17 Days of Wishes Come to Life- A Sept. 08 WDW and DCL Adventure 3/27 new link posted

[jaycns]

Welcome back to those of you who have been down this crazy road of trip reports with me before. And to all of you new readers, let me take a moment to say !

This trip report will cover our 2008 land and sea vacation. We stayed at the Wilderness Lodge for 9 WDWonderful days before heading to Port Canaveral to board the Disney Magic for a week long adventure on the high seas.

But, I am being rude, before I go any further, let me introduce myself and the motley crew (aka my family) that joined me for this often dreamed about and much wished for adventure.

My name is Jay. I am the mother of four truly amazing little guys and the wife of one totally amazing big guy as well. I love all things Disney. The movies, the parks, the characters, the music, the store, the cruise line, the magic. I even love the Disney channel (no laughing, you know you watch it too! ). This was my twelfth Disney trip, yet the pixie dust has not started to lose it's sparkle. For me, WDW is still a wonderland.

Some of the characters I like are Stitch, Abu, Donald Duck, Figment, Beast. The sassy, attitude having characters who really do have hearts of gold (under the sparking sass of course). If I were to be any character, I would chose Belle. She is smart, independent, loyal and not at all frumpy or girly girl. Everything I hope to grow up to be.

Here is a recent picture so that you can put a face to the DISer.


Also joining us on the adventure is my wonderful dh,aka the Disney Grump. He is not the biggest Disney fan you could ever find...but he's mine and I will continue to love him despite that glaring character flaw.

Here is a recent picture of the Disney Grump (aka dh).


Next up, the cream of the vacationing crop, our four boys.

First up is Aladdin. He is our 12 year old, soccer playing, Disney fan. Lucky for me, the Disney bug did bite him (and how!). He loves all things Disney, including WDW. When it comes to a partner in crime, he's my man, always helping me to convince dh that another Disney trip is "required". His favorite characters are Jack Sparrow, Mickey Mouse, Aladdin and Will Turner.

Here is a picture of Aladdin with his newest little brother.


Next up is Goofy. He celebrated his 9th birthday while on vacation. He just flat out loves Disney. He is a bit shy with new people, but considers all Disney characters to be old friends. He has a big smile, but an even bigger heart. His favorite characters are Pluto, Lucky (from 101 Dalmatians), Goofy, Dale and Squirt.

Here is a picture of Goofy and his littlest brother on the 4th of July.


Next let me do the honor of introducing you to my very own Experiment 626. Stitch is 6 years old and shares many traits with the original 626...he's sweet, loyal, loving and can wreck havoc with the best of them. He shares my love of the Disney "naughty makers". His favorite characters are Chip, Stitch, Crush, Figment and Donald Duck.

Here is a recent picture of Stitch.


And proudly introducing the newest addition to our family. Our sweet little prince. He may be too young to have any of his own favorite characters yet, but he is defiantly as cute and cuddly as they come. This was his first trip to WDW (a rite of passage in our family). This trip might not be one he will remember...but I know that I will not forget a moment! And I am very excited to be able to share those special moments with you.

Here is our little prince. He was 8 and 1/2 months old on our trip. This picture was taken a few weeks before our trip.


If you are interested in hearing about two of our previous Disney vacations, I invite you to follow the links below to my previous trip reports.

TRIP REPORT 2006- http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1246511



TRIP REPORT 2007- http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?t=1585715

So there you have it. A brief run down of the cast of characters who took part in this trip. With that background information taken care of, I will get down to some serious trip reporting in the next installment.

Thanks again for dropping by to share in our most recent Disney adventure!

[starrzone]

Can't wait to hear all about it! Your boys look SO grown up, especially Stitch. Love the baby's outfit, too; I can't believe you found something with "Little Prince" right on it!

[SoonerGirl]

Yippee! You've started! I'm so looking forward to hearing all about your trip!

[anbouk]

Jay....GREAT start!!! Can't wait for you to catch-up with your , ughh chores...hate them! so we can hear all about it. Little prince looks adorable! Lucky you had so many helpers this trip, huh? Bring it on !

