Our Last Family Vacation: That WE pay for!

[StitchIsOurHero]

Love the BB and Epcot updates! We've always wanted to do BB, but never have. I want to check it out sometime! D isn't quite brave enough for all of the slides yet, but I still think he'd probably like it!

I LOVE the princess pics! You can tell she is living the magic right there!! Wonderful!!!!

I am impressed that you got your PP pics back!! I am always terrified that I'll lose the card!

Can't wait to read about your next day!!!

 

[tralin]

Sounds like a great day overall.

I am so relieved that you enjoyed the Disney Jr. breakfast as much as you did! I found the character interaction to be AMAZING and Maddie can't wait to go back!

Love that Kaitlin was so crazy for ToT!! What fun!

That fountain had about 15 kids in it at one point. I was worried that I would rush rush rush with our limited days so it was really niceto just sit and enjoy.

That fountain looks like a great time, I'm so glad that Kaitlin had so much fun there (it's really too bad that you had to do so much shopping though. You must have been really torn up about that. )

Isn't Via Napoli so delish? My DH loved that meal too. And something for the vegetarians? A perfect meal.

Oh my god! It was an amazing experience. I can't recommend it enough. We will definately be making it a must do on every trip.

Disney Jr. at H&V was amazing. Thank you so much for so strongly recommending it. After all the meals, that interaction has the best. the kids had sooooo much fun.

Love the updates! It's making me even more excited for our March trip. . .might have to start my PTR soon! Thanks for inspiring me!

Just returning he favour. I loved seeing all those squishy faced pictures of D. Kept me sane until we left.

DS loved Hollywood & Vine, too! We did it before the addition of Jake, though, so I would love to go back!

Jake is definately the star of the show. I would definately go back if she is still a Disney Jr. fan.

I am going to have to try Via Napoli after seeing everyone's pics from there!

It's definately worth a try.

Love that she had so much fun in the fountain! I am hoping to do more "stop to smell the roses" next time, too!

Looking forward to reading more!!

I thought you did a lot of that. I was very impressed that you didn't push it as hard as we did. Next time I will add one more day just to hang at the resort.

 

[tralin]

I just found your TR, and I'm loving! DH and I are taking are DD and DS on their first trip in 2 1/2 weeks. Dd will turn 5 on the trip, and DS will have just returned 4. It's so good to get a preschool perspective! We have breakfast booked at H&V, too, and I've felt nervous about it based the reviews. Your comments make me feel much better about it. At least we'll have fun even if the food isn't good.

Welcome and thanks for joining in. The absolute best part was watching Kaitlin. We made an effort to cater to her and savour her reactions. There's only ONE first time. I think you've picked the perfect ages because the so believe in it all. I think you will enjoy H&V. It wa so much fun. Something else we did was Mickey's Philharmagic. I colould have watched her in that for hours it was so much fun. (But that's another TR.)

Fellow Canadian joining in! Great start to your report! I love all of the character pictures with your daughter - her expression was captured so well. I have a question for you. In one of the Epcot pictures (I think it was) you are wearing a pink coloured shirt with flip flops on it. Did you get that in Disney? I have seen that shirt online but it is so expensive to ship here and that shirt would suit my mom perfectly. Thanks! Looking forward to reading the rest!

She definately loved the characters. it never got old. Yes, I got that at Hollywood Studios for $25. Not normally my style but I was so hot that day and this is the lightest / coolest shirt i've ever worn. Very comfortable. i didn't see it a lot. Maybe in the World of Disney store downtown. Thanks for joining in.

Love the BB and Epcot updates! We've always wanted to do BB, but never have. I want to check it out sometime! D isn't quite brave enough for all of the slides yet, but I still think he'd probably like it!

I LOVE the princess pics! You can tell she is living the magic right there!! Wonderful!!!!

I am impressed that you got your PP pics back!! I am always terrified that I'll lose the card!

Can't wait to read about your next day!!!

