ALL ABOARD our June 2011 T/R! Autotrain, heat & lines oh MY! (12/05/11 Update) [Archive] - The DIS Discussion Forums

kittylady1972

06-28-2011, 09:00 AM

Sorry all for the delay in posting here. I had hoped to do more live updates but it just didn't happen. I did keep a journal update of our trip so I plan to give a full trip report here very soon!

Autotrain was really great though and we would definitely do it again. We're hoping to book it for our next trip in November of 2012...both ways this time!

Check-in was very simple and the friendly Amtrak staff made it even better.

We drove to Lorton from our home in Maryland on Tuesday afternoon. We hit very little traffic in the Northern VA area...so we arrived close to 1pm and our deadline was 2pm for checking in our oversized vehicle. We found the station easily:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1.jpg

drove up to the gate, they gave us our car number and directed us.

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1a.jpg

We got out and got the stuff we wanted from the car and they ran around and videotaped both inside and outside of our vehicle as we unloaded our overnight stuff.

Inside we checked in at a desk and when they learned we had accommodations on the upper and lower section of the car they worked to get us at least on the same floor...top of the car...so that was nice.

Watching cars being loaded:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1b.jpg

Our train:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1c.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1c2.jpg

We then waited in the station.
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1d.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1e.jpg

I think we were allowed to board the train at 2:30pm. When the time came, we expected some kind of formal announcement...which didn't happen. We just walked outside of the station to the train when we saw other people wandering out...then we had to find our car as you board based on your car number.

It was a little confusing...we started walking down in one direction...then thought we missed it...then started to backtrack and then realized I think it was odd cars first then even and not in all numerical order. Once we got that we found our car and waiting with a small group. Our car attendant came outside, checked our tickets, and directed us which way to go once we were onboard.

We found the rooms easily. DH and the 2 little kids had a Superliner Bedroom at the top of the stairs to the left.

Superliner Bedroom:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1f2.jpg

Inside bedroom, looking towards door (daughter coming inside). Curtain for privacy, sliding door that locks, storage to the right. To the left is the small sink with mirror and trash area.
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1f3.jpg

Myself and DS 11 had a roomette at the top of the steps and to the right.

Roomette photo:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1f.jpg

We spent a lot of time in the Superliner Bedroom as there was plenty of room for all of us to sit in there and not so much in the roomette. The attendant came and introduced himself to us and asked when we'd like the room converted to beds. We let him know 9pm and then he told us about the 3pm wine and cheese reception in the lounge car...so we headed there.

We got some sodas for the kids (which were NOT free...didn't know that at first) and the wine for us (free) and some cheese and fruit and veggies and snacks. We found a small booth that held all five of us and sat and played some cards and dice games as we rolled down the tracks.

Inside the lounge:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1g.jpg

The lounge is on the top floor, however to get to the restrooms in the lounge car you have to go downstairs. There was a nice little area down here with two large tables facing each other and a tv screen above it. The bathrooms are behind this seating area:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1j.jpg

Eventually our 5pm dinnertime came and we headed to the dining car. We were all able to sit at one booth with three kids squeezed on one side. The kids were not required to order off the kids menu, which was good as my DD 8 wanted the tenderloin beef and not the chicken nuggets/mac-n-cheese kids meal. Dinner was pretty good...not GREAT but not too bad. Our dining car attendant told the kids that the size of the dessert that got depended on how many veggies they ate with their meal. DS 11 took this seriously and tried his best to eat some veggies...green beans which were very fresh and not the limp canned kind that we usually like...but he did good.

Dining car:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1h.jpg

(as you can see, three small kids can sit in the bench...but barely!)

Dessert was good...I think I had chocolate cake with ice cream, kids had sundaes and we had some cheesecake too. You can see Noah with his dessert here, staring at the scenery:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1k.jpg

Then we retreated back to the Superliner Bedroom.

The movie of the night was the Justin Bieber movie and nobody really had a desire to see that except maybe DD 8 and even then she wasn't very enthusiastic. Apparently the movie is just shown in the lounge car on small screens there. The lounge car attendant actually told my DH that the best place to watch was on the lower level as there was a larger booth there, it wasn't as crowded and we could have all been seated there and it would be much quieter. The problem is that the lower lounge area is right near the smoking section of that car and the bathroom...so not really the best place to be overall. We opted instead to watch a movie on the netbook that I had brought with me in the larger bedroom instead.

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1i.jpg

Kids watched the movie and played with the DS systems and we hung out in the room for about another hour and a half. When the movie ended around 8pm, DH decided he'd get the attendant to turn the beds down earlier. So DS 11 and I retreated to our roomette while they all went to bed.

We had our room turned down not too much later and we waited in the car while that was done...not too long at all. Then we got into our PJs and got ready for sleeping!

I gave DS 11 the bottom bunk and I took the top. Here is his sleeping area:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1m.jpg

The small space did not bother me. It was a bit tough to climb up the steps and get into the space though...you do require a little bit of agility and balance and flexibility. I got a solid four hours of sleep in at first, waking up around 1am and needing to use the restroom.

(top sleeping area:)
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1n.jpg

I walked out of our room and to the end of the car where the bathroom was but since it was a once stall (think an airplane restroom) and there was somebody in it already. I waited outside for a minute or two but it was clear they were going to be longer. So my choice was to walk to the next train car and try that one...which I did. Luckily that one was empty and I was in and out and back in no time.

I got another 3 hours of sleep afterwards, woke up for a little bit, then got another hour in before finally being up for good around 6:30am or so. DS 11 was also awake so we hung out in his bed watching the world go by for a bit. Soon we heard the announcement outside our room that breakfast was being served and the rest of the family was dressed and at our roomette waiting to go. I was going to walk down and get dressed in the bigger bedroom but by the time I got there the attendant was already in their room making it back up and putting away the beds. Ok then...got changed in the bathroom instead!

Breakfast was just some muffins, cereal and toast and bread with juice and milk and coffee. I think I had part of a muffin and the kids had cereal. Again we were seated together. After that we went back to our respective rooms to wait until it was time to get off the train.

We arrived in Sanford around 9:30am but had to spend some time waiting in our room until we could get off the train. Since the Sanford station is so small it does not fit the entire train on one side of the station. So they have to uncouple the auto cars and half of the passenger cars and move them and when that's done we can get off the train. We watched some of the moving of the cars from our room.

Sanford station:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1o.jpg

Finally we were off the train and in the station. They announced when they'd start unloading cars and they announced your vehicle by the number they gave you, letting us know it could take as long as an hour and 15 minutes I think to get the last car off. Everybody waited inside and outside and we watched them unload the cars, calling off numbers, parking the cars next to the station and people just walked over, got in and drove off. Again, it was all very orderly and organized and we waited somewhere between 20 - 30 minutes for our car to be unloaded.

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1p.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Train/sm_train1q.jpg

I have more photos of our train experience, and some video, but if you have questions don't hesitate to ask!

Becc1

06-28-2011, 09:50 AM

Can't wait to hear all about your trip!

kittylady1972

07-01-2011, 12:52 PM

Ok, just updated my Autotrain post with LOTS of photos! Enjoy!

Gonna take me several days to get other photos organized and up and start writing up my report since I want to include the photos! :) :)

kittylady1972

07-01-2011, 01:10 PM

June 15th (DAY TWO) - Arrival Day
We were on our way to our resort by 10am or so and arrived close to 10:45am. Love this sight:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/arrival.jpg

We headed to the Contemporary to check-in and our room was not ready...surprise! While there, I was checking to see where the rest of our party would be as they would check in the next day. Our rooms were on the same floor but different areas. I tried to get them moved closer together...but had no luck. Oh well, floor would be fine. We were on the 7th floor (2 above the walkway) and on the far end...room 7704. If you are facing BLT with your back to MK, our room would be on the far left...almost at the end. So sitting out on our balcony we had this view but just looking to the left:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/view.jpg

Anyway, since we had time to kill and breakfast on the train was not much, we decided to head to Downtown Disney for lunch. I did not tell the kids where we were eating, wanted it to be a surprise!

Our reservation at T-Rex was not until 12:30pm but we arrived just before 11:30am. We were seated right away...don't know the area but we had a view of the ice caves in front of us and the marine area to left and were looking at the wooly mammoth (elephant) and another dinosaur to our left.

(Ok, I have just been notified that the power in our building is about to be shut down..and been told to go home and have a nice early holiday weekend...so to be continued....)

dekkerdisneydreamer

07-01-2011, 02:39 PM

Hi there!

Found your report and have joined in!

It sounds so interesting to be in a train and to be able to have your car with you. It seems as if you didn't have a bad experience with it, either!

Looking forward to reading more.:goodvibes

kdka421

07-01-2011, 03:47 PM

Lifelong_Dreamer

07-02-2011, 03:19 AM

Joining in!

kittylady1972

07-06-2011, 11:43 AM

Thanks for the great report about the Autotrain! We're taking it for the first time in August, and excited to see what it's like. We didn't get rooms though, it'll be interesting to see how comfortable (or not) the seats are for sleeping in.

My biggest concern has been what time we're going to arrive and get going, but nice to see that you made it to Downtown Disney by 11:30, my hope has been that we'll get to MK by noon, so I'm optimistic.

Any negatives about the Autotrain? Any tips? (We're traveling w/4 adults, no kids)

Yeah I wish I could share with you about the coach seats...we never saw them. However my husband did comment that he saw the people getting out of that section of the train and they were looking ROUGH! I *THINK* we would have been okay...but you never know!

Oh you should be able to make it to MK by noon for sure. We were passing through the gates of MK by 10:33am and it took about 20 minutes or so before our vehicle was unloaded.

Negatives? Hmmm...I think since it is all adults you will be fine and I think it will depend on how crowded the train is during your travel time. I think most of the roomettes in our car were empty so it was pretty quiet. It also made it easier for us to find a nice seating area in the lounge because I suspect if the train had been packed that may have been harder...or maybe they add more lounge cars? Keep in mind that breakfast is really really light...just cereal and muffins and not much of a selection so you may want to eat as soon as you get to your resort or the park...we were very hungry! Most of my tips would center around the rooms themselves so I can't offer very much I'm afraid.

Hope you enjoy it! :)

kittylady1972

07-06-2011, 11:52 AM

Ok, so we continue with our Downtown Disney lunch!

Here are the kids in front of the restaurant, about to go inside:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/trex1.jpg

DD 8 was in a mood and didn't want to eat. She lived on the big frozen bone drink and some of my salad. I don't want to do a whole dining review...so you can find my dining review here:

T-Rex Dining (http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=41672327&postcount=2)

Here are some more photos around the restaurant though:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/trex1a.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/trex1b.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/trex1c.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/trex1d.jpg

I think it was at arrival in Downtown or before we left that I got notification that our room was ready. We had plans though so we would check-in much later.

Now for our trip down on the train, we had packed a cooler of food...mostly some lunchmeats and other stuff that would go bad while we were not at home for nearly two weeks. We had filled it with ice and hoped for the best. Since we did not finish our meals at T-Rex and there was SO much food we decided to take it with us...only we weren't going back to the room. So we figured we'd put it in the cooler.

We headed to the Hess station right near Downtown Disney and took the cooler out of the back for the first time...and there was still some ice left and it was plenty cold! We bought a new bag of ice, filled it up and put in our lunch leftovers so we would have dinner later that evening! :thumbsup2

Then we headed out with a destination of Universal Studios!

teachermommy78

07-06-2011, 12:44 PM

Here!!! I haven't read anything yet, but wanted to subscribe! I THINK the link in your signature just links to a single post and not the thread. I may be wrong, but it happened to me twice.

anjalee6

07-06-2011, 03:05 PM

kittylady1972

07-06-2011, 03:49 PM

Here!!! I haven't read anything yet, but wanted to subscribe! I THINK the link in your signature just links to a single post and not the thread. I may be wrong, but it happened to me twice.

Welcome...and thanks I *THINK* I fixed the link! :rotfl:

I am hoping to get more updates done this week with lots more photos too! :)

kittylady1972

07-06-2011, 03:50 PM

T-Rex looks so cool! I am sure if my son knew it was a restaurant he would want to eat there, but we always walk by it on the waterfall side by the parking lot so he never puts it all together, but I am thinking next time we may need to try it just for something more boy friendly. He suffered through to princess meals this trip with no complaining so I really should look into something more for him and this looks fun! Can't wait to hear more!

It was VERY cool! This was our first time trying it and I think we talked about the meal the rest of our trip and wish we could have returned with the rest of the group. Oh well...next time! ;)

kittylady1972

07-12-2011, 12:06 PM

Universal Studios - Our First Park Day

Sorry for the delay...I keep meaning to update from home but life...you know, it gets crazy! I finally have most of my photos up on Shutterfly though, so I should be able to at least post photos.

Unfortunately I let a friend borrow my netbook which has my complete trip report on it...so I'm going to attempt to do this from memory! Looking at the photos, I think I can recall some of it.

So we arrived at the park close to 1pm:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/univ1a.jpg

So great to be here...force the kids and DH to pause for a photo. Kids do so reluctantly...cutting DH out since he hates me putting all kinds of photos of him up on the evil internet! ;)

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/univ1b.jpg

It was a a long walk through the park to find the rides...why I don't I remember that from our trip in August of 2003 without the kids? Anyway we decided to do Jaws first I think. The line was about a 30 minute wait according to the sign...and I think the wait was more like 20. This would be a resounding theme at Universal for us...the wait times there were SO far off we never knew what to think. Don't get me wrong, we did do some line waiting...but there were times it would show 50 minutes and we'd wait 20 or less. We didn't know what to think.

Anyway, kids weren't exactly thrilled with Jaws...but they survived it. I wanted a picture with the big shark...but there was LINE for that! So instead I improvised and tried some forced perspective shots making it look like they were holding the shark. However this was tough...it was hot...so these are what I got:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/univ1f.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/univ1g.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/univ1h.jpg

Then it was off to the Simpsons ride. This ride was a BIG hit for the kids. It was new for us, since it used to be Back to the Future when we were last there without the kids...and I remember it being rough. We were thrilled to realize it was not that bad.

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/univ1e.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/univ1d.jpg

The wait for Simpsons was also around 20 to 25 minutes or so. I recall the frustration at the line attendant there. We reached the end of this ramp where they also had people entering from another side for ExpressPass. From this point, there were several entrances to the ride...and the one in front of us was clearly way up ahead...but we were sorta stopped...though there was no rope or anything. The attendant had just motioned to us...quickly...once. So we waited.:confused: And waited. And people behind us were wondering why we were not moving. We told them we were told to stop. We waited some more. The attendant still wasn't even acknowledging us, but he was clearly letting plenty of ExpressPass people go up the ramps. We were all in line wondering what the heck. :confused3 :confused3 Finally the attendant started motioning people as to which ramp to go up and told us which one. Just another reason I like WDW much better!

Anyway the kids loved this one...I think we may have ridden it a second time but I can't recall if it was right away. I think we may have walked out and over to MIB first (another favorite of ours from our last trip) and did that one first.

