Everything's Going to be Different This Time 8/20-8/25 (w/pix)

[solgent]

1. Why is everything going to be different this time?

This is my first trip report. Therefore it seems necessary to provide some backstory.

I visited WDW twice and DL twice as a kid/young adult. Then in the fall of 1998, at the age of 32, I found myself living in Miami with my husband, three young children (ages 4, 4 and newborn) and a year off from work (without pay, don't get too envious). It was time for Florida Resident Seasonal Annual Passes. We went on 6 long weekend trips that year and had a fabulous time.

We moved away from Miami less than a year after those passes expired. We happened to be in California for a wedding in January 2001, so we of course stopped by DL.

All these trips were taken on the cheap. I was raised by a champion tightwad and am a fierce penny-pincher. We stayed in Days Inn and brought picnic lunches into the parks. The only thing we'd buy all day was one Mickey bar per kid, because you can't pack those!

By last summer I was getting pretty impatient to return. One fateful day, I was reading the Sunday New York Times travel section. Every week there is a feature on people whose vacation homes share some sort of characteristic
-- in the mountains or on a golf course or whatever. This particular week described a couple with a Disney time share.

The idea intrigued me.

I had never given much thought to time shares. My association with them is (1) hard sells and (2) beach resorts, which I am not into. Looking back, I realized that we'd walked by DVC booths when we visited in 1998-1999, but I had always just strolled right on by thinking "Not for us."

I felt I had to learn more, and a few days later Google led me to... the DISboards!

After many hours of research and fantasizing, I became convinced that DVC was right for us. We wanted to stay on property to avoid renting a car and to have nicer surroundings. With a kitchen, we could eat in. Our family of five would have plenty of space. My 40th birthday and a long-awaited promotion were coming up. This would be my gift to myself and my family.

My next step was to persuade my husband. I thought I'd succeeded, but when I told him I'd put down a deposit, he seemed to think that he had not approved that step. I said that we could cancel, that I'd rather give up the $500 than have him mad at me. But he knew I was lying! He laughed and said if I thought that we could swing it financially, he trusted me. Thank you sweetheart for your confidence in me!

So that brings us to August 2006:

We're going to visit WDW for the first time in nearly seven years. It's been more than 5 years since we were at any Disney park (Disneyland). Our DDs are now 11, 11 and 7.

And this time we're going in style! Staying on property for the first time! Eating at a table service restaurant for the first time! Going to Cirque de Soleil! Everything is in place for a fantastic, magical, unforgettable experience!

In my next post I will answer

2. What four key tips did I get from the DISboards?

[lauren_elizabeth]

Can't wait to hear all about your trip!
We're eating at table service restaurants for the first time on our trip this time, too. So, I know what you mean when you say it's going to a REAL, magical, exciting vacation! :banana: :cheer2:

[keliblue]

Congrats !!!

I am still trying to talk DH into time shares... ahhhhh some day :goodvibes

[solgent]

2. What four key tips did I get from the DISboards?

a. Use a mister fan to keep cool.

Cheapskate version: Buy it ahead of time, not at the parks.

Of course, I knew about mister fans, but I probably wouldn't have thought about this ahead of time and come prepared.

b. Dress your kids in matching outfits for better photos and ease of spotting them.

Such a thing had never crossed my mind before seeing some threads on the DISboards!

Cheapskate version: Do not buy special outfits for this purpose. Look in the dresser and see what they already own that coordinates. For example, they had all tie-dyed shirts from a camp they had attended and they all had blue Bronx Zoo t-shirts that they had received as a gift.

c. Trade pins.

Cheapskate version: Buy pins on eBay. Do not pay retail.

My girls love things that are cute, pretty, shiny. They love to collect. Pin trading is an activity that seems made for them. I bought two batches of pins on eBay at an average price of about $3 each (including shipping). I gave them 4 each ahead of time and brought along others to give them each one more every day of our trip.

d. Wear ear protection.

My youngest daughter does not like fireworks on account of the noise. The rest of us love fireworks. I was concerned about how we were going to handle this until I came across a thread on ear protection. I bought a pair of ear protectors. They do not eliminate noise but they make things much quieter.

I don't really have a cheapskate version of this except that I shopped around online and got them on Amazon for much less than the first price I saw on another site.

In my next post, I will answer:

3. Why would my husband have to stay behind while I took the girls to the parks?

[solgent]

3. Why would my husband have to stay behind while I took the girls to the parks?

Because he hurt his leg two weeks before we were due to leave! :sad1: He refused to go to the doctor, said he just needed to rest and stay off it... but he didn't rest or stay off it much before we left. So that was his agenda for our vacation.

But the truth is, he always said that what he wanted in a vacation was to relax at a nice hotel with cable TV, a steam room, sauna and hot tub. (As opposed to me-- I like to run around and see a ton of sights.) So I didn't feel too guilty about the way things worked out for him.

In my next post I will answer:

4. What was my first mistake?

[solgent]

4. What was my first mistake?

Our trip began on Saturday 8/19 with a 3 hour drive to Manchester NH. It's much cheaper to fly Southwest out of Manchester than other airlines from closer airports, even including the cost of spending the night there. We arrived at the Quality Inn at the Wayfarer at about 4:00 and checked in quickly. This hotel has a conference center and it seemed to be mostly deserted. DH took the kids to the pool while I went out in the car to fill up the tank and to scout out possible dinner locations. There wasn't much. Fast food & some chain restaurants and some dubious local places.

Upon my return, I encouraged the kids to get their outfits ready for our very early departure the next morning. At which point I discovered my first mistake: I hadn't packed any socks for my youngest DD.

But never fear, while I was driving around & looking for restaurants I had noticed a Target. She needed more socks anyway, right?

We had dinner at Applebee's, which we had never eaten at before. It was OK but we wouldn't go back. We're vegetarian & there is very little on the menu that we want to eat. My husband got a fish & chips and I got a Cajun tilapia. The kids got mac and cheese and grilled cheese. At Target I bought the socks and a box of doughnuts for the following morning.

Our flight was at 7:25 am. Which meant leaving the airport on the 5:45 am shuttle bus. Which meant setting the alarm for 5 am. Ugh.

Unfortunately I was a bit too anxious and excited to sleep. I woke up lots of times. I worried about being tired and tried to take comfort in the fact that the others in my family were getting adequate rest.

In my next post, I will answer:

5. What sorts of seats do you get when you're a family of 5 in the dreaded group C?

[jlcd]

Enjoying your report so far! Can you please tell me what type of ear protectors you bought. DS has very sensitive ears and I would love to have something that would help at fireworks etc. Thanks!!

[WDW Poly Princess]

Great report so far! And your girls are beautiful!

[solgent]

Dear jlcd,

I was so happy with the ear protectors. We brought them along for Fantasmic, the fireworks, Cirque de Soleil, so she could put them on whenever she felt bothered by the noise level. I think that in the past when we've seen fireworks she has gotten stressed partly by whatever noise that just happened but also by worry about what was going to come next. This time she had the protectors if she wanted them and she didn't always put them on. And I didn't have to worry about her getting upset!

When you have these ear protectors on, you can still hear everything, such as people talking to you. It's just really quiet.

Here is a photo of her wearing them.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108ear_protection-thumb.jpg

I think this is the link to the product at Amazon, where I got them.

AO Safety 97315-80000 Select Slim Blue Ear Muffs (http://www.amazon.com/AO-Safety-97315-80000/dp/B000DZBL9Q/ref=pd_rhf_p_1/102-8684921-1461756?ie=UTF8)

[solgent]

Thank you Poly Princess! Everyone always says people's kids in the photos are beautiful, so I figure if nobody says it you're really in trouble! So thank you for reassuring me that my kids are every bit as gorgeous as the other DISboard children.

5. What sorts of seats do you get when you're a family of 5 in the dreaded group C?

I was worried... I guess I do a lot of worrying as you'll continue to see! My husband is 6' 6" (and I'm 5' 3" by the way) and he really needs to sit on an aisle. I was worried that we'd all be stuck in middle seats and scattered throughout the plane.

I thought that you could only check in online after midnight, and I wasn't going to stay up to do that what with the 5 am wakeup, so there we were in group C. (Later I was told that you can check in online 24 hours before your flight, so I could have done that before we drove to Manchester.)

But it turned out quite well. We all got aisle seats behind each other. My youngest was in front of me and my Dh was behind me, then the other two were across the aisle from him. So we could communicate and pass things back and forth during the flight.

The very last people to board were two families with quite young children, maybe 4 years old, and the flight attendants asked passengers to move to permit them to have seats together. Which people seemed to do willingly.

Our flight was smooth and on time. There was a line at the Magical Express counter but it moved along briskly. We had a bit of a wait for our bus... I think it was more than 5 but less than 10 minutes so not bad at all. And then, we were on our way!

In my next post, I will answer

6. The moment of truth: Were we crazy to buy into Saratoga Springs without ever seeing it or even staying on property before?

[teentoddlermom]

Wow! Great start. Looking forward to the rest!

[kab407]

6. The moment of truth: Were we crazy to buy into Saratoga Springs without ever seeing it or even staying on property before?

Can't wait to hear the answer to this one since I did the same exact thing. Let's see....one add-on later...can you guess my answer?????

[solgent]

Dear lauren_elizabeth, keliblue, teentoddlermom & Kab407, thanks for reading and posting!

So, we were on

6. The moment of truth: Were we crazy to buy into Saratoga Springs without ever seeing it or even staying on property before?

Heck, no! We loved, loved, loved the resort. :love:

I had read quite a bit of negativity on the DVC DISboards. And even while we were there I overheard a woman in Artist's Palette announce to her companion, "I know this is our home base, but I don't ever want to stay here again. I can't stand this resort!" But we, not being used to luxury, are quite easy to please. We thought it was beautiful, wonderful, fabulous.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108resort-med.jpg

There was no line at check-in. The CM knew it was our first time and said she would try to make it magical for us. She offered me a room in Congress Park with a view of DTD. I knew she wanted me to be happy about it, but I said, trying to be very nice, that we had hoped to be closer to the main pool. I had put that in as a request, and I know requests aren't guaranteed, but especially with DH's leg injury it was important to ask. She rechecked and said she had a room in the Springs area, but she cautioned me that it didn't have a water view. I said I thought that would work better for us. A view is always welcome but location is the priority.

So, we set off to our room. I was so pleased that our room was ready (it was not yet noon!) and that we were in the Springs.

Here are some pictures of the room. I took these just before we checked out, when all our stuff was out of the way. The bed in the master bedroom was not made so I didn't take a picture of that.

Living/dining area:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4591_800_x_600_-med.jpg

Kitchen:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4588_800_x_600_-med.jpg

We dropped our backpacks and returned to the main building for lunch at Artist's Palette. We purchased the infamous refillable mugs. I had the roasted vegetable flatbread. DH had lobster bisque and a croissant. Kids had PB&J and mac & cheese meals. Everything was fine. Somewhere between decent and super. (Sorry, that is not very descriptive, is it? I guess I am just not cut out to be a restaurant critic.)

In my next message I will answer:

7. What was my next worry that didn't come true?

[Mouse's Shadow]

You do have great looking kids. Looking forward to hearing more. :wave2:

[jlcd]

Thanks so much for the ear protector info! I hope I can convince him to wear them. Looking forward to more of your report!

[Avivasmom]

Great report so far....your girls are gorgeous. We staying at SSR for Aviva's 6th bday a surprise...hoping to buy into SSR by next summer.

[Catrin]

I am LOVING your trip report!

I think any resort is what you make of it! It sounds like you are SO Grateful just to be at Disney - and that is the kind of attitude that makes wonderful vacations.

Love your report format - very original and informative!
Catrin

[mytwotinks]

Great report! :thumbsup2 So, how often do you guys plan on going to DW not that you are DVC owners?

[solgent]

Dear Mouse's Shadow & Avivasmom, thank you so much for your kind words about our girls.

Dear Catrin, thanks for your post! I am going to write more about my feelings and I think you are very perceptive. We did feel so happy to be there that it was just not possible that we could have a bad time.

Dear mytwotinks, between the kids' school schedules and my school schedule (I'm a university professor) and wanting to avoid the most crowded times, it can be a bit tricky to find a good time to go! We're thinking once a year for the near future.