[MouseTriper]

YIPPPEEEE.....you have started. I am sooo in on this trip report!!! I can not wait to hear all about your magical moments on this adventure of a lifetime....wait... maybe I should say...your yearly adventures since we know you will be going back SOONER rather than later!!! <wink..wink> LOL!!!

[John's Mom]

I can't wait to read all about your family's latest adventures.

[SkyGirl]

"I'm so excited and I just can't hide it, I'm about to lose control and ...."





Truly, I am so excited that you are starting your report! The boys are just as cute as ever and you and DH aren't too bad either!! Those little toes of the Little Prince are just incredible. Is it bad that I wanted to tickle and bite them?

Can't wait, can't wait!!

[Figment's Friend]

Jay! I was so happy to hear everybody had a great time, I can't wait for the first installment!!

[busymomma123]

I feel like I have been waiting so long for this. Its like my DD's anticipation for High School Musical 3.

[patches07]

Glad that you and your family had a great time, I can't wait for more

[jaycns]

And we're off...

We hit the road just before the late news came on Thursday evening. We had the suitcases, the car seat, the bags of stuff, the kids and ourselves. And thanks to our new (we got it after our last vacation) Honda Odyssey, we still had room to spare! Our last two minivans did nothing for us as far as providing enough storage space. But the Odyssey rocks! **End subtle plug** As we pulled out we were all in high spirits. For some reason, it didn't seem like a daunting task to drive through the night. Why is it that the ride to WDW never seems anywhere near as long as the one home?

The ride was uneventful...which is a good thing considering that we had started out with high hopes that our boys would sleep through the majority of it. Turns out our hopes were realized and we had a blissfully quiet drive to Florida. We had been more then a bit nervous about the Little Prince and how he would react to such a long time cooped up in his car seat...but it turns out we needn't have worried at all. He was such a little trooper!

At about 7:30 AM we were finally in Florida. We grabbed breakfast on the road and right then and there consumed the very last "non Disney" meal we would have for the next 16 days! That thought was a very pleasant one and we were very excited rolling down the highway and thinking about what was to come.

Finally at about 9:00 AM we drove under the welcome to Walt Disney World sign...how much do I LOVE that sign?!

The first place we stopped was at the gas station. The boys were so excited about being at WDW they forgot to beg me for "treats" as we ran in to use the restrooms while dh filled the van up.


Once we were done at the Hess Station we headed to our home for the next 9 days, the Wilderness Lodge (WL from now on). It surely was a sight for tired eyes!


As we pulled up, I couldn't help but smile...the vacation I had been dreaming about, wishing on and planning for months was finally really here! We pulled up and the valet took our car, the bellman handled our luggage and we shown to a small sitting area in the front corner of the lobby. Here we stretched out a bit after our long ride and took the first of many snapshots.
Below you see: Aladdin, Goofy, Stitch, and dh holding our Little Prince.


It sort of reminded me of the Goldilocks story when Goofy and Stitch had to try out every single chair in the area to find the one that was "just right".


So far so good, it looked like our Little Prince understood that great things were just around the corner!


As we waited, we got a bit antsy and left dh to wait while we bounced around the rest of the beautiful lobby. Here is a shot I got of all four boys together. I really like this picture. You can almost see the anticipation of the next 16 days in their eyes.


Right after we snapped this picture we were led up to the seventh floor for check in at the club level. The Wilderness Lodge refers to it's club (or concierge) level as the Old Faithful Club. The front desk manager himself came over to take us up and as he led us up he assured me that our special VIP cleaning need (Aladdin frequently has severe allergy and asthma issues when staying at resorts) was being seen to and that our room would not be ready just yet as they wanted to make sure they got it right for us. I didn't mind waiting for that reason one little bit. A few years ago, Aladdin was taken by ambulance from the Ritz Carlton in Chicago and also ended up in an urgent care clinic during a recent stay at the Contemporary. It was because of that issue that we found out about the VIP allergy cleaning that WDW offers for those who immune system or allergy/breathing special needs. For our family, it is literally a life saver and gives us the freedom to vacation with minimal fear.

