Try the Beverly. It's the best! Disney 2012 at Christmas and my first TR!!

lissaD02

Earning My Ears
Joined
Aug 7, 2008
Welcome one and all to my first TR!! Get ready for tossed out itineraries, cupcakes for breakfast and happy tears a plenty!!

I didn't do a PTR so here is a little background info on our trip.....

I'm a single mom (divorced) of 2 fantastic children...they have been through a lot of loss and major change over the last 2 years and they really deserved this magical trip.
This is our 3rd trip as a family to the world and after each trip I feel so blessed to have been able to take my children to such a magical place!!
I had initially planned this trip for December 2011 but my grandmother passed away and we needed to hold off so we could be with my grandfather.
I'm a planner...my mother says it's OCD...so we will agree to disagree. I love the thrill of locking in that hard to get ADR and I think I had some of the best this trip!!!
DS is a Harry Potter fanatic!! A very close family friend who was DS "Harry Potter buddy" passed away from leukemia 2 months before our trip....so a trip to Hogwarts was added and critical to this trip!


My Disney crew:​

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Me-33 and had been to Disney about 20 times prior to starting my family. I want to marry Mickey some day.
DD-11 and is my mini me. Loves anything Tink and doesn't like the big thrill rides. Had no idea the surprise I had in store for her.
DS-8 is my little buddy. Loves Toy Story and Pluto is his BFF. Has been waiting 4 years to ride Rockin' Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror.

Our Travel Dates:​

:santa: December 9th to the 17th staying at All Star Movies and doing FREE Dining (ohh man how I love free dining)

There you have it...the basics on my little family. So grab drink, I hear the Beverly is the best, and sit back and relax. I hope you enjoy reading about our trip!! popcorn::
 
Day 1....Dinosaurs and MVMCP

We arrived at the airport at 7:30am for our 9am flight and hunkered down for the wait.

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We passed the time by playing the DS and having breakfast and before we knew it....
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we were off.

We arrived at MCO 15 minutes early!! Hey that makes a big difference when you know whats in store :goodvibes

I wanted to move fast through the airport because our last trip when we stayed at POP we waited FOREVER for a bus. We had a 2:10 ADR for T-Rex and I was second guessing taking this time.
When we got to the Magical Express line I wanted to drop everything and do the happy dance :cool1: !! There was NO line for the Movies and we were directed right to our bus!! Before we knew it we were on our way.

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The three of us were so excited!!

Check-in was also super fast and this is where the mommy happy tears start! DS loves Toy Story...I requested the Toy Story Woody building and didn't mention this to him because our last 2 trips we didn't get our room requests. Well....WE GOT IT THIS TIME!! I really wish I took a picture of their faces when the CM told us this...I lost it.

It was finally time to drop off our stuff and head Downtown to T-Rex!!


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We made it just in time and were seated right away. It was really dark and my pictures didn't come out too well but I had the pulled pork, DD had a burger and DS had the kids pizza. Everything was good, the atmosphere was fun but I do think the price was a little expensive for what we got. With tip it was over $60 and we didn't get dessert. :scared1:

With full tummies and time to kill before MVMCP what would we do??
 


After T-Rex it was time to pick up our PP+ and head over to Goofy's for the traditional Rice Krispy and marshmallow treats

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By this time it was 4:30 and time to head to MVMCP. I was so excited because it was our first time going and I knew the kids would have so much fun!!

I decided we were going to take the Contemporary bus then walk over to MK and the kids were right on board...they LOVE the Contemporary. When we got to the bus stop the bus was waiting we got right on with only a few other people. It stopped at the PI stop and at that time the bus drivers changed...and I am so happy they did (not that there was anything wrong with the first driver).

Ok here is where I have to back track a little...DD fell roller skating about 2 weeks before our trip. She was a little down and had herself convinced she wasn't going to have any fun with her cast on. I did everything I could to assure her she was going to have a great time but I think she doubted me a little.

Back to the bus....The bus driver took a look around came up to DD and asked her name..she told him and then we were off (at first I was like wow that was a little weird). After a few mins on the road he started asking DD (By name) all sorts of jokes and riddles. He had us cracking up. When we got close to the bus stop...he asked DD where she was taking me (yep me) and then told her the best way to get over to MK, where she could see the fireworks and special characters. He really changed her outlook on how this trip was going to go...and he really set the stage for the rest of the trip. I'm so grateful for Ernie.

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We took a nice walk over the MK and the kids thought it was soo cool walking under a Monorail..lol

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The very first ride we went on during our very first trip was Pirates. It was also the first ride of our second trip so it was only fitting Pirates be the first ride this trip. Off we went.

When we got off the ride DS mentioned to me for the millionth time how much he wanted to do the Pirates League and he wished I could have gotten reservations. Yep bummer ;)

We were then off to check out the New Fantasyland!!
 
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It was crazy back there!! We decided to skip it for now since we had FP+ for later in the week for Bell and the Little Mermaid.

We did a few other rides then we ended up going to tackle the mountains!! We did both mountains 3 times right in a row and when we were on Splash the fireworks were going off and it was just beautiful.

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When we got off Splash we ran into a few miners...

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The kids were so happy!! We have never seen them before and it was just great!!

By this time the kids needed a snack so we walked over the Columbia Harbor House for some cookies and Hot Chocolate.

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Based on some reviews I read I wasn't expecting a whole lot but I was surprised. The cookies were great and the Hot Chocolate wasn't watered down.

I never should have sat down because at this point I was exhausted but the kids wanted to keep going...

It was getting so late and it was a long day and I'm glad we kept going because
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who can say no to that face!!

Finally they gave in and said we could go (at 11:30pm gee thanks kids lol) but there was one last thing to do before we left....meet the heroes!!

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It was such a great day...our vacation was off to a great start. Would the pixie dust stay with us? Would we make our ADR early the next morning? Would DS figure out a way to become a pirate?

Stay tuned for day 2!!
 


It was finally time to drop off our stuff and head Downtown to T-Rex!!

We made it just in time and were seated right away. It was really dark and my pictures didn't come out too well but I had the pulled pork, DD had a burger and DS had the kids pizza. Everything was good, the atmosphere was fun but I do think the price was a little expensive for what we got. With tip it was over $60 and we didn't get dessert. :scared1:

With full tummies and time to kill before MVMCP what would we do??

Your kids look so happy and well adjusted and take nice pictures! ... mine is a bit younger but he was bouncing off the walls the whole trip, would not pose except to make weird faces!

We had a similarly mediocre experience at T-Rex, except with a bad server. We won't try it again for what they're charging.
 
Your kids look so happy and well adjusted and take nice pictures! ... mine is a bit younger but he was bouncing off the walls the whole trip, would not pose except to make weird faces!

We had a similarly mediocre experience at T-Rex, except with a bad server. We won't try it again for what they're charging.

Thank you!! Its been a long journey and we just take it day by day. I also think having a Disney obsessed mom doesn't hurt the situation. :)

I bet your son was soo excited to be in Disney and I'm sure the pictures will be a funny topic when he is older :lmao: Kids will be kids...trust me I have a ton of crazy pictures...even photopass ones.

Joining in from our Dec FB group :)

Subbing and will come back a bit later to read (time to make dinner)

Hi Debra!!!! Thanks and welcome!!!!
 
hey fellow december DISser here. Love your pictures and the kids are adorable cant wait til mine are that old so we can really have fun
 
hey fellow december DISser here. Love your pictures and the kids are adorable cant wait til mine are that old so we can really have fun


Hi!! Welcome and thanks!! I was just looking at your TR and we were there at the same time!!
 

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