OK, so

7. What was my next worry that didn't come true?

With lunch out of the way it was time to hit the pool!

I took this photo one morning before it opened.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4586_800_x_600_-med.jpg

We returned to our room to change and discovered... our luggage waiting for us! Hurray. We had brought our swimsuits onto the plane but because of the new restrictions I'd had to pack the sunscreen in the checked luggage. I didn't expect it to arrive so soon and I figured we'd just tempt fate and go without until we received our luggage. (None of us is prone to burning.) But here it was, so we could be responsible parents.

So what was I worried about? I confess that I am a control freak. This leads to me want to prepare and know everything but this also causes worry since I become aware of things that wouldn't have crossed my mind. The DISboards is a two-edged sword in this regard. You can pick up so much helpful information, but you also read the complaints and find out about things going wrong. Can you believe that I worried that the pool would be too crowded or the water too warm to enjoy!?

Once again my fears were groundless. Sure there were other people there, but I wouldn't describe the pool as crowded. And this is not just me looking on the bright side: it was easy to find available pool chairs, so it couldn't have actually been crowded. The water felt great and the kids immediately started exploring all the features.

At this moment I felt complete joy and satisfaction. Enjoying the pool and knowing that we had our vacation ahead of us and knowing that we'd be back in the future was the best feeling in the world. I knew that the work DH and I had put in to earn the money and build up the savings had been worth it. We were in the exact place on earth we wanted to be.

DD7:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4601_600_x_800_-med.jpg

DH exits the slide:
http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4597_600_x_800_-med.jpg

After a couple of hours of pooltime, the next step of my plan was to investigate DTD with the girls. DH would stay at SSR, in particular being present at 6 pm to accept delivery of the groceries we'd ordered through Wegoshop. I offered the girls the choice of remaining at the pool, but they were excited about making their first foray into pin trading. We changed and found our way to the boat dock.

In my next post I will answer

8. Why did we wait so long for a boat to DTD?

[solgent]

8. Why did we wait so long for a boat to DTD?

Because I made a mistake. The woman who runs Wegoshop does not take credit cards, only checks or cash. I knew this and I said to DH as we left the pool that I would leave a check for him. But I forgot to do it. Luckily, I realized my oversight while we were waiting at the boat dock. I left the girls there, hastened back to the room (again thankful that we had that great location so near the pool and the main building), handed DH the checkbook, and rushed back. Of course, a boat had come and gone in my absence. Oh well.

Another boat came along and we were on our way. Here is one of my older (twin) DDs with her lanyard.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4370_600_x_450_.jpg

As we stepped off the dock, what did we see but Goofy's Candy Co. I had read about this and I knew the girls would love the custom treats. The place was rather empty. The girls quickly selected

*fudge cookie dipped in white chocolate with rainbow sprinkles and caramel drizzle
*marshmallows dipped in dark chocolate with crushed PB cup and milk chocolate drizzle.

I think the marshmallows are one of the greatest Disney bargains. You get a custom-made treat and a sturdy Mickey straw to keep afterwards, for $2!

Here you can see the CM dipping the cookie:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4375_800_x_600_-med.jpg

And the finished products:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4382_800_x_600_-med.jpg

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4469_800_x_600_-med.jpg

This purchase took longer than expected but no matter. Next it was on to the World of Disney and the Lego stores.

In my next post I will answer

9. What was my next mistake?

[krismom]

What a great report so far! You're daughters are beautifula nd I see they followed the rules of the pool slides- arms at your sides, feet first!

PS- I just ordered those noise reduction ear muffs for my son who hates anything loud... I tried the stick inside your ears ones and he hated them! You should get a commision from Amazon!

[Janet-TX]

I love your approach to your trip report!!! Really enjoying it! Keep it going!

[byoung]

Nice report.

[solgent]

Thank you everyone who is reading. It is working out to be longer than I thought! I mean, we've only been at WDW for about 4 hours at this point. But I am going to write our whole trip because I want to have all the memories on paper.

Dear krismom, I learned about the idea of ear protection on the DISboards and it was such a relief to me that my daughter wouldn't be anxious or unhappy for the nighttime entertainment that Disney does so well and that the rest of us love. I am very happy to spread the word.

OK, 9. What was my next mistake?

DTD was a lot of fun. We have no Disney stores anywhere near us. The only time we've been in such a shop is when we've come across them while travelling.

At the World of Disney, the girls executed their first pin trades. They began a routine where, after one of them did a swap, she'd go to her sisters bursting with excitement, with her hand covering up the new pin and sing the phrase, "There's something there that wasn't there before!" from the Beauty and the Beast song.

We picked out some postcards and we spotted a T-shirt that would be perfect for DH. My association with Disney is the parks and the more recent movies. He's older and he grew up with the Mickey Mouse Club and the classic characters, of whom his favorites are Donald Duck and Goofy. Since DH is very tall (6' 6"), I think Goofy is the best match, and we found a nice Goofy shirt, which we decided not to buy just then, but to keep in mind for later.

We then went over to the Lego store, but I realized that I still had the postcards in my hand and I hadn't paid for them! Yikes! I went back in and found a register. I showed the CM that I had a Disney Visa card and he agreed that I got a 10% discount. But on another day we found out that the discount only applies to purchases of $25 or more. So that was 30 cents that I didn't actually qualify for. Some people get free upgrades; some people get surprise fast passes; we got an undeserved 10% discount on a $3.00 purchase! Whatever. :)

We absolutely love Legos. We've been to two of the four Legoland parks that there are in the world (the ones in CA and England). We've entered and even won Lego building contests. So of course the Lego store was going to be a highlight. We don't have access to one of those either, although we've also come across them on trips.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4456_600_x_800_-med.jpg


Section of the wall behind the cash registers. Do you know how many minifigs there are on this whole wall?

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4457_800_x_600_.jpg

A worker told us there are 4,488! They are not all different. There are 64 different ones that repeat in a pattern.

Here is a closeup of one set of the 64 unique minifigs:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108legos_64.jpg

Actually now that I look at it, the one third from the right and the one on the far right in the third row look the same. What do you know.

Temptations abounded but we didn't buy anything. At this point, we do have enough Legos. I also thought the minifigs were overpriced. Last year in England we got 12 minifigs for 10 pounds ($18 at the exchange rate then) and they each could have two helmets, hats or hair pieces and two tools they could hold in their hands. Here it was 3 minifigs for $10 and they could have only 1 accessory-- either a hat or a helmet or a tool. Also, I was well aware that we'd be near a Lego store again in December when we go to visit my brother, so this was not our last chance.

By the way, at the price of $3.33 per minifig, a wall of 4,488 of them would cost nearly $15,000.

OK, I see that I have avoided mentioning my mistake. That's because I'm ashamed of this one. :guilty: We brought our mister fan along on the outing to DTD and used it liberally but we didn't bring anything to drink. (We had brought a Nalgene bottle in order to carry drinks along with us. If you don't know about these, they're really useful. Virtually indestructible and come in a wide variety of colors.) I for one was thirsty, and though the kids didn't say anything, I'm sure they would have welcomed a cold beverage. But I was too cheap to buy anything. I would really like to do that one over. Fortunately and fittingly I was the one who ended up suffering the most from this poor decision.

In my next post I will answer

10. What did I beg the girls to do?

[solgent]

10. What did I beg the girls to do?

When we left the pool, my idea was to go to DTD, eat dinner in our room (prepared by DH using the Wegoshop groceries he was taking delivery of), and then return to the pool for a quick dip. After all, we were so close to the pool! But when we were walking to the boat dock, I started to feel pretty rotten. I hadn't slept much and then had awakened at 5 am. It was hot and I was thirsty. A headache was coming on. The kids were probably tired as well. I thought a quiet evening was in order. I suggested that we borrow a DVD to watch in the room rather than going to the pool. After some pleading, the girls agreed.

We stopped at Artist's Palette and picked out Brother Bear. Back in our room at about 6:30, everything was in order. The groceries had arrived on time and dinner was just about ready. While I took some Advil, the girls changed to their pajamas, picked out their (coordinating!) outfits for the next day and settled in front of the TV.

Uh oh-- the DVD player was not hooked up. I thought about calling and getting someone in to do this...how long would it take? what about watching the movie and getting to bed? I took a deep breath and decided to try plugging it in myself. I've done it at home, after all.

Well, what do you know? You can plug it right into color-coded slots on the front of the TV! And there's an electrical outlet nearby for that plug. Boy, am I glad I didn't call and wait for someone else to do this simple task. Then I figured out how to get the TV to display the feed from the DVD. Hurray!

So we ate dinner and the girls enjoyed the movie while I retreated to the other room to lie down and try to prevent my headache from getting worse. Then they all climbed into the king-sized bed.

Of course I had anticipated that DH and I would watch TV and chat in the living room for a while after the girls were asleep. But I felt too awful for that. I asked him to make up the sofa bed. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any sheets for it. I was so wiped out that I thought about just doing without sheets, but he said he'd call. Although I heard him state the request clearly, at first they thought he wanted someone to come and make the bed. He explained again. We will make the bed but we need sheets. At this point I decided I needed to get out for some fresh air and a little walk. It was a beautiful evening and my walk around the pond was really helping me to feel better. When I got back the bed was ready. DH said that they still hadn't understood. Somehow they thought we wanted an extra bedspread, which they aren't able to give. They can only exchange your bedspread for a clean one if something gets spilled on it. We guessed that people steal them!

So, next time we will check that the room is fully equipped with all that we need before bedtime. For the moment, it was much-needed rest after a long but wonderful day.

In my next post, I will answer:

11. What did the girls eat for breakfast?

[keliblue]

Ohhhhhhhh I hope your head feels better and your day is wonderful !! :goodvibes

[solgent]

Thanks keliblue. I did feel really lousy that evening. After a good night's sleep, though, I was ready to conquer the (Magic) Kingdom!

11. What did the girls eat for breakfast?

Let the pictures tell the tale:

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4386_600_x_800_-med.jpg

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4384_600_x_800_.jpg

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4385_800_x_600_.jpg

Yes, it was their marshmallow treat from Goofy's Candy Co! I love those pictures! The things we bought were meant to be dessert the previous night, but with me feeling wretched and the kids being tired, we had skipped the dessert course and just moved right along to bedtime. They did have a proper, normal breakfast in the room, but I brought the marshmallow thing along to pass the time at the bus stop. (And we still had the cookie, which they would have after lunch the next day.) Nothing says vacation like chocolate at 8:00 in the morning, does it?

The bus arrived so soon that they didn't have time to finish it. We passed through security and the ticket gates at about 8:30 and they were able to finish the marshmallows as we mingled with the waiting throng.

In my next post, I will answer

12. Why did I almost start crying during the Opening Ceremony?

[mrsswat]

Nothing says "vacation" like chocolate for breakfast :thumbsup2 We also learned the hard way about missing bed linens..now it's one of the first things we check for when we arrive in the room. That and are the batteries in the remotes in working order :)

[Poohbear77]

Beautiful girls you've got there.

~~I am now subscribing so I don't miss a minute~~

[lexmelinda]

Beautifully written! Can't wait to hear more and your girls are beautiful......really! I know because I have 2 of my own. Thanks for taking time to write. :)

[BigTigg'r]

Great report, love the way you write and your girls are beautiful! Chocolate for breakfast is, I believe, the universal sign of vacations.

Keep it up, cannot wiat for the next installment!

[lonegirl]

Because I am intrigued by your writing style with the cliffhanger questions...and because I love your pix! They are definitely different than the typical vacation photos (in a great way) and are some things I have not seen at WDW before (have not been in ten years and am currently planning our trip...you have me sold on the dipped marshmallows)

[Olallamom]

what a wonderful TR, I look forward to reading more.

[jer1997]

I love your trip report so far! Can't wait to read more. I think you have a very creative way of sharing your trip.


Thanks!

[briarberry]

I am loving your report!

[slk537]

I love your report!! As a fellow SSR DVCer I'd like to agree with you as to how gorgeous the resort is. We spent two nights there on our last trip and were so impressed with the beauty of everything.

Welcome home!!!

