16 Day Murphy's Law Trip!!

[Jenngoofys]

Hang onto your hats and glasses, folks, cause this here's the wildest ride in the Wilderness!!
Hello, My name is Jennifer and this will be my First trip report!!

Accompanying me on this Wild ride are
1. My Husband Scott (A.K.A - Fast pass runner)

2. My Daughter Abigail - Disney World Pro at 11

3. My Sister Tami - who has not been to Disney in 22 years

4. My Nephew Robert - His first trip Ever out of NY state

A little background on this group, I run a day care and my nephew is more like a brother to my daughter than a cousin, they have a love/hate relationship. My nephew and My hubby pick at each other daily. My sister is a pretty passive person and takes everything as it comes with the greatest of ease. My Daughter is a total Daddy's girl on vacations because she doesnt get to see him alot between school and his work. Me I am the planner/organizer, and fearless leader of this crew!! (A.K.A. - Time Keeper)
I have been begging my sister for 9 years to take my nephew to Disney, she finally decided it was time. I booked the vacation last August on a bounce back offer that included free dining. She was thrilled, we planned our Table service meals and I booked them and layed out a general schedule of what park what day based on where we were eating. That was all the planning she did was choose where to dine. I was in charge of the rest (planning the perfect vacation, or so I thought). The trip was Robert's Christmas present he was so shocked he was almost in tears. So now for the 8 month wait!!! His Birthday was in June so I gave him a luggage set and a countdown calendar. The calendar led him to believe we were leaving on August 21st but we were actually leaving on the 18th!!
Next post August 18th - The Big Day!!!

My Trip Report :
The Big Day - http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46067569&postcount=3
3 Hotels in 24 Hours!!! Part One - http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46078608&postcount=6
3 Hotels in 24 Hours!!! Part TWO - http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46099251&postcount=7
The Rest Day!! - http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46105366&postcount=8
Animal Kingdom Day!! - http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=46127103&postcount=9

 

[AuntRoeRoe]

Great start! Can't wait to read more about your trip.

 

[Jenngoofys]

August 18th - The Big Day!!

So we set up the surprise like this--- My daughter was camping and being picked up on our way to the airport hotel. Robert was "spending the night" at his Aunt Jenny's. We were going to dinner with his mother so we had to go pick her up. My bags were in the car because I Always load them a couple days before I leave (years of him seeing this made it true LOL).
We arrive at his house at 4:30 PM to pick up his mother who has been packing all day and cleaning. We go inside and she says "So who's ready to go to Florida?" Scott, Tami and I all say ME!!! and he goes Really? we say yes right now lets go he was in complete denile!! He kept saying no we're not leaving, and once he realized we really were hes said omg I feel sick!! I caught it on my iphone with video. I kept laughing like an idiot because I was so excited for him. Here is the video http://youtu.be/AEAxVH0HdrA So off we go it is a 2 1/2 hour drive to the nearest real airport. We pick up Abby, and head to grab some food at "Arby's" we arrive only to find out this place is no longer and Arby's and has just changed that day, so they still had some Arby's food to serve. My sister and I order and they didnt have 3/4 of what we asked for so that was a dissapointment but we lived. We head out to the hotel we are staying at for the night, I go to check in NO Reservations!!! they have switched from a Quality Inn to a Days Inn and in the process Lost everyones reservations!!! So we get rooms on the second floor drag all of our bags up the stairs because there is no elevator (that was fun). We get in the rooms and there are a couple things wrong with my sisters room that need attention. (wash cloth left on shower curtain rod, and a light out). So once that is fixed we settle in for the night.
Next Post August 19th - 3 Hotels in 24 hours!!!

 

[Chaboogie]

Hi. Looking forward to rest of your tr. the Murphy's law title caught my eye.
Tried using link to get to your YouTube video but did not work for some reason.
I'm sure your family was surprised by the announcement!

 

[Jenngoofys]

I think I fixed the Link, I Hope LOL

 

[Jenngoofys]

August 19th - 3 hotels in 24 hours!!

