c'mon everybody, here we go!

[mtemm]

okay, so I'm tired and can't think of a clever name for my report. lol. This pretty much sums it up, since we hadn't even thought about a trip to wdw until the first of july or thereabouts. Our kids are young (4, 2, 2) so the plan had always been to wait a few more years. Dh and I have been 3x together, but its been 8 years since our last trip, and even though we love it, waiting a few more didn't seem too hard. That is, until we took the kids to edeville railroad to see thomas the train. they have a couple of small rides, a dumbo, a carousel, that kind of thing. the kids loved them, so much so that the wheels started turning in my head, and the birth of a trip began. To add a little fuel to the fire, one of my best friends from high school now lived near wdw, and I haven't seen her since the early 90s...never met her husband, or her just-turned-one-year old baby.

Planning was fairly quick. Dh and I love october at wdw, in fact, all 3 trips we have taken together were in october (including our honeymoon). love the weather, love the low(ish) crowds. We planned to spend a couple of days with my friend, then move to the yacht club for the remainder of our trip. I jumped online and did my research and started making adr's right and left. I was so stressed about travelling with the kids, I wanted to make sure at least one meal was planned each day. Mostly I made dinner ressies, all for around 5pm when they normally eat. Lots of character meals...seems like as soon as I booked one, another one sounded interesting. Finally stopped myself and before I knew it, the trip was here.

We left bright and early (and I mean early) on saturday, October 14th. Our flight from providence was at 8am, so we were at MCO by 11:45 or so, and we met up with our friends and headed over to epcot for the nemo preview. We hadn't planned on a park that day at all, but had heard about the AP preview (hadn't realized it was opening the next day) so we decided to go for just a little while. It was pretty crowded at epcot, at least compared to what we were used to, so we did just a few rides...nemo, turtle talk, and spaceship earth. nemo was a let-down. the kids thought it was cute, but dh and I thought it was lacking. I know a lot of people love it, and hopefully those of you heading there soon do. the saving grace for us was that there was no line, since it was still the ap preview. Turtle talk was amazing, really liked that a lot. spaceship earth seemed...well...dated. and it stopped a few times.

Day 2, sunday october 15th. Today was our first magic kingdom day, and we were there bright and early for rope drop. In fact, we were so early, we ended up riding the monorail around the resort loop before heading to the lines waiting to enter the magic kingdom. I was very very stressed initially. I think I was shaking a little when they started the morning show, just itching to get it over with so we could get on our way.

Finally we were in fantasyland, after wading our way thru the crowds of people actually stopping to gawk at the castle, or god forbid, take a picture (didn't they know we were on a mission?). Headed to dumbo and got on probably around the 4th round. Pooh was next, and I think it was on this ride that I finally relaxed a little. way too much adreneline had been pumping thru my veins until this point, and I needed to remind myself this was vacation. after hitting all but mickey's philharmagic and snow white, we headed to toontown and did a couple of things there...minnie's house, goofy's barnstormer, then jumped the train to frontierland. this was when we noticed crowds starting to pick up. we headed over to pirates, and by the time we were thru with the line and the ride, it was 11:40 and we decided to just head over to the plaza restaurant for our noon ressies. we had time to stop and watch the show going on at the castle for a bit, which was fun. the kids were all on sensory overload, though, and even though they were doing very well, I was so glad I had made an adr for lunch.

Lunch at the plaza restaurant was fantastic. I can't say enough about this place, it was so good. I got the plaza club and wish I had one right now, it was that good. We all had a great lunch, took a detour to the baby care center (highly recommend that place, too!), then headed out. We had promised ourselves we would try to do parks only in the mornings if possible, and really make sure we weren't overdoing for the kids sake. I think one of the reasons that our trip was so successful was that we stuck with this. occasionally we went back in the evening, but we always made sure to take a good break for naps and swimming.

sunday night we ended up heading to the boardwalk for a so-so meal at the big river grille. It wasn't bad, but nothing to rave about. I would go back, but wouldn't go out of my way. we had a lot of fun walking around the boardwalk, got some ice cream at beaches and cream, then finally called it a night.

