POLY, BLT & THE DREAM, WITH A TEEN AND A TWEEN…APRIL 2016***COMPLETED 8/15****

[ariane37]

I just cried reading about what happened with DS and how you felt- you describing how he'll grow up and go off on his own one day but right now he still needs you.......having a 14yo DS myself it totally hits home. I just think the way you wrote /worded it all was perfect and FYI, I think I would have done the same thing you did and gone on without him. Given the way he sleeps now and his newfound " social life" it's what I would have thought he'd want if he wasn't waking up, even if he was all gung-ho when we made the plans. We may suck sometimes as moms but they suck sometimes too, as much as we love'em lol!!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

I love Star Wars so the race looked like a good time. I walk about 20 miles every week and love it, I have never been much into running but the run Disney events do look fun. I am always amazed how long it takes to get to ADRs at times. We have liked Vi Napoli when we have been. I am excited for the Star Wars fireworks! I'm sorry you didn't get to run with your son, maybe another time, good excuse to head back to Disney lol.

 

[buzzrelly]

I just cried reading about what happened with DS and how you felt- you describing how he'll grow up and go off on his own one day but right now he still needs you.......having a 14yo DS myself it totally hits home. I just think the way you wrote /worded it all was perfect and FYI, I think I would have done the same thing you did and gone on without him. Given the way he sleeps now and his newfound " social life" it's what I would have thought he'd want if he wasn't waking up, even if he was all gung-ho when we made the plans. We may suck sometimes as moms but they suck sometimes too, as much as we love'em lol!!!

Aw, thank you And they DO suck sometimes It's hard to imagine just how much until you're living it! And an update, just yesterday, DS and I went to On The Border (his favorite restaurant) for lunch and then he actually did some errands with me. We were having a pretty good time and he says to me, "you know, when I'm in the right mood, you're not that bad." I"ll take it! That's about as sweet as it gets these days

I love Star Wars so the race looked like a good time. I walk about 20 miles every week and love it, I have never been much into running but the run Disney events do look fun. I am always amazed how long it takes to get to ADRs at times. We have liked Vi Napoli when we have been. I am excited for the Star Wars fireworks! I'm sorry you didn't get to run with your son, maybe another time, good excuse to head back to Disney lol.

You should definitely look into Jeff Galloway's method of walking and running. Especially since you walk so much! You could do it! And trust me, there were LOTS of people there who weren't runner types and they did it, so you can too!

 

[buzzrelly]

APRIL 17, 2016: GOOD-BYE MAY SEEM FOREVER




Our last morning to wake up looking at this...







Always such a bittersweet day. We were ready to go home but sad that another fabulous vacation was ending

Our flight wasn't until 8:30 pm, so we planned on spending our last day at the MK, as usual.




We took our time packing up and had bell service come get our bags to hold for the day. DM went down to pay her bill and I got this pic of DD in the BLT lobby.



We skipped our Splash FastPass in favor of stopping for lunch at Casey's…





Then we took some last day pictures.




More good-bye pics up next...

 

[buzzrelly]

APRIL 17, 2016: FAREWELL IS LIKE THE END


I know I wrote this in my last trip report, and I hate to repeat myself, but on our last day I feel like we go around and say good-bye to our favorite things. It's so funny how the last day just feels so different from the first day when we rush, rush, rush. This day is usually pretty laid back and is more about just being there and taking it all in, knowing that it will be a while before we see any of it again



We HAD to make one last trip to The Plaza for our favorite ice-cream treats





One last trip to Tomorrowland...


And one last ride on Space Mountain…



One last picture with my favorite little statue of Minnie



And , of course, one last picture with Roy and Minnie...







Ahhhhh…one last picture in front of our favorite place in ALL the world...



To be continued...

 

[buzzrelly]

APRIL 17, 2016: BUT IN MY HEART'S A MEMORY, AND THERE YOU'LL ALWAYS BE






One last time walking through these gates


And one last ride on the Monorail…





One last traditional picture with Mickey. I almost forgot to take this one and literally made the kids run out while we were waiting for the Magical Express to arrive1

Same place in 2013…



The Magical Express picked us up around 5:30 and we made it to the airport in plenty of time. Here's our plane waiting to take us back to CT


We had such a wonderful trip, but now it seems like it was forever ago! I am especially sad because it looks like we won't be going back to WDW until 2018…BUT…we ARE going back to Universal and going on the DREAM again next June! So I guess I can't be TOO upset!

We are also leaving tomorrow for Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort and this will be our first time there so I am super excited

If anyone is interested, I will probably be posting a short trip report on the Vacation Club Forums about this upcoming trip.

Thank you SO much for following along with me!! Reliving it was ALMOST as much fun as actually being there

 

[Alex Aymar]

Amazing trip report loved reading it

 

[buzzrelly]

Amazing trip report loved reading it

Thank you!

