Bippity Boppity Brr! My Very Meticulously Crafted Plans don't quite pan out.

[Tinkermom76]

I would have skipped Epcot all together and just spent the day at the Poly

One day I will stay there

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

I would have skipped Epcot all together and just spent the day at the Poly

One day I will stay there

That would be ideal, but not with kids. They have this annoying habit of wanting to do stuff. They have an area for kids to color and watch tv like any other resort, but the chairs are more comfortable on the other side of the Ceremonial House. Plus it was cold out, so we would have been indoors all day.

I forgot to mention in the report. At AKL they have a tree from Africa in the pool area right outside the Mara, and this morning since the temps were below freezing they had a giant heater blowing hot air onto the tree. Guess I didn't think that some of the plants would not do well in the cold weather.

 

[annmarieda]

I love all your updates. I too am jealous at your split stay. I have learned so much on the dis boards... trip before the last one... we stayed a total of 11 nights. I didn't know a split stay was possible. We should have split our stay!

I am shocked at how cold you all look. I am really starting to wonder if December is a good time to be there. I have been in February and March and April all of which seem to alternate between cool and warm... September was unbearably hot. Is there ever just a month that temps are consistent?

Glad that you were able to get a reservation at Kona. I was very impressed by it on our last trip and it will be somewhere I want to go again. Too bad you missed the luau though.

And you graduated in '88? So did I. You have such young kids though.. I would think you would be younger. Course, maybe my kids have made me prematurely old. My oldest is 20.

And... picture with Bruce?? Are you telling me this is a common shot? Actually... the shot I have with me in it involves me trying to drag my kids by their arms out through the mouth...with my foot up on the jaw for leverage. So maybe I can still think I am a tad original.

Great updates! I can't wait to read more. Course...I would love to see that you were all warm enough that you were not wearing snow coats. Tell me you got warmer...

 

[jenseib]

And you graduated in '88? So did I. You have such young kids though.. I would think you would be younger. Course, maybe my kids have made me prematurely old. My oldest is 20.

Great updates! I can't wait to read more. Course...I would love to see that you were all warm enough that you were not wearing snow coats. Tell me you got warmer...

I graduate in 87! I have a son who will be 22 in a few weeks, and 18 year old, and a 6 year old. My 6 year old keeps me young. My 22 year old is going to send me to my grave! LOL!

 

[PRmamiDEdos]

I understand how the really cold weather could have people convinced to stay out of the parks, but for me that wasn't an option. If I paid for tickets I'm making sure I get use out of them. I just bundled up (except on Monday, LOL) and we stuck it out. We may have left early but we were out there.

 

[annmarieda]

I graduate in 87! I have a son who will be 22 in a few weeks, and 18 year old, and a 6 year old. My 6 year old keeps me young. My 22 year old is going to send me to my grave! LOL!

I want to say we have chatted about this in the past. (the ages of our kids) I know what you mean about the younger one keeping you young (my youngest will be 6 next month) and the oldest one going to send you to your grave. I think my older ones are the ones that makes me feel prematurely old. My oldest is getting married...my next one will be 18 next month and has enlisted and will be leaving in March...and then my 15 year old...well...high school just isn't working out too well for him.

Thankfully, I do have the young one.. she keeps me from letting myself go completely gray!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

I love all your updates. I too am jealous at your split stay. I have learned so much on the dis boards... trip before the last one... we stayed a total of 11 nights. I didn't know a split stay was possible. We should have split our stay!

I am shocked at how cold you all look. I am really starting to wonder if December is a good time to be there. I have been in February and March and April all of which seem to alternate between cool and warm... September was unbearably hot. Is there ever just a month that temps are consistent?

Glad that you were able to get a reservation at Kona. I was very impressed by it on our last trip and it will be somewhere I want to go again. Too bad you missed the luau though.

And you graduated in '88? So did I. You have such young kids though.. I would think you would be younger. Course, maybe my kids have made me prematurely old. My oldest is 20.

And... picture with Bruce?? Are you telling me this is a common shot? Actually... the shot I have with me in it involves me trying to drag my kids by their arms out through the mouth...with my foot up on the jaw for leverage. So maybe I can still think I am a tad original.

Great updates! I can't wait to read more. Course...I would love to see that you were all warm enough that you were not wearing snow coats. Tell me you got warmer...

