23 Days...Brilliant or Idiodic?

[MinnieMouseMom]

Deb, your report is wonderful! Thanks for taking the time to include all the details so we feel like we were there!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Loving your report!!!! Sounds like you're having a very magical trip! How cool that you saw the Snow Prince!

 

[averill94]

Wow thanks for sharing. This trip is off to a great start(I havent fiished yet!)

Thank you for all of the details.

Got to get back to reading!

 

[tmfranlk]

Great trip so far, Deb!! It sounds like you all are having a marvelous time! Color me all sorts of shades of green. :

 

[penguingirlie]

Great trip report!! 23 days- Wow!! I am so jealous. Sounds like you guys are having a great time. I look forward to hearing more soon.

 

[disneydance]

I'm loving your TR so much so far I think 23 day is brilliant we went 5days this year and that the only time we could go but 23 day that would be a dream come true!!!!

 

[my3princes]

We're home. The trip was Fabulous. I will post more tomorrow as I am fairly exhausted tonight. Our cat is also craving our attention.

 

[tinknme]

Welcome home! I look forward to hearing about the rest of your trip.

We're home. The trip was Fabulous. I will post more tomorrow as I am fairly exhausted tonight. Our cat is also craving our attention.

 

[Blueeyes101817]

Welcome home!

 

[my3princes]

Day 14

Moving day again. This time offsite. We took our time packing up and let the boys sleep as long as they could. We ended up leaving BWV around 10:30 AM. We went to the Buena Vista Suites to check in. This is when it became obvious that we were not at Disney anymore. There were no rooms available yet so we could not check in or even do anything in preparation for checking in. We decided to hit Downtown Disney for awhile. Disney Quest does not open until 11:30 AM so we were a bit early. We browsed the Virgin Mega Store to kill some time. We really should have gotten in line as the line was almost back to the parking lot when we got in it. It moved fairly quickly and we took the DIS advice and headed to the Explore zone first. We did Pirate’s then Jungle cruise. It was pretty crowded by now so we ate at the Cheesecake factory then left. We hit the World of Disney as the kids had been teasing to go there. There was so much to look at that I’m sure we missed a lot.

We headed back to the Buena Vista Suites and arrived there at 2:40 PM. Check in is 3 PM so we hoped that there would be a room by now. NOPE. Apparently all of the housekeepers log in what they have cleaned at exactly 3 PM because amazingly our room and those of a lobby full of waiting people became available. We checked it out and it was clean enough. Typical hotel room/suite. We moved our luggage in and took a very much needed nap. The older boys and myself would be picking my Mom up at the airport at midnight so we all needed rest in preparation.

The Buena Vista Suites

We relaxed and I even got internet access. It was nice to check in with the DISboard and check my email etc. During this time frame the toilet in our room decided to stop working. We called maintenance and someone came up an changed a valve. It took about ½ hour, but at least we had a potty again. We were starving by then so we headed out to find food. We ended up on Vineland and found an Outback Steakhouse. The wait was 40 minutes. DH and the boys waited while I ran to the Walgreens next door for soda and cold meds. DH had a nasty cold by now. As long as I kept him drugged he was happy enough. I rejoined them and we were seated pretty quickly. The food was great and the price about ½ that of a Disney sit down meal. We ate fairly quickly as I needed to drop DH and DS 4 off at the hotel before heading to MCO. We left the hotel around 11 PM to head for MCO. Mom’s plane landed 20 minutes early so we really waited only about 10 minutes for her then we were off to the hotel. The boys were so excited and they were talking non stop making it difficult for her to listen to one as the other was trying to talk at the same time. When we got back to the hotel DS 4 woke up and joined in the non stop talking. We kept telling them to whisper as it was 1 AM. I apologize to our neighbors if we kept you up. They had to show her everything they had purchased or been given on the trip. The had to go through all the pins they had been collecting. Well you get the picture…They were so excited. I think we finally calmed them down around 2 AM.

Oh, the toilet that was fixed earlier in the day was running nonstop at that point. It was a bit difficult for my Mother to sleep as she heard it running. DH and I did not hear it. Since we only had one more night we decided to just turn the water off to the toilet for the next night instead of having repair men in and out again.