 

[ariane37]

Again I loved your TR! I agree on the 1st day rush/last day take it all in, we do the same thing. And while I'm fine not doing our 1st day at MK we always end our trips there Actually for the first time ever I think, DH and I won't be ending our quick trip later this month at MK and it's feeling kind of weird lol, but at least I'll know we'll be back 3 months later

I hope you're having a great time at HH! I'll do my best to remember to look for your TR on that.

 

[buzzrelly]

Thank you! I was actually kind of sad to finish it

On the plus side, at least I will now have more time to actually READ Trip Reports…I'll have to check and see if I am aught up on yours!

If I do write a trip report about HH, it will be VERY short…there's only so many times you can say, "we went to the beach, we went to the pool, then back to the beach…" We still have a few more days to maybe actually DO stuff though, so we shall see!

The one thing I don't like about this trip is being SOOOOO close to WDW and NOT going

I'm jealous of your upcoming trip! Have fun!!

 

[disneyAndi14]

Enjoyed your report, it has me excited for our trip which is only 12 days away now. I will look for your Hilton Head report, sounds fun!

 

[buzzrelly]

Enjoyed your report, it has me excited for our trip which is only 12 days away now. I will look for your Hilton Head report, sounds fun!

Thank you! Have fun…only 11 days for you now

 

[ariane37]

If I do write a trip report about HH, it will be VERY short…there's only so many times you can say, "we went to the beach, we went to the pool, then back to the beach…" We still have a few more days to maybe actually DO stuff though, so we shall see!

The one thing I don't like about this trip is being SOOOOO close to WDW and NOT going

Well the one thing about your current vacation, you can't argue it's relaxing And it gave you time to catch up on my PTR so that's a plus lol
Last August we stayed at a Marriot through our timeshare and planned JUST a Universal trip. We went to Disney Springs our 2nd night to get a little Disney fix.......and ended up not only visiting DS 2 more times but doing a day in MK also lol. Could NOT stay away!

 

[westcoastfldisneygirl]

Enjoyed the trip report! I hope you do a report about HH.

 

[DVCShannon]

POLY is my dream resort! I love its style and the location of the resort. You guys got an amazing view of the fireworks, such great pictures, and videos, thank you for sharing your wondering trip!

 

[buzzrelly]

Enjoyed the trip report! I hope you do a report about HH.

Thank you! I'll come post a link when I get it started

POLY is my dream resort! I love its style and the location of the resort. You guys got an amazing view of the fireworks, such great pictures, and videos, thank you for sharing your wondering trip!

Thank you! I agree…The Poly was pretty amazing

 

[buzzrelly]

Hello all! I JUST started my trip report for our trip to Disney's Hilton Head Island Resort. It's over on the DVC Trip Report page, so I thought I'd post the link here in case anyone is interested

Goin' To Carolina In My Mind-August 2016 Trip To Hilton Head Island

 

[DisneySunPrincess]

APRIL 16, 2016: THERE HAS….ERRRRR…NOT??BEEN AN AWAKENING??



So the day of the big race had finally come. I had been planning this ever since the announcement that the Star Wars races would be held the week were were there. It was PERFECT timing…or so I thought! I had sent in the registration forms for DS and me (which was definitely NOT cheap!), I had purchased some extra pins, etc., just to celebrate our first race together. I had also purchased DS a new arm band phone holder the day before at the RunDisney Expo, just so he wouldn't have to worry about his phone when he was running. I was so excited! I laid out our bibs, and our waters and our bananas for the morning. And then I set my alarm for 3:30 am and went to bed feeling super ready and excited and prepared I was so prepared…what could POSSIBLY go wrong??

At 3:30 am, my alarm went off, as planned. I got up right away and went to DS who was sleeping on the pull-out chair and gently rubbed his back…nothing. I rubbed a little harder and said his name…nothing. I kind of shook his arm…not gonna lie, I was starting to get a little worried here…nothing. Ugh…ok, so I went and threw my clothes on, knowing that we needed to walk out the door by 3:45am to catch the bus. I went back to DS who hasn't budged…shook a little more, said his name over and over…shook…rubbed…"DS, DS…get up, we need to leave." NOTHING! UGH…Now I'm starting to worry that we will miss the bus and miss the race…I tried a few more times, but it was getting late, it was already 3:50am and I was REALLY starting to worry After a few more attempts, I finally just decided that either just DS would miss the race, or we would BOTH miss the race! A couple more attempts and finally just left and went to catch the bus myself

Needless to say, I was REALLY upset, but in hindsight it TOTALLY makes sense. DS had been out late EVERY night on the cruise. He was staying up until midnight most nights and that last night was out until 2am watching that movie. He was literally exhausted and needed to do some serious catch-up sleep! I know what that's like because I worked nights for 9 years and I remember the feeling of being totally exhausted even days after my night shifts. This is NOT what I was thinking that morning I was upset that I had planned this special thing for us and it totally went out the window. However, as I was leaving, I decided that I was not going to let it ruin this for me. I was excited to run the race, with or without DS. I was actually fine with it and even stopped thinking about it during the run, until about Mile 5 when I got a VERY ANGRY text from DS, asking why I didn't wake him and telling me he was never going to forgive me…Aaaarrrggggghhhh!! OMG! He had absolutely NO recollection of me trying to wake him! I swear…a herd of elephants could have run past him that morning and he wouldn't have heard them!! He was in a DEAD sleep, the likes of which I have NEVER seen!