[almousefan]

Can't wait to hear more about your trip. It's great to hear good things about SSR. We will be staying at our home for the 1st time next June!

[solgent]

Dear almousefan, slk537, briarberry, jer1997, Olallamom, lonegirl, BigTigg'r, lexmelinda, Poohbear77 & mrsswat,

Thank you so much for your kind words! It is a thrill to think that people are reading and enjoying my report. Lonegirl, thank you for mentioning the pictures. I'm proud of my amateur photography skills. If you want to know my secrets, check out this book: How to Photograph Your Life: Capturing Everyday Moments with Your Camera and Your Heart (http://www.amazon.com/How-Photograph-Your-Life-Capturing/dp/B000EPFVNW/sr=8-1/qid=1157459172/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-8684921-1461756?ie=UTF8&s=books)


12. Why did I almost start crying during the Opening Ceremony?

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4388_800_x_600_-med.jpg

After years of being away and after months of planning and dreaming, the girls and I had finally arrived at the gates of the Magic Kingdom. I don't remember seeing the Opening Ceremony before. I felt so emotional. I felt so lucky to be there and to be able to bring my children there. Disney World is such a special place. Everyone knows about it. It's where you go to celebrate after a big victory. It's where kids have the time of their lives. I know there are other great places to go. I know not everyone wants to go. But lots of people do want to go, and not all of them can. But we were there and I knew we were going to have an awesome day.

Of course, we had a plan. I had questioned the girls repeatedly about what rides they wanted to try. I got different answers at different times, but we had settled on the following--

Wait, I think I should tell you a little bit about us and our approach to rides.

The older two are twins. DD11a weighed a pound less than her sister at birth, but she grew quickly and she is now several inches taller. When they were babies and toddlers we used to get a lot of attention, but now they are so different in height and appearance (much stronger resemblence between DD11b and her younger sister than between her and her twin) that nobody would guess they are twins and they sometimes don't believe us when we mention it! DD11b is the roller coaster lover. DD11a has a mixed reaction to the thrill rides. She likes them but she's intimidated by them. DD7 is not ready for roller coasters. She has tried them at a nearby amusement park but she didn't enjoy the experience. I am definitely scared of big roller coasters. The medium ones, I can handle. It wouldn't break my heart to skip them, but I'm up for it.

--OK, so the plan was for DDs 11a and 11b to ride SpaceMtn while DD7 and I went to Dumbo. The older girls would meet us at the Carousel. I gave them a map and told them to walk past the race cars. We didn't have cell phones or any way to make contact other than "See you at the Carousel," but I had confidence in them.

DD7 and I were in the second group on Dumbo. She loved it. I decided that we were ahead of the other girls and we had time to hop on my favorite ride, Peter Pan. I just adore that moment when we fly out of the window and over the city of London. Apparently the CM loading the ships thought there was hardly anyone in line, because he asked DD7 if she wanted to trade any pins. She scrutinized his lanyard and pointed at a pin of Oddball, then struggled to remove a pin from her own lanyard. I felt bad about the people waiting behind us. Three or four ships had gone by empty while we conducted this transaction. But he had initiated it! Julia loved the ride too. Next, the Carousel.

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Listening to the carousel version of "Chim Chim Cher-Ee" I experienced again that feeling of perfect contentment, that I was just where I wanted to be.

But I still didn't see DDs 11a and 11b anywhere. So DD7 and I rode Snow White. She was scared when it looks like the rock is going to fall. As we exited, we saw DDs 11a and 11b walking up. They had had fun on Space Mtn. I was happy about that and happy that we'd reconnected without mishap.

Now that we were together again, we rode Peter Pan and then headed to Frontierland. DD11b, of course, wanted to ride Splash Mtn. I have to confess that I had never been on this ride. But I thought it was time to give it a try. DD11a did not want to go. And all of a sudden DD7 said that she did. We got in a quickly moving line and asked her if she was sure every other step. She seemed cheerful and excited. We boarded. But as we embarked on our journey and experienced some of those trick hills, where it seems like you're going to have a big drop and you don't, she started to cry. DD 11a was not much help. She kept saying, "It's fun! You'll see; it will be fun!" Finally I snapped at her, "Stop saying that. It isn't fun for her!" I tried to reassure DD7 that it would soon be over. And you know, the big drop really isn't that scary. The anxiety leading up to it is much worse. I think I could enjoy the ride much more now that I've been through it.

DD7 recovered quickly as soon as the ride was over. I think she had a peanut butter chocolate chip granola bar at this point. (You know how in the Harry Potter books, people eat chocolate to get over dementor attacks? I think it works for Muggles too.)

I got FPs for BTMRR and in the meantime we headed to PoC, another childhood favorite. The girls have not seen the movies, but DH and I enjoyed them and I was interested to see how the ride had been updated. I guess this was the first time the girls had encountered the audio-animatronics. They thought the figures were real! And even when I said they were not, they thought that at least some of them (such as Jack Sparrow) were. Since we'd walked on, we went back for another trip.

Next up was BTMRR. DD11b was determined to go and DD7 was determined to stay behind. DD11a was unsure. "Are there any big drops?" she kept asking. "You went on Space Mtn!" I told her. Finally I convinced DD11a to accompany her sister. My worry and guilt about DD7 during Splash Mtn had taken a lot out of me and I wanted to skip this one and stick with her. So they went off while we browsed in a nearby shop. Luckily, DD11a did enjoy the ride, as I had expected.

Now it was back to Fantasyland for Small World, which they were dying to ride, but I had put them off because I knew we could do that anytime. But on the way we passed HM. I liked this ride as a kid. I knew the ride itself was tame. The atmosphere was spooky but not scary (nothing jumping out at you, for example). We went in. Unfortunately, the stretch room really unnerved DD7. She was crying even as we boarded our buggy. The CM tried to reassure her, "I used to be scared too but it's really not that bad." But she whimpered and hid her face against me the whole time. And the ride stopped twice! Briefly, thank goodness. I pulled out my Palm Pilot and drew pictures for her on the NotePad to distract her from the mansion.

Small World seemed like a good antidote. While we waited in the short line, we agreed to ride twice, switching places so we'd all get good views of both sides. But we were put in the front of the boat. We all enjoyed it and we felt there was no need to ride again. I thought about getting FPs for Mickey's Philharmagic, which was new since our last visit. But there was no line, just a short wait for the show in progress to finish.

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We loved it! I picked up FPs for WtP instead.

So now it was about 12:15. We'd done almost every ride on our list.

In my next post I will answer

13. What was my next worry that didn't come true?

[teentoddlermom]

Second time posting on your TR, really enjoying it. What type of unit at SSR did you buy? Did you buy enough points for your intended visits?
Looking forward to the next installment.

[solgent]

Hi teentoddlermom,

We bought 150 points. This stay (5 nights, Sun-Thurs, in a 1 bdrm) was 125 points. We banked 25 points to the next year. The 1 bdrm worked out well for us and we'll continue booking that size room. Maybe when the kids are much older, a 2 bdrm will be more appropriate, but we'll wait and see.

The flexibility of DVC is fantastic. You can choose your room size, time of visit and length of stay differently each time. The only sticking point in my thrifty mind is that Fri & Sat night stays cost (in points) about twice the other nights. That's why we did Sun-Thurs. But we want to stay longer next time, so we'll have to either just pay the weekend points (and we'll have the leftover points from this year to help do that) or pay out of pocket.

This is a good amount of points for us to visit once a year and stay more or less a week. We had in mind that we'd skip years sometimes. Then we'd have more points for a long stay or to rent a large unit so my brother & his family could join us. But we had so much fun we definitely plan to return next summer, so I'm not sure when that off year will happen!

[solgent]

13. What was my next worry that didn't come true?

The whole time I had been worried about crowds. Was late August really better than the rest of the summer? Thankfully, I found that it was. We had enjoyed all the morning rides without waiting for any meaningful length of time. Now we were heading to lunch later than I had planned, but it proved to be no problem. At Columbia Harbor House, I discussed the menu with the girls, got their choices, and dispatched them to choose a table. It would be much harder for me to be in the parks with them without DH if they weren't old enough to do things like this!

We eat fish, dairy, eggs, vegetables, no meat. At Columbia Harbor House, we ordered a tuna sandwich for me and DD11b to share, fish and chips for DDs 7 and 11a to share, an extra order of fries for all three DDs, and milk (2 chocolate, 1 regular). Lunch for four for $20.55! I didn't think I was going to get away this cheaply, but everyone was satisfied with her meal. (Actually, that's the way they usually eat, sharing portions, but I thought that Disney touring might increase their appetites.) We didn't even open the bag of potato chips that came with the sandwich. Just kept it in the backpack for another time. They selected a nice big table next to a window and we had a very pleasant lunch.

I have never been to HoP, but I wouldn't pass up a chance to educate my children. When we got there, a show had just begun. Of course, we didn't want to wait, but now that I knew that the shows are on a schedule (the hour and the half hour), I figured we could fit it in another time.

We returned to Fantasyland to use our Wtp FPs. This ride was built since my childhood and I'm not the biggest Pooh fan, so it just doesn't grip me the way PP does. The kids loved it and wanted to go again, but the standby line was prohibitively long. The girls were really impressed at how we'd been able to bypass so many people with our FPs. "Thank you for getting those for us, Mom," they said. "How much did they cost?" I guess I could have passed myself of as uncharacteristically generous by pretending that I'd paid for them, but I told the truth!

We walked over to Toontown and toured Minne's and Mickey's houses. I thought they could cool off a bit at Donald's Boat while we waited for a train, but as we approached I noticed that DD11a was no longer with us. I left the others at the boat & backtracked to locate DD11a. She had not noticed us exit through Mickey's garage. She was in line at the Judge's Tent, watching the cartoons. I retrieved her and asked her to be more attentive.

We regrouped and boarded the train. I thought the girls would enjoy the Jungle Cruise (another childhood favorite of mine) so we formulated a plan. They would disembark at Main Street and browse in the shops, staying on the left hand side of the street and moving to the next area within connected shops together. I would go to Frontierland and pick up FPs for JC. As I watched them get off the train I wondered if this idea was irresponsible of me. But my kids are very sensible and reliable.

Unfortunately, the FP machines for JC were not operating. I walked back to Main Street and easily found the girls. They wanted to browse a bit more.

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I had said they could each spend $10 on themselves and $10 on each sister for her upcoming birthday. I usually finance their birthday presents to each other, and by doing it at WDW, I essentially was giving them each $30, since I knew they would just dictate to the others what they wanted as their "gift." We chose some rubber bracelets for friends back home, a castle punch for me to use in scrapbooking, and DD11b used some of her money for the novelization of High School Musical.

We left the park at 2:30 and hopped on a monorail to the TTC, where a bus to MGM was waiting to deliver us there soon after 3:00. It was hot and they said they just wanted to sit somewhere with AC. I'm not nearly as familiar with the other parks as I am with MK, so I snagged a map and located the ABC Commissary, where I purchased a large lemonade. We used the restroom and chatted until I examined the Times Guide and realized that the Beauty and the Beast showtimes had changed since the previous week (which I had gotten from Steve Soares' website). I had not even mentioned this show because I didn't think we'd be able to fit it in! But it's one of my favorite things in all of WDW. I announced to the children that we had to go and promised that they'd love it. Actually it was 3:25 and the show was at 4:00, we didn't even have to go yet!

A few more minutes of AC and then we headed over to the theater. We got better seats than we usually enjoyed in the past. That crowd level thing again! We used the ice from the lemonade and the water fountain to fill our bottle with ice water. We misted each other and rubbed ice cubes on our skin. It wasn't AC but we felt fine. The show was great, of course.

It seemed to me that we had time for something quick and self-directed, either One Man's Dream or the Narnia exhibit. It seemed like there was some sort of line at Narnia, so we went into OMD. This interested the girls more than I expected, and we definitely needed more time, but we had to get to H&V for our 5:00 ADR.