Day 3, monday we headed to the yacht club where my lovely husband talked the lady checking us in to a free upgrade to a lagoon view room. It was our anniversary that week, and I think he used that, but he's a pretty persuasive guy, so somehow or other he did it. We were given a beautiful corner room, with views of both epcot and the boardwalk. Just stunning. Our housekeeper saw us moving in and gave us a towel animal, and then a minute later knocked and gave the kids a mickey/minnie balloon. She was a sweetheart, really very nice, and made our stay special. We also ended up getting a card delivered from mickey and the gang, wishing us a wonderful trip.

We had things to do, so no more lingering, off to AK with us

 

[mtemm]

We got to Ak and headed right to the safari. My 4 year old is a nut for animals, so we knew it would be a big hit. It was, but dh and I couldn't help but think there just weren't as many animals as when we were here 8 years ago. After getting off of the safari, we got fast passes for a second one then headed to the gorilla trail. the kids loved the paths and the animals here, and even though I know we could have saved it for later, I'm glad we didn't. Next we headed to asia and to everest. Dh wanted to ride, I really didn't. I would probably ride it next time, but had heard some people didn't feel quite right after riding it and didn't want to feel a mess since we had a big day ahead of us. the wait was only 20 minutes, but dh was a single rider so took that route. He was on and off in less than 10 minutes. Off to dinoland, since the kids were clamoring to head there. we rode the triceratops spin, but the rest of the carnival stuff didn't really appeal. I headed to dinosaur while dh took the kids to boneyard/digsite for a bit. dinosaur was a walk-on, and it was fun to ride...love rides like that. after I was done, I collected the kids and we got our first mickey bars while dh road dinosaur (again, a walk-on). the one other thing we really wanted to do that morning was lion king, so we headed over, but it was 45 minutes till the next show. we decided to head to tusker house for lunch (the roasted chicken was very good), then over, then head back to the resort. My 4 year old really really really wanted to do the safari instead, so we caved and used our fastpasses (no problem, even though we were well past time). Far fewer animals than first thing in the morning, and by the end we were all ready to head back to the resort.

that afternoon we napped and swam and finally dressed for our big night out...we had tix for mnsshp! Off to mk we went, arriving just around 4pm. The crowds were still there, but we were able to jump on a few rides and run a few errands before our 5pm cp ressies.

cp was our first character meal and the kids had a blast with it. my DS2 preferred the characters at a distance...they could come to the table, but not touch him or get too close to him. The other 2 kids hammed it up and were in heaven. It was so much fun, and the food was much better than we expected.

after dinner we headed out into the party...well, almost, it hadn't started yet, but it felt like it had. we did a few rides (magic carpets, haunted mansion). by the time we were done with HM the trick or treat stands were open and we hit a few, then headed into fantasyland. my DD2 loved the dance party there! I think she would have stayed all night, but the boys wanted another ride on peter and pooh, so off we went. By the time we were off of pooh (all rides were walk-ons, btw), it had started to rain. It wasn't a bad rain, just enough to dampen the streets, but I never felt the need to take cover. we headed to toontown and did the red trail, then headed to see the villains mix/mingle. unfortunatley, the rain was enough to cancel it...boo. the 1st parade was getting close to starting and we saw an open spot on the curb on main street, so we parked outselves. the rain kept the HH from riding (sniff, sulk), but the rest of the parade was outstanding. truly wonderful, made my night just watching it. the 2 kids who were awake loved it, too (DS2 nodded off about 7:45). afterwards, we decided to just catch the fireworks then head out, so we worked our way down main street and sat on the curb near the flag pole. perfect spot...we watched the castle and admired all the lighting, and before we knew it the fireworks began. So amazing!!!! We really had a wonderful night, and were so glad we did it. I had questioned the party, what with the ages of my kids, but all my fears were quickly put to rest. The party will remain one of my favorite memories from our trip.

day 4 tomorrow!

 

[mtemm]

Day 4, tuesday, october 17. Since we went to mnsshp the night before, I planned a lazy morning for us, allowing the kids to sleep in as late as they would like. They were up by around 7:30 or so, not very late but a little later than normal. Today I had a 10:30 breakfast planned at play and dine, a place I knew would be a huge hit. We took our time getting ready and finally caught the boat to mgm, arriving about 5 minutes after the 9 am opening. This is where I got my big surprise...my sister was there! Apparently she and her husband were down at the same time as us, and she hadn't told me so she could suprise me. and so she did.