My Goodness 4:30AM comes early!! The 3 people in my room are ready we head for the Lobby dragging 4 large bags down the flight of stairs (Im sure the people sleeping appreciated all that noise). We arrive in the Lobby and head to the free continental Breakfast. It is now 5AM and we are leaving at 5:15 in the van to the airport. 5:12 in comes my sister and nephew!! ok 3 minutes to eat and get loaded!! Guess what, the person who was supposed to drive the van called in!! So we are now waiting on a cab or the replacement person to arrive!! So my sister being late wasnt an issue this time!! The cab and replacement arrive at the same time we allow the two older gentelman who were running late for their flight to take the cab, and we took the van to the airport, where we check our bags and then my sister heads out for another cigarette or 2 (did I mention she smoked?) We get up to security and she's like so I cant smoke again until we Get to FL? Yup thats what going through security means LOL She has only flown twice and my Nephew has never flown so both of them are anxious. Here is a cute picture of them watching our plane.

We load the plane and settle in for the 2 hr 50 min flight. I watch a movie my sister tries to watch a movie but falls asleep. My nephew also watches a movie. So the flight was uneventful until my nephew smacked his drink across his tray and his mothers, by accident, but still a huge mess. We get that all cleaned up and the rest of the flight was great.
We land and head through the airport straight to the Disney Check in area, and straight out the door for my sister to smoke LOL once Scott catches up to us with the kids who had to use the restroom we all check in and wait for the bus. As we are in the Bus line outside waiting to get on the bus My sister says do you think I have time to smoke before we get on the bus? Scott is like No all they have to do is scan the ticket and we get on. So we get off the bus at the hotel and off she goes to smoke asking me to check us both in if she didnt get there before she got done. (REALLY?) So I stand in line, she makes it back before I get to the desk. We get to the desk and the Computers are down!! So their solution is to give us a one day pass for free, and have us charge our meals and keep reciepts for reimbursement when we get back that night. The guy takes my cell number and says he will txt me when the computers are up and our rooms are ready he says we will be able to have the first floor facing the pool, as we requested. I was like ok we can do this. Off we go!! Our First Park of Every trip is Always Magic Kingdom!! We get to the park. We go to the hat shop and buy Hats for our trip, Everyone except Scott got a hat. Then we head down Main Street take the traditonal Castle Photo, head to Adventureland straight to you guessed it The Smoking spot!! Conveniently located next to the Dole Whip Stand so we all got a Dole Whip, and Scott ran for Fastpasses for Jungle Cruise!! He got back in time for our climb around the Swiss Family Tree House (just one climb per trip no matter how long the trip is). We then Skipped straight into Frontierland to See Country Bear Jamboree!! My Sister was deathly afraid of Liverlips McGraw when we were younger so it was a Must do for the first day (it was closing for refurb in 2 days). What a great memory to share with her. Roberts first impression was "it was cool" with a huge smile on his face, caught him clapping along to the show. We went on the Jungle Cruise and apparently My family all 5 of us Love Corny Jokes so we laughed at every one of them on the Cruise!! We did the Enchanted Tiki Room, and Pirates before it was time to head to dinner Robert and Tami loved both
Chef Mickey's is our First Night Tradition. We all enjoyed the Mickey Oreos!! Everyone LOVED dinner and the Character interaction. My Sister and Nephew ate like it was their last meal, My family knew to pace ourselves because we still had many days of Disney Dining ahead. LOL

Next Post 3 Hotels in 24 hours!!! Part TWO

 

[Jenngoofys]

