**COMPLETED** Trip Report of the not Surprise trip to FTW changed to YC & ASSp

[debraW76]

The Plot:
The Greek family does Ft Wilderness

The Characters:
Mu :laundy: - an attractive woman in her thirties who looks like she is still in her twenties. Spends most of her time doing laundry, changing diapers, running errands, working part time and planning vacations. Humbleness is her best characteristic!!

Zeta :artist: - an artist who spends most of his time working, doing yard work, cleaning, and listening to his wife talk about Disney. He is very lucky to have her.

Son Alpha (8) pirate: a young boy who takes his big brother status very seriously. He plays football, is a fast runner, and climbs anything and everything.

Daughter Princess Chi (7) :cutie: Definitely the princess in the family. She enjoys complaining about her brothers and being the only girl. She is a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do and math is her favorite subject.

Son Omicron (6) :happytv: The middlest child and also the most talkative of the Greek clan. Besides watching television he enjoys aggrevating his sister and reading.

Son Delta (5) :charac4: The youngest of the big kids, he plays Tball, and smiles all of the time. He is artistic like his father and enjoys drawing on just about anything including furniture and walls.

and son Baby Tau (2) :angel: The baby of the Greek familiy. Spends his days taking his brothers cars, eating and making messes. He beleives that every yellow school bus is the one that his brothers and sister are on - even if they are in the car with us.

:ssst: Shhhh! The children are all unaware of the upcoming trip.

TRIP REPORT
Day 1 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28285368&postcount=48)
Day 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28303256&postcount=51)
Cindy's Table (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28327976&postcount=52)
Day 3-Hollywood Studios (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28386484&postcount=57)
Day 4 - MNSSHP (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28682527&postcount=63)
MNSSHP-Continued (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28682808&postcount=64)
Day 5-Typhoon Lagoon & Planet Hollywood (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28695382&postcount=68)
Day 6 - Animal Kingdom (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28713683&postcount=71)
Day 6 Continued, more AK (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28714005&postcount=72)
Day 6 continued, sorry I had lots of pics of AK (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28714736&postcount=73)
Still Day 6 - Last one I promise (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28715221&postcount=74)
Day 7 - EPCOT (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28783891&postcount=75)
Day 7 - EPCOT Continued (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31284160&postcount=82)
Day 8 - Home (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31284318&postcount=83)
Final Thoughts (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31284649&postcount=84)

[debraW76]

The story you are about to hear is real. All of the events leading up to and including the trip are real. The names have been changed to protect the innocent.

[debraW76]

This story takes place in Alabama where 5 unsuspecting children are about to set out on an adventure to Ft Wilderness during their fall break October 11-17. While both parents have been actively involved in the planning (and paying) for the trip, it is primarily Mom Grizwald who lives, breathes, and dreams Disney.

The idea of the trip came when the school calendar was released in the spring of 2008 when mom said "Wow, :idea: they have a whole week off? Wouldn't it be fun to go somewhere with the family? :scratchin After all it has been 9 months already since we've been to Disney" To which Dad replied "Ohhh, :rolleyes2 here we go again"

So mom started daily :surfweb: scouring her favorite sites looking for discounts. Having never stayed on-site before she was really wanting to do it this time. However no discounts were available :badpc: but she did find a nice 1 bedroom 3 star hotel for $70/night :sunny: so she went ahead and reserved it just in case since they had a no-penalty cancellation policy. When she got the ok from hubby she knew they were in! :cheer2:

She then went on to start making out daily touring plans and trying to figure out what tix they would need. They would eat most meals in the room since it had a full kitchen and this was a budget trip. So she didn't worry about ADRs.

Sometime during the summer she found a decent deal on a room at Universal . Dad Grizwald got really excited about staying at the Hard Rock Hotel :rockband: Mom Grizwald re-planned their daily touring plans for the Universal theme parks. But she soon discovered that even though it was a decent deal, there was no way all of them could fit into one room and two rooms was waaaaaay out of the family budget. Dad was dissappointed :( But was ok about going to Disney again.

Now up to this point the children were not told about the trip since they didn't want to chance dissappointing them. It was at this point that they decided to not tell them at all until they leave for Orlando. Could Mom keep such a secret for so long? :mic:

[debraW76]

Later that summer Mom checks an old email account that she really doesn't use anymore.:surfweb: Somewhere in that mass of over 100 emails one catches her eye - Your Once upon a dream Disney Resort Offer!!:faint:

Could it be? A pin code? :eek: She thought that these were only stories, myths like the Loch Ness Monster or Big Foot! But no, there it was in front of her - her very own pin code. She felt very unworthy :worship: Still shocked she called Disney from her cell phone on the way home and yes in deed she had a pin code good during the children's fall break:yay:

But then the unbeleivable happened. She went through a bad spot :car: and her call was dropped. :headache:

Now, since they are keeping this trip a secret from the kiddos, she couldn't do any planning at home. :rolleyes1 So she decided to hand it over to a Travel Agent. Now Mom normally likes being in control of things so this was a very difficult task for her. But she still had the touring and meals to plan for so she thought she would give it a try.

She contacted a Disney specialist ::MinnieMo who used the pin code to get a good rate at the Ft Wilderness Cabins. Since this will likely be the only time they get to stay in the cabin (next year they will exceed the occupancy limit). :crowded:

Now that the room is taken care of all that is left is...wait...The Disboards say that there is a Disney Visa code coming out this week :3dglasses Maybe I should wait until that is released to see if I can get a better rate somewhere else. Monday comes... no discounts :bored: Tuesday comes... no discounts :bored: Wednesday comes and lo and behold there is a code :hyper: But it is only for AP holders. :mad: Thursday comes and finally there is a public discount code for everyone :rotfl: So I emailed my TA to ask her about it and she checks. I wait... :bored: and wait :bored: and finally she emails me back and says that my pin code discount was the same as the general public code.

Oh well, Who cares!! We are still going to Disney and this is going to be a great vacation!! :dance3:

Right?

[debraW76]

Transportation to Orlando
Golf Carts for transport within the campgrounds
Strollers for transport within the parks
MNSSHP
The Disney Box (Post #10)
Dining (or not dining)
How to give the 'surprise' to the kids
Final Budget
Packing for the trip
Disney Pins
Touring Plans

[2BusyPlanning]

Very cool! Wow, 5 kids on vacation!!! I will have you in my thoughts and prayers... :rotfl2:

I stayed in one of the cabins back in 1997. I worked for the Disney Stores back then and it was me and 4 other cast members. We had a blast, and we liked the cabins a lot.

Can't wait to hear more! :banana:

[debraW76]

Very cool! Wow, 5 kids on vacation!!! I will have you in my thoughts and prayers... :rotfl2:

I stayed in one of the cabins back in 1997. I worked for the Disney Stores back then and it was me and 4 other cast members. We had a blast, and we liked the cabins a lot.

Can't wait to hear more! :banana:

Thanks for the compliment. This will be our second trip to Disney as a family. We are so excited and very much looking forward to staying in the cabins.

[debraW76]

She contacted a Disney specialist ::MinnieMo who used the pin code to get a good rate at the Ft Wilderness Cabins. Since this will likely be the only time they get to stay in the cabin (next year they will exceed the occupancy limit). :crowded:



:laughing: My mom just called me at work and asked why we would exceed the max occupancy next year. She thought we were pregnant! No we are not pregnant. The max occupancy at the cabins is 6 plus an infant under the age of 3. Next year Baby Tau will be 3 and therefore we will exceed the max occupancy after his birthday. Sorry for the confusion (and for alarming my mom! :crazy2:

[debraW76]

My husband thinks we should have greek names too. He will be refered to at Zeta and I will be Mu.
So our family is now
Zeta, Mu, Alpha, Chi, Omicron, Beta, and baby Tau.

[debraW76]

I have a box, a most precious box that I use to put all of my Disney vacation things in. To me this is one of the most exciting parts of the pre-trip. As I think about what we are going to be needing in the parks, room, on the road, in the pool, etc, etc I secretly hide those things in the Disney Box. Some of the things have been there since our last trip. Other things were taken from various parts of the house when no one was looking. The rest are new items that I purchase throughout the year when the price is right. Each item I find (online, in the house or otherwise) gets me a little more excited about the trip. Then when I look inside the box at all of my glorious treasures I get a rush knowing that I will get to use them on my next trip.

The kids have noticed some of the things taken from their rooms and put in the box. I keep making excuses like “oh, I have to check the batteries”, or “I need to clean it for you”. I think Alpha pirate: has almost figured it out as he brought me the walkie talkies and asked when we were going to Disney again so that we can use them. Luckily we were going to Six Flags that week and I told him I had them out for that reason. I think he will figure it out first.

These are some of the things that I have in my Disney Box:
• Walkie talkies – purchased on our first Disney vacation as a family
• Matching Disney shirts (two each) for all of us that I purchased off disneyshopping.com for $3.99. Except they sent the wrong item for Baby Tau :angel: when I contacted Disney shopping they said they were out in his size. I’ll have to find a suitable knockoff. Maybe he won’t notice – or we’ll just say he is a stray.
• Other Disney clothes and hats that I purchased online at bargain prices
• Kitchen items such as travel size dish detergent, laundry soap, coffee filters, fabric sheets, etc
• First Aid Kit
• Light up toys, the ones they sell in the parks after dark (from previous trips and some new store bought ones)
• Autograph books (from previous trips)
• Mickey/Minnie wallets (from previous trips but thinking of updating)
• Pressed penny collections (from previous trips)
• Disney themed activity books & Crayons (found at target for $1)
• Ponchos for the kids (non-Disney characters) found at general dollar for $3 each!
• Other small toys for Tinkerbelle Bags (I’ll explain what this is later)
• Flashlights
• Neat Sheet – this is a waterproof sheet we use primarily at the beach. It is also great for covering up strollers during bad weather and for putting over wet ground during parades or other outdoor shows.

These are the things left to purchase (or find around the house) for my trip
• Glow sticks
• Batteries for walkie talkies and camera
• Snacks for Tinkerbelle bags – more about this later.
• Disney Pins and lanyards (maybe, we’ve never done the pins but I thought I would give it a try if I can find some cheaper pins off ebay before the trip).
• Pens for autograph books
• Still missing Delta’s :charac4: Mickey wallet
• Disposable cameras for the kids
• Squeeze Breeze bottles – these are the water spray bottles with the battery operated fan they sell in the parks for $17. They all wanted one last trip and there was no way we were forking out $100 for each of them to have one. When I took Chi :cutie: for a mommy and daughter trip to Disney she purchased one with her own birthday money but it is now broke. I have seen them from time to time at wal-mart for around $7 so I will try to buy each of them one before the trip. Here is hoping they still have them.
• More light up toys (so they each have at least one each – our kids don’t like to share).
• Disney posters that we want autographed. Princess Chi :cutie: has a princess one, Delta :charac4: and Omicron :happytv: have Cars ones but I need to get one for Alpha pirate: – maybe pirates.
• My Disney Villains book for my autographs.
• Water shoes for everyone.
• Sunglasses for everyone
• I would love to find some affordable fanny packs for all of us. Last year the kids all had small backpacks but even those were too big. We had a stroller just to carry all of their stuff. This year we are trying to cut down on one stroller so we need something smaller that they can keep up with all day without growing too weary.