Inside MIB:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/univ1i.jpg

We then decided to head to ET. However when we got there the ride was just closed down...maintenance issues. Then we noticed it looked like rain might be rolling in...so we decided to catch a nearby animal show:

Waiting for the show, see how thrilled DH is here:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/univ1j.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/univ1k.jpg

The show was cute...but I like the SeaWorld/Busch Gardens animal shows so much better.

So it was about 3:30pm or so and no rain...but we weren't sure it wasn't still going to happen. We thought about hitting ET still...but my daughter had a headache.

Side note here: My 8yo daughter was diagnosed with migraines right before this trip. We started her on a migraine medication just a few days prior to our trip...so this created a challenge. We didn't know how she would react to the medication, how her headaches would be, etc. and as it turned out she had quite a few emotional episodes that we suspect may have been from the meds...but back to the story!

We decided instead to just head out of the park and go check into the hotel and maybe take a swim! As we got into the car, I found the nearest WalMart on the GPS and we made a very quick grocery run there for some essentials.

By about 5pm or so we were heading back through the gates of the Magic Kingdom and to our hotel at Bay Lake Tower!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkgates.jpg

We found our room easily on the 7th floor and the kids just walked into the room and were thrilled! They were a bit confused when they couldn't find THEIR room. That's when we told them the bedroom was OURS and they'd get a fold-out couch and chair to sleep in this trip. DH and I have never had the king bed on our previous DVC trips. We usually give that room to his parents since we take the other bedroom with the 2Q beds for us and the kids. So this was nice!

And the bonus...the view from our balcony:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkview.jpg

I can't remember if we decided to eat some dinner first or we headed to the pool, but I'm pretty sure we did hit the pool and I know we ate dinner in our room. We heated up our leftovers from T-Rex from earlier...they were yummy!

That evening was pretty much a night inside, getting unpacked and organized and getting a good night's rest on a real bed so we'd be ready to hit the Magic Kingdom the next day! Would we make early entry? Well some of us would anyway.... ;)

Lifelong_Dreamer

07-12-2011, 12:21 PM

Great view of the park!

kittylady1972

07-15-2011, 02:02 PM

June 16th (DAY 3) - First Full Day!
It was our first full day at Walt Disney World...yippee1 :cool1: Our plan was to try our best to hit the MK at rope drop as it was an EMH morning...that meant 8am. Perfectly doable with kids that usually are up before 7am anyway.

Everybody got up and ate breakfast in the room. I decided I didn't want to haul around my mini sling bag all day...so I grabbed my camera and the tickets and we headed out. This information would be very important later.

As a background, you should now that as the mom I am, of course, the carrier of all of the stuff. Kids tickets, money, snacks, camera(s), sunscreen, etc....all moms know this drill. Since I have more stuff, this means there is more stuff to lose...or misplace of course. I am forever misplacing things on trips. I usually find them. The one time it did not work out was when I misplaced my wallet at Saratoga Springs Resort while eating there in November of 2007. The wallet was turned in...minus the cash. Lucky for me, I rarely have a lot of cash. At least my tickets and credit cards were all there!

Ok, so we make our way walking down the nice path to the MK. I LOVE staying at the Contemporary so we can use this path. Sadly, we did not use it as much as I had hoped on this trip. I had visions of spending many evenings walking over to MK to ride rides on our long trip there. That didn't happen.

We arrive at the front gate and see these crowds waiting at the turnstiles:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1a.jpg

Now I was the only one without a park ticket. I had pre-ordered my DVC Discounted annual pass online, so I knew I had to go to the ticket window and get that, plus order a Tables in Wonderland card. That was my plan. I get the kids' tickets all out to hand to them so they can get in line...only one was not there.

Yep, my oldest DS ticket was not with me. Just. Great. I search and search but it's not there. I know we had it that morning, so the only thing I figure is it's still in my mini-sling bag because I had taken out only the stuff we needed...leaving behind our Universal Park Passes and other stuff.

So yes it's about 15 minutes before 8am. I tell my DH to take the other 2 kids into the park, we'll head back to the room and get DS11's ticket, and we'll meet them in the park. I then walk over to guest services to at least get my annual pass.

The paper I have tells me all I need is a photo idea...but the paper which is my receipt from my order. The man behind the counter asks for my DVC card. What? :confused3 I don't have that either...because it didn't say I'd need it. If it was a big deal, I would have argued and made him look it up, but the fact is I have to return to the room anyway...so I can get that as well. I'm sure it's with my son's park pass!

So DS11 and I start hauling tail back to the room. Yes, while other people are walking down the walkway towards the park, we are running away...and yes we were running/jogging. We wanted to get there and back. Oh we wouldn't be making rope drop like the rest of the family...but we'd still get in the park soon afterwards!

Now I should mention two things here. One is that my DH did offer to go back and get the tickets. I told him no...and it was a good thing because they were NOT in the bag as I suspected. I ended up finding them elsewhere in the room among some other stuff. It was quite a frantic search, let me tell you.

Some of you veterans may be asking...why didn't you just have them replace the ticket at guest services? Well we had pre-purchased our tickets from Undercover Tourist...not from WDW directly....because it was cheaper that way. Of course, that makes it not so easy to replace because Disney doesn't have a record of the purchase in their system. One hint that I would learn later (yeah foreshadowing...you think I would have learned it sooner) is to take photos of your tickets...the backs of them with the numbers. This way they can easily be replace and re-issued.

Anyway, we get back to the room, I frantically search and find the ticket and my DVC card, and we return to the gates. I go to guest services to get my ticket and my TIW card as well. We are ready to go, I text DH and he is here:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1i.jpg

They are about to ride Peoplemover for the SECOND time so I tell them we will meet them as they exit the ride.

It is 8:22am when I snap this shot of my DS11 as we walk through the park heading towards Futureworld:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1b.jpg

We still have plenty of time left for our extra magic hour. We wait the Peoplemover and look up to see this going by:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1h.jpg

As soon as they exit we have one goal...DS6 finally is tall enough to ride Space Mountain!!!

We head over there and the wait time is about 15 minutes I think. As we approach the front, we're trying to figure out how our group of five will fit in the cars. For some reason the older two kids decide their younger brother should experience the ride for the first time from the very front car!

He's good with is...but it means I can't take any photos of his face as he is in the car or as he exits it. DH and I end up in the back of the car and the three kids are all in front of us.

Ride is rough, as always...why don't we remember this. Of course all the weight is in the back so we are helping push it along I'm sure! I remember we are approaching the unload and we can't see DS6 in the car. We have no idea if he loved it or if we have manage to scar him for life!

We exit and he LOVED it...thank goodness! He's ready to go again. We come out and enter and go back to ride it one more time!

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1_spacem1.jpg
(in line for another ride)

Then we must snap a photo to record the memory:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1_spacem1a.jpg

At this point I think we decide to hit some other BIG rides...so we make our way towards the castle and will head through Adventureland next. We must snap a few more photos along the way though:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1_d1a.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1_d1b.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1c.jpg

This one was DH's idea...a joke of course:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1_d1c.jpg

Even more funny because we tell the kids we don't NEED a map here...we know where we are going!

Along the way to Frontierland (our goal) we stop in and ride Pirates of course. I can recall DD8 asking me if they have a boat ride here. Of course they do...Pirates! Then she is disappointed because she means one of those swinging boat rides...um no! Not here...sorry.

Out of POTC, we head to Frontierland. We want to ride BTMRR of course! The wait time shows I think 20 minutes or so, but we almost walk onto it after weaving through the lines.

The other plan is to do something else DS6 has never done. He had been on BTMRR before, but he had not been to Tom Sawyer Island. I totally forgot my plan to do an early entry day and try to get paintbrushes from there for this trip...oh well. The kids are hungry so we grab some snacks first. My directive to them is NO CANDY...so they get some chips and popcorn instead and DH and I get some trail mix stuff to share. As we are heading back to catch the Tom Sawyer Island boat I decide to duck inside Pecos Bill's and get a free cup of ice water. I will meet them at the docks!

This ice water thing takes longer than I had planned despite no real lines inside yet...after all it is barely 10am. The front counter has my water but I guess assume it is with a food order. The guy in front of me had only ordered 4 cups of ice water himself :)! I point it out to them, get my water, and hightail it to the docks. :)

I am just missing a boat, and my family has waited behind for me...not happy of course. I guess the boat driver wondered why they did not get on it as well, and they told him they were waiting on me. I know this because when he gets back the boat driver looks at my family in an understanding way...like AH she DID make it back! :rotfl:

Soon we are on the island and free to explore:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1d.jpg

What would we see?? (to be continued....)

nessz79

07-15-2011, 02:20 PM

Following along!

Lifelong_Dreamer

07-15-2011, 04:08 PM

Sounds like a hectic morning! You made good time getting back to the park. :thumbsup2

Native NYer

07-15-2011, 04:48 PM

Joining in!
Great tr!

kittylady1972

07-18-2011, 08:25 AM

Sounds like a hectic morning! You made good time getting back to the park. :thumbsup2

Yep...such is life on vacation I guess...especially with me! We did make pretty good time! :cool1:

kittylady1972

07-18-2011, 08:25 AM

Joining in!
Great tr!

Welcome and THANKS!! :thumbsup2

kittylady1972

07-18-2011, 08:35 AM

Island Exploration!

Ok, so we left off exploring Tom Sawyer Island. A great shot of the kids there:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mktsi1.jpg

We wanted to make sure to explore all parts of the island. We went through all of the caves and headed over here:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mktsi1b.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mktsi1d.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mktsi1e.jpg

We exited from the secret escape route here, another fun cave. DH tried to scare us while in the caves...but that didn't work. He also cheated and turned on the light feature of his smart phone to make it easier...ah technology!

We admired the view of BTMRR from the island...and I forgot to mention we had at least two or three conversations where DH was sure we could just WALK back to the rest of MK. I'm not even kidding! :lmao: He kept saying I'm sure we can just walk back...we don't have to take the ferry. Ummm...it's an ISLAND!!! Yet we walked around the entire island and I'm sure his goal was to find a way to walk back to MK. Anyway, one quick photo with BTMRR in the background, taken with the camera propped up and the self timer:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mktsi1f.jpg

Then YES we took the ferry back:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1f.jpg

A quick self-portrait of us on the ferry:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mk1g.jpg

We got off the ferry...and headed to someplace else...where would we go next??

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkwalk1.jpg

Goofy442

07-18-2011, 09:13 AM

Great to see your point of view on the auto train. We have wanted to do it but having our dog with us doesn't work. We will be staying at BLT in September, so I can't wait to hear all about it.

kittylady1972

07-22-2011, 10:10 AM

Great to see your point of view on the auto train. We have wanted to do it but having our dog with us doesn't work. We will be staying at BLT in September, so I can't wait to hear all about it.

We really enjoyed the Autotrain and are already talking about it for our next trip!

Bay Lake Tower was just incredible. We really enjoyed it, but I don't think there's a Disney Resort that we would not return to at this point. The monorail convenience was huge though. Normally we drive to the parks a lot more but not this time.

kittylady1972

07-22-2011, 10:33 AM

Backtracking a bit....
Ok, so I have us leaving Tom Sawyer Island and heading over to our next stop...only I'm pretty sure we made one other stop before that. I forgot that before Tom Sawyer we had a choice of two of the big rides...BTMRR or Splash! Wait times were both about the same...so which did we chooose?

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/btmrr1.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/btmrr1a.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/btmrr1b.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/btmrr1c.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/btmrr1d.jpg

Yep, this is a favorite and DH and two of the kids even got the front row...not sure we've ever been in the front! Anyway, there was that ride followed by Tom Sawyer Island, then our walk over to here:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkhm1.jpg

Now I knew ahead of time about the new interactive stuff in the lines but we had never experienced it. So when given the choice between SCENIC and NON-SCENIC lines, I made everybody go SCENIC even though the non-scenic appeared shorter. We had to try out the stuff even though the line was moving pretty fast through here:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkhm1a.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkhm1b.jpg

LOVED the new fun ending to this one as well! Afterwards there were some more quick photos:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkhm1d.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkhm1e.jpg

Now it was starting to warm up a bit and we knew we'd have plenty of chances to return to this park, since we were staying at Bay Lake. So we headed out from here, stopping briefly to try to watch some of the show at the castle:

Can you spot Mickey and Minnie?
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkhm1f.jpg

Daytime fireworks:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkhm1g.jpg

Leaving Main Street:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkhm1h.jpg

On the monorail...check out my youngest...foreshadowing here:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkhm1i.jpg

We returned to the room and grabbed some lunch really quick...and then it was time to hit the pool! :rotfl:

kittylady1972

07-22-2011, 10:55 AM

POOL FUN!
So after three hours at the park, it was time for the pool. We spent a good 3 hours at the pool and the kids must have done the slide a zillion times. They loved it!

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Pool/pool1b.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Pool/pool1c.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Pool/pool1d.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Pool/pool1e.jpg

The boys also spent some time running around and playing in the fountains:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Pool/pool1f.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Pool/pool1g.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Pool/pool1h.jpg

The girl was all about the contests and fun stuff...especially when she could get prizes! She is trying out the hooping skills here. She wasn't great at it but she got a little bit better. Of course, the heat fogged my camera lens right up:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Pool/pool1a.jpg

Tonight was the night the rest of the family was due to arrive to the resort after driving all day. DH was in communication with them throughout the course of the day tracking their progress. I think they were finally in the vicinity around 5pm or so, and that's when we headed back to get ready to greet them, figuring we'd all have dinner together.

We got to our room and got cleaned up and dressed. When the family arrived, DH took DD8 down to greet the family and I stayed in the room with the boys. We were still trying to decide what to do about dinner. I had not been successful getting the internet to work on my netbook, so I was searching sites on my phone and thinking pizza sounded good.

Then the fun began...and DH lets me know that since his parents have arrived, his key to the room no longer worked. Since DH and his dad share a first and last name (JR and SR) for some reason when his dad (SR) checked into his room, it invalidated his key (JR). Now I don't know why I didn't notice this on our DVC reservation, but I guess they somehow had the same person occupying two rooms. So now our party of 10 was taking up three rooms. BIL, SIL and nephew were fine since there was no name sharing there. Our room and MIL and FIL rooms and keys were now an issue...and it was taking FOREVER to fix the problem.

This is what we found pretty unacceptable. This did not seem like a difficult issue to resolve. DH was at the front desk with his dad and they had no record of DH being in a room, even though he pointed out that HE was the DVC Member that made the reservations, he is the one with the DVC card and membership, shouldn't be that hard to put him back in our room. They are down there for a while working through this issue and in the meantime all keys to both rooms have been invalidated.

Did I mention in order to even get into Bay Lake Tower (the building) you need a room key? You will soon understand why this may be an issue.

Back in the room, I have found a pizza place in Crossroads with an awesome sounding menu and I have essentially created my own online order for all of us...but still not sure what the plan is for dinner. DH is still at the front desk but I tell him I'm ordering our food and I'll go get it, so I do just that. I place the order and tell the boys we are heading out to pick up food. Of course, I let DH know he'll have to be around when I come back since I won't be able to return to our room or even inside the building without him!

