A trip report? Ok! 3 resorts..were we nuts?! Day 9 added on 3/8/13 Update! - Complete

[supersuperwendy]

We just recently returned from WDW I've suddenly decided to do a trip report. The moment by moment aspects are starting to fade already so I think if I type it out I'll remember special little moments!!!

The planning -

The planning of this trip went through many changes. It's become a problem of mine for sure. I just can't seem to leave my reservations alone! And now with the online booking it's even worse! Initially this was going to be 6/13 - 6/20 then I changed to 6/16 - 6/22. It was going to be my family of 6 plus my MIL and BIL in a two bedroom plus my parents in a studio. At the 7 month window I was able to book all of us at BCV! Then changes started again lol . We found out hubby wouldn't be able to join us. So then his mom and brother dropped out. Well..that meant I could move my parents in with us and cancel their studio! With those extra points I added on two nights at BLT for 6/14 & 6/15. Then...I switched out 6/16 & 6/17 for VWL..then dropped BCV completely and booked 6/18-6/22 at SSR! Whew! Then just 2 weeks before the trip we found out hubby could join us for 4 days! confusing right?

So the trip was... BLT - lakeview 2 nights, VWL 2 nights, SSR 4 nights! 6/14 - 6/22

It was our family.. Wendy, Phil, Lauren (14) Ashley (12) Darren (10) Leah (2)
My mom and dad... and my brother, his girlfriend and her daughter stopped by

We were celebrating my birthday, Ashley's 12th birthday, Leah's first visit, and father's day, plus my brother was planning to propose to his girlfriend!!!



12/11/14 I've noticed the photo resizing I did a few years ago is gone! Sorry the photos are so big. When I have a chance I'll adjust them!

Coming Up Day 1... Harrisburg Pa to Orlando and BLT!




.

 

[a742246]

Wow, it seems like you needed a vacation just from the planning stage.
Hope you had a great time....... Did your brother propose?

 

[supersuperwendy]

Wow, it seems like you needed a vacation just from the planning stage.
Hope you had a great time....... Did your brother propose?

Yes he did...on Day 2!!!!

 

[supersuperwendy]

Day 1 .... June 14, 2012 Ashley's Birthday

For years we have been flying AirTran to MCO. Since we live outside of Phildelphia we use different airports for the best price, so usually PHL or BWI. Earlier this spring I got an email from Harrisburg airport alerting me they would be offering new non stop service to Orlando on Frontier Airlines. I was able to get tickets for me and the kids for $89 each! That was including the taxes and fees the fare was only $70 something! Since my parents were driving down they were going to take all of our bags so no luggage fees! We had also planned to drive home with my parents but the more I thought about it..the less I wanted to do it. So I also scooped up $89 seats for a flight home! A few weeks ago when we found out Phil could come with us we had to find him a flight. Sadly ours was shown as being sold out. He found a great price on Spirit out of Atlantic City!

So on the morning of 6/14 Phil got up earlier than everyone else. He was so afraid of bad rush hour and shore traffic. Luckily he made it with plenty of time to spare! Our flight was at 11:30 so I didn't feel rushed at all. The GPS said the ride to Harrisburg would be 1hr 15m. I thought we got there in no time! I had a coupon for a day of free parking in the economy lot so that's where we parked. We had just climbed out of the van when the shuttle came by to drive us over to the terminal. It was so nice not having any luggage!!! The Harrisburg airport was so nice. It was small and clean and there was no line for security. We grabbed some muffins from Starbucks and waited to board! It was Ashley's 12th Birthday and she was super excited!!! Here's some pics of the morning...

Darren


Me


Ashley the birthday girl


Leah and Lauren


Here's a video of us waiting at the airport!

Harrisburg Airport <----- click here



When I purchased the tickets I was able to select our seats for free which was very nice. We sat over the wing just behind the exit row. The older three kids sat together with Leah and I behind them. Leah was at the window and I sat in the middle seat. A very nice young mom sat next to me and we had a nice chat during the flight. Frontier offers Directv for $6 during the flight. My kids swiped my card and were watching their favorite shows in no time. All they needed to bring was their headphones!







