The Darling Family June 2010 Trip Report: When are the Parents Showing Up?11/5 New TR

[jngwright]

Great start to your TR! I am curious to hear all about OKW. We are doing a big group trip next year (we are going to celebrate our 11th anniversary on 11/11/11 with as many of our wedding party and their families as can come) and I am considering renting a villa at OKW. It looks so pretty!

Are you loving the Twilight series? I never thought I would get into it, but couldn't put the books down!

Did you find traveling with the kids alone to be a great experience? I loved it-it was a totally different dynamic! Of course we missed DH, but I will never regret having that mom and kid trip

Can't wait to read more!!

[creativeamanda]

Every other trip we start off at Epcot. I love it there--especially the World SHowcase. In December when I was alone, I spent a great deal of time in Epcot's WS. I also love Living with the Land--it is such a relaxing ride and calming for the kids who have usually been going all morning before we get to it.

Great start!

[praisehisname]

Originally Posted by dismagiclover

And here are three little monkeys looking at some fish

Love this picture! Sounds like you're having a nice, leisurely start to your trip. Did you hit Turtle Talk next?

[Happy Elf]

Can't wait to hear about OKW. Love the picture of the kids watching the fish. I keep telling myself we need to slow down on our next trip...we'll see if that happens??

[dismagiclover]

[QUOTE=Queenofallthings;37238413]Another update

I can't wait to hear all about OKW...that resort has always been of interest to me so I can't wait to hear your take on it!/QUOTE]
We really enjoyed OKW. It is such a relaxing place to be with a very low key vibe. It is a world away from the craziness that is in so many other places at Disney. I never once felt like the place was crowded. On the other hand it is very spread out. We were lucky and were right near the hospitality house, but if you were far away it might be a little too isolated.

Originally Posted by Planning fanatic mom

I'll take a guess. How about Turtle Talk with Crush or Spaceship Earth?

I tried to get them to see Turtle Talk, but the boys didn't want to. We hit Spaceship Earth before we leave, but we go somewhere else first.

Originally Posted by wdwgirl03

Gotta love seeing the WDW arch.

I am curious to hear what you have to say about OKW. We have not stayed there yet but would like to so we can stay at all the DVC resorts. It does seem like a nice place.

You should definitely try OKW. In some ways it is like SSR with the apartment like set up. It has a completely different vibe that SSR though. It's very laid back and it never felt crowded. I think because most of the common areas are outside that added to the open, laid back feel. Though that has its downsides too. For instance during storms there is no inside seating for the CS place.

Originally Posted by letstalkboutdisney

I'll guess test track

Good guess, but it wasn't Test Track.

[DrMomof3]

Thanks for the report of the autotrain. I'm very tempted, although I would choose to do it on the way home. I figure driving down you're excited about the trip but driving home you're sad!
We've never stayed at OKW so I can't wait to hear the full report!!!

Amanda

[dismagiclover]

Originally Posted by jngwright

Great start to your TR! I am curious to hear all about OKW. We are doing a big group trip next year (we are going to celebrate our 11th anniversary on 11/11/11 with as many of our wedding party and their families as can come) and I am considering renting a villa at OKW. It looks so pretty!

Are you loving the Twilight series? I never thought I would get into it, but couldn't put the books down!

Did you find traveling with the kids alone to be a great experience? I loved it-it was a totally different dynamic! Of course we missed DH, but I will never regret having that mom and kid trip

Can't wait to read more!!

I think OKW would be a great place for a large group. The units are big and the resort is a great place to relax away from the hustle bustle of the parks. It is a beautiful resort, though it is quite spread out so you'd want to make sure all of your families were in the same area if you could.
I am enjoing the Twilight series. I still haven't read Breaking Dawn. I was waiting for it to come out in paperback, but I'll probably break down and get it in hardcover. It's great summer reading.
I really did enjoy the trip with just the kids. It was a totally different dynamic. We were really laid back and we had very few must do's. Especially when Wendy was on her cruise and it was just the boys and I. We had a great time! I'd love to do it again, but it might be tough to talk DH into it. I think he felt bad missing all the fun.

Originally Posted by creativeamanda

Every other trip we start off at Epcot. I love it there--especially the World SHowcase. In December when I was alone, I spent a great deal of time in Epcot's WS. I also love Living with the Land--it is such a relaxing ride and calming for the kids who have usually been going all morning before we get to it.

Great start!

We do seem to spend a great deal of time in Epcot. It's a park where there is always something to do and really seems to handle crowds well. So even if you can't get on the big rides (Soarin' and Test Track) you can always stop by Nemo, Figment, or Innoventions. Plus you have the World Showcase. We love it.

