Travels With Teens: Take Two “I Can Organize This Trip in My Sleep!”BC Dee in DC Roti & Fini p. 40

SarahDisney · Aug 23, 2015

natebenma said:
11:13 am We are now in Tomorrowland… is there a dining option here? Not sure we’re going to get the boys back across the park.

Flashbacks to the class trip when my plan to eat at Columbia Harbor House was Eclipsed (get it) by Cosmic Rays.
Was my best friend throwing me under the bus?

I know it pained her to send that text because she totally knew the history, and how much I wanted to eat at CHH.

11:17 am Never mind… we are headed back in that area after Stitch.

That must have been a very sad/scary moment ... but I'm glad to hear it worked out in the end. Two school trips with your choice of lunch place thwarted would have been pretty rough.

natebenma said:
Continuing on… As I made my way through New Fantastyland, I discovered a problem. The battery on my camera was dying (the spare was back in the room) and the charge on my phone was low. I had a portable charger for my phone, but I don’t think I had a wire connection with me. Yikes!

I hate when that happens (although my portable charger has a wire built-in, but if I want to charge my camera with it I need a separate wire). Thanks for sacrificing your battery and getting lots of great pictures! I hope you did eventually get a charger.

natebenma said:
I think Ben got the Lighthouse hummus sandwich. My friend S. got the lobster roll, which I have heard is nasty, but it didn't look too bad and she enjoyed it. I think another chaperone got the salmon, but other than that, it was a sea of chicken nuggets.

So basically ... a bunch of 8th graders wanted chicken nuggets. I probably could have predicted that. I'm glad you did get a chance to go to CHH and I hope you enjoyed!

KatMark · Aug 25, 2015

Great Mermaid pictures, Dee, and I'm glad you all ended up at CHH...an absolute favorite of ours. I stick with the Shrimp and I forget who had it recently in my traveling group, but they were not happy with the tuna sandwich this time at all and said it would be the last time they got it.

luvpoohandcompany · Aug 30, 2015

Hiya remember me? :wave:

I'm finally getting caught up on reading your TR. Have to say I laughed out loud when you said you were going to limit the taking of photos and then followed with loads of lovely photos :rotfl2:

I enjoyed VOTLM on our last trip but the men in my life didn't agree.
Thanks to one of your previous TRs I now love dining upstairs, overlooking the park, in the peaceful quiet of CHH and while not a massive lover of seafood I can vouch for their battered fish :thumbsup2

choppee · Aug 31, 2015

Awesome! Glad to read this report, because I'm a teacher who's actually in the process of creating a similar trip within a month! What an experience. It was interesting getting it all together and approved through the district, but everyone who is going is ridiculously excited. some of my kids/teachers are going for the first time ever (evah, evah!)! If there are any teachers here who want to hear more of how I organized it and want some fundraising ideas, just let me know...didn't do a huge amount, but the efforts were effective. Thanks for doing this trip report!

pas130 · Sep 5, 2015

natebenma said:
The seafood mac and cheese looks so good in the pictures I have seen. Were you able to get it for lunch or is only on the dinner menu? We may or may not have another opportunity to return to CHH during this trip.

I really like The Little Mermaid movie, but my boys never got into it. That was the first time I had been on the ride- I loved how my favorite songs were brought to life.

Why did I think I replied, but didn't

sorry, Dee. I think it was on the dinner menu. By the time we ate it was probably dinner-ish time. I need to take notes on trips, I have the worst memory with certain details. My DD10 is a HUGE Ariel fan so I'm lucky in that sense.

We rode the ride when they first opened it, we were at a MVMCP and saw it open. I was so happy!

natebenma · Sep 9, 2015

I'm back! Finally.

August was a rollercoaster of a month. Two amazing trips, Yellowstone and The Beach Club. A night in the hospital and a battle with pneumonia. The unexpected passing of a dear friend's husband.

Writing is therapeutic to me and I appreciate being able to share with a patient audience.

:grouphug:

jenseib said:
I could go for a tuna right now!

Mmmmmm.... :fish:

SarahDisney said:
That must have been a very sad/scary moment ... but I'm glad to hear it worked out in the end. Two school trips with your choice of lunch place thwarted would have been pretty rough.

Would have served me right getting my hopes up to eat where I wanted to.

But it worked out!!!

:goodvibes

:

SarahDisney said:
I hate when that happens (although my portable charger has a wire built-in, but if I want to charge my camera with it I need a separate wire). Thanks for sacrificing your battery and getting lots of great pictures! I hope you did eventually get a charger.

I did end up finding away to recharge. Coming up.

:thumbsup2

SarahDisney said:
So basically ... a bunch of 8th graders wanted chicken nuggets. I probably could have predicted that. I'm glad you did get a chance to go to CHH and I hope you enjoyed!

I know, right!?!

:rotfl:

KatMark said:
Great Mermaid pictures, Dee, and I'm glad you all ended up at CHH...an absolute favorite of ours. I stick with the Shrimp and I forget who had it recently in my traveling group, but they were not happy with the tuna sandwich this time at all and said it would be the last time they got it.

