2400 pictures! Beach Club, Universal, and Bay Lake Tower Grand Villa-COMPLETE!

[dr&momto2boys]

Dinner was good, but the food certainly wasn't worth 2 TS credits. This dining experience is all about the atmosphere and the little princesses. We knew that going in and definately had a good time. I was impressed that they offered Ella her own meal at no charge--buttered noodles or something else. She also got her own dessert. I thought that was generous since we didn't pay anything for her.




The kids' sundaes were topped with a cute and tastey chocolate crown.


I had the chocolate Buckle. It was good, but I think they should come up with something more special here.


Next: Evening activities and Wishes

[dr&momto2boys]

After dinner, most of us headed over to the Haunted Mansion. DH and his sister went on Small World with Avery, Max, and Ella though.




It was pretty hot, so I tried to change Ella out of her princess dress, but she summoned her inner princess and would have nothing to do with it! She was thoroughly enjoying being a princess! This was the beginning of the bonding of the girl cousins. Avery made sure Ella had her wand at all times!




We went on the Swiss Family Tree House, Alladin's Magic Carpets, the Jungle Cruise, and Pirates of the Caribbean.




Jacob joined the grown-ups for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad while SIL took the other kids to the play area by Splash Mountain.


He gives the ride two thumbs up afterward. A brave little five year old!


We couldn't convince Jake to go on Splah Mountain though, so we all skipped it. We met up with the kids at the play area before finding a snack and a spot to see Wishes.

This was a pivotal bonding moment for Ella and Avery. Avery was leading Ella around by the hand through the play structures so the big kids wouldn't hurt her. Ella was totally into that. She got hurt at one point and we rescued her and gave her a pacifier. Soon after she popped out the pacifier (she NEVER does that) and hands it to Daddy. Then she held her hand out to Avery and they they took off again. Adorable!




We found a pretty good spot along Main Street and I took the boys to Main Street Bakery to use some snack credits. We bought a cinnamon roll to share for breakfast the next day. We also got an uncrustable for Max for a snack and something else, but I can't recall what it was now.

Grandma had purchased these light up necklaces for the 4 bigger grandkids for the nighttime activites. Here they are waiting for Wishes. Ella got fussy, so she and I went back to the hotel before Wishes began. I saw some of it from the monorail.







Ella and I stopped by a store in the Contemporary to do a little shopping. Ever since I was pregnant with her at Disneyland, I've wanted to buy her a baby plush princess, so tonight I showed her a few and let her pick one. She picked Tink and couldn't stop tweaking Tink's nose.




Next up: DHS and Top of the World Lounge

[LaurenLC]

I've been slowly reading your trip report during early morning feedings and I have to tell you how cute your kids are! It looks like you guys had a great time! I can't wait to read more!

[dr&momto2boys]

Originally Posted by LaurenLC

I've been slowly reading your trip report during early morning feedings and I have to tell you how cute your kids are! It looks like you guys had a great time! I can't wait to read more!

Thank you so much! I understand those early morning feedings! Between my 3 kids, I've been breastfeeding for 5 1/2 years straight and counting! Congratulations on your beautiful baby!

[dd50]

Great update. I am just catching up as we have been school shopping. My poor credit card is wearing out with that and some of Disney still on it.

Buzz is always crowded but it is so cute. We try to do it in the morning because the crowds come along.

I am glad Jacob liked Splash Mountain. My grandson is 5 and he loves it. This year my granddaughter who is 7 even went on it and she doesn't do roller coasters of any kind.

I agree about CRT. It is nice to experience and I did enjoy my dinner last year but don't really think it is worth the money either on dining plan or paying out of pocket.

[dr&momto2boys]

I'll try to get another update done today. Let's see how the upload to photobucket goes!

[dr&momto2boys]

Before heading off to Disney's Hollywood Studios today, the kids had fun playing while we waited for the whole group to be ready. I'd say the kids got our money's worth out of their balloons.