Wow! I didn’t realize that I needed to do so much more shopping! :cheer2:

[debraW76]

I didn't know they had stroller swaps here! The Disboards are awesome. Unfortunately my dates are used up on every stroller swap I could find. I tried starting a new thread for a new swap but so far no takers. That would really save us some money as well as make it easier on the kids.

[debraW76]

Tonight the kids asked what we are doing during their fall break. We told them we were driving to Canada!! I thought Alpha pirate: was going to start crying because he didn't want to drive to Canada. Omicron :happytv: was very happy. I told them we would be staying in a log cabin at a place called Ft. Wilderness (which isn't a lie). We just lied about where ft wilderness is. I am getting so excited!! :cheer2:

[Alysa]

I thought exceeding max occupancy meant that you were pregnant too - I was going to say 6 kids, wow! Five is amazing anyway!:worship:

[debraW76]

I thought exceeding max occupancy meant that you were pregnant too - I was going to say 6 kids, wow! Five is amazing anyway!:worship:

Hi Alysa. Yea my mom was pretty worried especially since all of my pregnancies i have surprised her in some way when i told her. As a matter of fact when i found out I was expecting Omicron :happytv: it was just two weeks before I was heading to Universal Studios. I wrote her an email and set it to deliver to her after we were in the air. It was a poem (written as if it was from Chi :cutie: that went something like this:

I wish that i could be
dressed up for you to see
and go knocking on your door
for toys and candy galore.
but instead i'll be on vacation
in a sunny location.
to make it up to you
this is what i'll do
next year i'll bring with me
a new baby for you to see
for tiny hands and tiny feet
are growing as we speak
Happy Halloween!

Anyway she was soooo mad :mad: that I sent that to her while we were flying and she couldn't get in touch with me until late that night. When she read that post she thought that was my way of surprising her again.

No, we really have our hands full and I think we have somewhat made the decision to not have any more :sad: Physically I am ready to make that decision as we are exhausted most of the time. Emotionally however.... I still get very sad when my youngest reaches any milestone because I know that will be the last time I see that. When they moved him from the nursery class to the toddler class at church I cried for a month. :sad:

I'm so pathetic...

[Alysa]

I still get very sad when my youngest reaches any milestone because I know that will be the last time I see that. When they moved him from the nursery class to the toddler class at church I cried for a month.


Our littlest boys are both the same age and I am exactly the same (except he is only my second!)
:sad1: ;)

[debraW76]

Itinerary
Saturday (6 days before leaving) – do as much laundry :laundy: and cleaning as possible. If the kids ask what is wrong tell them you are looking for your lost one hundred dollar bill and you are not going to stop cleaning until you find it. :cool2: See if they will help by telling them they can keep half if they find it.
Sunday (5 days before trip) – clean car. :car: If the kids ask why, tell them because you just remembered you last saw the one hundred dollar bill in the van.
Tuesday (3 days before trip) – Finish cleaning and pack as much as possible while kids are at school. :teacher: If the kids ask about the suitcases tell them it’s for our trip to Canada.
Thursday night (1 day before trip) – go shopping for groceries and last minute items. Leave stuff in car until kids go to sleep. :woohoo:
Friday – kids come home from school and tell them they are staying with Mimi for the night. (don’t forget to ask Mimi first)
Friday night – while kids are away clean the house (again), clean out the car (again because you know they done trashed it), finish packing and load up van. Try to sleep for a few hours and wake up at midnight to pick up kids!!!
Midnight – pick up kids from Mimi (hopefully Mimi wont mind being woke up) and leave for our trip!!!!!
Arrive at Ft. Wilderness around 8 AM – tell the kids we are in Canada.
Check into our cabin (say a prayer on the way that it will be ready). Eat breakfast at Trail’s End. Tell the kids we are taking a boat around the campground. Take Boat to MK. OK, if they haven’t figured it out by now yell “SURPRISE!”
Saturday – tour MK, rest in afternoon and finish MK that evening.
Sunday – Sleep in – visit Typhoon Lagoon
Monday – Animal Kingdom in the morning, Studios at night
Tuesday – Sleep in - Blizzard Beach (Here’s hoping they’ll be open)
Wednesday – Studios in the AM, Animal Kingdom in the PM
Thursday – Sleep in - Downtown Disney in the afternoon, rest, and MNSSHP in the evening!
Friday – go home! BOOOOOOO!!!!! :sad1:

[debraW76]

Should we do the food and wine while we are there? We were not planning doing EPCOT at all on this trip since our kids still dont have quite the stamina to do such walking. And we dont want to push two strollers around. I think my husband and I would like it but not sure about the kids.

Also heard about the new KimPossible interactive game at Epcot and wondering if it will be in operational during our visit (Oct 11-17). Boards say late october??

Any advise on EPCOT Food and Wine with 5 kids??

[daisyduck7]

test

[daisyduck7]

hi. it's mom;)

[daisyduck7]

I have really enjoyed reading everything written:surfweb: by everyone. Another baby would NOT be alarming:scared1: , it would be WONDERFUL:woohoo: My daughter:laundy: sometimes thinks she knows me so well:rolleyes: that I have to pitch something from left field and catch her off guard:confused: . That is so much more fun than being totally predictable:snooty: all the time. Keep in touch, every one:grouphug:

[debraW76]

Hi Mom!! Glad you are enjoying reading this. If you are still reading then maybe you will subconsciously read my subliminal messages...:scared1: :scared1:

:surfweb:
Your grandkids need glow sticks
Your grandkids need squeeze breeze bottles
Your grandkids need souvineer money
Your grandkids want to go fishing in disneyworld.
You want to spoil your grandkids

Love you mom!!

[debraW76]

:cool1:
I went to walmart this weekend and lo and behold I saw their squeeze breeze bottles on sale for $3. I went ahead and bought one for each of the kids. When I got to the cash register I was even more surprised to find that they were actually $2!!!! :banana:

One more thing taken off my list....

[debraW76]

Mom, the kids still need souvenir money

[debraW76]

I gave in and totally spoiled the surprise. We told the kids last night that we are not really going to Canada but instead to DisneyWorld. They were all very exctied. Then we got on the laptop and I showed them pics of where we will be staying. then I casually mentioned that I wish I could keep surprises better. To which princess Chi :cutie: replied "Yea, mom. I wish you had surprised us. that would have been sooo much better!"

Sigh!!
:hug:

[daisyduck7]

Hey Mom:laundy: ,the shoes for the water parks that are like crocs are on clearance at Martin's:yay: and at Wal Mart, too:woohoo: . I know ! I have an:idea: , why don't we go looking maybe this Saturday after the football game:cheer2:. Maybe I can get those and the glow stix forpirate:,princess:,:happytv:,:goodvibes, and:) . Gotta go for right now. Oh, yeah, Cory said that Chiprincess: got Student of the week today at school:teacher:. Tell her that MawMaw:flower3: sends hugs :hug: and kisses :love:. See U later:dance3:

[debraW76]

Mom,
That sounds like a great idea mom. The glo stix are at the dollar tree. We have a really busy weekend with 3 birthday parties and a football game but I am sure that we can still find time to go shopping.

Also we changed our itinerary. I went ahead and purchased MNSSHP tickets for Monday night instead of Thursday night. I thought this would be better so that they would have the free candy for the rest of the week and maybe we wouldn't have to buy as many snacks. So now here is our touring plans:


Saturday: MK all day with a break in the middle. Possibly watching water pageant pixiedust: from FTW or chip n dale campfire sing along.
Sunday: AK in the morning (Dinoland and Asia), break in the afternoon, and Studios in the afternoon - dh has never seen Fantasmic! popcorn::
Monday: Sleep in - DTD/Pool/or tour FTW, the MNSSHP that evening :hmghost:
Tuesday: Sleep in - Typhoon Lagoon then DTD that afternoon, Chip n Dale sing along campfire that evening or water pageant.
Wednesday: Studios in the morning, rest in the afternoon, and AK that evengin (EMH)
Thursday: EPCOT all day (with a rest in the afternoon). DH has never seen Illuminations either.
Friday: Go home :sad2:

[debraW76]

I got another pin code via email offering free dining :banana: so I emailed my TA telling her about the pin code and asked if we could switch to that. The email said through check-in date of 10/11/08 which is the exact date we are checking in. While I waited on her reply I called Disney myself and they said I couldn't apply it to our current ressie at the cabin because the offer wasn't good at the cabins but I could use it at the All Star Sports. When I got back to my desk there was an email from my TA saying that the pin code wasn't available for those dates. I replied back telling her what the CM told me just minutes before. Finally she got it and changed our ressie so now we are doing 2 connecting room at ASSp with FREE DINING :banana:

PEOPLE Prayer works! i am not kidding I had actually prayed for a free dining pin code and got one! :woohoo:

The price was almost the same for two rooms, 1 day tickets, and free dining for all 7 of us (actually it was $151 more) but we don't need the golf cart any more which saved us $313 for a net savings of $162. We already had some days left from a previos trip where we bought no expiry tickets so now we get to use their tix and still save one day on ours.

I had already made some preliminary ADRs for our trip but was planning on cancelling them because I didn't think we could afford eating out that much. So then I got back on the phone with 407-939-dine (which is now programmed on my cell phone) and made some changes.

So how did I do?

Saturday - Lunch at whispering canyon in the WL
Sunday - Lunch at Tusker House in AK
Monday - Breakfast at Kona (want to change to Ohana)
Tuesday - Dinner at Planet Hollywood
Wednesday - Lunch at Hollywood & Vine (also want to change this one)
Thursday - Lunch at Coral Reef in EPCOT

I've never eaten at any of these places and would like honest feedback. Am I wasting my meals since most are at lunch or should I try to switch some to dinner? We would gladly trade two of those meals for one at Cindy's table but as of today nothing is available. I'm still hoping that someone will cancel between now and then. I keep calling every couple of days but I am sure another 100 or so people are doing the same thing. Are all of these kid friendly? I know it is "free" but technically we are still paying for it as we are still paying for the room and all. So I really don't want to wast our credits if we could be getting something better. What do you think?

[debraW76]

Since we had free dining and two rooms anyway, we invited my niece, hmmm let's call her :love: Sigma, to come with us to have a helper in the parks and maybe a date night for zeta and me. She asked if it was ok if she brought a friend with her, so her friend, Theta :cool1: is coming too (did I mention that Sigma :love: and Theta :cool1: are boyfriend/girlfriend?) :scared1:

Then Mom (daisyduck7) heard that we had free dining so she decided she wanted to come too and also bring my young niece so that princess Chi :cutie: would have another girl to play with.