For Leah I brought a small bag of toys and a portable DVD player. She sat very nicely and watched sing along songs.





Phil's flight arrived in Orlando 45 min before ours so he was waiting for us when we arrived. (he didn't like spirit very much) The kids were so excited to see him! We made our way to Disney's Magical Express and we were on our way to Walt Disney World!



Here's short video of waiting for the bus to depart the airport...
Onboard DME <------ click here

This is a short video of seeing the WDW sign!
Entering Walt Disney World! <------- click here

When our DME bus pulled up at The Contemporary and I stepped off and a very nice CM welcomed me to the resort. He asked if I was ready to check in and I told him I did online check in. He said follow me! So into the lobby we went and even with other people waiting he stood me at the front desk and walked around to the other side. He checked us in right then and there! It was amazing! He gave Ashley and I birthday buttons and Leah a first visit button! In the meantime my parents had arrived so my dad, phil and the kids pulled their van over to BLT while I walked over the sky bridge with Leah. We decided rather than bombard bell services with our 10,000 bags we would carry them up ourselves.

None of us snapped a pic of BLT so this is compliments of someone else!





This was our second time staying at BLT and I was very excited. We booked a lakeview and I was hoping for a view towards CR/WL (south facing). Instead we were given a north facing room on the 4th floor. It was actually very nice. I had wanted a full lake view and ours was a lot of trees but it was still very pretty.

This is a room tour of BLT!
BLT dedicated two bedroom <-----click here

This was the view looking straight out...


To the right...


To the left...









Day 1 part 2 to continue..... MK, cupcakes and Wishes!

 

[supersuperwendy]

So this was Ashley's birthday and how to celebrate it? For a while I had been looking over the cake chatter thread on here, but didn't want to spend that kind of money on a cake. Then I got the idea to get her cupcakes! She loves the show DC Cupcake and my parents were willing to stop by Georgetown Cupcake on their way to WDW, but they don't open till 10 am. I thought bakeries usually open early? They wouldn't make any exceptions either..no early pick ups allowed. They did offer to ship them but that was way overpriced. So I started looking for a different option. Instead I found a great bakery right in Olrando called the Blue Bird Bake Shop! here's their website.. http://bluebirdbakeshop.com/ I looked them up on facebook where they had tons of great reviews. They were very friendly on the phone and let me pre-order and pay so all my parents had to do was stop in and pick them up! I also had packed some birthday decorations and balloons in my parents van!

Once we got somewhat unpacked Phil was ready to go go go! My parents stayed at BLT since my brother was coming shortly. So the 6 of us headed to The Magic Kingdom. I needed to stop at Will Call to pick up our YES park tickets. (the girls were doing a class that week) I handed the CM my confirmation page and in a few minutes he handed me our park passes! The kids and I had 8 day premium passes with park hopping and water parks while Phil had a 4 day premium pass. So into MK we went! Now Leah our two year old, has seen endless hours of disney related videos on our TV and she always points and says CASTLE! So it was Phils dream to walk down the middle of main street usa and hear her shout CASTLE! which she pronounces KESTLE! It didn't go quite as planned! The Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! parade was starting up and the CMs would NOT let us in the middle of main street! Our dreams were dashed by our own poor timing! Finally after making our way to the corner by the Plaza restaurant she saw it!

trying to show Leah castle part 1 <----- click here

trying to show Leah the castle part 2 <----- click here


We walked to It's a Small World and took Leah on her first ever ride in Walt Disney World!