We headed in, stopping quickly in the baby care center (not nearly as nice as MK and AK). while we were there, my sister ran and got fast passes for rock and roller coaster for herself, her husband, and my dh, then we all met at the great movie ride. It seems like we did something else before breakfast, but I can't remember what it was....maybe we were just walking around, regardless, soon it was time for breakfast so we headed to hollywood and vine.

I have to take a moment to rave about this breakfast. The food was wonderful...hot, fresh, plentiful. It was all delicious and I ate way more than I normally would. The best part of the breakfast, though, was the character interaction. Leo, June, Jojo, and Goliath were there and they spent so much time with our kids. June, especially, was sweet with my DD2. The kids had an amazing time. Yes, DS2 still sat on my lap and didn't want to get too close to the charcters, but he loved watching them. The saddest thing was that the restaurant was only about a third full. Not sure if it was because it was so late, or if it was because its just not that popular. I highly recommend this breakfast for those with young kids...hope it sticks around because we would do it again in a heartbeat.

after breakfast we met up with my sister's husband and headed to ToT and RnRC. sister, her husband, and mine had a great time while the kids and I hung out and watched some street performers. After, we headed to playhouse disney. Playhouse disney was amazing...my kids went crazy for it, and I swear I almost teared up watching them. I think this was one of their favorite attractions. Mine, too. It was really a lot of fun.

We had planned to do a few more things...little mermaid, muppets, maybe star tours, but I think the late night caught up with the kids and they all looked so tired, and it was getting hot, so we decided to head back to the resort and nap/swim. Great decision! After napping we had a wonderful afternoon enjoying stormalong bay. What an incredible pool...the little kids area was incredible. loved the sandbar, and the activities the life guards did were a blast, particularly for my 4 year old. the twins just had fun splashing and digging in the sand.

Soon it was time to get ready for our dinner at Chef Mickeys. we were meeting our local friends for this one, and I had warned everyone in advance that I had heard iffy things about the food. I shouldn't have bothered, the food was wonderful! so much better than I expected it to be. There were one or 2 items that weren't great, but overall it was quite good. Desserts were really yummy, a standout for me was the german chocolate cake. mmmm. Character interaction was a ton of fun. Nice to meet the mouse, finally! Goofy and Dale were very funny together. Again, DS4 and DD2 hammed it up while DS2 preferred a bit of distance...at least a few inches, anyway. Minnie almost won him over, she got very close and he almost didn't mind.

After a wonderful time, we said goodbye to our friends and hopped the monorail to epcot. The kids were doing so well we decided to do a couple of things here before heading back to the room. Ended up trying to do the Ellen ride, but realized how long it was just after the movie and bailed, and headed over to the american adventure. Enjoyed that (needs updating) and toyed with the idea of illuminations, but in the end decided to watch the fireworks from our balcony instead. The kids loved doing this, and soon after were sound asleep.

 

[mtemm]

Day 5, wednesday, october 18: Today was our anniversary! Although much has happened and changed in our lives, I still can't believe its been 9 years. To celebrate, we ordered room service for breakfast and had a nice feast before heading over to MK. mmm...yummy. Made it to MK for rope drop, this one was noticeably quieter than sunday was. We watched the opening and enjoyed the characters and finally they let us in. My kids got pixie dust today to help throw at park opening, but lets just say it didn't go over well with DD2. She threw it, but then realized she didn't have it anymore, and a minor meltdown occurred. She's definitely a girl who wants to eat her cake, but have it, too. She scrambled to grab some from the ground...ewww, but what can you do.

Finally rope drop and the twins and I made our way to fantasyland while Dh and DS4 got a stroller for him. DS4 has refused all forms of strollers since he was 2, but at wdw either he was tired enough or just thought they were cool, but we got them at several parks for him. Anyway, the twins and I continued on our way with plans to meet the other 2 at Pooh. We made it to the next rope drop thru the castle and a bell went off..we should try to wake up tink! I had talked to my sister (not the one in wdw) while waiting for the first rope drop and she had mentioned it, but I hadn't really considered it before, but now I thought we might as well try. So we nudged our way that way, but a little girl beat us to it. Which was really fine, because 2 year old twins probably wouldn't have gotten out of it what she got out of it (I'd say she was around 7 or 8 maybe).

