1st Trip Report with a Big First Full day Surprise!

[mydisneykids]

I have never written a trip report before but after reading so many I thought I would give it a try.
My name is Marti and the rest of the clan is my DH Todd, Carolyn 16, Meg 12 and Pat 8. We are DVC members so we go about once a year and lately there have been a few short visits in between.
This trip was a short one, three days on our way to a cruise out of Fort Lauderdale. When I heard we were going on a cruise that was sailing on Easter Sunday and the kids had a ½ day on Thursday and no school on Friday it was a no brainer, we had to stop at Disney.
For a short trip it was a very special one. I got a very big surprise AND my DH (the best in the world) got me a VIP guide as a 40th birthday gift. (The trip is to celebrate my 40th in March, DD 16th in Jan. and DH’s 40th in June).

To me so much of a trip is getting ready to go, even the little things like dropping the dogs off at the kennel can be exciting, but it was a crazy day. I let Meg and Pat stay home from school as they would have only been there for about 2 ½ hours, but to Carolyn’s displeasure she had to go.
Got the dogs off, finished the last bit of packing (3 days at Disney, 1 week cruise for 5 people sure adds up!!!) and we were off to get Carolyn and head to the airport. There was quite a bit of excitement as this trip has been a year in the making (and little did I know the kids were keeping a BIG secret about it which looking back must have added to their excitement).

Our flight was uneventful which is always nice. Our first stop was to Universal City Walk. Whenever our kids start playing a sport for the first time we take them out to dinner to celebrate a predetermined goal they accomplish. For Carolyn it was scoring her first goal in field hockey. She picked Margaritaville. To understand the significance of this you need to know, she started playing field hockey in 7th grade and got her first goal that year……. She is now in 10th grade and finally decided that she wants to go THERE for her dinner. I guess she wanted to make sure she made the right choice.
Dinner was good. Glad I hade made reservations. Walk ups were running 1 ½ hours and we were seated in about 20 min.

Kids waiting at the airport.

The next Parrothead!

We got to the Beach Club Villas at a decent time. That place really is like a second home. When we pull up to the guard to let us in, the kids all lean up in the car to hear him say, "Welcome home". That really makes it feel like we are back. Check in was a breeze. We got birthday pins for each of us celebrating and decided that Carolyn would celebrate the next day at MK, I would celebrate on Friday since that was our day with the guide and Todd would celebrate on Saturday since we were going to eat in Germany (his FAVORITE!!). Megan and Pat got plain pins that just said "I'm Celebrating" It made them feel so good to get a pin too. All in all it was a very smooth day, all the surprises were to come tomorrow. We went to bed early since we were going to rope drop at the Magic Kingdom which was at 7:00, that makes for an early morning. Well, time to go do more wash and if you decide to follow this, I am looking forward to writing it, we had so many happy memories crammed into these three little days. Have a good night all!

 

[OhMari]

Welcome and I'm glad you are writing a TR.

I saw a lot of VIP tour guides. I don't know if I just recognize them now more, since I know what they do, who knows. I saw one pick up a family at the hotel we were staying at. It wasn't on Disney property either.

Looking forward to hearing about the surprises.

 

[mydisneykids]

We said the same thing. We didn't know if we were seeing more of them because were looking forward to ours or there are that many more giving them, but it really was a great experience.
Thanks for the welcome. Being the first time I am doing this I can't imagine writing something anyone else would want to read, but I enjoy reading all the other trip reports so much I thought I would give it a try.

 

[ProudMommyof2]

Oooh- I love surprises!!!