A split stay is great, especially for longer trips, but getting multiple package deals could get expensive, so we wound up with room only reservations, so no dining plans.

I think the temps were an anomoly since we set record lows on these days, average temp should have been 73.

I got married at 24, but then we wanted to travel so we held off on kids until 32. Guess if I had them young they would be in college now, and that would definitely eliminate Disney trips.

Great idea on the Bruce photo, wish I had thought about something like that.

Temps start to go up after this day. It was really only bad for 2 days.

I graduate in 87! I have a son who will be 22 in a few weeks, and 18 year old, and a 6 year old. My 6 year old keeps me young. My 22 year old is going to send me to my grave! LOL!

Odd, my kids make me feel old since I can't keep up with them, and they suck all of my energy out.

I understand how the really cold weather could have people convinced to stay out of the parks, but for me that wasn't an option. If I paid for tickets I'm making sure I get use out of them. I just bundled up (except on Monday, LOL) and we stuck it out. We may have left early but we were out there.

That's why we were out there, I paid for 8 day park hoppers, and daggumit, I was going to be in a park each day.

 

[eecteacher82]

Great updates! Let me just say again that I am SO JEALOUS of your awesome split stay!!!! I have stayed at AK, but Poly is a dream

That stinks that you guys missed out on the Luau, but at least you were able to get something in it's place! We loved Kona for breakfast, and I really want to try it for dinner as well.

LOL @ the Bruce the Shark pictures!!! Not only do we have it...but we have it from every trip to Epcot since Olivia was 15 months old-so about 15! It's kind of fun to see her growing up being eaten by a shark!

We have never eaten at Pizza Planet either. I have never been there when it has not been ridiculously crowded, so we just pass on it. I haven't really heard rave reviews on it, so I really don't think we are missing anything.

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Great updates! Let me just say again that I am SO JEALOUS of your awesome split stay!!!! I have stayed at AK, but Poly is a dream

That stinks that you guys missed out on the Luau, but at least you were able to get something in it's place! We loved Kona for breakfast, and I really want to try it for dinner as well.

LOL @ the Bruce the Shark pictures!!! Not only do we have it...but we have it from every trip to Epcot since Olivia was 15 months old-so about 15! It's kind of fun to see her growing up being eaten by a shark!

We have never eaten at Pizza Planet either. I have never been there when it has not been ridiculously crowded, so we just pass on it. I haven't really heard rave reviews on it, so I really don't think we are missing anything.

Wanting to stay at the Poly is why we haven't been there for 4 years.
The Kona was really good, and I was glad I could get something. If it had been warmer we may have went back to EPCOT that day, but then again if it had been warmer we would have been at a Luau.
I met a guy on the boat back from MK one night who works as a chef at Pizza Planet, he was real excited about the meatball sandwich, which I was going to get if it wasn't so crowded. I'm sure we will go back to Disney again, although I am thinking about the cruise.

 

[disneybarbie]

Hi! Catching up with your updates

we were at Kona Cafe the same night as you! what time were you there? our ADR was at 5pm - really loved the meal there



Emma

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Hi! Catching up with your updates

we were at Kona Cafe the same night as you! what time were you there? our ADR was at 5pm - really loved the meal there



Emma

We had 5:45 reservations. We were in the far back corner. We wound up getting free drinks because our entrees took a long time to come out. We had them bring the kids stuff out first, and they were done and on dessert before our entrees finally arrived. I think this was the only meal where we got alcoholic beverages, so that saved us quite a bit. Of course, we then gave the guy a bigger tip, so it may not have saved us much.

 

[jenseib]

I want to say we have chatted about this in the past. (the ages of our kids) I know what you mean about the younger one keeping you young (my youngest will be 6 next month) and the oldest one going to send you to your grave. I think my older ones are the ones that makes me feel prematurely old. My oldest is getting married...my next one will be 18 next month and has enlisted and will be leaving in March...and then my 15 year old...well...high school just isn't working out too well for him.

Thankfully, I do have the young one.. she keeps me from letting myself go completely gray!

LOL! I am so old I can't always remember things like that.
I hate to say it, but my sone (22) is not making the best life choices. He thinks working is somethig you do if you find time for it on the side.

