7 days, 8 kids - A November Trip Report

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

Hey everyone and welcome to my trip report!! We just returned 4 days ago from 7 days and 8 nights at Pop, a birthday trip for our daughter Lila. We had a great time and as usual, I took a ton of pictures. We had the regular dining plan this trip, so we were able to try out some of the restaurants and character meals we heard so much about here on the Disboards. I will give you my totally honest opinion on them all. Some of it might surprise you!

So let me start off by saying I never got any "pre trip" pics of the family so I'll just have to introduce as we go along. We left pretty early on the morning of the 13th. It was still dark and we were all still half asleep and in jammas, so unfortunately I didnt snap a ton of pictures. Plus this being our second drive down, it didnt quite have the excitement it did the first go round...since we knew what kind of drive we had ahead of us. We were equipped with snack, dvd players and cow running, our scavenger hunt.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011001.jpg
Chase, on the left is 6. He loves pirates and adventure. POTC is his favorite Disney movie, and hes generally pretty easy going on rides, but refuses to go on stitches great escape. refuses.
Cole on the right is 5 and the daredevil of the group. Loves rollercoasters and actually pouted last year at the age of 4 when he couldnt go on Expedition Everest. He rode ToT about 5 times and even convinced ME that it wasnt scary and to get on it.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011002.jpg
This is Chris, our driver, dad, husband, jack of all trades extraordinaire. Biggest Eagles fan youll ever meet.
And heres me, Claire
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011003.jpg
I look pretty put together and sane here....we were only about 2 hours in at this point! hahaha
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011004.jpg
Lila is 3 and this was her birthday trip, so 2 at the time. Shes a huge tangled fan, with her "sister" Cinderella following a close second.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011005.jpg
Rowans our baby. He hated Disney last time as he was a colicky 3 month old, but we were hoping this go round he might take to it a little better.

I'll come back to the rest of the children later.

Like I said earlier, this being our second drive from Pennsylvania to WDW, it lacked a bit of the excitement it had on our first trip, so naturally I took less pictures than I did last time, however, as I am sure you can imagine, it went something like this:

trees
trees
waffle house
cracker barrel
more trees
super 8
trees again
and so on....
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011006.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011007.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011008.jpg
you get the point.

we finally stopped around 7 pm at the econo lodge in Kingsboro GA. I was actually impressed with how nice it was for $50 per room per night. It had a refrigerator, coffee maker, microwave, etc. It was super clean too which was most important to me. We ran to the local Winn Dixie (haha, I love the name, we dont have them near us) and got some pre made hoagies. We loved all the people, all so friendly and courteous. (Philadelphia could learn a few things *cough*) although no one knew what a hoagie was when we were looking for them. Everyone was happy to relax and get a fresh start for the next day.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011012.jpg

On the right in the above pic is Kyle. He's 4 and loves the movie Brother Bear. Hes a sweetheart who was too small to go on much last year other than the kiddie rides. I know he was looking forward to being a bigger bear this year!
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011014.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011015.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011016.jpg

The next morning we were up by 7 and headed back on the road. It was a beautiful but chilly morning. I was worried it wouldnt warm up by the time we got to Orlando, since we were about 10 minutes from the Florida border and still in coats!
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011017.jpg
We made the 3 hour trek down 95, and then the "what felt like 3 hour" trip down 4.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011021.jpg
And then, what I am convinced I will see when I die and go to heaven:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011022.jpg
Obviously our anticipation was off the charts at this point. It was nearly 11 at this point after a rest stop break right before WDW. We were heading right to POP to see if we could check in early.