We hit the road to go get dinner, glance back to find this:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Pool/pool1h_results.jpg

That's my youngest out cold! It's a good 25+ minute drive to Crossroads and I'm not even sure where the pizza joint is located but I do eventually find it. I don't want to disturb the sleeping child, so I have my oldest stay in the car with the youngest and I sprint inside to get our food. I'm in and out pretty quickly thank goodness...and we drive back with the smell of food permeating the car! Yum!

Arrive back, call DH as I'm entering the MK gates to let him know to be waiting for me in front of Bay Lake Tower. I get there and hand the food off to my oldest while I wrangle the youngest one, still SOUND ASLEEP!

Get back to our room where the whole family is now waiting for us, drop my youngest off in our bed figuring he wants to sleep for a bit. He NEVER WAKES UP that night...not even for food. We all eat the pizza happily in our room and swap stories of our trip so far.

BTW the pizza...it was from Flippers at Crossroads and let me tell you it was REALLY REALLY good! I would definitely order from them again!

We eat and eventually the rest of the family retreats back to their rooms to unpack and we unwind for the evening in our room. Around 10pm I hear loud noise, walk out on our balcony and sit outside and watch the fireworks over the castle and MK that evening. So, so cool!

Lifelong_Dreamer

07-22-2011, 11:06 AM

Wow, that sounds like a headache!

teachermommy78

07-22-2011, 11:06 AM

How frustrating!!! Sometimes it seems like easy fixes take the longest!!! I hope your little guy isn't sick!!! Poor thing. He looked comfy at least!

kittylady1972

07-22-2011, 12:36 PM

Wow, that sounds like a headache!

Yes, I can't believe how long it took to fix the whole ticket/room issue. And to top it all off, once they got the keys re-issued for our room and for MIL/FIL's room, they ended up giving MIL/FIL a regular room key. In other words, their room was not longer considered a DVC Member room. Bad: They could not access the Top of the World Lounge without one of us (or BIL/SIL) with them...which wasn't a problem as somebody was usually willing to go up there with them and do some drinking! :lmao: The Good: They got daily trash and towel service, instead of every 4th day like the DVC rooms. Oh well...it just wasn't worth it to try to fix it AGAIN!

kittylady1972

07-22-2011, 12:39 PM

How frustrating!!! Sometimes it seems like easy fixes take the longest!!! I hope your little guy isn't sick!!! Poor thing. He looked comfy at least!
Yes I agree...seemed like a pretty simple fix to us but it involved a call to DVC Member services and it was just nuts according to DH. I'm just glad he kept his cool as long as he did...he's not exactly Mr. Patience! :lmao:

And no worries for the little guy...he was just TOTALLY EXHAUSTED! I think running up the steps to that pool slide a few hundred times will do that...plus getting to the bottom of the slide each time and having to swim against a slight current to get to the side....so he could get out and slide again! It was just a LOT for him!

Believe me, we've dealt with sick kids on our WDW trips in the past. And we would indeed deal with the sickies at some point during this trip too...you'll have to stay tuned to find out when that happens! :rotfl:

Becc1

07-22-2011, 03:42 PM

anjalee6

07-22-2011, 03:44 PM

If our kids had fallen asleep like that, they would have woken up at aout 9 or 10 at night and wanted to party while we all wanted to get ready for bed. Glad your little guy stayed asleep.

kittylady1972

07-27-2011, 03:54 PM

All caught up on your report :thumbsup2 Tom Sawyer's Island looks like so much fun, I keep saying that we need to get over there but so far haven't.

Great view from your room! I would love to stay at BLT someday, maybe for DH and mines upcoming alone trip I can convince him!

Yes, Tom Sawyer's Island is a nice way to take a break from the crowds and have the kids explore. We had to do all of the caves!

I highly recommend if you can get a stay in BLT to do it! It is AWESOME! :thumbsup2 :thumbsup2

kittylady1972

07-27-2011, 03:55 PM

If our kids had fallen asleep like that, they would have woken up at aout 9 or 10 at night and wanted to party while we all wanted to get ready for bed. Glad your little guy stayed asleep.

BELIEVE ME this was our fear as well. Whenever our kids take a nap now, it only means they will be up LATER at night most of the time. Clearly the boy was TIRED! Now I will say that because of that information, later in the trip we will force our kids to take a nap just so we can keep them up later. You'll have to stay tuned to see how that works out though! ;)

kittylady1972

07-27-2011, 04:07 PM

DAY FOUR: Universal here we come!
Ok, so we are now on day three of vacation...our first official day with the whole gang! Our plan is to see all that we can see and do of Universal's Islands of Adventure Park...with first priority being the Harry Potter World area!

I can't remember if we all met for breakfast this morning or not...but we may have had a quick meal at the Contempo Cafe or maybe we didn't and just met in the lobby! :confused3

We were driving two cars to Universal so we packed up and headed out. We had dressed in light clothing and also brought change of clothes and shoes for everybody so we could get soaked on the water rides there and not be uncomfortable. So of course, I'm in charge of the bag of stuff!

I already had the plan in place once we arrived at the gates of USIOA. I would be heading directly left to the all day lockers and securing our stuff in there. The rest of the family would be making a beeline for Harry Potter's World and we'd meet up there.

So gates opened and I was through, got my locker, headed out to find the gang. I think I caught up with them just beyond Suessland which wasn't horrible.

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1a.jpg

We were happy to be able to enter the area right away...but what would we do first? :confused3

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1c.jpg

teachermommy78

07-27-2011, 10:31 PM

Ooooh!!! I'm so excited to hear about Harry potter!!! Yay!

Maleficent's Dad

07-28-2011, 09:14 AM

On board for this ride.... :thumbsup2

Love the pics of the Auto Train. Thanks for the info about it. We've always contemplated taking it, but we don't want to lose the day (flying is quicker...). Crazy story about your tickets at the MK!!!
I'm having fun reading thus far. :goodvibes

heaven2dc

07-28-2011, 01:21 PM

Oh I'm so jealous....I can't wait until we get to see the Harry Potter attraction if we ever go!! can't wait for more pics :banana:

mom2munchkins

07-28-2011, 06:14 PM

I've wanted to try the autotrain. I think we may do it on our next trip. DS has a horrible time with his ears when we fly. Poor kid's ears won't pop and he's in pain. Cries the whole flight.

Becc1

07-31-2011, 09:34 AM

Can't wait to hear all about your day at IOA. ODS and I are big Harry Potter fans and can't wait to get over there!

kittylady1972

08-01-2011, 01:08 PM

DAY FOUR: Universal here we come (continued)!

So we walked into the world of Harry Potter and it was very cool! We had no idea where to begin...there was no real plan here other than to do as much as possible! The first ride we came upon was Dragon Challenge. There was pretty much NO wait here! Well DH and I rode this ride when it was Dueling Dragons back in August 2003 and during that trip we rode it a LOT. So we figured we'd just let the rest of the group ride and we'd stay with the too-short kiddos since none of them could ride anyway.

Dreaming of a day when they are big enough:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1b.jpg

We then wandered over and got a picture with this guy:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1d.jpg

But mostly we just waited around here:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1e.jpg

It probably didn't take them too long to ride, though it seemed like it I guess. When they returned, we decided to hit something else. Now I remembered reading that Olivander's Wand Shop was something not to be missed. We had walked by it while the rest were on the ride and saw a line and thought (mistakenly) that it just hadn't opened up yet. We didn't realize it was a LINE...and a SLOW one at that. However it was something I thought we should see...and so we got in line for it.

This was the longest wait of the day...for us at least. I think we must have waited at LEAST 30 minutes or so...maybe a little longer. When we finally got into the show there was a thought process that surely ONE of our FOUR kids would have a good shot of being picked for the wand choosing ceremony.

Um...wrong:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1j.jpg

Now in all fairness, I completely understood this choice. After all, these books were written for young adults, and who better to be chosen than somebody who probably had read the books. The show here...was VERY VERY short and really not worth it IMHO for the wait. I took a LOT of flack for this for the rest of the day, especially from my DH. So my advice? If you can get there and there is little to NO wait...see it. If not, skip it! I think they let about 30 people in at a time for what is about a 5 minute show.

Now the kids were impatient...they hadn't been on any RIDES yet and they were ready...well at least mine were ready. My nephew? Different story. I may have mentioned this, but my DN is just 6 months younger than my own oldest kid, but is a totally scaredy cat when it comes to most rides, at least anything more than a carousel. We've done trips with him to Hershey Park and King's Dominion and it's just ugly. He gets in a line for something he doesn't want to ride, panics...and sometimes vomits. So yes, fun times! ;)

We have now approached Flight of the Hippogriff with a 25 minute wait time. The kids are all ready to go...and we get in the line and turn around to find....nobody else but us? They are outside of the entrance to the line, trying to convince my DN to ride this one, with my SIL both encouraging and threatening him. FINALLY he gets in the line as does my SIL and MIL. However this wait is nothing but torture for him as he cries and works himself into a frenzy about it. :sad2:

Have I mentioned, this is only DAY ONE for all of us TOGETHER on this long trip?? :)

We get up to the ride and we all get on and I think he rides with my MIL. He seems to enjoy it and at the end he seems okay...but does not want to do it again. Ok then!

Next up, the last of the BIG rides here, the big KAHUNA...it's the Forbidden Journey. The wait time is about 50 or 60 minutes, but we know we must ride. We ALL have to get in line, even though both my DN and my DS6 are not tall enough for this one. DN frets for most of this line as well, even though we continue to tell him he's not riding.

Photos in line and around the castle:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1k.jpg

Excuse me random strangers while I snap shots of the LINES!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1f.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1g.jpg

My boys (and a random stranger) about to enter the castle...the theming inside of here was VERY cool!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1h.jpg

Wish I had taken more photos inside, but I was too busy just looking around for the most part. We got up to the loading area and split off as some of us (read ME, MIL and SIL) went to wait in the waiting room with the too-small kiddos. They had Harry Potter the movie on in the waiting room there. So my DH, DS11, DD8, FIL and BIL all rode first.

They came off clearly happy about it...but also I would later learn they vowed NOT to tell me about one part of the ride! So we switched and it was time for the rest of us to ride. My SIL was screaming through most of the ride, and MIL was busy laughing at her and I was just enjoying the scenery...most of it at least.

The part they didn't tell me about...there were spiders. Ok, I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE (did I mention HATE?) spiders. I hated the movie when they were in it and I wasn't thrilled with the ride but it's okay...it's not like it was the whole ride. Just a quick part of it and I got over it. My DH and kids had a good laugh when we returned though...asking me about how I liked that part. HA. HA. :rotfl:

Now we were done all the main rides of Harry Potter World and we were STARVING. I had been promising the kids Butterbeer all morning and it was now time to deliver!

I knew I wanted to try Three Broomsticks for lunch so that's where we all headed. They told us they could not seat our party of 10 easily unless we went outside. They said there were fans...but let me tell you it was still pretty hot out there. I think I would have preferred a seat inside!

The meals were okay, nothing exceptional. I got a turkey leg (I love those) and split it with DD8. I got the frozen Butterbeer and each kid got a Butterbeer too, but I definitely agree the frozen had the edge. Of course, when it's 90+ degrees outside and sticky, I'm sure it would anyway! :lmao:

Having completed the World of Harry Potter it was now time to hit the rest of the park!

Lifelong_Dreamer

08-01-2011, 01:27 PM

Too bad about Ollivander's, I agree, it is something you have to hit when the park first opens to avoid the long line otherwise it is not worth it.

kittylady1972

08-01-2011, 01:30 PM

DAY FOUR: More Universal IOA
Having completed Harry Potter's World, it was now time to do more riding. Since we had to pass through Seussland (or whatever it's called) we figured we'd do some of the rides there since DN would be okay with most of these. DH was BORED out of his mind and wanted to do the big rides, but he was shot down. So here we go:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1l.jpg

DH and DS6 on One Fish, Two Fish:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1m.jpg

The Caro-Suess-el of course (DN could not wait for this one):
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1n.jpg

I think we hit most of the rides here pretty quickly and grabbed a quick drink here as well. At one point I took DD all the way back to the locker at the front of the park. See the shoes she was wearing for the park were the ones that had a heel that just allowed her to ride Forbidden Journey...but they were uncomfortable for her for the rest of the park. Having accomplished the one ride she wanted to ride, we went back and got her flip flops from our locker and then met everybody back in Suess land.

The order of this next "fun" even escapes me completely. I recall at one point mentioning that I REALLY wanted to make sure we rode Dudley Do-Right's Ripsaw Falls...and I KNEW we'd all get soaked. It was hot and everybody seemed on board with this...well almost everybody. You-know-who was not happy with getting in line for this one of course, but thankfully it was a pretty quick ride. After all, what kid doesn't LOVE to get wet right? :confused3

Hey...I found one.

We climbed into our raft, all 10 of us ready to go...and panic was written all over DN's face...but the rest of us were ready! Oh the fun we had...the kids were laughing, the adults were taking most of the water and we could not help but try to enjoy ourselves...despite the HYSTERICAL CRYING going on in our boat from the youngest member of the group! At one point the ride was stopped waiting for the next drop, and my SIL and BIL are telling DN "see...it's almost over...we are almost done"...only we were NOT and the next drop was a good one! I actually didn't get too soaked and really DN wasn't too bad either but many others of our group, especially BIL got quite wet.

Anyway we were off the ride (not soon enough for DN) and we knew we'd dry soon enough. We were ready for the next ride.

We checked out some rides but the lines were just crazy. Somehow we stumbled upon this one, one that DH and I did not ride before because it REQUIRED that you have a little person to ride it. Amazingly, DN was totally up for this one! Well DS11 decided he would skip this one, so I stayed with him and DH and FIL took the other two kids and my SIL took DN to get in line for this one.

DH and DS7 flying high:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1o.jpg

They were in line for a good 60 or 70 minutes for this very short ride and the rest of us were baking in the sun and trying to dry off. I think SIL had already changed DN into some dry clothes that she had with her so it was just the rest of us.

When we all got back together we were trying to decide on our next ride. The rest of the group decided any more water rides were OUT and I guess there wasn't much else for them. DD8 really wanted to ride Jurrssic Park River Adventure and it didn't look like people were getting as drenched on that one as Dudley Do-Right's ride. I checked the line and it showed I think 50 minutes or so. DH stayed behind with the boys, the rest of the family headed out of the park and back to the hotel, and I got in line with DD for Jurassic:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1p.jpg

Believe it or not, we waited less than 20 minutes despite that 50-60 minute wait time so were soon on the boat:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1q.jpg

She LOVED this one and we really did not get wet at all...maybe a little bit.

When we got off the ride, I was trying to text DH to find out where he was, but my phone was dying so I was making the texts brief. We somehow got our signals crossed. He made mention of taking the boys to ride Spiderman and I told him we were getting off our ride...and then he responded that they were in line...and I somehow thought maybe they had gotten in line for Jurassic.

So DD and I waited a few boats...and did not see them. Eventually I realized that they were in line for Spiderman, and I told him we were heading there. We got there soon, the boys had loved Spiderman (they had been through once already) so we all got in line and rode it again together!

After that, it was time to start heading back as we had dinner plans for the evening we were hoping to catch!

kittylady1972

08-01-2011, 01:34 PM

Too bad about Ollivander's, I agree, it is something you have to hit when the park first opens to avoid the long line otherwise it is not worth it.

