BobbleHead's 5th Birthday Trip TR : Nov 28 - Dec 5

[cltk78]

Hi, everyone! We got home Saturday night. We spent Sunday relaxing and watching movies, yesterday was laundry day, DH went back to work today, and I need to finish unpacking, but I feel the need to start my trip report first.

Cast:
Me: 31 - 8th trip to WDW
DH: 30 - ?th trip to WDW
DS1: 4 (birthday boy - turned 5 during the trip) - 1st trip to WDW
DS2: 14 months - 1st trip to WDW

When:
November 28 - December 5, 2009

Where:
Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge - Jambo House - Savanna View

Package:
7-day Magic Your Way Park hopper tickets and Quick Service Dining Plan

Background:
Our last trip to WDW was in September 2004, when I was 7 months pregnant with DS1. We decided during that trip that we would definitely come back to celebrate DS1's 5th birthday. Almost 2 years ago, I began researching and planning trip. In January of this year, I received a 40% off PIN code via email from Disney. In February, we got a larger than expected tax refund and were able to book (using the PIN code) and pay in full our trip.

Here are our pictures: Trip pics

Here is our PTR: Pre-trip Report

Next.... First leg of our trip.

 

[cltk78]

Saturday, November 28 - First Leg of trip : Driving from our home in NC to CasualCat's grandparents in SC

After loading the car, we left the house a little past 7am. We stopped at the grocery store to get a cake for DH's grandparents. We then stopped at the gas station to fill the car and make sure all the tires were properly inflated. Next we stopped by the ATM to withdraw cash to use on the trip. By 7:45, we were finally on the road heading to SC.

We made good time - thanks to the surprisely light traffic in Charlotte- and only stopped once - at the SC Welcome Center on I-77 South to use the restroom and change DS2's diaper. We arrived at DH's grandparents around 11:45am.

We ate lunch there and then went for a walk around their pond. We then hung out on the patio and waited for DH's aunt and cousins to arrive. After they arrived, DS! and cousin Chloe (DH's cousin's daughter)played together while the adult sat around talking, and DS2 was taking a nap. DH's aunt and cousins left around 5pm, and we ate dinner and then sat in the living room to relax and watch a little tv. A little later, we had DS1 take a bath, and then DH took a shower. I also took a shower, and then we all went to bed, because we had a early start again the next day.

Coming next... Arrival at WDW day!

 

[heaven2dc]

I can't wait to read all about your trip! We are going these exact dates in 2010 so am anxious to find out about the crowd levels after Thanksgiving. It should bo so much fun for you going with your little ones - now to wait....

 

[cltk78]

I can't wait to read all about your trip! We are going these exact dates in 2010 so am anxious to find out about the crowd levels after Thanksgiving. It should bo so much fun for you going with your little ones - now to wait....

Thanks for reading!

The next installment will be posted in my next post.

 

[cltk78]

November 29 - Arrival at WDW day

We woke up at 6am, got dressed, loaded the car, said our goodbyes, and were on the road by 7am. We stopped for breakfast at Burger King before leaving town. We made pretty good time considering we also stopped for gas, restroom break, and lunch. We arrived at Disney around 3:30pm.

It was such a wonderful feeling being told "Welcome Home" by the security guard at the gate house for Animal Kingdom Lodge. We parked the car and walked into the lobby to picked up our welcome packet. We had check in online 10 days earlier so we headed to the Online Check-in line, had no wait, and within a couple minutes we were on way to our room. Our room number was 3502, just a short walk from the lobby and no need to use the elevator, except to go down to the pool, playground, and Mara. Our room overlooked the Uzima savanna. Initially, I was upset because I called to specifically request Arusha savanna, but I got over it quickly because we had great views of the animals. So we arrive at our room, and I immediately wiped down the entire room and set up the pack 'n' play. We then headed back to the car and got our luggage.

Our room number and door to our room:

After putting the luggage away in the room, we headed down to the bus stop to go to Downtown Disney for dinner and shopping. Upon arriving at DTD, we headed to Earl of Sandwich to eat dinner. Talk about busy, there was a long line to order, and then we had a hard time finding a table. Thankfully, DH found a table inside, just as our page was going off, and thankfully, the family at the next table agreed to watch the table while DH found me, who had the boys in the stroller and the food. The food was really good. I had the Full Montagu, DH had the Chicken Caesar wrap, DS1 had the pizza sandwich, and DS2 had the grilled cheese sandwich.