We arrived at 4:55 and they were so busy they had run out of buzzers. They said to wait nearby and they'd call my name. The kids sat on a wall where they were able to get a view of the passing parade! That was lucky. Eventually the parade ended and DD11b said she needed to use the bathroom. We waited until a CM came outside and I asked if she could use the restroom. He said of course and told her how to find it and she set off. Then he took about 6 steps away and called out...our name! The wait was about 20 minutes. After he showed us the table I went over to the restroom to escort DD11b so she wouldn't go back outside to look for us.

I loved our table. One bad thing I'd heard about H&V was the noise level. We were all the way on the left hand side (as you enter) in a little nook! We had a window on one side of our table and walls on two other sides. It was secluded and calm.

The food was not great but it was fine. I first got little tastes of things, and then went back to get proper portions of the things I had liked. At the end of the line I noticed DD11a at the dessert table! I firmly informed her that it was not time for dessert. We were not rushing through the meal. This was a full park day with no return to the hotel. This dinner was a time to rest and cool off as well as eat. When she got back to the table and observed her sisters and me still in the middle of dinner, she decided to get some more dinner food! But she still managed to eat quite a bit of dessert-- we all did!

The ride I most wanted to do was the Great Movie Ride. (We are way too wimpy for ToT or RnRC!) I made a mistake here because the sign said "30 minute wait from this point," and I reasoned that the line didn't even begin until well past that sign, so the wait would be less than 30 minutes. But that was not what the sign meant. It meant the wait time, just like all the other signs. Maybe it didn't even say "from this point." Maybe I imagined that.

Well, so what? We hadn't done much waiting at all. We were indoors & we soon were in the movie room. We enjoyed the ride. The audio wasn't working well so we couldn't hear all the dialogue among the performers, but that was just as well because it might have upset DD7. Also we told her to close her eyes when we went into the spaceship from Alien, and she did just fine.

We tried to get resort wristbands near the entrance, but they weren't giving them out there. So we just headed to Fantasmic. The FDP worked out wonderfully as by the time we took our seats, the arena seemed completely full except for the FDP section, which was only half or a third full. So it was worth it to not have to get there earlier. But I would not eat at H&V without the FDP as a motivation.

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Girls played with glow sticks (which they had leftover from camp, so we brought them from home)

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In my next post, I will answer

14. What did I worry about while waiting for Fantasmic to start?

[mytwotinks]

Yay! You posted again :banana: !! I've been looking forward to reading more and I can't wait for your next installment.

[Belle's Mom Tink]

Subscribing!! Thanks for the great Trip Report, you tell your "story" so well.

[javamom]

Really enjoying your report :)

[Poohbear77]

What neat pictures!

Having such a good time reading this report.

Can't wait for more

[solgent]

Thanks mytwotinks, Belle's Mom, javamom, PB77 & anyone else who is reading!

By this point you may have begun to suspect that my desire for everything to go well combined with my extensive research about what can go wrong was causing me to worry about many things that weren't all that likely and didn't actually happen.

But as we sat in the arena waiting for Fantasmic, I had legitimate cause for concern.

14. What did I worry about while waiting for Fantasmic to start?

It was raining and I worried Fantasmic would be cancelled. We had carried our raingear around all day because afternoon showers had been forecast. Now three of us put them on. The rain was so light and warm that DD 11a didn't feel the need to cover up. The PA announcements didn't give any hint of a possible cancellation. So we just waited and...

The show began right on time. The light rain continued throughout, but I guess that doesn't stop them. We had only seen this once before. On that first viewing I had had no idea what to expect and I was blown away by the water effects and the whole spectacle. This time I didn't have the shock of the new and I didn't feel the same awe, but we all enjoyed it.

We had never gotten our resort wristbands, because the lines were long, and I figured that at this point we didn't need them. We slowly made our way out of the park, pausing to browse in some of the shops, and hopped on a waiting bus. It had been a long, fun-filled day.

Meanwhile, DH had visited the fitness center, lunched at Artist's Palette, and soaked in the hot tub. He was eager to hear about our day, and I think I told him most of it before falling asleep.

The next morning, the older girls woke up around 8:00 and I decided to wake up DD7 when it got to be 9:00. We ate breakfast and then walked to DTD. From our location at SSR it is easy to get to DTD's Westside. I thought we'd check out the Virgin Megastore, walk over to the Marketplace to shop there, and then catch a boat back for lunch in our room.

But my first mistake of the day foiled this plan. The Marketplace opens at 9:30 but shops on the Westside don't open until 10:30, and it was only 10:05. Well, now we know. We didn't want to hang around so we proceeded to the Marketplace. It was really hot. How can the pavement radiate that much heat so early in the day? This time, though, we had the mister fan AND a quart of icy lemonade in our Nalgene bottle. (We had ordered lemonade mix from Wegoshop. The girls drank the resort's Hi-C lemonade from their refillable mug, but we didn't decant that into our own bottle.) By spraying ourselves liberally, we managed to stagger through the heat as far as the Lego store. The girls revived themselves by standing in the big doorway where cool air was swirling out. They spent a long time playing.

Here is something DD11b built. Can you tell what it is?
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It is a bus station.

Finally I persuaded them to move along to World of Disney. DD11b chose some Tink earrings to go along with her book and complete her souvenir purchases for herself, and some items for her twin sister. It was then that we learned that we had to spend $25 to get the 10% Disney Visa discount. Of course, we decided to wait until we had $25 of merchandise.

Next we checked out Basin. I'd read that they carry bath products, and I thought, so what? We've been to Bath and Body Works. Well, it is way cooler than that. They have a lot of unique products. We didn't buy anything this trip but it was fun to explore all the soap designs and scents.

My next mistake was revealed at the boat dock. I didn't realize that the boats were on a schedule, leaving at the hour and half hour. We had just missed one. DD11b sat down to write some postcards while DD11a drank some lemonade. I figured there was no point hanging around the dock, so I told the girls to go to Once Upon a Toy. I would drop the postcards in the mailbox next to WoD and then meet them. I found the girls playing at the Potato Head display, but before too long it was time to go. We were not going to miss the next boat!

We had lunch in the room and then were about to go to the pool when I discovered that the lemonade bottle was no longer in the backpack. Well, I'd go back to DTD and look for it while DH escorted the girls to the pool. He volunteered to go back instead. That makes no sense, I replied, because he wasn't there with us and he didn't know where we'd been. I figured she'd left it at the dock when we went back to the shops. But DD11b said that DD11a had it with her when we'd split up and they went to the shop. I wondered if DD11a had set it down to play with the Potato Head pieces and left it there. I called the shop and waited while the CM went to look. It was there and she'd hold it behind the counter for us to pick up later. So no harm done?

Except that DD11a kept saying that she had nothing to do with it. She said she didn't remember carrying it into the shop. She thought probably one of her sisters had it. She certainly hadn't lost it. Anyway it was just a water bottle (retail price $8.50), so why should anyone be concerned about it? DH and I were pretty steamed that she couldn't find it in herself to say a simple, "Oops, I guess I forgot it. Sorry." Particularly when we had actually managed to track the item down and there were no repercussions!

I took the other girls to the pool without her. After an interlude for reflection, she allowed that she probably had something to do with the missing bottle and she was sorry and she should have just said so. Were we too harsh? Did she just say what she knew she had to? Well, she sounded sincere and I just felt that even though we were on vacation, if you mess up, you should apologize for it. We all had fun at the pool, especially after DH and DD11a joined us.

I picked up a DVD from AP for later and we returned to the room about 4:00 to change and relax for an hour before the evening activity: dinner at Boma (6:20 ADR). The girls ate the Goofy's Candy Co fudge cookie we had bought the other day and the bag of potato chips left over from yesterday's lunch while watching TV.

On our walk to the Westside in the morning, I'd noticed the bus stops. My original plan had been to walk there and catch a bus to AKL. Now we decided to split up. DH and DDs 11a would take that route, while DDs 11b & 7 and I would take the boat to the Marketplace to pick up the bottle of lemonade and then walk over to the bus stop. I said that if a bus came they should get on, as it would be more pleasant to wait at AKL than at the bus stop.

But on the boat over, our group decided to add another twist to the plan. DH had been so great, not complaining about his injury and trying to do all he could to ensure that we had a wonderful time. I decided to surprise him with the Goofy Tshirt we'd seen the first day. (Also by now I'd been in enough shops to feel confident that this was the best gift for him.) Since it only cost $20, we'd purchase DD11b's Tink earrings at the same time to qualify for the discount. Of course, time was short because we were supposed to be on our way to Boma. I told the girls that I would retrieve the bottle from Once Upon a Toy. They should go to WoD and try to pick up the earrings and shirt so that when I got there, we could just pay and go. The plan worked, except that DD11b forgot to check for the size I had told her. I switched the shirt for the right size, paid, and we began to walk to the Westside.

But wait! Surely we don't have to walk all the way over there! Isn't there a bus stop closer to here? Good thing I told them not to wait for us but to just get on the bus when it came. I asked a CM and she said the bus stop was opposite Planet Hollywood. We walked over there and as we approached the correct bus shelter I could see some people were waiting. That's a good sign; we didn't just miss a bus. Let's ask them how long they've been waiting.

Hey, it's DH and DD11a! The bus stop on the Westside had been deserted with signs directing people to this stop. We presented DH with his shirt and he was very pleased. Things were looking good. We'd recovered our lost property; we were all together for the journey to AKL; we'd surprised DH with a gift he appreciated; they'd been waiting for a while so there should be a bus soon.

The trip to AKL was quite long. The lobby of AKL was gorgeous but we didn't have time to look around as I'd hoped. We checked in just at 6:20 and received a buzzer. The CM said she had no idea how long the wait would be. But as I walked away from the counter, the buzzer went off. We were taken to a nice, roomy table near the food stations.

Here are the girls at Boma. DD7 looks tired. I should have let her sleep later!

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In my next post, I will answer

15. What was my favorite thing at Boma?

[disneylizzy]

I'm guessing Zebra Domes?? Or maybe one of the soups.

Subscribing so I can find out. Love your report. :thumbsup2

[solgent]

15. What was my favorite thing at Boma?

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Don't miss the restrooms. I loved this display of African baskets made with telephone wire.

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And I loved the light fixtures and the tile inside.

OK, so you probably thought I was going to mention the food. That was pretty good too. :) DH and I enjoyed trying the unusual dishes. The butternut squash soup, the tamarind salmon and the chocolate mousse crunch were among the best things I have ever eaten. DH's favorite soup was the curried coconut seafood stew. Of course we sampled the famous zebra domes and I thought they were really good, but not as sublime as the mousse.

The kids pretty much confined themselves to the familiar. They ate pasta, French fries, fruit. I got them to try the butternut squash soup and one of them liked it and ate a small portion. Still, despite eating what seemed to me like very ordinary food, they said how much they loved the restaurant and wanted to come back! I guess it was the atmosphere. Possibly the chocolate mousse crunch was a factor as well.

Our waitress Barbi had been very welcoming in the beginning and described many of the dishes in mouth-watering detail. But when we were finished eating she seemed to forget about us. It was 20 minutes between DH's request for coffee and the arrival of same, and 20 minutes after that, following appeals to other CMs, before we got the check. We had another big day ahead and were eager to get the girls to bed, and we really didn't want to linger. Oh well. We decided to spring for a cab back to our resort, a practice which I'd read about on the DISboards.

As we made our way through the lobby, DH noticed that the pain in his leg was gone! Wow, I guess that African cooking is more powerful than we thought! Or was it pixie dust? Or the fact that he'd taken it easy for the past few days? No matter what the cause, that was a great thing to happen.

The cab cost $20, with tip, plus I gave $1 to the guy at AKL who waved his arm to motion the cab forward. I didn't have a real reason to expect a lower fare, but I hadn't expected to pay that much. Still, it was worth it to skip not just the longer transit time, but the walk back from DTD for DH and the kids. The girls were tired and I didn't think we should stress DH's newly recovered leg. Meanwhile, DH announced that instead of going to AP for one of his meals the following day while we were in the parks, as he'd done on Monday, he'd eat in the room, thereby using up more of the groceries we bought and reducing expenses, to offset the cab fare. He knows I'm such a cheapskate that saving money pleases me more than almost any gift!

In my next post, I will answer:

16. Did the girls get wet enough on Kali River Rapids?

[shyjade]

I love your trip report and can't wait for more!! :banana:

[solgent]

Dear disneylizzy, thanks! I hope my answer surprised you.