So let's revise our cast of characters:

Mom Grizwald :laundy: - an attractive woman in her thirties who looks like she is still in her twenties. Spends most of her time doing laundry, changing diapers, running errands, working part time and planning vacations. Humbleness is her best characteristic!!

Dad Grizwald :artist: - an artist who spends most of his time working, doing yard work, cleaning, and listening to his wife talk about Disney. He is very lucky to have her.

Son Alpha (8) pirate: a young boy who takes his big brother status very seriously. He plays football, is a fast runner, and climbs anything and everything.

Daughter Princess Chi (7) :cutie: Definitely the princess in the family. She enjoys complaining about her brothers and being the only girl. She is a brown belt in Tae Kwon Do and math is her favorite subject.

Son Omicron (6) :happytv: The middlest child and also the most talkative of the Grizwald clan. Besides watching television he enjoys aggrevating his sister and reading.

Son Delta (5) :charac4: The youngest of the big kids, he plays Tball, and smiles all of the time. He is artistic like his father and enjoys drawing on just about anything including furniture and walls.

and son Baby Tau (2) :angel: The baby of the Grizwald familiy. Spends his days taking his brothers cars, eating and making messes. He beleives that every yellow school bus is the one that his brothers and sister are on - even if they are in the car with us.

Niece Sigma (17) :love: and her boyfriend Theta(17) :cool1: They have been dating (or "going together") for a very long time and can't be apart for any length of time. Seriously, Sigma is a good girl, very nice and well mannered. Always helping out whenever she can. She babysits the greek kids after school.

Grandma Rho :crazy: Just celebrated her 61st birthday. She is a little hard hearing sometimes so we sometimes have to shout. I SAID SHE IS A LITTLE HARD HEARING SOMETIMES SO WE HAVE TO SHOUT!

Niece Nu princess: First trip to Disneyworld!!! Nu is like another daughter to me as she spends a lot of time with our kids. Honestly, when you have 5 already what is one more?

[daisyduck7]

Hello everyone, this is your Grandma Rho:wizard: to let you all know that the more I heard and read about Debra:laundy: and the rest of the gang going, the more excited:cheer2: I got, and then Niece Nu princess: began to get all excited:woohoo:. She went one other time in 2001(or wuzit 2002:confused:) she was only 2 or 3 at the time and she doesn't really remember that much about it. It is actually my 4th time to go, but I am really more excited :yay: about this upcoming trip than I was all the others.......I am thinking about using roller skates this time, because of the agenda that is posted:surfweb: here at her spot. One of the things I am most excited:cool1: about is the fact that I won't be having to drive :goodvibes my own vehicle. I will be willing to help them, though. Now I have to make out a list of what I need to go shopping for. SHOPPING :woohoo:, that is one of my favorite things to do::yay::cheer2: :cheer2:. I'll talk to you guys later, I've got lots of STUFF to do:surfweb: .

[daisyduck7]

Good morning everyone ! Well, here is my latest update on my effort to keep up with the Grizwalds. Yesterday, I went shopping at the Dollar Tree and I found all kind of glow stick things:banana: , so since it was the Dollar Tree, I picked up a few of them. I got glo bracelets, glo sticks, and wow !:woohoo: I even found glow swords:yay: . I still have to get ponchos for me:wizard: and for Niece Nu princess:, also check on fanny packs :rotfl:,for everyone. I also found all 6 pirate: princess: :happytv: :goodvibes :angel: princess: shoes like crocs for the waterpark days:cool1: at a very reasonable price:flower3:, and they all fit:dance3:. Yep, this trip is looking more exciting :yay: all the time. Well, gotta go for right now, I still have a lot of STUFF to do:surfweb:.Bye, now.

[debraW76]

Well it looks like we will be changing our plans again. Some messup with the reservation system and they didn't have our rooms connecting. So now we are staying two nights at the Yacht Club :cool1: Then moving and staying 4 nights at the sports. I have mixed feelings about the whole thing but either way that is the plan.

Quick Itenerary:
Friday - drive half way :drive: and stay the night somewhere.
Saturday - finish driving, check into the YC, and hit MK
Sat Afternoon - check into room and rest or swim, then head back to MK
Sunday - MGM
Monday - take it easy, pack up and move to Sports, then head out to MNSSHP that evening
Tuesday - sleep in. head to Typhoon Lagoon, DTD that evening
Wednesday - Animal Kingdom
Thursday - EPCOT
Friday - drive back home

[daisyduck7]

OOOOOHHHH What is that burning sensation that I'm feeling ??????? Oh, it is just me getting caught up even more in the WDW Fever. I made reservations a little while ago for rooms in Valdosta, Ga. We will stop there for the night and rest up. I mean, let's face it kiddos, there wil be 6 kids aged 9 and under, and a 61 year YOUNG granny. Don't tell anyone, but my daughter:laundy: and son-in-law :artist: think there is going to be 3 adults ;) and 6 kids:goodvibes, but there is really going to be 2 adults:goodvibes and 7 kids:lmao:. My Disney package came today. I have to do some re-arranging because I thought I had the same amount of T-shirts for the kids, and it turns out I only have 2 for each of the boys, then I have 3 each for DM and DH, 4 each for DD and DN, but guess who has 5:woohoo:. I will think of something though. I will only have 4 more days til blast-off,uuummm, I mean before we leave for WDW:cheer2:.

[debraW76]

Mama you are funny. DH stands for "Dear Husband" That is why I call Billy that. He is not your DH!! DN is Dear Niece, DD is dear daughter and Ds is dear son. You should call them SIL for Son in law, DGD for Dear Granddaughter, and DGS for Dear Grandson.

Or you could call them by their greek names:
Nu, Alpha, Chi, Omicron, Delta, Tao
and of course, Zeta and Mu and Grandma Rho


Oh, and you called earlier asking about the MNSSHP... You were right, originally we were going on Thursday but then we changed it to Monday. If you look back through the posts you can see where we changed it. Check your tickets to be sure they are for Monday's party...

Love ya,
Mu

[Disneychix]

All I can say is after reading your PTR I am laughing and have a smile on your face. You and your DM (haha) crack me up!

I love the subliminal messages! :)

Have a wonderful vacation!

[debraW76]

thanks for the comment. If you think Grandma Rho is funny here you should meet her in real life. She may be 61 but she doesn't know it. :rotfl2: She still thinks she is in her thirties and sometimes acts like a teenager or even younger. The last time she and I took the kids to the beach I was telling her to quit giggling and go to bed so that the baby could sleep. Then she just starts laughing and gets all the big kids laughing with her. :lmao: I finally had to separate them. That is I had to make Grandma Rho sleep on the couch so that the kids could get some sleep.

[daisyduck7]

O K, dudes and dudettes, we are getting down to the wire.......and speaking of wire, wires, and wired, my DD:laundy: called me this morning on her way to work:drive: and she is SSSSOOOOOOOOO wired :yay: about the fact that we are leaving in two more days for WDW:banana: that she sounds kinda like a chihuahua(?:confused3) on speed when she starts talking about it. Man ! I still have to finish gathering things up and throw them in a suitcase, so I will have everything ready to throw in the van:car: when DD comes by to get it. Keep those cards and letters coming, folks, cause I sure love reading them:surfweb:. Bye, ya'll:wave: I just love these disboards:disrocks: ! ! !

[debraW76]

Just checked the weather forcast and it looks like isolated thunderstorms all week. I know that is pretty typical of Florida but Omicron :happytv: absolutely hates the rain. Last year was a big disaster when we took them to MGM during a downpour. We had 4 kids crying :sad1: that they just wanted to go home!
I dont want to repeat that again!

[daisyduck7]

I sure hope the weather clears for us. The local is rainy some right the right now and this evening and tomorrow, but then it is supposed to dry up and be clear for the next week or so.:sunny: I hope DS agrees about the ship thing, cause it sure sounds like fun:cheer2: . Got to go, it is time for me to leave for church:angel:. Talk to you on the flip side:upsidedow .

Love, me:wizard:

[debraW76]

I had to cancel the illumination cruise - $320 is just not in our budget. HOwever, when I was on the phone this morning to cancel I asked if by chance they had a cancellation at Cindy's table and...

THEY DID!!! :yay: :yay:
So now we are eating in the castle on Saturday at 1:10 PM !!!!!!!!!!!!

I was so happy. I had been calling every other day for two months trying to get us a table.

[lisalonglash]

It's so fun reading the back-and-forth between you two :goodvibes I hope you both have an incredibly wonderful (and rain-free!) vacation! :cool1: Looking forward to your report when you return... popcorn::

[debraW76]

Thanks for the comment. We are getting sooo excited.

Finished packing all of the tinkerbelle bags. 6 kids for 6 days was 36 bags! At one point princess Chi saw some of the trinkets we had been hiding and I came really close to telling her that I was tinkerbelle and Santa Claus. But then Grandma Rho rescued me my getting some more goodies for the kids to put in their bags. So now they are all set.

Also, Grandma Rho is getting us a night in Georgia on Friday so that we can leave earlier and divide up our driving.

Now we got ressies at CRT we need to cancel one or pay one out of pocket. Here is what we have:


Saturday 1:10 at Cinderella's Royal Table (2 table service credits)
Sunday late breakfast 10:40 at Hollywood and Vine with JoJo and Goliath - this one I could easily cancel as our gang is a little too old for JoJo. Plus that may interfere with our touring as I want to do TSM, TOT, RNR, and Mermaid before we eat.
Monday morning breakfast at Kona Cafe and O'hana - we need to cancel one or both. My thoughts were to go eat breakfast then go to DTD for some shopping, or just sleeping in and hanging out by the pool. Or maybe just the girls go do breakfast and shopping? That night is when we are doing MNSSHP so I want to be sure we are well rested so we can stay up late.
Tuesday- Early Dinner at Planet Hollywood - this will be after a day at TL. The kids really want to eat at PH so cancelling this one is out.
Wednesday - Lunch at Tusker house - would like to keep this one too
Thursday - Lunch at Coral Reef - would also like to keep this one as the kids are excited about eating underwater.


So I need to make a decision - do we cancel Hollywood and Vine and eat counter service that day, or do we cancel the breakfast on monday and sleep in, or do we keep both and pay one out of pocket?

[daisyduck7]

You know what DD:laundy:? I think you think too much about what we will be doing, and have kinda lost focus on the main thing which is............. HAVING FUN, FUN, FUN:banana:. But don't worry, Grandma Rho:wizard: will make sure that happens. I do agree that the $320.00:eek: is a bit much for the Illumination thingee, shopping:woohoo:ALWAYS sounds good to me, anytime, and if I wouldn't have to get a second mortgage on my home;), I could probably pay for the meal(HOW MUCH:scared1:?)that you said would be out of pocket(at least I think that is what you said:confused:) I still have to go out to the house and finish throwing things in my suitcases so you can get them this evening. Tracy couldn't work today cuz Haley is :sick:, she had to go to the school:teacher:yesterday and get her. I can hardly wait until tomorrow:cool1:, cuz we are leaving:drive: for WDW:dance3:. Look out, here we come:cheer2:, WDW won't know what hit them:confused:! ! ! ! ! ! !