The Tykes Peak area is totally for the preschoolers. Kaitlin really would have stayed there happily all day. WE got bored. She loves floating in a life jacket so with the waves in the pool, that was also a hit. I do wish we could have explored more.

Isn't age 4 / 5 just the best age to take them? Everything so magical and special for them. I lucked out on the card. I've never lost anything like that before and it's not fun! The whole process probably took about 45 minutes to find the pictures and transfer them but at least I got them. Definatley take a picture of the card.

 

[tralin]

Fellow Canadian joining in! Great start to your report! I love all of the character pictures with your daughter - her expression was captured so well. I have a question for you. In one of the Epcot pictures (I think it was) you are wearing a pink coloured shirt with flip flops on it. Did you get that in Disney? I have seen that shirt online but it is so expensive to ship here and that shirt would suit my mom perfectly. Thanks! Looking forward to reading the rest!

Are you close to the border? We have a shipping company in Sumas just across the border that I ship stuff too. It costs $5 per package but they hold it for 60 days and I just zip across the boarder to pick it up when I can. I have saved SO much money this way. Bought almost all my Xmas presents on line last year from the states and just shipped them to Sumasn. There may be a UPS location or something similar close to you if you live near the boarder.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Are you close to the border? We have a shipping company in Sumas just across the border that I ship stuff too. It costs $5 per package but they hold it for 60 days and I just zip across the boarder to pick it up when I can. I have saved SO much money this way. Bought almost all my Xmas presents on line last year from the states and just shipped them to Sumasn. There may be a UPS location or something similar close to you if you live near the boarder.

Thanks for your info on the shirt! I am pretty close to a border. This is definitely something to look into!

 

[tralin]

Day 6
This was our last full day in WDW and we wanted to make it really special. We (by we, I mean everyone else but me) are huge Halloween fans. At 2.5 years old Kaitlin announced she was going to be Dorothy for Halloween and she never wavered. In January, she announced that she was going to be Snow White for THIS Halloween. (She was.) Once we realized the MNSSHP would be on during our trip we booked it immediately. We thought it would be very memorable to trick or treat in Magic Kingdom. We chose the last night of our trip as we felt that would be a great way to end the magic.

While planning, we had decided against the BBB. At 4 we felt she just would not appreciate it for the amount of money it cost. However, once we had decided to do the party we HAD to do the BBB since she wanted to be a princess anyway. What a great memory to end the “first visit” with.

It was a lot for a last day when it had been a busy tiring trip. We made a conscious decision to be low key in order to get through the party. The great thing about Kaitlin (in this instance anyway) is that she is a night owl. Hates mornings (like her mom) but once 7pm hits, she can keep going until midnight no problem. I wasn’t so worried.

The plan was to sleep in, have a swim, and be at DTD by noon to have lunch at T-Rex. The BBB appointment was for 1:20.

We slept in too long so the swim was out. We got to the bus stop at Old Port Royale and realized that we had forgotten the key card with signing authority and the credit card and the Snow White costume. (I wanted to bring it just in case Kaitlin decided that’s what she wanted to wear even though she was able to choose any outfit.) So we ran back to the hotel to grab the stuff and then ran to the bus stop closest to our room. As we got there, our bus was pulling away. We sat for about 20 minutes before the next bus came. We got up, folded the stroller and started toward the bus but it pulled away. Another couple just stared at us in disbelief as they didn’t even have time to get on the bus before it left either. We called the transit station with the phone in the bus stop and they were very surprised a bus would disappear that quick and had no explanation. The next bus would be there at 1210 and she would call the restaurant to hold our reservation for us. (The next bus was still 15 minutes away.) By the time we got to T-Rex it was 1230 and there was a huge line up to get in. They all had reservations so it’s not like we could skip the line. There was no way we would be able to eat at T-Rex and make the appointment. It was one or the other.