 

[my3princes]

Day 15

We got up not long after going to bed. 6:30 AM. We got everyone ready and headed to the complimentary buffet breakfast. The food wasn’t bad and we were all comfortably full. Back to the room for a few essentials and off we went. We parked at the TTC and caught the monorail to the Magic Kingdom. We arrived as the opening show was taking place and were immediately let in. We hit main street at 9 AM. DH needed a haircut and amazingly the barber shop was empty. While he got his cut DS 9 and I got in line for autographs. Gideon and Foulfellow were first. They were taking a lot of time with each person so it took a long time to get to them. My mother and the other boys joined us and DH got in line for Geppetto and Pinocchio. Foulfellow loved his autograph page and made a really big deal about it. Gideon in turn made a big deal about his page too. Then off to meet DH. We had to wait for the character’s break, but were seen pretty quickly. Again the pages were a big hit. Clarabelle was out by now so we got in her line which was pretty short. The CM said that Horace would be out in less than 5 minutes so we waited and got his autograph too. Then we headed to Adventureland. We did Pirates of the Caribbean then waited for Captain Jack Sparrow’s pirate tutorial. We enjoyed the show then headed to Splash Mountain followed by Thunder Mountain. The boys were so excited to have Grammy with them that they were all talking non stop each trying to tell her about the rides or what they had done. Grammy has never been a big ride fan, but she has done a lot more as the kids have grown. She has now done every ride at the Magic Kingdom except the Rockets above the TTA. They boys are impressed.

After TMR we headed for Fantasyland. We did It’s a Small World then Peter Pan’s flight. It was nearly time for the show in front of the Castle so we headed there. Cute show, but due to technical difficulties it ended about 2/3 of the way through. We decided that we were hungry so we had lunch at Pinocchio’s village haus. The weather was HOT. It was nice to sit in air conditioning for awhile. Once we were sufficiently cooled off we headed to Space Mountain, TTA, the Laugh Floor and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin. I won much to my DH’s dismay. We managed to catch the last part of the show that had ended earlier then headed into Liberty Square and found a nice shady spot just as you cross the bridge from Fantasyland. It was the perfect spot to watch the parade. We all enjoyed relaxing in the shade and the parade was good too. We decided to head to Toontown. We rode the train all the way around. Next was the Barnstormer then Donald’s boat.

The show in front of the castle featured the new character head with eyes that blink and mouths that move. Captain Hook and Mr. Smee were different then the ones that appear for autographs

Then off to the Tomorrowland Speedway. DS 4 drove me around. Let’s just say it was a bumpy road. Having pretty much finished up Tomorrowland we did Pooh’s ride then waited to meet Ariel. It was 8 PM by then. We caught the Country Bear Jamboree then grabbed a spot near Pecos Bills for the 9 PM parade. I grabbed quick dinner at Pecos Bill’s and funnel cakes back in Liberty Square while we waited for the parade. DS 4 was so cute during the parade. He made eye contact with all of the female characters and even blew most of them kisses. I was amazed at how they all reacted to him by either blowing back kisses or waving a wand etc. They definitely all saw him. He was on cloud 9.

After the parade we headed through Adventureland and stopped in front of the Crystal Palace to watch the fireworks. It was a pretty good view. We saw Tinkerbelle fly and all of the fireworks though they appeared to the left of the castle. The music was a bit obstructed, but it is still an amazing show.

We headed out of the park with the herd and were amazed at how quickly we made it onto the monorail and back to our car. We were all exhausted and headed to bed after freshening up.

 

[my3princes]

Day 16

We woke up around 8 AM. Everyone got ready then we repacked. By now we were getting pretty good at this. We took one trip to the car then went to our free breakfast. I must say that the danish were delicious. Once we were all full we made one last trip to the 6th floor and grabbed the couple of bags that were left. We would now be on Disney Property for the rest of our trip. Since it was around 10 AM we headed for the outlet mall to kill time. We knew that villas are seldom ready ahead of the 4 PM check in time. We learned that this week is tax free week in Florida on clothing and other back to school items. This was good for us. We browsed the entire mall then hit the Disney Outlet. I managed to find some great deals there. I even got a red Mickey collander for $11 that was still for sale all over property for $22. I picked up a couple of shirts for myself and one each for my niece and nephew. I also bought each of the boys a sweatshirt. There were a few more miscellaneous items too.

From there we decided to head to Old Key West and hope for an early check in. The only request that we made was for an elevator building. The local would work well for us and with the wheelchair and stroller it would make life much easier. I waited in line 10 - 15 minutes then reached the check-in desk. They had put us in a 3rd floor room in a non elevator building. The CM insisted that I had not requested an elevator building and those buildings were completely full. She would do what she could to put us in a first floor villa. I was agreeable, but insisted that they keep us close to the feature pool and boat dock. She disappeared and came back to tell me that they had found us a first floor room, but it was not close to anything. By now I was very upset. We had not had any good placements so far on this trip and I knew that I HAD requested an elevator room. I requested a manager. He came out and typed away for several minutes before telling me that he could do nothing for us. I suggested that I go to the car to get my confirmation that showed my request. He told me it was pointless as there were no villas available anyway. By now I was almost in tears. He said they could try to find a different villa tomorrow, but I would need to pay a room transfer charge. This did not sit well with me at. I finally said to just give us a villa as it was obvious that I was getting nowhere. Then he tells me that the villa wasn’t ready. I had absolutely had it by now and told him to just find us a 2 bedroom villa that was ready NOW. He found one in building 51. We drove there. It is on the far outskirts of Old Key West. When we got there I found my confirmation and it does indeed show my request. I will be talking to DVC Member Services tomorrow to get an explanation as to how this happened. Needless to say my day was shot.