After dinner, we went to Once Upon a Toy and bought the boys 2 boxes of Mr. Potato Head parts and DS1 a Mickey dressed like Woody (from Toy Story). We then went looking for a mailbox because we had a couple bills that needed to go into the mail. After locating the mailbox, we went to buy the boys personalized Mickey ears before going back to AKL. DS1 got the classic black ears, and DS2 got baby blue ears.

When we arrived back at AKL, we took our shopping bags to our room and then went down to Mara to get our resort mugs (Yellow for me, Black for DH, and Red for DS1). DS2 didn't get one because he's a baby and not on the dining plan. We filled the mugs with our beverages of choice and then took the boys over to the playground. DH went to get our jackets while DS1 played because it was starting to get a little cool. We let DS1 play for a while and helped DS2 practice walking by holding one of our hands. After playing, we decided to head back up to our room instead of heading to DHS for EMH like we had originally planned. Along the way, we came across Animal Viewing with Night Vision, which was really cool. We got to view some of the animals on the Uzima savanna using night vision googles.

After the animal viewing, we went to back to the room to relax and eventually go to sleep.

Next... First Full-Day at WDW, including visits to DAK and MK.

 

[cltk78]

November 30 - First Full Day at WDW

The day started really early for me. DS2 woke around 12:30 am. I went and brought him over to our bed. He went back to sleep, and I put him back in the pack 'n' play. So I go back to sleep, and then DS1 wakes up around 3:30 am. I get to go back to bed, and I try to go back to sleep. It didn't happen so I get up. It's close to 4:30 am now. I make a pot of coffee and pour myself a cup. I then go out on to the balcony to enjoy my coffee and the peace and quiet of early morning. Too bad there weren't any animals on the savanna at that hour. Though I probably wouldn't be able to see them because it was still dark out. (I promise that photos of our view is coming.)

I finished my coffee and went back inside to get all our toiletries and clothes for the day out and to take a shower. After my shower, I wake DH up and pour him a cup of coffee. He takes a shower while I get dressed and dry my hair. I brought my own dryer because it only takes 10 minutes to dry my hair with it. The one they provide in the room would have taken a lot longer. Anyway, when I'm done I wake the boys up and get them dressed while DH gets dressed. PACKING TIP: It really helped having the boys' outfits (including socks and underwear) packed in zip-loc bags. After the boys were dressed, we picked up the room and put stuff away before heading downstairs to Mara for breakfast.

We arrived at Mara a little after 7am. For breakfast, DH and I had blueberry muffins, and DS1 had a chocolate chip muffin. We used snack credits for them. DS2 had the child's breakfast platter, paid for OOP. After they finished eating, DH took DS1 to the playground to play while DS2 was finishing. When he was done, I took him over to the playground to get DH and DS1, and then we all headed to the bus stop. We arrived at the bus stop at 7:50am and were at Animal Kingdom at 8:05am. Thanks to AKL's location, our fastest bus ride the whole trip.

Upon arriving at DAK, we make a beeline to Kilomanjaro Safaris. The stand-by wait time was posted as 20 minutes. We get in line. DS1 starts to throw a tantrum because we left his backpack in the stroller. DH takes him out of line, leaving me and DS2 to ride by ourselves. Less than 10 minutes of getting in line, we were loaded on the safari truck. We had a quiet and enjoyable ride, and all the animals were out. DS2 came close to falling asleep. Meanwhile, DH took DS1 on the Pangani Forest Exploration Trail. After the safari, all met back up (Thanks to our cell phones), stopped by the restroom, and then headed to Dinoland USA.

In Dinoland, DH and DS1 ride TriceraTop Spin, and then we took DS1 to play in The Boneyard. Yikes! Talk about a place where you can very easily lose track of your child. After letting DS1 play for a while, we went back over to TriceraTop Spin so that I could ride with DS1. We then went to ride Dinosaur. We did the child swap since obviously DS2 was way too small for it. First, DS1 and I rode together. Then DH rode by himself, because DS1 said it scared him, and he didn't want to ride it again. While DH was riding, I took the boys to the restroom to change DS2's diaper. We then met back up with DH and headed over to Expedition Everest. Again we do child swap because DS2's too small to ride, first DH and DS1 ride, and then I ride by myself because DS1 was scared of the yeti and didn't want to ride again. We had little (less than 5 minutes) or no waits for these rides.


After Everest, we go to Pizzafari for lunch. DH and I both had pepperoni pizza, and DS1 had cheese pizza. I shared my pizza with DS2. After lunch, we head back to Kilomanjaro. This time riding as family. Our wait was maybe 20 minutes. It was another enjoyable ride. Though, a few animals were no longer visable. And DS2 fell asleep this time.

