What Means "Ay, Caramba?"--Famous for Family of the Day!,Sept TR-Cape May HooRay 4/14

[Fantasyland Mom]

I'm in!! Thanks for taking another trip and writing another TR just so I could read. I assume that is the only reason you went.

You're kids have gotten so big! I am pretty sure my youngest will always wear diapers. Who has time to potty train the third child?

That's absolutely why we went.
Hey, third kids fend for themselves. Eventually they learn to use the potty when you forget to put a diaper on them for a few days.

I'm here! I seriously cannot wait to read all about your trip especially after following along on Instagram!

Great! Hope it doesn't disappoint!

I'm here too.

Can't wait to follow along! Our family was there 9-24 through 10-1 and my Bryn also has Asperger's. I replied to your other trip thread and I am excited to read through this one. We had such a wonderful, amazing time as well and I have a whole heart of gratefulness that we could do something like this as a family. I stink at documenting stuff (in truth I haven't even looked at the pics on the photopass cards we got along the way). However, I LOVE your trip reports because our family has some similar challenges and (consequently) similar joys.

Well, we are obviously kindred spirits! I'm so glad you're here.

Im here! I fell really behind on your last TR, so im gonna go back and get caught up! Can't wait to hear all about your new adventures!!!!! :

It happens. In fact, it happens to me A LOT. Welcome back!

Ay Caramba! I can't wait to hear all about this trip! Just from your intro it sounds like it was amazing!

It was very amazing! I hope it comes across it my writing.

I'm in!!! Loved your IG updates, and looking forward to the full report!

Thanks! If anything, I'm very thorough .

Hi there! I lurked on your last TR, so I am excited to read this one from the start. I love the awesome pictures, the real mom moments.

I keep it real...sometimes too real !

I finally got a chance to sit on my computer and watch your trip video - amazing! I can't wait to read the stories behind everything!

I'm glad you liked it! We're sorting through the clips for our new one for this year!

 

[Fantasyland Mom]

Hi, guys! Back for my first official update, but first I wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all of you for being here. I am just so grateful to have you sharing this journey with me, and I am humbled by the number of people who let me know they've read my previous TRs or seen our video and enjoyed them both; I had no idea that so many people already "know" my little family! Truly, thanks.

Now back to our regularly scheduled update!

I want to go ahead and warn you that this is the "Getting There" update, and as such, it's the most boring one of the trip. There aren't many pictures, and most of the ones I have are from my iPad. If you're new to my TRs, know that this is definitely not the norm! It's pretty mandatory that we do this update, though, so let's get it out of the way.

Since many of you have read my ramblings before, you most likely know that I go into a lot of detail. My TRs are long, I over-share, and I am honest, possibly to a fault.

So, it really shouldn't come as a surprise that I'm starting this TR two days before we actually left for WDW.

Picture it: Georgia, a September Tuesday in 2013...(I told you I watch too many eighties sitcoms.)

I had been a little lax in my packing this year. In the past, I would have things pretty much set for a month before departure day. This year, not so much. Over the previous weekend, I had pulled out a suitcase and bagged up some outfits in our two-gallon Ziplocs, but I was nowhere near finished. I decided that Tuesday and Wednesday would be packing nights, and we were surprising our kids by leaving Thursday after school when they thought we'd be leaving Friday. Plenty of time, right?



Turns out that a trip to the pharmacy turned into a disaster (who knew I'd come out feeling worse than when I went in?!). I bent down to pick up Sawyer, who claims he is a baby still, but feels like a ton of bricks, and I felt my back go out. I knew it. I felt it. Right then, I thought my vacation was going to be a no-go. Hunched over, I walked him to the van and had him climb into his car seat. I was near tears as I drove to pick up the girls from school, and as soon as I got home, I grabbed some frozen vegetables and iced my back off and on all night. I called my spine doctor to see what I should do. (Yes, I have one of those. Three pregnancies and three quick births mean the tip of my spine isn't exactly in the correct position anymore, so...spine doc.) He had no openings on Tuesday, but would try to work me in on Wednesday, though he was leaving at 11. The nurse told me to be ready to go at 8am in case they called.