[debraW76]

I do not think too much about what we will be doing. I just know my family. With 5 little ones (plus Nu is 6 kids) you have to plan for things just to make it easier. I know what they need before they need it and that is why I spend so much time preparing for our trip. I know how much of one activity they can take before we have to change gears and do something else. If it was just Zeta and me, then I probably wouldn't plan nearly as much and I would just shoot from the hip. But with little ones you can't go to the world without somesort of idea of what you want to do.

I have to have a plan A and also a plan B if plan A isn't working. If I already know what to expect then it takes a lot of stress off of me. Plus, the kids like knowing what to expect and the more I can prepare them the more behaved they seem. For example, I now know that we have a ressie at Cinderella's Royal Table at 1:10. What that means is that I need to make sure they get a snack around 10 or 11 so that they are not starving by noon and all crying that they are hungry.

Plus, We are only there for 6 days and i want to make the most of this vacation. The last thing I want to do on our trip is sit around and go 'what do you want to do now?',
"I dont know, what do you want to do?"
"Oh, just whatever, I don't care.",
"Well, are you hungry",
"Yea, I am a little",
"Do you want to get something to eat"
yea, i guess
ok, where?
I dont care, where do you want to go?
Oh, I don't care, do you want a burger?
No, we had that yesterday, what about pizza?
Pizza? no my reflux is acting up. :sick:

See, that just took 5 minutes. Now if we had done that in the World, that would have been 5 minutes of our vacation time wasted. Plus could you imagine having that conversation while Omicron and Chi are fighting, Alpha is climbing something, and Delta is running around in circles, nobody know where Nu is, oh, and guess what, baby Tau is crying and needs to be changed again, too.

Plus, do you know why ADRs exist? It is because you can't just walk up to any restaraunt and be served. The waits without an ADR are sometimes 2 hours. And that is if, they will even take your name down. Last year we tried several places and were told they were full and could not accomodate us.

Just like I was waiting to get that table at CRT, I am sure there is someone else out there that is waiting to get a table at Hollywood and Vine or O'hana. For that reason, the polite thing to do is to decide which one(s) we want to keep and if we know we do not want one, then go ahead and cancel so that some other family can have it.

Think too much about what we will be doing?????? :eek: Are you crazy? :eek: This is Not just about the dining, but the rides too. Again, I know my family. If I didn't have a plan they would be going "I want to ride this" while another said "I want to ride that". And guess what, this and that are on two opposite sides of the parks. Then whichever you decide not to do next, that person has a complete meltdown that not even ice cream can fix. Trust me, I tried it this way and that is what happened. Instead if I have a plan and they ask to do something I can say "Yes, I want to do that too and we will after this, or we will this afternoon, or we will on Thursday" that way they know they will get to do whatever it is that they want to do and I am not telling them no.

Honestly Mom, sometimes I have no idea how i wound up with OCD when no one else in my family even understands the neccessity of the disease.

[marshmallow]

I hope you have a great time!

Trip report after ?:surfweb:

[daisyduck7]

Alright, already, just so some one is in charge. I don't know :confused3 which gene you got it from, either, but I'm sure glad you did:yay:. Yep, this is going to be one fun trip:banana:, can't wait to get started:woohoo:. Speaking of snacks, i got the peanut butter we were talking about. I am about to run out to the house to finish up. I'll talk to you later. Bye, love you:love:.

[debraW76]

I hope you have a great time!

Trip report after ?:surfweb:

I am planning on a trip report. That is if we survive and make it back. :rotfl2:

[daisyduck7]

:banana: WOO HOOO !:banana: Today is the day we leave for WDW:dancer: :drive: I still have what seems like a gazillion things to do, and not enough time:hourglass to get it all done. And I still have to carry my sweet Missy:drive: pluto: to G J's for boarding. They just love:love: her and she loves:banana: staying with them. I can't wait to get to our destination tomorrow at the YC:sail:. I sure hope they let me drive the ship !!!!!!!:goofy: I need to go for now, but I shall retun with a trip report for every one to read:surfweb:

[debraW76]

Friday, October 10th.

The plan was for all of the kids to ride the bus to my mom's office and my sister bring Nu there as well. Zeta and I meet mom and all the kids there and leave for our trip around 4. So that was the plan. Here is what actually happened.

The school calls Zeta :artist: at 2:30 because Alpha pirate: didn't know what bus he was suppose to get on. I call my mom's office and talked to my cousin and said please call me as soon as the bus runs because I wanted to make sure everyone got off the bus.

I leave work at 3:30 and before I could get to the daycare to pick up baby Tao :angel: my cousin calls me back and says that only Alpha pirate: and Chi :cutie: got off the bus :scared1:. I called my niece who lives down the street to see if she can go to the house because I think they are getting off the bus at home. She says she is standing in the shower and can't leave and she is the only one home. Before I could finish my panic attach the school calls and says that Omicron :happytv: and Delta :charac4: are waiting for me in the office and I had to pick them up immediately. Well I am 20 minutes from their school so I am rushing :drive: to get to the school. My mom :wizard: calls and luckily she is right by the school so I get her to pick them up for me.

Since I am almost home at this point, Zeta and I decide to just meet there and leave his truck at home for the week instead of at mom's office. (Besides I forgot my camera and had to go back to get that). Zeta and I then drive to mom's office where we meet Chi :cutie: and Alpha pirate:. Mom :wizard: brings Omicron :happytv: and Delta :charac4: to her office and My sister brings Nu princess:. We pack all the bags in the van, buckle all the kids up and tear out.

We look in the van and do a quick headcount:
Grandma Rho -here
Zeta -here
Mu -here
Nu -here
Alpha -here
Chi -here
Omicron -here
Delta -here
Baby Tau- Baby Tau?????
Oh no :eek:, in my haste to get to the school to pick up the boys I forgot baby Tau.

So we drive to the daycare. Pick Baby Tau up. Make everyone go potty. Then we hit the road (again) an hour behind schedule :drive:

I'm not sure what it was like that week where you live, but here there has been a massive gas shortage and guess what. That's right I was low on gas. It's all well though because we live less than an hour from Georgia and Georgia has gas :lmao: At least before you get to Atlanta. Plus it is about $0.50 per gallon cheaper. So we cross the state line and stop to get gas.
The kids seem content with the snacks we brought them so we get the grown ups a bite to eat and finally, FINALLY, drive to Valdosta where we stayed the night.

Before you ask, yes I did send a note to school explaining where the kids were to get off the bus but somehow it didn't make it to the office. And also, no I didn't really forget my baby. I knew I had to get to the school and we would be driving by the daycare to get to the interstate anyway so I intentionally left him there for an extra hour.

Day 2 (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28303256&postcount=51)

[marshmallow]

I had been wondering how your trip went and was hoping for the report.

I am sorry to hear about the gasoline situation. Hope that wasn't too much of a problem.:surfweb: popcorn::

[daisyduck7]

Well, we survived our trip, had loads of fun:rotfl:, but I don't know if Orlando and WDW will ever be the same. I have bunches and bunches of photos(about 410:eek: in all), but I don't know how to post them on the net:surfweb:,,so I will get DD:laundy:to do that for me ASAP. :thumbsup2 . I picked them up yesterday and haven't even had a chance to look at them yet. I really, really enjoyed:cheer2: WDW this time, I think more than the other times I have gone. I did more this time, like Animal Kingdom, and Epcot. WOW:cool1:,how neat were those places. It was my first time for those two:lovestruc, and I was about like a kid at Christmas with the nose against the plate glass windows:love:. I didn't ride all that many rides, but that's okay, because I love the shows. "Festival of the Lion King" in AK was awesome:woohoo:. Another thing, if I wasn't ready to leave when DD:laundy:and all the gang was running out the door, I rode the Disney bus to whichever park we were going to, let them do the driving, and got dropped off almost at the gate, then I could meet up with the others for rides or for a meal, then ride a bus back to All Star Sports. While we were at the Yacht Club, we rode one of the boats over to MGM Studios. That was fun, and all the younguns' enjoyed that. I think the last two days all 9 of us got on the bus at different times. The poor drivers will probably have to be in therapy for a while. Well, got to get back to work for a while. Talk to everyone later. Keep inn touch:surfweb:.

[debraW76]

Saturday, October 11
Saturday morning we woke up early and ate the continental breakfast at the hotel. The coffee was yucky! but the kids had cereal, muffins, and fruit. Plus we filled up all the sippy cups we had with milk, trying to squeeze every penny out of our stay. Baby Tau was convinced that the bagels were doughnuts and would not stop asking for one. Sometimes the only way to teach our children is to let them have exactly what they ask for. So I gave him one. After one bite he handed it bag and said 'no doughnut mommy'.

We packed up, loaded up, and was on the road again by 8.

We drove for a couple of hours then stopped at McDonald's for our second breakfast where mom and I got real coffee. Folks, if you haven't tried McDonald's coffee in a while you should. It is really good. It is not the same gas station coffee they used to sell.

We hit the Florida Turnpike and in no time at all we are at the yacht club :sail:
Now I knew this was a luxury resort and you can tell as you drive up and take your first look at it. However, when Zeta and I got out of the car and started walking to the door we were met by a CM who personally welcomed us. I mean she actually knew us by name! She even inquired where the little ones were as she knew we had two children on our ressie :faint: She escorts us to the front desk and tells the lady behind the front desk who we are and that we are checking in.

While we were waiting on her to finish checking us in we looked around and admired the lobby of the YC. It was beautiful. They had a large navagation globe (probably 4 foot in diameter), beautiful furniture, and the smell.... :cloud9: Oh, the smell. They had a fragrance of something like fresh ocean breeze / clean linen... Oh i can't even describe it! I wish I could put a scratch and sniff here and I would let you smell it.

She told us our rooms were ready and gave us our keys and room assignments and I noticed that the numbers were very far apart so I inquired just to make sure that they were connecting rooms. She said they were not and that they didn't have any connecting rooms as they were completely filled because they were having an insurance convention. :sad2: I then explained that Disney reservation had already moved us to the yacht club for part of our stay because we needed connecting rooms. She worked on it for a few minutes then went to get her manager. She came out and shook my hand and said she would find us something. After a few more minutes she came back and explained that she found us connecting rooms, but we would have to be downgraded from preferred to standard view but she would be happy to reimburse me the difference. I tried not to laugh and said that no refund would be necessary we just needed connecting rooms.

The reason this is funny to me is because apparently she had no idea how little we were paying for this room to begin with. In fact I have no idea how we were down for preferred as we never requested preferred, just connecting.

Anyway, she said we had two connecting rooms on the first floor but they would not be ready until 3. She would call and give us the room numbers when they were ready so that we could go on to the parks.