After the safari, we decide to head back to the resort. We stopped for a few minutes on the way to bus when DS1 started playing with the CM that sells those big inflatable balls. You know the ones...there's usually one hovering over a fan. Anyway, we catch the bus back to AKL and head back up to our room for naps, except for me. I didn't take a nap. By this time, it's almost 1pm. Remember that time when I do part 2 of our first day.

Next... Part 2 of our first day.

 

[praisehisname]

Great start!

 

[cltk78]

November 30 - First Full Day at WDW, Part 2

Ok, I told you to remember the time we got back to the resort. Well, it was for a reason, and I'll get to that shortly.

So we arrive back at AKL, and go to our room. We put DS2 in the pack 'n' play to finish his nap. DS1 starts getting the Potato Head pieces we bought the previous night and play with both his and DS2's Potato Heads. I turned the tv. DH and I sit on our bed and channel surf. Since there wasn't much on I decide to head down to car to get our bottled water and our smallest suitcase, which had all the swim stuff in it. I stopped the gift shop along the way to buy something that we needed for DS1. I then go back to room and watch tv. I get bored with tv and go out on the balcony with DS1 to watch and take pictures of the animals. When we're done, we go back inside. DS2 is still asleep, and now DH is asleep also. DS1 goes back to playing with Potato Head, and I try to watch tv. DS1 then falls asleep, leaving just me awake. I decide to take some pictures of the room and then go back to watching tv.

As promised, pictures of our view:

DH wakes up around 3:30pm, goes to the bathroom, comes back, lays down, and immediately goes back to sleep. I started to get a little annoyed because I was hoping to be heading back to the parks by now. DH wakes up again around 4:30 pm, and we get the boys up and get ready to head down to Mara for dinner. For dinner, I had chicken caesar salad, DH had chicken pita, DS1 had kids cheese pizza, and DS2 had kids macaroni and cheese. After dinner, we had back up to our room, get ready to head to MK, and head to the bus stop.

We arrive at MK around 6:40 (over 5.5 hours after arriving back at the resort for nap time ), and people are already lining Main Street USA for the 7pm parade. We make our way up Main Street and over to Tomorrowland. We get in line for Buzz Lightyear, the stand-by wait time was only 20 minutes. DS1 rides with DH, and I ride with DS2. After Buzz, we head to Stitch's Great Escape, but unfortunately, it was closed because it broke down. So we go do Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, instead. After Monsters Inc, we head towards Fantasyland. Wishes (and EMH) starts while we're walking toward Fantasyland. We start to pass Tomorrowland Speedway and see that the stand-by wait time was only 5 minutes, which I've never in my life seen such a low wait time for the Speedway in my life. So DS1 and I get in line while DH waits by the exit with DS2. I let DS1 steer while I control the gas. He actually did a good job steering. After the Speedway, we go over to Dumbo, and DH and DS1 ride it. While DH and DS1 are waiting in line. Mickey and Minnie get on Dumbo, and I really wish I had our camera so I could have taken a picture of them. Unfortunately, DH had the camera. After Dumbo, we all go ride Winnie the Pooh, our final ride of the night, and then head back to AKL to go to bed.

Coming up next... Day 2 - Epcot, MK, and Epcot again.

I'll be back shortly to add pics.

 

[cltk78]

Great start!

Thanks.

 

[DisneyDreamerMom]

Just subbed. We're going in May with DD who'll turn 6 in Jan so I'm really interested in how your oldest handles the rides. Also, we're trying to QS DP too. Great trip report!

 

[cltk78]

Just subbed. We're going in May with DD who'll turn 6 in Jan so I'm really interested in how your oldest handles the rides. Also, we're trying to QS DP too. Great trip report!

He actually did really well on the rides. The only rides he absolutely refused to ride again were Expedition Everest and Dinosaur.

 

[praisehisname]

DH wakes up around 3:30pm, goes to the bathroom, comes back, lays down, and immediately goes back to sleep. I started to get a little annoyed because I was hoping to be heading back to the parks by now.

I would have been annoyed, too. That would have been awesome if you got the picture of Mickey and Minnie riding Dumbo!

 

[cltk78]

December 1 - Day 2

I got up at 5am, took a shower, got dressed, had a cup of coffee, and woke DH up. While DH was in the shower, I dried my hair and got the boys up and dressed. After everyone is dressed, we head down to Mara for breakfast. After breakfast, we take our resort mugs back to our room and head to the bus stop to catch the bus to Epcot.

