If we can keep this trip a secret, it will be a Disney miracle! *TR LINK ADDED 12/12!*

[vleeth]

Just finding you...I'll go back and read your last trip report this weekend.

We are planning a surprise Disney trip also!

 

[hokieinpa]

Daily Plans

We're back from our non-Disney Florida trip!

We've been back a little over a week and I'm finally unpacked and fairly organized again!

So what else would we do but turn around and get ready for another trip?

Next weekend we head to North Carolina for 2 weeks at the beach! I'm really looking forward to lots of time playing and relaxing. Not to mention, it will make our Disney countdown move a little quicker!




In PTR news, I thought I would go over our basic daily plans for the trip!

We started planning this trip about a week before crowd calendars came out. I knew that we wanted to hit MK for the party plus one full day. Then it came down to either HS or Epcot. Now, I really do LOVE Epcot. But the Christmas attractions there just do not appeal to young boys. I would love to see the Candlelight Processional but that is something I could enjoy more in a few years or on an adults/solo trip. So this trip, we'll just be going to Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom.

Here is the basic plan!

Saturday 11/28 - Arrival/DTD



-Arrive at MCO - 1:25
*My parents arrive at 10:30 so they will head to POP to get some lunch or even go to DTD.

-Check in at POP - 2:30-3:00ish
-Eat a quick snack/lunch at the food court
-DTD for shopping, visit with Santa
-Dinner at TRex - 5:45 ADR
-More shopping then back to POP




Sunday 11/29 - Hollywood Studios



-Rope Drop - 9:00
-Lunch at Sc Fi - 11:00 or 12:25 ADR
-FP+
*TSMM
*Star Tours
*Tower of Terror
-Osborne Spectacle of Lights
-EMH 8-10 PM? Maybe just Jim and I as my parents have offered to take the boys back to POP!
-Try to catch the 2nd Fantasmic




Monday 11/30 - Magic Kingdom



-AM EMH Rope Drop - 8:00
-Breakfast at Crystal Palace - 10:30 ADR
-FP+
*7DMT
*Peter Pan
*Buzz, Pirates, Jungle Cruise, Big Thunder Mountain...any ideas?
-Late Lunch/Cupcakes at BOG - 2:20 ADR
-Festival of Fantasy - 3:00
-Celebrate the Magic, MSEP, Wishes...the whole line up of MK nighttime magic!




Tuesday 12/1 - MVMCP



-Breakfast at Ohana - 10:00 or 10:55 ADR
-Tour monorail resorts, checking out decorations
-Back to POP for a rest
-MK for MVMCP - 4:00
-FP+
*7DMT
*And that's all I have for sure at this point, I'll work it out once I have my full plan for each day!
-QS dinner before 7:00
-MVMCP Festivities - parade, castle lighting, Christmas Wishes, characters, dance parties!




Wednesday 12/2 - Departure

-Flight home - 3:15
-Maybe DTD, checking out another resort, or just playing at POP or AOA



So, I went against every crowd calendar here. Which is just not how I like to do those things!

According to Josh at easywdw, I'm going to a "red" park each day!





HS and MK at the parks to avoid most on the days that we'll be there. But it really was the only way for everything to work out on such a short trip. This is the only way we'll be able to enjoy both regular Wishes and Christmas Wishes with the way the parties are scheduled.

I'm hoping with the low crowd level overall and a good touring plan, we can avoid most of the swarms of people!

I think that's all for now! Let me know if you see any problems so far. I think I'll start making more specific plans and definite FP+ plans later this summer!

Next time, I'll start a little TR on our Florida trip - Legoland, Sea World, and the beach!

 

[Dugette]

I think your plans are sounding good! Can't wait to hear about your non-Disney Florida trip! And, wow, another vacation around the corner...I'm kinda jealous...

 

[KathyM2]

what else would we do but turn around and get ready for another trip?

Of course!! That's the only way to avoid post vacation depression lol

we'll just be going to Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom.

I really like seeing what people choose to do when they can't go to ALL the parks on their trips.

HS and MK at the parks to avoid most on the days that we'll be there. But it really was the only way for everything to work out on such a short trip.