Luckily, they did. I had Sawyer climb into the van, out of the van, and into his stroller without lifting him. Obviously Disney magic was already happening. The doctor had left already, but authorized his nurse to give me two shots--one a muscle relaxer, the other an NSAID for anti-inflammatory purposes. Immediately, my entire lower back went hot. I assumed that meant it had to be working!

Back home, more frozen vegetables. I was messaging Matt (GrimGrinningStitch) and Dani (danimaroo) and doing a bit of freaking out. Was my back on fire, or was this normal? Was I going to be okay? PACKING!?!? I'm so glad to have these guys as friends. They have calmed me down on several occasions, and this day was no different. I relaxed and watched some Little Bear with my Little Man. This was my view from under my Princess blanket.



By the time I picked up the girls, I was already feeling much better. I could stand mostly upright and even took them to ballet. And now here's the part that made every ballet mom stare at me: for some reason, a grandmother who also happened to be a medical masseuse and yogi, randomly brought her granddaughter to class. She asked if I minding if she worked on my back a little, and being in so much pain and having no shame in general, I totally let her do her thing right there in the middle of the studio waiting room. She immediately found two discs that were out of place and swollen, and she sort of nudged them back toward their spots. She also showed me a yoga position to try, advised me to keep icing and stay off of it, and told me I would be better by the next day. SHE WAS RIGHT. I immediately felt like things were getting better. Sure, I traded my dignity for some relief, but I was cool with it.

At home, the rest of the packing consisted of me telling Brandon what to bring to me in bed, and me throwing it into the Rubbermaid container he'd placed next to me. Not my best moment, but it got done, and I went to sleep.

Thursday came--DISNEY DAY!! Sawyer and I went about the house doing all the last minute vacation things: feeding fish, cleaning hamster cages, adjusting thermostats, packing snacks, and doing happy dances. Brandon came home at lunch time and loaded up the van. At 2:00, we picked up the girls from school and began driving down the road toward WDW. We got a nice reaction when Brandon asked, "Who wants to go to Disney World TODAY?!"

Five minutes later, Brynn was asking if we were there yet. Good times.
It was really an uneventful drive, aside from the incessant questions and the rain we kept hitting. The kids played iPads and watched portable DVD players, which I made sure they stared at as we drove through south Georgia. Those billboards are not exactly kid-friendly.

We stopped at the slowest Steak and Shake in existence for dinner. It added an hour to our trip that I will never get back.



Eventually, the kids fell asleep as the sun faded. We considered stopping for the night, but since it was easy driving while they slept, we pushed on. After all, we were hoping to stay the night at a hotel just off property that we'd been to before, where there were plenty of beds in a room and a free continental breakfast.

At about 12:30, we pulled into Clarion Suites Maingate on Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway. The first thing I noticed (and it should have been a sign, duh) was that its name had changed. It used to be Comfort Inn and Suites. It didn't dawn on me that other things could have changed, too. Almost everything about the place was worse.

I walked up to the lobby, and the doors were locked. A girl leaning over the counter and chatting with the front desk clerk literally looked at me and pointed towards the back of the lobby. Then she and the clerk returned to talking.

WHAT IS THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?!? I decided to try to find the back of the lobby, but it wasn't easy. I had to wind my way through the outdoor hallways of the hotel and through the pool area. A "security guard," if you can call someone sitting in a chair with his feet on a table while playing Candy Crush that, saw me and also wordlessly pointed to a door. What was with these people?! Did they forget how to talk? Because they sure as heck forgot manners!

I finally entered the lobby and asked the desk clerk if they had any rooms with two beds and a fold out couch available. He said, "Oh, do you want a room? Are you staying here?"



I swear that I heard crickets chirping as I stared at him.

He had no problem taking my money, though. The price had not changed, at least--$79 plus tax. I asked him what time breakfast was served, and he let me know that if I made a reservation for it that night that it would cost less. COST??? Last time this nifty price included a nice continental breakfast, free of charge! Apparently this was now a restaurant. We were welcome to buy pastries in the lobby. OR, how about we just eat the Pop Tarts we brought and not give you people any more money!

I stormed off with our key to the van and told Brandon about all the wonderful changes. We should have left then, I guess, but it was so late and we'd been driving all night.