We moved into the Villa. The Villa is huge, bigger than the one at the boardwalk. This was my Mother’s first time staying in a DVC resort and she was absolutely amazed by the size. She obviously thought that I was exaggerating when I had filled her in before. We decided that we would spend the afternoon in the room. I needed to calm down and unpack/reorganize and DS 4 needed a nap. Daddy ended up taking one too. I did a load of laundry, got all of our souvenirs together and into a suitcase before they got lost. I even went through the kids bags and threw out all of the junk they had acquired. Slowly I calmed down and settled in. My Mother kept telling me to sit and relax, this was vacation and I didn’t need to be working, but I had to keep busy. By late afternoon I was ready to do something. It had been near 100 degrees during the day so we were hoping that it would cool off some and make being outside bearable. We toyed with going to a park, but we had done MK yesterday and today AK was closing at 7 PM and both MGM and Epcot were closing at 9 PM. We opted for Downtown Disney and Mini golf. Downtown Disney was mobbed. We wanted to have a sit down meal, but the line at the Rainforest Café was 1 hour 45 minutes so we opted for the Earl of Sandwich. DM had never eaten there before. We all had a nice filling sandwich. It doesn’t take much to fill us in the hot humid weather. Then we browsed the stores. We ended up at the World of Disney and picked up some presents for the family at home. There were so many people in there that you couldn’t even really look around. I don’t know how those CMs work there day after day. I could not do it. By the time we got out of the store it was after 9:30 PM. We headed to mini golf. We were not entirely sure where they were, but decided we would stop at the first one we came too. Fantasia Gardens was first, but I was in the opposite lane and could not get over so we kept going to Winter Summerland. Turns out Fantasia Gardens had a 45 minute wait and Winter Summerland only 8 minutes so it actually worked out. It was a fun course, but the bugs were thick and I was there dinner. We finished up at almost exactly 11 PM and headed back. We all needed to clean up as we were thick with sweat. Tomorrow the plan is to hit MGM at 8 AM then leave early afternoon. We need to pick up groceries and give the boys a nap. We would hit AK for the evening Magic Hours. As I type this I realize that it is now 12:37 AM so I’d better head to bed.

Old Key West

Downtown Disney

WinterSummerland

 

[my3princes]

Day 17

We awoke and readied ourselves to hit EMH at MGM. We planned to stay until around noon. We decided not to ride TOT or RNR as our first rides since we had already done them and my Mother won’t ride them anyway. Instead we headed toward the Voyage of the Little Mermaid only to learn that it didn’t open early. In fact most rides don’t open early. We headed towards the Back Lot Tour which would have it’s first showing at 8:30 AM. We waited at the roped off entrance until they finally let us into the cues. As we waited with a couple handfuls of other people. DH was asked to participate in the boat scene. He is such a ham so he quickly agreed. Off he went and DS 11 readied the video camera to capture his screen debut. He was cast as the Ship’s Captain and did a great job. We gave him a standing ovation when he rejoined us. We finished the ride then headed over toward Little Mermaid again. Playhouse Disney was about to start so we did that first, followed by Little Mermaid. Those are great shows and DS 4 loved them both. Next was the animation courtyard. We did the tour, caught Mr. Incredible then learned how to draw Winnie the Pooh. Our attempts were valiant and a few even recognizable. Next we headed to the Streets of America and caught Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable and then 4 Power Rangers. We still have one to go as he was saving the world that day.

By then it was afternoon so we headed to the car. Somewhere along the way the DH and the boys decided to ride the bus back to the resort and my Mother and I would head to the Super Walmart to buy a few groceries. I managed to get us a bit lost, but we made it to the store eventually. We bought some frozen things so we had to high tail it back to the resort. We parked and dragged the men folk out of the pool and went to the room. We got the groceries put away then had a snack before napping. Well, DS 4, my mother and myself napped. DH made us a nice dinner which we enjoyed after our nap. Once we were fed and cleaned up we headed to AK for EMH.