 

[annmarieda]

A split stay is great, especially for longer trips, but getting multiple package deals could get expensive, so we wound up with room only reservations, so no dining plans.

Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better about it.... maybe we didn't miss out so much. Course all we used was a room discount on that trip..we added tickets and dp.

I think the temps were an anomoly since we set record lows on these days, average temp should have been 73.

yeah...I thought temps were averaging higher. Yet, on each trip I have been (except the one in September) the averages were much higher than we actually experienced. Oh well though... I think we are starting to settle on going and if we stay where I think we will, it probably wont entirely matter if it is warm or not since we will spend more time in the resort.

I got married at 24, but then we wanted to travel so we held off on kids until 32. Guess if I had them young they would be in college now, and that would definitely eliminate Disney trips.

We got married when we were 19 and started having kids right away. With one in college and getting married and 3 more still at home, Disney trips are the only ones we CAN manage to go on. at least that is what I tell myself. (please don't shatter my illusions by telling me there is actually vacation destinations out there that are more affordable. )

Great idea on the Bruce photo, wish I had thought about something like that.

Next time... feel free to pull your girls out through the mouth.

Temps start to go up after this day. It was really only bad for 2 days.

Odd, my kids make me feel old since I can't keep up with them, and they suck all of my energy out.

I think that kids do that to us regardless of their age or ours. I am sure that is how they get to be adults...and we grow old. They actually and truly suck the life out of us. In a good way though...not like they are evil or something.

LOL! I am so old I can't always remember things like that.
I hate to say it, but my son (22) is not making the best life choices. He thinks working is something you do if you find time for it on the side.

Wait, you mean that isn't just my sons that do this? I am so relieved... Seriously though... at least for me... it is almost impressively scary how little my youngest son thinks he needs to do. At least my older one, despite the fact he doesn't leave my house very often right now..is enlisted and will be shipping out in less than 2 months. The younger one is not cut out for military..so who knows what he will be able to do with his life.

 

[stephielela]

I can actually say that I do NOT have a picture of anyone in my family hanging out in Bruce's mouth. In September we were in a hurry and in December Jack was throwing another fit. Maybe next time?

I would love to stay at the Poly. The TTC is pretty close. When we used to stay at Shades of Green, we would walk over to the Poly to catch the monorail, so I think we have spent more time in that resort than any other. We did breakfast at Kona in December, and I think we will do it again this year, since it's pretty cheap and definitely plenty of food!

If I had AP's and didn't have to worry about packages and tickets and dining, I would do split every time. I'd do a deluxe for a night or two and then a value the rest. I think I would do the value first though so I could really appreciate the deluxe! I think it will be while before we take another trip long enough to justify a split though.

Those CM's outside of Soarin' must really be strict! Your daughter looks way taller than my son (he's not 3 yet) and they pulled him to measure, but that was obvious.

Looking forward to more!

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

I can actually say that I do NOT have a picture of anyone in my family hanging out in Bruce's mouth. In September we were in a hurry and in December Jack was throwing another fit. Maybe next time?

I would love to stay at the Poly. The TTC is pretty close. When we used to stay at Shades of Green, we would walk over to the Poly to catch the monorail, so I think we have spent more time in that resort than any other. We did breakfast at Kona in December, and I think we will do it again this year, since it's pretty cheap and definitely plenty of food!

If I had AP's and didn't have to worry about packages and tickets and dining, I would do split every time. I'd do a deluxe for a night or two and then a value the rest. I think I would do the value first though so I could really appreciate the deluxe! I think it will be while before we take another trip long enough to justify a split though.

Those CM's outside of Soarin' must really be strict! Your daughter looks way taller than my son (he's not 3 yet) and they pulled him to measure, but that was obvious.

Looking forward to more!

No pics of Bruce? I guess there had to be one person out there.

Easy access to the TTC was nice, very short walk from our room.

I agree, you would want to stay at the Value before moving to a Deluxe. I think the opposite could be quite depressing. We liked the All Star Movies when we were there, but could have used move dining options. I guess we could have walked to the All-Star Music caf.

Olivia probably 41 inches, so I wasn't too concerned about her getting measured.