Leah's First Ride..It's a Small World (her face mostly..not the ride lol) <----- click here

It had started raining while we were in the ride and her stoller got drenched! I hadn't zipped up the rain cover ugh! We walked over to tomorrowland and got right on Buzz Lightyear! Leah is a huge toy story fan and really enjoyed this ride. She didn't really shoot the gun but just looked around. After buzz we all rode the TTA. In fact, we rode it twice they let us stay on! By this time my brother and family had arrived at BLT and everyone was getting hungry. The big kids got in a long standby line for Space Mountain and were going to walk back to BLT when they were done. While Phil, Leah and I walked back to the hotel we called and ordered Pizza Hut since they had any pizza for $10(carry out). My mom had decorated the villa so nicely for Ashley! I hugged my brother and Angela and was finally introduced to her daughter Maddie (17). My dad and Phil headed out to pick up the pizza (they got lost lol). We had a nice time chatting and catching up. I only get to see him when we visit WDW since he lives in Orlando. After a while the pizza arrived and the kids were back from MK. Ashley was very happy and surprised by the decorations and cupcakes! After dinner we went upstairs to the Top Of The World Lounge to watch WISHES. Most of us had a nice view but poor Darren couldn't see over the wall. I tried to hold him up but he weighs a ton!

Phil snapped this pic with his phone I'm guessing just after the fireworks...


My parents and Bill and Angela went it into the lounge for a drink after Wishes. We took the kids back downstairs and had everyone get ready for bed. We set up Leah's toddler bed and she went right to sleep. (I bought the best travel toddler bed! She loved it and it was super easy to set up! it's called the Regalo Travel Toddler bed/cot). We also got the sleeper chair and sofa bed set up for the older kids. When my family was done their drinks they came down and Ashley opened her presents. Phil and I said good-bye because we had a date planned!!!

We had tickets to see Prometheus in 3D at Downtown Disney AMC! We borrowed my parents van and drove over to DTD. We were rushing like we'd never get a seat, but the theater wound up being nearly empty! It was a late movie (11:30 pm) so I had a hard time staying awake. I actually fell asleep through most of it! I took a $16 nap! At least I woke up for the end of the movie!

Phil took this when we got back to the hotel at 2:30am!..


We tiptoed back into the room and crawled into bed. He wanted us to be up in time for morning EMH at Epcot...!!!! Stay tuned to find out if we made it on time!!!!

Day 1 was a total success!!!


Day 2 up next!




.

 

[dispros]

Looks and sounds like y'all are having a great time! Great room. I love the BLT. We leave next week from Texas...Boardwalk Villa's here we come!

 

[DVC_Dreamer]

We were in room 7502 just above you on 6/16-6/18.

Check out my TR pics.

My fourth day, as we were checking out, I took the same balcony shot from one floor up.

Looking forward to the rest of your TR.

 

[vassar36]

nice start to your TR

 

[supersuperwendy]

Looks and sounds like y'all are having a great time! Great room. I love the BLT. We leave next week from Texas...Boardwalk Villa's here we come!

We LOVE BWV..!!! Have a great time!!!

We were in room 7502 just above you on 6/16-6/18.

Check out my TR pics.

My fourth day, as we were checking out, I took the same balcony shot from one floor up.

Looking forward to the rest of your TR.

I have been reading your TR and did notice you were above us!! Nearly the same dates too!!! What did you think of the view? I wish there were less trees, but still very pretty. I had dreamed of an unobstructed lake view...maybe next time!

nice start to your TR

Thanks!

 

[dixiegirl76]

loving you trip report! we too are resort jumping next month..our girls know we're going and they think we're staying @ our home resort of SSR..What they don't know is that we're also staying @ the resorts they always wanted to try! First two nites @ AKLV with a savanna view,(my youngest loves the fact that animals could be right outside her balcony) the next two nites @ BLT with a MK view (this for our oldest because she loves the fact of being so close to the MK and the monorail) and the next 6 days @ SSR for hubby and I ! So reading your report I am loving it! I like knowing we're not the only nuts for doing this,now to keep quiet for the next 35 days!


Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

 

[wdrl]

Thanks, Wendy, for posting your trip report!

Its interesting watching Leah's reaction to all things Disney. In June 2013 we have a family gathering booked at BLT and we'll have 10 kids under 10 years of age, including 6 kids who will be age 3 and under. Any tips that Leah can pass on to us about her 1st trip to Disney World will be greatly appreciated.