Sometimes it just has to be done. These calendars only work for people who have time and flexibility to follow them...I'm sure with good planning and FP+ you will be fine.

 

[missangelalexis]

I think your plans sound great! I definitely think as long as you have a good plan in place, you won't need to worry about going to the "red" parks. Can't wait to hear about your non-Disney trip!

 

[MissMaryQC]

Have fun in NC! i spent every summer of my childhood in NC and I LOVED it!!!

Daily plans are looking good, even if your days are red, you guys are seasoned you'll do just fine and have a ton of fun!

 

[Pluto0809]

All caught up here! You plans sound wonderful so far and I can't wait to read your take on Legoland and Sea World.

 

[hokieinpa]

You are right about this, but make sure to double-check before you walk away with your AP. I didn't realize until afterwards that mine somehow got activated with the date that I BOUGHT my park-hopper ticket (that I converted) instead of the day I first USED that ticket. They did change it for me, but it always made me nervous (i.e. - I was getting inaccurate emails that my AP would expire before this last trip - but it didn't give me any problems, thankfully).

I'll be sure to check the date! I would have been worried about inconsistent dates as well! Now I just need to be sure to sneak in my solo trip before the AP expires! Did you get a Tables in Wonderland card?

I think your plans are sounding good! Can't wait to hear about your non-Disney Florida trip! And, wow, another vacation around the corner...I'm kinda jealous...

This is a really busy summer for us! We do go to the beach every year. And now it seems like we'll be visiting my sister-in-law in Cocoa almost every summer. Now I just need to talk them into Disney next year. And she only lives 20 minutes from Cape Canaveral so a cruise would be really convenient...just saying!

Just finding you...I'll go back and read your last trip report this weekend.

We are planning a surprise Disney trip also!

Thanks for joining in!

The surprise is getting a little harder at this point! Especially when I'm around my mom and I have to catch myself so I don't mention the trip in front of the boys!

Of course!! That's the only way to avoid post vacation depression lol

It is making it much easier! By the time the trip is over and we're all settled at home again, we'll be close to double digits!

I really like seeing what people choose to do when they can't go to ALL the parks on their trips.

I keep thinking of how we could squeeze in a quick visit to Epcot but I think it would be more stressful! And I don't think I would be satisfied with a quick trip to Epcot!

Sometimes it just has to be done. These calendars only work for people who have time and flexibility to follow them...I'm sure with good planning and FP+ you will be fine.

I'm hoping that we can avoid large crowds! I'm getting excited to pick our FP+ and plan out our days!

I think your plans sound great! I definitely think as long as you have a good plan in place, you won't need to worry about going to the "red" parks. Can't wait to hear about your non-Disney trip!

Thank you! I think the crowd levels overall will be pretty low. I think that will help us deal with everything!

Have fun in NC! i spent every summer of my childhood in NC and I LOVED it!!!

Daily plans are looking good, even if your days are red, you guys are seasoned you'll do just fine and have a ton of fun!

We've been going to the beach there every year since I was a baby - it's a tie with Disney for my happy place!

I'm not overly worried about the crowds. The overall level should be pretty low so I think we'll be good!

All caught up here! You plans sound wonderful so far and I can't wait to read your take on Legoland and Sea World.

I'm glad you're following along! We had a great trip to Legoland and Sea World - but a much different experience than Disney!

 

[hokieinpa]

"No, we're not going to Disney this time..." TR, Part 1 - Arrival

So I chose this as the title for my TR within a PTR because we must have answered the question "Are you going to Disney?" at least 50 times during our 6 days in Florida! And I had to tell them with a heavy heart "No, we're not going to Disney this time...".

But we still had a great trip and it turns out there is plenty of fun stuff to do in Florida besides Disney World - crazy, right? But spoiler alert - nothing we did could touch the fun and magic of Disney!

So I'll start like every other TR...travel day!

This trip was a major first for us - the first time flying just as a family of 5! Previously, we've always had at least one grandparent or aunt to help along the way. So now we were officially outnumbered.

This would also be our first time flying out of Pittsburgh. It's less than 3 hours from our house and it's worth the drive for far more affordable flights.

