Cab's are here!! - A Goody Grand Gathering. Update 5/7 Let's get this party over!

[my2disneyboys]

Welcome to "Cab's are here!!! - A Goody Grand Gathering Trip Report"

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I want to get started right away with Day 1, but I guess I should do some introductions so you can know who is who in all 1500 pictures that I have taken on this trip!!

First the DETAILS: January 28th - February 4th 2011 @ Port Orleans French Quarter, and Free Dining! Also, I think you can tell by the title but this was a Grand Gathering..... 14 of us! You should also know that me and my family are Disney FREAKS! We choose Disney as our vacation spot each year and plan and dream about it the whole year! We went on one Grand Gathering in 2004 and we said, "NEVER AGAIN!" So you can imagine our horror, oops I mean surprise when the whole family told us that they wanted to join us on our next trip!

And next the CAST:
Here is my family: Nickie (me) Wayne (husband) Myles (7 year old son) and Owen (3 year old son)

Also joining us on this trip are Wayne's three brothers and their families!

Wayne and his brother Chris live in the same town, but Scott lives in Chicago and Jeff lives in Florida so it was REALLY AWESOME to have all the boys together and for all the cousins to spend some time together. We are a VERY close family and having this time together in Disney was really wonderful. We made some special memories that will last forever.

Here is Chris and his daughters, Stephanie and Holly. We have been having Disney Nights every Friday with them for the last year. We were SO excited to have them join us on this trip!

Here is Jeff, his wife Sheila, and their kids Shannon and Johnny (Johnnys girlfriend Kelly came too- they had just found out they are expecting their first child!)

Here is Scott and Carrie - notice the baby bump! They are expecting their first child in May!

Ok, I hope you will all stick with me as I try to capture some of the magical moments and special memories we made on our Grand Gathering!

 

[my2disneyboys]

Introduction

Day 1: Airport, Magical Express, Check in at POFQ and lunch in Downtown Disney!

Day 1 continued: Dinner at Chef Mickey's!

Day 2: EPCOT!

Day 2 Continued: A NOT so magical ending to Day 2 in EPCOT!

Day 3: It's T-Shirt Time!

Day 3 Continued: It's T-Shirt Time!

Day 3 Completed: Cab's are here!

Day 4: Animal Kingdom!

Day 4: A fabulous ending to a great day!

Day 5: Your flight has been cancelled!

Day 6: A Disney day done right!

Day 7: Let's get this party over!

 

[mom2mek]

Can't wait to read all about it, Nickie!! Love the matching shirts!

Sara

 

[my2disneyboys]

And so it begins.... Day 1: Airport, Magical Express, Check in at POFQ and lunch in Downtown Disney!

I should tell you all that January 27th Boston was hit HARD with a huge snowstorm!!! We spent the entire day shovelling snow and couldn't believe that in a few hours we would be seeing palm trees and SUNSHINE! We put the kids to bed early and spent the night getting updates from Chris and the girls who had just landed in Florida! They sent us pictures of Magical Express and of POFQ and let us know that we all got RUFURBISHED ROOMS! It was an awesome start to the trip.

The alarm went off at 4AM and our ride would be arriving at 4:15AM to take us to the airport! We got the boys up and they were BESIDE THEMSELVES with excitement. We go every year but this was the MOST excited I have seen the kids. Their excitement was contagious and I had those excited butterflies and just couldn't wait to be in sunny Florida!

Here are the boys taking the last Mickey Head off of our countdown calendar....

Is our ride here yet!?

The first surprise! We got a limo to take us to the airport!!

It took about 30 minutes to get to the airport. The roads were pretty icy!! At the airport security was painless and we were at our gate waiting for the Dunkin Doughnuts to open by 5AM! We also gave the boys their next surprise! "Airport Bags!!" I had put cameras, stickers, books, toys, T-shirt, and some snacks in them. They LOVED them!! I am a pretty nervous flier but we were boarding by 5:30AM and we had the most incredible flight- I never even felt a bump! It was a great start to the trip!!