Yes I am STILL hearing about that today. Seems I'll never live it down but I told them we were there for the WHOLE HP EXPERIENCE so we had to see as much as we could! :rotfl:

kittylady1972

08-02-2011, 12:50 PM

DAY FIVE: Return to Universal
Today was our day to split up once again. SIL, BIL and DN were heading to a Disney park for the day since they had only purchase a 1-day pass for Universal's IOA park. The rest of us (MIL, FIL and our family of five) were heading to Universal Studios to introduce the in-laws to that park!

We arrived pretty close to the park opening. Our first ride was the Hollywood Rip Ride Rocket. DD8 did not bring her "big shoes" on this trip, so she was not tall enough to ride. We had to child swap here which worked out fine. The in-laws agreed to stay with the two little kids while DH, DS11 and I went on the ride. I ended up being paired with another single rider and was in the front of the ride!

However I got a little too chatty with this other rider, also a first timer, so I did not get a chance to select my own music. The ride picked the song for me but it worked out well. LOVED this ride as did DH and DS11. We got off the ride and swapped so MIL and FIL could ride.

They both chose the song "I Will Survive"...too funny! They also loved it and afterwards we all checked our our ride videos which were GREAT! Too bad they wanted something like $30 EACH for the video clips...way too much but I would have loved to have them!

Now it was time to explore the rest of the park. The kids wanted to do Shrek and Jimmy Neutron, but we promised we'd hit those rides before we left the park. I can't remember the exact order, but we did ride MIB TWICE and then Simpsons (also twice I think) as well as Jaws. Then I think it was lunchtime. MIL and I were both in the mood for salads. We stumbled upon the Lobardi's menu and they had a great selection...so we headed there.

Food was very good here...but you can read my dining review here for more about that!

There were of course some photos along the way:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1r.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1s.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1t.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1u.jpg

We were also able to ride The Mummy with not too much of a wait...but again DD8 had a meltdown because she wasn't big enough for that in her flat shoes!

We weren't sure if it was a good idea, but we decided to chance it with Twister! Kids hate storms so we didn't know how this would go. The six year old (who is the most afraid of storms) LOVED it...and kept telling me how all the stuff was done (they used fans for the wind mom, if we see a cow flying it means we need to hide because a storm is coming). Too many lines from him that were so funny! We also checked out Disaster! as well and they were fine with that too.

Our last rides of the park were Shrek and Jimmy Neutron. Those went well and then we were done. I would have liked to check out some shows but that didn't happen. Instead we decided to take a quick walk back over to IOA:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1w.jpg

The intention here was to ride Spiderman since MIL and FIL hadn't done that. We did that one and the boys also rode the Hulk coaster, with MIL and I spending time in the arcade with the kids while they were off doing that.

Having accomplished those, there wasn't much else to do or see and it was hot so time to head back to our hotel!

No, we used a car and not this mode of transportation:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/UniversalParks/usioa1v.jpg

I can't recall our dinner that evening. I think we just ate leftovers in the room. I believe later that night we may have all hit the Top of the World Lounge for cocktails and to view Wishes!

Maleficent's Dad

08-03-2011, 07:23 PM

kittylady1972

08-04-2011, 07:27 AM

We did US and IOA last year for the first time (Harry Potter was the main draw). How were the lines there? We stayed at one of their hotels so got in early for HP and had front of the line access with room keys, so I'm wondering how it was for you. We have a friend going in two weeks and making a day trip over there.

Can't wait to read more about BLT. :thumbsup2

The lines were pretty long for most of the day. We skipped quite a few rides because wait times were 60 minutes or more. Of course we later learned those wait times can be VERY inaccurate! We spent three days total at the two parks which was enough time for us to hit most of the big rides...and we did a few rides (like MIB and Simpsons) more than once. Also we hit Universal Studios on a Saturday and really managed to ride just about every big ride there in more than enough time...even with waiting in a few lines. We did not see any shows though.

princessbrulee

08-13-2011, 01:12 PM

Stumbled across your trip report, and thought i'd say :wave:

The view from your room is amazing! I have dreams of staying in a room with a view of the MK. One day! :)

WWOHP looks and sounds so cool. I can't wait to take my girls there, but I'm waiting for my youngest to be just a bit older so they can partake in almost everything. As well as handle the long waits!

kittylady1972

08-25-2011, 09:33 AM

Wow, I still need to get back to this update beginning with Day Six but you know how life just gets so BUSY! Since my last update, we went on a small amusement park vacation. We spent two days at King's Dominion Amusement Park in VA, one day at Carowinds Amusement park in NC, and then a few nights hanging out with my parents who live in NC. Our return home was delayed a bit when my car broke down when we stopped for gas in NC just short of the NC/VA border and we ended up staying in a hotel for another night while it was fixed. It ended up just being a battery...long story there regarding why we didn't figure this out earlier! :sad2 ::sad2: I also broke my cell phone on vacation when it dropped during bag inspection at Carowinds...so I just got that replaced. :cool2: Since we've been home, we had another weekend where all 3 kids PLUS my husband were sick, and I've also been playing tennis. School started for my kids on Tuesday...and we had an EARTHQUAKE here that same day! Yesterday I spent the better part of my morning shuffling my daughter to another doctor appointment, this time a pediatric opthamologist to rule out any eye issues causing her migraines and I ended up getting LOST on the medical campus and was almost an hour late for the appointment! :mad: :mad: To top it all off, last night SOCCER practice started for two my my little ones, so that was another hour and a half of my life. I feel like I'm just treading water and speaking of that, now there of course is talk of the HURRICANE that COULD strike us this weekend or at the very least bring a lot of fun weather our way!

The good news is that means I just might get some time on the computer this weekend to update. Plus my DH goes out of town on Sunday morning for a week, so that leaves me with evenings to myself all week next week where I can also be HERE and updating!

So with any luck, expect me to get much further along in this report NEXT WEEK!! :woohoo: :woohoo:

kittylady1972

09-13-2011, 12:56 PM

Life Update here!

Sorry still busy but I really WILL get back to finishing this trip report soon. Just today I was thinking about some of the fun stuff we did on the trip...and lately I've been looking to make a return trip soon. Today I was thinking about the day we spent at a park, then lounging by the pool, then we left the pool packed up the family and headed over to Animal Kingdom park to ride ONLY one ride...Expedition Everest! Yes we rode it three times in a row, then returned back to our hotel to get ready for dinner. Talk about spontaneous!

So the weekend after the first week of school we had a hurricane roll through Maryland. It knocked out power in a lot of the county where I live and closed schools for my kids for almost the entire WEEK afterwards! My middle school child went back to school on Thursday, my elementary kids went back on Friday. During that time, my husband and my in-laws flew out to Las Vegas so my back up childcare options were not available. We were lucky to not have lost power at least! Still it made for an interesting week.

Then last week...heavy heavy rains and FLOODING over all areas of the state. This time, not so much our county but my hometown county an hour south of here took a big hit and it closed the schools there for 2 days due to flooding and roads and bridges washing away!

Seriously crazy Maryland weather. Thankfully this week the weather has improved...but it's still crazy busy. Tonight is my elementary kids' school Open House and I'm the 1st Vice President of the PTO so I need to be there...but my DH has a meeting after work and won't be attending. Tomorrow I'm playing a tennis match that was made up from last week.

So one of these days I will surely get back to finishing my trip report from June as I sit here and ponder my next vacation. I'm debating going back in October for our anniversary, as late as that plan might be but since I've missed so much work time this month due to the other stuff...I think I may have to wait. :confused3

New plan right now is to head back in early March of 2012 and celebrate my 40th birthday in my most favorite vacation place! We'd have to do it without the kids, which makes me a little bit sad. However I think DH and I are going to make it an adults-only trip by doing several tours that the kids can't do anyway. I have FOUR tours that I want to plan for out trip: Keys to the Kingdom, Segway Around the World, AK Backstage Safari and maybe the Surfing Lesson at Typhoon Lagoon! We'd squeeze in park time around those tours but I think it would just make for a very interesting trip and a great birthday trip! :lovestruc

Now I just need to wait for them to release some AP rates for that timeframe. I've looked at the current free dining packages and while they sound great I think we'd do just as well, if not better, by getting an AP room rate, buying a pass for my DH and then using TIW discount for our food. :)

So I PROMISE to get another real update here soon! ;)

kittylady1972

09-26-2011, 02:05 PM

DAY 6: Happy Father's Day...back in the Disney parks!
So it's Sunday and Father's Day...and what better place to spend it than back in the Disney parks!

Our day began with breakfast at Chef Mickey's...a tradition because we have to buy the photo each time. I'll be honest, I'm really starting to hate spending so much money in Disney for food. This breakfast was no exception...I think I made only one trip to the buffet table, which was a good thing but what I spent for that food really make me feel blah. :eek:

We got some great photos with the characters, of course, The problem was we were split up a bit, so I was at a table with my SIL and nephew and my DD and then the boys were at another table.

See what I mean:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/chefm1c.jpg

But I did get some shots:

Enjoying herself of course:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/chefm1a.jpg

Goofy!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/chefm1b.jpg

My kids plus my nephew:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/chefm1d.jpg

With the head cheese:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/chefm1e.jpg

Boys and Donald:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/chefm1f.jpg

Girl talking:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/chefm1g.jpg

My kids and Minnie:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/chefm1h.jpg

After breakfast, we headed over to the Magic Kingdom via monorail. The front of the park was so packed as they were letting people through the gates but had to wait for the show to open the park.

Crowds!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkcrowd1.jpg

Love that my camera has the 12X zoom...looking at this later I can see so much more than I actually saw from my ground view:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkopenzoomed1.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkopenzoomed1a.jpg

We got in and made a beeline for Fantasyland. We had lost part of our group in the crowd, but told them to meet us at DUMBO!

Dumbo was already a 30 minute wait but we waited about 25 minutes. It wasn't too bad...but we did discover one important thing. There were 3 adults and four kids riding Dumbo. Two kids wanted to ride together. So DH and I got on the ride with our youngest and my SIL ended up with my oldest son. The two middle kids, my DD8 and DN6 wanted to ride together. We all got into our Dumbos and then a CM came over and asked our two little ones to switch Dumbos. The two little ones were allowed to ride together, but the CM required that one of the supervising adults be in the Dumbo right behind them. Not a problem, no big deal for us. Soon we were off!

Goofy face for my DS with his daddy:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkdumbo1.jpg

Love this one of my oldest with his Aunt:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkdumbo1a.jpg

My nephew and my daughter in the Dumbo in front of us:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkdumbo1b.jpg

After the ride was over, the CM who had asked us to switch Dumbos came out and handed us all free Fastpasses for being kind enough to switch. Not a problem at all but we would gladly take them. That's when he realized there were more to our party (the other adults waiting for us outside the ride) and he walked us over and got us additional fastpasses so we had enough for our whole party. So kind of him!

Next stop was Peter Pan so we could get it over with early. Again my DN6 was afraid of that one. Since he tolerated it okay, we decided to do an easy one for him (but not so much for us adults) and rode It's a Small World.

A shot DH took of our two kids being goofy on the boat ride:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkiasm.jpg

Then it was another easy one...the Carousel:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkcarousel.jpg

You can see my oldest is thrilled:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkcarousel2.jpg

We spotted Mary outside of the Carousel, so my DD wanted a photo with her. I think this was one of the very few photos of characters we got in the parks for our ENTIRE trip!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkmary.jpg

After that, we decided to use our Fastpasses for Winnie the Pooh.

Once the easy rides were out of the way in Fantasyland, we were ready for Space Mountain! Along the way, we found PUSH and stopped to watch and interact with him for a bit. Soo great...so let's get photos with the trash can, shall we:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mkpush.jpg

Even though DN6 was big enough, he had no interest in riding Space Mountain so we child swapped once there. He still had to wait in the line, but we had a 25 minute wait at least. It eased his mind a bit when we got to plays some of the games in the queue though.

Afterwards we headed to the TTA Peoplemover.
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mktta.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mktta2.jpg

Then we had to do the Carousel of Progress, walked back and rode Mad Tea Party.

Lifelong_Dreamer

09-26-2011, 10:01 PM

How fun that you saw Push! He is one funny trash can!

kittylady1972

09-27-2011, 07:15 AM

How fun that you saw Push! He is one funny trash can!

This was our second time catching him in action in all of our trips...LOVE him! :lovestruc

kittylady1972

09-27-2011, 07:56 AM

DAY 6: Happy Father's Day...back where we belong in the Disney parks! (CONT'D)

After spending a productive morning at the Magic Kingdom, we split up leaving the rest of the family behind to tour more of Magic Kingdom and we decided to head back for some pool time. We spent an hour or two at the pool, getting out around 4pm to get dressed and ready for dinner which was the Cape May Cafe Clambake. We last ate at the Clambake back in 2003 I think, and that was just our family of four (me, DH and the two older kids who were 3 and not-quite-one at the time) but I had read so many good things about this place and we had some seafood lovers in the family so it seemed like a good Father's Day meal.

We drove over there for our 6ish reservation. They seated us in a semi-private room off the right, but it worked out okay. The food was good and fresh and plentiful but the lines were a bit crazy. Stuff would run out but get refilled pretty quickly. We had a really good waitress though. At one point, my DH was getting up to go get dessert but realized that the flan was GONE! The waitress went to check on when more would be out and let him know when it was so he could get some right away!

Completely stuffed from dinner, we decided to stroll around to Boardwalk. We spotted this rainbow on our walk over to Boardwalk (not the best photo):
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Boardwalk/bdwalk1raindbow.jpg

We took a few photos around the water, including the ONLY group photo of all of us. I love my camera and my Gorillapod!

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Boardwalk/bdwalk1d.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Boardwalk/bdwalk1e.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Boardwalk/bdwalk1f.jpg

We stopped and watch a street performer who did some card tricks and mind reading tricks which were cool. We then walked over and found another guy performing and the kids stopped to watch him as well. At one point he asked for volunteers, my DS6 raised his hand and he was chosen to help with a unicycle trick. The guy did tricks on a unicycle and asked DS6 to hand him stuff like a plate and sticks. He dropped on stick and asked DS6 to get it...and then acted like he was going to run him over. DS6 did not appreciate it...and then refused to pick up the stick so a kid in the audience got up to get it instead, while my DS6 remained frozen up in front. At one point the guy even went towards the audience like he was going to fall and the kids all scattered. It was quite entertaining...but poor DS6 was just not thrilled afterwards and I had to bribe him to get a photo with the guy. Rubber chickens are apparently also good bribes to get kids into photos:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Boardwalk/bdwalk1a.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Boardwalk/bdwalk1b.jpg

DN6 also volunteered for a juggling act...and a similar trick was played on him. He handled it a little bit better. After the act was over, we walked back to our car at the Beach Club. We had a quick bathroom break at which point I insisted on some photos of my gang in what DH and I call the Mr. Peanut chairs in the lobby of Beach Club. It just looks like somebody hollowed out a peanut and made it into a chair!

