Rope Drop is Tip #1!! A June 2016 TR...updated 10/31 pg 19 post 373 THE END!

[ArielSRL]

Table of Contents

Introductions

Travel Day 6/3/2016 ~ Lake City, FL

Day One 6/4/2016 ~ Arrival Day & Magic Kingdom

• Arrival
• Magic Kingdom (part 1)
• Magic Kingdom (part 2)

Day Two 6/5/2016 ~ Magic Kingdom

• Magic Kingdom (part 1)
• Magic Kingdom (part 2)
• Magic Kingdom (part 3)

Day Three 6/6/2016 ~ Cape May, Hollywood Studios & Disney Springs

• Cape May Cafe
• Hollywood Studios (part 1)
• Hollywood Studios (part 2)
• Disney Springs

Day Four 6/7/2016 ~ Animal Kingdom

• Animal Kingdom (part 1)
• Animal Kingdom (part 2)
• Animal Kingdom (part 3)

Day Five 6/8/2016 ~ Epcot, Disney Springs, and DHS

• Epcot (part 1)
• Epcot (part 2) & Disney Springs
• Disney Springs Photopass Photos
• DHS

Day Six 6/9/2016 ~ Magic Kingdom

• Magic Kingdom (Part 1)
• Magic Kingdom (Part 2)
• Magic Kingdom (Part 3)

Day Seven 6/10/2016 ~ Hollywood Studios

• Hollywood Studios (Part 1)
• Hollywood Studios (Part 2)
• Pool Time & Hollywood Studios (Part 3)

My Dad

Day Eight 6/11/2016 ~ Art of Animation & Departure Day

Final Thoughts

June 2017 PTR Link

 

[ArielSRL]

Introductions

Welcome to my trip report! I am so excited to share my June 2016 Disney trip with you. If you followed over from my PTR, thanks for continuing the journey with me. If you just happened upon my TR, thanks for joining in! If you want to find out all about my pre-planning, check out the link to my PTR in my signature. However, it isn't required reading!

So, on to the introductions!

First off, we have my parents, aka Poppa and Mom-Mom:

Mom almost loves Disney as much as I do, though isn't quite as obsessed, and Dad, who pretty much gets dragged along on most of the trips. *Notice the foreshadowing...

Mom says this might have been their last trip, and she actually said it BEFORE the trip, not during or after, so it wasn't like it wasn't a good trip for them. It's just hard on them.

Next up are my boys, AJ and Will:

This was AJ's second trip, but really his first with memories, as he was 9.5 months old for his first. His favorite rides this trip were the Tomorrowland Speedway, The PeopleMover (a boy after my own heart), and The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. His least favorite was Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and since that was his second ride of the entire trip, there were a lot more potential "least favorites" that were avoided!

This was Will's actual first trip. His favorite ride was it's a small world - he loves to sing the song and it's so darn cute! His least favorite...wait for it...The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh! Figures that one's most loved was the other's most disliked!

Lastly, there's me, Renee or Momma or Mommy:

Yes, I am wearing my Rumors of Light shirt, for those involved in that thread! My favorite rides are Tower of Terror, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and The PeopleMover! I've been to Disney about 15 times, some when I was a kid - my first at age 3 - some as a teen, some as an adult; with family, boyfriends, friends, etc.

Noticeably missing is my Dear Husband Chad, who stayed behind to take care of the dogs and the house. He also couldn't get the time off because right after this trip - this Wednesday to be exact - we are leaving town to visit his hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana as his cousin is getting married and we haven't been since before my boys were born. He'll be around for the June 2017 trip though!

This trip was initially booked in August of 2015 - 10 months out - which is probably the earliest ever for us...the earliest I remember anyway. But I have been not-so-patiently waiting to return since July 2012! I was also the main planner for this trip, which isn't entirely new, but this is definitely the most planning I have ever had to do. While it was stressful at times, it was also fun and a way to pass the time until the trip. I did have help from my TA Dawn, though! Disboards won't let me tag her...

