4th of July?? Are we CRAZY?! WDW & USO/IOA PTR...I *WILL* finish my TR this time LOL!

[mommys3]

Hello all and welcome to my second attempt to a TR I apparently have an attention span similiar to my four year old daughter...so I never got around to finishing my last TR from our trip last August But I am determined to complete this one!

The Who

Me and the hubby

My name is Helen. I am a 32 year old stay-at-home mom to my four wonderful children. My husband and I have been married for 12 1/2 years. We live in VA Beach. I live and breathe Disney, pretty much like everyone here

Favorite Park: Hollywood Studios
Favorite Attraction: The Haunted Mansion
Favorite Restaurant: Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater

My husband is Larry. He is 35 and retired Navy. He would never admit to loving WDW as much as I do (he says he goes for me and the kids), but I know better!

Favorite Park: Hollywood Studios
Favorite Attraction: Mission:Space
Favorite Restaurant: 'Ohana

The kids (L to R- Josh, Larry, Breann and Bella)

My oldest son, also named Larry, is 12 years old. He is in the 6th grade and pretty much past the WDW stage and would rather go to Universal Studios

Favorite Park: Hollywood Studios
Favorite Attraction: Rock 'n' Roller coaster
Favorite Restaurant: 'Ohana

Joshua is 10 years old and in the 4th grade. He is addicted Club Penguin.

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Attraction: Space Mountain
Favorite Restaurant: Crystal Palace

Breann is 8 years old (turning 9 on May 5!) and in the 3rd grade. She loves WDW...I have raised her well! Definitely my thrill seeker of the four kids.

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Attraction: Tower of Terror
Favorite Restaurant: Akershus

Bella is 4 years old. She starts Kindergarten in August! She is the most excited about this trip. She adores all the Disney princesses

Favorite Park: Magic Kingdom
Favorite Attraction: Goofy's Barnstormer/ Toy Story Mania
Favorite Restaurant: Akershus

The What

Our annual family vacay! WDW and USO/IOA...here we come!

The Where

WDW of course We will be spending 6 glorious, fun-filled days there! With a weekend in between, we will be visiting my in-laws that live 45 minutes away. And then we end our vacation with a 3 day trip to Universal Studios/Islands of Adventure The last time we were there was 6 years ago!

We will be staying 4 nights at Pop Century, and 2 nights at the Polynesian Club Level! We are still unsure where we will be staying during our USO/IOA portion of our trip, so that is still TBD.

The When

We leave VA on Saturday 6/29. We kick off our WDW on Sunday, 6/30. We will be there until Saturday, 7/6. We will be visiting USO/IOA on Monday, 7/8 through Wednesday, 7/10. We head back home Thursday, 7/11

The Why

Do I need a reason why??? Just a much needed family vacation! Not really celebrating anything...DH's birthday is in July, so I think it's something worth mentioning to the CMs when we are there

Next up: Parks and ADRs

 

[mommys3]

Table of Contents

PTR

Sunday, June 30
Monday, July 1
Tuesday, July 2
Wednesday, July 3
Thursday, July 4

 

[mommys3]

Sunday, June 30

We will be leaving early in the morning from my in-laws to check in at Pop Century.

Park- Hollywood Studios

I am hoping to make it to the park by rope drop. HS opens at 9:00 am this morning. Plan is to head over to Toy Story Mania, get FPs, and go for a spin before the crowds get unbearable. After that, everything is fair game Our must dos are:

*Tower of Terror
*Rock 'n' Roller coaster
*Star Tours
*Muppet Vision 3D
*Lights, Motors, Action!
*HISTK playground
*Disney Junior Live
*Voyage of the Little Mermaid

We are skipping Fantasmic! this time around...I am kind of sad about this Last year, Josh and Breann did the Jedi Training Academy. While they loved it, I don't think we'll be doing it again this year. One of those BTDT moments.

ADRs- We will be having lunch at 50's PTC. I have been once with my youngest daughter for an appetizer and the delicious PB&J milkshake The interaction was lacking, but I believe this was due to it being just myself and my little one, who was 2 years old at the time. For dinner, we are eating at Sci-Fi...a must do every time we visit HS!

Next Up: Day 2

 

[mommys3]

Monday, July 1

I really struggled with which of the four parks we would be visiting (we are using the Armed Forces Salute passes, wasn't sure if we were going with the Park Hopper option or Water Park & More). I asked the kids, and they decided that they didn't want to visit Animal Kingdom again. So the big question was Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach? After grueling hours of research , we decided to go with.....

Park- Typhoon Lagoon

We have never been here, so I am pretty excited! DH and I have been to Blizzard Beach once before in 2003, when Larry was 2 years old and Joshua was 7 months old.