Dear shyjade, Ooh, you are going to have such a great time. I loved what we saw of AKL and I am thinking about staying there for part of our next visit.

16. Did the girls get wet enough on Kali River Rapids?

We woke up to another beautiful day. We decided to throw caution to the wind and leave our raingear behind. This way we'd have only one light backpack to share among the four of us. The bus trip to AK was smooth. We passed security and then had to wait before passing the turnstiles. Some of the lines extended way back and some were much, much shorter. I felt a little bit guilty about getting into a short line. But can I help being observant? I try to use my power only for good. The girls were entertained by chatter of the small talking palm tree that was mingling with the crowd.

As you might recall from our MK adventures, DD11b is a bit of a thrill-seeker and the rest of us, not so much. She wanted to go on ExEv and I was game. (Mostly because I didn't see how I could write a TR admitting that I had skipped this attraction. People from all over might make fun of me and I wouldn't blame them.) So, we were going to do that and the other two could pass the time on the Maharajah Trek.

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We were admitted through the turnstiles and to Discovery Island. We were able to get a decent view of the Opening Show. Then we strolled over to Asia along with a few other folks. I parted from DDs 11a and 7 with instructions to stick together and remain in the Trek path. At ExEv, there was a frenzy at the FP machines. We got in line, which was full of people in high spirits and which moved along quickly. We rode in the second row of the train. I was glad because I know that the back of the train is faster, but I did not want to be in the very first row. The backpack did not fit in the pouch. I put it on the floor and stepped on it with one foot. And we were off!

The ride was both scarier and less scary than I thought it would be. We did go really fast at times, definitely faster than I would have liked. Also I figured that the bad part would be the intense roller coaster motion. I thought I was far too savvy to be afraid of the Yeti, when I knew perfectly well it was an audio-animatronic. But it was scary, when he-- Well, I won't tell, but I've really got to hand it to those Imagineers.

Going backwards was less frightening and sickening than I thought. I actually prefered the sensation of being pressed against the seat back than the leaning forward you experience going down hills. Maybe I could even handle an inversion coaster someday. In my next lifetime.

When we pulled into the unloading zone, I staggered off the train on the wrong side, causing the mother in front of us, who had reassured me as we walked through the queuing area, to ask if I was OK. Getting off on the wrong side was an honest mistake. Staggering was to amuse DD11b and make her feel that I'd just gone through heck for her sake. Then again, I did feel somewhat shaken up. I'm glad I did it, and I might do it again, but I just don't think I am built to handle riding more than once in a row.

On the way to the Maharajah Trek to reunite with the others, I got FPs for Kali River Rapids. This is one of my favorite rides in WDW. The standby wait was still 10 minutes, so I wanted to get the girls and get in that line! Hence we did not appreciate the animals much. DDs 11a and 7 had had a pleasant time, and now it was over. We had rapids to run!

My enthusiasm for the ride had filled the girls with anticipation. Also, DD11a had actually gone on it with me during our last visit, when she was 4 years old. She mainly remembers passing the artificial fire. On this particular trip, DDs 11a and 11b, who were seated together, did get drenched. They were happy about it because the day was so hot. We all enjoyed the ride, even DD7. They all wanted to go again. "Of course we can, darlings," I replied, knowing that I had 4 FPS stashed in my pocket. "Just not now." The standby wait had already climbed to 20 minutes and our FP return time had not arrived.

Instead we walked to Camp Minnie Mickey for the second showing of Festival of the Lion King. We had all loved this on our earlier visits. DH and I enjoyed the tumble monkeys, while DDs 11a and 11b were entranced by the "bird lady." I also enjoyed the dialogue, even though I could practically recite it along with the performers.

We got good seats in the elephant section. The theater never filled to capacity and we could have arrived later than we did. We enjoyed the show although I felt that it didn't go off the charts for me as it had in the past. Maybe because the audience was smaller? The energy just seemed a little bit lower. Still, it was a lot of fun. Later on, DD7 asked me why Simba had not gotten down from his platform. I was not sure how to answer. Puumba, after all, had explained that his legs were too short. Simba didn't really have an excuse. Figuring I had always been straight with them about everything, I told her, "He's just a statue." She burst into tears-- No, actually, she didn't say anything. I don't know what she was thinking.

We returned to Asia by way of Africa--

(This is totally off-topic, but it reminds me of a time when I was at an office holiday party and one colleague asked another whether she was going anywhere special over break, and she replied, "Oh, we're going back to the South Pacific." And I thought, will there ever come a time in my life when I can casually say something like that!? Very doubtful.)

OK, so we stopped in Africa to get FPs for the safari ride. In Asia, we used our FPs to ride KRR and had another fun trip. This time, because lunch was next on the agenda and we were not in a hurry, we paused on the bridge to share the love with other riders.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4508_800_x_600_-med.jpg


But, inexplicably, the girls had NOT gotten wet enough. :confused3 Luckily WDW aims to please everyone. They had prepared for this eventuality by providing a small water play area.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4510_crop_692_x_600_-med.jpg

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4511_600_x_800_-med.jpg

Problem solved. The photo in my signature was taken after this little interlude.

We went to Pizzafari for lunch. I bought 2 cheese pizzas, 1 order of breadsticks, and 1 large lemonade ($18.71). This way we could each eat 1 breadstick and 2 slices of pizza (half of a pizza). However, the girls each ate only 1 slice of pizza. I ate an extra piece, but that still left two. I was not sure what to do about this, until I realized that I could put another plate upside down on top and slide this arrangement into a small WDW bag, which we happened to have. The plates fit snugly, safely trapping the pizza. We tucked it in the backpack. "Waste not, want not" is our motto. Along with, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or -------." (Once I recited this gem of frugal Yankee wisdom to DH and asked if he knew how it ends and he said, "Buy another one?" BZZZZ! The correct answer is "Do without.")

Before cashing in our FPs, I left the girls to browse in a shop and walked to Dinoland to get FPs for Dinosaur. I had never been on this, but the older girls and I had decided to try it.

Back in Africa, the FP line for KS moved fairly briskly, until just before it was our turn to board. The vehicles that had just loaded remained in place for 5 minutes? 10 minutes? It seemed like a really long time. I was glad that we were at the front where we could see that there was some sort of holdup and not way back just wondering why there was no progress.

Eventually the vehicles did move forward and we could board. The ride was good even though it was the middle of a hot day. Although I have yet to visit the South Pacific even once, I have the good fortune to have actually been on safari in Kenya. This ride is not the same. You could say the ride is better because your ratio of animals viewed per minute driving is much higher. On safari you have to spend a lot of time looking for the animals. (I wonder if people who go on safari after riding KS are disappointed by this. Also I've heard it has to do with how happy your driver and guide are. If they like your group, they take you from one animal encounter to another. If they don't, they spend a lot of time driving around and saying, "Hmm, no luck. Let's try another area.")

On the other hand, on safari you can see much farther across the plains. It is very clever how Disney prevents you from seeing more than your immediate surroundings while still hinting at a vast landscape. Also, when you do come across the animals, there are many more of them. Dozens of zebras in a herd surrounding your vehicle on all sides. Including the front, so that you can't move and eventually you're thinking, "I wish these darn zebras would get out of the way already!" Well, those were some unforgettable experiences, and I don't expect Disney to be able to replicate that, but I think they do an excellent job of conveying a flavor of what it's like. I especially like the moment when the song comes over the "radio."

Here are a couple of photos.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4519_800_x_600_-med.jpg

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4524_800_x_600_-med.jpg

Last, we rode Dinosaur. (Not DD7, of course. She stayed in a shop. This was the only time she was on her own without even a sister and she did fine.) I thought Dinosaur was a pretty nasty experience. Dark, loud noises, violent motion. I don't see the fun part. So we've crossed that off our list.

DD7's favorite character is Stitch and she had indicated to her sisters that she wanted "something with Stitch" for her birthday gift from them. They and I agreed that a Tshirt would be nice, and we saw one with the slogan "Real Cool" showing Stitch on a KRR raft. Since we had all loved the ride, we thought it was a great choice. We purchased it and had it sent to the resort.

We left the park at 2:15. My clever plan was to take a bus to the Contemporary and then a monorail to MK. I had never been in this resort (except passing through while on the monorail) and it gets excellent reviews on the DISboards, so I wanted to get a closer look, and I thought the kids would find the monorail-through-building thing really cool. I second-guessed myself when a bus to the TTC came and went, but our bus came along soon after. I was glad to set foot in the CR because I didn't really like it. It reminded me of airports and hotels with atriums that I've been in. The location is good, but the ambiance just didn't do anything for me. A train arrived just as we got to the platform and we were walking onto Main Street at 3:15

In my next post, I will answer:

17. What made our trip on the Jungle Cruise so memorable?

[Poohbear77]

[/QUOTE]Except that DD11a kept saying that she had nothing to do with it. She said she didn't remember carrying it into the shop. She thought probably one of her sisters had it. She certainly hadn't lost it. Anyway it was just a water bottle (retail price $8.50), so why should anyone be concerned about it? DH and I were pretty steamed that she couldn't find it in herself to say a simple, "Oops, I guess I forgot it. Sorry." Particularly when we had actually managed to track the item down and there were no repercussions! [QUOTE]

LOL :rotfl2: This sounds exactly like my daughter. She always winds up getting in more trouble arguing(denying) after the fact then she would have if she just fessed up originally. Oh well one day maybe they will get that.

Pre-teens, gotta love em :love:

[Libade]

Great report - thanks for sharing!

I love that the girls were able to stay together on their own for short periods of time. Mine are 8 and 9 and would NEVER EVER do that!

[Katy Belle]

Great Report! I love all the photos...I'm going to buy the book you mentioned!
Looking forward to more,
Katy :sunny:

[solgent]

Hello everyone! Thanks for reading and thank you to PB77, Libade and KB for posting.

17. What made our trip on the Jungle Cruise so memorable?

On the way over, I asked the girls what we should get FPs for. They chose Peter Pan. I figured we'd get the FPs and then have an ice cream break until our return time came. But when we got to Main Street we saw that a parade was approaching, and the girls wanted to watch. By all means, let's watch, but I wasn't going to relax until I had those FPs in my hand. I found a good position at the bottom of Main Street. People were sitting along the curb and the girls could stand behind them for a clear view. I instructed them to remain there for the parade and to go into the shops if the parade ended before I got back. Then I took off for Fantasyland, making my way along the right hand side of the castle and congratulating myself on my familiarity with the layout of MK. I picked up FPs with a 4:55 return time and started walking back. As I came through the castle, the parade was in progress, but I was actually able to move faster than the floats, so I got back to the girls before the parade ended and was able to watch the last bit with them.

We went over to Liberty Square for ice cream.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4531_600_x_800_-med.jpg

The other two got those Iztkadoodle popsicles. I pressured them to finish so that we could make the 4:00 show at the HoP. The parade had required some energy (standing), but I figured that the trip from AK, the ice cream, and the HoP equalled a decent mid-day break for them. This was our first time seeing the show. It was OK. It fit well into the schedule, and the girls were very fascinated by the motions of the Presidents as they listened to one another. They were sure that it was real people.

Next we rode IASW. We were there at 4:30 to see the clock open up. I think I might have seen that once before but I had forgotten about it. We got into a pileup of about eight boats at the end. We watched Mickey's Philharmagic again. I got another set of FPs for PP, and then we rode using the first set.

It was time for dinner and the girls wanted to return to CHH. We left Fantasyland by going past (OK, through) Tinkerbelle's Treasures and along the side of the castle. We discovered that Cinderellabration had just started. I knew this was closing and had a mild desire to see it, so we stopped to watch. It was OK.

At CHH, we paid $20.18 for 1 fish & chips for DDs 11b & 7 to share, a clam chowder for DD11a, an extra French fries for all 3 of them, and 3 chocolate milks. I ate the chowder that DD didn't finish and the leftover pizza from lunch.

The girls had been intrigued by the lace-trimmed personalized umbrellas sold at a cart in Liberty Square. DD11a decided to use her souvenir money for a small umbrella for her American Girl doll. We ordered the umbrella inscribed with the doll's name and the vendor told us it would be ready at 8:30.