We started out booking a family suite at AoA, knowing we would probably switch to either OKW or SSR after discounts came out the end of December. At that time, there was nothing for OKW or SSR, so we booked VWL. Eventually the cost and the construction drove us back to AoA. But then one day in February, SSR miraculously became available, so we booked a 1 bedroom villa and that was that!


We booked our ADRs at 180(+10) days out, booked FP at 60 days out, and I used touring plans to help me plan a lot of our trip.

And there you have it!

Next up (link): Travel Day 6/3/2016 ~ Lake City, FL

 

[ariane37]

Rope Drop is Tip #1 and I'M #1 here, WHOO-HOO!!!! Excited you've started

And FYI, Ricky was scared of the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh when he was 5, even though he'd been on it the year before when he was 4! Sometimes I don't understand how they think but at least he goes on it now at 14

 

[ArielSRL]

Rope Drop is Tip #1 and I'M #1 here, WHOO-HOO!!!! Excited you've started

And FYI, Ricky was scared of the Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh when he was 5, even though he'd been on it the year before when he was 4! Sometimes I don't understand how they think but at least he goes on it now at 14

Yeah! First!! Good to know about Pooh. Hopefully he'll be over it next year and maybe AJ won't want to ride it constantly! Maybe Will was just tired of it...lol!

Glad Ricky is over his fear now at 14!

 

[Princess Leia]

Hi Renee

I'm #2! Looking forward to your TR! What a great intro - your boys are gorgeous!

You never can tell what are going to be favourites at that age. I love the photo with Olaf! Did they give him a warm hug?

 

[ArielSRL]

Hi Renee

I'm #2! Looking forward to your TR! What a great intro - your boys are gorgeous!

You never can tell what are going to be favourites at that age. I love the photo with Olaf! Did they give him a warm hug?

Thank you for joining in and the compliments on the boys! Yes, as a matter of fact, they did give him warm hugs!

And yes, I was a little surprised at the favorites!

 

[punkin413]

I did have help from my TA Dawn, though! Disboards won't let me tag her...

Thanks for the pimp! Looking forward to more!!

 

[Jfsag123]

I'm here (although not 1 or 2 )! Very appropriate title. Lol at Pooh being both the favorite and least favorite! Looking forward to more and many many pics!

 

[ErinF]

Can't wait to read all about your adventures!!! And it was so nice to meet you in person at Chef Mickey's, hectic as it was!!

 

[ArielSRL]

Thanks for the pimp! Looking forward to more!!

No problem! Thanks for joining!

I'm here (although not 1 or 2 )! Very appropriate title. Lol at Pooh being both the favorite and least favorite! Looking forward to more and many many pics!

Fourth isn't too bad! Yes, I definitely thought the title would go over well...lol. Yeh who'd have thunk it on the Pooh thing. AJ was overjoyed all THREE times we rode it and Will would cling to whoever he was sitting with, whimpering!

I can't wait to dive in with more, if I could just figure out how to download all the photos from the photopass site!

Can't wait to read all about your adventures!!! And it was so nice to meet you in person at Chef Mickey's, hectic as it was!!

Yay, you're here! Thanks for joining! Yes, it was so nice to meet you! You were my only Dis meet up the whole trip! But the only one was a good one! Hope you had a great trip!

 

[ArielSRL]

Travel Day 6/3/2016 ~ Lake City, FL

Well, I’ve been home a couple of days so I figured I had better get this TR started before I forget everything! This post won’t be too terribly exciting but it is the start of the trip, so, therefore necessary.

Well, we had planned to leave home around 4:30, stop in Perry, GA around 7pm for dinner, get the boys set up in PJs, head back on the road around 8pm and make it to Lake City, FL by 10:30/11pm.

The actual isn’t that far off, but we were a little behind. My parents were supposed to come over at 3 to pack up the car, but they didn’t show until 4. We left at 5:30pm, with Dad driving, and me in the third row so that I could help the boys if they needed anything…which, if you have ever driven with children, you know that they did! All kinds of things…snacks, coloring books, a different movie…you name it, they wanted it…lol. We ended up deciding to stop at a Waffle House for dinner around 7:30 but it was a little bit before Perry. We probably didn’t stop for an hour though, so we managed to make up some time that way.