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011025.jpg
The kids and I waited in the car while Chris went in to see if our rooms were ready.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011026.jpg
Do we look worn out from hours of being cooped into a van with each other or what? lol
Front middle with his knees up is Jake. Hes 12 and likes most all Disney movies and parks. Hes not much of a ride person but loves to pin trade and take in the scenery.
In back with the black hat is Christopher, our oldest. he's 13 and his dads sidekick when it comes to all the "big" rides. hes an adrenaline junkie, part time pin collector and a real Disney foodie in the making!!
The lovely Victoria Rose is kinda covering her face in the back, but youll see later just how pretty my lady is. She has all the innocence of Disney inside her 10 year old body. She loves princesses and fairy tales, dressing up and wearing Mickey ears and my heart just bursts at how proud I am of her gentle, loving soul.
Well upon dads return, we found out one of our rooms was ready. He also returned with 3 flowers, one for each girl. I thought that was just the sweetest thing. We headed over to the parking lot, and got down to business unpacking the car.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011027.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011028.jpg
I had called in a few days prior and requested building 3 of the 50s section, lake side, 4th floor. We got building 3, 50s section, lake side, 3rd floor, and that was good enough for me! I was very happy to get just about exactly what we asked! I did take the time to get some pictures of AoA, because I think its going to be an awesome resort. Value, not so much. We would actually pay less for our family at a moderate next year than at AoA, which bummed me out, since I had really wanted to stay there...before the rates came out! lol
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011029.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011030.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011044.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011045.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011046.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011047.jpg


By the time we made it to our room, the other was finished as well. After unloading, dad and the kids promptly changed into bathing suits and left me to unpack!! Up next, our room and dinner at Hoop Dee Doo!!

[preschoolmom]

Looks like fun! I'm in! What a beautiful family you have!

[marypoppinswannabe]

I'm on board as well. Your family is beautiful!! Can't wait to hear about your adventure.

[Forensicmom]

I"m still new to the trip reports but I'm curious to read your as well since I was there the same time.

[disneylovin24]

Im in!:goodvibes

[15isto2]

You got me hooked. I love the pictures of the scenary and the autum colours. You have one big family there!

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

Your family is beautiful!!

well, thank you very much :goodvibes

And welcome to everyone! I'm excited to have you all here, I hope you enjoy the pictures and stories from our trip :)

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

Well, because of the boards restriction of 25 images per post, I might need to split up my entries, and do Hoop Dee Doo in a later post.

So as I was saying when last we left, dad and the kids were off to the pool while I was left to unpack, organize and decorate the windows. Truth be told, I dont mind that part of the trip at all, a little bit of quiet time is just what I need after that trip.

I did room pics, although they have probably been seen a million times over elsewhere. I take them anyway because its still exciting to me:cool1:

Our first room
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011039.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011038.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011037.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011040.jpg
The rooms were all clean, the bathrooms while clean, look like they could use some touching up in the area of the caulk and grout. I mean obviously for a hotel thats used just about every day for the last 7(:confused3) years, its still not bad at all, just something I noticed, only because the one bathroom was in considerable better shape than the other.
Our second room
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011041.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011042.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011033.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011032.jpg
And our windows!
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011034.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011035.jpg

Our HDDR reservation wasnt until 8:30, so the kids got to swim for a good while. We used some of our snack credits to get nachos to bide us over until it was time to get ready. The kids headed back around 5 to start getting washed up for dinner.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011051.jpg
Next post - HDDR:goodvibes

[2Pirates2Princesses]

I'm in :goodvibes

You have a beautiful family and the photos are wonderful! I love the Mickey head decorations you made for your room windows at Pop. :thumbsup2

[disneylovin24]

I love the Toy Story Mickey heads you made for your window:goodvibes So cute!

I'm trying to imagine ALL that you had to unpack with 8 kids:scared1: :worship:

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

I'm in :goodvibes

You have a beautiful family and the photos are wonderful! I love the Mickey head decorations you made for your room windows at Pop. :thumbsup2 Thank you! The mickey heads were made by a girl on etsy, they turned out really nice and sturdy, we will definitely be able to use them again. The toy story ones were designed by someone on the creative DISign thread, and we just printed them out.

I love the Toy Story Mickey heads you made for your window:goodvibes So cute!

I'm trying to imagine ALL that you had to unpack with 8 kids:scared1: :worship:

:rotfl: yes, their was ALOT! and their was not enough drawer space at all either for 5 people in one room, I could be wrong but it seems since they did the refurb, theirs less drawer space.

[Queila]

Signing up!!