Again, I was feeling highly contented. We had done everything we wanted to do with minimal waits. We had FPs for a favorite attraction, we had the parade and fireworks to look forward to, and now we had a couple of hours to fill doing whatever we felt like. I thought we should try the Jungle Cruise. On our way there, though, was the Magic Carpets. I had always bypassed this, figuring it was as slow to load and as undistinguished as Dumbo. But there was practically no line, so why not? I noticed how the ride had been designed to improve on Dumbo-- each carpet held more people than each elephant, and you were preassigned to your carpet rather than having to search for elephant of a particular color or one that was unoccupied.

The JC was posting a 10 minute wait. The CM at the entrance gave us red tags, which I knew from the DISboards were meant to time the wait. It was only 5 minutes.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4540_800_x_600_-med.jpg

We were the first on our boat, and across from us was a family with two daughters in matching red dresses, ages about 4 and 5. My impression was that they were not English speakers. The younger girl didn't seem very engaged with the ride, but the older one was spellbound. And she was scared out of her wits. An elephant rose suddenly out of the water and she shrieked hysterically. Our boat was on a course for the waterfall and she pointed and shouted in alarm. When we entered the dark tunnel she was trembling with fear. Meanwhile the rest of the passengers were giggling at the driver's silly commentary. I have to say that I found it fascinating to ride with someone who believed whole-heartedly in the absurdities of the JC, but I also felt bad for her. Even the driver commented quietly to me, seeming bewildered, "She's absolutely terrified!" I wondered why her parents didn't do much to comfort or reassure her.

Well, my girls had a fun time. The older ones in particular are a good age for it because they understood some but not all of the jokes. Afterwards we repeated some of the monologue and they'd exclaim, "Oh, I get it now!" They felt proud of figuring out the puns.

The crowd levels seemed so low and the evening so pleasant that I thought we might even try the Speedway. I knew they'd like the ride; it was just that I didn't like the wait. But the sign said 30 minutes. Still too long. The girls were attracted to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party. This ride had been closed on Monday and it's one I don't particularly care for, but they were keen to ride and the wait was very short.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4547_800_x_600_-med.jpg

They wanted to go again, but then DD11b decided she needed to find a bathroom. As we left her sisters to ride on their own, DD11b admonished her twin, "Listen to DD7! Respect her choices!" Then she told me that she had "cracked the code" of the Tea Cups. Very pleased with her "discovery," she explained to me how there are three circles, all spinning at once.

We checked the Speedway again. The wait had fallen to 20 minutes, which I decided was worth it. While we were in line, we saw a rainbow!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4549_600_x_800_-med.jpg

At the top of the steps, you turn right onto an overpass and the line divides into two sets of steps going down to the loading zone. If you choose the far line, you have an extra wait while you cross the overpass before you even get to the top of those stairs. I looked at the tracks feeding the ride and noticed that there was only one lane serving the far line, while the near line had cars boarding on both sides. The far line was clearly a much longer wait. So we chose the near line, but quite a few people behind us got into the other line. Pay attention, people! All lines are not created equal. The girls enjoyed the ride. DD7 was not tall enough to be on her own, but the other two were, and I requested that we be in different lanes, so that we could drive alongside one another. The CM was happy to oblige. The sun had set by the time we were on the track and it was a very pretty drive.

I thought it was about time to use our PP FPs and then find a spot for the parade. At this point we'd been three times and I'd ridden with each girl once. DD11b asked to ride with me this time, but then DD7 wanted to ride with me, and DD11b decided to give up her claim. That was very nice of her. However, on our way we passed Snow White with only a handful of people in line. DD7 and I had ridden this but the others had not. OK, with the crowd levels being low we'd probably be fine getting to the parade a bit later. As we entered the line, a man with a British accent rushed up to me and with the words, "Would you like these? We can't use them," handed me 4 FPs to.... Peter Pan! I thanked him as he dashed off. Hmm, so now we could ride 3 times today and I could sit with each girl one time.

With Snow White behind us, we joyfully skipped to PP to enjoy our FP bounty. Until we saw that the FP line was really long. The stand-by line said 40 minutes and the CM said he thought the FP line was only half that. I didn't see why that had to be the case. Let more FP holders through, I suggested. He said they were letting in 8 from the FP line for every 2 from the standby line. As we stood in line, I contemplated the fact that in that case, the FP wait should be one quarter of the standby wait, or 10 minutes. Whatever. At this rate, I didn't think we'd have time to use the second set of FPs. Easy come, easy go.

DD7 and I happened to be standing in front of DDs 11a and 11b as we got to the boarding zone. Just as we were about to board, DD11b asked if they could go before us, so as to get the upcoming ship with a certain color sail. Remembering that she had let DD7 ride with me even though she had the prior claim, I said sure. I held DD7 back and let the other two proceed us.

DD7 started crying. :sad: I knew she was tired, but I was also embarrassed and upset. Who cares about the color of the sail? You can't even see it while you're riding. People in line were looking at us as we rolled past in our ship and I read their thoughts as, "We're waiting 40 minutes and your daughter doesn't even want to ride!? Why are you here?" This was our last ride of the trip, on my favorite attraction, and I'm with a crying child. I tried to calm her down. I reminded her that DD11b had let her (DD7) ride with me. "That was her choice," she sobbed. "Well, this was my choice," I replied. I tried to distract her with the sights of the ride. She did stop crying but she was still sad when we got off. What can you do? Our last ride was not exactly magical but at least I could feel good that I didn't snap at her and make her feel worse.

At this point it was 8:50. Only ten minutes until parade time. We found a spot behind a family of four. The mother announced that when they had finished eating, the children would move to sit in front of their parents, opening up two spots at the rope for us to sit likewise. That was awfully nice of them! With the girls safely settled, I went to the umbrella cart to pick up DD11a's doll umbrella and I went back to PP to give away the British man's FPs. I gave them to a mother with three teenage daughters just entering the standby line. She seemed very surprised and thanked me. I returned to my own girls to admire the umbrella and wait for the parade.

In my next post, I will answer

18. How many packets of ketchup does WDW distribute in a year?

[Belle's Mom Tink]

Keep on reporting, your TR is great. I love reading about all your adventures. I was so upset after our last trip because I didn't get on Peter Pan at all and I love that ride. I don't understand why the lines are always the longest for it...in May you could wait 10 min for Space Mtn. but 45 for Peter Pan!!

[shyjade]

I have to ask...where did you get the zebra shirt your DD7 is wearing in the photos? My DD8 LOVES zebras and she would be tickled pink with a shirt like that!!

Also, do you remember how much the umbrellas were? I know this is something my DD8 will probably want to spend her money on.

[blue_river]

subscribing...very well written report..love the style and stories! Keep it up!

[teentoddlermom]

Solgent,
Thanks for your answer on DVC points...I'm often and always pondering a purchase...maybe time to hang out on the DVC boards. Enjoying your new posts. Right with you on the frugality mindset... Disney is our only splurge, even so, we've have had some good discounts and cheap airfare to make it worth the splurge!
.

[arizonacolbys]

Really enjoying your trip report! :thumbsup2 Can't wait to hear the rest :)

[solgent]

Dear shyjade

We got the tshirt (all 3 shirts) at the Bronx Zoo in October 2001. They still fit!

The umbrellas were $15.95 for small, child-size and $9.95 for doll-size. There were several colors for the umbrella fabric, and several flower and heart designs to choose from. You can pay $5 more to get a fancier design and there is a large selection of those. I'll try to take a picture of the umbrella to post.

[shyjade]

Dear shyjade

We got the tshirt (all 3 shirts) at the Bronx Zoo in October 2001. They still fit!

The umbrellas were $15.95 for small, child-size and $9.95 for doll-size. There were several colors for the umbrella fabric, and several flower and heart designs to choose from. You can pay $5 more to get a fancier design and there is a large selection of those. I'll try to take a picture of the umbrella to post.

Thanks Solgent!!

[solgent]

Thanks Belle's Mom, shyjade, blueriver, ttmom, arizonacolbys for reading my story!

18. How many packets of ketchup does WDW distribute in a year?

The parade....it was good. Pretty. I guess I'm just not a big parade lover.

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4563_600_x_800_-med.jpg

However, I am a fireworks lover. When the parade was over, we moved camp to a good vantage point for Wishes. We hadn't seen it before. Wow, what a show. It's so different from other fireworks displays. All the others are basically one thing after another. This is designed and choreographed. Next time I'll have to plan a couple of evenings in the MK in order to see it more than once.

So, it was the end of another glorious day. We made our way out and found a short line at the bus stop. A bus pulled up within five minutes. As soon as we got out of the bus depot area, the driver began regaling us with trivia. DD11b urged me to write it down, so I pulled out my Palm Pilot to take notes. Therefore I can tell you that

* WDW spends $50,000 on fireworks each night.
* On average, 40,000 people visit the MK each day.
* WDW has planted 300,000 flowering bushes this year.
* WDW has planted 5 million trees since opening.
* There are 57,000 cast members.
* There are more than 250 buses in the fleet.
* There are 1000 bus drivers on staff.
* The cost of biodiesel fuel is $76,000 per day.
* A brand new bus costs $230,000.
* We were not riding on a brand new bus.

and

*WDW distributes 30,000,000 ketchup packets each year.

DH had spent another relaxing day at the pool and the fitness center. The girls and I crawled into bed and fell asleep with visions of flamingoes, elephants, fairies, teacups, rainbows, race cars, Mickey bars and ketchup packets dancing our heads.

In my next post, I will answer

19. What did I hear as I was trying to take a nap?

[blue_river]

Your pictures are great...they really tell the story. I'm still in pre-trip report mode (I didn't realize how long it actually takes to write one) and can't wait to start posting my own!

We enjoyed the bus trips with the trivia but I never even thought to write them down for my trip report. What a super idea...I'll have to do it next time.

I'm anxious to find out what you heard while trying to take a nap.

[solgent]

Here are photos of the umbrella and of American Girl doll Jess holding it, so you can see the size. If you're wondering about the dress, a friend of mine sewed it for us!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4680_800_x_600_-med.jpg

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108jess_526_x_780_-med.jpg

The umbrella doesn't come with anything to keep it closed. You know how on regular umbrellas there is a little strap to wrap around it and then Velcro down so it's not flapping open. We used a hair elastic to keep it neatly furled.

[megcellent]

Great Trip Report - can't wait to read what you heard while napping!

[briar*rose]

solgent, you have inspired me to write my very first trip report for my upcoming vacation!! This has been a most pleasant read.....and definetly a wonderful way to remember your trip (even the not-so-magical moments). Being someone who's been to Disney many, many times in my short life it's really fun and illuminating to read about how other people do Disney. Thank you for taking the time ;)

[shyjade]

Here are photos of the umbrella and of American Girl doll Jess holding it, so you can see the size. If you're wondering about the dress, a friend of mine sewed it for us!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4680_800_x_600_-med.jpg

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108jess_526_x_780_-med.jpg

The umbrella doesn't come with anything to keep it closed. You know how on regular umbrellas there is a little strap to wrap around it and then Velcro down so it's not flapping open. We used a hair elastic to keep it neatly furled.

Thanks so much for posting these...my DD8 will definately want one! :thumbsup2

[solgent]

Dear megcellent, briar*rose, blue_river, thanks for your messages! I love reading trip reports from all kind of people. People with families like mine and people who are doing things very differently (couples trips, solo trips, etc.).

************************************************** *******

This day was planned to be similar to our earlier day away from the parks. Except we would not leave anything and have to go back for it. I would take the girls to DTD in the morning. We'd return for lunch, then hit the pool. In the evening, instead of going out to dinner as we had on before (Boma), we were going to Cirque de Soleil.

I had heard raves about Cirque from a good friend who saw a show in Montreal. The Unofficial Guide more or less orders you to go, and the DISboards has nothing but praise. But the ticket prices! Ouch! Could a cheapskate like me really cope with that? Well, a couple of things happened to make it easier for me. First, I had bought my tickets from SW a while back, and then I noticed a post on the DISboards from someone who had just bought tickets on the same route for less. I quickly rebooked my flights and saved $330. Then, it was announced that DVC members would get a 25% discount for Category 2 seats during the time of our visit. The airfare savings would now pay for tickets for our family of five. So it's basically free, right?