 

[supersuperwendy]

loving you trip report! we too are resort jumping next month..our girls know we're going and they think we're staying @ our home resort of SSR..What they don't know is that we're also staying @ the resorts they always wanted to try! First two nites @ AKLV with a savanna view,(my youngest loves the fact that animals could be right outside her balcony) the next two nites @ BLT with a MK view (this for our oldest because she loves the fact of being so close to the MK and the monorail) and the next 6 days @ SSR for hubby and I ! So reading your report I am loving it! I like knowing we're not the only nuts for doing this,now to keep quiet for the next 35 days!


Posted from DISboards.com App for Android

I think the best part about resort hopping is it makes the trip feel so much longer! We were there 9 days and it felt like nearly 3 weeks!!! The only downside is all the unpacking and repacking and unpacking lol. You will love watching wishes from your room! If you have young kids they won't be able to see over the wall at the lounge. Thanks for reading along!

Thanks, Wendy, for posting your trip report!

Its interesting watching Leah's reaction to all things Disney. In June 2013 we have a family gathering booked at BLT and we'll have 10 kids under 10 years of age, including 6 kids who will be age 3 and under. Any tips that Leah can pass on to us about her 1st trip to Disney World will be greatly appreciated.

She's not a super smiley baby, but she was definitely loving every minute of it. We were very surprised at how well she handled the heat and long days. She never had a single melt down at any point except during her first haircut! The little ones on your trip will love the splash pad at the pool. Leah had it all to herself. I was shocked at how empty the place was!! Thanks for reading along!!!

 

[supersuperwendy]

Day 2 ...6/15


NOTE- any following photopass pics are just screen shots from their website, hence their small size. I haven't ordered my CD yet!

So the plan for Day 2 was to be at Epcot for morning EMH. Phil was so determined to get as much park time in before he had to leave. We let him down I was so extremely tired from the late movie the night before. I couldn't get myself moving for the life of me!!! We usually have everyone shower before bed so we can get out the door quickly in the morning. This time that didn't happen. None of the kids showered while we were at the movies and I needed to wake up. Now if you have a bunch of kids like I do you know how long it can take for everyone to get ready lol. Phil took a walk for me over to Contempo Cafe and got me a new refillable mug of coffee. I love the new mugs! I take mine to work every morning and my old was worn out! My dad was a dear and made breakfast for everyone which was fantastic. Well when Phil got back and I was still getting ready he knew we had zero chance of making EMH. So we decided to head to MK. They had a 9am opening and we would just make it. I'm so happy we did!!! I'm guessing a majority of people were at Epcot because MK didn't feel crowded at all. We stopped to get Ashley her birthday ears and I was already wearing a stupid happy birthday headband that Ashley wore the night before!(I replaced it with Minnie ears later that day)

My parents plans for the day were to spend that day at my brother's house in Longwood. They were having dinner that night where my brother was going to propose to his girlfriend!

Phil snapped this while getting my coffee!




Lauren was being trained as our new fastpass runner. So Phil ran over to Splash Mountain with her and stopped for a pic along the way!



The rest of us took our time and also stopped for a pic a few minutes behind them!



We got over to Frontierland and they had fastpasses in hand. Since there was no line we decided to ride standby first. This is Phil's favorite ride and during our solo trip last year (Jan 2011) it was closed for refurb so he was dying to ride it again. We had to split up since Leah was too small so he and Lauren rode it first. While they were getting wet we took Leah to play at the little play area.





Big Thunder Mountain Railroad was down that morning. Since Leah was out of her stroller we walked over to the CM and I asked if I could get a rider switch pass to use later once the ride reopened. He was so sweet and handed me two! Shortly after that it was my turn to ride Splash with Ashley and Darren. Now Ashley who loves all rides is for some reason super nervous on Splash. She was shaking through the whole line! But now with the new lap bars she felt very strapped in and her nerves calmed down.

While we were riding splash Phil took Leah to meet Woody and Jesse! This was a huge deal. Leah LOVES toy story. She asks to watch "woody" just about everyday whether it's toy story 1, 2 or 3. Sadly her autograph book which had pages for woody and jesse was in the stroller and Phil didn't know it. At the same time Lauren ran ahead and got Jungle Cruise fastpasses.