We parked the stroller by dumbo and almost ran onto it, we could have made the first round, but I wasn't sure how quick dh would be. I should have gone ahead, it took him a while to get the stroller. the twins and I ended up riding pooh, then dh showed as we were getting off of it so we rode it again, then did a few more of the kids favorites....peter pan, carousel, small world. We ended up going on snow white, even though I had planned on skipping it because of the scare factor. they all loved it, though. probably because it wasn't our first day. after snow white we finally did mickey's philharmagic. What a wonderful show! we had so much fun with it, I would have liked to do it again. My DS4 especially loved it...it was his first 3D show and he kept grabbing at everything. very cute.

we finally headed out of fantasyland (everything was a walkon, btw) and off to the haunted mansion. my DS4 had been so scared of the haunted mansion and I'll admit we bribed him with trick or treating on our mnsshp night to get him to ride it. He loved it, and wanted to go on it again, so we made sure to fit it in again. After HM we tried to get him to finally ride splash, but he wouldn't have any of part of it. Will save it for next trip. My sister had joined us this morning so DH and I debated going on it ourselves, but since we had just been to DL the year before we decided to just hang with the kids instead of splitting off. Yes, the wdw version is better than the DL version, but we were fine with skipping it. same with btmr (even though the 2 are favorites). We decided to jump the train and head around the park, a huge hit with the kids.

By now it was getting HOT, a heat wave was settling into florida, and the crowds were picking up, so we waded our way to adventureland. we were planning on jungle cruise, but it had a 40 minute wait. as I said, the crowds were really picking up...up till now everything had been a walk on. We ended up doing tiki birds then heading out of the park and back to the hotel. again, to nap and swim, and generally enjoy our resort. A fun afternoon! I finally got the nerve up to do the big slide at stormalong bay. So much fun! Its not a straight down slide, more of a long, meandering (but sort of fast) one. Very cool.

For our anniversary dinner, I had toyed with the idea of le cellier or yachtsman or someplace nice, but in the end made adr's at 1900 park faire. Figured it was sort of romantic, and DD2 loves cinderella. We headed over for our 5pm ressie (well, turns out I made it for 4:30, oops, but we were fine at 5). it was HOT out. really steamy. So nice to enter the air conditioning of the grand floridian. The folks at the desk must have seen my anniversary button (I had it on my purse) and they all were very sweet, wishing us well and asking what year it was, etc. When we were seated our waitress wished us a happy anniversary and gave us 2 new buttons with happy 9th on them. Then another man brought me over a placemat with alice, mary poppins, cinderella, etc, on it, all signed by them. Very sweet.

1900 park faire had all the makings of a good dinner, but I wasn't all that hungry so didn't eat much. Then my daughter, who was a bit overheated we think, threw up all over the table. ugh. but the folks there were really very sweet and helpful. the other patrons, as well. I ran to the gift shop to get her a new shirt while dh dealt with the mess, and by the time I got back and we got her changed, it was as if it hadn't happened. She felt much better, and even started eating her dinner (she hadn't eaten much at that point). So the meal wasn't a total bust, but we felt bad for her and for those around us.

After, we took the boat back to MK to do a little shopping and maybe hit a couple more rides. It was so HOT and crowded, and the parade was an hour away and the ropes were up and people were already lining up for it. We finally bought a few things and decided to just head out. It was just too hot for us. october is usually perfect for us, weather wise. think we got a taste of summer this week, and my hat is off to those of you who deal with it.

So goodbye to MK and the castle, and back to the resort for us. The kids were asleep quickly and dh and I alternated running errands and hanging on our balcony. and even were able to catch Lost.