 

[Katie & Glen]

Don't feel bad about running off! I realized it was you just as you guys started to get up, so I knew there were things to do/see. And speaking of the Disney Store at KoP, is it just me or is that store a disappointment? I guess, I would just expect it to be bigger or at least have more merchandise. We had a Disney Store in the mall by where I used to live and the store is about the same size with a whole lot more in it.

Anywho, enjoying the TR so far. I finally got my Photopass CD in the mail yesterday so I hope to be able to start doing a TR and then start work on my scrapbook.

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

Don't feel bad about running off! I realized it was you just as you guys started to get up, so I knew there were things to do/see. And speaking of the Disney Store at KoP, is it just me or is that store a disappointment? I guess, I would just expect it to be bigger or at least have more merchandise. We had a Disney Store in the mall by where I used to live and the store is about the same size with a whole lot more in it.

Anywho, enjoying the TR so far. I finally got my Photopass CD in the mail yesterday so I hope to be able to start doing a TR and then start work on my scrapbook.

I think the store could be better. Hopefully we will get one of the new and improved stores there soon. They just opened one in Jersey last year. I remember getting stuff in the mail inviting me to the Grand re-Opening, but I wasn't going to drive that far just to see a new store.

woohoo on getting the cd. As I was going through the pictures on it, I realized I must have made some duplicates of pictures. There would be 4 in a row that were identical. Not just close, but exact dups. Guess it happened from playing with the various frames.

 

[exwdwcm]

love the latest update! so the move went very smoothly?

like everyone else, dreaming of staying at the Poly sometime! I am considering doing a split stay and doing 2 nights maybe at the Poly on our October trip- our first two nights if i could get an AP rate. Then bump over to BLt on our points the rest of the time. We will see. Did you enjoy the Poly?

I do have the obligatory pictures of Bruce the shark, i'd have to dig to find them, but have done them many times, although we skipped it this trip! That was the only little area we skipped in the seas was that little alcove!

I too am an 'older parents' as well. I graduated HS in 92 and college in 97 (damn Disney college program delayed me a semester!, lol!). I am 37 and my son is just now 3 and i am still going to try and have a second child. I am glad we waited until we were older, but i have friends that have college aged kids too- i guess it can work both ways, have them really early or really late. We would have never been able to take our son to disney though if i had had him straight out of college (or during or before). Now we own DVC and can take him for years to come, so it works for us and i don't regret it. I just might need my walker next trip to keep up.

 

[Daddy_of_Princesses]

love the latest update! so the move went very smoothly?

like everyone else, dreaming of staying at the Poly sometime! I am considering doing a split stay and doing 2 nights maybe at the Poly on our October trip- our first two nights if i could get an AP rate. Then bump over to BLt on our points the rest of the time. We will see. Did you enjoy the Poly?

I do have the obligatory pictures of Bruce the shark, i'd have to dig to find them, but have done them many times, although we skipped it this trip! That was the only little area we skipped in the seas was that little alcove!

I too am an 'older parents' as well. I graduated HS in 92 and college in 97 (damn Disney college program delayed me a semester!, lol!). I am 37 and my son is just now 3 and i am still going to try and have a second child. I am glad we waited until we were older, but i have friends that have college aged kids too- i guess it can work both ways, have them really early or really late. We would have never been able to take our son to disney though if i had had him straight out of college (or during or before). Now we own DVC and can take him for years to come, so it works for us and i don't regret it. I just might need my walker next trip to keep up.

The move was very smooth. Disney moved our luggage for us, and delivered it to the room. As we were riding the monorail, I pointed out that we probably could have walked from TTC, and then we wound up walking almost all the way back just to get to our room.

I agree, if I had kids when I was younger, I wouldn't have been able to go to Disney, well, at least not at the Deluxe's.

As far as regrets, I try not to regret anything. I made a choice, and that's that. Nothing I can do about it now, so I can worry about it. That philosophy drives my wife up the wall though, she doesn't get why nothing seems to bother me. It's usually the stupid stuff that gets me mad.

 

[therussells08]

Hi! I'm super late, but I'm subbing! Sorry to hear about the various jokes the Vacation Gods played on you, but overall it sounds like you're having a good trip so far!

We had the same issue with online check in- it took WAY longer than regular check in, and I didn't get the king room we requested. Don't think we'll do that again.

I'm glad your Christmas card pic worked out even though you forgot a shirt at home! The shirts you chose look great!