With BTMRR still down we took a walk to the Jungle Cruise. This is another of Phils faves! We had a very robotic sounding skipper, but still fun none the less!

Here's a little video of that voyage on the jungle cruise...

Jungle Cruise 2012<------ click here

If you ever read my 2010 TR you would know I'm super lazy about keeping my camera handy..so luckily Lauren took lots of pics of this trip with her cell phone!!!









Leah sat so nicely on the boat and looked at everything. She didn't even get scared in the dark tunnel.

Next up was Pirates of the Caribbean but without Lauren. Since she was the newly designated fastpass runner she opted to get Peter Pans Flight fastpasses. Oh..did I mention how much I love the disney mobile magic app??? It was awesome! She had it on her phone too!

We rode pirates and found pirate goofy when we exited!!





Lauren met back up with us and we decided to eat an early lunch. We went to my favorite CS ..Pecos Bill!!! Did you know there's a facebook page for Peco's Bill in MK???! The place was EMPTY! When I tell you we had our pick of tables... I mean every table! We all enjoyed our usual deluxe angus burgers expept Lauren, she tried the pulled pork. She really liked it a lot.

After lunch we headed to Peter Pan's Flight...one of my favorites. After all, I am named after Wendy

By late morning it seemed like the place was filling up. We thought perhaps people were hopping over from Epcot so we took a chance and went over there!!!

As we made our way to the hub we heard the music starting up for Move It, Shake It so we stopped and watched the parade!!!

Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! part 1 <----- click here!

Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! part 2 <----- click here!

Move It! Shake It! Celebrate It! part 3 <------click here!



We stopped for a castle pic on the way out!





Leah was very excited to ride the monorail! We relaxed and enjoyed the ride to Epcot. Once we got close enough we checked mobile magic and saw there were still fastpasses available for Soarin'. Lauren was pretty beat from running around MK for us so it was Phil's turn to be fastpass runner.

We stopped for a few pics first! If you tell Leah to say Cheese..she covers eyes like peek a boo instead..we don't know why lol





While Phil was running to Soarin' we stopped at Club Cool for a drink! Ashley loves cherry fanta! We met up at Nemo!! Leah loved this a lot!!! We spent a lot of time watching the fish and dolphins.

The Living Seas - dolphins<---- click here






We went over to Mexico and rode the boat then started talking about leaving for a water park and returning later that night to ride Soarin'. After some debate we decided to leave Epcot and head back to BLT to get our bathing suits.

We stopped at Spaceship Earth on our way out! I didn't think the camera would pick up Leah's head, but it did!

Leah and Wendy's Future! <---- click here


We were hoping there'd be a bus to CR, but sadly no. We had to take the monorail. Now I'm not complaining too much because I love the monorail. I just didn't want to take the time to transfer over to the resort monorail..I wanted that bathing suit in a hurry!!!

We get back to BLT and we all start to get changed. As I'm in the master bedroom I hear Phil yell... Wendy, do you have your park pass?

I reply .. NO! YOU HAD IT ...

he says...omg I don't have it... I left it in the soarin' fastpass machine.

me...WHATTTTTTTTTTT... ARE YOU SERIOUS??????

the yelling went on for a few minutes since this has happened before with him lol (he lost his KTTW in 1999, lauren's MYW ticket in 2009 and his AP in 2010!)

I said I'm going to need to go to Will Call and find out if they can replace my ticket. He insists on going down to the lobby so out the door he goes. I knew they wouldn't be able to do anything so I stood in our room FUMING. I was actually a little panicky. I was Ashley's chaperone for her class and I had to enter the park with the YES ticket. After a while he comes back with the not so shocking news that I needed to go to Will Call... DUH!!!!

