A Surprise Spring Break Trip filled with Fun and Sun!

[wdwgirl03]

Oh no, sorry Ellie didn't like BTMRR. My youngest sister cried too after going on it for the first time. Only it was for the opposite reason, she wanted to ride it again! Crazy.

Great parade pictures.

 

[MHTeacher]

Awwww, poor Ellie. At least she tried it, and I'm sure she will come to love it too one day soon!

I haven't seen that afternoon parade either. It looks cute, and it sure was a beautiful day.

Ok--I'll risk sounding dumb, but what are the little figures? The ones you said that you can swap at DTD if you get a set you already have?

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

You'll have to try it one time.

I sure do miss you having a TR going.

You are too nice Memom! Thank you for saying that. I am really missing it too. I feel like I have lost my friends, and Disney friends are the best kind to have and the worst kind to loose. It's been a very rough week too, so I haven't been on the DIS much at all. I'm trying to get caught up with everyone now. I'll be over at your place shortly.

 

[RinkyTinkyTinky]

Your breakfast pictures from CP look very yummy right now! I would LOVE some of their potatoes. Too bad the characters weren't very involved. I actually read that quite a bit about CP. Not sure what's up with that???

Sounds like you did REALLY well on your wait times for it to have been spring break week. I am very impressed. I am curious as to how the weather was too??? Specifically, was it humid? Looks like gorgeous weather so far but I know the pictures don't really show you how it was. I'm trying to get a feel for the weather at other times of the year besides November because it looks like we won't be able to go back during that time anymore with DD starting first grade soon. I'm pretty bummed though because she has a winter break next year in February, which I was very excited to find out about. Then when I looked at the calendar, I saw it was President's Day week which I have read is VERY busy at WDW. So I am looking forward to hearing all about WDW in April.

 

[stace208]

Awwww, I'm sorry Ellie didn't like BTMRR, but at least she tried it

Love the parade pics, one of these days I'll actually sit and watch a Disney parade It looks like it was a gorgeous day!

Yes, we praised her for at least giving it a try.

I love the parades! While we don't watch them each time, they are fun to catch a couple of times. We have yet to see the one in AK and that WILL be remedied this summer.

It was an absolutely beautiful day!

I'm sure that she will eventually enjoy Big Thunder it's just not her time yet...
Sorry there were tears involved.

Your breakfast did look delicious though!

Breakfast was super yummy for sure!
The tears came at the end. I think they were more for "dramatic effect". I know that with two girls you don't know anything about that!

Oh no, sorry Ellie didn't like BTMRR. My youngest sister cried too after going on it for the first time. Only it was for the opposite reason, she wanted to ride it again! Crazy.

Great parade pictures.

Aww, that's cute that she cried to ride again! How sweet!
Ellie will get there one day most likely. If not, there's plenty of things to do while others ride. I don't mind sitting out most of the time.
Thanks about the pictures! I had many more but didn't want to overload the system!

Awwww, poor Ellie. At least she tried it, and I'm sure she will come to love it too one day soon!

I haven't seen that afternoon parade either. It looks cute, and it sure was a beautiful day.

Ok--I'll risk sounding dumb, but what are the little figures? The ones you said that you can swap at DTD if you get a set you already have?

That parade is fun and it was a gorgeous afternoon for parade watchin'!

We were proud of Ellie for not backing out. Trying new things and taking a chance are things that she struggles with. Ever heard of a "creature of habit"? That's Ellie! So, although she didn't like it, it was a big step to try it. I think with time she'll start to like it.

Honestly, I don't think the little figures have a purpose, per se. They are just collectibles I guess. They have tons of them. They come in packs of 3. Ellie actually plays with hers. They occupied her the whole way home on the plane!

 

[stace208]

You are too nice Memom! Thank you for saying that. I am really missing it too. I feel like I have lost my friends, and Disney friends are the best kind to have and the worst kind to loose. It's been a very rough week too, so I haven't been on the DIS much at all. I'm trying to get caught up with everyone now. I'll be over at your place shortly.

I'm sorry you have had a rough week.
You haven't lost your friends! We are all here and scattered about on other threads! I hope you know you can post here whenever you need to!

Your breakfast pictures from CP look very yummy right now! I would LOVE some of their potatoes. Too bad the characters weren't very involved. I actually read that quite a bit about CP. Not sure what's up with that???

Sounds like you did REALLY well on your wait times for it to have been spring break week. I am very impressed. I am curious as to how the weather was too??? Specifically, was it humid? Looks like gorgeous weather so far but I know the pictures don't really show you how it was. I'm trying to get a feel for the weather at other times of the year besides November because it looks like we won't be able to go back during that time anymore with DD starting first grade soon. I'm pretty bummed though because she has a winter break next year in February, which I was very excited to find out about. Then when I looked at the calendar, I saw it was President's Day week which I have read is VERY busy at WDW. So I am looking forward to hearing all about WDW in April.