Kaitlin did not know what she was missing so that part was ok. (Only mommy and daddy were greatly disappointed.) They girls were going to have another day to themselves but ended up on the same bus as us so we all decided to eat together. We had a family huddle and decided to try Earl of Sandwich. I had read so many great things on the dis we decided to brave the line there. I took a “mommy time out” as I really needed to get myself re-centered so as not to have the rest of my day affected. Roll with the punches, make lemonade and be flexible……. And all that stuff.

We actually got a table so we thought things might be turning around. I was still too rattled to each much. The consensus was that it was ok. Certainly wasn’t what everyone was raving about. To be fair, none of us are huge sandwich people though.

I took Kaitlin to her appointment and just ahead of us was this stereotypical Italian family with 4 kids in front of us and they wanted all 4 to go at the same time. They were already at the check in stage so I missed the first part of their conversation. I am not sure if they had reservations or not. However, it did take them 20 minutes to get it all sorted out. By the time we were able to check in it was now 1:45. And because there were 4 of them just ahead of us, we waited another 20 minutes until our name was even called.

While we waited to check in though, I asked Kaitlin what she wanted to wear. Cinderella! That came from nowhere. I insisted that she look at every dress before she made her final decision. Aurora. It was in the 80’s so I tried REALLY hard for Tiana or even back to Cinderella as I thought they wouldn’t be so hot. Have I mentioned how stubborn my child is? There was absolutely no changing her mind. I kept adding up the cost in my head, sick because I knew there was now no way she was going to keep this dress on for very long in that heat. Oh, and of course we needed the matching shoes, gloves and purse. (She has not looked at any of it since.)

Once we got in it was very fun to watch this Italian family. I was over the frustration and in such awe at watching the proud dad gush over his 3 girls and 1 little pirate boy. (Oh my god he was soooo cute.) They all got the works. Anything for his princesses. They all had the New York area accents ( I love all of the American accents so when someone has a really strong one I notice.) But of course once we went up to settle our bill, they were just ahead of us and we waited another 15 minutes for them to settle up. They were sure fun to watch though and all the talk of the shop was about the $1,000+ bill they dropped for all 4 of the kids. (without blinking) I was having difficulty shelling out $200!!!!

Kaitlin on the other had was not herself and very tired. (We realized much later she was at the start of being sick) She did everything she was told, but there were no smiles and absolutely no enthusiasm. The Fairy God Mother in training asked her what hair she wanted and she kept picking the funky one with extensions (I really wanted the bun but what can ya do?) Then we realized she kept pointing to the Aurora costume. Once we got her to look at the hair styles and not the dress it was the bun she wanted. Yay!

The reveal barely elicited a smile. We were all disappointed but by this time we realized just how tired she was and how hard she had pushed through all week. This was going to be a tough day.

We went to the photo shoot and I have to say, looking back it really was very funny. Again, she went through all the motions but with no enthusiasm. The pictures look so pathetic and on top of that with her bangs all pulled back, she really doesn’t look like our kid. I can smile at them now knowing what we went through. At the time we were so disappointed because she really did not enjoy the experience. This was something she was looking forward to all week. Grandma paid for it. Because we wanted Grandma to get some credit but also wanted her to know how special it was and not every little girl gets picked by the Fairy Godmother to have this experience, we told her Grandma called the Fairy Godmother to make special arrangements for Kaitlin. It was just such a waste of money. We should have done the Tuesday party when she wasn’t so tired. (she says she wants to do it again next time so we’ll see.)

 

[tralin]

Because we were SO delayed at the BBB we had just enough time to get that bus to Magic Kingdom for our 4pm ADR at Liberty Tree Tavern. (Sorry, I had mentioned that we ate there earlier but really it was Columbia Harbor House we ate at twice and not LTT.)

We got on the CBR bus and realized we should have gotten on the one for one of the Magic Kingdom resorts. I knew that, however, by this point I was in such a state I wasn’t thinking clearly. This decision got us to Magic Kingdom at 4:20. On the way, Kaitlin was trying so hard to have a sleep but just could not get comfortable in that dress. It just wasn’t the nap she needed. We got in the gates at Magic Kingdom and were so late for our ADR and had such a tired cranky child that we decided to skip Meeting Mickey and Minnie in Town Square and we even skipped getting that PP shot of Kaitlin all dressed up with the castle. (I still regret that one)

We caught up with the girls and ran to LTT. Fortunately they could still get us in 40 minutes late.