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Boardwalk/bdwalk1c.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/Boardwalk/bdwalk1h.jpg

While walking around the Beach Club, we spotted a bullfrog on the sidewalk. We stopped to look and as we did the frog hopped towards DN6...who burst into tears because the frog landed on his shoe. It took forever for him to stop crying for that one! Never a dull moment! :rotfl:

We returned back to the room for the evening.

kittylady1972

09-27-2011, 08:18 AM

:goodvibes:goodvibes So if you haven't guessed, I'm working on getting this trip report up and DONE finally! It's amazing how just looking at the photos and reading my report can bring back lots of memories! Unfortunately I did stop my journal for the last few days of my trip, so that will have to be from memory...we'll see how much I recall. I keep remembering things but can't recall when they happened...so we shall see.

I've also already started on ANOTHER pre-trip report. I'll try to provide a link soon. As you can see from my siggy (hopefully) I have a new ticker up counting down to our very first Disney cruise. This was my 40th birthday gift to myself. We're going to try to squeeze in a few park days before and after the cruise, and also see about booking the Autotrain again. My in-laws will once again be joining us...but just MIL and FIL and not the rest of the group. I've invited other people to join, but no takers so far. I think for that trip I'm going to try to book us in a TREEHOUSE at Saratoga Springs. I get to book that DVC stay about 2 months...December 1st is when my next DVC Use Year begins and I get more points to book.

In addition to THAT trip, I think DH and I are going to do another adults-only trip in March during my birthday week. This one is going to be a touring trip where we are booking several adult-only Disney tours, one per day, as something new. For that stay we are hoping to stay on the cheap, probably in a moderate hotel in Disney.

Anyway, stay tuned as I hopefully *WILL* finally complete this June 2011 trip report!!

overthemoon4mickey

09-28-2011, 03:13 PM

kittylady1972

09-29-2011, 08:02 AM

Great trip report! Super cute family!!!

I found your report while looking for reports that took place in early June. We are heading to Disney and Universal may 31st through June10th. Thanks for the line photos, I love the look of the crowds at universal. What time did ya'll hit the parks each day? It looks like rope drop. We might be doing off site this year just to get a condo with a kitchen and 2 bedrooms but we've never done off site and it makes me nervous to miss EMH and EEH.
Big thanks for the heads up on the ride times!!! Now I won't be freaking out about long waits. We usually try to go in the slow season but with a 7th grader it's too hard to pull her out of school.

I too will be turning 40 in 2012 and we are thinking about a Disney cruise out of Galveston during Christmas. I should say I'M thinking about a Disney Cruise... Dh hasn't been convinced yet.

I'll keep tuned to read about the rest of the trip and see if I can get any cruise tips.

Hey Becky!!! Yes we did do rope drop at the Universal Parks, especially IOA for Harry Potter. It wasn't too bad overall. This was our first real June experience and I'll be honest I think it requires more planning than we did, and that's coming from an experienced Disney person! We also have a 6th grader now, so taking kids out for Disney is not as easy.

I am sooo looking forward to our first Disney cruise. I just told DH that was what I wanted to do and hopefully we will enjoy it. I have a PTR up about my March birthday trip and I may add the cruise to that as well...but the cruise is not until 2012 so you will be waiting a LONG time...especially given that I'm still trying to get my June 2011 trip finished 3 months later! :laughing:

kittylady1972

09-29-2011, 08:49 AM

DAY 7: Pirates and Fishing and Other Fun Stuff

This was the day of many excursions that I had booked in advance. I really wanted my youngest son to experience the Bass Fishing as I'd read so many great things about it. Problem was that not all of us could do it and my MIL and FIL also love to fish. I think the boat would hold 6 but not 7 of us. Thankfully the older two kids had no interest in fishing, but I wanted something special for them as well. So I booked them on a Pirate Excursion...and invited DN6 to join them. They were all good with this before our trip began.

For some reason, at some point, the older two kids starter to waiver...didn't want to do the pirate thing. They really wanted to pull out, but with DN6 already booked I thought that would be not nice. I did at one point almost end up calling and cancelling it but my daughter then insisted that she'd go. So you can imagine how much I was looking forward to this day with them being so much LESS enthusiastic about it! :headache:

The fishing trip required my DH, DS6, MIL and FIL to be at the Contemporary Dock at 7am and my DS6 is not known for being a morning kid. Fortunately he WAS looking forward to this trip, so he had no problem getting up early with daddy to head out. They did call me a few times from the dock since nobody was there, and I ended up calling around to confirm that they were in the right place.

I'm so thankful for cell phone cameras and their improvements because DH got some GREAT photos from their trip!

Ok, I think his mom took this one with his cell phone, but here is DH and one of his catch:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/fishin1.jpg

Another fish:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/fishin1a.jpg

One of Noah's (DS6) fish...how thrilled is he?
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/fishin1b.jpg

A great shot from the back of the boat, with Noah seated up front:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/fishin1c.jpg

Awesome shot of another of Noah's fish:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/fishin1d.jpg

I can't even tell you how much they all LOVED this excursion. My FIL was ready to book another one when they returned. DS caught two fish and MIL caught 3 and the other 10 fish were caught between FIL and DH. They said the captain of the boat was just AWESOME...and so GREAT with Noah as well. Noah loved telling him all about his fish at home (Noah has two prized goldfish in a tank in his room) and their captain spent a lot of time helping Noah while the other adults were fishing. I think we will have to do this excursion again in the future...I just wish there was a way all 7 of us could go together!

So while this was happening, I was getting the other two ready for their Pirate Adventure. We caught the monorail over to the Grand Floridian with my SIL, BIL and DN6. We arrived and easily found the vessel:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/pirates1.jpg

We checked the kids in and they all got these nice black lifevests:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/pirates1a.jpg

They were ready to go, and things were looking good. The kids did seem pretty excited about it for the most part. There were lots of other kids there and several parents trying to also coax their kids into going. At one point, some parents did have to admit defeat as some of the younger kids were NOT happy. I felt bad for them...but hey it wasn't me...right? :sad2:

Side story because this one just kills me. I may have mentioned before how much my DN6 is afraid...of just about everything. I'm surprised he got on as many things as he did on our trip, but there was lots of crying involved with him. Well my SIL, BIL and DN6 had gone off a few times on their own to parks without us. In fact, one of the days that the rest of our family went to Universal, they ended up at Animal Kingdom. SIL was determined that her son get lots of character interactions and autographs. However convincing him to get close to the characters was apparently not easy. So she decided to let him know that ALL of the characters were just people dressed up in costumes...it was the only way he would get close to them. Now that's all well and good for them...but for other parents, this is not information they want to share with their kids...do you see where I am going with this yet??

kittylady1972

09-29-2011, 09:01 AM

DAY 7 CONT'D: Making Dreams Come True...and Shattering Others
Ok you have probably figured this out already, but here is the story. We are all sitting around waiting for our pirate excursion to begin...lots of little kids, all excited about their upcoming adventure. I overhear my DN6 and another little boy talking...but that talking soon escalates into an argument. Don't worry, no fists were flying but all I can hear is my DN6 exclaiming, as loud as he can (because he is also NEVER quiet) that MICKEY is just a GUY IN A COSTUME...and how he goes into the back room and changes costumes, while this little boy is arguing that Mickey is REAL! OMG why my SIL is not rushing over there I cannot fathom...because as his aunt *I* am horrified at what I am hearing. The little boy wanders over to his mom, in tears, who then has to explain to him that yes, you know that this characters are not really real. She explains it to him and all I hear is the little boy say to her "but I WANTED him to be REAL!" OMG...can you imagine?

Now I don't think this information filtered into too many other young and impressionable children, but I just cannot believe this. That poor mom and that poor boy!

Even my own kids, in their own way I know realize that the characters are not real, but I have never told them that. I think, like me, they just believe because you know every chance I get I am getting photos with them as well. And there's nothing wrong with that.

Sooo....they are ready to board the ship, the kids all line up and get a talk about the rules and soon they climb aboard the ship. Now I should say that in order to easy my daughter's anxiety about being away from me, I had given her my son's cell phone to use only in an emergency. I told her if she just NEEDED to call or text me, she could use it. Now DS11 wasn't thrilled with her having his phone, but he was good about it. Everything was going well and they were all seated and onboard the ship:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/pirates1b.jpg

See the arrow? That points to where they were all seated. See that it's dark, so you can't see my daughter's face, but I think at this point it is beginning to change.

Sure enough, as the ship is ready to pull away, she jumps up and is running over to the side facing me and calling my name. I am smiling and waving and reassuring her that I will be RIGHT HERE WAITING when she returns! Thankfully the staff on the boat get her calmed down and do NOT allow her off because I know she will be fine once they are gone. However there are now parents looking at *ME* with sympathy because I probably have one of the oldest kids there...and she is crying for me. *SIGH*

So what is a mom to do when she is all alone at the World with a few hours to herself? Will she be waiting at the dock as promised when the kids return? Stay tuned.... :laughing:

I learned soon after that my DH and DS6 were back at the room. I didn't know if they would need a rest after their early morning, but they were okay. DS6 was up for hitting a park because he had just *ONE* goal he wanted to do. There was one VERY SPECIAL ride he wanted to experience...and DH and I had already promised him we'd find a way to make that dream come true. Anyone want to guess what that ride might be?

HINT: It is in the Magic Kingdom!!

kittylady1972

09-30-2011, 10:02 AM

DAY 7 CONT'D: Making Dreams Come True at MK
So either there is nobody reading this or nobody is willing to make a guess on Noah's wish...so I'll continue anyway because I want to get this whole trip report finally finished.

I hopped on the monorail from the GF and headed over to the Contemporary, where I met DH and DS6 (Noah). We hopped on the monorail together and headed off to the MK.

We walked through the gates of the MK and immediately spotted this:http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/trolleytime1.jpg

Can you see it? The ride that Noah is eager to ride?

Here it is again:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/trolleytime1a.jpg

Yes Noah's dream was to ride the TROLLEY! So it stopped right in front of us at the train station and it was loaded with performers who got out and did their little show. When it was over, they walked off...and we saw them unhooking the horse and hooking it to the other side to pull the trolley back into the station.

We stopped a guy there and asked when we could catch the trolley? He said it would be out ONE more time for ONE more show...and it would do one circuit again...and that was at noon. We'd have to be there for it then.

So we knew we couldn't wander too far away and we headed down Main Street. We stopped at the end of Main Street for a snack:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/icecream1.jpg

Here's where it got even more fun for me. It was in the 90s of course and as we order the ice cream, both DH and DS6 order the cone and I get a float. Then DS6 REALLY REALLY REALLY has to use the restroom. DH heads off with him, leaving me to finish the ice cream transaction. So here I am holding TWO DRIPPING ice cream cones and my float in my hands...such fun! I am waiting and waiting, thinking I should try to lick the cones to keep them from dripping all down my hands but that was just pointless. I was a mess. I was sure they would return and I'd point out the puddle of ice cream to them both.

So it was an eternity, but you see they did make it back and ate the cones...over the rail and towards the grass:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/icecream1a.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/icecream1b.jpg

Ice cream finished, the boys still had some time to wait for the 12pm trolley but I was supposed to be back at 11:30am at the Grand Floridian to meet the returning pirates! It was around 11am and I headed towards the monorail station while DH and DS went to ride TTA before coming back for the trolley.

Would I be waiting at the dock of the GF as I told my DD8? Would the boys make it back to ride the trolley? Stay tuned! :rotfl:

kittylady1972

09-30-2011, 10:30 AM

DAY 7 CONT'D: Making Dreams come True at Magic Kingdom

So it was just after 11am or so and I was waiting at the Resort Monorail Platform in front of the MK so that I could ride over to the GF and pick up my DS11 and DD8 after their pirate excursion. As I waited for the monorail, my BIL and SIL also walked up to the platform...so we'd all be heading over together to get our kids.

We waited...and waited...and eventually the monorail did show up. Then we had to ride around...to the Contemporary. Then to the Polynesian. Then to the GF and I think at one point we sat on the rail for a while waiting. I looked out and was pretty sure I saw their pirate ship coming across the water...but I wasn't sure I'd be there before it arrived. Sure enough, I think we were at the Poly when I got the text from my DS11 that DD8 was starting to panic a bit. His text was "WHERE ARE U?" and talked about his sister being in a panic. I texted back that I was on the monorail and on my way and I would be there soon. As we arrived at the GF, my feet hit the floor and I was RUNNING through the lobby of the GF, across the grounds and over to the marina. No I was certainly not the last parent to pick up my kids...after all BIL and SIL were on the same monorail and they weren't hauling tail like I was to get to the dock. Everybody was fine though, really talking all about their trip and how much fun they had. So it wasn't too bad. :rotfl:

I had been in touch with my DH as well. The kids all decided they were up for the pool so DH and DS6 would meet us in the room. We hopped back on the monorail. When we got to the room my DH showed me these photos:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/trolleytime1e.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/trolleytime1d.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/trolleytime1c.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/trolleytime1b.jpg

Yes, they were waiting in front of the train station when the trolley arrived...a few minutes early! The guy who we had talked to earlier asking about the schedule eventually spotted them and DH has a video clip of him talking to them, saying he was SO glad they made it because he was looking for them to make sure. DS6 was thrilled. They rode up to the castle and got some great castle shots there:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/castleday1a.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/castledayfw.jpg

Back in the room we fixed lunch and then DH's parents ended up meeting us at the pool. We hung out there for quite some time, just relaxing and enjoying the day.

After about an hour of pool time, we started talking about what to do before our dinner, which was not until 7:25pm at the California Grill. Another one of DS6 big things for this trip was that he wanted to ride Expedition Everest for the first time. We decided we could make that happen...so we returned to our room, got dressed quickly and drove over to the Animal Kingdom, leaving around 3:15pm and arriving at the AK around 3:35pm.

Here is where I turned into an idiot. A tram was at the end of the row but I didn't see anybody boarding it. DH asks me to go get on and I look at him...the side of the tram are CLOSED...this is the first time I've seen this...so I'm thinking there are some kind of automatic doors and we aren't allowed on it unless they are open. :laughing:

We walk up to them and notice the handles...AH! So we hop on, arrive at the gates to MK and head RIGHT over to EE. The wait time is 30 minutes. We decide to grab Fastpasses which have a 4:50pm return time on them, thinking that will work as we want to leave the park no later than 5:15pm. Then we get in the line for the ride.

I have NEVER been in the line queue when it goes outside of the buildings. EVER. This is all completely new to us! :laughing: :laughing: We wait in line, I'm feeding the kids some candy from my bag and we have a drink or two to keep them going. We waited about 20 minutes or so and then we were on...and DS6 LOVED it! We decided to get back in the standby line as it wasn't fastpass time. This time the wait was closer to 35 minutes...but again it went great and everybody was ready to ride it AGAIN! This time we used our Fastpasses to get a third ride in a row in on this one and then we walked out of the park.

That may have been the shortest time we've ever spent in a park. I mean, we never spend all day in AK ever, but less than 2 hours in a park? Crazy! :laughing:

We get back to our room, shower and change. We met the rest of the family in the lobby of the Contemporary and were there at 7pm, quite early for our 7:25pm ADR. We did get right in and were actually seated right away. This time we sat for the first time in the Wine room, which has a nice view of EPCOT but not of MK. It was okay, like our own personal space, but I think I still prefer the main dining room.