I have to confess that my notes only go up to Wednesday night. I thought I would just remember the rest. And it's all coming back to me now, but if I had remembered it before I would have told the story a little differently. So here is a bonus question:

18.5) What did I discover when I went to do laundry on Weds night?

I thought I'd put a load into the washer when we got back Weds night, dry it on Thurs morning and then we'd have mostly clean clothes for the trip back. I had opened up the little closet on the first morning to see that the washer/dryer was there but hadn't been there since.

There was a leak. :scared1:

Water was dripping from the ceiling and the carpet in that area was damp. I called maintenance and they were very nice. I did not want them to come right away. I wanted to go to sleep! But I felt bad, because the leak was not causing a problem for me, but it was potentially damaging the building. They said they'd come whenever I wanted. I chose 9:00 the next morning. And I did put the laundry in.

We woke up, got dressed, had breakfast, and the repairman called to let us know he was ready if we were. He assessed the situation and said he needed some parts. He also called to get another department to extract the water from the rug. DH asked him if this happens often. "Officially?" he asked. "No, of course not. Unofficially, yeah, all the time." He explained to DH that the pipes had some kind of valve or plastic part that was totally unnecessary and always breaking or falling out. I didn't really pay attention because I was getting the kids ready and, well, I appreciate plumbing, but I can't say that it fascinates me.

I did overhear him saying that the temperature controls in the room have a motion detector and if there is no motion (i.e., you have gone out), the temperature in the room goes up to 78 degrees. This technology is saving a lot of money and Disney is installing this type of sensor in other resorts. He also said that Tiger Woods likes to golf on the Disney courses.

I left with the girls before he was finished. We walked over to the Marketplace, and the time had come for the girls to make their final souvenir choices. Here's the final tally

DD11a
for self: doll umbrella
for DD11b: Scamp pin and a charm
for DD7: Stitch Tshirt (combined with DD11b)

DD11b
for self: High School Musical book and Tink earrings
for DD11a: Aristocats pin and a charm
for DD7: Stitch Tshirt (combined with DD11a)

DD7
for self: ceramic Stitch
for DDs 11a & 11b: a charm pen (has spaces so you can attach charms) and a charm each

Meanwhile, I had come to realize how much I enjoyed hearing the Disney music that plays in the Marketplace. I wanted to get a CD, and I saw "Greatest Hit" type CDs. But these were $17.99 each and of course none of the volumes had all of our favorites. I thought maybe I'd buy individual songs on iTunes and that would be my souvenir.

We returned to the room and ate lunch. I then announced to DH that he'd be taking the girls to the pool without me because I needed a nap! I hadn't slept very well the night before we'd gone to AK and MK. I was fine that day, but this was the day after and I was wiped out. They left and I happily hopped into bed ready to drift off.

19) What did I hear as I was trying to take a nap?

Rain. Pouring down rain.

Now DH is such a sweetheart I knew he wouldn't want to bring the kids back to the room because he'd want me to have peace for my nap. Also, I suppose, he knows that I get really crabby when tired, so it was in his own self-interest to protect my quiet time! But I was so tired I knew I could sleep with the kids watching TV in the other room. Also, wouldn't they get drenched just coming back from the pool? Would they just huddle there and wait? I had to intervene.

I put on my rain jacket, put their rain gear into a bag and went down to the pool. (Once again I have to say how happy I was that we were so close to it!) They were still swimming! DH said that the lifeguards expected to close the pool shortly and they didn't think it would be closed long. I left the rain gear and advised them to retreat to the Community Room if necessary. I returned to the room for a short, but very refreshing nap.

When I joined the others at the pool, DH said that they'd had fun at the Community Room. The girls had enjoyed the novelty of the game system, which we don't have at home.

We swam, we slid, we warmed up in the hot tub and cooled off in the shower. It was blissful.

Back at the room, we showered, dressed and ate a big snack or an early dinner, depending on how you look at it. This included a large sugar cookie with Mickey head sprinkles that I picked up at Artist's Palette. DH was ready and he decided to walk over to DTD so he could go at his own pace. We agreed that if we both were needed to pick up the tickets (because each DVC member can only get 4 tickets at the discounted price, we needed both of our memberships to entitle us to buy 5), he would wait for us near the box office, but if he was able to get the tickets, he would go to Virgin Megastore and we'd meet there.

In my next post, I will answer

20. What did I buy for my souvenir?

[tammyandtommy]

OMG I just read all of this report in one sitting and I LOVED it!

[blue_river]

When I called to confirm my ADRs the CM tried to sell me tickets for Cirque but when I found out the price I quickly declined. Maybe next time. I hope you will be posting some pics for us all :)

BTW - Thanks for your nice comments in my tr!

[MousekaMaddi]

lovely, easy to read report, with fab pix, thanx for sharing :3dglasses

[carolfoy]

Just caught up with you so far, what a wonderful report, totally loving your style. Will come back and finish the rest soon. Many thanks

[solgent]

Dear carolfoy, Tammyandtommy, blue_river, MousekaMaddi thank you for posting. I am so happy that people are enjoying my story.

20. What did I buy for my souvenir?

Blue_river, they do not allow photos at CdS. Which is good because people's cameras would be flashing all the time. That would distract the performers and the audience and it would probably reduce the number of souvenir guidebooks and videos that they sell! But that's not what I bought.

The girls and I walked over to the big Cirque structure. It was still raining on and off. We did not see DH lurking around, and we concluded that his mission to pick up the tickets had been successful. He was on the lookout for us at the Virgin Megastore. He knocked over dozens of DVDs from a display as he dashed over to greet us! They were having a sale with lots of CDs and DVDs for $10 each. The worker who came over to help us pick them up joked that DH must have gotten overexcited by the low prices!

DH and the girls went up to the kids' section. I thought I'd investigate the sale merchandise, and what to my wandering eyes should appear but a 5 CD boxed set of Disney's greatest hits. The contents were not listed on the box. Instead a sign directed customers to a brochure. But there were no brochures. I asked a worker how I could find out what songs were on the CDs. "We go through those like water," she sighed. A search behind the desk revealed nothing. "I guess I could just buy it and take a chance," I remarked. She said that the store had a list that I could look at. Perfect. She found the list in a notebook and permitted me to peruse it.

Yes! These were the same CDs selling for $17.99 each at the Disney Marketplace. I hadn't been able to choose one because the Disney had cleverly mixed lame songs in with the good ones on each disk. (I wouldn't have respected them if they hadn't!) Here were all 5 for..... $34.99! SOLD!

OK, so I spent more on my souvenir than I permitted the others to spend on theirs. But mine was a gift for the whole family. When I got home I loaded the disks into iTunes and then burned a CD of our favorites. This immediately went on the household airwaves around the clock and soon we were joining in, not just on the chorus, but on all those delightlful little dialogue type sections.

"Be prepared? Prepared for what?"
"The death of the king!"
"Why? Is he sick?"

I love that song! If I ever had any kind of power, I would definitely be a tyrant. "Heed my every order, and you might survive," that's my approach to motherhood.

Tearing myself away from my visions of glory, I return to my story....

We took our seats at CdS in good time. The Category 2 seats were really very good. We were in the center of the theater. I think you can appreciate the whole spectacle better than if you are close up. I made sure that the girls had used the restroom because I did not intend to miss one moment of this pricey extravaganza.

It was totally worth the money. We were blown away. With some of the tricks, I was amazed at the person who was executing them, but I was even more awed by the person who had conceived of them. How did they ever think that a person could do such things? There were things going on all over the stage and the costumes and the design of everything was so beautiful. If I were an Olympic gymnast or figure skater, I would hire some of the talent from CdS to create my outfit and choreograph my routine. They have a way of putting things together and making even things you've seen before so dramatic and compelling and gorgeous.

One of our favorite acts (which was not presented in isolation, but along with many other things) was a group of four young girls in green dresses. They did a series of tricks where, you thought the first thing was difficult and amazing, and then they went on to do something else even more mind-boggling, but that was not the end of their act either. They just did incredible trick after incredible trick.

We walked back, highly satisfied. DH & I agreed to cancel the breakfast at 1900 Park Fare that I'd reserved. We still had groceries to consume, we didn't want to have to get up early, and we wanted to maximize our pool time. Our flight was at 3:25 and our ME departure was scheduled for 12:30.

We slept well and awoke around 8:00. This was the time that our ADR had been, so I was very pleased with our decision to skip it. Maybe next time, but not on departure day.

In my next post, I will answer

21. How did we spend our last morning?

[tammyandtommy]

Ahhhh you left me hanging, what am I gonna do when your TR is over? LOL

[Sabrina90744]

Great report thanks for sharing!!

[arizonacolbys]

Another great installment! :thumbsup2

I'm glad you found those Disney cd's at Virgin - we got the same cd set last year - it really was a great deal! I also have it in my itunes. :teeth:

[blue_river]

I'm disappointed there are no pics of cdS but I can understand why.

Sounds like you really got a great deal on the cd's!

I'm sorry your tr is ending so soon :(

I hope your last morning was eventful and not as sad as one imagines when having to leave WDW.

[kathymc]

enjoyed your report and photos - thanks for sharing!

[solgent]

Thanks kathymc, Sabrina, tammyandtommy, blue_river, arizonacolbys for posting. You know what I feel good about? My TR is more than 5 pages, so that on the TR Board, it shows (1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page)! I love knowing that people are reading.

21. How did we spend our last morning?

I must say, the giddy anticipation was pretty much all used up at this point. I packed our bags, which didn't take long because we never really unpack. I believe in living out of the suitcase and keeping everything together rather than spreading out all over the room. DH and I separated the remaining food items into three categories: what we were definitely bringing with us (we were going to pack a lunch to eat at the airport, since we still had enough stuff to make sandwiches), what we would bring if there was room, and what we were going to leave behind (a box of pasta we never got around to cooking, the remains of a tub of butter-- not much. Our order to Wegoshop turned out to be very accurate.)

Meanwhile, the girls had caught on to the concept of a Hidden Mickey and they were delighted to discover two in our room. (At left is the headboard of the bed, at right the counter in the living room/kitchen)

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108mickey1_499_x_328_.jpg http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108mickey2_410_x_442_.jpg

At 9:00, the girls were in their swim suits and we started down the stairs. "I thought you said the pool wasn't open yet," they said. I led them across the bridge to the Paddocks section and showed them the quiet pool. There was one man swimming there. After a short while he was joined by his wife, and a short while after that, they both left. So it sure was quiet and very pretty. The girls had fun doing handstands, swimming over to the frogs spouting water, and playing with a squishy water ball. They also went to the adjacent playground. I could definitely be happy staying at the Paddocks section if we were in one of the buildings closest to this pool and the bridge.

Unfortunately the hot tub was being cleaned, and later when later the girls excitedly told me that it was open and we eagerly stepped into the frothy, bubbling water, we found out something that in retrospect shouldn't have surprised us: it wasn't hot yet. Oh, well.

We returned to the room about 10:30. DH had the food all set and the kitchen tidy. I sent DH and DD7 to the main pool. I did a final check of the room, where I discovered DH's reading glasses! Then DDs 11a and 11b and I took our (rolling) luggage to Bell Services and left it with them.

Then we joined the others for our last session at the pool. It was fun, but I had to keep an eye on my watch. All too soon the time came to get dressed. We would rendezvous at the Artist's Palette gift shop. This decision turned out well because DD7 was able to do some last minute pin-trading. She had decided to focus on Stitch and we noticed a CM manager in AP with some pins of that character on her belt display panel. "So, you like Stitch?" the CM commented as she made the exchange. "I'll have to keep that in mind when I'm refreshing my pins." I didn't have the heart to tell her that we were leaving. While the kids were occupied, I bought a large sugar cookie with Mickey head sprinkles and tucked it in my purse. (Only $2.01 with the DVC Member discount. Another good bargain, since one cookie is enough to satisfy all three girls.)