So with Dinner done we had to decide Extra Magic Hours, or Back to the Hotel?? We decided since we had not recieved a txt message and it was now 8:30 ish we would head back to the hotel to relax. We get back to the hotel and I go to the front desk to ask about our rooms. The man at the desk said yes your rooms are ready, we have 2 rooms on the Second floor and he showed me where they were, they were on the opposite side of the pool!! I said well the man I left my number with never txt me and apparently didnt pass on our information, he also promised us a first floor room facing the pool, and that is what we would like. This is my sisters first trip with my nephew and she wanted to be able to watch him from the room while he went swimming. So they call around and say they have a room at All Star Sports with an obstructed view. I was like fine a tree or post we can deal with that. And while we wait for them to get our luggage and a van to transfer us, we settle our food situation (or so we thought) We give the man the reciepts for the lunch, snack, and dinner we had he then proceeded to deduct the food from our meal plans and "refund the food costs to our room as a credit" (or so we thought, this will come much later). So we arrive at All Star Sports only to find they have again put us on the backside of the building (Really?). I was like thats what you call and Obstructed View? I call it a BLOCKED View!! So they agreed to move us to a pool view the very next morning and transfer our luggage so we wont have any delay in our day. My sister and nephew head to the pool for a swim to relax. Then we all head to our room for the night. Problems solved So the next morning we wake up and head to the Bus Stop Today is a Hollywood Studios Day!!! I walk by the pool on the way to the bus stop and see a fence around it and think oh maybe someone had an accident in it and it needs cleaning. I am out at the bus stop waiting for my sister to catch up after her smoke break. (Apparently Both of our Clocks were set a Half hour ahead as well Needless to say we were really early for our bus!!) She says you're not going to believe this, im like what she says the Pool is closed for a months refurbishment as of this morning. I was so angry but we couldnt miss the first few hours at DHS!! You all know the Toy Story Mania Issues LOL So off we go First up the Toy Story Run LOL we get in the regular line after getting our fastpasses. Everyone loves it!! we then head to a smoking area, once thats done we go to the Backlot Tour and I so kindly volenteer My sister and myself for the show. Of course making sure my sister gets the "special" job on set LOL

Ye Im so Nice to her After that adventure everyone was in a great mood. Off we go for our Second Toy Story Ride!! Star Tours, then time for Lunch at Sci Fi!! We got a Car Yay

Lunch was great!! I loved my Reuben, and everyone loved the atmosphere and the Peanutbutter Cake!! We decide its hot and we need a swim (LOL) we head back to the Hotel. I get to the hotel and ask for the manager. I explain what has happend in this short period of time. He is very apologetic. I guess I should mention if I havent already that for the first mess up they gave us a Fastpass each. The second time they gave us a $50 room credit each. So I say they really didnt know Last night that the pool was going to be closed today for the month, on a scheduled refurb, BEFORE they moved us to this hotel for a POOL VIEW? Who wants to look at a nonworking pool? As im standing there, there are other people complaining of the pool refurb because they didnt know about it (even though it was on the website) In my defense this wasnt the hotel I was supposed to be in. So they call around and say Movies? They had one room facing the pool today and the other would be ready tomorrow. So since my sister and nephew want to swim the Sports solution to no main pool was a golf cart transport to any pool you wanted LOL so off Tami and Robert go while I deal with everything AGAIN. So off we go to our new rooms!! Not Bad 3 Hotels in 24 Hours!!! We get settled for now and head back to the park for some family fun. Great Movie ride, Rocking Roller Coaster, Tower of Terror, Because Scott and Abby are not thrill seakers Robert and I were able to use their fast passes for a second ride on each!! We have a quick Dinner at Rosie's Real Chicken Nuggets for me and Burgers and Ribs for the rest!! We then decide since its 7:30 we need to line up for Fantasmic!! I hold everyones place!! Scott Abby and Robert go shopping, and My sister goes to get drinks for all of us for the show and smoke. So of course the show is Fantastic!! We head out after to ride some rides a third time because the park is open late. Star Tours seems to be the Family favorite, so we did that 5 times today!! As we are heading across the park to ride RRC and TOT I get a txt from a friend who lives in FL and it says where ever you are get indoors and undercover there is a bad storm coming within the next 1/2 hour. So we start literally running to the busses!! I physically have one foot on the bus and Scott is still outside when OMG all Heck Breaks loose!! The Biggest Rain drop EVER about the size of a kiddie pool lands on my booty and Poor Scott we wont even mention the 2 seconds he had LOL the bus ride was like riding in Day light there was so much lightening and it Lit up the entire sky each time. We run back to our rooms and think OMG LOL LOL it is now 1130 Abby takes a shower and then it was my turn Guess what? The drain is clogged!! So maintenance comes at Midnight and removes what looks like a Mangled Rabbit from the drain GROSS!!! So I shower and we are off to sleep!!
Next Post August 21st- The Rest Day!!