 

[mtemm]

Day 6, Thursday, october 19: Our plan for today was to have breakfast at cape may at 8, then take it easy, swim for a bit, then head over to epcot before we had to pick up ME at 2:30. Didn't realized stormalong bay didn't open till 10. we had a great breakfast, then ended up packing while the kids chilled and watched tv for a bit, then headed to epcot. Again, a very hot, steamy day. We made it into epcot, where a nice cm gave my kids 1st visit buttons. they were our second buttons of the trip, but we had misplaced the original ones so they were welcome. We headed over to Figment...we had never done that before, and it was so cute. and the air conditioning was very welcome. after, we did honey I shrunk the audience. DS4 was not as happy with this one as he was with philharmagic, but we made it thru.

After HISTA, we met up with my sister and her husband and hit world showcase. Did the ride in mexico and norway, then headed to germany for a pretzel and to watch the trains. Hard to pull my DS4 away, but we made it to france where we stopped and had a bite to eat at the bakery (we had stopped at a few of the F&W carts along the way, as well). DH and I split the ham sandwich, he got the chocolate cake and I got the creme brulee. omg, so good. love france, we couldn't leave without a visit. after relaxing for a bit, we headed to the UK for a guinness and a look thru the shops. we ran into mary poppins and Alice. Alice was especially sweet with DD2. Then we headed into the maze, which the kids had a blast with. After that, it was time to head back to the resort and then off to the airport and home.

Well, here we are, the end of our trip. Its been a wonderful trip, far more so than I even dreamed it would be. This was our first real vacation with the kids and I had in my head the fantasy that I wanted it to be, but also the fear that it might be. I had hoped to fall somewhere in the middle, but it ended up surpassing even my fantasy.

Part of the reason I think we had such a good trip is that we didn't try to do everything. We made sure to spend time in the parks, but also fit in naps and swimming and general down time.

Some of my favorite tips included:

ship a box of stuff to the resort before going. we shipped diapers, wipes, cereal bars, gold fish, zip lock bags, animal crackers, raisins, cheerios, mixed nuts, and a few other things down prior to going.

take advantage of a car (or local friends). since we had local friends, we had planned a quick stop for fruit/water/perishables. My friend ended up doing a stop even before we got there, she loaded us up with a case of water, tons of fresh fruit and some easy veggies (like carrot sticks). These were great for the room.

If you are packing for kids, do the zip lock bag trick for outfits. I read about putting outfits in gallon zip locks so that's how I packed for the kids...put each outfit in a different zip lock bag. Made it very easy to get them dressed! no rooting around for clothes that matched or anything like that. This is definitely a trick I'll use in the future.

 

[pumba]

Your report was outstanding.......You sound like you had it altogether and knew that the naps and swim in the pm were the thing to do.....Makes for a more pleasant trip. HEY WE are tired and we are adults...
Thanks so much for taking the time to do this report

 

[swankybeth]

Thanks for posting your report. Sounds like a magical trip! That was so cool that your sister was able to surprise you and join your trip.

 

[cxcelica]

I usually dont say this but for whatever reason I thought your trip report was excellent, it found the perfect combination of being in depth without including every little tiny detail which drag a report down.

Bravo!!

 

[Cass]

Hi, loved your report, I have been to WDW in August twice, I know the heat can be brutal and overwhelming. Good job in giving your family a rest and some pool time, it is so easy to get carried away at the parks.

I really enjoyed reading about your trip!

 

[mtemm]

thanks all! glad you enjoyed. it was fun reliving the trip. hard to believe we're already back, although the chill in the air here in new england helps to remind me.

 

[OhMari]

It was nice reading your report and finding it all done. My cousin is down at WDW and she called me this past Sunday, oct. 22nd and told me it was 90, but it was suppose to cool off to 70 by Wednesday.

Glad your family had a nice time. Sorry your dd got sick, probably a little bit of heat stomache.

 

[ThemDawgs]

Part of the reason I think we had such a good trip is that we didn't try to do everything.

That is so smart. It took me about fifteen trips before I figured this out.

Dawg

 

[Froggyswife]

I agree with the try not to do everything, our first trip to WDW we tried to do everything and we were so tired and stressed. I thought I needed a vacation from my vacation after a couple of days we figured out we weren't going to be able to do everything in a week.

Great trip report.

 

[Minniespal]

Enjoyed reading your reports ~ Thanx for sharing.