Our tiny airport here could get us to MCO with one connection for...$500 a person! Direct flights from Pittsburgh are less than $150 a person so it is well worth the drive!

Our flight was at 1:15 so we left our house around 7:30 and arrived at the airport shortly before 11. We made one stop for restrooms and snacks so we made pretty good time!

Thank goodness for curbside check in! That is seriously a parent's best friend. We wrangled our 4 suitcase, 4 carry ons, 1 stroller, and 1 car seat out of our van. I had already printed boarding passes at home so we just had to hand the luggage off and head inside!



Jim left to park the van and I took the boys (and bags and car seat) inside to wait. We visited the restroom and then found this awesome Transformer-type statue.



Needless to say, the boys were quite entertained looking at the various parts and practicing their Transformer moves. It was really a neat statue - it was made up of models of all the different bridges that are in Pittsburgh...which I'm guessing is quite a few?



We also found some more artwork. I think this elephant and partial mannequin confused the boys!

Jim got back in and we headed over to security!



We waited less than 15 minutes and headed right through. I took the boys and carry ons and left the stroller and car seat to Jim. To be honest, I had the easier job! But I had to make it sound like I was taking one for the team. "Ok, I'll take all 3 boys and their stuff. You just get the stroller and car seat." Because those things are a PAIN to try and fit through the scanner! By the time he was done, we were all assembled with shoes on!

Pittsburgh has a baby monorail similar to MCO so we hopped on that and headed over to the terminal. But first, we had to stop and admire this TRex!



And then we headed to my #1 favorite thing about the Pittsburgh Airport...the kids play area!

It's a huge gated off area with ramps, little airplanes to ride on, a play ticket counter, etc. The perfect spot to burn off energy before a flight!



You can even see the planes loading up and heading to the runway! The boys LOVED it!





As you can see, it was a very rainy day. There were some thunderstorms as well but no delays!





We let them run and play for a while and then I sent Jim off to find lunch. And there just happened to be a kids table and chairs in the play area - perfect!



Inhaling their Happy Meals!

Soon, it was time to head to our gate. We got there about 15 minutes before boarding. Then it was time for last minute bathroom trips and wrestling our stroller into the gate check bag. Jake was getting pretty fussy at this point, which was perfect actually. I had timed this flight during his usual nap time, hoping he would sleep for most of it.

We did Family Boarding and while I was walking down the aisle of the plane to our seats, Jake fell asleep! We grabbed seats in back to back rows and Jim quickly installed the seat. I managed to transfer Jake to the seat without waking him. The result?



Sleeping toddler, happy mommy!

He slept through take off as well so life was good! I got Colin set up with Jake & the Neverland Pirates on our Kindle and he was happy!



Disney Junior and airline pretzels!

After the show, he moved onto an invisible ink type activity book. And more snacks, of course!



Nate and Jim were sitting behind us. I turned around and found him working on a maze book.



From listening to their conversation, I think he also played on the Leap Pad and made a tower out of some locking blocks I had packed.

And this was Jake - still!



He slept for about 1.5 hours of our 2.5 flight. I'll take that!

He was a happy camper when he woke up, especially with some crackers to keep him busy!





Next up, reading to Tigger!



We landed about 15 minutes ahead of schedule...thank you Southwest!

After visiting the restroom, we made our way over to the fake monorail. The boys spotted this Sea World sign right away!



I don't have any more pictures from our afternoon but it was pretty uneventful. We made our way down to baggage claim and then over to Alamo to pick up our rental car.

My sister-in-law lives in Cocoa which is about a 30 minute drive from MCO. This was our first experience driving in Orlando and I have to say I much prefer Disney transportation! Life is much easier when Disney handles the bags and just drops you off in the bubble!

We arrived at her house and they had dinner ready for us! We visited, let the boys play outside some, and then all went to bed because we were exhausted! And we had big plans for the next day...Legoland!

 

[sara1215]

I'm relatively new to Disboards and am loving reading these trip plans and trip reports. Full of great ideas! And your boys are adorable.