Dinner was long but good as always. Afterwards I think some of the family was heading up to watch the fireworks at the TOTW lounge of our hotel, but we headed back to bed.

dismagiclover

10-01-2011, 06:19 PM

I'm here! Now I just have to catch up:goodvibes

overthemoon4mickey

10-03-2011, 01:42 PM

Sounds like a wonderful day! Why is it that months of planning every little detail and the spur of the moment things like Expedition Everest stick out the most?

kittylady1972

10-03-2011, 08:49 PM

I'm here! Now I just have to catch up:goodvibes

Awesome! Welcome! Promise to get another update here soon and loving your Trip Report too! :thumbsup2

teachermommy78

10-04-2011, 02:51 PM

kittylady1972

10-06-2011, 03:39 PM

Whew! I'm sweating just reading about your day!!! Great update! How awesome that your son got to ride the trolley!!! You have the cutest family. I'm jealous of your next trip. Dh told me that if I worked summers we could get DVC. So tempting, but I love my summers off!!!

Thanks so much...great to see you over here! :) It's funny that it took a lot of convincing from DH to get ME to buy into the DVC but now that we have I don't regret it. We ended up rolling the cost into an Equity Loan that is now part of our mortgage, but since I know we'll be using it for years and years to come I don't regret it.

Now off to update my other pre-trip...I just booked our March 2012 trip!! :thumbsup2

kittylady1972

10-11-2011, 10:14 AM

DAY 8: Hollywood Studios - things are not what they seem!

We got up early and met downstairs to catch the bus to Hollywood Studios as it was an early entry day. This was our first bus experience...and we learned a valuable lesson here. The bus was packed full when we got on it...only after our pickup we were headed to ANOTHER Resort! That's right, the bus picked us up at the Contemporary and then headed over to the Polynesian as well! There were NO seats when it got there and I felt so sorry for those people. I was also glad we weren't staying at the Polynesian!

Once in the park, it was a little while before opening and the streets were jammed with people ready to make the mad Toy Story Mania Dash!

CROWDS:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/hs_crowds.jpg

MORE CROWDS:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/hs_crowds1.jpg

We had a plan though...and handed all of our tickets for our party of ten over to my DH and his dad (our designated Fastpass runners) who then made their way closer to the front of the pack. This would be the ONLY park where we really played it right with Fastpasses and planning, as later park visits would have us really disappointed we weren't using the best touring techniques.

We arrived at TSM and saw the line for the Fastpass machines...which was LOOOONG! Luckily DH and his dad were not too far away from the front, so the rest of us got into the line for TSM which was showing a 30 minute wait. DN6 refused to get a photo with Mr. Potato Head to his mom's dismay, and he was a little hesitant about the ride, but we got him on it and we only waited about 20 minutes.

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/hs_rides.jpg

Everybody loved the ride, of course.

The next big ride to hit was RnRC and I was okay with sitting that one out and waiting with the kids who did NOT meet the height requirement...which were DS6 and DN6. My DD8 *JUST* made it through and the wait time was showing 30 minutes. I knew we would be eligible for more Fastpasses pretty close to that timeframe, so before the rest of our party got into line I had them all hand me their park tickets.

As soon as our party of 7 entered the line, the wait times changed to 70 minutes, then 80 minutes, then 40 minutes, then 70 minutes. I just kept watching it change and updating them on their anticipated wait. The two boys and I just hung out, I got them some drinks and they actually sat and read the maps:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/hs_rides1a.jpg

Soon it was close to 10am and time to get our next set of Fastpasses....which would be for TOT. Now the tricky part here was to get the fastpasses while sheltering DN6 as much as possible from actually seeing the ride or hearing the screams nearby! We managed ok, the boys each manning some FP machines and getting the tickets with my help and then we headed BACK to RnRC to do more waiting...and snap more pictures:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/hs_rides1.jpg

Then the rest of the gang finally emerged from RnRC after their 70 minute wait, it was time for our Fastpasses for TSM. So we ran back over to get another ride in on that one!

Once that was complete, our FP time for TOT was now here.
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/hs_rides1b.jpg

Now my SIL kept telling her son (DN6) that it was JUST like one of those big frog hopper rides he enjoys at the carnivals. He of course was NOT thrilled about tackling this ride at all. So it's a good thing we had the passes as we got through VERY quickly without time for him to do much thinking! Well my kids were doing a good job trying to keep him distracted by helping him search for hidden Mickey's while we were in line. This somehow got the attention of somebody else in line with us, because when it was our turn to get in line for our vehicle, this guy asked to stay with us...so he could hear us point out more Hidden Mickey's while on the ride. OK? :confused3

DN6 survived the ride...barely. He clearly was NOT happy about it!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/hs_rides1c.jpg

He is in the back left, next to my FIL. As you can see our family of five is all dressed in matching dyed shirts we made at home. This was the only day I forced a dress code on the family...and I'm sure they were thankful. For past trips I've made matching shirts for other family members, but I just didn't have time this trip. As it turns out, that was fine because my SIL also made matching shirts for her family so their family of 3 are also wearing matching white shirts with logos on them that she made herself.

Once our ride was over, we had lunch plans for the Hollywood Brown Derby. I *LOVE* their Cobb Salad and on a hot day I knew this would be perfect. We were seated for lunch pretty quickly and I think ALL of the adults ordered the same thing...the Cobb Salad! Some kids ate, some didn't, and we did get a few desserts to share as well. It was a good meal as always and I recall we had a pretty friendly server. Oh I think the woman who seated us was actually from Maryland as well...but I can't remember where but we did chat with her for a bit too.

NEXT UP....heading to EPCOT for some diving!!!

Lifelong_Dreamer

10-11-2011, 03:34 PM

70 minutes! Holy moly!

kittylady1972

10-12-2011, 09:36 AM

70 minutes! Holy moly!

:lmao: YEP! Of course they would have NEVER waited in the line had it been that kind of wait time...it just jumped from 30 to 70 as they got into the line and it was too late then.

We would encounter similar ride waits throughout the rest of our trip and I will say that OUR family of five refused to do that kind of wait. However my SIL and her family had no problem with this wait, especially if it was something DN6 would ride. As I recall, they waited at LEAST that long for Peter Pan one day (and this was for a second ride on it...DN6 had already been on it once earlier in the trip) and I believe they waited about 70-80 minutes one day for a ride on Test Track. We refused to wait in that line with them, especially since DN6 was already going into crying/panic mode :sad2: as they got in line...and we knew we weren't up for listening to that for 70+ minutes. Of course, we never did make it back to ride Test Track at all for this trip, which was kinda disappointing. I believe they also waited over an hour or longer for a ride on Soarin' one day...and again it was a second or 3rd ride on the same thing as they had already done it once. That was their method of touring though, and not ours, which was why we spent a LOT of our vacation touring separately. It was almost like we weren't even with them at times as little as we did parks together. However their family plan is to do Disney once every 5 years so I guess when they return in 5 years (2016), and DN will be 11, they will try again. :confused3

kittylady1972

10-12-2011, 12:39 PM

DAY 8 CONT'D: EPCOT and Swimmin' with the FISHES!

Having finished a wonderful lunch at the Hollywood Brown Derby, we emerged back into the heat and sun to continue our day. DH was on a short timeline for afternoon as he had to report to EPCOT by 4pm for DiveQuest. Since we planned to take the boat over there, we figured we'd need to leave HS by 3pm at the latest.

The rest of the group split off to do their own thing and we made plans to meet at The Living Seas tanks around 4:30/5pm. We decided to head into Animation and while we were going to bypass the show, the kids really enjoy it so we stayed through the show. The plan was to then hit the Animation Academy for the first time and do some drawing!

Unfortunately when we got through we just missed one show of the Academy and we were not really too close to being in the standby for the next one. I don't recall what we did, but I think we just decided to head to EPCOT as it was closer to 3pm. We did stop for some photos on the way out of the park:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/hsJune2001a.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/HS2011.jpg

Now it was time for the nice, relaxing boat ride over from HS to EPCOT...or at least that was the plan. We boarded the boat...and it was HOT. I mean, there was NO air on inside the boat and no windows open for at least a little breeze. It was truly a sweltering ride and a long one since we had to make several stops at the other EPCOT resorts.

Of course, DH and DS6 didn't seem to mind too much:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1a.jpg

The other kids and I were pretty warm though:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1b.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1c.jpg

We arrived at the International Gateway and I went to get out all of the passes. One problem...Nicolas' pass was MISSING! Yes, AGAIN! What is it with his ticket that it insists on hiding from me.

Now normally this would be an easy fix...if you purchase tickets directly from Disney. They would just pull up you name and transaction and track the tickets and replace it for you. However I purchased these from Mousesavers to save some money...and getting a record of the transaction as well as the ticket serial numbers would be no easy task. I felt sure, if necessary, I could probably call them but we tried a few other avenues first.

So I have hot and thirsty kids, who are quite impatient at this point, and my DH eventually has to get going so I tell him we will meet him inside...really. :confused3 I was at Guest Services with the guy trying to figure out if there was some way we could track down the ticket, which is when he made the suggestion to me that EVERYBODY should probably keep in mind! Take PHOTOS of your TICKETS including the serial numbers. This way, if you ever lose one, you can have it replaced easily.

I forget how long we spent trying to track down the ticket when I started flipping through my little Annual Passholder booklet I had received with my annual pass. It was small and the front pocket usually held my ticket and as I flipped through EACH PAGE for some reason I found Nicolas' ticket in between the pages! WHEW!! :worship:

So we finally enter the gates and the kids and I have some time to wander around. We snap some photos:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1d.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1e.jpg

Then we decide we are hungry...and thirsty...and ice cream would REALLY hit the spot. We have no dinner plans so why not? We opt for some ice cream floats and we enjoy those while walking around.

This seemed to re-energize the kids a little and so we made our way to the Living Seas, riding through Finding Nemo first. We found the rest of the family near the upper tanks and we waited...and waited...and waited for DH to show. This is NOT easy for kids...imagine that! :lmao:

We watch some fishies:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1f.jpg

Turtle!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1g.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1h.jpg

Hidden Mickey:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1i.jpg

Here is DADDY!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1j.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1l.jpg

Daddy swims with the fishies!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1m.jpg

I was able to take photos and some video...then at one point my SIL and BIL were gone...yet DN6 was still there. He turned to my in-laws and told them his mom and dad said they could take him to Test Track next. What??:scared1: Apparently my SIL was experiencing some issues and she and BIL headed back to the resort...without letting anyone know they were leaving DN6 behind! OK then. Then the bathroom emergencies hit for my kids...and my FIL took DS11 to do that, but I trailed not too far behind...all the while DH was still swimming in the tanks. It was a bit chaotic, then DS11 discovered he had left his cherished Hidden Mickey's book IN the bathroom, so we had to run back and YES it was still there.

DH finally finishes his swim and we try to wait around for him to come out...but it's taking FOREVER as always. Plus my phone was pretty much dead, so I had to keep it turned off and therefore I couldn't arrange to meet him somewhere via phone so stayed near my in-laws so I could call him with their phone. Eventually we ended up outside of the Living Seas to wait and I got a quick message off to let DH know we'd be out there.

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1n.jpg

He met up with us, but nobody was up for much more park time...except maybe me! ;) We didn't have any food so we decided to head back with MIL, FIL and DH6 and eat at the Contempo Cafe. As it turns out, SIL and BIL were there as well so we sat down and ate together.

I think I got some steak thing...but it wasn't very good. The kids ate pretty well for the most part.

We were all hot and sweaty (except DH who had a shower after his dive) and so I was looking forward to some time in the room...and a shower! However that's when DH asked if I would run his sister out to Walmart as she needed some emergency supplies...it's a woman thing. I agreed but I should have gotten my bearings before I left because I know the Walmart is pretty close...but we ended up way, way out of the way at a Walmart that I know was too far. We got there, she got her stuff, and we got out but it was a long trip back and forth.

I came back and was longing for that shower...but I was hungry too as dinner had not been that good. I asked DH if he would kindly return to the Contempo and snag me one of these that I had eyed up earlier:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1p.jpg

So I hopped in the shower and cleaned up and he returned with my Black Forest Cupcake and some milk....so yummy and so worth it! :laughing: I couldn't finish it but I tried my best! Then it was bedtime!

dismagiclover

10-13-2011, 04:50 PM

kittylady1972

10-14-2011, 01:40 PM

Fun update! I don't like those Epcot Friendship boats either! They are just too hot and stuffy. We actually prefer the walk between the parks, but it is tough in the summer because it is too hot in the middle of the day. I love the pictures of your DH in the tank. That would be cool! And I love the look of that cupcake. We are staying at BLT in January so I might have to snag me one of those!

OMG they really were stuffy! I suppose on colder days they would feel great but in the summer...YUCK! :sad2:

I'm not sure we've ever done the walk but will keep it in mind for the future for sure. I know it would have been much faster but we thought this would be relaxing. Obviously it was for some as you can see from the photos! :rotfl:

My DH has done DiveQuest several times now...he really loves it and it's really his only chance to SCUBA Dive anymore so that makes it even better for him. We enjoy watching him...it's just the waiting before and after that I don't enjoy. Maybe next time we'll just make a reservation in the restaurant and eat while he dives! :lmao:

The cupcake was TOTALLY worth it...OMG! :thumbsup2 They had other varieties and I wish I had had the chance to try more. I have yet to get any of the other cupcakes known to be around the WDW area like the ones at Hollywood Studios. I might have to make that a mission for our next trip. There is always SOMETHING new to try for each trip...that may be mine! ;)

kittylady1972

10-26-2011, 01:09 PM

Day 9: There's no CRYING in Disney World!

This is, unfortunately, the last day that I kept up with my journal. So filling in on the details might be a bit tough. I'll give it my best shot.

This was a Wednesday, and an early entry day for Animal Kingdom. We were going to meet in the lobby at 7:30am and get there close to rope drop. However DD8 woke up cranky so we thought we'd stay and let her sleep. She didn't want to sleep...and so ended up leaving not too long after the rest of the family who we had sent ahead...around 8:15am we were at the park.

First some photos:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AK2011.jpg

Yeah we all look happy here. That look would not last long.

We hit the safari ride first, which showed a 20 minute wait but it was about 10 for us. We saw some great animals and I think I took some decent video this time...which is rare. After that we headed over toe catch the 10am showing of the Lion King, since this was something we had never seen before and it was on my must do list this trip. We let DH's family know where we were headed...and we got into the LONG line of the crowd waiting to enter that area. And then...it got ugly.

DD8 did NOT want to wait...of course. The boys weren't much better about the wait but this was the ONE thing I wanted to see...and so we waited. DD8 continue to have a complete meltdown...just unruly and nasty and really this was just NOT like her. We have to believe it was the new drugs she had just started on for her migraines that were causing this...and it was not good. We were so tempted to leave with her but it was a big crowd and it was moving. When we sat down...she was still unhappy. Eventually we realized the yelling and threats were getting us nowhere...so I just asked her if she was feeling upset for some reason. And then she cried. :sad2: And then I cried :sad1: with her because I really felt like these mood swings were just not within her control and she didn't understand it...and as a female I knew all about that. :guilty:

Eventually things were better and we did enjoy the show...but I must say I had it built up in my mind and honestly I think I prefer the Nemo show over this one. I was glad we saw it though.