Originally Posted by praisehisname

Love this picture! Sounds like you're having a nice, leisurely start to your trip. Did you hit Turtle Talk next?

I love that picture too! Turtle Talk is a good guess, but I couldn't talk the kids into it.

Originally Posted by Happy Elf

Can't wait to hear about OKW. Love the picture of the kids watching the fish. I keep telling myself we need to slow down on our next trip...we'll see if that happens??

OKW is such a relaxing, kick back place. There are a few disadvantages (like no walking to any park), but the positives definitely outweigh the negatives. I really enjoyed the slower pace of this trip. We've now been often enough that I don't have to commando anymore and it's very nice.

[dismagiclover]

Originally Posted by DrMomof3

Thanks for the report of the autotrain. I'm very tempted, although I would choose to do it on the way home. I figure driving down you're excited about the trip but driving home you're sad!
We've never stayed at OKW so I can't wait to hear the full report!!!

Amanda

There would be definite advantages to doing it on the way home. One would be you'd probably be more tired so sleeping would be easier. This worked for us because DH was with us for the drive back. Plus we stopped at the beach on the way home. OKW is a lovely resort. Very laid back and it seemed a world away from the parks. Staying there was almost like a vacation from the vacation if you know what I mean.

[DrMomof3]

Originally Posted by dismagiclover

There would be definite advantages to doing it on the way home. One would be you'd probably be more tired so sleeping would be easier. This worked for us because DH was with us for the drive back. Plus we stopped at the beach on the way home. OKW is a lovely resort. Very laid back and it seemed a world away from the parks. Staying there was almost like a vacation from the vacation if you know what I mean.

Having 2 drivers makes a huge difference! I assumed that a sleeper car would be necessary (which makes the cost prohibitive!). Glad to hear that's not true!
We stayed at SSR last year and found it very relaxing, too. The only downside was that we didn't have a car!

Amanda

[Stefy]

Yay you started and I am unfashionably late (my apologies)!

Great start The auto train sounded like a fun adventure, bet you are glad you decided to do this instead of the drive How weird that there was wine on the table already, esp when you had kiddilywinks with you.

Loving the aquarium pics, always fun and relaxing to watch the fishys

[BippityBoo]

I'm here!!!! Sorry for taking so long---I was at the beach! The kids looked SO excited to be going to WDW--how cool that you got to take a train!! Can't wait to hear all about your trip-especially PL and Harry Potter

[FairyGodmotherJen]

OKW was wonderful when we stayed there back in 2000. If I get my way and we rent DVC points for our next stay, it's pretty darn high on my list. Glad you enjoyed it!

How awesome that you were able to get an early start! I'm not sure what to guess, though, since my original guesses have all been guessed and rejected. Figment, maybe?

As for the Twilight series - I refused to read them for the longest time, and then they started showing up on my students' desks (I teach fourth grade, mind you! ) I decided that I needed to know what these were, and even if they were appropriate. I ended up enjoying them (definitely some more than others) much more than I thought. You're right - they're really good summer reads! I still have issues with my 10-year-old students reading them, however. I ended up telling one of my kids to leave Breaking Dawn at home. You'll understand when you read it...

[Angies1274]

Great update!! YAY! for arriving and seeing the Disney sign!!Aww...love that sight!!! It sounds like a nice relaxing start to your trip! Living with the Land is another favorite of ours! And I love the shot of three kids looking in the aquarium...so cute!! Can't wait to hear more!!

[dismagiclover]

Originally Posted by DrMomof3

Having 2 drivers makes a huge difference! I assumed that a sleeper car would be necessary (which makes the cost prohibitive!). Glad to hear that's not true!
We stayed at SSR last year and found it very relaxing, too. The only downside was that we didn't have a car!

Amanda

While a sleeper car would have been nice we did just fine without it. I don't know if I would have enjoyed OKW so much if we didn't have a car. The buses were a bit of a pain because they went all the way around the resort before heading to the park. Hopping in the car that was sitting right outside your door was easy peasy

Originally Posted by Stefy

Yay you started and I am unfashionably late (my apologies)!

Great start The auto train sounded like a fun adventure, bet you are glad you decided to do this instead of the drive How weird that there was wine on the table already, esp when you had kiddilywinks with you.

Loving the aquarium pics, always fun and relaxing to watch the fishys

The Auto Train was definitely a good choice. I'm glad I'm not the only one that thinks it is a bit strange to have the wine sitting right on the table before anyone even arrives.