So I start stomping my way to MK. Anyone riding by on the monorail had to notice the flames shooting out of my ears lol. Luckily it all worked out and the nice CM reprinted my ticket!!! Well by this time it was after 5 so we scrapped the water park idea. Instead we spent the evening at Bay Cove Pool. The kids enjoyed the water slide and Leah LOVED the splash pad. Phil bought me a Pina Colava to cool my nerves and we just relaxed. It wound up being a highlight of the trip. The weather was perfect....mids 80s, low humidity. We actually got a little cool sitting there. I love how the splash pad is right next to bay lake. Simply breathtaking!!! We made our way back to the room and had left over pizza hut for dinner. Our late night plans were evening EMH at MK, but not until my parents got back to babysit.

I needed to get us packed up for our move to the wilderness lodge in the morning so I suggested they go to DisneyQuest. They went to community hall and got Toy Story on DVD for Leah. Like I said..she watches it daily lol. So they left and I got packing and doing laundry. I gave Leah a bath and got her ready for bed just in time to watch wishes! Wishes started and she wasn't very interested..she went back inside to watch Woody! I took a few pics and some video!

WISHES from a lake view room!<----click here






After Wishes I put Leah to bed and set up the sleeper chair and sofa bed. At 11:00 I got a text from Angela that said... I SAID YESSSSS!!! he had proposed!!! yayyyy!!! Then I got another text from Maddie telling me her mom said yes! I'm so excited to have a new sister in law!!!





Phil and the kids returned and we waited for my parents. A little after midnight they got back and we headed to MK for evening EMH! We still had the rider switch passes for BTMRR so we headed for Frontierland!!! We got to all ride at the same time with no wait!!! yayyyy! Then we got on Splash Mountain! Both of the these rides are awesome at night!!! At this point we split up. Ashley, Darren and I headed for Space Mountain. Phil took Lauren to ride POTC since she missed it earlier in the day...they also rode Jungle Cruise again because phil loves it at night. We stood in a long line for Space Mountain but we didn't mind. After Space we made it on Buzz just before the park closed! We met up by the plaza and made our way to the park exit. We stopped for a late night game of checkers!!!

checkers at 2:30 am..magic kingdom!




We had a fantastic day and needed to get some sleep!!! We were moving to VWL the next day ...yayyyy!!!





Next up Day 3... First time at The Wilderness Lodge!!!






.

 

[DVC_Dreamer]

We LOVE BWV..!!! Have a great time!!!



I have been reading your TR and did notice you were above us!! Nearly the same dates too!!! What did you think of the view? I wish there were less trees, but still very pretty. I had dreamed of an unobstructed lake view...maybe next time!



Thanks!

Agreed. The trees blocked the view of the lake. Last August, we were on the opposite end of building on the same floor. I was disappointed we couldn't see MK but in the end, I think the view of CR and marina is better. Truth is, I didn't spend any time on the balcony. I guess the view won't matter much till we slow down and begin to enjoy balconies.

 

[supersuperwendy]

Agreed. The trees blocked the view of the lake. Last August, we were on the opposite end of building on the same floor. I was disappointed we couldn't see MK but in the end, I think the view of CR and marina is better. Truth is, I didn't spend any time on the balcony. I guess the view won't matter much till we slow down and begin to enjoy balconies.

You are probably right!!! I don't ever sit out on the balcony! I did really want the marina view though. I wanted to see the contemporary since it has so many memories for me! My parents spent a lot of time in the room and my mom loved the trees so I guess it worked out well. Our first stay there we had standard view which was actually very nice! I splurged on the lakeview which I won't do again in the future since there's no guarantee I'll actually get to see beautiful bay lake. I would possibly go with MK view to see the fireworks from the balcony in the future.

 

[ajf1007]

Yay! Love your TR, I'm hooked! As a side note, we're from PA too, in Bucks County so we're practically neighbors! Anyway, I can't wait to read about the move. We've never done the split stay before, I haven't been that brave yet so I figure with your big group, I can learn something since it's just the two of us!

 

[Missyrose]

Loving the TR so far, looks like you guys really know how to have some fun! I loooooove Disney proposals, do you know where/how he did it?