We arrived around 6 PM and walked the trail in Asia catching views of a lot of wildlife. We had just enough time to get over to the Safari for one of the last rides of the night. Since the last show of Festival of the Lion King was scheduled for 8 PM we headed directly there. It was another wonderful show. DS 4 was chosen to teach our section how to roar like a Lion. He did a spectacular job and surprised the performer that was introducing him with his very loud and powerful roar.

I have no idea what kind of birds these are. The trees were so heavy with them that it looked like someone had decorated them for Christmas.

We left the show and headed for Dinoland. We were seeing lightning in the skies, but thought that it was heat lightning as it was still very hot. As we walked we began to hear thunder. Since a storm was blowing in Dinoland shut down. Nothing was open, not even Dinosaur. We were in the evening EMH hours so the only ride that was still open was It’s tough to be a bug. We decided to head back to the resort, hoping to stay dry. We managed to get everyone and everything into the car and made it to the edge of the parking lot as the torrential rains began. The visibility was very poor. We made it almost back to OKW before we finally drove through the heaviest part of the storm. Luckily it was just a light rain when we got out of the car and walked to our Villa. We watched a bit of TV then headed to bed.

 

[my3princes]

Day 18

We slept in much later than we intended. We were heading to Epcot for the 9 AM opening and barely made it. DS 4 insisted that Soarin be our first ride so we complied. My DM had never been on it before, but she seemed to enjoy it. She get motion sick so there were a couple of spots that bothered her, but not too bad. Next we rode living with the Land. DS 11 had forgotten his belly bag on Soarin so DH took him back to find it while we rode the boat ride. We met up and headed to the Living Seas. We rodee the Clam mobiles then saw Turtle Talk with Crush. DS 9 was called upon to ask a question. We knew from a previous show that Crush has 65 offspring. DS asked him to name them. He said that his oldest is named Kiano and his youngest is Squirt, all the others are named Crush Jrs. DS 4 was very upset that he wasn’t called on and we left the Land with him in tears. We decided to eat an early lunch at the Electric Umbrella. The free refills are wonderful. We hope they begin to offer them across WDW. I found myself without much of an appetite. I had noticed some mouth pain the day before, but when I awoke that morning my tongue was killing me. I noticed that the edges looked cracked so I assumed that I had been dehydrated. I tried to eat and drink, but it was very painful. By the time we got back to our resort that evening I found 5 or 6 canker sores under my tongue. I don’t know why, but I had the same issue a couple of years ago while on vacation much closer to home. Either it is stress related or I catch some weird viruses. Anyhoo…after lunch we hit Mouse Gear. I think I finished my souvenier shopping and I even found a set of Mickey salt and pepper mills for our kitchen.

Then next stop was Test Track followed by the games in the exit area of Mission Space. Next was Innovations West for the free Visa Photo shoot. We lucked out and had Mickey, Minnie and Goofy. DM also has a Disney Visa so we got 2 free photos. We decided to hit the World Showcase starting from the Canada side. I bought the boys a passport and off we went. We explored all 11 countries including the shops, skipping most of the shows. It took the better part of 4 hours, but we really felt like we hit it all or at least all the we cared to do. DS4 took a nap from Canada to China so it was much easier on us. He woke up just in time for the boat rides in Norway and Mexico. By the time we were finishing up the World Showcase the skies became dark and the winds picked up. We decided to hit Journey into Imagination, the Image Works and Honey I Shrunk the audience. Amazingly no storm hit. We crossed Future World and did the Universe of Energy. By now we were tired and hungry so we got our free photos and headed back to the resort. We had time to enjoy the Jacuzzi tub and catch some tv before heading to bed. Tomorrow would be MGM and Welcome Home Wednesdays.

This was apparently try on a hat day

 

[my3princes]

That's all that I've got written to this point. The end of our vacation ended up much busier than the rest of the trip so I didn't find time to type as I went. Now I need to try to remember the events of those days. I'll get to is ASAP.

Deb

 

[KMH1]

Welcome home Deb! I've really enjoyed your TR so far, and I can't wait to see all the pictures you post!

 

[Glynis]

Deb, I'm absolutely exhausted just reading about your adventures. I'm so sorry you had check in problems at the villas. That always puts a damper on things. I'm glad you were able to relax and enjoy yourself!

Can't wait for more!!!

 

[Disneygrl36]

Deb, I've really enjoyed reading/living your adventures along with you. Thanks so much for doing a trip report.
I can't wait for the rest. 23 days seems like such a long time, but it seems like you managed to fill it all right up to the brim with Disney Fun.
You are going to post some pictures right????????

 

[bear74]

Deb I am loving your trip report.

 

[elena05]

I'm only on day 10 and all I can say is wow! 23 days sounds like heaven to me