Yea, I don't know what was up with the characters but it was my biggest disappointment of the whole trip. I have read it before also but we've had great interaction here before as well. So, I just don't know. But, I still love eating here and it didn't bother the kids. They were happy with their autographs and hugs so that's what really matters!

The weather you ask? Heavenly! Mid 80's, NO humidity, and we lucked into not one single drop of rain. I know that wouldn't always be the case though. I wouldn't hesitate to go at this time of year again.

In terms of wait times, this is when that get there early strategy pays off. Were there times the crowds were bad? Sure. But, there will always be things you can't/don't do simply because of time constraints. Plus, I will say, there was only one time we didn't ride something because of the line and no fastpasses available. The line wasn't really THAT bad but we had to be somewhere else and just couldn't do it.

That's too bad about her winter break. But, don't discount it totally. With proper planning and a committment to get to the parks for rope drop, I am sure it would be a great time to go. Same thing holds true for spring and "spring break". I'm sure there are those out there that would disagree but it really wasn't that crowded that week if you had a good plan in place!

 

[Happydog]

Hey! Swell update! Loved the photos, and the weather did look heavenly! Seems like the MK was a great day for you, looking forward to hearing how the rest of the day ended up.

Great posts so far! I love the WL! The boat is so much fun!

 

[MiaBella05]

joining in

 

[stace208]

Hey! Swell update! Loved the photos, and the weather did look heavenly! Seems like the MK was a great day for you, looking forward to hearing how the rest of the day ended up.

Great posts so far! I love the WL! The boat is so much fun!

Hi HD! Magic Kingdom was wonderful! I can't say enough about the weather at that time of year. If only I could bottle it and take it with us in June!

We love the boat transportation from the various resorts. We haven't stayed anywhere yet that didn't have a boat somewhere! Guess that will come when/if we stay at AKL.

joining in

Hi! Thanks for joining in!

 

[stace208]

Our boat took us from the MK back to WL. We went to our room and rested for a few minutes and then changed into our swim gear.
We headed over to the main pool so that we could get our mugs refilled. It was crowded and we had trouble finding a chair. We all got in the water but I didn't stay in long. I took pictures and people watched. I love to do that!

We swam about an hour. Then we headed back to the room and got dressed again. We were heading to AK!
On the bus, it became obvious that it all was catching up with Ellie. She was yawning like crazy. Then she fell asleep on the ride over to AK. Poor baby. Our original plan had been to stay until after dark (park was open until 11 that night) but we decided to just get something to eat, see a couple of things, and call it an early night.
Ellie picked to eat at Pizzafari so we headed there first. It was early, about 4:15, but we hadn't eaten anything since CP.
I love the theming in this place. We ate in the snail room. That's what we named it because there were snails everywhere!

While we ate we discussed our options. Our things that we really wanted to do were the safari, hopefully see the baby gorilla, EE for Ben and I, and FOTLK (hadn't seen this since '06).
We left dinner and checked the attractions board. FP was all gone for EE and posted wait time was 50 minutes. The last safari was at 7 and the wait time listed was 50 minutes too. There was a FOTLK show at 6:45. We decided to forgo EE, head and get a FP for the safari, walk the trails, ride safari and then see FOTLK before heading out.
We walked straight to the safari. Wait time was 10 minutes. Forget the fastpass, we hopped in the standby line. We didn't even wait that long at all. Maybe 5. We got front row seats too...a first for us!

Unfortunately, our two week safari got cut short. We headed straight for the jungle trail. We got to the first gorilla enclosure and the CM there said that they go to bed early. He told us to keep going. We hurried along and got to the next group. This guy was the only one still up. A second after I took this he headed inside too. No baby for us this trip.

con't...

 

[stace208]

After we finished the trail we walked around just a little bit. Ellie was pooped out. We started heading back towards the path to FOTLK but it was still early for that. We decided that Ben and I would head off towards Asia. I was encouraged that maybe the stand by for EE would be shorter than the posted time since the safari had been so much shorter. John and Ellie would head for FOTLK and find a spot to just sit and wait.

Ben and I took off down the path. We stopped along the way for a few photos.

We got to Everest. Wait time was 35 minutes, it said. It was 6. We were supposed to que up for the show at 6:15. I hesitated for a minute. I really, really wanted to ride. But, I also really wanted to see the show. I knew that John would get aggravated if we were late to get in line and I knew that Ellie would never make a later show time. Then my boy came to my rescue. I guess he could tell of my internal struggle. He said "mom, it's ok if we don't have time to ride. You said yourself that we wouldn't get to do everything on this quick trip." The voice of reason...and a 9 year old voice at that! I snapped a few pictures and then we took off to find John and Ellie.