I chose this one because it was a hearty meal and Turkey Dinner is Monty’s favorite. (And we had decided to do the party and BBB so late we couldn’t get in the castle.) We had done so many meals for Kaitlin, this one was for daddy. It was pretty good. Not phenomenal but better than just good. And it wasn’t counter service. The girls all gobbled up the Mac and Cheese and they ever brought out veggie burgers for them. Monty, Kaitlin and I enjoyed the thanksgiving feast.

Near the end Kaitlin decided she wanted her dress off. I tried to get her to keep in on just for a little while to trick or treat in. No way, off NOW! I took her upstairs to the washroom to change cloths. She also decided she wanted her make up off, the nail polish off and her hair out. We compromised as anyone who has seen a hair do from BBB knows the only way to get it out is to wash it out. I pretended to wipe off the makeup and explained the rest would have to stay. We changed cloths and instantly I had a happy kid again.

The party didn’t start until 7pm and the thunder clouds were once again threatening. We needed to do some inside things hoping it would be another quick rain shower. We decided on Mickey’s Philharmagic. This would be Kaitlin’s first reall experience with 3D and man was it so worth it. First, the show is amazingly done, second, Kaitlin was hilarious grabbing for everything and then giggling away every time. I hardly even saw the show because she was entertaining me so much. She got really upset at the end though and almost started to cry for Donald stuck in the wall. (This is where I KNEW she was tired and suspected she might be starting to get a little sick.)

We got outside and the rain had not come yet so we ducked over to Peter Pan and then It’s a Small World again. It was now down pouring. We all pulled out our rain ponchos and pulled them on. I can’t remember why we started walking to tomorrow land but that is where we ended up. We decided to try Buzz Light years ride. Kaitlin did not get it and wasn’t real impressed. We came out and the party was now getting under way. And it was still pouring. We accepted the fact that we were going to get wet and I TOLD everyone to suck it up, we were going to have FUN. We got our bags half full with trick or treat candy, got to see buzz light year, danced with Stitch and made the most of it.

Kaitlin was loving the trick or treating part but decided we needed to do Pirates one more time. We decided to see the 8pm parade as the rain was lightening up a little. We hoped it would still run. At some point I realized we were REALLY close to Tiana’s meet and greet so Monty and the girls went to get a parade spot while I took Kaitlin to knock another princess off the list. She insisted her poncho come off for the picture and then ran up to see Tiana and Naveen. They were SO awesome. Very engaging and funny. Both of them. There was such a short line they took their time and really played with her. Naveen was confused by the princess hair and common cloths. I told him she was a Princess in tourist clothing for Halloween. Naveen told her you could have a lot more fun in those cloths instead of a princess dress. (Not helping Naveen!!!!)

Monty came to get us to take us to the parade route when the most unimaginable and terrifying event of the entire day happened. We lost Kaitlin.

 

[StitchIsOurHero]

I am so sorry that BBB didn't go the way you had hoped. Poor Kaitlin getting sick.

I am glad you were able to get in to LTT and make the most of the party! Oh my goodness, I am already anxious for the next update!! Lost Kaitlin?? Oh no!!!

 

[tinawv]

There's nothing more frightening than losing a child in WDW. We lost my grandson when he was 2 years old in AK. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. He was only lost for about 5 minutes, but it seemed like forever. Can't wait to see how everything turned out.

 

[Disneychix]

Just caught up today.
You met some beautiful princesses. That Snow White and Tiana (Naveen too!) were the prettiest I've seen. You r darling little one is too cute with them

Sorry about the rough time at BBB. That's one reason I thank God for my little boys. $1000 on just BBB?? Wowsa!