 

[Dugette]

Did you get a Tables in Wonderland card?

I know you saw the answer to this in my TR, but figured I'd answer here too. I got one at the beginning of our May trip and it is good until next May, if we end up back at WDW in that time (not sure we will - no plans now and my AP is expired and not renewed). I could have gotten it back in June 2014, when I got my AP, but didn't actually need it, as Lauren had one and we had all meals together (so hers covered me) and I didn't do anything but quick service in August, so also didn't need one. But I did the math ahead of time for our May trip (used prices from touringplans and allears) and found that we'd be coming out ahead with it (not hard if you do a lot of fixed-price/buffet meals). I'm sure you'll get your money's worth, but you can always do some quick math to make sure.

Our tiny airport here could get us to MCO with one connection for...$500 a person! Direct flights from Pittsburgh are less than $150 a person so it is well worth the drive!

Wow, that is very much worth the drive!

Thank goodness for curbside check in! That is seriously a parent's best friend.

Totally agree! Don't know what I'd do without it these days.

I managed to transfer Jake to the seat without waking him.

Way to go!

He slept for about 1.5 hours of our 2.5 flight. I'll take that!

Glad it worked out so well! That's the best! Seems like you had a really successful flight with three young boys!

This was our first experience driving in Orlando and I have to say I much prefer Disney transportation! Life is much easier when Disney handles the bags and just drops you off in the bubble!

I agree - I drove between WDW and the cruise port in May and it seemed so weird. I'm so used to not paying attention and just "being in the bubble". The thing I realized while driving (that I'd never really thought about previously) is that almost everyone in a car is a tourist and doesn't know their way around well and many are very distracted and/or tired and many are also in rental cars that they are unfamiliar with...therefore, people are TERRIBLE and DANGEROUS drivers. You really have to be on alert and know where you're going.

 

[Pluto0809]

Well that whole post was quite familiar to me. Pittsburgh is my hometown and most of my family still live there. As a matter of fact, I will be flying into that airport this Saturday to visit my Mom!

The Transformer and Elephant statues (art?) are new, I'll have to check them out. I knew right away that the transformer statue was made out of Pittsburgh bridges. Oh and in case you are wondering, Pittsburgh has 446 bridges, so yep a lot! Actually the most of any city in the world.

T-rex has been there a long time, I always like to see him when I pass by. During football season he is usually sporting an extra-large Terrible Towel.

Can't wait to read more about Legoland and how your experience was.

 

[missangelalexis]

The Pittsburgh airport sure has a lot of fun stuff to look at! And awesome that there's a play area too!

I'm glad Jake fell asleep for most of the flight for you! The pics once he woke up are so cute!

Seems like the day went really smoothly

 

[Leshaface]

So what else would we do but turn around and get ready for another trip?

That's EXACTLY what we did when we got back from our big WA/OR trip! We just got back from a weekend at the coast, where we may have tasted too much wine

-EMH 8-10 PM? Maybe just Jim and I as my parents have offered to take the boys back to POP!

Yay! This will be nice.

Celebrate the Magic, MSEP, Wishes...the whole line up of MK nighttime magic!

Good for you!

This is adorable.

So, I went against every crowd calendar here. Which is just not how I like to do those things!

According to Josh at easywdw, I'm going to a "red" park each day!

So on the day we're on in my TR (MK day), he had it set up like, AK, EP, MK/HS. So I thought okay, MK isn't the first recommended park, but it's the third, so it couldn't be too bad right?? OH my gosh, at night it was TERRIBLE! It was supposed to be like a 4 or 5 and it felt like a 7/8!

But we still had a great trip and it turns out there is plenty of fun stuff to do in Florida besides Disney World - crazy, right?

Nope, not going to believe it

Our tiny airport here could get us to MCO with one connection for...$500 a person!

That's how it is for our airport out of Fresno. It's only 45 mins away which would be so nice if the flights weren't so much!

HOw cool is that!

But I had to make it sound like I was taking one for the team.

I've done this many a times.

And then we headed to my #1 favorite thing about the Pittsburgh Airport...the kids play area!

This needs to be in every airport!