I drove the rest of the way that night and if I had it my way, I’d do the drive at night every time...hardly anyone on the road and the boys asleep! Unfortunately, I don’t think my plans for next year will allow for it, as I’ve decided to add a night at our WDW resort onto the beginning of the trip and I want to arrive in the afternoon so we can get settled in, relax a bit, maybe swim, possibly hit Disney Springs, then early to bed, before doing rope drop at MK the first day...but that’s a story for another report…lol.

We arrived at Lake City around 11:30, so not too far off from the plan. It took Mom and Dad quite a bit of time to check in – around 15 minutes, maybe – because the place was jam packed!! I guess everyone had the same idea as us!

Oh and guess what happened while they were checking in. The boys woke up…nice and refreshed from their nap! It took us a good 30 minutes to get everything into the hotel room, and I’m not really sure why because I had packed a separate suitcase for that night. I guess we needed to bring in the cooler and put all that stuff in the fridge and with kids, you just always have a bunch of junk! Oh and those kids…they were raring to go at midnight!

Eventually we all got settled, except the boys. Regardless, we turned out the light and coaxed them to sleep around 1am, I think. Ugh. Oh, and I had to sleep with both of them and I found out that Will, my two year old, is a BED HOG! He was all over me all night long. Needless to say, it was a horrible night’s sleep for me, but I figured adrenaline and caffeine would get me through the next day! But this just reminds me why I am changing my travel/arrival plans for next summer.

We did get up semi early the next day. I think I set my alarm for 7am. Finally, my phone countdown showed this:

So exciting!!

I got myself ready and then around 7:30, the boys. Of course, Dad was dragging butt (I wanted to use another word here but am not sure that it’s Disboard friendly…lol), which is par for the course every day and definitely for this trip. Around 8am, I took Will out so we could get some of the free breakfast. I thought my parents were right behind me with AJ, but it took them another 10 minutes or so before they came out. Yes, I was already waiting on them...*foreshadowing*

Photos at breakfast (you'll notice a pattern, but I wasn't that great of a trip reporter with food photos...oops):






We didn’t take too long to eat and then we packed up the car:


and we were on our way to Disney, around 9:30!


Now that most of the travel details are out of the way, I think I will stop for tonight. Thanks for reading!!

Next up: Day One 6/4/2016 ~ Arrival

 

[ErinF]

My parents were supposed to come over at 3 to pack up the car, but they didn’t show until 4.

Ooooh, foreshadowing???

^^Ok, I swear I quoted and wrote that before I even got to your own comment later about foreshadowing!!

 

[ArielSRL]

Ooooh, foreshadowing???

^^Ok, I swear I quoted and wrote that before I even got to your own comment later about foreshadowing!!

And the funny things is, obviously, I grew up dealing with this all my life, yet I thought I could change it for this trip. Hmmm, probably not my smartest move. But, in my own defense, I thought I had impressed upon them how important being on time (rope drop) was and maybe they (Dad) could've adjusted for this one trip. I'm going to be honest, I'm not the most prompt person either, but I knew from all my research, that I needed to move my butt and be on time at Disney. Unfortunately, I wasn't in the driver's seat.

But I digress.....lol.

 

[ariane37]

Reading your travel day post brought back memories of travelling long distances when my boys were young. Every time I'd get comfortable in my seat - grab a snack, shut my eyes - somebody needed something I often miss them being so small but I don't miss that lol! My left arm would hurt 60 minutes into the trip from reaching over into the back seat!

I know you love your parents as I love my mom and sister But one trip to WDW with my MIL in 2007 was more than enough! OMG was it a nightmare. And I know without even trying that a trip there with my sister wouldn't be a bag of laughs, either...........sometimes it's bad enough I have to bring Steve and the boys

 

[ArielSRL]

Reading your travel day post brought back memories of travelling long distances when my boys were young. Every time I'd get comfortable in my seat - grab a snack, shut my eyes - somebody needed something I often miss them being so small but I don't miss that lol! My left arm would hurt 60 minutes into the trip from reaching over into the back seat!