 

[supersuperwendy]

Yay! Love your TR, I'm hooked! As a side note, we're from PA too, in Bucks County so we're practically neighbors! Anyway, I can't wait to read about the move. We've never done the split stay before, I haven't been that brave yet so I figure with your big group, I can learn something since it's just the two of us!

Hi Neighbor... I'm in Chester County!

Don't be scared of a split stay..it's sooooo easy to do!!!

 

[supersuperwendy]

Loving the TR so far, looks like you guys really know how to have some fun! I loooooove Disney proposals, do you know where/how he did it?

Thanks! Oh I wished he had proposed to her on Disney property. Instead he did it somewhere in the Orlando area. My parents, him and her, and a bunch of their closest friends went to dinner at a German restaurant and afterward they went to a park/monument or something and he proposed there!

My daughter Ashley and I love to watch disney proposal videos on youtube! Did you ever see the one with the flashmob in downtown disney at disneyland? amazing!!

 

[supersuperwendy]

Day 3.....


We of course woke up groggy due to the late night at MK. It's no surprise that Phil wanted to GO GO GO! I had us already packed up, but my parents still needed to pack their stuff and we had to pack up the food. My dad once again made breakfast for everyone which was so nice. Hollywood Studios had morning EMH and Phil wanted to get there by rope drop. We are park commandos usually and he was in commando mode, but I wasn't. I know it was driving him nuts! My parents had yet to step foot into a disney park thus far and they really wanted to go to Epcot. Since we were running so late we decided to join them. Once we were totally packed we called Bell Services who arrived quickly. He was very un-disney like. This was the first grumpy CM we encountered. We told him to send the bags over to the wilderness lodge and we departed for Epcot in my parents van. Since we were basically right next to The Wilderness Lodge we decided to pull in and see if we could check in. This was the first time my parents had ever seen the hotel and they were in awe!!! We had eaten dinner there a few times, but this was our first time staying there and we were soooooooo excited. At the guard shack they couldn't locate my name. The DVC glitch strikes again.... it was under my dad's name. So we pulled up to the front and I thought he'd better come with me to check in. We talked to the nicest CM named Connie. She was such a sweetheart!!! She found the reservation(dads name) and told us the room was ready! I mentioned I needed a parking pass for my brother since they were coming later and how they got engaged the night before. She got out two enganged buttons and added their names!!!




not my photo!



We jumped back in the van and continued on to Epcot. We didn't reach Epcot till around 11 am. The fastpass return times for Soarin' were too late in the day for us to use so we skipped that.

Leah had her toy in the way and I didn't realize it!



Since Figment rarely has a line we made our way over there. Leah really loved this!!! We let her play a for a while after the ride.

Here's a video of leah playing at the imageworks..
Leah playing at the imageworks <-----click here

Once we got outside Phil had to do one of his favorite things...get splashed by the jumping fountains!
getting splashed at the imagination fountains! <------click here





We bought a popcorn bucket with a nice world showcase theme on it and made our way towards the world showcase. We rode the boat in Mexico with them and drooled at how good it smelled in there...tummys growling! Next we stopped in Norway and rode the Maelstrom. The kids had fun in the gift shop afterward!





I stopped at the cart in China for a oolong tea and peachs schnapps slushie!!! Omg heaven in a cup!!!

My mom told me that earlier in the morning when my dad was loading a few things we didn't need at VWL into the van he somehow hurt himself. He twisted his ankle when stepping off the curb at BLT. So he was walking very slowly which was understandable. My parents wanted to stop in Germany for a bratwurst so they went on without us and took Lauren with them. While in Germany they bought her the super cute German ear hat!!! The rest of us stopped at the liberty inn for some milk for Leah. Phil and Ashley sat down for a checkers rematch which lasted a LONG time!!! Our goal was to get to France to see Impressions De France which I love and the kids had never watched. Sadly, the movie was down that day. The kids spent some time coloring new duffys and my mom decided they should head out. We were having dinner that night at 'Ohana and Bill and Angela were joining us at the hotel. My mom thought it would be a good idea to get back and have bell services bring the bags. We said goodbye to them and walked slowly toward the exit. We stopped at Nemo and Spaceship Earth again and went to the bus stop. We had excellent bus service on this trip. We had barely a wait for the bus! We stepped off the bus at WL and found our way to the villas entrance. Wow! The whole resort is gorgeous! There are so many nice little details from the lighting to the artwork. For some reason we hardly took any pictures of the resort. We were so busy I guess nobody took the time to do it.