We finally found our groove! Everyone was ready in a timely manner and no big rush to get to the bus. Too bad tomorrow is the day we go home.


Did I mention what a pain it was getting all the color and pixie dust out of the kids hair? Jacob's hair was washed at least three times last night and look at all the red still in there. It was permanently spiked too. I can't remember if his look above was before or after we put some gel in it and made the best of it.

After a long day yesterday, Max would have nothing to do with getting in the bathtub last night, so you'll see in today's pictures that it is just a matted green mess. It was pretty funny when his whiney argument last night was "But no one will like me." He was referring to all the compliments he got on his hair that day. He thought if he washed it, people wouldn't like him anymore. What a sweety. He won the argument.

And we were off to the bus...






Upon arrival we grabbed our rental stroller and went straight for Toy Story Mania so we could ride once and grab fast passes for later.






Max was definately not afraid to ride this time! It was, of course, a favorite of all!






Kyle had an interest in seeing the Narnia attraction, so we did that next since it was right there. This had always been off my radar since it gets such poor reviews and our family hadn't seen any of the Narnia movies before this trip. (Now we've seen one.) I have to say, the reviews are right. This was very boring unless you're a big Narnia fan. It seemed like a movie trailor to me.

Up next: The rest of our DHS day and Top of the World Lounge

[dr&momto2boys]

Originally Posted by dr&momto2boys

On the way, we stopped by Guest Services to upgrade our tickets to annual passes. From great tips here on the DISboards I saved big on our APs! First, I bought the deepest discounted tickets I could buy without going over the value of the AP. I bought from Undercover Tourist through a special MouseSavers link. I bought 6 day passes because they had the biggest savings without going over the AP cost. I bought last year, before the ticket prices were raised. Then we used these passes to get into the park. That way they give you the current gate value for the passes. (If you don't use the tickets once, they charge you the difference between waht you paid, and what you're buying. ) Then using our DVC discount for APs we only owed about $16 per person to upgrade to annual passes! The CM said we saved like $200 each. Thank you, DISers!

I got a request by PM to clarify how we saved so much money on our APs. I'll try.


First you need to understand that no matter what you paid for a ticket, once you use it at least once, it becomes valued at the current gate ticket price.

Buying the biggest discounted ticket and then upgrading to an annual pass gives you the most savings. Three things to remember:
1. Don't exceed the cost of the annual pass. (Including any discount you can apply to it. (ex. DVC membership saves you $100 off an AP.)
2. Don't get waterpark option on your tickets or you must get a premium annual pass.
3. You must use it once before you upgrade, otherwise it's value is still the purchase price.

Current AP price $531.44 - $100 DVC discount = $431.44
(Exact cost is probably a little less used tax on full fare.)

We wanted to buy the ticket with the biggest discount whose full fare would not exceed $431.44

The best discount source for legitimate WDW park tickets is through the email links from Mousesavers(dot)com. It gets you special pricing at Undercovertourist(dot)com.

The current price at undercovertourist (without the special link) for the 6 Day Park Hopper with no expiration is $371.95. That saves $56 off the gate price!

So if we just did this, presently it would cost us only $27.95 to upgrade to APs from the tickets we bought.

We saved even more though because we did use the special link and bought in 2009, before ticket prices went up for 2010. (Maybe that last part was a wash, I don't know.)

Hope this makes more sense. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.

[luvpoohandcompany]

Just wondering if I have old partly used tickets (from the days when all tickets didnt expire) and they have water-park options on them can I use these to upgrade to an annual passes when we are in wdw in 2011? Would it have to be a premium annual pass? We are now a family of 5 (in2004 we were 4) and my son is now an adult. I didnt know I could up-grade the tickets - I thought I could just use the remaining days. Thanks for any help you can give.
Loving your trip report and all your photos
Makes me wish I was there now!

[dd50]

Nice update. Love the pics. I agree with the Narnia thing. We saw it last year and I was waiting for the show to start and didn't realize that was the show. We passed on it this year.