Full disclosure: I borrowed these two images from the Interwebz to show you what the place looks like. We weren't exactly in the mood to document it, for obvious reasons.





Looks nice, right? It used to be.

We had to sort of wake up the kids to get them into the room.

I went to grab something from the van and heard a scream inside our room all the way from the parking lot. Brynn. She had spotted a GIANT Palmetto Bug on the ceiling of our room. You have to understand that she is terrified of bugs like no other person I know, and this one was huge and disgusting. Brandon climbed up and killed it, and she somewhat calmed down. We put pajamas on everyone, and I headed into the restroom...where there was ANOTHER huge Palmetto Bug! A Palmetto is a type of ROACH, in case you aren't familiar with Florida wildlife. This place was now officially giving me the creeps. I signaled Brandon quietly to come kill it, but Brynn caught wind and started screaming again. I felt like bugs were crawling all over me at this point, but I knew it wasn't going to be possible to get screaming, exhausted children back into the van and drive to another hotel. Instead, we did a thorough search through all beds and walls for more bugs, then turned on a cooking show to lull them into sleep. They did calm down.



The did not, however, go to sleep. At about 2:30, I think the girls finally drifted off. With all the sleep he got in the van, Sawyer thought it was morning already and was not going down without a fight. I was trying to be in the bed with him to calm him, but he just kept kicking and jumping and talking. At 4:30, we turned the couch around facing the wall so that the sides of the couch and the wall formed a sort of crib. We put him there, and within minutes he was out. I was still wide awake until Brandon figured out how to shut off the loud air conditioner that sounded like a jet taking off every time it clicked on. I finally closed my eyes...

And then it was morning.

I am not a morning person even with more than eight hours of sleep.

Everybody got a bath that morning. I was dragging, to say the least, and made some disgusting coffee in the coffeemaker. As the others chomped on their Pop Tart breakfasts, I managed to hit my gag reflex with my toothbrush...combined with no sleep and coffee on an empty stomach, I got very sick. Brandon walked into the bathroom at that exact moment and started flipping out thinking this was going to be a repeat of our 2011 trip (and if you haven't read that TR, just know it wasn't pretty). I assured him it was purely mechanical and no virus, but I did get an anti-nausea pill out of the van just in case.

We were so done with this place.

Even Julia wanted to bust out of here.



We made a stop to fill up the van with gas before driving onto WDW property, and we tried to shake off the rough week leading up to this moment.

And it worked, too, because soon we were driving under this sign, and ten days of absolute bliss were coming up!



All that bad luck was gone. We could almost feel the Pixie Dust drifting our way already!

Coming Up: Our Bonus Day Begins with a Bang!

 

[STLMickeyMom]

love the note on the door! i'd be ready to hit the road after that hotel too. what a bummer that it had not changed for the better!

cute picture of sawyer with his steak and shake hat on! I think they are always s....l....o....w. I only go though the drive through here if we have 20 minutes to wait.

can't wait for more!

 

[RGirl]

Yeesh - that was not the best few days leading up to your trip!

So glad you made it to WDW - and hopefully all will be a lot better from here on out.

 

[Duffy Lover]

Great update! I think we all need to remember that although Disney is an escape from reality, reality never really leaves us... Bad hotels, sickness, it can happen in the happiest of places. This I need to remember as my darling finger and thumb suckers (ugh, I can just see the disgusting micro-organisms entering their sensitive immune systems) go the the "world" in 228 days..

I can't wait to read what happens next!!! Seriously post now. Please.

 

[1000HappyWishes]

Yeesh, sorry you had such a bad experience at that hotel for the night. But hey, now you can move on to writing about the fun stuff!

 

[WDWaddictt]

Wow...what bad luck...hopefully that is the last of it.

 

[katt789]

Yay! How weird you updated right as I was typing up my update with our dismeet!

Eck, glad you guys got to Disney property all safe and sound and bug free! I haven't heard of the place you stayed at but it certainly doesn't sound like a very good place!! The Quality Inn and Suites just off Sherberth is fantastic and has free hot breakfast, for future trips Lol. Glad things were already looking better!!