Originally Posted by BippityBoo

I'm here!!!! Sorry for taking so long---I was at the beach! The kids looked SO excited to be going to WDW--how cool that you got to take a train!! Can't wait to hear all about your trip-especially PL and Harry Potter

You're definitely excused for a beach trip! The train was a fun way to travel. PL should be up before too long. We did that on Day 4. Harry Potter won't be for quite a while since that was at the end of the trip.

Originally Posted by FairyGodmotherJen

OKW was wonderful when we stayed there back in 2000. If I get my way and we rent DVC points for our next stay, it's pretty darn high on my list. Glad you enjoyed it!

How awesome that you were able to get an early start! I'm not sure what to guess, though, since my original guesses have all been guessed and rejected. Figment, maybe?

As for the Twilight series - I refused to read them for the longest time, and then they started showing up on my students' desks (I teach fourth grade, mind you! ) I decided that I needed to know what these were, and even if they were appropriate. I ended up enjoying them (definitely some more than others) much more than I thought. You're right - they're really good summer reads! I still have issues with my 10-year-old students reading them, however. I ended up telling one of my kids to leave Breaking Dawn at home. You'll understand when you read it...

Figment is a good guess, but no. My kids don't like that ride all that much. That part when the air blows out suddenly makes them nervous. I completely agree with you that Twilight is not appropriate for 4th graders. Wendy just finished 4th grade and has asked me about the books. I told her I think she should be 12 or 13 before she reads them. I know there is nothing explicit in the books, but there is more angst in those books than in a Harlequin romance I suppose that is why young teens like them so much.

Originally Posted by Angies1274

Great update!! YAY! for arriving and seeing the Disney sign!!Aww...love that sight!!! It sounds like a nice relaxing start to your trip! Living with the Land is another favorite of ours! And I love the shot of three kids looking in the aquarium...so cute!! Can't wait to hear more!!

Most of the trip we did a pretty good job of relaxing. It's easier when we know we'll be back soon. I like the aquarium shot too.

[dismagiclover]

So I asked the kids where to next and Wendy immediately piped up with “Club Cool.” (No one guessed it.) So Club Cool it was! We made the quick walk over and both the boys passed on a drink. They aren’t big soda drinkers. Wendy and I both had a small glass of Costa Rica, but no one was falling for the Beverly trick again. (We’d tried it last summer.) So then the kids all agreed they were up for a little shopping. We headed to Mousegears where they all promptly scattered in three directions. So I spent much of my time doing my darndest to keep track of them. Sometime during the craziness I snapped this shot.



Eventually they all ended up gathered around the pins. All three of them have really gotten into the pin collecting thing. I bought a lot from Mousepinsonline before we left so they each had some traders. But of course they were most interested in the pins they could buy. I told them all we weren’t buying anything on the first day because I was sure we’d be back and eventually dragged them all out of Mousegears.

About this point everyone started clamoring for ice cream so we headed over to the ice cream shop by the Character Connections. The line was quite long and we weren’t going to be in the park too much longer. So the kids all agreed we could get ice cream back at the hotel. (Remember this later.)

We’d been in the park a while and had only been on a couple of rides so they were all itching to head to Spaceship Earth. We jumped in a short line and before we knew it we were taking a journey through time. Then we were seeing our future. It looks like a good one







Obviously I rode with Michael.

After exiting the ride Wendy and John spent some time saving the energy supply of some city or other. (Or whatever it is you do during this game.)





By this point the skies were looking very threatening and thunder was beginning to rumble. So we decided to head out. We still hadn’t received our text telling us our room number, but it was after 2:30 so I was hoping it would come very soon. We had one more very important thing to take care of before we left the park. We headed into guest relations where we used our 1 day GAD passes toward these beautiful babies.



They may not look like much, but these are Annual Passes! We are now official Disney World Annual Passholders! It’s a first for the Darling Family and very exciting. We plan on using them in October and January! The CM that helped us was very kind and reprinted John’s when he ended up with Minnie. Then she printed Wendy’s three times so she could finally get Minnie. Michael was super lucky he got Pluto on the first try. Mine is Minnie too (I would have taken anyone.) John wanted Donald, but was happy with Goofy. Much better than Minnie for him. So we happily left guest services with the passes in hand.

The thunder was rumbling, the skies were darkening up. There was just one more thing I wanted to do before we left the park. I wanted a Photopass picture of all of us with the ball. I’d prepurchased the CD and this would be our only time all of four of us would be at the front of Epcot. Would we get the picture before the skies opened up?