 

[Jenngoofys]

So it's August 21st and My sister and I have a Spa date!! We catch a bus to Animal Kingdom and switch to the Saratoga Springs Bus. We arrive and she has a smoke, and I search for the Spa. I find it get her and we're just in time lol We get taken to the locker area for her to change for her Massage. Once she is ready we head up and she is taken to the massage area and I to the Nail room for a Glorious Pedicure (I personally think Disney should include this procedure with any 5+ day Package)!! We catch a ride back to our hotel with a DVC van (love DVC). We arrive in the room and My husband says Honey the floor is soaked by the AC. The area was from the wall and extended under the table in our room. I called Maintenance they decide its the room above us the AC Leaking and they send a guy in with a HUGE fan!! It is loud and so Windy in my room you'd think the Hurricaine made land early!! So much for relaxing LOL. We have a little pool time and eat lunch at the hotel. It was raining so we went to the arcade for a little bit where an over zeleous air Hockey player slammed the puck off the table through the air and right on my Knuckle GOD THAT HURT!!! So I had enough in there and went to try to take a nap in our wind tunnel (LOL). I succeded for about an hour!! We then get ready to go to the Boardwalk, we are eating at Big River Grille and Brewing Works! We are meeting friends of Mine who have never been there and this was a new dining area for my Family and Every Single one of us LOVED it!!! Amazing food!! The atmosphere was not amazing but I think if we were in the dining room maybe that would have been better. The Company made up for the lack of atmosphere. So its still raining after dinner we decided our Boardwalk stroll was out. We say our good byes and head back to the Wind Tunnel LOL We take a Little swim in the rain we figure we were going to get wet any way so why not. After an hours swim and my nephew splashing me in the face I had enough and retired to the Wind Tunnel. I turned the Fan off and we retired for the night.

Next Post - Animal Kingdom Day!!

 

[Jenngoofys]

August 22nd - We get up get ready and turn on our Wind Tunnel, then head out for our day. Husband runs for Dinosaur fastpasses, and we head to the Safari, he is 6'5" and walks like he's racing lol. So he meets us and we get right on. We then need a smoke area, bathrooms, and breakfast!! Once we are done all that we head to Dinosaur, and My nephew is loving it so if you remember my husband like to pick on him, soooo when the pterodactyl comes flying down Scott grabs Roberts hat LOL. At the end Roberts asking if anyone grabbed his hat we all said no of course, he suspects Scott. The line was short so we went through the regular line. This time he was watching Scott so at that exact moment I grabbed his hat LOL He of course figured it out but it was funny. Scott runs for Everest Fastpasses. We then go to see Its Tough to Be a Bug. I really enjoy this show, not for the show itself (it is really cute) but for the screaming Moms at the end when the Bugs leave before us LOL You see people jumping up and screaming all over the theater!! I find this very amusing, I cant help it. My Sister was hilarious!! Robert was mad we didnt tell him about the Hornets. So now it was time for lunch at Flame Tree BBQ!! We got our meals and headed down to the water seating area and enjoyed a great meal. We decide Festival of the Lion King is next!! Who would have known that would be Tami's Favorite show of the whole trip?? I love the show too but my favorite is Fantasmic!! We head over to Everest and Tami Robert and I ride, Tami loves it so much she rides the second time with Robert using Abby and Scotts Fastpasses. We have Dinner planned at Cape May so we head back to the hotel to change catch the bus to DTD then the bus to Beach Club. Let me tell anyone who was told on the phone to allow yourself 1 hour to travel between hotels NO, it is always 2 hours!! We didnt have one day where we used the bus that it took under 2 hours between hotels. We finally arrive at Beach Club and Tami had a smoke, I run in and check us in for dinner. She was in Heaven she loves sea food and so does Abby. Here's a pic of Abby holding the shells of some unfortunate Muscles LOL

We finished Dinner and went back to our hotel 2 hours on the bus Our wind Tunnel has dried the floor so we call for them to come pick up the fan. Then I Went for a Swim with Robert and Tami, Robert Splashed me again in the face So I again went back to my room to sleep!!
Next Post - Le Cellier and the Very Busy Day!!