We left and met up with the rest of the family who managed to get into the show right after it started. They had decided they were heading to EPCOT to do more stuff there since SIL, BIL and DN6 had done most of AK already earlier in the trip, the day we did Universal Studios. So we parted with them and we made our way over to Dinosaur!

We stopped and had some ice cream to cool off and DS11 was pretty insistent that he was NOT riding this ride. The younger two were okay with it...but he was not...figures! :confused3 We made more idle threats I am sure and eventually convinced him to go...but he was NOT happy about it!

Here he is in line:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/ak_nicolas2.jpg

And my DD8:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/ak_noelle.jpg

So we survived Dinosaur...can you spot my family in the back row in this blurry redneck photo:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/ak_dinoride.jpg

DS11 was not happy...and I'm not sure that we'll get him on it again but he survived. :rotfl:

Then some happier photos...my oldest son loves birds. So here he is with some pink feathered friends:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/ak_nicolas1.jpg

On the way out of the park, we spotted an Anteater and got a quick photo of him:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/ak_anteater.jpg

We decided to come back to the room and relax and we had all of the kids nap...even the oldest...for a while. My in-laws did some laundry in our room. We bribed the kids and told them if they slept that perhaps we could stay out later in a park that night. At least I think that was our plan...but did it happen??? :laughing:

kittylady1972

11-07-2011, 01:33 PM

:guilty: Ok, I know I'm behind on finishing this TR up but I'm hoping to get back to it soon. :) I've been quite busy planning our next TWO trips for 2012 as you can see in my signature...and I've updated that a few times!

We've also been busy doing birthday celebrations and the Halloween things and my DH and I have yet to celebrate our anniversary...which was Oct. 3rd! :lovestruc Life has just been crazy!

I have not forgotten though and I hope to get back here very, very, very soon and finish this up! :woohoo:

kittylady1972

11-11-2011, 12:27 PM

Day 9 CONT'D: The EPCOT Terrorists

Ok so when we last left off, the kids were sleeping peacefully in our room. I wish I could tell you what happened next by memory, but instead I'll try to recall what happened based on my phone photos and status updates. Let's see how I do.
This was another day to explore EPCOT, since we hadn't spent much time there yet. I just don't recall what we did on arrival, but I think we probably rode something...after all the kids were there! I think this was the day we wandered over to Test Track only to encounter a 70+ minute wait. DN6 immediately went into panic mode and we could not even imagine waiting in a line for that long, much less with a kid in panic mode. We left the group and said we'd meet them for dinner which was at Rose & Crown at 6:30pm. I think this was when we decided to try out Misson: Space GREEN side since there was almost no wait there. Actually I kinda liked the Green side myself, not being a big fan of spinning. The rest of the family was not as thrilled.

At some point we wandered over for our dinner reservation, coming across this along the way:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1q.jpg

My DS6 is a HUGE Car's fan, so I got some photos of him. He did NOT want his sister in the photos with him, even though she was being pushy about it. I managed to get two different photos finally!

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1r.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1s.jpg

We wandered over to Rose & Crown and checked in to wait on our reservation, while the guys had some drinks.

We were finally seated on the patio, and while it was a bit warm out, it wasn't horrible...but I think it would have been nicer inside. Our reservation was at 6:30pm and I had hopes we might be able to watch Illuminations from the table, but dinner just wasn't going to last THAT long. Here we are seated:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/EPCOT/epcot1u.jpg

As we are getting situated, my SIL suddenly looks at her husband and asks about their backpack. See this entire trip he has been hauling around a backpack for them full of stuff for them and their DS6 (water, snacks, changes of clothes, etc.) and that's when they realize...he does not have it! Panic ensues, as it also contains the camera and video camera. They run outside of the restaurant and find it sitting on the bench where they left it...but it is currently surrounded by several Disney security people! Ooops! :rotfl: I guess it had been there long enough to get some attention and of course Disney was being cautious about it. SIL and BIL claim it as their own, Disney I guess determines they are not terrorists, and lets them return to the restaurant. As you can imagine, SIL was none-too-thrilled with her husband the rest of that meal! :)

As somebody who has lost so many things in Disney (wallet and for this trip the park passes...TWICE already) I can sympathize! :rotfl:

We have a lovely meal at Rose & Crown Pub. I LOVED the food and feel we must return again soon. Dinner is over and we leave but where to next?

I had a plan already that DH knew about. I had purchased a pearl cage and necklace for DD8 ahead of time. I wanted to take her to Japan to do the Pick-A-Pearl there as a special surprise. She had NO IDEA about this but we all headed there. There was a bit of a line but we waited and she picked on out. Wish I had photos but I gave DH the camera and he mostly took video. Maybe I'll post it sometime. I know SIL took photos but I don't have those. So she got a single pearl and we placed it in the cage and in her necklace. It was fun.

We emerged and decided to head to Mexico as FIL LOVES the Three Caballeros so we figured we'd catch a quick ride on that. It was fast approaching 9pm and I wanted to make sure we caught Illuminations! We hop on a boat with no line and go through the ride, which DS6, who is at first pettrified, ends up loving it. When it's done, DS6 wants to go again. As it's now about 8:45pm I decided we don't want to go as I want to catch Illuminations. Well the rest of the group goes around again...and we wait in the Mexico Pavillion area for them to be done. As it happens, they finish just after 9pm and so we scramble outside to try to find a spot along the wall to view Illuminations!

We do find a small area and watch the show, which the kids enjoy. When it's over, I decide a Margarita in that little place in Mexico would be great...but of course it's closed! ARGH! :mad:

Instead we make our way to the monorail to leave the park. Not too long later I am reminded by my DD8 about that promise to stay up LATE and visit the parks, the bribe for them all napping that day. Do these look like kids who are ready to keep going?
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mono1a.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mono1b.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mono1c.jpg

So DH insists he is tired and not up for a late night. The MK is open late and I LOVE the parades and haven't seen the Main Street Electrical Parade in years. Do I do the right thing and take the tired kids back to the room? Or do I do what I want to do and drag them out with me to the MK? :confused3

kittylady1972

11-11-2011, 02:28 PM

Day 9 CONT'D: Kids Burning the Midnight Oil
Ok, so I won't keep you in suspense...for too much longer. We hopped on the EPCOT monorail and then the Resort Monorail. At some point it was decided that I'd take the two younger kids over to MK for a little while. I warned them that it was pretty late and we probably would only have time for one or two rides IF THAT but they were game...and so it was decided!

As we arrived at MK, I departed with the two little ones and say goodbye to my oldest DS and my DH and we were off. I admit I was pretty excited as I just LOVE being in the parks at night. So we approached security, and I reached into my bag to pull out our passes...and what did I discover?

Can you guess? :confused3

How about now? :rotfl:

If you guessed NO PASSES...you win the prize! If you are keeping track now, since our trip began I lost (well left behind once and found later the second time) my oldest DSs pass TWICE. Both times it was located. However I didn't have him with me this time...I had the younger two. Only problem was I did NOT have their passes and the reason was that at some point we entered a park and instead of my DH handing all of the kids' passes to me...he kept them! I didn't complain...but now we had a problem!

I phoned him right away and he was just getting off the monorail at our resort (the Contemporary). I told him we'd hop back on the monorail and ride around and he was even going to wait on the upper loading platform for us. So when we arrived (as CR is the next stop from MK on the monorail) I would get off, grab the passes, and get right back on the monorail. Brilliant, no? :rotfl:

So we get on the monorail at MK and we wait...and wait...and wait some more. The monorail is closed but we are NOT moving...at all. The message to us from the monorail pilot is that we are waiting for clearance. The problem was there was NO monorail between us and the Contemporary, and as I'm texting my DH he's telling me the same thing. In fact he says the people at the monorail station at the CR are also baffled as to why we aren't there yet. People are getting concerned of course. After probably 15 or 20 minutes another passenger notices they see some Disney security on the platform and it looks like they are dealing with an argument between monorail passengers who are being removed. Swell! Finally we are on our way.

However we've now lost more precious time and I am really wanting to throw in the towel on the MK visit now. It's after 10pm now and closer to 10:30pm. The cries from my DD8 about the possibility of not going to a park...OMG! :rotfl2: So I tell the kids we will still go but probably not for long at all. MAYBE one ride. So we do as planned, grab the passes from DH at the CR platform, and we are back in MK eventually closer to 10:30pm.

We get inside the park and people are lining up...for the 11pm Main Street Electrical Parade. Now I have not seen this one since I was little but we'd seen Spectromagic plenty and have it recorded a few times. This would be fun. We found a spot right along the hub at Main Street near the front and sat down and watched the parade. A few not-so-great cell phone shots:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkparade1.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkparade1b.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkparade1a.jpg

Parade ends and it's really late, so we decided to head back. Honestly I think the little ones might have hung in a little longer...but DH was already texting me wondering where we were...so we made the walk back to our resort. How I just :lovestruc LOVE :lovestruc staying at the Contemporary Resort area as that walk is just GREAT!

Some photos along our walk back at night:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/walk1a.jpg

Believe it or not, the reason for this photo was that the kids pointed out the LINES of buses waiting to turn into the MK for the evening. It was pretty impressive, though not so much from this cell phone shot!

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/walk1b.jpg

Ah, Bay Lake Tower, there you are at last!

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/walk1d.jpg

Lifelong_Dreamer

11-11-2011, 03:12 PM

Being an impatient person I would have been so annoyed and anxious about that monorail delay with no explanation.

kittylady1972

11-14-2011, 11:31 AM

Being an impatient person I would have been so annoyed and anxious about that monorail delay with no explanation.

Believe me, being an impatient person WITH impatient kids that were itching to get to a park was NOT easy! Plus it really made it more difficult for us to enjoy any park time at night, which is why we just watched the parade. I still love the extra time just walking around with the kids by myself at night for some odd reason. I mean, I like having the rest of the family with us but it's cool when it's just me and the kids solo too!

I have YET to see the new show on the castle at night which is KILLING me! I wish I had made time for that during our trip. So that and the new Star Tours are FIRST priority for us in March...as well as hopefully seeing a few new things opened up in the new section of Fantasyland like Dumbo and Goofy's coaster! :)

kittylady1972

11-14-2011, 12:15 PM

DAY 10: The Fantasmic! Dining Experience...that wasn't

The original plan for this day was some morning time at Magic Kingdom, then heading over the Hollywood Studios and having a late lunch/early dinner at Mama Melrose and sticking around for Fantasmic! that evening. Plans are always subject to change of course...and change they did on this day. :rotfl:

I don't think I have too many photos for this day...so I will add a few from previous days. Here is a nice leaving EPCOT at night shot:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/epcotnight.jpg

And this is just one of many, many, many photos taken from our balcony at night. I just loved sitting out there after the kids (and the DH) were all in bed and just watching the castle:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/mknight1.jpg

We could not have asked for a better "Lake View" room at Bay Lake Tower!

So it appears from my Tweets that we headed to EPCOT in the morning. I am sure there were still things we hadn't done there. This may have been the day we did Mission: Space and Spaceship: Earth. I know at some point we did ride the Nemo ride and saw Turtletalk with Crush. We also spent some time in Innoventions: East and Innoventions: West. I know that DH and DS11 went off to try Sum of all Fears again as they had done it on a previous trip and still had their cards with them. I took the two little kids over and we played the Firehouse game. I've done it before and I knew they would enjoy it. They really want to play the Recycling game again...but it was closed! :mad: We killed some time in the area until DH and DS11 were finally done. I'm sure at some point we did some shopping.

I honestly don't recall if the rest of the group was with us or not this day but at some point we made our way over to Hollywood Studios in the afternoon. I'm trying to recall if we were all the park together initially or if we just met up at Mama Melrose. I don't even recall if we did any rides before our 3:30pm lunch/dinner reservation. I do recall the events afterward though! :mad:

We all had lunch together...and it was very good as remembered. I know at some point we caught the Muppet show over there...maybe after dinner. We got our vouchers for Fantasmic! for that night and were told to be there no later than 1 hour before the show. I remember my MIL was not up for the show that night, so at some point I think my FIL went back with her to their room.

I remember we watched some of the Phineas and Ferb stuff that was happening in front of the character meet and great...and all the kids jumped in and got involved in that! I know I have photos of that...let's see:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/hsperform.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/hsperform1.jpg

I remember at this point my DH had gone back with his mom and dad (MIL and FIL) and it was just me with the kids and my BIL, SIL and DN6. SIL mentioned a few things she wanted her son to try such as the Lights, Motors, Action show and the Disney Junior Show. The problem was that it was well after 5pm and I knew those shows were probably no longer playing...and again we only had until 7:30pm or so until our Fantasmic! show lineup.

We walked around and I grabbed a schedule for the park...and sure enough, no time. I know she was disappointed and a bit frustrated. Then we looked up and the skies looked like they would open up at any minute. I snapped some photos of the kids here:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/hscar1.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/AKHS/hscar.jpg

Then we headed over to Animation, getting in line before the downpour! We watched the show and then immediately headed over to Animator's Studio because I had really wanted to try that and thought the kids, especially my DS11 who loves to draw, would enjoy it.

We got in line outside of the small waiting area because I knew that even though we had just missed a show, they would let a few more guests inside for the front lapboards...and we got lucky enough for that!

We got inside and learned we'd be drawing...Rapunzel! Ok, so I wasn't thrilled with that, but that's okay. My SIL loves Rapunzel so she was excited.

We followed along and my two younger kids were doing okay...for kids. My DS11 was getting frustrated because of course he's a PERFECTIONIST so when he messed up...he'd just let out a loud sigh (and since we were up front I know the guy leading the class was sensing it) and eventually I did have him flip his paper over and try again. He was still not thrilled with his final drawing...and I wasn't really either with mine. I think mine looked more like Rapunzel if she was an alien lifeform...but it was still fun and I'm glad we tried it.

We emerged and the rain was over...and DH was back with FIL and they had brought along the ponchos as I had requested via text to my DH! Awesome!

We still had a litte bit of time. I remember us being in front of the Great Movie Ride...a ride my kids had already told us before they did not want to do. Since they do Tower of Terror and almost everything else, we weren't going to push it. My DD8 went into another fit about something too, just as we approached the line for Great Movie Ride. I refused to let her ride and told the group we'd wait outside for them. I can recall it showed a 20 minute wait, but the line was HUGE...and even DH and I knew that the line would be more than 20 minutes. He told this to his sister, who was NOT happy about having to vacate the line, but it was already 7:30pm and we needed to make our way over to Fantasmic! by 8pm. We even walked over to Star Tours thinking we'd try that...nope a 40+ minute wait there!

Man we were feeling like total Disney amateurs not being able to do anything! :rotfl: So we headed over to the Fantasmic! area.

We walked right in and got our seats...pretty good ones at that. We could not wait to see this show. My kids had seen the boards for the show in the park and really wanted to see it. They barely remember seeing it back in 2007 and this would be our last chance to see it.