Eight kids??? God bless you! I cannot wait to read the rest. ;)

Q

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011054.jpg
didnt take us long to get ready because I was sooo excited!! I had been to HDDR when I was much younger and remember it being a fun time. Plus my husband was in doubt that it would be as good as I kept telling him it would be, so I was anxious to prove him wrong.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011055.jpgLila Belle was super excited just to wear her boots.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011056.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011058.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011057.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011059.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011060.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011061.jpg
We got to Fort Wilderness about an hour early and were able to take a peek around. I dont know whos site this is, but their decorations were awesome!
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011062.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011063.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011064.jpg
Then we did a little more waiting...
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011065.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011067.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011068.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011069.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011070.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011071.jpg
By this time we were starving and ready to eat!!!!

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

Signing up!!

Eight kids??? God bless you! I cannot wait to read the rest. ;)

Q:wave2: yes, he definitely has blessed us :laughing:

[disneylovin24]

Love the outifts for the night:goodvibes You are getting so into the WDW spirit, I LOVE IT!

[Penguinlover]

Joining in! What a beautiful family! All redhaired so cute =). Also loved the outfits!:thumbsup2

[dalmatian7]

Subbing I love TRs with big families. Your kiddies are beautiful btw

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

Joining in! What a beautiful family! All redhaired so cute =). Also loved the outfits!:thumbsup2

Subbing I love TRs with big families. Your kiddies are beautiful btw

THANKS AND WELCOME TO YOU BOTH!!!:wizard:

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

So last I left off we had gotten to HDDR a little early (maybe too early)and did some exploring and waiting and finally after walking around with our tummies growling that glorious dinner bell rang! I was a little apprehensive about making a dinner reservation so late but I figured hey, were in Disney, the kids are excited, they can hang....and for the most part I was right. I did however spend the first 20 minutes of our dinner like this:
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011072.jpg
Yes little Rowan fell fast asleep in my arms literally minutes before we walked in and I was too afraid to wake him. I woke a sleeping baby once 12 years ago. Havent done it again since. lol That fella in the back of the picture was our great server Bor. I almost wish now I had gotten an actual picture of him because he was just great. He teased the kids and told them corny jokes...they loved him.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011073.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011074.jpg
The salad was delicious, however you can tell Tori was looking for the good stuff. lol
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011075.jpg
Lila was scared at first with the loud music and the lights being turned down. She spent the first half of the show with her fingers in her ears, but she eventually warmed up to the whole thing.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011092.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011080.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011082.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011079.jpg
Rowan eventually woke up and got in on the fun.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011089.jpg
I dont know if it was because we were starving or because we had eaten nothing remotely close to real food in almost 48 hours, but we thought the food was DELICIOUS! My husband, bless his heart, in almost 15 years of being together has refused chicken on the bone every time its been offered. I think he ate an entire bucket to himself that night. lol He kept saying over and over how good the chicken was. I thought the chicken was great, better than the ribs. Potatoes were delicious, beans were too spicy for me though. Cornbread was good and strawberry shortcake was tasty, so for us, this meal was actually in our top 5 of the trip both food and atmosphere wise.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011085.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011086.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011088.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011076.jpg
We had an exceptional time that night, our family really enjoyed myself and I was satisfied in proving my husband wrong. Christopher, our oldest even said that day was one of the greatest days of his life. We all love arrival day, so many possibilities, so much potential, a whole vacation of lifelong memories just waiting to happen. On the boat ride back to MK we snapped some shots, though not the greatest. For some reason, the camera never seems to be able to come close to capturing the magic you feel when youre really there.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011094.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011095.jpg
For a little bit it seemed like we were the only ones out on the water....until we got to MK. Longest line I have EVER seen for a bus to Pop. Nowhere else, Just Pop. It practically came out to the boat launch!! They were loading buses 3 at a time to get back and everyone cheered as they pulled away and 3 more pulled up. :wizard: They did a great job in getting us home. Once there, we realized we never got our pats (rowan) pack n play..so off to get one he went. teehee
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011096.jpg
Once we got ourselves situated, we were all out like lights...dreaming of an early morning at Magic Kingdom:lovestruc

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

Love the outifts for the night:goodvibes You are getting so into the WDW spirit, I LOVE IT!

Thanks, were in the WDW spirit everyday of the year!:laughing: We listen to soundtracks, watch movies....everything we do is usually Disney related. I think at some point it becomes odd to other people.:rotfl:

[Queila]

Great update!
I LOVE the matching outfits. They were all so cute but Lila was specially adorable with her boots. I wish I da a similar pais myself. :thumbsup2

I know exactly what you mean about the pictures not necessarily capturing the magic of the moment and also about the excitement of arrival day. We feel the same way.