In the meanwhile I gave Zeta instructions to leave all of the bags that we needed for the YC with luggage services so we would have room to pick up the stroller. What I didn't tell him is what bags would be needed for YC and which ones could stay until we checked in at AS Sports. :rolleyes1

We load up the van again and head to POP to pick up the stroller we 'rented' for $15. I love the disboards! Here I found how a stroller swap works and instead of paying $31/day for a disney stroller we had one for the whole week for only $15. POP's luggage services had no problems finding our stroller and within a few minutes we were back in the van... but only to discover we left our theme park bag with luggage services at the yacht club. So we headed back to the yacht club and picked that up. While I was getting that I saw the bag that had all of their tinkerbelle goodies so I grabbed the bags for MK.

For those not familiar with tinkerbelle bags these are small goodie bags filled with treats left by tinkerbelle herself. Each day that the kids go to one of her themeparks, she leaves them some goodies to take to the parks with them. Their tinkerbelle bags had some candy, gum, glow sticks, and pirates of the carribbean eye patches pirate:

Finally, we drive to MK and head straight to Cinderella's Royal Table where we eat a late lunch. (complete review to follow). While we waited to be called we sent Zeta out to get FP for Space Mountain.

Once inside we met Cinderella and had photos taken. My niece Nu did not want her photo taken and said that the flashes hurt her eyes. We forced her to pose for one group photo but she still turned her head so that her hair was covering her face.

I was a little concerned about the boys not having fun since it was a princess meal. But they all had a blast. The swords were a hit and Delta and Alpha even got autographs. More pictures and a few thousand calories later we left and headed to Tom Sawyer Island in Frontierland. Before getting on the raft I got us FP for Splash Mountain. We let the kids play for a while then took the raft back across.

We headed to Adventureland and rode Pirates of the Carribbean, Saw the Enchanted Tiki Room, Walked through the Treehouse and got FP for Jungle Cruise. We then headed back up to Frontierland and Mom stayed with the baby while we rode splash mountain.

Then we took the train to Mickey's Toontown Fair and walked to Space Mountain. Again mom stayed with baby Tau and Delta while we rode Space Mountain. This was the highlight of Omicron's :happytv: trip. He wanted to ride Space Mountain since we were there last year and he was an inch too short.

The fireworks started so we got a snack and watched then headed back to our room to unwind.

We stopped at the front desk and got our room numbers and walked down the long corridor. Then we turned and walked down another long hallway. Man, I wish I hadn't left the stroller in the van. We turned again and continued walking down several more loooooong hallways until finally we found our rooms.

Our two rooms were exceptionally clean and very spacious. One room had a queen bed and a sofa and the other room had two queen beds and a sofa. Zeta and I took the room with the one bed and the rest of the gang took the other room. We got our luggage brought up and got ready for bed. Exhausted, all of the children went right to sleep.


Cindy's Table (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28327976&postcount=52)

[debraW76]

Cinderella's Royal Table


We had an ADR for 1:10 PM on Saturday, October 11. We arrived at the podium over an hour late. I apologized for our tardiness and asked if there was anyway we could be worked in still. The hostess was very friendly and said of course but there would be a 15 minute wait.

So we wandered some shops and got FP for Space Mountain. In 15 minutes we returned to the podium and she gave us our admission ticket to enter the castle.

Cinderella was on her throne greeting guests to her castle, posing for pictures and giving autographs. We lined up behind the other 2 or 3 families. Since we had 9 in our party we got 3 photo packages which includes a 5x7 photo with Cindy and the castle plus four smaller photos of the same pose with Cindy. After signing the kids autograph cards, we posed for our three photos and made small talk with the princess. Then we took a seat in the waiting area and admired the interior of the castle. The castle waiting area had ice water which was very refreshing. Everyone had time to visit the restrooms and washup before our name was called to be seated.

We rode the elevator to the second floor dining room and was seated in the main dining area. When we made our ressie we were told that they could not guarantee our party was seated together. So we were thrilled to see that we were. We were seated in the main dining area. Our waitress seated the children on the outside and the adults on the bench seat so that when the princesses came out they could get autographs easier. She handed each of us a menu and explained that the 2 year old would receive a bowl of pasta and butter, dessert, and drink. Each child would receive an appetizer of either a salad or soup, a child's entree, and an ice cream sundea for dessert. Each adult would likewise receive an adult antree, choice of dessert, and drink. Plus each table would receive an appetizer plate.

We were a little dissapointed that they didn't have coke zero. They did have diet coke which is not the same thing. Zeta got diet coke, I got iced tea, and Mom got water and she brought a mixer that turned it purple.

The appetizer had a variety of italian meets, pesto, another relish of sorts, peppers, and a few vegetables. Zeta liked the pepperoni or salami or whatever it was.

I ordered the Major Domo's Favorite Pie and it was delicious. It is shredded beef in a brown cabernet sauce with vegetables layered with mashed potatoes in a very delicate, flaky pastry shell. Then there was a light cream sauce drizzled on top. Yummm! I wanted to lick my plate but somehow managed to restrain myself. Zeta got the Focaccia Sandwich. He said it was so-so. The kids all got either chicken noodle soup (which none ate because it had vegetables in it) or a salad (which Chi loves). And for their entree either hot dogs or chicken. The hot dogs looked dried out but none of the kids complained. The chicken looked like the chicken you can get in the parks at the counter service places but let's face it - are you really here for the food or the princesses?

Speaking of princesses...While we were eating the princesses all came out and visited among the tables. Jasmine, Belle, Aurora, and Snow White. They each signed autographs and posed for photos. They were all so beautiful and charming. The girls were both given a wand and the boys were given swords which pretty much spoiled the rest of the dinner.

Off Topic:: While we were waiting on dessert Baby needed a diaper change so I took him downstairs out to the stroller to get a diaper. I decided to use the assist bathroom downstairs since they had the changing table. We went in and I laid him down and turned on the water to wet a napkin and the toilet flushed. I thought that was weird. When I was finished I turned the water on again to wash my hands and the toilet flushed again. So then I just had to test it and sure enough whenever you turn the water on in the downstairs bathroom in Cinderella's castle the toilet flushes.

Back upstairs they brought us our dessert. I had the Chocolate Cream Cheese Buckle and again it was wonderful. I ate about half when my clumsy self dropped the other half on the floor!!! My sweet husband shared with me his other half because he knew how much I was enjoying my dessert. I love him!!!

After all was done I turned to my husband and said so hon, what do you think of free dining? He was just as impressed as I was.


Pictures (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28385325&postcount=56)

[daisyduck7]

Well, good afternoon :wave2: all you Disney fans all over the world! It is time for my latest input to our wild, wild trip:drive: Here is a hopefully not too boring:bored:, some what detailed report:mic: of our trip. Now, I said there were photos, and there are, but I still haven't figured out how to get them posted here:badpc:, so DD:laundy: is going to have to do that later:hourglass. We all had such a good time every where we went:cool1: :woohoo:, and we're lovin' :love: every minute of it. Even Omnicron:happytv:is really having a good time, and riding all the things he was too short to ride last year. Baby Tau:angel: thought he was as big as all the others pirate: princess: :happytv: :charac4: princess:.I especially loved watching him when the girls would get up to dance:dancer:in the restaurants and he would get up with them. All the food at the different locations was really good, and the atmosphere was fabulous. That was a really smart move on my brilliant DD's:laundy: part. There is just absolutely no way, no how that we could have just come up with the money to eat at all those places. She was a genius pixiedust: to have cut the deals that she cut. Well, got to go again, and close up, go put cold things away, go pick up more medication, go to my other daughter's house for a while tonight. See you on the flipside:upsidedow later. Bye, now:wave:. I'll be checking here again:surfweb: tomorrow to see if anyone has read these reports:mic:.

[debraW76]

Sorry - I am trying to add some photos so it wont be so boring. I have issues with posting photos of my children but will look for some that don't show their faces too clearly. Maybe this weekend?? :confused3

[pjzkent]

You might see if DD (not sure which letter she is) can set you up with a photobucket account with a password, and you can post the password in your trip report (to cut down on totally random people looking) to just let random people reading your trip report in......:rotfl:

Pin trading....my kids love it. You might try mousepinsonline dot com to get pins, we ordered a grab bag for traders, and they were much cheaper than ebay, and easier to acquire. Also, there is a pin trading part of the disboards that has a lot of info too. I think it is down toward the bottom of the main page.

I might have to get ambitious enough to write my own trip report:confused:

Thanks for all your work on the stroller swap, it was probably the best $15 I spent for Disney

Can't wait to read more

[debraW76]

I will go ahead and add some photos of our first day. Sorry - I wont put any clear pics of my children on here.

Some of our crew co-piloting the monorail. Riding upfront on our first visit to MK I think has become a tradition now.

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney2%20Drive%20YC%20MK/101_2624.jpg

The rest of the gang
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney2%20Drive%20YC%20MK/101_2625.jpg

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney2%20Drive%20YC%20MK/101_2626.jpg

Grandma Rho
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney2%20Drive%20YC%20MK/101_2634.jpg

In the castle main dining room getting Jasmine's autograph
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney2%20Drive%20YC%20MK/101_2640.jpg

And this is alpha

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney2%20Drive%20YC%20MK/101_2613.jpg

Day 3-Hollywood Studios (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28386484&postcount=57)

[debraW76]

On Sunday we woke up bright and early, got dressed, and took the boat over to Disney's Hollywood Studios. It was foggy early in the morning but here are some pics of the boat doc from the YC of the board walk.

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney3%20Studios/101_2647.jpg

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney3%20Studios/101_2648.jpg

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http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney3%20Studios/101_2654.jpg

The light house at the boat dock.http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney3%20Studios/101_2656.jpg

and a foggy baby Tau
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney3%20Studios/101_2653.jpg

We arrived at the studios before they opened. Had to stop at guest services to add some days to Grandma Rho's and Nu's tickets. Once inside the park we divided up. I would take the kids and Grandma to Toy Story Mania and get us a spot in line while Zeta got FP for Tower of Terror. Well, Grandma got, err, confused :confused3 and followed Zeta instead of me. Zeta was walking so fast that Grandma Rho had to stop and rest. So Zeta caught up with us and the line to Toy Story Mania was posted at 45 minutes by the time he got there with the FP. We only waited for 30 though and it was worth every minute.

TSM had to be Delta's favorite ride. Baby Tau loved it too; he didn't wear the glasses but he loved pulling the string. On our first ride I scored 110,000 points. I told the kids it was only 10,000 though because they all wanted to beat me. The big kids got between 10-45 thousand. The kids wanted to ride it again but by then the line was over an hour so instead we went to TOT. Grandma Rho sat with Delta and Tau while we rode TOT. All last year Omicron said he would not ride it again but at the last minute he changed his mind and I think he is glad he did because he did enjoy it. A few screams later we got a treat and then headed to Mermaid. We probably should have returned to the room then, but I really wanted to see Mermaid so we waited about 25 minutes for the next show. The boys did not enjoy it at all but I think the girls liked it.

After that we returned to the room for a much needed break. We took the kids to Storm Along Bay and played in the water. Tau hates swimming pools but he warmed up to the sandy bottom pool area and before you knew it he was running and splashing and laughing. It was great.