Sleeping toddler, happy mommy!

Nate and Jim were sitting behind us. I turned around and found him working on a maze book.

Your boys are so good, doing fun bookwork and stuff. One day (hopefully!) DS will be like this and want to draw and color.

He slept for about 1.5 hours of our 2.5 flight. I'll take that!

Heck yeah!

We landed about 15 minutes ahead of schedule...thank you Southwest!

I really do love SW. I know some people don't like the boarding process, but we've only ever had one issue where we were separated and someone had moved so that my DM was right behind us instead of a few rows away.

 

[hokieinpa]

I'm relatively new to Disboards and am loving reading these trip plans and trip reports. Full of great ideas! And your boys are adorable.

Thanks for joining in! I loved reading TRs when I was planning my first trip - especially since I had no idea what I was getting into! And now writing them is fun because I get to relive it all!

I know you saw the answer to this in my TR, but figured I'd answer here too. I got one at the beginning of our May trip and it is good until next May, if we end up back at WDW in that time (not sure we will - no plans now and my AP is expired and not renewed). I could have gotten it back in June 2014, when I got my AP, but didn't actually need it, as Lauren had one and we had all meals together (so hers covered me) and I didn't do anything but quick service in August, so also didn't need one. But I did the math ahead of time for our May trip (used prices from touringplans and allears) and found that we'd be coming out ahead with it (not hard if you do a lot of fixed-price/buffet meals). I'm sure you'll get your money's worth, but you can always do some quick math to make sure.

I'm pretty sure I'll get one with my AP. I think we're planning on 2-3 character meals plus Ohana and Boma dinner, etc. in May with our whole group. And I'm thinking of doing at least one TS meal on my solo trip. We usually tip at least 18% anyway so the added gratuity doesn't bother me.

Wow, that is very much worth the drive!

The airport is only 15 minutes from our house so life would be so much easier! But the savings is worth it, even with a night at a hotel the night before an early flight!

Totally agree! Don't know what I'd do without it these days.

The check in lines looked crazy! I can't imagine trying to keep the boys contained there and in security too!

Glad it worked out so well! That's the best! Seems like you had a really successful flight with three young boys!

Jake sleeping at least a portion of the flight is key! It was such a relief that they were happy and quiet for the entire flight!

I agree - I drove between WDW and the cruise port in May and it seemed so weird. I'm so used to not paying attention and just "being in the bubble". The thing I realized while driving (that I'd never really thought about previously) is that almost everyone in a car is a tourist and doesn't know their way around well and many are very distracted and/or tired and many are also in rental cars that they are unfamiliar with...therefore, people are TERRIBLE and DANGEROUS drivers. You really have to be on alert and know where you're going.

Yes! I only drove once or twice but I'm not a fan of driving in Orlando. That and the tolls were ridiculous!

Well that whole post was quite familiar to me. Pittsburgh is my hometown and most of my family still live there. As a matter of fact, I will be flying into that airport this Saturday to visit my Mom!

The Transformer and Elephant statues (art?) are new, I'll have to check them out. I knew right away that the transformer statue was made out of Pittsburgh bridges. Oh and in case you are wondering, Pittsburgh has 446 bridges, so yep a lot! Actually the most of any city in the world.

T-rex has been there a long time, I always like to see him when I pass by. During football season he is usually sporting an extra-large Terrible Towel.

Can't wait to read more about Legoland and how your experience was.

We've only been to Pittsburgh for the day before to the zoo and Children's Museum. But it seems like such a fun city - there are so many more things we want to explore!

And that is really neat about all of the bridges! We loved looking at all of them on the way to the airport.

The airport was perfect - large enough to have all of the perks of a big airport but not so huge and crowded! Plus that play area can't be beat!!

The Pittsburgh airport sure has a lot of fun stuff to look at! And awesome that there's a play area too!

I'm glad Jake fell asleep for most of the flight for you! The pics once he woke up are so cute!

Seems like the day went really smoothly

We really enjoyed the airport - keeping the boys entertained waiting for our flight was no trouble with that play area!

The flight went so smoothly. I'm thinking the boys will be expert fliers over the next few years with all of our trips to Florida!