Except this one..


And this one...


Update 9/17/12 I just found a few more pics that my daughter took!!!

The view from our balcony at VWL...


She took these while we were getting Leah's haircut!







Once we got in the room it became a mad dash to get ready! We had a 6:45 ADR at 'Ohana!!! Bell Services had dropped everything off and I started to semi unpack. Then I looked at the time and started to rush. Bill was running really late due to traffic and I had ironing to do! I couldn't locate a bag of diapers (still potty training) and wipes that I had and started to worry. I used what was in the stroller and got Leah into her little hawaiian dress! Within minutes Bill arrived and I handed them their "just engaged" buttons and they were thrilled!!! Then we started to talk about how we wanted to go to the Poly. I really wanted to take the boat because it was so pretty outside. So we split up... Bill and Angela drove over with my parents...the rest of us including Maddie took the boat to MK. We started to get in line for the Poly resort lauch and got nervous that we'd be late since so many others were waiting. We bolted over the monorail instead. I was looking at the time and started biting my nails! This new credit card gaurantee had me a wreck! I was afraid if I got there at 6:46 I'd be charged!!! Luckily I walked up to the podium exactly ontime and got checked in with a very nice CM - Victorious! cool name! He said his dad picked it out! I requested to be seated in the main dining room and he said no problem. After about 10 min our pager lit up and it was time to EAT!!!

We were seated in a very nice location in the main dining room. Our server came over and I ordered my favorite disney drink..the pina colava!





The food started to arrive just as the games for kids started up. Ashley took Leah over to play and I got to eat. I love the food here! If you've never been..make an ADR and bring your appetite! The server offered chicken and french fries for Leah which was perfect..her faves! Since we were such a big group they brought huge bowls of everything. Three giant bowls of salad came first. Then the noodles and chicken wings, followed by the potstickers. We were trying to pace ourselves to save room for the meat! Next they started to come around with the large skeweres and our plates filled up with pork, chicken, steak and shrimp! DELICIOUS! It was a great time! I was so happy to have our whole family there!

Maddie got a little video of leah and ashley dancing at 'Ohana!
Dancing at 'Ohana! <------ click here

Then dessert came...tons of it! It's Banana's Foster Bread Pudding with Ice Cream! This stuff is to die for!!! Plus..they brought out cupcakes to me and ashley for our birthdays!!!

We finished up and left the polynesian. They drove back over to the hotel and we took the boats again! We docked at the resort and walked towards the villas. They had a movie playing on the beach..toy story 3. Oh man, tough to get by there with Leah!!! The pool looked soooo inviting! We went upstairs and hung out a little while longer with bill, angela and maddie and they left. I started to get Leah ready for bed and realized the diapers were nowhere to be found. I looked everywhere. I called bell services back and they started searching too..and called BLT for me. Phil took my parents van and headed to the grocery store to buy some. My older three went down to the hidden springs pool. About 10 minutes after Phil left I moved the stroller away from the living room curtains and I saw something behind them. I pulled back the curtains and there was the bag of diapers! Whew!! I called Phil and he came back and I let bell services know to call off the search. My parents headed to bed and Phil and I went down to the pool also. Our kids met some other kids their age and we got in the hot tub where we met the parents. They were also from Pennsylvania not too far from us and we had tons to talk about. After about an hour and half we called it a night and went to bed!

I found this video of the dvc pool...not mine!
Hidden Springs Pool at VWL <-----click here

(first impressions of VWL...amazing! the villa was so cozy and comfy! my dad said it was the most comfy couch out of all three resorts!)











Day 3 was a wonderful day!


up next...blizzard beach and daddy's departure