7 Days at Disney & the MANY Lessons We Learned Along the Way! My Jan 2010 TR

[Dancegrl624]

The ticker in my siggie (and Kim's too) is from the good ole DIS!!!! They are super cute! You can just click on one of ours and it will take you to the page.

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

YAY for a new ticker!!!

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

Well I did it...I made myself a ticker. Pathetic I know. It's so far away but it makes me feel better knowing a trip will happen at some point.

Our next trip is planned for December 2011, unless I can somehow make it back to Disney sooner.

Well, THAT should help with the Disney Blues a bit! VERY NICE!!!

 

[Monny2AE]

I like it!! And nope..not pathetic! I had done the same thing!!But then it had that virus...so i haven't redone it yet...I kinda want to wait in case we change our dates---do NOT want to have to start it over yet again!! So..where are you all getting the new tickers now?

I hope you don't have t start all over!

Snazzy ticker you have there! It's always good to have something to look forward to.

Until my trip actually gets here I'll just live through all of you.

The ticker in my siggie (and Kim's too) is from the good ole DIS!!!! They are super cute! You can just click on one of ours and it will take you to the page.

I liked the one with MK better than this one (made me sing the good morning song in my head when I saw it) but couldn't get it to work for some reason. I think there's some bugs to be worked out with the new DIS ones.

YAY for a new ticker!!!

It made ME feel better...although I'm sure the rest of you are rolling your eyes at my weirdness.

Well, THAT should help with the Disney Blues a bit! VERY NICE!!!

It would help more if I could get rid of that nasty *1 year* part in the countdown.

 

[disneychic]

I'm SOOO enjoying your trip report! It seems like the only thing that helps get me through to my next WDW trip (which is in May!!) is reading trip reports on the DIS boards! Can't wait to see how the rest of your trip went

 

[MelXThree]

At least you have a new ticker.....I can't see us going back to WDW for a LOOONG time

How is it possible that you are on your last day of your trip report I feel like we were just talking about you surprising your kids Time fly's

 

[Pluto_fan]

I love the new ticker!
Maybe I'll join you and get one for our theoretical next possible WDW trip (that sounds really definite, doesn't it?)...which won't be before we're back in the States in Summer 2012! My signature just looks so empty without one...

 

[Monny2AE]

I'm SOOO enjoying your trip report! It seems like the only thing that helps get me through to my next WDW trip (which is in May!!) is reading trip reports on the DIS boards! Can't wait to see how the rest of your trip went

Thanks for stopping by. Congrats on going in May! You're almost there!

At least you have a new ticker.....I can't see us going back to WDW for a LOOONG time

How is it possible that you are on your last day of your trip report I feel like we were just talking about you surprising your kids Time fly's

I know!!!! I feel like it was just yesterday I was planning all of this and here it is 2 months after already!

I love the new ticker!
Maybe I'll join you and get one for our theoretical next possible WDW trip (that sounds really definite, doesn't it?)...which won't be before we're back in the States in Summer 2012! My signature just looks so empty without one...

Well to be honest this ticker is a theoretical one. Nothing is set in stone but I'm hopeful. It gives me something to look forward to for now.

 

[Monny2AE]

Well let's get this last day of our trip over with. I feel like I'm pulling off a bandaid real fast. It'll only hurt for a second.

DAY EIGHT
Friday, January 29th
Our last evening…

We headed over to MK in the late afternoon. It’s always so bittersweet going anywhere on the last day, especially the Magic Kingdom.

First stop was to use up the last of our snack credits and fill our junk bellies.

This is what we brought home- a few were eaten on the looooong car ride.

Then we put on our 3D glasses one more time for Mickey’s Philharmagic.
I snapped a pic of Andrew.

The he wanted the camera to take a pic of us.

One last ride on the carrousel…

And we couldn’t leave without taking a spin on Dumbo again.

Of course we made a stop here just like every other day of this trip.

We also visited Haunted Mansion and a few other attractions before deciding to head out. I was feeling the *Last Day in Disney* blues so I didn’t take too many pictures.
We thought about staying for Wishes but decided to take one last ride on the monorail and head back to CBR. I really wanted to see Wishes but my sinus infection was starting to get the best of me and the kids were getting tired after such a busy week. So no Wishes for us this year.

On the way out I snapped a pic of the castle. I‘m glad I got a nice shot last year because it wasn’t as picturesque this year.

Said *see ya real soon* to Magic Kingdom.

Lessons Learned from Day Eight:

• The last day is such a bummer. I wish my Disney trips never had to have any last days.
• Rice crispy treats are much tastier in Disney World. We’ve made them a million times at home but for some reason they are much better when they are shaped like a Mickey head and you are standing in the World.
• Feeding birds at CBR is a big *no-no*
• DTD is much less crowded in the morning.

 

[Monny2AE]

DAYS NINE & TEN
Saturday, January 30th - Sunday, January 31st

Waaaaaah! I don’t wanna leave Disney!!!!!!
As soon as I saw this on my door Saturday morning I immediately turned into a whiney 3 year old.