It wasn't long before we saw......

The boys sat on Magical Express in front of us and watched the cute movie! They shouted out all their favorite characters as they always do.

Port Orleans French Quarter was the third stop and Owen had JUST fallen asleep as we pulled up to the hotel! Well that was the shortest nap of his life!

We have arrived!

Jeff and Sheila and their family were all there waiting for us right when we got off the bus. After some tears and lot's of hugs we went to check in.... Wouldn't you know, our room was READY! It was only 11:00AM! I was so excited that our room was ready. AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Our view:

The package I sent for the boys arrived, and then our groceries from Garden Grocer and our luggage all arrived moments later. It was all so perfect! This is how you want to start your vacation!!!! Last year we were at the Poly and we waited ALL day for our room that was finally ready at 4:30PM and was BROKEN. So this was just extra wonderful for us!

It was lunch time and we were all hungry so we decided to take the boat to Downtown Disney and get some lunch!

My excited boy!

And my other one... so excited to be with his Uncle Jeff and Auntie Sheila!

We stopped in a shop before lunch and THIS IS WHERE THE MADNESS BEGINS! = VINYLMATION TRADING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We have never heard of this, and Shannon our niece was on a mission to find Alice. She filled us all in on the process and before you knew it, we ALL got one and started trading away. We had SO much fun with this, you have NO IDEA!!!! So here is the process if anyone doesn't already know... You purchase a little vinylmation mickey, in a box and you don't know what it will be until you open it. You have the option to trade at that point or keep it. To trade you go up to any gift shop counter and they have a box with numbers on it. You select two numbers and they show you two vinylmation guys, and they also have a little case where you can see 3 vinylmation guys, and you can trade yours with any of those or keep it. You have to try it!!!! It provided lot's of laughs for us. For the kids it was like getting a new souvenier everyday!

After an hour of trading, we hit Earl of Sandwich for lunch. YUMMY!!!!!! We were on the free dining plan and it was so exciting getting our free yummy lunch.

After lunch we headed back to the resort. Chris and the girls were back from their day at Universal Studios and were waiting for us. Shannon, Holly, and Steph are VERY close and because Shannon lives in Florida they only see eachother once a year. Again lot's of tears and hugs!!!

Up Next: Dinner at Chef Mickey's!

 

[my2disneyboys]

Day 1 - January 28th 2011 Continued.... Dinner at Chef Mickeys!

We all got ready for dinner and headed to the bus stop. We took the bus to the Magic Kingdom and then hopped on the monorail to get to the Contemporary. WHAT A TEASE!!!!!!!!!!!! Seeing the Magic Kingdom made me wish that we were going there but we would need to wait until Sunday! UGH We did take some cute pictures though!

This was one of my favorites!

The Girls!

My family

We arrived at Chef Mickey's, had our family picture taken (which I purchased and LOVED!!) and were seated right away.

Up first.....

SOOOOOOO EXCITED!

After a GREAT dinner we grabbed some drinks and headed out on the Observation Deck and sat there and waited for Wishes to begin!! We were able to see the new show "Memories, Magic and You" (is that the name!?) and it was really cool. Then Wishes finally started and the music was piped in. It was a magical ending to our first day in Disney!

Up Next: Day 2 January 29th 2011 - Epcot!

Highlights from Day 1:
This was an amazing day! Such a wonderful start to our trip.
Meeting up with Chris and the girls and Jeff and Shiela and the kids was awesome.
Vinylmations were a hit of the day!
Room being refurbished and ready at 11AM- WAY COOL!
Watching the boys getting spoiled by their family was really special. They all love the boys so much and it was just so nice to see them all so happy.
But my favorite memory of the day was watching Wishes with everyone!

 

[BelleTinkMom]

joining in. Can't wait to hear all about your trip

 

[lovegrumpy]

Sounds like you had a great first day.

 

[my2disneyboys]

Can't wait to read all about it, Nickie!! Love the matching shirts!

Sara

Hi Sara! So glad to have you reading along!!! When is your next trip planned!!??