Cannot wait to read more!
Q

[preschoolmom]

I love the matching!!! And I'm really enjoying your report! Can't wait for more!

:cool1:

[Penguinlover]

What a great time you guys had! Im loving it! :rotfl:

[2Pirates2Princesses]

What a successful arrival day! HDDR looks fun and the food selections sound delicious. We are going to have to try HDDR on our next trip :thumbsup2

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

Thanks for the comments, guys! Uploading pics from our day at the Magic Kingdom now, so hopefully that, and some links will be up soon!!!

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

Wow guys, it feels like forever since I posted! A lot going on with Christmas and my computer was away for a bit being worked on...plus we homeschool and its taken a ...shall we say "period of adjustment" to get used to being back home and not in Disney!!!


So anyway, on to our first full day of Disney. Obviously we had to do Magic Kingdom....my favorite park by far. i think I could go there every day of my vacation and still be satisfied.

Somewhere in my planning, I seemed to have messed up the park opening times on my itinerary:headache: and in addition, no one heard the alarm that morning. (too much hoe down the night before, I suppose) Well as luck would have it, all worked out in the end, because my incorrect timing would have had us up an hour earlier than we needed to be. We slept in and still surprisingly enough made it to rope drop. I was pleased. :)

This was our first time doing rope drop and it was so awesome that I took video instead of pictures....so no pictures of it...but I can tell you my kids loved getting the confetti and throwing it. We had a great spot to see everyone and the crowds were next to NOTHING.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011098-1.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011099.jpg
Of course the park was all done up with its Christmas finery which was one of the things I was most looking forward to seeing.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011101.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011100.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011106.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011108.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011109.jpg
Obviously the park looked beautiful. Our game plan was to head over to Adventureland and get on the Jungle cruise, or at least get fastpasses first, as we missed the ride altogether last year because the wait line was too long and the heat was terrible.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011110.jpg
As you can see from the pictures, we were literally the first people on the first boat.....but ah, I cant say it was my ninja skills that got me there before everyone else....it was just more like, their WAS no one else. lol We actually had to sit and wait for people to come to leave. I havent been on it since I was a kid, but it was just as fun as I remembered. Our driver was hands down the best. People like her are what make it fun.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011112.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011113.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011114.jpg
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011115.jpg
Then we stopped to do some Aladdins Magic Carpet riding.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011117.jpg
We went on to ride Pirates, decided I wanted to eat here :
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011118.jpg
Look at those crowds!!
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011119.jpg
Then did splash mountain
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011120.jpg
My kids are in the first 2 rows
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011121.jpg
Then it just so happened while we waited for dad and Cole and Tori, we ran into Woody.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011122.jpg
From here we did Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, then headed over to the Haunted Mansion. Still no wait times and by now it was about 12.
We had a 2 pm reservation for Cinderellas Royal table so we headed over to Fantasyland, and ran into the Fairy Godmother. Lila was not so thrilled.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011124.jpg
So Tori went this one alone. She was very happy to meet her and get her to sign her autograph book.
http://i209.photobucket.com/albums/bb232/lilleyofthevalley/disney32011125.jpg
Up next, our lunch at CRT :)

[Penguinlover]

Loved the new pics! Your kids are soo adorable!
Looking forward to see the lunch at the CRT because I'm going there on Christmas Eve this year!:cool1:
I can't wait to see more!!

=D

[meggiebeth]

Great TR so far! Your family is beautiful!

I know what you mEan about AoA- I looked up prices for our potential tripnext November and it was a LOT more than any of the moderates. It was actually more expensive than some of the deluxes!

MK looks so empty- jungle cruise looks like great fun. We've never been on it for some strange reason.

HDDR looks such good fun! We went there in August and loved it. The cornbread was my favourite part lol

Looking forward to the next update! :)

[Just*the*ten*of*us]

holy mackerel, I didnt get locked out of the thread!! hah, guess ill have to update tomorrow!

[Sølvi]

Great report so far!


We have a large family, too, (although not as large as yours) so it's nice to see reports with lots of kids!

[tyandskyesmom]

I am in awe with admiration...can't wait to read more!