Found them and went to stand in line. We got in and got seated. The show started. The only bad thing about our seat is the Simba float thing was right next to us so I couldn't get a good picture.

I didn't take a picture of Ellie but I should have. She was so enthralled with the show but yawned the whole time. I think if there had been one "quiet" moment in that show she would've gone to sleep. But there's so much action she managed to stay awake!

Great show!
We exited the show and headed towards the exit. We got a bus pretty much as soon as we got to the stop. Ellie fell asleep on the bus again. John was going to carry her in but she woke up when the bus lights came on so she walked to the room. We all got PJ's on and climbed into bed. The kids were asleep before 9. I watched the station that plays the weather and other Disney stuff and then turned it off. I'm pretty sure John and I were both asleep by 9:15!
Another big, fun filled day in the next installment! First stop: DHS!

 

[Mouse's Shadow]

I'm joining in! What a great Easter surprise.

 

[MHTeacher]

Great update! I have never seen AK open until 11 p.m.---Wow! I guess that's one of the perks of being there during Easter week.

You got some great safari pictures. I love the one of the hippo. I can never catch any part of them out of the water.

Glad you all got in and enjoyed FOTLK---It is one of our favorites!

Getting in the room and into PJs by 9 sounds wonderful!

 

[Happydog]

Wow! What a great update! We have not seen the FOTLK for a few years, either! Enjoyed your pics, and even with sleepy kids, you all had a very full day and a busy one at that! Looking forward to the next update!!!

 

[heaven2dc]

Loved the Easter surprise! How fun to surprise your kids

A co-worker is staying at Wilderness Lodge on the Villas side leaving May 2nd and I'm so excited for him and his family. They rented points from a DVC member that I hooked up here on the Disboards but are staying in a studio (he, his wife and 2 girls ages 11 & 4). I hope it won't be crowded in a studio. I loved your pics of the 1-bedroom.

MK was so empty at 7 am - you planned that perfectly!

 

[VAisforDisneyLvrs]

Great pictures of the safari! No matter how many times I go, or how many TRs I read in between trips, I never get tired of seeing pictures of the animals.

Your FOTLK pictures make me excited too. I saw it in October with my sister, but it is another thing that my husband and kids haven't seen yet. I know they will love it!

Poor Ellie-She must have been exhausted. And your son seems so sweet! Good for him-he obviously knows how to make the best of a situation. I love that he could appreciate the things he got to do without being too disappointed in the things he could not. Kudos for you on raising him well!

 

[wigdoutdismom]

Poor Ellie, it's tough to be so tired and then to keep going...
What a trooper!
So sweet of Ben to be such an understanding brother.

Your pictures of the safari were terrific!

 

[SoonerGirl]

Great update Stacy. That was very sweet how understanding Ben was, you're doing a good job with him, Mom!

Fantastic pictures of the safari & of FOTLK! I don't think I've ever seen a hippo on the safari that wasn't submerged either, cool you got to see one peeking out of the water

 

[wdwgirl03]

I agree with everyone else, awesome safari pictures! That hippo one is pretty cool. Glad it was such a short wait too.

FOTLK is an amazing show. So much energy and I love love LOVE the music.

 

[stace208]

I'm joining in! What a great Easter surprise.

Hi! Thanks for joining in!
Yes, it was a great surprise. I think next Easter will pale in comparison!

Great update! I have never seen AK open until 11 p.m.---Wow! I guess that's one of the perks of being there during Easter week.

You got some great safari pictures. I love the one of the hippo. I can never catch any part of them out of the water.

Glad you all got in and enjoyed FOTLK---It is one of our favorites!

Getting in the room and into PJs by 9 sounds wonderful!

Thanks Michelle!
I didn't know they kept AK open that late either. Originally it was supposed to be 10 but when we got there we saw they had changed it to 11. But, all the trails and the safari still closed at 7.

This was the first time we've really gotten a good shot of the hippo. Now I want a good lion shot! FOTLK is a great show. I doubt we'll see it every trip but I won't wait 4 years next time!

An early night was definitely called for this night!

Wow! What a great update! We have not seen the FOTLK for a few years, either! Enjoyed your pics, and even with sleepy kids, you all had a very full day and a busy one at that! Looking forward to the next update!!!

Thanks Jennifer! It was a very full and busy day. I must say though, for such a short trip, I was pleased that I was able to relax and we had pool time every single day. That is something I struggle with...

You should try to do FOTLK this summer. It's a great show!