So friggin true! I was glad to be in the third row where I could just pop up to help, instead of in front. I think my dad liked it too, because he only had me drive that one portion and last trip, I drove almost all of it!

And omg, then we went to Louisiana afterward and I was driving. My stepson's girlfriend was my "co-pilot" but she left quite a bit to be desired (on her headphones or sleeping the whole trip), so then I did have to be reaching over the front seat. Will particularly liked it if I was holding his foot or leg, so I spent half the time with my arm in between the seats, reaching into the back!

I know you love your parents as I love my mom and sister But one trip to WDW with my MIL in 2007 was more than enough! OMG was it a nightmare. And I know without even trying that a trip there with my sister wouldn't be a bag of laughs, either...........sometimes it's bad enough I have to bring Steve and the boys

No doubt! I mean, yes, I love them, they are great with my boys, help us out if needed, etc, etc. But yes, no more Disney trips with them unless my DH is going too and we can just leave in the morning without them and they can catch up! With my DH and my children, I can boss them around enough, I think, to get them to do what I want...lol. But my dad is just a completely different story. We all must bow to him. Ugh.

Besides, my DH can see the logic and importance in getting to the parks early, and like I mentioned before, it actually benefits him because the less people around, the more he will enjoy it!

 

[punkin413]

The dreaded late start....been there! And the waiting on others to be on schedule....been there! But it all works out in the end. That's what you have to keep telling yourself anyway!

 

[ArielSRL]

The dreaded late start....been there! And the waiting on others to be on schedule....been there! But it all works out in the end. That's what you have to keep telling yourself anyway!

No doubt! A day at Disney is better than a day at home...even if I'm waiting on someone!

 

[LindseyJo22]

We started out booking a family suite at AoA, knowing we would probably switch to either OKW or SSR after discounts came out the end of December. At that time, there was nothing for OKW or SSR, so we booked VWL. Eventually the cost and the construction drove us back to AoA. But then one day in February, SSR miraculously became available, so we booked a 1 bedroom villa and that was that!

Awesome! We stayed at SSR in a studio and really enjoyed the resort.

Too bad about all the lateness - but at least your travel plans weren't too far off

Finally, my phone countdown showed this:

Woo hoo!! Those days are the best, even if there isn't much sleep the night before

Yes, I was already waiting on them...*foreshadowing*

Oh dear :/ I'm really glad that for the most part everyone I go to Disney with knows how important it is to be on time and can get themselves going. I really only end up waiting on Will sometimes, but that's because he putters a lot normally, and it can sometimes be hard to adjust to Disney time But we usually get there!

Hoping it didn't make the trip too frustrating!

 

[ArielSRL]

Awesome! We stayed at SSR in a studio and really enjoyed the resort.

This was our second SSR stay. In 2012 we stayed in a studio. My mom loves it, especially because you can drive right up to your building. It is beautiful and quiet but I think I prefer more theming.

Too bad about all the lateness - but at least your travel plans weren't too far off

Yes, I'm glad we weren't too far off and it truly wasn't that shocking that we were late. We had originally originally said 5 but bumped it up to 4:30, probably subconsciously knowing we'd be an hour off...lol.

Woo hoo!! Those days are the best, even if there isn't much sleep the night before

I know, right?? Now mine says 344... Haha. But it's better than not having a countdown...

Oh dear :/ I'm really glad that for the most part everyone I go to Disney with knows how important it is to be on time and can get themselves going. I really only end up waiting on Will sometimes, but that's because he putters a lot normally, and it can sometimes be hard to adjust to Disney time But we usually get there!

Hoping it didn't make the trip too frustrating!

Hmmmm....actually I was quite frustrated at first but I finally moved to acceptance and just enjoyed it as much as I could, knowing next year with my DH and without my parents, would be much different.

 

[Jfsag123]

Great start! My kids always seem to wake up refresh and ready to go at the exact wrong time too! Good for you for being able to roll with it...and all the other stuff that got thrown at you. Looking forward to your next update!