This is the day I’d been dreading all week and after watching the awful forecast for the weather we would be driving through, I was dreading it even more.
We got everything all packed up, ate one last delicious breakfast at CBR, and reluctantly hit the road.
We headed north with no trouble for a while. A little rain but nothing more.
Then the rain starting turning to ice. You can see it on the trees.

Then the ice started turning into ice/snow and it was getting really scary being on the road. Jason is really great driving in winter weather and it's a rare sight to see him with both his hands on the wheel at the 10 and 2 position. We saw quite a few cars slide into the guardrail. After hours of white knuckle driving in 4WD, we decided it was best to stop for the night. I think it was seeing a tractor trailer jack knifed in the median that finally convinced us. We stopped in Rocky Mount, North Carolina.

After a good nights rest, we hit the roads again. We were expecting that the plows would have come through while we were sleeping. Boy were we surprised to see snow covered roads. I guess there are a limited number of plows in NC and they are definitely not used to getting snow. Jason put it in 4WD and off we went to finally get home.

Getting onto I95 in NC.

This next one was taken just south of Richmond.

Finally as we got closer to DC the roads started to clear.

After this road trip, I vowed never to drive to Disney again. I’d rather fly than spend 2 days in a car. It was as exhausting driving home as it was driving there with a kid puking! (Happy to say there was no code V on the way home.)
Andrew and Emily were great the entire car ride. Andrew took some pics of what the view was like in the back of the Explorer. Nemo was one of the many DVD's they watched.

Of course no TR would be complete without the up the nose self portrait from my son.

Lessons Learned from Days 9 & 10:

• Driving home from Disney stinks. Ice, snow and a sinus infection didn’t help. Nuff said.

 

[Monny2AE]

Not done yet!!!








Coming Soon...







PHOTOPASS PICS!!!!!!!!

 

[Monny2AE]

And I've finally gotten a start on scrapbooking the trip!

Here's my first page. I can't take too much credit though, it's a quickpage by Kellybell! I bought some of her kits and am finally getting a little excited to start scrapping.

 

[Mndisneygirl]

Sucky driving!! I know what it's like and it's really hard when they can't clear the roads.

Cute pics of the kids in the car though!

Can't wait for the photopass pictures!!
Thank goodness, because we don't want this to end on a bad travel note!

 

[Dancegrl624]

So sad to see your trip come to an end. I know lots of people drive to Disney, but I just wouldn't be able to do it. I haven't taken a car to Disney since I was 5 yrs old. We flew for the first time when I was 9yo, and my mom vowed that we would never drive to WDW ever again. Ever since then, we have always flown down.

I can't believe the snowy roads down in those Southern states! I know it doesn't look like much, but when combined with ice....I would have been a nervous wreck! My DH is a great winter driver too, but he still makes me nervous.

Those Mickey head rice krispie treats look super yummy. We always pick up a few of them with our leftover snack credits too. Do you think they would let me on the plane with some cinnamon rolls from the MK Bakery????

 

[Disney Mommy 3]

I start getting all whiney about 2 days before we leave...I try not to, but gosh, I just can't help it!!!!! Love all your pics!!! I forgot to post when you said it, but I hope your FIL is doing okay with his chemo...we are praying for your family~!!

 

[Momof2Disneyboys]

I'm so sad for you!!

The last day at Disney is the WORST!!! It all starts with the "envelope of shame" hanging on your door. From then on the whole day pretty much has a dark cloud over it, no matter how sunny it may actually be!

I'm glad you were able to make the most of your last day at MK. Love the "up the nose" shot! I have a few of those of my son too! Boys!!

What a nightmare you had driving home.

Looking forward to your photopass pics!

 

[lexmas]

So sad your trip is over, I've really enjoyed reading along. I'm still keeping your family in my thoughts every single day, and hoping for the best.

The last day is always so sad. Those snacks sure look good though!

I love the scrapbooking page! Are you going to keep posting those and drag this out a little longer? We'd love if you did!

Glad there are still photopass pictures left!

 

[bamadisney]

I loved reading your trip report. My daughters are 11 and 14 and we go back in June and they cant wait to see Tink. I showed them your pics with your daughter and Tink. She was not yet there when we went last.

I had to laugh out loud when I read you awoke in NC and just knew that the roads would be plowed...ha. We probably on have one plow per state. Down here in the South if we even get snow flurries we close the schools, the roads, and you cant find a loaf of bread for about a 200 mile radius. I enjoyed seeing your big snow pictures. I wish we could experience that. I hope you feel better soon. Thanks again for sharing your trip.

Please keep us posted on your FIL. Prayers from Alabama are with you.

 

[Northern Disney Girl]

A good ending for a GREAT trip!!!

It's funny that you would say that you never want to drive again...cause that is our plan for our next trip!!! We so very badly want to drive! Crazy, I KNOW, to want to spend 3 days in a car on the way to WDW when we could do it in a few hours by air!!! I just want to do it once so I can say that we have done it and have the experience under our belts!

Can't wait to see all your photopass pics!

 

[disney_girl125]

I found your trip report yesterday and I just finished reading it. It's the first one I read through all the way! Can you tell it got me hooked? lol. Great job and the pics were great. Looking forward to seeing your photo pass pics.