL where we visited family, and then on to Savannah, GA. Thursday we traveled from Savannah, GA to Richmond, VA and then Friday we drove (skated) back to State College. Upon return to Pennsylvania Alert Winter Hater Tammy promptly developed a nasty cold. I have a minor cold, which could easily be beat up by Tammy's cold.

Space Mountain photo via Flickr.

But, with that ride we covered the "Big 3" mountains: Space, Big Thunder and Splash. Quite a feat for the excitement-impaired Schaads.

We also rode Peter Pan's Flight, which I think needs a little overhauling. I would add some explosions, some lasers - maybe a werewolf or something. The whole rde strikes me as a little dated. I keep wondering why Disney hasn't made Peter Pan 2: Revenge of the Monsterous Blood-Thirsty Fire-Breathing Alligator King. I think there's box office gold there (not to mention a whole line of Monsterous Blood-Thirsty Fire-Breathing Alligator King plushies, and pillow covers, and small shot glasses, as well as a new theme park ride.)

The second half of our day was spent at Downtown Disney. When we first started planning our trip to Disney I decided that I would get a sundae at Ghirardelli's. Every time we visited Disney in the past I would always say that I was going to get a sundae and then inevitably back out when I saw the line. I love their chocolate - well, I love almost everyone's chocolate - and a sundae just sounded perfect. This year I finally got my sundae and while I can't say that it was worth the eight year wait it was pretty darn good. Later in the evening we had dinner at Puck Express, which was some of the best food we've had on the vacation.

The shopping at Downtown Disney is great. We visited the Art of Disney which is one of those stores in which you threaten your kids with all sorts of pain if they touch anything. Cassie made the rounds with her autograph book and had a really sweet cast member named Nicola sign it. Nicola suggested that Cassie ask the artist on hand, Eddie, to sign the book as well as he might draw her a picture. The artists that work at the Art of Disney draw sketches for a fee. When Nicola saw Cassie hovering around Eddie without asking for an autograph, she stepped in and asked the artist for her. It was one of those classic Disney moments. I later visited guest relations and filled out a "Guest Service Fanatic" card which is then sent to the cast member and is put in their employee record. (I think receiving a certain number of these results in a special award to the cast member.)

More tomorrow...