So we are sitting on the metal benches watching the clouds roll in once again. We were all wrapped up in our ponchos. It was getting darker. DH had his cellphone tuned into the local weather radar and despite the rest of us being optimistic that it would pass...it was not looking good. We waited and kept hearing the announcements that the show would start soon but also they kept announcement that due to inclement weather the show COULD be postponed or cancelled. We held onto the hope that we'd be okay. ;)

It was not about 8:45pm. Another announcement comes on and this time it is different: Due to inclement weather, Fantasmic! has been cancelled for this evening! They did, however, invite us to stay for a small little taste of Fantasmic! instead. So there was a 5-10 minute little lights and fountains show that they put on to appease us...but still, so disappointing! :sad2:

Afterwards we walked out and the kids were not happy. I really thought maybe we could go try Star Tours...but DH insisted on going home so we did. Oh well...there's always next trip I guess! :confused3

Lifelong_Dreamer

11-14-2011, 04:21 PM

kittylady1972

11-15-2011, 12:12 PM

That would be so disappointing! Mom and I were almost in that situation in 09. We sat there for an hour and a half and they kept delaying the show because of the weather but finally it started! We thought for sure it would be canceled.

We were definitely disappointed but I learned another lesson too...next time schedule a showing early in the week so at least if it's missed you have a CHANCE of seeing it later in the week. I'm not too worried about my own kids as we'll just make sure they see it on an upcoming trip if they are still interested. My DN6 won't get back to Disney until 2016 if he's lucky though...so chances of him seeing it or even remembering to want to it might be pretty slim. I guess we can try again to record it when we do see it in the future. ;)

kittylady1972

11-29-2011, 12:55 PM

DAY 11: The always-sad last full WDW Day :sad2: :sad2:

The plan for this day was to basically squeeze in anything we had not been able to do so far of course, since it was our last day. We had breakfast planned for all of us at Crystal Palace for 8:10am and honestly we were thinking about skipping it and letting the rest of the group go since it was just a lot of money...for breakfast ($100 for our family of five for BREAKFAST...we can eat at Bob Evans at home at least THREE times for that cost!) but we decided to go ahead and attend.

So we headed to MK arriving around 7:45am or so at the front gates. Park was originally scheduled to open at 9am but I think it ended up opening at 8am this day...so there was quite a crowd. We found the special entrance for us since we had dining reservations and were allowed entrance a little bit early.

Here is DS6 enjoying his meal:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/cpnoah.jpg

And the 8-year old girl enjoying her Mickey waffles:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/cpnoelle.jpg

Honestly I don't recall eating a lot here...it really was quite a waste for us as were most of the buffet meals. Still there were those character moments:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/kidseeyore.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/kidspooh.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/piglet.jpg

Plus my FAVORITE...I always have to try to get a photo with him:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/tigger1.jpg

Soon we were off to explore the park...but would we do it together? Once again, my SIL had certain rides she just wanted to hit and we had our own plans, so I don't even recall us riding anything together. :confused3

Oh I did take some great scenic photos though:

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkscenic1a.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mkscenic1b.jpg

Love this one:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/noahcastle.jpg

I think we stopped for a while and watched these little guys too:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/ducks.jpg

http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/ducks2s.jpg

I'm sure we probably headed over to ride Space Mountain and/or BTMRR as those are crowd favorites with our group...and not with my DN6. I seem to recall my in-laws later recalling how they waited in line for SEVENTY minutes for Peter Pan...and we had already been on that ride earlier in the week...but that is what DN6 wanted to ride and since he didn't ride much at all they obliged. Nope, not me! :rolleyes:

Judging by the clothing, here is how we spent our morning/afternoon:

We had to have ONE LAST RIDE on Snow White...because we knew it would be gone the next time we returned to the park:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1a.jpg

I remember taking a lot of photos of the construction around the park behind Fantasyland...I won't bore you with those!

(cont'd in next post)

kittylady1972

11-29-2011, 12:57 PM

DAY 11: The always-sad last full WDW day CONTINUED

I actually had too many photos in that last post...never have done that before. So we shall continue here... ;)

:goodvibes More fun:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1b.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1c.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1d.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1e.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1f.jpg

Obviously we took another ride on Haunted Mansion (another favorite):
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1g.jpg

Buzz Lightyear of course:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1i.jpg

Another ride on Splash!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1j.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1k.jpg

We had some lunch plans for Chef de France at EPCOT...but I knew we would not be up for that after our large meal at breakfast. I tweeted this sometime in the afternoon:

Ok Jungle Cruise and Dole Whips...NOW vacation is complete!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1h.jpg

So yes, we had our Dole Whips before exiting the park!

We headed to EPCOT soon afterwards. Again, don't recall what we did at EPCOT...man I need to start keeping up better with my trip reports while I'm there and have a functioning brain! However I have another tweet:
Grey Goose Lemon slushie+ heat equals me wanting to nap

So I guess that was lunch? I have no idea! :confused3

I recall that it did look like it might rain so we made our way back to the monorail station, where I tweeted this:

Just reached the EPCOT monorail station as the skies opened up

I remember the kids got some stickers from the man in the EPCOT station I think...or was it MK? So sad that they no longer allow rides in the front of the monorail, but glad we had the chance to do them in the past!
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1l.jpg
(I think he was too cool to wear the sticker on his shirt)

They were not though:
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1m.jpg
http://userpages.umbc.edu/~dina/2011Photos/WDW/MK/mklastday1n.jpg

So clearly we did a few things in EPCOT...perhaps some shopping? That's a good last-day ritual and I seem to recall that. That totally reminds me of a shopping story I did not share with you so I'll add that here.

At some point earlier in the trip, we did some shopping and DS6 picked out a very cool Cars 2 Airplane. Since we were in the park at the time, we had the stuff all shipped back to our room and we all know that takes an extra day or so. This pretty much was ALL DS6 talked about for the next day. He knew EXACTLY what time that package was supposed to be back in our hotel gift shop and I can recall hearing it almost all day long the next day...him reminding us about it and when it would be at the gift shop. Needless to say, there was no chance we would be forgetting to pick up our items with his CONSTANT reminders! :rotfl:

Anyway, we arrived back to our room, escaping the Florida Torrential Rain...which was not one of those quick passing showers unfortunately. It last quite a while...and would go on to ruin one last planned event that I had hoped to attend that evening. Anyone want to guess?? :confused:

dismagiclover

12-01-2011, 02:20 PM

Just catching up! Looks like you had a great last day. My guess is you head to DTD to finish up the trip!

kittylady1972

12-05-2011, 11:13 AM

Just catching up! Looks like you had a great last day. My guess is you head to DTD to finish up the trip!

Glad to see I still have a reader or two here! :lmao:

Gonna try to wrap up the report now...we shall see if you are correct! ;)

kittylady1972

12-05-2011, 11:28 AM

DAY 11: The always-sad last full WDW day CONTINUED

Ok when we last left, we were headed back to our resort after a somewhat productive morning and afternoon at MK and EPCOT for our last day at Disney!

We arrived back at our resort and I believe mostly did our packing for the next morning, picking out that last outfit and getting everything together...my least favorite part of the trip! :sad2:

As dinnertime approached, we had nothing reserved. With it being our last day, I figured we'd stay in the parks until the last possible minute, but the rain put an end to that. We contacted the in-laws to see if they were interested in doing dinner...they were...so we thought we'd try the Wave since it was right at our resort. They contacted my SIL, BIL and DN6 who were still in a park and they wanted to join us...but it was fast approaching 5pm and we were a party of 10 with NO RESERVATION! We decided we'd head over to the Wave and just see what our chances were of getting our party of ten in there...did I mention NO RESERVATION and FRIDAY NIGHT? :laughing:

We arrived and DH walked up the counter. I think he said, and I can't recall his exact words, but something like can we get a table for a party of 10...we don't have a reservation. The woman looked at him as if to ask "ARE YOU SERIOUS?" and he was of course. She checked and they had two tables of five where they could seat us, which was great...kids at one table, adults at another! :woohoo:

It only took a few minutes and we were seated and the rest of the party were on their way back from the park so it worked out well. The arrived pretty quickly and so it happened...we got to eat without a reservation! :lmao:

I wasn't terribly hungry so didn't order too much but appetizers, but the food was good and I believe everybody enjoyed their meal. Now my PLAN was to try to attend the campfire at our resort that evening, so as mealtime was winding down and the group was thinking about dessert, I gave the kids a choice...stay for dessert or come with me to the campfire. Two kids chose the campfire and left the restaurant with me while the rest of the party stayed for coffee and dessert.

We headed to the gift shop to get some chocolate bars, the only thing I did not have in the room. Yes I had hauled down marshmallows and graham crackers and even retractable sticks for the fire...I was prepared! :banana: Yet when we crossed the walkway back to our resort to get the other stuff, we could see the wind and the light rain and also...:sad2: NO CAMPFIRE which could be seen from the walkway. I told the kids we were out of luck...they were disappointed of course, as was I.

We returned back to the restaurant and joined the group instead. We helped them with some of the desserts and hung out until dinner was over. Then we decided as a consolation prize to take the kids over to the arcade and let them spend some time there instead. :)

While there DH and his parents decided to hit the Top of the World Lounge one last time and he left me with the kids at the arcade. After we were done, I can't recall but I think we may have gone up and joined them for a little bit, but only after I came back to the room and tried to do some last minute cleanup stuff. In fact, I seem to recall there was some tension because I was rushing to finish up getting stuff done and packed and cleaned up and he was ready to rush off to the lounge. I think I stayed behind with the kids and he went...but I can't recall. I do recall being mad at one point for sure...but what do you expect as it was my last Disney day and of course I was already in a bad mood! :rotfl:

All packed for the evening, we settled into our last night at Bay Lake Tower knowing the next morning we planned to hopefully hit the road by 7am for our long drive back to Maryland! :sad2:

Lifelong_Dreamer

12-05-2011, 03:32 PM

How lucky to get seated with such a large group for dinner. :thumbsup2

How disappointing that the weather meant no campfire, especially since you had brought all those supplies!

kittylady1972

12-06-2011, 07:47 AM

How lucky to get seated with such a large group for dinner. :thumbsup2

How disappointing that the weather meant no campfire, especially since you had brought all those supplies!

We definitely lucked out on the dinner thing. I would have never imagined we would have been seated without a reservation with ten people! :rotfl:

Yes the campfire was a disappointment, but it just means next time I need to plan a bit better. If I learned one thing during THIS particular trip, it was to schedule events that I really wanted to do early in the trip, so if we miss them we can do them another time. This goes for the campfire as well as Fantasmic! The kids were just talking about Fantasmic! for some reason the other day, so we will definitely make it a priority for our next trip! :thumbsup2

kittylady1972

12-19-2011, 12:45 PM

Ok, since I love reading these types of posts, I thought I'd put my own thoughts here. This was our VERY first trip in June...ok well sorta...we had a short 2-day trip back in June 2008 but with was the first trip with the whole family, all of the parks, in June. We know that this may very well be the norm in our future as the kids get older and taking them out of school is not as easy any longer. So what did we learn?

AUTOTRAIN: This was our first trip on the Autotrain and it was DEFINITELY a great way to travel. Cost-wise it works out pretty close to the same as it would for all five of us to fly AND to rent a car AND to pay airport parking fees. We definitely like having our own transportation down in Disney because it gives us much more flexibility. We loved the fact that we were able to pack a cooler full of food and ice to bring with us...and 24-hours later in the June heat there was still ice in it! Roomettes are VERY VERY small and that's coming from somebody who is only 5'2" tall! It was nearly impossible to move around in that room when the beds were down. It was easier to get dressed down the hall in the bathroom...and that bathroom was also very small, think airplane-sized! Still it was cheaper for our family of five to get a superliner bedroom and roomette than spring for two bedrooms. I still wish we had had a chance to at least walk through the coach area to see that seating. If you want to take advantage of the free snack mix and drinks, get there early. The train did not appear packed but stuff went quickly! The movie is played in the same area...though we did not try to see it there as nobody was really interested in the Justin Bieber movie. We found it nice to relax in the Superliner Bedroom with a DVD player and just hang out. Dinner is good, but it's not the highest quality and if you think you want snacks or drinks later, you may want to bring a small cooler with you onboard the train...if you can find a place to put it! Storage is VERY limited in any of the rooms, so pack as light as possible. We did like having our own pillows even though they did supply some. The blankets supplied were fine for summer, but I could see needing more (at least for myself who gets cold easily) in colder months.

BAY LAKE TOWER RESORT:Wow, this was definitely at the top of the list of resorts for us to try and it met and exceeded expectations! We did get a lakeview room but it had a bonus view of the MK as well. If we find ourselves here again in the future (and I hope so) we will request rooms in the same area of the tower. What did I NOT like about this resort? Well on really windy and nasty days, that walk over to the Contemporary can be a bit scary! I was still not thrilled with the counter service offering there anyway, so I think we're better off eating in our room. We really don't take advantage of that kitchen as often as we should, and with Disney food only getting more expensive and me being less impressed with it, I'm thinking our future trips will have far fewer sit-down restaurant experiences. We were perfectly happy reheating leftovers in the room for lunch or fixing sandwiches.

The convenience of the monorail resort is just something to not overlook. Our car really did sit parked more often this time than any other time. We really only drove to AK and HS. However we also found the monorail to be running slower than usual, maybe it's because we were on it more often? :confused3

The drive from the MK to get off property is SO much farther than I imagined. We did order food from a pizza place one evening and it seemed like it took FOREVER to get to Crossroads to pick it up and bring it back. I almost think we'd have been better off buying some frozen pizzas to heat up in our room or making our own...something to think about for the future.

JUNE CROWDS:While the parks did not seem overly crowded to us most of the time, the wait times told a different story. I think we are so used to being able to return to rides later and have a realistic wait time, and that did not happen. There were definitely several rides we just did not get to this time around due to lack of planning on our part. If we want to ride the good rides, we should plan on them as soon as possible.

JUNE WEATHER:Yep, it was hot and sticky. We had a few nice days but we definitely enjoyed hitting the parks early in the morning and then taking that break by the pool for those hotter afternoon hours. The kids certainly seem to enjoy this as well. The only problem was that we still found we weren't up for touring later in the evening as we had hoped. I was thinking we'd really be able to take advantage of those later park hours but we never had that chance, unless you count the one night I headed to MK with two of the kids by myself...and even then we only caught the parade and came back. Beware of those evening thunderstorms that can ruin major plans as well. I'd still like to go back one time just to enjoy the evening movie and campfire at the resort and the kids would really like to see Fantasmic! again since the ONE night I planned for it this trip was the night it got rained out! Next time we have to plan to see it earlier in the trip so if it's cancelled we have at least one more chance to see it! :sad2:

FOOD:See my notes above, but I really think we're going to see ourselves trending more towards quick service and eating in our room for future trips. Those huge food bills are just getting out of control and that time eating, while nice, really takes a huge chunk out of time we would rather spend seeing the sites and riding the rides. Besides the kids can get nuggets and pizza and pasta in almost every park at at least some counter service! :laughing:

I think that's just about it. I've enjoyed getting the trip report out here and hopefully somebody has enjoyed reading it! Tune in in March when I complete my next trip report from our upcoming March 2012 Birthday extravaganza without the kids! :thumbsup2