They were just starting to set out snacks as we finished checking in, so we moseyed over and took a little taste test. Cookies, gold fish crackers, gummy bears...that sort of thing, nothing fancy, but it did hit the sugar spot. After we got our treats, we took them to tables near a big screen tv playing cartoons and chowed down.




Looking down toward the lobby from our table area.


Here are the boys with the bear that stands guard to the food serving area. Notice that Stitch still has his Mogwai traveling with us.


Once we were done snacking we headed back down to the WL lobby. Along the way, Stitch spotted this hidden Mickey in the wall paper pattern.


The great fireplace in the lobby drew us in like moths. Here I am with all of my sweet little guys.


And here they spotted Humphrey and had to rub his nose for good luck.


This next picture was taken by a CM who saw us taking pictures near the totem pole and offered to take one of our entire family. I thought that offer was very thoughtful! It's not the best picture...but it's one of the few of all of us together, so I wanted to include it.


As we walked around the lobby we picked our next destination...DTD!

To be continued...

[brookelizabeth]

I'm here! Now I gotta catch up....

[jaycns]

Originally Posted by starrzone

Can't wait to hear all about it! Your boys look SO grown up, especially Stitch. Love the baby's outfit, too; I can't believe you found something with "Little Prince" right on it!

They really have grown, haven't they? It hits me when I look at pictures of them, they have changed so much! And I love his "Little Prince" outfit so much! I found it about a month ago and didn't let the fact that summer was over and it was sleeveless stop me from buying it.

Originally Posted by SoonerGirl

Yippee! You've started! I'm so looking forward to hearing all about your trip!

And I am looking forward to sharing it. I feel like I need to warn you all though, I took TONS of pictures and even more notes. For instance, I took 138 pictures on the first day of our vacation alone! I know, it's a sickness...but I don't want to be well. I am looking forward to catching up on your trip report as well. Thanks for being here!

Originally Posted by anbouk

Jay....GREAT start!!! Can't wait for you to catch-up with your , ughh chores...hate them! so we can hear all about it. Little prince looks adorable! Lucky you had so many helpers this trip, huh? Bring it on !

The laundry is DONE! And, it's even put away. I made myself get that done before I let myself start with the trip report. I should set more goals for myself like that...I might actually get things done.

Originally Posted by MouseTriper

YIPPPEEEE.....you have started. I am sooo in on this trip report!!! I can not wait to hear all about your magical moments on this adventure of a lifetime....wait... maybe I should say...your yearly adventures since we know you will be going back SOONER rather than later!!! <wink..wink> LOL!!!

Yes, I am hopefully going back at the start of December for a mom and boys retreat while dad is busy on a work trip (as you well know since I am planning on stealing away a day of your vacation to spend with the boys and I ).

Originally Posted by John's Mom

I can't wait to read all about your family's latest adventures.

I am glad you are here! And thanks for bringing the popcorn. Here's a drink to help wash it down.

Originally Posted by SkyGirl

"I'm so excited and I just can't hide it, I'm about to lose control and ...."





Truly, I am so excited that you are starting your report! The boys are just as cute as ever and you and DH aren't too bad either!! Those little toes of the Little Prince are just incredible. Is it bad that I wanted to tickle and bite them?

Can't wait, can't wait!!

HA HA HA, let me know if the toes taste like chicken.

Originally Posted by Figment's Friend

Jay! I was so happy to hear everybody had a great time, I can't wait for the first installment!!

The first installment has been delivered as promised.

Originally Posted by busymomma123

I feel like I have been waiting so long for this. Its like my DD's anticipation for High School Musical 3.

Even my boys are looking forward to that. It totally cracks me up...they try and pretend they don't care about it, but they can often be found talking about it's upcoming release date.

Originally Posted by patches07

Glad that you and your family had a great time, I can't wait for more.

Thanks for joining in. I will update the rest of day one shortly.

[jaycns]

Originally Posted by brookelizabeth

I'm here! Now I gotta catch up....

Welcome Brooke...you are going to LOVE the lodge!

[brookelizabeth]

Originally Posted by jaycns

Welcome Brooke...you are going to LOVE the lodge!

Oh good! I know you were unsure about it, so I'm glad to hear you can endorse it like this!