 

[my2disneyboys]

Sounds like you had a great first day.

Welcome!!! Yes, it was a GREAT first day Thanks for reading along!

 

[my2disneyboys]

joining in. Can't wait to hear all about your trip

WELCOME! Thanks for reading!!

 

[lovesdumbo]

LOVE that photo! The boys are getting so big!

What a great start! You must have been so excited to leave MA behind for a week! Think today will be the last snow? I'm so ready for it to be over!

How fun to have all the family there!

Can't wait to read more!

 

[my2disneyboys]

LOVE that photo! The boys are getting so big!

What a great start! You must have been so excited to leave MA behind for a week! Think today will be the last snow? I'm so ready for it to be over!

How fun to have all the family there!

Can't wait to read more!

Hey! So nice to hear from you again- I am so glad you are reading along!! I se you are going in two months for your birthday! Which kids are going on this one!?

WOW, I am SO DONE with this snow. I couldn't believe when I woke up today and everything was all white. Atleast it was just pretty snow and pretty much melted away already!

Hope you will stick around! It should be a fun trip report to read. We had a BLAST!

 

[nvsnot]

I'm in!!!

I'm currently planning a grand gathering for 10 in June so i'm always interested in reading the experiences of others who have done grand gatherings and it's a bonus when done with toddlers!

 

[my2disneyboys]

I'm in!!!

I'm currently planning a grand gathering for 10 in June so i'm always interested in reading the experiences of others who have done grand gatherings and it's a bonus when done with toddlers!

Hi and welcome!!!! 10 is a great number because a lot of the tables are for 10. We had to sit at seperate tables most of the time which was a bummer. I took one awful GG in 04 and learned so much. This time around was GREAT! I hope you stick with me and read along. I am sure I will have some good advice for planning a trip with little ones and a big group!!

 

[lovesdumbo]

Hey! So nice to hear from you again- I am so glad you are reading along!! I se you are going in two months for your birthday! Which kids are going on this one!?

WOW, I am SO DONE with this snow. I couldn't believe when I woke up today and everything was all white. Atleast it was just pretty snow and pretty much melted away already!

Hope you will stick around! It should be a fun trip report to read. We had a BLAST!

I'm actually going with 2 girlfriends. It is a BIG birthday trip for me. But I'm not actually going to be there on my birthday due to a work conflict with one friend. I'll be home to celebrate my bday & Mothers' Day with DH & kids. I was starting to feel a bit guilty about it but work has been so incredibly stressful that I think I derserve this trip. This winter hasn't help any either. I will be so ready!

We're staying at BWI. I was originally planning on trying to have lunch at Beaches & Cream when we got there. Our flight lands around noon. Now I'm thinking we should head right to Epcot and get a drink.

We don't have any plans yet for a summer family trip but I can't see us not going. Today Joe & I spent a few hours watching old Epcot videos on www.lostepcot.com I can't imagine how he'd feel if we didn't do a family trip.

Your trip report will help me get through the next 2 1/2 moths!

 

[chicagoshannon]

Great start. I love it already!

I think we may need to try the vinylmation trading this trip!

 

[kevinsmom]

you got me with "cabs are here" lol

love it so far, keep it up!!!

 

[my2disneyboys]

Great start. I love it already!

I think we may need to try the vinylmation trading this trip!

Hey Shannon!!! Oh yes you MUST try the vinylmation on your trip! You guys will love collecting the star wars ones!!!

 

[my2disneyboys]

you got me with "cabs are here" lol

love it so far, keep it up!!!

Thanks LOL! Yes I was going to name it T-Shirt time because that was shouted out a few times on the trip especially on the day we all were the ones I made, but "Cab's are here" ended up winning out.... stay tuned to find out why!

Hey I saw on your signature you did a cruise and hotel package?? We are just thinking on our trip next year maybe we will do the 3 days disney Dream and then 4 days at the parks. How did it work out for you???

 

[britt_ji]

Subscribing! Sounds like you guys had a great trip. I love the matching t-shirts! Can't wait to read more...