I'm glad yor DD was able to have some fun at MNSSHP even though she wasn't feeling well.

 

[shan23877]

Oh no! I'm so sorry that you had a disappointing BBB experience. Sounds like Kaitlin was just too tired to enjoy it. I've pretty much put my foot down about that Aurora dress. The long sleeves just don't make sense. I'm not sure why they continue to make it that way. They certainly take liberties with the other dresses, why not make the Aurora sleeveless? It would be so much more comfortable for the little princesses in the Florida heat.

The MNSSHP looks like so much fun! We will likely never get there now that Maddie is in school, but I do hope to one day.

 

[tralin]

I am so sorry that BBB didn't go the way you had hoped. Poor Kaitlin getting sick.

I am glad you were able to get in to LTT and make the most of the party! Oh my goodness, I am already anxious for the next update!! Lost Kaitlin?? Oh no!!!

Thanks, we did push pretty hard. I really should have done the Tuesday party. Hindsite I guess.

There's nothing more frightening than losing a child in WDW. We lost my grandson when he was 2 years old in AK. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack. He was only lost for about 5 minutes, but it seemed like forever. Can't wait to see how everything turned out.

Yes, it was aweful. And the guilt!!!!! She still talks about it. But at least it all worked out ok.

Just caught up today.
You met some beautiful princesses. That Snow White and Tiana (Naveen too!) were the prettiest I've seen. You r darling little one is too cute with them

Sorry about the rough time at BBB. That's one reason I thank God for my little boys. $1000 on just BBB?? Wowsa!

I'm glad yor DD was able to have some fun at MNSSHP even though she wasn't feeling well.

Yes, she loved meeting the princesses. Even today when she is sad or scared her happy place is remembering the princesses. BBB is pretty amazing. She was so looking forward to it I was most disappointed she didn't get to enjoy it. That family was very entertaining though. I hightly recommend MNSSHP if you have never done it.

Oh no! I'm so sorry that you had a disappointing BBB experience. Sounds like Kaitlin was just too tired to enjoy it. I've pretty much put my foot down about that Aurora dress. The long sleeves just don't make sense. I'm not sure why they continue to make it that way. They certainly take liberties with the other dresses, why not make the Aurora sleeveless? It would be so much more comfortable for the little princesses in the Florida heat.

The MNSSHP looks like so much fun! We will likely never get there now that Maddie is in school, but I do hope to one day.

Thanks Shannon. I was most sad for her as she was so excited for it. She wore the dress to Disney on Ice so at least she wore it one more time. I really didn't want her to choose that one but there was absolutely no talking her out of it. MNSSHP is fun. I was sad that so much was cancelled due to the rain but it rained Tuesday too so it wouldnt' have matter in that way. We got to see the parade and the dwarves so all was good.

 

[tralin]

Kaitlin had dropped my hand and when I turned to grab it back she was gone in a sea of rain ponchos. And I gotta tell ya, ALL the kids looked the same. Panic set in. A CM WE approached for help told us “not to worry, they always turn up” then walked away. Both my husband and I work in a small amusement park back home and deal with lost kids all the time, so let me tell you that this was not exactly the response we were expecting from Disney. The girls found her approaching a CM and telling her “I’m lost, can you help me!” It was only 2 minutes but it felt like 2 hours. I was so proud of her though, she did exactly the right thing. The scary part is the CM she approached looked mortified and didn’t seem to know what to do. It all turned out well and Kaitlin ended up spending the rest of the night in the stroller. My heart was done.

Just then the announcement to cancel the parade was made. We had missed all the other parades (except the electrical parade) so I really wanted Kaitlin to see this one. Especially the Halloween lover that she is. Oh well, time to move on to Pirates.

There was another trick or treat station there so the family all went in while I waited with the stroller and popcorn that we had just bought. I didn’t realize though that I was right beside the Jack Sparrow M&G so I was shocked as he came up beside me, told me I looked like I needed to get more rest (thanks) and stole some of my popcorn as he walked by for his break. (Never breaking character the entire time.) He was quite funny.