 

[SeanofStarCommand]

Subbing! Not sure if I've come across your previous TRs (I'll totally be checking them out!) but I'm here for this one.

 

[GrimGrinningStitch]

Yay for the first update! And double hooray for the awesome call out! We're so glad to have you guys as friends as well (obviously)!

I remember this entire week, and the fact that we were flying on Wednesday as that all happened, and Danielle turning around and telling me what was happening as we flew. I felt so bad for you, but I'm so thankful everything turned out ok!

I really hope their reactions to the early departure end up in the trip video...

UGH! The horrible hotel! Seems like it was a terrible night all the way through, but Julia's sign says it all. Disney World was so close!

The sign! There is nothing better than passing under it for the first time.

And I think I know what's coming up next! YAAAAAY!!!!!

 

[danimaroo]

HOOOOOOORAY! An update! And I'm one happy lady to be reading it!

I am so glad your back turned out to be okay! It's NEVER fun throwing out your back, ever, so thank goodness it ended up being okay and you got a shot/that lady helped you out!

But dear LORD, that place gave me the heebie jeebies! I would have run out of the hotel room and slept in the car if I saw those bugs. I'm with Brynn, I HATE bugs, ugh. They're terrible. :| And Matt doesn't deal that great with bugs either, so basically, when there's something that need to be killed/dealt with, we both argue back and forth who has to deal with it (usually I win that conversation, hahaha).

BUT THANK GOODNESS you were on your way to Disney World the next day, because I know a couple of people who were extra excited for your arrival.

 

[Jackiemarie21]

Yikes, what a yucky start! That's why I love staying on property, you can always expect great quality. I am glad you made it under those gates, where everything is perfect!

 

[epsmith921]

Ah palmetto bugs!! One of the many things I don't miss about our 18 months if Florida living! There's almost just no getting around the bugs. I will say that I love disney for all the bat boxes and such they do to help with Mosquitos as I am allergic.

At least the yucky/changed hotel was only one night. But no sleep isn't always the best way to start a Disney trip! At least it gets better pretty much the second you see that sign. I never got the thing with the sign, but then in September bringing the kiddo for the first time, I had the slight tears everyone talks about. I just knew she was going to love it as much as we do and was so excited for her to see everything. Now I get it.

Did you do more of your room organization stuff this trip? Just curious, though I'm sure you'll get to that part. I am jealous of your getting to bring the plastic tubs because of driving. We drove from Michigan to southern NC this summer, and next time, no luggage. If only Rubbermaid made some sort of awesome bins for checking with the airlines. Maybe there's a product/idea there?

 

[okw19]

There is nothing worse than the feeling of getting sick or hurt the week of vacation departure. Such a horrible feeling wondering if it'll pass in time.
I'm glad the grandmother yogi could help speed up you feeling better. I know Dani and Matt are great friends to have when having a meltdown!

I'm so glad you surprised the kids by leaving early! So fun!

What a stressful hotel experience! At least seeing that WDW arch makes it all better!

 

[BarbP]

Here is hoping that your Disney Stay was magical Looking forward to reading all about it!

 

[RyansMommy1]

I had a feeling you were updating last night Jenn!!! I just couldn't stay awake!

Stinks about the hotel changes- but atleast you slept for....25 minutes?? Lol

Can't wait to hear about all the magical pixie dust coming your way !!

 

[RyansMommy1]

wait a second- How did you get to leave a day early- wasn't Julia going to miss "Instructional learning time"?!?!?!

 

[Howgreat]

I sub'd to your TR last week, but I just watched the video in your siggie today and--wow! You captured everything we love about Disney--all of the magic! Your kiddos are adorable! Can't wait to read more!

 

[ausdreamingofdisney]

OK you've piqued my interest... what kind of billboards do they allow in South Georgia??! Georgia hasn't exactly made our US itinerary (I tried to convince DH that I neeeeeeded to do the Gone with the Wind tour but he vetoed), but now I feel I need to see them!

I'm glad you got all the ickiness out before your trip started in earnest We had a trip like that when my youngest was one, including being discharged from pediatric ward 4 hours before our red eye flight

 

[JDailey]

Note to self.....stay away from that hotel!! I am glad you are on your way to the World now, and leaving all that crazy behind!!