[dr&momto2boys]

Originally Posted by luvpoohandcompany

Just wondering if I have old partly used tickets (from the days when all tickets didnt expire) and they have water-park options on them can I use these to upgrade to an annual passes when we are in wdw in 2011? Would it have to be a premium annual pass? We are now a family of 5 (in2004 we were 4) and my son is now an adult. I didnt know I could up-grade the tickets - I thought I could just use the remaining days. Thanks for any help you can give.
Loving your trip report and all your photos
Makes me wish I was there now!

I'm not sure of the answer to that but I bet someone on the DISboards knows. You could start thread to ask.

Originally Posted by dd50

Nice update. Love the pics. I agree with the Narnia thing. We saw it last year and I was waiting for the show to start and didn't realize that was the show. We passed on it this year.

That's exactly what I was thinking!

[dr&momto2boys]

Maybe I can get a little more posted today. I've been preoccupied because we just found out that we're going to have a baby! I had to spend some time on pregnancy sites!

I'm glad we have two trips planned to WDW before the birth of baby #4. (Even though I'll have to skip a bunch of rides.) I'm sure it will be a while before we travel with 4 kids on our own.

[dr&momto2boys]

Star Tours was next on our agenda. To get there, we walked by the misting Coke bottle and fire engine. We also passed by where the Muppet are. The show was closed while we were there though.





Everyone went on Star Tours except SIL and Avery, Max, Ella, and me. We walked around the gift shop. Max was pretty interested in the build your own lightsabers. When everyone came off the ride I showed them to Jacob and he decided that that was the souvenir he wanted Grandma to buy him. Finally! Max liked them so much too that we had to buy him one. I guess the lesson learned here is pick out your souvenirs early and often.



SIL and Avery took off to catch the High School Musical 3 show. That's where we caught up to them. My kids have no interest in this, so we grabbed a snack from Starring Rolls and the popcorn cart while waiting for the show to end.



Next, we planned for the kids to see Playhouse Disney and possibly The Little Mermaid show while the men and me went to Tower of Terror and Rockin' Rollercoaster.














I love how Disney carries the theming throuh to the photo and gift shops so well.

Just as we got off ToT, BIL got a call from his wife that Kyle was throwing a fit. He didn't want to do that "baby stuff." SIL wanted him to come and get Kyle right away. Bummer! RRC is so close by. What to do, what to do...

[Must C Mickey]

Yeah a new post! I've been waiting...

[dr&momto2boys]

Dash over to RRC real quickly or pick up unhappy kid...tough choice. We tried not to influence BIL.
And the choice is...








The phone rang again as we exited the ride. BIL took off running saying, "Tell her I'm on the way!"

Kyle was sulking when we got there. The whole group was just hanging out by Voyage of the Little Mermaid. They never did see the show.





The girls were having a fun time sharing jewelry. Avery taught Ella how to accessorize!


I wanted to get a group photo of the kids in matching shirts, but Kyle wasn't in the mood. These goofballs were entertaining though...




We had planned to have lunch at '50s Prime Time Cafe. We did this 2 years ago on our big group trip, and it was the worst dining experience we had! It had nothing to do with the restaurant. It was just the kids! I think it was Kyle that spilled a drink all over a few family members near him, and Jacob that had an accident and peed MY pants! The kids were all so cranky that Grandma ended up leaving early and walking my two around in the stroller until they both went to sleep. Given the history and the way the day was shaping up so far, we decided to cancel our '50s ADR and eat counter service at the Studio Catering Company. We figured the kids could play at the Honey I shrunk the Kids playground--or whatever it's called--while we got the food and after we finished. A good call I think!


After lunch we used our fast passes for Toy Story Mania and then went back to the hotel. We had covered about all we wanted to.

Finally got the group shot.








It's great how well the cousins get along! All the kids are pretty well behaved when they're all together. It makes for a great trip!

Next: Movie under the Stars, Wishes from the Top of the World Lounge, and the Water Pageant!