Thank you!

You know, the tuna sandwich did not seem to be as good as I remembered. There are a lot of great choices there. Even the lobster roll, which I usually warn people about, looked good.

::yes::

choppee said:
Awesome! Glad to read this report, because I'm a teacher who's actually in the process of creating a similar trip within a month! What an experience. It was interesting getting it all together and approved through the district, but everyone who is going is ridiculously excited. some of my kids/teachers are going for the first time ever (evah, evah!)! If there are any teachers here who want to hear more of how I organized it and want some fundraising ideas, just let me know...didn't do a huge amount, but the efforts were effective. Thanks for doing this trip report!

Sorry I haven't been around more to get further along in describing my trip. When is/was your group visit?

I would love if you would share details!

I eventually will put all of our planning, tips and suggestions in one post.

:cool2:

luvpoohandcompany said:
Hiya remember me?I'm finally getting caught up on reading your TR. Have to say I laughed out loud when you said you were going to limit the taking of photos and then followed with loads of lovely photos I enjoyed VOTLM on our last trip but the men in my life didn't agree.
Thanks to one of your previous TRs I now love dining upstairs, overlooking the park, in the peaceful quiet of CHH and while not a massive lover of seafood I can vouch for their battered fish

You will probably hear that phrase about limiting photos and then find that I broke that promise many times.

Glad to make a convert of you. I really love CHH!

:cool1:

pas130 said:
Why did I think I replied, but didn't sorry, Dee. I think it was on the dinner menu. By the time we ate it was probably dinner-ish time. I need to take notes on trips, I have the worst memory with certain details. My DD10 is a HUGE Ariel fan so I'm lucky in that sense. We rode the ride when they first opened it, we were at a MVMCP and saw it open. I was so happy!

The seafood mac and cheese looks SO GOOD!!! I didn't ask if I could get it. Someday.

This will probably be my only chance to ride The Little Mermaid, at least in the near future.

Boys!

:lmao:

natebenma · Sep 9, 2015

Three Mountains (and More!)

After lunch, thanks to a dedicated (and somewhat insomniatic) parent who woke up at 4 am on Mothers’ Day to book fast passes for the class, we had the following afternoon agenda:

Space Mountain- 12:50 to 1:50

Splash Mountain- 1:55 to 2:55

Big Thunder Mountain- 3:00 to 4:00

Upcoming chapters may have fewer pictures than you are used to seeing from me. For one, I won’t be posting pictures where you can identify members of our group. And secondly, you may recall that I was having problems in my last update with dying batteries on both my phone and my camera.

However, when we were headed to Big Thunder Mountain, we ran into one of the teachers, Mr. L, who had been joining various groups throughout the day. The CMs at Disney were great and although his FP did not match any of the boys group (I had made his with one of the girl groups), he was allowed to join whatever group he was with.

I had a portable charger for my phone, but I forgot the connection wire. Mr. L. had a portable super-charger with him and I used it to give my phone a much-needed boost.

Continued in Next Post

natebenma · Sep 9, 2015

Continued from Previous Post

Once we had finished with the mountains, one of the chaperones, a dad, made a startling suggestion.

"We have to ride a classic."

The boys were surprisingly game (plus, we promised an ice cream break when we were done)

Our thrill-loving parent, S. opted out and instead went to see what she could get for a FP for the group since we had used the 3 that were booked.

Please join us on our Voyage:
(sing along, if you must)

Aren’t you glad I’m charged up again???

Afterwards, we made my first visit ever to Pinocchio Village Haus.

The boys all made wise snack choices like soda, ice cream or this day-glo slushie:

Continued in Next Post

natebenma · Sep 9, 2015

Continued from Previous Post

Our chaperone had obtained FP for Buzz Lightyear, but it wasn’t quite time to ride yet.

So what is the right move in this situation?

The PeopleMover, of course.

Before the trip, I found this photo of Ben and me on the TTA from 2004.

I asked him if he would recreate it with me when I showed him the picture and he agreed. However, when it came time to actually ride, he wanted to go with his friends, and I understood.

We did manage to get a photo together on the exit conveyer belt, and I love it!

Then we kicked some alien butt on Buzz.

It was early evening at this point and we had a decision to make.

Did we want to return to the resort for dinner and a quick break or plug on to EPCOT for the night?

Next Up: The Golf Ball Made it To Florida, But Not California

pas130 · Sep 9, 2015

And yes I HAD to sing the IASW song

Awesome castle pic from the mountain, very impressive Dee! I love the then and now pics from Peoplemover, why does time pass so quick :hug:

afwdwfan · Sep 9, 2015

natebenma said:
August was a rollercoaster of a month. Two amazing trips, Yellowstone and The Beach Club. A night in the hospital and a battle with pneumonia. The unexpected passing of a dear friend's husband.