After cleaning up we headed back to the studios. This time Rho stayed behind for some much needed rest. We arrived back at the studios and headed to backlot express for a bite to eat. Zeta had the kids seated at the table while I got the food. This is when I figured out that on the dining plan, the counter service credits are listed as just counter service credits - not child or adult. Meaning since the kids were not with me in line I just ordered what we needed and they counted our credits without any problems. This was wonderful since some wanted hotdogs and for some reason hotdogs are not on the kids menu. Others wanted chicken and when I said I wanted a chicken meal the CM didn't ask if it was for an adult or child and she brought me an adult meal for those as well. Total we used 8 credits, we all were filled from the meals, and we saved our desserts for later.

After dinner, we played with the AT-AT,
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney3%20Studios/101_2658.jpg
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney3%20Studios/101_2657.jpg

Then used baby swap to ride Star Tours. The baby swap on Star Tours works out so that the kids all get to ride twice. First they rode with Zeta while I sat with Tau, Then the kids remained seated while I handed Tau off to Zeta, told him of the dirty diaper he had :lmao: then I got to ride with the kids while Zeta did diaper duty. So it worked out really well for me :rotfl:
BTW, we walked on star tours.

Then we headed to Muppets. The streets were completely empty and we took our time looking at all the street scenes. We again walked onto Muppets. We watched in a nearly empty theatre.

Then we used FP to ride Toy Story again! THis time I scored 115,000 and that was with Tau helping me!!! But Zeta beat me this time as he had 140,000 something :sad1:

Then we headed to sunset blvd and divided up again. Zeta took Alpha, Chi, and Nu to ride Rockin Roller Coaster while I reserved us seats for the second showing of Fantasmic! The arena was half full when we arrived and I got what I thought was good seats only I didn't realize that the huge beam was in our way. It was still pretty good seats but occasionaly you had to lean to the left or right to see mickey. Also we were really close to the front and there was a continual spray in our face. Would have been nice if it was hot, but it was actaully cool that night.

Meanwhile Alpha changed his mind at the last minute so the girls rode by themselves. Zeta and the bigger kids found us about 3 minutes into the show. popcorn:: The rest of Fantasmic was incredible! Bad seats or not, it was still an awesome show. I love this show almost as much as Illuminations. I made this a priority because as I understand they are cutting back on the number of shows starting in January. Meaning if we go back, we may not fight the larger crowds to see it. So I wanted to be sure my family saw it this time.

There would be more pics but none of Fantasmic came out - they are just black with some obscur UFO looking lights. :headache: maybe next time I will remember my tripod.

Day 4 - MNSSHP (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28682527&postcount=63)

[daisyduck7]

Well, my DD,Mu,:laundy: did finally get some photos:surfweb:posted here. Aren't we having just the absolute best time:cool1:? There are BUNCHES more where those came from. I wish I knew how to do that. But, this old dog is learning new tricks every day about how to do things here. I surely do love these Disboards:disrocks: . It just makes it that much more exciting:woohoo:, and you get to re-live the experiences over and over again. Does any one know if there are disboards for Gatlinburg, Tn., or the Dixie Stampede? I KNOW that nothing is as good as WDW:banana: , and this is my favorite place to come to now:yay:. Hey, every one, I got a card in the mail yesterday, wanting me to go to their website:surfweb:, and take part in a survey about the AS Sports, and our stay there. Have any of you ever participated in one of those? Would any of you let me know if you have:chat: :mic: ? I'm looking forward to hearing something:surfweb: from some of you. Wells, I have to go for now:wave:, but I'll be back tomorrow. I can't wait to see more pictures on here of my family, and the other families that there now, or will be going in the next few weeks. I am already looking forward to our next trip:cheer2: . There is just so much more that I want to do next time. And for my money, I will be staying inside one of the resort Themeparks somewhere, and using the Dining Plan, and their buses for transportation to and from places.:car: , even to the Water:beach: Park.

[daisyduck7]

Well, I am beginning to wonder if everyone has gone to WDW and left me behind:confused3. I was hoping there would be some comments since our trip reports and the few photos that DD,Mu,:laundy:has posted. I tried to respond to pjzkent's comments about the pin grab bags, and pin trading part on the disboards, but like I said, I am still learning how to do a lot of these things:mad: :badpc:. All the photos that I had downloaded on my computer and put in a file?....... well, they seem to have just disappeared like magic pixiedust: into cyberspace:teleport::confused3 . Oh, well, maybe I can try again later. Got to go for now, I need another cup of caffiene:coffee: to get my eyes on the correct sides of my head:rolleyes: Our Trunk - A - Treat was at my chuirch last night, and it took me a while to wind down:bounce:. I just love seeing all the kids in their costumes. We fed them hot dogs, chili, gave them all kinds of candy, let them play on an inflatable moon bounce:jumping2:, and an inflatable obstacle course:confused: and then sent them home with their parents:rotfl2: Talk to ya'll later, bye now:wave: :disrocks:

[pjzkent]

Hi Grandma Rho-

To reply, you can click the quote and it will open a regular message box, or click the little box with the quill and it will take you to the quick reply box at the bottom.

Welcome to the Disboards by the way !!!!!

[daisyduck7]

Hello everyone ! Well, I have made it no secret that I seem to have enjoyed this trip better :woohoo:, but I have surprised myself:yay: by the fact that I am dreaming about the next trip ! Yeah, I have dreamed about two times already:rotfl2:. I am already trying to figure how long it will take to save up enough to go, and who I will be going with:confused3. I mean, there is no question that I will be with my DD:laundy:,her DH:artist:, all the kiddies,pirate: princess: :happytv: :charac4: :angel: princess:, but I would also like for someone who has never been to WDW:eek:to have an oppiortunity to go. So, I have been talking to my niece about her:cutie:, her husband:hug:, and their three kids::MinnieMo :mickeyjum :mickeyjum, because, they would have a wonderful time ! They'll be at WDW:banana:!!!:dance3: !!!!!!! Gotta go for now, duty calls, talk to you later:wave:.

[daisyduck7]

I can't believe I am already looking forward to my next trip.......oh yes, I can, I mean we are so talkin' WDW here !!!!!!! I had half way thought about taking another cruise sometime in February 09, but the more I thought about it, the easier it was to talk myself OUT of it, and instead start saving for the next WDW:mickeyjum trip. That will be ssooooo much more FUN:yay:. I mean, it can be done the same way as this time. Drive down:drive: to the Florida line, stop, get a room, then the next morning, go the rest of the way, and spend the next few days seeing all the wonderful sight and sounds, not to mention all the characters, especially my favorites,::MinnieMo pluto: :tinker: :donald: :dumbo: :goofy: :stitch2: , riding the things I didn't ride this time, see all the shows that I didn't see this time, and I'll have just about 9 or 10 months to save and plan. That should be long enough. Any suggestions, anyone? Gotta getback to work, bye ya'll:wave: I'll be watching for suggestions:surfweb:.

[debraW76]

On day 4 we had to pack up and move me, hubby, 5 kids, a baby, Grandma and all of our clothes, toys, strollers, blankies, food, toiletries, and souvineers already accumulated from the luxurious yacht club to the All Star Sports. I will never, **Never** book a vacation where I have to move midway through it. I felt it took up a bit of our day and on a 7 night vacation that is just too much time.

First, I got up early and washed our clothes. Then it took us 2 hours to get everything packed up. We used luggage services for some of our stuff and loaded everything else in our van (30 minutes). Then we drove over to the Sports (30 minutes), took another hour to check in. Unpacked our stuff from the van (30 minutes). Then waited an hour for our stuff to be delivered from luggage services. By then it was 3:00 and we had to get ready for the Halloween party.

Plus there was a few hours between the checkout time at the YC (11:00) and the check-in time at the Sports. During this time we went to downtown disney to use up our remaining snack credits at Goofy's candy company. First we stopped at McDonald's and got the kids lunch. Then we went to Earl of Sandwich for the grown ups. The sandwiches were really good. Then we went to Goofy's candy company and spent some of our snack credits. Then the kids all got some souvineers. It started raining so we headed back to the van and drove to the sports to check-in.

Just like the Yacht club had their own unique smell in the lobby reflecting the resort - the Sports had their own smell. It was something between a men's locker room and a bus station. Seriously the exhaust from the buses smelled like it was funnelled straight into the lobby.

THe staff at the Sports was very friendly and professional. They didn't know me by name like at the yacht club but it was still a pleasant experience. We witnessed a verbal fight between a mother and daughter at the counter and the lady helping them just stood and smiled in her best Disney smile. When it was our turn she checked us in without any troubles. Issued us new KTTW cards, renewed our meal credits and gave us our room assignments. She had it noted that we needed connecting rooms and it was granted without any problems. She also saw our request for a fridge for my mothers meds and said it would be delivered as soon as we were in our rooms.

The one thing that surprised me is that when we got our new cards, we all had one day park tickets on them. I think this is a gliche in their system. We only purchased one day tickets to get the free dining as we already had existing tickets from a previous trip. My mom and niece had to upgrade theirs to 4 days at gues relations without any problems. Since we changed resorts they had to issue us new cards for our new rooms and also add our dining credits. In order to do this I guess they had to add one day park ticket so guess what? We now have one day of unused park ticket each to save for our next vacation!!! Thanks Mickey! I guess we'll see you again sometime!

After getting all of our stuff to our rooms we tried to get the kids to lay down for a nap. Most of them were tired and napped without any problems. The others refused to lay down and got into a lot of trouble. I took a quick 15 minute nap and then started calling luggage services to get our bags that had our costumes delivered. They said our stuff was loaded and they were just waiting on a runner to get back. I said I really didn't mind retreiving it myself that it was more important that we get it on time than have it delivered. She said by the time I got there she could have it on its way so I waited. 30 minutes later I called back and she said she was still waiting on a runner. I asked again if I could just come and get it and she said sure, but someone should be back real soon. I told her I would come anyway. So I went to get it and she was right. As soon as I arrived a runner came back so I just walked with him back to the room.

By the time I got back everyone was waking up. The kids got dressed in their costumes and we headed to the Halloween party. In our party we had a race car driver, Jasmine, a witch, a karate kid, and spiderman. The baby and grown ups decided not to dress out because I was afraid our costumes would be too hot. Grandma decided to stay back at the resort as my touring plans had already taken a toll on her.

We arrived at the MNSSHP around 5:30. The greeters really got us into the Halloween spirit by welcoming us. We found returning a stroller that was leaving and asked if we could use it. Boy was that nice. Having an extra stroller for the kids to sit allowed us to stay in the parks at least an hour longer than what we would have without it. We went to adventureland and rode Jungle Cruise and Aladdin. Hit a few trick or treat stations and headed to Frontierland. Zeta took the big kids on Splash Mountain Falls while I reserved us a spot for the first parade.