Anyway, there was NO line up for the ride so we got right on for the last time. We wondered over to Splash Mountain where there was a REALLY long trail and lots of candy stations for trick or treating. By the time we got out of there Kaitlin saw the dwarf’s line. I knew there were no options. Fortunately it was only a 20 minute line and not the 2 hour horror story I had read about. I was actually in line with some pretty fun people so it was even enjoyable. Then the fireworks started and I realized we had to choose, dwarfs or fireworks. Kaitlin chose the dwarfs. She got a big hug from Dopey (as requested by Snow White) and we got the rare photo with all seven dwarfs.

Afterwards, the others were pretty much done. The girls had done splash mountain about 6 times. (There literally were no line ups.) But I wanted to see the parade. I reminded them that not much of this trip was done specifically for me, all I wanted was to see this damned parade. What can I say, it had been a day!

We found a spot to watch the parade and waited 20 minutes for them to decide to make it happen. But it DID happen and everyone really enjoyed it. It started with Snow White and Dopey coming right over and shaking Kaitlin’s hand with Jasmine right behind them patting her head. (Ok, so it’s a technicality but she DID get to meet Jasmine!)

Kaitlin sat in her stroller in awe through the whole thing. Even the scary parts and laughed her head off when a zombie said BOO in my face. It really is an awesome parade.

Once it was over we gave Kaitlin the option of one last ride before we went home. Tower of Terror!!!! We explained that ride was not in this park. Pick another one. Splash Mountain! We ran over before the crowd and got right on the ride. Front Row and she would NOT let me hold her in.

As we exited and got in line for the last ride photo, she spotted a CM holding a stuffed Thumper and had to have it. She had exactly that much money left so she got it. Wouldn’t let it go all night but has not laid eyes on it since.

It was now 10:45 and I conceded that the day was over. Time to go home. It had been such a trying day but we still managed to have fun. I insisted on one last photo as we exited the park. Considering how tired and wet we were, it turned out not bad.

We were all sad that tomorrow was departure day. After the day we had today, we just hoped it would go well. I had one more surprise left for Kaitlin.

 

[shan23877]

Sounds like you were due some good luck, and that short dwarfs line must have been it! I've never heard of such a short wait for them or the rides during on of the parties!

That parade sounds amazing, I am glad that you put your foot down and got to see it.

 

[Disney9.9.10]

Wow you guys had a bit of a rough day. BBB can be a lot and those dresses probably aren't very comfortable. It is really awesome that she went to a CM for help even though it was such a short time, I bet you were so proud. I'm glad that you were able to make the most out of the party anyway though!

 

[scottny]

All caught up. Great updates and pics.

A few rough patches there but you made it through.

Glad you got to see the parade.

20 minutes for the Dwarfs. Lucky you, we had a 1 1/2 hour wait.

 

[tralin]

Sounds like you were due some good luck, and that short dwarfs line must have been it! I've never heard of such a short wait for them or the rides during on of the parties!

That parade sounds amazing, I am glad that you put your foot down and got to see it.

The dwarfs made her night. Good thing the line was so short cause Snow White kind of screwed us earlier in the week by telling her to say hi to Dopey. It was a stressful day, but it was still a good day.

Wow you guys had a bit of a rough day. BBB can be a lot and those dresses probably aren't very comfortable. It is really awesome that she went to a CM for help even though it was such a short time, I bet you were so proud. I'm glad that you were able to make the most out of the party anyway though!

It was a rough day. I think I could have avoided it by having a real off day in the middle and just stayed at the resort. Next I'll schedule flights and itinerary just a little bit differently.

All caught up. Great updates and pics.

A few rough patches there but you made it through.

Glad you got to see the parade.

20 minutes for the Dwarfs. Lucky you, we had a 1 1/2 hour wait.

Yes, I don't know how you did it for an hour and half. It was worth it though. I really didn't expect her to get to meet them while planning it though. It was a nice surprise.