Wow... talk about a month of highs and lows. I'm glad that is behind you.

natebenma said:
After lunch, thanks to a dedicated (and somewhat insomniatic) parent who woke up at 4 am on Mothers’ Day to book fast passes for the class, we had the following afternoon agenda:

Not a bad schedule at all. Nicely done!

natebenma said:
However, when we were headed to Big Thunder Mountain, we ran into one of the teachers, Mr. L, who had been joining various groups throughout the day. The CMs at Disney were great and although his FP did not match any of the boys group (I had made his with one of the girl groups), he was allowed to join whatever group he was with.

Cool! I'm glad they could work with him. But really, you could probably sneak one person in in the middle of a group like that anyway. :rotfl2:

natebenma said:
Once we had finished with the mountains, one of the chaperones, a dad, made a startling suggestion.

"We have to ride a classic."

The boys were surprisingly game (plus, we promised an ice cream break when we were done)

Ok, you've always got to make time for the classics. And ice cream.

natebenma said:
Our thrill-loving parent, S. opted out and instead went to see what she could get for a FP for the group since we had used the 3 that were booked.

But this was a great idea as well.

natebenma said:
I asked him if he would recreate it with me when I showed him the picture and he agreed. However, when it came time to actually ride, he wanted to go with his friends, and I understood.

Oh no... too cool for mom?

natebenma said:
We did manage to get a photo together on the exit conveyer belt, and I love it!

Alright, that definitely makes up for it. Good picture! :thumbsup2

natebenma said:
It was early evening at this point and we had a decision to make.

Did we want to return to the resort for dinner and a quick break or plug on to EPCOT for the night?

I'm sorry. You said there is a decision to make? I must be missing something? You've got a group of kids full of energy who just loaded up on sugary snacks. What is this break thing you speak of?

chunkymonkey · Sep 9, 2015

Glad you were able to get some juice for your phone! Love the pictures and the ride pictures especially!
Aww, that's a really cute picture on the Peoplemover from 2004!!
Glad everyone was up for a true classic ride!

That slushie...was it really that blue? For a second I thought it was the color of the cup!

rteetz · Sep 10, 2015

Great ride photos especially the older pic on the people mover.

The recreation of the photo was a good idea. I should lol at some of our old photos and see if We can do that somewhere.

SarahDisney · Sep 11, 2015

natebenma said:
After lunch, thanks to a dedicated (and somewhat insomniatic) parent who woke up at 4 am on Mothers’ Day to book fast passes for the class, we had the following afternoon agenda:

I think this parent deserves some sort of award!

natebenma said:
I had a portable charger for my phone, but I forgot the connection wire. Mr. L. had a portable super-charger with him and I used it to give my phone a much-needed boost.

Yay! You got to charge!

I love all the mountain pictures!

natebenma said:
Once we had finished with the mountains, one of the chaperones, a dad, made a startling suggestion.

"We have to ride a classic."

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but ... I love It's a Small World. It really is such a classic and to me it's pretty much synonymous with Disney Parks. So I definitely would have been the one to say this.

natebenma said:
Please join us on our Voyage:
(sing along, if you must)

Thank you, I think I will.
And thanks for the pictures!

natebenma said:

Cute picture! Sorry that Ben didn't recreate it with you, but at least you got a picture with him in the PeopleMover area!

natebenma said:
Did we want to return to the resort for dinner and a quick break or plug on to EPCOT for the night?

Epcot! Pick Epcot!
With a bunch of boys with 8th grade energy levels, I'm guessing it was definitely Epcot.

Wood Nymph · Sep 11, 2015

No doubt about it - you went to Epcot.

accountingbabe08 · Sep 11, 2015

Great review

annie170 · Sep 11, 2015

What an awesome chaperone you were to get up so early on Mother's Day to book those fast passes!

I love ride photos. Two years ago, I actually found a good friend in a DISer's EE ride photo. Of course, I had to send them the link and they got a got a kick out of it.

I haven't been to Pinocchio's Village Haus since 1985. (Is it weird that my Disney trips come back to me like total recall?) I didn't know they had ice cream there.

That 2005 People Mover photo is just priceless! I'm glad you got the exit photo. Adorable!

teekathepony · Sep 12, 2015

Dee, I am finally here and catching up. So far still laughing at your falling asleep sitting up and then demanding your papers back. I woke Johnny up reading some parts of it to him!

teekathepony · Sep 12, 2015

Ok now I'm all caught up! A great solo morning, but oh so close on the backstage at haunted mansion!
Yay! You guys got to eat at CHH!

amazingact21 · Sep 12, 2015

Nice FP selections! All 3 mountains in one afternoon makes for a pretty entertaining time.

That slushie at the Village Haus is so sweet, I'm not surprised some of the teenagers went for it. Talk about a sugar high afterwards.

Aw, that's too bad that you couldn't recreate the PeopleMover photo. But, at that age, friends always trump riding with the parents. Maybe on a future trip...

Travels With Teens: Take Two “I Can Organize This Trip in My Sleep!”BC Dee in DC Roti & Fini p. 40

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