We were able to retrieve the bags from Bell Services quickly and our bus was there a few minutes later. The driver was very entertaining, pointing out construction and trailer classrooms to demonstrate the fast growth of the region. We arrived first at Terminal B and dropped off those passengers. For those of us going to Terminal A, he said, "You will see that it looks the same on the other side. Everything is the same at Terminal A, except that the people are ever so slightly different." His extremely deadpan humor just cracked me up. I gave him a big tip.

We were in Group C again, but this time I knew that as long as we were fairly close to the front of the group, our seats would be nearby even if not right next to each other. There was another flight departing before ours, and soon after it took off people began lining up and we took our places among them. While we waited in line, I produced the Mickey cookie for a "last taste of the magic."

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108IMG_4399_800_x_600_-med.jpg

Our trip home went smoothly. Of course, it's sad to go, but we were full to the brim with happy memories, and we know we'll be back.

In my next post I will answer

22. Was everything different this time?

[solgent]

22. Was everything different this time?

On the surface things were certainly different. We loved the fancy resort with the beautiful room and the awesome pool and we planned in plenty of swimtime to take advantage of it. I enjoyed using Disney transport instead of returning to a hot car in the middle of the day. (I commute to work by bus at home so I'm used to waiting!) And our "splurges," compared to the way we used to tour, on Boma and Cirque de Soleil were really great and really memorable.

But underneath it all, visiting WDW was the same as it always was: pure fun. It's just wonderful to be in a place where your mission is to have a good time and everything is arranged to support that! We really lived and reveled in the moment.

We're hoping this was just the first of a long string of relaxing, thrilling, special times together.

In my last post, I will answer,

23. How much did it cost?

I don't know if people are as fascinated by financial matters as I am, but I kept track of every penny!

[tammyandtommy]

LOL i must know I am a count to the penny kinda girl! LOL If youre sharing that is!

[blue_river]

Solgent - thanks for sharing your wonderful tr with us all. As a matter of fact I am interested in how much the trip cost. I like to compare it with my own especially since you "splurged" this time around.

[megcellent]

What a GREAT trip report - i have really enjoyed reading it! I am looking forward to your next post, as I am much like you in that I like keeping track of exactly how much things cost ... can't wait to see ...

[solgent]

23. How much did it cost?

Well, I seem to have attracted a very like-minded readership. We all add up our vacation expenses!

I really didn't go in with a budget. Of course, lots of the expensive items had been paid for in advance (lodging, tickets, airfare). For food and miscellaneous, I wanted to spend as we felt was appropriate and then see what my total was, and then if we thought it was too much, we could try to make adjustments in future trips.

We arrived in time for lunch on Sunday and left midafternoon on Friday. So it was five days plus. Here's what we spent:

Meals
Artist's Palette $47.57
Wegoshop $95.95
H&V $99.42
Boma $136.49
Artist's Palette $9.38
CHH $20.50
Pizzafari $18.71
CHH $20.18

Snacks
ABC comm $2.56
Goofy's Candy $5.99
2 cookies $4.02
3 ice creams $7.50

Food total $468.27
This works out to $88.35 per day for the 5 of us. We did bring some things from home, either things that we only needed a little bit of, such as tea bags, and things that I buy on sale and never pay retail for, such as Luna bars. However, we also brought some things back, such as an extra box of cereal, because it had been a buy one get one free deal, which we haven't opened yet.

Souvenirs $243.09
Includes pins I bought on eBay ahead of time. Does not include Photopass photos (I bought 3) or the cost of printing the photos I took with my camera. I consider those scrapbooking expenses, not vacation expenses.

Airfare $978.00

Entertainment
Cirque de Soleil $295.57
Park Tickets $293.76
I bought 5 10-day non-expiring park-hoppers (4 adult, 1 child) from undercovertourist for $1836. I calculate this as 50 days for $1836, or $36.72 per person per day. We used 8 of the days.

Misc (tips, cabfare, phone) $39.40

Total without lodging $2,318.09

So the key question is what value to put on the 125 DVC points needed for our stay.

a) $10 each, what I could have earned from renting them

Grand total is $3,568.09

b) $6 each, what I paid for them this year (dues + portion of purchase price)

Grand total is $3,068.09

As everyone knows, a Disney vacation is not cheap. But I think we got great value. Mousesavers.com outlines a "lowest possible" cost, "decent vacation" plan where a family of 4 pays $1,500 for a 5 night stay, but they are driving, not flying (How Low Can You Go? (http://www.mousesavers.com/howlow3.html) ). First let's subtract their $100 gasoline costs and then add another person. (It's not really that easy because a hotel room for 5 does not cost 25% more than a hotel room for 4; they can often be hard to find and much more expensive. So this is an underestimate.) Result is $1,750. Our cost without airfare is $2,090.09 Less than $350 more! If we'd gone without Cirque de Soleil we'd be very near the "lowest possible" cost. Yet our vacation was far from "decent"-- it was fabulous! So I think that we got fantastic value. We didn't spend a lot compared to objectively determined expected costs, but we felt that we were treating ourselves and wallowing in luxury. It was well worth it. It was money well spent. It was magical.

Thanks for reading!

http://www.wdwinfo.com/photopost/data/500/92108sjs_384_x_380_-thumb.jpg

(DD11b took this photo of me at Hollywood & Vine.)

[arizonacolbys]

Thanks for sharing your breakdown & your entire trip with us!! :goodvibes It sounds like you & your family really had a wonderful vacation together! :thumbsup2

We leave in just 3 days - thanks for giving me something to read while I wait!! :rotfl:

[shyjade]

You are my Budget Hero!! Some unforseen expenses have turned our upcoming "budget" trip into a "buy neccessities only" trip. Thanks to your report I know we will have a great vacation no matter what!

[blue_river]

You're sooooo right Solgent - it is money well spent! Do you have plans to return next year? I'm so envious of the disers who go every year or even more than once a year. :teeth:

[megcellent]

WOW! You go girl! I spent over half of that on a 5 day Disney trip for myself back in May. And you have extra park-hopper tickets left over for next time! :o) I don't have kids yet, but I think you did VERY well!!!

[tammyandtommy]

How did you manage to spend so little at TS restaurants?
I read your report but still cant figure it out...

Meals
Artist's Palette $47.57
Wegoshop $95.95
H&V $99.42
Boma $136.49
Artist's Palette $9.38
CHH $20.50
Pizzafari $18.71
CHH $20.18

Snacks
ABC comm $2.56
Goofy's Candy $5.99
2 cookies $4.02
3 ice creams $7.50

Food total $468.27
This works out to $88.35 per day for the 5 of us. We did bring some things from home, either things that we only needed a little bit of, such as tea bags, and things that I buy on sale and never pay retail for, such as Luna bars. However, we also brought some things back, such as an extra box of cereal, because it had been a buy one get one free deal, which we haven't opened yet.

[teentoddlermom]

Wow!!
You are a budget wonder!

I thought I was doing well because we got "free dining", but of course the room was rack rate!!

I think your food budget is small!!
We are not big eaters (except when we get the DDP), but it seems to me that you did not eat that much!
The thing I like about the DDP, even when it is not free, is you pay in advance, so when you're on vacation, the only added cash out of your pocket is souveniers and assorted small tips. So no big visa bill to face with the post vacation blues.

I'm really impressed with your cost control, thanks for providing inspiration to spend less next time!

[solgent]

How did you manage to spend so little at TS restaurants?

We only went to two TS restaurants. They were both buffets, so there was a fixed price. Non-alcoholic drinks are included. DH doesn't drink alcohol at all and I do so only a few times per year; I didn't drink alcohol during this trip.

Hollywood & Vine: 3 "adults" (myself, and DDs 11a and 11b) at $23.99 each and 1 child (DD7) at $11.99. That's about $84, plus tax and tip came to $99.42. DH did not go into the parks with us so he wasn't at this dinner.

Boma: 4 adults at $25.99 and 1 child at 11.99. That's $116, and we paid $136.49 after tax and tip.

What surprised me is how little I had to spend on CS meals for myself and the girls in the parks. I definitely was expecting that we would buy more food than what we actually did. What can I say? My kids have very small appetites. I promise we don't starve them!

[solgent]

To shyjade, tammyandtommy and arizonacolbys,

Have a WONDERFUL trip!

pixiedust:

[solgent]

I think your food budget is small!!
We are not big eaters (except when we get the DDP), but it seems to me that you did not eat that much!

I don't want it to seem that I'm presenting our food budget as something that people should copy or that someone is extravagant or wasting money if they spend more. No way. This is just us, how we like to do things. Your mileage may vary!

We had a kitchen in the room, which was one of the reasons we wanted to join DVC. I just really, truly, would rather eat a bowl of yogurt and sliced banana in the room for breakfast while the kids watch cartoons with their bowls of cereal than go out for Tonga Toast or anything else, and the rest of the family feels the same. Boma was great but I don't want to eat like that every night even on vacation.

That said, I am contemplating getting DDP next time. (Yes, blue_river, we are already thinking about next year!) The plan would be, stay in a regular room (no kitchen) for Fri and Sat nights when DVC rooms require many more points. We'd get 2 days of credits, which I think could feed our family for three days (Fri through Sun) because we would share CS meals. The credits are good until midnight on the check-out day. So we'd have a couple of days of restaurant experiences. On Sunday, we'd move to a DVC resort and get groceries for the kitchen and we could then enjoy our simple home-cooked meals.

[teentoddlermom]

Another good idea, about using the DP when staying non DVC! You can definitely stretch out the credits! DDP gives really too much food!

[icelady]

It was wonderful reading your trip report and your pics are great. Thanks for posting your budget breakdown. Next week at this time we will be down at the World and hope to have as good a time as you seemed to have. THanks for posting the trip report. :wizard:

[mousebit]

What a well-done trip report! THANX so much for sharing your adventures with us. Really enjoyed the pics and the budget tips. You have proven that it is possible to indulge in some of the finer things at Disney without busting the bank. And, yes, your girls are lovely. princess: princess: princess:
:tink:

[mikamah]

Great trip report. Your girls are beautiful. Sounds like they get along great. And I love your pics. I think I may pick up the photography book you reccommended. It was great to see the itemized cost. We are taking our first trip with my son this year, and I'm trying to budget how much I'll need for food and souvenirs. Thanks for sharing with us. :)

[CRSNDSNY]

I just finished your TR tonight and I must say that I really enjoyed it! It was fun seeing someone who is as thrifty about things as I am! It's nice to know I'm not alone!

Glad you enjoyed SSR. We've stayed there several times now and also really enjoyed the resort.

[solgent]

Thank you everyone for reading and for the nice things you've posted about my DDs and my photos and my words.

Last week my DD7 (actually, she's had a birthday since our trip, so she is now DD8) asked, "Do you know what my favorite thing at WDW was?" I sure was interested to find out!. She named four things: the hot tubs, the water slide, the king size bed, and the bubble gum she had on the plane! Since the first 3 of her top 4 had to do with the resort, I was glad all over again that we'd decided to go with on-site DVC or deluxe accomodations from now on.

We're still listening to the Disney songs and it still gives me a lift to hear "A Whole New World" or "I Just Can't Wait to be King" or "Under the Sea" or "I'll Make a Man Out of You" or one of our other favorites.

[mommykds]

Your girls are beautiful! Thanks for taking the time to post your report!

[rosiejo]

Great report - I just read it in one sitting :)

I like how you kept track of your budget - I may have to do that with my upcoming trip... hey it will help me know how much I need to save up for next year's!

I do have one question though... did I have a brain freeze or did you not visit Epcot?

[solgent]

I like how you kept track of your budget - I may have to do that with my upcoming trip... hey it will help me know how much I need to save up for next year's!

I'm somewhat careless about budgets at home (and we're fortunate that income exceeds expenses enough so that I don't have to account for every penny), but I always do this when I'm travelling!

I do have one question though... did I have a brain freeze or did you not visit Epcot?

We did not visit Epcot. It was hard for me to come to terms with that decision, but I knew we'd be better off with fewer park days and more pool days. I can push myself but the kids can't (remember DD7's meltdown at Peter Pan?) and I don't want them to. On our next trip the plan is to stay a few days longer and even go for back-to-back park days (gasp!) at the beginning of the trip in order to do justice to all the parks.