 

[tralin]

Day 7
Departure Day.

When planning this trip I thought I wanted an evening departure so that we would not be rushing to get to the airport first thing in them morning. I had planned a 10:30 breakfast at Cape May as our send off, then I thought we could walk around the boardwalk as we had never been there and then casually get back to CBR to catch the 3:30 ME for the airport. I wouldn’t do it this way again, which I will explain in my last thoughts section at the end of this report.

If you have stayed on property at WDW then you know how easy they make departure day. If you have not stayed on property at WDW then let me tell you that my check out experience alone almost makes up for the extra cost. We received a reminder a couple of days before to confirm our ME reservations and make any bellhop reservations we may want. The day before we left they asked us if we wanted to check our baggage in at the resort instead of the at the airport. Everything is done for you.

Kaitlin woke up with a headache and some sniffles. Suddenly the lack of enthusiasm the day before was making sense. I just hoped we would be able to get home before the full force of the cold emerged.

We woke the kids up at 8am as I knew they had not started packing the night before (even though we asked them too.) Of course, cockroach #2 chose this night to appear so they got no sleep. Carly hid under the blanket while her little sister shooed it back into the bathroom, closed the door and put a towel under the door so it couldn’t come back out. This process apparently took them about an hour and a half. By the time it was done they were too wired to sleep. Monty went into the bathroom in the morning but the roach apparently found its way back down the drain. Anyway, we had some pretty tired girls on our hands that absolutely had not started packing yet.

I didn’t have too much to do as I had done most of it the day before. We had to break the news to Kaitlin that her beloved Mickey Balloon could not come on the plane, therefore would be left behind. The bell hop arrived right on time, we got our baggage all checked in and stored our carry-on luggage and grabbed a taxi for Cape May.

Beach Club is beautiful and that’s where I chose to stay on our next trip. Looks like there will be some negotiating between the Poly and the Beach Club!!!! Disappointingly we were in the small room and not the main room, but the quiet was kind of nice. I had not told Kaitlin about the characters so she was quite excited to see Minnie, Donald and Goofy one last time. The only time we saw Mickey or Donald on this trip was on Day One in Animal Kingdom so she was happy to see Donald again. Of course I had forgotten about the characters so I had packed her autograph book in our checked luggage. The characters all signed the paper on the table and Kaitlin made us rip them and bring them home.

Breakfast was pretty good. Monty came back mortified that one guest was digging into the bread pudding with his bare hands. When confronted about the lack of hygiene the response was “what’s your problem?” (That’s the family friendly version of the quote) So Monty did not get his beloved bread pudding. I was happy it was the end of the trip or my hygiene obsessed husband may not have eaten again the whole trip.

Next time I would probably not book a buffet but a regular sit down. But I would recommend the last meal be a character meal if you have small children. Sick or not, it made leaving a little easier for Kaitlin to get just a little more Disney magic.

I wanted to ensure my family was all fueled up for the long trip home. We had one more counter service and after that, I had no idea when we would get the opportunity to eat another meal other than the snacks I had packed for the plane.

After breakfast we went outside to explore the area. It was REALLY hot though and we looked at each other and decided DTD sounded pretty good. It was only 11:30 and we had 4 hours until the ME left. (In hindsight I would have just gone back to the hotel and stayed at the pool).

We thought we would get some last bit of shopping in. The reality was that we were all hot, tired and thinking about the trip home. We did manage to get the girls their sweatshirts, (I had been bugging them all week to pick something) picked up a couple of souvenirs for family back home and then headed back to the resort for a last minute swim. Kaitlin was heading down hill so we thought cooling her off would be the best idea at this point.

We had just enough time for Daddy to take Kaitlin swimming while mommy went and used up the last of our counter service. By the time Daddy and Kaitlin were back I had lunch ready and then we were off to catch the ME.

We received our carry-on from the bell hop just as the bus drove up. Once again I underestimated my kid as she took one look at that bus, recognized it and said “but I’m not ready to go home yet!!!!)