We arrive at Epcot a little after 8am and immediately try to locate our leave a legacy tile, which DH and I had done 8 years ago while on our honeymoon. Thankfully, I had saved its location on my cell phone before leaving home. We showed it to DS1, and I took a picture of it with my cell phone. I don't even know why we didn't just take a picture with our camera. Oh, well. Maybe next trip. We then ride Spaceship Earth. DS1 sat with DH, and DS2 sat with me. By the end of the ride, DS2 was asleep. I have to say I love the updated Spaceship Earth. Definitely, a ride we'd do again in the future. After the ride, we checked out Project Tomorrow: Inventing the World of Tomorrow, and DS1 and I tried one of the interactive games.

Then we go our stroller and headed towards the Land and the Seas, stopping by the restroom along the way. After restrooms, we walk over to the Seas, park the stroller, and wait for the Seas to open. After the ride, we check out some of the exhibits. DH takes a picture of me and the boys inside Bruce. Then we go wait for Turtle Talk. After we get our stroller and head to Innovations to sign up for Kim Possible World Showcase Adventure. Our assigned time was 11:45am.

We then head to Journey into the Imagination, walked right onto the ride. We then tried out a couple of the Imageworks exhibits. By this time, it's almost lunch time so we decide to head over to the Japan pavilion to have lunch at Yakitori House. Upon arriving there, we discover that they don't open until 11:30. We decide to stay there and wait for them to open. By this time, DS1 is asleep in the stroller. At 11:30, Yakitori finally opens. DH and I both get the Tonosama Combination (It was so good! I highly recommend it!), and we got the kids teriyaki chicken for the boys to share. DS2 ate the rice and mixed vegetables, and DS1, when he woke, refused to eat anything we offered him and started to demand pizza. So we finish up lunch and head to The Land figuring Sunshine Season would have pizza. Boy, were we wrong. Come to find out there is absolutely no pizza in Epcot. Grrr!


At this point, we're 30 minutes late for Kim Possible, but we head to International Gateway anyway to pick up our Kimmunicator. Our mission was in France. So we head to France, do our mission, turn in our kimmunicator, and decide to head to MK. DS1 enjoyed doing the Kim Possible mission, hopefully, we'll do it again in the future.

Anyway, take the monorail to TTC and transfer to the express monorail to MK.

Upon arriving at MK, we head to the Barber Shop, and DS2 gets his first haircut. He was very good during his haircut. He didn't cry or anything. I wish I could say the same about the toddler who was getting his haircut at the same time. He had a total meltdown, and I felt really bad for both him and his mom.

After DS2's haircut, we head up Main Street and over to Adventureland. Since the wait time was only 5 minutes, DS1 and I rode Aladdin's Magic Carpets. Then we all go over to Pirates of the Caribbean and walked right on. We try to go to Frontierland, but because of the afternoon parade, we couldn't the way we wanted. We decide to head to Main Street USA and grab a snack at Main Street Bakery. DH got a ice cream sandwich, and I got a double chocolate muffin. We shared with the boys. Then we decide to head back to the resort to relax a little.

This is what we found when we arrived back in room - a birthday card and towel cake for DS1 courtesy of Mousekeeping:

We ate dinner at Mara and then headed back to Epcot.

After arriving at Epcot, we headed to Mission:SPACE. We did child swap since DS2 was way too little to ride. DS1 and I rode first while DH and DS2 waited for us in the M:S gift shop. We got on pretty quick because there was no line. Then DH and DS1 rode while I waited with DS2. After they finished, we bought a few things for the boys in the gift shop before heading to the World Showcase. We walked around the World Showcase, making a beeline for Japan. I wanted to buy a few rice bowls in the store there. Anyway, we got to the store in Japan and headed back to where the plates and bowls are. I was upset when I couldn't find bowls in the style, size, and colors that I wanted. We browsed the store for a few minutes after that and decided to go back to the resort. I asked DH if we could head over to the UK first because I saw a shirt over there earlier in the day that I thought was cute. We found the cart that had the shirt and buy it. The shirt is a pink Rose & Crown t-shirt with an argyle print on the front. At this point, it's almost 9pm, and we try to hurry to the front of the park before IllumiNations starts.

We take the bus back to the resort and turn in for the night.

Next...Day 3 - Magic Kingdom and DVC

 

[praisehisname]

Sounds like you had a busy and full day at the parks! So glad you're back and posting again.

 

[LOVEMY3KIDDOS]

I'm here!!! Late, but I'm here!! Great start...love the pix!