We are renting the Beachcomber Shack I wasn't sure if it was worth the $$$, but it will be July and I don't really feel like fighting the crowds for a spot and the shade will do us some good. That, and the towels, water, refillable mugs, locker, and oh yes....cabana boy

The water park opens today at 9:00 am, so I am hoping to be there by then even if we do have a reserved spot for our family. I am hoping to hit all the water slides, but our must dos are:

*Shark Reef
*Crush 'n' Gusher
*Humunga Kowabunga
*Ketchakiddee Creek

My must do is the Castaway Creek Lazy River...I could lay in my tube and go around circles the entire day and be perfectly happy

ADRs- I don't know what we will be doing for lunch, but it looks like there are a few good options at TL. For dinner, we will be heading over to the Polynesian to dine at 'Ohana. It's a favorite for our entire family and I am dying to try the Lapu Lapu!

Next Up: Day 3

 

[mommys3]

Tuesday, July 2

Park- Magic Kingdom

MK opens at 9:00 am this morning, but we have an ADR at the Crystal Palace at 8:10 am. The CP is a must-do breakfast every time we visit the MK. I love being able to get our obligatory picture in front the of the castle sans crowds Bella and Breann have reservations at Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique Bella will be doing the Crown Package. We have already bought her dress at the Disney Store...she is dressing as Princess Aurora. Breann will be doing the Courtyard Package that includes the shirt and tutu.

Our must dos are:

*The Barnstormer
*Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
*Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
*Dumbo
*Haunted Mansion
*Jungle Cruise
*The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
*Mickey's PhilharMagic
*Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
*Pirates of the Caribbean
*Space Mountain
*Splash Mountain
*Under the Sea~ Journey of the Little Mermaid

I am hoping we are able to do all that, and then some. This is probably our most demanding schedule of our trip, especially since it's a favorite park of my girls. We definitely have to do Journey of the Little Mermaid since we have never been on it before! The park is open until 11:00 pm, so I feel confident that we can accomplish everything, even with the crowds.

ADRs- The only ADR of the day is the Crystal Palace. The kids love the buffet offerings, and Bella loves meeting Pooh and the gang

I am hoping to book the Tomorrowland Terrace Fireworks dessert party for the desserts and a great view of Wishes, but the ADRs for that have yet to open.

Next Up: Day 4

 

[mommys3]

Wednesday, July 3

Park- Epcot

Our last Disney park of our trip Luckily, I saved the best for last. This is probably my favorite park in the World (tied with Hollywood Studios ). Epcot Future World opens at 9:00 am, but we have an ADR at 8:00 am for Akershus so I don't have to worry about making rope drop

Our must dos are:

*Spaceship Earth
*Mission:Space
*Test Track
*The Seas with Nemo and Friends
*Journey into Imagination
*'Soarin
*Gran Fiesta Tour
*Maelstrom

I always look forward to hitting each country in the World Showcase and purchasing a little trinket. It's usually candy/chocolate, but anything unique usually does the trick. I think this time around I am going to sample a drink from each country Hey, it's a vacation!

ADRs- We have a breakfast ADR at Akershus . The girls and I went last year and absolutely loved it, character interaction as well as the food.

This time, the boys will be joining us We will be having lunch at Via Napoli. We ate here last year for the first time, and loved the food as well as the atmosphere. Cannot wait to taste that delicious pizza again!

Next Up: Day 5

 

[KathyRN137]

Hi Helen!

We'll be at WDW during the week of Fourth of July, too!

Trip report writing is hard work! I've written several and abandoned just as many... we can do it this time!

You have a beautiful family.

Kathy

 

[mommys3]

Hi Helen!

We'll be at WDW during the week of Fourth of July, too!

Trip report writing is hard work! I've written several and abandoned just as many... we can do it this time!

You have a beautiful family.

Kathy

Thank you! Good luck with your TR...off to read!

 

[wiigirl]

In!

 

[happybelle]

Joining in!

 

[mommys3]

Thursday, July 4

We check out of Pop Century this morning...and check into the Polynesian Club Level for two nights We stayed one night last August and absolutely fell in love with the resort.

The kids absolutely loved the snacks in the CL lounge, and DH and I appreciated the adult drinks Today is a pretty low key day. We will be enjoying what the Polynesian has to offer...especially the pool!

No ADRs as of now...although I am thinking of grabbing lunch or dinner at Raglan Road at DTD, as we have never been before and have heard great things about it.

Next Up: Day 6

 

[mommys3]

In!

Yay! Thanks for reading along!

Joining in!

Awesome...hope you enjoy

 

[happybelle]

Awesome...hope you enjoy

Thank you.