We got to the airport and through security quickly. We decided to medicate Kaitlin a little which meant finding as private a spot as possible (not possible) as we had to hold her down and force it in her. (She was hospitalized last Xmas with pneumonia and does not take medication well ever since. We became experts, hospital taught, at giving medicine forcibly but doing it in public is not recommended.) We got it in her without someone calling security on us for assault and then settled in until boarding.

The flights were fine (other than re-medicating in the stop over). San Fran has a pretty nice airport so we were able to get some decent food. Kaitlin slept most of the way but by the time we landed in Seattle she was full on sick.

I was imagining the 5 of us cramped in one hotel room with a sick kid and just couldn’t do it. I decided to drive the 3 hours home. (It was 1:30am so we got home at 4:30am) I am so glad we did.

It was the end of our last family vacation. (That we pay for.) The next trip will be just the 3 of us. Sad, but much cheaper.


Last thoughts:

• If I had to do it all over again I would stay in a hotel on the way down and enjoy that day. Have a nice dinner and relax a little.
• I would book an extra day just to hang out at the hotel (scheduled in the middle of the trip) and I would leave Sun morning and not Sat. afternoon.
o I had thought to book a later flight on Saturday so that we could enjoy the day and have a day at home before work on Monday. The reality is that we were so stressed and thinking about having to catch the bus and the trip home that we did not enjoy the day as much as I thought. Getting home at 4:30 am kind of wasted Sunday anyway. We would have been better off to leave earlier on Sunday, and enjoy a full day in the middle of the week.
• It really was hot for us so I would stick to November through February for future trips.
• I will ALWAYS stay on property and ALWAYS get the Dinning plan (standard was enough for us) and ALWAYS get photo pass plus.
• BBB is a lot of money and I don’t regret doing, just timing it. I would put it earlier in the week.
• The Halloween Party is a lot of fun and even in the rain it was worth doing.
• I would definitely stay at CBR again. Just book a day to hang out there in the middle of the trip.
• Not getting to rope drop really didn’t hurt us all that much. For the most part we were able to maximize our time and we managed to see everything we wanted.
• We did splurge and got park hoppers. Usually I don’t spend that extra money as there is more than enough to do in one park per day. This trip we used them on day one when we did both animal kingdom and magic kingdom and on day 4 when we did DHS and Epcot. I think we could work around that next time so as not to need to spend the extra money. (Although it was very nice to have the freedom when we needed it.)
• I saw the parks as clean and well-kept so I did not see the negative stuff others have stated.
• The water parks are both fantastic. I recommend BB for the under 12 set and TL for the rest of us. TL is much more relaxing.
• Best thing I ever did was book this trip while Kaitlin was 4. It’s the most amazing age to see it all through their eyes for the first time.
• We have been home for almost 3months now and my 4 year old continues to talk about the following:
o Meeting the Princesses
o Tower of Terror
o She wants to do the BBB again.
o Driving the car by herself (aka the speedway)
o Getting lost. (Poor kid)

I hope some of this may have helped you in planning your trip, or getting you excited about your next one. Feel free to ask me any questions if you need clarification. Or next trip looks like it’s DL the first week of December. Carsland, here we come! (Ok, maybe one or two princesses too.)

 

[shan23877]

So sorry that Kaitlyn got sick! Poor kid. I think I'd feel the same way about departure day- too stressed about leaving to really enjoy it.

Cape may sounds pretty good! If we stay BCV next trip I'll probably book it, but I don't think we'll make a special trip over there for it.

Maddie was also in the hospital with pneumonia when she was 4, and hates hospitals and meds because of it. I totally understand the pain of dosing her in public.

So glad you did this TR! I really enjoyed hearing about the trip!

 

[scottny]

Too bad you had a stressful last day. it does sound like a fun trip though. Sorry she got sick but thankfully at the end of the of the trip and not the beginning.

Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

Are you going to write about DLR?