That's EXACTLY what we did when we got back from our big WA/OR trip! We just got back from a weekend at the coast, where we may have tasted too much wine

I never thought we went on so many trips until I started listing them all here! But it does make the countdown until our next Disney trip go much quicker!

Yay! This will be nice.

I'm looking forward to a little date night! Rides on ToT and RnR as much as we can stand!

This is adorable.

This was after the Halloween party - pure exhaustion!

So on the day we're on in my TR (MK day), he had it set up like, AK, EP, MK/HS. So I thought okay, MK isn't the first recommended park, but it's the third, so it couldn't be too bad right?? OH my gosh, at night it was TERRIBLE! It was supposed to be like a 4 or 5 and it felt like a 7/8!

Oh, no! I'm hoping we can work through it with a good plan! I'm thinking about a FP+ for Wishes to makes our night easier!

Nope, not going to believe it

I know! But really, for value and experience Disney is still #1! A single day ticket to Legoland is only $5 cheaper than MK and the two can't even be compared!

That's how it is for our airport out of Fresno. It's only 45 mins away which would be so nice if the flights weren't so much!

It's one of the few complaints I have about the area that we live - it would be so nice to be closer to a major airport!

I've done this many a times.

Luckily, Jim has not wised up to my game yet. I can still fool him into thinking I'm taking the harder job most of the time!

This needs to be in every airport!

Right? There always seems to be one gate that is never used. Why not wall it off and make the parents happy?

Your boys are so good, doing fun bookwork and stuff. One day (hopefully!) DS will be like this and want to draw and color.

Nate and Colin are pretty easy on flights now. But if Jake doesn't sleep at least part of the flight it can get rough! So we usually try to book flights when he would normally be sleeping. That and snacks are the only way to go!

I really do love SW. I know some people don't like the boarding process, but we've only ever had one issue where we were separated and someone had moved so that my DM was right behind us instead of a few rows away.

Southwest is really the only option for us! All of the other major airlines are at least $100 more expensive and rarely have direct flights. We've had no trouble with either getting A boarding group or doing Family Boarding.

 

[Pluto0809]

We've only been to Pittsburgh for the day before to the zoo and Children's Museum. But it seems like such a fun city - there are so many more things we want to explore!

It really is a great city! I miss everything about it except for the snow. Of course Atlanta isn't too shabby but I would definitely pick the Pittsburgh airport over the Atlanta one any day.

 

[KathyM2]

there is plenty of fun stuff to do in Florida besides Disney World

There is actually a lot...it's just....it's hard to find time to do it all lol

there just happened to be a kids table and chairs in the play area - perfect!

That is so awesome! That airport looked so empty!

Yay for sleeping kid for most of the flight....makes it so much easier!!

 

[vleeth]

The pic of them all sleeping with the glow sticks is so sweet.

There looks like there is so much to do/look at in the airport. We always drive so I had no idea.

Good luck with the secret keeping! I have mine thinking we aren't going until 2018.

 

[MissMaryQC]

The non-Disney Florida trip is off to a fantastic start!!

 

[Elevationist]

So I chose this as the title for my TR within a PTR because we must have answered the question "Are you going to Disney?" at least 50 times during our 6 days in Florida! And I had to tell them with a heavy heart "No, we're not going to Disney this time...".

You are a stronger person than me, girl. I would have managed to reason out and justify a day trip, at least!

But we still had a great trip and it turns out there is plenty of fun stuff to do in Florida besides Disney World - crazy, right?

YOU SHUT YOUR FILTHY MOUTH!

We also found some more artwork. I think this elephant and partial mannequin confused the boys!

Okay, I don't get the mannequin either. But I love the elephant! So pretty!

To be honest, I had the easier job! But I had to make it sound like I was taking one for the team. "Ok, I'll take all 3 boys and their stuff. You just get the stroller and car seat."

Nicely done!

What a happy baby! I love happy babies!

This was our first experience driving in Orlando and I have to say I much prefer Disney transportation! Life is much easier when Disney handles the bags and just drops you off in the bubble!

Tell me about it, sister.