He was so mad that by the time I got back to BLT after the race, he had left. We were going to DHS that day and he went off on his own. We met up with him later but he wasn't talking to me and didn't stay with us most of the day. He actually met up with a friend from the cruise that he had been texting and was going to be in DHS that day as well. I knew he had his magic band which he could use to get in the park and charge with to get food, and he stayed in touch via DD who he would text with updates of where he was and what he was doing, etc…

It made me sad not to be spending the final full day with him, but honestly, it was the best thing for both of us. I am probably sharing too much, but this day was perhaps that SINGLE HARDEST DAY of motherhood I had experienced to date. His message to me that day was loud and clear…he will grow up and be independent someday, and there's not a darn thing I can do about it. Oh, and in the mean time, it will be a struggle and it will hurt, because he doesn't know how to do this any other way. And because I am his mom and I LOVE him, I will have to do my best to continue to support him in this process and not give up on him while he is doing this because, after all, he is only 14 (almost 15 now) and he still really does need me, whether he thinks so or not. My heart hurts again now, just thinking about it, but I guess such is life

Obviously, all this perspective came much later. This day at DHS I wasn't really giving this that much thought. We did end up meeting up with DS just before the fireworks, but it definitely wasn't as fun as it had been the week (Had it only been a week? Did he SERIOUSLY just grow up in just ONE week??!!) before.

Okay…sorry to digress so much! I guess I really didn't need to explain this so much. I could have said, "oh, he didn't wake up and it was all fine after…blah, blah, blah…," but that wouldn't have been authentic. SO I am making the choice to be real here. I'm TRULY sorry if that bothers people or makes them uncomfortable. And just FYI, life is pretty much back to normal and just now, DS was standing here asking me to take him to a friend's house. I guess these are the day to day ups and downs of motherhood, like it or not

Ok….as for me, OFF to the big race! Much lighter posts up next!

Don't apologize. Believe it or not....as I read this, I cried with you. My DS will be 17 in a couple of weeks and our next cruise in September 2017, will be his last as a "child". He will go to Vibe for the last time, and do the Wild Side Teen Excursion on Castaway Cay for the last time and I know how you feel. My DS is my oldest, too, and my DD is 10, will be 11 on our next cruise, and will have her last hurrahs (plural because she is doing something like the Royal Sea Package - 3 visits) at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and I know that they are slowly slipping away from me. I have seen anger from my son similar to what you experienced and there is nothing more earth-shattering to a Mom than realizing that they are close to no longer needing you in the way they always have. Thanks for being so open with us, and know that others of us know just exactly how you feel.

 

[buzzrelly]

Don't apologize. Believe it or not....as I read this, I cried with you. My DS will be 17 in a couple of weeks and our next cruise in September 2017, will be his last as a "child". He will go to Vibe for the last time, and do the Wild Side Teen Excursion on Castaway Cay for the last time and I know how you feel. My DS is my oldest, too, and my DD is 10, will be 11 on our next cruise, and will have her last hurrahs (plural because she is doing something like the Royal Sea Package - 3 visits) at the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and I know that they are slowly slipping away from me. I have seen anger from my son similar to what you experienced and there is nothing more earth-shattering to a Mom than realizing that they are close to no longer needing you in the way they always have. Thanks for being so open with us, and know that others of us know just exactly how you feel.

Aw, thank you It always helps to hear from moms (and dads) who understand raising teenagers. I seem to have a LOT of friends with young toddlers and pre-school age kids and they are always complaining and exhausted…I tell them, "just wait! It gets worse!" But I probably did the same thing when my kids were little…it seemed so hard at the time.

It's sad to see those days go, and sad that your DS will be going to the Vibe for the last time, but I have also been finding there are new, fun things that go along with the changes and I try to focus on that and cherish the memories.

I'm glad your daughter will get to do Bibbity-bobbity-boutique. DD loved the attention and feeling like a princess for the day(even if she did wash it out the same day!). I would LOVE to do a Halloween cruise someday on the Fantasy…that sounds like a blast!

 

[SJDisneyFanatic]

LOVED your trip report! We are going on our first cruise in a little over 2 weeks from now and I loved reading your report because it helps me understand what to expect. The one question I have for you is how did your son make friends in Vibe...are there organized activities for them or do they just walk in and hope they find someone to talk to? I am sure it might be hard to get info out of your son...he sounds like he was the exact age as my dd14 is as we are going on it and she is more on the shy side so I worry that she will end up not wanting to go there and end up missing out on some really special times. Anyway, it was great to read all about your trip! Thanks for putting so much thought and detail into it!!