 

[mydisneykids]

The first day got off to a bit of a rough start. We have an owners locker (we love it) and I keep an alarm clock in there. Set it for 5:45 yuck (it is vacation right) so we could get the bus and be at the MK for EMH rope drop. Well next thing I know I open my eyes and look at the clock and it is 6:25!!!!! I have never seen two teenage girls and a sleepy 8 year old boy get up, dressed and out the door so quickly. Thank goodness I had garden grocer send some things to the room so they each had a pop tart or some fruit while throwing their clothes on. We were at the bus stop by 6:50 and walking through the gates at 7:30. Not what I was hoping for but not too bad.
I love that feeling when you see Main Street and the castle for the first time of a trip.
First stop: Tommorowland.
We got fastpasses for Buzz and went over to Space Mtn. We waited about 30 min. for Space Mtn. but we didn’t want to miss it as it will be closed the next time we come and it is one of the kids favorites. The ride was as good as it always is, and we never have a doubt how much Megan likes it…… she is a screamer. She goes on any coaster and loves them, but even one as small as Space Mtn. from the time she hits that first drop until we are pulling back into the station, she never stops screaming. And it is not your normal scream, it is a cackling, laughing, all out scream. We always try to sit one of us right in front of her because I could not imagine doing that to someone elses ears!!!!

My screamer!!!!

Patrick showing off for the cameras at the end of Space Mtn.

We did a lot of backtracking today and it really worked for us. It helped us utilize fastpasses and helped us walk off all the great food.

We decided to head over to Adventureland and Frontierland next. We were going to ride Big Thunder but decided to wait until our Buzz time came up and fastpass it.
So we hit the Haunted Mansion with no wait(by now it is 8:00 and the park is open to the masses) I got pictures of how empty the park started it sure would change later.

I didn’t get a picture of this though, we then let the kids get Ice cream for breakfast. We do that once a trip and it is always something that stands out for them. We then hit Pirates with no wait, Jungle Cruise with no wait and got our Big Thunder fastpasses for 11:00 (perfect considering we have 11:30 ADRs for Crystal Palace)


We took advantage of the train this time. After we got our fastpasses we took the train back to Toon Town so we could head over to Buzz. I love the little secret path between Tomorrowland and Toon Town. No matter how crazy the parks get it is always a little quiet escape there. A little bonus on the train. Patrick got to give the all aboard. He acts so grown up at times, but he sounded so little when his voice came over the speaker, it was so cute.
We all did pretty well on Buzz and then took the train back over to use our Big Thunder fastpasses.

I was amazed when we got off Big Thunder. It is now 11:15 and we are ready to head over to Crystal Palace. The area outside of Big Thunder and Splash mountain is PACKED. I have never seen that many people in that little area. It was much better by the time we got over to where the the main doors for Pecos Bills are, but it was scary crowded for a bit.

Crystal Palace was great!!! Food was even better than I remember, service was good, Carolyn got a cute card for all the characters to sign when they came by and a cupcake It was a great lunch.

We walked over to look at the time board after lunch, I was glad we had gone on haunted mansion in the morning, the board was showing it down now. And the crowds were really starting to pick up. We decided since we were just here in April when Carolyn’s Color Guard marched with the marching band and were coming back in November that we would call it a day and go back to the resort and swim since we had 5:00 dinner at T-Rex. I had one stop to make first. I had told someone on the boards I would check for the Passover menu at Cosmic Rays. Well, it wasn’t up but on my way back out from checking Carolyn is yelling and jumping around hitting her top. Well, she was wearing a cami with a tank top over it. Somehow one of the little lizards there had managed to climb up her and found a home in between her two shirts!!! At this point all she wants is it gone, we are all laughing and we notice quite a few people stopping to watch. We are such good parents, what does Todd say to me?? Do I have my camera handy???? So of course he had to hold her top shirt out so I could take a picture of her new friend. She finally did forgive us and we entertained a crowd of people by the time it was over.

From there we went back to the Beach Club for a swim. The pool deck was crowded and a bit hard to find a chair, but the pool wasn’t too bad. We had a nice time watching them go down the slide.

Now it is time for our T-Rex dinner and my surprise but I will get to that soon, time to make dinner.
Thanks all.

 

[mickeystoontown]

Signing on for more. I often say that trip reports and pictures are what keep me sane until our next WDW trip. Thanks for your contribution to my sanity!

 

[mydisneykids]

Thanks, I find the same thing, it is a nice fix to hold me over. I should be ready to post the next part tonight. I missed a bit because it got crazy here, my oldest made her confirmation and gave her best friend a surprise party at our house so things are finally starting to slow down and I have been able to start writing again.
Thanks again