The Halloween Parade was incredible. We didn't get to see the Headless Horseman as he didn't make an appearance. Sorry to say that I wasn't surprised as I had already read other's reviews about it. It might have bene better had I not known what was going to happen. Either way here are some pics of the parade

This is our crew (backside)
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney4%20MNSSHP/101_2679.jpg

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney4%20MNSSHP/101_2697.jpg

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http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney4%20MNSSHP/101_2687.jpg

MNSSHP-Continued (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28682808&postcount=64)

[debraW76]

After the parade we rode Big Thunder Mountain Railroad a couple of times then Haunted Mansion. We saw Cinderella's Coach from afar but the line was a bit long so skipped it hoping we could catch it again but we never did. Soon we were close to the castle and it was nearing fireworks time so we camped out and got refreshments: Funnel cakes and floats Yummie!!! (I love free dining!!!)

We were near Sleepy Hollow in Liberty Square. We did not have the best spot for fireworks but still a good view. Some were blocked by the castle since we were on the side and not in the front. But the fireworks were still incredible. So much that I forgot to take any pictures!! There was one point where fireworks went off all around the park at exactly the same time. The casle was lit in greens and purples. Next time I will make staking out a spot for fireworks a priority.

When the fireworks was over DH asked for his funnel cake of which I realized I had eaten all of it. Oops.

After the fireworks we went through fantasyland and rode space mountain a couple times, stopping to get candy here and there. I felt like Cinderella in that we were having so much fun I forgot to check the time. When I did check it was nearly midnight! Honey, we need to get the kids back in bed - so we left the park and headed back to our rooms. Grandma was in bed but still awake - she doesn't sleep good away from home. Its a good thing to cause the kdis were LOUD. THey were so excited about everything we saw that night. AFter getting everyone in pajamas we all slept really hard.

Day 5-Typhoon Lagoon & Planet Hollywood (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28695382&postcount=68)

[daisyduck7]

Yeah, I was still awake, because, like DD:laundy:said, I don't sleep real well away from home. I always try to have a good book to read, or some of my favorite magazines, or sometimes, a pad and pen to write down scrapbooking ideas. She was telling the truth about how tired everyone was. I mean, the kids were still a little wired:bounce: , but wound down pretty quick, and went on to bed. DD's DH was snoring, but it didn't bother me at all, because my DH used to snore, like REALLY LOUD, but I hadn't heard snoring like that since he went Home to be with the Lord:cloud9: 8 years ago. Nope, her DH's:artist: snoring was like music:music:to my ears. I went to sleep, and slept solid the rest of the night, and woke up rested, and ready to roll:drive: to one of the parks. Yeah, I am looking forward to going again:yay:, and with hind sight being 20/20 the way it is, I will be a little more prepared myself the next time, about which places I enjoyed the most, which rides and shows I want to catch next time, and save in advance for the motorized chair every day, so I can go farther, especially the MNSSHP, hold out longer, and not having my family worry that some things may be too much for me. Talk to everyone later. Keep those cards and letters coming, cuz I surely do enjoy reading:surfweb: them. Bye, ya'll:wave::disrocks:

[marshmallow]

It sounds like it was a lot of fun! It's nice that there is a way for family to enjoy Halloween together.
Fireworks are best enjoyed and let someone take the pictures. I find that if I am taking pictures I miss the experiance.

[debraW76]

It sounds like it was a lot of fun! It's nice that there is a way for family to enjoy Halloween together.
Fireworks are best enjoyed and let someone take the pictures. I find that if I am taking pictures I miss the experiance.

I gotta tell you that I had some hesitation about forking out the extra $300 for the MNSHHP. But that wound up being the highlight of our trip. I am a ride person and didn't understand paying that kind of money for some candy, parade and fireworks. But boy was I surprised! It was a parade like no other. And the fireworks! Oh, the fireworks! They absolutely took my breath away. And the rides that we did ride we walked right on, with the exception of Haunted Mansion because everyone had to ride that.

If we ever go during a hard ticket event (MNSSHP, MVMCP, or Pirates and Princess party) Then we will definitely go to the party. Even if we have to give up something else to come up with the money. It was absolutely worth it.

[debraW76]

After staying out until midnight the night before, we slept in to catch up on some much needed rest. When we did get up we put on our swim suits and headed over to Typhoon Lagoon. But first we went back to the Yacht club (because we missed it so much) to eat breakfast at the Captain's Grill. We all had the buffet and it was yummy. They had fruit, mickey waffles, cereals, egg dishes, bacon, biscuits, plus made to order omelettes, danishes, muffins, frittatta, and my favorite - though I have never had it for breakfast - Bread Pudding!

We were seated at a very large round table. I loved it because we could all see each other. At home we have a long traditional dining table and also a rectangle table in the kitchen. It is always a fight over who sits at the end and on which side and next to whom. I always said a round table would fix all that because just like Arthur's table in Camelot, we would all be equals and it would give them less to fight about. However, it is very rare that you see a round table big enough to sit our crowd of 7 plus once a week Rho and Mimi (Zeta's mom) eat dinner with us. Occassionaly we have Mimi's friend, and Zeta's brother which makes 11. Then of course Christmas, Thanksgiving when it is even more. So we need a large table to seat everyone. So when our server seated us at the large round table in the middle of the dining room, I got a glimpse of what our dinners might be like in our own home with a round table.

After breakfast we wondered in the lobby for some more photos before heading to TL. This was our first trip to a Disney water park and Disney did not disappoint.

THis is Chi and Alpha
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney5%20TL%20DTD/101_2727.jpg

After establishing our base camp the older 4 hit the slides. Delta was happy on the kiddie slide and slid down about 20 times the first hour. Baby Tau was happy as long as I was holding him. Omicron wanted me to ride some slides with him so Zeta and I took turns with the baby to ride the big slides.

After a few hours in the park we headed back to the room to get ready for dinner at Planet Hollywood. This was a kid pick restaurant from our last trip. Something about eating in the planet intrigued them. We were late for our ressie but were still seated in a timely manner.

I had the LA Lasagna and it was delicious. Imagine lasagna filling stuffed in pasta and DEEP FRIED. I could only eat half though. THe kids had the usual - hot dogs or chicken. I can't remember what Rho or Zeta had but I think they liked it. In the middle of dinner they started playing the Cha Cha Slide and Nu and CHi had to get up and dance. It was loud so we couldn't really hear what the kids were saying which was a blessing.

After dinner we walked around DTD a bit before heading home. I had wanted to stay longer but the kids were wearing out fast. Plus We had another big day ahead of us so we went back to our rooms.

Day 6 - Animal Kingdom (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28713683&postcount=71)

[lisalonglash]

Loving your TR report, Debra! Makes me miss Disney again though :sad1:

Can't wait for your next update popcorn::

[debraW76]

Thanks Lisa, I'm hoping I can add day 6 today during lunch. We will see...

[debraW76]

I have lots of pics of Animal Kingdom so I will break this day down into many posts.

Rho decided to stay back and take a later bus. Zeta and I took all of the kids and arrived about 20 minutes before they opened. We took our time walking to Camp Minnie Mickey to enjoy the first performance of the Lion King. I saw the Lion King in 2004 but Zeta and the kids had not and Chi didn't remember it. On our trip in 2006 we skipped it and I wanted to make sure we saw it this time. Not taking any chances I made sure we were there for the first performance. This is my favorite show in all of DisneyWorld (not including the night time firework shows). I loved the monkeys, the boys loved the fire dance and the girls like the bird ballet portion.

The first show started at 9:30. We arrived about 10 minutes early. It was only half full and we had three rows to ourselves. This allowed the kids to be able to move without us worrying about bothering anyone else and also it ensured all of the kids had perfect views. We were in the elephant section.

Timon
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney6%20AK/101_2751.jpg

The monkeys flipping around...
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney6%20AK/101_2754.jpg

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And the birds
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney6%20AK/101_2762.jpg

Zeta wasn't excited about going because he just doesn't like live shows as much. But afterwards he did tell me he really enjoyed it and was very impressed.

Day 6 - Continued, more AK (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28714005&postcount=72)

[debraW76]

After the Lion King we headed to Africa. I Got FP for the Safaris while the kids made music with Mor Thiam. We loved his show. He would play for a minute then yell STOP, wait, something happened, something happened. Then he would grab a kid in the audience and tell them they needed to play a certain instrument. He would briefly show them what to do then he would say ok play. He would play with the one kid for a minute, then yell stop again. He did this over and over until he had a whole band of kids playing. Then he yelled stop, and said something happened. He walked towards me and grabbed my hand, pulled me to the center and said 'now mamma, dance'. I was so embarressed but I knew it would be a great story.

Here we are with Mor Thiam. Delta and Omicron are in the light blue shirts with the dark blue trim. I am holding baby Tau.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney6%20AK/101_2785.jpg

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Then Chi joined in
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney6%20AK/101_2781.jpg

Day 6 continued, sorry I had lots of pics of AK (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28714736&postcount=73)

[debraW76]

After our 10 minutes of being African Rock Stars, we took a walking tour of the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. This was a first for all of us and it was just OK in my opinion. The kids enjoyed the animals but not the walking. In fact they were all getting tired and were starting to fight over who got to ride in the stroller with the baby. Zeta and I were tired of figuring out whose turn it was.

About halfway Grandma Rho called and said she was in the park. I asked her to check on our ressie at the Tusker House as we were all getting a little cranky and could use some fuel. They said it would still be a few minutes so we rode the Safaris with our fast passes.

Tyler was asleep and slept through the whole Safaris.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney6%20AK/101_2815.jpg

Last time, Chi cried for about an hour because she couldn't see the lion on the rock. I made sure she got to see it this time.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney6%20AK/101_2814.jpg
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http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney6%20AK/101_2807.jpg

We had to stop to wait on the ostrich to cross the road...
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney6%20AK/101_2817.jpg

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http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney6%20AK/101_2810.jpg

Still Day 6 - Last one I promise (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28715221&postcount=74)

[debraW76]

After the Safaris we met up with Rho at the Tusker House. We were still a few minutes early but the seated us within 5 minutes. Tusker House serves a buffet of African dishes - but nothing really wierd. I tried nearly everything and there was nothing that I just didn't like. They had a child buffet table that was lower to the ground. It had braed and PB & J for making sandwiches, mac and cheese, mashed potatoes, and a few other things typical of children's menus. There were servers helping them so we kinda let the kids fix their own plate. That is until Omicron came back with a plate of just jelly.

I said "Omicron, what is that?" and he just stared at me blankly. So I continued "Because it looks like a plate full of jelly".
He reminded me that I said that he had to have some protein and he thought PB&J sandwiches had protein in them. I explained that it does because of the peanut butter, not the jelly.

After that they were supervised when getting food.

After we ate, the kids practiced sticking spoons to their noses while we 'paid' for our meal. Then Zeta and Alpha headed over to Asia to get FP for Mt. Everest while the rest of us walked towards the Entrance. Rho bought all of the kids lanyards and some bought a pin with their souvineer money. Rho decided she wanted to stay back to watch the Lion King after I told her how much we enjoyed it.

We met back up with Alpha and Zeta and went back to our rooms for a break. It was extra magic hours at Animal Kingdom so we headed back around 5. This was the only extra magic hour we took advantage of and I was really glad we did. We arrived just as most were leaving. I had wanted to arrive at 4 to see the parade but we needed the rest more.

We saw Nemo, rode Mt. Everest, then headed back to Dinoland to eat dinner. The little ones played at the Boneyard with Zeta while I took the bigger ones to ride Dinosoar. Then we all went back to Everest and rode again since the line was only 10 minutes long (actual wait was about 3 minutes). We did this about three more times then rode Kali River Rapids then went back to Mt Everest and rode until they closed the line down. The big kids all rode about 9 or 10 times while Zeta and I had to take turns so we only got to ride about half as much.

The kids were all having so much fun that they forgot how tired they were. Walking through the park between KRR and Everest with the kids laughing and cutting up was one of my favorite memories. For just a few minutes everyone was happy. :cloud9:

The park closed at 10 and we waited until then before we even started walking to the exit.

Day 7 - EPCOT (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=28783891&postcount=75)

[debraW76]

We slept in - well I let Zeta sleep in as the kids woke me up early. We went to the End Zone food court and had breakfast. Then Zeta took them to the pool (I was still a tad sun burned from the water parks and couldn't stand the heat). I also had a sore throat and was coughing. After we got home I found out I had bronchitus :sick: but we were going to EPCOT and I was not going to let a little cold get in my way.

We took the bus to EPCOT around noon and headed straight to TEST TRAK to get FP. Omicron and Delta watched you tube videos of the ride from home before we left and this was on their must do list. After getting our FP, I took the big kids to Mission Space. Zeta was still nauseaus from Star Tours so he opted not to ride anymore simulation rides. We did the spinning side. :sick: It took me a while to recover.

Then we went back to Test Track and used our FP. THen we crossed the park and saw the Honey I shrunk the Audience and Figment. I wanted to ride Soarin but the line was an hour and we had not stood in line over 30 minutes the whole trip so why start now :confused3

The gang was getting hungry and we missed our ADR at Coral Reef by 4 hours. So the nice CM at the Garden Grill helped us find a table at the Biergarten in Germany. This was the kids favorite restauraunt. But not because of the food - in fact they only ate bread. But they loved the show! Here is a pic of all of them dancing in a circle. This was my favorite memory of the whole trip :cloud9:

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney7%20EPCOT/101_2849.jpg


Day 7 - EPCOT Continued (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31284160&postcount=82)

[daisyduck7]

What does Extreme Makeover - Home Edition have to do with WDW you ask:confused3 ? Well, normally notta lotta, except Ty seems to send a lot of families on a vacation to WDW while their new home is being worked on.(Isn't he just too cute:lovestruc?) :offtopic:Anyhow, where was I:confused:, oh, yeah, WDW and Makeover.......Since Thanksgiving, that show has been on the CMT, with the theme of Thanks for giving, and getting into the Christmas spirit, yes, I said CHRISTMAS,not holidays. The shows are re-runs, and I have seen this particular show 3 times in 2 weeks. It is a 2 hour special, and one of the profies is a family revisited that wants to do something really special for children that can't get out in daylight because they are so alergic to the sun, have a history of skin cancers due to exposure to the sun, or whatever that they can only get out after the sun goes down or they must be totally covered up. Well, Ty meets up with some one in authority at WDW, and they open up the park at midnight for all these kids and their families, the mayor meets them at the gate, and all the Princesses are waiting just inside. All the dwarves are out, all the rides are running, and these kids have the absolute best time of their lives. Now I said all that to ask this, Is this not just the greatest thing you have ever heard of ? How can we not get excited about a place that opens up for one whole night for these kids and their families. DREAMS CAN COME TRUE !!!!!!!:banana: :love: princess: :thanks: :disrocks: :welcome: :mickeyjum :goofy: party: pixiedust:I'll be seeing every one later:surfweb: Bye, now:wave:

[daisyduck7]

I'm baaaack! Well, hello, everyone. Long time, no hear from. My DD:laundy: called me the other day and said that some one has asked them to go to WDW in May or maybe June. That was all she said.......just kinda left me and the subject hanging in thin air:confused3 . She hasn't said another word about it:rolleyes1. WELLLLL, are ya goin',hunh? Hunh? Are ya? I know. I can mention it to just one of the kids, or to her DH:artist:, then just sit back and watch.......uummmmm, oooohhh about half an hour or so:rotfl: and I'll know just how seriously she might be considering the trip. Any suggestions, any one? I'll be watching:surfweb: Keep those cards, letters, and comments coming. Bye,Ya'll:wave:

[debraW76]

Yes, we are going back this June. I started a pre-trippie here (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2063801)

[jcc0621]

Yes, we are going back this June. I started a pre-trippie here (http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=2063801)

I'll read that too, but are you gonna finish this one;)

[debraW76]

I'll read that too, but are you gonna finish this one;)

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

OMG! I thought this was finished !!!!
I am sooooo embarrassed. :headache:

Let me read to see where I ended and maybe I can finish it up!!

[debraW76]

Darn!!

I was almost finished with day 7 but I lost my post!! I will try again this weekend!!

[debraW76]

After leaving Germany with our bellies full we left WS touring CCW. We stopped at China. Alpha has a friend in his class that is chinese and he has developed quite an interest in China so we stopped mainly for him.
http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney7%20EPCOT/101_2858.jpg
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http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney7%20EPCOT/101_2853.jpg

And we found Mulan and Mushu, or is it Nushu?

http://i374.photobucket.com/albums/oo190/debraw76/Disney7%20EPCOT/101_2861.jpg

Grandma Rho had rented a scooter and was happy that she did. For the first time she was able to keep up with us. The kids had also found something else to argue over~ who would ride with Grandma.

We rode TT again and headed back over to Soarin but the line was still over an hour long. My throat was hurting even more, the kids had reached their limits, we were all tired, but I really wanted to see Illuminations. It was nearing 7:30 and by then Grandma Rho had already staked out a place for Illuminations near Canada. DH and I discussed it and decided wait it out.

we found Grandma Rho, got the kids some fries and drinks and settled down for the show. We were close to the fence overlooking the lake with only one couple in front of us. We had two strollers and as soon as the couple saw us behind them they said that when the show started they wanted the little ones to come stand in front of them so they could see better. I thought that was very nice and the kids really got a great view because of it. Just another guest passing on that Disney magic :wizard:

After Illuminations we dropped off the rental stroller and headed to the bus stop. Grandma Rho got seperated because she had to drop off her wheels but we met back up at the bus stop. Within minutes a series of buses arrived and we were on our way back to our room.

Day 8 - Home (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31284318&postcount=83)

[debraW76]

We slept in as late as we could, packed up and headed to the food court for some breakfast. After breakfast we found ourselves with 9 snack credits and 3 CS meals. We loaded up on Mickey Head rice krispy treats and by then they were serving lunch so we got our last three meals to go.

It is always sad to leave but I was feeling really bad and was looking forward to getting home and seeing a doctor. When I did i learned that I had bronchitis.:sick:

The ride home was relatively calm. The kids were so tired they slept most of the time. the only other thing we remember is stopping at a gas station, DH got a scratch off card and won $10. We ate our to go meals and stopped at burger king for the kids. We were home before bedtime.

Final Thoughts (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=31284649&postcount=84)

[debraW76]

As with each trip there were things I learned not to do and also some things that I felt worked. first of all our room: This was the first time we stayed on site. Typically we have rented condos for our vacations and this was also the first time we have stayed in a hotel. I learned not to test the max occupancy rating set forth by Disney. I inherited my dad's sense of humor but I also inherited his claustrophobia. The YC was ok as far as space but the Sports was definitely too small for our clan. Our kids also needed their alone time and they were unable to get this as they were always together. When we go again I think we will either return to the condos, or perhaps stay away from the values or just get three rooms.

Secondly: FREE DINING RockS!! Not constantly having to fork out money for meals and snacks was incredible. I normally balk at high prices for drinks and snacks inside the parks and not having to tell my kids no to these was also a great feeling. Free dining is now a huge incentive for us plan a new visit.

Strollers: While baby Tau still needs one I think our big kids have outgrown it. However, since we had a double stroller it was something for them to fight over. Something for us to make sure was being used fairly. Something else to remember whose turn it was. I'm not sure what the solution is for us- do we need to go to the single stroller so there is nothing for the big kids to fight over, but then again I do push their limits when touring and am not sure if they will be able to make it all day, everyday for a week. The fighting over whose turn it was to ride definitely makes me rethink going vs, waiting until they are all a little older.

MNSSHP- LOVED IT!!! Now i want to try all the after hours parties.

Afternoon Naps- This is something i have always done when touring disney (or US) is taking the kids back to the room for a nap. While this worked with just two little kids, it is no longer working for us. Most days we just spent an hour telling the big kids to lay down and be quiet. not fun. While the big kids did need a nap in order to stay up late, they were not taking them. (maybe if we had made them walk instead of riding in the stroller...:laughing:). I am thinking that next time to try finding a place in the parks for the grown ups to relax and just letting the kids play to unwind or letting them swim in the pool.

Autographs- Chi has always tried to get a lot of autographs. She was disappointed that she only got 3 or 4. Next time I will try to get her more by incorporating that into our plans.

EPCOT- DH has bought into Disney, except for EPCOT. He said he didn't like it at all. I think this is mostly because we slept in and arrived at the most crowded time of day. That messed up my touring plans and I had to wing it. Unfortunately I wasn't feeling my best and did a shotty job. Next time I am determined to win him over to EPCOT. I will have the best touring plan ever just for this park.

Shopping-our boys despise shopping and so we avoid it mostly to avoid the meltdowns that will occur. However, DH and I do like to do some shopping together. We vowed to desensitize them to shopping by taking them at least once a month :laughing:

Well, that is what I learned from this trip. Overall it was a great trip full of memories that will stay with my family forever. looking forward to going back again real soon.

[jcc0621]

:rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2: :rotfl2:

OMG! I thought this was finished !!!!
I am sooooo embarrassed. :headache:

Let me read to see where I ended and maybe I can finish it up!!

:lmao:


EPCOT - Is DH's favorite park. It's one of the ways I get him to go back;)

DDP - While not free, we are using it for the first time this summer. I like the thought that most everything is prepaid:thumbsup2

Stroller - We only have DS 5, so I will use a stroller for at least one more year. I find he can go a bit longer by having the stroller to chill out. I can see how with 3 it would be an issue:scared:

Naps - I gave up trying to make Jimmy have them at WDW. Down time in the room or at the pool is alwasy helpful though:thumbsup2

Autographs - Jimmy liks the autographs, last year he wanted no parts of getting his picture taken with the characters though:confused3

Shopping - is a Focker requirement :thumbsup2


Great trip report Debra. Glad I caught up before you finished it.:goodvibes